The Corner of Madness

I'm feeling pretty awful (stomach) but I think I can bang out the silliest little writerly ways. I'm calling it naming shit is hard.

I need to edit that mermaid story and naming everything in it from a completely alien point of view but still need to make sure the reader knows its a dolphin, a whale etc. I almost hated that story by the end.

I just finished two stories in the past 2 weeks, the mermaid and a ghost story. Neither have titles. Why? Say it with me, naming shit is hard.


In Ezio's story I don't change most names but then I'm thinking would they really call it vaudeville? What would I call it if I change it? If I did call it something new, would the readers know it's vaudeville?

Also half my stories have character names and place names that are just XXX placeholders. Why? Say it with me. Naming shit is hard.

Do you find naming things hard? If so, how do you get around it?


Open Calls

Brink Literary Magazine Theme: Invitation
Genre: Hybrid Writing / Cross-Genre / Literary Fiction / Nonfiction / Poetry / Translation


Space and Time Issue 154. Theme: Prepare to Advance
Genre: Speculative Fiction / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Weird Fiction

Horrific Scribes Submissions Challenge Theme: Liminal Spaces
Genre: Horror

Exquisite Engines. Theme: Steampunk
Genre: Steampunk / Speculative Fiction


The Submission Pit June 2026 Window Theme: Open speculative fiction
Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in June 2026

Thin Places: Now Seeking Submissions

30 Magazines Publishing Hybrid Writing



From Around the web

Six Reasons I Ask Questions As an Editor I've found point 3 to be important

One Way to Tell If a Publisher Actually Has Distribution

Jewish Demons: The Annoying, the Bad, and the Devilishly Adorable

Cutting Unnecessary Words in Fiction

Point of View Is a Contract with Your Readers




From Betty

Understanding Conflict & Tension

Creating Rites of Passage

Crafting a Winning Title

Seven Ways to Create Rifts Between Close Characters

How to Create a Character That Represents a Group

7 Ways to Make Readers Believe the Improbable in Fiction

Three Ways to Lose a Romance Reader

Want a Twist Readers Will Love? Make Your Protagonist Wrong.

90 Or So Things I Did In a Year To Promote My Book

Jane Yolen, Author of 450 Books Including The Devil's Arithmetic, Dies at 87

The best strategy for sending query letters

Why Writers Should Enter Contests: 6 Lessons That Build Writing Success

How to Choose the Right Character Arc for Your Story

What We Write About When We Write About Grief, Part Two

7 Ways to Make a Small Story Feel Substantial

Why?

okay I am a little.

1. overly sensitive to cold milk: I highly doubt that there is more milk in an iced latte than a hot so I'm thinking heating the milk changes the sugar enough that I can tolerate it. I'm noticing iced lattes nauseate me far more than hot ones. Yes I'm taking my lactaid. No I don't want plant milk. I don't care for almond milk (or the unsustainable farming of them), oatmilk is so fatty it triggers my gall bladder issues and soy milk is an estrogen mimic and my cancer is estrogen sensitive (there isn't good data about whether this would be a real issue but it IS enough to help menopause symptoms)


2. Overly sensitive to heat. By the time I hit the library and Kroger I was so overheated (plus that iced latte) that I was far too nauseated to go to the little pride festival going on. Sigh


3. Overly sensitive to toxic male bullshit: So I sailed past Autozone on my way to the coffee shop this morning and I wanted that fix a flat. (my tire pressure is still up) No problem because there is advanced autos on the way home (literally there are three auto parts stores, two side by side (one built out of divorce revenge) and one across the street). I go in, can't find the fix a flat with the tire stuff and get in line to ask. the three people are busy. One guy gets finished. He looks at me, makes a face, turns his back and waits on a guy who had just come in.

Well fuck you too. Sorry there's a woman in the auto parts store. I walk out and go across the street to Autozone. Fix a flat is right where it's supposed to be and I'm out of there in 2 minutes.

Unfortunately I've been rather unwell all day so I did not get much done today not as much as I wanted BUT I was dealing with my ridiculous coffee table. Can anyone tell me why a prayer card from my grandmother's funeral in 1997 is on it? Can anyone tell me why THREE copies of my birth certificate are lying there in an envelope. Because I have no fucking clue. Also I need to get a little fire safe for some of these things just in case. But seriously why was that stuff there? Last I seen either they had been in my jewelry box in my bedroom. I am baffled because I have no idea why they'd be in the living room on the coffee table. I know I have the birth certificate because of my passport (which I need to check the date on. It might be time to renew that) but I did that years ago so why? Do I sleep walk and do shit in my sleep? Sometimes I swear. (also slept like crap)

Rocket now prefers the neighbors to me. Good. They're going to watch him all summer for me.

And hey look I can do a science saturday again. It's been a bit.


Scientists discover 5 million-year-old whale graveyard stretching for hundreds of miles in the Indian Ocean

2 long-vanished 'super Earths' once orbited near Neptune in our outer solar system, new study hints

2,000 years ago in Scotland, people removed a corpse's brain and fashioned the arm bones into tools

Complete skin of an adult horse found with 10th-century woman and newborn in rare Siberian burial

Genetically modified worms can now produce and deliver drugs inside a living body, scientists say

'Geminid Symphony' and 'Galactic Gandalf': See the breathtaking views of our home galaxy from the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest

How eliminating sugar may alter the gut microbiome: mouse study It's not good. You know once I get my DexCom situation fixed, I want to see what happens if I do use table sugar for my tea instead of a substitute as that's about the only place I use sugar for.


Does the Mediterranean diet hold the key to longevity?

Vitamin C may help preserve brain gray matter volume as we age

I want to speak to my programmer I have words for them.

Did I mention my tire pressure system alerted last night? So I went out there this morning and all FOUR tires are low. The back ones are minor. the front two are horribly low. Fan-fucking-tastic. I struggled to wake up this morning as is and I don't need this. I call Rio Tire, they're so slammed they can't work me in. That leaves Wal-Mart. They're doing reno so it might take 1-3 hours. But what choice is there?


I get up there and while they're working I try to talk to the pharmacy but they can't run my insurance to see the cost of the dex coms without the prescription so that's no help (meanwhile I can't call cleveland clinic or edwards health or any of the other calls I need to make) Another guy comes in while I'm writing (I came prepared. I was not prepared for plastic grade school chairs and nothing else in the waiting room) and he has been here for FOUR hours while these people try to put on tires. They couldn't even remove his lugnuts. He had to do it himself.

I was going to take my car back at 2:30 after 2 hours of sitting there and give Rio Tire a try anyhow as a walk in and I can walk to my office there and get some work done. But they took my car in and in less than a half hour it's done. 'We replaced all four tire stems.' that seems impossible. I make them repeat it. They charge me 19 bucks...there's no way they did ANYTHING.

Talked to Dad. He looked it up. The stems (with the tire pressure stuff) are 45$ a piece. So you put in four new ones plus labor for 19? Who are we fucking kidding. You put air in my tires and blew some up my ass. If the tires aren't flat again tomorrow I'll drive up to autozone for fix a flat and shove that in. I just need it to last to get home to Costco as these are under warranty.

I don't get home til almost 5 pm. I got nothing done other than the writing. Only to find I wrote the open call's submission dates down wrong (or they closed early). Sigh. Well I have another open call this would fit but it pays much less.

And let's get on to the Fannish 50

Vivziepop has confirmed Valentino will be the spotlight Vee in S3 of Hazbin. I am not surprised by this at all. I just hope Arackniss is in this season (I know he has a voice actor but could be S4 but since the theme of S3 is family I have high hopes) I keep hoping that she's going to announce that they got more episodes like Helluva Boss is. Speaking of which another HB short is out tomorrow.

And here are the Friday Fannish 50 fandom recs

Lines of Data - 50 Sentences of Vox Hazbin Hotel

Blood Ties Hazbin Hotel

stars Hazbin Hotel

Whiskers Hazbin Hotel

using a word he hadn't uttered in over ten years Hazbin Hotel

Stumbling Into Something FAKE

Unending Hazbin Hotel

Learn To Piece My Parts Together The Amazing Digital Circus

creatures hiding in the dark Hazbin Hotel

Swimming Lessons Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins & Final Fantasy XII

To Breathe Easy Supernatural

the Love Songs of the Urban Borahae Bird
방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS

Navigational Skills Bergerac

Always Follow The Recipe Bergerac

Professional Courtesy Bergerac

New Friend, Old Friend, Best Friend The Professionals/due South

Your Princess is in Another Castle Hazbin Hotel

Siren's Song Hazbin Hotel

Ageless Eyes Torchwood

Hazbin Academy Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

Cuteness Aggression Hazbin Hotel

Concealer Hazbin Hotel

Threatened Hazbin Hotel

The Aftershow The Amazing Digital Circus

Searching for Guidance The Sentinel/Numb3rs

Gently in the Darkness Inspector George Gently

Both heat and humidity so naturally this is when I'm getting together with my friend MKF. I'm so hot I'm too sick to eat.

But before that I get the laundry done, talk to the newish neighbors whom Rocket loves and they'll help with him. 'I thought he was on your porch yesterday then realized he was with me. It was a raccoon.'

Fan-fucking-tastic

Figured out why my sweeper wasn't sweeping, the hair has bound the beater bar. I fixed it.

I got the recycleables ready and thought about it. I had my missing camera on the arm of my chair where I read the mail and throw it in the recycle bag. Has my camera fallen into the recycle bag? Yes, yes it has.

I head for Walmart in my sandals and sleeveless sun dress. Do I have a bra on? No I do not? Do I care I can kick my boobs out of my way? No I do not. I'm going to Wal-Mart. I'm still the bougiest person in there at this point. Only I realize I don't have my insurance card. I must have left it on the computer so I can't talk to the pharmacist there.

Didn't expect to talk to MKF for over four hours but it's been a while since we've seen each other (March and she was working rathacon so we really didn't get to talk) That was nice. When I go to pay for my tea, I realize I DID have my insurance card. For some reason I out it behind my credit card. Why did I do that? I have no idea.


I stopped for my brisket sandwich but it was SO late and they were sold out. I had to get a KFC sandwich. pouts


Community rec- summerofthe69 is starting up again. I'm not sure I'll be writing for it this year. We'll see. I've had fun with it but I've been very busy with the original writing and I don't want to do any sexy scenes for this book.

then I'm ready for October. If I wanted Florida, I would have stayed in Florida. I do not like Florida type weather (okay it's tolerable in Jan/Feb) Ugh. This is why I'm thinking the SW to Snowbird to when I'm older.

Today feels like I accomplished nothing. I cleaned the computer room more. Dropped the task chair on my big toe and made it bleed. Cut the base of my left thumb open on god knows what. Cleaning sucks.

Got rejected from one vampire open call. Plan to look this one over and send it to the new vampire one. It's historic and I think that is really a hard sell in a lot of places.

What I Just Finished Reading:

Our Sisters Keeper - a very weird own voices black magic setting in the 1920s, has some serious creepy vibes

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End vol 1 - A lot of my friends love th is so I did buy vol 2 even though I was kinda bored with this. It's a neat idea. Frieren is an elf so she is going to way outlive her adventuring partners and she is trying to find a way to connect...I guess. I dunno. I didn't much like her so...


Sleeping on Paper Boats (Kami no Fune de Nemuru) I just happened to get drawn in by the cover and for a second I was going to pass because as much as I love queer fic I am NOT a a BL fan and this is BL based on the manga line SuBLime manga. Ha. My problem with BL is how hard SO much of it leans into the ABO omegaverse stuff. I dislike ABO, hard. Also as someone who has had it happen more than once with a NO being heard as a yes I find that shit triggering.

That said this was really interesting to me. It's horror/romance and I am looking forward to getting the next volume.


What I am Currently Reading:


The Death Card - currently struggling to get into it


Cloak and Dagger Club - a post WWI mystery that I'm enjoying so far




What I Plan to Read Next: some of my looming arcs and things for popsugar

from comment_bingo I'm excited

fanart	a work inspired by art	art on AO3	a work from your newest fandom	fancomic
a work set in an AU	a work from a science fiction/fantasy canon	a work that made you sad	a work that inspired you	a canon divergent work
a work by a creator you're subscribed to or following	a work from a fandom with a closed canon	FREE SPACE	a oneshot	a fic that's under 1k
an art you go back to	a work with an impressive/eye catching title	a fic that's over 5k	a work from a drama canon	a work you've left kudos on
a work from a movie canon	a fic with multiple chapters	a podfic	a work with under 10 comments	a fic you first read over 1 year ago

Cleaning does that to me. I did get part of my computer room cleaned, not entirely but it's under control now and that makes me happy. I have three bags of books that need to go for donation. I had taken them to work but no one wanted this batch. In the process I found the missing parts of my cosplay. I didn't find my damn camera. Really?

Called the Cleveland Clinic and my estimation of them has fallen greatly (well not of the doctors there but god the staff) the call triage people leave so much to be desired. They claim they only called me on the 4th. Dudes, I called you back FIVE times in May. And how can the call center NOT know the damn phone number for the gastroenterologist department. All I want to know is do I need new testing before I come up there (I'm betting yes, already been looking for a doctor. Can't find any)

Called my insurance because I'm locked out of my web page. They get me back in so I can use the chat to ask my question about dexcom (I love that because I then copy and paste ALL of it to keep it to use against them later) They said call CVS and here's a number if they still get the 'there's no authorization' for it and it is a 20$ copay. I call CVS they're not blocked this time but it's 150$ that's 75$ a piece not 20. I tell them not to fill it and tomorrow I have to call all the by mail places UHC gave me because I can't tell what the prices will be. I'm so over all this shit and this fucked up insurance. (Seriously those on my list who aren't American, I know several countries are talking about going from state supported to privatization like America has. Fight as hard as you can. This is a nightmare)

Sent pictures to my landlord of my broke ass porch. No one has responded.


I did do something fun. Adagio offered me a free tin with my picture on it (Yes sadly AI generated) I took the free one, ordered a big tin of it (since it was an earl grey blend and I love it) I paid for the two little sample tins. I know it's silly. I know I shouldn't because it's AI generated. But it's going to be rough birthday and I wanted something fun. (so rough apparently I'm crying just thinking about it).

And now on to the fannish 50 portion of this post


As a reminder I'm using Buffy the Vampire Slayer for this set of questions

Day 6: Least favourite male character. This one is easy. I didn't want to use a one off. And yes sometimes it's Xander but he's more of an annoyance than anything. I know a lot of fans would have put Riley here but I had no issues at all with Riley at first (he was annoying later).

No, it's Andrew Well that I absolutely hated. Yes Warren (and sadly Jonathan who had been a decent side character) were part of it but those two didn't become a recurring thing. Andrew Wells in no particular order, begs and pleads to get a shot at raping Warren's ex, wants to help to turn Buffy into a sex slave, kills Jonathan, tries to kill Dawn and Xander.

And then suddenly he's a fucking Scoobie. He gets into the fringes of the friend group. He ends up a spokesperson for Buffy and Giles and the Watchers. He gets to mock Spike and Angel twice.

This show wanted me to cheer for a would be rapist/murderer.

Worse, fans DID! Because he was funny. Do you want to know how many times I heard that excuse in the heyday of Buffyverse? I wrote a lot of Connor fanfic. I thought this character had (wasted) potential. People gave me shit about writing Connor fanfic. Often the same people would write Andrew in a good way (versus the scum bag he is) and while I'm usually a live and let live fan, write whatever you want but if you come at me and your excuse for a rapist as YOUR character is that 'he's funny and Connor isn't' just don't engage with me about this.

You can tell I had a lot of anger about it. Shockingly I still do. Maybe more than I realized. I didn't even like Spike on Angel so much (though it was better than I expected it to be) but I had nothing but pity for them after dealing with Andrew. And all the other characters dropped a notch (even my well loved Giles) for letting Andrew in. I believe in second chances but I also believe in atonement of which Andrew did nothing



( all questions under hereCollapse )

They are tearing the main artery out down to bare earth so there is the world's biggest traffic snarl. My car is okay (took it in for oil change) my brakes aren't. BUT shhh I'm going to trade Gojyo in so here's hoping the brakes will last me to Pittsburgh in the next weeek.

I ended up at the Italian restaurant down town. Wasn't planning on it. I checked the hours on the Japanese place in historic downtown. It should have been open. It wasn't. That's okay I wanted to try that Italian anyhow. It was very good.

Somehow this took all day but it was a good one. Right now though, that substernal pressure is back. Can't help but notice more fiberglass has blown up thru my air ducts. I'm beginning to wonder if I have some kind of inflammation going on here as a result (swear to god if this place gives me lung cancer or copd I'm going to become a wrathful spirit)

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is #29 a song with food or drink in the title

( Notice I know a lot more alcoholic songs than I do foodCollapse )





here's the whole prompt list

( All under hereCollapse )

So pretty soon I have to dig into the dev edits for my 1980s monster hunting story and thought that is also the perfect time to start writing the synopsis. I'll be going through this novel chapter by chapter so what better time to work on the synopsis as well. My first links will be of synopsis writing but I'm curious for my friends who have done this, how did you approach it? It's been a few years since I've even tried. I remember going chapter by chapter and summing it up in a couple of sentences per chapter.


Open Calls

Solar Punk Magazine Solarpunk Horror

Otherside Unthemed Speculative Fiction & Poetry

Tails of Terror Animal attack horror centered around pets from Rosco’s Pet Emporium

Last Girls’ Club: Fall 2026 Hive Collapse / Cascade Event

Sideshow Circus sideshow horror / carnival horrors / strange attractions

Ten Publishers Open to Direct Submissions in June 2026



From Around the web


How To Write A Novel Synopsis (With An Example)

How To Write a Book Synopsis: Complete Guide & Examples




How to Live with a Fictional Universe in Your Head

The US Horror Writer’s Guide to Quarterly Taxes and Self-Employment Income

Make Every Sentence Sing






From betty

Six Bad Arguments Against Social Justice in Speculative Fiction

Four Questions to Ask When a Character Is Clever

Six Reasons I Ask Questions As an Editor

What Is a Power Fantasy?

Should Your Tale Start With Dark Backstory?

Literary Pathways for Microtension

The Unreliable Narrator: How to Deceive Readers Without Losing Their Trust

Interiority vs. Visceral Reactions in Deep POV

Charting Your Course #3: Self-Publish Online (Part 2)

The Blueprint that Sells Books

When Deep POV Revisions Feel Flat (And What To Fix Instead)

Marketing, Algorithms, and Tropes

The Crime Fiction Evolution

How Universal Fears Pull Readers into the Story

How to Generate Better Story Ideas Using the Ones That Don’t Work

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Cultivating Trust.

Five Truths I Learned Editing Hundreds of Books That Might Change Your Life


8+ Ways to Signal Your Character’s Fear to Readers

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Visualization

How to come up with good comp titles for your book

How to research a literary agent

Tending Your Story: How Writers Build a Lasting Writing Habit

How Writers Can Handle Criticism Without Losing Confidence

Why Writers Procrastinate at the Blank Page—and How to Quiet the Mental Chaos

The First Steps to Self-Editing Your Manuscript

How Writers Can Restart Their Writing Routine After a Creative Lull

How to Write Mythic Fiction: Stop Borrowing Old Myths and Start Creating New Ones

What Makes Human Storytelling Human

Anything Is Possible.

A Draft With a Will of Its Own

I have written a lot of Giles stuff. Not all of it is on AO3 but I sorted through the stuff that is on AO3 already where he's the star and/or big supporting character. Also holy shit some of this has been on AO3 for a very long time, coming off of FFN before I tagged things. I need to reread some of these and tag them up. Also there are some Buffy things for challenges where the challenges put stuff up for me (also not tagged). Some I know were written for summer_of_giles and others for other challenges. Lots of Giles/Jenny in this but the first one up is a long fic set in the 1970s with Ethan and a few OCs

Hope you enjoy.


Transitive Nightfall of Diamonds

A Night at the Museum . This is crossed with Angel the series and set at the house on the rock with tons of photo hyperlinks (I took the pics. I used to live in the area. I miss it!)


CATalyst This is crossed with Angel the series, part of my Hyperion's Son story (Giles plays a decent role in that but I didn't link to it as it's more Angel and Connor but you can navigate to it from this story. It's novel length)


One for Sorrow


Worry With a Side of Tea


An Amble Through the Zoo With You


Tomorrow's Getting Harder