sinead

@someone-call-the-vicar

Ok so here’s the LA Cast Production (whiCH IS AMAZING): https://youtu.be/M158t0CUyLk and https://youtu.be/JlmHQMTj44k

1) why has it taken me this long to realise this and;

everybody’s talking about jamie

a new westend musical about a boy who comes out as gay and becomes a drag queen, it’s really sweet and heartwarming and the west end cast was recently put on apple music! it needs to be listened to more its amaaaazing

song to listen to: don’t even know it

a man of no importance 

this ones VERY obscure i only know one other person who likes it kfsjdfhsk it’s about a dublin bus driver who’s obsessed with oscar widle and closteed, the story is mostly him discovering himself as he tries to put on a production of salome, the music is SO nice and the whole musical leaves you feelig light and happy

song to listen to: love who you love

preludes

a dave malloy (as in: great comet dave malloy) musical based off the life of sergei rachmaninoff! it incorporates a bunch of his music in it and it’s beautiful

song to listen to: the first symphony

ghost quartet

this is pretty well known on tumblr but still underrated, it’s another dave malloy musical and the plot is…… a lot and hard to explain. it involves revenge, edgar allen poe, murder and a thousand and a thousand and one arabian nights, the music is chaotic and SO unique, since its a quartet and a dave malloy musical

song to listen to: i don’t know

bare: a pop opera

i have a bit of an on-off relationship with this musical because it deals with sensetive themes (suicide + homophobia mostly) but the musical is amazing and it’s heartbreaking. the story follows two boys, peter and jason, in a catholic school where they have to navigate homophoba in the final term of their final year, where they’re putting on a musical production of romeo and juliet with their classmates (which means romeo and juliet put to music which is BEATIFUL)

I’ll list three musicals per “genre” with a short summary of each and three songs per musical to give you a sense of the show. 

Spectacular Musicals: These are musicals with huge, show-stopping numbers with the same feel as all your classic faves. You’ve probably at least heard of all of these.

Newsies

Newsboys strike when the prices of papers are raised

Songs

Santa Fe

Carrying the Banner

Seize the Day

Anastasia

Two charming Russian conmen try to pass off an orphan girl as the lost princess Anastasia

Songs

My Petersburg

Once Upon a December

In a Crowd of Thousands

Wicked

The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch’s perspective

Songs

The Wizard and I

Popular

Defying Gravity

Subtly Beautiful Musicals: These are musicals without much flashy production value that just let their songs and stories simmer beautifully. For all of these, you really need to hear the whole show, but I’ll list three songs as a good starter.

The Last Five Years

The story of a doomed relationship told from two perspectives simultaneously, backward and forwards

Songs

Still Hurting

The Next Ten Minutes

If I Didn’t Believe in You

The Band’s Visit

An Egyptian band is sent to a tiny Israeli town by mistake and must spend the night there

Songs

Omar Sharif

Something Different

Answer Me

Fun Home

The story of a woman finding her identity and making sense of her relationship with her father

Songs

Ring of Keys

Maps

Flying Away (Finale)

Popcorn Musicals: These are musicals to listen to and turn off your brain–the sort of show you can watch while munching on popcorn.

Legally Blonde

A ditzy blonde follows her ex to Harvard (not as sexist as it sounds)

Songs

Omigod

Better than Before

Take it Like a Man

Heathers

Two high schoolers go on a murder-spree

Songs

Fight for Me

Our Love Is God

Seventeen

Catch Me if You Can

A young man leads an FBI agent on a wild goose chase, assuming many fake identities

Songs

Live in Living Color

Don’t Break the Rules

Goodbye

Super Popular Musicals: These are the musicals everyone always talks about. You probably know about them, but maybe you were never quite able to get into them, so here are songs do introduce yourself to them.

Hamilton

The (fictionalized) story of the life of Alexander Hamilton

Songs

Aaron Burr, Sir

Satisfied

The Room Where it Happens

Dear Evan Hansen

A teenager with anxiety finds himself in an unexpected situation when a classmate commits suicide

Songs

Waving Through a Window

Requiem

Only Us

Les Mis

The musical follows both a group of French revolutionaries and Jean Valjean, a supremely moral convict

Songs

Red and Black

One Day More

On My Own

Dark Musicals: These are musicals that do not hit all the peppy beats typically associated with musical theater–have tissues handy.

