Woo, that title is a mouthful! And yes, this is my third Makeup Monday in a row - hope you're enjoying the product and services review. I'll be getting back into posting other things during the week soon, but want to at least make sure I get a weekly update out. And this week I have another foundation to talk about!

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

$8.59 at Target

I picked this foundation up right before a work trip to Las Vegas at the beginning of the month. I needed something new once I found out the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation was oxidizing on my skin past the point of wearable - I couldn't show up to a work conference with mismatched foundation! But I also wasn't willing to shell out an additional $40 for new foundation, so I picked this up on a whim the day before I left, and I'm very glad that I did.

PROS

First things first, this foundation did an amazing job holding up not only in the 95+ degree dry heat of Las Vegas, but also in the 90+ degree humid heat of North Carolina, and that's already off to a great start in my book. Full disclosure, I do have combination oily/normal skin, but my T-Zone never gets to be too oily and the normal parts of my face never tend to get too dry, so keep that in mind if you're considering your own skin type. But I have had really great success getting this foundation to stay put for most of the day. I've found that it applies best with a beauty blender and I am particularly fond of it with the Wayne Goss Method.

Also, you really can't go wrong with the price of this. I think the price at my local Target was a little more than the website - about $10 - but even so, that's a great price considering the foundations I've been using have been ranging in the $35 to $40 range. And I find that I don't need a ton of product to get the medium coverage that I like - just about a pump and a half does it for me, even on the days when I'm dealing with breakouts. The finish is nice and I haven't noticed any oxidizing on my skin, which is a huge relief after my last purchase!

And finally, I love the pump on this foundation. It dispenses just the right amount of product and it even has a locking mechanism so you can make sure you're not spilling foundation everywhere if you're traveling with it and you've lost the cap or it falls off. This is a very easy foundation to travel with in general. It holds up well in multiple environments, it's safe to travel with, and there's not a lot of unnecessary flair to the 1 fl oz packaging, which makes it very easy to throw in your makeup back and get moving with.

CONS

While I do really like the pump on this foundation, I kind of wish the cap wasn't clear. Mostly because, like most pump foundations, after you've dispensed the product, you do tend to end up with a little left behind. And on a clear cap? Well...

It's not hard to clean out or anything, but I'm pretty lazy so I just end up with a super messy looking foundation bottle sitting on my counter.

Also, I don't know that I really believe everything boasted in the "3-in-1" claim in the name of foundation. According to the foundation claims, it should do the work of a primer, concealer, and foundation. I definitely don't think it does all of those things. I still use a primer and I definitely still use a concealer because this is more of a medium coverage foundation. Now, the "primer" and "concealer" inside of this may contribute to some of the lasting power, but I wouldn't throw out the rest of my routine just for this foundation.

And finally, unsurprisingly, there isn't a fully rounded range of colors here. For the drugstore, it's not bad! But this foundation definitely lends itself more to light and medium skin tones than deep skin tones. There are only about three on the truly deep end of the spectrum on the Covergirl website. So while there's an abundance of undertone differences across the medium skin tone range, the deep end doesn't get nearly as much attention.

THE VERDICT

Overall, I've been really happy with this foundation. It's become my current day-to-day foundation and it does a great job getting me through the work day. It's easy to apply, it lasts, and it comes in at a great price point. Right now, this is hands down my favorite drugstore foundation, and if you're looking for a new foundation at a good price point, I recommend giving this a try!

But if this isn't at the top of your drugstore list, let me know what is! I'm always looking for new drugstore foundations to try out, and would love to hear your top recs!

After a full week in Vegas and a little over a week to recover, I'm back! I'd intended to try and get a blog post or two done while I was out of town, but Vegas wasn't super conducive to productivity, if you can believe it. But I'm home, my schedule has lightened up, and it's time to get back into the swing of things! And instead of reviewing a product, today I'm going to be reviewing the monthly subscription service: ipsy!

ipsy

Monthly Subscription $10 (plus tax)

For anyone who isn't familiar with it, ipsy is a monthly subscription service for beauty products. It's probably one of the most popular beauty subscriptions alongside Birchbox. For $10 a month, you get a themed makeup bag and at least 5 products that range from sample sized to full sized. When you sign up for the subscription, you complete a questionnaire designed to get an idea of your style, taste, and preferences, and that contributes - to a degree - to what items you receive. And if at any point you think you're getting too much of a product you aren't happy with, you can always redo the profile questionnaire to change up your preferences!

