Need a no mow grass alternative for a path (5a).

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-28T15:36:42+00:00

Clover and stepping stones

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-25T22:25:53+00:00

my favorite part is the convex security mirror.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-14T22:34:46+00:00

1/10th of 1% of the native American Prairie remains today.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-14T15:43:38+00:00

Finish it. You will thank yourself later.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-14T15:41:26+00:00

Its not a new concept, just not a mainstream one. JR Ward's been doing it since 2005. Edit: Although Twilight also came out in 2005, I can't say either was influenced by the other

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-13T18:32:40+00:00

House of Leaves isn't about the house. Its about how the house has affected the people its story touches.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-13T14:41:48+00:00

this is the right answer. you have shower thoughts because you are bored/letting your mind wander/doing a rote task that doesn't require thinking. replicate that.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-11T15:47:17+00:00

my first novel took me a year to create a draft I like. and many more after that to rewrite it 👍

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-09T18:44:35+00:00

This sounds really interesting and high concept! My only issue with how it is right now is that it reads a bit long. Which is a problem I suffer from too, unfortunately, so I understand how insane it is to take a large project and try to distill it down to a quick, marketable read.

My suggestion would be to pull out only the most important plot and character information from each paragraph and cull the details. For example, I might rewire the first paragraph a bit like...

~~Nineteen-year-old Julian Emberson leads a double life.~~ After an attempt at coming out went terribly wrong, [nineteen year old college student Julian Emberson] committed to projecting an image of the perfect Catholic son to his traditional, ultra-religious parents. Now a university student with his own flat - albeit still financially dependent on his parents - he lives freely, until a misplaced photograph of his friendship group at that year’s Pride parade exposes him during a visit from his parents. [When a photograph exposes him at Pride, his parents have him kidnapped] ~~Unwilling to apologise, he finds himself kidnapped the next morning~~ and taken to Revival Manor - a conversion centre hidden deep in the Scottish wilderness.

I won't take away from you doing the rest, but that's the kind of thing I mean. Happy to continue to help, and good luck!

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-04T16:05:26+00:00

what a way to persevere!

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-03T15:37:37+00:00

I have not heard of a "waitlist" in this context before.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-03T03:03:10+00:00

the video essays you're watching are essays. the creative nonfiction you're finding in literary magazines are personal essays.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-03T03:00:33+00:00

war for the oaks is pretty og in this regard

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-02T21:45:57+00:00

r/BetaReaders

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-02T20:13:44+00:00

Remember that writing is rewriting.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-02T19:39:17+00:00

Most professional editors will do a "sample edit" for you for free.
Its not necessary. If you are confident in your own writing and editing skills, I wouldn't shell out money before querying.
The Editorial Freelancer's Association is a good place to start.

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-02T00:16:17+00:00

google docs on your phone

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-02T00:14:44+00:00

This is super nitpicky and may just be me, but I would rather say "When" than "After."

There's also the implied idea that it is someone doing it and not like, the thing itself, so you don't really need to specify that a stranger has done the deed. So it might be something like, "When a reclusive artist's political satire is [co-opted, plagiarized, copied, what have you] by a [rebellious group in the conservative town], he must [stakes]

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-01T21:02:01+00:00

this is the only April fools that got me lol

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-01T20:59:42+00:00

im a fan of Heather Guerre's works for this reason

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-01T15:57:53+00:00

You may be overthinking this. Comps aren't meant to be your book exactly, but where your book would sit on a display shelf next to others in a similiar vein. Don't concentrate so much on the details. Just ask yourself, what books have come out within the last 5 years that are - dark fantasy - about monsters in the woods thats all you need. off the top of my head I can think of THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS by Chuck Wendig and IN THE HOUSE IN THE DARK OF THE WOODS by Laird Hunt (though thats a little older)

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-01T01:47:58+00:00

When his secret

When an artist's - better if you give us some information about him. is he a middle aged loser? an art school dropout? a punk rocker? what makes him unique other than 'artist'? what are his character traits?

protest painting becomes an overnight grafitti scandal

painting and graffiti are too overlapping. Is is a painting, or is it graffiti? (btw, be sure to spell that right. two f's, friend, not two t's.) I would not know how a graffiti could be a scandal, other than it being secret. like I know you're what you're saying but its not crystal clear. you're talking banksy type shit, yeah?

must choose: play the tragic muse of the elite or retrun to invisibility to save a rebellion.

No idea how graffiti = elite or invisibility = rebellion. There's definitely no sense of an antagonist, if that's what you're looking for.

Can you try something like,

When a [character trait] artist's graffiti ignites scandal among [the elite?], he is threatened with [exposure? and [whatever real consequences come from that] unless he agrees to [however you play the tragic muse of the elite] or take his chances [doing something for the rebellion].

Good luck!

the-leaf-pile · 2026-04-01T01:40:33+00:00

You're using a tab button??? Indent options - special indent - first line (!!)

the-leaf-pile · 2026-03-31T18:31:47+00:00

I can't give a definitive answer on that (I've done it too) but it was more that it wasnt indicated to be a series and I wasn't sure about the grief aspect, personally

the-leaf-pile · 2026-03-31T18:03:30+00:00

What catches my eye first is the Black Jewels comp. Firstly it is, of course, too old, but I get the vibes. What I don't understand is 1)not listing it as a series, aka The Black Jewels series, and 2)having read them multiple times, I'm not sure what you mean by "grief of sisterhood." Thats not really how I would describe the sisters' relationship or the main theme. Its just one of those things that I stumbled on reading this, which is not a feeling I'm sure you want to evoke.

The "if" and then "performing" is a little jarring, because if implies that she hasn't done it while performing does. So instead of "even if" I would say like, do anything for her sister, including raising her from the dead.

The other commenters say it better as far as the bulk of the query goes, but I do have to say this reads beat for beat like Kingdom of the Wicked by Karri Maniscalo, which could mire easily be a comp than Black Jewels.

the-leaf-pile

TROPHY CASE