being hyperfixated on your own ocs is so funny like okay everyone here's the same two guys i made up in my mind again

Maya Angelou on the joys of being edited

was thinking about emergent themes in fiction. you don't have to make a conscious choice to Have a Theme to have one-- if you dive deeply enough into making a compelling character or plot or situation one or more themes will fall out. they may not be the themes you wanted! but they'll be there.

Fun fact, most catholics get yelled at by the pope exactly zero times in their whole lives but Censures Georg here has managed it like five times in six years

Discworld QOTD, from Feet of Clay

the human body was not designed to know what the worst person in the world is doing every fifteen minutes

Happy Aromantic Awareness Week to all the aro-spec folks out there, especially within the Writing Community! 💚🖤🤍

Or set up a genetic rescue: bring in other subspecies of priests from other regions and release them in Ireland to breed with the native priests.

In my experience there are three kinds of fantasy magic novels:

Royal Magpie's Oath Immerse yourself into a new world inspired by Imperial Rome, full of magic, dragons, meddling deities, vibrant characters, and rich worldbuilding. Digital ARCs drop by July 14th: forms.gle/TkdodjcXK4Bb... #booksky #arcsignup #arcreaders #arcreaderswanted #queerwriters #LGBTQ+

Don't worry; I am taking up the slack

Imagine being so bad at Catholicism that you get holy ghosted by the Pope.

It was very obvious when the police officer realised Saelin’s name was flagged in their systems as ‘telepath’. Earlier, she'd seemed more bored than anything. Sure, she’d cuffed Saelin’s hands and sat him down forcefully on the remaining couch, but it was all oddly polite. #1stLinePit #A #SF #WIP

The ballroom was bright and over-hot, and full of chatter like birdsong. Rill had found a blessedly quiet corner of the mezzanine - not avoiding conversation, but out of the main currents. He swirled his drink and nodded to a passing courtier, squashing a pang of guilt. #1stLinePit #WIP #A #F

Nobody likes an unsolicited co-writer, Xanthe!

ai art is like being a runner and youre excited for a marathon and youre training and then someone comes up and says 'why not use this new 'car tech' it can drive you to the finish line and youll have run the marathon without that pesky running'. then theyre confused when you say no and run instead

Every time I do a huge round of laundry, fold it & put it all away, there’s this tiny cheerful dingus part of me that goes: “There! At last. I’ve done it. I’ve Done the Laundry. And that’s it. It will now stay done & I’ll never have to to do laundry again!” Every. Single. Time.

Look at the darling brain blorbo my friend has drawn for me! <3

This was such a scorcher I briefly considered stealing and rephrasing it. Possibly with the help of Le Chat.

attempting to describe the vibes of the moment. have yet to do better than: "imagine watching a documentary reenacting the burning of the Library of Alexandria set to the soundtrack of 'Yakety Sax'"

A reminder that all writing advice come with the caveat that YMMV. Learning to write is really hacking your brain into delivering the most words reliably in the shortest amount of time with the highest amount of quality. And since each of our brains works differently, not all advice will fit you.

Consider In Glory’s Wake! Featuring: - Asexual romance with an ace bi protagonist - Diplomat/politician protagonist - Pirate love interest - Angst - Healing from toxic relationship - Friends to lovers Editing now, hopefully querying by April! Character art by Moustawott. #P2Ppit #W #A #F #LGBT

INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE X PERCY JACKSON 12 y.o. Félix gets body slammed to a parallel dimension where magic is real and his recently deceased mom is alive. But when a dark force threatens his new life, Félix must fight to stop it, before it destroys both dimensions #BluePit #MG

The volcano's dormant, they said. The magic school's been there for years, they said. Just focus on teaching your classes. Don't worry about the smell of god magic, or that weird disappearing sand. The earthquakes are probably fine. A TEACHER'S GUIDE TO STRING MAGIC #P2Ppit #W #A #F

Izak is a government Mage, forcibly recruited as a magically talented child. His blood family is just a memory. Yet when Izak is captured by anti-Mage extremists, his brother is among his captors. Broken family bonds may be his only hope against ideological bloodlust. #P2Ppit #Q #A #F #LGBT #OV

Rill isn’t suited to being Prince Consort of a war-torn nation. When he’s taken prisoner, it’s not his Queen that rescues him, but a pirate. To get home safe, he’ll need to turn his flaws into strengths, win the pirates’ trust - and figure out what (and who) ‘home’ really is. #P2Ppit #W #A #F #LGBT

And a close up! #ocsky #dnd #digitalart

My name is Jay and I've been writing since I was a tween, over 15 years now. At the moment I'm editing a fantasy novel called In Glory's Wake, and writing the first draft of a scifi novel! My writing is character-focused and often features queer and especially ace/aro spec characters.

