sfwrtr

pinskal, 9 days ago to random

“Dude” is both approbative and gently mocking; a word used among friends. If somebody fucks up in a comical fashion, they are totally “dude.” One is unlikely to call a serious enemy “dude.”

There is an element of lightness and unseriousness associated with “dude,” which is to its credit. See also “dude ranch,” or Chester A. Arthur, the “Dude President.”

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to writing

Wintereyes has reasons to like the guy, besides him liking a woman as shy and strange as she is. He has a cat, and then this (hot off the press, as it were):

The siamese mewed and pawed the air, looking at the dropped photo.

"You can show me were his secret pictures are?" I asked.

The cat zipped off, tail an S shape in the air.

"Wait!" Caramello said as I swiftly followed the beast. Past the grotto bath. Past the metal door that might have once been a large closet but was now a darkroom. Past an inset library barely big enough for the square desk and an easy chair, considering the spiral stair. A clear dome and mirrors directed orangy sunset sun down the stack. Three stories of hardback volumes and a few silvery grimoires made me pause, but Flash meowed. I pushed open an oaken door as Caramello reached for my shoulder, but not touching, giving one last dispirited, "Wait!"

His bedroom...

The guy has his qualities. Cats and books are a good sign? Right?

#Writing #fantasy #romance #author #writer #writingCommunity #writersofmastodon #excerpt

Minimus, 10 days ago to random

fabula murina (mouse story) CL
Silvius mel e flore lonicerae libat (Silvius sips nectar from a honeysuckle flower). apes prope flores suaveolentes bombitant (bees buzz near the sweet-smelling flowers). mus et apes flores partiunt (mouse and bees share the flowers).
#fabulamurina

VeroniqueB99, 10 days ago to random

Hold me back!!

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 09 — What's the minimum time you can work on your writing? Do you need a long, clear period?

This isn't something I've ever measured, though I can recall having an idea of something to add and, because of the ease of bringing up my writing on any platform, spending a few furious minutes writing. Left to my druthers, I will spend hours. Once I spent 15 hours straight, but that was because of a deadline (Clarion critique the next morning) and a story (fantasy romance) where the characters demanded I live their story. 2 to 4 hours is average.

Were I to need to clear a long period to write, I'd never write.

More to the point for me, I really need to clear my mind. Anxiety tries to creep in. To the extent I push that aside and quiet the monkey voice in my head long enough to let the words fill the blank page, time simply does not matter.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to apple

Well, that's a first! My iPhone was reading a web story and #siri on a #homepod decided some passage was a request to play a song. Now #AI's are talking to each other? #Apple #funny

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to SF

As an #sf, #sciencefiction, or #military #fiction #writer, you need the gif image of Tonga exploding in an eruption that can be found in this article. The article is interesting, too.

#author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/volcanos/record-shattering-tonga-volcanic-eruption-wasnt-triggered-by-what-we-thought-new-study-suggests

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#PennedPossibilities 309 — How is your MC or SC with animals?

Did you write this question especially for me?

Wintereyes (the MC) is great with beasts, magical, monstrous, and mundane. She /befriends/ them, which without revealing spoilers means they get along very well with her. Being friends with animals she may well eat does make for an interesting personal philosophy.

Caramello (the SC) has never had to get along with animals, but he does have some familiarity with dolphins as a sailor and birds as a Crab Islander. However, him wanting Wintereyes as a girlfriend, he is learning to tolerate them more than he would have ever imagined. Not only is she worth the effort, it may save his life.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sff #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#WordWeavers 2405.06 — Who is your most fun character?

Wintereyes.

She's a free spirit unlike any of my previous characters, but she's always kind. Despite being shy, she's incredibly courageous but doesn't understand how impressive that is. Having lived amongst wolves (she's human), she doesn't understand what it means to live amongst people, but is learning. She's sticking to her "friendly" principles when challenged with unerring innocence, integrity, and passion. It does make her more-than-occasionally NSFW, however...

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R..S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #romance #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#PennedPossibilities 308 — What is one place your characters want to visit?

I'm going to take this as a euphemism.

The MC is employed by her main antagonist, who is an absolute ruler. Theoretically, the MC is second in command, but reality begs to differ. One of the reasons the MC accepted the troubleshooter job is that the MA informed her that her supposedly dead father is actually a political prisoner in a nearby country. In the back of her mind, the MC wonders whether she can use some of the MA's power to pay certain miscreant warlords a nasty visit...

This is a possible sequel I've set up in the current story by having the MC befriend a very talented up and coming military officer.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

elysegrasso, 10 days ago to random

#wordweavers 9. Does your MC agree with any of the last two days?

