Search results for tag #writing
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Sat-4-Apr — Children's Day, is #kid. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "kid" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kid Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @NaraMoore
Chapter sixteen of Synthetic Agency is here!
The CIA have an offer for Blake...
https://www.patreon.com/posts/synthetic-agency-154760140
Synthetic Agency is an android romance novel I'm serialising on my Patreon. You can read the first chapter for free: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119290924?collection=1313927
Boosts very much appreciated!
#robots #fiction #romance #SF #lgbtq+ #writing
Alt...
Black and white image of a man in a suit with his shirt open to reveal his abs, adjusting his cuffs, against a background of circuitry. To his right is the text: Synthetic Agency, Ruby Jones.
Zer
P
L
M
I n u
S
0
Ne
T (w O)
H r e e l f S h e r s e l f
I t (w h)
Y
0
F
U r
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
S
I
N
E s
I s n e s s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
E e
M
S
I
N
0 t
W o
R k i n g
S e e m s n o t Z e r 0
W/ o r
I n
K
E
S
G
(Z e r 0)
W/ i n k i n g (s t h e) o n e (w) o r k i n g
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Who needs chocolate eggs when you can have books!
Treat yourself this Easter to ANY book 3-6 April. You'll be supporting independent bookshops AND have a chance to win a £400 digital gift card.
My recommendation:
E. F. Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful
First published in 1973 and a foundational text of sustainable economics and environmental thought. Today, its message that progress should serve people, not profits is more urgent than ever.
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15876/9780099225614
Alt...
Competition
WIN a £400 Bookshop.org GIFT CARD!
Buy a book 2-6 April
Supporting bookshops, Not Bezos.
Valid on UK sales via Bookshop.org
I have introduced a canonically straight character in Winter's First Verse! OMG! Where did she come from?
She's an out-of-town friend of a lead, so very much a bit character, but it's more rep than the straights have previously had in this series :)
@serigala_tropis ahh. AI scraping is also likely on flipboard.
So I go through the trouble of avoiding ai scraping on my sites, flipboard requires full rss feeds, and suddenly you have a writing honeypot for ai scrapers.
Sneaky.
The #MastoPrompt for Friday 3 April 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
Disappointed to hear that there will be no more Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contests. I think I was just about ready to submit my entry, which would have been as memorable as that time when Janet was getting ready to go to her friend Pat's tenth birthday party and lost her skateboard under a passing M34 bus heading west along, of course, 34th Street; as she watched the skateboard crushed beneath the wheels of the behemoth it gave her pause to consider her own mortality, allowing her to idly reminisce on how she lost last year's Spelling Bee on exactly that word, how could she have missed that last "y", that was such an easy word to spell, a gift, really, like the skateboard that she'd been planning to give Pat but wound up getting crushed, like dreams, under the wheels of a passing, oblivious, westbound M34 bus.
Putting this out there again, because I'm unsure how reach works in the Fediverse and how I can connect to the people I want to find:
Any SFF/horror writers out there writing in unorthodox styles, formats, or mediums? Mild or extreme, books with other stories in the footnotes, flash fiction universes, or stories told via geocache, doesn't matter. I wanna connect!
#Writing #WritingCommunity #Indie #IndieAuthor #Fantasy #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Horror #HorrorCommunity #FlashFiction #Microfiction
Black and Indigenous women poets, DM me links to your work. I’m on a poetry selection committee and I want to lift you!
Esp. Queer and disabled Black and Indigenous women. Esp. esp. trans Black and Indigenous women.
I don’t care about your resume or publication history or where you are in the world. I just want to read your words.
This is also like a year out, so don’t wait for a contact. I’ll just be adding your name/info to a proposed reading list.
#poetry #literary #writing #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackWriter #NDN #NDNlit #NDNMastodon #chicanaWriters #chicanaLiterature
When you type on a keyboard, do your fingers caress the keys like a butterfly, and tiptappity so softly and quietly that not even a bat could hear you, or are you like me and bash them like Vogon Prostetnic Jelz?
#writerslife #writingcommunity #writing
| Soft like a butterfly: | 6 |
| Soft, but firm: | 19 |
| Bang them with abandon: | 6 |
| Whack them like a Vogon: | 3 |
"Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. The profit motive is often in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable; so did the divine right of kings."
I'm convinced she would have despised the stochastic parrots. How much we miss her. How much we need her.
Just take a moment to pause and take a deep breath. #blog #writing #writingcommunity #poetry #sifaswriting
https://e8thespresso.blogspot.com/2026/04/poem-just-breathe.html
https://sifasevenwriting.wordpress.com/2026/04/02/poem-just-breathe/
I've given up on trying to understand this, it's unsolvable! 😂
@galacticwriters @writers @books @fantasy @bookstodon
@writingbooks @keepwriting @humor@fedigroups.social @humor@lemmy.world @aiop
#WritingMemes #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #Indie #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon
Alt...
Post by Jenna, but make it ~spooky~ ~
My brain, fully unable to accept that drafting is supposed to be rough:
I am going to create a first draft that is SO perfect...
#Vim carnival this month with the following topic: How do you use Neovim/Vim to build your knowledge management?
