Lammy shortlist!

+ a birthday, a root canal, and a writing prompt

Hi friends,

First up, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: Endpapers is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in the bisexual fiction category! I can’t express what this means to me, not just as an author but as a queer and genderqueer person who came of age in the ’90s, when there didn’t seem to be any adequate language to fully understand or express who I was (and still am).

Huge congratulations to all the finalists! I hope everyone will celebrate them along with me and read their stories.

This week I’m also approaching my 50th birthday—it falls on Easter Sunday. I’m planning to celebrate with friends, family, karaoke, and post-root-canal recovery. It all feels just right as I go barreling toward this milestone. Literary ups and downs, celebrations, constant physical maintenance. What a time to be alive!

When it comes to writing, I’ve been making solid progress on a few projects, but for the last week or two, I’ve had to slow down to take care of other life things. It’s been good for my revision process because it’s forced me to take my time and reconsider sections I’m rushing through just to finish.

In that spirit, I’d like to end with a writing prompt. It’s something I’m challenging myself to do this week as well. Today it occurred to me that my main character in one of the novels I’m revising spends a lot of time reflecting on her brother, who’s recently died, and on the many ways their relationship has affected her life, but she never stops to wonder what he would think of the choices she’s been making since he died (some of which are quite questionable).

I feel like I might find some small but interesting kernel there that could complicate their relationship and her story. Not necessarily in a big way, but in a subtle and meaningful way that might shift things ever-so-slightly in an interesting direction. I’m excited to try it and see.

So this is my prompt for you: Do you have a side character whose judgment, either real or imagined, might affect your main character in some way? What could happen to your story if you took some time to explore that? If you do, let us know how it goes in the comments.

Meanwhile, thanks for reading, and I look forward to next time!

Yours,

Jen