Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #writersofmastodon, aggregated by home.social.
#WordWeavers Oct 6:
What is considered completely normal in your story's world that would seem bizarre to us?
Like a lot of people of her time, Justice doesn't eat breakfast because it's sinful.
Hope, on the other hand, has to eat breakfast as a performance art, witnessed by hundreds, even if she's not in the mood to eat.
#Writing #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #WritersofMastodon #Story
#ScribesAndMakers Oct 6:
On a scale of 0-100, how much conflict is necessary for a compelling story?
Somewhere between 1 and 70.
A mad lad's adventure war story needs a lot more conflict than a children's book about a binge-eating caterpillar.
#Writing #AmWriting #WritingCommunity #WritersofMastodon #Story
#PennedPossibilities 1149: Think of a choice your MC made. How did it lead to where and who they are now?
I've talked about Bolt's series of stupid decisions that led to her being involuntarily employed by the mob. A dozen years later, the story starts with her photographing something incredibly newsworthy. A "cub" reporter at the scene, with a broken camera, asks her if she'll sell her photographs. Even though he uses the day angel equivalent of calling her the n-word to get her attention when she ignores him in the crowd, she chooses to sell.
The entire novel is predicated on that yes. If we consider "now" the last chapters, the "how did it lead to where and who they are" is her dealing with the fallout of becoming a famous photographer, helping (and protecting) new friends she meets, juggling multiple identities, and knowing "interesting" people on both sides of the law who are interested in those on the "opposite" side, and having no choice but to become involved when she knows better.
For Bolt, it's a real mess…
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
@Priyajsridhar
I'm Elektra Hammond. Find me at untilmidnight.com
See me talk about SF/F, RHPS, comics, TV, and Supernatural at Con-Tinual (the Con that Never Ends) on FB & Youtube.
I'll be decompressing and reading this month's banned book: To Kill a Mockingbird.
Until next week, I'm here on Mastodon, and occasionally on Bluesky & Instagram, too.
Same bat time, same bat channel.
#writephant #WritingCommunity #amwriting #amediting #alternatehistory #writersofmastodon #ConTinual #ZNB
#PennedPossibilities 1149: Think of a choice your MC made. How did it lead to where and who they are now?
It was the choice to seek out the man she had been dreaming of and to learn why it was happening. Zerika is learning how to become a better person now, not just a skilled "huntress" (AKA a monster killer for hire). Every single day she’s changing and softening a little more, but all in a good way. She’s growing into a woman with friends, with a found family, a home, and finding her very own happiness. Oh, and she’s found her soulmate.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
Today is my share date for this CRIME STORIES promo at Book Funnel. I love these genre-specific promos. You can browse cool book covers, peek behind each one, and see if your next read is right there in front of you. My Appalachian fiction GOOSE CREEK HOLLER is featured, so if you stop by the link, take a peek inside GOOSE CREEK HOLLER by clicking on my cover.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/crimestoriesfictionandnonfiction/zl8x3fx5up
#Books #Bookstodon #Booksky #BookReview #Novel #selfPromo #indieAuthor #indieAuthors #indie #GooseCreekHoller #ruralnoir #crimeFiction #crimeReads #crime #stories #storytelling #fiction #scribesAndMakers #Mastodon #fediverse #writingCommunity #writing #writer #writersOfMastodon #writersCoffeeClub #writers #Southern #Southernfiction #Appalachia #Appalachian
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.10.05 — What haunts the narrative of your current work?
The first line of the story is the main character becoming conscious while in motion and continuing as if nothing happened. I hope it is haunting, and her acceptance of it eerie, even if neither her blackouts nor the story have anything supernatural about them.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#WordWeavers 2026.10.05 — If your characters had to swap lives for a week, which pairing would create the most chaos?
Rainy Days and Spilling Mead could defo swap bodies. Actually, there's worse but that would be plot advancement by stupidity. This is apples to apples since both are controlling individuals (the antagonists) who understand governing others, and both can work miracles beyond the household ones of which most daemons are capable. There would be zero handicaps regarding learning each other's body.
