Weekly Roundup for October 4, 2025

I don’t have anything earth-shattering to report this week—it’s all business as usual over here at Roger Central™, which sounds much more official than it actually is. Mostly it’s just me in my condo, working on book stuff, wrangling ideas, drinking too much tea, and trying not to get sucked into the vortex that is The News.

Which brings me to what I want to share: I’ve made a life upgrade. A small but mighty one. I’ve officially limited my daily exposure to the news, and let me tell you… it’s made a huge difference.

See, for a while there I was waking up, grabbing my phone, and immediately doomscrolling headlines that made my stomach twist. And it wasn’t even anything new—just the same horrifying soup of cruelty, corruption, and garbage policy decisions we’ve been swimming in for a while now. You know the kind: taking from the poor, giving to the rich, demonizing the vulnerable, removing our rights one by one and acting like empathy is some kind of liability.

And I’m not someone who likes to ignore the world. I try to stay informed. I vote. I donate when I can. But at a certain point, I realized I was starting every single morning in a simmering rage or a heavy fog of hopelessness—and then trying to shift gears into being a productive human. Shockingly, it wasn’t working out.

So I gave myself a rule: no news first thing in the morning. Nada. Zilch. Instead, I open my journal or start writing a blog post or read a chapter of a book (something fictional, ideally with ghosts or found family or magical queer teenagers doing cool stuff). Sometimes I just sit in silence with a cup of tea like I’m in a BBC period drama. Whatever helps me enter the day without my fists already clenched.

And you know what? I feel better. Not like everything is great now better—because, well, it’s not—but better in the sense that I’m not constantly carrying the weight of the world on my shoulder blades like a guilt-ridden turtle. I’m more motivated, less fried, and—this part surprises me—I’ve actually gotten more done.

Little tweaks, big results. Highly recommend.

Anyway, that’s the update from the land of words and coffee. No scandals, no existential crises (this week, anyway), and no reading news articles before breakfast. I’m calling that a win.

Talk soon, and take care of your brains.

Some Things I Thought Were Worth Sharing

My author friends may find this article about dialog tags of interest: Dialogue Tags: What Are They and How To Use Them https://thewritepractice.com/dialogue-tags/

My writer friends may find this of value: Past vs. Present Tense: Choose the RIGHT Tense for Your Novel https://thewritepractice.com/past-tense-vs-present-tense/

Yeah, I’m watching this: Gay hockey player romance Heated Rivalry heats up first-look images & on-set bromance https://www.queerty.com/gay-hockey-player-romance-heated-rivalry-heats-up-first-look-images-on-set-bromance-20250925/ ✔

A gender-swap comedy gets a queer twist in this raunchy coming-of-age tale https://www.queerty.com/watch-this-gender-swap-comedy-gets-a-queer-twist-in-this-raunchy-coming-of-age-tale-20250924/

Can’t say as I’ve heard about this before: Gareth Pierce gets candid about his gay character’s storyline on British soap “Coronation Street” https://greginhollywood.com/gareth-pierce-gets-candid-about-his-gay-characters-storyline-on-coronation-street-247878

My author friends may find this of value: How to Write a Murder Mystery: 8 Tips to Captivate Readers https://nownovel.com/how-to-write-murder-mystery/

My writer friends may find this helpful: How to Research a Historical Novel: Escape the Research Rabbit Hole https://thewritepractice.com/how-to-research-a-historical-novel/

Just for fun: We’re purring over these photos of gays and their cats https://www.queerty.com/were-purring-over-these-photos-of-gays-and-their-cats-20250920/

Russel Tovey fans may enjoy this: Russell Tovey Names His Favorite On-Screen Kiss: ‘I Quite Enjoyed Kissing… https://gayety.com/russell-tovey-favorite-on-screen-kiss

I don’t know this one – may have to check it out: Hit Gay Comedy ‘English Teacher’ Is Back For Season Two This Month https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/hit-gay-comedy-english-teacher-is-back-for-season-two-this-month/238675

My author friends may find this of value: An Unpredictable (and Fun) Trick to Keep Your Plots Unpredictable http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/08/an-unpredictable-and-funtrick-to-keep.html

My writer friends may find this helpful: 5 Reasons to Use Pictures as Writing Prompts https://thewritepractice.com/picture-writing-prompt/

Interesting article in The Guardian: Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’ (I can relate!) https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2025/sep/01/news-avoidance-high-anxiety

I love these kinds of message threads: People Share The Scariest Unexplainable Things That Happened To Them https://www.boredpanda.com/creepy-things-without-rational-explanation-msn/

My writer friends may find this of interest: How Loneliness and Companionship Can Impact a Writer’s Creative Life https://lithub.com/how-loneliness-and-companionship-can-impact-a-writers-creative-life/

My writer friends may find this article about research of value Jonathan Tarleton on the Limits of Research—and Making Peace with What You Don’t Know https://lithub.com/jonathan-tarleton-on-the-limits-of-research-and-making-peace-with-what-you-dont-know/