Hearts of Bark and Scale In a harsh desert world of blood and bad intentions, snake shifter/healer Iason and half-broken dryad Kvisti discover the sweet, gentle hope of love while fighting together to escape their deep traumas, dangerous pasts, and current captors. 📖 #BluePit #A #F #R #D #I

ODE TO THE SNAKE PRIEST Conn is a failure of a healer. Blood under his nails and sister presumed dead. Èbha is a broken soldier, cast aside. Their mind twisted beyond recognition of who they once were. They find each other. Love can’t heal, but it certainly helps. #BluePit 📖 #W #F #LGBT

GIDEON THE NINTH x GODKILLER DOWNDRAFT Valandra is a legend - the only delver to reach the bottom of the Abyss and return. But few know the costs that came with it. Decades later, as new threats form in the shadows, she must retell her story or finally face the consequences. #BluePit #W #A #F 📖

SIX OF CROWS x BARU Mateo has spent his life plotting against the empire that took him from his family. With tensions in its conquered territories reaching a breaking point, he has a chance to strike. The catch: he must betray his closest friend. 📖 #BluePit #W #A #F #LGBT

PERDIDO STREET STATION x ANNIHILATION Rescued at sea with no memory, Trigger’s body is changing into an unknown species. When a sunken lab's forbidden prayer protocol promises him answers, he risks tearing a hole in his head to find out who, or what, he is. #BluePit 📖 #Q #A #SF #LGBT #ND #OV

Rill isn’t suited to being Prince Consort of a war-torn nation. When he’s taken prisoner, it’s not his Queen that rescues him - but pirates. To get home safe, he’ll need to turn flaws into strengths, win the pirates’ trust - and figure out what (or who) really is ‘home’. #BluePit 📖 #W #A #F #LGBT

A teen girl is forced to confront an estranged BFF and stop a poaching ring when she finds an extinct baby bird in her backyard 🐥queer leads 🌳anxiety, depression, bipolar rep. 🐥hate to love 🌳magical birds #bluepit 📖 #Q #YA #f #t #OV #LGBT

DONT LET THE FOREST IN x Over the Garden Wall 🏳️‍⚧️ boy Owen was obsessed with the monster of the woods before he killed him to come home again. When Owen finds out whoever kills the monster must replace it, he needs to fight to remain human. But does he want to? 📖 #W #YA #H #BluePit

Rill isn’t suited to being Prince Consort of a war-torn nation. When he’s taken prisoner, it’s not his Queen that rescues him - but pirates. To get home safe, he’ll need to turn flaws into strengths, win the pirates’ trust - and figure out what (or who) really is ‘home’. #BluePit 📖 #W #A #F #LGBT

Rill and I are both ace, both bookish/intellectual rather than sporty, and tend to be overthinkers. He's substantially more socially adept and better at public speaking than me (amongst a lot else)!

I can only really think of two items that are important to Rill: one is a fancy pen he was given as a gift by his wife, which he loses in chapter 3, probably. The second is a scarf that he's given the first time working with the Islanders, and he wears that for the rest of the book!

I'm trying to participate in BluePit, so: Here's art of my beloved protagonist and love interest, Rill and Jak, drawn by my friend Moustawott (moustawott.tumblr.com)! #BluePitHype #LGBT #fantasy

Centaur paladin 🐴⚔️ #ocsky #dndart #digitalart

The art is the journey from "in your head" to "in the world." And one of the most shocking realisations that comes from making art is the moment when you finally understand: it ISN'T in your head. You thought it was, but it's not. What's in your head barely qualifies as a thing.

Just saw a leafcutter bee in the bee hotel on my patio! I knew they were around because I'm always seeing circular holes in leaves, but this is the first time I've actually seen the bee itself.

Posted last year by @karenod.bsky.social and well worth another shout:

Me, outlining: "Outlining is the hardest part of writing" Me, drafting: "Drafting is the hardest part of writing" Me, editing: "Editing is the hardest part of writing"

Meta cleverly named the new AI “assistant” in one of the FB author groups I’m in…”Speculum.” 🤔🤔🤔

Sifrida wouldn't want to be the hayseed queen of nowhere, but when you have a half-starved kingdom, manure matters more than silk and silver. #CheerPit #W #F #R #A Sifrida's favorite holiday song: Winter Wonderland (but only because the sleigh bells as presumably there are horses nearby)