#pretendpanel My first book, novella length, was five drafts to be completed Then second was novel length and that took ten Third was novella again, and that was six But this fourth? It's using bits and pieces from many failed ideas and has hopefully found it's form Cause overall? Twenty odd!

#pretendpanel, I will get to your answers from yesterday shortly, thank you for your patience. Meanwhile... January 17th: How many drafts, then vs. now? (see image and/or alt text for further prompting if needed) #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

This is the longest thing either of us have ever written, so it's hard to compare! We are on draft 3 of book 1, meaning the plot of it is being worked on for the third time. Every chapter ends up getting multiple drafts within each book draft. Before, my longest stories got 2-3 drafts #PretendPanel

#SFFChat Outro: Thanks so much for answering! Comment on someone's excerpt (try to find one with no comments yet!) and then comment here with something you'd like shared. (:

#SFFChat From LOST WITNESS "You can't prove the existence of something just because you feel it's absence!"

#SFFChat Q4: Share a line (or 3-4 lines!) from your work that involves the afterlife, underworld, judgement, or a related theme/motif/figure!

#SFFChat Ones that work on a notion of law You do the crime, you do the time, and then we'll see where you are afterwards Ones where you're damned immediately feel a bit juvenile to me

#SFFChat Q3: What fictional or mythological afterlives from the real world do you find the most interesting? Or, which ones appeal most (in whatever way you'd like to interpret "appeal")?

#SFFChat Dead planets are considered lost paradises while the alien race sharing the desolation with humanity are considered both angels and demons But there are possible supernatural creatures present And humans who like to pretend to be supernatural creatures

#SFFChat Q2: Are there any mythological, religious, or supernatural figures associated with the afterlife or judgement?

#SFFChat The setting of my book is an oort cloud of planetary bodies that orbit what may well be the last star in a dead universe The endless black behind them is their Hell The sole light in the sky is their Heaven

#SFFChat Q1: Is there an underworld or aftetrlife in your story's world? Do your characters believe in one, even if it's not real?

#SFFChat Hello I'm HD Beird, pretty damn weird I write science fiction that hews close to horror, concerned with society, spirituality and sexuality My favourite mythological character would probably be The Hidebehind Such a perfect name for a sense of unease and being watched

#SFFChat Intro: Introduce yourself & share your favourite mythological character!

Not alone #WritingQ #booksky #writesky

Happy Friday!! We made it! Alright, this one is for writers: What do you hope a reader feels when they reach the final page of your story? #WritingQ #booksky #writesky 🪐📚💙

#JanuaryWorldbuilders Villains in my work are authority figures who are sadists and perverts So . . . Authority figures And one of them uses wasps 😐

#JanuaryWorldbuilders. We talked about the MC (or another important character) yesterday. This time: what about their opposite? A villain? A foil? Someone else of importance in the story or lore? What weapon does that character use?

#pretendpanel I'm in a constant loop of self-loathing, then acceptance and then self loathing again Oh, you mean the writing process? Well I'm in a constant loop of self loathing, then acceptance and then self-loathing again And then I publish on the Besos site Which puts me in a loop of . . .

#pretendpanel, tell me... January 16th: Where are you now with the writing process? How has that changed? e.g. keeping it fun / currently learning processes / adherence to learned processes / breaking out of outgrown processes / something else? #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#JanuaryWorldBuilders youtu.be/1UEYXOw68Nk?...

Alright, time to get into some of those weeds I promised! The theme of this week and next will be fighting-centric. Weapons and armor this week. Militaries next week. Today's #JanuaryWorldbuilders Q: What weapon(s) are used by your MC (or another important character?)

#HorrorWritersChat Good stuff Mary, thank you for the distraction I'll leave you all with this bundle of joy As one review said; Be safe, be creative, watch some videos of daschunds www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...

Thank you for attending #HorrorWritersChat and sharing your horror with us. Qs will be up for 23 hours more. Once you’ve answered the questions, it’s time to share your stuff! Or other folks stuff. Let’s uplift each other and reshare what we see. My eyeballs are ready!!

#HorrorWritersChat Bullies and Bastards Folk who fail upwards into success and hate those who aren't impressed Sociopaths, Sex Creeps and Money Goblins Idealogues and the idiots they control The very worst of the human race going all Half-Maker on what's left of the ruins

Horror is known for having both natural and supernatural antagonists, like the landscape or a ghostly presence. Q4 #HorrorWritersChat In your current WIP or latest published horror work, who or what antagonises your protagonist? --- The outro with promo opportunity will be posted in 10 mins.

#HorrorWritersChat By trying to pass itself off as competent? Ahem, I meah ah . . . I go for visceral sensation but try and give it some kind of poetic, otherworldly feel so you keep reading despite the nihilism and have some fun

Q3 #HorrorWritersChat How does your writing style seek to instill fear, disgust, or otherwise unsettle your readers? [See an example from Cynthia Pelayo in the graphic]

#HorrorWritersChat The perceived reality that gets violated is the notion that anyone has any clue what's going on and what to do about it Individuals and institutions alike Been hitting a bit too close to home for the last . . . 🤔 . . .decade, but I can't ignore what I want to write

“Horror comes from a violation of what characters perceive to be reality.” - Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner Example: a haunted house violates the assumption that we are alone in our homes. Q2 #HorrorWritersChat Which perceived realities do you utilise in your horror writing?

#HorrorWritersChat Hi I'm HD Beird, sexy and weird HD stands for Handy Dishcloth, cause I'm always there to mop up a mess AKA, my books I write horror in a sci-fi setting involving black comedy, mystery and a bit of smut Current inspirations? Dark City Bioshock Infinite & Angel Heart

Welcome to #HorrorWritersChat Q1 Introduce yourself and the horror subgenres you write. Then, share three works of horror that influenced your latest work OR current WIP.

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 🤔 In my first bugs, it was bugs and algae In my second, it was fish In my third . . . coffee, cigarettes and hemp milk They need some variety in their diet

Last question on our "society, broadly" theme for #JanuaryWorldbuilders. What food or drinks are popular in the society you've been talking about? If can be an MC's society, or any one you have an interesting answer for.

#JanuaryWorldbuilders Without giving too much away, the alien race in my books manage to catch the light of a star and split it into the spectrum It's a gesture of awe Please don't tell me someone else got their first Gets me paranoid!

#JanuaryWorldbuilders! Tell me more about your fictional society. What are some gestures or actions that are considered good etiquette? If you're writing about non-Earth societies, do they have any such actions/gestures that we don't use? Alternatively, do they have *rude* gestures?

#pretendpanel Like the stories themselves, I find the characters and who they are during the first draft For example, I started one with the intent of making a noir mystery but as I was writing it became a black comedy So the main characters had to reflect that They evolve as the story does

#pretendpanel, maybe this has changed for you, or maybe not! But either way, I'm keen to know... January 10th: How has your creation of main characters evolved over time? #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#pretendpanel I'm certainly becoming more critical of what I write, and I was pretty harsh with myself to begin with I've scrapped at least five book ideas because they weren't working, and just restarted another due to it having no forward momentum I prefer succinct pacing, I think

#pretendpanel, let's get into the hard questions, shall we? January 9th: How has your craft evolved lately? (as in, your prose, your structuring, voice and tone, etc) #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#SFFChat Thanks for indulging me Here's all three of said books Check them out They're not bad www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...

#SFFChat Outro: Thanks so much for chatting, everyone! Comment on someone's snippet, then comment here with something you'd like shared! (: See you next Thursday AM ! 6-7 EST

#SFFChat AMNION: Hundreds had breached the perimeter. They'd slipped in undetected yet again and were gathering en-mass LOST WITNESS: There's a fine line between doing what's right and what feels right in the doing KILLER KAGAMI: Where were you going before deciding you couldn't get there?

#SFFChat Q4: Share the opening line to one of your stories (or a chapter's opening line!).

#SFFChat The Gunslinger by Stephen Kind It's the only Dark Tower book I read Not because I disliked it, just kinda fell to the wayside and I never got back around to it "The Man in Black fled across the desert, and The Gunslinger followed." Hook, line, and sinker baby!

#SFFChat Q3: Name an author or a work that nails the opening!

#SFFChat I'll give it till the end of the first chapter at least, but very rare I stop reading a book Aside from mine I restarted writing my latest because the opening was so goddamn boring I wanted to print it out just so I could crumple it up and eat it

#SFFChat Q2: If an opening doesn't immediately hook you, do you read on just in case? How long do you give a book? Discuss!

#SFFChat Ones that start us off in the action Ones that throw us in the deep end and make us figure out where we are and what's going on Of course, you need good quality rope thrown to allow that to happen Exposition and context should come through action as much as possible, in my opinion

#SFFChat Q1: What are your favourite & least favourite types of openings/beginnings? Do you detest books that open with weather, travel, or someone staring into a mirror? What about books that open with introspection or with action? Discuss!