juliangreystoke

[juliangreystoke]

One struggle 🫡

[juliangreystoke]

Looking for a book about friendship, adventure, and escaping a life of cruelty into one of fulfillment? Then Adventurer Mage might be for you! Snag your copy on Amazon!

#fantasy book #fantasy adventure #platonic soulmates #best friends #building friendship #besties #bffs #victorian fantasy #indie fantasy #book reccs #Instagram

[juliangreystoke]

One struggle 🫡

[juliangreystoke]

My through developmental edits are popular, but I can only do so many at a time. However, if you're looking for more of an overview and big picture look at your story (great for first or 2nd drafts) before we get down to the nitty gritty, this might be the path for you! https://www.fiverr.com/juliangreystoke

#editor #fiction editor #developmental editor #book editor #beta reader

[juliangreystoke]

My editing services are open for March! I am once again closed for my full developmental reads with both my March and April spoken for. BUT I can fit in your 1st 5k words, short stories, blurbs, and my less thorough developmental reads! Message me on Fiverr if you have any questions or if you want to claim my May slot! I work on a first come first served basis, so snatch up your spot! https://www.fiverr.com/juliangreystoke

#editor #developmental editor #book editor #fiction editor #lgbtq editor #queer editor #fantasy editor #freelance editor #editor for hire #beta reader

[juliangreystoke]

If I may ask, what was your process for adapting Adventurer Mage from the world of Dragon Age(?) fanfic into an original world? I don't know anything about Dragon Age(?) so I wouldn't be able to spot any parallels.

Luckily for Adventurer Mage, I decided to make it its own thing right away. Bits of DA that sneak in there are mostly in the dungeons that the characters explore. Fans will be able to notice I'm sure, but other than that it has little in common with DA. My real fanfic with the serial numbers filed off is actually my unpublished Scifi, working title The Game, which began like as a Mass Effect fanfic! The key for that one was using no ME characters, just the species, so it was easy to change them all and have an original story.

[juliangreystoke]

Idk how often you check your tumblr, but isn't this audio originally from your TSS readalong?

The tiktok was reposted without credit so idk where to find the original.

https:// www. tumblr .com /blog/view/everythingfox/723950277117542400

Alas I am seldom on Tumblr. It won't let me follow the link, but I guess I don't mind too much if people use clips of mine. Would I rather they credit me? yes. Is the end of the world? No.

[juliangreystoke]

The beta process is one that I find super crucial to all my books! After I finish each time I like to have a little review of how everything went! Curious about the process? Check this video out! https://youtu.be/FKB-HEsUPpY

#bookish #writers of tumblr #author #indie author #published author #beta process #beta readers #2nd Floor book #Youtube

[juliangreystoke]

Looking for a last minute gift for a #booklover in your life, but also want to support Indie authors? Hello, I'm an indie author and have several #fantasybooks that might be just what you're looking for! Find them on Amazon!

#fantasyromance #fantasy adventure #found family #friendship #friendship>romance #charming #cozy fantasy #fantasy books #author #booktube #story #writers of tumblr

[juliangreystoke]

Wouldn’t my writing be worse off if I forced in elements like diversity?

If you are asking this question, you have yet to challenge the “default” of your culture’s media. Consider that the majority of modern Western media fill their casts with white men, and when there are women or POC, they stick out conspicuously. Many people view adding diversity as tweaking some white man characters by toggling race or gender. But this assumes that “white man” is some default, standard character template.

If you feel pressured to include diversity in your writing, distance yourself from this pressure and ask yourself why you feel it. If you feel attacked when seeing campaigns for more diversity or criticism of all-white, uninclusive media, sit with the discomfort and ask yourself why those who are different from you say they need diverse media.

These are people whose voices and faces are rarely visible in entertainment. Despite this, they enjoy an adventure as much as anyone, and have become accustomed to projecting onto white characters. Yet, when the reverse is asked of white audiences to acknowledge protagonists of color, it becomes a difficult ask. These character choices are immediately questioned, discredited, fought against, and accused of being “woke” or “unrelatable.”

This resistance reflects a larger issue: the imbalance between audiences’ empathy towards the majority/“default” and empathy towards those perceived as Other.

