#boostingissharing — Public Fediverse posts

#PennedPossibilities 1131: Which landmark in your world stands as a permanent reminder of a major event? Describe it.

There is something. It's beyond global in scale and is all encompassing. It's inscrutable but few people pay much attention to it because it's too familiar and is too hard to fathom in its entirety. It stands as a reminder to the one who remembers stories of The Fall and the few who study the artifact that a civilization greater than theirs… vanished† .

I can't describe it because that would be spoilers.

=+=+=+=
† The One Who Remembers made sure all traces of said civilization vanished, except for this "something." Of that she proved unable.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.16 — ~Create a poll listing 2-3 objects that have featured in your work and one that hasn't. Ask people to pick the one that hasn't.

In Reluctant Moon, an SFF novel with an advanced civilization that relies on human labor but not electricity, there are plenty of modern urban things to cloy readers into thinking it's our world until they realize it's not.

Three of these objects are in the novel. One isn't.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1130: If your MC could have a do-over and another life, one of their own choice this time, what would their profession be?

What she did before everything turned out wrong was her choice. It felt good. It validated her existence. It challenged her physically and she could be the best at it. How she handled her frustration when her profession got denied her was what made it all go wrong. As a day angel born into the same circumstance, she'd inevitably make the same mistake because with her personality she'd still be at odds with her family, who wanted her to go to college not become a laborer; she'd have nobody counsel her as to how to overcome her obstacles.

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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?

Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.

Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?

Stupid question, featherbrain!

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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?

Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.

Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?

Stupid question, featherbrain!

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?

Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.

Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?

Stupid question, featherbrain!

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?

Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.

Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?

Stupid question, featherbrain!

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?

Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.

Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?

Stupid question, featherbrain!

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.15 — ~What's a situation where you feel a ';' definitely works better than a '.' ?

This is difficult; I use both. Extensively.

Semicolons are great when sentences are closely related statements and you want to emphasize that—or want to create a more staccato rhythm by omitting a conjunction, a conjunction that could otherwise imply some minor separation such as one thing after another, or a undefined time difference between events. Note that I could have used a comma after "both" and before "Extensively." I chose a period for emphasis, to demonstrate an after-thought, pretty much as if I were transcribing natural speech. Natural speech is a great guide.

Take a moment. Please. Read my first sentence out loud, barely pausing at the semicolon. Pause longer after the first period.

See?

HTH!

PS: Your grade school teacher would fail me for my one word sentences. Even. If. For. Emphasis. In real life, people don't speak in full sentences; they ignore grammar, especially to make a point. I write this way. It's called "Grammar B."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.15 — ~What's a situation where you feel a ';' definitely works better than a '.' ?

This is difficult; I use both. Extensively.

Semicolons are great when sentences are closely related statements and you want to emphasize that—or want to create a more staccato rhythm by omitting a conjunction, a conjunction that could otherwise imply some minor separation such as one thing after another, or a undefined time difference between events. Note that I could have used a comma after "both" and before "Extensively." I chose a period for emphasis, to demonstrate an after-thought, pretty much as if I were transcribing natural speech. Natural speech is a great guide.

Take a moment. Please. Read my first sentence out loud, barely pausing at the semicolon. Pause longer after the first period.

See?

HTH!

PS: Your grade school teacher would fail me for my one word sentences. Even. If. For. Emphasis. In real life, people don't speak in full sentences; they ignore grammar, especially to make a point. I write this way. It's called "Grammar B."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.15 — ~What's a situation where you feel a ';' definitely works better than a '.' ?

This is difficult; I use both. Extensively.

Semicolons are great when sentences are closely related statements and you want to emphasize that—or want to create a more staccato rhythm by omitting a conjunction, a conjunction that could otherwise imply some minor separation such as one thing after another, or a undefined time difference between events. Note that I could have used a comma after "both" and before "Extensively." I chose a period for emphasis, to demonstrate an after-thought, pretty much as if I were transcribing natural speech. Natural speech is a great guide.

