#AwesomeCharacters Sachial can be VERY stubborn, definitely gets stuck on things, and does not forget personal sleights. His follow through, though, might be questionable. He’s got a lazy streak, and if he discovers something more interesting than his original goal he’ll go in that direction. 1/3

Describe your plot in five words or fewer- if you dare snarky anarchist upends civilization—whoops!

Sachial would be surprisingly fine! He’s met architects of his world, and he’s more interested in learning from them than holding them accountable for his own suffering. The rest of the Fault Lines cast might have harsher feelings. 😅 I’d stand a chance with Caleb—I rewrote his death, after all, 1/3

Today’s #WIPSnips is the perfect reason to share something from the opening paragraphs of the novella WIP, Embers! #WritingCommunity #sff

In order, absolutely! I discover a lot of the story as I go. Also, if I jump into the scenes I’m most excited about, I have less motivation to work through the more difficult parts. If I have an exceptionally vivid snippet of dialogue or description, I’ll jot it down in a separate brainstorming doc.

Very rarely, and they’ll usually stick around as unattached characters waiting for a story of their own. I find characters themselves pretty impossible to part with entirely, but I can recognize when they don’t add anything to a given story, or don’t fit the tone. In Fault Lines,

Gotta lock back in with Fault Lines rewrite, HOWEVER the novella is nearing 20k and that feels worth just a bit of celebration ✨

“Don't write or draw for money. Do it because you love it...” I mean, yeah. Obviously we enjoy doing it, otherwise we wouldn't BE doing. That said, it'd be cool being paid and supported enough to simply live as creatives, and in turn, have the freedom to create wild new things without restraint.

I dislike them, generally, when writing and reading. I find it far more compelling to see how characters carry on living. There are exceptions ofc—ideally with a lasting impact, and we love a haunted narrative! Simply, it must be worth the loss. I’ve reflected that Fault Lines, incidentally, 1/

For Deuceridge, the 1st book—WatS—happens over approx a week (a very hectic week indeed!). The 2nd, conversely, spans about a year; there’s a two year gap between. We see the most of Conrad, Kade, and Asher POV in the 1st, and more of Kade, Miriam, and Anaya in the 2nd. I have a prequel planned, 1/

A snippet of conversation from fairly late in WatS, hence the redaction, but too perfect not to share for this! Kade and Conrad are foils in countless ways—the “hero” and “villain” roles they choose to play, and the authenticity of those roles, among them. #SFFChat

This “you need to trust me; you trust me, right?” conversation is turning out FAR thornier than I anticipated, which is /great/ because I know it’s going to feel earned by the end of it, but also RIP my word count estimate.

One snip from each book; forgive me, I couldn’t decide! for Fault Lines—Caleb thinks about Sachial’s eyes a LOT for Deuceridge—Conrad has complicated feelings about the ocean #snippetshare #WritingCommunity

Having a darn near religious experience with this Turkish coffee ✨☕️

#FebruaryWorldbuilders In Faultverse, there is a prophecy or two running around, but how real they are is HIGHLY circumstantial. More immediately relevant is how various people might USE such things. In Deuce, there’s one character who does have the gift of prophecy, very much a mad seer 1/2

Something from my WIP Embers! I’m so very excited about what it’s becoming. Wheston IS human—just not the standard base model. #WIPSnips #SF #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

#AwesomeCharacters Kade can and will cause problems for pure entertainment value—weaponized whimsy, if you will. It’s mostly harmless, and often genuinely fun. He likes a quiet moment with a good book, too, but only on his own terms, and if he’s otherwise comfortable. Asher does not handle 1/3

#FebruaryWorldbuilders I love desert settings—not to mention live in one!—so absolutely yes! Faultverse takes place in a desert—the acquisition of water from underground reservoirs is a huge factor in the plot and worldbuilding. Rain is rare to the point of being mythologized. 1/3

Just hit 10k with this piece—calling it Embers, for now—and I’m DELIGHTED to report that I have an ending in mind but only vague ideas as to how I’m getting there.

*cracks knuckles* oh this is CORE to Deuceridge Kade’s home is the city itself. He has no permanent residence, but he belongs fully to Deuceridge. That doesn’t make him immune to its poisons, but he’ll live nowhere else—and have no other resting place. To Asher, “home” is somewhat anathema, 1/

“Scaffolding” in dialogue! I’ll very often discover new aspects of the story while writing dialogue, and have characters chat about it while I hash it out. During revision, that can be trimmed because it’s a) revealed more naturally elsewhere, or b) too basic in-world to be believably said out loud.

Civilization is built upon fault lines—some well-mapped and others undefined. Sachial thinks the whole world is out to get him; he may well be right. Caleb doesn't believe a word Sachial says, but he always listens. #QuestPit #W #sf #lgbt

“What makes you think it’s still here?” Ward asked. Conrad was silent for a long moment, gazing at nothing; he laid his head down, hiding his eyes in the crook of one elbow. “A feeling. People—humans, aliens, whatever—don’t just leave Deuceridge. No one escapes this city.” #QuestPit #Q #sff #f

WANDERLUST AND THE SEA If Guys and Dolls 🎲 was an episode of The X Files 👽—plus make it queernormative! 🌈 🕰️ historical - 1920s 📚 first of a duology 🛸 pulp fiction vibes 🫀 gangsters and grifters and aliens, oh my! ❤️‍🩹 found family 🩶 morally gray ♠️ cardistry #QuestPit #Q #sff #sf

When 16-year-old Nia picks the wrong pocket, she unlocks a magical talent she didn’t know she had. Now she’s posing as an heiress, a con man’s gone missing, and Nia and her friends are on the run with a living doll, pursued by gangs, magehunters, and the governor herself. #QuestPit #W #F #LGBT #YA

🌧️ FAULT LINES Sachial thinks the whole world is out to get him; he may well be right. Caleb doesn't believe a word Sachial says, but he always listens anyway. 🪐planet-bound scifi 🏳️‍🌈queer (🏳️‍⚧️mc) 🩶anarchist x simpleton 🔥subverted dystopian 🌊no straightforward solutions #QuestPit #W #SF

did your writing/art turn out how you envisioned it would? _____|_____ | | yes no | | nice well, you created it anyway, that's always worthwhile

LEGALLY required to post Deuceridge for this one. Storms, both literal and metaphorical, abound. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Professional mouser for hire! Inquire below 🐈‍⬛

Ooh this sounds fun!