If you are interested, send me a link to your #blog post. I will collect all of them until the end of the month.
#FLOSS #FOSS #Neovim #editor #terminal #shell #opensource #Pkm #notes #plaintext #writing #blogging #bloggers
I finally finished drafting the script for my #GraphicNovel . Now to draw it! I mean: now to figure out how to draw it!
This is such an odd project for me, and such an odd place for my head to be in during a project. I can imagine all sorts of problems and complaints readers will have with what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, but none of them dissuade me. I feel like I've never before made a #comic that is so much FOR ME, and if other people don't like it, that doesn't mean I'm wrong. It's weird not needing to worry about audience reaction.... #cartooning #writing #creativity
A Publisher Pulled a Book for Suspected A.I. Use.
"The thing that ultimately convinced me that A.I. had had a hand in the text I was reading was a feeling: the sense, quite literally, of a lack of a person behind the words."
The #MastoPrompt for Thursday 2 April 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Thu-2-Apr, is #boring. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "boring" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boring Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @tobadzistsini
Poll for #writers and #authors and the general #writingcommunity
To what degree is your #reading in the same genre as your #writing ?
| Exactly the same: | 0 |
| Almost the same: | 8 |
| Actually mostly different: | 10 |
| Entirely different: | 1 |
The Oxford comma isn’t a grammar rule. 📜
It’s a personality test. ✍️
I’m not missing a comma. 🎯
I’m modulating flavor. ✨
No stutters. Just style. 🚀
https://talesofmanythings.com/blog/2026/04/01/the-trouble-with-the-oxford-comma-and-other-style-wars-we-pretend-matter/
#Writing #Grammar #StyleWars #OxfordComma #English
It's finally finished the second chapter of my lesbian vampire story
And as it's somehow too
long for Tumblr I decided to put it on archive of our own
So here is the entire story
https://archiveofourown.org/works/82183936
#writing #writer #vampires #fantasy #urbanfantasy #lesbian
The two goblins gazed up at the night sky, the moon swollen to her fullest; the stars twinkled their admiration.
"I think we can hear for miles from up here," one whispered, noting the echoes of hefty boots.
"And the view is amazing. And I'm seeing it with my best friend."
"Aw!"
The moment was interrupted by several short screams.
"Ooh, the adventurers must've not seen the pit-trap!"
"I hope they have a wizard; wizards are SO tender!"
Been rethinking how I read, not just what I read.
Started with a professor’s curated readings → https://faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/
Then stumbled into personal systems like https://malcolmocean.com/myhabits/
From there, it branches:
- What to read → https://agentyduck.blogspot.com/p/noticing.html
- How to interpret → The Great Gatsby essays (Atlantic / NYT revisiting it 100 years later)
- How to create → https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-a-book/
- And even: what blogging looks like in 10 years → https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2025/04/blogiversary-what-will-this-blog-look-like-in-10-years-part-10-of-10.htm
Pattern I’m seeing:
Reading isn’t consumption — it’s a system:
curation → interpretation → creation → reflection.
Most people stop at step one.
#reading #learning #writing #digitalgardens #selfeducation #systemsThinking
"I spent years convinced I was 'bad at maths.' Couldn't do it. Wasn't wired for it. Then I got a decent tutor who could explain things in a way that made sense to me and I got considerably better. Not a genius, but I actually understood what I was doing. Because it turned out the problem was never my brain. It was that no one had taught me in a way that made sense to me yet.
Writing is the same."
~ Karmen Spiljak
The #MastoPrompt for Tuesday 31 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
The more conversations I have about the role of AI in academic education and research, the more I want to yell this poem at people.
@academicchatter #HigherEd #writing #academia
Alt...
JPG of a poem "For a student who used AI to write a paper" by Joseph Fasano
Now I let it fall back
in the grasses.
I hear you. I know
this life is hard now.
I know your days are precious
on this earth.
But what are you trying
to be free of?
The living? The miraculous
task of it?
Love is for the ones who love the work.
#Writephant 2026.0330 — A5. What are your bread and butter games (specific titles)- the ones you return to time and again? Have you played any new games lately?
My bread and butter hashtag writer challenge games? You all probably know #PennedPossibilities, #ScribesAndMakers, #WordWeavers, and #WritersCoffeeClub. All amazingly helpful as a writer, and participants share truly useful ideas. Recently, I've added #EroticMusings, which since the current WIP includes spicy content (not specifically erotica), I figure I qualify for joining and replying to it. It has helped me resolve some issues. If nothing else, it's a new community.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
Every time I seclude myself away from the internet, I find a broken people. I find a father searching night and day for any job—even if it means clearing away the vast, crumbling ruins—just to provide some food for his young children. I find stray dogs that might find scraps on the road one day, only to go hungry for thirty more. I find an injured mother and wounded children.
I find hopes and dreams, drugged and displaced, sleeping on the roadside.
- my #writing
Joy
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Mon-30-Mar, is #rack. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "rack" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rack Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @extraspecialbitter
The #MastoPrompt for Monday 30 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
My book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' will be out in the US and Canada now. That's very exciting, but the downside is that the energy it takes to promote a book overseas is sadly not available to me right now, maybe ever.
