TWS Community #Writing #Workshop: Writing Science Fiction with Lydia Kwa | Online event | Sunday, Mar 29 from 10 am to 12:30 pm PDT. What draws you to write science fiction? Join us to explore your motivation and vision in this hands-on workshop. Register here - www.eventbrite.ca/e/tws-commun...

Join us downtown at SFU's Vancouver campus for our @twssfu.bsky.social Lunch Poems. On Mar 18, you'll hear poets Sadiqa de Meijer and Theresa Muñoz. www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-poem...

Exactly. The term "literary fiction" itself causes some of the problem since it's often seen as making a qualitative distinction bwn genre fic & the looser collection of fic that doesn't conform to or challenge specific genre conventions, but I haven't been able to come up with an alternative term.

These categories aren't mutually exclusive. A wonderful example of "self-conscious, writerly prose" in a thriller is Anthony Horowitz's series of "Hawthorne and Horowitz" mysteries beginning with "The Word is Murder" (2017).

Interesting. Isn’t everything literary “interesting?” But a silly premise, imo, as “good” and compelling to a wide audience can be either the same or widely different in genre and, really, every other way. Didn’t Stephen King prove literary work could be horror could be literary?

Big love to the writers participating in today's #TWSOchat on Simplicity in Your Writing: @oranmagal.bsky.social @candietanaka.bsky.social

The 2026 VWF Youth Writing Contest is open now! Tell an aspiring young writer in your life. We run two annual writing contests for students in BC: one for grades 5–7, and one for grades 8–12. Deadline: May 31, 2026 Read the rules and enter: writersfest.bc.ca/youth-writing-contest

A3. We're over a century past The Sun Also Rises but there's still this bias toward "simplicity." It's one tool out of infinite ways to tell a story. It has a lot of commercial advantages, but there's more to reading and writing. #TWSOchat

A9. I reject this. Use the right tools for the right job. If you're telling an enemies-to-lovers yarn for a readership with strict formal expectations, stay in your lane. If you're going to use a chorus of narrators and jump around in time and keep your reader off balance, lfg. #TWSOchat

A1. I think I’m trying for more complexity these days. I want to keep the clarity of simple sentences, but I’m interested in more than clarity. (Late!) #TWSOchat

Save the date for the next #TWSOchat on Sunday, April 12th at 10:30am (PDT). We will discuss What We Can Learn From Poetry. Join in with TWS alumni + mentors to ask q's and share your knowledge. #writerschat #WritingCommnunity

Writers! Give us a follow too/mark in your calendars, so that you will know about the upcoming #TWSsprints and #TWSOchat sessions. Bluesky Sessions: 2nd Sunday of each month -- TWS Bluesky Chats #TWSOchat 4th Sunday of each month -- TWS Writing Sprints #TWSsprints

Thanks writing friends for joining in on another interesting discussion. As always, thank you for sharing! At TWS we love to hear how your writing is going and what you are finding interesting in the literary world. #TWSOchat #writers #writingcommunity

Please follow the #writers participating in #TWSOchat, this community grows by sharing info + resources. Today we discussed “Simplicity in Your Writing” ~ I will tweet the writers' handles asap! ^ct #writing #writerschat

Q9. "Everything written in self-conscious, writerly prose, on the other hand, is now considered to be "literary fiction"—not necessarily good literary fiction, mind you, but always worthier of respectful attention than even the best-written thriller or romance." Interesting or not? #TWSOchat

I think that the only way to thread the needle in cases like this is to follow Aristotle’s immortal advice: all things in moderation.

Q8. Here's an article about simplicity of the first sentence and how that can be the hook that draws a reader in - lithub.com/jonathan-lee... i.e. Toni Morrison's, “124 was spiteful. Full of Baby’s venom.” #TWSOchat "No one wants to feel the writer trying to hard." ~ cringe Have you seen this?

Q7."A study found that when people use complicated language, they come across as less intelligent. Complexity trap: Complicated language & jargon offer writers the illusion of sophistication, but jargon can send a signal to some readers that the writer is dense/overcompensating"- thoughts? #TWSOchat

Q6. When writing dialogue there is a way to portray something about a character using "simplicity" in their language. It could portray a more straightforwardness, their anger, speaking to the somber realities of their lived experience, or rebelliousness. Have you used simplicity this way? #TWSOchat

Q5. There is a concept know as the "aesthetic response theory" which has to do with having its "roots in the text" and focuses on what happens to the reader as they read through a literary work as opposed to an "reception theory" (judging for complexity/diction in text). What do you think? #TWSOchat

Click on this hashtag #TWSOchat to see the whole conversation for the writing chat and make sure to use it in your replies. Let us know if you have any other questions :) and welcome everyone! #writing #WritingCommunity #writerschat

Q4. Are there authors that write in a style where it could be deemed that they are writing in a simple style in your opinion? One quote from writer Arundhati Roy in "The End of Imagination" says, "To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple." #TWSOchat

Q3. What does simplicity in writing mean to you and do you prefer that style for writing and/or reading? Or do you like simplicity for one of the two and then are okay with a more complex style for the other? #TWSOchat

Q2. Some writers argue that "clean" writing is good writing and that sentences need to be revised into the simplest components. We need to watch for unnecessary adverbs, passive language and long words that serve no function because they weaken the sentence. How "clean" is your writing? #TWSOchat

If you have tips or q's today to share/ask re: Simplicity in Your Writing please *include hashtag #TWSOchat Alumni + mentors from @TWSSFU The Writer's Studio are here to share. Open to writers worldwide! #amwriting #writerslift #writers #writingtips

When responding to any of our questions, please use A1, A2, A3 etc. for your answer with our *hashtag #TWSOchat (very important) so everyone can see your posts! #writers #amwriting #writingtips #writinglife #writerscommunity

Also, happy last daylight savings time to us in BC! Will this mean we need to recalculate the time differences in each province? ^ct Asking for a friend that is me. Not really a #TWSOchat question but could affect people tuning into the chat?

Q1. Today’s #TWSOchat session is about Simplicity in Your Writing. Do your struggle with keeping your sentences simple or is your style to write more in a more complex nature? Is complexity in your writing something that you seek intentionally or do you just come about it naturally?

Good morning and welcome to the March 2026 #TWSOchat! Today we are going to discuss Simplicity in Your Writing w/TWS mentors & alum #amwriting #writing #literary #writerslift #WritingCommunity This chat is open to all #writers on Bluesky

Please note **High Posting Alert** for the next hour from 10:30am-11:30am (PDT) re: Simplicity in Your Writing ~ Join in w/ #TWSOchat w/ Q&A's #writers #writing #writerslift #writers

Click on the hashtag #TWSOchat and then also make sure to choose the *Latest* window on your Bluesky account! This will show you all #TWSOchat posts. Any q's before we start?

Writers! Give us a follow and bookmark this post to know about the upcoming #TWSsprints and #TWSOchat sessions /// Bluesky Sessions: (2nd Sunday of each month -- TWS Chats #TWSOchat) (4th Sunday of each month -- TWS Writing Sprints #TWSsprints)

Everyone on Bluesky is welcome to join @TWSSFU (SFU's The Writers Studio), as we discuss Simplicity in Your Writing during the #TWSOchat today at 10:30am (PDT)! #amwriting #writers #writing #writingtips #WritingCommunity

Get started by clicking on this hashtag #TWSOchat to follow along & then ask any q's or answer with the same hashtag and A1 for Q1 etc. #writers #amwriting #writingtips

Happy Sunday writers! Today we will discuss Simplicity in Your Writing. Do you have tips or q's to share or discuss with writer colleagues worldwide? Follow along with #TWSOchat #amwriting #writers #writing #writingtips #WritingCommunity

Today at 10:30am (PDT) is the next #TWSOchat, join us as we discuss Simplicity in Your Writing w/@TWSSFU (SFU's Writers Studio) mentors & alumni. Share your writing experiences with us. Open to all writers on Bluesky #amwriting #writerschat #writing

Reminder, that tomorrow the next #TWSOchat on Sunday, March 8th at 10:30am is around Simplicity in Your Writing. Join in on the chat with #TWS writers, alumni & mentors to refine your writing practice. Ask questions & share your experience #WritingCommunity #Writers

Please join us to discuss Simplicity in Your Writing + to ask q's of The Writer's Studio alumni and/or mentors on #TWSOchat Let's work towards building a supportive #WritingCommunity #writers! #writing

This Sunday, March 8th at 10:30am is the next #TWSOchat where we discuss simplicity in your writing. Is this something that you struggle with in that you tend to overwrite? How do you make your text clean and clear? Open to all writers + follow along with the hashtag above to share your thoughts!

415 words in my second sprint, for a total of 987 across all three. Thanks for the #amwriting session! #TWSsprints #WritingCommunity #writerslife

278 words this sprint for me! #TWSsprints #WritingCommunity #writerslife #amwriting

Done! 294 words in the first sprint. #TWSsprints #WritingCommunity #writerslife #amwriting

Working on a few scenes, filling them out and connecting them. #TWSsprints #amwriting

Good morning! I am here and ready to go. 👋

Excited to dig into writing this morning! - MM #TWSsprints #amwriting

Writers! Give @TWSSFU a follow & enter into your 2026 calendars the upcoming #TWSsprints and #TWSOchat sessions. Twitter Sessions: 2nd Sunday of each month -- TWS Twitter Chats #TWSOchat 4th Sunday of each month -- TWS Writing Sprints #TWSsprints

What's your final word count for the whole exercise or your last sprint? Let us know and keep track of it for next month's #TWSsprints #amwriting #writingsprints

STOP! #TWSsprints Great work #writers, if you've gone this far you've done your warm up for the day. Keep going if you can, because sometimes good writing can appear after a sprint warm up! #amwriting

Time to start the final sprint, keep going! #TWSsprints, write for another 15mins. #amwriting Free yourself from the writing process, just write whatever comes out down. You will go back later and revise, just keep writing! #words #writers #writing #writingsprints

STOP, and take a break for 5mins! #TWSsprints Breathe out, grab some snacks or more tea/coffee for the next sprint. #amwriting #writerslife