Black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter. All lives cannot matter until Black and Indigenous lives matter.

We may be reopening, but for the love of all that’s holy, please wear a mask when you go out in public/to a business/outside your social bubble. Maintain social distancing, even if you think it’s stupid/ridiculous. Parents, pester your schoolboards, provincial, and federal politicians for a proper plan for the return to school. All we need is to have a class, or—heaven forefend—an entire school, of children and their teachers infected with covid-19.

We still don’t know the long-term effects of this damn virus, though serious neurological and cardio-pulmonary involvements have already been seen, even in asymptomatic patients. People who have had covid once, have been infected again, months later, and a few have even been symptomatic for months.

Despite the need to recover economically, we need to protect our communities while doing so. It’s a tricky balance to strike and we have to do this right.

On that cheery thought, please enjoy these informal writerly learnings 😀

Concepción de León, Alexandra Alter, Elizabeth A. Harris and Joumana Khatib interview Black publishing professionals: a conflicted cultural force. The New York Times

Tiffany Yates Martin explains how to weave in backstory without stalling your story. Then Nancy Johnson interviews Laura Rossi about publishing in a pandemic from a book publicist’s perspective. Melanie Conklin wonders, what about book two? Kathryn Craft is helping you identify and craft your inciting incident. Finally, David Corbett gets into more of his covid dreams and the lessons he’s learning from them: a visitor and a sin. Writer Unboxed

12 tips for new short story writers. Shaelin Writes

K.M. Weiland: how to get things done as a writer, or how this INTJ leverages her te. Helping Writers Become Authors

Orly Konig lists three reasons you should quit writing. Fiction University

Nathan Bransford says, even minor characters have needs and desires.

Sara Letourneau explains how to create discussion questions using your book’s themes. DIY MFA

The Take considers the controversial history of the hero cop trope.

John Peragine touts the importance of the triple edit. Writers in the Storm

Jami Gold suggests you get organized, for the sake of your creativity and your career.

Shonna Slayton recommends you improve your fiction by studying the Brothers Grimm. Writers Helping Writers

Nam Kiwanuka interviews Amanda Leduc about ableism and disability in fairy tales. TVO

Chris Winkle lists seven common reasons protagonists are unlikable. Then, Oren Ashkenazi explains how Frank Herbert sabotaged his own ideas. Mythcreants

Jen Sookfong Lee: what Anne of Green Gables taught me about grief. The Walrus

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you’ve taken away something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!