Why I Don't Like Halloween
I didn't always dislike Halloween. When I was a kid, I kind of liked it: I used to dress up as one of the Doctors from Doctor Who almost every year (see...
Why Is It So Hard For Hollywood To Create Brand New Heroes?
The other day, director Matthew Vaughn argued in favor of going back and retelling the story of Anakin Skywalker and his scrappy kids. Vaughn said he would...
12 Male Role Models From Science Fiction and Fantasy
Lately I feel like everyone is talking about masculinity and what it means to be a good dude. The other day, I was on a panel at the Pride on the Page book...
Jedi Knights and Vulcans Both Suck Now. What Happened?
Jedi Master Plo Koon and T'Lyn, a Vulcan character on Star Trek: Lower Decks Something strange happened to both Star Wars and Star Trek around twenty-five...
News Flash: Trans People Have Internalized Transphobia!
Trans Solidarity March in Washington DC (Photo by Ted Eytan, Creative Commons) A dozen years ago, Julia Serano called me up and asked me to speak at Girl...
There's No Queer Liberation Without Fighting Capitalism
This pink flag that says QUEERS AGAINST CAPITALISM has been hangging in my apartment for as long as I can remember. It comes from some rally/event I attended...
11 Books That Changed How I think About Space Opera
A detail from the cover of Stainless Steel Rat: Deluxe Edition from 2000 A.D., by Carlos Ezquerra and Kevin Cosnell, based on the characters created by Harry...
7 Hot Takes About Star Trek
Hey everybody, happy Star Trek day! I'm just barely recovered from COVID now and haven't had time to write a new newsletter, so please enjoy this repost of a...
The Internet Is About to Get a Lot Worse
We've all watched in horror as red states have banned books in schools and libraries. We've seen teachers fired merely for reading a book about gender...
One Thing (Almost) Every Aspiring Writer Needs
I'm regularly asked what advice I have for newbie writers, and I usually say stuff about trying to find community by joining a writing group, going to...
Stuff I Love Right Now
I usually include a recommendation at the end of every newsletter for a piece of music, a book or a TV show/movie. I haven't been doing that lately, because...
If you see me on Twitter, it's not me
Thank you to everyone who just subscribed to my newsletter! I really appreciate it, and I promise that I will be putting out new posts at least once a week...
The Year of the Woman... and What Happened Next
Hey y'all... sorry I haven't published a new newsletter in a couple weeks. I'm desperately trying to get my new adult novel to my editor before I fly to...
The Vital Lesson Superhero Movies Should Learn From Deadpool
As you read this, The Flash is in theaters, and it's somewhat underperforming, with an opening weekend on par with Black Adam. As I said on Mastodon a while...
"Churn" Might Actually Be a Good Thing for Streaming Services
If you've been reading a lot of coverage of the Streaming Wars [TM] lately, you've probably been hearing about the problem of "churn." Churn, we're told, is...
Revision is the Process of Going from General to Specific
Here's another half-baked essay about revision — since I'm in the middle of revising a novel right now! (If you missed it, last week's essay was also all...
Revision can be fun. No, really.
Revising a work of fiction is pure agony. This is one of the main tenets of the writer credo (or maybe just a huge meme among writers.) And yeah, it...
Some (Probably) Worthless Thoughts About Content Moderation
Here's an incredibly crappy fable: Once there was a young person of great distinction who wore the most scintillating pair of kaleidoscopic pants. We'll call...
10 Hot Takes About Star Wars
Hey, everyone. I'm reupping a piece I wrote for Star Wars Day back in 2021, because I figure most of y'all never saw it. I hope the Force is treating you...
What People Have Been Saying So Far About Promises Stronger Than Darkness!
It's been a few weeks since Promises Stronger Than Darkness came out, and I have been so chuffed about the response to this one so far. I've never written a...
