Trolls, boogeymen and witches, oh my!
Just another day for a young wizard.
It all starts here: https://books2read.com/b/TrollSong
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35 posts26 participants7 posts today
Heya #fediverse! I have a friend, #erotic #novelist TammyJo Eckhart, who actually approached - me to ask if I had a suggestion for what instance she should join, so I thought I'd ask the community for the perfect one!
She's looking for one that:
Welcomes #book #Author s and #Reader s
Welcomes #feminism and #queer / #lgbt discussions
Welcomes #AdultContent (discussion of #sexuality , some explicit materials, #kink, and #polyamory )
Welcomes social commentary (I think she means #leftist #politics )
She's never used Mastodon before, and is not particularly tech savvy (so no infosec-opensource-foss-whatever focused servers, please), but like most of us who ended up here, she's tired of the fascist censorship and coddling of mainstream social media platforms, and wants to find a place she can connect with others without having to constantly look over her shoulder for nazis and/or algorithmic censorship.
She also didn't mention character count, but as a writer (and person who enjoys engaging in nuanced conversation instead of screaming click bait headlines), something more than the default 500 characters would be nice as well. 
Any servers she should check out? And potential follows she might be interested in connecting with?
If you'd like to get to know TammyJo a little more, here's an interview I recorded with her for my feminist topless equality video series Topless Topics: https://www.toplesstopics.org/tammyjo/
Boosts appreciated so I can find her the perfect fit!
www.toplesstopics.orgTopless Topics Interviews TammyJo Eckhart: Ancient Historian, Award-Winning Kink Educator, and Multi-Genre Fiction Author – Topless Topics
#Journalists, ready to nail your next pitch? Join us for Display Narratives: Crafting the Perfect Pitch with Ruby Russell, non-fiction #author and senior #editor at @unbiasthenews. Learn how to pitch a story, not just a topic. Get hands-on tools, real examples, and peer feedback to sharpen your narrative hook. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/display-narratives-crafting-the-perfect-pitch-tickets-1318785455799?aff=oddtdtcreator
"A writer has to write until they find out who they are. There's no way around it and you can't as a writer know how long it will take to find you. That's why it happens right away for some and not for a while for others. The only rule in #writing is persistence." - Wrtr #amwriting #author #writer
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#Writephant #self-promo We’re at the end of the hour, which means it’s self-promotion time -- reply with links to your website, book, promotion, etc
The only thing I can "promo" today is the sample stories pinned to my profile. Yesterday, I deleted my web-novel Mars Needed Women (#RSMarsNeededWomen) as I am now heavily revising it and proofing it. The 23K story was essentially a first draft when posted it on Mastodon as I wrote it over 31 days, but now I've added plenty extra material (see my A2 answer, which greatly improves the chapter titled Shelter). I will be shipping out a beta to my beta readers probably next week. Of course, if anyone else is interested in becoming a beta reader, go ahead and PM me.
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@neve
#writephant A2 Do you get your story problems solved by ruminating or by talking things out with people?
I ruminate some, but more often rely on my subconscious. It's really good at waking me at 3 a.m. with brilliant ideas, dang it. Often the right thing occurs in revision, like yesterday when I was doing a pass on a section where a mother is listening while her daughter is planning a raid to save abused women and children. The word "inhuman" popped out as I was adding some gloss, in reference to the males causing the need, and suddenly I was on fire. I think I very much hit it out of the park, with the mother correcting the daughter about the word, and how proud she is when her daughter gets it.
I'd love to talk it out with people, but I'm kind of shy and never do.
#WordWeavers 2504.21 — Is there anything that bores you about any of your characters?
Wait? Isn't that the stuff you're supposed to leave out?
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
Despite my earlier post about liking positivity, negativity can be good, too. After 11 days, today I tested negative for COVID19. Still feel knackered, though. May I still use it as an excuse?
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2504.21 — In honor of @johnhowesauthor who doesn’t really like coffee: what “established” writerly traits don’t really apply to you?
Forgive me for inverting this question. I like positivity.
- Drinks whiskey and whisky and bourbon. Check. See photo.
- Has a pet cat. Not currently. Historically, tho.
- Drinks gallons of coffee. Decaf cappuccino please, and only a cup or two. Extra credit: I've only written in a coffee shop a few times; I prefer the tables outside because drinking with a N95 mask is difficult.
- Depressed and melancholy. I was depressed, then I realized I held the illusion that I was in control of events in my life. (Thank you Wayne Dyer.) When I gave up on the illusion, literally became disillusioned, I kicked the depression. Let's give that trait a half-point for historical reasons.
- Is eccentric. I feel rather symmetrical, even if I was always a square and never a rounder. If this means hyperbolic, count me in! Maybe I should ask my spouse? Um, maybe not.