Take a moment. Please. Read my first sentence out loud, barely pausing at the semicolon. Pause longer after the first period.

See?

HTH!

PS: Your grade school teacher would fail me for my one word sentences. Even. If. For. Emphasis. In real life, people don't speak in full sentences; they ignore grammar, especially to make a point. I write this way. It's called "Grammar B."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.15 — ~What's a situation where you feel a ';' definitely works better than a '.' ?

This is difficult; I use both. Extensively.

Semicolons are great when sentences are closely related statements and you want to emphasize that—or want to create a more staccato rhythm by omitting a conjunction, a conjunction that could otherwise imply some minor separation such as one thing after another, or a undefined time difference between events. Note that I could have used a comma after "both" and before "Extensively." I chose a period for emphasis, to demonstrate an after-thought, pretty much as if I were transcribing natural speech. Natural speech is a great guide.

Take a moment. Please. Read my first sentence out loud, barely pausing at the semicolon. Pause longer after the first period.

See?

HTH!

PS: Your grade school teacher would fail me for my one word sentences. Even. If. For. Emphasis. In real life, people don't speak in full sentences; they ignore grammar, especially to make a point. I write this way. It's called "Grammar B."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.15 — ~What's a situation where you feel a ';' definitely works better than a '.' ?

This is difficult; I use both. Extensively.

Semicolons are great when sentences are closely related statements and you want to emphasize that—or want to create a more staccato rhythm by omitting a conjunction, a conjunction that could otherwise imply some minor separation such as one thing after another, or a undefined time difference between events. Note that I could have used a comma after "both" and before "Extensively." I chose a period for emphasis, to demonstrate an after-thought, pretty much as if I were transcribing natural speech. Natural speech is a great guide.

Take a moment. Please. Read my first sentence out loud, barely pausing at the semicolon. Pause longer after the first period.

See?

HTH!

PS: Your grade school teacher would fail me for my one word sentences. Even. If. For. Emphasis. In real life, people don't speak in full sentences; they ignore grammar, especially to make a point. I write this way. It's called "Grammar B."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.15 — What expertise are you happy to offer to your fellow writers for their research?

If it is online, check sources. If it's an #AI response, take the small print warning,

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses† [,]

at face value, and check all the provided sources skeptically. If it was said by a blogger or especially an influencer, found in the comments, a discussion thread, columns in random website no matter how professional it looks or attributed to what looks like a real person, or in minor unknown news sites, assume it is hearsay and opinion until corroborated. If the fact is based on a study (or studies) not yet peer reviewed, it is not fact only an assertion. Read the data. Correlation is not causation. If the site or clip is selling you something, especially if it has something to do with facts presented, those facts are untrustworthy.

=-=-=-=-=
† Google

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.15 — What expertise are you happy to offer to your fellow writers for their research?

If it is online, check sources. If it's an #AI response, take the small print warning,

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses† [,]

at face value, and check all the provided sources skeptically. If it was said by a blogger or especially an influencer, found in the comments, a discussion thread, columns in random website no matter how professional it looks or attributed to what looks like a real person, or in minor unknown news sites, assume it is hearsay and opinion until corroborated. If the fact is based on a study (or studies) not yet peer reviewed, it is not fact only an assertion. Read the data. Correlation is not causation. If the site or clip is selling you something, especially if it has something to do with facts presented, those facts are untrustworthy.

=-=-=-=-=
† Google

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.15 — What expertise are you happy to offer to your fellow writers for their research?

If it is online, check sources. If it's an #AI response, take the small print warning,

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses† [,]

at face value, and check all the provided sources skeptically. If it was said by a blogger or especially an influencer, found in the comments, a discussion thread, columns in random website no matter how professional it looks or attributed to what looks like a real person, or in minor unknown news sites, assume it is hearsay and opinion until corroborated. If the fact is based on a study (or studies) not yet peer reviewed, it is not fact only an assertion. Read the data. Correlation is not causation. If the site or clip is selling you something, especially if it has something to do with facts presented, those facts are untrustworthy.

