@Firlefanz I don't think they do very much for readers who will be uncomfortable. Discomfort is an important tool for an author to implement. There are good reasons to be uncomfortable with some narratives and a content warning won't mitigate that. But a content warning will make a difference for a reader who have a trauma response to certain topics.
I don't have a lot, but West (West Flows) surprised me by declaring he was gay. I will admit I struggled with that, until I realized that love is just love. And he is very much in love with his Jeko.
I hope that more characters will come out as queer. I think my Moon might be. (She's the MC in the book after Sun Burns.)
#PennedPossibilities 331 — Has your MC ever desired the feeling of a fresh start, or a better understanding of themselves and / or the world around them?
Connor's worst moment was when his pack fell apart. When his leader turned out to be cheater, when he turned against his own second, over a woman.
He does get a fresh start, ending up as the pack leader himself, albeit of a demoralized and injured few men. Still, he does the best he can.
Wrote 600 words for Sun this morning. Third day of writing in the morning, and so far, it's been easy.
I expect it to be harder on some day, but we'll see. And eventually, I hope to reach 1k words regularly, but even that is secondary to establishing the habit.
Also played Valheim. Twink had a troll attack which showed some weaknesses in her fortifications. They are now - hopefully - fixed.
#WritersCoffeeClub 5/25. Do you use a cover artist or design your own covers? Share your cover art.
I tried making my own covers. Didn't work out very well, but cover designers are expensive. They should be, it's value they create, but when my books don't earn much... it creates a rock and a hard place.
Anyway, I use cover designers now, and I'll share one that I love very much (partially because I love the characters so much and the designer totally got them).
please welcome my friend @AJ_Ponder to Mastodon. They are a great writer and author, and I'm so glad they followed my invitation here.
Let's show them how great our community here is, how much fun we have, and how a social medium without algorithms and the need to make money for shareholders actually works.
#WordWeavers 5/21. Do you consider how your MC’s appearance may contribute to stereotypes?
I worry about that, yes.
However, I believe it cannot be helped, really. People will have their impressions and will stereotype. Still, I try to stay away from them.
For example, Sun won't have red hair, even though he is a fire mage. In fact, I'm not even sure what Laisal looks like, to be honest. I'm bad at imagining faces.
@Firlefanz I love redheads, too. One of my best friends is a redhead, actually.
All of the redheads I know are feisty, strong-willed, and charismatic. Those are also the qualities of the Fire God in my world, so it just fits. I'm okay with that. 😊
#WritersCoffeeClub 5/20 -- When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
I can almost give you an exact date: Jan 30th, 2000.
That's when I started writing down the first intense scene of a story that wasn't fan fiction. It grew and grew in my mind, into three years of hyperfocus and three completed novels with four more started.
Those prompted me to sign up with an agent. (Contract long dissolved.) I've been self-publishing since 2013.
Yes, I'm just as addicted as before. Mostly, I've been constructing a new base for the main game, and since we played together yesterday (yay!), I could tackle the construction of a new kitchen/bedroom hall/tower today. Even survived two Events (draugr / trolls).
It's not an architectural marvel, but I am rather proud of it.
And now I'll give Sun some much deserved attention.
@Firlefanz I haven't gotten around to it yet, I've been playing with my coop group this weekend.
I built a treehouse near a mine we were working on to spend the nights in. All three of my friends have managed to die by falling after waking up and sprinting outside too fast haha.
#PhantastikPrompts 17.5.
Wie bist du auf den Titel deiner Geschichte gekommen und was findest du wichtig bei der Wahl eines guten Titels?
Als sich die Winds und Pillars Serie eines Nachts in meinem Kopf bildete, waren die Titel auch alle schon gleich klar.
Ich muss aber sagen, dass mir bei Sun Burns ein Lied im Kopf herumspukte: "Alarmsignal. Die Sonne brennt. Heißer als man sie kennt." (Na, wer kennt das noch?)
Ein guter Titel sollte neugierig machen. Gleichzeitig sollte er einen guten Hinweis auf das Genre geben.
Ich finde es bei Fantasy inzwischen wirklich schwierig, gute, spannende Titel zu finden. Habe mir die Titel beim SPFBOX durchgelesen und fand die meisten langweilig.
Meine Winds und Pillars haben seltsame Titel, und sie bilden auch das Genre nicht gut ab. Das tun dann hoffentlich die Serientitel (Winds of Destiny & Pillars of the Empire).
If you like noblebright stories (ones that emphasize kindness and hope, as well as good feelings), I have a small, curated list of books from Bookfunnel that you can get for free in exchange for your email.
My South Breaks is in it, because yes, my stories are noblebright.
It was basically a 50% chance, with almost 600 submissions and 300 books in the running.
I'm very excited. Of course, we will wait for the finalized list, and then we'll wait even longer for the reviews to trickle in. Eventually, each reviewer will list three favorites, and the final winner will be chosen from those 30 books.
I doubt South will be among those, but one can dream.
@Firlefanz I've never entered, but I did the SPSFC two years ago and made it all the way to the semifinals, but I'm not sure how because every review I saw seemed negative. Regardless, I was pretty pleased about it. I'm rooting for you.