#Writers

@CaraBruar

I find myself laughing at my own jokes. Quite pathetic really.

Nope. If you aren't amusing yourself, you're not amusing your audience with your #humor You'd be surprised how not-unique we all are, and in some genre's bad puns and Dad-jokes are a definite asset.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

@tettig

i just write what i want. That's why i write in lots of genres, which my agent hates.

I believe the consensus (at least the one my brain wishes to observe) is that writing what you want is best. On reflection, especially in respect to the burst of creativity I experienced this year, writing what you want is truly important to one's well being and productivity. Any that gets in the way of thought-to-page is at the very least a lost opportunity to learn through practice. It's always an opportunity to find "the magic." I'm branching out to fantasy and, who knows, I might one day write that gothic romance I've known for decades wants to come out.

All this not-writing-what-my-agent-wants is expanding my range immensely. Mind you, that I no longer feel the urgency to make a living at this stuff makes it a lot easier... 😱​ (I do very much like getting read, however. Those memes inside my head are rather insistent that they get out into the world.)

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

#WordWeavers 11.29 — If you could go back and change one thing about your writing in your earlier work, what would it be?

Ignore my agent and write in first person.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

#WordWeavers 11.28 — Do you target your work to a specific audience?

I was going to say, vaguely, YA, fandom, and SF. Having read so many impassioned responses to this prompt, however, I am going to go with "I write stories that I'd like to read." Indeed, when I reread my own stories, I often get lost in them for hours. I hope you'all will like 'em, too.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

Every non-fiction article has to have a point. But so often #writers go off the rails and end up with a collection of thoughts and facts.

In my latest Writer's Guide post, I explain exactly how to make a concrete and compelling point via a proven method that leverages the key story elements—the basic tools of article construction.

https://writersguide.substack.com/p/whats-the-point-of-your-story

#writing #writingtips #journalism

"Anybody that has eaten chile in New Mexico knows why we love our chile and why we love our land so much, because our writing is spicy and pungent, it's of the earth and of the people; and when you eat the earth and eat the sweat of the people that have worked there, it's like my grandmother says, 'como chile colorado,' like red chile. It goes through your whole system and becomes part of you."
-Denise Chavez

#writers #NewMexico #amwriting

Hit the 50K yesterday thank you and good night or good morning whatever time it is now.
Still untitled.
Still disjointed and filled with typos and plot holes.
Still without an ending.
Still happy 😃
#nanowrimo #finished #tired #happy #writing #writers #WIP

#writer #writers #writingcommunity #blog #blogging #publishing #politics http://stressline.org/2023/11/29/thank-you-elon-musk-for-reminding-us-again-how-delusionally-gullible-millions-of-people-are-democratic-party-strategists-must-pay-attention-to-this-by-hal-brown/

#writers #ScienceFiction #scifi 3 years ago, writer Ben Bova passed away https://english.netmassimo.com/2020/12/01/r-i-p-ben-bova/

Went tonight to my second time at a #writers group. It's quite a ways from me but both times I've come away glad to have gone. I brought a #poem I wrote in the past week and we had quite a good discussion about it. Nice way to end the month. #Writing #critique #poetry

5am writing done.

Coffee time! ☕

#amWriting #writers #writingcommunity #5amwritersclub

#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #Writers
Is there some kind of scam going around where writers get approached for a screenplay based on their book? I just got a weird email, completely out of the blue.

#NaNoWriMo day 28: "Creativity" is a lot broader than the industry would have you think. You are HUMAN, creative; and that means you are so much MORE than your fears claim.

#Createit22 #writingcommunity #writers #artists #artistsofmastodon

https://youtu.be/cyuPnF-M5X8

#PennedPossibilities 147 — MC or SC POV: Where did you grow up?

The east coast of the continent in the piedmont over looking a large bay. In terms of what your people know, the powers that be built a large English country estate around me, including the manor house, in order to isolate and train me every waking hour for talents I didn't know I displayed. We had plenty of servants and tenants to teach me about inequality. In retrospect, my being drilled in empathy might have been on purpose and those servants, also, a lesson. Hot breezes from the bay, a days travel east, laden with humidity did not make the location more pleasant. Working out was always in the afternoon and always sweaty. The baths were a pleasant memory. I ran away from my responsibilities when I grew old enough to pass as an adult.

[Author retains copyright.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory
#microfiction #shorts #ShortStory #shortstories #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

Snowflake method continues for my #WIP-- I started my character synopses today!

I decided to write them in first person, and that's been really fun.

