So, based on the last post I did, you've got your setting, you've got some friends, you've got a map, you've watched some Critical Role, and you've maybe got the D&D Starter Set. What next? The ProtagonistsYour friends. It's time to ask them to create their characters. From what I've seen and read, a good DM… Continue reading How to Start Playing D&D for the Total Noob (aka: Me) || Part 2
So You Want to Start Playing Dungeons and Dragons, Aye? I've only played D&D once before, long ago, on someone's laminate floor with a tiny print-out dungeon and no idea what any of the numbers meant. Five years later, my friends want to Play It For Real. Yippee! Let's get nerdy! AND THEN. YOU (me)… Continue reading How to Start Playing Dungeons & Dragons for the Total Noob (aka: ME) || Part 1
Mass Effect is a great game series but it failed to create a non-gendered alien race, let alone a matriarchal one. To be honest, I struggle to realistically imagine the full depth of what a matriarchal society would look like. In the context of Mass Effect, it means looking at the evolution of humanity without men, let alone… Continue reading Mass Effect: What Would A Matriarchy Look Like?
Many writers have a large notebook or digital file affectionately called their "Writing Bible". It contains everything they need to remember—details about their characters, plotting, locations, fictional races, ancient history, research—you get the idea. I've always been one of those writers who puts it down by hand in an A4 notebook with a rainbow of… Continue reading Make a Private Wikia for Your Novel!
In the wake of being made redundant, hopefully scoring a new job with greater prospects, and forever waiting to hear back from my agent (I've bought Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2018 because I'm beginning to worry he doesn't have time to take me on - I also need to brush up on knowledge of publishing contracts), I am desperate… Continue reading We Need More Lesbian Knights
Don't agree to everything your agent says. Soooooo... Last time I updated, my agent Suresh and I were talking about THE ENDING of my novel. And we talked for nearly two months about the bloody ending. For the first time, I just couldn't accept the changes he wanted me to make, full stop. Originally, I'd… Continue reading Getting Published: part…six?
That's all I've really got to say right now. Especially his face.
Rejection. Last update I said I'd applied to a few different agents and, whoop, they said "no thanks." BUT GOOD NEWS. In a burst of despair and a need for closure, I sent an email to Suresh, my prospective but AWOL agent, basically saying, "Are you still working with me on my novel, or do… Continue reading Getting Published: part five
So, first of all, this amazing fan-made Beauty and the Beast/Harry Potter trailer: https://youtu.be/u0K-cHESi1c Anything with Emma Watson in will clearly always be a Hermione AU opportunity. I wish I'd never given up video editing as a hobby now, but moreover, it got me thinking about what a hideous relationship this would be. Bare with. First… Continue reading Would YOU Fall For Lord Voldemort If…
Part one Part two Part three Last time I updated, I was scraping the barrel of misery in search of a writing epiphany, and I hadn't met my deadline. The good news: I managed to finish my edits and hand in the new draft of my novel just before Christmas Eve. The bad news: silence. My novel… Continue reading Getting Published: part four
Let’s be honest. The ‘magical girl’ trope used to suck when I was a kid, especially when girls are taught to hate themselves because ‘femininity = weakness,’ and gosh are magical-girl-shows ALL ABOUT showy associations of girliness. As such, the magical girl trope only pleased young girls who hadn’t yet learnt to think ‘girliness is… Continue reading Magical Girls: Internalised Misogyny and Genre Rebirth
I'm procrastinating by writing this post, let me just put that out there. Click here to read part one and part two. I didn't make the November 1st deadline. Once I figured out how to fix the big problems of my story, I worked day and night, every day, to meet the target. But hey, I… Continue reading Getting published: part three
Belatedly following on from my last publishing post, about how I met an agent willing to give me and my novel a chance, it's time I updated on what happened next. So, after our feedback meeting, Suresh gave me a couple of big plot points and changes to think about: Maybe cut a character (I'm thinking: I… Continue reading Getting Published: part two
For the first time in three years, my schedule is completely blank until mid September. I’m actively looking for new manuscripts to edit, and I’d like to aggressively slash my prices. My rates are never this cheap, so I strongly encourage you to act fast because my inbox gets flooded every time I do this. […]… Continue reading Epic Cheap: 50% Off Editing Special
FIRST DATE WITH AN AGENT I've done it. I've started the journey to publishing my novel, or at least come closer to the dream than ever before. I've studied publishing as an industry, I've been an editor for four years for a digital publisher, but I've not managed to publish my own work—yet. So, I… Continue reading Getting Published: Part One
