With all due respect to The Game, I wonder if 3x3 doesn't work better if each node comprises an entire "dungeon" module. For book plotting, this could resolve to Act 1, 2, &3...

Glad to see you found a new venue after finding the other so "threadbare".

I think the word you're looking for is gambeson.

Pro tip. Duck fat or ghee mixed with olive works just as well.

In the US it's just called Turkey Bacon. Problem is it has no fat streaks to cause it to crisp.

I'm disappointed the terminated the turkey ham in the US.

We lived on that.

Aaaaaaaaannnnndddd?

Number 5 is just a step too far.

Then it helps me identify the person who can provide more windows into these fictional lives, or who to avoid wasting my time and attention with.

I don't believe I'm unique in my consumerism.

I don't care about the pets and significant others who tolerated their obsessive writing process. I don't care until the work has drawn me in and made me care about their characters, settings, and worlds.

Likewise the gender or any other personal factor of the other authors didn't get them on the white list. I don't care about the 4th year primary teacher that inspired or discouraged them. I don't care about the chosen family of writers, editors, and fans that made their work great.

But the women on my white list didn't get there because of, or in spite of being women. They got there because they fired my imagination, did not condescend to or demonize my masculinity, and presented their unique perspectives with an eye for the world and their characters rather than any agenda.

If we make all these hurdles I read. If I don't like the story by the fir,st plot point, I check the author's bio and remember not to read them again. This would naturally be the black list. Most get there for plotholes, egregious grammar, or a dry, unimaginative, pedantic voice.

I start with cover art; I know that even indy traditional publishing houses put their money where their confidence is. Next it's the blurb, good writers write good hooks in their synopses. Third I ask if the plot theme from the blurb appeals to my imagination.

I have to say, as a reader, I read mostly male authors. But my very selective process of choosing a new author never involves bio, pic, or name(except to screen against my blacklist), until after I have read at least 30% of the gateway work.