Spring Awakening

Repressed 19th-century German teens try to cope with their burgeoning sexualities and the realities of their worlds

Songs

Mama Who Bore Me

The Bitch of Living

The Word of Your Body

Next to Normal

The story of a mother coping with depression and how it affects her family

Songs

Another Day

My Psychopharmacologist and I

I’m Alive

Bare: A Pop Opera

Two gay boys try to navigate their relationship at Catholic boarding school

Songs

You and I

All Grown Up

Bare

Unusual Musicals: These are musicals that don’t quite fit in any other category. 

Bright Star

A young, ambitious man crosses paths with a woman, causing her to reminisce about her life

Songs

Bright Star

Woah Mama

Sun is Gonna Shine

A New Brain

A young composer is sent to the hospital after collapsing, causing his family and friends to rally around him

Songs

Frogs Have so Much Spring

Sailing

And They’re Off

Great Comet

A pop-opera version of an excerpt of War and Peace–a young, engaged girl attempts to elope with a married man

Songs

Prologue

The Ball

liking a character ≠ condoning their actions

understanding a character ≠ condoning their actions

relating to a character ≠ condoning their actions

– A lot of asks have come in recently asking about when it’s time to stop planning and start writing and what you should know before you start the first draft vs what you should develop along the way. This is pretty much a checklist of things you should have generally figured out before you begin the first draft. Once you have the following things fleshed out, you should be pretty ready to go. There is always a point in the planning phase where you must accept that 90% of story development happens along the way and partially on accident. I hope this helps you feel more confident in starting your first draft after what I’m sure has been lots of over-planning. Happy writing!

Plot

What plot structure are you following?

What is the main conflict of your story?

Who is the protagonist? 

Who or what is the antagonist?

What are the subplots in your story?

What events caused the conflict in your story?

What about the plot will interest your reader the most?

Where does the plot twist(s) occur in your story and how do they affect the it?

What is original or different about your plot that the reader has never experienced before?

What is your story, as a whole, primarily about? Family? Good vs. Evil? The change a character endures? Mirroring reality? Social commentary?

World/Setting

Where is your story taking place?

What areas or locations do the majority of your story take place in?

Is the story based on Earth, an alternate Earth, or a completely different place?

What are the rules of science/magic in your story?

What is the history of the world in your story?

What is society like in your world?

What is the government/economics like in your world?

What level of technology is there in your world?

What is the geography like?

What are some cultures/cultural aspects that will come into play during your story?

Characters

What role does the character play in your story?

What motivates your character?

What are your character’s strengths and weaknesses?

How will your character change throughout the story?

What is your character’s backstory?

How do they impact the plot?

What are their relationships with other characters?

What drives their actions?

What is in the way of them accomplishing their goals?

What Do They..

- Think they want - Truly want - Need

Representation/Symbolism/Theme

What are the major subtextual messages you want to get across throughout your story?

Have you created a cast of characters that represent any minorities?

What are the major symbols in your story?

How are you going to display these symbols to your audience?

How relevant are the symbols to your actual plot?

What is/are the major theme(s) in your story?

Are the themes of your story being conveyed through your setting, characters, or plot?

Is the conflict parallel with a real social issue that you’re commenting on?

How can your representation, symbolism, and theme be enhanced at this point in the writing process?

Have you run your ideas and plans by someone who could give you critiques in order to improve the representation, theme, and symbolism in your story?

I just want to emphasize that it is super important to maintain flexibility when you’re writing a fictional story. Details will change, your preference will change, characters will start to make their own choices, and you will be tempted to change things as you go. Let it happen. Be willing to let go of your past decisions if they no longer satisfy you or your narrative. 

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welcome!!!!!! this is long overdue. i’ve been promising myself i’d made this forever. so here it is - the ultimate masterpost of wlw (women loving women) books. not all characters are lesbians, some are bi or pan, though all books feature f/f relationships and/or themes. there are 150+ recommendations, so enjoy!

YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY:

the miseducation of cameron post by emily m. danforth

keeping you a secret by julie anne peters

grl2grl by julie anne peters

lies my girlfriend told me by julie anne peters

far from xanadu by julie anne peters

rubyfruit jungle by rita mae brown

annie on my mind by nancy garden

kissing kate by lauren myracle

everything leads to you by nina lacour

dare truth or promise by paula boock

gravel queen by tea benduhn

her name in the sky by kelly quindlen

tell me again how a crush should feel by sara farizan

no one needs to know by amanda grace

my best friend, maybe by caela carter

dirty london by kelley york

ask the passengers by a.s. king

empress of the world by sara ryan

pages for you by sylvia brownrigg

waiting in the wings by melissa brayden

breathing underwater by lu vickers

hood by emma donoghue

between you & me by marisa calin

starting from here by lisa jenn bigelow

about a girl by sarah mccarry

the flywheel by erin gough

the necessary hunger by nina revoyr

the house you pass on the way by jacqueline woodson

about a girl by joanne horniman

gravity by leanne lieberman

another life altogether by elaine beale

great by sara benincasa

the gravity between us by kristen zimmer

taking flight by siera maley

the road to her by k.e. payne

the summer i wasn’t me by jessica verdi

unspeakabe by abbie rushton

beauty of the broken by tawni waters

read me like a book by liz kessler

starring kitty by keris stainton

holding back by mila kerr

cam girl by leah raeder

not otherwise specified by hannah moskowitz

an unstill life by kate larkindale

look both ways by alison cherry

a story of now by emily o’beirne

my summer of love by helen cross

marionette by t.b. markinson

the difference between you and me by madeleine george

the bermudez triangle by maureen johnson

girl walking backwards by bett williams

FANTASY/PARANORMAL/SCIENCE FICTION:

the dark wife by sarah diemer

twixt by sarah diemer

the witch sea by sarah diemer

sugar moon by sarah diemer

far by sarah diemer

carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu

ash by malinda lo

huntress by malinda lo

adaption by malinda lo

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson

karen memory by elizabeth bear

bleeding earth by kaitlin ward

lady knight by l.j. baker

the second sister by rae d. magdon

wild by meghan o’brien

santa olivia by jacqueline carey

everafter by nell stark

iron & velvet by alexis hall

silver kiss by naomi clark

with her body by nicola griffith

ammonite by nicole griffith

the windup girl by paolo bacigalupi

a harvest of ripe figs by shira glassman

seven by jennifer diemer

braided by elora bishop

crumbs by elora bishop

labyrinth by pearl north

the drowning girl by caitlin r. kiernan

the red tree by caitlin r. kiernan

the big lie by julie mayhew

the first twenty by jennifer lavoie

the girl in the road by monica byrne

every dark desire by fiona zedde

CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER:

black iris by leah raeder

dangerous girls by abigail haas

far from you by tess sharpe

slow river by nicola griffith

the blue place by nicola griffith

stay by nicola griffith

vanished by e.e. cooper

keepers of the cave by gerri hill

hunter’s way by gerri hill

child of doors by j.s. little

scars by cheryl rainfield

trust me, i’m trouble by mary elizabeth summer

out of order by casey lawrence

reconstructing amelia by kimberly mccreight

vicious little darlings by katherine easer

HISTORICAL:

the paying guests by sarah waters

tipping the velvet by sarah waters

affinity by sarah waters

the night watch by sarah waters

fingersmith by sarah waters

the price of salt by patricia highsmith (also known as carol)

wildthorn by jane eagland

silhouette of a sparrow by molly beth griffin

lies we tell ourselves by robin talley

patience & sarah by isabel miller

the hours by michael cunningham

the well of loneliness by radclyffe hall

mrs dalloway by virginia woolf

the world unseen by shamam sarif

map of ireland by stephanie grant

hild by nicole griffith

honey girl by lisa freeman

letters never sent by sandra moran

fall on your knees by ann-marie macdonald

the last nude by ellis avery

the teahouse fire by ellis avery

olivia by dorothy strachey

the friendly young ladies by mary renault

moon at nine by deborah ellis

the marriage recital by katharine grant

the crimson ribbon by katherine clements

the other typist by suzanne rindell

days of grace by catherine hall

desert of the heart by jane rule

ADULT FICTION:

sing you home by jodi picoult

and playing the role of herself by k.e. lane

i can’t think straight by shamim sarif

stone butch blues by leslie feinberg

curious wine by katherine v. forrest

the color purple by alice walker

jericho by ann mcman

oranges are not the only fruit by jeanette winterson

gut symmetries by jeanette winterson

why be happy when you could be normal? by jeanette winterson

written on the body by jeanette winterson

where we belong by catherine ryan hyde

at the water’s edge by harper bliss

behind the green curtain by riley lashea

96 hours by georgia beers

all that matters by susan x. meagher

give me a reason by lyn gardner

ice by lyn gardner

my last season with you by s.v.c. ricketts

taking the long way by lily r. mason

nightwood by djuna barnes

living at night by mariana romo-carmona

choices by nancy toder

cassandra at the wedding by dorothy baker

landing by emma donoghue

stir-fry by emma donoghue

pitifully ugly by robin alexander

COMICS BOOKS/GRAPHIC NOVELS:

blue is the warmest colour by julie maroh

fun home by alison bechdel

dykes to watch out for by alison bechdel

honor girl by maggie trash

skim by mariko tamaki

potential by ariel shrag

strangers in paradise by terry moore

NON-FICTION:

odd girls and twilight lovers by lillian faderman

surpassing the love of men by lillian faderman

chloe plus olivia by lillian faderman

to believe in women by lillian faderman

sapphistries by leila j. rupp

inseparable by emma donoghue

passions between women by emma donoghue

dear john, i love jane by candace walsh

a woman like that by joan larkin

aimee & jaguar by erica fischer

the femme mystique by leslea newman

boots of leather, slippers of gold by elizabeth lapovsky kennedy

different daughters by marcia m. gallo

between women by sharon marcus

charity and sylvia by rachel hope cleves

lesbian culture: an anthology by julia penelope

alice + freda forever by alexis coe

– A lot of the time, we know there are plot holes in our stories but it’s difficult to identify them, and even when we do, it seems impossible to fix them. I decided to make a list of the most common forms plot holes manifest in and some suggestions on how to resolve them. Happy writing!

Events That Make No Sense

If you have a villain with a reputation for being “all powerful”, it shouldn’t take 10 minutes of hand to hand combat to kill them and make everything go back to normal. If a character has been a warrior for a thousand years, defeating hundreds of powerful enemies, chances are that their young, naive little apprentice will have a very difficult time killing them or even catching them off guard. If an event in your story doesn’t make any sense, you have to add an element or two that make it more believable, like adding more obstacles in front of your protagonist that add to the suspension of disbelief.

Unexplained Changes

If your character is speaking to a colleague in New York and is described as being in Los Angeles 5 pages later, that has to be explained to the reader, or they’ll be more focused on looking for context than the actual story taking place. If your character suddenly has blue hair, you need to explain to your reader why they’ve dyed it. Context is important, people.

Continuity Errors

If your main character has freckles in the first half of your book and then no freckles in the second, that will confuse your reader. It’s an easy fix, so just make the final choice and revise wherever it’s inconsistent.

Forgotten Characters

If you introduce a side character, then they go off to grab something and never come back, either explain why or pick them back up and insert them where you meant to. If they’re just an extra, that’s fine, but make that clear to the reader by not going overboard on making them seem relevant. If they’re just there to shout “fire!”, don’t spend a paragraph explaining their appearance and backstory.

Contradicting Details

This is extremely common in Fantasy and Science Fiction, where the rules of the universe are different and difficult to keep up with. This is totally okay in your first draft, as you don’t usually have your whole world built before you begin writing, but once you’ve fleshed out that first draft, you have to review and establish the system of rules in your universe, then go back into your draft and apply them. If an event relies on a phenomenon that is impossible according to your world system, then either cut the scene, fix it so it follows the rules, or rewrite the events but under a different premise.

Unresolved Subplots

If two of your side characters have some romantic chemistry and it’s emphasized at one point then never revisited, your reader will be left confused and unsatisfied. It’s okay to leave these subplots unresolved if they’re going to be continued in future installments of a series, but in a standalone, you have to take the time to wrap them up in a nice little bow. This can usually be accomplished by tying the subplot’s resolution in with the overarching conflict resolution.

Lack of Relevant Information

If a beta-reader (someone who is essential to detecting subplots because they don’t know your story inside and out as you do) has questions about how something happened or what happened to such and such, you probably forgot to explain an element of your world or revisit a character in an event, which can easily be resolved by adding a paragraph or two that refer back to that event or character and add some information the reader needs to satiate their curiosity.

Un-synced Timeline

Your story happens in a set period of time. Events occur in a certain order. The past has a specific order of events as well. Make sure these events are on one consistent timeline and that you don’t mix up the order of events when explaining stuff in a story. Information comes to readers in bits and it’s easy, as a writer, to forget that certain things have happened that you’ve already explained, so my suggestion is to, while writing, keep track of every event that you retroactively describe and that occur in the timeframe of the story and record them, in their order, so you have a timeline of your own to fact check when editing.

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