So, Elon Musk bought Twitter....

1. Mother: Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - what are people going to do?
Me: Soap Twitter has been trying to figure that out today. They've been discussing it since it happened. (Okay discuss is the wrong word - no one really discusses things on Twitter - they just post their reactions to things.)
Mother: Well considering you got in trouble on Twitter for calling a fictional soap opera character a bimbo - and they suspended your account for a few days...
Me: Yeah, apparently some folks are sensitive in regards to the word "bimbo"...

Soap Twitter: Oh nooo, Elon Musk bought Twitter. What to do? Where to go?
Soap Twitter: So uhm...have we decided which platform we're all jumping to?
Soap Twitter (looks around): Eh, there is nowhere interesting to go, is there? I mean Instagram doesn't quite work - plus Mark Zuckerburg is no better. And we don't want Granny FB...And Reddit is out...(I don't think they know what to do with Dreamwidth.)
Soap Twitter: I'm staying here to see what happens next.

Liberal Twitter: Oh nooo, Elon Musk bought Twitter! Where are we going?
Liberal Twitter: Mastodon!
Liberal Twitter: Eh...maybe not. Sounds complicated.
Liberal Twitter: Instagram!
(Some take off for Instagram, the rest are like, nah, I'll stay here and fight.)

Sigh. Why do you think the Dark Net exists? It's for all the paranoid souls who don't want to be seen by well ...

2. Romance novel...started a new one. It's a contemporary (which is dicey, since most of them are written poorly - I've no clue why). This one needs a better editor.

I can handwave a lot, actually. But this error is driving me crazy..

"Anya noted her entrance and waved her into the den of the T-Rex without bothering to rise from the clear glass - of course- sprawl of her desk. The other woman was all perfect makeup and poise, her glossy brown hair expertly blow-dried and her grape-colored dress hugging her svelt form while appearing business like.

According to the rumor mill, the other woman had set her cap for Gabriel Bishop. One of the general admin staff had heard Anya talking to the CFO's personal assistant about her ambition to be Mrs. Bishop. She'd said something along the lines of having him eating out of her hand inside a week."

I had to re-read the sentences three times to figure out who the heck the "other woman" was - and then I just began to mentally replace her with Anya. Folks? Friends of mine? Do not make your readers do that - it takes them out of the story. It threw me out of the story. I was busy figuring out who she was. Writing needs to be clear - not a puzzle.

It's not repetitive to use a character's name multiple times in a paragraph - if it's clear. Also, pronouns work - use them.

Now this is a popular and best-selling romance novelist. Not an amateur writer. And traditionally published. Frigging hell, was the editor asleep at the wheel?

[I've decided life is colossally unfair. Inept writers get traditionally published and make loads of money. And bored billionaire car manufacturers build spaceships and buy social media platforms, while millions are starving and dying of disease.]

3. Mother decided to give me the spoilery low-down on Sandition, except she can't remember the names of any of the characters. I kept getting lost. I'd have to interrupt her to get them straight. She also can't pronounce Sandition.

4. Crazy workplace

Rumor has it that we're going back on a kind of hybrid schedule this summer. 60/40, 40% remote, 60% in the office. ( Read more... )

Other than that, work's pretty slow at the moment. I'm waiting on everyone else. Which is nice - given me a chance to catch my breath.