#commentingiscool — Public Fediverse posts

#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.17 — What's your favorite instrument?

The pen.

It is far mightier than the sword.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.16 — If you had to live solely off of food you could grow yourself, how well would you be eating?

I'd have starved.

I do grow strawberries. In the past squash and tomatoes, but farming? Heck, no. In our climate zone, everything (except the strawberries) gets downy mildew or similar fungus and DIES HORRIBLY.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.11 — Have you ever exhibited artwork in a public place?

Yes. I entered this on in a contest and it got accepted for exhibit.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.13 — What foods can't you stand? This can be a sensitive subject for some people, so consider using a CW if you think it might be difficult.

Cilantro (the wicked weed) and coriander (the seed of the weed). As someone who cooks, I realize the former is important to Mexican and the latter to Indian. I eat both cuisines, but what's important her is moderation. For Mexican food, Cilantro used as a spice provides a distinctive "background" flavoring, but when used as a decorative flourish, or worse as vegetable mixed in with the dish, it is far too much of a good thing. When I find cilantro leaves, or worse more-or-less anonymous cilantro sprouts, mixed in to field greens salad, I become annoyed as it takes over the flavor of the salad. To me, it is both horribly aromatic and chemical tasting.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.10 — What kind of photography do you most enjoy? (Taking, viewing, or both.)

As a photographer who's done weddings, events, and fine art #photography, I can be more fine-grained in my answer instead of simply stating: Both.

I find taking photos far more interesting than viewing them, and I spend much more time shooting than viewing. What I really enjoy viewing is street photography (think Henri Cartier-Bresson), and were I not a shy person, I would engage in it more often. Working a wedding or a child's party, I take candids, not posed pictures. I endeavor to be invisible and capture the special fleeting moments of who people are rather than what they want us to think they are. Kind of like street photography, huh?

I am currently writing a novella where the main character's street photography leads to her finding friends and overcoming adversity. For me, it might be aspirational.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.02 — Do you have artwork on your walls? If so, describe one of the pieces.

Mine (on the right) and other artists (on the left). Both copyrighted, so the image is small and blurry-cammed.

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#ScribesAndMakers #ttmd 2025.08.03 @JulieLiddellWhitehead Author Talk to Me Day

Sometimes I get the opportunity to research and sometimes I don't, like today (I'm currently unwell). I hope I'm asking a fair question here; beyond that, that it's not something I should have seen in a bio if I'd looked.

Your book collection of short stories appears to be about characters living through hard times and dealing with hard decisions made or needful. It feels like something an author would write in part to work through their own demons or to make sense of a nonsensical world. Is this the case for you? If not, what drives you and your writing? What do you wish the reader to feel they have learned when they finish the reading the last page of your story?

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — Alt: Word.

This word comes from Mars Needed Women, which is in beta. The Decath Crown, as it is referred to, is one of a number of antagonistic organizations the book's MC ends up dealing with, but it is also the most insidious. I don't expect anyone to read about this out-of-context, but I will admit that I invented the religion for a fascist state instead of using a real one to diffuse my fear of needlessly picking on one religion and likely upsetting part of my potential audience. After the fact, it feels a bit like I am picking on all religions, only kind of passive-aggressively. I'm okay with that. Everybody needs their nose tweaked now and again. What follows is a slightly [annotated] excerpt from the glossary in the book.

Decath - A religious organization which was a successor to the various Christian nationalist faiths that created NADS [North American Decath States] from its predecessor state [the United States], consolidated into a theocratic state-supported ministry. The religion is now world-wide, except where banned in five catholic countries. Adherents say it is not a successor to Catholicism, but a rejection of it. It comes from Dissenting Catholicism, and teaches that the liberal interpretations promulgated by the various orthodox and protestant churches regarding Christ's word was unfounded, and furthermore misrepresented God's will based on improper readings of both the new and old testaments. Their catholicism is a new orthodoxy that properly interprets an apostolic church structure while supporting a protestant ideal of a priesthood of believers that is guided by ministers. It is accurately spelled De-cath not Dis-cath. This because the members of the initial Synod of Alabama—which drew together the leaders or designates of various nationalistic churches, their largest corporate sponsors, and hundreds of US congressmen and sixty-nine senators—thought having the word sound like decaf would sell better amongst the disparate flocks they shepherded.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — Alt: Word.

This word comes from Mars Needed Women, which is in beta. The Decath Crown, as it is referred to, is one of a number of antagonistic organizations the book's MC ends up dealing with, but it is also the most insidious. I don't expect anyone to read about this out-of-context, but I will admit that I invented the religion for a fascist state instead of using a real one to diffuse my fear of needlessly picking on one religion and likely upsetting part of my potential audience. After the fact, it feels a bit like I am picking on all religions, only kind of passive-aggressively. I'm okay with that. Everybody needs their nose tweaked now and again. What follows is a slightly [annotated] excerpt from the glossary in the book.

Decath - A religious organization which was a successor to the various Christian nationalist faiths that created NADS [North American Decath States] from its predecessor state [the United States], consolidated into a theocratic state-supported ministry. The religion is now world-wide, except where banned in five catholic countries. Adherents say it is not a successor to Catholicism, but a rejection of it. It comes from Dissenting Catholicism, and teaches that the liberal interpretations promulgated by the various orthodox and protestant churches regarding Christ's word was unfounded, and furthermore misrepresented God's will based on improper readings of both the new and old testaments. Their catholicism is a new orthodoxy that properly interprets an apostolic church structure while supporting a protestant ideal of a priesthood of believers that is guided by ministers. It is accurately spelled De-cath not Dis-cath. This because the members of the initial Synod of Alabama—which drew together the leaders or designates of various nationalistic churches, their largest corporate sponsors, and hundreds of US congressmen and sixty-nine senators—thought having the word sound like decaf would sell better amongst the disparate flocks they shepherded.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — Alt: Word.

This word comes from Mars Needed Women, which is in beta. The Decath Crown, as it is referred to, is one of a number of antagonistic organizations the book's MC ends up dealing with, but it is also the most insidious. I don't expect anyone to read about this out-of-context, but I will admit that I invented the religion for a fascist state instead of using a real one to diffuse my fear of needlessly picking on one religion and likely upsetting part of my potential audience. After the fact, it feels a bit like I am picking on all religions, only kind of passive-aggressively. I'm okay with that. Everybody needs their nose tweaked now and again. What follows is a slightly [annotated] excerpt from the glossary in the book.

