Blake

A place where I post writing and writing related stuff and also sometimes do book reviews. Currently working on my first Novel. 

[blakewritesathing-blog]

My 2020 TBR list!

I know I’m half a year late but these are all the books I picked off my shelf that I haven’t read yet. I gotta read these before I start buying more books 😭

I own a lot of Dean Koontz (It’s one of my husband’s favorite authors) so I’m going to work my way through those. 

A Clash of Kings, by George R. R Martin

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins

Ahsoka, by E. K. Johnston

Birdwing, by Rafe Martin 

A Storm of Swords, By George R. R. Martin

Deception Point, by Dan Brown

Dream catcher, by Stephen King

The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz

Velocity, by Dean Koontz

Strange Highways, by Dean Koontz

The Good Guy, by Dean Koontz

As well as my audiobooks at work, I’m currently listening to:

The Saviors Champion, by Jenna Moreci

I’ll update the list as I keep reading and I’ll definitely do a review or two somewhere down the line. 

Please ignore the pile of random cloth scraps in the background, we’re using it to stuff pillows 😂

[blakewritesathing-blog]

First Novel Adventure

Today I’m working on some character profiles so I can get this outline moving. I hate writing character profiles so much but they are SO necessary for me cause without them my characters are so flat and lifeless :’)

I should be able to finish this outline by the end of the month! 

Back to the grind!

[blakewritesathing-blog]

WELCOME BACK

Yo, I might have ignored this whole “creating a author platform” thing for a year but I’m back now so hey!

On another note: I’m thinking about starting a vlog channel on YouTube to chronicle my writing journey but I’m not really sure WHAT to vlog about so, we’ll see? 

[blakewritesathing-blog]

Aspiring Authors and Mental Health.

Some days are better than others. 

Some days, sitting down and writing feels like I’m being tasked with climbing Mt. Everest. 

Chronicling my writing adventure here on this blog, is something I want to start doing. It may get personal. 

Today is a good day. 

It’s been weeks since I wrote words. 

I need to get back to work. 

[canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221]

Racism 101 essay for white people who want to be real allies. 

MUST. READ. 

A handy list of things that you’re going to need to catch up on. Buck up, because it won’t be easy.

“Are you still reeling in shock at the presidential election results? Are you pulling at your hair wondering, “How did this country get so racist??” Are you posting statuses about how it is now time to come together to fight racism in the face of current political threats? Have you found yourself saying, “Well, at least this administration is waking people up.”

Hi! I see you there! Welcome to the anti-racism movement. I know you were kind of hoping to sneak in the back of class in the middle of this semester and then raise your hand in a few days to offer up expert opinion like you’ve always been here — but you’ve been spotted, and I have some homework for you, because you’ve missed A LOT and we don’t have the time to go over it all together. I’m glad you are here (I mean, I’d really rather you arrived sooner and I’m a little/lot resentful at how often we have to stop this class to cover all the material for people who are just now realizing that this is a class they should be taking, but better late than never I guess) and I know that once you catch up, you can contribute a lot to the work being done here. If you are just now feeling the urgency of the need to fight systemic racism, chances are, you are white.”

Keep reading

[asongofbooksandtea-deactivated2]

[canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221]

diverse writing advice february wrap up

wooo my patreon has been live for 6 weeks!!!! for those of you who dont know, i give personalized and general advice on writing diversely and make posts on checking yourself for ableism, anti-lgbtq, racism etc. there. since i stopped educating on my blog due to harassment, this is the place to go!

Allyship: Don’t Wait for Someone to Speak Up. You’re the Someone.

Allyship: On Cherry-Picking Which Lives You Think Are Worth Protecting

Allyship: Sensationalism on Social Media - On Asking OMG WHO

Allyship: You Need to See Color - “Colorblind” to Race

Allyship: What Happens When You Attack a Marginalized Person

Book Talk: Leigh Bardugo and Cultural Appropriation + Resources

Early Access: Finding Offensive Slurs in YA Books - Our Plan of Action to Make Authors Stop Using Them.

Early Access: How to Recognize Ableism in Books: The Sufferer, Magical Disabilites, and Cures

Early Access: On POC Speaking Outside their Lane: Sabaa Tahir and Carve The Mark

Early Access: On White Authors Who Write About Slavery

Critical Reading: Are All White People Bad and Racist?

Critical Reading: Can I Ask for the Name of the Book If Somebody Just Mentions Problematicness and No Details?

Critical Reading: I’m not marginalized and want to critique a book about a marginalization

Critical Reading: What to Do When Your Favorite Books Turns out Problematic, me and A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU.

Critical Writing: Do I Need Sensitivity Readers For Disability Rep When I’m Disabled?

Critical Writing: I Can’t Afford Sensitivity Readers. What now?

Critical Writing: Non-Ownvoices - Take the Slurs out of Your Books!! 

Critical Writing: When Do I Hire Sensitivity Readers?

Critical Writing: Writing LGBT as a cis straight person 

january

if youd otherwise like to support my blog and advocacy on social media, you can always leave me a virtual coffee here. or share this post.