At the time of the WIPs Franz-Karl is still a little kid, and he's stuck at the intersection of the various societies that are in conflict. Worldfolk kids are not supposed to need to answer those kinds of questions until Initiation at 15 or so. So it's probably a good thing that his eldritch side matures differently.
It is safe to say that he does not (and will not) entirely agree with any of the societies tugging at him.

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#PennedPossibilities 307 — Does your MC have next-door neighbors? Who are they?

The main antagonist. This is the person she once considered as the person who ruined her life. She once worked for someone whose stated goal was assassinating her, and didn't care if they succeeded. For the last few months, the MC lived in a roommate situation that made them neighbors. Her roommate was being trained by the main antagonist, but also had a bad relationship with her. Their proximity was always a background tension in the story. In the current story, the MC is now working for the main antagonist and understands the MA's "evil" reasons better, but still dislikes her. The MC could ask for her own suite, free of charge, in the same building but is planning on taking her new salary to live elsewhere.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

sfwrtr, 10 days ago to 13thFloor

#PennedPossibilities 306 — Are there any characters that you WISH you killed off in a series or standalone story?

Let's say, not exactly. I've had to write sequels and prequels and side stories because of feisty characters, but in the end I don't regret these.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

sfwrtr, 11 days ago (edited 11 days ago) to 13thFloor

Yep, I make a template file each month that includes all the monthly questions for the #WritersCoffeeClub and #WordWeavers prompts. Cut/paste/delete: It's how I answer reliably and quickly; I minimize the repetitive parts.

I copy the questions to the template from the text source posted with the questions (thank you folks for doing that!), or in the case of #Writever, I OCR the text. I add my introductory lines with double-clickable replacement text and my hashtags so I don't have to bother with each post. See the example below.

To answer a prompt, I duplicate the template file and start writing! For prompts like #PennedPossibilites, I have a template file that I never have to change. I copy past the canonical question directly from @floofpaldi's post.

Below an example of my headers and hashtags. Note I haven't revised the hashtags specifically for this post. Normally I delete the non-applicable ones. I'm being illustrative. Sorry!

EXAMPLE: (For those that don't see it, there is a right facing angle bracket before the first hashtag for my signature formatting flourish.)

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr nn — Question

text

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

sfwrtr, 11 days ago to 13thFloor

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 08 — When writing technical or scientific detail, how much is plausible versus imagined?

Everything in a story must come across as plausible, full stop. It doesn't matter whether it is imagined or factual. This is as true for writing technical or scientific detail as it is for writing about social interactions. Here's my secret sauce recipe:

1. If I don't or can't understand the details necessary for the story, I don't write it. I won't write a story about a convenience store clerk because I don't know what that is like, nor am I willing to commit the brain cells to learn. This is one of the reasons I write fantasy and not mainstream or historical stories.
2. If I understand in layman's terms, I rely on subject matter expert characters to relate what's necessary. For example, I wouldn't explain in a story how the combustion engine works any more than I would explain how the star drive works. I rely on my mechanic, who at the most technical says I replaced a part and here's the bill.
3. If I am making up the details—which can be how the magic works or the social details for a society that exists only in my head—I rely on consistency and limits to build plausibility.
4. If something minor occurs that I can't explain, I lampshade it—I hide the bare electric bulb with pretty fabric enough so that the characters in the story believe what happened is plausible. Generally, readers will accept this. See item 6.
5. If I end up researching something for the story, as I did to write a story about prizefighter, I present only the technical details I know and use items 2 and 4 otherwise. Yes, I learned how to punch a speed bag and train as a fighter, but I'm not one. Since the story involved "mixed magical martial arts," I made s**t up, also, which is item 3.
6. Most importantly, I work to not stretch the reader's credulity and base everything I can in the common reality the reader shares with me. This promotes plausibility.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

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#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
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sfwrtr, 11 days ago to writing

So, #Scrivener on the Mac is telling me that the project I'm working on the iPad and iPhone isn't a valid project. This is not how I wanted to spend my day...

Not #writing or being an #author at the moment.😢 #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

Shanmonster, 11 days ago to random

While training at the gym, I accidentally looked at the sun reflecting off a windshield and that triggered my scintillating scotoma. I spent the final third of my gym time minus about a third of my vision. A bright circle of electric blue-white light, like sparks from an arc welder, strobed across my field of vision. I was afraid I wouldn’t be ok to ride my bike home, but thankfully it went away after about fifteen minutes. I guess I’m going to have to wear my sunglasses at the gym.

