Stuff About this Blog

There’s recently been a lot more traffic on this blog, so I wanted to mention a few things. Gather round, kids. It’s time for a chat.

This is my blog, but I hope you’ll feel welcome. Consider yourself a guest at my house. Feel free to comment on any and all the stuff you see posted here. Feel free to discuss things with other commentors and not (necessarily) through me. Enjoy yourself. Try the wine.

A bit about me:

I do my best to write factually, but I’m prone to rage posting and drunk posting. I’m also not qualified to write about much except coffee, Roman era archeology in the south eastern end of Somerset and martial arts. Therefore take everything presented here as you should all things on the internet: Cum grano salis.

I always write honestly. This means I am sometimes a big bitch, and sometimes a big baby. Often I am wrong about stuff. I’m OK with someone calling me out on a factual mistake, or taking issue with my opinion. I’m not OK with shitstorms and abuse. I will not put up with a whiff of either and will disemvowel without mercy. And incidentally, the first person who mentions my policy violates the First Amendment as if it applied to the whole world plus all of the internet will face The Wrath.

But enough about me. Let’s get to the ground rules. If you want to post here (and I hope you do), please obey these three simple rules:

1. Be worthwhile: Post a comment that’s not the same as the last few comments. If it is the same as the last few comments, reconsider posting. No, really. Don’t make me reconsider it for you.

2. Be aware: I’m a writer. I expect lots of you out there are writers too. Please treat language with respect. I’m not going to Strunk you over the head but I am going to dismiss comments that show a lack of care, punctuation, or good grammar. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone is still learning, that’s fine. But if I see anything liek o my gad!1!! or ANYTHING THAT’S IN ALL CAPS, I’ll probably just delete it (unless it’s ROFL or something).

3. Be a good human: I am deeply intolerant of intolerance. I accept flippancy and familiarity but I will not tolerate any of the foul -isms. I’m pretty sure there is a special circle of hell reserved for bigots. It is not here. Maybe it’s over there.

Look, the fact is I’m cranky, impatient and sarcastic. I like to be right. I drink too much and then write stuff. I swear a lot. I have a tendency to avoid proofreading and then have to go back and edit out all the stupid mistakes after the essay’s been posted.

All this said, I love writing like I love no other thing. I want to help others who are curious about writing, the business of it, the day to day, the creative parts, all of it, understand what it’s like. I’m glad to answer questions and to engage in conversation, especially about writing. I’ve had more than my share of amazing mentors. I would like very much to be one for someone else.

And that’s about it. Thanks for checking the place out. Don’t forget to mingle a little while you’re here.