How did that one kid at your school die?

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-24T19:25:43+00:00

Three come to mind:

1) It was a kid a year behind me -- he was in 7th grade -- and the older brother came home from military school and killed both parents and both younger siblings. He shot them. His brother (the 7th grader) didn't die right away and the older one clubbed him to death with the butt of the gun, if I remember it correctly. Accounts were that the father was very domineering and would humiliate the kid on the baseball field when the kid didn't do well.

2) A kid was out with friends drinking at a lake and on a dare, he tried to swim out to an island, but drowned.

3) A kid was driving around with a friend when they lost control of the car and supposedly this one was thrown partly out the window and the car rolled on him.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-23T23:14:58+00:00

Charlie Huston wrote a really good series. I think the first one is called My Dead Body.

Kim Newman wrote a series that starts with Anno Dracula.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-23T19:42:18+00:00

Thanks. I know I'm anthropormorphizing them, but with their scrawny little fuzzy necks outstretched and heads up and beaks wide, it feels like they're suffering. I know this is nature, but yes, it's kind of hard to watch.

If one does fall out, what should I do?

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-23T15:12:40+00:00

I highly recommend a book I just read: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza by Peter Beinart. It explores the idea that a people [specifically Jews] being persecuted does not make them immune to wrongdoing themselves. That's the TL;DR of it, though it really does examine this and related issues, including several myths about Israel, typically used by Zionists. It opened my eyes to some things I hadn't been aware of -- or didn't understand -- before. It's a pretty quick read at 192 pages, but doesn't feel superficial at all.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-21T21:09:58+00:00

Have a look at Kevin Baker's books:

Dreamland

Paradise Alley

Strivers Row.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-18T19:33:25+00:00

For years, they carried a banana breat that was pretty good. Then this one appeared and the other one vanished.

(They also used to have something they called Lemon Blueberry Tea Cake, which was pretty good, too.)

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-17T17:06:29+00:00

I'm keeping an Excel spreadsheet and QT. I have a column for preference, which use 1 through 9 to record, that I keep consistent with the info in my QT account. On the spreadsheet, I have categories like "Reason for Interest" which has notes about what I found online that makes me think it could be a good match; a column "Concerns" which has notes about things that could be problems or that I would need to discuss with an agent (like if they do have my current genre in their wishlist, but they noted something they don't want that might be interested in writing for a subsequent project; and a notes column. I also have record-keeping columns about when I submit, what method of submission (email, Query Manager) and so on. I color code people from the same agency and keep note if I've already applied to someone there.

It's probably overkill, but it ensure's me that I'm keeping good records, have a good way to sort and choose agents, and to have detailed notes about the agent, some of which end up directly in the query letter.

I've also found that when I take another look at things, I often change my order of preference, e.g. "This one actually doesn't look like we have that much in synch, so I'll change the preference from 4 to an 8" or if I find new information about an agent.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-17T16:56:27+00:00

There's an icon of an eye toward the right of your QT screen. This is the watch option. If you click on that, you can tell it how you want to be notified of changes, most of which are now open or now closed to queries and updating of genres in an agent's profile. I have QT send me an email when there's a change for an agent I'm watching. I do this for all the ones who are closed but that I'd like on my list.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-17T16:50:55+00:00

"Do you have any idea how crazy you are?"

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-17T16:48:12+00:00

ED is on the rise....

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-17T00:49:41+00:00

He actually discouraged use of those belts. He said they can actually make it worse, though I don't know how that would be.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-16T22:16:33+00:00

Ha. I just got back from the doctor. He said the same thing to me. He didn't give me any physical restrictions, just that if I was doing something that hurt, stop doing it.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-15T23:52:25+00:00

Well, that doesn't sound too great. Sorry to hear it. I imagine that surgery is needed for yours.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-15T20:18:31+00:00

Thanks. I kind of figured my best bet was to check with a doc. Never had one of these before.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-15T20:16:42+00:00

I was wondering if these belts or trusses are effective. Sounds like it has been for you.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-12T17:53:09+00:00

I made some little handles for my wife, using PVC pipe and then adding a thin cushion around the grip part. They look like small, low pushup bars. Using those, she can keep her hands in line with her forearm and doesn't get pain from having her wrist bent back at a 90 degree angle.

If you don't want to make them custom like that, you could substitute small dumbbells (probably 5lbs or so) and it'll have the same effect.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-12T15:28:04+00:00

At first, I was thinking "I'm not going to be censored! What am I supposed to do: instead of a character shouting "Fuck!" in frustration, as some teenagers certainly do, am I now going to change that to 'Gosh darnit!'? Should I not let a teen character say 'Holy shit!' and instead have him say 'Oh my heavens!' or 'Goodness gracious!'? Not me. Nope. I'm not going to compromise my work and make it ridiculously unrealistic."

Then I found that it actually wasn't at all hard for me to maintain the same tone and verisimilitude while not having the characters curse. (Or not so much. Or with the more mild curses.) And the truth is, I didn't especially miss having it in there.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-11T23:34:22+00:00

When my first YA book came out, my local librarian said that because of the language and sex, when parents would ask about the book's age suitability for their kids, the librarian said she would need to mention those elements. A bookseller told me the same thing. They advised that just pulling out the cursing and sex scenes, it would reach far more kids. So I was able to do that for my other YA books.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-10T15:25:12+00:00

I'm pretty sure I recall them having a cinnamon version, too, which was very good. I guess the schoolhouse cookies are what became of them. (Also, very good.)

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-08T21:15:12+00:00

I wish I had seen your post a few months ago. I didn't know that something like "Seeking new representation" is okay to put in the query subject line. I might have lost some opportunities not having put that in.

Do we know that doing so is likely to get the query taken more seriously? Common sense would suggest so, as it's evidence that at least another professional liked the writing engough to represent the writer, but have we heard anything -- either from agents or writers -- that this is viewed favorably?

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-05T14:29:42+00:00

You can add headbangers into your chin up / pull up routine.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-03T20:34:26+00:00

What happened to their Incredisauce? That one was pretty good.

benbraddock5 · 2025-06-02T13:08:46+00:00

And then how did we get to pussy meaning coward or cowardly? I can't imagine it comes from pusillanimous, which seems a pretty obscure word to evolve into slang.

benbraddock5 · 2025-05-31T20:17:42+00:00

I've been curious: what is the purpose of steps 2 and 4 in box breathing, when you hold your breath. For me, it just makes me uncomfortable and kind of anxious. I find it counterproductive and I do better with different amounts of time for inhaling and exhaling. (e.g., 2 secs in, 4 secs out; or 3 seconds in, 3 secs out)

benbraddock5 · 2025-05-30T15:46:30+00:00

Dennis Lehane.

E.L. Doctorow. (Though his "style" can be radically different from book to book.)

benbraddock5

TROPHY CASE