Rachael Arsenault's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-advice"
December Wrap-Up
Somehow, we managed to make it to the end of 2020. I don’t think I’m alone in saying it felt like this year would never end.
December was a quieter month than usual this year, but it still managed to be hectic nonetheless – getting stuff ready for the arrival of my baby, signing paperwork to officially tie the knot with my husband, navigating Christmas when I can’t travel to visit any of my family, etc. But it all turned out for the best! That being said, I’m more than ready to move on to a new (and hopefully better) year.
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins II #2 by Matthew Mercer, Jody Houser, Olivia Samson, MSASSYK
One of my current favourite shows is Critical Role, so I am more than happy to consume these narratives in new mediums. The comics thus far do such an awesome job at capturing the characters of Vox Machina and their dynamics with each other, and I loved finally getting to meet Pike and Percy. Makes me wanna rewatch Campaign One!
Critical Role: The Chronicles of Exandria The Mighty Nein by Critical Role and Dark Horse Books
I guess I’ve been on a bit of a Critical Role kick this month. Well, no, let’s be honest: I’m always on a Critical Role kick. In any case, this book is GORGEOUS. Not only is all the art featured incredible, but I loved looking back on the Mighty Nein’s journey through this lens – the idea of framing the narrative through collected notes of Beauregard and other archivists is really fun and interesting. Hoping to see another edition of this capturing later events of the campaign sometime.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 7 and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 8 by CLAMP
While certainly not as nostalgic as going through the omnibus collection of the original manga, I’m enjoying this series nonetheless. It’s a quick read, and I’m intrigued by the new magic and how the plot is unfolding. Plus, even when things are serious, I always find CCS has a delightfully lighthearted, optimistic slant to it.
Articles
Researchers “Translate” Bat Talk. Turns Out, They Argue – A Lot
I don’t care what anyone says, bats are super cute. Also apparently much smarter than we previously thought, since their communication turns out to be super nuanced and individualized rather than broadly group based. Neat!
Why Detroit Residents Pushed Back Against Tree-Planting
A super insightful piece about the importance of community outreach and involvement in decision-making, no matter how beneficial a planned initiative might be. This quote puts it best: “However, environmental justice is not just about the distribution of bad stuff, like pollution, or good stuff, like forestry projects across disadvantaged communities. It’s also about the distribution of power among communities that have historically only been the subjects and experiments of power structures.”
What I’ve Created
Articles
How to Slow Down and Write the Quiet Moments in Your Novel
Just a quick bit of writing advice for anyone struggling to slow down their novel – or for underwriters! I really like putting these pieces together. It helps me think critically about my own writing and the techniques and strategies I use, while also helping other writers improve on their work.
7 Ways to Feel The Christmas Spirit When You Can’t Be With Family
I know I’m not the only person whose Christmas looked a lot different this year. It was the first time I spent the holidays away from my parents, and I definitely missed seeing my family – but I did my best to find ways to bring some Christmas traditions and Christmas joy into these much quieter, smaller celebrations with my husband. With that in mind, I wrote this piece to share some suggestions on how you can do the same.
What to Know Before You Publish Your First Short Story
All publishing can be daunting, and short stories are no exception. So I put together some advice to help guide people trying this out for the first time.
Other
2020 Reflections / 2021 Resolutions
I uploaded this blog post earlier in the month, but I thought it was worth sharing here, too. 2020 was a hard year, and I think it’s easy to get disheartened looking back on all the goals and plans we made that never came to fruition. However, I’m trying not to be down on myself – it was a wild year, and not one we could easily predict or prepare for – so I count any accomplishment as significant at this point. So if you’re looking for that kind of reflective positivity, please give this a read!
And that's that. It was a busy month, a weird year, and I'm ready to see what 2021 brings.
March Wrap-up
This month brought the first signs of spring and weather warm enough for me to open all the windows in my house (though who knows how long that’ll last here in Canada). It also brought a ton of amazing reads, a little progress on writing, and tons of inspiration for more.
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
I looooved this book! I’ve been trying to get back into reading non-fiction – I definitely fell out of academic reading after I completed my BA – and this was the perfect book to settle back in with. It’s deeply informative and incredibly well-researched, but the language used and the way the information is presented is super accessible, so I never felt lost or drowned in facts and figures. The book also really stuck with me. I would finish reading a section and step away to go about my day, and phrases or data would linger in my mind.
I will say, as a fair warning, that one of the early sections involves a lot of discussion of sexual assault and rape, including descriptions of a couple incidents, which I know will be hard to stomach for some readers.
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
If you follow me on Instagram (@rachaellawrites), then you know I've gushed over several quotes from this book. It's amazingly well-written, the plot is well-crafted and executed, and the characters are complex and grey. I was rooting for both Malik and Karina, even when their plans were counter to each other, which just made the whole experience super intense and engaging. Highly recommend you give this one a shot.
Articles
Want to Make Objects Float in Your Photos? Here’s What You Need to Do!
This one might be a bit niche or uninteresting to anyone who doesn’t dabble in photo manipulation or graphic design, but it showed me a few tricks that I’m hoping I might be able to apply to future books covers. So… This is kind of here for me to reference back to in the future. Sorry, not sorry.
What Do Booze and Washing Machines Have in Common?
A great examination of how overlapping developments and historical movements influenced/drove forward the fight for women’s suffrage. It’s also a pretty quick and simple read, so it’s very accessible to anyone who doesn’t typically read history or academic stuff.
Love and War: The Gay Army Who Destroyed the Spartans
I'm not a stranger to queer erasure in history and media, nor am I oblivious to the relative acceptance of homosexuality in Ancient Greece. But this piece still managed to surprise me. If you like Greek history, queer history, and the intersection between, definitely give this a read.
Dickless and Alone, They Die After Spreading Their Seed
Absurd and hilarious and surprisingly educational. Great if you like crass humour alongside your weird trivia.
The Gardens of Bomarzo
I 100% have a new place I want to visit on my bucket list now. So much potential for photography and writing inspiration!
What I’ve Created
Articles
Books I’ve Loved by Authors of Colour
In the past few years, I’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort to read books by authors of colour and, in turn, support a more diverse reading and writing community. I still have a long way to go, but I thought it might be helpful to others looking to similarly expand their reading habits if I offered some recommendations. If you have any of your own recommendations (especially ones based on the books I’ve listed here), then please share them in the comments below!
Everyday Oddities on Prince Edward Island
Everyone thinks their hometown is the weirdest, but PEI definitely has some really odd quirks. I thought that would be fun to write about, and I think it will make for an interesting read – especially if you’re from away!
How to Write Your Way Out of a Difficult Scene
I’m honestly really proud of how this one came out. I’m intimately familiar with the struggle of getting stuck on a scene when writing, and being able to (hopefully) help people get themselves unstuck using advice built from my own experience feels pretty great.
All in all, a pretty great month for reading and writing! And it doesn’t even include the stuff I’ve been working on in the background…
What have you been reading lately?
What I’ve Enjoyed
Books
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
I looooved this book! I’ve been trying to get back into reading non-fiction – I definitely fell out of academic reading after I completed my BA – and this was the perfect book to settle back in with. It’s deeply informative and incredibly well-researched, but the language used and the way the information is presented is super accessible, so I never felt lost or drowned in facts and figures. The book also really stuck with me. I would finish reading a section and step away to go about my day, and phrases or data would linger in my mind.
I will say, as a fair warning, that one of the early sections involves a lot of discussion of sexual assault and rape, including descriptions of a couple incidents, which I know will be hard to stomach for some readers.
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
If you follow me on Instagram (@rachaellawrites), then you know I've gushed over several quotes from this book. It's amazingly well-written, the plot is well-crafted and executed, and the characters are complex and grey. I was rooting for both Malik and Karina, even when their plans were counter to each other, which just made the whole experience super intense and engaging. Highly recommend you give this one a shot.
Articles
Want to Make Objects Float in Your Photos? Here’s What You Need to Do!
This one might be a bit niche or uninteresting to anyone who doesn’t dabble in photo manipulation or graphic design, but it showed me a few tricks that I’m hoping I might be able to apply to future books covers. So… This is kind of here for me to reference back to in the future. Sorry, not sorry.
What Do Booze and Washing Machines Have in Common?
A great examination of how overlapping developments and historical movements influenced/drove forward the fight for women’s suffrage. It’s also a pretty quick and simple read, so it’s very accessible to anyone who doesn’t typically read history or academic stuff.
Love and War: The Gay Army Who Destroyed the Spartans
I'm not a stranger to queer erasure in history and media, nor am I oblivious to the relative acceptance of homosexuality in Ancient Greece. But this piece still managed to surprise me. If you like Greek history, queer history, and the intersection between, definitely give this a read.
Dickless and Alone, They Die After Spreading Their Seed
Absurd and hilarious and surprisingly educational. Great if you like crass humour alongside your weird trivia.
The Gardens of Bomarzo
I 100% have a new place I want to visit on my bucket list now. So much potential for photography and writing inspiration!
What I’ve Created
Articles
Books I’ve Loved by Authors of Colour
In the past few years, I’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort to read books by authors of colour and, in turn, support a more diverse reading and writing community. I still have a long way to go, but I thought it might be helpful to others looking to similarly expand their reading habits if I offered some recommendations. If you have any of your own recommendations (especially ones based on the books I’ve listed here), then please share them in the comments below!
Everyday Oddities on Prince Edward Island
Everyone thinks their hometown is the weirdest, but PEI definitely has some really odd quirks. I thought that would be fun to write about, and I think it will make for an interesting read – especially if you’re from away!
How to Write Your Way Out of a Difficult Scene
I’m honestly really proud of how this one came out. I’m intimately familiar with the struggle of getting stuck on a scene when writing, and being able to (hopefully) help people get themselves unstuck using advice built from my own experience feels pretty great.
All in all, a pretty great month for reading and writing! And it doesn’t even include the stuff I’ve been working on in the background…
What have you been reading lately?
