Oliver Blakemore
@oliverstoryteller.bsky.social
📤 53
📥 48
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Storyteller. Fantasy writer. Pitching my novel.
https://linktr.ee/olivershiny
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fight with books signup
Oliver gets in fights with books and shares stories about writing career.
https://mailchi.mp/d0e39a4050d2/signup
over 1 year ago
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New Year's Resolutions. Do they work? Why do we continue with the delusion?
#writerslife
rmfw.org/new-years-re...
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New Year’s Resolution: I’ll fight with you
It’s that time of year again: when the lifestyle choice that is writing comes under interrogation by the rest of the world asking, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?” So we buy new notebooks, and we ...
https://rmfw.org/new-years-resolution-ill-fight-with-you/
4 months ago
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If you're cool you're lame.
#writerslife
rmfw.org/cool-story-b...
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Cool story, bro! No one wants to hear it.
Nobody wants cool books. Thought-provoking—yes. Genre-bending—bring it. Heartfelt—always. Virtuosic examples of form and craft all, filled with compelling characters and well-realized settings. But...
https://rmfw.org/cool-story-bro-no-one-wants-to-hear-it/
5 months ago
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Words of wisdom from famous warlord, Amy Poehler.
#amypoehler
www.oliverblakemore.com/post/amy-poe...
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Amy Poehler's Rules and The Art of War
I use Sun Tzu as an excuse to be a burrowing rabbit of a person. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says that you should always leave yourself a means of escape. When you get into a fight, knowing you’ve got ...
https://www.oliverblakemore.com/post/amy-poehlers-rules-and-the-art-of-war
6 months ago
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A frustration from my professional life.
#marketing
olivershiny.medium.com/the-next-fiv...
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The Next Five Minutes — Start Your Marketing Right
I want to empower you to start your marketing as soon as you finish reading this blog.
https://olivershiny.medium.com/the-next-five-minutes-start-your-marketing-right-9d716e625b6c
8 months ago
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rmfw.org/why-query-le...
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Why Query Letters Feel Like Going Nuts
There is a clear and precise reason why writing a query letter feels like experiencing a break from reality. They’re not just hard: they feel like being broken. We know how to write. We just wrote a b...
https://rmfw.org/why-query-letters-feel-like-going-nuts/
8 months ago
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Part of my image is going to be an apparently inexplicable dislike of Charles Bukowski. It's explicable. Just deep in the mythology. Any parts of your obscure mythology emerging?
#writerslife
9 months ago
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“Nearly Done with a Novel, so Time to Plan the Next Adventure“ by Oliver “Shiny” Blakemore on Medium:
olivershiny.medium.com/nearly-done-...
#writerslife
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Nearly Done with a Novel, so Time to Plan the Next Adventure
I’m nearly ready to tie the bow on a creative project. A novel in this case.
https://olivershiny.medium.com/nearly-done-with-a-novel-so-time-to-plan-the-next-adventure-41dd019b0179
9 months ago
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I'm nearly ready to tie the bow on a creative project. A novel in this case.
9 months ago
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“Your Ideas Suck! But We Can Fix That.“ by Oliver “Shiny” Blakemore on Medium:
olivershiny.medium.com/your-ideas-s...
#writing
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Your Ideas Suck! But We Can Fix That.
Test your ideas for a few years. That’s how you know if they work.
https://olivershiny.medium.com/your-ideas-suck-but-we-can-fix-that-a290c9a99ec4
9 months ago
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Rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most unbelievable part? All the sweaters. It's southern California. How? Dehydration. Death by overheating. So many sweaters.
9 months ago
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Places I have seen really dumb typos recently: A poster on a coffee shop bulletin board. A show description on Hulu. Website copy for a corporate entity. These crimes against editing were all committed by AI. I'm pretty certain of it. But AI had accomplices in each of these heinous acts...
9 months ago
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www.oliverblakemore.com/post/how-to-...
#writing
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How to have good ideas! Your Ideas Suck! But We Can Fix That.
This is how you know if your idea will work: test it for a few years. And since you can’t do that for every thought, try this instead. It’s a rigorous, safe, and much shorter process.
https://www.oliverblakemore.com/post/how-to-have-good-ideas
9 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/album/03I9sb...
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Victory
Radkey · Single · 2025 · 1 songs
https://open.spotify.com/album/03I9sbyyfZ9ZeR84myRqtd?si=syei8l1eTE-3QHltsaBq8w
9 months ago
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Speak less than you think. That's today's wisdom from Odin. "A wise man is not showy about his wisdom,"--Odin
#mentalhealth
10 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/6nUv1T...
