#again don't write historical fiction it's awful

[genderkoolaid]

Rating Yonic Words (Very Logical and Unbiased and Scientific and Impartial)

Vagina et al. - 2/10. Hard* "g" sound is awful. Its a chewy word. Would be better with a soft "g" like in the french vagin, but even thats like, 5/10. Also way overused to describe the whole set when its only the main hole, but its also the proper clinical word for said hole. "Vag" is slightly better but carries the sin of the father (hard "g"), and va-jay-jay is a solid 0. You just doubled the worst sound here. Its the yonic Cain.

*not actually hard, my brain is just too french, but i don't think this sound deserves to be called soft. it's a chewy g. forgive me for my lies

Vulva - 10/10. Love him. "V" sounds flow so nicely. You could sing this in an opera. Also actually refers to the whole kit n caboodle. May be a little clinical for some but we can change that. We can make it horny. You can help me make it horny. Betty Dodson would want you to help me make it horny.

Pussy - 7/10. Gets some points for being a classic, and its decent sounding. But the "s" sounds aren't the best, especially alongside the "p" sound. Its just a little too harsh and kind of juvenile. Good for a laff.

Punani et al. - 2 to 7/10. Gets cool points for being a descendant of the Akan language through Jamaican creole. Gets a range of points because I'm grouping poontang (bad word to say and hear) in with punani (a clear 7)

Labia - 10/10. Vulva's lovely twin. Another word you could sing. The "b" sound isn't offputting- it flows nicely between the elegant "L" and "ia." Again, a bit clinical, but so good to say. Labia (the word and the body part) deserve more love.

Fanny - 0/10. Pussy's worse sounding cousin. Replacing the "s" sounds with "n" removes the flow of pussy, which makes this the yonic-linguistic equivalent of going down a dry waterslide.

Cunt - 10/10. Its like a punch in a good way. Not too harsh, but makes its point clearly; a well-rounded sound. Can be comedic and horny but its not too unserious. Good mouthfeel. I'm a big cunt fan. Can also be an insult, but such is the way of sex organs. Such a versatile word.

Coochie - 4/10. Sorry to the coochie lovers out there but my god? The "ch" sound? Awful to hear. Get that out of my genitalia. Gets points for comedic use, which I respect.

Twat - 2/10. Sounds like the sound made when Batman decks some guy in the face. The "t" sounds here are just unpleasant, and when combined with "æ" it gets worse. Sorry Brits & co. </3

Clitoris / Clit - 9/10. Important organ we all know and love. Both long & short versions sound good, although I think it could be smoother. Way better clinical term than vagina, but I wish we had wider options for him.

Snatch - 3/10. I'm not a fan of the sounds at play here (once again, get "ch" out of here), but I find this word really funny. I cannot imagine this being used hornily. It sounds like the name of a delightful cryptid.

Quim - 4/10. What are you, from the 1700s? I think it sounds alright, the "q" isn't abrasive, but unless you are writing historical fiction it just doesn't sound right.

Any and All Metaphorical Words - 1/10. Never work outside of extremely horny contexts or jokes. Gets one point for extremely horny contexts and jokes.

#this post brought to you by a conversation i had with myself a few nights ago #m.

[cr0ftisprocrastinating]

Do you have any all time favorite fics? Any that specifically inspired your own? I absolutely love some recommendations for feel good, sexy, engaging romance (enemies to friends to lovers or just friends to lovers) fics. Thank you so much!!

Hello! And YES, I absolutely do. Some of these are the classic ones that everyone recs, but I've also included some WIPs that I am really loving atm that make me happy. SO:

Classics I re-read all the time:

DMATMOBIL - @isthisselfcare. This singlehandedly got me back into the fandom. I'm sure you've read it, but if you haven't, you absolutely must!

I love everything that @scullymurphy writes (plus they have great taste in music, and wine). Start with Universal Truths, but the recently completed Teach Me How To Forget is also delicious.

Similar for @thebemoon, I just love their stuff. The Darkwood Wand and The Gloriana Set are just so fun and enjoyable. I smile the whole way through.

Love and Other Historical Accidents by @pacific-rimbaud is frequently rec'd for a very good reason. Beautiful.

Also I have to shout out The Nature of Purity by @starsoforionwrites for some really interesting takes on wizarding society (and electricity!!!) which I am still thinking about.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by @olivieblake is the closest fic I've found to a Caput Mortuum-esque unhinged Hermione, and is really great fun.

Now we get to the WIPs that I'm loving, which again probably don't count as inspirations but are very much in the genre of things I love to read (and therefore, write!)

You Do It For Me by @zeebee3 is just delicious. Talk about fics you smile the whole way through.

I am ADORING Scary Partner Privilege by @nightbloom7reads. It deserves SO MUCH hype, because it's just excellent.

Erotic Friend Fiction by @whiskeygreen hasn't been updated in a while, but it is hilarious and you have 47 delicious chapters to get through!

Things Without Remedy by @onebedtorulethemall is also brilliant and deserves more hype. Very sexy big brain, hyper competent Hermione, and very sexy laboratory descriptions too. Anyone who writes anything about time travel I instantly am in awe, because I just don't think my brain could ever work that way.

Finally, If These Walls Could Talk by @incognitotoro is absolutely delightful. Bloody love cursebreaking, bloody love the medieval period, bloody love when they both exist in a fic.

these are all I can think of off the top of my head, but yes, I hope there are a few that you haven't come across yet! xxx

#dramione #dramione recs #feel good dramione

[hangingfire]

Did you know that "Alternate Universe - Formula One" is a canonical tag on AO3? To the tune of about 400 works? About a quarter of them are AUs of the recent F1 grid, but apparently an awful lot of fandoms have at least one person who wakes up one day and decides to put their blorbos into race cars.

