I should put out a call for new clients because I’ll be able to take a lot more in a month or so

The news about Harlequin translators getting fired en masse? You should care about that. They're doing it there because they think nobody gives a shit about romance and so it's fine to experiment with it first.

It is about this: because so many people do not give a shit about romance, shit gets tried in romance first. You should pay attention to romance publishing news and care about it, because they will try that shit here first.

Survival funds were never stopping bombs; they're meant to help people afford essentials under continued blockade. This is why it's absurd that support has stopped completely for most survival funds out there. Click "weekly" for six families & a camp: chuffed.org/project/hope...

I love the feeling of starting a new book by a return client

I love faggy voice reveal. It’s such a beautiful sound.

If you’re transmasc (define it as you wish), I’d be interested to know what manhood means to you. Anyone who doesn’t align with transmasculinity in some way, please feel free to boost and read! 🫶

As an author of sapphic romances, I know firsthand the feeling that fictional sapphic couples don’t get the same level of readerly enthusiasm as m/f or m/m couples. It sucks and it’s sexist and damn do I wish I had a solution for it. I’d have solved it yesterday if I could.

Camped out here on Two Things Can Be True Hill: 1. The romance genre has a history deeply entwined with white supremacy, ableism, and the most reductive kind of stereotypes. Like every genre. 2. Painting all romantasy readers as “zombies” is also a reductive stereotype, and misogynist to boot.

In the replies and at other times when I see people talk about this, I see two major themes to the complaints. 1) otherwise useful ideas being delivered in a confusing, over-simplified, or unhelpful way 2) absolutism

"Kill your darlings" but more for how people misinterpret it. It's *supposed* to mean you need to be willing to sacrifice an element you're attached to if removing it would improve the work as a whole It does NOT mean "kill the characters you like"

The book idea I had with this is probably going to be delayed for a while but I still think "couple develops sexual tension through telepathic sexually charged dream encounters" is a banger romance concept

Why did you transition, wrong answers only I wanted to become both more and less confusing to straight guys

Can confirm as both a migraine sufferer and a huge fan of these books! Imagine a queer D&D adventure where you take a dose of LSD and wait for it to kick in as you venture into the unknown

Nurse Hammam is another Palestinian who desperately needs help securing some basic shelter to protect him and his family from the cold and weather. Please help by sharing and considering even a small donation!

Anti-adverb advice is usually too absolute. Yes, you should use a stronger verb when possible, but in many cases, there just isn’t one. You can say “jogged” or “hurried” instead of “walked quickly”, but there is no verb for “bathed quickly.”

Maybe let's have a bit of a thread about Showing vs. Telling and how this idea works, even though it can be a frustrating truism. 🧵 "Showing" here means illustrating with the action of the story, rather than merely giving information to the reader.

"Great writing can't be taught." Total bullshit. Writing is just as much of a teachable and learnable skill as playing an instrument or acting or painting. You don't have to have any prodigy to write a great book - just a strong work ethic, years of practice, and a willingness to innovate.

"If you haven't hooked the reader in the first sentence, you've failed." I dunno, man, I kinda like writing for people who have longer attention spans than goldfish and a rudimentary idea of how stories work.

One of my favorite things to do as an editor is to show how common pieces of writing advice can both be useful tools AND how you can let them go, depending on the situation. It's about what serves you and the story, not about doing things The Right Way.

This is a big topic in my work—story economy. "Further the plot" can be a misleading idea, because plot progression isn't the only thing beats of story can do. Building of theme, character, and world can also happen on their own timelines—it's about balancing this development with progression.

On top of likeability just being very subjective, I think this one can trip authors up too—there can be a strong urge to shield your characters from messing up too much, looking too bad. I've seen how easily this an undermine an otherwise strong story concept

"Outlining kills creativity." Outlining is how I create ny ideas. Everybody has a different process. I don't brgrudge you your process, but it isn't universal.

That protagonists should be likeable. Fuck that, who wants to read about functional people??

"Show, don't tell" is maybe the piece of writing advice I hear about other authors finding counter-productive the most, and it's certainly toward the top of my list of "pieces of writing advice I have wished I could stab"

My therapist is very good at documenting my progress and reminding me of how much better I've been doing than I tend to think I have. My capacity for both doing and feeling has gone up a lot since I started seeing her this summer, and I've stabilized a lot too.

Sale news: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is on sale for $1.99. If you fancy some queer romance involving smugglers and noblemen this holiday season, I highly recommend it. amzn.to/4jb5IMN

"Don't insert fictional sex scenes into your journalism." Fuck you, prude

what is your least favorite piece of writing advice and why? 👀

hi everyone

Please help Abo Jameel raise enough money for a tent and blankets! Sharing helps, as does even a small donation

Time for some CHRISTMAS MAGIC, y'all. A single mom I know locally has had her electricity cut off for non-payment. If anyone can help out, I'd definitely like to get her squared away by Christmas Eve. PayPal: donnajherren @ gmail . com Venmo: @ DONNA-HERREN-0 CashApp: $totallydonna

Abo Jameel and his family are suffering in the cold without shelter. Please help by sharing and considering a donation

Hmm, been getting really into carrots and cabbage lately, I wonder why... hang on, is my bunny sister @goddessblade.bsky.social having an effect on me??? bunny food creeping into my diet???

Nurse Hamman and his family also need help getting some basic shelter to protect them from the cold and winter weather. Please help if you can by sharing and considering a donation

All four colors are up in the shop now! Thank you everyone who went on my creative journey last night as I stayed up way too late finger painting. lol thebrokencircle.etsy.com

I had a very interesting dream last night in which I was taking a test in a class taught by @courtneymilan.com. A cool thing about the dream was that I was conscious of each question and the answers I gave, although I forgot them after I woke up. Unfortunately, I woke up before getting my grade! 😅

Sebastian has been scandalizing polite society with his scientific theories of sexual inheritance. But there’s one small problem. They’re not his theories. They’re Violet’s. /jb Amazon: www.amazon.com/Count... Apple: itunes.apple.com/us/...

I missed a lot of email correspondence earlier this year when I was going through psychosis and severe depression. If you sent me an email and didn't get a reply, please feel free to nudge me again if you'd like.

Also, one more time, because why not? I wrote this so I wouldn’t have to keep writing it.

No donations in the night and I have 20 bucks to my name. Help if you can.

Monthly Disabled & Chronically Ill Creators Boost! - Share your fiction, essays, poetry, fanfic, thinkpieces, and other writing below. - Go into the replies and look for works to read and share. - Follow new creators and make your feed brighter! NSFW and erotica welcome. #BookSky #WriteSky

I sometimes really wish it were easier to put my feelings into words

This is the part. Like someone telling me that she doesn't read m/m romances written by men because they have a bit too much reality, and all she wants is escapism--as if gay men weren't real humans who deserve to see themselves in fiction, but only as objects to fetichize.

Absolutely correct, I'm not only talking about readers. It really is absolutely everywhere. This is not solely a "a few ppl/readers on social media" issue. It would be 10x easier to ignore if that were the case. It's from the top down and from the ground up. That's the part that is so infuriating.

This may be why I feel identified with and protective of both “sides” of this equation when it comes to fictional representation and the way storytelling matters for both groups

I continue to feel that the oppression of gay men goes underrated and often neglected in its range, including in the same ways that women are oppressed and that romance as a genre reflects

When I hear "there's no gay romance" "m/m was created by women" "romance is for women" I think of the number of author bios in the back of "Best Gay Romance" books, or magazines, especially the 90s, ending with notations of when those authors died and I get so fucking angry I cannot even tell you.