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I Want It All
Rise Against · I Want It All · Song · 2025
https://open.spotify.com/track/6nUv1TbOMwOYzESvJCVbF7?si=_vxO9txmTgiI7o-QuIC14g&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DX0KpeLFwA3tO
10 months ago
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"A man needs wisdom if he plans to wander widely,"--Odin
#mentalhealth
10 months ago
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New blog.
#writing
rmfw.org/breaking-is-...
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Breaking is Fixing: Editing the Ship of Theseus
I collect stories about stories. One of my favorite ones is the story that none of the successful Die Hard movies began life as Die Hard movies. The first Die Hard movie’s script started as a sequel t...
https://rmfw.org/breaking-is-fixing-editing-the-ship-of-theseus/
10 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/2g3YQJ...
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Bright Sun
illuminati hotties · Nickel on the Fountain Floor · Song · 2025
https://open.spotify.com/track/2g3YQJUvWHsmAa359tM8Te?si=BhZ2RA6vTAWdEB9ijZVk0g
10 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/4yMM67...
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Active Trauma
Laura Jane Grace · Active Trauma · Song · 2025
https://open.spotify.com/track/4yMM6709W39opUprK6dL7Y?si=6QsxWsj_ShueRz7-sbSmDA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DX0KpeLFwA3tO
10 months ago
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Reading Odin's self-help book over on my Instagram.
10 months ago
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The two most unbelievable moments in all of Star Trek: 1. When a fifty-one-year-old Kirk tried to free solo El Capitan. 2. That episode of Next Generation when Levar Burton had confidence issues.
#startrek
11 months ago
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I like the various answers to the Fermi Paradox that Star Trek: The Next Generation comes up with. My favorite one is in the episode "First Contact", where the world leader says he'll divert funding away from space exploration. What's your favorite answer to the Fermi Paradox?
#science
11 months ago
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Teatime thought: Wisdom is having value to add to the conversation before you talk. Good fortune is inward-pointed praise. Tldr Bushido brought to you by Hávamál by Odin
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Teatime thought: You've got the ingredients of enlightenment built into you. Buying into them--that's the hard part. Tldr Bushido brought to you by The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Teatime thought: Keep walking. Even the Buddha was befuddled, because being struck by the wilderness is a feature of enlightenment, not a bug. It's a sign you're going the right way if you find yourself wondering. Tldr Bushido brought to you by The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/2D3b8b...
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Teeth Marché
Tropical Fuck Storm · Teeth Marché · Song · 2025
https://open.spotify.com/track/2D3b8bnREsBSFTErv2le8x?si=4zH0qTGvTICNPBSBu_kIdw
11 months ago
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reposted by
Oliver Blakemore
RJ Barker
11 months ago
With the caveat that all writing advice is YMMV here is a thing I wrote that may help with the most HATEFUL part of writing, the dreaded SYNOPSIS.
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A Brief and Maybe Helpful Note on the Synopsis.
RJBarker published a post on Ko-fi
https://ko-fi.com/Post/A-Brief-and-Maybe-Helpful-Note-on-the-Synopsis-S6S61FOZGC
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Teatime thought: Remember your sixth sense: your imagination. TLDR Bushido brought to you today by The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Wrote a blog. How's your writing career?
#writing
rmfw.org/call-to-adve...
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Call to Adventure – Colorado Gold Writers Conference 2025
I decided a few years ago that I needed to take my career more seriously. I knew how to write sentences, and sort of knew how to write stories. What I was missing, I decided, was open mic nights. I kn...
https://rmfw.org/call-to-adventure-colorado-gold-writers-conference-2025/
11 months ago
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"A lot of the time you're done editing because you run out of time,"--Steve Martin
#writing
11 months ago
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Teatime thought: It's not the tree's fault you can't see Mt Fuji. Be aware of your instinct to believe the veracity of your narrow viewpoint. Watch for the "meta-existence" of everything you tend to dismiss. Tldr Bushido, brought to you by The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Teatime thought: Most of us spend most of our attention missing the nature of things because we're distracted by what those things are doing. This has been a "tldr thought" from The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho
#mindfulness
11 months ago
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Listening to this today. Like if Blink-182 has listened to Blink-182 and said, "hey, I think we can improve on that just a little bit."
#music
open.spotify.com/album/3gODo8...
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Box Car Racer
Box Car Racer · Album · 2002 · 13 songs
https://open.spotify.com/album/3gODo8aZ2dTVIaOr9SqeRE?si=BiGXdowoQi-RInxDU22hUQ
11 months ago
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Rewatching Enterprise. Conclusions: - Scott Bakula is pretty sh*t, but not as bad as people remember. - Early 2000s Star Trek can't do long stories. Period. - This is the last time in history that Star Trek could work "right". More on that later. - The theme song still sucks.
#starttrek
11 months ago
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Weird. I'm actually excited for book releases this year. The Taper Man by John le Carré (and son) The Witching Hour by Natasha Pulley The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Going to be a fun year for books.
#books
11 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/399X9A...
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autofocus on the prime directive
Mclusky · the world is still here and so are we · Song · 2025
https://open.spotify.com/track/399X9AdTV9TxukDji7dygI?si=u0FBJMQURkygjDBfzvQdiQ&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1DX0KpeLFwA3tO
11 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/0gJmT4...
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Houses of the Holy - Remaster
Led Zeppelin · Physical Graffiti (Remaster) · Song · 1975
https://open.spotify.com/track/0gJmT4VMZd6iYDvqfOou0A?si=oiZuwMrfTiK6N1utbgafXw
11 months ago
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What I learned at work today: there is a town in Illinois called Odin. And
@neilhimself.neilgaiman.com
didn't include it in American Gods. An opportunity of some sort missed in some way.
#reading
11 months ago
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Looking for a literary contest for your unfinished novel?
rmfw.org/my-first-tim...
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My First Time! Gold Rush Literary Award 2025
I’m new to this. Already having a lot of fun, though. I’m excited to start seeing books from the RMFW community. I have pre-emptive glee at the sense of being a small part in discovering one of the gr...
https://rmfw.org/my-first-time-gold-rush-literary-award-2025/
12 months ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/1JUBl7...
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Mexican Radio
Wall Of Voodoo · Guilty Pleasures · Song · 2010
https://open.spotify.com/track/1JUBl7RQUp4wwpSLArvc3e?si=t_ohgRE5SQyY0DvnmTeGJA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A39Fjjtbpt4dvlBeN9SX95r
12 months ago
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olivershiny.medium.com/the-book-of-...
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The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges
A field guide to the beings humanity populates the shadows with.
https://olivershiny.medium.com/the-book-of-imaginary-beings-by-jorge-luis-borges-72c8c92f8815
12 months ago
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Two guys quit their jobs. Then space zombies.
#books
olivershiny.medium.com/leviathan-wa...
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Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Two guys quit their jobs, then space zombies in a casino.
https://olivershiny.medium.com/leviathan-wakes-by-james-s-a-corey-fce007d9e78f
about 1 year ago
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The Great Gatsby. An excellent example of what the cool kids are calling "a complex platonic friend dynamic." Writer buddies, check it out. Agents want this sort of dynamic.
#writing
about 1 year ago
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The worst part of Lord of the Flies is how it compares to all the stories that it inspired.
#books
about 1 year ago
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I'm not sure I want to finish Catch-22, the Richard Heller book. Is the ending worth it? Or has he made his point by the halfway mark?
#books
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Oliver Blakemore
Kelley J. P. Lindberg
about 1 year ago
Such a cool way to think about giving critiques (written for writers, but applies to all aspects of life, I think!), from Oliver Blakemore (
@oliverstoryteller.bsky.social
) on the
@rmfwriters.bsky.social
blog:
rmfw.org/positive-fee...
#IAmRMFW
#writingcommunity
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Kaitlyn’s Dare: Critique and the Art of Aggressive Positivity
A phrase stitched together one of the more mind-altering critiques I ever got on a story. Half of it was a common phrase, and an often maligned one. Maligned by those of us of the “you must have a thi...
https://rmfw.org/positive-feedback-critique/
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"I write to get things done,"--Voltaire
about 1 year ago
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Did a blog on the power of aggressive positivity.
rmfw.org/positive-fee...
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Kaitlyn’s Dare: Critique and the Art of Aggressive Positivity
A phrase stitched together one of the more mind-altering critiques I ever got on a story. Half of it was a common phrase, and an often maligned one. Maligned by those of us of the “you must have a thi...
https://rmfw.org/positive-feedback-critique/
about 1 year ago
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Song of the day.
open.spotify.com/track/7aSmPg...
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Think Bigger
Cosmo Jarvis · Think Bigger (2020 Deluxe Edition) · Song · 2020
https://open.spotify.com/track/7aSmPgg4rVxAl3uOWKNecz?si=1G26jd4PTNauz7l43Nk2Ew&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A592ksXR3UQWgfVNRqGmcF8
about 1 year ago
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Relating to people is lame. Unless it's exactly like spying, then it might be redeemable.
www.oliverblakemore.com/post/how-to-...
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How to Relate to People: The Tao of Small Talk and David Sedaris the Spy
Small talk sucks. The reason it sucks is counter-intuitive. “Because I prefer deeper relationships,” is the reason we share with each other, right? That’s sort of wrong.I’ll tell you why. It came to m...
https://www.oliverblakemore.com/post/how-to-relate-to-people-tao-small-talk-david-sedaris
about 1 year ago
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