- Has a god complex. That's kind of a sexist question. What about goddesses? Not answering.
- Is reclusive. Does shy count?
- Unkempt. Not describing my current state of clothing, current lack thereof, grooming, or smell status. Nope.
- Broke. I had a day job. Not stupid.
- Chain smokes. The only time you smell smoke around me is when I tend a barbecue. My mum was the chain smoker, which I think accounts for my asthma.
- Writes longhand. Are you flapping nuts? I was obviously destined to be a doctor if you believe that about bad pen craft. I learned on a mechanical typewriter, progressed to a Smith-Corona, then an Apple ][ and haven't looked back since. (11½. Writes with a fountain pen. My writing greatly improves with a nibbed pen; I studied calligraphy. Still, I think faster than I can talk, let alone type on a keyboard, so why would I do something so cripplingly ridiculous to my productivity?)
- Procrastinates. Um. Here I am replying to an Internet prompt. Again.
- In a state of continual angst. Maybe. Depends on the day, or whether what I am writing might contradict the conservative social climate fomenting in my country of origin. Okay, likely. Very likely. Oh noes!
- Eschews adverbs. I definitely use adverbs. Whether they survive revision is another matter.
- Is a literary snob. Whiskey snob, maybe. Okay. I confess it! I love Charles Dickens. The rest of them, never read 'em. I'm not well-read literally. [Is that the right word?] Even in my genre(s), I like what I like not what other readers hold up as the best. Another good reason to be shy. I can't even carry on small talk about literature!
- Writes under various noms de plume. Yes.
- Cuts a dashing figure. That kind of implies a gender, doesn't it? Nobody can accuse me of being pretty or rugged. Average. Which may explain why I write about average looking people. In any case, I do know a few things about clothing and fabrics; I can put together a nice ensemble, with accessories and shoes. I even own a turtleneck. Hats are good. I can package well. Maybe true.
- Swears and curses a lot. Ask my computer. The people in my life would say, "Incapable." I'm reputed to be "delicate." I use my computer when nobody is around, and self-censor when they are.
- Has a giant vocabulary. Word choice counts and I will use the exact word. See item 14.
- Is a grammarian par excellence. Me! Ha! I often write in grammar B and perpetrate grammaricide with glorious glee, enough so that any self-respecting high school English teacher would not only fail my purple prose ass, but send my sorry hind-part to the principal's office on principle for a paddling!
Enough fun. Forgive me. Please!
More in #altText.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author #grammar
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
Today in Labor History April, 21, 1913: Andre Soudy and Raymond Callemin, members of the anarchist Bonnot Gang, were executed. Callemin had started the individualist paper "L'anarchie" with author and revolutionary Victor Serge. The Bonnot Gang was a band of French anarchists who tried to fund their movement through robberies in 1911-1912. The Bonnot Gang was unique, not only for their politics, but for their innovative use of technology, too. They were among the first to use cars and automatic rifles to help them steal, technology that even the French police were not using. While many of the gang members were sentenced to death, Serge got five years and eventually went on to participate in (and survive) the Barcelona and Soviet uprisings. Later, while living in exile, Serge wrote The Birth of Our Power, Men in Prison, Conquered City, and Memoirs of a Revolutionary.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #illegalism #BonnotGang #Revolutionary #VictorSerge #Revolution #uprising #barcelona #soviet #writer #author #books #fiction #novel @bookstadon
Today in Labor History April 21, 1910: Mark Twain died. “I have read carefully the treaty of Paris and I have seen that we do not intend to free, but to subjugate the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem… And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.” During the Boxer Rebellion, he said that "the Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success." From 1901, until his death in 1910, he was vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League, which opposed the annexation of the Philippines by the U.S. He was also critical of European imperialists such as Cecil Rhodes and King Leopold II of Belgium, who attempted to establish colonies in African. He also supported the Russian revolutionaries fighting against the Tsar.
Many people have criticized him for his racism. Indeed, schools have banned “Huckleberry Finn.” However, Twain was an adamant supporter of abolition and said that the Emancipation Proclamation “not only set the black slaves free, but set the white man free also." He also fought for the rights of immigrants, particularly the Chinese. "I have seen Chinamen abused and maltreated in all the mean, cowardly ways possible... but I never saw a Chinaman righted in a court of justice for wrongs thus done to him." And though his early writings were racist against indigenous peoples, he later wrote that “in colonized lands all over the world, "savages" have always been wronged by "whites" in the most merciless ways, such as "robbery, humiliation, and slow, slow murder, through poverty and the white man's whiskey."
Twain was also an early feminist, who campaigned for women's suffrage. He also wrote in support of unions and the labor movement, especially the Knights of Labor, one of the most important unions of the era. “Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat.”
