I Need People To Stop Blaming The Death Of Movies On “quips”. A Quip Is Just A Funny Line Of Dialogue.

Glaze is out!

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Lemony Snicket's Calendar of Unfortunate Events

Jan 12: Birthday of Jacques Snicket, as well as that of his sister.

Feb 26: Jacques Snicket “taken” and initiated into V.F.D.

Mar 18: Jacques Snicket, given his first assignment, disguises himself accordingly.

Mar 31: Alleged date the alleged Baudelaire mansion allegedly burned down.

Apr 8: Isadora Quagmire’s whereabouts unknown.

Apr 17: Jacques Snicket disguise discovered. Alternate disguise employed.

May 13: Nine cows arrested by the authorities under the suspicion of involvement with V.F.D. Jacques Snicket, disguised as the tenth cow, escapes on a stolen tractor.

Jun 26: Jacques Snicket arrives in Paltryville to continue Baudelaire investigation.

Jul 6: Jacques Snicket reports his findings to The Daily Punctilio.

Jul 7: The Daily Punctilio does not publish Jacques Snicket’s report.

Aug 9: V.F.D. declares Jacques Snicket “either missing or on vacation.”

Sep 23: Summer is dead and Jacques Snicket does not return. V.F.D. changes his status to “missing.”

Oct 10: The remaining Snicket siblings open their investigation into Jacques Snicket’s disappearance.

Nov 7: Jacques Snicket reported murdered.

Dec 2: Jacques Snicket reported ill.

Jan 4: Director and screenwriter Gustav Sebald reported missing.

Jan 10: Gustav Sebald found murdered.

Jan 27: V.F.D. declares remaining Snicket siblings “either missing or on vacation.” Very few vacations are scheduled in January.

ooh you mentioned buying a folk horror anthology in the tags of that horror post, can i ask which one? i’d love to read more folk horror but i don’t really know where to start (also if you have other folk horror recs i would not be upset)

Yeah of course, happy to help! I bought The Fiends in the Furrows: An Anthology of Folk Horror edited by David T. Neal which features stories by current writers (and there's a second anthology with more).

If you're looking to start with some classic folk horror then there's a few major authors and stories that are worth checking out (many of these should be available to read online for free):

'The White People' by Arthur Machen

'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson

'The Black Reaper' by Bernard Capes

'The Ash Tree' by M. R. James

'Pallinghurst Barrow' by Grant Allen

'The Willows' by Algernon Blackwood

Ritual by David Pinner (basis for The Wicker Man)

'The Music on the Hill' by Saki

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

'The Sin Eater' by Fiona MacLeod

Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

'The Children of the Corn' by Stephen King

And if you want some recent folk horror then these are worth a go:

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland

The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

The Plague Stones by James Brogden

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (graphic story collection)

The Ritual by Adam Nevill (honestly the film is much better and well worth watching, but the first half of the book is fantastic)

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver (gothic horror meets folk horror)

The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (not a traditional folk horror novel but it explores the role of Native American folklore & culture in the modern day in a really interesting way)

The Reddening by Adam Nevill

Pine by Francine Toon

Types of people, which make the world a better place

Witty old ladies

The only guy, who gets your stupid joke

That funny uncle, you only see on family gatherings 

This person, who notices how you try not to stare at their chocolate bar and shares a piece with you

The passenger of undistinguishable age on the train or bus, who shares his wisdom (and you like it)

The people in public transport, who do faces for small kids

The teacher, who does not give you homework after quiz

The person, who moves aside on the bus\underground, so you and your friend could sit together

Feel free to add

Resources For Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters

 Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.

As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life Deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.

Deaf Characters:

Deaf characters masterpost

Deaf dialogue thread

Dialogue with signing characters (also applies to mute characters.)

A Deaf author’s advice on deaf characters

Dialogue between Deaf characters

“The Month I Suddenly Went Deaf”

What It’s Like Going Deaf In Your Thirties

9 Women Share What It Feels Like To Lose Your Hearing

What It’s Like Being a Deaf Teenager (video)

Parenting With Sign Language (video)

Deaf Teen Talks About Losing His Hearing To Meningitis (video)

Things Not To Say To A Deaf Person (video)

Deaf Kids Shining in High School (video)

I recently discovered the youtube channel of the amazing Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, a vintage-loving, lesbian, happily married queen, who talks about her deafness in many of her videos.  I can’t recommend her enough.