I have been receiving an ipsy for over a year at this point, and I am incredibly happy with it. Do I love every single item in every bag I get? No, of course not. But even in my most disappointing bags, I've come away with one or two great items. And one of the best parts about ipsy, for me, is that you really do get a good range of beauty products to try out. I've received hand creams and hair products and makeup removers and full sized brushes alongside my makeup items, which is great. Everything in the picture above I received from an ipsy. It's by no means a comprehensive shot of everything I've received, but I think it does a good job of showing off the range of items you can expect to receive.

And unlike most of the brands featured in Birchbox, I find that the ipsy brands tend to be more affordable. It's a good mix of "drugstore" and "prestige" level items, so if you do find something you love, odds are you won't have to break the bank to get a full sized version.

Another great feature of the ipsy subscription has to be the bags! Every month your samples come in an adorable new makeup bag that denotes whatever the theme of the month is. And what I've found is that you can really always use a handful of these little bags. I keep a few in my purse - one for tampons and one for a battery pack and phone cord - and I use a few others to store things or to organize my makeup products. They're incredibly convenient to have on hand and some of them are gorgeous!

And finally, I couldn't leave this review without commenting on the fantastic customer service I've received from the ipsy care team on Twitter. In the 14 bags I've received, I have only gotten 2 damaged items. Both of those times, I've sent a direct message to the ipsy care team with a photo of the broken product, and they have immediately sent a new one my way. I don't think it's ever taken longer than 3 days for the replacement to show up. They're always quick to respond and even quicker to act, which makes it incredibly easy for me to overlook a broken doefoot here and there!

Ultimately, if you have the money and you're a makeup junkie like I am, I highly recommend giving ipsy a shot! I've been introduced to so many new brands through this subscription, and a number of the items I've gotten have become favorites and staples in my regular routine. And if you found my review helpful and would like to signup, I'd love it if you did so through my referral link! I do get reward points for the ipsy store if you subscribe through that link, but other than that, there's no difference from signing up from the main page!

If you're already subscribed to ipsy, what's your favorite bag and what's your favorite item that you've received to date? My favorite bag is a tie between the makeup princess and the pixelated love letter, and my favorite item is probably going to have to be the blue makeup brush in the first picture - it's the perfect brush for dragging out eyeshadow or eyeliner and the wand is covered in adorable little whales!

It is truly the age of liquid lipstick! Matte is in, and a liquid formula is the way to go for a super long-lasting matte finish. But a slightly more recent trend is the metallic matte lip - a foiled, shiny look to make a statement while still outlasting your typical gloss or lipstick bullet. And the metallic liquid lipstick has become so popular that you can now get them in the drugstore! So, today, I'll be reviewing one of those options from Milani!

Milani Amore Mattallics Lip Creme

$8.99 at Milani Cosmetics

Just a disclaimer before we get too far into the review: while I was tracking down the site to link to, I noticed that Milani has changed the packaging on these lip cremes. The colors and the color names seem to be the same, but the new packaging is more square as opposed to my cylindrical bottle. I do not know if the the formula has been changed along with the packaging, so until I get my hands on a new one to make an update, let's assume I'm strictly discussing the old version.

PROS

1. Finish There's nothing more frustrating than picking up a product that claims to have a certain effect or finish and finding out it absolutely doesn't. Thankfully, these Milani lip cremes live up to their "metallic" promise. Even after the color dries down on the lips, you're still left with a reflective sheen. Not glossy or glittery - definitely metallic.

2. Payoff Now I've only tried the shade 04 Cinematic Kiss (pictured above), but the color is pigmented enough that I didn't notice any streakiness, and it only required one layer of color. Which is especially good for liquid lipsticks since they don't always do as well when you have to apply multiple layers.

3. Feel The best part about this lip creme, in my opinion, is the way it feels on the lips after it's been applied and been given time to dry down. A truly matte finish will feel dry once it's set, but there's a big difference between "dry" and "drying." The Milani Mattallics dry down into a comfortable finish that was easy to wear and didn't leave me desperate to run chapstick or a gloss back over it.

CONS

1. Smell Dear god, this lip creme smells terrible. It's pretty obvious that Milani was aiming for a buttercream type scent like you get with the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks. They did not achieve that. What you get instead is a saccharin, medicinal scent that lingers until the lip color dries completely down. What I noticed is that the smell dissipated faster on my first application but lingered a horribly long time when I reapplied later int he day. I ended up taking it off rather than waiting for the smell to die down.

