Welcome, Wednesday! This is going to be a short post because…well, there’s not much to tell.
The big thing this week is that Anthem is just about ready for beta reading. I lost one of my wonderful betas to the Real World of parenting and job responsibilities, which means I need a new one. If anyone is up to the job, I’m looking for something specific:
- Willing to read m/m content (including moderately descriptive sex)
- Able to take things slowly and co-read with another beta over several weeks
- Is able to make the necessary long-term commitment
- Willing to go chapter-by-chapter
- Can handle making comments on content as well as looking for glaring grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors
This is less in-depth than typical editing, but more than just “read through it and see if it makes sense and doesn’t suck.” Just leave me a note in the comments or send me a message through the contact form.
On to this week’s WIPpet. I’m still with Andre, but I realized there are an absolute ton of spoilers in this thing. Like, every chapter. So I’m only giving you a tiny snippet this week. This is quite possibly one of my favorite paragraphs in the whole novel.
WIPmath: 4/22 = 2 + 2 = 4 sentences.
Andre had known since he was four years old that he was going to be a daddy one day. His sisters had confiscated his “baby,” and he’d cried until Grams made them give it back. It wasn’t even a real baby doll—just a hand-me-down 1980s Black Barbie given to him by one of the women Grams worked with. He’d carted her around with him everywhere, wrapped up in a paper towel like a blanket, hollering at anyone who threatened to replace her with something they considered more appropriate for a little boy.
Side note: The Barbie in question was inspired by one I actually owned. One of my friends gave her to me for my birthday in first or second grade (she probably doesn’t even remember this). I loved that particular Barbie because she smelled really nice and she had the best shoes ever—they looked like Cinderella’s glass slippers.
We’d love to have you join the WIPpet party. Check out the other entries, and feel free to add your own. Just post a bit of your current work-in-progress, connect it to the date, and link up. Many thanks to K. L. Schwengel for providing this space for us. Happy reading and writing!
I had glass-slipper style shoes for one of my Barbies, too! 😀
I love this snippet. It’s really sweet and says so much about the character, even if it is harking back to his childhood.
I think the one I had was Crystal Barbie—she also had kind of a glittery gown.
I really wish I could have included the rest of this scene because that paragraph does speak volumes about Andre. But…spoilers. 🙂
I remember trying to make Barbies be babies. I was confused about why it didn’t work for ages. Early lessons in proportion…
Hahaha! I don’t think I ever tried it, but I know plenty of little kids who do. My 11yo used to turn his trucks into “babies” and push them in the doll stroller. He, too, has always said he wants to be a daddy someday.
haha niiiiiice I like Grams already! And I’ll beta for you =P I should have the time to go slow.
Yay! Thanks. 🙂
Yes, I love Andre’s Grams. She’s awesome, and she’s based on a real person I know (more or less). She’s not in it a whole lot, but she appears now and again. She runs a clinic and youth shelter which *does* feature into this.
Awww. Poor Andre. Good on Grams for giving back the baby.
Oh, I just thought of a little story you’d probably appreciate. My son had a little baby he used to breatfeed the way Mommy breastfed and his sisters breastfed their dolls. Eventually, we gently broke the news that boys weren’t quipped for breastfeeding and he was so sad. So we explained how Mommy used to pump out milk so Daddy could help feed Reader (none of the others would take bottles), so then he’d go around with a bottle and say things like, “I’m giving him pumped breastmilk from my wife. He’s okay with a bottle.” 😀
Oh my gosh, that’s so cute. Neither of mine ever pretended to breastfeed or even bottle-feed. Not sure why, since I nursed them each for a long time. I’d heard other moms say their sons would pretend to “nurse” dump trucks and trains, but…nope. Not in our house.
I like how he was that into fatherhood from that young. My youngest also wants to be a dad but he cried when my 7 yo tried to explain you can’t be a dad until you actually have kids.
LOL! My older one, who is now 11, has been saying for years that he wants to be a dad. He’s always loved littler kids. I told him he could take the babysitting course next year if he wants to. It’ll be fun to see the kind of man he grows into. 🙂
Such a cute scene… I can see that little boy. Some kids are just more empathic than others.
I’d be willing to try beta-ing for you. Time is my biggest concern. Until mid-June, I may be swamped. Would that work for you?
Aw, that’s sweet. Not at all how I handled barbies, but then I made them dresses out of tissue paper. Apparently I was more into costuming than babies (this is still true…). It’s a very revealing paragraph. Lots of meaning in just a few words.
That’s just adorable – I loved that snippet – glad Grams got his baby back for him.