Whenever this strikes, I’m always scared it will not go away. At its worst, I’ve had it 24/7 for four months across about 75% of my vision. Because it’s such an unusual disorder, most folks have no idea how incapacitating it is. I usually get a sort of hangover afterwards which leaves me with increased brain fog.

I suspect it might have been caused by the Irvings spraying DDT over my home a bunch of times when I was a little kid. #ScintillatingScotoma #MigraineAura #NeurologicalCondition #BrainFog #InvisibleDisabilities #IndustrialPoisoning

sfwrtr, 12 days ago (edited 12 days ago) to writing

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 07 — Do you add a copyright statement to your work? How comprehensive is it?

When I submit to a publisher in the US, I do not include a copyright notice. Publishers understand that copyright law automatically protects authors whether or not they include the notice. Typing one on your manuscript shows you don't understand the basics. It's simply not professional.

When I publish online, for example on Mastodon, and I own the copyright AND care to have others understand that, I include the copyright notice below. The copyright is still automatic by law.

What I use is the word "copyright" followed by "(c)" or the symbol, no space, the year, and my name or pen name. This is what I understand as all that's necessary, but I am unqualified to give legal advice.

I include the copyright online to ensure:

1. non-US entities understand my ownership
2. if the content is scraped (e.g. by someone training an AI), the text will include an unambiguous copyright notice that this text is NOT public domain.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

sfwrtr, 12 days ago to story

#Writer #story fuel: Think about these two paragraphs, read the article, then write a story. Or read Jean M Auel's The Mammoth Hunters.

Neanderthals disappeared roughly 40,000 years ago. But before they died out, some of them mated with early humans—which is why modern humans of non-African ancestry have between 1 and 4 percent Neanderthal DNA. The reconstruction of Shanidar Z makes it “perhaps easier to see how interbreeding occurred between our species,” says Emma Pomeroy, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of Cambridge who helped discover Shanidar Z, in a statement.

“The skulls of Neanderthals and humans look very different,” she says. “Neanderthal skulls have huge brow ridges and lack chins, with a projecting midface that results in more prominent noses. But the recreated face suggests those differences were not so stark in life.”

#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #Writing #Author #Prompt #Fiction https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-shanidar-z-a-75000-year-old-neanderthal-woman-180984284/

sfwrtr, 13 days ago (edited 13 days ago) to 13thFloor

#WordWeavers 2405.04 — How does your SC deal with failure?

Try different ways to get what she wants until frustration sets in, followed by anger, followed by doing something stupid.

When all the hauling companies in her home prefecture blacklisted her not simply for being female, but for being female while being persistent, she may or may not have thrown a brick through some windows and turned over some vehicles. She ran from the constables. She got tricked in another city into thinking she could earn quick money hauling questionable things to start her own company. She got blackmailed into the mob. She's still saving, for that day she might escape.

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R..S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

sfwrtr, 13 days ago to 13thFloor

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 06 — Have you ever copied a piece from another book or a movie as a homage to that work?

Homage? Special honor or respect to? No. Pop references? Easter egg references? Yes.

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
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sfwrtr, 13 days ago to photography

End of Cinco de Mayo. Having Caesar salad, a Baja Mexico creation. Handmade. Fresh grated Romano. Just toasted croutons.

#cincodemayo #Photography #Dinner #Photos #Author #Photos #Food #CaesarSalad #Salad

Caesar salad, a Baja Mexico creation. Handmade. Fresh grated Romano. Just toasted croutons.
Caesar salad, a Baja Mexico creation. Handmade. Fresh grated Romano. Just toasted croutons.
Caesar salad, a Baja Mexico creation. Handmade. Fresh grated Romano. Just toasted croutons.

sfwrtr, 13 days ago (edited 13 days ago) to Funny

So something #funny happened last night. I mean, I'm one to think that dreams are symbolic of event and memories of the last day or so being rehashed as you sleep. I need the help of a dream interpreter on this one!

The spouse had a dream about Boris Karloff's... tentacles...

Pickled...

Received in a jar from Amazon.

What does it mean??

Edit: That was supposed to be /testicles./ Still funny and weird, tho.

#WritingCommunity #RidersOfMastodon #Humor #Dreams

kagan, 7 months ago to SanFrancisco

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion. Tell us about yourself, your published work or WIP.

I'm Kagan, a web developer from San Francisco living in Brooklyn, working on my first novel. Totally unpublished author, but going for it anyway.

My WIP is an #UrbanFantasy set in #SanFrancisco, about people who can hear the voice of the City, and do magic based on that.