Bennett North

Conspicuously absent

Earlier this month, Disney expressed their shock at the #WheresRey campaign on Twitter. Wait, people want girls in their toys? What do you mean, people liked the main protagonist of The Force Awakens? Don’t you want to snuggle with a Kylo Ren cuddle buddy pillow instead? Slip between some Kylo Ren sheets? Maybe wear hisContinue reading “Conspicuously absent”

Decreasing distractions

I just registered for World Con/MidAmeriCon II! The hotel blocks were released Monday, so I registered and got my flight. I’ll be flying out to my friend Aimee Ogden‘s place, then road tripping it the seven hours to Kansas City, MO. We’re going to be driving through a LOT of farm land. I hope weContinue reading “Decreasing distractions”

Resolutions 2016

My first published short story, “Smooth Stones and Empty Bones,” comes out in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction today! That’s my name, right there on the table of contents! And again on page 68! Go grab a copy and tell me what you think. Now, with that out of the way, happyContinue reading “Resolutions 2016”

Nanowrimo and PitchWars

I’m having trouble with Nanowrimo this year, guys. Not with meeting my word count, per se, but with trying to figure out where this story starts and ends. When you find yourself googling “should I write flashbacks?” you know you’re in trouble. My novel outline has multiple points of view, some in the past andContinue reading “Nanowrimo and PitchWars”

Writing Excuses — at sea!

How long does it take you to recover from a cruise? Asking for a friend. A friend who has been taking three naps a day since getting back into port. For those of you who weren’t aware, the Writing Excuses podcast, purveyor of indispensable writing advice, puts on a workshop/retreat every year. Past retreats haveContinue reading “Writing Excuses — at sea!”

How to renovate your bathroom in 22 easy steps

So you want to renovate your bathroom! I myself just finished doing so, and I decided to impart my newly acquired wisdom on the world in the form of a handy blog post for easy reference. Here goes! 1. Decide that you want to renovate your bathroom This is the easy part! Take a lookContinue reading “How to renovate your bathroom in 22 easy steps”

This is not a review of ARK: Survival Evolved

I was going to review ARK: Survival Evolved, which is the new survival game involving dinosaurs, still in early access. It looks awesome and I’ve seen some funny playthroughs, but unfortunately on my computer, it plays at 1 frame per second. And this is after it takes half an hour to start up. I madeContinue reading “This is not a review of ARK: Survival Evolved”

On unlikeable characters

I’m working on finishing up my most recent writing project, and as I wrote a scene today, I realized that one of the main characters in the novel is unlikeable. I knew this already because my writing group had mentioned having issues with her character, but it was only today that I began to figureContinue reading “On unlikeable characters”

Game Review: Fallout Shelter

I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few days playing Fallout Shelter, and it looks like I’m not alone—in just a couple days, Fallout Shelter has knocked Candy Crush out of the App Store’s top three games, something that hasn’t happened in three years. Some background: Bethesda, the company behind such games asContinue reading “Game Review: Fallout Shelter”

Springing ahead, or something twee like that

Happy June! I got back from my trip a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been busy with various endeavors since then, including copy edits for my first professional short story sale. More on that as it develops. Spring always brings out the self-improvement bug in me. Autumn does too–I think it’s the transitional nature ofContinue reading “Springing ahead, or something twee like that”