I may make this a regular post. I read a lot, and sharing what I read may be helpful to some. So without further ado, here is what I’ve read this past week:
Writing
How to Structure a Premise for Stronger Stories <— Great article to help you strengthen your stories.
The Different Levels of Editing <— An awesome article from an editor on the forum I help moderate. It explains in detail the different levels of editing, and this can be very useful for writers to understand. Each level has its place and its purpose, and knowing when and where to use each can be helpful in how we utilize editors and how we edit our own work.
“We have always fought.” Challenging the Women Cattle and Slaves Narrative <— By far one of the best articles I've read this week, especially in pertains to writing and other forms of media. Must read.
PSA: Your Default Narrative Settings are not Apolitical <— Also a must read.
Culture/Society and Us
Things I’ve Learned from being Transgender that aren’t about being Transgender <— Can relate to this article a lot.
What President Obama has done for Transgender People <— As the article name says, he has been heralded as the first transgender president. To be honest, I would say he is the only president that cared enough to act. For him to stick his neck out like this for people like me is pretty huge, especially in a culture that still vilifies us as monsters or curiosities that are publicly stripped apart.
The Militarized Mind: How a Narrative Becomes a Weapon <— A must read for everyone.
Violence Against Indigenous Women: Fun, Sexy, and No Big Deal on the Big Screen
What if we all carried that weight? <— If we all carried the weight of injustice, then we would not be able to bear it, and maybe, just maybe we would stop tolerating what we have forced others to carry alone. It is a good wake up call for us all.
How Men and Women are Critiqued in Performance Reviews <— I see the gender bias every day, and since I sit on the border of both genders, being trans, I notice it even more heavily. Here is yet more proof that gender bias exists and it hurts people.
I am not Afraid to Die: Why America Will Never be the Same Post Ferguson
The Police Violence We aren’t Talking About
The Brutalizing of Women in Video Games, and its Apologists
Science and Technology
Laniakea: Our Local Supercluster <— A fun article that explores our place in the universe.
Betelgeuse: Astronomers give it 100,000 years before it explodes <— A deep look into the science of astronomy.
Impact: Earth! <— Not really an article, but an interesting look into what would happen if an asteroid hit Earth. You can alter the parameters in various ways to see the differences based on size, density, approach vector, and so forth.
Books I read and am reading
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz (Finished.)
How to Know God: The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries by Deepak Chopra (1/3 of the way through the book.)
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge (1/3 of the way through the book.)
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Edited by Laurie Lamson (Just started. Will write a review of this in the future.)
Update on Blog
I am working on a few articles that are specific to worldbuilding and one specific to genres. This has been a painful and busy few weeks for me, so my posts are taking longer to write than I would have liked. Thank you for your patience, and let me know your thoughts on the above articles! If you have any interesting articles to share, leave them in a comment, and I will be sure to read them.
Reshaping Reality 