For this year's @theterrorbigbang, I decided that I was going to be that guy for The Terror.

I have had the great good fortune to once again have @awhbeans as my collaborator, and she has done an absolutely amazing job—I don't know how she manages to pull these images out of my head and make them a reality in her illustrations, but she absolutely did and it's beautiful. Here's a tiny teaser. For the whole amazing thing(s), you gotta go look.

Anyway, it was fun to merge my two chief hyperfixations: a TV show about the destructive hubris of empire and compassion and brotherhood in the face of certain death on one hand; on the other, handsome men driving very fast cars. I've spent a lot of the last few months reading loads of F1 nonfiction, plus watching a lot of old race footage (because of course the only way I was going to write a modern AU was to pick a setting that requires at least as much research as canonical historical fiction) and hopefully it's all paid off.

#the terror amc #the terror big bang #the terror big bang 2023 #my writing #fitzier #justice for the terror's women characters #modern au #cars go vroom vroom very fast

[cynicalclassicist]

Thoughs on Nixon in DW

I don't think that you could do The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon today. That is due to the prominence of one Richard Milhous Nixon.

This post is inspired by a discussion that I had with my friend @dalesramblingsblog (who you should follow if you aren't already) on Twitter. And I refuse to call it by the other name.

Steven Moffat did not set out wanting to write a story about Nixon. He wanted to do one set during the Moon Landing which had the White House, due to being a fan of The West Wing. I found this on Shannon Sullivan's site (https://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/2011ab.html), recommended if you like looking at the details that went into making DW stories! When he found out who it was he considered a fictional President but went with Nixon. I think that this was the right choice, you can kind of get away with fictional Presidents in a Present-day story but in a historical setting, as in decades ago, it works less well.

Nixon is still mocked for things like Watergate and Vietnam... but the story still ultimately presents him in a positive-ish light.

However... nowadays I doubt that we could do that.

This is partially down to Trump. There hasn't been a President quite like him before... and I do not mean that as a compliment. And there is a lot of re-examination of Nixon now, partially as he feels like the closest thing to some of the scandals around Trump, with impeachment and ideas of Presidential overreach.

Now when TIA/DOTM came out the US was beginning to be viewed a bit better internationally under Obama. The Bush administration was viewed pretty badly around the world, DW even had a caricature of him being killed in a 2007 story. Nixon is still given a sort of... dignity of the office?

He also seems... sort of progressive for the 1960s? In that when Canton Delaware talks of marrying someone who is black Nixon seems ok with it... then when Canton says it's a man Nixon balks a bit. Which is played for comedy in showing progressive for the 1960s attitude.

However, nowadays we are seeing more examination of the horrible things aside from Watergate. The Southern strategy for example, in short using racism to pick up votes in the South, drawing the old Democratic base to the GOP... which has become ever more the GOP platform, with them now pulling in white supremacy.

What Nixon did to Chile, with his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, one of the most notorious war criminals in American history, is horrific as well.

Now the story is aware that Nixon is a pretty despised figure. But I doubt that at a time where the US had a President who is pretty openly a Fascist and who might get in again... well, it would be harder to see this in an amusing light.

I could go on about this and about how Nixon is presented in Futurama is indicative of how he is often seen but in a comical sense as a cartoonish supervillain and whether that can deflect from the true depths of his awfulness.

But that's a topic for another time.

Btw, please vote Democrat if you can. The list of their flaws is long but the alternative is actual Fascism. That is really not an exaggeration. I do not want to look over from Britain and see the US go the way that Germany did in the 1930s and that Russia has gone under Putin.

I hope that this post doesn't become really difficult to look back on next year.

I'll probably think of new things to say later but... well, I'm just putting this down now.

#us politics #richard nixon #fuck nixon

[masonhawth0rne]

What I read in January!

Oops, looks like I let things slip away from me again. But to be fair to me, I've been having a very busy and stressful time lately.

Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Thomas Ligotti ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Red Tower (ss), Thomas Ligotti ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wild Shore, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grimscribe, Thomas Ligotti ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Book of Cthulu 2 Anthology ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ghosts Galore, Fiona Glass ⭐️

Treasure & Dirt, Chris Hammer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

South (nf), Earnest Shackleton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Mangrove Legacy, Kit Marlowe ⭐️

The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red Dragon, Thomas Harris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book of Horrors, Diane Hoh ⭐️⭐️

A few great reads this month, and a few clunkers.

I've never read Thomas Ligotti before, though I'd been meaning to find his work ever since I watched the first season of True Detective and read some of the criticisms of the writing (accusations that the script was heavily derivative if not outright copying significant portions of Ligotti's works). Some of his stories I enjoyed more than others, but I think he has a distinct style and approach to his work which makes it worthwhile checking out if you like weird/ horror fiction.

The Mask of Apollo is another stand-out, which I suspected it would be. I've been rationing out Mary Renault's books for a few years now, because each one is so delicious that I know I'm going to be sad when I've gotten through them all and don't have anything but rereads to look forward to. Mind you, rereading is a fine thing in itself, but there's nothing quite like the first read. This book is another banger, it sits much more closely with The Last of the Wine, than it does with either The King Must Die, or The Bull from the Sea, in that it is less mythological retelling than it is a recreation of the private personal lives of individuals. It has a deep, compelling way with character and place and really evokes a sense of an individual living in the midst of great historical events, without the historical nature of the events making the plot feel like a foregone conclusion.