[booksandpublishing]

Changing the Perception of Self-Publishing

Josh Brody, CEO of Pronoun (ex-Vook), outlines his company's aims in refashioning itself as an author-first digital publishing and distribution platform. By Josh Brody, CEO, Pronoun Publishing is filled with people who care deeply about…

[canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221]

racist book alert: we need to talk about THE BLACK WITCH.

harlequin teen has a new book out in may 2017 called THE BLACK WITCH by Laurie Forest that has been hurting a tremendous amount of people in the bookish community through its extremely racist content. here’s a post by a young WOC that will hopefully give you an idea about what books like this do to us.

here is a very detailed review that recaps the plot and mentions all the problematic content. from establishing that biracial people are “half-breeds”, to slavery and rape as plot devices, to a whole arc about racial impurity because of mixed race heritage … this isnt even half of the dangerous content in there. there is also a lot of homophobia and ableism.

here’s what you need to do

review the book on goodreads to attract the publishers attention (they need to notice that we wont tolerate racist books)

if you can, also send an email to harlequin teen

talk about the book, make your own posts all over social media

boost everyone who mentions the racism in this book

inform people who plan on reading it of the racism

make sure you listened properly: ive seen a lot of people condemn THE BONE WITCH by Rin Chupeco instead which is a beautifully diverse book by a woman of color. 

Be an ally to people of color and do this for us.

[blakewritesathing-blog]

Novel inspiration!

[nanowrimo]

Now What? How an Editor Can Catch the Things You Miss

You wrote a novel! Now what? NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?” Months are here—this January and February, we’ll be helping you guide your novel through the revision and publishing process. Today, author and NaNoWriMo participant Cass R. Morris shares a peek into her research and editing process:

When we think about editing, we think about the words. We think about cutting scenes, adding them, rearranging them. We might even think about “big picture” edits that change a major plot point or eliminate a character. But what about the world that all those smaller components take place in?

By the time From Unseen Fire sold, I had been living in its world for almost four years. An alternate-history version of Rome, but with magic. I knew its history, and where it diverged from our universe’s. I had maps galore. I’d gone through stacks of books about the pattern of an average Roman’s day. I had clearly defined how my system of magic worked. I would not have thought I needed to spend even more time world-building.

But I did.

Keep reading

[fantasticallyfactualforensics]

Your Big No Nos (or What Not to Do at a Crime Scene)

These no nos will be presented in no particular order, but they are all pretty important. Hopefully adding these kinds of details will make your writing seem more realistic ^_^

DO NOT:

Leave long hair untied (this is Watson’s biggest pet peeve when watching TV shows)

Show off your best Sunday clothing, heels are impractical, and nice clothing is going be covered by PPEs anyway so why bother, dress practically for the scene

forget to wear proper PPEs, treat your characters nicely by ensuring they don’t die by from diseases contamination

improperly process and package evidence, it will ruin your evidence (also there are more packaging options then plastic baggies, and swabs don’t go in plastic vials, they are mounted in cardboard boxes, actually anything that is biological in nature don’t go in plastic to avoid bacterial degradation and mold growth, leaving your evidence non-viable, that’s why bloodied objects usually go in paper envelops)

Eat or drink at a crime scene, you can contaminate the scene, and there are loads of health risks to consider

Let civilians into the scene, they are not trained on how to handle a scene and should not be in the scene in the first place, access should even be restricted to scene personnel only, anyone not processing the scene will just be taking up space and wreck evidences

 just walk right into the scene, there’s usually a survey of the scene where tasks are divided and a plan of attack is set up on how to tackle the scene

leave out a command centre, that is where equipment are setup, team meetings are held, and where people regroup and report back to

Oh oh oh, don’t have your characters smoke at a scene, that’s not a good idea at all (not to mention it smells gross and is bad for your health, sorry Watson has a bit of a bias)

Don’t forget to record the scene before actual evidence processing and collection, records can comes in forms of photography, video, sketches, notes, and photogrammetry

Also, as a side note from Sherls (it’s not so much a crime scene no nos but Watson totally agrees) but why are crime scenes are always processed on bright sunny days? What happens to rain? Or snow? Whether doesn’t vary much in TV, and that’s something writers should pay attention to. Since weather brings its own challenges during scene processing that might be fun to have your investigators tackle (and by fun, Watson means they will hate themselves with every fibre of their being, but they will do it anyway because it is their job). So yeah, we just want to see a little variation in media :P

[thewordriven]

PPEs are Personal Protective Equipment

[canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221]

YA books about POC by POC #ownvoices

 for the people who keep telling me they cant find diverse #ownvoices books by people of color or that there are none. 

contemporary + romance

- asian authors -

born confused - tanuja desai hidier

girl in between - pintip dunn

i believe in a thing called love - maurene goo

enter title here - rahul kanakia

if you could be mine - sara farizan

its not like its a secret - misa sugiura

my so-called bollywood life - nisha sharma

none of the above - i.w. gregorio

since you asked - maurene goo

starfish - akemi dawn bowman

tell me again how a crush should feel - sara farizan

this promise i will keep - aisha saeed

to all the boys ive loved before - jenny han

qala academy - tanaz bhatena

when dimple met rishi - sandhya menon

written in the stars - aisha saeed

tiny pretty things - sona charaipotra & dhonielle clayton

- black and african authors -

all american boys - jason reynolds & brendan kiely

allegedly - tiffany d. jackson

american street - ibi zoboi

the boy in the black suit - jason reynolds

dear martin - nic stone

the hate u give - angie thomas

little & lion - brandy colbert

peas and carrots - tanita s. davis

the sun is also a star - nicola yoon

this side of home - renée watson

tiny pretty things - sona charaipotra & dhonielle clayton

pointe - brandy colbert

when i was the greatest - jason reynolds

you dont know me but i know you - rebecca barrow

- latinx authors -

the education of margot sanchez - lilliam rivera

the inexplicable logic of my life - benjamin alire sáenz

juliet takes a breath - gabbi rivera

north of happy - adi alsaid

we were here - matt de la pena

when reason breaks - cindy l. rodriguez

yaqui delgado wants to kick your ass - meg medina

high fantasy + urban fantasy

- asian authors -

the bone witch - rin chupeco 

the forbidden wish - jessica khoury

forest of a thousand lantern by julie c. dao

huntress - malinda lo

not your sidekick - c.b. lee

prophecy - ellen oh

the reader - traci chee

serpentine - cindy pon

silver phoenix - cindy pon

soulmated - shaila patel

the star-touched queen - roshani chokshi

- black and african authors -

akata witch - nnedi okorafor

promise of shadows - justina ireland

shadowsharper - daniel josé older

- latinx authors -

labyrinth lost - zoraida córdova

shadowsharper - daniel josé older

historical + historical fantasy

- asian authors -

an ember in the ashes - sabaa tahir

everything i never told you - celeste ng

outrun the moon - stacey lee

under a painted sky - stacey lee

- latinx authors -

burn baby burn - meg medina

iron cast - destiny soria

shame the stars - guadalupe garcia mccall

magical realism

- black and african authors -

into white - randi pink

- latinx authors -

the girl who could silence the wind - meg medina

summer of the mariposas - guadalupe garcia mccall

the weight of feathers - anna-marie mclemore

wild beauty - anna-marie mclemore

when the moon was ours - anna-marie mclemore

sci-fi

- asian authors - 

forget tomorrow - pintip dunn

the amaterasu project - axie oh

the girl from everywhere - heidi heilig

want - cindy pon

- black and african authors -

binti - nnedi okorafor

the blazing star - imani josey

the fifth season - n.k. jemisin

love is the drug - alaya dawn johnson

orleans - sherri l. smith

is that enough? they’re out there. you just have to be willing to look.

All Book Recommendations | My Book Blog 

[thewritershandbook]

100 NEGATIVE CHARACTER TRAIT PROFILES (PLUS A FREE PDF DOWNLOAD)

Have you ever had problems coming up with character flaws or weaknesses for your characters? Well don’t worry, I have you covered! I’ve compiled a list of 100 negative character trait profiles! Pick your favorite profiles, apply it to your character, and get to writing.

[the-write-type]

Keep on writing, let your words spill onto the page. Dream up the world that you always knew existed in your mind.

[huffpost]

This Comedian Nails Why The Mental Illness + Creativity Connection is Ridiculous

[merindab]

I used to really worry that medications would harm my creativity and it’s part of why I resisted taking them. It hasn’t. If anything it’s allowed me to be more focused and able to complete things. My imagination hasn’t changed just because I’m on anti-depressants.

[hollowedskin]

a lot of my family didnt want me to start medications because they thought it would impact my ability to create, and I believed them. Now im getting better and better with my art because i dont have to fight through the brainfog or the constant panic attacks and can dedicate my energy to my work. Antidepressents didnt take my emotions away, they made them easier to handle.

[dubiousculturalartifact]

also Van Gogh was literally in an asylum receiving mental health treatment when he painted ‘Starry Night’. It was one of the most stable & productive periods of his life, despite the fact that wasn’t hugely effective treatment, because they didn’t really have modern understandings of what things work on mental illness. Like, you know. Medication.

[hirakumblr]

This is why we don’t romanticize mental illness or chronic disease.

[atomatowriter-deactivated202211]

ALSO because I am reading a book of his letters right now, Van Gogh himself addressed the idea that the best art came from pain and said that his art tended to suffer when his depression was hitting pretty hard. So don’t even pull that shit where you give his untreated depression credit for his art. Van Gogh would have hated that, and if antidepressants/better treatment of mental illness HAD existed then we might have even more of his work now.

[johnhawkens]

Everything everyone said above me x1000000. I have done so much more art /with/ medication, than when I’m curled up in bed almost unable to move or feel. This is less ‘what he created’ and more ‘what other beauty might we have seen?’

[blakewritesathing-blog]

Can't go on any further until I do some drafting. Serious structural problems are arising. Ugh. #writer #writersofinstagram #firstnovel #firstbook #sciencefiction #writing #writinganovel #writingabook #ugh