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illustration i did for my uni project !!

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A duck was being meanie to that beautiful lady, so I white-knighted her and became part of the circle of life. Her partner seemed to be just clueless, but she still loves him.

Stockenten ♀️+♂️ (mallards) am Pumpsee im Rosensteinpark, Bad Cannstatt.

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my top queer romance/fantasy books this year

1. Clear muddy loss of love

2. Ballad of sword and wine

3. Gideon the ninth

4. I wish you all the best

5. Her royal highness

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Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories COVER REVEAL!

We’re scant weeks from the crowdfunding campaign to fund our next general imprint anthology, Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories! We’re delighted, today, to share our cover art by the unbeatable Liz Lee Illustration! (@lizleeillustration)

Transforming the core settings of “dark academia” to be cozy and snug, Scholarly Pursuits features 22 delightful, charming science fiction and fantasy stories set at colleges, universities, libraries, and other places where people pursue academic excellence – and all feature queer characters! From field research shenanigans to cooking adventures, from space-station education departments to eldritch libraries, our awesome authors have brought their vivid imaginings to life in this collection, and we can’t wait to share it with you! You can learn all about our contributors by reading up on their contributor biographies.

This campaign launches in mid-July. Make sure you follow our Kickstarter pre-launch page today to be notified when it goes live!

Our Patreon backers can check out teasers and more right now! Consider becoming a backer today for access to our backer blog and many other awesome benefits!

(by the way, psst… the art is wrap-around…)

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Duck :)

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aw, thanks for the rec! I've loved having you involved. <3

Artist Recruitment Now Open for Our “Queer Fanworks Inspired By Folklore and Fairy Tales” Anthology!

Once Upon a Time… Scratch that—RIGHT NOW: the artist applications for our newest, folktale-themed anthology are open!

Our Queer Fanworks Inspired By… anthologies take classic public-domain works and give them the queer makeovers they (and we!) deserve. For this, the fourth anthology in the collection, we’re focusing on queerifying folktales and fairy tales. Specifically, we are asking creators to choose a folktale or fairy tale with personal significance, and then make it queer. So bring your personal faves and your inspiration, and fill out an application showing us what you can do and telling us what you’d like to do next!

This is a paid arting opportunity; artists will be asked to complete one full-page (A4/210 mm x 297 mm), full-color piece, and we may have space for some artists to complete more than one page and/or short comics. Base pay is $50 per page, with the potential for raises up to $400 per page depending on our success during the eventual crowdfunding campaign.

Want to learn more?

rules and guidelines

FAQ

schedule

sample artist contract

Applications close on July 15th, so don’t hesitate and join us! Ready to apply?

If you’ve never done art for a past Duck Prints Press project —-> use this form

If you’ve done art for a past Duck Prints Press anthology or merch item —-> use this form

Interested in writing for this anthology? Unfortunately, author applications are only open to writers already involved with Duck Prints Press. Sorry! If you’re on our private Discord server, be on the lookout for the announcement with sign-up forms there.

Interested in buying this anthology once it’s available? Make sure you follow us on social media and/or sign up for newsletter so you hear the latest!

Eager to see how this project develops, read sneak peeks and see art previews, and more? Back us on Patreon! Patrons also selected this anthology theme – you can have a say in our future anthology themes, too, just by backing us at any level!

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Beware the Weasel Word!

What is a weasel word or filler word?

Filler words add bulk to your writing without adding meaning. For example, if you’re writing in a rigid first or third person PoV, there’s rarely any need to write, “He saw that the light was on.” You can just write, “The light was on.” You lose zero meaning by cutting out the “he saw that.” The reader already know who is looking at the light because we know whose head we are observing events from. Another common form of weasel word is an interjection in the midst of a sentence - the friend who first introduced me to the concept explained it as, “our brains don’t know exactly what comes next so it just puts a word in as the mental equivalent of a pause or ‘um.’” And that explanation contained (at least) two such words - “exactly” and “just,” both of which could be cut from that sentence without impacting the meaning. Time words are also often filler words - there are few times where you actually need to say “in a moment;” context usually communicates the sequence of events clearly.

Also be on the lookout for long phrases that can be replaced by a single word - for example, “cut down on” and “reduced” are synonyms. Using a single specific word, provided it’s not too obscure a word, is often a better choice.

Cutting out weasel/filler words gives your writing more punch and immediacy; bulky, unnecessary extra words form a filter between your reader’s experience of your writing and the visceral experiences that you, as a writer, are trying to communicate. Reducing their usage really strengthens a story.

Different authors have different filler words they are prone to. What counts as a filler word will also depend on context, writing style, personal preference, etc. This is especially true when writing dialog - one character’s weasel word is another’s regular way of talking. Still, there are many words that if I see them in my writing, I pause and think, “okay, do I really need that word there?”

I’ve seen a lot of posts that list specific types of weasel words (ie, filler nouns versus nonsense adverbs) but I’ve never just seen a comprehensive list of words to look out for - words that, while they won’t always be filler words, are often unnecessary and should be scrutinized when writing. 

General things to remember:

Be declarative. Avoid constructions like, “it seemed like” in favor of constructions like “it was.” This is your story. Be firm. Be bold. Be confident.

Be wary of adverbs. Generally speaking, an adverb is worth using if you’re subverting the meaning of the word being modified, and unnecessary if you’re reinforcing the meaning of the word being modified. “She smiled maliciously” is a good adverb use, because saying someone smiled in no way implies they’re being malicious; “she smiled kindly” is not a great adverb use, because smiling is generally kind - this kind of usage could still be appropriate but only depending on context and character. For example, if you’ve established that your character is rarely kind, it might be important to specify that this particular smile is atypical for this character. But in most contexts, “she smiled kindly” is redundant and kindly is a weasel word that should be cut.

Interjections such as “wow” and “like” and “sure” in dialog are often weasel words, especially if they are repetitious with what comes after. For example, if one characters says, “Would you like to go to the mall?” and another replies, “yeah, that’d be awesome” you can cut the word “yeah” without impacting the meaning at all. Also, if you have a character nod or shake their head, there’s literally zero reason to also have them say “yes” or “no.” Pick either the word or the gesture. Yes, casual repetition like that is how people actually speak but it doesn’t make for strong writing. Ages ago I read a great article about this that has, sadly, been lost to time. The gist of it was, think of every phone call in every movie or TV show you’ve ever seen. In a “real” phone call, we start with hello and small talk, but on screen, they never waste time with that, they launch right into significant dialog because seconds are precious on screen. When writing fictional dialog, try to do the same - you don’t need to put every nuance of real-life conversation in, just enough to establish tone, and then focus on what the characters are trying to communicate. Even if your character hems and haws a lot, putting in “uh” every sentence or two is incredibly tiresome to read. Remember how quickly a reader will consume your work and give readers credit for their memory. Put in enough to convey the idea of a normal conversation without slavishly reproducing how people really talk. (this honestly could be its own entire post, but this is at least a start on the topic with a focus on how it relates to cutting out unnecessary words…). Basically: if you’re writing a conversation and having the characters say “hello” will a. be assumed and b. add nothing, don’t write it.

Passive voice introduces more unnecessary words than active voice. Compare: “I fed the cat” vs “the cat was fed by me.” Words are added, the sentence is clunky, and would anyone actually…say the second? Like ever? This is not to say “don’t use passive voice.” Passive voice has functions, and occasionally using the clunkier construction will also help with varying up your sentences and keeping your writing interesting. But use it thoughtfully and wisely.

Often, weasel words will be different in narrative versus dialog. When deciding what counts as a weasel word, always keep in mind the tone, education, world view, and attitudes of your Point of View character or that of the person speaking. One character’s weasel word is another character’s voice. (Sorry, I know this contradicts some of the above - I never said this was easy. :) )

Redundant usage can turn a word that wouldn’t usually be a weasel word into a weasel word. This is especially true of adverbs ( “she slammed the door loudly” is redundant, and many other adverbs in place of “loudly” would be equally redundant, given everything implied by the word “slammed.”) For another example, “The powerful man lifted the heavy stone with an impressive show of strength” has multiple levels of redundancy - which you choose to keep is up to you but you don’t need to specify that he was powerful and it was heavy and that lifting it was impressive and that it was a show of strength. All four suggest the same thing, so only one is needed. “The man lifted the stone with a show of strength” conveys the same meaning, or you can find other ways to add the nuance without being repetitious, such as, “Muscles bulging with effort, the man lifted the heavy stone.” Same idea, less redundant - gives an idea how the man reacts, and thus more subtly communicates that the stone is heavy instead of beating the reader over the head with “HAVE I MENTIONED THE ROCK IS HEAVY?”

