In Taylor Swift’s album folklore, the song “mad woman” takes on how sexism and misogyny force women to hold back their anger. I decided to tackle that subject with the same quiet ferocity in the form of an acrostic.
we’re all a little mad
Everyone says smile and playNice, so I flash my pearly whitesOpen my mouth wide and let theJaw strain taut against skinAnd sinew and the gaping mawDeepens…
Disclaimer: Some links in my review for Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner are affiliate links. If you click them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. Whether or not you make a purchase is entirely up to you.
A version of this book review first appeared in The Lesbrary.
Summary
While Shiri Eisner published Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution over 10 years ago, it…
Once in a lifetime
Once in a lifetime
I wanna drink, wanna think, write a song about it
I wanna smoke, make a joke, try to hide the damage
I wanna drive this car right over the edge
Of every bad idea I didn’t have yet
– All Time Low, “Once In a Lifetime”
I really liked this list from CL Clark of recent SFF with butches and I think it's worth a look. I remember this was some of my hesitation, years ago, about writing sapphic - the first wave of it in mainstream SFF felt like a lot of unthreatening femme4femme, which of course is an important part of the ecosystem, but it felt like that was all that publishers were letting through, and I just didn't have any of those stories in me.
I once tried to list recent SFF butches unprepared on a panel, and after Gideon, The Unspoken Name and The Unbroken I just... ran out (there are others, some of that's on me).
Things are different now! I got zero pushback or pressure to make either En or Tamol femme! But not so different that a list isn't useful.
For coming up with character names:
Behind the name (my absolute fav)
Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.
You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.
Census sites
Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.
For coming up with place names:
This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.
For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:
This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.
For coming up with ideas:
When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!
This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!
For visualizing places and characters:
Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.
This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.
(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)
Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).
Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.
Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!
Minecraft
If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.
The Sims
This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.
For checking grammar:
Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.
This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.
Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.
For writing advice:
This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.
Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!
For an alternative to Google Docs:
Think google docs but without AI. Yay!
(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊)
A great resource
The life of a bookworm is not a cheap one. Reading can be an expensive hobby. But there are ways to save money without sacrificing the joys of finding new books to add to your shelves.
Libby & Hoopla Hacks
You can attach more than one library card to the Libby app to access multiple library catalogs. My cousin and I shared library card information so she has access to my county library, and I…
Can you make this last?
Cause now I’m not so sure,
Are you up to the task?
Sometimes the sickness is the cure.
You’re searching so hard,
You’ve lost yourself…
– All Time Low, “Actors”
for the ones who turn your haunted house into a haunted home <3
bonus:
The next poem in my series for The Folklore Chronicles, a poetic journey inspired by Taylor Swift’s album, is a piece for the song “invisible string.”
the clues I didn’t see
I always dreamed of sharing my spoton Hollywood Beach with someone special.tell them about summer days with friendsclimbing the ramp up to the lifeguard housewhere we didn’t belong. crunchingon pizza seasoned with sea salt…
