Nerdology 101: Decision-Making for Characters

Hey there! Welcome back to Nerdology 101, the blog where no nerd is left unsatisfied. I'm your host, Maria Levato. This week, I thought we'd talk about writing the tough decisions.

Every writer comes across a point where their character must make a decision. They have to go down one road or another, but sometimes they refuse to cooperate. I recently had a character that remained indecisive from the beginning of the draft right up until the end of the story.

Of course, it made for an awesome character arc because the build up to this moment has been quite the journey. However, we reached the point where a decision had to be made. Presented with two options that had similarly good outcomes for her, but potentially devastating ones for those she cares for, my FMC finally had to make her decision about which one of them she was going to hurt. Yet, when it came down to the wire, she went radio silent on me.

It didn't surprise me when she went quiet. She's a stubborn character with a bit of a bratty side. I had expected that she might throw a tantrum when she had to make this decision. So, here's how I dealt with it. Let's get into some Nerdology!

My FMC is quite used to having her way. Not because she's spoiled, but because she's powerful. Quite frankly, most of the other characters are terrified of her! When she gets stuck having to choose between two things she wants, she doesn't know how to cope. As the author, it's my job to coax her back out and help her make the decisions without speaking for her (It works best for me when I see the character as fully autonomous. I'm not sure if all writers do this, but I do.).

To do that, I write everything. It all comes out. Every moment up until the statement declaring the decision gets written. All the emotions, all the things they say and do leading up to it, everything gets on the page. Then, I write the first part of the statement. To oversimplify it, "I choose ____." At which point, all the character actually has to do is give you one answer or another. One I get answer A or B, the why flows post decision.

My point: Don't let the characters decision paralysis stall the story. 

Let them make the decision on the moment because that's probably what's happening on the page. In most instances, you don't need their decision until very last moment. Give them all that time so they can answer intuitively.

Think of it like going to a restaurant. You know you want something from X place but you don't really know what until you get there and look at the menu. You might even order the same thing you always do, but you'll stare at that menu anyway, and you probably won't actually decide until the waitor/waitress walks up and asks if you're ready to order. It's a realistic and relatable thing for a character to do. Don't you agree?

Thanks for stopping by Nerdology 101. Check back next week for another segment. In the meantime, don't forget to pre-order my upcoming release, The Fate of Angels and Demons. Have a nerdy week!

Nerdology 101: Rabbit Holes

There you are! Here to hear me rant about some Nerdology? Of course you are because you’re a good little nerd. Yes, you are. Such a good nerd.

Welcome back to Nerdology 101, I’m your host, Maria Levato, and this week I wanna talk about my beloved rabbit holes (they are sacred and necessary. Do not come for them or I will hiss at you). Rabbit holes are the centerpiece of all my best writing, so today I’m going to tell you about a few of my recent favs. Whaddya say? Wanna get into some Nerdology? Let’s gooo!

1. How I Define the Difference between Rabbit Hole and Regular Research

   Could I have effectively written what I was trying to write without knowing this? If yes, it’s probably a rabbit hole. I do note, though, that the fact that I could write something without the information doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no benefit to writing it with it. Oftentimes, I find that writing with the additional information is the difference between producing something that sounds right to someone with no familiarity and producing something that sounds right to someone who knows. For example, geography. I once wrote a short story where a majority of the events took place in Dublin, Ireland. I could have convincingly wrote some version of “We ate at a restaurant by the River Liffey.” and most American’s likely would have accepted that as enough detail. Instead, I wrote that the characters ate at PHX Bistro, a small restaurant by the River Liffey. That’s a detail that would help the story feel more like its truly happening in Dublin to someone from Dublin, or to others that have been there. It wouldn’t necessarily have been bad writing if I didn’t name a specific restaurant, but that little bit of detail made it a bit more tangible. Of course, that’s not a rabbit hole in and of itself because I didn’t research that so much as I just knew it from travelling, but it’s a great example of how a detail might make a big difference in how convincing the writing is. Thus, my argument that rabbit hole as sacred stands.

2. Recent Rabbit Hole - Demons

   (Note: For context, it’s useful to know that I write romantasy. Romance that is central to the plot based in a completely fictional world of my own making. However, there’s a paranormal and mythological element in the sense that my characters are often angels, demons, gods, priestesses, etc.. My magic systems and set ups are often based in a slew of different beliefs, taking elements from them to create something original. So, my research is often in finding those puzzle pieces from various belief systems, cultures, and periods of history to build it).

   For reasons I can’t explain without spoiling future releases, this one was extremely useful. So, did you know that the modern word demon comes the Greek word Daimon, which just meant deity? There was no evil connotation on the word until the Catholic Church came into the picture. Presumably, the word Daimon being used to refer to deities that weren’t their preferred deity and therefore it picked up a negative/evil connotation as they gained more power throughout Europe since they were monotheistic and viewed the worship of other deities as an evil act. But yeah, demons are pretty much just deities and whether they are a threat or not depends mostly on who you are and what demon you’re interacting with. Not every demon we see discussed in texts about them is necessarily hostile towards humans. The Lemegeton, for example, talks about demons, but it also goes into detail when classifying them. It speaks about their personalities, the danger or lackthereof in interacting with them, and more. This sort of implies that there was an understanding in medieval Europe, at least among those who sought out this type of knowledge, that demons weren’t necessarily evil. That understanding prevails today in some ways, though its became increasingly less prevailing for a few decades because of media portrayals, then took a turn in more recent years where that understanding started to revitalize itself. Needless to say, there are plenty of people who still cling to the evil connotation of the word, but it only really holds up when held under the lens of a monotheistic theology.

   Point being that etymology proves quite useful in writing fantasy. Knowing this helped me lead a character to a huge moment of self-discovery that I was able to write extremely well because I had gone down the rabbit hole to get the right information to make it work. It was also just fun because it set off a slew of personal research that really doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m writing, but I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I like learning about these things, and who knows? Info that isn’t relevant to my writing can occassionally resurface later as being exactly what I need. It’s sort of unpredictable that way.

3. Recent Rabbit Hole - Mesopotamia

   Another topic I recently had to do some digging on was Mesopotamia, the gods of the culture and time, and it’s geographic placement compared to modern maps. My findings were prettty cool. I hadn’t looked into Mesopotamia too much before this so I went in with very little background knowledge to base my research on, which is rare because usually these types of things are matters I’m led to write about because of an interest I already have. In this case, though, it was a bit more random. I liked that because it left so much room for inspiration since everything I was getting was new to me. It also gave me a path to learning about Iran a little more (when looking into museums and historic sites) and develop an interest in the culture.

   Because what I was looking into was so broad, I can’t go into all of it here, but I will talk about a point that I found particularly useful. Separating dynasties is an important point when discussing Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was a region more than it was a reference to a specific civilization. Most information is a bit more specific to the empire that was ruling it at the time. There were quite a few changes in power, but for my purposes, I was focused on periods of Sumerian and Akkadian rules (probably what most people are thinking of when they say Mesopotamia. About 3,200B.C. to 2154B.C. for both dynasties). In the dates is a fact that took me a while to wrap my head around. The Old Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt was roughly from 2686-2181B.C. Which means there was a fairly decent overlap in dates where the Akkadian empire and the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt existed at the same time. The Great Pyramids of Giza were constucted a few centuries prior to the fall of the Akkadian dynasty. I’m sure you can imagine all the ways a fantasy writer could utilize that bit of information. Oh yeah… That alone was gold to me. Not to mention all the other great stuff I found while researching. I’m so excited with how its turning out on the page too!

   I hope you all enjoyed hearing about some of my recent rabbit holes. Have you had any of your own of late? Let me know. I’ll see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

   Sources

   https://www.history.com/articles/mesopotamia

   https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/monuments/the-great-pyramid

   https://www.britishmuseum.org/learn/schools/ages-7-11/ancient-egypt/timeline-ancient-egypt

   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demon#word-history

Nerdology 101: Kink Safety for Beginners

This blog post is intended for adults. It is not recommeded for those under the age of 18.

Hiii! Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I’m your host, Maria Levato, and this week we’ll be going over some kink basics for those who may wish to explore bits and pieces of their smutty fantasies in real life. Let’s get into some Nerdology!

1. Consent

   The first and most important point is that when indulging in any form of sexual activity consent is key. Nothing you do not want to happen should be happening. For this reason, it’s best to define boundaries before any play begins. Talk to your partners. Be clear about what you’re looking for, what is and is not okay with you, what your expectations are, what kinds of aftercare you think you’ll need, and literally any other topics that will help define the situation.

2. Take it slow

   Kink is not something you just wake up one day and start exploring at full-throttle. Doing that is extremely dangerous and could result in harm to you or your partner(s). While I don’t consider any kink totally “off-limits”, I do think there are steps. For example, if your interest is in impact play, you should probably try some light spanking before you pull out a whip. Liking the way you imagine a kink or a concept of a kink does not always equate to actually liking the kink itself. Sometimes, you want to try something, you do, and then you hate it in practice. Slowly building up to more intense play is an important step. This is even more important with certain roleplay-type kinks like CNC and Primal Play because you and your partner(s) need to have enough experience, trust, and communication built up to prevent a fun and healthy exploration of a fantasy from becoming an assault.

3. Learn from someone more experienced than you

   First-timers are always welcome here, but experience is important. If neither you or your partner(s) have any, please find someone who does. You can do this by attending a munch, visiting a BDSM club as an observer, or discussing it with those at your local kink shop (in my experience, they are usually willing to help guide newbies—or provide them with resources that might help them). Many of the people you meet in these spaces have been doing this for years. They can give you general advice on safety, best practices, communication, questions you should ask that might not be so obvious, etc. They can also tell you ways certain tools should be used. Improper use of kinky devices can be risky.

4. Trust

   We touched on this a little in the first point, but there’s more to say in this area in particular. Kink requires an extreme amount of trust. I don’t care if you’ve known someone a month or 10 years, if you cannot say with absolute certainty that they will a) stop when told, b) adhere to any lines you have, c) understand that what you allow them to do during play does not equate to how they’re expected to treat you outside of it, I do not advise engaging in kink with them. If these elements are not present, there’s not enough trust or respect for a kink dynamic to be implemented in a healthy way.

5. Beware of the Internet

   The irony of telling you to be cautious about what you see/read/observe on the internet while speaking to you on the internet is not lost on me, but its also so important. Predators are abundant in the world, but they get amplified on the internet. Many of them use the words kink or BDSM as a broad cover for toxic, unhealthy, sickening behavior. The kink community does NOT condone this type of behavior. Don’t play with someone who uses “I’m a dominant” as an excuse to steamroll you. If you lean dominant, also don’t forget that subs should have lines and that being a dom/domme doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have lines too. In fact, you should have lines. If someone says something along the lines of “I’ll try anything”, they either haven’t thought this through or they’re making assumptions about what your “anything” entails. I’ve had people say that to me before, but when I question it and start throwing out kinks, they have to backtrack and think about it more. In order for clear communication to take place between partners, a certain amount of self-reflection also has to take place. No one should be okay with “anything”. Boundaries and lines might change as the dynamic progresses, but it should never be assumed to have changed, it should never be expected to change. Make sure that content you consume for the purpose of learning is coming from someone who cares about safety. The smutty books we read are FICTION. Understand that a healthy exploration of kink/BDSM doesn’t look exactly like it does in books. Sure, you can reenact some scenes, but you cannot skip these essential steps leading up to that point without incurring serious risk of harm.

   With that, I’m going to wrap this blog post up! I’m a bit short on time this week, unfortunately. But, please remember that these five points are a starting point, not a finish line. Kink dynamics require a lot of thought and effort. At the bottom, I’ll include a few other resources (I’ve vetted these, but I still enourage you to vet them so you can get some practice with questioning things before trusting them) that might help you on your journey. Thanks a ton for dropping by Nerdology 101. I’ll see you back next week for our next segment. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Resources for learning about kink:

https://bdsmtest.org/select-language - figuring out what dynamics might interest you.

https://www.gstherapycenter.com/blog/2019/3/8/kink-safety-what-you-need-to-know - general safety

https://www.thepomegranateinstitute.com/the-abcs-of-bdsm-safety-acronyms - acroynms commonly used

https://expansivetherapy.com/blog-detail/new-kink-therapy - safety + mental health

https://www.chattingwiththelightkeeper.com/your-ultimate-guide-to-exploring-bdsm-and-kink/kinkopedia-the-ultimate-bdsm-d-s-terminology-guide/how-to-navigate-understand-and-stay-safe-at-bdsm-kink-events/ - Practical safety tips and knowledge for attending munches and other kink events.

Nerdology 101: Self vs. Trad Publishing

Hi! Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I’m Maria Levato, your nerdy sensei who writes about kink play—and a bunch of other random stuff no one asked about.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse around the merits of self vs. trad publishing, so I’m using this week’s post to address that. Let me give you a hint: Both options are perfectly valid.

There are few industries where we judge the legitimacy of a business by who makes the initial investment. I have never heard someone say “Oh, this store is worse than a different store because the owner paid for it themselves instead of getting investors.” Why haven’t I heard that before? Because it would be insane and most people wouldn’t say it. So, why do we do it when it comes to books? Let’s dive into some Nerdology and find out!

Before the Printing Press

Long ago, there was a world without the printing press. A medieval time where books were—Checks notes, then gasps—made by hand!? Oh, the horror. As you may have guessed, they took a lot of time and money to make. The majority of them were made and collected by religious entities and universities. “Getting published”, as we know it today, didn’t really exist. What did exist, though, is the concept of patronage. Wealthy people, like nobles and royals, would find artists and writers they liked and bankroll them. Eventually, after creating some work, some of the artists and writers would start to get commissions from other wealthy people who wanted a work made by that artist or writer. Publishing houses are the post-printing press version of this, so you can call writers who became published this way early trad authors. On the other hand, you could call writers with the wealth to pay to have their writing produced themselves, early self-published authors.

Good Ol’ Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution

In 1454, we see Gutenberg’s printing press get put to commercial use for the first time where he prints a slew of stuff off for the church. Then, suddenly books (or at least those the church approves of) are more widely available. It’s magic. A ton of people were interested in this because it was a quick and easy way to replicate their ideas and distribute them to a wide audience. It was a Printing Revolution, literally, that’s what it was called. It was part of the Renaissance. You can learn a lot about it by viewing this page from Printing R-Evolution that explores it in depth. For our purposes, though, I’m just illustrating how this became the publishing industry. You see, whoever had a printing press could print and distribute anything. So, having one became a powerful way to distribute materials that would make people more likely to agree with your preferred idealogy. That’s a lot of power. It platformed people like Galileo, who was a radical thinker for his time. It also gave us texts that sparked social movements like the rise of Prostestantism, such as bibles written in languages that aren’t Latin, which were considered heresy at the time. Eventually, people realized that printing and distributing books could be lucrative. Enter: The Publishing Industry, entities who printed and distributed books on behalf of the writer.

Literary Agents

Three to four centuries and a lot of books later, literary agents come onto the scene between 1870 and 1930, depending on location. Their job was simple. Connect writers with publishing houses. This is really the start of traditional publishing as we know it today. From there, traditional publishing became more of a standardized process. Query agents (via snail mail, at the time), get an agent, have that agent submit the work to publishers, get published.

The Internet

With the internet came a revitalization of self-publishing. In 2005, Blurb, an online self-publishing platform was founded. In 2009, Amazon started Amazon Publishing. In 2013, IngramSpark came onto the scene. As with anything, some people got mad about it. They started bashing people who took that path because it went against their expectations of what becoming an author should look like. That’s where it started to get stigmatized.

Social Media

With the rise of Booktok/Bookstagram/Booktube/etc. came change. Self-published authors started to gain stronger platforms and their path became less stigmatized. This led us to the debate I’m seeing today about whether self or trad publishing is better. As I said at the start of this blog post, it doesn’t matter. The difference lies in who bears the initial investment, not the quality of the production itself. I’ve read plenty of trad books that I love and plenty that I dislike. The same applies to self-published books. Trad published books sometimes have editing issues, so do self-published books sometimes. Both formats have different pros and cons. Ultimately, the choice on which format is better depends on the writer and the piece they’re publishing. No matter what a writer chooses, they choose it because it is the best route for them and their work. Some writers choose one path at first and a different path later. Some are solidly on one side of the line or the other. So long as everyone respects everyone else’s decisions, there’s nothing wrong with any of it. It’s okay for people to achieve similar goals by different means. To say a trad-published author is a sell out or a self-published author wasn’t good enough to make it is ridiculous. No matter who bears the initial investment, the quality of the writing is what matters at the end of the day. Read books you like, no matter how they were published, and don’t read books you don’t like, no matter how they were published.

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are! Did you learn something new about the history of publishing?

With that, I bid you all a good weekend. I’ll see you back next Friday at 3P.M. ET for the next segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Source List (This is a blog, not an academic paper. I’m just dropping the links so people can learn more, not making full citations).

https://guides.library.ubc.ca/historyofthebook/beforeprint

https://independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1510

https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/mcdonald/incunabula/gutenberg/

https://www.printingrevolution.eu/7

https://www.transatlantic-cultures.org/es/catalog/agents-litteraires

Nerdology 101: Fall of Freedom

Welcome back to Nerdology 101! I’m Maria, your fellow nerd, reporting from my desk as I cling desperately to my coffee (one of my cats is after it).

This week, I wanted to talk about the Fall of Freedom movement. If you don’t know what that is or why it matters, you’re in the right place.

The Issue:

Censorship is on the rise across America. According to the American Library Association (ALA), 2,452 different books were targeted for censorship in 2024. That’s a lot of books for a country that claims to free speech as one of its core values. These attacks will only increase as many continue pour fuel on the fire that leads to them. What’s so bad that they don’t want us to read it? Well, if the ALA’s 10 Most Challenged List is any indication, anything written about women’s issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, anti-authoritarism, or racial issues. As with anything, these challenges disproportionally target members of marginalized communities.

Beyond banned books, we’ve seen it in other aspects of life as well. Social media is another example. The censoring of certain language, particularly in a way that softens it (I.E. killed turned into unalived, rape turned into graped, pedophile turned into PDFile, protest turned into music festival.), has grown into a common phenomenon. There’s a danger in that. When we soften the language we’re using to describe such weighy subjects, we start participating in our own censorship and downplaying the seriousness of real issues.

Don’t think for a second this doesn’t apply to you too, anime and gaming lovers. Where do you suppose anime’s like One Piece, featuring powerful anti-government themes, are going to be accessible if speech in disagreement with authoritarian policies continues to be censored? Nerds are just as much a part of this as the rest of us. We’re a community that thrives on living outside of the normal social practices, oftentimes embrassing alternative lifestyles, hobbies, and interests. Censorship is a dangerous road and one that we’ve seen play out many times in media both media and history.

The Movement:

What Fall of Freedom is doing is putting out an urgent call to a community with a long history of getting louder when told to shut up. The artists, the writers, the creatives, and the nerds. They want the anime-loving painter making fan art and the aspiring writer who barely has a platform to speak out against this censorship alongside more prominent names. That’s what this movement is about. Together, we will use our voices through our chosen mediums to let those who target our passions know we will not be silenced.

What Can I do?

The answer to that lies in your creativity and knowledge. Authenticity is key in this movement because our point is that authentic, diverse, and yes—critical—voices matter. Whether you host a reading of a banned book, post on social media, paint or design an image of what censorship looks like—what erasure feels like—it matters. Express yourselves and be sure to put Fall of Freedom’s logo on it so everyone knows you stand with the other creatives who are expressing themselves. Your voice matters and I’m looking forward to watching as they sound off in solidarity with this movement.

Will that even work?

You may ask yourself why this plan would work? Because it always has. The Dark Ages didn’t end because the powers that be decided to stop censoring artists; The Dark Ages ended because artists decided not to comply. Anti-war art during the Vietnam War is another great example here. The unpopularity of that war wouldn’t have been nearly as widespread if not for journalists, artists, writers, and people who were willing to help the masses see and understand what the atrocities truly felt and looked like. Art has always been a match unhesitant to ignite change. That’s why all throughout history oppressive powers have sought to silence creatives. It’s the demonization of the Gaelic language and it’s literature. It’s the books the Nazi’s burned. It’s the information hidden in South Africa during Aparthied. It’s the Indigenous stories that were dragged from their ancestral homes and forced onto reservations with the people meant to tell them. Writers and artists of all kinds have always been able to create change. Those in power wouldn’t be attacking us if we weren’t a threat to their power.

We must once again take our stand against censorship with Fall of Freedom’s movement and beyond. Every voice matters and I encourage you to use yours. No effort is too small or too big. Share a post, make a post, write a poem or a blog, go to an event, host an event—it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you speak up. Fall of Freedom’s webite provides more information as well.

Don’t forget to comment and let me know how you decide to use your voice. I’ll see you back next Friday at 3PM ET for the next segment of Nerdology 101. Have a nerdy week!

The Authors Guild is supporting this movement. Visit their website for more information on how they are standing up against censorship.