Can anyone help me get rid of it?
tumblr is where we rally - does anyone have spoons to help me fix the nhs systems so that gender neutral titles stop disappearing? Is anyone else having this problem?
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me

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@inkbank
Can anyone help me get rid of it?
tumblr is where we rally - does anyone have spoons to help me fix the nhs systems so that gender neutral titles stop disappearing? Is anyone else having this problem?
Content warning: chronic illness, disability, chronic pain, cancer, long covid, toxic positivity, helplessness
I'm never really sure if being positive about being chronically ill is helping me or preventing me from processing my feelings, what do you think?
Content warning: chronic illness, disability, cancer, long covid
So I wrote a thing?
writing prompts - eco edition
pls write me something all about building community and connections </3
⁃ the allotment next door ⁃ met via visitaheatpump.com and stayed for dinner ⁃ volunteering litter picking ⁃ volunteering at local wood recycling project/community garden (bonus points for making mistletoe bouquets together) ⁃ meet cute at the refill shop ⁃ both get arrested at a climate protest ⁃ see each other cycling on commutes
my ao3 is fallenstar22 if you wanna tag/gift me
So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.
I'm going to try it.
I love the lawyer metaphor, because whenever I see “John knew that...” in prose writing I immediately think “how? How does he know it?” Interrogate your witnesses. Cross-examine them. Make them explain their reasoning. It pays dividends.
All of this, but also feels/felt. My editor has forbidden me from using those and it’s forced me to stretch my skills.
This is your "show not tell" advice explained!
THIS
hm. im REALLY against any variation of “this rule is true in any context” because it defeats the point of creativity, but this is good advice for a) beefing up your descriptions and b) communicating emotional tension (eg, the MC has not admitted or processes this feeling but you want to show them having it)
That said, sometimes you would want to just state the character’s opinion. (& maybe contrast it with their actions, the situation) or use a shorthand when it’s like an introductory side detail.
What I like about it though is that it’s NOT stated as a “don’t ever do this in any context” rule - it’s not a rule, it’s a challenge. Don’t ever do this for the next six months and see how it changes your writing. Not never do it again, just try it and then you can go back to using them but you’ll probably do it way more sparingly because you’ve built up other tools to use instead of those words.
Two people meet at a party. They lie on the grass and have a conversation.
“The best moments in life were always described as fireworks, exploding apart, too big for this world to handle, but this felt small, internal, a secret coming together.
For the first time in my life my brain was quiet, it wasn’t whirring, trying to figure out what to hide, what was safe to share, it was just still. I could just be.”
Sometimes writing is like having an enormous lake in your head, and you want to get it out of your head and into a proper place for a lake so other people can come and go swimming and ride jet skis and stuff, except all you have to move the lake is a teaspoon. So you’re just sitting there frantically flinging water out of the lake with your teaspoon and telling people, “Guys, this lake is going to be so cool when it’s done,” but it will never be done. There is so much lake.
I didn’t really expect this to be relatable, but if you wanna reblog, go wild.
Editing & Proofreading Cheat Sheet
– A lot of questions I receive revolve around editing and proofreading, so I decided to make an extensive guide to editing your own writing. I collaborated with some amazing friends on this post so this is dedicated to them as well as all of you. I hope you find it useful. Enjoy!
Know The Difference: Editing vs. Proofreading
Editing is about the content, proofreading is about the technical detail and accuracy. Once you know the difference and you separate the two into different tasks, going through and actually doing it will seem less daunting. Deciding which to tacking first depends on what you’re like when you edit, but if you struggling with focusing on actually improving the content because you get distracted by grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, then proofreading first may be a good idea.
Be Intentional With Your Vocabulary
Avoid adverbs
Be frugal with unique adjectives
Only use dialogue tags when absolutely necessary
Be mindful of overused words
Take the time to find the right words
The words you choose can make all the difference so pay special attention to them.
Just Keep Snipping
A basic rule to editing that people often forget it, if it doesn’t serve a purpose, you should cut it out. A short book that is amazing all the way through is better than a long book that is redundant. Don’t worry about leaving your readers in the dark or not having enough content. As you edit, you’ll find ways and places in which to input more information.
