writing life – Page 2

First Look: WU UnConference Session Descriptions

April 6, 2019 By Writer Unboxed 2 Comments

If you’ve been eager to learn more about the sessions and workshops we’ll have at this year’s Writer Unboxed UnConference (in Salem, MA, 11/4-11/8), this is the post for you. Read on for a more detailed look at our program, and visit our page at Eventbrite for more specifics and to sign up.

Hope to see you in Salem!

THE ARCHITECTURE OF WU-NDER:
Build a Transporting Story Your Readers Won’t Want to Leave
(Capstone 4-hour workshop)

Fiction that sweeps us away is the goal, but what elements produce that effect? What enthralls us? How are reader hearts taken hostage? How do stories come to matter to us to an extreme degree? How does a lone individual’s story become a journey for us all? How do stories become magical, dangerous, inspiring, and full of wonder? In this hands-on workshop, explore the techniques of timeless storytelling.
with Donald Maass

THE ART OF PACING:
How Scene, Character, and Structure Accelerate—and Decelerate—Pacing

Ever wonder how some authors make their novels so engrossing? Perhaps the secret is simple: it’s all about the pacing. In spite of its importance, the pace at which a story moves is often a neglected topic in craft books. In this session, we’ll unlock the mystery of perfect pacing within a scene—whether it be brisk or measured—as well as within the trajectory of the story as a whole, by examining the work of expert writers and discussing tips for our own works. We’ll also dig into story/scene structure, and the ways in which characters play into a well-paced story.
with Heather Webb

BEYOND HISTORICALS:
The Power and Play of Rich Detail to Bring Your Story to Life

Any piece of writing can rise or fall on the selection of telling details. Historical fiction is particularly well-known for using the right level and type of details to draw the reader into the imagined world, but no matter what genre you write in, weaving the right details into your story can sweep your reader away. How do you find these details? What’s the right balance of description and action? How do you know when you’ve gone too far? We’ll answer these questions and more.
with Greer Macallister

BUILDING BRIDGES:
Guiding Reader-Relatability in an Increasingly Divided World
(workshop)

Relatability is an issue for all novels, not just those that are culturally diverse. What makes readers feel welcome? What makes unfamiliar settings feel familiar? How do unusual characters become universal? How do even foul characters and polarizing stories win us over? Find out in this hands-on workshop.
with Donald Maass

BUILDING LITERARY MUSCLE:
How Word Choices and Language Tricks Add Power to Prose
(workshop)

Words are a writer’s paints and brushes, our musical notes. This workshop will explore ways to bring your word work to the highest possible level by diving into the various tools and techniques that can strengthen your every day writing, and make the final draft sing.
with Barbara O’Neal

-Character Intensive 1-
YEARNING vs. RESISTANCE:
Creating Internal Conflict

Each individual is driven by a profound inner yearning that defines her dream of life: the kind of person she wants to be, the way of life she hopes to live. What holds her back from fulfilling that dream? Forces of Resistance: weaknesses, wounds, limitations, flaws, as well as external opposition and obligations. This core inner conflict informs the character’s sense of lack at the outset of your story. In this session, we will learn how to plumb the character’s past for these counteracting forces.
with David Corbett

-Character Intensive 2-
BACKSTORY IS BEHAVIOR:
Turning Internal Conflict Outward

The conflict between Yearning and Resistance is not merely internal. It reveals itself in habitual patterns of behavior that, to one degree or another are “ruining her life.” These habits are rooted in moments of profound helplessness or awakening outside the individual’s control that both reveal and define her deeper self. In this session, we will explore how to discover those generative moments of helplessness and awakening and build them into the behavior that defines the character’s way of interacting with the world at the story’s outset.
with David Corbett

-Character Intensive 3-
THE CHARACTER OF PLOT:
Moving Conflict Forward

In every story, the conflict between Yearning and Resistance, rooted in behavior developed over time, gets disturbed by an opportunity or misfortune that obliges a need to act. This need to act will compel the character forward, into a gauntlet of conflicts, setbacks, and revelations that will by necessity force her to reevaluate her current sense of purpose and identity, her capabilities and shortcomings, and her relationships with others. That reevaluation will create the impetus for discovery and change.
with David Corbett

