At #Continuum16, #c16Reboot the Australian science fiction writers con, and the main, constant lament seems to be that it's so difficult to get any traction as a new author, either through small press or self publishing. There are so many books!
It's definitely a problem, and not just for new authors. One of my oldest friends has over 30 books out (disclosure: a few of which I've proofed and/or edited) and has gone from niche publishers (TSR/WOTC) to self-pub and now trying small press again. They're currently very much surviving on Patreon support and an occasional RPG book sale.
(Sidenote: Loving 'Cruel Provocations'! Will say more later - only six chapters in but it's got its hooks - or possibly threads - in me. 😉)
@NaraMoore
When words come together as a team,
A hyphen's the seam that holds the theme.
A dash is long, a hyphen's small,
But in a compound word, it stands tall.
In theory... photography while walking and hiking without my camera.
My cellphone is so good, I've stopped taking out my DSLR at all. It's not an excuse. 😋 Forgetting to take the photos because you're caught up in the moment, however, is a good one. 😢
Anyone who follows my timeline knows I'm deep into underground Japanese Idols. Neck deep or deeper. Shows, livestreams, Cheki (small polaroid-type photos), bromides (larger photos), autographs, you name it.
I also do rough camping and hunt ghosts. I know some folks think I'm batty but I've had a couple of encounters with them.
The fourth chapter of Stardust: Labyrinth is out! After the minor setback in the third chapter, the group ventures deeper into the eponymous labyrinth, and the sheer scale of the complex becomes apparent...
#wordweavers#Writing 16. If your characters were in a museum, how would they act?
Collections of wonders in 1700 did not usually have labels or placards explaining things, so Franz-Karl asks lots of questions and gets into long conversations with the custodians. Fritzel joins in.
(In a modern museum, Franz-Karl would be like me and my brother and annoy the rest of the party by reading ALL the information provided. Audio-tour headsets would be Heaven, but he would still read EVERYTHING.)
Alice Munro's death was announced yesterday. Her self-described "second oldest remaining friend and colleague," fellow Canadian author Margaret Atwood, has written this tribute to her on her Substack, In the Writing Burrow. It's meant for paying subscribers, but a substantial portion is free to read.
"Alice could be quite mischievous, and not only in her writing. Both of us had dark curly hair at one time. We were about the same height.
"Alice: I was standing on a train platform and a man came up to me and said, ‘You’re Margaret Atwood!' 'Yes,' I said, 'I am.' Then we had quite an interesting conversation about your working methods and where you get your inspiration.
"Turn and turn about: After we both had white hair, and after Alice had won the Nobel, people would come up to me and murmur, 'Congratulations.' 'For what?' I would say. 'You know. Winning that prize.' After a while I stopped trying to explain, and just murmured back, modestly, 'Thank you.' Though the Thank Yous were really for Alice."
#PennedPossibilities#Writing 314 — Has your MC ever felt as though they were reborn in the mental / emotional sense?
Hella interesting topic.
Parthia/Ta'regi experienced a sensation that felt akin to 'awakening after a heavy slumber' when the ritual happened and then spends the rest of TCotWS off/on wrestling with an existential paradox of always having existed and never having existed as she does.
Writing Prompt: In a future time your grave is robbed. Who is the theif? How do they see the “treasure” of your grave as salvation? How do they find it cursed? What is one thing in the grave that they do not dare disturb?
(a grave need not be a physical thing and treasure could be gold or information or anything rare) #writing#writingprompt
@futurebird The plague kept spreading. It had even reached the outposts on Europa and Charon. Desperate, the archaeobiologists tore open the burying ground of a doctor rumoured to have wind of something that killed all pathogens. His final notes hinted at success, but he had insisted his research be buried with him, fearing it would be misused. They pried open the coffin, to find his hand clutching the tool to create his cure, and they wept when they saw it. It was a single, unlit match.
@futurebird
reminds me of a bad 1980s novel in which paleoanthropologists, while investigating Clovis graves and the mystery of the end-Pleistocene extinction, find some intact dried preserved meat from the pleistocene. They reserve most of it for analysis, but can't resist eating some of it. Turns out it contains a horrible virus that turns every infected person into murderous super-predator, as would be required by Paul Martin's absurdly fast "Blitzkrieg" idea.
The human child decided not to tease their fish-tailed pal, and instead talked about marbles and their mutual love of turtles and pizza.
Decades later, the human had to admit that the siren looked so happy atop the firetruck she was assigned to, screaming her lungs out as they raced towards a blaze.
A friend of mine, who I actually met through my younger brother, is a writer. I’ve been following his journey for years. Shawn and his wife Maile are both writers. They have five children. Maybe six. I forget.
The thing is, they bought a little bookstore in Lancaster, PA. They might be the most wholesome people I know. Such an act of faith.
If you love books, I urge you to reach out with encouragement. Like their social media. #writing#books
@NaraMoore Guns do kill, which is why we’re at fault for not eradicating them. People have used the forerunner of so-called AI for a long while every time they text and accept suggestions. We become outraged, then normalize. In the end, it’s about human weakness and not doing the right thing. Ban guns. Restrict AI. Quit blaming anything and everything else for our failings.
