All writing advice is an author going, “Hey, this worked for me, so I’m sharing it in case it works for you.” That’s cool. That could be useful to someone. On the other hand, advice presented as a “rule” or as something you “must” do is stuff I think you can ignore.

Autism doesn’t need to be cured.

Giggling and kicking my feet thinking about the absolute monstrosity I'm going to make the players fight in this week's Masks recording for @wwcomicspodcast.bsky.social.

#Pitblk 2025 has begun!!! Make sure to submit your pitches by Sept 24th at 8pm EST at the link below. We're excited you're participating and can't wait for agents and editors to see! www.pitchpitblk.com/pitblk-submi... #amquerying ##writersky #booksky

Local coffee shop has a caramel apple cold brew so good I might dedicate this book I'm revising to them.

I have an entire pinterest board of dresses and I just look for excuses to put characters in them so I can go pick a dress off my pinterest board to mentally dress them in.

As a bi ace woman dating a bi man, I think a lot about straight-passingness and how we're both decidedly not straight. For one thing, we both have trauma as queer people raised in a heteronormative purity culture, which we have to work through as part of our relationship.

Is Word's spell check actually getting worse though, because what is this?

Got to record as Eden for @wwcomicspodcast.bsky.social for the first time in like... a year? And I'm kinda emo about it.

Baking my way through the horrors. Made zucchini bread and peach cobbler earlier in the week. Currently baking a cheesecake for my boyfriend's birthday. This is my first attempt at cheesecake.

This episode has such a cute moment between Rian and Lilith that I love. Plus more kitty content.

Other thoughts aside, my brother is a student at the university where today's shooting occured. I was at the SLC protest with a deadly shooting. So in a matter of months, we've had to have two texts to the family group chat of "I was in proximity to gun violence but I'm fine."

The book I'm currently revising for sub (and would like to have as my debut) is the 20th manuscript I've completed writing. I want to be proud, but I'm mostly tired.

My mom has informed me that "the tomato situation may be a little out of control"

On Twitter I had a very intentional publishing industry brand and I just do not have it in me to bring a social media strategy to Bluesky. Am I talking about writing? Am I talking about TTRPGs? Am I just posting pics of my cat?

Kyra critiqued my query letter with this suggestion and HOT DAMN it's so much better now!

Query tip: figure out what the showstopper for your query is. The absolute most hooky part of your pitch. Then try to put it in your first paragraph of plot summary. I love a query letter that gives me just enough set up to get interested in a character and immediately hits me with the showstopper.

Are YOU looking for the perfect fall romcom? Please consider The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado. Reading it feels like drinking a PSL while wearing a cozy sweater. And it features a fat, bi protagonist with PCOS.

OBSESSED with the art @ayusheknows.bsky.social did for Lilith, my goth magic girl with glass powers from @wwcomicspodcast.bsky.social.

I know many of you will be preparing your #PitchDis pitch over the weekend, so here's a list of what you'll need for the event and a couple of reminders.

I was so lucky to get to beta read this and must instist you add it to your TBR posthaste.

He heard that there's a special place where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.

Recently finished The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera. Literary fantasy isn't normally my genre, but this had a great narrative twist that made it worth the read.

What if I spent my holiday making an editor's guide for my book that's going to go on sub soon-ish instead of actually revising the book.

Phoebe is a mildly sex averse asexual actress playing a character who is also asexual (more in the indifferent to favorable realm). Nolan is probably gray or demi romantic but he has a job and can't worry about that right now.

Couldn't find a romcom to watch on any of the streaming I pay for so I watched Scott Pilgrim instead. Except, is Scott Pilgrim a romcom? A romcom marketed to men? At a glance it hits the major beats of a romcom.

I'm really tired of the "everything should be sexy" / "nothing should be sexy" arguments about media. Some things should be sexy and other things should not be sexy and everyone needs to come to terms with the fact that not all things will please them, personally.

I think one of best skills you can learn as a storyteller is how to multi-task. Use your scenes to do as much heavy lifting as possible. Create scenarios where you can advance the plot and show off the worldbuilding and highlight character arcs all at once.

The auction ends tonight and some of these amazing items don't have bids yet!

I didn't think I would be in the LibGen database but checked anyway. Turns out they stole one of my academic articles.

*Please Repost and Share* IT'S THE LAST DAY TO BID IN THE WE THE PEOPLE SUMMER FUNDRAISER! Bidding will end at 6:15 PT / 9:15 ET today. www.32auctions.com/WeThePeopleSummerAuction XOXO Sandra

Utah hasn't come up in the national conversation on gerrymandering, but things are happening here. Things that potentially, could lead to another dem house seat. Short thread for those interested.

Someone at work asked if I'd rather watch Twilight or Cats (2019) and I said "Grizabella where have you been loca" which is one of the best jokes I've ever made and it did not land with my very male coworker chat.

New art from the YA contemporary romance I'm revising about a high-strung ace actress and an awkward teen heartthrob falling for each other on set. Art by @gidgetdraws.bsky.social! I wanted these two to be so soft and Gidget understood the assignment. I'm so obsessed with them.

I've still got a query critique with no bids available through the #Kidlit4Ceasefire auction. I have worked a ton of query letters and especially love troubleshooting the tricky ones (send me your large cast, non-linear, super hard to pitch stories). www.32auctions.com/organization...

BTW, parties can be a great storytelling tool. They're vibes sure, but it can also be a great way to move plot forward, push characters into a shared place, highlight drama between them, amplify character insecurities, etc.

Had a meeting to talk about how people were utilizing AI (🤮) and it struck me a lot of the use cases were people trying to compensate for some insecurity. Eg, they worry they sound mean so they use it to sound nicer, they feel scattered so they use it to hone in on thoughts.

Just sitting here. Waiting to share some gorgeous new character art.

It's embarrassing that it took me like a year and a half to finish S1 of ‪@someplacetobe.neocities.org‬ but a smattering of thoughts because I enjoy the show more than my listening habits let on (sorry that at any given time I have multiple time-sensitive library audiobook holds in 😅)

I am so excited to share the cover for IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD, which hits shelves February 10 and is now available for preorder!

Let me help you with your book! I've been in publishing over a decade!

Reading nonfiction has helped immensely with my sff worldbuilding.

✨WE ARE LIVE!✨ Almost 400 amazing items are available to help #KidLit4Ceasefire families survive the genocide in Gaza! 322 still without bids: www.32auctions.com/organization...

This auction is now open. Check out my testimonials page if you're interested in my full manuscript query critique (my services are only available through auctions like these) or browse the many other wonderful items for sale. kyramnelson.com/testimonials/

Moreover, when you make it safe for people to create things that make you uncomfortable, they're more likely to tag the content so that you can more easily avoid it if it's not your cup of tea.

Just remembered that I accidentally came out to my brother by referring to my roommate's dog as "the only straight one in the apartment."

I got seriously involved in publishing in 2012, and am still trying to publish my debut novel. Like dang this really is an entry level job requiring 10-15 years of experience.

The We the People summer fundraiser auction has a ton of great items, including a full MS critique from me. Bidding opens August 18. Donations benefit #KidLit4Ceasefire families, as well as trans and immigrant rights collectives. www.32auctions.com/organization...

✨Please share and bookmark!✨ In one week the We The People Summer fundraiser will begin to benefit #KidLit4Ceasefire families in Gaza and immigrant and trans rights! www.32auctions.com/WeThePeopleS... + A small thread of other ways to help that are now live and will be live long-term:

A day in publishing: “You gotta write stuff that sells, but you also gotta write different stuff, but you still gotta write stuff that sells. Just remember to make it different. Oh, and did you remember to write something that sells, but make it different from what sells?" *nervous laughter*