#workingclass #LaborHistory #marktwain #imperialism #racism #feminism #union #literature #fiction #satire #books #writer #author #novels @bookstadon
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#PennedPossibilities 649 2/2 — What research did you conduct for your WIP, and did you uncover anything surprising or fascinating?
This answer, however, should interest any authors wanting to learn something from another authors' search behavior. I finally got completely feed up with the substandard results from DuckDuckGo and the on again off again AI search creeping into Google results, even with &udm=14.
A few days ago I decided to research paid search. All FREE search, it goes without saying, monetizes your behavior, time, or attention, so I understand it isn't free. How much do you make per hour? When I search for anything that could be construed as a product or service someone could SELL, it's impossible to find answers. Look for words for describing how to rock a baby, for example. I'm sure you've a slew of searches you've given up on.
I am trialing kagi.com. I am NOT advertising it; I'm not endorsing it. I've only tried two searches of the 100 allocated me so far. However, those two have been so full of useful results that I'm still mining them the next day.
I'll report back after I use it more.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#seach #kagi #google #duckDuckGo #ai #aisearch
#PennedPossibilities 649 — What research did you conduct for your WIP, and did you uncover anything surprising or fascinating?
When you are writing 31 chapters in 31 days and posting a chapter a day, having only come up with the idea and character the day before starting, research is a concept dealt with by quick and dirty searches. I did have one interesting factino in my pocket, though. I'd found an article about growing fungus to make building blocks for construction on Mars, and knew the blocks might help repel radiation. Another recent article spoke about inflating a balloon for a habitat. I combined both ideas in the 4th chapter titled Glue. Beyond that, I spent quite a bit of time Googling things about 16 Psyche (an asteroid) and learned that Martian dust is poisonous, and like moon dust, pernicious. Recent NASA tests lofted by a private company to the moon proves that electostatic grids can capture or repel dust. I used that. Much of the rest of the technology I punted on. I realized green minerals on Mars might be rare, so I backtracked on some red-green-black ferric metaphors. Yesterday, I read up on planetary transfer orbits and made changes to the revised novel. I also learned about the Lunar Gateway space station concept, and will revise that concept when I get to revising the relevant chapter.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSMarsNeededWomen
This post is to announce to all those who knew about my web-novel Mars Needed Women, who may have boosted or linked to it, that I have deleted the posts from Mastodon. I am heavily into revising it for publication.To prevent 404ing, I've left only the jacket blurb post of March 1st. As best I can remember, that's the only link I gave out. I hope so. I'm tagging hashtags to which I posted links to the novel this one time to prevent confusion. You are welcome to PM me.
#pennedpossibilities #engenderedWriting #writerscoffeeclub #wordweavers #scribesandmakers #writever #writephant
TL;DR
The story was published daily in March 2024 as part of a #Writever challenge, and I completed all 31 chapters one a day using all 31 Women's Rights prompts, managing to complete the last chapter and post it only 20 minutes into April 1st.
The story was definitely beta, with a plot hole and janky science and a few character boo-boos, but I like the result. I have since greatly revised the story and added plenty of material. Writing content daily to fit it into a toot-length that worked out to 750-800 words max forced compromises.
I plan to publish the novel in book form. As such, I have deleted the original free-to-read version. When I've sold or published the novel, I'll be sure to inform all my followers.
If you were part way through the story, PM me.
For you that read it, and for those who favorited chapters, Thank you.
I have now published my "unholy" trilogy in it's entirety on Amazon(two are still in review though) in about 24 hours, I couldn't be more proud, as the ebooks turned out beautifully feel free to check them out:
https://amazon.com/author/akk-the-greatest
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@nobonzo This image is amazing. I'm keeping you on a list for possible book cover commissions. I suggest my author friends do also.
"Sophie Lewis presented her new book "Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation" to a packed auditorium. The book discusses the problematic ‘enemy’ feminisms that have emerged throughout history within the feminist movement. The lecture was followed by a discussion led by Denisa Tomková"—Fakulta humanitních studií Univerzity Karlovy
Sophie Lewis at FHS CU on her new book "Enemy Feminisms" >
youtu.be- YouTubeEnjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
Fuming over this. One of my copyrighted books was stolen and fed into this without my permission. Their company is now worth about one billion, built on the backs of stolen works. And they have the nerve to say our books have no value.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/meta-ai-lawsuit
#books #authors #author #reading #AI #amwriting
Looking for self-published authors to follow in here. I’ve ditched my meta accounts and trying to figure Mastodon out (it ain’t that easy).
#WordWeavers 04/18/25 - What would it take for your MC to become violent?
For Gamma, really nothing can push him to violence. He crushes all his negative emotions and when in danger, he just freezes up.
Altair on the other hand... insulting Rigel is enough for him to punch someone.