Specificity is your best friend. Don’t be vague if you can be specific. Don’t generalize when you can be specific. Don’t hedge your bets (“it was kind of like…”) when you can be specific. If you want the reader to understand and believe the thing…just say it.

Here’s a list of some common weasel words and phrases. If an entry is in bold it means I have provided a further explanation below the list. (having explanations integrated in the list made it clunky and hard to read)

A: about; absolutely; accordingly; actually; additionally; again; all; already; also; always; and; “as a matter of fact;” “as far as I’m concerned;” at least; at most; “at the present time/at the end of the day;” audible

B: back; basically; to be ~ing; to begin; “being ~”; to believe; both; briefly; but

C: certainly; clearly; closely; completely; “cut down on”

D: definitely; down

E: each; either; entirety; even; exactly; extremely

F: fact; fairly; to feel; finally; “for all intents and purposes;” “for the most part”

G: “going to do ~”

H: to hear; hence; herself/himself/themselves/myself; his/her/their/my own

I: ignored; “in a moment/second;” in addition; increasingly

J: just

K: kind of; to know

L: like; literally; to look

M: maybe; momentarily; mostly; much

N: nearly; no; “not long after;” now

O: obvious; of; often; once more; only

P: pretty; probably

Q: quite

R: rather; to realize; really; right

S: to see; seriously; silently; slightly; so; some; somehow; somewhat; “soon after;” sort of; to start; still; suddenly; surely

T: that; then; to think; though; thus; together; totally

U: to understand; up

V: very; virtually

W: to wonder

Y: yes

Explanations:

audible: eg, “the door closed with an audible click” versus “the door closed with a click.” if your character heard the noise, it’s already audible. Using both is redundant.

to be ~ing: eg, “I’ll be going to prom” versus “I’m going to prom.”

to begin: eg, “They began to sing” versus “They sang.”

“being ~”: eg, “they were being active” versus “they were active.”

to believe: eg, “I believed I’d found the perfect dress” versus “I’d found the perfect dress.”

to feel: eg, “She felt the pain as the needle pricked her” versus “The prick of the needle was painful.”

“going to do ~”: eg, “we’re going to try to go to the park” versus “we planned to go to the park” versus “we went to the park”

to hear: eg, “He heard her say his name” versus “She said his name.”

herself/himself/themselves/myself: can often be cut if it’s clear that the action being done applies to the PoV character.

ignored: eg, “he was annoying, so I ignored him.” “To ignore” means “refuse to notice or acknowledge.” Having a character say they ignore something is to have them explicitly notice or acknowledge the thing in question. While it can work contextually, it often reads weirdly. 

to know: eg, “I know we talked about this” versus “We talked about this.”

to look: eg, “They looked and saw the sunrise” versus “They watched the sunrise.”

no: see “yes,” below.

of: eg, “I jumped off of the ledge” versus “I jumped off the ledge.”

once more: that an action or behavior is repeated is usually obvious from context, and language explicitly indicating a repeat is best used to lampshade that the repeat was intentional by the author instead of accidental

pretty: eg, in the sense of “the sky was pretty clear,” not in the sense of “she was pretty.”

to realize: eg, “I realized there was no solution” versus “There was no solution.”

said nothing: there are a lot of similar constructions to this (eg, “didn’t reply,” “couldn’t answer”) and they’re almost all unnecessary. Unless you’re aiming to lampshade the silence, it’s better to indicate that someone said nothing…by simply not having them say something.

to see: eg, “I saw the man jump over the fence” versus “The man jumped over the fence.”

silently: eg, “she padded silently across the room” versus “the padded across the room.” If something is silent, it’s best communicated by simply not having the thing make a sound.

to start: see “to begin,” above.

that: in many contexts “that” adds no meaning. For example, “She wanted to know that he cared” versus “She wanted to know he cared.”

to think: eg, “She thought he looked cool” versus “He looked cool.”

to understand: eg, “He understood the water was wet” versus “The water was wet.”

very: there are some excellent lists of synonyms for “very + ~word,” single words you can use, eg, “very big” versus “enormous.” Here’s one such list.

to wonder: see “to think,” above.

yes: this is a strange one, but frequently in dialog it’s not necessary to have a character explicitly say yes or no - it’s often clear from context - and including the yes/no reply and then giving an explanation that reiterates that is often clunky and unnecessary

References and Further Reading:

10 Filler Words to Cut From Your Writing

297 Flabby Words and Phrases

43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately

How to Condense Without Losing Anything Useful

Thesaurus.com

Remember, this is not meant as a hard and fast list of “words to not use.” Writing is about context; in some contexts these will be the correct words to use, and in others, they will be inappropriate. The key to dealing with weasel words is to make sure you use them at times they add meaning to what you’re writing and to cut them when they do not add meaning. Learning to recognize the difference is difficult and takes time, but gets easier with practice and is well worth getting good at. One of the quickest ways to really improve your writing is to read it with a critical eye, learn to recognize which of the above you over use most (everyone has different ones they tend towards…mine are “though” and “just.”) So go to it - read those sentences, figure out which words add meaning and which don’t, and pull out the red pen!

Good luck, fellow toilers!

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Sapphic book recs (for pride month) - Historical

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

Victorian romance

two debutantes try to set up their parents, knowing they courted each other once

while spending time together, both not wanting a husband, but one desperate, needing money, they fall in love

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

medieval rom-com

a descendant of Kind Arthur, Arthur, has to marry Gwen, the princess of England, but they really can't stand each other

while spending the summer together in Camelot, they uncover each others' secrets

^Gwen has a crush on the kingdom's only lady knight and Arthur's been kissing (a) boy(s)

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

a healer gets kidnapped by Robin Hood's granddaughter and the Merry Men

grumpy x sunshine

found family

adventure

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Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories COVER REVEAL!

We’re scant weeks from the crowdfunding campaign to fund our next general imprint anthology, Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories! We’re delighted, today, to share our cover art by the unbeatable Liz Lee Illustration! (@lizleeillustration)

Transforming the core settings of “dark academia” to be cozy and snug, Scholarly Pursuits features 22 delightful, charming science fiction and fantasy stories set at colleges, universities, libraries, and other places where people pursue academic excellence – and all feature queer characters! From field research shenanigans to cooking adventures, from space-station education departments to eldritch libraries, our awesome authors have brought their vivid imaginings to life in this collection, and we can’t wait to share it with you! You can learn all about our contributors by reading up on their contributor biographies.

This campaign launches in mid-July. Make sure you follow our Kickstarter pre-launch page today to be notified when it goes live!

Our Patreon backers can check out teasers and more right now! Consider becoming a backer today for access to our backer blog and many other awesome benefits!

(by the way, psst… the art is wrap-around…)

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Pride Month Book Recommendations Part Four: General Recommendations

Happy Pride Month! This year, I’m celebrating by recommending books with LGBTQ+ main characters. Each previous week highlighted a different intersectional subcategory. This week, I’m listing general recommendations. Like my other recommendations this month, these are all books I’ve read and enjoyed that feature happy endings. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments and reblogs!

Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe by Emma Torzs This is one of the best books I’ve read. The fantasy worldbuilding is really well done while the plot twists and action kept me on edge. It’s not YA, but it feels at times like YA, with journeys of self-discovery for the main characters, yet it avoids a lot of the common YA pitfalls. But it’s the characters and their relationships that shine the most here—especially the conflict between the two estranged sisters. I also appreciated the number of older female characters with agency (who don’t die!) and the fact that one of the main characters is happily single at the end (we don’t see this nearly often enough). I look forward to reading more books by this author.

These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling There was a time when I thought I had outgrown YA and could always predict the plot twists and betrayals. This book certainly proved me wrong. The mystery kept me guessing the whole time, and I fell in love with the characters and world. This book has both a prequel and a sequel, but I recommend reading this one first. The others are also very good.

We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels, & Other Creatures edited by Rob Costello I don’t normally read anthologies, but this one sounded right up my alley. My two favorite stories were “The House of Needs and Wants” by Kalynn Bayron and “The Girl with Thirteen Shadows” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, but all of them are worth reading.

Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood I loved Little Women. I love stories set on the home front during World War II. This book caught my eye at the library and I knew I had to read it. It reads like the best kind of fanfiction/ retelling, where the love for the original shines through while the story twists to adapt to its new setting and explores new perspectives. It makes the reader see fussy Aunt March, steadfast Marmee, and even angelic Beth in a different light. There are hidden sharp edges that make the characters feel more real than their Louisa May Alcott counterparts. But the main focus is on Jo, Amy, and Meg, and how they each make their way in a world torn apart by war and the loss of their sister. This is a story about grief and regret, and doesn’t shy away from the messy and painful parts. But it’s also about family, friendship, healing, and coming together in difficult times. I think this is one of the few adaptations I love even more than the original.

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk The Whyborne & Griffin series might be a guilty pleasure of mine. I have to admit, the mystery and the worldbuilding leave a lot to be desired, but the characters won my heart from the start. There is so much angst, especially in the beginning, but the books are also extremely funny, and the level of devotion between the main duo is a little insane at times. I confess I read the entire series (eleven novels, two novellas, and four short stories) in one month. I was hooked. (And I just looked it up and apparently there are even more short stories I somehow missed?! Right, I’ll need to remedy that promptly.) But for all the genre tags of mystery, Lovecraftian horror, and romance, at heart it’s about found family and community in a horrible little murder town.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey Historical fantasy, faerie bargains, secret romance, rebellion against oppression—yes, this book has a lot of my favorite elements. The romance was fairly standard for YA/ Teen, but I enjoyed the cast of supporting characters, especially the two sisters and the matchmaking cat. The plot twists were fun (if somewhat predictable) and I’d happily read more stories like this one.

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston Teen romance with mistaken identity shenanigans and mystery elements set at a science fiction convention? Yes, please. (To be honest, you had me with just the science fiction convention part.) Technically this is the second book in the Once Upon a Con series, but I read this one first and it stands on its own well. (I also seriously need to read the other two and I don’t understand why I haven’t yet. Ye gods!) It’s a fun story, and a love letter to fandom that endures even when its shows are canceled. (As both a Firefly and Dead Boy Detectives fan, I can relate.)

The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge by Matthew Hubbard I read this when it first came out and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t have much to say to me, because the kind of struggles that queer kids faced in a small town in the deep South felt… well, like something that happened somewhere else, something from an era we were leaving behind. Ha. It hits a lot closer to home now. It is a really good book (yes, even though it is contemporary realistic Teen romance, which I don’t normally like). My only complaint is that there aren’t enough female characters. But it’s definitely a good one for today, as queer kids are still fighting for the right to exist.

What are your favorite books (or other media) with queer main characters? I’m always looking for more stories!

Links to other Pride Month Recommendations: Part 1: Trans and Nonbinary Main Characters Part 2: POC Main Characters Part 3: Neurodivergent Main Characters

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wuack wuack

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Artist Recruitment Now Open for Our “Queer Fanworks Inspired By Folklore and Fairy Tales” Anthology!

Once Upon a Time… Scratch that—RIGHT NOW: the artist applications for our newest, folktale-themed anthology are open!

Our Queer Fanworks Inspired By… anthologies take classic public-domain works and give them the queer makeovers they (and we!) deserve. For this, the fourth anthology in the collection, we’re focusing on queerifying folktales and fairy tales. Specifically, we are asking creators to choose a folktale or fairy tale with personal significance, and then make it queer. So bring your personal faves and your inspiration, and fill out an application showing us what you can do and telling us what you’d like to do next!

This is a paid arting opportunity; artists will be asked to complete one full-page (A4/210 mm x 297 mm), full-color piece, and we may have space for some artists to complete more than one page and/or short comics. Base pay is $50 per page, with the potential for raises up to $400 per page depending on our success during the eventual crowdfunding campaign.

Want to learn more?

rules and guidelines

FAQ

schedule

sample artist contract

Applications close on July 15th, so don’t hesitate and join us! Ready to apply?

If you’ve never done art for a past Duck Prints Press project —-> use this form

If you’ve done art for a past Duck Prints Press anthology or merch item —-> use this form

Interested in writing for this anthology? Unfortunately, author applications are only open to writers already involved with Duck Prints Press. Sorry! If you’re on our private Discord server, be on the lookout for the announcement with sign-up forms there.

Interested in buying this anthology once it’s available? Make sure you follow us on social media and/or sign up for newsletter so you hear the latest!

Eager to see how this project develops, read sneak peeks and see art previews, and more? Back us on Patreon! Patrons also selected this anthology theme – you can have a say in our future anthology themes, too, just by backing us at any level!

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ducks

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Happy book birthday to this week’s new releases! 📚

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Let's Navigate the Pond with Mama

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Chicken pride doodles

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Happy book birthday to this week’s new releases! 📚