Got one from the very first line of the Fault Lines chapter I’m rewriting! I’ve been messing with the wording, and I’m sure this isn’t QUITE the final version, but I like it. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

(cw: referenced animal death) #critterary I’ve got two mummified pups from a short story, The Dogs of Saqqara Feru (left) was sent ahead by her master to intercede for him. Amal (right) was purchased as a votive sacrifice by a pilgrim. Both wander the desert, unable—as of yet—to rest. art cred ⬇️

Faultverse is short on true villains, but has some FUN antagonists Chase: 🤺🍻🏃🏽👊🤪 Zander: 👂🏻⚔️🤎🤝😐 The Council: 🧓🏼🐉👵🏽🌎👵🏿

I forget scenery description, except when I’ve got a particularly vivid image or a metaphor I’m excited about. I usually don’t visualize backgrounds unless I pause to consider them, so it makes sense that they’re often left out in early drafts.

(Faultverse) This WAS a lighthearted scene, pre-rewrite. Sort of ominously lighthearted, but still. I think that proverbial ship has not only sailed, but sunk. 😭

Never, and I mean NEVER, shut the fuck up about your creations, your characters, the things you made up with your very own human grown brain juices for all to hear and look at

Doing Deuce and Faultverse, so 🧵 incoming! (Deuceridge) Kade is great at living in the moment, but that’s more coping mechanism than anything. When I said “drowning in his own element” yesterday, this is what I was talking about. He savors things, but out of desperation more than mindfulness. 1/5

Conrad is triggered by storms and unexpected physical touch. He flinches, hides, tries for distance. Kade is triggered by things he can’t rationalize or understand. If he’s shaken enough, he’ll lash out at whoever’s nearest to him. Sachial is sometimes triggered by the sound of his own voice.

Just hit 5k and still no idea what it’s going to end at. It’s the most natural-feeling writing I’ve done in months. This just in: Known Discovery Writer Just Needed to Let Themselves Discovery Write for a Goshdang Minute 💀

(Deuceridge) Kade is in constant danger of drowning in his OWN element. And once aliens are involved? He’s going down, he’s gone, farewell. (Faultverse) Sachial is ETERNALLY out of his depth. Getting him to understand, admit, and eventually confront/come to grips with that is a multi-book journey.

Just submitted my pitch for Deuceridge! Best of luck to everyone participating!! 🤞🏻✨

I always thought the best spinoff of the X-Files would have been one where Skinner runs a counterterrorism wet ops team made up of the horror show Mulder and Scully spent the first few seasons capturing. Skinner, Tooms, and Eve 8 are the main characters. The militias they go up against fare poorly.

Conrad and Kade are both absolute disasters—Conrad because he grew up with folks to do the shopping and cooking, Kade because he has no idea how to take care of himself. Conrad winds up purchasing a single sweet treat. Kade has forgotten why he came in. Asher probably didn’t go in with a list, 1/2

Most simply, a feeling that it was worth the time and energy and (hopefully) emotion involved in the reading. Satisfaction. Also, thoughts that linger or deepen with time, and/or a connection with the characters that persists beyond the final line.

#Critterary I’ve got two forest spirits in the novella WIP, working titled “A Witch Lives Here”! (one of this WIP’s theme songs is, quite literally, “Spirits” by The Strumbellas) Corson often takes the form of a black cat, living under porches and protecting the house from vermin/pests. 1/3

#AwesomeCharacters Oh absolutely, I LOVE this sort of detail! It’s also one of my favorite things to notice/discover as a reader! In Deuce, Kade gets all the card metaphors, while Conrad gets the coins. In Faultverse, Sachial’s eyes come up a lot—they’re a solid indicator of his mood, 1/4

#Critterary I have a scaly little guy in my new short story WIP: “a thing of ill-folded, gangly limbs and big eyes… [Wheston had] no knowledge of their species, but he knew a juvenile when he saw one. Their coat of scales seemed too soft for a final, adult version, like the down of a baby bird. 1/

#Critterary Books 2 and 3 of Fault Lines are RIFE with aquatic creatures, but that’s also deep (water) spoiler territory;I can’t do much beyond teasing their existence. 😅 I do have a trad merfolk au for Caleb and Sachial, which was a DELIGHT to write. I’d love to share it as bonus material someday!

"Kade, he's something else—the sum of this city's devils dressed up in flesh and red paisley." WANDERLUST AND THE SEA 🕰️historical—1920s 🏳️‍🌈queernormative 👽one (1) renegade alien 🫀gangsters or found family? both 🩶gray morality 🌊costal storms ♠️card tricks #BluePit📖 #q #sf #lgbt

🌧️ FAULT LINES Sachial thinks the whole world is out to get him; he may well be right. Caleb doesn't believe a word Sachial says, but he always listens anyway. 🪐planet-bound scifi 🏳️‍🌈queer af (🏳️‍⚧️mc) 🩶anarchist x simpleton 🔥subverted dystopian 🌊no simple solutions #BluePit📖 #sf #lgbt #w