Things I have been meaning to post about…

1. lar_laughs posted about swordpunk, which is a way to approach fantasy writing and have fun. She quotes from the Swordpunk Manifesto, and I shall do the same: “I think the fear that fantasy writers have is that if they don’t
reinvent the wheel, they won’t be taken seriously. Like Tad Williams is
going to roll up and revoke their Fantasy License.

2. What the Dragon Said: A Love Story, by Catherynne M. Valente, is a stunning poem. Seriously, go read it.

3. Speaking of poems, Rose Lemberg has asked editors of speculative poetry to recommend what they consider to be the five best poems of 2012. There is a lot of good poetry reading to be had.

4. Jim Hines has posted his income from writing for 2012, something he does every year in order to be open about the reality of the writing life and dispel myths about all writers being millionaires.

5. Have you read Nova Ren Suma’s Turning Points series, in which she asks authors what the turning point in their writing life was? If not, I highly recommend you do. Amazing posts from great writers abound.

6. Malinda Lo has a great post up about heteronormativity in fantasy. In the two-part post she focuses on two questions:

  1. What constitutes “subtlety” when it comes to describing same-sex relationships in fiction?
  2. Is it believable to have same-sex relationships in a medieval-esque fantasy world?
[Cross-posted to my livejournal. You are welcome to comment either here or there.]