Flow & Rhythm
This is the part where you make sure the writing itself sounds how you want it to. It’s important to read your writing aloud during this stage. Some things to pay attention to regarding flow and rhythm:
sentence length/variation
sentence structure
syllables and how they fit together
how your writing sounds out loud
Eloquence
Say it once and say it clearly. Redundancy bores readers so quickly, so when putting information forward, be clear, concise, and don’t add fluff. You don’t need to write a whole paragraph about how a character feels in a situation. It’s important to give the reader just enough to read between the lines.
Grammar
Common Grammar Mistakes To Look For
Subject-verb agreement errors
Sentence Fragments
Missing Comma After Introductory Element
Misusing The Apostrophe With “Its”
No Comma In A Compound Sentence
Misplaced Or Dangling Modifier
Vague Pronoun Reference
Wrong Word Usage
Run-On Sentence
Superfluous Commas
Lack Of Parallel Structure
Sentence Sprawl
Comma Splice
Colon Mistakes
Split Infinitives
List from here x {Explains these further and more in depth}
Improper Use of Phrases
“could have” not “could of”
“My friends and I” not “me and my friends” {If you take away “my friends” or “I”, or one of the nouns in a sentence in general, the sentence should still make sense}
“I couldn’t care less” not “I could care less”. This should be a no-brainer.
etc.. I could go on.
Familiarize yourself with these common mistakes and avoid making them at all costs. It’s also helpful to have someone read over it and let you know when they find issues with phrases you used. Please be attentive to these mistakes because making them can destroy your credibility as a writer.
Utilize The Senses
If you’re describing something in your writing, you should be slipping in words and little details that appeal to the reader’s senses, When editing, look for opportunities to slip in how a place smells, how a food tastes, how something feels to the touch, etc. It’s unbelievable how much this enhances your story.
Punctuation & Format
Punctuation Rules In English
the period (or full stop in British English)
the comma
the exclamation mark
the question mark
the colon
the semicolon
the quotation mark
the apostrophe
the hyphen and the dash
parentheses and brackets
Source x
When proofreading and marking up your manuscript, it can save a lot of time and energy if you use marks instead of actually write out everything, so here is a little chart I found that may be useful to you:
Other Things To Look Out For
Make sure you know who is talking
Keep tense consistent
Vary the tone from scene to scene
Run-on sentences
Inconsistencies in story details
Plot holes
Causes and effects of events are explained
Facts and technical details {Make sure you’ve researched them well}
Deviations from established background (know your story really really well and make sure your reader does too)
General Tips
Go in assuming that your work is full of errors. Maybe it’s not, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst and solve the issues now rather than when it’s too late
DO NOT BE SENTIMENTAL. Yes, easier said than done, but it’s possible.
Make the text less recognizable to yourself in order to catch details you may not otherwise.
Print out your manuscript and physically write out the changes.
Read your writing out loud. Sometimes writing looks like it makes sense, but in reality sounds wrong.
Do it in short periods over time so that you don’t inevitably get lazy with paying attention to little details
Keep in mind that editing usually takes longer than actually writing the draft because it is less fluid and requires more thought and problem solving.
Don’t rely on spelling and/or grammar checking software; they’re not always correct and can easily misinterpret what you’re trying to get across.
Check for a single error at a time. It may be time consuming and tedious but it’s more effective than the alternative.
Give yourself time and read slowly through it multiple times
Split up large chunks of text to make it easier to handle. Don’t go through your whole manuscript page by page as if you were just reading it as a book. Go chapter by chapter or scene by scene or even sentence by sentence.
If something seems off, investigate it. Don’t take a chance and leave it be. If you’re stumped, highlight it and have someone else look over it.
Have a strategy. Maybe not at first, especially if you don’t extensively edit your work regularly, but with time you’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t. Create your own system and use it to save yourself some time and confusion.
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I just want to add that I once proofread a classmate’s creative writing assignment and her character said “What in carnation?”
And she didn’t get it. She had no idea.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
When the world goes to shit in March 2020, Emma gets sent home from uni, Knightley comes to stay at Hartfield, Harriet takes endless walks and Missy Bates won't stop posting in the Box Hill Neighbourhood Facebook group.
And where is Frank in all this? Pretending his wifi is bad until he can get a haircut of course.
The Emma Lockdown fic nobody asked for.
