Characters · writing · Writing FUNdamentals

Blood on the Keyboard: Writing When it Hurts

Okay, so that title is a *little* misleading. I'm not talking about actual blood. Unless you're like me and tend to have random nosebleeds. Not good for your keyboard. No, the hurt I'm referring to is more emotional than physical. But how so? You've no doubt come across the adage to 'write what you know' and likely… Continue reading Blood on the Keyboard: Writing When it Hurts

Characters · writing · Writing FUNdamentals

Writing a Healthy Romance

Romance novels often get blown off by the wider reading community (and especially the literary) as frivolous emotional porn (and sometimes actual porn) lacking any real substance or plot. This couldn’t be further from the truth. However, like all genres, romance does have some troublesome tropes. Some of these tropes are perpetuated in common advice… Continue reading Writing a Healthy Romance

writing

The Pitfalls of Pleading Insanity: How jokes about being a ‘crazy’ writer hurt all writers.

  Ah, the crazy writer.  Edgar Allen Poe, Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemmingway, Slyvia Plath. The names conjure the image of tormented, alcoholic, or strange souls destined to be on the outskirts of society while they penned the next literary masterpiece.  Several famous writers have suffered from mental illness and have even succumbed to their disease or… Continue reading The Pitfalls of Pleading Insanity: How jokes about being a ‘crazy’ writer hurt all writers.

Characters · Going Over the Rainbow · lgbt · mogai · writing

Going Over the Rainbow: Gay Male Characters

With the end of a tumultuous and tragic Pride month there are more concerns than ever about how gay men are represented in media. So how can you, as a responsible author, help dispel many of the harmful stereotypes that lead people to commit horrible atrocities? By accurately and sensitively writing gay men. Please allow… Continue reading Going Over the Rainbow: Gay Male Characters

Characters · Going Over the Rainbow · lgbt · mogai · writing

Going Over the Rainbow: Lesbians

It's been a rough year for fictional lesbians and not a great one for the rest of the MOGAI population either. I don't have any new words to say about Orlando that haven't already been spoken. I can only move forward and hope this series inspires you to write even more queer characters so that… Continue reading Going Over the Rainbow: Lesbians