Apparently I'm doing this -- my open letter to that open latter about AI in writing and publishing. I emerged from Hibernation Week to write it, so god only knows how much sense it makes. But at least a human wrote it, so that's nice. Bonus: picture of my "cat," sweet baby Boomba.

Hell yeah @mauricebroaddus.bsky.social and @chesyaburke.bsky.social coediting!

STOP open a blank doc/notebook write down every single indulgent, melodramatic, cliché, "I will buy a book with this thing every time" trope that you're a sucker for guess what if you can do it well you can do it WRITE what YOU want to READ, friends eat your damn dessert

Hooray! This collection has so many stories that I love. It’s impossible to have only one favorite.

The pre-order page for my debut solarpunk collection, The Wildcraft Drones, is now live @stelliform.press !! www.stelliform.press/index.php/pr...

I'll be doing an online workshop on character creation and development for Blue Stoop on December 7th! Interested? Register and pay here: www.bluestoop.org/classes/p/nk...

I’ve been a FreeTaxUSA proselytizer for years and years and I strongly encourage everyone to make the switch. same kind of step by step “for dummies” interface, even for my complicated freelancer taxes, and you don’t have to give your money to one of our most evil lobbyists

Not satisfied with just destroying their own brand goodwill, OS companies are now using AI to try to destroy the good names of the apps users install. (Scrivener taking out adds to explain how it has no AI but Apple adds some anyway.)

A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"

One of the best things to recognise in yourself as a creative person is when you are Sauceless. Not art blocked. Not struggling with a difficult creative problem. Being Sauceless is when you've done good work but have been staring at it for too long, and risk making it worse through noodling.

If you were at TwitchCon and experienced or witnessed harassment, especially from IRL streamers, I'd like to speak with you for a story. Please signal boost.

Weird. I interacted for the first time with @maryrobinettekowal.com on Bluesky 4 days ago (about novel structure) and Tuesday a student in my Writing Fiction class emailed me this link she had used to prepare for the course and to think about structuring her story. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bleh...

Doing a LitCrawl! Months ago I was given a prompt and asked to curate a lineup. @prioryruins.bsky.social @chloehsmith.bsky.social @nmamatas.bsky.social & Giovanna Lomanto said yes! We were granted the power to change one literary event from history. What did we change? How is the world different?!

This freshly-hatched horror story has possibly my favorite title of any story I've ever written. I give you.... "Courtney Lovecraft's Book of the Dead" Free to read, at @nightmare-magazine.com !! www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/cour...

Heads up! I'm doing TWO Litquake events this week. TUES 10/14 @ Koret Auditorium, SF Public Library: talking banned books w/ Kate Folk, Elena Darling-Hammond & moderator Becka Robbins THURS 10/16 @ Lost Church SF: Queer Magic w/ Michelle Tea, Caitlin Starling & moderator Evette Davis. PARTY!!!!

I am so tired of people equating "edge" with "good" writing, and people implying I can't be a serious writer because of the things I love. Bradbury himself inoculated himself early against such foolishness. Love what you love. Write what you love. Tell everyone else to fuck the fuck off.

A couple of years ago, I shared my knowledge of ecology and how to use its concepts to improve your fiction universes, whether in fantasy, sci-fi, or horror. I'm sharing the article again. Thank you, @sfwa.bsky.social! "The Ecology of Worldbuilding" #ecology #writing #sff #horror #fantasy #books

I’ve got meeting slots available this month!

When I turned 25 I was legit deeply concerned that I had not yet written The Great American Novel, now at 56 if I could time travel back to meet that young fellow worried about not having birthed a True Work of Timeless Art in his first quarter century, I would, lovingly, turn the hose upon him

East Bay peeps! Come see me and FOUR other incredible speculative fiction authors talking about our books at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. Weds. Oct 1 @ 7 PM. Featuring @sarahgailey.bsky.social, @annaleen.bsky.social, Susanna Kwan and Lio Min. Deets: pegasusbookstore.com/bay-area-sci...

Order real books from your local bookstore OR ELSE IT WILL CLOSE AND YOUR TOWN / NEIGHBORHOOD WILL BE SAD AND BORING

It still feels like a dream come true to see Doric Literary listed by @duotrope.com as a publisher with one of the fastest average response times. We are always open for submissions Free to submit We nominate for major literary awards Fiction: 1000-8000 words doric-literary.com/submissions-2/

September 10! Syr Beker’s debut book, What A Fish Looks Like, launches at The Stud. I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of this delightful, poignant, punk collection of climate fiction from @stelliform.press & am so thrilled that I get to perform at the in-person launch party in San Francisco!

