#WritersOfMastodon
#PennedPossibilities 86 — MC or SC's greatest extravagance they allows themselves.
SC: Well, occasionally he sets an abandoned building on fire. Does that count? It happens to be the best miracle he can work, and he can perform it from more than a city block away. He can even set cement on fire. It's good fun when he can volunteer with the fire squad so he can experience the heat, the chaotic flicker, the crackle, and the creosote smell of structural wood smoke up close.
#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
#WordWeavers 9.28 — Side character POV: Describe the MC's sense of humor.
I learned the first day I met her on a transporter job that her sense of humor is so subtle that you almost never notice it. Almost. I think she has a sarcastic dialogue going on in her head, which may be one of the reasons she often has a fleeting subtly sly smug smile. These may be why I ended up with a crush on her.
When you're good at what you do—my devil-girl is—you sometimes step on toes. Somebody decided to use her as the fall girl to steal some very expensive product, and to take out some of the boss' top lieutenants in the process. I won't get into the particulars, but my devil-girl caught wind of a setup that might end up with her and us, her team, killed. She substituted out the product, which we moved around the city all night with targets on our back. When the coppers cornered us—someone got tipped off on our route—and the detective (on the take, it turns out) tore open the package despite my devil-girl's heart-felt warnings....
Well... [coughs]
It /was/ shampoo. Very fancy. Imported. Worse and importantly, it was in a skinny tall bottle that was fleshy pink with a darker dome-shaped top. Yeah. It looked like what you think, and my devil-girl acted embarrassed.
Of course, she had to say to the copper in a sing-song voice, "/I warned you!/"
[This is the same side character as in my #PennedPossibilities 85 post here https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/111141074732083413 and see externally here https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/111140078966088014. Author retains copyright.]
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
#vss365
Steel faces faced me;
cold, shiny eyes
quizzed me,
my brain buzzed
like bees on Adderall.
I stood my ground.
I was there to #party
like it was 2035 &
to pull the master plug.
Confess, they whispered.
They let me pass.
The mask I wore short-circuited
their wired brain.
It evaded the great
scan,
controlled & led by "X"
#art #acrylicpainting #vss365
#writer #poetry #poets #artist #mastoart #fediart #fediartist
#smallpoems #abstract #writersofmastodon
#poetsofmastodon
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 1 #28 — Do you practice "kill your darlings" in your work?
Had to look this up, and I misunderstood it. Do I ever excise a superfluous subplot from the main story line, even when I like it a lot? I've done that, rarely. My story composition is generally lean, despite my being rather loquacious. Words, lots and lots of words, usually get cut in revision, not plot lines. I usually understand when I'm going off on a tangent. My "darlings" often become side stories, though.
#BoostingIsSharing
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
The first 25,000 words of a new book. About a quarter of the way through #book #authorlife #writing #writersofmastodon #manuscript #steampunk
"So you just found out your book was used to train AI. Now what?" - suggested actions from The Authors Guild:
https://authorsguild.org/news/you-just
#WritersHelpingWriters #authorlife
#authorsofmastodon #indieauthors #author #creativewriting
#writersofmastodon #writinglife #selfpublishing #writers
#writer #amWriting #writingcommunity #writing #WritersCoffeeClub
I'm going to be streaming again on Wednesdays at 6pm central at https://twitch.tv/eponaauthor
Come join me and subscribe to my channel. Will also be streaming to YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@eponaauthorsolutions
Upcoming Topics
Oct 4 - Should I do #nanowrimo
Oct 11 - What project should I choose?
Oct 18 - Dealing with setbacks and the long haul
Oct 25 - Preparation for NaNoWriMo
#writingcommunity #bookstodon #author #writers #AuthorsOfMastodon #WritersofMastodon
Writer Beware has an analysis of a fake film company scam.
https://writerbeware.blog/2023/09/15/anatomy-of-a-fake-film-company-scam-the-greendot-films-better-bound-house/
#WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #IndieAuthor
@authorindiespeak @writingcommunity
I put Chapter 17 to bed #today - six more to go.
Fewer stats than last time (don't want to overegg it):
Elapsed days drafting 58
Current run rate (wpd) 1600*
Projected completion date 21/10/23
Number of deleted scenes 18**
*I'm really quite pleased with this, mainly because it's the average across the full 58 calendar days, and there's been quite a few of those where no writing happened.
**Up from 8 in the last report, and you can see the effect of this in the graph. I did a minor replot of the "soggy middle" to tighten up the action. Also, I'd allowed one scene per character right in the middle of that action, which takes place on a new island. Turned out this was major overkill, so cutting, or merging, those scenes took me under the 125k predicted word count for a spell. As you can see it's slowly climbing back to converge with the target line again.
#writing #SFF #fantasy #fantasyWriter #sffWriter #writersOfMastodon #writersLife #writingCommunity #amWriting
[/Oops! I wrote a main character version earlier today when it was supposed to be a secondary character version, so now you must read the same scene from the other perspective! BTW, this is a female-run society. —RS/]
The sky didn't brighten properly: Those /little/ weirdnesses that remind you that you're working for the greatest thaumaturge ever to live! That and that when I arrived in the botanical garden, the surprise the Director of Home had coquettishly told me she'd gotten for me turned out to be the second strongest thaumaturge in the world—the only woman I'd had a crush on, whom I'd fallen in love with the night we'd met, when we'd still been newbies in the mob. I'd ascended the ranks, always her dependable lieutenant, always too in awe of her capabilities and perfect lean-and-muscular devil-girl looks to /not/ stutter or blush any time the idea or opportunity arose to ask if we might hook up.
There she stood. Confident. Dangerous. Adorable.
