I’ve been exploring ways to work with AI to support my writing this year and want to share some of what I’ve found, along with general guides, for folks who will excel with AI assistance.
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Last weekend I stopped by the MSP Comic Con. It was fun! But wow, the boobs and the chests. So much of the commercial comic art is about hyper-unrealistic body types. I know, this has been the case for ages. And this is not a blog post about the evils of comic art. I love comic art and comics. But most of us are much better at realizing that superpowers are rarely literally real than we are at realizing superboobs are also rarely real. Also they're not actually how I prefer my people to look. Not even my superheroes. I think that's true for a lot of us. Gender is a way we categorize bodies. Parts of gender may arise from physicality, but it's not located there. We get to do gender the way we want and shape our bodies (or not) as we choose to evoke different perceptions of gender. Your body is yours, you get so say what it means, what its parts are called and how you're going to live in the world. But sometimes it can be VERY hard to remember this when we're in places that have two gender templates and most of the representation is being stamped out
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Welcome to the second of my research posts, covering books that went into the making of My Year Zero (MYZ). Below you'll find two more books about bipolar disorder, one about emotional neglect, and one about girl sex. Should I really be talking about mental illnesses and sex in the same post? Absolutely! People with mental illnesses like sex as much as neurotypical people – and some of us are at greater risk for engaging in unsafe behavior, so leaning how to work your brain goes hand in hand with learning how to talk about safer sex. Mood Charting for everyone The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Second Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know by David J. Miklowitz Most books on bipolar recommend mood charting. I liked the way this one did. He uses a -3 to +3 scale (which you’ll see Blake uses in the book too). That felt very manageable to me, although a lot of people use a -5 to +5 scale. On the whole this book took a very hands-on approach. I listened to it on audio, so I’m not including a big quote, but here’s an image from the sample mood chart that comes with the audio
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In my novel, My Year Zero, one of the most important characters has bipolar disorder. Since that's not my disorder, I set about researching it before I started drafting and throughout the editing. I read a half-dozen books, plus tons of blogs and studies. I also worked with a consultant who both has bipolar disorder and writes about it. I wanted to make sure that the character of Blake came across as realistically as possible. Of course doing all this research, I discovered great insights and tips that I want to share. I started using some of these with my friends and myself. They work not just for bipolar disorder, but for a variety of disorders and plain old challenging day-to-day mental states. Yes, you can date people with bipolar disorder Natasha Tracy's blogs: Bipolar Burble and HealthyPlace's Breaking Bipolar I found Natasha online while looking at popular bipolar blogs. I liked what she was writing, but the decision that I definitely wanted to work with her came after viewing her video about dating people with bipolar disorder. I thought she'd be an ideal advocate for Blake. And if you're curious about that video, here it is: Check out her blogs: Bipolar Burble and HealthyPlace's Breaking
Continue ReadingMedia stars and public figures coming out can be great for trans visibility, and I suspect it takes boatloads of courage to come out in a hugely public way no matter who you are. But I’m getting tired of seeing a news feed that’s all pics of Caitlyn Jenner, so here are some alternatives: This wonderful list of 10 trans icons from around the world, including Parinya Charoenphol (and if you have not seen the film about her life, "Beautiful Boxer," run to Netflix and watch it): http://www.towleroad.com/2015/06/10-trans-icons.html Deva Ozenen who is running for a parliament seat in Turkey: http://www.naijapromo.net/2015/06/meet-transgender-woman-who-wants-to.html Manabi Banerjee, India’s first trans college principal: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/india-transgender-college-principal-150527080214140.html These 8 trans women of color who are amazing! The 8 (known) murdered trans women in the U.S. so far this year: http://www.advocate.com/crime/2015/05/19/philadelphia-sees-eighth-murder-trans-woman-us-year. And the 12 (known) murdered trans women in 2014: http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/11/20/transgender-day-remembrance-those-weve-lost-2014 Leelah Alcorn and the many trans youth like her who feel that suicide is their best or only option: http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/05/01/new-details-emerge-officials-rule-leelah-alcorns-death-suicide Captain Hannah Winterbourne: http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/05/armys-first-transgender-soldier-poses-proudly-in-a-dress-and-heels-looks-great-5231651/ Lana Wachowski and Jamie Clayton — read a great interview with Jamie about the Netflix series Sense8 here: http://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/sense8s-jamie-clayton-on-gender-identity-and-queen-netflix/ The Trans 100: http://thetrans100.com/ a list that celebrates excellent in the trans community. I know I've missed many important and interesting people who are making change
Continue ReadingAdapted from the Yummy Kimchi recipe suggested to me by Allison Moon and the recipe in "Brain Maker" by Dr. David Perlmutter. Altered to be more digestible to people who can’t tolerate FODMAP foods (like me) by removing all onions, leeks, scallions, garlic and the like. If you’re on a very strict FODMAP-avoidant diet, do not use the jicama either. (If you don't know what that means, you probably don't have to worry about it.) Ingredients: 1 napa cabbage quartered and then cut into chunks or strips as you like 1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp fine pure sea salt 1 large crisp apple, Asian pear or bosc pear 2 tbsp fresh ginger root 1 tbsp anchovy paste (sounds gross, is awesome) 1 tablespoon Korean chili powder (or more, or none depending on your taste; I used smoked paprika, this may or may not be your thing -- see notes below) 2 stalks of celery 1/2 to a full daikon radish, peeled and cut into quarters lengthwise, then 1/2-inch-thick chunks 1 large carrot 1/3 to 1/2 jicama (optional) Ingredient notes: Although the recipe called for Korean chili powder, I didn’t have any and I don’t like chili anyway, so I used smoked paprika. If you go this route make sure that a) you really
Continue ReadingOr is that gaming and writing? Many people know that I’m an avid gamer in addition to writing young adult novels. I get a fair number of questions about how I balance the two because as many writers have discovered it’s hard enough to balance writing and a day job and a social life and staying healthy (all of which are also parts of my life) — and then to try adding gaming to that mix. So I’m going to answer that and specifically the question from Allison Moon who asked this week if I have, “
Continue ReadingThis morning Business Insider ran a short video: “Gluten Sensitivity Proven False,” which makes a few good points and some dubious ones. First off, a more accurate title for the video would be: “One Study Shows Gluten Not a Factor in IBS Symptoms,” but that’s got a lot less drama to it. (Here’s the video if you’re curious.) Basically, according to the video only 1% of Americans have Celiac Disease but about 30% report wanting to eat less gluten. Is there such a thing as “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” and how many of that 30% might have it? The bottom line in the video is there isn’t such a thing. The actual title of the video on the page is "The Science is in -- Why Gluten Sensitivity is Probably Fake." I get cranky when people cite "Science" when they really mean one study or a small group of studies and then use emotionally loaded words like "fake." My bottom line is this: self-care trumps all. If you feel better eating gluten-free or grain free or only foods that don’t begin with the letter “g,” then that’s what you should eat. Everyone is an individual. Just like there aren’t two one-size-fits-all genders, there
Continue ReadingI have a great staff in my home office, where I do most of my fiction writing. For example, here's Sabel the puppy providing comic relief.
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