By mostly reading about white people, they become easier to relate to. By the same token, if we are not reading media and histories from the perspective of POC, we end up with more people who literally fail to relate to POC. When we talk about hope-deficits, increased alienation and lower self-worth among marginalized populations, underrepresentation in media is a big factor. Imagine for a moment: never the beautiful princess in the tower, never the badass hero riding dragons; always the two-second sidekick.

People of color are people and want to be seen and treated as such. Not as a burden to devote your time to, but people who have a place in the world, fictional or no. Really, writing a world in your story that is all or mostly white is more unrealistic, more forced—after all, there are far more non-white people on Earth. Becoming comfortable with diversity requires unlearning White as the Default and POC as the Other. It takes setting aside feelings of pressure to emphasize, open your heart and listen.

Further Reading:

“Diversity has gone too far!”

Diversity is for everyone.

Children and the Myth of Colorblind Youth

Those who read about aliens learn to emphasize with aliens. Those who read about wizards empathize with wizards.

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This Q&A is an excerpt from our General FAQ for Newcomers, which can be found in our new Masterpost of rules and FAQs. If you liked this post, we have more recommended reading there!

-Writing With Color

[juliangreystoke]

Check out this month's writerly and artistic tarot reading! Let's see what the cards think December has in store!

#tarot #writerly #writing tarot #tarot reading #artist #tarot cards #Youtube

[juliangreystoke]

Great news for me, my developmental editing slots for Dec/Jan are all filling up! But I still have a few openings for my other services! Snag a spot now before they're gone!

#developmental editing #developmental editor #freelance editor #book editing #fiction editor

[juliangreystoke]

Whenever I encourage diversity in books people always push back with this argument. I'm sick of rebutting it at this point. Just say you don't want to have to write POC, okay. Just admit it already!

It wouldn’t be historically accurate for my story to include BIPOC!

This is an argument often made about European-style fantasy media like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Disney’s Frozen. Audiences, often white, assume that due to the majority-white setting, adding any visible number of BIPOC to the story would be unrealistic.

What these critics fail to realize is that BIPOC do in fact live, and have lived, in these settings, and records of BIPOC presence in places assumed to be majority-white have been buried, written out, or not taught due to white supremacist and/or colonial bias in the field of history. There are historical European settings that were far more diverse than is often portrayed. Consider:

The Moorish Empire exerted an extensive influence over life and culture in Southern Europe from Spain from 711 to 1492

The Ottomans were heavily involved in European affairs up until the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, but still considered a part of Europe even through the 19th century

The sheer size of the Roman Empire ensured the continued movement of people from various backgrounds within the Mediterranean well until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

“Historical accuracy” should not be used as an excuse for media to be exclusively white in its casting. While there are places which are or were predominantly white, there will always be factors like global trade and immigration that bring multiculturalism to their doors.

And even if the presence of a certain demographic is unrealistic for a certain setting? Consider that we’ve accepted far worse inaccuracies in historical fiction in the name of artistic license. Consider that our understanding of human history is, and will always be, incomplete.

Further Reading:

Historically Diverse London, “Historical Accuracy,” and Creator Accountability

Making a Black Pride and Prejudice Resonate

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This Q&A is an excerpt from our General FAQ for Newcomers, which can be found in our new Masterpost of rules and FAQs. If you're new to Writing With Color and/or want more writing resources, check it out!

-Writing With Color

[juliangreystoke]

Don't forget to catch up on this nonsense that dropped on Friday! Will we finally have dragons in this dragon book?!

#fourth wing #book review #book critique #read along #booktube #dragon book #developmental editor reads #Youtube

[juliangreystoke]

Don't forget this month's writerly tarot reading now with 100% more ferret!

#tarot reading #writerly #writers of tumblr #writing community #artists #monthly tarot reading #cute ferret #tarot #Youtube

[juliangreystoke]

Are you being a NanoWriMo rebel this year? While everyone else is furiously typing away trying to draft a novel in a month, maybe you're focused on editing. And maybe that means it's finally time to find yourself a developmental editor! I have a couple of options for you from line-by-line detail to an overview read to tell you if you're on the right track! Find me on Fiverr and snag your spot before they fill up! https://www.fiverr.com/juliangreystoke

#nanowrimo #nanorebel #editor #book editor #developmental editor #editing service #freelance editor #open for commissions

[juliangreystoke]

Team grey!

From the US but i spell grey with an e because e just feels like a much greyer letter than a