THE CREATIVE GROOVE:
Emotional Strategies for the Long Haul

From the moment a writer meets her first form rejection, it’s apparent: The publishing industry can pummel the tender creative soul. Pulling from her six years of “Turning Whine into Gold” posts at Writers in the Storm, Kathryn will lead a discussion about ways to protect our creative groove by psyching ourselves up, goosing ourselves on, patting ourselves on the back, reframing failure, refilling the creative well, and otherwise remembering why we wanted to be a creative writer in the first place. Bring your best strategies and favorite quotes to contribute.
with Kathryn Craft

A DEEP SENSE OF PLACE:
Creating Emotional Connection Through Setting
(workshop)

Setting is a vital part of any book. Instead of being a mere backdrop, it can be very important to character development and even become a character in its own right. Here we take a deep-dive into setting. We’ll look at what it takes to make setting into a character, describing the sights, smells, and sounds of a place. Then we’ll explore your character’s emotional response to the setting through a writing exercise.
with Margaret Dilloway

EMOTIONAL TIPPING POINTS:
Moments That Forever Change Your Characters
(workshop)

There are moments that change us forever. Their effect, though, is made not in the moment but in the lead up to that moment. In this hands-on workshop, learn how to lay the groundwork for earth-shattering character transformations.
with Donald Maass

FLOG A PRO LIVE!
A Study of First Pages
(workshop)

Do some bestselling authors draw upon fame and history to lure readers to buy their books? If you follow WU’s monthly Flog a Pro series, you know that opinions on the merits of first pages from bestselling novels differ widely and generate plenty of commentary. In this session, Ray Rhamey will conduct a workshop wherein you vote Yes or No on pages from bestsellers and then Ray leads the group through critiques of the pages. Having a lively exchange in real time will even better illuminate the whys and why nots of a page’s success or failure. And succeed they must, just as your first page has to if you want anyone to dive into your story.
with Ray Rhamey

THE HEART OF YOUR VOICE:
Understanding the Central Story that Underpins Your Work
(workshop)

Each of us has a unique, powerful core story, born of the particular events and conflicts of our own lives. If you’ve ever wanted to go deeper, to understand why you’re always writing outsider stories or motherless characters (when you have a mother who is lovely), join this workshop, Explore the underlying tale that is the fingerprint of your work by using writing exercises and discussion to bring greater authority and voice to your work.
with Barbara O’Neal

THE JENGA OF STORY:
Structure for Plotters, Pantsers, and Planners

Whether you’re a free spirit who just likes to sit down and write, or a compulsive planner who needs to know how the story ends before you write a word, constructing a piece of book-length fiction can be a daunting challenge. While we will touch on some popular structural methodologies (Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat, etc.) this is NOT a session about writing to some cookie-cutter formula. Rather, we’ll explore how an increased awareness of the structural components of your story – and how they are arranged and applied – can help you tell that story in an even more compelling and impactful way. Plotters can use these insights to frame the skeletons of their new stories, while pantsers (people who write by the seat of their pants) can apply these concepts as diagnostic tools both to strengthen their storytelling and to detect any gaps or weaknesses that could bring their story tumbling down like a collapsed Jenga puzzle.
with Keith Cronin

NAVIGATING THE WRITING PROCESS:
How Process Intersects with Your Story, and Your Life

The writing process is mysterious. Do you ever feel like you’re doing it all wrong? Your work-in-progress just doesn’t feel like any of the others, and you’re frustrated and discouraged, and having trouble moving forward. In this session, we’ll examine the way our lives intersect with our stories, and how we can effectively utilize our strengths to inform the writing process. In addition, we’ll discuss how to harness our energies through the emotional ups and downs of the writing process in a way that is both effective and nurturing to our creative selves. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences.
with Heather Webb

NEXT LEVEL WORLD BUILDING:
Your Story World, From Black-and-White to Technicolor
(workshop)

Richly-imagined settings exist independently. They become like characters, telling their own stories in parallel to your plot. But how? In this hands-on workshop, explore the methods of building highly colorful settings and weaving them inextricably into your stories.
with Donald Maass

ORGANIC PLOTTING:
Using Non-Standard Methods to Find Your Story’s Hidden Depths
(workshop)

Traditional methods of plotting typically use methodical, even mathematical left brain forms and graphs. What if you could tap into the right brain to walk into the world of your characters and the book to holistically explore the world, spirit, and energy of a book to make plotting more organic (and easier!) Using collage, art materials, music, and other playful tools, we’ll explore plotting through non-traditional methods to find layers, depth, power, and maybe more pleasure in plotting.
with Barbara O’Neal

THE POWER OF EVIL:
Motivating Villainous Characters

Are villains born or made? If born, to what degree do they possess insight into their excessive selfishness and objectification of others? And does that insight include some element of self-control or the capacity to change? If they are made, what forces in their upbringing turned them away from virtue and community and instead created a need to prey on others? Are they brooding and solitary or sunnily successful? Do you need to reveal the horrors that shaped them or is it better to conceal all that from the reader—for nothing terrifies more profoundly than a threat we fail to understand? Is your villain monstrous or Satanic, and how can you tell the difference? We’ll explore these questions and others in this darkly fascinating session.
with David Corbett

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE “MEET CUTE”:
The Truth About Chemistry, and Avoiding Clichéd Love Stories

Calling all romance writers-or anyone with a romance element to their story! The meet-cute is that moment when your characters meet for the first time, click (or don’t click), but some kind of chemistry is established that makes the reader want to root for them as a couple. But it can’t be all about “oh, his beautiful eyes” and “check out her shapely behind.” This session will delve into unique ways to establish character chemistry so your story doesn’t sound like all the others. It will include brainstorming and the chance to share a few weird stories.
with Anne Greenwood Brown

PUSHING HARDER:
Increasing Conflict the Right Way

Conflict is the fuel in the engine of your novel. It increases your reader’s engagement with your story. It can quicken your story’s pace, add depth to your characters, and drive the narrative arc. But how do you increase conflict without haphazardly tossing obstacles in the way of your protagonists? How do you create conflicts that are not only logical, but gradually increasing in an organic way for your characters? It starts and ends with character. This session will show you how to use your characters to create the structural conflicts that create compelling narratives.
with Cathy Yardley

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCS:
Secondary Arcs to Enrich Your Story
(workshop)

A story isn’t powerful because of what happens, but because of what changes because of what happens. Thinking of that change as happening only within the protagonist turns a blind eye toward change within other characters, relationships, the community, nature—even objects can change, creating powerful symbols. This look at macro-editing will focus on secondary arcs that will enrich your story.
with Kathryn Craft

RAISE YOUR VOICE, AND RAISE YOUR GAME:
Experiment with Voice to Unlock New Potentials

One of the keys to an unforgettable reading experience is a story told in a distinctive and compelling voice. A primary tenet of this session is that voice is a choice – not an accident. Whether you’re looking to polish and focus a narrative voice that comes to you organically, or specifically crafting a voice to heighten the impact of your story, there is a wide range of concepts and techniques you can apply. We will examine some memorable voices from novels across a broad spectrum of styles and genres, and explore some of the techniques the authors employed. The goal of this session is to get you thinking about voice in new and different ways, and prepare you to experiment with applying some new concepts and techniques to your own work.
with Keith Cronin

REASSESSING DIALOGUE:
What’s Said and UNsaid
(workshop)

Go ahead, open your characters’ mouths and let the words fall out—on the first draft, as a way of getting to know them. Then edit, because well-crafted dialogue can do so much more. In this session, we’ll analyze masterful dialogue for the ways what is said, done, and left unsaid contribute to characterization and story movement while engaging the reader.
with Kathryn Craft

THE TERRITORY OF CHARACTER:
A Dynamic Way to Understand and Test Your Characters
(workshop)

Character Q&As are rarely helpful when it comes to truly understanding who our characters are, at root, and why they choose to behave the way they do throughout life and in critical moments throughout our stories. This session will introduce you to a new way of understanding and exploring your character, at the start of your story, and as your story grows into itself. This workshop will be made more powerful by asking attendees to explore their own territories for context and relatability as we go.
with Therese Walsh

TUNNEL DOWN:
An Examination of Point of View, Character-Revealing Metaphors–and more

You know the difference between first person and third person, present tense and past tense, an intimate character study and a wide-ranging epic. But these are only a few of the dozens of decisions that go into shaping a fictional voice. Let’s look at the full range of tools you have at your disposal–including dialogue, verb choice, vocabulary, observation, repetition, narrative idiosyncrasies, in-character metaphors and more–and examine how each of them helps to bring the voice, or voices, of your story to life.
with Greer Macallister

UNBOXED CRITIQUE:
Creating Conversations with Your First Readers to Dramatically Improve Story

Receiving feedback from others, understanding what is working and what is not in your work-in-progress, and making revisions based upon what you learn, can make or break your work. New York Times and internationally bestselling author Brunonia Barry describes her unconventional approach–directly asking future readers for feedback between drafts. She’ll also share how she found readers, some of the roadblocks she faced, and what she did to overcome those roadblocks.
with Brunonia Barry

A VISCERAL THESAURUS:
Creating a New Resource Through Group Memory-Mining

Show don’t tell, they say. But when it comes to emotion, how many ways are there to really show it? (Heart pounding, hands sweating, anyone?) If our ability to describe something is limited by our own personal experiences, think how much better it would be if we all worked together. This session will involve group memory-mining to create a bank of visceral experiences we can use to improve the emotional punch of our stories. Please note, the success of this session depends on everyone’s willingness to share.
with Anne Greenwood Brown

WRITING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Being Authentic Without Being Preachy

This session touches on how writers can organically incorporate important topics into their writing. Whether it’s by having a certain historical event or setting as a backdrop, having characters experience something important, or simply busting up tired stereotypes, there are many ways to include weighty themes. Under this umbrella, we will discuss what a writer’s role in society is and could be — change maker or reflector? As part of this, we’ll also discuss the #ownvoices movement, the dearth of writers of colors in the publishing industry and what that means for white writers, and how white writers can be allies.
with Margaret Dilloway

WRITING WHAT SCARES YOU–AND TALKING TO YOUR MONSTERS:
Calm Anxieties & Deepen Your Writing

Being a writer often means dealing with insecurities. It’s a subjective industry, rampant with rejection, harsh critiques, and often little to no financial compensation. This session addresses how to harness your fears to make your writing more powerful, since writing what you’re most invested in — and what jars you the most, emotionally — is often what readers will respond to the most strongly. It also addresses how to prevent your anxiety from hamstringing your creativity by using your “deep dive” into your emotions to identify what’s really troubling you, and negotiating ways to keep moving forward in your writing pursuits.
with Cathy Yardley

Next week, we’ll share program descriptions of our exclusive extras: [Read more…]

Whose Character Is It Anyway?

March 29, 2019 By John J Kelley 73 Comments

Photo by Pexels via Pixabay Free License

Recently my latest creative pursuit, a departure from my stalled work in progress, has started bumping against a writerly controversy about which I had previously been only vaguely aware, that of authors receiving sharp pushback on their characters and in some cases their entire story concept because of perceived cultural disrespect or disregard. And though my pursuit has to date been a personal one, I still found myself chafing under what at first seemed arbitrary and potentially insurmountable barriers. You see, my current exercises involve crafting scenes in which I seek to embody characters unlike myself, with life experiences far removed from my own. In doing so I imagine their worlds, borne of research and admittedly from instinct too, as with any fiction. On one level the exercise is simply a creative challenge. But it is has also become an emotional touchstone since my attempts to “walk a mile in their shoes” have reawakened my empathy in an increasingly isolating world. Makes for good stuff, huh?

You would think so, or at least I did. But my joy in this new pursuit has since tempered. You see, last week I stumbled upon a New York Times article about author Amélie Wen Zhao withdrawing her debut novel, Blood Heir, from publication following accusations of insensitivity and outright racism in her portrayal of a fantasy world in which characters born with special powers are enslaved. Though Zhao, a Chinese immigrant, has explained the inspiration for the novel stemmed in part from largely overlooked indentured servitude prevalent across Asia as well as her personal experience as an outsider, criticisms soon overtook the initial positive reception of advance readers, leading to her decision to withdraw the novel prior to its scheduled June release.

Not having an advance copy myself, I cannot assess the full veracity of the complaints. Yet the situation immediately struck me as unfair. After all, an author chose to forego a publishing dream pursued for most of her young life right at the cusp of its fruition. In the days since, I have devoured reports of other recent works withdrawn from publication, both before and after their market releases. And though I now have more insight into the issues at play, my feelings remain torn. So I turn to you, fellow Unboxers, to help unravel the decidedly thorny matter of the degree to which writers should shape their creations to meet the expectations – or demands? – of potential readers.
[Read more…]

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How to Prepare and Use a DMCA Takedown Notice

March 25, 2019 By Susan Spann 5 Comments

Flickr Creative Commons: Noirathsi’s Eye

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) is a U.S. law designed to protect content creators (and Internet Service Providers), and to “maintain a balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest.”

I could write a book (and people have) describing the DMCA in detail, but the part of the law most relevant to authors – and the topic of today’s post – is the DMCA Takedown Notice.

(Advance apologies for the length of this post, but it takes a little space to describe the process in a useful way.)

Under the DMCA, website hosts and ISPs must promptly investigate and resolve copyright infringement claims, provided the claims are presented in a DMCA-compliant notice (normally called a “DMCA Takedown Notice”). The legal requirements for this notice are established in 17 U.S. Code Section 512 (c)(3). In practical English:

To put an ISP on notice of copyright-infringing material on a hosted website, the person claiming infringement (or his/her representative) must send the ISP a written notice (many ISPs accept these notices in electronic format, and many websites post a DMCA submission form) containing the following information:

Identification of the infringing material that the owner is asking the ISP to remove (or disable access to), along with enough information for the ISP to locate the material. (Normally, a URL or link to the infringing content on the hosted website.)
Identification of the copyrighted work the owner claims has been infringed. (If multiple works by one author are involved, the owner can send a single notice that lists all of the works.)
Sufficient information for the ISP or website to contact the author of the DMCA complaint. (Generally, a physical address, telephone number, and valid email address.)
A statement that the complaining party (you, if you’re preparing the notice) has a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, any agent of the owner (such as a publisher), or the law.
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that the complaining party (you, if you’re sending it) is the copyright owner or legally authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
The physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner (or an authorized representative, like an attorney, agent, or publisher).

Before you send a DMCA notice to a website or ISP you should:

Make sure the website doesn’t have permission to post the material. Check your contracts, licenses, and grants of rights (and check with your publisher, if you have one) to make sure the use is actually a copyright infringement. It’s embarrassing to send a DMCA notice and get a response that says, “We have a license.”
Make sure the use is not “Fair Use.” Generally, offering free access to a copyrighted work, in its entirety, without permission, is copyright infringement – but if the use is only an excerpt, or if you’re not certain about fair use, contact a lawyer before proceeding with a DMCA notice.
Confirm the proper recipient of the notice. If the website doesn’t include a copyright agent or administrator’s contact information, you can generally send the notice to the website host (the ISP that hosts the website on its servers).

Be aware: a DMCA Notice is only legally operative within the United States, in countries that are signatories to the copyright treaty that prompted the DMCA’s enactment in the United States, and in countries that have enacted laws similar to the DMCA (with similar notice requirements).

And now for the bad news: [Read more…]

To Those Who Encourage Us To Write & To Dig A Whole Lot Deeper: T’anky!

March 9, 2019 By Kathryn Magendie 10 Comments

If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me … (from King Henry VIII)

I forgive you William Shakespeare, and I love you for it too, for I’ve often felt a little wild, talked a little wild, written a little wild, been a little wild.

Oh, but it wasn’t always so that I loved you (or the idea of you). There was a time when I just didn’t get you, dear William. I’d hear your name reverently fall from trembling lips and I’d shrug. I’d attempt to read your plays, and attempt is a generous word to use, and I’d put down the play and roll my eyes. I’d even watch adaptations of your plays with their modern themes and I’d change the channel.

Why, really, folks, Mr. Shakespeare mostly ragged on my ragged nerves with all the whilsts and whatnot.

But then, maybe seventeen, eighteen, or so years ago, before my move back to my mountain-birth-roots in and through and among the Appalachian Mountains, old mountain woman I am, was, and always will be (even when I lived in the swampylands of South Louisiana), I took a Shakespeare class at Louisiana State University. Um, not because I really wanted to learn about Shakespeare, but because it was taught by Barbara Gray, a professor I’d had a class with before and found her an engaging teacher, one who really did seem to love her job—well, that and this class was one of the only choices left to me. I was forced to take it. Yeah.

Even now, I wonder what has become of Barbara Gray. Last I saw her, I was visiting Baton Rouge during Mardi Gras and spotted her at a parade with a pair of bright pink panties on her head—perhaps I am remembering that incorrectly, but my recollection is of hilarious surprise that the Barbara Gray who so aptly and beautifully and with grace taught this Shakespeare class was hoopin’ it up at a parade with something bright and weird and wonderful and sexnicious atop her Great Head.

But, I digress, as I love to do! I digressify with the best of ′em—anyway . . . .

I remember worrying in that first week or two of class that I’d never figure out what Shakespeare was trying to say, or if he was laughing to himself as he made stuff up just to flummox us all—what a jokester he was! I mean, really, greater more intellectually gifted people than I had studied Shakespeare and they all still argue about his works and him.

But, through Barbara Gray’s imagination and calm intelligence (well, she was calm in class anyway – haha!), and a whole lot of patience, she led her students through the dense forest of words and phrases, the very brilliance and wonder and unique—the unique that ironically so much cliché has been formed—that is our William Shakespeare. I had to learn to pick apart his plays limb by limb. And even so, half of it I still skimmed over all glassy-eyed (and still do). With respect, William, I was veritably bored (and still am) when I had to read your plays, and woe is me if I had to read any of your smooshy sonnets. But, it’s the deeper understanding that fascinated me and fascinates me still.

The words, language, yes, okay, whatever. But those characters! Those tortured, wayward, murderous, wanting, lovelorn, brave, adventurous, cravenous, delicious characters! [Read more…]

Nasty, Menacing, Murderous: Protagonists We Love…and Why

March 6, 2019 By Donald Maass 27 Comments

I wonder what literary historians will make of the fiction of our times?

Dark times often produce light stories. After World War I, for instance, British crime fiction took a cozy turn. In contrast, economic prosperity can bring us tales grimly pessimistic. The year 1949 produced the novel 1984. The year 2008 gave us The Hunger Games. The economy crashed that year, true, but the novel must have been written earlier when high-risk mortgages and credit default swaps were like candy.

Currently, our economy has been on a path of tepid, unequal recovery for ten years—nothing to brag about but not wholly bad either—so you might expect that such a time would produce a literature of mild discontent. Nope. Our era has produced more unabashedly dark fiction than probably any other era in literary history.

Why now? I’ll leave the question to academics to answer, but dark fiction generally involves an element both puzzling and important for writers to understand: dark protagonists. Nasty, menacing and murderous protagonists are wildly popular. Go figure. Is it exciting for readers to vicariously enjoy being amoral?

Michael Cox’s The Meaning of Night (2006) is the story of Edward Glyver, a Victorian booklover, scholar and murderer. His first killing is of a randomly chosen stranger, a murder for which feels no remorse—but for which he has a reason:

Now I knew that I could do it; but it gave me no pleasure. The poor fellow had done me no harm. Luck had simply been against him—together with the colour of his hair, which, I now say, had been his fatal distinction. His way that night, inauspiciously coinciding with mine in Threadneedle-street, had made him the unwitting object of my irrevocable intention to kill someone; but had it not been him, it must have been someone else.

Until the very moment in which the blow had been struck, I had not known definitively that I was capable of such a terrible act, and it was absolutely necessary to put the matter beyond all doubt. For the dispatching of the red-haired man was in the nature of a trial, or experiment, to prove to myself that I could indeed take another human life, and escape the consequences. When I next raised my hand in anger, it must be with the same swift and sure determination; but this time it would be directed, not at a stranger, but at the man I call my enemy.

And I must not fail.

Let’s think about that confessional passage. Glyver claims no remorse, and yet he describes the murder as “a terrible act”. He has no pleasure in it, sounding almost indifferent, and yet he calls his victim “the poor fellow”. Do you get the feeling that Glyver’s sentiments and words are at odds with what he’s done? They are.

Thus, we can discern the most fundamental trick of putting over a really terrible person: The dark protagonist who purports to have no conscience actually has one. Furthermore a “bad” protagonist, if palatable, is necessarily and somehow and in some way, to some degree, good. [Read more…]

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