And now a reread! It's actually been several years since I last read Red Dragon (since I finished my thesis! wow!) and on reread I remembered why I was immediately hooked the first time I read it. Thomas Harris is another one of those authors who has the skill of crafting characters that feel real and vital on the page, seething with their own foibles and grotesqueries, but also with their piquant moments of grace or kindness. A strong sense of humanity in the characters. As well, of course, as his lush and awful (as in awe-inspiring, not the other thing!) prose. I love these books so much.

Anyways, that's that for January!

ss=short story nf= non-fiction

stars awarded at my whim

#what i read

[robbiedaymonds]

I was tagged by @slowtides to talk about what I've been reading lately! Here's a couple things I've read this year so far. I was a little slow with reading the first 4 or 5 months since I was finishing grad school, but I've read all of the above in the last five or so months. I can talk a little about each of them!

The Eye of the World - I finally started on The Wheel of Time series this year. A friend of mine in college about ten years ago told me to read this and with the show, I decided to give it a try. I really thoroughly enjoyed this first book. I found Rand and Mat's storylines a little less exciting than Perrin and Egwyane but otherwise I really loved this and I'm already reading book two! I really want to read the whole series.

Elantris - my very first Sanderson novel. I'm so glad I started with this one as it was his first (written and published) novel so now I can see how his writing has evolved. This was such an interesting concept and really fueled my imagination and made me want to write again. It was surprisingly easy to read (for some reason I was expecting his writing to be denser and harder to get through but now I realize why he's so popular!) and I flew through it. I really want to get my own copy and annotate it while rereading it.

Bloom Into You - A manga series recommended to me by a person irl for reasons. I haven't read manga in a long time and I've never read a non-magical manga before. It was super cute!

Where the Nightmares Go - was throughly enjoyable. The first and last stories in particular were WOW. The second one (I think it was the second, maybe the third) was so terrifying that I literally could not allow myself to picture it in my head as I was reading or I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep for like a week. Highly recommend if you like horror and uncanny fiction.

The Ex-Girlfriend of my Girlfriend.... - It was good! Very lesbian centric (I was feeling a little bi-erasure) but as I'm trying to explore my queerness, I was happy to read through these situations. The latter parts of the book definitely felt a bit more bi-positive and openly queer (umbrella term) so I think it was worthwhile to read. The bright colors and illustrations were also very fun.

Nettle and Bone - After graduating I read a lot of novellas because it was easier than full novels. This was my first T. Kingfisher and will not be my last. The topic was women and breaking cycles and dealing with family and finding independence and also about hot-silver-fox-fighters and demonic chickens. Cannot go wrong.

High Times In the Low Parliament - Another novella. Totally bizarre and amazing. Fae/faeries, government, sapphics, lots of drugs. It was super enjoyable and I think maybe the first novella I read after graduating??? So it's gonna stick with me. I might even purchase a copy.

Off With Her Head - What promised to be a historical breakdown of misogyny unfortunately turned into a repeated argument for 75% of the book, with the only actually engaging chapters being the ones with historical research. It will definitely make you angry if you are a women or are anti-patriarchy, but after a while the anger will get tiring until you get to The One Juicy Historical chapter. I don't usually read nonfiction so this was maybe not the best thing for me to read.

White Cat, Black Dog - I can't say much about this except that Kelly Link is my favorite short story author and I got this practically brand new book for $10 at a used book store. One or two stories were a little meh for me, but nothing downright awful. I love the way this is retellings of other fairytales but feels sooooo different you'd never know it until you read the acknowledgements or notice that the original tales titles are written at the beginning under the titles. I particularly loved the retelling of Tam Lin.

This is for anyone who wants to write a bit about what they've been reading or what's been engaging for them lately! If you want to share, please do! Also tagging a few people: @twoheartsoneclara @antoine-triplett @actuallylorelaigilmore @spellmansabrina @thyla

#tagged in #ashlee talks

[benchowmein]

could you elaborate on your fantasy post? that type of thing has always pissed me off and ive struggled to articulate why, i would be interested to hear your opinion. no worries if not

It is a phenomenon you don't tend to see in other genres (and never in literary fiction) because readers of, say, crime fiction or historical romance are generally happy to read something that sounds up their street - there is a lot more focus on good crime writers and good romance writers than in fantasy. I use these examples because they're probably the three genres with the biggest influx of new material. A reader of crime fiction is likely to go 'oh, Dan Brown, I like his stuff, I'll read this,' whereas a reader of fantasy, unfortunately, often goes for premises over writing style/quality.

I think some of this comes down to fantasy being a popular genre for children's and YA literature. I'm not trying to sound disparaging here as I have an obvious love for the genre (I research Tolkien full time!!) but it seems readers prefer a strong premise to skillful prose. A LOT of fantasy is just genre fiction in a secondary world (the Discworld books are great examples of this: functionally how is Guards! Guards! fantasy, aside from the dragons*?) and thus I think a lot of younger readers like fantasy because it feels like safe territory. The tropes of secondary worlds and high fantasy are known to the reader and they are comfortable engaging with them in a way they might not be with, say, crime fiction. I can't say exactly why this leads to the phenomena of 'give me a book with the exact premise I want to read but can't be bothered to write', but it definitely FEELS like how I would go into a bookshop as an eight year old and be told 'its vampire pirates' or 'its about a boy who is learning how to hunt monsters', whereas if you ask someone who reads literary fiction why they liked a book they will rarely say something so basic as a plot synopsis. Again, I hate to sound disparaging but at the same time I don't want to justify the weird anti-intellectualism that lots of fantasy readers have where they just want to read a story where good and evil are black and white (but not in that order). Read hard books basically

Also the way publishing is becoming more like...selling a book by the primary trope it uses...the 'oh its enemies to lovers but in a bookshop!' 'oh its science partners but they are fake dating!' phenomenon I genuinely believe is kind of ruining the way people engage with books.* Imagine saying 'its about a girl who kisses a guy and then has to hide it!' about A Room with a View or 'its a ghostcore Black history book!' about Beloved. Really good books, obviously, sound awful when you describe it like this, so why do fantasy readers love to do it? Because they value premise over prose!