In the year since I sacrificed myself in hopes she could escape the dragon, I'd grown up. I'd practiced, got rid of the stutter, made sure I'd be ready to please were we to ever meet again. I'd become a Praetorian guard (in training), at Rainy Day's insistence.
The Director of Home had tricked me. Used me as bait.
Seeing my crush didn't disappoint. Breathtaking. /Sexy./ I walked up to her where she stood, stunned as if seeing a ghost. I took her chin in hand. She let me, so I kissed her deeply.
She approved so viscerally, I had to steady her with a hand. When she took the time to breathe, she gave Rainy Days the full elbow dis and kissed me right back. I'd have trouble walking afterwards.
My devil-girl told me to attack Rainy Days. I can set anything on fire—my only salable miracle—and instantly set the grasses and trees ablaze before Her Highness could flinch. That battle, that day the sky broke, was one for the records. Dunno how we survived, but then that's my devil-girl for you. If there's a solution, she's all over it.
We now work for Director Rainy Days, however. Loooonnnngggg story.
That evening, after all the healing, dress-up, press conferences, pomp and puffery, we snuck off to her roommate's place, an ivory tower. Talk about having hid under your enemy's nose; her roomy was the Director's adoptive daughter! Another devil-girl. Plumper. Subjectively a lot more feminine. Mopey, depressed, taking medicine to suppress withdrawals.
My devil-girl told me to take care of her friend. She was "giving me" to her.
Not entirely surprising to me, since my devil-girl had made no bones about riding the mob boss' lieutenants (male and female, day angels and saints, too), when she'd had to tame them. She'd found her own teacher when she'd decided she needed to learn how her body worked, and reputedly tamed him, too. Her roomy understood this. Definitely. Unmistakably. One way to work through one's depression was to take control of a guy, to tame him.
Me? Okay with me. All night. Proved I could take care of my devil-girl's friend in a way that'd make her proud.
Um...
Apparently this freaked out my devil-girl. She left before I could cook breakfast, and I'd not see her for days, except at "business" events where I was employed as one of her bodyguards.
It's not that she turned cold, or started to hate me. That's not it. It's just that she gets this confused look on her face, even when she's around a diplomat she's taken a fancy to. It's like... dunno... like maybe she imagines me in her head riding her roomy when she sees me?
[Author retains copyright.]
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders #PennedPossibilities 85
#PennedPossibilities 85 — MC POV: Tell us a quick love story. The story must end badly. CW: Um, frank talk?
I thought he was dead. The only guy who'd ever had a crush on me. My lieutenant from my days in the mob. He'd been bleeding when I'd shoved him through the /Interstellar/ apparition a year ago. When I'd escaped through the same working ten minutes later, the street it was anchored to in Home City was abandoned—but for Praetorian guards too frantic to notice me because Director Rainy Days had roared through only half a minute before, in full battle mode, without any of her guards.
A year later, Rainy Days cornered me. To convince me to stay, she'd baited her trap with him. She'd made him a cadet in her Praetorian guard, and oh my—my—my, did he look good in that uniform. He stepped up to me, no longer blushing or stuttering, not able to say those words that he liked me. No, he stepped up to be, cupped my chin, and kissed me deeply.
My knees nearly gave out, despite my worst enemy standing less than a dozen standards away from me. My heart racing, I returned the kiss, warming up, and letting him put a hand behind my back.
Rainy Days said something like, "She should get a room."
I stepped back, a hand on my lieutenant's chest. I looked at her in complete shock, but I couldn't think of anything sufficiently sarcastic. I flashed her a hand-gesture instead, then grabbed his head and kissed him back until he moaned. I expected that evening would be sweet.
He fought alongside me against Rainy Days, the strongest thaumaturge to ever live. We nearly died.
That night, after lots of events too numerous to enumerate, and me agreeing to work with Rainy Days as her minion (long story), I had to deal with my roommate. She was the first person I'd acknowledged as a friend since childhood. I had used her in a sting operation to catch a crime boss and for various reasons—including that she had never ever gotten laid because of who her mom is—was bummed out.
I "gave" her my boyfriend to cheer her up.
They took me literally. Loudly, I might add. You'd think an ivory tower would have better sound insulation, but you'd be wrong. I left as soon as I could the morning after as they were still at it.
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
The problem with on-line #ads is not that for all your efforts to block them you can't completely avoid them.
No.
It's that sometimes after you've left a page you think, "Well, that was interesting!" Then, when you go back, a whole new set of ads show.
That's the definition of #irony if ever there was one.
Physical editions of my book "Let's Make a Fansite" are now available to order!
http://shop.intothecannibalspot.menu/product/let-s-make-a-fansite
#fansite #fandom #book #books #writersOfMastodon #WritersOnMastodon
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 1 #25 — What keeps you striving concerning your writing goals?
/The lights are on, but you're not home
Your will is not your own (it's the MC's)
Your heart sweats, your teeth grind
Another few paragraphs and the chapter'll be done
Whoa, you'd like to think you're immune to a good turn of phrase, oh yeah
It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough
You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to writing/
Chorus: /Might as well face it, you're addicted to writing.../
I'm addicted. I can't stop writing.
[I'm hoping this counts as satire or reasonable use. A riff off of /Addicted to Love/ a
song by Robert Palmer. A great song, btw.]
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#CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders #music #song #lyrics #addiction
I've been toying with the idea of taking one of my projects and releasing it as a sort of serial on a blog.
This is a great idea and it looks like you did. There's no guarantee you'll get feedback, but it will stretch your mind to new dimensions.
Being /Shy/ is difficult for writers, and not uncommon. I am also horribly shy... in person. It prevented me from networking when I got an agent, sold, and could get in to all those fabulous parties and meetups at Worldcon and other SF conventions. It's difficult, and crippling. But now you are on the Internet. You can have blogs, you can have webpages, and you have a Mastodon account. You can write to prompts, practice, and get things out there. Like I am.
