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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜

@jambalayaval.bsky.social

7.8K followers 7.7K following 7.6K posts

⚜ Pro-Roe, LGBTQIA+ ally ⚜ Retired professor, current Resister ⚜ Avid reader, freelance editor, occasional writer ⚜ Louisiana native from bayou Cajun country ⚜ Saints fan (WhoDat) ⚜ 8647, 2547 #Read #Rebel #Resist #RaiseHell

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 36m

Two cultural treasures.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 10h

Hmmm. Judge’s ruling is…
“Over” is acceptable when used in “being over something.”

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 10h

Can she get a job elsewhere? Her character has failed to charm me for the last half dozen seasons.

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 10h

I thought this was one of the coolest shows EVER! This and “Paradise Hawaiian Style” made me, as a kid, think adulthood was going to be so great. (Alas.)

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 10h

In theory, Dalton was quintessential Bond. But he didn’t always get great scripts.

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/cbKNICg-REA?...

Steve Winwood - Valerie

YouTube video by SteveWinwoodVEVO

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/YW0sxgYAmLM?...

Chaka Khan - I Feel for You (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]

YouTube video by Chaka Khan

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

I remember when AP jumped the shark on that. I will agree to disagree with them on that. I tend to err on the side of clarity, and "over" is a place, not a quantity.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

I think I called him the 4th runner up in the Miss Speaker of the House pageant.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/Ip_pjb5_fgA?...

Aretha Franklin - Freeway Of Love (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by ArethaFranklinVEVO

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/8iwBM_YB1sE?...

The Pointer Sisters - I'm So Excited

YouTube video by PointerSistersVEVO

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/ZGdmrhSjDxY?...

I'll Be Seeing You

YouTube video by Mandy Patinkin - Topic

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/YkADj0TPrJA?...

Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by Phil Collins

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

Michael Keaton.
Hands down.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

#Writers, what's your elevator pitch?

If you can't tell me what your book's about in 100 words, you don't know what your book's about. You should be able to say it in 1-2 sentences.

That should be the first sentence you write, before you begin chapter 1.

So, what's YOUR elevator pitch?

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

When people say they dislike marketing, I ask, "Which part? The production, pricing, distribution or promotion?"

It's promotion that's the sticking point for most people. (Promotion ≠ marketing)

The solution? Hire an advertising/PR professional. It's what we do.

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

AGREED! I don't know why people do that.
I try to remind writers that "over" generally means a physical location, like "above" (e.g., over that hill, over my head, over the rainbow). "Over" shouldn't be used in place of "more than," with rare exceptions and generally never with numbers.

⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

... and trying to correct my mistake.

All's well, but lessons learned:
• Night people can never be function as day people.
• Landlords who disrespect tenants deserve horrific deaths.
• Always overestimate the time an edit will take.
• Always check ONE MORE TIME before hitting "send."

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

I'd already sent the client a note saying I'd be 24 hours late returning the edit. So I kept at it, hoping to cut that to 12 hours.

Thinking I was done, I sent my edit back to the client. As soon as I hit "send" I realized I'd forgotten something. I hastily sent ANOTHER note, apologizing ...

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

I'm so NOT a morning person.

Yesterday, I was trying to finish an edit, despite being sleep deprived. (Landlord was cutting grass outside my bedroom while I was TRYING to sleep.)

The book I was editing had an unusual format, and I was trying to keep all the parts and pieces straight.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

We all have annoying habits. But I don't want to keep reading about them.

As an editor, I loathe repetition and always recommend that writers say it once, then assume the reader will remember. No need to nag them about it. If they do, I edit it out. Every time.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

But after a few times in each book, across half a dozen books, it began to pull me out of the story as an annoyance. It was happening too often in each book and, cumulatively, across all the writer's books.

AND IT SERVED TO MOVE THE PLOT ALONG NOT AT ALL.

I love that characters are human.

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⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜ @jambalayaval.bsky.social · 1d

Not sure if this is what you're looking for...

I'm a big fan of a writer who insists on having characters fiddle with their hair. Male, female, young, old, hero, villain. They all fiddle with their hair.

As a reader, I saw it the first time as a normal human reaction to vanity or stress.

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Reposted by ⚜ Jambalaya Val ⚜

Home of the Brave @ofthebraveusa.bsky.social · 1d

Sen. Ruben Gallego: "Adelita Grijalva was elected in a landslide...Speaker Mike Johnson is coming up with all these reasons why she shouldn't be sworn in...because she's going to be the 218th signature on the discharge petition for the Epstein files."

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