Literally, not figuratively, the world might freeze over or burn up as a result of this swap, about which I will give no clues. Assuming somehow the pair solve the rapid-death problem, possible even in the context of the series, each person has a completely different philosophy about dealing with life's interruptions.
Though Boss Mead is technically the bad guy mobster, it's impossible to imagine him trying to eliminate Rainy Days to take over the whole enchilada. He's a chill spider in a web sort; he might play with the constabulary and records, while enjoying attending theatre events, throwing a state event, and confusing everybody by not acting like the Director of Home and the Nine Outer Worlds. He knows his one-week lease could end with him losing his security deposit if he's not respectful.
On the other hand, Rainy Days is a bit evil. She might take care of a few personal scores in a way only a syndicate don is capable of—with none the wiser—investigate her underlings in the constabulary and the bureaucracy with Boss Mead's mob minions to find failings or corruption, and possibly improve Boss Mead's network to force him do things she wants to happen but can't do through proper channels.
But wait.
There's one more thing!
Rainy Days gets to be male for a week? Rainy Days will gleefully take advantage of the equipment swap. Yes, she would want her swapped-out body to be on the receiving end.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
https://storykeepr.com/promo/c0c5PbmwHVtY?ref=D5dRwMBxYooo
Check out this book fair!
#romancereaders #bookish #readingcommunity #readerscommunity #kaleidoscoperomance #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bookstoread #readers #books #romancebooks #romancereads #booklover #bookrecs #Bookstodon #romancelandia #writersofmastodon
https://storykeepr.com/promo/s35KEPTAsZ3o?ref=K9ySWD6qQq8s
Browse this book fair!
#romancereaders #bookish #readingcommunity #readerscommunity #kaleidoscoperomance #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bookstoread #readers #books #romancebooks #romancereads #booklover #bookrecs #Bookstodon #romancelandia #writersofmastodon
https://featuredreads.kaleidoscoperomance.com/october-2026-featured-reads?ref=TB2XVT0mdV4Q
Browse the October Featured Reads!
#romancereaders #bookish #readingcommunity #readerscommunity #kaleidoscoperomance #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bookstoread #readers #books #romancebooks #romancereads #booklover #bookrecs #Bookstodon #romancelandia #writersofmastodon
#PhantastikPrompts 10/5: What is the best thing that has ever happened to you as an author?
Being told that I'm a "comfort author" by friends and readers of mine. That I'm someone they come to read when the require some peace and quiet, need to emotionally recharge after a long day, and want something good to enjoy reading. There is no better feeling than being told that.
#PhantastikPrompts 10/4: Do you have female authors as role models? Tell us about them.
Many, actually. But one of them is here on Mastodon. She's @Firlefanz, and she's also a very good friend of mine and one of my favorite authors. Please go follow her and check out her stories. :11111:
Interesting take. I want to agree, but mainly because, you know, I love what I do.
source: https://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-safest-job-from-ai-may-be-writing.html
#ScribesAndMakers 10/5: Excluding unfinished work, what's the longest it's taken you to complete a project?
A decade or longer. But I'm a dedicated bish, so nothing can stop me.
#ScribesAndMakers 10/4: Do you include details in your work that are important to you even though no one else will likely notice?
I always do, and yet my readers and friends somehow still notice them. Probably because they know me so well, and they know my writing style by heart.
#WritersCoffeeClub 10/5: What haunts the narrative of your current work?
The antagonist that no one knows about yet. (I've spoken about her before, in depth, in other posts.)
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
#WritersCoffeeClub 10/4: How isolated are your characters in your current WIP?
They aren't yet, but they will be. 😅
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
#WordWeavers 10/5: If your characters had to swap lives for a week, which pairing would create the most chaos?
Zerika and Grigga. While Grigga *has* been a shield-maiden and warrior in her lifetime, killing monsters (like Zerika does) is another story entirely. On the other hand, Zerika would never survive as an innkeeper, either. She's such an introvert. She isn't very good with strangers. She does her best, though. Ergo, she would struggle so much with the job. And taking care of Grigga's family as well, which is another good point. That woman (an orc) has five children who are all rowdy, lovely, and crazy. Zerika wouldn't be able to handle her pack of children.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
#WordWeavers 10/4: What is your MC's most irrational fear? Where did it come from?
Making friends. It's both rational and irrational at the same time. People have stabbed her in the back far too many times, and it's left her scarred, battered, and bruised.
(Somehow, this never happened with Elric, though. She was never afraid of a possible friendship. She might have been unwilling to accept his kindness, was bashful as well, but she eventually relented.)
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
#WritersCoffeeClub 5 October. What haunts the narrative of your current work?
Joseph, an ex-patriot Zulu sangoma and member of the demi-monde living in London, is trying to stop his people from being haunted by a Tokoloshe, a South African water spirit.
Despite his best efforts he is unable to banish the creature and has to call on his friends within the magical community for help.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
The seventh chapter of The Prince of Dreams is available on The Reader's Well
https://sites.google.com/view/thereaderswell
#amreading #writersofmastodon#writingcommunity #indieauthor #bookcommunity #newrelease #interactive
My Word of the Day today is CONTRE-JOUR. Share YOUR words to describe this picture in the comments!
Contre-jour, borrowed from French contre-jour, contre, against (in physical contact with), against (not in favor of), against (having as an opponent), as against (as opposed to, compared to, in contrast with), + jour, day; daylight, light; opening, aperture.
Meaning: backlighting (photography), a similar effect achieved in painting (art).
The photo shows late-afternoon sunlight illuminating an intricate network of moss-cloaked tree branches in garden setting. The backlit moss glows with rich olive and chartreuse tones, forming coral-like contours against shadowed bark. Delicate maple foliage and leafy shrubs frame the tangled boughs, while small berries dot the darker foreground, creating an enchanting woodland atmosphere.
Personally, at this time of the year, I’m raging against the light which seems to be perpetually in my eyes because the sun is so low in the sky…
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
#writersCoffeeClub Oct 5:
What haunts the narrative of your current work?
Endless political conflict leading to endless war. Misogyny. Sexism. Suffocating relationships with mothers. Difficulty locating the right pair of shoes for the occasion. Religious zealotry.
Y'know. The usual.
#PennedPossibilities 1148 Is your favorite genre to read also your favorite one to write?
No. I read mostly lightweight fantasy or fantasy comedy. So lightweight it's really as if the author has only taken it on a train past a fantasy factory.
The Big Novel... is historical fantasy? Fantastical history? Fabulism? Magical Realism?
I don't know how to classify it. Which will be a problem. For later.
#ScribesAndMakers Oct 5:
Excluding unfinished work, what's the longest it has taken you to complete a project?
It once took me nearly 8 years to finish writing a short story.
But it takes as long as it takes, y'know? Unless you're on a contract deadline. Then it takes exactly as much time as they've given you, and not a penny more.
#WordWeavers Oct 5:
If your characters had to swap lives for a week, which pairing would create the most chaos?
Hope adapts fast to Justice's life. She's a better horsewoman, & would love a chance at freedom from her usual residence, but she probably wouldn't like the food.
Dread to think what Justice would do in Hope's place. She'd be a liability, berating people, attacking them. Probably be arrested and executed within hours.
#ScribesAndMakers 10/5. Excluding unfinished work, what's the longest it has taken you to complete a project?
My first long-form work, a non-fiction book entitled Aquatical•Latin, a guide to the etymology of the scientific names of reef fishes took me 3 years to write.
A certain amount of that was taken up with teaching myself Latin and Greek, plus all the hassle associated with self-publishing for the first time.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
2/2
Bond has been a major influence on the spy genre since the release of Dr. No with 22 secret agent films released in 1966 alone attempting to capitalise on the franchise's popularity and success.
The first parody was the 1964 film Carry On Spying.
One of the films that reacted against the portrayal of Bond was the Harry Palmer series, whose first film, The Ipcress File, starring Michael Caine, was released in 1965.
The eponymous hero is a rough-edged, petty crook turned spy and has been described as both an "anti-Bond” and "the thinking man's Bond".
The four Matt Helm films starring Dean Martin, the Flint series starring James Coburn whilst The Man from U.N.C.L.E. also moved onto the cinema screen, with eight films: all were testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture.
Recently, the Austin Powers series by Mike Myers, and other parodies such as the Johnny English trilogy of films, have also used elements from the Bond films.
Following the release of Dr. No the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase that entered the lexicon of Western popular culture and has been voted as the "best-loved one-liner in cinema" by British cinema goers.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
#WordWeavers 5/10: If your characters had to swap lives for a week, which pairing would create the most chaos?
Possibly Torvyn and Gafeira: Torvyn would probably do okay as an assistant mountain guide, but Gafeira would flounder as a portrait painter. She’s been heard to say she hasn’t an artistic bone in her body. And that’s before we get to the rest of their lives…
#books #writing #writersofmastodon
#PennedPossibilities 1148: Is your favorite genre to read also your favorite one to write?
I spent easily fifteen minutes threading the needle on this one in order to say no, but it's ridiculous. Looking at what I've read since 2015 I have to admit it's fantasy, and what I've written is also fantasy, though I write it as if I were writing science fiction. Limits. Rules. No mysticism. I dislike Tolkien-style fantasy, so it is never that. And that’s what I've been enjoying reading. If the main character(s) are female, all the better.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#ScribesAndMakers 2026.10.04 — <Do you include details in your work that are important to you even though no one else will likely notice?
Often. I try not to leave anything important enough that it could be misconstrued as a clue (since I structure all my stories like mysteries) and thus a red herring, but I do leave Easter eggs as I admitted last week in an answer to a prompt. (Oooo, you could go look it up!) If it adds color and makes a scene more real, it can stay, and more often than not it's backstory. I've been caught and had it pointed out, then tickled mercilessly until I wrote a story or a side-story based on it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#ScribesAndMakers 2026.10.03 — <Is there a common thread throughout your creative work (apart from the fact that you created it)?
Alien worlds. Societies far different than ours, where the unimaginable is sometimes real, like women not being forced to live lives they don't want, able to do what they've grown capable of… anything, sometimes things men can't do well even though they think they can.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#ScribesAndMakers 2026.10.05 — <Excluding unfinished work, what's the longest it has taken you to complete a project?
I am going to answer this inversely and perversely by saying, I once completed a flashfic of 800 words in 2 hours, a novelette of 13K words in 15 hours, and a novel 70K words in 2 months of 4 hours a day 4 hours a week. When I was counting. Beyond that, when it got done it did.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#PennedPossibilities 1148: Is your favorite genre to read also your favorite one to write?
It actually is. I devour fantasy tales with the same ferocity and love as when I write them. And it’s also my favorite genre of games to play, or a film and series genre to watch. I’m easy. But I will add that I really do love all genres, especially when you add a bit of romance. I’m not picky.
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.10.04 — How isolated are your characters in your current WIP?
Of all my characters, only the devil-girl is self-aware enough to realize she is isolated in her head—as she would point out are all people—that it is impossible to more than simulate the existence of "other" that is not oneself, that she can't prove that she isn't the only one in the universe. This is one of the reasons, perhaps, she accepts loneliness so readily, and living and studying in solitude. Nevertheless, she chooses to fill the void with people, despite her complaining and grousing about never being left alone to read and to study and to practice her tricks. She feels the best of her is that part that responds to the needs of others, for which she has trained and educated herself so diligently. In it, in her isolation, she finds purpose—and though she'd not admit that to anyone—joy. It's why she's able to commit to doing things that help those she feels responsible for—even to the point that it kills her (she's nearly died several times). In her worldview, she's not convinced death will change anything; instead, it will be the last thing she learns.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
https://featuredreads.kaleidoscoperomance.com/october-2026-featured-reads?ref=0rT7qbJ4YjRg
Check out Headless on Fright Night by May Furhst in the October Featured Reads!
#romancereaders #bookish #readingcommunity #readerscommunity #kaleidoscoperomance #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bookstoread #readers #books #romancebooks #romancereads #booklover #bookrecs #Bookstodon #romancelandia #writersofmastodon
https://featuredreads.kaleidoscoperomance.com/october-2026-featured-reads?ref=pAFdlXFEHZhj
Browse the October Featured Reads!
#romancereaders #bookish #readingcommunity #readerscommunity #kaleidoscoperomance #readersofmastodon #whattoread #bookstoread #readers #books #romancebooks #romancereads #booklover #bookrecs #Bookstodon #romancelandia #writersofmastodon
#WordWeavers 2026.10.04 — What is your MC's most irrational fear? Where did it come from?
Those few characters with irrational fears are dealing with mental illness, and currently aren't the MC. However, though the MC is a day angel with feathered wings meant for flying, she feared flying up until age ten. Falling, actually. An uncle got sick and tired of it, and the therapist bills, and her getting beat up at school, and shoved her off a cliff. It is one of many mysteries to contemplate in the stories as to how Bolt survived, considering day angels are still entirely human with no instinct for flight yet violate physics… Anyway, when she figured out she could fly she immediately feared landing, but that was handled within the day.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery ##sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#WordWeavers 2026.10.03 — Share a line from your WIP that foreshadows something important without giving it away.
In the prior paragraphs, Rainy Days has just discovered that Bolt's name is not "Tandem" as she thought, but "Good Eye." Yes, that's—count them—three (3) identities and it's complicated. To fully appreciate the tension below, pretend Rainy Days is their world's Queen Elizabeth I.
Rainy Days extended a fist for a bump and I bumped knuckles firmly in a womanly gesture. My knuckles felt like glass. They ought have clinked loudly. They ought have shattered as the commanding woman added, "I expect Good things. I'm keeping an Eye on you."
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#PennedPossibilities 1147: How does your SC feel about those around them?
The devil-girl rarely gives away her thoughts, often cynical and snide, but she has them about every one around her in Home City, for example, about Forge (as in Red Hot…). She's the school bully. When the devil-girl, fighting off a PTSD episode that this young woman triggered, accidentally demonstrates she is much more capable than all her new upper school classmates, it becomes as if she has gained a puppy. Forge cajoles and wheedles, nagging her to distraction, campaigning for some private tutoring. No, not that kind! What the devil-girl thinks after finally having agreed to teach—only to have her instructions ignored—could melt lead. But Forge will never know as the devil-girl rarely gives away her thoughts; murder might result and that's never good.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#PennedPossibilities 1147: How does your SC feel about those around them?
Damir cares about his friends, even if he never says the words aloud. Rather, he shows it, instead. As for everyone else around him, he couldn’t give less of a shit. He usually seems emotionless, unfazed, and cold to most. People assume this of necromancers. Some, meaning the special individuals and the sort who genuinely care about others, they can see the heart inside of him, the one he keeps hidden away. Damir does feel. He feels deeply.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
Found an old maps search tool:
Bookmark it or forget it?
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.10.03 3/3— How do you feel about spoilers?
Oddly enough, on Mastodon I leak quite a few. Spoilers. Of my own work. I want to be clear about that, but here's the realization: By the time the main stories publish I expect readers will have forgotten the details†. I'm no brand name. I'd rather provide content, take the time revising excerpts and creating mildly spoilery bits to test the waters, look for reactions, and tune the presentation to migrate details back to the novel. It's working so far.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† I may take down the posts eventually.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.10.03 2/3— How do you feel about spoilers?
You wanna lose a friend? Unsolicited tell me how a book ends, or a movie—predictions and deductions are okay for a shared viewing only. I never watch the previews, ever.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.10.03 1/3— How do you feel about spoilers?
If you read the end of all but my shortest stories, you will be unable to glean how the story turns out.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion