RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist

RS, pronounced /är' əs/. Professional #SF #fiction writer returning from burn-out. Writes character-driven #SFF (science fiction #fantasy) and some #MLP #fanfiction. #ClarionWest 98 graduate. #SFWA life member. Studied non-western culture, #folklore, and #mythology. #Feminist gender-ambiguous #Writer and #Author in the #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon.

Goals: Return to paid publication. Provide content for followers. Make friends; attract colleagues. See intro for more... #NOAI #NOBOT

RegEx Searches GDoc | Mardown Ref: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-g6jx8teJQE1uXLA-XwZP6cTMe5_-xz2AGLRHffNVlc/ | https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114741821407500330
Verification: https://thecominglaborapocalypse.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/thousands-of-leading-ai-researchers-sign-pledge-against-killer-robots/
Sample Stories: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110470537747067765
Clickable Hashtags I follow:: [#pennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/pennedPossibilities ) [#wordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/wordWeavers ) [#ScribesAndMakers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers ) [#writersCoffeeClub](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersCoffeeClub ) [#writephant](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writephant ) [#writever](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writever )

Public Key

npub1rg874fdgtxmgvypg64mwfcv0f5dygzxykm5yfed8f5zkrtutd4aqwem6l5

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsp5rl25k59nd5xzq5d2ahyux856xjyprztd6zyukn56ptp479k67spz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds9d0dyz

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1rg874fdgtxmgvypg64mwfcv0f5dygzxykm5yfed8f5zkrtutd4aqwem6l5

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Published at

2026-07-22T00:01:17Z

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Last Notes

2026-04-12 05:39:06 UTC

When a news article reports an event or something someone important said, then immediately segues to
> People didn't hold back from sharing their thoughts on social media,
it's annoying, maybe even malpractice.
Why should *anyone* care about random cherry-picked pithy or funny opinions of people who nobody knows, aren't knowledgeable, likely inexperienced, certainly *not* expert in what happened, probably ignorant of the history of the matter, and are nothing *verifiable* other than a fast thumbtyper able to react quickly enough to be noticed by a lazy journalist?
Look up "trusted sources" and "fact checking." Do your social media sources fit the bill?
Seriously, folks, especially if you call yourself a journalist: don't care what the Internet thinks! You might even be quoting bots. The Internet is partly responsible for getting us in the mess we're in today, to boot. Stop it. Just stop it. Delete your X-Twitter. Turn off your phone. Quote Wikipedia; you'll at least sound intelligent.
#BoostingIsSharing so please boost.
#journalism #journalist #news #author #writer #writersOfMastodon #writingcommunity

2026-03-02 01:57:00 UTC

##
#PennedPossibilities 946 — Do any of your characters have food allergies or sensitivities?Depends on what you mean by "sensitivities."
Daemons are almost entirely vegetarian. Day angels need extra protein for those fabulous wings, so they eat fish and seafood, and, when not available, insects. The Director of Home (she runs *everything*) eats chicken and other birds, as well as fish. AFAIK, she's the most carnivorous person on the planet, but one wonders what happens to all the egg-layers when they get too old, and the extra "roosters." There is a scene where the smell at a "state" dinner turns the stomach of the daemon MC. In another story, another daemon is taken to a fish restaurant / market because she is being rigorously being physically trained and needs to eat like a day angel to succeed in the short training period. The sight of the glazed eyes of dead fish on ice, and a faint fishy taint in the market, reminds her of storm-wrack after a hyper-hurricane, including all sorts of dead things strew on the beach. She nearly turns and runs. Later, she tastes the crab cakes ordered for her and falls in love, then steals part of the swordfish from the coaches plate, finally grabbing the remnants of fish and chips left behind by rival athletes. The devil-girl is something else!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

2026-02-11 18:38:08 UTC

Stupidity? Maybe it defines our times.
> “A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or group of people when he or she does not benefit and may even suffer losses.”
From https://bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/golden-law-of-stupidity/
Worth a read, especially the beginning.
#philosophy #stupidity #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon

2026-02-03 21:06:37 UTC

Okay, #Apple making #Spotlight on the #Mac the be-all and end-all of search in #MacOS is officially (IMHO) a failure. Since it was available, I've used it to run apps by name, which I think was it's original purpose.
Today, with Tahoe 26.2, I needed to run Orion. Try as I might, it wouldn't offer up the app. I finally had to go into the Applications folder to run it. Are they cannibalizing their Q/A Q/C teams to make unreadable losers like Liquid Glass? The accessibility fixes are nowhere good enough.
Programming 101: Don't overload functions on single interface items. Users hate complexity. They hate relearning things. And when they can't do what they want, they begin to distrust you. I'm not ditching the Apple ecosystem for Linux or Windows anytime soon, but neither am I praising their operating systems anymore. They don't deserve the accolades they once earned.
I wish I stayed on Sequoia.

2025-12-26 21:22:01 UTC

For me it was the witnessed hypocrisy of those who used religion for power, and the dichotomy of provable scientifically reproducible reality vs things I was told to accept without evidence that conflicted with reality, that read like an uncivilized male power fantasy. What's your take on the great unchurching?
#religion #politics #author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon. https://www.axios.com/2025/12/26/great-unchurching-america-religiously-unaffiliated?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=AxiosNews/magazine/Axios

2025-12-05 09:51:27 UTC

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There are plenty of photosynthetic molecules on Earth besides green chlorophyll. Depth in the ocean is partially responsible because different colors get absorbed by depth. It's an easy analog for deeper atmospheres. Chemistry allows chemosynthesis in the depths of the deep ocean without visible light at all, but heat is light: infrared. Humans photosynthesize also, making vitamin D. Even the dyes in our eyes are a type of photo reaction analogous to photosynthesis. Green predominates on Earth because of the color of our sun for which the bell curve peaks in the part of the spectrum that provides lots of what would be green in a radiative spectrum (I think I got the term right, but don't quote me).
As for atmospheric depth, we get blue scattering in the sky because sunlight only travels a short distance through the air, but orange and red when it travels all the way from the horizon, which incidentally strips the energetic wave lengths that readily support chlorophyll synthesis. Red dwarf and orange sun worlds might not support chlorophyll at all. Brown dwarves might support only heat cycles or heat accelerated chemical gradient synthesis. Too thin an atmosphere lets in UV, which is destructive as it is too energetic, and too thick will freeze a world or make something like Venus.
As for mixes, nitrogen is clear unless it is chemically activated to make smog. CO2 is not entirely clear to infrared. Ozone blocks UV but is highly reactive and dissipates. Helium and hydrogen I think are clear, but as others have stated it tends to get stripped by solar wind and would require a super earth's gravity to last billions of years, which might mean your world is mini-Neptunes and not conducive to life. Steam can be an atmosphere or a major component and will affect visibility and synthesis, hot clouds essentially. Impurities like on Venus certainly would affect synthesis but not from occlusion. Let's skip discussing worlds with vaporized iron atmospheres.
I would suggest lots of Google searches for types of photosynthesis and things like life in deep ocean heat vents, geyser pools, red tides, stromatolites, blue green algae, and speculations on astrobiology.
#science #photosynthesis #atmospheres #writer #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #sf #scienceFiction

2025-12-02 22:41:49 UTC

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I boosted your post to test.
You are a gentleman and a scholar, assuming that name is not a *nom de plume* with a handsome profile picture placeholder 😋, in which case you are a gentle person and a scholar. Thank you.
It works, so…
> This flexibility is part of why I like the feature and think it's been well implemented.
I'll grant that, mostly. As a #programmer, project manager, ADA officer, and designer of 38 years (and currently retired), the proper way to implement a disruptive feature like Quote is default to opt-out (which replicates the original behavior in 4.3) and let the feature be discovered by word of mouth, or by advertisement. Of course, Apple doesn't do this right either—no longer making everything new discoverable—so I can't complain if an indi or FOSS follows Apple's lead doing the same user-unfriendly thing as a big gun.
FYI: I've checked both options because I like confirmation on. I am now very happy again.
#mastodon #fediverse #quote #writer #author #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunity

2025-12-02 03:30:24 UTC

Is it me, or is the new #Mastodon #quote feature the MOST USELESS tool ever to be designed? It overloads a button, making you take an extra tap to boost, not to mention having to read and target a new menu with a finger or a mouse? In case you didn't know, it is hidden under the boost button in the Web UI. It allows you to quote a whole toot, annotate the quote, and ask, if necessary, if the poster will allow you to do so. The poster can revoke permission.
> ...to quote something, copy and paste only the content you need. Be sure to include the user's handle if you want to attribute the quote.
Nobody that would abuse quoting, that is would misappropriate or twist a toot's meaning, would use the feature. They will copy and paste. This leaves the remainder of the community doing an extra tap, with the extra dexterity required for potentially challenged users, *while* trying to figure out why they would use the feature in the first place.##
Boost for Sample Size when you vote, please!#BoostingIsSharing #poll
#fediverse #write #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunity

2025-11-01 08:12:29 UTC

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In addition to being as amazing pastel drawing (in the original post), the aesthetic level of a photograph chalking the drawing takes it to another level. Fantastic. Please be proud of this work.
#fineart #pastel #drawing #pastels #photography

2025-10-16 06:13:47 UTC

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$12k out the door, back when the model was new and nobody had ever needed to replace a battery yet. Probably less. Hope so. I don't do a lot of distance driving and have gone months without a refill. Did you know gasoline can go bad? Some market drives I never use the gas engine. When I had a 26 mile daily commute, I got 64 mpg,1/2 electricity 1/2 gas. It is highly route dependent.

2025-10-16 06:04:57 UTC

- reply

Oddly, I get 54 mpg on my PHEV. The gas-only variant is rated 19 mpg, but you know I wouldn't get that in practice. Seems like a significant reduction in emissions, but I don't know how to factor in non-renewables that might fuel the power plant generating the electricity for the charge. The cost of eventually replacing the battery will be a major offset, too.

2025-10-06 19:04:30 UTC

#uspol #politics
Making the job bad news:
> Suppose that when an ICE agent tries to arrest someone, state and local officials demand to see their identification and the warrant for arresting that person. If the agent fails to provide one, the state law-enforcement officer could say: "Since you are apparently not working for the federal government and have no arrest warrant for this person, I have to assume you are a common criminal trying to kidnap someone. Kidnapping is a state crime. You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, etc." Then the ICE agent is handcuffed, taken away and charged with kidnapping. ICE agents who break down doors to gain entry to buildings and can't prove they are federal agents following lawful orders could be arrested for burglary or breaking and entering under state laws. Having states aggressively enforce their own laws against individual agents and doing their best to not have them released on bail changes the incentive structure for wanting to work for ICE. How many headlines do there have to be saying: "ICE agent arrested for kidnapping and held without bail" before many agents start looking for other jobs?
The whole article on how to defeat #Trump #blackmail is excellent. Please boost so the idea takes hold, especially if you k ow people in state and local law enforcement.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Oct06-1.html
#BoostingIsSharing
#ice #state #Newsom

2025-10-02 07:37:55 UTC

##
#PennedPossibilities 801 — SC POV: What requires your patience today?The student referred to is known as Pigeon the Pilferer in the current wip. The SC POV has a minor speaking role in the chapter I was writing today.
[Nurse Cari, short for Cares for You] He was the little kid who fought back at bullies and who had a chip on his shoulder, and it didn't help that he was interested in boys not girls. He was the first patient that wandered into my nurse's office, bruised and scraped up, when I got hired newly licensed. "I tripped," was his typical excuse, though, "I flew into a lamppost"—being as he was a day angel—wasn't entirely improbable as it seemed. I glued his cuts and applied antiseptic, then gave him a talk about being careful and avoiding conflict, but over his junior and senior year, I became his mentor and sometimes a tutor, maybe a friend. He at least showed up to help or talk, not as often to fix injuries. I thought maybe I'd inspired him to go on to nursing school, but I suspected after a time he was in a gang and could fight better.
Then he graduated.
When I thought I had a stalker later that year, you know, a shadow that then flutters away when you look back having heard a can roll or a rubbish bin tumble. You suspect you know who when you find a print in the mud of a specific shoe one teenager wore and had left tracks in your office, or a molted feather a certain red-orange that could only come from one person.
I called out to him; he hesitated, but flew away.
Today, he knows I know. I'll have to have the patience for him to get over whatever embarrasses him. Maybe it's because he's knows he's no longer as student and that I might insist our relationship can be different now?
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

2025-10-02 04:40:21 UTC

Wouldn't it be cheaper and more fulfilling to train and employ an army of librarians?
https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-energy-use
#ai #genAI #chatGPT #IEEE #datacenters #writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon

2025-10-01 21:33:33 UTC

##
#ScribesAndMakers 2025.10.01 — How are things looking for you creatively this month? Alt: Pigeon?I should finish the wip. Hopeful.
***Pigeon*** *the Pilferer* is a character in the current wip in a world where people name themselves. Fun, huh? This SC's profession, if you want to call it that, is *Thug.* He is Bolt's coworker in the mob (Bolt is the MC). He is both stupid and malicious, proving the old adage that if he were a rocket scientist he'd be building rockets instead. What shocked me about the character was that once again, without thinking it out, I had made one of the minor villains presumably gay. I had already recast parts in another story, sparking a partial rewrite because I hadn't like this. In this story, all that had happened so far was that Pigeon had accosted a male SC the MC befriends, and had seemingly made a pass at him. Presumed gay until proven otherwise. As I wrote further into the story, opportunities arose to further characterize Pigeon as he pays for his stupidity, which gave me ideas to transcend the gay stereotypes that wanted to adhere to him. No way does he reform, but giving him humility to apologize and a crush on the nurse from high school (a guy), made the opportunity for a minor gay romance subplot too good to pass up. I needed him for a continuing character in the series, so this is a good development.
So, *that* describes the chapter I am writing after I post this response.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

2025-09-25 01:28:43 UTC

##
#WordWeavers 2025.09.24 — Just for fun, share a 5 minute sketch of your MC. Stick people are fine.I am not a sketch artist, so I almost never draw my characters. In fact, I try not to visualize them except for the bare essentials, and only if needed in the story. This is to allow the reader to imagine the characters to look like themselves or to look familar.
Bolt is a day angel. She has wings, but I'm not 100% on the anatomy other than they don't stick up much above her shoulders, she has extra bones in her back which I have not made an effort to show as thick shoulders. What I do know is that it's hard for her to sit on them because how they furl. They are functional. She can fly at least 60 mph, probably even faster. To give a different analogy for why her wings aren't proportionally big enough to let her fly like a bird, let's call it antigravity tech (which it isn't). Ethnicity and race don't count in her world, so what's in the sketch is an approximation. She's famous for spiked up punk hair (too hard to draw), lots of piercings, and bangles, most of which are shown here except her nose ring, and her medium length hair is down and limp bodied. The model was east Asian. I've stated in the story that her feather colors range from pale blue almost white to midnight blue and as a result looked streaked. This means she had owlish variegated or "dappled" wings in the blue spectrum instead of brown. She is show in 3/4 profile. This description will be repeated in the #AltText.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction #drawing #sketch
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/115/262/325/764/627/599/original/6347423b8d103af3.png

2025-09-13 17:04:15 UTC

##
#WebAuthorsCafe 1: Introduce yourself and your work. If you want, add a link to where your work can be found.I'm a published SF and fantasy author who burnt out in 2001 and returned to storytelling using the excuse that fan fiction wasn't real writing—you can't sell it—so I could let go of the fear and angst that had stopped me before. Spoiler: It is real writing. It is also wonderful practice.
I began posting online in 2015. I started by writing stories that continued certain series episodes, extending it where the show lacked depth, but later created original characters and situations that went far beyond the scope of the original material, or would have been flatly incompatible. I specialized in radical backstories and histories that if you squinted properly, might evolve into the rather sketchy characters in the show—sometimes squinting through a microscope.
Since then I've been adapting my characters and plot lines to conventional F&SF stories, and extending those otherwise constrained restrained characters into my own original universe, creating stories that highlight my fervor for telling #gender related and #feminist stories.
When I considered this hashtag in the beginning, I forgot that I do still publish quite often online, now only on Mastodon. Writing short scenes that are satisfyingly complete by themselves was a revelation that occurred only after I started on this site. I'll direct you to two short tootfics (I have a 5,000 character limit, so I by this I mean approximately 750 words). These are not as polished as they could be, but I think they highlight my characters, stories, emotional content, and humor. Both are in the Reluctance Series #RSReluctanceStory. Surprisingly (for me), it turns out I pinned both story posts, so I guess *I* think they're pretty good. Many of my better samples can be for in my pinned sample story link post; one of these days I have to add my newer stuff to that list…
***Reframing the Experience:*** https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589
***The Wanted Poster:*** https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798
Pinned Sample Story Link Post: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110470537747067765
PS: I thought about linking to my 900K of fan fiction, but I don't want to muddy the waters, and do want to maintain a separation. If you know who I am IRL or under another aliase, please keep this to yourself.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Fanfiction #serial #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

2025-09-06 19:26:55 UTC

##
#ScribesAndMakers 2025.09.06 — What's the hardest thing about gardening?I fancy myself an amateur gardener, and I've grown plants in the yard every time I've had a yard in my life, beginning in my early teens. I've grown popcorn, regular corn, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash, watermelon, and much more. Nothing beats the taste of fresh picked.
The hardest thing is dealing with disease. Each climate zone has its unique features and my current one has caused me to settle on growing strawberries in pots. Boysenberries happen, but getting the fruit is a thorny problem, as are the wild canes I'm often cutting. Growing tomatoes, my formerly go-to favorite, grows amazingly well and lush here—until downy mildew or black powder fungus turns the plants into sad puddles of mush, like flesh-eating bacteria except for plants. Squash gets sad, also, but ceases to produce, in both cases never producing enough to cover the labor and transplant costs involved, not to mention the psychological trauma.
My strawberries produce by the five-dollar basket almost daily during the various seasons they flower. So that's what I grow, mostly.
The second most hard thing: Watering *consistently.* Some plants aren't at all tolerant to drying out. I've recently thrown out a sage plant and a sensitive plant because they were, um, *sensitive* to drought.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking #gardener #gardening #strawberry #strawberries
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-09-03 21:58:11 UTC

I am complete mush right now. I took advice and searched the Internet for my name for security reasons, and found a video review from half-a-year ago of a novel of mine under a different name… basically gushing. I am mush. I'm mush now.
I know it's not good to seek external validation, but it felt really good.
#author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon

2025-08-11 21:55:51 UTC

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> Obsidian has a threader-plugin that allows you to write all in one document and add a marker for each 500 char paragraph.
TY!
The Obsidian+Plugin used as a tool, appears to let you post text in configurable chunks, breaking on paragraphs, to form a thread under user control (with error checking) that can be Public for the initial post and Quiet for remainder of the thread, with configurable thread headers. Something like this ought make @npub1fdr…lvhs 's life a lot easier! It might encourage him to write more essays, though.##
About Obsidian and the plugin:<li>Obsidian is free and supports Markdown.</li><li>The plugin is free, GPL2 licensed.</li><li>The plugin doesn't use the publishing feature Obsidian uses to uncharge to an $8 per month subscription.</li><li>You can use the combination as a tool. The to-be-threaded text needs only be pasted into Obsidian.</li><li>The plugin requires both NPM and Node.js to be installed. This isn't hard, but it isn't trivial for people not used to the command line or terminal mode.</li><li> NPM lets Node.js programmers to use code posted on the internet, which could present security issues.</li><li> You need to use the NPM Audit command periodically for find reported NPM module issues. The command offers to fix found issues. Of course, until issues are reported, you cannot fix them.</li><li>The Obsidian + Plugin works on Mac, Linux, and Windows. iOS doesn't support NPM. I don't know about Android.</li><li>The plugin doesn't support alt text, but instead allows placing quoted text after images or videos. Your alt text complainer will complain. </li><li> It assigns a special meaning to the > symbol, meaning you can't use quoted text in your thread. (I do this a lot.)</li>Despite flaws, it is way more than Mastodon supports natively. It's on my todo list to see if it actually works.##
Here are links:**GitHub for Mastodon Threading Plugin:** https://github.com/elpamplina/mastodon-threading
**Obsidian:** https://obsidian.md
[@lunar_fang](https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang ) @npub1r95…0u9c

2025-08-10 23:00:13 UTC

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OMFG! [RS shrieks]
> Next I past[e] the whole post into a Mastodon compose field. Working by trial and error, I cut it down to <500 characters, breaking at a para-break and putting the rest on my clipboard. I post, reply, and add the next item in the thread until it's all done.
I have not written any code (10s of thousands of lines of story, tho) since retiring 1½ years ago. I think a JavaScript program to chunk down paragraphs of an essay to <500 character "stanzas*, and adding the *Long Thread /* would be a modest task. Injecting each into a web mastodon input element would require some thought. Hopefully the devs named the div or form field consistently. I shall discuss this with my former project manager (also retired) to scope it out when I visit in a month or so.
Cc: [@lunar_fang](https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang ), @npub1r95…0u9c

2025-08-10 22:15:29 UTC

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Very interesting, especially the view on stanza writing. I've never seen your posts out of order. Maybe I should dust off my programming to look at Mastodon on GitHub.
However, you didn't say whether or not you have helper software to post your "stanzas," or if you are clicking the thread button and manually copying a selection from a document, pasting it into a reply, and pressing Post, rinse repeat. Respect, if that's what you do!
PS: It's always fascinated me about the 500-5,000 character limit. The byte limit for images is magnitudes higher. Defaulting to 500 is likely not saving anyone disk space compared to already compressed jpegs or pings, even if the server further compresses them or lowers their dimensions. It's a design choice by the devs.

2025-08-10 18:55:15 UTC

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500 characters *is* a pittance for any writer, especially considering hashtags and the heading line of the prompt. I know that folk like Cory Doctrow do threaded responses and a link. On occasion, I do them also, especially if I need to CW the excerpt that begins in the first reply. Yeah, threading—apportioning out a post over a number of replies—is a PITA, but for a bit more effort, splitting an excerpt will allow the author you are in your soul to *control* the exact excerpt presented for effect. Of course, link it, too! Any promo is a good promo if you suck in a reader!
[@lunar_fang](https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang ) Would threaded excerpts and snippets work well with your screen reader?
Hey, @npub1fdr…lvhs: is there software or a macro that allows you to thread simply, or do you do it manually?
#PennedPossibilities

2025-06-30 02:57:21 UTC

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It's one I'll keep in mind, now, though I implement such things in revision. One Pohl Anderson taught me was to include the 5 senses in each paragraph. Impossible, of course, but as I revise I exchange tells for shows, especially trying to include the 5 in the establishment and observational paragraphs

2025-06-29 21:08:17 UTC

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This is very good structuring advice. I find myself following that one in revision all the time, and indeed I restructured a sentence today specifically for that reason.

2025-06-13 19:32:35 UTC

> [> #> ScribesAndMakers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers )> 2025.06.13 — Self-promotion day: show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.
While I plod at composing story, work at revising stuff, have brought a decades old story into Scrivener to rewrite, and work with beta readers on the most recent novel, what I'm proud of is some of this month is my photography. The moving images are photos: live photos rendered as a wigglegram aka a Harry Potter photo. It includes one tree from my Trees project.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer chef cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/820/576/740/original/8a12180934b51dd3.mp4
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/848/453/926/original/3ed512051e9dc212.mp4
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/835/250/740/original/aa56c7d4a21692ab.mp4
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/603/702/636/original/1d0bbd81d41c11be.jpeg

2025-05-22 22:27:48 UTC

Had a sandwich for breakfast.
#BoostingIsSharing and #AltText.
#funny #food #photo #Photography #humor
#writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/553/821/125/123/814/original/5d5b4e1573f4ddff.jpeg
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/553/821/334/786/678/original/bbd1f4b077bacd94.jpeg

2025-05-13 21:49:43 UTC

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Thank you for the hashtags. I shall add them. I would suggest that you check your instance for a /robots.txt file. This is the more official way for domains to say no to AI training. Here's what it looks like:
https://eldritch.cafe/robots.txt
What you want to see is the last two entries. If not there, ask your admin why.
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /
cc: @npub1r95…0u9c
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/502/718/005/949/061/original/336e2cb082184478.png

2025-05-09 15:13:58 UTC

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Your assertion in this post is in addition to what's in the article. However, even with industry, global and local, being responsible for 70% of emissions, it's our *personal* decision and everyone we can can convince to go along—not to use those goods and services (fossil fuel and #chatAI, for example) and instead buy local when available, eat seasonal foods only to save transport, and demand green—that changes those industries and drives change for the better. No climate solution is best, they all contribute, but personal solution is what everyone can do the help collectively and ultimately makes the difference.
#BoostingIsSharing
#climatechange #climatecrisis #globalwarming #recycle #Author #Writer #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity

2025-04-15 08:59:21 UTC

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Beautiful. Simple. Colorful yet monochromatic. Very nice.

2025-04-14 02:02:12 UTC

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Very interesting. I am glad you posted this, especially these days. What I found enlightening is
> The fig leaf of an excuse adopted by the Bovina Club was Crosby’s unfair taxation, a foreshadowing of whiteness’ worship of tax cuts when public services benefit Black folks.
So much of our time can be filtered through the sieve of those words! Sadly, as LBJ said it a long time ago:
> "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
It doesn't apply just to whites, but whatever groups we divide ourselves into. I think articles like yours really help.

2025-04-09 20:52:33 UTC

Insider Trading President? Think about it. A set of wealthy men know when the US president will be pausing or applying tariffs that will upset the markets. **Those in the know (e.g. insiders) can short the market or time buy.** Where's the SEC when you need it. Oh, wait, that's controlled by executive branch, too?
#boostingIsSharing
#uspol #politics #economy #economics #stockmarket #tarrifs #trump

2025-04-05 17:59:15 UTC

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> The US media is too cowardly to cover the [Hands off!] protests for fear of Trump.
I assume you mean on broadcast TV. I get my news on the web, not on TV. Here is what I found:
Fox News isn't covering. USA Today says there are thousands, not hundreds of thousands. Washington Post, NBC, and New York Times, are completely mute. However CBS and ABC have stories. PBS is full throated on the spot with live feeds. CNN has below the fold (10 stories+ down) coverage. Axios, AP, and Reuters are covering prominently. Local Los Angeles affiliate television websites are also following.
#boostingIsSharing
#USPol #Politics #Protests#HandsOff #News #Author #Writer #WritersOfMastodon #Journalism #writing community

2025-03-30 20:47:20 UTC

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##
#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr@npub1jfu…2sf8
> Did 'Laugh In' contribute to the imaginary play at all, or was it just background? Do you still like some sort of background noise when you're creating?
I was maybe 7 when I played in front of the TV with LaughIn while playing with my… were they dolls or action figures? I used to have a unique skill at multitasking, so I probably followed the comedy, but I was unlikely playing pretend with Artie Johnson on a tricycle annoying Ruth Buzzi.
When I was a teenager, all through high school, I always had the TV on, especially when doing my homework. When you've seen all the reruns of Doctor Who, Speed Racer, Kimba, Green Acres, F-Troop, Gilligan's Island, and Star Trek, it's easy to use it as background and still enjoy the best parts!
More recently, I love electronica, house, and progressive music. While programming. While writing. The beat can accelerating my heartbeat and my thinking. But it becomes truly background to a point that I forget to turn it on unless I need it to block out noise.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-03-30 20:23:09 UTC

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##
#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr@npub1k49…36ra @npub1jfu…2sf8 <li>When do you write your cookbook? 😁 </li>
Probably never. However, if you follow me I show photos of my cooking, and sometime share enough of a recipe for those who cook to follow. When I get my act together and make an author website, I may have a RS Cooks section with this stuff. Remember, you need to keep people returning to your website over years so they remain aware of your new books!<li>Do you bake (like that) too? I mean, I'm a lousy cook but when I cook I often improvise too. But never with baking.</li>
I used to bake. I had two breadmaker machines! But I am very much low-carb now. (It's why I substitute cauliflower for rice in my paella, for example.) I have to watch my salt intake, too. My pork chop on the bed of kale, onions, butter, pecorino, and edamame linguine was low-carb. The edamame pasta has 1/5th the carbs of regular pasta, much of them as fiber instead. It has a better taste and a similar mouth feel, too.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-03-30 20:14:16 UTC

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##
#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr@npub1mc3…lwu2
> How are you trying to keep from burning out in the future? Any tips or tricks to share for others when they get burned out?
My incessant answering prompts on Mastodon surely helps! Especially this one thing I learned here, which reaffirmed something I knew:
*Write stories you want to read. For crafters or artists, craft what you want to use (I love what I cook) or paint what's beautiful to you. I love my photos. Be your first audience.*
But it's up to you whether you are your only audience. Is that okay for you?
For me, sadly, no. That's why I burnt out. I was failing to communicate. Getting my ideas into other people's heads was very important. Worse, I was writing in the way publishers and my agents insisted I must. It made made my efforts harder and my lack of success more sour.
However, you asked for tips to prevent it:<li>I found that writing fan fiction solved my not-communicating problem. I found the right fandom for me and couldn't avoid the feedback. I wasn't writing SF (except in stealth mode), it wasn't commercial, but it did satisfy, and I did communicate with readers. </li><li>Whilst not for me, joining a writer's group does help others. Make sure they understand the Clarion critique ethic where you consider the work and never attack the writer, you give constructive suggestions, and most importantly, only the author gets to decide if the advice is relevant. Keep it social and professional at the same time.</li><li>I stop writing, crafting, painting, whatever, when it isn't fun at some level. I do something else. This goes hand-and-hand with not expecting to make a living doing what I love, which means I can pick it up some another day or another year. If becoming a bestselling author as soon as possible is what drives you, this might not work. Sadly, in my first career, I wanted being an author to be my actual career. Maybe not hard enough.</li><li>I try to recognize whether I'm being too hard on myself. In the realm of art, nothing is the Right Way™. I've seen plenty of artwork that looks unskilled in museums or as wall art. It's the expression and meaning that counts, and being persistent.</li><li>The other part about being too hard on oneself is something I fight daily. Judging my content by the imagined standards of others. I don't know if my stories will offend, for example, and it can be paralyzing and become unbearably uncomfortable. I constantly have to watch myself for that. I practice a zen thing here. I recognize it, ignore it, and simply write anyway. Revision is always an alternative, but I need to complete the story first.</li>
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
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#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-03-30 19:23:03 UTC

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##
#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr@npub165n…kjw4
> [I] fear sending my female MC into the kitchen as it might be considered anti feminist. Are there any key aspects I could keep in mind to avoid this?
It is all about the point you are trying to make.
All cultures cook.
Sure, she could be trapped by her gender role; it can be the only creativity she's allowed; you can emphasize subservience and frustration that leads to a break. That's one story. Or the kitchen could be a solace she escapes into, a place where she can stop fighting and eat by herself where nobody will judge her cooking her mother's recipes as weakness.
For me, feminist writing is about self-determination and agency contrasted against either the gender roles in the story or in those in the reader's head. As a writer, you *must* entertain. That doesn't mean you can't enlighten.
My current story breaks the rules. She's a fighter, but learns it works better when she works with the system instead of against it. She marries because she has to, but does get the pick of the litter. Gorgeous. She has five children, all girls. She even cooks for her husband, whom she adores, but we get that scene is a special occasion. What's important is she's also escaped being a housewife to become an engineer (her dream) on colonial Mars, and her specific efforts shapes that world's female future (and maybe ours). Along with her woman friends and her girls, the reader watches gender roles melt to insignificance..
**To answer your question:** Assert what's *true* for the character in her quest to become more than she's allotted. The fear you feel is you imagining other people's judgement. Feminist writers always make somebody angry.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-03-30 05:17:29 UTC

Whilst I try to only rarely cross-announce on the various writer challenge game hashtags I frequent, I'm doing so because March 30th, today, I am answering questions asked of me on **Talk To Me Day** hosted by **Scribes and Makers.** To ask, please include a question and these three items:
#ScribesAndMakers #TTMD @npub1rg8…m6l5
Follow the two hashtags to participate in the answers and fun.
Here's the announcement: https://indieauthors.social/@saposcat/114240655183968909
#BoostingIsSharing
#PennedPossibilites #WordWeavers #WritersCoffeeClub #Writever #Writephant #TimeTravelAuthors
#writer #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon

2025-03-30 05:06:38 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 629 — How did you break into publishing? (If you’re already published, of course.)
I think I've answered this elsewhere over the few years I've been on Mastodon, but I've more followers now. I burnt out in 2001 and am re-starting my career again now, but I that means had to have broken into publishing once:
I wrote my first SF story, a novella, in 1975, then some short stories. I found I liked writing but knew if I wanted a career, I needed to write novels.. I soon completed two. Not finding success sending out the shorts to magazines (back them a viable intro to breaking into the business), I decided to attend writer events. Back then publishers organized mini-event to promote books, which agents attended. This was in 1980 or 1981. I took my latest ms and managed to peg an agent. He looked at the manuscript and said something to the affect that he saw I could write and complete projects. He gave me his card and told me to send him the *next* novel I completed.
I completed something soon after (1982) and sent it to him. A week later we met at my house and I signed an agent contract. Two weeks later he sold it to one of the top houses in New York because the editor-in-chief fell in love with the story. Two years later, it was in print (competing against a Marion Zimmer Bradley classic, but it sold well regardless).
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-03-30 01:14:33 UTC

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First, to clarify, do I expect the #TTMD #ScribesAndMakers hashtags AND my @npub1rg8…m6l5 handle, meaning I will get mentions for each question? Or do I need to make a follow column for the two hashtags?
> **As a chef, do you design your own recipes from scratch or do you get or modify them from family, friends, cookbooks, or magazines?**
I cook two ways. 1) Basic memorized cooking experiences. Like playing a song on the piano no longer needing the sheet music, often improvising as I go. 2) I cheat and search for "Best" x "Recipe." I then use that as a base and improvise.
I have a sense of how certain ingredients in certain proportions will taste when cooked, for example garlic, onions, butter, wine. I think, I want to substitute saltiness or sweetness for some of this or that. Sometimes I'll think, wine is good, but what? Sherry? Marsala? Red? Sake? Allows me to take a nip before cooking as I wait for the subconscious to add its 2 cents.
I then think of what I would want the meal to look like, like thinking of the final composition of a painting, and painting toward that.
For example, I had kale I wanted to use, and fine pork chop, and the spouse mentioned edamame pasta. An image of a pasta bowl with a pork chop on top sprang to mind, so I cooked green and sweet onions together with shallots in butter, browning some garlic, then mixed that with boiled pasta, finally grating pecorino romano on top. Meanwhile, I pan fried the pork chop that I'd marinated in red wine with fresh basil and oregano. I had wanted a a tang of sour, so I squeezed lemon and dropped freeze-dried garlic in, adding the red wine after letting the lemon mix marinade for 5 minutes first.
Lots of little tweaks along the way, but it turned out fabulous. I made mental notes and plan to duplicate the recipe with a second pork chop I'd bought with the first next week.
I hope that wasn't too rambling....

2025-02-24 06:40:50 UTC

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> A reader complained... [forgot to describe the MC]
While I don't know how many comments or reviews your story got, I would hazard a guess that none of the other readers noticed the lack. Many may have liked the omission but said nothing!
When I ran critique workshops, I made a point of telling participants that they were under no obligation to accept anything said. The author alone gets to pick and choose; only the author gets to fix or clarify what resonates or seems helpfu, or nothing at all. I point out what participants receive from the process is simply what happens when a reader percolates your words in their minds, filtering them through their preferences, preconceptions, and prejudices, and writes the result down. Patterns could point to consistent attributes or issues, or not. It's a way to measure whether you are productively programming reader's heads and getting the message through, or not.
Of course, if you wanted to do something and didn't, you'll probably not make the same mistake in the future! 😋
#pennedpossibilities #author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon

2025-02-24 04:38:52 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 596. How would you describe your MC’s facial features?
I do my best to NOT to specifically describe the distinct features of characters unless it's important to the plot, and until the moment it becomes important to the plot. I use readers' preconceptions and prejudices as tools to tell the story. Equally, I want readers to read themselves into the characters. If I were even to state one character has porcelain white skin, or the other is dark enough the tattoos are lost in the canvas they're drawn, readers write stories in their head that are not what I intend, or expect what won't ever be.
So. Nope. Not saying.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-02-24 04:19:42 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 595 — How does your SC feel about your MC’s temper or lack thereof?
This MC is the DJ I've mentioned a few times. After a demon gets unsealed, she is the only one to bow and swear fealty to a world-ending evil that gets sealed away hours later. The MC was 15. All she ended up doing was stopping a stampede by standing in the flow and *glaring,* saving hundreds. Nobody learns her affiliation, that she's actually evil—her opinion; nobody would agree if asked.
Everybody knows in the face of danger to others, she's forgotten how to fear. You don't get knighted by a demon and not lose something.
A succession of SCs know her flaw. They don't want her outrage to flare into anger. They don't want to see her throw herself selflessly into fights when monsters appear—playing chicken with a creature that rewrites reality, trying to get a giant to trip and fall off a cliff, saving children from an invasion of slavers... Other than her lack of fear, she's just a DJ. Her true heroism has nothing to do with the situations she ends up fighting through most of her stories, or the damage she takes. The SCs to a one try to talk her down, and feel bad as her scars, physical and mental, accumulate.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author #thriller #romance #fantasy
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory

2025-02-23 20:39:31 UTC

> [> #> ScribesAndMakers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers )> 2502.23. I do my best work in _ ?
English.
CW: Probably best to ignore me today...
"Specifically," you ask as if being on point with details were a virtue whilst rambling or telegraphy were a synthetic syn?
Ok: I do my best work in _? (I warned you.)
*Grammar B.* Like in this screed, which is not my best work. Admittedly. Well, actually, most of my writing ends up normalized into Grammar A because waxing poetic can also be difficult to understand, for you, if you can't go with the flow *because* it's waxing poetic; it's essentially Brazilian wax of the bardic set, stripping down to the prose-thetic *essentials,* yet leaving the *unexpected* to catch the... *imagination.* You thought I was going to say "catch the eye" there?
Look it up, though. *Grammar B.* Not the wax thing.
Fascinating?
Yeah. Points down a rabbit hole. 👇
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-02-23 20:04:59 UTC

> [> #> ScribesAndMakers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers )> 2502.22. Which creative activity gives you the greatest satisfaction, and why?
Writing, because when it really works it is both a zen experience and a Walter Mitty experience, when I lose myself in my imagination and become somebody I could never be.
When it really does NOT work, it can be torturous. Write. No. Write! No. Do it! *No!* But I don't think about that. Much. 🤪Like
now. Writing this reply IS procrastination...
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-02-21 00:13:04 UTC

#psa If you've been fired as a govt employee that opted into Fork-in-the-Road, you need to opt-in again immediately.
#federal #federalgovernment #federalworkers #ForkInTheRoad #firings #musk #doge #elong
Read and opt-in again. Boost please.
> Laura is part of a group of federal employees across multiple agencies who were suddenly fired last week due to their probationary status, despite having accepted the offer from a government-wide email titled "Fork in the Road."
> ... Neither the White House nor the federal agencies have publicly disclosed how many of them were laid off, and within that group, it's not clear how many people were mistakenly terminated despite accepting the "Fork in the Road" offer, which about 75,000 workers did...
> **Some federal workers have since been contacted by their agencies on their personal email and cell phone, informing them that they still qualify and need to opt-in again by Friday.**> > *But they worry that others who were terminated will slip through the cracks, unaware that they can still qualify for the deferred resignation program.*
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-workers-buyout-fired/story
#boostingIsSharing #uspol #politics
#Author #Writer #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon

2025-02-20 05:44:06 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 592 — Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs in your WIP?
My first novel had a unique title. A word from that title always shows up in my larger works.
There are plenty of hidden details, more of them the longer the work is. Sometimes I kick myself for doing this, thinking, only a few people will reread the story a second time soon enough after reading it the first time to appreciate the extra color, double-meanings, oh-my-gosh backstory, and tiny subplots they've missed. I've been called out on this and fan-handled into writing another story because a hidden detail that simply begged to be written as a second story.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion

2025-02-20 04:27:14 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2502.19 — SC POV: Who is your best friend?
I know better than to assume that the woman feels the same as do. It feels like we've been to war together and survived by having each other's back, but is having bested a common enemy and survived being blackmailed enough to base a friendship on? We laugh when with each other. She's teaching me how to fight in the mornings, but has had me take her to lunch at a fish and chips dive I absently mentioned. She's as elite as they come, though. I'd never seen her put on airs until a rude MP forced her to put him soundly in his place. Now I see a gulf. I've street smarts not an education; my manners come from reading romance novels. I'd be embarrassed to claim her as my best friend if it would hurt her to reciprocate.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

2025-02-19 21:01:41 UTC

Behold! A shrimp-scape!
#boostingIsSharing Click #alttext for more.
#food #photography #photo #writer #author #writingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/032/563/291/228/217/original/abd9d5ce6df08c47.jpeg

2025-02-19 20:52:37 UTC

> [> #> ScribesAndMakers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers )> 2025.19. Do you find creative work therapeutic? If so, do you do it for that reason, or is it more of a side benefit?
*Therapeutic* to me means restoring to health, so I can't state that it is. I do find cooking and photography fun, relaxing and diverting. There's also the improving of skills, which makes spending time on the activities worthwhile. As for writing, that's a zen experience. I become the character. I live their lives. That's special, when it happens.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef
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#RSdiscussion

2025-02-19 19:02:13 UTC

#uspol. If you acknowledge that propaganda vs critical thinking is responsible for today's geo-politics, you'll be interested in this analysis of US audiences.
> The real problem here is that the demographic groups that Fox and their ilk appeal to are, substantially, primed toward simple, emotion-driven storytelling. Some of them are religious fundamentalists, and so have learned to see the world in stark, black and white terms. Others are very angry about... whatever, and are pleased to gravitate to whatever will give them fuel for their resentments. Still others have not had a lot of exposure to the art of critical thinking (say, from a parent, or an advanced education, or a religious leader interested in rational inquiry, or the like).
> By contrast, the current iteration of the Democratic Party skews heavily toward groups that see a world of complexity and shades of gray. That could be due to education, or to membership in a religious group that values critical analysis, or to being part of a disadvantaged group that learned that the dominant narrative is not always the unvarnished truth. Whatever it is, there have been attempts to recreate the Fox dynamic, but with a lefty spin, and they largely didn't work. Think of Air America, the left-wing talk radio network that went up in flames. Think of MSNBC, which certainly has its fans, but is never going to be the left-wing flamethrower mirror-image of Fox.
Knowing your audience is key.
Read the full article here: https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Feb19-4.html
#BoostingIsSharing
#Politics #Fox #MSNBC #Democrats #Writer #Author #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity

2025-02-19 18:14:56 UTC

#psa: #Howto #download #Kindle #books: Amazon is removing the book download to a file feature Feb 26th. Here's how to download your purchases.
#BoostingIsSharing<li>Log on to Amazon.com and click Account & Lists</li><li>Click Content Library</li><li>Click Books</li><li>Find a book and to the right, click the More actions button</li><li>In the dropdown, click Download & Transfer via USB</li><li>Read the dialog. Click one of your Kindle devices</li><li>Click the yellow Download button.</li>
Repeat 4 through 7 for each book or comic. There is no bulk download.
An .aws digital book file will download to your downloads folder. I've confirmed I can read it with Calibre on the Mac, an e-book reader. I expect the procedure will work on Windows or *nix.
**Note:** If the book is locked by DRM, you *may* only be able to view it on a Kindle, but you will have your copy forever. A good reason to buy DRM-free books.
**Please BOOST!**
#books #bookstodon #reading #writer #author #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon #scribesandmakers #pennedpossibilities #writerscoffeeclub #wordweavers
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/031/807/695/628/987/original/7697a2291085c1b6.png

2025-02-04 23:28:36 UTC

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I think the rule is the sheep going downhill yield to the one going up hill, backing up if necessary.

2025-01-30 20:43:02 UTC

Lack of education and the conservative attack on any non-parochial education explains a lot. Ignorance and lack of questioning leads to authoritarianism; it is all about power and controlling people's minds by teaching them not to think. Interesting article attached.
#BoostingIsSharing
https://bigthink.com/thinking/a-c-grayling-we-dont-need-to-bring-back-religion-we-need-to-bring-back-education/
#Philosophy #Conservative #Liberal #Education #Religion #Humanism #Writer #Author #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #Theism

2025-01-18 17:23:50 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2501.17 — Do you prefer [writing] long or short works? What’s your sweet spot?
After nearly a decade of actually writing both, and spending some of my time on Mastodon writing <850 word stories, I think I prefer writing shorter works. Less time to "It's done!" Less angst and worry about the story failing. I still consider myself a novelist, but I've discovered since 2015 that there are an unlimited number of story ideas and nobody's, least of all mine, are unique. That isn't to say I don't love long format. If a short story goes long, it's a novelette. If that goes long, it's a novella. If that goes long, it's a novel. Yay.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
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2025-01-16 05:38:20 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2501.15 — How long is your longest work?
The Balance trilogy was three full novels, and since I write long, probably about 400k. Never published.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
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2025-01-14 05:23:48 UTC

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As I encounter this painting again I realize there is great strength and feeling in minimalism. You sky and field color choices combined with heavy brush strokes really contrast with the painterly intricacy of the house, setting this piece apart. I hope you make many people happy with this one.

2025-01-04 20:28:09 UTC

I turned off #Apple #Intelligence because not only did it write things resembling "My grandfather fell out of one of those things and died when he was a baby," they made it so that if you press the space bar twice (which used to insert a period) now will insert that frequently used phrase or sentence ending instead. If you're typing and not reading what you're typing, chances are you're gonna say some *very strange* things.
I could probably go up on a rant on this, but when did people decide that #writing ought to be dumbed down to what everybody else is saying, rather than using your brain to come up with something eloquent to move your audience? Are we really that lazy?
Yeah, I see the root causes: Greedy corporations wanting to jump onto the next big thing, Gullible #programmers racing to #code the killer feature and bonuses rather than judging the worthiness of the feature. It's a little bit like radium and watch dials, which I brought back for one of my stories with a twist. Madam Curie died because science didn't understand something essential about radioactivity, *yet,* and who knows how many cases of lung cancer resulted from the glow in the dark watches.
The problem with #AI and ethics is training, the source. A good writer takes training, and that includes willing teachers, reading, experience writing, and feedback. A good AI requires the same thing, they call the feedback "curation." That's "educating" it what is crap and what is gold. Moreover, the training ought be done on *the writing of the person using the AI,* or by willing and well paid teachers, and I really don't get why Apple didn't take this tack and create something truly useful to that writer.
My best guess why not? The psychology of their perceived user: The need for instant gratification. If we train each AI the way we train each human student, where's the ability to cut out the labor and mass produce writers?
I want the personally trained #AI that can fill in the missing word that's at the tip of my tongue, that can reliably flag my recurring grammar errors, that can complete my sentences with the accuracy of my spouse of decades. As an SF writer or as an essayist, it should recognize my idiosyncratic vocabulary and not autocorrect it, to the point of accepting new words or phrases. It astounds me that AI contribution isn't color-coded in a ADA safe way during composition to show where the writer might want to verify the generated contributions. That all auto correct auto complete *doesn't* do this is a serious set back to the technology.
Okay, I ranted.
A big thank you to @npub1sf8…uu5n for the discussion I sourced this from.
#writer #writing #author #fiction #SF #sciencefiction #WritingCommunity #writersOfMaston #greed #economics #genai #chatgpt #openai

2024-12-30 07:13:13 UTC

> [> #> EngenderedWriting](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/EngenderedWriting )> 59 — Could you write or have you written a positive story with toxic masculinity as an element? Why or why not?
Having encountered it in real life, it would be difficult for me to write a positive story with it as an element. It would be dark and difficult. I do have a story has a man so afflicted, who in grasping for power realizes the MC (the main series antagonist in the reluctance series) has talent that were he to control it, he could conquer nations. He tries trapping her into marrying her, and when that fails, drums up charges that if convicted, would allow him to buy her as a slave. Any more would be spoilers, other than to say at in a possible sequel they must join forces and he doesn't like ending up being the one used. Not saying that a woman using a man with toxic masculinity as a weapon is positive, simply that he can be a weapon.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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#mystery #thriller #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

2024-12-14 19:13:38 UTC

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I love garlic. 🧄 ❤️ Thanks.
Noticing it's in a merch cup for a book. Some stealth marketing there?

2024-12-14 18:46:41 UTC

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> Just heated up some of my special garlic soup and added garlic.
But didn't share the recipe or a picture. 😢

2024-12-08 18:59:04 UTC

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Wow. Interesting. It's almost like the disinformation you hear in the states. You might want to use a COVID hashtag on your posts.

2024-12-08 18:51:25 UTC

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In east Asia, it was presumed since way before the COVID pandemic you'll think of your co-workers and community by wearing a mask if you feel at all sick. Cultural.

2024-12-08 06:22:02 UTC

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> ...people will shun you or make fun of you when you wear a mask that protects...
Not my experience, ever, and I wear mine any time I am inside a building with people I don't know.

2024-11-28 23:42:27 UTC

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This was the straw that broke the camel's back. I realized I need an automated check on this.
Before:
> He made me want to grow. I would be all that I was without his prodding. A good man.
After:
> He made me want to grow. I wouldn't be all that I was without his prodding. A good man.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon

2024-11-28 23:33:07 UTC

Isn't it interesting how if you leave out the n't In the contraction, not only does it change the whole sentence, it changes the scene, and maybe the intent of the entire book.
*That's it!* I am going to add a regEx search to my revision protocol: should, could, would, shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't, isn't. The percentages and statistics as they are indicate I am likely to find at least one error in each chapter.
#BoostingIsSharing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastadon #Writing #Author #Fiction

2024-11-27 00:50:19 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2411.25 — What part of your antagonist’s personality makes them so antagonistic?
Um... If she fails, the world dies? You guess.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #writer #writers #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

2024-11-12 04:36:37 UTC

Is a horse a self-driving vehicle?

2024-11-10 06:20:37 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 494 — Has your MC made any significant progress since their past deeds? How are they currently progressing in your story(ies)?
Thorn Rose, the last I wrote her story, turned a first contact situation into clusterf*** (technical term), nearly getting herself and Streak killed. Only the readers will understand why it went wrong.
In what I'm about to write, she recognizes opportunities for deadly misinterpretation by the people of Dust (the Moon) and her superior back on Home (Earth). She's going to attempt a tactic to make it right. Readers should recognize it as a power play that may not work as she intends.
My daemon woman astronaut is a cowboy in nerd's clothing.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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2024-11-10 02:22:09 UTC

None of my characters yet have pets, but dogs, cats, horses, goats, and cattle have survived into the modern world, despite the intolerable heat. The species don't resemble the ones from our time, however—
[Thorn Rose interrupts:] Well, there's Streak! Sometimes he lets himself be my pet, when I give him the proper smile. The day angel is my snowy white cat. It's so much fun to make him purr and purr and purr.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

2024-11-10 01:03:27 UTC

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> What do you do when friends and family let you down [and don't read your work]?
It's my experience that the people around you can be super supportive of you and your avocation, and your successes, but not really interested in what you write. I think it is human nature to not be upfront about not wanting to read your work, and I'm ambivalent on whether to challenge this. I fear it might be me seeking easy praise and that it might put them in a spot because they may worry what to do if they don't like it, or worse that they may be taken as hiding criticism because they know you even if their praise might be genuine.
People are like that. Gotta love them anyway.
I trust the support they give.
#boostingIsSharing
#writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon

2024-11-10 00:48:58 UTC

> [> #> EngenderedWriting](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/EngenderedWriting )> 09 — Is there a place for gender slurs in gender fiction? (E.g., Slut, bitch, etc.) Defend your opinion.
I am not a fan of slurs. In general I avoid them, especially gender slurs. Problem is, some gender stories need them in order to establish verisimilitude.
I'm glad I waited late to write my response. So many great posts today! As was pointed out by [@lunar_fang](https://pagan.plus/@lunar_fang ), many of us authors responding today have valid reasons to use slurs in fiction. As @npub1hz3…9nfq added, "We are grownups here," and so are the audiences we expect to read our stories. Normally, I'd say—as I would about profanity for which gender slurs are a subclass—that they can be used advisedly if not used gratuitously, *but* there are exceptions, like erotic stories or sexualized situations where they might be be expected.
Horses for courses.
Generally, I try to avoid using them. For one, I write far future SFF or otherworld albeit still urban fantasy. Use of the example words would be totally out of place. So...
I make up my own slurs!
Advisedly, in context. For example, especially if you are not a daemon, never call a daemon woman a devil-girl (actually a double slur on her type of human and her maturity), especially in a situation where *slut* might apply. You might live...
...to regret it.
Her calling herself that? Well, she'll have contextual reasons. She might even tell you to call her that, if she likes you. Again, in context, *and to make a point.*
My opinion, anyway.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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2024-11-10 00:13:27 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 493 — How intelligent is your SC overall? Are they more street smart or book smart?
The day angel and her serialized prototype are both quite intelligent, but not in a scholastic or high IQ modern sense. She does do stupid things sometimes, but very rarely, like the most conventionally intelligent of us. She's lived through situations that ought have ended up with her killed. You don't last as a crime boss' main messenger for almost a decade without being intelligent. She's also good at knowing what to say, and how. This is how she end's up winning the MC over, I think. That, and honesty. "B—but," you say, "she's a criminal!" You have to live your life, though, and you can choose how. Pure in intent yet tainted by reality. That's her.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

2024-11-10 00:02:15 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2411.09 — If your antagonist were an animal, which one?
Humans are animals, but I get the point. *A fox,* I think. She's nice looking. She's sly, cunning, and hard to see coming because she understands how not to be noticed. She's also very playful, and if you are an interesting guy, you'd better be careful. She'll either bed you or eat you. Wait, was that a double-entendre?
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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2024-11-09 23:51:15 UTC

> [> #> WritersCoffeeClub](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub )> Ch 15 Nbr 09 — Do you ever use particular punctuation characters like [, ], {, }, <, >, #, _, *? How do you use them?
In fiction? Do I? Do use the nonstandard interrobang!? Yeah. How? Carefully. Advisedly. I have used the angle brackets to quote telepathic communication.
As pointed out by @npub1eh7…ya7h as a former JavaScript and C++ programmer, I used all those punctuation marks in my writing... of programs, arguably well plotted fiction if you think about it! I was fond of them. @npub1eh7…ya7h My condolences at having to suffer Perl...
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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2024-11-09 23:07:37 UTC

One thing you learn from watching TV, movies, anime, and reading best sellers, to pulp, to fanfic: No story is perfect. There's always hopeful contrivance and caricature in plot or character, a little or a lot... but it works. We like it. It gets bought, published, produced, noticed, sometimes loved despite the warts.
Authors and playwrights of all levels... take heart. Complete your project and go on to the next. *Complete* is the superpower you can have, *perfect* doesn't exist.
#BoostingIsSharing
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #Author #Writer #Playwright #Screenwriter #Writing #Fiction

2024-10-30 07:54:48 UTC

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> All Google searches use AI and 10x power...
Um. I think this bypasses the AI. For now. Make it your default browser tab webpage if you want to use it.
https://udm14.com/
#boostingIsSharing #ai #google

2024-10-27 00:59:41 UTC

#PennedPossibilities, #WordWeavers, and #WritersCoffeeClub participants, I am creating a new daily challenge hashtag game that focuses on gender in fiction tagged #EngenderedWriting. I plan to release it for a minimum of a one month run either in November or December, depending on when I collect 30 (or 31) prompts. Gender fiction addresses gender roles, but also concerns itself with gay and straight, feminist, trans, gender-fluid, enby, and ace topics. Our expression of gender is how we, or our characters, coexist in society. It's about being who you are (unique and special) and maybe fighting for that. Or hiding it.
My problem is that I have my favorite topics; I realize my focus could be broader. Do you have any suggestions for questions that address gender, lgbtqia+ issues, or gender roles *together with* writing, stories, or being an author? I'd love to round off my list, which is up to 21 as I write this. I'll present any that I like as community submitted questions.
Please reply to this post or use the hashtag #EngenderedWriting.
Thanks a bunch,
R.S.
#BoostingIsSharing
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion #gender #genderRoles #feminist #trans #enby #ace

2024-10-26 04:29:09 UTC

#uspol Read carefully:
> More than 100 Arizona Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and progressive Democrats and community leaders have signed a letter making the case for those reluctant to support Kamala Harris against Donald Trump.
https://newrepublic.com/post/187537/kamala-harris-donald-trump-stunning-endorsement
#BoostingIsSharing
#Vote #Election #Kamala #KamalaHarris #Palestine #Gaza #genocide

2024-10-24 08:46:18 UTC

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No, it gets worse. IBM sold their outsourcing division as a spin off, with many big companies mainframe virtualizations going with it. The new spin off virtualization company employees don't know the software that's virtualized, so they call tech support for that to ask how to run it rather than learning themselves. They aren't on maintenance, their customer is. What a big mess. And to be clear, maintenance is upgrades and defects, not how to run the software... but the software vendor is between a rock and a hard place.

2024-10-23 20:17:21 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2410.23 — Do you do any writing-adjacent jobs like editing, librarian, character art, etc?
Before I retired, I was a programmer. There are a lot of similarities to authoring a story. The logical structure (plot) has to be correct or it won't work. The code (program) should be easily readable, use as simple a vocabulary as supported by the needs of the story, and good style is a plus. You spend a lot of time revising the first draft. They are also works of fiction, either creating a world that didn't exist or convincing with gimmicks (tropes) into buying it even if you're not sure you'll like it.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion #programming #programmer #code

2024-10-18 06:16:30 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 471 — If your SC desires friends, do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?
When the day angel was in school, she did see every meeting as an opportunity to make new friends. She was boyish, though, so she only made boyfriends, and those only of a particularly physical or sporting type, which might be fodder for a side story one day about flying tandem. Subsequent bad decisions led to her running from law and getting blackmailed by a crime boss. For a decade, before she got free, almost every person she met was either bad or a victim. In the aftermath of that, she's happy to have one good friend, and is wary of all other comers. The ebullient side of her is crushed, but in return she has a crush on her friend. Problem is, her friend is also a woman. (They saved each other's lives.) Having a crush is new for her, may not be reciprocal, and who knows how such a relationship will work out—and if it were to become physical, would she or her friend be up for that. This is a subplot in the gestation phase.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory

2024-10-18 03:41:22 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2410.17 — If you could give life to one of your characters, who would it be and why?
We have learned the danger of introducing non-native plants and animals into an eco-system. Introducing these genetically modified humans or magic world humans into our world would be a horrible thing for them (pretend Area 51 exists), and for us—their existence would disrupt our understanding of how the universe works. Bad for our ecosystem, in other words, as well as inhumane.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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#fiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion

2024-10-12 19:38:00 UTC

#Comet Watch
#astronomy
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/113/296/134/147/600/381/original/1c071bd8f30f24ae.webp

2024-10-11 05:49:33 UTC

#uspol #Gaza and #Palestine with some #Trump quotes. Ask yourself, if that's your issue, who are you going to #vote for?
> ...[O]n Monday, Trump said something about the Middle East that is significant. > **He said that Gaza could be rebuilt "better than Monaco," the Mediterranean tax-haven for the ultra wealthy. Trump said of Gaza: "It has the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything."**> That's the real estate developer in him speaking.
> The idea of turning Gaza into Monaco, or at least into Miami Beach East, is not new with the Trump family. > **Jared Kushner made the same point earlier this year, adding a small detail. Kushner said that the coastline was "very valuable waterfront property."**> He envisioned filling it with luxury condos and five-star hotels.
> **The only problem with Trump's plan and young Jared's plan is that Gaza is not empty. Over two million Gazans live in the Gaza Strip. How would they fit into these plans?**> Trump doesn't say, but the implication is that they should be gotten rid of somehow. Kushner is more explicit. He wants Israel to bulldoze an area in the Negev Desert and transport the Gazans there so he can make lots of money developing Gaza into Miami Beach East or now maybe Monaco.
#boostingIsSharing
#election #kamalaharris #kamala #vote a #democrat ticket
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2024/Items/Oct10-3.html

2024-10-09 06:22:51 UTC

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My instance admins at Eldritch Cafe posted this:
> The Fediverse is currently the target of a spam campaign. Spams are being sent by bots from instances having open registrations. We choose to temporarily mask the affected instances as people bring them to our attention.
> If you receive one of those unwanted messages, please forward it to us and to the affected instance using the report function. We apologize for not being able to thank you all individually for all your reports.
> We hope this spam wave will be short lived and are keeping you informed.

2024-10-08 07:09:54 UTC

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This. You can see it in the image on the left, and that brown book is actually my iPad Pro, which I write on when pedaling. Did 77 minutes, today.
https://www.self.com/review/flexispot-deskcise-pro-v9

2024-10-08 05:21:24 UTC

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> I used to lift when I was younger [what do you use?]
#writephant
After colon cancer in 2003, and nearly starving myself afterwards (to be saved by reading an SF book where the MCs incidentally were starving to realize what I was doing), the spouse got me a physical trainer. I'd been doing the walking since the 80s, but after that it was serious strength training. But as I aged, free weights became incrementally dangerous. COVID saw the end of the trainer, but not training, and I half dropped an Olympic bar; it caught at an angle so I could crawl out. That's a whole lot of story to get to being serious about doing weight-bearing exercise *safely,* and faster. I got what's shown below. Nolonger loading weights, it's twice as fast to get the work done and back to something nerdy because, well, even though I actually let my iPhone read the stories I'm revising while I'm working out, I'm still a sofa dumpling at heart....
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/113/270/100/490/596/363/original/5ba9c7863d872866.jpeg

2024-10-07 23:50:31 UTC

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A1 & A2? I do weightlifting. I was a couch-potato (sofa dumpling?) until 25, but I realized that if I didn't start moving, I'd become a decrepit and arthritic as the rest of my family, not to mention dumpling shaped.
I like to walk best. For miles. Mostly on the treadmill. Where my keyboard, trackpad, and monitor are mounted. I write/revise. I can also read a book while walking outside.
Don't ask me to run.

2024-09-30 00:12:45 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 453 — What would your MC do if there was a strange presence in the room and it felt ominous?
The concept of the supernatural doesn't exist. The MC would check with a psychologist, which is easy since things like healthcare are part of the *basic* everyone receives.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
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#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory #basicincome

2024-09-28 07:22:43 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 451 — Picture This: Your MC befriends a little bird who sits on their windowsill every morning. What do they name him or her? What type of bird are they?
I don't have to "picture" it. Befriending animals is exactly what gets Wintereyes in to her current trouble. Thus far, the only birds she's tried are crows because they're often around wolves. She befriended wolves first, and wolves produce carrion, so... But, crows are so smart that they realize her gift is both a gift and a curse. They caw and taunt and fly away when they see her. Now that she attends university and lives in a dorm instead of a forest, it'll probably be something that frequents the campus. She even has a window! Would it be a pidgin or a dove, or maybe a wren? Wrens are like the mice of the sky, everywhere, seeing everything. She knows this from experience with mice. She'd never name him or her, though. Befriending always lets her "friends" talk to her. Oddly enough, animals don't particularly appreciate humans naming them (if they understand naming in the first place). They universally find it insulting and feel it mistakes their true natures.
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2024-09-27 06:17:51 UTC

> [> #> WritersCoffeeClub](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub )> Ch 13 Nbr 26 — Did you come to writing from an avenue other than reading? (e.g. film/TV, oral storytelling, diary/memoir, music, craft, art, etc.)
If this question means did reading a lot books eventually got me to write stories, then yes. I read a lot, had some ideas of stories that wanted writing, so I began to write. Decades ago. In a prior millennium.
If this question means do I read a lot and it eventually gets me to write my various stories, then no. In the beginning, I did read then write. Now a days, with a better appreciation of stories in other media, it could be enjoying stories in movies, episodic TV, anime, k-dramas, or in fan fiction that could set me off on an eccentric unique idea. Sadly, I don't get the chance to read many books (though I hope to fix that soon), so it's rarely books.
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2024-09-27 06:05:15 UTC

> [> #> WordWeavers](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers )> 2409.25 — SC POV: How would the story be different if it was from your POV?
[SC: Roommate, Late teens, Female.] After the fact, I learned how that mousey little nobody—who that first day in high school sprayed the atrium with sticky self-luminous rainbows—was working to seem a nobody and a screw up so as to be left alone. I'd never have realized she was being blackmailed by the mob and would end up bring down a crime boss. How exciting! For my part, I liked how she was secretly smart and tried to help me get over my performance issues and not being able to go to my mentor about it. Our story would have started that night she made a pass at me drunk, and because I liked her come on let her get us into bed. It was also when she introduced me to *that drug,* thanks to goading from the mob boss. My story would have been about my sinking into addiction, failing to perform in school, progressively treating her worse, even taking credit for new thaumaturgy research she wanted desperately to do, until she broke (or appeared to for my sake). It would be how she let *me* break and hit rock bottom so she could get me to ask for help. Maybe not as exciting as her story, I know. But we did sleep together!
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2024-09-27 05:39:14 UTC

> [> #> PennedPossibilities](https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities )> 450 — What originally got you interested in writing?
In my late teens, I think I wanted to tell a story where the girl got to make the tough decisions, fighting for the right to do, and though she's second guessed, it's her female perspective that allows her to make the right choice. My mom was my hero. She had a man's job in a man's world, a bailbondswoman, and generally always would the rest of her life. It confused me why people had a problem with that, that women faced a struggle when opting for so many careers. I've written a lot about that inequity. I went from feminist fiction to writing gender-oriented SF and fantasy.
Today, I got to write one of those scenes that subtly turns around gender roles to make a point. I can't precisely relate the minor plot point because the society is radically different from ours, but here's the gist: A man ends up defending himself to a woman that he would have chosen raising a family over his career as a fight trainer had circumstances been different, and yes, this is why he treats his clients like family members and refuses to feel embarrassed about it. Except it's obvious he does, that he feels the pressure society and gender roles puts on him to have chosen childcare options. It's only discussed in passing, as part of his female prospective client (the MC) trying to decide whether to hire him. For her part, she realizes her faux pas in bringing it up as insensitively as she has, not that she apologizes because it is part of a power play.
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2024-09-03 02:02:48 UTC

Are we really surprised that an AI that doesn't understand what it's answering or its significance isn't going to help learning? #chatGPT #ai #learning #education #teaching
https://hechingerreport.org/kids-chatgpt-worse-on-tests/

2024-09-01 21:36:18 UTC

Hat tip to @npub1sj8…8gnh Can't say this better.
#theComingLaborApocalypse #AI
https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/113/064/432/445/948/942/original/63cbe27fd734f120.png

2024-08-23 18:17:34 UTC

A few months ago I bought my first bottle of Jack Daniels this millennium (so many other fabulous bourbons and whiskies). *Now Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman has scrapped their #DEI and #lgbtq initiatives because of a conservative pressure group's threat.*
That will be my last bottle of Jack. I suggest your current be your last, too.
#lgbtqia #lgbt #whisky #bourbon

2024-08-18 18:28:56 UTC

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BTW, I may use that line in a story, you understand, I hope...

2024-08-18 18:26:41 UTC

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Some days it's difficult being an author AND a musician. "It sounds right," takes on new meaning...

2024-08-11 04:52:15 UTC

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They misspelled CAT.