Basically beyond anything I've said I think it totally devalues the experience of writing. If you hone your craft your whole life and people still only care about your book because of the premise you should be able to hunt them dangerous game style. Imagine valuing a book on whether it fits your frankly arduous criterion rather than by the author's ability to bring to life even the most awkward premise.

*It is fantasy, I'm not saying it isn't, but it must be said that the synopsis is 'hardened detective and new recruit go on a city-wide romp to figure out why dragons are popping up over town'

*HOWEVER my idea for a crap book series set in a law firm where the characters are reincarnations of King Arthur's court with Guinevere as his shy secretary called Courtly Love is the best idea anyone has ever had.

[fenmere]

Writer Chat Tag game

Tagged by @shadesofmauve. Thank you!!!

We can't think of names or blogs right now, so if you're a writer reading this, and you haven't done it, feel free to consider yourself tagged, and leave a comment on this post for others to follow.

What is your total posted wordcount on ao3?

Zero (0), none. We just haven't broken into putting stuff up there yet, and actually really haven't written any significant fanfic at all. However, one moment... We have written 360,888 words of our original fiction series, the Sunspot Chronicles, most of them in the past half a year. We have no idea how many words if you include non-fiction writing, and little vignettes in journals and blogs here and there. Our shoddy autobiography is just over 98,000 words.

Do you have a routine for writing?

We think about a story for a couple hours to a couple decades, and then we sit down to write it. We hyperfocus on that story for a week or two, and then it's a book.

Sometimes we take a break, which may last a day to another two decades, and then when we figure it all out in our subconscious, we find ourselves writing again.

What it feels like is, when we are in writing mode, at any given moment of consciousness there will be thee to four system members shouting in our head, "WE WANT TO PLAY OUR GAME!" So, then, it just becomes a matter of managing food, sleep, showering, and other supposedly important things around the Biological Drive To Write.

Editing is done on the fly. Proof reading is done forever afterward, as we continually reread our work, over and over, for years to come. We prefer digital publication for this reason, but we've put a couple books up for print.

Your fic with the most kudos?

We don't know. We don't get much feedback at all. And we don't have anything keeping track of it all in one place. And since we're not on AO3, we assume "kudos" is an AO3 term, in which case it's actually technically none.

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

Sometimes The Drive causes us to continue writing when we're dissociated, sleepy, hungry, triggered, or any other number of bad states of consciousness, and it turns out hard for even us to read. We try to rewrite those sections, but can't always pick them out.

Also, sometimes we delve into topics that we're not equipped to write about, and then it gets harrowing and we start getting down on each other for not being cautious about it. But those instances are kind of like puzzles. They can feel really awful, but working to solve them is a learning experience and ultimately rewarding. We have abandoned some projects as unsolvable, though, like our webcomics.

Now something you do like?

It is, essentially, a table top RPG for us, and as a system full of people who live most of our lives inworld and not fronting, it's a way for some of us to intensely live consciously for a period of time and then hopefully feel seen by the rest of the world as for what we actually are. There's a lot of euphoria involved.

Like, we're writing fiction, but it's basically like historical fiction. The people and places are real and pretty close to how we actually are, but the events are totally a romp and us having fun.

#writing #tag game

[boghermit]

1. Which of your fics would you keep the basic plot of but rewrite completely? 5. What's a tag you never want to use for your works even when it applies? 28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

Which of your fics would you keep the basic plot of but rewrite completely?

I started to write a VTMB prequel fic that takes place in New York. The bastard NEVER got written because I had no plan. So if I ever try it again, I would actually plan it this time or at least have a vague outline. I don't know what I was thinking going into a book length fic without a plan.

There’s also a drabble about Lacroix’s Embrace that I fully plan on rewriting at the end of my current story, even though the end result is the same. 

5. What's a tag you never want to use for your works even when it applies?

Hmm that's hard. I always feel awkward putting Born in Winter in the main VTMB tag because it's more historical fiction than anything else, even with the supernatural elements. Lacroix is literally the only canon character who appears in this fic. I joke sometimes that if I changed the name of the main character, I could publish it as original fiction, because the Lacroix in the fic is the polar opposite of the Lacroix from VTMB.

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

Don't expect any first draft or second draft to be polished. Most of my first drafts are script-like blocks of dialogue with stage directions. Let yourself brainstorm and make mistakes. Just write.

READ. I had some awful writer's block until I picked up the Hunger Games trilogy and was baffled by how well it was written. Always Be Reading. It will show in your writing that you're engaging with media that you enjoy and learning from it.

Don't worry about being "cringy." What do I mean by that? Make playlists, draw your characters and throw them in the Sims, make pinterest boards, hell even make memes about your story, HAVE FUN. It's not cringy to enjoy yourself.

