This fortnight on the bookish internet

• CD Covington looks into how writers reinvent swearing for their characters—because humans gotta frakking swear no matter what planet they’re on. (Tor Blog)
• Most of the time, when I see an author’s longhand manuscript, it’s covered in scratchings-out and scrawled sentences. Jane Austen’s fair copy of Lady Susan is beautifully readable. (LitHub)
• Sarah Kozloff reflects on our strange relationship with spoilers. (Tor Blog)
• Amelia Tait profiles two collectors of diaries. (The Guardian)
• Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is a beloved classic, but what did contemporary critics think? Rose Staveley-Wadham found out. (British Newspaper Archive)
• Ron Charles wonders which beloved book has the most hated ending. (Washington Post)
• Lauren D. Woods argues for a more sophisticated—and positive—approach to criticism. (LitHub)
• Do you agree with Kelly Jensen’s picks for best cover of 2020? (Book Riot)
• Samantha Leach takes us behind the scenes at a romance cover photo shoot. (Glamour)
• Stephanie Kent and Logan Smalley share what they learned after interviewing booksellers in all fifty states. (LitHub)
• I’m not surprised by this, but I am tickled to see confirmation that many writers actually do hear their characters’ voices in their heads. (The Conversation)