Nerd for Hire

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Book reviews Folklore and Mythology Freelancing advice Publishing advice Worldbuilding analyses Writing advice Writing prompts and exercises Other sundry thoughts and musings

Book reviews

The Actual Star by Monica Byrne All That Was Asked by Vanessa MacLaren-Wray Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi Binary Star by Sarah Gerard Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O'Brien Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdez A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge Dune: Book vs. Movies The Fallen Odyssey by Corey McCullough Goddess of Filth by V. Castro The Guilty by Juan Villoro Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami Herland and With Her in Ourland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman How to Carry Bigfoot Home by Chris Tarry Kindred by Octavia E. Butler The Librarian (anthology) Orlando by Virginia Woolf The Princess Bride: Book vs. Movie The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck Star Eater by Kerstin Hall Swarm Theory by Christine Rice Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. by Jennifer Wortman Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor Whiskey, Etc. by Sherrie Flick The Wizard's Homecoming by Elwin Cotman

Folklore and Mythology

13 Fun Monsters from World Mythology that Haven't Been Written to Death Yet in Western Fiction 27 Cryptids and Monsters from the Americas The Epic of Gilgamesh Worldbuilding Analysis Mythology and Folklore Research Resources On Adam and Eve, the Suspension of Disbelief, and the Power of Stories On the Hero's (And Heroine's) Journey On the Pervasiveness of Dragons Wheel of Time: Myth Connections (And Potential Inspirations) for the Forsaken

Freelance advice

3 Tips to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career 7 Handy Things to Always Pack for Traveling Writers and Digital Nomads Must-Have Skills for a Freelance Writer (Other than Writing) On Work/Life Balance as a Creative Human Why Slow Traveling is Better for Digital Nomads

Publishing advice

3 Tips for Introverts to Make the Most of Writing Conferences, Conventions, and Book Festivals 15 Journals with Guaranteed Feedback that Are Open Now (January 2024) 17 Publishers of Fiction Chapbooks 60ish Markets for Novellas and Long Short Stories AWP 2024 Bookfair Discoveries How to Know When a Short Story Is Ready to Submit How to Submit Work to Journals Step-by-step How to Suss Out What a Journal Publishes When You Can't Read Their Back Issues How to Write Cover Letters for Fiction Submissions in 2023 Insights from Duotrope's Editor Interviews On Journal Acceptance Ratios, What They Mean, and Why They Matter Should You Self-Publish? Should You Submit to Contests?

Worldbuilding analyses

Dune (part 1) Dune (part 2) The Epic of Gilgamesh Nope (Jordan Peele) Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (part 1) Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (part 2) Wheel of Time Books 1-7 (part 1) Wheel of Time Books 1-7 (part 2)

Writing advice

3 Amateur Fiction Writer Mistakes (and How to Fix Them) 3 Tips to Write Better Dialogue 5 Free Newsletters for Writers 9 POV Approaches for Fiction Writers Authentically Alien: What Makes a Non-Human Character Read as Truly Other? Creative Feedback: How to Give It Effectively (and Get the Most Out of It) Genres Explained Part 1: What Does Genre Even Mean, Anyway? Genres Explained Part 2: The Big List of Speculative Fiction Subgenres Genres Explained Part 3: The Many Shades of Realism Grammatical Gender 101 for English-Speaking Conlangers How to End a Story How to Focus a Story Using Orson Scott Card's MICE Quotient How to Know When a Short Story Is Ready to Submit How to Start a Writing Group Insights from 2023 Confluence Convention and Wildcat Lit Fest Literary Worldbuilding: Why You Need It (and How to Do It Right) On High Body Counts, Horror Tropes, and the Fall of the House of Usher On the Hero's (And Heroine's) Journey Passive vs. Active Voice (+ Other Options for Conlangers) Tips for Using Other Languages in Fiction What Actually Is the Difference Between Science Fiction and Fantasy? What Makes a Character Three-Dimensional (And Do They Always Need to Be?) What's in a Name? Why Fiction Writers Should Watch Reality TV

Writing prompts and exercises

3 Ways to Start a Story Everything's a Writing Prompt part 1: Board Games Everything's a Writing Prompt part 2: Everyday Objects Everything's a Writing Prompt part 3: The Grocery Store Everything's a Writing Prompt part 4: Traveling The 12 Prompts of Christmas (Everything's a Writing Prompt part 5) Everything's a Writing Prompt Part 6: Pets

Other sundry thoughts and musings

5 Star Trek Episodes Every Conlanger Should Watch Every Zodiac Sign if They Were Alien Cultures from Star Trek On Becoming Human: The AI in Star Trek On Cats in Space On Killgrave, Preacher, and the Power of Suggestion On Reading in a Second Language On the Cage in the Menagerie (or How a Failed Pilot Spawned a Franchise) On the Evolution of Captain Pike On Trills and Timelords