Words: 23k
---
I wrote a thing!! I’m doing this new thing now where I actually finish things I write and this is one of the first things i’ve powered through.
More realistic/exciting romantic first meetings au
-both turned to look at a cute kid and saw each other au
-got debating on a mutual friend’s status au
-while volunteering in the library for a summer reading scheme, got talking to the guy who brought cousins to sign up au
-asked a library helper for reading advice and got excited about the same books au
-talked for hours in a queue for tickets au
-sat next to each other on the train and bonded over the train being delayed au
-asked for advice for a recipe in the supermarket because you had no internet connection au
-showed you had to use the gym equipment and then turned out to be your gym class instructor au
No more ‘crashed into them’ or 'new kid in class’ or 'sibling’s friend’ or 'went to stay at their house because of some disaster’ or 'assigned partners’ or 'marriage law’ first meetings, okay?
reading advice (for writers)
you know those posts that are like, “remember when we used to read books and now we all have no attention span because of the internet.” then there’s the very contrived advice that’s like, “if you want to be a writer you have to read”??
well i think they’re completely true but they also really suck, and we of the youngish adult writers of 2018 have it pretty hard, especially those of us in fandom who enjoy reading fanfic more than original fic because it’s mostly tagged properly and possesses the emotional catharsis we’re looking for, pretty much guaranteed.
that said, i think it’s really important – whether you write fanfic, ofic, or both – to read traditionally published work, in part because it can help better inform your fanfic, but also because it will help develop your writing overall. and if you’re interested in ofic, it’s pretty much a necessity to read.
so, i just graduated from an MFA program in creative writing, and contrary to popular opinion, the MFA does not actually teach you how to write. it gives you space to write, and mostly, it teaches you how to read as a writer.
so here is everything i’ve learned about reading as a writer over the past two years:
you do not have to read anything you don’t want to read
part of the problem with “read everything you can!” advice is that there is a lot of stuff out there, and a ton of it doesn’t jive with your interests. moreover, there’s a kind of pressure to read the Classics just to say you’ve read them when in fact a lot of them are boring, irrelevant, and dare i say overrated. so here is me giving you permission: you don’t have to pick up Hemingway or Faulkner or whoever else to be a good writer. life is too short to force yourself to read dead white dudes.
if a book doesn’t grab you by the first 10%, put it down
this is what has helped me more than anything else as a reader, because i found i would commit myself to a boring book and then never want to read it, so i would stop reading for months at a time. so, when you pick out a book, go to the last page and check the number. promise yourself you’ll read 10% of the book. 400 pages? read to page 40 and ask yourself, “do i really want to turn the page? if i put this book down, would i want to pick it back up again later?” if the answer is no, return it to the library or wherever you got it. try the next book in your pile. your TBR list is long; be merciless.
but if you want to make it look like you read the book…
commit to 25%. then go to the wikipedia article, read the plot summary, and fast forward to the last 10-15 pages. bam. you’ve more or less read the book. bonus points if you watch the movie, too. so if you’re really committed to reading Ulysses or whatever but you don’t want to slog through it, you can digest enough to be able to hold a conversation about it in a few hours and move on with your life. you can even pretend you enjoyed it and found it a formative reading experience that helped shape your understanding of the work of fiction, really, absolutely groundbreaking, etc etc. this is especially helpful if you find yourself anywhere in the literary sphere because other writers will expect you to be familiar with the canon.
read selfishly and take tools from everything you read
when you read anything, even the stuff you don’t like, ask yourself, “what tools can i take for my own writing?” let’s say you really love the plot structure – write it down somewhere so you remember to try it out for your own story. if you love the lyricism of the sentences, find a few sentences you really like and jot them down by hand, inspect what about them makes you love them so much. steal aspects of characters you admire, pacing, conflict, stakes. steal as much as you can without stealing the words themselves. you can even use this for things you don’t like by rephrasing the question: “what is it about this story i would like to avoid in my own work?” pivot every single thing you read to be about you and your writing. take notes. mark up and highlight your book if you have to. reading as a writer is not a passive activity but an active one. you’re not being entertained, you’re learning. so let published works teach you.
carve time out of your day to read
at 7pm every day, i put my phone down and pick up an actual physical book. this is my personal preference – i have no beef at all with ebooks, but honestly, i get so tired of staring at lit screens all day, and paper books without the distraction of my phone is such a nostalgic feeling for me, back when i was 14 and the library was my second home and if someone wanted my attention they had to call me on a landline. if you had the same upbringing, dedicating some time to read a physical book will do you wonders. if ebooks are your thing, it’s still important to schedule reading time for yourself, not as an obligation to uphold, but as something to do that’s good for you and that you enjoy.
write letters to your favorite authors!!
seriously. if you love a book, let the author know. they will not be annoyed or upset. they will be thrilled. it’s a good way to network with other writers, and it’s a great practice of literary citizenship.
when someone recommends a book to you, ask why
this is something i’ve only recently learned to do, as someone who gets book recommendations pretty much constantly. if the person knows you decently, i don’t think it’s out of line to ask, “what would i specifically like about this?” because then that will tell if you if the person is only recommending it because they like it, not because they think you’ll like it. if the person knows your writing, it’s fair to ask, “how is this book in conversation with my work?” so you have a head start in the kinds of tools you’ll want to take from it.
follow your aesthetic instincts
as a writer, honing your aesthetic will always be one of your highest aims, which means constantly seeking out writers whose aesthetics you admire and analyzing what it is you admire about it. “aesthetic” is kind of a vague term, but it refers to your overall vibe – the things you write about and why you write about them. my aesthetic is more or less “midwestern class warfare meets sexual identity crises with a lot of dark humor,” so i tend to look for other writers who share facets of that aesthetic and i inspect what’s working for them, where they publish, what their influences are, etc. i try to read both within my aesthetic but also far outside of it too. for example, i love historical fiction but i know i’ll never, ever write it. but i appreciate the aesthetic, and i can take tools from it like dedication to detail, internal conflicts, etc.
read short fiction (please)
this is my personal plea. short stories are a great way to find authors whose work is in conversation with yours, so that you can then go check out their novels with a good idea already of what you like about them. short stories are all over the internet via literary and genre mags. they’re a much smaller commitment than novels and tend to have just as much emotional impact (if done well) as novels. more importantly you’ll always have recs for your friends, and it’s a lot easier getting someone to read a 6k story you enjoyed than a 60k novel.
resources
don’t have time to read but like to listen? try the new yorker fiction and writers’ voice podcasts
like marking up books but don’t want to buy them new? check out thriftbooks (my favorite site on the internet – the link here will get you 15% off!)
finished a book you like but don’t know what to read next? try what should i read next
want to stay apprised of the goings on in the modern literary community? subscribe to the lithub newsletter and arts & letters daily, two newsletters i’ve been subscribed to for years
as always i’m glad to answer any questions! happy reading!
writing advice tag
me, the motherfucker with over 50 abandoned works in progress: i have another idea
I’ve spent years making post after post trying to pinpoint the exact thing that Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) did differently than J.K. Rowling, which caused him to somehow turn Olaf into an amazing villain while Snape is still causing hatred and controversy in the fandom a decade later.
And after mentioning something in passing in another post, it suddenly hit me what that difference was.
J.K. Rowling approached her character with the mentality that a person can be redeemed if its revealed that they could have been a good person but circumstance and tragedy got in the way. She sees the fact that you could be forced into being a horrible person as a huge tragedy and tries to emphasize what could have been. She doesn’t just do it with Snape (Dumbledore’s another great contender) but Snape’s arguably her biggest victim when it comes to this. She shows you what his life was like and lets you know what could have been if only this had changed or that had changed. And she does so in a way that makes you feel sympathetic towards Snape, enough so that you’re supposed to totally agree with Harry when he names his child after him. Because sure he wasn’t that great but he could have been had the situation been different.
And Daniel Handler begins doing the same thing with Olaf. After books upon books of building him up to be this evil guy, he abruptly releases one of the most tragic backstories in villain history, making you realize that Olaf‘s life could have been a lot different had he not been forced into certain situations due to tragedy and circumstance. And like Rowling, Handler also presents this as something that’s tragic. But here’s where he differs.
Because Rowling’s stance is: “This character could have been this instead and can you imagine how wonderful that would have been, had it not been for these circumstances?”
Whereas Handler’s stance is, “Well yeah, this is what the character could have been but this is what he ended up becoming and like it or not, this is who he is and this is who he’ll be remembered for.”
Rowling wants you to know that doing horrible things doesn’t make you a horrible person because there could be a rhyme or reason to your actions. A solid grey morality.
Handler wants you to know that doing horrible things does make you a horrible person because no matter what the motif is, you’re still doing horrible things and will be remembered for said horrible things.
Which is infinitely more tragic, infinitely more morally ambiguous, and infinitely more interesting.
J.K. Rowling tried to redeem Snape.
But Handler? Handler managed to redeem Olaf and not redeem him at the same time. Handler made his backstory tragic and he showed the reader exactly how things could have ended up, causing you to sympathize with the villain. But he also showed the reader exactly how things did end up, reminding you that no matter what could have been, it’s not what happened; instead we have this evil man who has done horrible things that are far too heinous to take back, no matter how much he may want to.
And while Rowling and many other YA authors took the approach that it’s never too late to redeem yourself and become the good person you should have been all along, Handler straight up took the, “Nope, for some people it’s far too late and no matter how much they may want to redeem themselves, they never will and they’ll have to die knowing that they are hated.”
And I don’t care how much you love Harry Potter, Handler’s approach to this character and the overall bleak philosophy and moral implications is on a whole other level of writing! I think the only other piece of fiction I’ve ever seen that approaches this philosophy of un-redemption is Bojack Horseman and you can still argue that Handler does it better because he’s able to scale it down so that kids can understand it, even if they don’t want to.
And yet, at the end of the day, Handler’s entire philsophy of how you might not be able to redeem yourself can really be summarized in one gif:
I feel like this stems fundamentally from Handler’s Jewishness as opposed to Rownling’s Christianity. Christians believe we’re all sinners, but we can be saved at any time in life through Jesus (details vary by sect). On the other hand, Jews believe that there ARE things that cannot be forgiven, evil deeds that you cannot be redeemed from after they’ve happened…
Because forgiveness involves being forgiven, and you can’t forgive someone for murdering you (because you’re dead)
From fanfiction to published novelist contest
Calling all fanfiction and femslash writers! Have you been dreaming of having your writing published? At Bella Books, we know how important fanfiction is to the lesbian, bisexual and queer community. We also know how talented and hard working fanfiction and femslash writers are and we’d love to work with you on creating a brand new piece of fiction.
So how does this work?
We are asking for interested writers to send us 2000-3000 words (and no more!) of your best fanfiction OR send us a brand new piece you’ve created just for this. It can be any fanfic or femslash you like, from Wayhaught to Clexa to Supercorp.
Email your works to [email protected]
Send as either a Word Document or a Google Doc. No other format will be accepted.
Include your name (can be your pen name for now), a link to your Twitter profile if you have one, and a brief paragraph about why you are entering this competition.
The deadline for entries is August 15th.
Then what?
After we’ve received the entries, a panel of judges will narrow it down to three finalists. That panel includes Bella Books owners Linda and Jessica Hill, best selling and award winning novelist KG MacGregor, our resident fangirl and Bella blog managing editor, Dana Piccoli, and a special guest judge Valerie Complex, Rotten Tomatoes certified critic and writer for the site, Black Girl Nerds.
The three finalists’ pieces will then be put on the Blog, and Bella and fanfiction readers will vote on the author they’d like to see walk away with a Bella Books publishing deal. Yes, a publishing deal! Bella Books will work with you on an original work of fiction, to be published, supported and marketed by Bella Books.
So, what are you waiting for? We will begin accepting entries today! http://dlvr.it/PRwvh7
How to Write (and how not to write) LGBT characters
I saw a post earlier about writing LGBT characters that I hated a lot so here’s my take, as a non-binary lesbian and as a writer, on tips on how to write/not write LGBT characters.
A couple notes:
1) First and foremost, if you’re not LGBT, you need to talk to actual LGBT people about your characters. Seeing posts like this aren’t going to Cure you of any internalized homophobic or transphobic ideas that you might have, and LGBT people can point out problematic aspects that you wouldn’t realize could hurt LGBT people. Even if you ARE LGBT, be conscious of writing identities you can’t personally relate to. If you’re not a trans lesbian and want to write about one, talk to trans lesbians.
2) Going off of this… not all LGBT people agree on everything. (Hence why i’m writing this post in the first place!) However, if you have MANY LGBT people saying something you’re writing is problematic, don’t dismiss it just because one person disagreed. This is also why it’s good to talk to multiple LGBT people, not just one, about your characters.
The Actual Tips:
1) Writing feminine gay men and masculine lesbians… is not a bad thing, so long as you do this respectfully. This is something I see being toted as a “NEVER, EVER DO THIS”, and that’s blatantly wrong. Butch lesbians and feminine men exist, and deserve representation. If you have one lesbian character who’s masculine, predatory, objectifies women, etc, yeah, that’s a problem- but you’re capable of writing gay characters without doing this. (And if you’re not… don’t write gay characters!) Edit (anon suggestion): Not all mlm characters are “smol beans”, either- there are lots of masculine mlm who need representation too.
2) Gay people have gay friends. Unless they literally have no friends at all, we tend to have gay friends. Even if they’re in the deep south and are deeply closeted, they *probably still know another gay person*.
3) Don’t write the GBF trope. Literally just don’t.
4) Give your LGBT characters personalities just like you would cishet ones. Give them quirks and fears and goals like anyone else. BUT, this doesn’t mean “don’t overdo telling people your character is gay!!!”, because that’s another thing I see said a lot (primarily by cishets). LGBT people talk about being LGBT, especially around other LGBT people. A lot of us LIKE to joke about how gay we are or jokingly call inconvenient things homophobia. You can make them developed characters without totally ignoring their identity altogether. (This, though, is still another thing to be done sensitively, as with writing ‘stereotypical’ characters.)
5) Don’t write trans characters using ace bandages unless you’re making it explicitly clear how harmful this is. Please. Yes, this happens IRL, but this is a form of harmful representation that can perpetuate trans people injuring themselves through unsafe binding. (And you can find afab trans people to ask about other forms of bonding if you really can’t figure out some other way to write this.)
6) Additionally, a lot of trans people don’t just pass automatically if they bind once or cut their hair or wear a wig or put on makeup. (Unless they haven’t hit puberty yet.) I have trans friends who have been presenting as their gender for years and are still misgendered. I’ve read a number of books where a trans guy puts his Long Hair in a hat and binds and then suddenly everyone genders him correctly. This isn’t the reality for a lot of trans people. We get misgendered by our family, by friends, and constantly by total strangers. And if misgendering is a factor of our dysphoria, it *hurts*.
7) Unless you have a lot of LGBT characters, don’t make your villain LGBT. Consider WHY the hell you feel the need to make your evil character(s) gay or trans. Even IF you have a lot of LGBT characters, you should still think about why making someone who we are meant to root against and hope gets defeated into a LGBT character is so important to you.
I’ll probably add on to this later because I have a lot of thoughts on this, but other LGBT people feel free to add on as well!
Along with not making lgbt people villian don’t make them just victims either. Bury your gays is often a thing people are afraid of, and if the plot demands they die it’s fine as long as a) they aren’t the only lgbt character b) they aren’t being punished for being lgbt (sure we get persecuted and opressed but that makes it a story about being lgbt which you, as someone who is not lgbt, should not be writing) and c) they don’t just die to hurt someone else, especially to hurt a cishet character. Also, talk to lgbt people about heteronormativity. Chances are you don’t notice it but I can guarantee an lgbt character does. The best advice is to write fully developed characters, and to make being lgbt a part of their character without it being simply stereotypes.
When you are writing a story and refer to a character by a physical trait, occupation, age, or any other attribute, rather than that character’s name, you are bringing the reader’s attention to that particular attribute. That can be used quite effectively to help your reader to focus on key details with just a few words. However, if the fact that the character is “the blond,” “the magician,” “the older woman,” etc. is not relevant to that moment in the story, this will only distract the reader from the purpose of the scene.
If your only reason for referring to a character this way is to avoid using his or her name or a pronoun too much, don’t do it. You’re fixing a problem that actually isn’t one. Just go ahead and use the name or pronoun again. It’ll be good.
More criticism, contention, and conversation about books and the writing life.
Illustration by Tom Gauld
I need more of these. Lots more.