My most recent projects have been third-person limited & a little more serious in tone, so this has been refreshing!

Anyone else get some #writing done today?

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #Writer #Writing #SFF #AmWritingFantasy #writers

On #privacy #data and retention concerns, where are you on the issue? (Read you instance's privacy policy if you haven't.) Add a comment if the choices below don't fit.

#BoostingIsSharing
#writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

🏈 #Sports Illustrated under fire for #AI #writers, content

Sports Illustrated is facing scrutiny for reportedly publishing numerous articles under AI personas — complete with generated headshots and bios. Some pieces also appeared AI-written, though SI scrubbed it all post-inquiry, according to Futurism.

https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers?utm_source=www.therundown.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=warnings-emerge-over-ai-firm-g42

#news #writing #tech #technology #ethics #media

Apparently, in the Wordpress discussion settings, you can turn on an option to allow your blog to be on the fediverse with Activity Pup. Which means, if you like my blog, you can follow it here:

@michaelthomet.com

If you follow, then when I publish a new blog post (Thursdays at noon MST), it will show up in your feed as a post. I'll still post about it on Thursdays, of course.

#WritingCommunity #writers #publishing #blog #fediverse #tech #tips

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 3 Nbr 28 — How do you approach a fight scene or other high-action scenes?

Okay. Here we go, point by point.

People in my fight scenes get hurt. That means in later scenes, they are hurt and have to deal with it, especially if there's a second fight. My current MC wears her bruises proudly, figuring it keeps other idiots from taking her lightly.

I don't generally write melee scenes, but I have written individual fights in a greater context of other people fighting. I do write a lot of fight scenes, especially since the current MC I'm writing about was a prizefighter and a bodyguard, but in other stories I've included fighting monsters, like a Cthulhu-like monster in hell. This turned out tragic because that though that MC won, it wasn't quickly enough to save her love interest from being crippled.

Whilst I always write organically (pantser), I approach fight scenes as a microcosm of how I approach starting a new story. I have
have an idea of what the POV character feels and knows about the situation, her motivations—and I know how the scene will end. Only then do I let a character throw the first punch. I then sit back and see where it goes, contact point by contact point. I do not choreograph—I revise for clarity and grittiness.

Since I don't write stupid POV characters, my POV is always mentally gauging her strengths and abilities against that of her opponent, recalibrating from the first moment to the last. Her mental patter includes planned moves and counter moves, and what she or her opponent have done wrong. This type of storytelling takes up space, so I minimize the points of contact in my fight scenes so as not to use up my reader's patience.

In the fight scene I am currently polishing for publication, there are six points of contact. The antagonist is stronger than the POV, is militarily trained (the XO, though busted down a few ranks), and he drastically out-masses her. She was champion mixed-magical arts mixed-gender prizefighter, and she keeps up her training. She out-ranks the XO greatly, but he won't learn that until later. That said, she also goads him a little bit, to make a point. She needs him to capitulate, because without him doing his duty, she can't fight his ship. Throughout, she works to keep herself from getting cornered or her movement restricted; because of his superior strength, mass, and reach advantage, either would be game over.

1. The MC restrains the XO of the ship from going AWOL using magic and a wrestling move.

2. She spots the XO the first punch in order get him to agree to fight, but ends up announcing to the watching crew that he is obviously a chicken. He leaps at her, playing dirty and cuts open her arm. It bleeds (and makes her slippery).

3. Her kick stuns a nerve. It makes him limp, move slower, and unable to reach as far. She takes bruises.

4. They counter each other's attack and both slide bruisingly into obstacles on the deck. She leaves a red smear.

5. Getting up, she makes it appear she's leaving an opening. She absorbs a left jab to her jaw by maneuvering away, while landing an uppercut to his chin, momentarily KOing him. He slides across the deck, but immediately tries to get up.

6. She jumps on him and pins him.

2,600 words from him trying to go AWOL to him admitting she won.

PS: Spoilers if you know me from another alias. Her wounded arm is very important going forward.

[Author retains copyright.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

The 12 (plus 19) Days of Punctuation: Free tips from "The Best Punctuation Book, Period"

No colon after the word "including."

#12DaysOfPunctuation #CyberMonday #BlackFriday #Punctuation #NaNoWriMo #AmEditing #Writers #Editors https://www.amazon.com/Best-Punctuation-Book-Period-Businessperson/dp/1607744937/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=JYMFo&content-id=amzn1.sym.35cab78c-35e3-4fc1-aab0-27eaa6c86063%3Aamzn1.symc.e5c80209-769f-4ade-a325-2eaec14b8e0e&pf_rd_p=35cab78c-35e3-4fc1-aab0-27eaa6c86063&pf_rd_r=0Y8CV8ASKGZJ0VRBT19T&pd_rd_wg=8J6Z1&pd_rd_r=fef6b9b6-78cc-4900-a9db-b18644c478dd&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

#writer #writers #writingcommunity #blog #blogging #publishing #politics #Christie http://stressline.org/2023/11/28/chris-christi-doesnt-stand-a-snowballs-chance-in-hell-of-winning-the-gop-primary-but-he-sure-is-making-the-most-of-his-time-in-the-spotlight-he-should-make-the-best-of-it-while-he-can-if-he-does/

I want whatever those #writers who can #write 5,000 words in one sitting are on.

#wordcount #writing #writer #writingcommunity

Look, #Substack usually only promotes #writers with thousands of subs from a marketing standpoint. That's understandable. However, when you search the categories for something to read, popular writers appear on top.
As a reader, this has often been my frustration cos I'm a weirdo that likes to read NEW and NOT FAMOUS writers. The only way to find these people is to scroll down endlessly that page to the very bottom.
As a writer, well, that's another story.

#WritingCommunity #Writing

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 3 Nbr 27 — How do you feel about the use of AI in writing?

Because there is nuance here, I will point out that unless you write longhand, or use a typewriter (what's that?), you use AI in your writing. Spell checkers, grammar checkers, auto-complete, search engines, lots of things use AI.

Importantly, I don't and won't use AI for /composition/. Why deserves some explanation:

1. It's /not/ me writing, so in essence I am not saying anything. For me, that's what being an author is all about.

2. AI generated text cannot be copyrighted and therefore cannot be sold. I submitted a short story a couple weeks ago and I had to avow I hadn't used any AI.

3. AI is statistical pattern matching without /any understanding of underlying meaning./ It is indeed not intelligence of any kind, even artificial. Just an advanced algorithm.#AI is a slick but effective marketing term, like "Natural." As such, everything generated has to be checked for (a) accuracy, (b) unintended meaning, and (c) inadvertent plagiarism.

When would I use AI? Beyond what I pointed out in the first paragraph, I'd use AI analysis tools that could check consistency, for example eye color or writing style over the length of a novel, or series of novels. I'd welcome something that could act as a model reader, pointing out how characters changed, inconsistent plot points, inadvertent red herrings, use of strong language compared to weak language, etc. Something that could profile characters and settings in a story would be very useful. If they existed. Such things would make revision easier and more efficient.

Whilst I'd never use AI generated art, for reasons stated above and for personal ethical reasons, I would use it to get visualizations of ideas, places, or characters—which I'd never publish.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

#PennedPossibilities 146 — MC POV: What does your future

Ok, that /is/ the one question I dread hearing. I live in the present for good reason. Any time I dream of better, or what I'd like, my dreams get crushed. You know what, /*interview over! */

[Author retains copyright.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

Claim: #SportsIllustrated Published #Articles by Fake, #AI-Generated #Writers https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers "After we reached out with questions to the magazine's publisher, The Arena Group, all the AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated's site without explanation. Our questions received no response." This has already been happening in local sports writing for years.

Esta portada no la hice expresamente para el libro, aunque le quedó bastante adecuada :blobpats: La hice un tiempo antes para un trabajo personal

#portada #cover #book #writers #illustration #darkart
https://amzn.eu/d/gzgk1i2

Hey there!

I'm CKMo, and I'm a taiwanese high fantasy indie author. I'm trying to bring more works with #eastasian influences into western culture via my novels.

You can find all my publishing sites, social media, and discord server in my bio!

#indieauthor #indiebooks #indiefantasy #fantasy #selfpublished #webnovelist #writing #novel #fantasyauthor #taiwanese #asian #asiancreator #writers #book #books #fantasybook #bookstodon #webnovel #highfantasy @bookstodon

This week, for all #walkers and #writers: A new online series, "Walking America: Writers in Conversation," begins on 11/29 at 4 pm EST, hosted by Ann de Forest, editor of our book WAYS OF WALKING. The first program features nationally known writers Neil King Jr. and Tom Zoellner.
.
Go here to register:
https://walklistencreate.org/walkingevent/walking-america-writers-in-conversation/
#books #bookstodon

My micro "Backyard Bakery" in Bear Paw Arts journal begins, "After your father has driven away, after your mother lies down in the dark bedroom, after your hands stop shaking, your little sisters pull you into the backyard..." Read more:
https://www.bearpawartsjournal.com/backyard-bakery

#FlashFiction #FlashLit #Flash #Micro #WritingCommunity #Writers #Writing

"Etched Memories" is the bomb, led by Sage Tyrtle. She's all about embracing your body's story, even the goofy parts. Join the gang for some body-positivity fun! Jan. 20: https://crowcollectiveworkshops.com/2021/11/02/body-2/

#Writing #WritingWorkshop #Writers #AmWriting #BodyPositivity

#writer #writers #writingcommunity #blog #blogging #publishing #politics http://stressline.org/2023/11/27/what-could-go-wrong-trump-hints-at-expanded-military-role-within-the-country-what-could-go-wrong-consider-that-we-could-have-a-real-war-between-the-states-by-hal-brown-msw/

While you're shopping on this cyber Monday, remember to pick up a copy of my newest book, One Tree In Hell; A Poetry Collection. It's filled full of great poems I'm sure you will love. Thanks so much. #book #books #writers #writing #poetry #poems #collection #author
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHLH9X2X?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_5GJCED56PMT86XMN77SB

Congrats to my client Joe Polacco for getting his poem published! This is an excerpt from his new book, Brooklyn Joe and Sal: Two Bensonhurst Boys -- a tribute to Salvatore LaPuma.

https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2023/11/26/yet-another-bittersweet-farewell-manolomy-man-1952-2021-by-joseph-c-polacco/

#Writers #poetry #books #editor

Good Podcast: We Regret To Inform You.

Indispensable resource for anyone marketing themselves -- writer, musician, actor, entrepreneur, what have you.

http://rustyring.blogspot.com/2023/11/good-podcast-we-regret-to-inform-you.html

#Australia, #Canada, #podcast, #Thanksgiving, #writers, #artists

Quick note from me tonight! I'm nauseated, so you don't get a video - but you still get a pep talk. <3

#nanowrimo day 26 #createit22 #writers #writingcommunity #artists #artistsoninstagram

The hardest thing about #querying for me is trying to hang onto the belief that my #book is worthy/marketable/good/etc... so sometimes I borrow that belief from my family (both found & blood).

Background clouds 📷 (text added by me): https://www.pexels.com/photo/dreamy-purple-and-pink-sunset-sky-7562783/

#WritingCommunity #Writing #AmQuerying #Writers #WritingLife #AmWritingFantasy #AmWriting #Writer

#PennedPossibilities 145 — Along the same vein as yesterday's question, does your SC have a romantic partner?

Bolt, no, but she has developed a crush on our devil-girl MC. Citron, well... He's had a crush on the MC since he started working for her in the mob 2 1/2 years ago, and just had his first kiss (very intimate) with her a few days ago (as far as the serial goes). Since then, he hooked up with the MC's roommate (looong story) and my devil-girl discovered a new potential [spoilers].

It's very romantically complex... 😇

[Author retains copyright.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

#writer #writers #writingcommunity #blog #blogging #publishing #politics #GeorgeSantos http://stressline.org/2023/11/26/hes-about-to-be-expelled-he-just-made-the-news-for-his-3-hour-rant-but-consider-this-question-whod-be-better-for-democracy-as-speaker-of-the-house-george-santos-or-mike-johnson-for-that-matte/

Can we give a warm welcome to Robert Kingett's PeerTube presence? He's a writer, editor and long-time Fediverse user, advocating for blind and disability rights, and the LGBTQIA+ community. You can follow at:

➡️ @weirdwriter@spectra.video

If the videos aren't noticed by your server yet, you can browse them all at:

➡️ https://spectra.video/a/weirdwriter/videos

You can also follow his Mastodon account at:

➡️ @weirdwriter@tweesecake.social

#PeerTube #Writing #Writers #Authors #Accessibility #Disability #Disabilities #LGBTQIA

#writers #ScienceFiction #scifi #fantasy It's writer Poul Anderson's 97th birth anniversary https://english.netmassimo.com/2016/11/25/poul-anderson-was-born-90-years-ago/

Hi #writers! I need some direction today:

I want to write but I have 3 different options

1 work on my Clockwork Apprentice novel

2 start my new Tarot meets Cardcaptor Sakura novel

3 start my Dr Who meets Space Pirate novel

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 3 Nbr 23 — Do you have any profanity in your work? **** you, I want an answer!

There's some profanity, but I avoid it even in modern settings. For fun, my devil-girl stops people by saying "Language!" at them; only the stupid ones test her resolve. In fantasy or futurist settings, I invent words more appropriate for the time. In one set of stories the f-word they use is "flap" or "flapping," and even in context it's not particularly offensive; it's neither insulting nor sexual. It just signals frustration On the other hand, calling a day angel (or worse a night angel who doesn't have feathers) a featherbrain, them's fighting words. Indeed, though my devil-girl calls herself a devil girl all the time, that's not a proper word for her kind and certainly not for /you/ to use for her, unless you're her riding partner—at which point she might find it endearing.

Stuff like that.

[Author retains copyright.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

It’s hard to imagine a better feeling for a writer than when a reader both loves your story and *gets* your story. There’s a difference, and I suspect anyone who has published novels or stories will know exactly what I mean.
#WritingCommunity #amWriting #writers #WIP #writersLife

4 Horror Movies With Featuring Characters Wearing PANTS! (#LINK Below)

http://hub.me/aqmFW

#horror #horrorFam #writing #writer #writingCommunity #writers #Movies #movie #cinema #cinemastodon #Film #films #filmmastodon #horrorCommunity #horrorMovie #horrorMovies #horrorFilm #horrorFilms #horrormastodon
#article #listicle #list #read #reading #PajamaPantsParade

Dear #writers,

I am still a bit new to masto, so please tell me. How do the hashtags wordweavers or writerscoffeeclub work? Do I just pick up a question I come across and write my response in an own post?

Canadian writers urge Giller Prize Palestine protester support

"We ask all of our literary institutions to be loud where our governments and news outlets have been silent"

#books #Gaza #Israel #WritingCommunity #writers

https://howtobe247.com/canadian-writers-urge-giller-prize-palestine-protester-support/

Ironclad.

I watched a documentary on Hunter S. Thompson last night and it is an un-contestable miracle that that guy lived past thirty-five.

It's unusual when Hollywood writers tone down the amount of drugs, alcohol and weirdness that occurred in a person's life before making a movie about them.

#Writers

Face restoration of an old Ernest Hemingway portrait.

More photo restorations:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/165695385/Photo-retouching-restoration-and-coloring

#photo #photos #restoration #photography #BlackAndWhite #writer #writers #portrait

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 3 Nbr 21 — What things make a good book cover design?

Something that will intrigue readers into buying the book. I'm no designer and suspect I'll seek professional advise if I self-publish. If I conventionally publish, the publisher will consider such a thing advertising and I will consider myself lucky if they ask for suggestions.

Once I was asked. Two main characters got on the cover, a Japanese teenager and a sheepdog/human chimera. What was drawn were a caucasian vogue model and a wookie. The book sold out the printing, so I guess I can't complain.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

I've had taken pictures to go alongside my #writings for a while, I'm wondering if this will be a thing I will be able to do! I don't want them to be an illustration but like in the same category to feel the vibe of when it was written, I've yet to do a correct #wordpress #blog for them :( #writerscoffeeclub #poetry #poetrycommunity #writers #writersofmastodon #photography #photographer #photographers #photographersofmastodon

@mloxton

Do I need to have [an author's website specifically for promoting your writing]?

Not necessarily, but the reality of selling books, even posting stories, is that there are intervals (months, maybe years), where readers aren't seeing anything new from you. The biggest tragedy is to be forgotten in the interval. You want readers to stay engaged. To do this, providing periodic news, story bits, interesting research, engaging links, etc. daily or weekly keeps them in mind. This was explained to me by a successfully self-publishing erotic-romance author and horror author. Even conventionally published authors should consider some sort of self-promotion. My experience with conventional publication is that the publisher may promote the big names over you, so some of it is still your responsibility. Your writing and their publishing are both businesses. That said, even fan fiction sites have blogging and advertising tools one should take advantage of.

#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion #WritersCoffeeClub

Three #LGBTQ+ #Writers and #Editors Have Left the #NewYorkTimes Over Its #Coverage of #Gaza. Both #fulltime #staff and #contributors have #partedways with the #Publication.

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Media #NewYorkTimes #MiddleEast #Israel #Gaza #Palenstine #Representation #Culture

https://www.them.us/story/lgbtq-writers-editors-resigned-new-york-times-over-gaza-coverage

As @timjonesbooks suggests, #Wellington has a history of writers! Don't worry though there are many newer #writers too! @georgepenney You've missed #VerbWellington for 2023 but there will be more events and opportunities to say Hi in future!

Both Tim and @jacquiG and many others appeared at local events
https://www.verbwellington.nz/artists-2023

Seems that #actuallyautistic artist/writers will never be validated by the greater #AutisticCommunity unless corporate neurotypical gatekeepers validate them first.

#artists #writers

For horror writers who enjoy writing seasonally, Trembling with Fear has a Christmas-themed deadline coming up on December 7. See link for details.

#WritingCommunity #horrorwriters #writers #writing #prompt

https://horrortree.com/submissions/#themed-calls

Published a new #blog post! "You Ain't Zine Nothing Yet": http://artistsonthelam.blogspot.com/2023/11/you-aint-zine-nothing-yet.html Includes the announcement of all 68 selected #artists, #poets, and #writers in my new #zine, LAMINATOR Vol. 1, more #artwork sneak peeks, and a link to pre-order the #publication.

#MastoArt #FediArt #Blogging #Blogger #Writing #Writer #Artist #Curator #Art #Poetry #Prose #Painting #Drawing #Illustration #Illustrator #Photography #Collage #Textiles #Zines #ArtZine #ContemporaryArt #FineArt #ArtExhibition #Design

This week at the #PoetryCafe we’re talking about how much of yourself is reflected in the poetry you write or read.

A lot of my poetry is autobiographical (a lot isn’t as well) so it’s heavily influence by who I am and what has gone in in my life.

As a reader I often enjoy matching moods to the poetry I’m reading. If I’m sad, I’ll read melancholy or despondent poetry. If I’m happy, I’ll read funny or quirky poetry. If I’m outraged, I’ll read angry or protest poetry.

Do you do this? Does poetry reflect you you are in that moment or isn’t more reflective? Let me know!

#poetry #poets #PoetryCommunity #writing #writers #WritingCommunity #reading #readers #ReadingCommunity #BookTalk #moods #emotions #feelings

My method of writing is:

Make up stuff as you go along.

I admire anyone who is able to write down a mostly complete plot and then just has to fill in the blanks.

I fly by the seat of my pants. It is both scary and exhilarating.

I also manage to surprise myself.

"What if I do this?"

😱

"OMG! The consequences!!!"

Not sure if it is a feature of my #ActuallyAutistic mind, or what...

#writing #writers #plot #AutisticWriters

The #bookclub hashtag is #Lesalondelecture ! :) You can use it for me and others to see if you decide to write a #review on the book. I will link it in the session's recap! ♥
#bookblogger #blogging #blogger #wordpress #writerslife #publishing #bookstodon #booktodon #bookstagram #booktok #youtube #writers #blog #writerscoffeeclub #writing #readingcommunity #goodreads #babelio #collaboration

Le hastag dédié au salon de lecture est #Lesalondelecture :) Pour les participants de mastodon, ça peut être une idée pour que les participants et moi voient facilement si vous décidez de publier sur le livre après. Je mettrez le lien de votre #review dans le récupilatif de la session ! ♥

#blogging #blog #blogger #wordpress #wordpressfrance #booktodon #booktok #bookstagram #goodreads #bookreview #writerscoffeeclub #writers #ecriture #readingcommunity #lecture #babelio

To any #writer willing to contact me to have his #book , #article or #research featured in the #bookclub , you can do so here or on https://lesalondivinatoire.fr/contact
#Lesalondelecture #book #books #bookstodon #writers #writerscoffeeclub #writing #writingcommunity #fiction #nonfiction #novel #poetry #history #folklore #feminism #occult #fantasy #youngadult #romance #witch #witchcraft #divination #plants #tea #readingcommunity #bookstodon #BooksofMastodon

"What if the problem isn’t that consumers of media fail to understand the actual stakes of losing democracy?...

“...Donald #Trump is telling us, loud and clear, that he wants to end American #democracy as we know it.”

There is going to come a moment—and for many of the #writers cited above, that moment has already arrived—in which the #media appropriately reports on the enormity of the stakes and nobody flinches."
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/trump-vermin-speech-democracy-fascism-2024.html

#Journalism #Press #GOP #Politics #USPol #USA #News

I’m halfway through a Skillshare course by @saribotton entitled Writing Essays: Making the Personal Universal, and I sense that #essay may be the writing style I've been called to all along.

In it, Sari recommends Goodbye To All That by Joan Didion and The Love of My Life by Cheryl Strayed, both of which I feel and love intensely.

Hence, I have a favour to ask: If you know of similar essays, please share them with me? 🙏🏼 I learn best by immersion! 🥰

#writing #writers #essay

Just filled out a customer service survey. I don’t expect slavish treatment, but a modicum of courtesy is not an unreasonable expectation. One clerk was kind/helpful; the other was annoyed & surly. Here’s a tip: if you don’t like people, don’t work w/the public. There are thousands of jobs that provide a solitary environment. An aside: My jobs as bartender & cashier at a truck stop gave me pages & pages of material as an author. People are elemental when drinking & traveling. #writing #writers

Ya know...

When Kosh died in Babylon 5, I was a teary mess. Heck, there were many scenes in Babylon 5 that turned me into a teary mess.

Anyway, I was a teary mess, but I was just someone who watched the show. I read JMS' comments at the time about how hard it had been for him, and how the *character* demanded this resolution.

Guess what?

I'm in JMS' seat right now. I'm seeing things from the perspective of the writer, and it ain't pretty. I've never killed a character like this.

I wouldn't say a character is asking me for death, but the narrative definitely does. I've been crying on and off all day. I'm not even currently writing the death scene. I'm just thinking about it. I'm probably several chapters away from writing it. Still, the narrative demands it.

You know what? I **really** really doubt that authors take pleasure about killing any character that has played an important role in the narrative. The Red Shirts? Okay, I'm not going to shed a tear, but those characters central to the story? I'm a complete mess.

I hope that the path leading to this death is going to prepare the reader for a nice payoff. It is my job to prepare the reader for this payoff.

#Babylon5 #Kosh #death #JMS #JMichaelStraczynski #narrative #writing #writers #AutisticWriters #payoff

I’ve done it now, committed to writing (and therefore publishing and marketing) another book. Any author knows what that means…WAY TOO MUCH sitting in my future. With the sales coming up, I’m ready to take the plunge on one of those sit/stand desks. Have you got one you’re passionate about? Any key accessories? And did you get anything to stand on? A smooshy foot pad? One you have to balance on? An underdesk treadmill!?! Guide me :)
#Australia #Writers #Author

@curtismchale Particularly given how self-righteously and aggressively protective big #tech is about intellectual property *they* claim to own.

They want different rules for themselves and the “little people” like #writers and #artists—the very people whose content the #AI companies want to steal for free, modify without attribution, and then sell at a profit.

DID I MENTION THAT MY LATEST SHORT STORY, "MEGAMAW", IS NOW PUBLISHED IN #STRANGEMACHINES?

It's available now via #KickStarter. BuyBuyBuy! And perhaps my Capslock key will stop malfunctioning!

#WritersCommunity #WritersNews #Writers #PublicationNews #SciFi #Cyberpunk #Fiction #Apex

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apexpublications/the-map-of-lost-places-a-horror-anthology

Finally created a webring for all the #bookstodon, #booktok, #bookstagram peeps on the Small Web ♥ It's a webring and directory so we can all find each other. 🥰 Now accepting members! 📚 https://thebookring.neocities.org/

@bookstodon
#IndieWeb #WebRevival #books #webring #SmallWeb #OldWeb #bookish #bookblogger #bookblog #bibliophile #writer #writers #author #authors #readers

Wondering if allistic #writers experience #disassociation while writing or could this only be an #actuallyautistic thing 🤔

#writing #indie #autisticauthor #autisticwriter

I'm considering creating a Ghost account which would replace my Substack and become the primary driver behind my online presence. How has that process gone for others? Are there IFTTT applets you use to connect into your Fediverse accounts?

What I really want is a one-stop-publishing experience, where I can post to a website I own and have my work sent off to every social account and website I have. $10/mo is steep for me, but I'd like to think it's an investment.

#Ghost #WritingCommunity #Writer #Writers #Substack #Newsletter #Marketing #IFTTT #Fediverse #Community #Support #Question #Today

In the #PoetryCafe this week, I’d like to know what you want your writing to say about you.

Be as detailed or as brief as you like.

I’d like mine to speak to my humanity - my empathy, compassion, generosity of spirit, love, and kindness - as well as my passion and my outrage.

#poetry #PoetryCommunity #writing #WritingCommunity #poets #poems #writers

Romance writers are a community of accidental innovators.

The publishing industry shunning and society often marginalizing them drove romance writers to experiment with self publishing, ebooks and digital formats, business models, publishing platforms and technolgies, information sharing, unionizing, and collaboration.

This is a good overview of what romance writers accomplished:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/93652-lessons-in-love-romance-authors-and-the-power-of-labor-solidarity.html

#romance #writers #publishing

Writing is just thinking your work is amazing and then thinking it’s terrible and going back and forth between both extremes until you finally have to submit, at which point you’ve spent so much time staring at the words that you have no idea if any of it is good or bad at all

#writing #amwriting #writers

A new goal for the near future will be to get a short story published in some kind of magazine. I have not attempted that in years, but think that could be a good next step for me.

Wish me all of the luck in the world, I guess! And I am also open for suggestion as to where to start.

#writing #fiction #writers #witch

Writing and socialising appear to draw from the same battery source in me.

When I write more, I have less energy for #social. I find myself unable to look at conversations unfolding here, much less follow or respond in (what I feel to be) a nuanced and sensitive way appropriate to the context, i.e., social media, public, short format. I suspect this is a #neurodivergent thing.

Do other #writers experience something similar?

@neurodivergent @writingcommunity #WritersLife

Jewish #writers & other artists and thinkers write an open letter on how criticism of Israel is not antisemitism: “we find this rhetorical tactic antithetical to Jewish values, which teach us to repair the world, question authority, and champion the oppressed over the oppressor.” They also liken it to an “an insidious gagging of #FreeSpeech.”

https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/a-dangerous-conflation/?fbclid=IwAR1F8YXy9JpKFoq9oAizxJb-tkXxHUq-_TSHjX9MjABjKqImWwYhkwT2kfo

#writer #writers #writingcommunity #blog #blogging #publishing #politics #psychology http://stressline.org/2023/11/07/the-shrinks-weigh-in-on-the-one-thing-trump-cant-control-and-it-could-be-his-undoing-by-hal-brown-msw-shrink/

A project journal is a powerful resource for #writers.

#Obsidian is a great tool for this: just open the daily note and jot down a few notes about how the writing went that day. Did you cut a chunk out of the novel? Paste it in the journal. Toss out a chapter? Paste it in. Learn something new about a character or setting? Link it, tag it, and put it in the project journal.

Later, SuperFans will love these "behind the scenes" director's tracks as ebooks or PDFs.

#PKM #AmWriting #ObsidianMD

Advice from #writers everywhere - I'm looking at hosting some of my work on WordPress but I'm unsure if I should. What are the advantages & disadvantages of using WP and are there any better alternatives?

Vast digital trove of recordings by Canadian literature greats nears completion

“SpokenWeb is a digitized bonanza of readings and off-the-cuff remarks from #Canada ‘s greatest #writers.

The bonanza includes Margaret Atwood, W.O. Mitchell, Mavis Gallant, Rudy Wiebe, Michael Ondaatje, Al Purdy and Irving Layton.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/10071117/canadian-literature-digital-recordings-project-nears-completion/

Get original recipes on the blog of Seattle Times writer Tantri Wija.

I love that Tantri lists her blog in her article signatures instead of a Twitter account like many journalists. Is this the way forward as Twitter continues to decline?

https://www.scratchtheblog.com/
#Journalism #Writers

One challenge into another! Day 2 of National Novel Writing Month and going strong!

#NaNoWrMo #NaNo #NationalNovelWritingMonth #NaNo2023 #NaNo23 #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writers #Author #Words

People read short sentences.

Shorter the better.

https://www.superversive.co/blog/attention-economics

#attention #economics #ReadingCommunity #writers #advertising #marketing #branding #platforms #incentives #TrainingData #LinkedIn #ecosystems

A little peptalk with a dash of irony for #writers who are hit by the "all my writing is crap!" at any stage during #nanowrimo

This is sort of a "break open in case of emergency"-post

#AmWriting #writing

https://sylvia.studio/2023/11/relax-its-just-50-000-words

Inviting all #writers to join us for the fun & community of #WordWeavers. Participate with a WIP or an already published book. @AlinaLeonova and I have come up with some hopefully fun questions for November. Four players contributed the month’s community questions (see below).
As always, play the days you want, skip the ones you want. Please use CW as necessary. Looking forward to seeing all your answers, finding great books, & meeting new friends. Here you go!
#amwriting #author

It's that time again. Time for the #WritersCoffeeClub prompts for November.

Quite a lot of prompts from the community this month. I hope you'll spot yours, and thanks to all the contributors.

You can find a text list of prompts on my blog here:
https://johnahowes.blogspot.com/p/writers-coffee-club-november-2023.html

Have fun and remember to include the hashtag. 🙂

#Writers #authors #AmWriting #selfpublishing
#WritingCommunity