#PretendPanel The biggest shift has been from playing in worlds created by others to ones of my own making. (Fanfic to original.) Also I’ve moved to exploring topics which interest me rather than trying to please others. I hope I’ve found / am finding my own voice(s). #WritingCommunity #Writers

#PretendPanel Publication of first novel (2023) or signing the contract (2021) made the possibility of a career feel real. But maybe the origin lies far further back than that. Peeling back the years, my career could have started with... #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts 🧵1/2

#PretendPanel I want to take this Freebie Saturday to thank you to @hiriadunning.com for hosting Pretend Panel and to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy remains-of-the-holiday season and new year when it comes. Oh, and here’s a picture of today’s sunset. Pretty!

#PretendPanel What do I need to achieve my writing goals? Self-discipline. Perseverance. Resilience. Luck. (Lots of 🍀🍀.) A head for planning and a crash course in the effective use of social media and marketing wouldn't come amiss either. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors

Merry Christmas Eve and a happy Ho! Ho! Ho! to you all! 🎄🎅 Here's a tiny snippet from my novel, Friends Without Benefits. It's not a Christmas book, but Christmas does come up in conversation a few times. For example... #LGBTbooks #acebooks

#PretendPanel Fulfilled. Proud. Accomplished. Happy. Excited. Vindicated. Enthused. Euphoric. Engrossed. Thrilled. Confident. I don’t want much, do I! Failing all that, I’ll settle for sanguine and content. #WritingCommunity #Writers

#PretendPanel Finish, revise, polish, polish further, and submit the thriller I’m working on. Icing on the cake would be an agent or a publisher showing interest. (Confession time: that was also my goal for 2025. Fingers crossed I do better next year!) #WritingCommunity #Writers #WritingPrompts

#PretendPanel 1 I want to plan and plot more before launching into writing. Hopefully that will improve pacing and help me avoid major plot holes and resultant delays. 2 I want to master finding comp titles. 3 I want to finish my WIPs! (See 1, above.) #WritingCommunity #Writers

#PretendPanel Be kind to & patient with myself when words won’t come. That’s not failure. That’s life. 2025 has been a rollercoaster because of what I took on over & above the day job. I’ve felt burned out. My has writing suffered. I need to be realistic about what I commit to. #WritingCommunity

#PretendPanel Not finding a home for the novel I believe in and seeing its themes turn from a cautionary tale to a reflection of reality. I fear it has lost its moment. I’m trying to be positive by focusing on the next thing, although... 🧵1/2 #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#PretendPanel I’ve found this year to be challenging and progress has been slow, but two things stand out. 1) drafting a short science fiction story (very 🏳️‍🌈), and 2) a short paranormal story. Both out of my comfort zone/not my normal genres. I enjoyed the change. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors

#PretendPanel Overall, a good month. Didn’t realise how much I needed a break until I took one! (🏝️☀️✈️) Writing: no progress on my novel, but I wrote a short story, which I’ve submitted somewhere. I claim that as a win. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#PretendPanel Love most of these in theory, but in practice I’m an unreliable participant & they don’t work for me. I’ve learned not to commit myself to anything lest I let others down. I don’t find prompts helpful because they seldom coincide with ideas which spark inspiration.

#pretendpanel, thank you for the wonderful insightful answers yesterday. I wonder... November 22nd: Do you find external challenges useful? e.g. writeathons, sprinting, prompts etc. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#PretendPanel As a month, overall good, mostly because I have time off. (Holiday!) Writing wise, a mixed bag. Most of a short story written, but it & other projects on hold for a few days. (Did I mention holiday?) Hopefully new places will inspire. They usually do & I brought my trusty notebook.

#PretendPanel No month will suit everyone. But what is magic about November? The assumption people in the Northern hemisphere spend more time indoors as days shorten? Perhaps the month should vary every year so we all get a chance of finding one which matches personal preferences.

#PretendPanel My personal goals tend to be milestones, not word counts; however, I have a knack for missing these. Target dates turn out to be a moveable feast and time is elastic. I prioritise and meet deadlines set by others better than self-imposed ones. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors

Wordle in one today. That’s never going to happen again…unless I change my start word, and after all this time that feels like betrayal, like dropping a best friend and loyal partner.

#PretendPanel #Writers #Authors I envy people who are this organised. I knew someone who wrote 500 words a day and made writing their PhD thesis look easy. But I write in fits and starts, and I refuse to beat myself up when the words won’t come. Guilt & failure sap energy which can be used better.

#Bookvember Three series come to mind (which date and locate (UK) me!) - Observer book of… Pocket guides on many topics - I Spy… topic based booklets you filled in - Ladybird books Lots of nerdery about many things, but birds is the one that stuck with me.

#PretendPanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors Huge thanks to everyone who replied. I think I might try plotting (contrary to my pantster instincts) and writing some snippets from both POVs, and see where that takes me. No matter what transpires, I’ll have fun on the way.

#PretendPanel No, because: 1) I work to targets in my day job. I don’t want to add more pressure to my life; I want writing to be fun, not a chore. 2) I have other commitments this month. I can’t add a writeathon to the pile. 3) I’m blissfully ignorant about where people sign up to these anyway.

#PretendPanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors I’m wondering, has anyone tried writing the same story from two different POVs then chosen the one they like best at the end? (I don’t want to write a dual POV novel.) Is this a crazy idea? Or is it brilliant? (I’m leaning toward crazy.)

#PretendPanel Not really. Instead, I’d say writing is the treat I give myself after I’ve fulfilled my day job and other obligations. If I disciplined myself to write to a schedule then I might need treats to motivate me. But generally I write only when I’m in the mood to.

#PretendPanel I 💖: - when the story flows from my subconscious rather than me having to think deliberately about every word & plot point. It’s magic, heady & exciting. - when characters & plots surprise me, and ideas pop up unexpectedly. - the sense of accomplishment when I reach The End.

#PretendPanel Besides querying, promotion, failing to deal with social media and juggling the day job? When the world leans more to the right and I tick off yet another square in my bingo card of plot points from the novel I believed in but nobody picked up. Yeah, those rejections sting! 🐝

Maybe I haven’t yet killed enough darlings for them to rise from the grave and haunt me or maybe I’m a callous serial killer who wields an ax with no remorse. Either way, my victims have remained buried firmly six feet under. 💀🪦 🧟‍♂️👻 So far. #PretendPanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors

#PretendPanel Dick Francis. Not only because I loved his books and heroes but also because I have core memories of the summer I was introduced to them. I remember when and where I read them, and later reading his new books became part of our family Christmas traditions. I met him once too.

#PretendPanel As a childless person, I won’t leave my genetic mark on the world when I die. My ego would like to think I could live on in my writing instead, entertaining generations of readers to come—or torturing school kids, if I got onto the curriculum). Very unlikely, but dreams don’t hurt.

#PretendPanel Submissions or anything where I have to ‘sell’ myself. I find self-promotion excruciatingly difficult and stressful. Fiction is different; I control what I attempt. The end product might be good. It might be bad. But the act of writing isn’t the scariest part of the process.

#PretendPanel Any fears my characters experience come as responses to the situations in which they find themselves, and each experience will differ according to circumstance and personality. Sometimes fear is internal; others it comes from an external source. TL;DR: I have no simple answer.

Remember August’s #PretendPanel questions about genres? Well, I’ve just finished reading A Short History of the World According to Sheep, by Sally Coulthard, a gem of the book which I wouldn’t have found if I didn’t venture outwith my comfort genres. Recommended!

#PretendPanel I like them all, even the unlikeable ones. I couldn’t write them if I didn’t. But I have particular soft spots for Moira, Clare and Janice, my ‘older’ aroaces. Hopefully, they helped plug the gaping void in older ace rep. More importantly, I enjoyed getting to know them.

#PretendPanel I hope not. My MCs vary in age and background as req’d to satisfy the story. But I suspect they have some traits in common because there are certain types of personalities I like to read/write about. Plus they tend to reflect my socioeconomic background or that of people I know.

#PretendPanel Characters can be memorable in both positive and negative ways. For me, memorable in a positive way requires me to care about and root for the character. They have to be more than one of: Angsty Relatable Show personal growth Clearly drawn - you’d be able to pick them out of a crowd.

#PretendPanel For some characters, they cease to exist for me when the story ends. For others, I know how their future lives may develop. But unless I get round to telling any future stories, I don’t feel the need to tell readers lest it messes with their own ideas. I don’t want to be prescriptive.

#PretendPanel I don’t usually write much down, but I know my characters. I can picture them in my mind’s eye, and I know a fair amount about their personalities. But they can change as I write. The story concept and characters are intertwined and evolve together.

#PretendPanel Not intentionally. But I’ve written two books about queer (mostly ace) journeys which come from a place that matters to me; my experiences, and some traits, have bled into the characters. When exploring less personal themes, the similarities decrease. I also draw on familiar places.

#PretendPanel Concept first, followed by a MC who complements the concept. Other characters are foils to the main character. They evolve as the story develops and can surprise me. One villain demanded to be rewritten as a good guy. They may/may not share aspects of my personality and experience.

Some pictures from last weekend’s Oban Pride. Thanks to everyone involved for a well organised event! #Op25BestPhoto #ObanPride #ObanPride2025 @obanpride.bsky.social

#PretendPanel Thanks for another month of interesting questions and answers. My success for Aug: my first draft of my latest novel is done. Let the editing and rewriting begin! Finally, a gentle reminder: I have two novels with #asexual rep. I’d love them to find a few more readers.

I rarely deliberately DNF. But there are plenty of times when I’ve put a book down meaning to come back to it and never returned. I also have books I’ve not got round to starting. Doubt I’ve been DNF’d. Given my sales, I’ve not been chosen to begin with! #PretendPanel #WritingCommunity

#PretendPanel Yes, I’ve read them. There aren’t many so it didn’t take long! Generally, I’ve found them reassuring. My work isn’t terrible and it has reached an audience, albeit not large. I love reviews which can make me a better writer.

#PretendPanel I keep a very private record of what I’ve read for myself. I have shared reviews in the past but after hearing mixed messages about whether it is good author etiquette to review other people’s books I stopped. (Is it good/bad to be an author reviewer? What do others think?)

It depends on circumstances, my mood and the book. I wish I was better at both. I’ve had time to read/write today. My WIP is even spread in front of me. Turns out, I am a better procrastinator and napper than either. #PretendPanel #WritingCommunity

#PretendPanel No. I read and write whatever takes my fancy. Also, what I see trending on social media bears very little relation to what I find in shops. My feeds are full of fantasy and sf, but my local bookshop has more thrillers and local interest. Trends? What trends?

Reading: summarising a plot into catchy tropes is a turn off but may help me choose what to avoid. Writing: Part of the adventure is seeing what an idea evolves into. Thinking in tropes and writing to satisfy external expectations feels formulaic and would stifle my enjoyment. #PretendPanel

#PretendPanel Reading, I lean toward thrillers & mysteries but have favourites which fall outside these genres. I’ll give most things a try but I want to escape into my books, so nothing too dark. Writing: contemporary and some sf. I have ideas for contemporary and historical mysteries too.

I read much more broadly than I write. I read fiction & non fiction for entertainment, general interest and hobbies as well as for background research and to learn more about specific genres. There are many reasons to read…and one is as a writing tool. No output without the research to inform it.

My reading & writing overlap, but very messily. I read more widely than I write, partly because I haven’t written much. Yet. I’m not a genre-driven writer. I write then figure out what I’ve ended up with, so actively search for genre books & comps at that point. #PretendPanel #WritingCommunity