Love #FlashFiction? Love #SpeculativeFiction? Join me for this @smokelong.bsky.social #WritingWorkshop and I'll give you the tools to write speculative fiction as metaphor, one of my FAVOURITE THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE: www.smokelong.com/product/spec... #Writing #WritingCommunity

I've just reached 1,800 free subscribers on my Substack! I know that we are all bombarded with great and not-so-great content every day, so thank you for finding value in my writing craft analysis and writing tips! tommydean.substack.com

Very cool! 🎉🎉🎉

I've just reached 1,800 free subscribers on my Substack! I know that we are all bombarded with great and not-so-great content every day, so thank you for finding value in my writing craft analysis and writing tips! tommydean.substack.com

I’m looking for some great mysteries in my agent inbox!

"...many of us are moved to surround him, our hands finding his shoulder, the back of his neck, his forehead and elbow, and when we look back Hal is alone, quiet, eyes shut to a pain we won’t let him utter."

In our next post about what we look for in submissions to @frazzledlit.bsky.social, I consider the elements of good flash fiction, with reference to the wise words of @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social! www.frazzledlit.com/p/zap-me-baby

"...we should allow our final nightmares to sluice through the holes of our fragile nets and dissipate like a rising, rising fog..." Love the lovely rush & tumble of @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute

"and your chest threatens to break the drumbeat, to lose all rhythm, and we, through all the nights and days and seconds and hours, so many hours..." 💔 @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute!

Truly enjoyed creating art for the 9th Anniversary issue for the Ghost Parachute magazine. Thank you @brettpribble.bsky.social and @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social who’s fantastic story you can read here. Also, huge thanks to my daughter Lara and her collaboration on this mixed media artwork. Love you!

"...bodies, even as old as ours could still tremble at the right touch in the right place, how we were all just a memory away from pleasure or pain or that murky water of the ponds in-between." A banger by @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute!

New flash in Ghost Parachute! Big thanks to @mynachang.bsky.social for the beta read! "How we all wanted it to come in our sleep, if we had a choice, and since we were allowed, in this group setting, to talk freely about our desires..." ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

New flash in Ghost Parachute! Big thanks to @mynachang.bsky.social for the beta read! "How we all wanted it to come in our sleep, if we had a choice, and since we were allowed, in this group setting, to talk freely about our desires..." ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

Read "In the Back Row of the Nostalgia Group, We Talked about Death" written by @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social. "So we agreed on lying in our beds, the sun just razoring through the blinds, soft shadows that often welcomed us..." tinyurl.com/4v5sum4h

New mini-essay on why querying authors should read debut novels! "Pre-published authors can learn so much about positioning their future book in the marketplace, how they might angle it in a query, how they might learn craft tips for pacing and readability..." t.co/QDFo2d14HO

This month's round-up of courses, workshops and events from your friendly neighbourhood freelancers: fromthecoursesmouth.substack.com/p/oct-nov-25... Includes stuff from @pleomorphic2.bsky.social @megpokrass.bsky.social @retreatwest.bsky.social @stillsquirrel.bsky.social

@ruthabrandt.bsky.social @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social @jmgatford.bsky.social @taniahershman.bsky.social @tenpennydreams.bsky.social @saloneurope.bsky.social @smokelong.bsky.social So many exciting things coming up. 🤩

Ever wonder why your query letters aren’t getting responses? 🤔 You're not alone! Writers ask me all the time: "How can I make my pitch stand out to agents?" Here’s the truth — it’s all about clarity, hook, and market fit. But figuring that out alone? Tough and time-consuming. #mswl #literaryagent

Revision tip: check your manuscript for gasp, held breath, twisted guts, glanced, saw, felt, monitor, control, lighting strike, smiled, fringed, glared, sucked in, scrunched, blood stopped, ran cold, anything filtering emotions as bodily responses, especially ones which are involuntary in real life

I have some new goals for my craft letter site: I'd love to reach 2,000 total subscribers and 40 paid subscribers by the end of the year! New paid essay on using setting to create story occasions is up now! tommydean.substack.com

"I saw your little brother at Canadian Tire. He never really got any taller. He just grew into his face." Sacha Bissonnette's "Glass Birds Annex" trampset.org/glass-birds-...

Open for submissions. Send us a 6-sentence story with no more than 400 words. #microfiction gooseberry-pie.com/open-for-sub...

Your weekend #writingprompt courtesy of @careerauthors.com #booksky careerauthors.com/writing-prom...

AGENT SPOTLIGHT: Tommy Dean of Rosecliff Literary! Tommy answers some of our pressing questions and reveals his MSWL and how much he loves collaborating with authors! Learn more, and see if he might be your dream agent, in our blog: writingdayworkshops.com/blog @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social

Revision tip: check your manuscript for gasp, held breath, twisted guts, glanced, saw, felt, monitor, control, lighting strike, smiled, fringed, glared, sucked in, scrunched, blood stopped, ran cold, anything filtering emotions as bodily responses, especially ones which are involuntary in real life

Why is the character unique, what are the conflicts (pressures) making them act, what happens if they don't act? Lots of authors miss adding this last part, but those are the stakes, the thing that goes beyond their desires to force them into action.

Character + desire+obstacle+stakes is why you think people will want to read your book. It's not a summary taking in all of the main events of the book, but hooking us, making us want to follow your protagonist!

So, for agents and editors who are reading thousands of pitches a year, we don't want a summary, but the reason we should read more, the reason book-buyers (readers) would want to read more! This is a transition from the art of writing to thinking about publishing as a business.

What the character has to lose is what gets them motivated, and what they gain is often hidden from them, but it's the main part of the journey for the reader!

“I used to picture what our lives might have been like had things gone differently... In many ways, it was a futile exercise, and yet it was still a thing I did, in the same way one might revisit a poor decision over and over again, even though in doing so nothing is changed, no solace is found.”

🧵 1/5 Agents and editors aren't asking writers to describe or summarize their 80,000-word book in one sentence. The word summarize is the problem. The logline or the 1 sentence pitch, is the hook! It's to show that the story occasion is unique!

🧵 1/5 Agents and editors aren't asking writers to describe or summarize their 80,000-word book in one sentence. The word summarize is the problem. The logline or the 1 sentence pitch, is the hook! It's to show that the story occasion is unique!

I’ve just wolfed this down! A wonderful collection. Set in the 70s and 80s this was a trip down memory lane for me. I particularly love the title story and its ending line… Powerful. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 @kazbarwrites.bsky.social

It's my birthday! I'm thrilled every day to do the kind of literary work I'm privileged to do and work with creative people through my classes, my litmags, and my agenting! I'm looking forward to a great year of literary community!

Hey flashy folk! I'm excited to be running a 2-part workshop with Flash Fiction Magazine on 11-12th Oct on the 'snapshot' story! Learn how to transform ordinary observations and vignettes into compelling flash with depth, shape and nuance: flashfictionmagazine.com/the-snapshot...

Congrats on PARDON ME FOR [email protected]

Writing is amazing, but publishing is a different story. If you’re going to put yourself through publishing, make sure you write the stuff you love. Always.

She remembers running her finger over the tattoo and laughing, which pissed him off. He grabbed her, hard, and for the first time, she thought maybe she’d made a mistake. the tension just oozes in this one @emilyrinkema.bsky.social @fictivedream.bsky.social

We've got some room if you'd like 2 hours to learn and use some new prose revision tips and tricks! 9/30/2025 2-4 pm EST. Message me to sign up!

New Client announcement! I'm so excited to work with @jessecaps.bsky.social on bringing his historical campus noir mystery to readers! Jesse is a fantastic writer, and this is just the start of a great career! @roseclifflit.bsky.social

you both agreed, somehow, through the labyrinth of legalese that there was nothing wrong, but boredom and a little contempt, but no more than you had for yourselves each time you looked in the mirror The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction winner! @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social @lascauxreview.bsky.social

Thrilled to announce I’ve signed with @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social at Rosecliff Literary to represent my debut novel A Body at Rest, a historical mystery set in 1945 Ithaca, NY. Excited to share more as the publishing journey unfolds!

New Client announcement! I'm so excited to work with @jessecaps.bsky.social on bringing his historical campus noir mystery to readers! Jesse is a fantastic writer, and this is just the start of a great career! @roseclifflit.bsky.social

My story "The Storm," featuring wandering goats & grilled cheese. Thank you @literaryruby.bsky.social. Can't wait to dive into this issue! rubyliterarypress.com/issue-six-is...

Just spent some time with the new issue from @thin-skin.bsky.social Wow! The quality is breathtaking! @ruralunease.bsky.social and @sudhab.bsky.social have outstanding pieces of work included. Both took my breath away with the perfection of their words.🌟

This month's round-up of freelance / indy workshops, courses and events, featuring brilliant-sounding stuff from @stillsquirrel.bsky.social @taniahershman.bsky.social @pleomorphic2.bsky.social @retreatwest.bsky.social @laurabesley.bsky.social... fromthecoursesmouth.substack.com/p/sept-oct-2...

@ruthabrandt.bsky.social @nivenaudrey.bsky.social @finnwritesstuff.bsky.social @smokelong.bsky.social @devaneemily.bsky.social @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social and others!

I have some new goals for my craft letter site: I'd love to reach 2,000 total subscribers and 40 paid subscribers by the end of the year! New paid essay on using setting to create story occasions is up now! tommydean.substack.com

With thanks to @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social, @kathmschmidt.bsky.social, @trishhopkinsonpoet.bsky.social, @howardlovy.bsky.social, @publisherswkly.bsky.social for sourcing.

Every story I drafted in this class was published, plus I met @kazbarwrites.bsky.social !