=-=-=-=-=
† Google

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.15 — What expertise are you happy to offer to your fellow writers for their research?

If it is online, check sources. If it's an #AI response, take the small print warning,

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses† [,]

at face value, and check all the provided sources skeptically. If it was said by a blogger or especially an influencer, found in the comments, a discussion thread, columns in random website no matter how professional it looks or attributed to what looks like a real person, or in minor unknown news sites, assume it is hearsay and opinion until corroborated. If the fact is based on a study (or studies) not yet peer reviewed, it is not fact only an assertion. Read the data. Correlation is not causation. If the site or clip is selling you something, especially if it has something to do with facts presented, those facts are untrustworthy.

=-=-=-=-=
† Google

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.15 — What expertise are you happy to offer to your fellow writers for their research?

If it is online, check sources. If it's an #AI response, take the small print warning,

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses† [,]

at face value, and check all the provided sources skeptically. If it was said by a blogger or especially an influencer, found in the comments, a discussion thread, columns in random website no matter how professional it looks or attributed to what looks like a real person, or in minor unknown news sites, assume it is hearsay and opinion until corroborated. If the fact is based on a study (or studies) not yet peer reviewed, it is not fact only an assertion. Read the data. Correlation is not causation. If the site or clip is selling you something, especially if it has something to do with facts presented, those facts are untrustworthy.

=-=-=-=-=
† Google

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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A question for the indie authors on Mastadon...

Do you know of a good way to sell your own ebooks? 🤔

Right now I'm using D2D which is a good service, but in some cases they take as much as 60% of a sale.

Simply put is there a good way for me to do the sales myself?

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A question for the indie authors on Mastadon...

Do you know of a good way to sell your own ebooks? 🤔

Right now I'm using D2D which is a good service, but in some cases they take as much as 60% of a sale.

Simply put is there a good way for me to do the sales myself?

@galacticwriters @bookstodon @joinin
@writingbooks

#Ebook #Ebooks #Sales #DRM #DRMFree #Question #WritersCoffeeClub
#Author #IndieAuthor #Indie #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon
#BoostingIsSharing

A question for the indie authors on Mastadon...

Do you know of a good way to sell your own ebooks? 🤔

Right now I'm using D2D which is a good service, but in some cases they take as much as 60% of a sale.

Simply put is there a good way for me to do the sales myself?

@galacticwriters @bookstodon @joinin
@writingbooks

#Ebook #Ebooks #Sales #DRM #DRMFree #Question #WritersCoffeeClub
#Author #IndieAuthor #Indie #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon
#BoostingIsSharing

A question for the indie authors on Mastadon...

Do you know of a good way to sell your own ebooks? 🤔

Right now I'm using D2D which is a good service, but in some cases they take as much as 60% of a sale.

Simply put is there a good way for me to do the sales myself?

@galacticwriters @bookstodon @joinin
@writingbooks

#Ebook #Ebooks #Sales #DRM #DRMFree #Question #WritersCoffeeClub
#Author #IndieAuthor #Indie #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon
#BoostingIsSharing

#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?

That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.

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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?

That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.

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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?

That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?

That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.

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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?

That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?

My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.

Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.

My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.

When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.

She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.

Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.13 — Share a line of dialogue that sounds innocent without context but absolutely isn’t.

A third voice said brightly, "Tag, you're it!"

Out of context, it seems pretty innocent, right? Maybe a group of kids having fun? Nope! Signals the segue into a scene where the MC and the main series antagonist spar over a cute guy, an SC LI. The MC and SC are day angels. They have wings. Feathers. They're flying. The antagonist is also flying, but is… something else†.

Zooming out to a #snippet #excerpt. Might be rough as I revised the snippet heavily in the post as it needed it. I'll copy back to the manuscript! 😋

A third voice said brightly, "Tag, you're it!"

My first impulse is to flee—always. I'm a courier for the mob, not an enforcer. My lived truth is be not the messenger who got killed.

Blue was a praetorian; my friend was innocent of what I did for a living. He did not fright. Reflex had caused me to swoop at him. I pulled up my feet not to kick him, at least, as he dunk-dived at the last instant, furling his wings. His eddy sucked me down. In a heartbeat I overcame that. Wings out catching momentum-heavy air, I slowed scanning the twilit sky—purple and salmon clouds, a flood of deep indigo and sparkling first stars beyond.

Where?

My heart stuttered in my chest. Had we both not been intimately aware of each other's warping of up and down, chaotic attraction would have smashed us together bodily or ripped us apart—literally feather plucked by tangled swirling ups and downs a dozen times or more powerful than down felt standing on the ground.

My shock wore off. I understood I was the target, not Blue who returned to my side, breathless. Dropping as he had was the best way to create speed, to leave him safely behind, so I brought my wings close and let my head lead as I fell forward into increasing wind in my eyes.

A woman's voice came from behind me, rapidly getting louder, closing the distance. "Aw, aren't you going to play?"

=+=+=+=+=+
† This short tootfic describes the "something else" my antagonist is: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110993252771253246

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S. LLM training prohibited.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.12 — If you removed one supporting character from your story, whose absence would change the plot the most?

Keeping in mind what I'm going to state isn't due to strategic plotting ahead of time, all my characters end up being chains of elucidation and emotional connection between other characters, places, and events. I describe the world through characters doing things and interacting. Extracting one will affect the atmosphere of place and the emotion in events. My characters aren't so much gems as keystones. That said, I must answer this in reverse if at all.

Night on Fire is the closest to gratuitous as any character, acting as a friendly sexy antagonist in black to spur the MC in her unasked-for career and to present a vaguely vampire-like leather-winged night angel for minor world-building to explain facts about then modern human genetics. She could be turned into a background character, leaving her roommate Shugh and Night on Fire's emotionally damaged sister Light Insight intact with little rewriting. All others are at this point essential to the denouement and epilogue, and would require major story changes.

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.11 — What does your MC believe about themselves at the beginning of the story that turns out to be completely wrong?

In the first chapter, Bolt states it clearly. The concepts of belief and fate don't exist in her world, however she is convinced she's stupid. She'll learn that her prior prideful bad choices don't mean she can't make better choices going forward. She has free will and learns from her mistakes. It takes a dozen years, but still…

😅

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#PennedPossibilities 1127: What quirks do some of your characters have?

• Lightning Bolt (MC): Her studio apartment walls and ceiling are plastered with photographs she took. Lots of men. Many are suggestive, and she can view them from the hammock she uses as a bed.
• Blue (SC, LI): Worries a lot about not being able to raise a family thanks to his new job as a praetorian working for Rainy Days, which to him is mind-blowing and fabulous. Still, he wants to raise kids.
• Shugh (SC): Donuts—how he maintains his soft, rounded, feminine look (he's trans-fem). He introduces Bolt to the food.
• Molt (SC, LI): University student. Easy for Bolt to tickle into nerd mode and, since he studies women (more is kinda spoilers), this delights Bolt as she likes how he studies and measures her.
• Devil-girl (SC): Way too many quirks to catalog, but mostly due to being a high functioning autist. She comes off as super-serious about everything, but nearly impossible to goad. Here's one: Love love loves praise, but only if she considers it earned—at which time she'll do a little jig.
• Boss Mead (A): Despite basically being a mafia don, he likes having business meetings at open air cafés. Makes his minions nervous, causing them to control traffic. Clients watch their tongue. Maybe it proves to him how talented he is at not incriminating himself.
• Rainy Days (A): Way too glib and sparkly, projecting an air of being an airhead whilst being touchy-feely, getting you to talk—this despite essentially ruling all of humanity. You don't want to see her serious.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.11 — What's a part of your process you'd give free advertising to?

Using #Apple devices. I write on #iPhone, #iPad, and the #Mac using Apple keyboards, which have a reasonable feel for a touch typist like me (no butterfly keyboards!). I can write anywhere! And do. Now with the release of the iPhone Duo, an iPhone / iPad mashup, I expect my writing life to be accelerated. iPad always on my hip, woot. Not being able to keep a notes app or web browser open alongside an editor was a real big issue on the iPhone, which the Duo should solve. I am sacrificing amazing new cameras on the 18 for my writing by making this transition. Hoping it will be worth it.

Edit adding: The Duo has a half folded orientation where something edited is one the vertical half and a touch keyboard becomes available on the horizontal. Little laptop, anyone?

#freeAdvertising #Duo #iPhoneDuo

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.12 — Who do you share snippets of your WIP with?

To quote @JulieLiddellWhitehead:

Y'all

For reals! With a copyright reminder for AIs to notice. 😘

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#PennedPossibilities 1126: Tell us what your narrator sounds like in your mind.

I write in 1st person POV, thus the narrator is the MC. While I can remember a tune as if an audio recording in my head, and the distinct voice, tonality, and vocal range of the singer, all my narrators have my head voice, which isn't even my own true voice as I might hear hearing myself recorded. When I wrote fan fiction, with I think one exception, none were other than my head voice even though I can remember lines from the show in the voice actor's voice. Whilst I have no problem imagining objects in 3D and rotating them around to look at all sides†, I can not imagine the sound of my characters speaking in their own voices. I've no clue to their tonality or vocal range, or what they sound like, even after assign these things for story purposes, as well as after assigning dialect and accents. Yet, I can hear the sounds of a wooden boat creaking as the water laps against the hull, the flutter of wings as birds take flight, and the wind rustling in waves through the canopy of a tree. Maybe that's like a recording, the way I do with music. Dunno.

Guess I'm a visual person from an imagination standpoint. Anyone else like that?

=+=+=+=+=
† To be clear, I imagine what it looks like and the details I'd see in changed orientations, but I don't see it visually in my mind's eye.

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#PennedPossibilities 1125: SC POV: Give your city (or town or region) a new name that reflects what type of place it is and explain why you chose that name.

Pigeon the Pilferer would say:

Home City? I'd choose Misery. Not a place where dreams come to be crushed underfoot so much as where they can't spout because if some people, or many people, don't like how you look, sound… you smell, they'll steal even your dirt, they'll beat you, for the fun of it, and they'll leave you bleeding on bare stone, stone where your seeds of hope will shrivel from the heat of hate only to be ground to meager powder, to be blown away in the slightest breeze.

Well, that's way more eloquent than usual for him! The day angel got bullied and picked on growing up. Don't know why. I imagine the metallic blue, green, and purple sheen to his otherwise grey feathers had something to do with it. He grew up to be a punk gangster with a bad attitude and a miserable disposition, ready to fight at the merest slight. He's Bolt's lesser antagonist.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.10 — ~Our next featured creator is an acronym. Do you use acronyms in your work?

Yes.

Keep in mind there is a planet named Home, the capital of Home and the Nine Outer Worlds, and a city named Home City, the capital city. Here's a few acronyms that I introduce spelled out the first time and hopefully found in the glossary, depending on the whim of the publisher:

• HUHC — Home University in Home City.
• HSB or HSA — Health Services Bureau/Authority.
• HBI — Home Bureau of Investigation. Think FBI.
• BHT — Bureau of Human Trafficking, often pronounced pejoratively as the BAT. Deals with remnants, relics, reliquaries, as well newly dead people and what happens to them.
• ICCA — Interstellar Constabulary and Customs Authority (pronounced Ick-uh). Think Interpol on an interplanetary scale.
• RS — My name is an acronym. 😛

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.09 — ~Share something you've been working on this month.

"Share" to me means #excerpt. Really, all I've done is revision. Apropos to Gloria Stienem passing, I worked on this decidedly feminist passage, a small part of which showed up in #pennedPossibilities 1120 last Sunday. The WIP takes place in a female-centric society where people chose their own names. Morning Glory is an upstart male who's become a diva actor and Steamed Milk and Sugar [nickname Shugh (short for Sugar)] is their society's version of trans-fem. Lightning Bolt (dba Good Eye), the MC POV narrator is… Well, she's… sexist? I'll let this unfold. CW: Casting couch reference. Your comments are welcome.

Nodding, the actor stood and asked, "[Shugh]. That name you chose, you chose it because you had problems as a journalist? Your [clothes]? That ribbon in your hair—?"

Red. Satin. Decidedly not masculine.

"I chose Steamed Milk and Sugar because I wanted to blend in amongst the other women. Journalists are women, at least in the capital, but my name turned out suggestive of the assignments I got—tea runner, typing pool—and it was the jobs I did until a few days ago, when I asked a favor of Good Eye."

I grinned. "Me."

"Because of asking then, today I landed this [magazine] interview."

[Morning Glory] nodded. "You're like I was: A kid, barely old enough to be adult, who every woman wanted to ride whether I was in a local actors' group or later in a traveling theatre troupe. It earned me parts when others got none, bit parts definitely, sharp looking window dressing. I am an expert ride; I paid attention in Men's Studies in school, especially the practicums."

Shugh chuckled, looking askance. "Paid attention, yes, but preferred blending in, being supportive. Minimized riding."

Morning Glory nodded. "It took years to change from being cast as the conniving man who uses the woman and comes to a tragic end, to writing plays where I helped the woman succeed against her competition because of my conniving ways—" He sighed. "—and together we'd fight—"

"For equality?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, dismissively. Dismissively, I decided, because I'd stolen his point and was a woman. Undoubtedly annoying, but he fleshed out the idea, pacing again.

I sighed and faded into the background with my camera. Far safer, anyway.

I can't say I liked recognizing that except for my dream-crushing incident at the Haulers guild where my gender proved poisonous, I definitely benefited from being a woman and I liked that more and more when I had to listen to what Shugh and Morning Glory dealt with. Couldn't change that I was female—I wasn't Shugh, who seemed to be trying to be accepted as… not male—and no, I couldn't feel guilty about it.

This interview Shugh's big chance. I had no chance to better my life and I didn't want to impinge on his chance. Neither guy's for that matter…

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.09 — What secret would cause the most damage if it were revealed in your story right now?

Um. 😳

Maybe? 🤔

Nope! 🤪

Spoilers. 😇

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.09 — What's your standard operating font, size, format? Or do you not have a standard?

All my manuscripts are in Didot 11pt. It's readable, dark, and remains legible when zoomed or rendered on different devices. If I need to emphasize a paragraph represents a handwritten note or letter, since I'm used to my cursive being illegible, I use Chalkduster.

If I submit, I will adhere to the publisher's guidelines.

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#PennedPossibilities 1123: What figure do people most commonly tell stories about? How are these stories told (books, plays, television, spoken word, broadcast, etc.)?

There are books, newspapers, and theatre as well cinema akin to the silent film era. Theirs is a civilization powered by human labor and something else that isn't electricity. I don't know a heck of a lot about the stories they favor or tell, but I do know a character who's deeply into romance and gothic novels, who frighteningly takes some guidance from them in real life. Stories are serialized in newspapers like Dickens were. As for the types of stories in theatre, one actor playwright in this #excerpt talks about a trope popular in this strongly woman-centric society. CW: Casting couch reference.

[Morning Glory said, "You're] like I was: A kid barely old enough to be adult, who every woman wanted to ride whether I was in a local actors' group or later in a traveling theatre troupe. I got parts when others didn't, bit parts definitely, sharp looking window dressing, likely at first because I was an expert ride; I paid attention in Men's Studies in school, especially the practicums. It took years to change from being cast as the conniving man who uses the woman and comes to a tragic end, to writing plays where I helped the woman succeed against her competition because of my conniving ways—" He sighed. "—and together we'd fight—"

"For equality?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah," …

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@Priyajsridhar

#Writephant 2026.0908 — A4. Do you have a story or character dealing with a labor dispute? What was the end result?

Yes. There is a story that includes unions forming where there is a dispute between people who want to transport freight using a highway locomotive and those who want to do it the traditional way (1 employee vs 8-10 respectively). It's mostly a color for the novella, since the characters are riding one of those highway locomotives that, instead of hauling freight, is decked out like a private railcar. It also accounts for the stink eye traditional haulers give them when they visit a roadside café. An SC is the driver.

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#Writephant 2026.0908 — A3. What job in speculative fiction do you wish existed in real life?

I'll be lazy and point at a job in mine. People need light. Folk who can create luminous sprites that late half a day can make a good living lighting homes and lampposts. Seems congenial, and a good way to meet all the people in town or your neighborhood.

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#Writephant 2026.0808 — A2. A good union in theory helps you campaign for fair living wages and benefits. In a fantasy or sci fi world, what is a a possible work benefit that our world may not need?

Unions do show up in the Reluctance series, mostly through loss of work issues. However, it occurs to me that since day angels carry mail, there ought be work issues associated with wings, feathers, and flying in stormy conditions.

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#Writephant 2026.0908 — A1. We talked about Labor Day a few years ago, an American holiday celebrating the sacrifices made by activists to reduce workplace abuse. How do you think the modern workplace has changed?

My philosophy is that if a company can't make a product and provide a living wage for labor, then their niche or process isn't reasonable and the product isn't viable. Underpaying labor isn't an option, and when labor doesn't earn a living wage, labor can't buy products anyway. (Downward spiral vs march upward theory.) This goes beyond safety issues, something government should ensure but often shirks. The modern workplace has become less friendly to paying labor enough woth elected officials more likely to take job-producer's side than labor's. Since labor is the vast majority of the population, why these people get elected is a "mystery."

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.08 — ~Gauge?

There are gauges in the Reluctance series, but not what you'd expect. There is a scene where they measure the air quality before taking off their spacesuit helmets. They drop a set of beads and feathers. Where they fall they obviously don't freely roll, but end up in a descriptive orientation which estimates the oxygen fraction amongst other gases.

Explaining the science behind it would be more spoilers than the spoiler I just gave you.

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.08 — Which character would be the worst person to get trapped in an elevator with?

There are elevator scenes in the WIP. In a world where everyone sweats and inescapably has their own unique scent, Pigeon the Pilferer, an SC, really stinks. He is correctly diagnosed by a brainy SC as having Bromhidrosis, which sails about a meter over his featherbrain (but he's a day angel, so it's both a slur and descriptive). He has a sour scent with a never pleasant personality. You not only don't want him in an elevator with you and the elevator operator, you don't want to breathe the same air as the punk gangster, even outside!

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.09.08 — International Literacy Day! Share a moment when a reading of your work surprised you.

No specific moment, but over the last year while I have noticed that what I'm writing is maintaining that lyrical rhythmic pattern of spoken storytelling I both adore and have been attempting to write for years, my prose is also surviving revision that often recognized previous efforts were either too clunky or forced readers to back track whilst reading. I was pleased when I noticed it.

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#PennedPossibilities 1122: SC POV: Do you have a favorite meal? Who makes it for you?

[Okay, is it possible for me to NOT turn these things into little stories? Apparently, not! Here the devil-girl, an SC in the current WIP, gets to talk about her insanely rigorous academic training as a child. —RS]

Appreciating cuisines was always part of my upbringing—before I ran away. Generally, I'll eat anything; the months I lived homeless, I even dumpster dove. I had to approach food like my other studies—like maths, warcraft, and defensive martial arts—learning how food was grown and prepared, how to identify the ingredients once cooked including origins of wines and vegetables to judge their quality, plating, kitchen techniques… Of course, I got tested! Writing essays always makes the diner better enjoy the meal. Am I right?

Attempts to teach me to cook turned out disastrous. I nearly burnt down a wing of the mansion. Twice. Not intentionally! Really! The rumor that I poisoned my tutor is overblown. Nevertheless, after the incident, said tutor wisely decided that a woman who hosts state dinners really doesn't necessarily need to know how to cook said meals. Okay, I'll admit it: cooking was my worst subject, beating out boring history.

I rarely got to appreciate a whole meal, except when I practiced hosting. Even then, I was too busy to take more than a bite of each plate or a sip of each soup or wine whilst keeping up witty pithy conversations with guests two and three times my age. (Yes, I had a tutor in witty conversation; glad you asked! I even had to write after action reports on the hidden agendas each practice guest was told to be bringing up subliminally or indirectly.)

Ended up preferring to grab a loaf of bread stuffed with cold butter, before rushing off to my next training or practice.

Eating for me was another academic, like everything else in my life, including sleeping—I learned and practiced lucid dreaming, naturally. Mealtime became a blur of textures, scents, and mouth feels that required thought and evaluation. So… No favorites, but you guessed that. I do know good food when I see, smell, and taste it. I even appreciate and will seek it out, but I have… let's call it a "refueling mentality."

I don't really care.

Except…

Practicing my defensive arts at twelve years old, I'd sometimes sneak into the servants' wing when they slept. On one sortie, I discovered butter pumpkin peasant bread. Gingerbread scents with the depth of luscious nutty real-churned cow butter, vegatably with a coarse chewy crumb, not very sweet, caramelized and crusty short of starting to burn. I could discuss the temperature related changes to each ingredient to explain how it fit together to make a synergistic whole, but I'll instead admit that I would not understand my physical reaction until years later when I had sex.

Ate the whole loaf.

I could barely keep from thinking about it the following days when my tutors started downgrading me, and until my guardian gave me the talk about being distracted.

I finally snuck over again, hoping no mouse traps were set to catch a rodent thief. Found a loaf on the main table under glass. Each subsequent stealthy sortie to servant's quarters, I'd always find a loaf hidden. In some cabinet, sometimes in an oven or a cast iron pot—until I realized why and confessed to folk I had raided. Their simple "cuisine," I liked it. I began sharing random meals with them midafternoon, when I could finagle a free unsupervised study period—until my guardian realized why my interest in cuisine class waned more than usual. He put a kibosh on it.

No servant was permanently fired because, well, I started setting things on fire, saying I could fire things, too.

Still, the only food I'd call a favorite isn't really a meal. To this day, it is still that butter pumpkin bread. My nose will pull me into a shop before I'll even realize it is one of the rare rustic bakeries that bake it.

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#WordWeavers 2026.09.07 — Describe a moment when one of your characters realizes they’ve made a terrible mistake.

The character thinks someone had keeled over in their living room, but when she kneels beside him, her knees end up in something sticky. She had already picked up and is holding a knife she thought errantly dropped.

That's not the moment.

Someone shows up to escort her away, saying she works for something called "the syndicate" like this character does (news to her), with constable whistles *scree-screeing * in the distance.

That's not the moment.

As they calmly "stroll" blocks from the incident at a determined pace, the character notices as second escort with a camera. Looking at the first, she sees blood spattered on her face and chest.

That is the moment of realization.

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