So, if you've been waiting to buy it, you can. If you've been waiting to order it into your library, you can. If you've been waiting to tell your friends who are reviewers at the NYT, you can ;)
#Books #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading #ReadingCommunity #USA #Canada
Alt...
Book cover for Drystone: A Life Rebuilt by Kristie De Garis. Cream background with five large abstract stone shapes arranged in a loose circular pattern. The stones are coloured deep green, mustard yellow, navy blue, black, and dark blue, with soft pink shadows beneath some of them. The words 'A', 'Life', and 'Rebuilt' are printed in small white text across three of the stones. 'Drystone' is in large bold black text at the top and 'Kristie De Garis' in large bold black text at the bottom
I t
S
H
O w (s)
I n g l O w i n g t h a n k (i n g) Y 0 U s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
0 de t w b O
D (w
H)
Y
Ve
Ss el
O f f t r u m e
L (w h)
Z e
R
Y
0
U
N e
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
N 0 n e Ev e r be f o r e h a s ee n
W/ in o ne t h i s m u ch
L e s s a t l e v e (l)
F u l l y t w o i t
D e p t h
E v
N
L
E
S s
M br ac
D ac ce p te d fr o m
Sanc t u m w/ in n at er my be i n g, t h a n k (h) t r Y 0 (w h) U s l y
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Cover Reveal! Here is our next book, which opens for pre-orders soon, and it is a reprint of what some scholars say is a landmark publication, the first single-author collection of speculative stories from an African author (based on the continent and in contemporary times, we believe). First published in 2014, it went out of print when the original publisher folded. We are proud to bring it back to life!
https://www.ododopress.com/blog/cover-reveal-a-killing-in-the-sun/
#books #bookstodon #sff #sciFi #writing #writingcommunity #blog
Alt...
The cover of a collection of short stories. It's blue, with the main image being a creature that looks like an octopus with a human face, and two of its tentacles are human hands. It is coming out of what looks like the circular hatch of a spherical vehicle. The title, at the top of the page, is A Killing In the Sun, above that is a blurb. "Well worth reading" Strange Horizons. Below the image is another blurb "So loving these sci-fi short stories... each one is memorable" Zukiswa Wanner. At the bottom of the image is the name of the author, Dilman Dila.
Z e
R
0
N e
M i n p l
U s t w o h r e e, f Y 0 U r
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Instrumental music can be about something
The meaning of a piece of music is something lots of people enjoy discussing and/or debating. As humans I think we all naturally search for meaning in things and creative works are no different. It is especially so in art that we try to find a way to understand something and come to some kind of conclusion about it even if it is just that we like it or we don’t. Our brains are constantly making sense of the world around us to shape how we perceive everything. So, it doesn’t surprise me to […] [SENSITIVE CONTENT]
The meaning of a piece of music is something lots of people enjoy discussing and/or debating. As humans I think we all naturally search for meaning in things and creative works are no different. It is especially so in art that we try to find a way to understand something and come to some kind of conclusion about it even if it is just that we like it or we don’t. Our brains are constantly making sense of the world around us to shape how we perceive everything. So, it doesn’t surprise me to often see folks discussing the meaning of a piece of art like music and what the intended outcome the artist was going for.
With music I have most commonly seen this type of debate around meaning when it comes to lyrics. It may be around particular word choices or the double meaning of something or how a certain word was used as slang at the time of writing so it has a certain meaning. It’s the most likely place I have seen folks go when discussing the intention of the music and what it is trying to convey.
But, I think the same thing can be done with instrumental music. There may not be as specific of a thing to point to like a lyric, but there is still meaning to decipher in the work. For me this is often in the meaning and intention behind the whole musical piece. Maybe a particular compositional approach implies a frenetic feeling or a sluggish one. Perhaps the drone of a synth that pulses slowly inspires calm or peaceful reflection.
The specificity may not be there, but there is still meaning to find. It may not have details of a set of circumstances, but it can still share the feeling of going through them. In some ways it might even be a more direct communication. Since there are no words we have to rely on how we feel to know if the music has meaning to us in any particular way. This ends up connecting us to the artist in an emotional way which can be incredible in its impact.
With any music performance I’ve gone to there has been a point where the meaning of a piece of music was discussed by the artist either before or after the performance. It’s a way for them to connect on a deeper level with the people watching and they also get a chance to take a small break to catch their breath or tune a guitar or whatever. At performances for instrumental music I find this happens more often in my experience, especially if the piece being performed is a longer one or if the artist doesn’t intend to speak to the audience again during the performance. This kind of scene setting for an instrumental piece is really interesting and powerful to me. Firstly, it is great to hear an artist tell in their own words directly how they intend the art to be perceived. Secondly, it is then really rewarding to listen and take in the work with that context and see how I connect to it or not.
Experimental music can often be instrumental and at performances for this type of music the presentation is often preceded with an explanation. I love this and find it a really satisfying way to connect with the piece of music and with the artist. It reminds me of reading liner notes while I listened to albums as a kid and how I poured over everything in them to discover as many details as I could. Having someone talk about the meaning of the music to them prior to a performance feels like the most intimate version of that.