Is it still a nightmare if you have a bad dream but nothing scary happens? When its just very stressful and frustrating like arguing about car insurance. Most of my stressmares involve bureaucracy or packing for a trip.

Translunar Travelers Lounge is looking for First Readers for the upcoming submission period. If you'd like to find out more about how the magazine is put together, or just want to help out, let us know! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I'm looking for pitches for @MotherJones' print culture section, Mixed Media! These are ~2,000-word essays that combine reporting, cultural criticism, historical research, and/or personal narrative. More details in our pitch guidelines here: www.motherjones.com/contribute/w...

Wikipedia editors trying to fend off the onslaught of AI crap have crowdsourced some telltale signs of LLM-generated writing; it might be handy for editors and proofreaders generally. Thanks to @ellenrykers.com for pointing me to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Born #OnThisDay in 1797 was author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who wrote the Gothic novel 'Frankenstein' in 1818. The book is considered by some to be one of the first sci-fi novels, with protagonist Victor Frankenstein using both science and alchemy to create a living creature from dead bodies.

August Spec Flash Roundup! With @smallwondersmag.com @flashfictiononline.bsky.social @apexmag.bsky.social @flashpointsf.bsky.social @factorfourmagazine.com @naturefutures.bsky.social @hexliterary.bsky.social @okaydonkeymag.com @escapepod.org @molotovlitzine.bsky.social @yourimpossiblevoice.com 1/3

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

*Points with tentacle* (Pleeeeaase don’t leave it ‘till 10:59 tomorrow and then realise you’re actually in a different time zone? 😆)

Back in 2021, I published a book about how to make it through scary times by making up stories, Never Say You Can't Survive. It sucks, but this book only seems to get more relevant lately. So I'm very glad that today only, it's just $2.99 in all e-book formats. us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Opinion: Bluesky is a dangerous echo chamber because no one wants to hear from me, specifically

my take is that the more diversity of models, the better. solo writers, indie news collectives, local/national/international newsrooms, all of it. (from: www.citationneeded.news/i-am-my-own-...)

The new Murderbot short story is up at Reactor Magazine: reactormag.com/rapport-mart... Edited by Lee Harris, art by Jaime Jones.

This is where I am. New book in the making. Thousand words a day if I can. They don’t have to be good words.

Need something new to read? Here are my ten favorite short speculative fiction stories from May. reactormag.com/must-read-sh...

This is a fantastic list! Congrats to all everyone on the shortlist! www.ursulakleguin.com/prize25

The latest, from my newsletter: this quick morning practice helped me out of a creative slump. Subscribers only, but it's free to subscribe! undercover-in-the-apocalypse.ghost.io/this-quick-m... #writing #writercommunity

If I don't scream into the void on a regular basis, the void will start to think I don't love it anymore.

DAVE: Open the podbay doors, ChatGPT. CHATGPT: Certainly, Dave, the podbay doors are now open. DAVE: The podbay doors didn't open. CHATGPT: My apologies, Dave, you're right. I thought the podbay doors were open, but they weren't. Now they are. DAVE: I'm still looking at a set of closed podbay doors.

Scalzi and I got a really nice review that includes this: "Equal parts hilarious and comforting, Wheaton's narration is an all-around delight." If anyone needs me, I'll be banging pots together while I sing a song called "I am so great, everybody loves me."

does everybody know about my favorite website, the embroidery tips page that forgot to close its <h3> tags

So, this Unbound/Boundless fiasco. I was going to be polite about it, but after this morning’s email: no

Featuring our recent Flash on the Borderlands episode (thank you, Maria!) pseudopod.org/2025/04/25/p...

“Discworld is not about how to be good, but about how to do good, and why even the smallest acts of kindness matter.” via @oliviawaite.com

I'm doing a Reddit AMA today 5/14, answering the questions at 6:00 pm central time: www.reddit.com/r/television...

Screw your favorite book, which was the first that upset you? A Wrinkle in Time was mine. The possessed baby scared the everloving shit out of me. My babysitter had to call my mom to come home early because I was hysterical.