2. Wear Honestly, I was pretty surprised by how bad the wear time on this lip color was. I applied it at about 11:30am on Saturday and proceeded to do nothing for the next few hours. As in, I laid in bed and watched YouTube videos until about 1:15pm when I realized I should go get lunch. I didn't eat anything before then and the only thing I had to drink was the occasional sip of LaCroix through a straw. So when I got in the car and checked my lipstick, I was pretty upset to find that the inner rim of my lips had rubbed off as much as it had. I wouldn't be surprised to see that from any liquid lip after a full day of wear or a big meal, but not after 2 hours of inactivity.

THE VERDICT

Unfortunately, these are a pretty hard pass for me. Even though there were a lot of things I really liked about the Milani Mattallics, and you can't beat a price point under $10, the smell was just too overpowering, and the wear of the color wasn't good enough to override having to wait that out. If you're on a budget and really gunning for a metallic finish that's comfortable to wear, you could definitely give these a shot. But if you're like me and not huge on the metallics anyway? Save the $10 and try something else.

TITLE: A Right Honorable Gentleman
AUTHOR: Courtney Milan
GENRE: Romance, Historical
RATING: 4.5 / 5
Goodreads • Amazon
Miss Catherine Hooks is one of the best governesses in all of England; her employer, the Right Honorable Edward Glennon, is one of the busiest men. The fact that they’ve fallen in love is immaterial. Honorable people in their situation do not mention such things. But Edward’s son is on the verge of leaving for school, and when Cat asks for the only thing she can demand under the circumstances—a reference and help finding a new position—she discovers that even a right honorable gentleman has his limits…

Let me start by saying that this is not a full book, but rather a 30 page short story from Courtney Milan, and I was lucky enough to read it for free by being subscribed to her newsletter! So if you like Courtney's work, I would definitely recommend going to her site and subscribing to the newsletter for future freebies and sneak peeks. I finally got around to downloading this short story last night for something to read before bed, and I am so glad that I did!

I can't tell you exactly how long it took me to read the whole story because I was in bed, in the dark, and tearing up more often than I care to admit, but it was definitely less than an hour. But even with it being a quick read, it was so good! Cat and Edward suited one another like two sides of the same coin, and the tension and affection between them was nearly palpable, even when they were doing their best to ignore it themselves. This is also an amazing example of how you can use the "employer/employee" trope without playing into any uncomfortable power dynamics.

Cat is a middle-aged governess who holds her own against one of the most powerful men in the country in a way that is satisfying and believable for the story. And by the end, you're absolutely rooting for them. And maybe a little misty eyed if you're like me and just prone to crying when when a line gets you right int he feels. My only complaint, aside from wishing the story were a little longer, is that I do wish we'd gotten to see just a little more from Cat's perspective after her resignation, her on her own outside of Edward's company. But ultimately, the story was incredibly sweet, the character compatibility was fantastic, and for a short story, the wrap up was satisfying. I'll definitely be checking out more from Courtney after this!

I thought about using this week's Makeup Monday for the new Power of Makeup palette collab between NikkieTutorials and Too Faced, but I haven't had enough time to actually play around with that to give a fair review. And then I remembered, wait a minute! I have another collab palette I can talk about! So today we're going to be diving into the Swamp Queen palette collaboration between Grav3yardgirl and Tarte!

Grav3yardgirl + Tarte Swamp Queen Palette

$45 But largely sold out now

Unfortunately, this was a limited release collaboration and most online retailers (aside from Ebay listings and such) are sold out now, but your local Ulta or Sephora may have one or two left in stock! This palette comes with 9 different eyeshadows, a blush, bronzer/contour shade, and a highlighter. It also includes a brush and a decently sized mirror. Overall, it's a pretty decent amount of product for the $45 it was originally retailing at. I was also lucky enough to get a hold of this palette when it first launched on the Ulta website, so I've had a pretty fair amount of time to play around with it at this point.

PROS

1. Long Wearing
The first thing I have to talk about with this palette is just how long wearing these eyeshadows are! Seriously, I was blown away the first time I tried them out. I put my eyeshadow on at 8am without any shadow primer, and at 9:30pm that night when I took my makeup off, my eyeshadow looked exactly the same. It hadn't creased or faded or slipped at all. And that's held true for every time I've used these shadows. Seriously, if I know I'm going to be in for a long day and night, I turn straight to this palette.

2. Packaging
This a gorgeous palette. Not just the makeup, but the packaging itself is so pretty and unique. Designed to look like wood grain with foiled lettering and a winged gator engraving, it definitely stands out from a lot of makeup palettes that are available right now. The palette and the box have the same look to them, so either one would look great sitting on a shelf or your vanity. There's also a decent weight to the palette, which makes it feel more expensive. And my favorite part is how true to Bunny all of the names are. From the "Does This Thing Really Work?" blush to the beautifully red-toned "Dogman" eyeshadow, the whole palette is really an ode to her channel and her fans.

3. Color Selection
If you're not a rabid fan of neutrals like I am, you may disagree with me here, but I am obsessed with the colors in this palette. At a glance it's easy to write a lot of these colors off as standard netural palette fare, but I don't think that's really fair to the selection. Dogman (pictured above, 4th from the left), in particular, is an amazing eyeshadow. Red seems to be in right now, and Dogman is the perfect shade to give you a wearable amount of that. It's not a true red, which can make your eyes look irritated, but it does have more red tones than any other eyeshadow I currently own.

I'm also incredibly fond of the the highlighter, Gator Wings, and Uncommon (4th and 3rd from the right). Gator Wings is an absolutely stunning highlighter with a pale yellow-gold sheen and Uncommon is a perfectly light, all over color with just enough cool undertones to make it more interesting than your average taupe. There are a lot of really interesting and very wearable looks to be had in this palette, and I'm a huge fan of that.

CONS

1. Blush/Contour/Highlighter Shades
I know Bunny's intentions with the palette were to make it as universal as possible, but the blush and the contour/bronzing shade fall a little short for me. On one hand, the blush, while a pretty color, is incredibly pigmented. I've found I have a hard time using a light enough hand to get a wearable look out of this blush. And that's largely personal preference, because I don't like an intense blusher, but I could actually stand for the blush to be a little softer. And as far as the contour/bronzing shade goes, it's really just not my color. It's a little too warm for my skin tone, so I probably won't be using it for much outside of maybe another eyeshadow. As for the highlighter, it's a beautiful color, but the amount of glitter in it leads to a very heavy amount of fallout. Still use it and love it, but if you're not a fan of glitter, do your best not to touch the highlighter!

2. The Brush
Honestly, I'm just not crazy about this brush. It's fluffier than I like for my 'all over the lid' brushes to be, but the shape of it really isn't conducive to working into a crease. And it's too small and dense for blending, but it's also too large and fluffy to work for your under eye area. Ultimately, I think this is a decent brush for someone who isn't very particular about their makeup brushes, but I personally would have preferred a fluffy blending brush or something easier to work in the crease. Then again, I also haven't used the brush that often, so maybe with a little more playing around, I'll find something I really like it for.

3. Availability
And, of course, probably the biggest con for this palette is that it's pretty much sold out! This was a limited addition palette that had a number of staggered releases at various stores and in various countries, but it's been out for a little while now, so if you're interested, you'll probably have a hard time finding one for the original $45 unless a local store still has a few in stock or Tarte re-releases a handful.

THE VERDICT

If you can still find one of these palettes and you're a fan of the neutral coloring, I highly, highly recommend it! This is the first palette I've tried out from Tarte, and the lasting power of these shadows alone have made me want to get my hands on more. But as far as collaborations go, I think Bunny and Tarte did it right, and they've managed to put out a palette that's beautiful, high quality, and really respects the content creator and her community. So brava!

And if you're interested in a (shorter) review on another of Bunny's limited edition items, I also got my hands on the Texas Toast liquid lipstick. So let me know if you want to see a Makeup Monday on that!

I have a confession. I love notebooks. I am mildly obsessed with notebooks. If I see notebooks in a store, I have to stop and look at them. If I find one with a cover that appeals to me, I have to open it. And if that appealing notebook also has beautiful lines and spacing? Sign me up!

Honestly, I have more notebooks than I ever have or probably ever will use. My last count of current notebooks that I have readily on hand was in the range of 40. And then I bought a couple more and found some others I'd forgotten, so let's just say I have 40+ notebooks at the moment. And these are all kinds of notebooks! Tiny ones that are uncomfortable to use and large ones that are intimidating in their size. Compositions and spirals and bound and spineless. I have notebooks with beautiful covers, funny covers, and plain covers.

I've thought a lot about why I'm so obsessed with notebooks. Because I don't actually use my notebooks so often that I need nearly as many as I have. Over the years, I've tried to get better about actually using the notebooks I buy, but there is an undeniable part of me that almost loves an empty notebook as much as my fullest notebooks. Because an empty notebook is full of potential. It could still be used for anything! And that is, admittedly, also part of my problem. What if I start filling a notebook I love with a story I hate? I'm working on it. But in the meantime, I collect notebooks. And I've taken pictures of a few of my favorites!

Right now I'm in the midst of a whirlwind love affair with shiny, golden polka dots. The notebook on the far right is a purchase I made tonight because alone with being super cute, it also is one of those spineless notebooks that will lay completely flat when opened, which I love! The notebook on the left actually contains a handful of rough story ideas, character names, and a little playing around I'm doing with one of those stories. The other two? Blank!

These are just hella cute! The cupcake composition notebook was part of a set of 3 that I got at a back to school sale a year or two ago. The silver one is actually super duper sparkly, and I bought it in October last year. I remember because I have a gold version somewhere that I took to my interview for my current job. Both blank, but adorable!

The lighting is off on these, but this is one of my newer purchases as well! This is a soft cover Moleskine notebook with grid lines rather than your traditionally lined pages. I actually purchased this notebook and a few colored marker pens with the express intent to try bullet journaling! If I ever actually get around to setting that up, I'm sure a blog post about it will follow!

This is my convention journal! It is a super basic notebook that I picked up from Target. I think it may be a Five Star, but I don't actually remember. I've had it for a long time, though, and a couple of years ago I decided to try and keep my convention panel notes in one place rather than spread across whatever random notebook I pick up before leaving my house. This has been super helpful so far! I have about three conventions and one or two workshops worth of notes in this notebook, so it's been an awesome and easy to find resource.

And these are my most heavily used notebooks. The smaller of the two was one of my original convention notebooks that I misplaced before turning to the purple one above! Now they both hold stories. The larger notebook has more. A few short snippets of scenes with old characters that I'd like to one day expand on. It's probably my favorite just for the sheer about of material I actually have in it.

And there you have it! Here is a pile of some of my other favorites! It's no where near a full roll call of all my notebooks, and most of these are still blank. But they make me happy. Even though most of my notebooks are unused, I know that at any given time, if I want to devote lines upon lines towards a new story or a new project, I have them at my disposal. In a lot of ways, I think they represent everything I could eventually do or work on or want. And right now a lot of them are empty, but one day more of them may be filled up. I'm looking forward to getting there.

How many notebooks do you have? Or are they really not your thing? If not notebooks, what is it that you find yourself collecting?

Some lovely and talented people on Twitter last week reminded me of my third true love behind writing and eating: makeup! Considering how much of my time goes into watching beauty bloggers and how much of my money goes to Ulta, I thought I could take a little time each week to share my insights on some of my favorite (and least favorite) makeup products!

Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation

$40 at Urban Decay

First up is a new foundation line from Urban Decay! With the Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation being a favorite of mine for the last few years, I couldn't pass up the chance to try out a new foundation in the same line. Especially when I realized that the two primary differences between the All Nighter and the Naked Skin lines were 1) more coverage and 2) a full matte finish.

PROS

Let me start by saying that I've been using this foundation for about a week now, and I'm already a huge fan. Especially in the depths of a hot, humid, southern summer. I already have combination oily skin to begin with, and the weather hasn't been helping with a daily heat index typically over 100 degrees and anywhere from 50% or higher on the humidity index. Needless to say, these are perfect conditions for your makeup to slide away as soon as you step outside, so finding my favorite foundation in a full matte finish has been a godsend.

My favorite part about this foundation so far has been its versatility. The formula is absolutely thicker than the Naked Skin but not nearly so thick as, say, the Tarte Amazonian Clay foundation, and that gives you more options as far as application. Personally, I prefer a very natural, day to day work look and much more glam evening or going out looks. And the All Nighter foundation has proven to work for both. For a heavier, full-face application, I use the same Optical Blurring brush that I purchased from Urban Decay when I first started wearing their Naked Skin foundation. But with the thicker formula, you get a much fuller coverage. Similarly, because of the thicker formula, you can also apply the All Nighter with a beauty blender and achieve a perfectly medium coverage look for day to day.

The matte finish does keep this foundation on much longer than my other, dewier foundations. Aside from keeping my T-Zone looking dry throughout the day, I've noticed this foundation seems to do a better job of getting through the work day in place - or through an evening in a crowded bar with a broken AC unit. Admittedly, I do also use several layers of powder to set my foundation, but it's the same routine I use with most of my liquid foundations, and the All Nighter has, thus far, lived up to its name in that respect.

CONS

My first con is really only half a con, and that's the pigmentation in these foundations. I list it as a con because if you're like me and you've been using the Naked Skin foundation before now, I'm not sure the All Nighter version is 100% the same color. The description specifically calls out having 3 times the pigmentation than the original formula, and while that does a great job of providing fuller coverage, I do catch myself bringing my foundation much further down my neck than I usually do to make sure I don't end up with any harsh lines where my skin changes color. Even though I'm using the same 2.0 shade that's a perfect match for me in the Naked Skin.

Another con is the range of colors available for this foundation. Don't get me wrong, they do have 24 shades available, but the deeper tones don't go as deep as they could, especially considering all the boasting of extra pigmentation. For a comparison, here's a side by side of the fairest shade (0.5) and the darkest shade (12.0) currently available in the collection:

Not the worst color range I've seen from a line, but from other reviews, it doesn't sound like you're going to have an easy time finding anything with a red undertone here. Fingers crossed we see some expansion of the line in the near future.

The only other con I can think to mention isn't so much a con as it is a claim I haven't fully tested. This foundation is listed as being waterproof. I can say that I was able to sweat in this foundation and didn't have much transfer off, so that was definitely a plus, but I'm not sure I trust taking it for a swim just yet. As with most waterpoof makeup, if you can avoid actually getting it wet? All the better.

THE VERDICT

Right now, I am really loving this foundation. I feel like I made a good call trying this out instead of just picking up another bottle of the Naked Skin. If you can find a color match, I highly recommend giving it a try! If you have already, leave me a comment down below and let me know what you thought about it!

And if there are any specific products you'd like to see me talk about, let me know! I have more makeup than I know what to do with and I'm still always on the lookout for more!

No, no, I don't mean that writers see a story in everything compared to your non-writer types, true though that may sometimes be. What I mean is that different writers envision the scenes of their stories in different ways - or maybe not at all. And that contributes a lot to how you write, what comes easily to you, and what you may struggle with.

For a long time, I didn't really understand that. My own writing experience has always been an incredibly descriptive one. And I do mean descriptive to a fault. My early years of Mary Sue style self-insert fanfiction contained less story and more details about exactly what kind of dress my elven princess was wearing. Even today, I often catch myself being too heavy handed in my descriptions. So it always surprised me when I spoke with authors who struggled with their descriptions. But how? You write! You write beautifully! How could you say that description doesn't come easily to you?

What I found is that I really do see my story differently from some writers. I fall into a camp of readers and writers who are very visual. When I read, I'm not just reading words on a page. I'm constructing the entire scene into a mental image. If there's a detail that the author hasn't given me, I fill it in myself. And I know that a lot of people do this when they read to varying degrees, but I've gone so far as to be annoyed when a story suddenly throws in directional cues that don't match what I've already created. And the same holds true for my writing. If I'm writing a scene in my main character's bedroom, I know exactly what it looks like. I know where all the doors are and which walls have windows and how the furniture is arranged inside of it. It's not a conscious thing that I sit down and map out, it's just something that I inherently know when I start writing.

A panelist at ConCarolinas this year (and I hate that I forgot to write down who!) said "I see my stories like a movie in my head, and then I just try to write down what's happening." And that spoke to me because nobody else had ever put into words before how I write. But this also means that I'm a writer who gets easily caught up with trying to describe too much. It's often times difficult for me to determine when I've crossed over from setting up the scene to just overwhelming my story with superfluous details. And while it may be easy for me to "paint the picture," I find that I struggle the most with tying all those pictures together into a cohesive plot.

But that's definitely not true for all writers. I know a lot of amazing writers who don't have the same vivid mental imagery that I do - sometimes not when they read or write. And the beauty of writing is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. We're hardwired differently so we write differently. That gives us the opportunity to learn from each other. I know writers who say that they struggle with description but plot and story cohesion come naturally to them. They can see where their story needs to go and a lot of the important points that they need to hit along the way.

"We're hardwired differently so we write differently. That gives us the opportunity to learn from each other." - tweet this!

My advice is to start by figuring out what kind of a writer you are. Are you heavily visual and bogged down with description like I am? Or do you find your descriptions to be a struggle but your plot line is rock solid? Or maybe you struggle and excel in different areas. If you aren't sure, go back and re-read some of your writing or take a minute to think about what frustrates you the most about what you're currently working on. Once you know what comes easily to you and what doesn't, you can start reaching out to other writers to exchange tips or to give you feedback on your work specific to the areas you need help with.

But before you do that, tell me! Do you have an overwhelming mental vision of what you read and write, too, or is that something you have to work for?

Let me preface this by saying that I have never read 'The Killing Joke' graphic novel. A friend of mine had tickets to see the Fathom showing at a local theater last week, I didn't have any plans, and all I knew was that the story was kind of about Batman but mostly about the Joker. And that sounded like a pretty awesome Monday night to me. Be warned, spoilers follow.

First things first: the movie ended up being a resounding disappointment. And I'm not just talking about the horrible treatment of Barbara Gordon, which we'll get to. Everything from the animation to the storyline to the character interactions were mediocre at the best of times. Sure, there were a few good jokes and a couple of high-tension scenes, but for the most part, the movie was either boring or offensive.

Barbara Gordon

I have to talk about Barbara first because I'm not going to be able to focus on the rest of my critique until I've said my peace here. I'm sure there's nothing I can say about Barbara's place in this story that hasn't already been said far more eloquently by far smarter individuals, but I'll try. The most obvious issue with Barbara's plot is that it really has nothing to do with her. The entire first act of the movie is basically a poor attempt to add extra tension and emotional impact when the Joker ultimately rapes and paralyzes her. Not for the sake of the story, though. And certainly not for the sake of furthering Barbara's character. For the sake of Batman. Because apparently without their lukewarm "attraction" and Barbara proving herself incompetent by getting baited by Paris - who is never mentioned again in the film, by the way - Batman would have no need to go after the Joker?

Ultimately, this is just another example of sexual violence against women being used as a means of furthering a man's pain. The assault against her was nothing more than a jab at Batman and a torture device for her father. All we even see about Barbara's reaction is her concern for Gordon and her recovery. And while I appreciate them making wheelchair-bound Barbara active and even delving back into the world of crime fighting, we never see her struggle with anything the Joker did to her. Which means it didn't matter how she handled it or what she went through to get back into a good place. Because the only reactions that mattered to the story were Batman and Gordon's.

The Joker's Backstory

Honestly, they could have taken the backstory entirely out and it would have changed nothing about this movie. Despite the claims by Mark Hamill's pre-movie interview, the backstory we get does not endear the Joker to the viewer. Let's start with the Joker's pregnant wife. Like Barbara, her only purpose in the story is to act as the fulcrum for a man's pain. Namely, to give the Joker something to lose. And let's be serious for a minute here. Was she this pregnant when the Joker decided to quit his probably decent-paying job to try and become a comedian? Something we're told he's terrible at? That's not an endearing effort to follow your dreams, that's selfish and irresponsible. A lot of people work jobs they hate to make ends meet. Why couldn't he just keep working as an engineer and practice his stand up sets at night and on the weekend like most people pursuing comedy do?

The rest of my issue with the Joker's backstory stems from a twofer of lackluster animation and voice acting. The Joker ultimately turns to a couple of unimportant gangsters to make money, planning to help them with a robbery instead of, you know, going and getting another engineering job. We eventually find his pregnant wife (Jeannie, apparently. I had to Google that) died in a "million to one odds" accident sometime off screen while he was meeting with the thugs. But when the Joker explains this to the gangsters - and the audience - he never, at any point, looks or sounds genuinely grieved by that information. Sure, he gives a few "Oh, Jeannie, why?"s, and he holds his head in his hands, but nothing about this scene is emotionally gripping. Certainly not in the way it needs to be in order to set up the Joker's breakdown later.

It's supposed to be a combination of his failures, his grief, and the physical change forced on him by a fall in a chemical bath that cause him to lose his mind and become the character we know as the Joker. But the movie does such a terrible job of inciting any of these emotions that they'd have been better off to just leave the entire story a mystery.

Character Reactions

And that basically kicks off my last gripe with this movie. The character reactions make no damn sense. We have Barbara/Batgirl continuously allowing herself to be baited and bested by an inconsequential thug like Paris. And when she's not falling trap to his overt sexism, she's being forced into it by the writers who have crafted her into an "emotional woman" who quits fighting crime entirely when Batman doesn't want a relationship with her. Oh, until the Joker rapes and paralyzes her and Batman "avenges" her. Then she's into it again.

Next, we have Gordon. Now, I can understand how the Joker was blatantly played by the thugs he turned to in his backstory - he was an engineer and then a crappy comedian. He was wildly naive and therefore easily manipulated. But Gordon playing into the incredibly obvious "think you're denouncing the Joker and find out you're denouncing Batman" ploy was a hard pill to swallow. On top of that, the movie does a pretty horrible job of explaining its pacing. The way it plays out, it looks like Gordon takes two trips through the fun house tunnel. We see nothing from the first trip, so was it just a naked ride? The second time he goes through he's bombarded with pictures of Barbara after the Joker raped her, but his reaction is one of surprise. Like this is the first time he's been exposed to them. And that's apparently enough for him to become basically comatose - oh, until Batman shows up and he's let out of his cage. Then he's back to being stern "do it by the books" Gordon. Because the story needed him to be shoved out of the picture for a while but also needed him to be okay in order to prove the Joker wrong.

And Batman and the Joker? Look, I kinda liked the idea of Batman going out of his way to try and talk things through with the Joker. And I really did like the Joker's moment of "no, it's too late for that" when Batman offers to help rehabilitate him. But at the end of the day, their interaction just isn't interesting enough. The movie's first and second halves are completely disjointed, and by the time we finally get to that all-important scene between Batman and the Joker...who cares? The movie went out of it's way to try and make what the Joker did to Batman's friends as horrible as possible (which both worked and didn't, oddly enough), so for the penultimate moment to be Batman laughing at a stupid joke? By that point, the joke was really on the audience, and Batman was laughing at us.

Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Even my friend, the one who gave me the ticket and was a huge fan of 'The Killing Joke' as a graphic novel, was disappointed by the movie. So it doesn't cater enough to fans of the original controversial material, and it sure as hell doesn't cater to the casual watcher like myself. Do yourselves a favor and skip this one. There are way better movies out now anyway

Might I recommend Ghostbusters instead?

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" bemoaned 13 year old Juliet while waxing poetic about her boycrush. And technically, that's true. A rose would smell the same regardless of what we called it. But names are powerful, sometimes iconic things, and finding the perfect name for your characters can be a tricky business.

I am a writer who is entirely incapable of writing a character until I know what their name is. I'm also a writer who typically has characters manifest themselves in the back of my mind, uninvited, but they don't usually come to me fully formed. I may have a scene in mind for them, or a personality trait or two pre-determined, but until I've put a name to them, I struggle to connect with my characters in a way that allows me to start telling their stories. And that's because naming my characters is such an integral part of my understanding them. Because a name shapes your character. Not just in the way a reader views your character, but also in the way your characters view themselves.

How exactly you name your characters is a personal choice, of course, but here are a few things I tend to consider when going through the process:

1. Name Meaning

I think most writers use this method at some point. Especially early in the writing journey when you're first learning to develop characters and every detail seems imperative. And plenty of writers - myself included - continue to use it to find just the right moniker for a character! Sometimes you can use a character's name to hide foreshadowing tidbits (ie. Remus Lupin), or you use a particular name to reiterate something about the character's personality. Kendrick, for example, means 'royal ruler' or 'champion.' This could be a great name for a monarch or maybe even a superhero.

2. Name Bias

Naturally, as we go through our lives, we develop biases around certain names. There are plenty of factors for this - people we know, historical figures, cultural biases, etc. - but the fact remains that certain names will resonate in very different ways with your readers. For example, if you're writing a fantasy novel about a wizard, you'll probably want to steer clear of the name Harry. There are already two fantastic and prominent series that star a magic-wielding Harry, so you may struggle to stand out with a third. Alternatively, a name like Alejandro, with rolling syllables and pop culture significance, may make for a perfect romance protagonist.

3. Name Weight

If you write anything like I do, you probably spend more time on baby name sites than parents expecting sextuplets. And if you don't, I highly recommend checking a few out! A personal favorite of mine is NameBerry. But if you spend enough time on these sites, you'll start to become familiar with the intricacies of names and how much weight they carry - for a baby or for your new character. A name like Archibald, for example, is lofty and not exactly modern or popular at the moment. Simply put, it's difficult to pull off. But you can still use this to shape your character. Personally, I'm a fan of giving characters big, bold names and then letting them decide if they're the sort to embrace it or the sort to insist on a nickname. After all, there's usually a difference between a character who goes by Archibald and a character who goes by Archie.

And if worse comes to worst, you can always scour through name lists or chase the rabbit through "similar name" threads until you find something that simply resonates with you and your vision of a character. And if you have a different method for naming your characters, or if you have a favorite place to go for name inspiration, please let me know in a comment - I love finding new resources!