Warning: Strong opinions ahead. And it’s long, too. Strap in.
I like my good guys good. Complex and conflicted? Cool. Messed-up history and/or in need of redemption? Want. Going through some terrible transformative sh!t that’ll properly mess them up forever? Gimme. But they still need to be good.
Killing defenseless people, even bad guys, isn’t a good guy trait. Read on to find out where this is coming from.
Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.
This week’s FYI is neither observation nor rant nor wisdom, but instead a celebration:
A friend has launched a book! It’s all space-opera-y and genocide-y and romance-y and pew!-pew!-y. You should check it out 🙂
Thanks for reading,
{RDj}
I love my beta readers. All of them. If I could, I’d buy them Lexuses, just like artificial rich people do in those obnoxious say-I-love-you-at-Christmas-by-giving-them-a-car-with-a-bigass-bow-on-it commercials. Yes, that much.
If you’re not familiar, a beta reader is someone to whom you show your polished novel (not an early draft–that would be an alpha reader), and ask for feedback. In working with many of the same beta readers for my second novel I used for my first, I noticed things I hadn’t anticipated or previously spotted.
And when I notice stuff I think might be helpful, I stick in on here. You’re welcome, interwebz.
I have the privilege to know several brilliant people who, for some reason, value my opinion and ask me to read and comment on their manuscripts. The problem with that is when I’m caught-up in my own nonsense, I can be an Omega Level a-hole. So, to remind myself and anyone else in that position to not-be an ineffective and potentially damaging reader, I’ve put together a list of guidelines to keep in mind. (Note: I’m writing this at 2:37AM, so if I ramble, there’s your reason).
Continue reading “On being a helpful reader and not an a-hole”
WDC2014 was the first writer’s conference I’d ever attended. I learned so much, including how not-ready my first book was for shopping (me shopping it to agents, not the book going out to buy shoes, or something), met some of the most creative/dedicated/fun people, and left feeling like a member of a supportive community. So to say I was looking forward to WDC2015 is a whale of an understatement. I couldn’t wait to get there, and spent the previous week daydreaming about experiencing the same incredible vibe I’d gotten the year before.
But after an hour at WDC2015, I knew that wouldn’t be the case.
Continue reading “Thoughts on #WDC15 (Writer’s Digest Conference 2015)”
Ron Writes Stuff 