I recommend following these hashtags /and participating/. Practice makes perfect, and writing lots of stories helps suppress the fear about starting and finishing, and having troubles coming up with ideas.
Remember this about feedback you may get: It is only the opinion of the person providing the feedback (advice, etc.), and it is up to you to decide if it is relevant in anyway to accept or ignore at your whim.
#wordweavers
#PennedPossibilites
#writerscoffeeclub
#writever
#writingwonders (defunct, but a very good read.)
These will give you a sense of community:
#writer #writers #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #sf #sff #fiction #scifi #ScienceFiction
#WordWeavers 9.27 — Do any children under two or older people factor into your story?
I can't remember a story with children under two, though if one MC turns out to be pregnant, she may be fighting against the end of the world with a baby in tow.
Older people show up as the story requires them. The ages of the main players in the SFF WiP are 17, 18, 26, 35, 71, and 135. Different humans have different lifespans. The 71 year-old looks grey and somewhat wrinkled, and is the butt of agist humor, but he's the bad guy's muscle and a force to contend with. The 135 year old is, well, let's say, /unique and special?/ Read an interaction with him here: Ms George and the Dragon https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110603595653290409
I also have a character who's hundreds and hundreds of years old. I don't know her actual age because it hasn't come up as important enough in any story. But... she's always 24 years old. If she takes a fancy to your guy, she's not shy at seducing him away, either. Interestingly enough, the age of majority is 25 where she lives.
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
#generativeAI #AI #ethics #plagiarism #copyright
The three panel shown from the Scientific American article at the link below is the most critical to #writing and #writingcommunity members as well as those that create #art #fineart and works of #photography .
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-how-ai-generates-images-from-text/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tech&utm_content=link&utm_term=2023-09-26_featured-this-week (This link shows in Chrome but gets a paywall in Edge.)
Panel two can be solved by using only works that are cleared of copyright (public domain or by paying, something IBM and others are doing). The third panel, not so much.
Read the article; have a more informed opinion.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon and others sue OpenAI. Pulitzer Prize winning US novelist Michael Chabon and several other writers are the latest to file a proposed class action accusing OpenAI of copyright infringement, alleging it pulled their work into the datasets used to train the models behind ChatGPT.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/12/openai_copyright_lawsuits/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
#WritersHelpingWriters #authorlife
#authorsofmastodon #indieauthors #author #creativewriting
#writersofmastodon #writinglife #selfpublishing #writers
Levelling up and changing your approach to publishing.
https://selfpublishingadvice.org/leveling-up/
#WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #IndieAuthor
@authorindiespeak @writingcommunity
The WGA and AMPTP's deal lets studios train AI models on writers' work while writers would be compensated for work on scripts even if AI tools are used.
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/hollywood-studios-can-train-ai-models-on-writers-work-under-tentative-deal-aedae589?mod=followamazon
#WritersHelpingWriters #authorlife
#authorsofmastodon #indieauthors #author #creativewriting
#writersofmastodon #writinglife #selfpublishing #writers
#writer #amWriting #writingcommunity #writing #WritersCoffeeClub
Someone today opined on whether short stories are worth the effort vs writing and selling long forms. If I recall correctly, they said they found they'd wished they'd stuck with the long forms after years of experience.
Generally, I'd agree (I'm a novelist myself). But then I thought: /If I had not spent the last five years writing lots of shorts, and recently very short stories, I'd not have gotten the experience starting and completing stories the way I have./
Writing novelette length, short, and super-short has gone a long way to vanquishing my recurring writer's block. It's given me the repeated experience of starting and finishing stories, building my confidence that there's always more to write. (I burnt out in '01 and didn't start writing again until '15, so I'm recovering.)
One of the hardest things for me to get over, which plagued my early career, was my inflated opinion that my ideas were somehow special and unique (they're not), and that I would never come up with more than a few worth writing. Writing lots of little stories cured me of that delusion.
My little stories might never sell, but they could act as regular content to convince people to return to my author website. I use shorts to introduce people to my writing style and to explore ideas I might incorporate in longer forms. I've definitely used it to work out character backstory, even stuff that might contradict canon. It keeps me from fearing the experimental stuff; at least it gives me a chance to get the nonsense out of my bloodstream. Some of this might go into an anthology one day (as if, but I can hope.) In any case, they're the practice equivalent of tossing nickels and dimes into the wishing well compared to burning C-notes attempting a sketchy novel.
This isn't writing advice, nor am I advocating one way or another. I'm simply reporting what I've observed for myself.
#writing #author #writer #writers #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #microfiction #ShortStory #shortfiction #shorts #novelette #novella
#PennedPossibilities 84 — Did your SC fit in with the family they grew up with? If not, why?
If your adoptive mother is the ruler of the world, she pawns you off on her physician to raise, and you've got more "magical" ability in your pinky finger than any of your high school teachers, you're going to find it difficult to fit into any family. She became a bully, made sure everybody knew she'd succeed her mother (wrong), did a lot of teenage drinking and later intelligence-enhancing drugs, and couldn't get laid for trying (the worst!).
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#WritingAndRobots 3.2 — Do you have any opening lines that you’re proud of? What’s the line, and why do you like it?
I'd seen t-shirt and chain-wearing ruffians much like these specimens before, loitering around Baltimore and harassing people.
I reviewed a few dozen stories to come up with this one. I'm dancing in the street if I can come up with a good opening paragraph, let alone a first line. This one really sets the stage. It of course brings up the question why not concentrate on a slam-bang opening line?
For me, spending too much time working on getting a perfect start prevents me from starting. I think I'm going to try a strategy of coming back to the beginning after writing chapters and see if I can come up with that line, being inspired by other events later.
Here's a two others that I like. The first could be written with semicolons and said in one breath, so I say it counts.
“Gah! Mark, you’re doing it again! Get out of my bed!"
and
It's hard to reminisce about the naïve events of your childhood when you can't help but remember seeing the princess of your adopted homeland murdered.
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I spent Monday doing my first read-through of my first draft for book 2 in my series. I found myself enjoying it. I really love my characters.
I’m now two days into my rewrite. I was actually surprised there isn’t too much structural stuff to fix. I only need to write a better introduction for a character who stepped into the story part-way through. Lots of little things to fix. Description needs to be better, especially.
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 1 #27 — What's the strangest research you've done for your writing?
Well... I studied folklore and mythology and got a degree specializing in it. My day job ended up being a programmer, not a curator, though my background served me well as an SF & F author. One of the best parts of attending university was the university library. They had a Lesser Key of Solomon there (I think it was the lesser). An original edition from the 1700s—old books rock! And smell, interesting. The contents creeped me out as I imagined how to make it work. I never succeeded in summoning demons. I'm a lot less credulous these days. Studied a lot of real life magic, voodoo, and Sámi and native American shamanism. I learned lucid dreaming and tried to do soul travel (but failed, though I have a great treatment for an SF soul travel story). I often use technical terms in my writing, like "contagious magic," when describing particular spells or magical apparitions because I understand why. Sorry I can't be more specific, but school was decades (millennia) ago...
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Soar as light as
a feather
in the
nothingness
of being,
#chanting,
liberating your
senses.
Rise to an
elevated plane,
empty your
mind
experience
unlimited joy
#art #photography #vss365
#writer #poetry #prose #poets #artist #artistsofmastodon #mastoart #fediart #fediartist
#smallpoems #illustration #digitalArt #writersofmastodon
#poetsofmastodon
Yesterday was a proper muddle if chaos, but Wednesday is here and with it Writing Deadlines. I'm going to turn on the writing music and write some bonus scenes for people who pre-order ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A GARGOYLE (link coming soon!)
#ChristmasGargoyle
#AmWriting
#WritersOfMastodon
#Writing
#Books
695 words on the novel tonight.
The second scene of this new opening chapter is a bit harder as it has some items that i need to reference correctly, even though what I am writing is a pure work of fiction. Details are sometimes important even when you're making things up.
#writingcommunity #writersofMastodon #Novel #wip #Writing #writers
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 1 #26 — Have you used a MacGuffin in your writing? Be honest.
Often.
It's pretty inescapable since everything I write is complete confabulation anyway.
- If you read my Definition of Miracle, a 350-word microfic (https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/111122888641242687), the demon is a MacGuffin designed to let Mina hold in her feelings for the main character and sets up what's so miraculous.
- I have a character in serialization who for chapters has been a MacGuffin, existing as a depressed girlfriend to whom the POV "gives" her boyfriend, only to have them... well... you know, loudly, which sets the POV off on her various adventures, keeps her finding new people to sleep with each night so she doesn't have to return home, and finding her own lovers.
- In my current SFF work, the whole story revolves around a dangerous MacGuffin, which if found and used will spark an Interstellar war. In the end, the POV character never actually sees the result of the MacGuffin actually used because she's tricked everyone and is escaping the conflagration with her friend.
#BoostingIsSharing
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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
Prominent authors team up with The Authors Guild to sue OpenAI for copyright infringement. Authors cited in the complaint include Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, prolific novelist Jodi Picoult, and 15 others.
https://apnews.com/article/openai-lawsuit-authors-grisham-george-rr-martin-37f9073ab67ab25b7e6b2975b2a63bfe?tpcc=NL_Marketing
#WritersHelpingWriters #authorlife
#authorsofmastodon #indieauthors #author #creativewriting
#writersofmastodon #writinglife #selfpublishing #writers
#writer #amWriting #writingcommunity #writing #WritersCoffeeClub
I'm writing my first novel. It feels like I'm wandering alone in a dense forest without a compass. It's overwhelming. Most days I end up feeling like I'm crazy for even trying this.
Any published #authors have advice for the n00bs on how to keep our eyes on the prize?
My Complete New AI Series Is Now Available Here: allauthor.com/author/pfcogan/
#WritersHelpingWriters #authorlife
#authorsofmastodon #indieauthors #author #creativewriting
#writersofmastodon #writinglife #selfpublishing #writers
#writer #amWriting #writingcommunity #writing #WritersCoffeeClub
Sulu the book-reading black cat recommends: 'Writing Vivid Dialogue' by Rayne Hall.
Do you want to write fast-paced, exciting, sizzling dialogue? This book reveals pro techniques to characterise the speaker, carry the plot forward &entertain your readers.
Leaarn how to create male/female voices, craft historical dialogue & flirtatious banter, and write dialogue for alpha characters, children and liars.
mybook.to/Dial
#writing #writersofmastodon #writingcommunity
#writingskills
I recently posted about the upcoming season of "The Post Mortem Report" and the first of two new show segments, AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS!
So, what's our second new segment, you might ask?
Well, let me tell you, it's a doozie. Introducing...
THE WHEEL OF DEATH!
What is it? What does it do? Who does it do it to? 🙂
Subscribe today to find out!
YouTube:
http://youtube.com/@ThePostMortemReport
Official Site:
http://postmortemreport.com
#podcast #authorcast #newseason #soon #comingsoon #subscribe #subscribenow #writersofmastodon #authorsofmastodon #readersofmastodon #read #reads #readers #reading #readingcommunity #speculativefiction #talkshow @bookstodon @horror
"The Authors Guild says generative AI threatens writers’ professions by “flooding the market with mediocre, machine-written books, stories, and journalism based on our work.” And that for at least the last decade, authors have experienced a 40% decline in income, with many full-time writers in 2022 barely surpassing the federal poverty level."
@Priyajsridhar
I'm Elektra Hammond. Find me at https://www.untilmidnight.com
See me talk about SF/F, writing, comics, TV, and Supernatural at Con-Tinual (the Con that Never Ends) on Facebook and Youtube.
Look for my upcoming Well World story in Permutations edited by David Boop.
@Priyajsridhar
5. I’m thinking about NaNoWriMo again. I’ve tried several times, and always failed, at least partly because I was in the habit of going to 3 conventions in November, and working on at least 2 of them.
One of those has folded, probably for good, and I’ve cut back my SMOFing (conrunning) activities to nearly nil, so it’s probably time to try again.
Thanks for the reminder, Priya!
#Writephant #WritersofMastodon #WritingCommunity #amwriting #nanowrimo
@Priyajsridhar
4. I live in fall-(ish) flavors all year round–and I order hot chai when it’s 90-something degrees out.
Cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cloves.
#Writephant #WritersofMastodon #WritingCommunity #amwriting #TeaDrinkersUnite
#WordWeavers 9.26 — Is your antagonist or protagonist more fashionable?
My protagonist only cares what she wears, or if, fits the moment. She'd rather blend in or not be bothered with trifles.
For my antagonist, everything is free—so why not be fashionable?
My antagonist is an absolute ruler. That's over everywhere humanity lives, including the other worlds and nations. She allows everyone their illusion of autonomy and self-government, even those who succeed in making war against her. She abhors her genocides, so she puts up with inconveniences until they cease to fit her purposes. Technically, she employs everyone (with BASIC income for any who ask for it). All property rights flow through her, so everything's free.
Being fashionable, especially at tea parties, is a great hobby.
[Author retains copyright.]
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#CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
@Priyajsridhar
3. Night owl all the way. If I could get the rest of the darn world to cooperate, and let me make doctor, dentist, etc appointments at *reasonable* times, my life would fall into place.
When I stay up late working, it really messes with either getting to appointments or just making them (ever call a doctor’s office after 4:30?).
#Writephant #WritersofMastodon #WritingCommunity #amwriting #NightOwlForLife
@Priyajsridhar
2. This weekend was wet and rainy here–generally kind of nasty. I huddled in a corner, safely indoors.
When the weather is nice, I will slip outside to stretch my legs (and game, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing) until it gets too cold. Then I will hibernate inside until spring.
I’m more productive the colder time of year, when I don’t want to leave the house . . .
I used to track daily word count with steep goals for the amount of words I needed to put on every project. That was...too much... and so now I track weekly word count (still totaling each project). Feels so much more organic and self-nurturing.
Just added monthly breakdowns to my spreadsheet for the year because I'm curious. I still think NaNo this year is out of reach, but I also think this is a good mental health barometer.
#WritersCoffeeClub day 25: What keeps me striving concerning my writing goals?
Remembering that I'm a storyteller. That 16 year old me was going to work on a horse farm and write books for a living and while I still have a day job at the moment, I live on a homestead with horses and I... wait for it... write books! So it's the ability to look back and go yeah, I did it. And I hope to do more.
#WordWeavers 9.25 — Your antagonist gives a spontaneous speech. What is it about? CW: Frank language. (MC POV)
Bolt rolled me through the hall toward the Residency, the wheelchair clicking on the regular tiles. She said, "And ya think ya know what she'll harangue you on, a?"
"Do I? She's pissed I forced her to recognize him as an ambassador" —to his people, people who've been our enemies for centuries, making him a citizen. "She'll say," and I waved my leaden hands, flinging my blue blanket toward my knees with little energy, "'You're so weak-minded that you went and believed the first man who stuck his—'"
"Language!" Bolt said, then began cackling to herself.
I didn't often swear, but I did love to cut off people who did by interrupting with that word...
My face warmed as I realized what I was about to say, and that he had. That I might (and I mean /might/) be pregnant didn't make the situation better, either. And, he wasn't my first. Best maybe. "I demonstrated breaking his team leader's programming right in front of her eyes. Originally breaking his was accidental—" because I'd discovered I loved him "—the other two I accomplished because I understood what I'd done."
"Why migh' I doubt ya?" The day angel's right wing extended out before me, and a different primary feather warped upward as she ticked off, "His people invaded the week before? I fought em, remember? They infiltrated us? She can't believe you can deprogram in bulk? Might get yourself killed?"
I whispered, "Or that the deprogramming won't stick?" I sighed. "Nobody can read minds, tell if it worked... I get it, alright? This is why I made you captain of my guard."
"Not 'cause I'm cute? Or that I'm fast like lightning?" Bolt asked, stopping before the Director's door.
The Director started as rudely as I predicted, by the way.
[Author retains copyright.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU #Review
Alien Vs White Girl > Alien Vs Predator
Full Review #Link Below--- This No One Will Save You (2023) Review Has Meryl Streep Working At a Tollbooth To Prepare for her Role in The Tollbooth Murders! (Tagline- “The Toll…is Your Life”).
#NoOnewillsaveyou #horrorfam #hulu #horrorCommunity #movie #movies #moviereview #reviews #WritersOfMastodon #writingcommunity #read #reading #article #writer #film #films #cinema #cinemastodon #funny
The #minuscule
atom survived,
unchanged,
for billions of years
in the outer reaches of space.
Gas, gravity coalesced.
Scarves of nameless stars,
like grains of sand,
beyond Jupiter
lit up the sky.
Light bending,
black holes
devoid of sunshine,
stark, grief, dread
#art #acrylicpainting #vss365
#writer #poetry #prose #poets #artist #artistsofmastodon #mastoart #fediart #fediartist
#smallpoems #illustration #abstract #writersofmastodon
#poetsofmastodon
🎉Pre-order now from books2read.com/unsung
#qotd Tell me about a woman in a book who smashed the rules!
#somerset #book #indieAuthor #history #writersOfmastodon #histodon #shortStories #readingCommunity
Found this in the garden today. I love finding these.
Sending out a bunch of luck to all you writers out there!
"It rarely takes more than a page to recognize that you’re in the presence of someone who can write, but it only takes a sentence to know you’re dealing with someone who can’t."
https://www.villagevoice.com/i-will-not-read-your-fucking-script/
Amazon KDP is limiting the number of titles that can be created in order to limit the impact of AI-generated books.
https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Update-on-KDP-Title-Creation-Limits
#WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #IndieAuthor
@authorindiespeak @writingcommunity
SEASON 2 IS ALMOST HERE!
Official Site: http://postmortemreport.com
YouTube: http://youtube.com/@ThePostMortemReport
#podcast #podcasts #podcasting #authorcast #comingsoon #booksofmastodon #authorsofmastodon #writersofmastodon #bookstodon #booktodon @bookstodon
Wake up back there! It's time for a critical lecture on contamination and purity from the Professor Emeritus of Undead Biology of The House of Forbidden Knowledge!
#Horror #HorrorFiction #WritersCommunity #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #WritersOnMastodon #FreeeOnSubstack
Do you think 'people don't books read anymore' or have most people never been readers?
I feel like there are more book readers now than ever. We've never been a majority. Most people I knew growing up only read when they had to (for school/church).
I wrote a whole ass article about why I like rocks lol 🪨💜
I swear it’s cooler than it sounds
@writing @philosophy #amwriting #writersofmastodon #philosophy #mentalhealth #depression #selfcare #geology #writingcommunity #mindfulness #spirituality #animism #writerslift
Where is my #writingcommunity? Trying to find a new home to learn about where to submit, and where I can read others' work. We're in this together.
#introduction I didn't see this option until after I posted. I will do up a better introduction soon :)
If you are a writer, or journal, Say hi. Follow me and I'll follow you.
(Is that how it works here?)
#Writing #Writers #AmWriting #Writingtogether #FlashFiction #writer #literary #brandnewhere #WritersOfMastodon #writershelpingwriters #writerslife #microfiction #help
Y'all this short story is *so* good:
https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/the-ascension-of-magdalene/
#Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading #WritersOfMastodon #ShortStory #Fiction
The keys to #writing productivity (for me) are:
1. Don't try too hard - good things should flow easily. If I get stuck, I move on and come back to it later.
2. Make it fun. If it's not fun, what's the point?
3. Balance mental work with physical activity.
4. Get plenty of sleep. Nap as needed.
Hey #Writers
Do you have any tips for coming up with titles for your stories?
I’m having a hard time coming up with them at the moment. Like, I have a series working title, but not for the individual books, and it’s starting to bug me.
🖤Hey you!🖤
Would you like to show me love for my birthday (that is on the 23rd) but are broke as fuck like I am?
Well, visit the link below and and share it!
There are stories you can listen to for free!
In two formats! Video and Audio!
The audio will soon have all 30 current episodes.
The more it fills Eye holes and Ear gets in front of Ears to be seen, the better!
If you really want you could also check out the rest of that website for ways to gift me things or buy things for yourself I made.
Best way to give me a gift.🦇
Or money, I like money. 💀
VENMO/CASHAPP - nailsthatglow
:flag_nonbinary::flag_transgender::flag_rainbow:
#story #shortstory #video #podcast #queer #nonbinary #writer #writersofmastodon #birthday #lgbtq #writing #horror #fantasy #sciencefiction #drama #noir #weirdfiction #strangefiction #solarpunk #robots #monsters #detective #trans #lesbian #gay #bipoc #casual #adventure #dramatic #tragic #superhero
Q3. I think I've had a character who's a big reader in all my books. It's my go-to hobby :)
Q4. I feel like I constantly do have to look up/research things (like care and feeding of lucky bamboos). Undoubtedly, when writing, it's faster to incorporate skills the author is already familiar with. For example, I've played tennis but not, say curling. But sometimes you just need to have your characters slide stones across ice!
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
I'm going to combine two #writephant questions in one post, since they're related! here we go:
Q3. Do any of your characters have a hobby that secretly reflects your own passion?
Q4. Conversely, do any of your characters have a hobby that necessitated a lot of research on your part?
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
The main character in my WIP has a house and office full of plants -- but they're all the same exact plant, dozens and dozens of them. They're all water bamboos, also known as lucky bamboo. (Despite the name, they're not really bamboo but water lilies!)
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
Q2. What’s the quirkiest hobby you’ve ever incorporated into a character’s life?
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
In my WIP, all three central characters have side hobbies. Without the hobbies, they would be incomplete characters... One is writing a screenplay in their free time (which gives him hope). Another has a dog (she longs for a connection, to feel valued). The third takes care of plants (as a reminder of a person missing from his life)
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
Q1. Why might a character need a hobby/side interest in addition to their main occupation in the story?
#writephant
#WritersofMastodon
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #writing
Welcome to tonight's #writephant! The topic is HOBBIES.
As always, we start by asking, How are you doing this Monday? What is bringing you joy today?
Join us for a live chat in an hour! I'm hosting and today's topic is HOBBIES.
Hey #WritersOfMastodon I need your help! We're doing a series on Building Characters, and with that, we're going to be recording a set of podcast on Character Agency, but we need another subtopic.
Here's what we have so far:
What is agency and why is it important?
How to show agency well
Agency with lack of control/passive characters
??
What do you think? Anything that would fit well in that fourth spot?
Wake up! It's time for the campus tour!
#Horror #HorrorFiction #WritingCommunity #WritersCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #WritersOnMastodon #FreeOnSubstack
Are you excited?! CAMPUS TOUR TOMORROW!
Subscribe now (FREE!) to make sure you don't miss it!
#Horror #HorrorFiction #WritingCommunity #WritersCommunity #WritersOnMastodon #WritersOfMastodon #FreeOnSubstack
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 1 #17 — How do you promote your writing?
This is the reason I am on Mastodon. I hope that didn't sound callus or self-serving, but it is a first step for me going from traditional commercial agent-mediated publishing to publishing commercially myself.
By being here, I am making an effort to help others with my experience as a published author and am encouraging writers who are feeling the less fun side of writing. As always, I am open to questions either as public comments because #commentingIsCool or via private mention toots.
I'm also getting samples of my writing out there, and preparing to go with a website in the near future. In the background, I'm revising unpublished manuscripts and publishing some non-commercial novel-length works on another site under different alias.
I also feel I'm networking. I'm connecting with lots of other authors and hopeful I'm find some of my Clarion buddies one day.
I am very much looking forward to other answers to this prompt! I really need ideas.
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
Hey #Writers
How long do you wait between finishing your first draft and then editing it?
I only finished my first draft of Book 2 in my series a week ago, and after today’s outlining session on Book 3, I’m kinda itching to get on with the editing of Book 2, so I can get into writing Book 3 as soon as possible.
Just wondering if I need more time between my first draft and edits.
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersofMastodon #AmOutlining #AmEditing #Writing #Outlining #Editing
Here's a bit about bravery.
A dear friend of mine threw a birthday party for his sweet youngling - a princess party.
There she was with all her friends. Tiaras, cutsy dresses, and of course plastic foam swords. Those ladies need no knights.
However, adults are stupid, and think a man dressed as a dragon would spruce up a perfect gathering of powerful shield maidens.
Have you ever seen how a lot of kids react to Santa? They cry in fear.
The same thing happened here.
Utter terror in her face. She quivered, she gasped.
And then she charged the beast anyway.
#Poetry #MastodonPoetry #Poem #MastodonPoets #Poet #Writing #PoetsOfMastodon #Poets #WritersOfMastodon #PoetsSociety #Bravery
My #outlining for Book 3 in my series is going well today.
I’ve been #writing down my ideas with pen and paper, and I've written so much today that my hand hurts.
That’s a good thing, right?
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersofMastodon #AmOutlining
That's such a cool idea. Wish there was something similar here for writers based in Ireland, or perhaps even Ireland & the UK.
My mother sent me this quote from Jane Smiley. Perhaps someone else needs to hear this today as well:
“Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.”
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersofMastodon #AmEditing #Writing #Editing
It's your moonthly (monthly on the dark-of-the-moon) House of Forbidden Knowledge Study Guide!
Make sure you haven't missed any critical classes. EVERYTHING will be on the test!
#Horror #HorrorFiction #WritingCommunity #WritersCommunity #WritersOnMastodon #WritersOfMastodon #FreeOnSubstack
https://thofk.substack.com/p/monthly-study-guide-september-2023
#PennedPossibilities 72 — MC POV: Describe a recent dream.
I woke feeling claustrophobic. I flailed my hands, found them gloved, clinked the fishbowl surrounding my head. I blinked. Hadn't I just read a newspaper article of the 200th anniversary of profound discovery?
I focused—and saw them: Plates of glass... No /crystal/ floating, gliding, maintaining position. Bright searchlights gleamed, each a minor star. Fuzzy lights: Nebulae. Two-hundreds standards away, I saw an egg-shaped crystal-scaph. White with black-orientation lines and the words HOME-SPACE. It got smaller as I watched.
A daemon had lifted the vehicle on a wish and a miracle. A night angel maneuvered it once in space.
Space.
Space! I was...
My tether flapped around, spewing frost. Snapped.
I jerked, starting rotating, A blue marble rotated into view and I screamed.
[Author retains copyright. From a current SF WiP]
#BoostingIsSharing
#CommentingIsCool
#EntertainOrDie
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #WritingWonders
Hey #writers!
Where do you sit on the plotter/panster spectrum? Do you outline in great detail, discovery write the whole thing, or are you somewhere in between?
I tried pantsing my first few novels, and I ended up getting stuck and not finishing them. So I tried a detailed outline. I finished the novel. (Yay!) But I found I didn’t stick to the outline at all. The story evolved as I wrote it, and I found my new scenes were much better than the ones I’d originally planned to do. But I still couldn’t discovery write the whole thing without something of an outline to work with.
With my second novel I wrote a much briefer outline, just a few sentences per chapter. Again the story evolved as I wrote it and I needed to update the outline about four times throughout writing the first draft. But hey, it worked and I completed the first draft.
I guess I’m a bit of both, plotter and panster. At least for now.
#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersofMastodon #Writing #AmEditing
#Writephant Q2: Do you have your characters eat on page? Why or why not?
Today I found out that my essay “The Anxious Writer” has been purchased by Open Minds Quarterly, my story “This is the Time Just before Spider Woman Meets Kiviuq” has been purchased by the Delta Literary Arts Society, and my story “Wolf Mother” has begun its editorial process at Augur Magazine. I also have two short stories coming out in an anthology called Mihko Kiskisiwin (Blood Memory) published by the Indigenous Poets Society, possibly as soon as this December. https://www.openmindsquarterly.com @indigenousauthors #WritingCommunity #Essayist #CNF #ShortStory #WritersOfMastodon #AuthorsOfMastodon #LivedExperience #Anxiety #MentalHealth
4 Horror Movies Like The Last Voyage of the Demeter That Have a Vampire, Boat, or a Black Doctor! (#Link Below)
#horror #horrorMovie #horrorCommunity #horrorFam #horrorFamily #film #films #filmmastodon #movies #movie #cinemastodon #cinema #reading #read #funny #fun #listicle #writer #WritersOfMastodon #writingcommunity #WritersOfMastodon #Talktome #mutantfam #vampire #boat
It’s been quite a ride getting this first Kickstarter out the door. It feels like the hurdle to learning how to self-publish, but all over again. I’m smarter for it, but it’s draining. I’m looking forward to the coming days and weeks seeing how people react to the #Kickstarter and it releases. I really feel like it’s my best work yet.