Black Deaf Culture Through the Lens of Black Deaf History

Black Deaf History

Video: How to Sign in BASL (Black American Sign Language)

Mute Characters

Life as a Mute

My Silent Summer:  Life as a Mute

What It’s Like Being Mute

21 People Reveal What It’s Really Like To Be Mute

I am a 20 year old Mute, ask me anything at all!

Blind Characters:

Things Not To Say To A Blind Person (video)

What It’s Like to Go Blind (video)

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters.

@referenceforwriters masterpost of resources for writing/playing blind characters.

The youtube channel of the wonderful Tommy Edison, a man blind from birth with great insight into the depiction of blind people and their lives.

As does Molly Burke, “a typical sushi and makeup loving millennial girl who just so happens to be blind.”

And Alyssa Irene, who talks about her experience going blind and life as a blind person.

An Absolute Write thread on the depiction of blind characters, with lots of different viewpoints and some great tips.

And finally, this short, handy masterpost of resources for writing blind characters.

Characters Who Are Blind in One Eye

4 Ways Life Looks Shockingly Different With One Eye

Learning to Live With One Eye

Adapting to the Loss of an Eye

Adapting to Eye Loss and Monocular Vision

Monocular Depth Perception

Deaf-Blind Characters

What Is It Like To Be Deafblind?

Going Deaf and Blind in a City of Noise and Lights

Deaf and Blind by 30

Sarita is Blind, Deaf, and Employed (video)

Deaf and Blind:  Being Me (video)

Born Deaf and Blind, This Eritrean American Graduated Harvard Law School (video)

A Day of a Deaf Blind Person

Lesser Known Things About Being Deafblind

How the Deaf-Blind Communicate

Early Interactions With Children Who Are Deaf-Blind

Raising a DeafBlind Baby

If you have any more resources to add, let me know!  I’ll be adding to this post as I find more resources.

I hope this helps, and happy writing!  <3

I just realized, I just bloody realized, Moist Von Lipwig’s story arc is a game of Monopoly through the eyes of a conman going through the board and winning all the pieces.

He has the top hat, the dog, the train (which replaces to automotive in newer boards) the friendship of the Seamstress’ Guild (thimble), the walking iron called Gladys, the boot (he’s the incarnation of the Disc God Fedecks who has winged boots) and also the bag of money.*   He goes to jail, but eventually gets to pass and go. He’s integral in the rehabilitation of civic buildings (post office, bank, mint, the acquisition of land to build a railway and then adding stations to said railway), the owner of up market private property, and also he invents paper money which everyone sort of thinks of as a bit of a game.

His very name, Moist Von Lipwig, is a pun about wearing a fake lip wig or mustache. Like so:

Lord Vetinari is quite literally using him to play a life size version of Monopoly with the city. And winning.

(Amendment: Adora with hear deadly footwear is also the shoe/boot.)

(* Alternates: Sam Vimes is boots, Gaspode and Beggars Guild is dog, Wheelbarrow is Harry King, Thimble is Seamstress Guild, Battlehsip/canon is Assassins Guild/Nobility, Money Bag is Thieves Guild, leaving Moist as Top Hat and Train. ANKH-MORPORK MONOPOLY, GIVE IT TO ME) 

((edited for typos, too busy flailing))!!!!!

asoue Lemony: If I had been one of the Baudelaires myself, I would have stood at the edge of town for the rest of my life, whimpering with fear, rather than take even one step into the crow-covered streets...

atwq Lemony: "ha ha get scared later" and I proceeded to launch myself onto the outside of Hangfire's Murder Train

Updated Reading List 6.1: Ancient Jewish History

Historiography, Theory, Methodology, Construction, and Philosophy of History American History Ancient History Atlantic World History European History

Jewish History: Ancient-Late Antique*

A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, Second Edition by J. Maxwell Miller and John Haralson Hayes

A Brief History of Ancient Israel by Victor H. Matthews

The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World: The Jews of Palestine from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest by Peter Schlafer

The Ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad (Key Themes in Ancient History) by Seth Schwartz

Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity by Steven Weitzman

*A lot of my preferred books in the realm of “Ancient Jewish History” fall under the heading of “Biblical Studies,” which will be in a separate, “History Adjacent” reading list. Some of these are also featured/repeated in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict Reading List, which I am presently editing. NOTE: I’m an Amazon Affiliate; I will receive a small portion of the proceeds from ANYTHING [hint] you purchase on Amazon via my links. I am an independent scholar, and need $$$ to pay my translators etc for my book on Jewish women’s Holocaust resistance, so anything you can do helps! If you’d rather not give your $$$ to Amazon but still want to help this independent scholar out, my paypal is here.