Decath - A religious organization which was a successor to the various Christian nationalist faiths that created NADS [North American Decath States] from its predecessor state [the United States], consolidated into a theocratic state-supported ministry. The religion is now world-wide, except where banned in five catholic countries. Adherents say it is not a successor to Catholicism, but a rejection of it. It comes from Dissenting Catholicism, and teaches that the liberal interpretations promulgated by the various orthodox and protestant churches regarding Christ's word was unfounded, and furthermore misrepresented God's will based on improper readings of both the new and old testaments. Their catholicism is a new orthodoxy that properly interprets an apostolic church structure while supporting a protestant ideal of a priesthood of believers that is guided by ministers. It is accurately spelled De-cath not Dis-cath. This because the members of the initial Synod of Alabama—which drew together the leaders or designates of various nationalistic churches, their largest corporate sponsors, and hundreds of US congressmen and sixty-nine senators—thought having the word sound like decaf would sell better amongst the disparate flocks they shepherded.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — Alt: Word.

This word comes from Mars Needed Women, which is in beta. The Decath Crown, as it is referred to, is one of a number of antagonistic organizations the book's MC ends up dealing with, but it is also the most insidious. I don't expect anyone to read about this out-of-context, but I will admit that I invented the religion for a fascist state instead of using a real one to diffuse my fear of needlessly picking on one religion and likely upsetting part of my potential audience. After the fact, it feels a bit like I am picking on all religions, only kind of passive-aggressively. I'm okay with that. Everybody needs their nose tweaked now and again. What follows is a slightly [annotated] excerpt from the glossary in the book.

Decath - A religious organization which was a successor to the various Christian nationalist faiths that created NADS [North American Decath States] from its predecessor state [the United States], consolidated into a theocratic state-supported ministry. The religion is now world-wide, except where banned in five catholic countries. Adherents say it is not a successor to Catholicism, but a rejection of it. It comes from Dissenting Catholicism, and teaches that the liberal interpretations promulgated by the various orthodox and protestant churches regarding Christ's word was unfounded, and furthermore misrepresented God's will based on improper readings of both the new and old testaments. Their catholicism is a new orthodoxy that properly interprets an apostolic church structure while supporting a protestant ideal of a priesthood of believers that is guided by ministers. It is accurately spelled De-cath not Dis-cath. This because the members of the initial Synod of Alabama—which drew together the leaders or designates of various nationalistic churches, their largest corporate sponsors, and hundreds of US congressmen and sixty-nine senators—thought having the word sound like decaf would sell better amongst the disparate flocks they shepherded.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — Alt: Word.

This word comes from Mars Needed Women, which is in beta. The Decath Crown, as it is referred to, is one of a number of antagonistic organizations the book's MC ends up dealing with, but it is also the most insidious. I don't expect anyone to read about this out-of-context, but I will admit that I invented the religion for a fascist state instead of using a real one to diffuse my fear of needlessly picking on one religion and likely upsetting part of my potential audience. After the fact, it feels a bit like I am picking on all religions, only kind of passive-aggressively. I'm okay with that. Everybody needs their nose tweaked now and again. What follows is a slightly [annotated] excerpt from the glossary in the book.

Decath - A religious organization which was a successor to the various Christian nationalist faiths that created NADS [North American Decath States] from its predecessor state [the United States], consolidated into a theocratic state-supported ministry. The religion is now world-wide, except where banned in five catholic countries. Adherents say it is not a successor to Catholicism, but a rejection of it. It comes from Dissenting Catholicism, and teaches that the liberal interpretations promulgated by the various orthodox and protestant churches regarding Christ's word was unfounded, and furthermore misrepresented God's will based on improper readings of both the new and old testaments. Their catholicism is a new orthodoxy that properly interprets an apostolic church structure while supporting a protestant ideal of a priesthood of believers that is guided by ministers. It is accurately spelled De-cath not Dis-cath. This because the members of the initial Synod of Alabama—which drew together the leaders or designates of various nationalistic churches, their largest corporate sponsors, and hundreds of US congressmen and sixty-nine senators—thought having the word sound like decaf would sell better amongst the disparate flocks they shepherded.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.08.01 — What's on the docket for this month?

Complete Reluctant Courier (for the Mob), preferably this weekend.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.31 — Alt: Yellow?

Citron is a cute gangly teenage guy who is both seriously dangerous and seriously loyal. His hair has been described a being like lemon meringue pie, that is, various shades of yellow swirled with very light blond. It's a stand-out feature.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.31 — How did it go? Any changes you want to make next month?

My biggest July project was attending BayCon / WesterCon and talking with the guests of honor, writers, and publishers without turning into a shrinking violet. I wrote about that in another post.

It went arguably well. I talked to pretty much everyone, the writers who are M. A. Carrick, and a small press publisher. The latter went pretty well, since I got an invite to submit before submissions open in February. Now if my beta readers were only a bit faster. Having that I was a shy person on my badge helped; some noticed, but I had it as a backup that I never really needed.

This month doesn't involve conventions, so I'm safe!

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.29 — Why do you like your genre(s)/style(s)?

Scribe

Frankly, I love writing in the science fiction and fantasy genre because I control the horizontal and I control the vertical†, essentially, I can control all aspects of how society works. My knowledge of our current reality, and how people operate it is too incomplete to write mainstream. I might, otherwise. What you get from me is a (hopefully literate) mixture of adventure, wonder, and slice of life. I am increasingly good at the latter. You can judge for yourself with the excerpt in this reply to Writers Coffee Club today: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114939073843956961

Maker

My photographic style is not the compromise that Scribes presented above. My primary style is contrasts, especially color contrasts. This may be due to two things. The first was taking a class in drawing (charcoal and pen & ink) and in color (pastel and colored pencil). What I learned was how to portray volume in 2D images, and that's through contrast. The second was that I really got into the Carlos Castaneda books.There I encountered the concept of seeing shadows instead of the object, and learned to do that. (I also learned to lucid dream, but that's another topic.) It's called Negative Space in art speak. It thrills me when I capture an image that pops brightly out of the background because the background is dark or a contrasting color. The following copyrighted image is from the Glass Koi series (under another pseudonym). The fish colors render in sRGB as bright red, but when properly printer profiled they render as a burnished bronzy orange. It nevertheless demonstrates color contrast.

=-=-=-=-=-=
† This is a Twilight Zone reference.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.18 — Show us the cover to yesterday's book, and tell us what you don't like about the cover.

The cover art features a woman with a knife and what looks like a wookiee. Whilst dressed nominally (and correctly) as a man, she looks like an anglo white Vogue model that would convince nobody she's a guy; she's supposed to be ethnically Japanese. There's a vast difference between a sheep dog and a wookiee. I dislike covers that are wrong in great detail, but the publisher sold through a big printing, without any advertising, using it, so I forgive them. Since there were virtually no returns, I suppose even the duped Star Wars fans loved the story.

I am not showing the cover as I did not publish it under my current nom de plume. Sorry.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.17 — Tell us about a book you like despite its cover (don't show the cover yet.)

The elevator pitch is "Yentl in the future." Google Yentl. My novel†. An SF YA. Published years ago before I took the R.S. nom de plume.

=-=-=-=-=-=
† I edited the post to be clear, Yentl is not my novel; I am simply not stating the title. Aren't the vagaries of English wonderful?

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.14 — Self-promotion day. Show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.

What I'm proud of today, I'm going to title Savory Soup. It features both my writing and cooking skills, is 502 words, and provides a good insight into the character of one of my women MCs—from what may yet turn out to be a cozy (yet spicy) romance fantasy (it has dragons) novella. Best of all, the excerpt is posted here on Mastodon. It ought bring you a smile, so please give it a read.

Savory Soup: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114814396383680088

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.10 — How difficult would it be to continue your creative activity(ies) if you couldn't have your favo(u)rite beverage?

More worrisome would be why I couldn't have my favorite beverage. Is it a world disaster? Am I being marched off to a concentration camp? Has climate change destroyed the crop forever!? All or any of that would worry me a lot and I might fail to write. That's not going to happen, is it? Is it? Oh, noes! Now I'm REALLY anxious…

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.04 — How do you feel about breaking the fourth wall? If you write, have you ever done it?

I generally write in 1st person POV. Such POV characters tell their own stories, aware they're being read. They take license to be secretly snide to influence or entertain the reader whilst being proper in dialogue. They'll lie or misrepresent facts (for later reveal, of course). It's an opportunity to demonstrate the duality of people's personalities and how we cynically self-censor.

Do these characters converse directly with the reader? If it fits their personality, or it follows from their narrative: Yes. Whether it survives revision depends on whether it works well or not.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.01 — What do you want to work on this month? Alt: Bread?

Baking bread—instead of trying meet the guests, schmooze, and network at an SF convention as a shy published author trying to recreate their career—would be a lot less scary and far more pleasant, despite being on a low carb diet. Oh my, am I craving carbs right now. Ice cream, please.

I've made a badge extender that states what I am and that I'm shy. I am reading one of the guests of honor's book (M.A. Carrick). I've researched the others. This weekend is all I can think of for this month.

Will I survive peer interaction?

If you never hear from me again after this weekend, you'll know what happened!

Meanwhile, if you have ideas for conversing with authors or a comics artist, or just anyone, a suggestion or two might help me survive.

🍞🥖🥐😥

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.24 — Tell us about a time when you pushed yourself outside your comfort zone with your creativity. How did it go?

Work in progress!

I am attending Westercon over the 4th of July weekend. I registered at a level that gets me invited to guests of honor events, including a luncheon. I am a shy person.

Normally, this would not end well. Already my heart is racing just thinking about what I will encountered a week and a half from now…

In an effort not to lock up and become unable to speak, I am trying these strategies:

1. I will add to my name tag that I am an SFWA member.
2. Add a small picture of a novel I wrote.
3. Add the line: "Shy person, but I WANT to communicate."
4. I will study and memorize all the information I can about the guests of honor.
5. I will write a list of questions I can ask.
6. I will write a list of topics I can talk about if I go blank.

Any other tips or suggestions?

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.19 — Did you ever try talking a friend or loved one into taking up your creative activity too? How did it go?

No. Never tried, never will, never happening, Becoming an author requires faculties very few people possess, that must be combined with discipline. You have to want to tell stories and be okay with working alone like a monk, possibly never having anyone read any of those stories except yourself. Despite knowing before I was twenty that this was my avocation, and having sold and published, I still burnt out for 15 years.

I'm of the opinion that friends don't encourage friends to become writers. Okay, maybe sadistic friends do…

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.18 — Share pic(s) of something you've created. (Don't forget the alt text.)

This. More in #AltText.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.16 — Have you ever tried hyperbolic crochet?

I can be hyperbolic at times, but I'm never crochet-y.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.13 — Self-promotion day: show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.

While I plod at composing story, work at revising stuff, have brought a decades old story into Scrivener to rewrite, and work with beta readers on the most recent novel, what I'm proud of is some of this month is my photography. The moving images are photos: live photos rendered as a wigglegram aka a Harry Potter photo. It includes one tree from my Trees project.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.11 — Do you give any of your work away for free?

Those that follow me may recall that I started recovering after a burnout in 2015. For the next seven years I wrote in another "medium" under a different "pen name" than I write my SF now. During that period, practicing my craft, perfecting (to the extent that's possible) writing in a 1st person POV, I wrote the equivalent of nine standard novels, a total of 45 stories. My output consisted of a handful of novels, a few series arcs, novellas, novelettes, and short stories. About 900K words.

I gave it all away. Free. Because of the medium, I could not sell it if I wanted to. In return I got plenty of feedback (though never enough), likes, and comments. A few fans.

If I could have had a $1 for each view, I'd have made a nice chunk of change, though, frankly, it would have been way under minimum wage.

As for the last three years, I've been writing SF and fantasy exclusively. The first result of that is being beta read. Do I give away any of my work for free? Plenty. Take a look at my samples! I have a Samples post pinned to my profile. When I get closer to publication, with some inventory to ensure people who like my writing can find more of it, I'll likely make excerpts free on a yet-to-be-created author website. I may write short side-stories. I won't commit until I see what's necessary.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.09 — Tell us about the book that received the fewest votes yesterday.

Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell.

Clare Bell is an emotive and talented author of a number of what might be considered YA books. Ratha's Creature fits my description of science fiction as a story about how technology affects people. In this case, it's the discovery of how to use fire. The people here, however, are sentient leopard-like cats, but make no mistake, they are human stand-ins with a different biology and a very different society. You know you are no longer in Kansas, Toto, yet the main character is very accessible and easy to empathize with. A lot is said about fearing change, about being female, and about abuse. The latter is devastatingly subtle and you might find yourself not noticing it, but the author realized it in a sequel, which is well worth reading, also. The story is poignant and a good, fast read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.06.06 — What’s your best dish? What are the ingredients and how do you make it?

Not going to say it is my best, but it is a new favorite invented by my spouse. It's super easy super tasty, and I want to share it with y'all.

Soufflé Hamburgers 🤤😋

This recipe creates fluffy tender moist burgers that almost fall apart. It is not suitable for the bbq grill. I've only pan cooked them, but the recipe might work in the oven. Practice raw meat and egg safety when making this.

Makes 4 large burgers.

Essentials:

• 2 eggs or 3 egg white portions (see criteria below)
• 20 oz of ground meat: beef, chicken, or turkey
• 1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese; more to taste. Substitute similar cheese if desired

Add ins to taste:

• Your usual burger seasoning if not wet, or add salt and pepper being aware the cheese is a source of salt

Or mine:

• Fresh torn basil leaves, 6 or more
• Fresh chopped oregano, about a tsp minced or more
• Rosemary leaves chopped, 1/4 tsp or more
• Cloves of garlic minced fine — I use a tsp (1 clove) freeze dried, ground in a mortar
• 7 Black peppercorns ground in a mortar, or more

Preparation:

1. Mix (by hand recommended) ground meat in a bowl with egg
2. Mix in seasoning
3. Mix in cheese

This makes an intentionally soupy mixture (like a thick pea soup, but it mostly holds shape). If your meat is very dry, or your mixture isn't soupy, you may need to add more egg. For this reason, a carton of egg whites might be easier to work with.

Because of the soupiness, we often freeze between parchment paper 4 large burgers, then cook from frozen in a ceramic surface pan with a tiny bit of olive oil (enough to prevent sticking). However, you can ladle or spoon into a hot pan immediately. If so, you'll need slightly more oil. Be careful when turning to wait for the burger to harden on a side first.

These burgers cook much faster than you expect! Use your food thermometer.

Extra credit:

Place a bottle of cooking sake, red wine, or large glass of hot, preferably boiling, water together with a silicone cooking brush beside the stove. As the burger cooks, the fat browns and burns on the surface of the pan. This is part of the taste produced by the Maillard reaction, lost! Pour in at least an ounce of liquid (do not drown pan) and brush the pan as if deglazing, scrubbing up and dissolving all burnt or browned juices. Add enough that it doesn't boil away. Once the burger has a hard shell on top, brush the glaze on the burger. Repeat while flipping until the meat reaches doneness. I often start with the wine then when there is a few ounces in the pan, I switch to water. Brush flipped burger on plate with any remaining liquid.

Serving Suggestion:

On a bun or toasted low carb bread (I recommend Inked Bread Co. Keto), lightly slathered with brown or Dijon mustard. Extra decadent? Top burger with a medium fried egg and squash the bread down so the yolk runs!

Bon Appétit!

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.31 — How did it go? Any changes you want to make next month?

Got the beta out to beta readers; this was good. Worked through pushback from the internal censor. Got only one chapter finished, but boy howdy: it clarified the antagonist's motivation in starkly scary terms, and it made one MC quite proud.

Next month. More composing; revision should be subservient to that work. If I can gain momentum, finish the novel.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.30 — Did you have a teacher who either supported or hindered your creative activity?

Weird story.

I had an AP analytic geometry class. I'm bad at arithmetic but good at logic. So long as I don't have to plug in numbers, I can solve math problems. I don't usually do good at these things, but I was excited that I might get a good grade and studied very hard. Very. Hard.

I arrived and the final was open book. Easy.

I had so much creative energy built up, I went home and over Christmas break wrote and completed my first novella (25K typewritten) in two weeks.

True story.

Okay neither supported nor hindered, but I give the teacher credit nonetheless for inadvertently starting my career.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.29 — What is your proudest or best moment with your creative endeavor this month?

Got the novel out to beta readers and an author associate has agreed to also look at it.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.28 — Have you ever made an app?

Was a programmer. 'Nuf said.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.25 — How does photography shape your perception of the world? What subjects or moments do you find most captivating to capture?

Taking a few semesters of drawing shaped my photography and my perception of the world. When you need to manufacture the illusion of depth in a flat medium by hand on blank paper, you learn to see shadows and highlight, not just the subject. In my sketch and drawing class, working with pencil and charcoal, I learned to focus on the shadows and darkness in rendering volume and a 3D effect. In my color class, I learned I could do a similar thing using color, creating "color contrast" between the tonal qualities of the colors. I worked in pastels, chalks, and with colored pencils.

It was when I used my first digital camera, that I finally got to tie it all together in my photography, which was poor and snap-shoddy before. See the image of my Nikon Coolpix 950. A beast for the time. See #AltText for more details.

When I could take a picture and immediately see the 2D effects of color, shadow, highlight, aperture, and shutter speed, it changed my perception of the world. Whilst that camera was rudimentary, later digital cameras and then DSLRs allowed me full and simple manual control, to learn to see the picture I might capture before even lifting the camera, or even reaching for it. Not any Hollywood shtick where I see photo frames superimposed on the world, but my subconscious does draw me to focus here, there, and over there. Experience. Playing with the controls. Being able to delete any number of failures rather than paying for rolls of film and processing 36 images having forgotten what I had done to capture the good ones.

Don't read me wrong. I still post-process most images. And. I shoot RAW. If you're a serious photographer, it is a must.

I am attracted, as you might guess, to color contrast. I admit to taking lots of pictures of flowers and trees, but old buildings are also my thing. I am complemented on my portraiture all the time. Oh, right, and... Recently, I've been taking lots of pictures of the meals I've cooked, doing both in-process documentation and, having paid special attention to plating, the final result.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2025.05.21 /2 — Tell us one truth and two lies about your creative work

I told two lies about my photography, and here's the results, and the truth.

50% —I meticulously catalog and keyword my image captures.

This is false. I don't have the patience. When I do photo shoots, I download into a directory named with the date and the name of the photo shoot. If it's important, I will pick some favorites and process those into a WIP or a Final directory. That's about it.

50% — I rarely do any post-processing of images. The only way to become skilled is by capturing photos right in the first place.

Gah! This is absolutely false. Not only that, it's not professional, and moreover a recipe for missing the shot you really wanted. I take the National Geographic approach. I shoot the heck out of it, capturing hundreds and hundreds of pictures, then meticulously post process the few that I captured what I was trying to express.

83% — I use specialized and expensive camera for my creative work.

Most people thought this the lie. Nope. It's true.

I have a Canon R Mirrorless and a Canon 5D Mark III DSLR. Neither are "Professional," but a step down full-frame prosumer model. Add to this a 100-400 telephoto and an 85 portrait lens, plus a bunch of lesser but premium glass, and it's quite a specialized and expensive kit!

And. I rarely use it!

For the majority of my photography, I now use an iPhone Pro Max. Yes. Expensive. Not as good resolution-wise or auto-focus-wise, but for my purposes it captures shots I can't get with the Canon, especially low light and high contrast situations where in-camera processing works real miracles. HDR on tap. Yes, I shoot RAW. (Do it. It's worth it.) Night portraits capture the stars and the subject, hand-held! The flapping STARS!

I have a thing for stereoscopic wigglegrams. There is a built-in feature called Live Photos (Harry Potter photos). A sub-feature is Bounce. If I take a shot while moving the camera parallel to the ground a few centimeters, bounce creates a 3D illusion of depth. My Trees project uses this technique. I recently discovered the Long Exposure feature, which makes the water in coastal images misty while retaining the sharpness of the rocks and plants. Again, hand-held. No tripod required. Nice.

There are so many camera features and post-processing options on the iPhone, it's hard to find a reason to take out the heavy glass. Were I hired for a shoot, I'd would use the R and the iPhone.

But, wait, there's more!

I recently bought a Insta360 X5 that lets me take spherical 360º still photos. It has dual 210º fish eye lenses; the internal camera stitches to make 72 MP images that allow you to look in any and all directions after the fact.

No, there's no web player. AFAIK. You need their app to view that, but you can edit out slices, remove distortion, and create photo montages from the same capture. It is an action camera, meant for video capture, which I'm not into, but that's useful at times. I've done hyperlapses with it. There is something called Bullet Time (like the technique pioneered in The Matrix with dozens of cameras), but that's a future project. Early days for me. Took it on my recent vacation.Also expensive, though not as much as the Canon equipment. Definitely specialized.

The biggest annoyance is some editing features might be tied to paying for their cloud service, but I'm not sure, yet. So far, I've been able to export plenty of "flat" movies and photos. It may be where the web viewer is because it allows "sharing." Yep. Make money by selling something expensive and requiring a subscription. It's how our world works.

Two sample photos had further details in the #AltText.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2504.14 — Would you enjoy living in a creative village/house/shared accommodation? Or do you already?

The question did not ask if I had enjoyed living in a creative space (past tense).

I did.

I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop (Clarion West). It's for Speculative, SF, Fantasy, and (I think) Horror Genre writing. It's for professionals or professional wannabes. You have to submit work to qualify.

It was literally (pun intended) the best six weeks of my life as an author.

Don't get me wrong, selling is fabulous, but the feeling lasts only a moment (like sex). The sense of community and actually living the life of an author while attending the workshop cannot be beat.

We lived together (except for a few locals) in the dorms of a college in downtown Seattle, cooked together, used the showers together, had our own floor to ourselves. We spent many hours in the common areas gabbing and blue-skying. Mostly, however, we wrote.

Then read what others wrote.

Then critiqued. Learned how to do that well, learned how to anticipate certain critiques from specific authors and to fix our stuff (assuming we thought we need to), learned how to have a hard shell by accepting criticism that helped us, and rejecting what didn't. Largely, we also helped each other through our fears.

Week days we had a guest lecturer who was a professional writer or editor. One day a week, we attended readings, usually at Powell's, by a local writer, though once at an author's place (I think that was for Octavia Butler).

The feeling of community and support was amazing. One time I wrote a 15,000 word novella in 15 hours for critique the next day. That was my max output per hour or per day ever.

I never felt burnt out. Those six weeks seemed to compact six months of life into a short span. When I returned home, I barely recognized my surroundings or old life. Ask my spouse!

Highly Recommended

PS: After reading other responses I want to qualify that I am cripplingly shy, introverted, and write fiction that doesn't go much with my persona. Nobody knew my gender despite an enormous email thread until I arrived, and I got the nickname Ambiguous Spice (and Oblivious Spice) for a reason. I warmed quickly because these were people like me. Kinda weird, some introverted, some extroverted. All in love with words and stories. I warmed up quickly.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2504.14 — Would you enjoy living in a creative village/house/shared accommodation? Or do you already?

The question did not ask if I had enjoyed living in a creative space (past tense).

I did.

I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop (Clarion West). It's for Speculative, SF, Fantasy, and (I think) Horror Genre writing. It's for professionals or professional wannabes. You have to submit work to qualify.

It was literally (pun intended) the best six weeks of my life as an author.

Don't get me wrong, selling is fabulous, but the feeling lasts only a moment (like sex). The sense of community and actually living the life of an author while attending the workshop cannot be beat.

We lived together (except for a few locals) in the dorms of a college in downtown Seattle, cooked together, used the showers together, had our own floor to ourselves. We spent many hours in the common areas gabbing and blue-skying. Mostly, however, we wrote.

Then read what others wrote.

Then critiqued. Learned how to do that well, learned how to anticipate certain critiques from specific authors and to fix our stuff (assuming we thought we need to), learned how to have a hard shell by accepting criticism that helped us, and rejecting what didn't. Largely, we also helped each other through our fears.

Week days we had a guest lecturer who was a professional writer or editor. One day a week, we attended readings, usually at Powell's, by a local writer, though once at an author's place (I think that was for Octavia Butler).

The feeling of community and support was amazing. One time I wrote a 15,000 word novella in 15 hours for critique the next day. That was my max output per hour or per day ever.

I never felt burnt out. Those six weeks seemed to compact six months of life into a short span. When I returned home, I barely recognized my surroundings or old life. Ask my spouse!

Highly Recommended

PS: After reading other responses I want to qualify that I am cripplingly shy, introverted, and write fiction that doesn't go much with my persona. Nobody knew my gender despite an enormous email thread until I arrived, and I got the nickname Ambiguous Spice (and Oblivious Spice) for a reason. I warmed quickly because these were people like me. Kinda weird, some introverted, some extroverted. All in love with words and stories. I warmed up quickly.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2504.14 — Would you enjoy living in a creative village/house/shared accommodation? Or do you already?

The question did not ask if I had enjoyed living in a creative space (past tense).

I did.

I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop (Clarion West). It's for Speculative, SF, Fantasy, and (I think) Horror Genre writing. It's for professionals or professional wannabes. You have to submit work to qualify.

It was literally (pun intended) the best six weeks of my life as an author.

Don't get me wrong, selling is fabulous, but the feeling lasts only a moment (like sex). The sense of community and actually living the life of an author while attending the workshop cannot be beat.

We lived together (except for a few locals) in the dorms of a college in downtown Seattle, cooked together, used the showers together, had our own floor to ourselves. We spent many hours in the common areas gabbing and blue-skying. Mostly, however, we wrote.

Then read what others wrote.

Then critiqued. Learned how to do that well, learned how to anticipate certain critiques from specific authors and to fix our stuff (assuming we thought we need to), learned how to have a hard shell by accepting criticism that helped us, and rejecting what didn't. Largely, we also helped each other through our fears.

Week days we had a guest lecturer who was a professional writer or editor. One day a week, we attended readings, usually at Powell's, by a local writer, though once at an author's place (I think that was for Octavia Butler).

The feeling of community and support was amazing. One time I wrote a 15,000 word novella in 15 hours for critique the next day. That was my max output per hour or per day ever.

I never felt burnt out. Those six weeks seemed to compact six months of life into a short span. When I returned home, I barely recognized my surroundings or old life. Ask my spouse!

Highly Recommended

PS: After reading other responses I want to qualify that I am cripplingly shy, introverted, and write fiction that doesn't go much with my persona. Nobody knew my gender despite an enormous email thread until I arrived, and I got the nickname Ambiguous Spice (and Oblivious Spice) for a reason. I warmed quickly because these were people like me. Kinda weird, some introverted, some extroverted. All in love with words and stories. I warmed up quickly.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2504.14 — Would you enjoy living in a creative village/house/shared accommodation? Or do you already?

The question did not ask if I had enjoyed living in a creative space (past tense).

I did.

I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop (Clarion West). It's for Speculative, SF, Fantasy, and (I think) Horror Genre writing. It's for professionals or professional wannabes. You have to submit work to qualify.

It was literally (pun intended) the best six weeks of my life as an author.

Don't get me wrong, selling is fabulous, but the feeling lasts only a moment (like sex). The sense of community and actually living the life of an author while attending the workshop cannot be beat.

We lived together (except for a few locals) in the dorms of a college in downtown Seattle, cooked together, used the showers together, had our own floor to ourselves. We spent many hours in the common areas gabbing and blue-skying. Mostly, however, we wrote.

Then read what others wrote.

Then critiqued. Learned how to do that well, learned how to anticipate certain critiques from specific authors and to fix our stuff (assuming we thought we need to), learned how to have a hard shell by accepting criticism that helped us, and rejecting what didn't. Largely, we also helped each other through our fears.

Week days we had a guest lecturer who was a professional writer or editor. One day a week, we attended readings, usually at Powell's, by a local writer, though once at an author's place (I think that was for Octavia Butler).

The feeling of community and support was amazing. One time I wrote a 15,000 word novella in 15 hours for critique the next day. That was my max output per hour or per day ever.

I never felt burnt out. Those six weeks seemed to compact six months of life into a short span. When I returned home, I barely recognized my surroundings or old life. Ask my spouse!

Highly Recommended

PS: After reading other responses I want to qualify that I am cripplingly shy, introverted, and write fiction that doesn't go much with my persona. Nobody knew my gender despite an enormous email thread until I arrived, and I got the nickname Ambiguous Spice (and Oblivious Spice) for a reason. I warmed quickly because these were people like me. Kinda weird, some introverted, some extroverted. All in love with words and stories. I warmed up quickly.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers 2503.19 2/2 — At what age did you start creating?

I'm being meta in this post, talking about what I thought answering this question originally. As a gender fiction writer, the response to this question fascinated me! Let me in advance apologize for going all Sherlock Holmes on you folk. Gender roles and preferences are schooled into us until they're subliminal. Authors pervert the programming to write believable characters that are both different from them and of different genders or preferences. Our writing contains subtexts and hidden confessions that come out in our essays, maybe even our fiction, that we may or may not be aware of, or, granted, may not care about.

Still...

Many of us authors in this community use pen names, as do I, or an ungendered alias online, as do I, going so far as to use a pretty picture avatar, as do I, to obfuscate our identity, or to assert a political identity instead. My avatar highlights my comedic side.

Yet...

Yet, many of the answers to this question indirectly maybe inadvertently announced a gender identity (not necessarily a birth gender; that's understood). I crafted my rather typical answer to this question to answer truthfully but equivocally as to hints about my gender and gender identity.

I can remember ... playing imaginary games with my toys, making them walk, making them roll, making them fly, and sometimes tea was involved. The figurines talked and we gabbed and gossiped and discussed important life events! The vehicles made what I thought very authentic noises!! There were adventures galore!!!

Both girl words and boy words, and words that say the same thing in an ungendered fashion. Gossip and tea but also figurines, not dolls.

That said, reading the responses I realized I had incorrectly guessed the gender of many authors. Word choice counts, and it counts at many levels. May I suggest you read some of the responses again?

PS: Ask me about some of this gender role and identity stuff on Talk To Me Day, if you want. #EngenderedWriting

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#ScribesAndMakers 2503.01 2/2— What are your goals for the month?

Added a new goal: An SF micro-novel written from #writever daily prompts named with a title tag: #RSMarsNeededWomen. In the French version of the prompt, the month "March" is Mars and the theme is women's rights. For some strange reason the two combined in my head into an idea for space opera. Viva la #engenderedWriting! Consider following me as I gin up a gender fiction story from... nothing, going gonzo pantser on this. I've written 2 micro-chapters of 31. I'll need some cheering on, whilst I also try to finish the main novel. Click the title tag above for the story, or the link below for this month's daily writing prompts.

English: https://framapiaf.org/@k_tastrof/114083193227367930

Français: https://mamot.fr/@alombard/114085991177067327

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#ScribesAndMakers 2502.27. Have you ever written to a writer/creator to tell them you liked their work? Did they respond?

Yes. But not someone trad published, though I should have. With better websites and better communication channels than a paper letter, I will in the future. There are some very talented fan fiction authors out there and, yes, I've commented on their stories, some of which if rewritten in an original universe are better than a lot of things I've read in paperback published by the big houses. One excellent gender fiction SF novel about gender transformation, written by an author who goes by StarScribe, I nominated for the Otherwise (James Tiptree Jr.) Award. Alas, fan fiction is not often taken seriously, thought that specific story and other fantasy by that author ought be. And yes, the author responded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherwise_Award

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#EngenderedWriting 92 — How would it change society if women were and had always been physically stronger than men? CW: Patriarchy dissected.

It's a fun idea, and I know authors who are making it work. Still, my opinion, if strength is the only factor I am not sure it would have resulted in a society substantially different than our own. I'll analyze it for you authors so you can rewrite history.

It takes more than strength to make two people evenly matched. (I've been researching prizefighting.) Arm reach is the difference between your punch being blocked and being able to hit with few injuries. Speed and stamina matter. Weight and inertia matter. Think wrestling. All are more important than quantitative strength. This is why there are weight classes in most combative sports.

Unfortunately, women have a smaller stature on average. Weapons are an equalizer here, especially if women can wield heavier weapons than their male opponents. In a fantasy context, magic could be an equalizer. The male tendency toward aggression in aggregate could tip the scales if overwhelming force is applied.

The Indo-Europeans might have invented the concept of controlling women's sexuality to ensure a man could guarantee the paternity of a child and thus make passing property only down the male line arguably reasonable. This usurps matriarchy. This is the true definition of patriarchy. Theories are that Indo-Europeans attacked pre-existing matrilineal societies. There is archeological evidence of prior societies that seem to have been lead by women. Their demise might be the genocides hinted at in the Bible. Who would win (or would have won) if women were significantly stronger?

Women do have their advantages. Arguably speed due to less inertia, especially with added strength. Not natively aggressive in general, they might be better able to pick the winnable fights while angry men might be thinking emotionally. Flexibility. A greater biological investment in offspring might make women less likely to look at fighting as a game, the way men to this day are prone to do (not all of them, of course). For men, fighting can be fun. The danger is a gamble, but we understand the psychology of gambling, too.

For women a fight that includes protecting genetic family from child killers is never a game. Remember that paternity is imperative to a patriarch, more than life itself. A woman, especially one who's stronger than a man her size, might fixate on the death of an attacker and become ruthless. Protecting one's child changes the concept of mercy and surrender. Are either even reasonable?

We aren't those precursor matrilineal people anymore, so it's hard to characterize what could have happened were women stronger. I didn't address women's language skills or diplomacy as these aren't strength dependent, and did not prevent the obliteration of matrilineal societies by the Indo-Europeans. What I've listed are things I'd consider if I were to rewrite history with only one change: Women being stronger.

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#EngenderedWriting 92 — How would it change society if women were and had always been physically stronger than men? CW: Patriarchy dissected.

It's a fun idea, and I know authors who are making it work. Still, my opinion, if strength is the only factor I am not sure it would have resulted in a society substantially different than our own. I'll analyze it for you authors so you can rewrite history.

It takes more than strength to make two people evenly matched. (I've been researching prizefighting.) Arm reach is the difference between your punch being blocked and being able to hit with few injuries. Speed and stamina matter. Weight and inertia matter. Think wrestling. All are more important than quantitative strength. This is why there are weight classes in most combative sports.

Unfortunately, women have a smaller stature on average. Weapons are an equalizer here, especially if women can wield heavier weapons than their male opponents. In a fantasy context, magic could be an equalizer. The male tendency toward aggression in aggregate could tip the scales if overwhelming force is applied.

The Indo-Europeans might have invented the concept of controlling women's sexuality to ensure a man could guarantee the paternity of a child and thus make passing property only down the male line arguably reasonable. This usurps matriarchy. This is the true definition of patriarchy. Theories are that Indo-Europeans attacked pre-existing matrilineal societies. There is archeological evidence of prior societies that seem to have been lead by women. Their demise might be the genocides hinted at in the Bible. Who would win (or would have won) if women were significantly stronger?

Women do have their advantages. Arguably speed due to less inertia, especially with added strength. Not natively aggressive in general, they might be better able to pick the winnable fights while angry men might be thinking emotionally. Flexibility. A greater biological investment in offspring might make women less likely to look at fighting as a game, the way men to this day are prone to do (not all of them, of course). For men, fighting can be fun. The danger is a gamble, but we understand the psychology of gambling, too.

For women a fight that includes protecting genetic family from child killers is never a game. Remember that paternity is imperative to a patriarch, more than life itself. A woman, especially one who's stronger than a man her size, might fixate on the death of an attacker and become ruthless. Protecting one's child changes the concept of mercy and surrender. Are either even reasonable?

We aren't those precursor matrilineal people anymore, so it's hard to characterize what could have happened were women stronger. I didn't address women's language skills or diplomacy as these aren't strength dependent, and did not prevent the obliteration of matrilineal societies by the Indo-Europeans. What I've listed are things I'd consider if I were to rewrite history with only one change: Women being stronger.

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#EngenderedWriting 92 — How would it change society if women were and had always been physically stronger than men? CW: Patriarchy dissected.

It's a fun idea, and I know authors who are making it work. Still, my opinion, if strength is the only factor I am not sure it would have resulted in a society substantially different than our own. I'll analyze it for you authors so you can rewrite history.

It takes more than strength to make two people evenly matched. (I've been researching prizefighting.) Arm reach is the difference between your punch being blocked and being able to hit with few injuries. Speed and stamina matter. Weight and inertia matter. Think wrestling. All are more important than quantitative strength. This is why there are weight classes in most combative sports.

Unfortunately, women have a smaller stature on average. Weapons are an equalizer here, especially if women can wield heavier weapons than their male opponents. In a fantasy context, magic could be an equalizer. The male tendency toward aggression in aggregate could tip the scales if overwhelming force is applied.

The Indo-Europeans might have invented the concept of controlling women's sexuality to ensure a man could guarantee the paternity of a child and thus make passing property only down the male line arguably reasonable. This usurps matriarchy. This is the true definition of patriarchy. Theories are that Indo-Europeans attacked pre-existing matrilineal societies. There is archeological evidence of prior societies that seem to have been lead by women. Their demise might be the genocides hinted at in the Bible. Who would win (or would have won) if women were significantly stronger?

Women do have their advantages. Arguably speed due to less inertia, especially with added strength. Not natively aggressive in general, they might be better able to pick the winnable fights while angry men might be thinking emotionally. Flexibility. A greater biological investment in offspring might make women less likely to look at fighting as a game, the way men to this day are prone to do (not all of them, of course). For men, fighting can be fun. The danger is a gamble, but we understand the psychology of gambling, too.

For women a fight that includes protecting genetic family from child killers is never a game. Remember that paternity is imperative to a patriarch, more than life itself. A woman, especially one who's stronger than a man her size, might fixate on the death of an attacker and become ruthless. Protecting one's child changes the concept of mercy and surrender. Are either even reasonable?

We aren't those precursor matrilineal people anymore, so it's hard to characterize what could have happened were women stronger. I didn't address women's language skills or diplomacy as these aren't strength dependent, and did not prevent the obliteration of matrilineal societies by the Indo-Europeans. What I've listed are things I'd consider if I were to rewrite history with only one change: Women being stronger.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#EngenderedWriting 92 — How would it change society if women were and had always been physically stronger than men? CW: Patriarchy dissected.

It's a fun idea, and I know authors who are making it work. Still, my opinion, if strength is the only factor I am not sure it would have resulted in a society substantially different than our own. I'll analyze it for you authors so you can rewrite history.

It takes more than strength to make two people evenly matched. (I've been researching prizefighting.) Arm reach is the difference between your punch being blocked and being able to hit with few injuries. Speed and stamina matter. Weight and inertia matter. Think wrestling. All are more important than quantitative strength. This is why there are weight classes in most combative sports.

Unfortunately, women have a smaller stature on average. Weapons are an equalizer here, especially if women can wield heavier weapons than their male opponents. In a fantasy context, magic could be an equalizer. The male tendency toward aggression in aggregate could tip the scales if overwhelming force is applied.

The Indo-Europeans might have invented the concept of controlling women's sexuality to ensure a man could guarantee the paternity of a child and thus make passing property only down the male line arguably reasonable. This usurps matriarchy. This is the true definition of patriarchy. Theories are that Indo-Europeans attacked pre-existing matrilineal societies. There is archeological evidence of prior societies that seem to have been lead by women. Their demise might be the genocides hinted at in the Bible. Who would win (or would have won) if women were significantly stronger?

Women do have their advantages. Arguably speed due to less inertia, especially with added strength. Not natively aggressive in general, they might be better able to pick the winnable fights while angry men might be thinking emotionally. Flexibility. A greater biological investment in offspring might make women less likely to look at fighting as a game, the way men to this day are prone to do (not all of them, of course). For men, fighting can be fun. The danger is a gamble, but we understand the psychology of gambling, too.

For women a fight that includes protecting genetic family from child killers is never a game. Remember that paternity is imperative to a patriarch, more than life itself. A woman, especially one who's stronger than a man her size, might fixate on the death of an attacker and become ruthless. Protecting one's child changes the concept of mercy and surrender. Are either even reasonable?

We aren't those precursor matrilineal people anymore, so it's hard to characterize what could have happened were women stronger. I didn't address women's language skills or diplomacy as these aren't strength dependent, and did not prevent the obliteration of matrilineal societies by the Indo-Europeans. What I've listed are things I'd consider if I were to rewrite history with only one change: Women being stronger.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#fighting #prizefighting #indo-european #strength #women #matrilineal #matriarchy #patriarchy

#EngenderedWriting 92 — How would it change society if women were and had always been physically stronger than men? CW: Patriarchy dissected.

It's a fun idea, and I know authors who are making it work. Still, my opinion, if strength is the only factor I am not sure it would have resulted in a society substantially different than our own. I'll analyze it for you authors so you can rewrite history.

It takes more than strength to make two people evenly matched. (I've been researching prizefighting.) Arm reach is the difference between your punch being blocked and being able to hit with few injuries. Speed and stamina matter. Weight and inertia matter. Think wrestling. All are more important than quantitative strength. This is why there are weight classes in most combative sports.

Unfortunately, women have a smaller stature on average. Weapons are an equalizer here, especially if women can wield heavier weapons than their male opponents. In a fantasy context, magic could be an equalizer. The male tendency toward aggression in aggregate could tip the scales if overwhelming force is applied.

The Indo-Europeans might have invented the concept of controlling women's sexuality to ensure a man could guarantee the paternity of a child and thus make passing property only down the male line arguably reasonable. This usurps matriarchy. This is the true definition of patriarchy. Theories are that Indo-Europeans attacked pre-existing matrilineal societies. There is archeological evidence of prior societies that seem to have been lead by women. Their demise might be the genocides hinted at in the Bible. Who would win (or would have won) if women were significantly stronger?

Women do have their advantages. Arguably speed due to less inertia, especially with added strength. Not natively aggressive in general, they might be better able to pick the winnable fights while angry men might be thinking emotionally. Flexibility. A greater biological investment in offspring might make women less likely to look at fighting as a game, the way men to this day are prone to do (not all of them, of course). For men, fighting can be fun. The danger is a gamble, but we understand the psychology of gambling, too.

For women a fight that includes protecting genetic family from child killers is never a game. Remember that paternity is imperative to a patriarch, more than life itself. A woman, especially one who's stronger than a man her size, might fixate on the death of an attacker and become ruthless. Protecting one's child changes the concept of mercy and surrender. Are either even reasonable?

We aren't those precursor matrilineal people anymore, so it's hard to characterize what could have happened were women stronger. I didn't address women's language skills or diplomacy as these aren't strength dependent, and did not prevent the obliteration of matrilineal societies by the Indo-Europeans. What I've listed are things I'd consider if I were to rewrite history with only one change: Women being stronger.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#fighting #prizefighting #indo-european #strength #women #matrilineal #matriarchy #patriarchy

#EngenderedWriting 91 — Overnight all biological females (regardless of orientation or preference) become on-par as strong as males. How would this change one of your stories?

I'll admit this would be an interesting premise, especially with how much most societies have double-downed on the biological differences between the sexes with boy-culture that teaches men to flaunt their strength and act aggressive, and girl-culture that teaches women to believe they're meek and must be dependent. Largely, I suspect things will only change at the periphery, with cultural programming and male stature (arm and leg length) maintaining the status quo for most. The interesting story would be feature the few that want to change things, the few who might not be so easily cowed. The story would depend on the psychology of the woman MC and her desire to change the world by breaking the rules, or making new ones for women.

I have a story where this is essentially the case for about 2/3rds of the population, as long as nobody is trying to hurt someone. The MC is from the other unequalized third of the population, and she's being trained as a prizefighter. Against both genders. It's strength against cunning, combined with avoiding getting hit, fighting for the championship. In other words, it's about the psychology of strength.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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