Has anyone else felt the same releasing a Kickstarter?
#Writers #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersOfMastodon #WritersLift #Bookstodon
@Chrishallbeck
Um... I resemble this comic. Here I am on Mastodon, writing a reply while my presentation, that I will being giving at a tech conference on Sept 11th (not ominous, right?), is still in outline form. I've been avoiding is for two months. Arrrrggghhh!
Strongly, I feel suddenly motivated! (And an idiot.)
#writingCommunity #writer #writersOfMastodon #author #nonfiction
Time to update my #WritingPrompt & #Writer Hashtag list (and remind myself -again- to use hashtags 😉 ).
Prompts About Wips
#WordWeavers
#PennedPossibilities
#WritersCoffeeClub
Short Fiction Prompts
#Vss365
#MastoPrompt
#MicroPrompt
Poetry Tags
#Poetry
#Micropoetry
#Hailku
#PoetryCommunity
#VssPoem
#575prompt
Writer Tags
#WordWeavers
#Writer
#WritersLife
#WritersofMastodon
#Fantasy
Author Tags
#Bookstodon
#LGBTQBooks
#AuthorsOfMastodon
#IndieAuthor
It’s the first truly dark and dreary rainy day in Stockholm #today. I’m celebrating by staying in bed, reading fiction I didn’t write, and starting a thread for #WritersCoffeeClub to add to through the month of September. Look at those prompts! I LOVE talking about the nerderies of writing! (and curmudgeonly muttering about publishing in general) Join us!
#AmWriting #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #WordWeavers
#meme #overthinking #amwriting #writerslife #writersofmastodon
Not calling anybody out but myself, but... if you are with me, give it a boost or a star ;)
For anyone in the #WritingCommunity - #AmWriting or #Writing #WritersOfMastodon - there are two tags worth following which will nudge you along with daily prompts to exercise you #WIP: #WritersCoffeeClub and #WordWeavers
New monthly sets of questions posted in advance, so you've no excuse 😜
Thanks to @BranwenOShea & @AlinaLeonova for Word Weavers, and @johnhowesauthor for the Writers Coffee Club
There's no such thing as "cringe."
You like what you like at different phases of your life - and so does everyone else.
As long as no one gets hurts? Like what you like, and create with joy. #CreateIt22
Hello!
Thank you all for the overwhelming (in the best way) support for my stories! It truly means a lot that so many people are willing to read my work, give feedback, and help me grow as a writer!
Optional: If you want to show MORE support, you can donate to my dream of publishing one of my books by Buying Me a Book (Coffee)!
Link to Buy Me a Book (Coffee):
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hserotonin
All donations go into a savings account, where I will use the money to publish a book I am writing, hoping to have it everywhere in bookstores.
It will be a long journey for me, but I believe it can become a reality with your support!
Thank you for reading this; take care, and happy reading!
Tags:
#writing #writingcommunity #author #writer #writerslife #support #community #mastodon #reading #reader #WritersOfMastodon #writers #writerslife
Si Clarke on content warnings, and why she includes them in her books.
https://whitehartfiction.co.uk/blog/behold-she-blogs/content-warnings-are-not-censorship
via @clacksee
#WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #IndieAuthor
@authorindiespeak @writingcommunity
Perched on one of my favourite spots
- poets know it well;
the place humanity files by unfiltered.
Sat there, I watch the local street workers
trying to contain the avalanche of the lost.
I see Ahmed, who prays to Allah before his fix
in an attempt to make the pain flow easy.
I watch him lurch in front of two gods fighting for his mind.
Shortly after, he calms.
He sings a tune calling for home, I assume.
I never asked.
He staggers over to my bench,
Smiles,
'You know you worry too much, don't you?!'
I nod. We both blink into a late summer sun.
Here, perched on my favourite spot:
Poets know it well.
#Poetry #MastodonPoetry #Poem #MastodonPoets #Poet #Writing #PoetsOfMastodon #Poets #WritersOfMastodon #PoetsSociety #Drugs
Summer storms brings scents of petrichor
Sea salt, sand and coconut oil
Lightning forks cut through deep thoughts
As dark clouds swirl above
Sun light delicate
Unpicks the gloom
Melting my
Sundae
Treat
#poetry #poem #Nonet #micropoetry #PoetryLovers #PoetryCommunity #writingcommunity #writersofMastodon #Poets #999thToot
If you are a #writer new to Mastodon, please consider joining us tonight for our Monday evening chat (7:00 pm EDT), #Writephant.
An #introduction to #Writephant: The four of us @Priyajsridhar , @adriabailton @elektra @neve take turns hosting each week. There are 4-5 questions... Jump in and answer any or all! I'm hosting today and the topic is...
--> Thoughts vs Feelings
Wherever you are on the writing journey, we'd love for you to join us! #WritingCommunity #WritersofMastodon #amwriting
For my next absurdist trick I'm plotting, muder, milk, toilet paper, and tuna 😂
@writers @writingcommunity @writing @authorindiespeak @philosophy
#Writing #Writer #IndieAuthor
#TomGauld #Plotting #Absurd #Philosophy
#WritingLife #WritingWonders #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon