When the sacred migrating birds that carry messages between isolated settlements disappear, a misfit courier is sent with a small group on a perilous journey across the wilds hoping to find out what’s gone wrong—and save their community from ecological catastrophe. #BluePit📖 #W #A #WF #F

The word "total" appears once in my novel, and I'm suspicious of the tone here. How to make her little sister sound like a teen without sounding like a 20th-21st century American teen? In any case, this is some of what I'm grappling with in revisions. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

If I put a reveal like this in a novel, it would be too cheesy to be believable. This timeline sucks. Anyway, here's an alternative that I think *isn't* affiliated with the plagiarism machine that steals from writers. 2/2

One reason I backed away from #NaNoWriMo in 2024 was because they accepted a sponsorship from a generative AI company. Now there's a new thing called #NovelNovember! Looks nice, right? But guess who's running that new event... THE SAME GEN-AI COMPANY NANO PARTNERED WITH! 1/2

One reason I backed away from #NaNoWriMo in 2024 was because they accepted a sponsorship from a generative AI company. Now there's a new thing called #NovelNovember! Looks nice, right? But guess who's running that new event... THE SAME GEN-AI COMPANY NANO PARTNERED WITH! 1/2

Earlier tonight, I attended a practical and inspiring workshop with Jennifer Haigh, hosted online by Grub Street. Her observations gave me some true "Eureka!" moments about my novel. I think I might be able solve at least half of my "oh, no, this exposition is dreary and stupid" problems now.🎉

Here's a #WIPSnips that has the vibe, not the specific word. It's still rather rough-drafty. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Not a single instance of "somebody" in my WIP! Plenty of "someones" though. Have a #WIPSnips that's a quote from my protagonist, Nairlu: “They made me a swift because they’ve always thought of me that way. As someone who runs, who goes away.” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips, this one fresh off the brain, written just yesterday. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips for June 1st... #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Today's #WIPSnips. A fruit glaze is sort of like honey, right? #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips from early in my novel: She felt hot moisture pricking at the corners of her eyes, shameful tears. Still, she let them fall, for a little while. Past the tears would be a clearer mind. And indeed, the sun was only just setting when her mind settled. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

This #WIPSnips hints at some peculiarities of the architecture in my fantasy world. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A partly familiar #WIPSnips: The pipes twittered and fluttered, mimicking the songs of the ehtis. The drums thumped, a steady heartbeat for everyone to share. Nairlu started to move, trying to give herself over to the drums, trusting the drummers to carry her with the flow. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

This #WIPSnips is one of several song lyrics in my fantasy novel. "Ehti" is a species of bird. A new day on the wing, And so we sing. Our voices greet the day. Oh, the blue and grey. Ehtis, bless us all, And so we call: Take all our fears away. Oh, the blue and grey. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Today's #WIPSnip on "chill": She returned to the hut where the others were already bundled into their sleeping rolls, clustering close to the fire and, reluctantly, to each other. As cold as the still night air was, the mood among them was even more chill. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips on "touch": The memory of going hungry clung to him still, sometimes making his thoughts blur and his heart pound. But if he carried a bite of food, he could touch it, and the feel of even a small morsel against his fingertips soothed the prickle in his mind. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips using the word "idea": “We move once darkness falls.” Traveling at night was not the best idea. It was easier to get lost or injured. But under the circumstances, it was better than getting caught by people who might already have orders to slit their throats. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips on the theme of "ego": “I have worked under your instruction ever since we arrived and—” “—and you think that makes you as much of an expert as me?” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

A #WIPSnips that toys with a thought I had: If you were about to go on a dangerous, heroic adventure, wouldn't those days of getting ready before you hit the road be kind of... awkward? #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

I enjoyed writing my protagonist in this scene. #WIPSnips “Fine. I’ll try to assume you have good intentions, at least until you prove otherwise.” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐

A #WIPSnips from my novel-in-progress: --- All of the knowledge of the riavi was held in the minds of its people. To keep that knowledge alive was everything. It was connection. It was survival. It was joy. “And what did you learn today?” she asked her little sister. --- #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐

#WIPSnips She moved through the dancers to find a space that wasn’t too crowded, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened to the music. The pipes twittered and fluttered, mimicking the songs of the ehtis. The drums thumped, a steady heartbeat for everyone to share. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

Today's #WIPSnips: --- One year’s harvest withered, and the next year’s was planted late, after the farmers healed the soil. Riavi Lamavos had to ration food extremely carefully during that time, and those two years had left their mark on everyone in one way or another. --- #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

Today's #WIPSnips excerpt from my novel-in-progress: -- They ate every bit of the soup, scraping up the smallest traces from their bowls. “I feel like I could sleep for a week,” declared Drenu. “Well, you have until sunrise, which is a good ten hours away at this point.” -- #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

Okay, so at the request of the lovely @trance.bsky.social , I'm going to tell a story about what happens when a shitty person is "just joking", and then discovers there are consequences. AKA That Time Kat Started An Antifascist Hallway Riot In The Third Grade. Grab your beverage of choice.

A #WIPSnips for Feb 14. This excerpt is the result of my recent revision work, where I'm focusing on replacing exposition dumping with flashbacks into the memories of characters other than the main POV protagonist. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

A #WIPSnips selection for this Sunday. The word swift here refers to a job not unlike a courier. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Today's #WIPSnips is from a lyric because in a mostly oral culture, song is essential to memory. The "we" here are people. The "you" are a species of bird at the heart of my story. We dance upon the ground And you on air; Our words in ribbons bound, Knowledge to share. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Another #WIPSnips selection this morning: They emerged from the shadow of the trees into bright sunshine and went a short distance west to get around the small wood that had sheltered them through the morning hours. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

This #WIPSnip is in a section that I'm almost certain is headed for the cutting room floor: "I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly how it started. But at one of the discussions, an argument broke out. It came to blows, and the violence spread." #Writing #Fantasy 💙📚

Enjoy this peek into my protagonist's personal life: At nineteen, she had felt the unadulterated draw of attraction to many fellows, and the deep pull to act on those desires. After playing that game for a couple of years, though, she was already weary of it. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips! The word for January 27 is "player" #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

Happy birthday to @wipsnips.bsky.social ! Here's a celebratory snip from my wip: There was a brief silence, and then a great cheer rose up into the night. The drums picked up a faster beat, the pipes sounded, and the dancing resumed. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Today's little excerpt is one that will probably end up getting edited out, so enjoy before it's gone! "But although we had gained a newfound unity, we were suddenly lacking in…well, people." #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Here's an out-of-context excerpt from my fantasy novel in progress, no explanation: “I found a few pots of water-based paint. Mind waiting for me to leave a mark of our stay here? It won’t take long.” #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Today's excerpt from my book is a bit of a glimpse of the migratory birds that are at its heart. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

The #WIPSnips word for January 18 is "division" Happy Caturday! Would love to see some pet friends with your WIPSnips today if you'd like to share! (Doesn't have to be kitties, I'm just partial.) #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

Today's excerpt from my novel-in-progress: "Nairlu wasn’t much inclined to decorate herself with jewelry, but one necklace did sit on the shelf, a small piece of white bone carved into the shape of a wing hanging from a length of intricately braided narrow twine." #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Everich rose hath its þ

A bit of dialogue for today's #WIPSnips: “I’m sorry. I know I usually say the wrong thing.” “No, I’m complimenting you! You’re absolutely right. They were only arguing to argue, and I don’t have the time or, frankly, the patience for that kind of nonsense.” #writing #fantasy 💙📚

This #WIPSnips is from a part of my fantasy novel's mythology. Storytelling is essential to the world's oral culture. The ehti are a species of bird.

Today's #WIPSnip, featuring the word "responsible," a new challenge for my protagonist to face in the middle of this adventure, and some character names I'm almost certain I'm going to change before the revisions are done.

The word "vertical" appears only once in the novel I'm revising. What do soldiers look like to someone who has never seen one or even heard of the concept of an "army" before? #WIPSnips

An excerpt (sort of) from my fantasy work-in-progress, with character names removed: A: What’s wrong? B: It’s dangerous here. A: We knew that. B: No, it’s changed. C: Changed? What’s changed? B: Something’s different today. #writersky #writer #amrevising 💙📚 So what's that all about? 1/3

#writers #authors beware scammers! I'm seeing some suspicious accounts that follow a pattern: mass-following & -replying to writers, banner pix advertising services for self-publishing authors, replies that sound AI-generated, no website link in bio, and company name turns up no search results. 💙📚

Sadly, the character limit was a lot shorter than I expected, so I had to come up with a simpler idea on the spot. Still, I think this will work.

I'm a fantasy writer. What phrase should I put on the cover of my next notebook? I'm looking for a very brief slogan, no more than a couple of words, that will inspire creativity and motivate me to write! #WritingCommunity 💙📚

Today's editing challenge: How to change the opening infodump into a bunch of flashbacks scattered through later chapters. - Which past events can do the world building work? - Where in the "present" of the story should these memories come up? - What's the minimum context the reader needs?

I'm a fantasy writer. What phrase should I put on the cover of my next notebook? I'm looking for a very brief slogan, no more than a couple of words, that will inspire creativity and motivate me to write! #WritingCommunity 💙📚