A bunch of other stuff that could probably be its own post but these are the first three that come to mind that helped me.

#omgkalyppso

[bmacreadz]

"The Unknown Beloved" by Amy Harmon

Reading "The Unkown Beloved" was like coming up for a breath of fresh air after having been buried very deep in stories of all shapes, sizes, and varying degrees of enjoyability. Amy Harmon's stories are tried and true in reminding their reader what skillful storytelling looks and feels like. This particular story taught about innocence, compassion, and beauty unmaimed by the world. You ask, "How can that be? It's about the investigation of gruesome serial murders in depression-era Cleveland, Ohio?" Well, leave it to Amy Harmon to perfectly marry mystery and devastation with desire and gentleness. I am in awe, once again, at her ability and talent (though talent feels like a word that undermines the hard work and dedication that writing such novels requires).

"The Unknown Beloved" is a love story set in the midst of horror-stricken Cleveland, Ohio. It chronicles the investigation of "The Butcher" who murders and hacks up "nobodies" inhabitating run-down shantytowns. Dani Flanagan (Kos) has a heart for the "nobodies" and cares for them after they've gone. She also has a heart for the grumbling somebody named Michael Malone. Their love story forms innocently and thrillingly in the depths of depression. Their connection is instant, and their friendship is beautiful. The work gets done and love gets shared and happiness abounds in the end.

Amy Harmon has a way of intertwining true characters in history with breathtaking stories of fiction. She gives them the stories she "believes they deserve," as she stated in her notes at the end of this novel. For someone who hesitates to buy historical fiction novels, I cannot help but to unabandonedly love those written by this author. I felt disappointment in the end, reluctantly knowing that these are not the true stories for these characters. Oh, how I want them to be true. How I wish everyone had the happy and hopeful conclusion that Amy Harmon produces for her characters, but the beauty that she is able to find - the ending that she is able to give them - though fiction, also leaves me with a contentedness that helps bring peace to their endings. By the end of "The Unknown Beloved," there is that peace, that hope, and that treasure of a sneak peek into the actual, real world of the character. I felt like I knew them; and like I want to know them more.

Amy Harmon has become my favorite author over the last few years, so I may be biased when I read one of her books and call it lovely. But there is no denying the genius and hard work behind her stories, no matter who you are. It is always easy to fall in love with her characters. She fills them with heartstopping vulnerability and writes their emotions so they fall off the page and into the reader each and every time. I have never been disappointed in these books and I don't think I ever will be. Amy Harmon and her stories have a special place in my heart because she always seems to tell these stories especially for me, and her Emily Dickinson references make me think that we are actually woven from very similar thread.

I am so happy to have read this book, and ashamed that it took me three months to pick it up. Do yourself a service and know "The Unknown Beloved."

#book review #the unknown beloved #amy harmon

[rose-coloured-angel]

Tag 10 People You Want to Know Better

Thanks to @grayeyedandroid for tagging me :)

1. Relationship Status: Single. Have been for 22 years, won't be dating anytime soon. I'm Demisexual so I'm not really interested in dating anyways.

2. Favourite Colour: Pink! :) I also like red, white, brown, and orange. But pink, specifically a rosy or pastel pink (like cotton candy), is my favourite colour/shade.

3. Favourite Food: Ooooh, this is a tough one. I don't think I can choose just one food. :( I really like food. But some top favourites are sushi, pancakes, chicken pot pie, grilled cheese, and fajitas :)

4. Song Stuck in Your Head: C'est la Vie by the Weathers. I feel that song a bit too much right now...That and Twin Sized Mattress by the Front Bottoms.

5. Last Thing You Googled: Choco tacos being discontinued 🥲 When I was about 8, my twin brother and I would buy them from the ice cream truck. We were left alone by our mom while she was at work, and we weren't supposed to be outside at all, but we heard the ice cream truck and we would use all our allowance to but choco tacos specifically. We have them at the store I currently work at but I don't think I'll be able to get one again. I didn't even think about trying them again. It's been such a long time...I guess I missed my chance to relive those memories.

6. Time: It's 3:40 AM as I write this...I'm nocturnal because of my job.

7. Dream Trip: I've always wanted to go to Canada. I come from a military family so I've seen a lot of Europe already. I've never even been in close proximity to Canada, state-wise. Canada was one of my hyperfixations in the past (which I'm sure annoyed way more people than my family) but I just find it so interesting.

8. Last Book You Read: Alice in Wonderland :) Read it online

9. Last Book You Enjoyed Reading: Alice in Wonderland! I've re-read it so many times since I was a kid but it's such a whimsical and fun book (especially when you understand the jokes and historical references)

10. Last Book You Hated Reading: Oof...I don't know that I've read a book I disliked recently...the last book I remember disliking was probably that collection of HP Lovecraft stories I picked up put of curiosity at the bookstore. I sat there reading, hoping I could figure out why people like his stories so much. God, the stories were so boring and the writing was awful. Then I found our he was, like, suuuuuper racist, so...yeah. Kinda ruined any bit of enjoyment I might have gotten from that.

Bonus

1. Favourite Thing to Cook/Bake: HHHHHNG I LIKE COOKING AND BAKING SO MUCH. You want me to choose one thing??? I love making cookies, pies, pizzas, stew, grilled cheese, pancakes, brownies, cake, soufflés, french fries, gingerbread! They're all my favourite! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME CHOOSE.

2. Favourite Craft to Do in Your Spare Time: Cross-stitching! Or just sewing in general :) Unless drawing counts as a "craft"...

3. Most Niche Dislike: Honey-based candy corn. I like the candy Corn made with corn syrup! But the honey kind? 🤢

4. Opinion on Circuses Now and in History: Love-hate relationship. I love the romanticized idea of the circus, but being aware of the cruelty towards the disabled, POC, and animals in circuses throughout history kinda ruins the ideals of pretty colours, cotton candy, and clowns. I like how circuses now forgo the "freakshow" thing and have started using fake animals, or at least treat the animals better than they did in the past (if they use them at all). I've never really been to the circus (although I've once seen a Circe du Soleil performance). Because clowns are one of my special interests, I know a lot about them and the circus industry. Real circuses are...products of a pretty awful past. And I'm just not a fan of crowds, so...eh. So long as no-one and no animal is being treated cruely, I have no qualms. Romanticized/ideal fictional circuses however? Awesome. Stupendous. Amazing. Love 'em.

5. Do You Have a Sense of Direction and, if Not, What is the Worst Way You've Gotten Lost?: I've never had a sense of direction in my life. I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten lost. The worst times involve going to new schools, which I did often as part of that military family. For the first week I would show up late to many classes, utterly befuddled by the winding hallways, staircases, and rows of lockers that all look the same. Teachers would (usually) understand...on the first or second day. Later in the week (or month), when they realized I couldn't navigate the school any better than most can navigate the school system...well, I saw a lot of Hope leave my teachers eyes before they even started handing out homework.

Tagging: @bailey1rox @nerdgul @cchipk @extravagantnonbinary @benevolentclowns @dat-soldier @goldenteddie @uselessundertalefacts @vintagecandy @yuzu394 Hope to learn more about all of you :D ! 💕

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

also i was writing a scene where michonne was helping carol pick out a sexy outfit except it was impossible bc there is no such thing as a sexy outfit in 1966

i mean, look at this shit

the best writer in the world couldn't create suspension of disbelief strong enough to make this not abhorrent

anyway.

here's hoping to having the chapter done this weekend, like, please god let me have that

none of this important

k bye

#the 50s were so good fashion-wise #how did we regress so badly??? #anyway #again don't write historical fiction it's awful #caryl fic #an unfinished memory #dunlap writes shit

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Maeve//i don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you

Request: Could you please do something else with Maeve? Perhaps something where reader works with Maeve on an English project and she's surprised that they have so much in common. She realizes she has feelings for her somehow after that? Sorry that's sort of rubbish, have a swell day/night.

hey! what’s up everybody! i hope everyone is well, and i hope you like this!! title is from ‘the lakes’ by taylor swift! 

- English projects are never fun 

- I mean, who finds constant stress and a deadline that’s always far too close fun?

- Nobody

- That’s who

- Well apart from Mrs Jones

- Your year 9 English teacher who made every minute of her classes a living hell

- And who mysteriously went missing half way through the year after having a screaming match with a fellow English teacher

- When she was supposed to be teaching you Romeo & Juliet. 

- One day she was accusing Miss Newman of being a terrible teacher and purposefully bumping up students grades so she looked better 

- And the next day both her and Miss Newman were gone 

- And you only got a replacement teacher when you moved into year 10

- Right now though 

- Its seems Miss Sands is going through some stuff 

- Because not only did she give you an assignment on Friday with a deadline of Monday 

- She also chose your partners instead of letting you choose your own

- Which is why you’re stood outside of Maeve’s in the pouring rain

- On a frankly miserable Saturday morning 

- It seems the weather knew exactly what sort of weekend you were facing 

- And decided to make it even worse. 

- By the third knock 

- You’re about to give up 

- The curtains are still drawn 

- And you’ve seen more movement in a graveyard 

- Plus

- You kind of already assumed you would be doing the project alone 

- Maeve Wiley was known for being very...

- ...independant 

- And group projects are no different 

- You actually think she may be more independent during group projects

- So as soon as Miss Sands paired you together 

- You knew 

- You were 99% sure that 

- You’d do your thing

- She’d do hers 

- And then five minutes before the presentation 

- You would figure out a way to connect the two.

- Anywayyyy

- While daydreaming about a time when you won’t have any assignments 

- And making awkward, accidental eye contact with Maeve’s neighbours 

- The door in front of you opens 

- Simultaneously giving you a fright and almost knocking you out

- She yawns and scratches the top of her head 

- ‘what are you doing here?’ 

- She sounds both tired and annoyed and you blink at her a few times before answering 

- ‘er - i - the project. for english.’ 

- It takes her a few seconds to process what you’ve said 

- But when she does 

- She looks even more miserable than she did five seconds ago

- And you brace yourself for a long weekend 

- She sighs and rolls her eyes 

- Before slowly opening the door properly and letting you in

- You feel slightly nervous as you walk in 

- But you really have no idea why

- It’s not like she’s a complete stranger 

- But then again 

- She’s not exactly a friend 

- ‘don’t worry, i’ve hidden the drugs. i don’t really like to share anyway.’ 

- ‘what?’ you ask confused and she rolls her eyes again 

- She huffs and crosses her arms before nodding to the slightly messy living room

- ‘i get it. we’re a bunch of benefit fraud chavs that do nothing but drink and smoke all day.’ 

- ‘that’s not what i was thinkin-’ 

- ‘sure it wasn’t.’ she rolls her eyes and you stare down at the floor. ‘i need to get changed so make yourself at home I suppose.’ 

- She walks into what you assume is her bedroom and slams the door behind her 

- Leaving you to stand awkwardly in the middle of the living room

- It’s small and slightly cramped 

- And most people would say that all the stuff makes it look busy 

- But to you 

- It’s wonderful 

- It’s filled with stories and memories 

- Some self explanatory 

- Some slightly more bizarre 

- Like the wonky blue and yellow clay swan living on the coffee table 

- You really want to know the story behind it 

- But decide it might be a little early in your partnership to start asking about her attachment to a half swan, half moth looking ornament

- So instead you pick up a pile of books on the dining table and move them onto the floor 

- You can hear Maeve opening and closing drawers while humming a familiar tune 

- And you feel yourself relax slightly as you place your laptop and books where the books were previously sat 

- Even if it does feel like you’re using all of your braincells to try and figure out where you’ve heard it before 

- ‘wow, do you actually trust me around that?’ 

- ‘what?’ you stop humming and look up at her 

- She looks between you and the laptop, staring at you expectantly 

- ‘oh no. i mean of course i do.’ you blush and she shakes her head before sitting opposite you 

- ‘so what do we know about women in fiction?’ 

- ‘historically they are written as either a femme fatalle type or some sort of innocent angelic being.’ 

- ‘they still are’ 

- ‘true’ you agree and flick through your textbook

- ‘why don’t we write about that then?’ 

- ‘what? how we’re still depressingly far back in the equality movement, despite being told otherwise?’ 

- She stares at you for a few seconds 

- A mixture of shock and surprise 

- Before nodding 

- And smiling 

- An actual genuine smile 

- You didn’t even know she could do that 

- Well you did 

- Of course you did 

- But you just haven’t seen it a lot 

- Usually when you see Maeve 

- She’s either mad, grumpy or very, very, very angry

- But her smiling 

- Puts a smile on your face 

- And this was definitely not where you thought this was going 

- ‘yeah...that’ 

- ‘okay.’ you shrug. ‘you can do classic literature because i know you prefer them and i’ll cover modern works.’

- ‘how do you know i prefer classics?’ 

- ‘the pile of books’ you nod towards the floor and she follows your gaze, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. ‘they’re all ripped and folded. you either love them or really, really hate them’ 

- ‘okay’ she eyes you suspiciously as you focus on your laptop 

- And you can feel your cheeks heat up under her gaze 

- However as quickly as they were there 

- They disappear 

- And the two of you fall into a surprisingly comfortable silence. 

- After about half an hour 

- Maeve stops what she’s doing to stretch 

- ‘is it okay if i play some music?’ 

- ‘sure, it’s your place. do what you want...as long as its not awful’ 

- ‘and what constitutes as awful?’ she asks, a smirk playing on her lips

- ‘well’ 

- And with that one question 

- Your entire day disappears in front of you 

- Laptops and books are closed and long forgotten 

- And instead you talk about music and movies 

- Books and plays 

- Characters that you love and hate 

- And the fact that her favourite character is the one you hate the most 

- She makes you lunch while you debate between movies and books and which adaptations are good

- And which ones should never have been made

- And you clean up and apologise profusely after a stray cushion (possibly thrown by you) ends up knocking the pan over 

- Surprisingly 

- She finds it quite funny 

- And you let out a relieved sigh

- Soon the sun goes down on another day 

- And you’ve barely written two paragraphs done between you

- ‘do you want to stay?’ she asks while your putting your jacket on

- If she’d asked you that this morning 

- You would have thought she had lost it 

- But now it feels almost inevitable 

- And you feel genuinely lucky to be asked 

- Not many people get to know Maeve 

- The real her 

- And that last person she told all of this to broke her heart 

- Very publicly 

- And she told herself she would never let herself be that vulnerable with someone ever again

- But this just feels right 

- For some reason you feel right 

- She feels safe with you 

- And part of her hates herself for it 

- But then again 

- She hates herself for not getting to know you sooner

- She feels far too attached to you 

- And it’s barely been twelve hours 

- You of course agree to stay 

- Shocking yourself and her 

- And while she sorts to sofa out 

- You excuse yourself to the bathroom 

- Under the pretences of telling your parents where you are 

- It takes two seconds to text them 

- And the other 28 to ask yourself 

- What the fuck are you doing? 

- Why are you agreeing to this? 

- Why do you feel like this? 

- What are you feeling?

- Who knows?

- Not you 

- Great 

- Now you’ve been in the bathroom for a suspicious amount of time 

- Just get it together, Y/n

- It’s just a study sleepover 

- Maeve gives you a questioning look as you leave 

- ‘you know how mums are. always worrying about where you are and what you’re doing’ 

- ‘i wouldn’t actually’ she shrugs and your eyes widen 

- ‘oh shit, sorry. i’m so sorry. god, i’m an idiot.’

- ‘it’s fine’ she forces a laugh and you wince. ‘i got you an extra duvet and little women is ready to watch so i can show you that the book is better’ 

- ‘that’s not what i said and you know it’ 

- ‘i’m sorry. i can’t hear you over the sound of me being 100% right and you being 100% wrong.’ 

- ‘you may be good at english, but you suck at maths’ 

- The next day you wake up to the sun shining through the curtains 

- And a clump of Maeve’s hair in your mouth 

- You splutter and cough and wake her up quickly 

- And she jumps away from you and smacks her head of the table 

- The two of you ended up moving the blankets to the floor while watching Pride and Prejudice 

- And neither of you bothered to move back 

- Maeve yawns and scratches her head

- Exposing a small part of her stomach and you feel yourself become a little breathless 

- ‘are you okay?’ 

- ‘ye-yeah’ you nod and she eyes you suspiciously 

- ‘whatever’ she shrugs and starts making breakfast 

- You watch as she pours to bowls of cereal

- Giving you the last of the milk 

- And for a second you’re a little worried as to how she knew you liked it 

- But then you remember that she also likes it and you had a whole discussion about the best and worst types of cereal at 2am 

- And half way through breakfast 

- You remember the original reason you’re here 

- And both of you curse loudly 

- Before rushing to finish eating 

-You get half way through your project 

- When Maeve asks if you want to go out for a bit 

- And well 

- She doesn’t need to ask you twice 

- And by the time you come back 

- The feeling you had last night returns 

- And has settled in your stomach 

- For the foreseeable future it seems 

- It makes you feel both light and heavy at the same time 

- And when you look at her 

- You feel dizzy 

- So you rush to finish the project 

- So you can go home and pretend nothing has changed 

- And yeah 

- With the need to leave 

- You get the rest of the assignment done fairly quickly 

- But you end up leaving feeling more confused about Maeve as you did when you started this 

- Maybe Miss Sands was right about a weekend project 

- Any longer and you would have gone insane trying to figure out whatever the hell this is 

- You just have to get through tomorrow and then you’ll be okay 

- Everything will go back to normal 

- You and Maeve can go back to being neutral to each other

- And you won’t have to deal with all of these confusing feelings that have decided to make an appearance for some reason 

- Wellll

- Turns out Miss Sands was wrong 

- A weekend is not enough time 

- And the first few presentations are awful 

- To put it nicely 

- So you spend the next week in a permanent confused state 

- Confused as to why you start looking for Maeve whenever you enter a room

- Confused as to why your heart skips a beat whenever you hear her laugh 

- Confused as to why you never want her stop talking in class 

- Even if the bell has rung and it’s lunch 

- Confused to why you keep looking for excuses to go over to see her 

- Despite your assignment being long done 

- And even more confused as to why you feel anxious when you’re waiting for her to answer the door

- The next Monday rolls around both painfully slowly and far too quickly 

- And while you wait for Ola and Danny to finish their presentation 

- Your hands shake with anxiety while your grip your papers 

- Maeve reaches over the table and gives them a reassuring squeeze 

- But it just makes them shake more and she slowly pulls back 

- Your turn can’t come quick enough 

- But then it’s over far too quickly 

- And you slump back down in your seat disappointed 

- Despite Miss Sands’ praise 

- Because it’s over 

- You no longer have an excuse to hang out with her 

- You never talked before 

- So why do you care about after 

- But there’s so much about her that you want to know

- Like the weird swan/moth hybrid 

- And the ugly plate that sits on top of the bookshelf 

- You want to be part of these stories 

- You want to be able to point to these things and say

- ‘yeah, i know exactly why that is special to you’ 

- You want to be the reason to add to this random collection of stuff 

- You want her to smile when she looks at them because they’ll remind her of you 

- You want her to smile when she looks at you 

- ‘y/n? are you okay?’ she asks making you jump 

- The classroom is now empty and you didn’t even notice the bell go 

- ‘ye-yeah’ you nod and grab your bag

- ‘are you sure?’ she grabs your arm forcing you turn around 

- ‘whats the weird swan thing on your coffee table?’ you ask and she furrows her eyebrows at you. ‘it’s just i saw it when i first came over and i really want to know the story behind it’ 

- ‘oh. aimee went through a pottery phase last year and that was the only thing she made that didn’t have a hole in it.’

- ‘and the plate?’ 

- ‘birthday present from my neighbours’ 

- ‘they got you a plate?’ 

- ‘yeah, they don’t have any kids’ 

- ‘clearly’ 

- Silence fills the room and you stare at the peeling posters behind her head 

- You can feel Maeve move closer to you and your breath hitches when she stops a few centimetres in front of you 

- She grabs your hand and squeezes it again 

- And your heartbeat increases 

- ‘y/n?’ 

- ‘yeah?’ 

- ‘i’m really, really confused right now. like more confused that i have ever been in my life. but what i do know, is that if i watch you walk out of that door without saying anything first, then i’d regret it for the rest of my life. i’ve only ever felt like this about boys before, but now i feel this and more about you and i have no idea where it’s come from or what i need to do, but i do know i need to tell you. because otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair for either of us’ she whispers and you stare at her wide eyed 

- ‘can i kiss you?’ she asks and you nod your head quickly 

- Slowly she leans in

- Her eye flutter closed and you follow 

- Your lips brush over hers 

- Her hands wrap around you waist to pull you close

- And then your lips connect 

- And you feel everything change 

- She kisses you slowly 

- And when you pull away you both feel breathless 

- Her cheeks are bright red 

- And there’s a shy smile playing on her lips as she looks at you bashfully

- And all of a sudden you feel really grateful for Miss Sands and her personal issues 

- Although you really hope they are resolved now 

- For your sake as well as hers

support my writing! if you want! 

#sex education #sex education imagine #maeve wiley #maeve wiley imagine #maeve wiley x reader

[jeannereames]

Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.

And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?

Thank you for your time!

[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]

I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?

Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?

Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).

ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)

The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?

Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.

By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*

Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.

On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.

Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.

I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.

Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.

Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).

What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.

I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊

Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.

Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.

What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.

Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.

What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?

The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.

Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.

By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.

And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.

“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.

I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.

The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).

Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.

Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.

So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.

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*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.

But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉

#misogyny in m/m romance #how to avoid misogyny writing women characters #writing complicated women characters #asks #writing life #writing advice