I find striking how much of a hype there is around concepts like "second brain", "zettelkasten", "networked note-taking", "PARA method", "Johnny Decimal", etc., and around note-taking apps such as Roam Research, Notion, Obsidian, and so on. So I found fascinating Kevin Baker's May 2024 take on them as "sandboxes for infinite varieties of avoidant labor".
Here's the relevant excerpt, shared without further comment:
"Incapacitating" is exactly how I would describe my relationship to computers, especially since the start of the pandemic. "Friction" for me looks like uncertainty, partial knowledge, ambiguity, disorder, or anxiety. The ecosystem of note taking software and influencers that has emerged since 2020 offer a great example of what I am talking about. Writing is a task which forces one to confront ambiguity, uncertainty, and one’s own limits directly, so it’s not surprising that a coterie of avoidance entrepreneurs sprung up around it. The goal of note taking systems, almost without exception, is to provide a smooth, frictionless environment for making connections between disparate topics. As your “second brain” develops, the ability—and indeed the desire—to create a dense latticework of connections increases. The problem for me, at least, is that I don’t find the work of making connections to be difficult. If anything, my “first brain” tends to overproduce these kinds of thoughts.
What it does provide, however, is a sandbox for infinite varieties of “avoidant labor.” If your writing anxiety focuses, like mine frequently does, on the possibility of “accidental plagiarism,” well, you can tend to your “zettlekasten,” and ensure that everything you ever highlighted is properly cited and tagged. If you have a more generic form of writing anxiety, why not spend a few hours linking your notes? In both cases, you have an act adjacent to writing, which relieves some of the tension of not writing but actively avoids the task itself.
#obsidian #notion #RoamResearch #SecondBrain #zettelkasten #pim #pkm #PARAmethod #JohnnyDecimal #NoteTaking #notes #writing #AvoidantLabour #AvoidantLabor
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Sat-28-Mar, is #dread. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "dread" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dread Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @extraspecialbitter
E n
G
I
N
F o l d
N
I
G
U n
V e i l i f t
O b s c u r e (d) (r e) v e a l i n g
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Thingy with migraines, or any chronic pain, is that your rational, critical thought goes to shit pretty quick, along with your temper, no matter how good natured or smart you normally are. Also, screws up your coordination. So if a character is in chronic or long term pain, but they're routinely chipper and always thinking clearly, and totally dextrous, I won't buy it.
This comment brought to you courtesy of an ongoing migraine, multiple dropped dishes and spilled cups of coffee, bad decisions, and missed work due to an inability to think.
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Fri-27-Mar, is #slip. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "slip" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slip Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @extraspecialbitter
I have continued writing this year, every day, including a blog post every day, despite the doom that AI is bringing upon writing, because I am retired, I am self published, and I can do whatever I want. #writing
A d v o c a t e
D e v (i l)
W h
L i
B
I
P
R e
S e n t
T w o i (t h i) n
N a t e r
K n o
W
G
I n
B a i t
N e a t p r o
P e r
W/
O
U
T
E
H
R f
A c e t s
E v i d e n c e h y p o
T h e t i c a l
O p p o
S i t
B
I
Y
W h
E m o t i
O n
A
L
L
Y
E n
G a u
I n
A
R
E
W
B u y
A i t a (c)
(H e)
G
K
I n ?
A d v o c a t e
D e v i l b y / i t w/ o i (t h i) n n a t e r
K n o w (i) n (g) e a t p r o p e r l (w h) y (w i t h) o u t e r f a c e t s e v i d e n c e h y p o t h e t i c a l (l)
O p p o s i t e p r e
S e n t
I n
G
B i
E m o
T i o n a l l (w h) y
E n g a u g a r w e t h e b a i t a c h e k i n g ?
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
What I really don't like is that it often feels that way even when it's not 😂
@galacticwriters @writers @books @fantasy @bookstodon @joinin
@writingbooks @keepwriting
#WritingMemes #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #IndieBooks #AmWriting #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon #Bookstodon #Books
Alt...
Two panel meme of an old man infront of a laptop looking slightly worried.
Caption:
Writercore
15:00 Chapter one...
15:01 Ok, two words are enough for today!
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Thu-26-Mar — Ludwig van Beethoven Death, is #concert. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "concert" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concert Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @NaraMoore
#PennedPossibilities 976.1 — #imposterToot: Pick a character. How do they, or how would they, react to sleep deprivation?
@floofpaldi : Get some rest. Feel better. —RS
I'll pick the devil-girl. She's #autistic like her author, and seemingly OP thanks to her training and study and logical-literal take on the world, which grants her plenty of ability through raw unfettered stubbornness, but she's got lots of defects, emotional and psychological. Physical too, but that's because she refuses to take into account her body's limits, and has the scars to prove it. People say she has a death wish.
May be true.
She reacts to sleep deprivation by powering through, regardless. Her trained into her sense of responsibility causes her to have the back of anybody she's responsible for, or anyone hurt, or, if innocent, threatened. She makes herself sick fighting exhaustion. Logic requires mental energy and exhaustion obliterates it. This inevitably leads to mistakes. In this she demonstrates that despite her apparent maturity, she's still a teenager.
The good thing is that she's taught herself the soldier's trick of falling asleep instantly. Once it's over, boom, out.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
##sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
The #MastoPrompt for Thursday 26 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
R
A
I n
O f f y
T w
E r
H
0
(E)
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Z e
R
0
N
Y e t
A g a i n
S t
F
I
L
L
Y
T e
R i n
O
F
G
N e
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Lil' story, Voidfront, fiction, writing process [SENSITIVE CONTENT]
Since I decided to do the whole Voidfront book in english, I tried polishing up my overall style of writing and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Also, writing Kait in english (or her version of it) is much more fun. I can practically hear her.
“Oooh – ya remember dat one time ya let mi blow up de gas tank?” Kait glances up from the cockpit console, all grin and sparkle.
“You’re going to have to be much more specific than that. Also, I’m fairly certain I never explicitly told you to blow anything up.”
Liam replies, half-focused on the scanner readouts flickering across his HUD, shooting her a brief side-eye.
“Was implied.” Kait shoots back, smug as anything.
“It absolutely was not.”
“Ya don’t even know which boom mi talkin’ ‘bout!” Kait leans back, throwing him an exaggerated look of disbelief.
Liam exhales slowly. “That is … very much my point.”
“Anyway –” Kait waves it off, “dat ting, fancy place, full suit-suit deadsoil types, ha?”
Liam freezes. Then – eyes widen. Headset comes off.
“Oh my – the embassy. YES, I remember that.”
“Was peak, bhai!” She beams.
“It was a disaster! We had to shoot our way out!” Liam snaps back, eyes flickering with the memory.
“I know, right?!” Kait lights up even more. “Total rolla night. Mi got to wear dis glitter-glow cocktail dress – ya remember dat? Mi looked rad as voidfire.”
Kait is very clearly remembering a completely different event.
Liam stares at her, deadpan. “I don’t know, Kait. The bullet-dodging, the pain, and the near-incineration may have somewhat overshadowed whatever fond memories I might have had of your … dress.”
“Bhai, tu got real talent for pickin’ only de sad bits.” Kait frowns at him.
“We had to jump a wall into the canal! The water was – I don’t even know what that was. My skin itched for days!” Liam scratches his arm reflexively, just remembering it.
Kait shrugs. “Told ya – invest in better skin augs, no? Easy fix.”
Liam throws his hands up, turning away in defeat.
Kait, completely unfazed, leans back in her seat. “Still say – was fun night. We should run it back sometime. Lil’ glitz, lil’ glamour … maybe less canal, more champagne fountain next time, ha?”
E l
F
S
H e
R s e l i t e x
P l o r
(E)
N
I
G
Z e r
R 0 n e
T w O (t) h r e e
S h e r s e l f i t
F y 0 u r
D u
A
L
L
P o
A r i t (w h) y
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
D
Ev
I l a d
V o c a t e
N t i m i n a n t i t w h y p o
T h e t i c a l O t
S y n t
H e
R
S
I s
Z e r
F o u r E v e
(T h) R (e e) m i n p l u s 0 n e t w O al l
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
S
A n
C(k h) t i
O n o f (f) t h e v i c t i m*
W he n Eve r we a (lter na ting) c (ur rent) ct aga i n st o u r w/ in n er tr u (e) th
We hypo the tic ally off li gh t co n scio us ne ss b y/i
S wi tch in g filter un co nsc i o (n) us
Victim in the dark other for
Eve r a g a
W/ in
On
E
*Sanction of the victim, original term adapted from Ayn Rand
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
S a n c t i o n o f t h e v i c t i m
(T e r m i n o l o g y b A y n R a n d)
No longer no
More
C
0
O
W
Hen
N e r
S h (w) i p
A w a r e S e l f (o n W a r d) C O n s c I 0 U s (n e s s) a g a i n r e m e m b e r i n g
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Tue-24-Mar, is #helm. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "helm" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/helm Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @tobadzistsini
Allow your verdicts their own troubled development
Which like all progress must come from deep within and
Cannot be forced or accelerated.
Everything must be carried to term before its born. ()
Come to completion inside,
In the the dark, ()
Unattainable to one’s own intellect ()
To wait
With deep humility
And patience
For the hour
When a new clarity
Is
Delivered ()
These things cannot be measured by time
A year has no meaning, and ten years are nothing. ()
Like a tree which does not hurry the flow of its sap
And stands at ease in the spring gales
Without fearing that no summer will follow.
It will come. ()
To those ()
Patient ()
Simply there in their vast,
Quiet tranquility
As if eternity lay before them.
It is lesson I learn every day amid hardships I am grateful for:
Patience is all
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Works of art ()
Only love can grasp them ()
Trust yourself and your instincts;
Even if you go wrong in your judgement,
The natural growth ofy your inner life will gradually, over time
Lead you to other insights.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
Read as little as possible in the way of esthetics and criticism -
It will either be partisan views,
Fossilized and made meaningless in its lifeless rigidity,
Or it will be neat wordplay
Where one opinion will triumph one day
And the opposite the next.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
The more one reads it, it seems to contain everything,
From life’s faintest scent to the full, grand savour of its heaviest fruits.
There is nothing in it that has not been understood, grasped, lived, and known in memory’s trembling, lingering resonance;
No experience too slight, and the merest occurence unfolds a fate ()
A wonderful, vast fabric
In which every thread is drawn ()
And laid next to another, held in place by a hundred others.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
No more #AI influence on the #political system! https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/opinion/crypto-ai-politics.html Let alone #human #cognition and #writing my take here https://nkozphoto.com/index.php/2026/03/09/writing-critical-thinking-and-ai-where-are-we-headed/ #politics #democracy #education #corruption #tech #chatbots #students #intellectual #philosophy #publishing #nonfiction #fiction
a long day
the snail finds safety
in stages
#DailyHaikuPrompt #haiku #senryu #poetry #poem #SmallPoems #writing
Alt...
Close up of a light coloured snail stretching out of his black and orange shell to move into a hollowed out part of a tree just behind him. Another snail shell is visible in the bottom right, a bright green ivy leaf in the top right, slighlty nibbled.
North: WARBLER
small and so vocal
the spring air carries their song
a nature's chorus
South: HIGH TIDE
moon pulls the #hightide
waters rise to maximum
ocean dominates
The #MastoPrompt for Monday 23 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
F e m i n
Z e r
M
I
N
P l u s
0 n e l i (g h) t e r
A l l y m a s c (o o l) (c) u (b a b (w h) y) (s t) i
(L l) (g h t) (o b s) (d a r k) n
(C u r e) (d)
(O t)
(Y)
E
(T)
(U n)
(V e i l e d)
(Y e t o b r e v e a l e d a g a i n)
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
RE: https://exquisite.social/@p01/116276623560640682
The only advise I have is this: to go into yourself and to examine the depths from, which your life springs; at its source you will find the answer whether you h a v e to ()
Accept this answer as it is, without seeking to interpret it.
Perhaps it will turn out that you are called to be a ()
Assume this fate and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking after the rewards that may come from outside. For (s, p01) he who creates must be a world of its own and find everything with him (her, p01) self and in the natural world that (s, p01) he has elected to follow.
But perhaps even after this descent into your solitariness you will () give up the idea of becoming a ()
But even then, to have taken pause in the way I am asking you will not have been in vain. Whatever happens, your life will find its own paths from that point on,
and they may be good, productive, and far reaching is something
I wish for you more than I can say.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
You asked me whether your verses are good. You ask me that. You have asked others, before ()
Go into yourself. Examine the reason that bids you to write; check whether it reaches its roots into the deepest region of your heart ()
Turn your attention towards that ()
Your loneliness will open up and become a twilit dwelling in which noise ()
Is only heard far off.
And if from this turn inwards, from this submersion in your own world, there come verses, then it will not occur to you to ask anyone whether they are good ()
A work of art is good if it has risen out of necessity, The verdict on it lies in this nature of its origin: there is no other.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria RilkePenguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
A l (0) O n g (e)
S i d (e)
Z e
R
0
I
N
T w/
G e t h e r
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
You asked me whether your verses are good. You ask me that. You have asked others, before ()
Go into yourself. Examine the reason that bids you to write; check whether it reaches its roots into the deepest region of your heart ()
Turn your attention towards that ()
Your loneliness will open up and become a twilit dwelling in which noise ()
Is only heard far off.
And if from this turn inwards, from this submersion in your own world, there come verses, then it will not occur to you to ask anyone whether they are good ()
A work of art is good if it has risen out of necessity, The verdict on it lies in this nature of its origin: there is no other.
Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Penguin
C l a
S
I
S
C s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
H y
P
T
H e
I I c a l
A n t m i n t w /
C t u a p
L u s
Z e
R
I
0
N e
T h r e e
A l t
W
G
E t
H e r
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
#ScribesAndMakers March 1: How much time do you expect to have for creative pursuits this month?
[gentle weeping]
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 6: How do you choose a title for your book?
I don't choose them so much as they come to me. My current book has only a working title, "The Order," which I find incredibly boring. It needs a better one.
In general, I like it if it's descriptive, evocative, but also mysterious. I want to draw people in.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 8: Is there a country other than your own that influences your creativity?'
I'm Canadian, so I'm eye-balls deep in American media, so that's a huge influence, and I'm a lit professor, so multiply Canadian anglophilia by 10; England is a gigantic influence. This is what it's like for us.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers 13 March: Do you read short stories as often as novels?
I teach, so I read a lot of short, medium, and long fiction. There's a difference between what I like and what "teaches well," so my reading experience is often split. If I sense something will work in class, I go down a different path in my head.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 15, Is the time you've had for creativity this month what you expected?
Yes.
Sigh.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 16: Convincing to read a book you don't care for.
You might not *enjoy* #JekyllAndHyde, but it's such a huge cultural touchstone (for anglophones) that you'd be doing yourself a favour to know how the original actually goes.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 17: What’s a creative habit you’ve wanted to adopt but haven’t yet?
Finishing a novel.
Sigh.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 18: If your creative work could speak, what would it say about you?
"People who seek power are inherently suspect."
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 19: How did you feel when you finished your most recent project?
I was literally high for a little bit. It was a rush. It's the first time I'd done it.
I'd been working on a short-story cycle that turned into a novella, and when I wrote the last words, satisfied that I'd nailed the basic shape of it, it realized it now existed in the world. I'd made a thing.
Magic.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#ScribesAndMakers March 22 Micro-fiction in 6 words.
He said, "she's got your eyes."
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 6: If you have several stories, which one should a new reader start with? If 1/not yet published, what other works might your readers enjoy?
I have a short about a guy who's three-year-old is a superhero. It's really about covid and releasing your kid into a huge, dangerous world to be taken care of by people who are effectively strangers. That story tells you a lot about my sensibilities as a writer.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting
#WordWeavers March 7: How do you define a “strong” character? How do you create one?
One that is defined and has depth. You have a "strong" sense of who they are, their values, the ways they tend to solve problems or react to challenges. They can also surprise you, though, because there's more than one way to react within them. It's a really fine balance, and that's a whole separate discussion from how they grow and change over the course of a story.
#WordWeavers How *I* create a strong character is to get a sense of their voice and body language, but it's 90% voice. If I know what they sound like, then I can improvise them through any situation. That's not the same as creating backstory, so instead, I generate backstory as I go. It's the groove that D&D left in my brain. :)
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers NB: This is *not* the same as "realistic" characters bc actual human beings are collections of contradictions. We're irrational and unpredictable. We do Weird Shit all the time.
Fictional characters are expected to be coherent and consistent. It's the mode of writing that surrounds us, it's hugely influenced by the early days of Freudian psychology--hence "psychological realism"--but it's not *real*. It's important we all recognize that.
#WordWeavers March 8: How do you approach stereotypes while creating characters?
Subvert them every time I get the chance.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 9: If you need to share an important piece of history/lore, what’s your approach that avoids infodumping?
Dialogue. Get people talking about something. Avoid having one person directly explain if you can, but sometimes, that's just the most efficient option. I think readers are smart and can tell, "Aha, this is information I need," and they will judge whether I made it pleasant enough to read.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers I should say, in my current project, my main character lapses into memories of her parents, so she'll remember something they told her as a way of communicating that to the reader. It's a feature of the text, and I justify/rationalize it as a reminder of how much she misses them and would rather not have been abducted into a paramilitary child-soldier cult in space. (It's the Jedi. She's a padawan.)
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 10: Antagonist POV: Imagine you achieved your goal. What's next?
Tea.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers: March 11: Give an example of brilliant writing. What's special about it?
I don't have something to quote, but my go-to example is how Cat Valente's narrator voice is different in every piece. She tailors it to fit the story. She's so good!
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 12: How could someone who knows your MC well console them after the last time you made them suffer?
This isn't the *last* time she suffered, but it is a time when someone who cares about her managed to make her feel better.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
Alt...
Grace nodded, looking unhappy. “Sim, fighting’s not like sparring.”
“I know.”
“You don’t,” she said.
“Well!” He gave an exaggerated shrug. “Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of. That’s why I need your advice.”
She looked at him and then looked away, unable to conjure up words.
“Please," he asked, "What’s it like?”
“The first real fight I was in was with Luis. He didn’t follow the rules. He didn’t wait for a coach to say allez."
He nodded, eager, almost smiling.
"Sim, he wouldn’t have stopped after scoring a point. I could feel what he was feeling. He he was like a predator. Like he wanted to kill and eat me. He would have enjoyed it. At least in the moment.”
“You fought him twice.”
“Yes. And he beat me both times.”
“What?!” Sim's voice carried throughout the space. Others were trying to listen, by then. Grace had to remind herself that they knew who she was, what she'd done.
Alt...
She pulled him closer and whispered, “The first time, all I did was get away because he was trying to kill me. That's not winning. And the second time…” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She lowered her voice even more. “He did kill me. His sword went through my heart.”
“Whoa. Just like Teo!”
“Yeah," she said, "like Teo.”
He stared at her a long moment. She felt his admiration, his amazement. His faith in her. She couldn’t figure out why he still felt that.
“How are you alive?” he asked.
Grace stared at him, eyebrows furrowed. “Chau didn’t tell you?”
“No. She said you beat him.”
“I didn’t.”
“So what did you do?”
“I fooled him,” she said. “I kept myself alive with the power and then…” She trailed off.
“And then what?!”
“I messed with his brain. I shoved a bunch of fake memories in his head.”
“You what!?” He said it loud again. Others were listening now, and also listening through Sim. Secrets didn't keep around them.
“Yeah. That’s what I did,” she said, quick and quiet.
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
Alt...
“But you’re not,” he grasped at words. “I mean, you’ve always been really good at fighting, but…”
“Yeah, I suck at all the telepathic stuff. I dunno. I was desperate, so I just did it.”
“You beat him!”
“I didn’t really.”
“You did. You beat him.” He smiled at her. “You just didn’t kill him.”
Grace thought for minute, staring at nothing. Mia's last moments of life flashed through her mind.
“We don’t have to kill them,” she said, eventually, still turning the thought over in her mind. “We just have to beat them.” She felt his pride at the fact that she was saying his own words back to him, like they were valuable.
“That's the mission,” he said.
"That's the mission,” she repeated him again and felt his pride again. “Get all the novices out,” she said. “Get all the journeymen who’ll come. The masters are on their own.”
#WordWeavers March 13: Tell us about a quirk your SC has.
She *loves* weeding. Weeds are just plants that need a new home.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 14: Is selling your work for money important to you when you write?
The actual money isn't super important to me. I am very lucky to be employed. But I would love to *be paid* at some point. Of course, the publishing industry is SCREWED right now, so I've essentially given up on that dream.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers 15 March: If your SC came across a large crystal that was glowing from within, what, if anything, would they do with it?
Brant [standing back]: "Hey, we shouldn't. I mean."
River [looking from behind Brant's arms]: "It's so pretty! I wonder what it is?"
Sim [rushing forward]: "I bet it'll give me super powers if I lick it!"
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 16: Do you have any kind of ritual to get in the mood to sit down and write? If so, what is it?
Open the file. Read something. If I can will myself to do that, then my fingers are already on the keyboard making changes.
If I'm meant to write something new, I open a fresh file and write what's in my head.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 17. Did you ever receive formal education in creative writing?
I took an online course at SFU's "adult learning centre." Funny story, I started writing a story abt a guy who's toddle is a superhero and how terrifying it is. Halfway through, the instructor said, "readers like to see characters make choices," and I was like, yeah, I should do that. So the story is literally about him being tortured by the choice of whether to take his kid's powers away.
#WordWeavers Mar 18: Tell us about a time when your MC failed.
"I killed her. I didn't want to. I couldn't stop myself. She's dead."
(NB: This was a fair fight between two women, both trained combatants.)
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WordWeavers March 19: Share something that makes your SC different from your MC.
Sim *so* wants to be a Big Damn Hero, and she does ~not~.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#Wordweavers March 20: How much romance is in your story?
Almost none. I'm not interested in it for this story.
I often think how hilarious it would be if (somehow) this book were made into a "sexy YA adventure" movie/show w 20-somethings pretending to be 15-year-olds. There's one very obvious love triangle that could be forced on the text,and the reason I don't do it is none of those characters should ever *date*. [shudder]
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting
#WordWeavers March 21. Where does your MC fall, on a scale of timid to recklessly brave?
She starts quite reckless--because she was raised in an environment with basically zero danger and a great deal of freedom (as in, she doesn't know what "talking back" even is), but then she learned to be way less so once she's trapped in a paramilitary space cult. (It's the Jedi Academy. She's in a padawan.)
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
The #MastoPrompt for Sunday 22 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Sun-22-Mar, is #gauntlet. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "gauntlet" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gauntlet Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @tobadzistsini
Z e
R
0
N e
T h e s i s
W A n t i h y p o s y n
T h e
I c
A
L
D
E v
I i l v o c
A (c) t (e) u a l t w O n e Z e r 0 n e (t w O, h r e e, f 0 ur)
T w d u a l i t r o u n d
C i r c l e
F u l l
Y a
L
I
G
N
E d
O p p o
S i t e f a c e t
L i n e
A r
T
I
Y
(W h)
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
A w a r e
Z e r
M
I
N
T w
P l u s
A r e n t a n t i s
(W) (h) Y (i) n h y o p o t h e s i s c o n s c (b) i (y) 0 (n) u s (e)
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Sat-21-Mar, is #spoiler. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "spoiler" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoiler Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @tobadzistsini
The #MastoPrompt for Saturday 21 March 2026 is:
The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.
@ me, if you like, or just include the #MastoPrompt tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.
If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to.
#Writing #SmallPoems #Poetry #Fiction #MicroFiction #SmallStories
T w 0 X m i s s i n g
F o u r t h
0 n e
Y
L
Ef t
T h r e e
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
M a s q u e r a d e d i n v e i l
O b s c u r e (d)
F e m i n
(F) r
O
M
B e
H i n d
T h e c u r t a i n
P e e k i n g p a r t m a s c u l i n e
C a n n o t l o o k b a c k
G o d d e s s
F e m
A l
E
S
H e
(E) f s h e r
S e l f i t Z e r 0 n e t w b O (t) h e
A r o u n d h a l f
S o m e
T i m
E s
S
L
A t
O t h e
R s w l i t m o r e
A t o t h e r s l i t o i (t) w o (t) o m o r e
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial
#ScribesAndMakers 3/20. Self-promotion day. Shame optional.
I write a lot of weird stuff, and it's all available here. https://aspeed.itch.io/ You can also find them at most major e-book retailers if you prefer, give or take a few. I have some new stuff coming out soon, hopefully. My characters are generally misfits trying to find their way in worlds that can be openly hostile to them sometimes, which should not be read into in any way at all. Nope.
The Wandering Shop Stories #prompt for today, Fri-20-Mar — Equinox, is #threshold. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "threshold" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/threshold Join in and tag it with #wss366! #writing #WritingLife #microfiction h/t @NaraMoore
Eve
R
Y
M u
Lt ip le
F r a c t i o n (s)
Op po s it e s fee l in g ex per i enc in g
Tw o Elf S he (r)
S e l f
Z e
R
0
N e
A w a r e
Z e r t h r o u g h
T w o h y p a n t i s y n p a r e n t (s)
(T) h e s i s
C o n
S c i
Me
Y
0
L
N
E u s
#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial