Freelance scribbler exploring worlds real and imagined

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Book reviews
Folklore and Mythology
Freelancing advice
Publishing advice
Worldbuilding analyses
Writing advice
Writing prompts and exercises
Other sundry thoughts and musings

Book reviews


The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
All That Was Asked by Vanessa MacLaren-Wray
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Binary Star by Sarah Gerard
Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O'Brien
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdez
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Dune: Book vs. Movies
The Fallen Odyssey by Corey McCullough
Goddess of Filth by V. Castro
The Guilty by Juan Villoro
Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Herland and With Her in Ourland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
How to Carry Bigfoot Home by Chris Tarry
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
The Last Vanishing Man by Matthew Cheney
The Librarian (anthology)
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Outside by Gustavo Bondoni
The Princess Bride: Book vs. Movie
The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste
The Savage Detectives by Roberto BolaƱo
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck
Sister Suite by Christine Stroud
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
Swarm Theory by Christine Rice
Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden
The Things We'll Never Have by Hilary Hauck
This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. by Jennifer Wortman
Unsaid Things by Joanna Acevedo
Waiting for the Miracle by Jason DeYoung
Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Whiskey, Etc. by Sherrie Flick
The Wizard's Homecoming by Elwin Cotman

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Folklore and Mythology


13 Fun Monsters from World Mythology that Haven't Been Written to Death Yet in Western Fiction
27 Cryptids and Monsters from the Americas
The Epic of Gilgamesh Worldbuilding Analysis
A Litany of Little Folk
Mythology and Folklore Research Resources
On Adam and Eve, the Suspension of Disbelief, and the Power of Stories
On Ghosts, Wraiths, Revenants, and Other Things that Linger
On the Hero's (And Heroine's) Journey
On the Pervasiveness of Dragons
Wheel of Time: Myth Connections (And Potential Inspirations) for the Forsaken
The World's Oldest Stories

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Freelance advice


3 Tips to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career
7 Handy Things to Always Pack for Traveling Writers and Digital Nomads
Must-Have Skills for a Freelance Writer (Other than Writing)
On Career Progress as a Freelancer
On Work/Life Balance as a Creative Human
Why Slow Traveling is Better for Digital Nomads

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Publishing advice


3 Tips for Introverts to Make the Most of Writing Conferences, Conventions, and Book Festivals
7 Unique Lit Mags to Read and Send Your Stuff To
15 Journals with Guaranteed Feedback that Are Open Now (January 2024)
17 Publishers of Fiction Chapbooks
30 Publishers that Pay for Reprints
60ish Markets for Novellas and Long Short Stories
AWP 2024 Bookfair Discoveries
How to Know When a Short Story Is Ready to Submit
How to Submit Work to Journals Step-by-step
How to Suss Out What a Journal Publishes When You Can't Read Their Back Issues
How to Write Cover Letters for Fiction Submissions in 2023
Insights from Duotrope's Editor Interviews
Let's Talk Rejections
On Journal Acceptance Ratios, What They Mean, and Why They Matter
Should You Self-Publish?
Should You Submit to Contests?

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Worldbuilding analyses


Dune (part 1)
Dune (part 2)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Nope (Jordan Peele)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (part 1)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (part 2)
Wheel of Time Books 1-7 (part 1)
Wheel of Time Books 1-7 (part 2)

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Writing advice


3 Amateur Fiction Writer Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
3 Tips to Write Better Dialogue
5 Free Newsletters for Writers
6 Steps to DIY an MFA
9 POV Approaches for Fiction Writers
Authentically Alien: What Makes a Non-Human Character Read as Truly Other?
The Challenges of Writing Sports (and Tips for Dealing with Them)
Creative Feedback: How to Give It Effectively (and Get the Most Out of It)
Genres Explained Part 1: What Does Genre Even Mean, Anyway?
Genres Explained Part 2: The Big List of Speculative Fiction Subgenres
Genres Explained Part 3: The Many Shades of Realism
Grammatical Gender 101 for English-Speaking Conlangers
How to End a Story
How to Focus a Story Using Orson Scott Card's MICE Quotient
How to Know When a Short Story Is Ready to Submit
How to Start a Writing Group
Insights from 2023 Confluence Convention and Wildcat Lit Fest
Insights from the In Your Write Mind Conference
Literary Worldbuilding: Why You Need It (and How to Do It Right)
On Ghosts, Wraiths, Revenants, and Other Things that Linger
On High Body Counts, Horror Tropes, and the Fall of the House of Usher
On the Hero's (And Heroine's) Journey
Passive vs. Active Voice (+ Other Options for Conlangers)
On Writing Food in Fiction
Planning Tips for Choose-Your-Own Narratives
Tips for Using Other Languages in Fiction
What Actually Is the Difference Between Science Fiction and Fantasy?
What Makes a Character Three-Dimensional (And Do They Always Need to Be?)
What's in a Name?
Why Fiction Writers Should Watch Reality TV

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Writing prompts and exercises


3 Ways to Start a Story
Everything's a Writing Prompt part 1: Board Games
Everything's a Writing Prompt part 2: Everyday Objects
Everything's a Writing Prompt part 3: The Grocery Store
Everything's a Writing Prompt part 4: Traveling
The 12 Prompts of Christmas (Everything's a Writing Prompt part 5)
Everything's a Writing Prompt Part 6: Pets
Everything's a Writing Prompt Part 7: TV
Everything's a Writing Prompt Part 8: Cryptids and Monsters

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Other sundry thoughts and musings


5 Star Trek Episodes Every Conlanger Should Watch
A Brief Survey of Interesting Conlangs from Across History
Every Zodiac Sign if They Were Alien Cultures from Star Trek
Fun Finds from the International Cryptozoology Museum
Just What Is a Cryptid, Anyway?
On Becoming Human: The AI in Star Trek
On Cats in Space
On Killgrave, Preacher, and the Power of Suggestion
On Reading in a Second Language
On the Cage in the Menagerie (or How a Failed Pilot Spawned a Franchise)
On the Evolution of Captain Pike
On Trills and Timelords

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