I will be leading a class Sept 19 and 26 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Choose Your Best Book-Publishing Path

Learn more here: https://writer.org/event/fa23pub1b/

#class #workshop #AmWriting #books #publishing

This Moose Thread is brought to you by, #WritingTreat where we talk about everything between our writing/focus sessons, because we're a bunch of Neuro-a-typical people, who just have our minds wander A LOT.

Sometimes we only have one focus session the entire 2hrs, because we can't stop talking about weird stuff.

It's a support group not just for writing, but for life and being neurodivergent in this world.

#WritingCommunity #amWriting

Good morning everyone! It's writing treat time!

We're a small collection of various neurodivergent people, who like to try to write together, but we also spectacularly fail at writing and just chitchat when the needs arises, sometimes.

You're welcome to come hang out, or ask questions here!

https://meet.jit.si/TheWritingTreat

#WritingTreat #WritingCommunity #amWriting

I'm translating a research group's methodology for work and it makes me want so badly to be done with the current draft already so I can move onto the research phrase. I have no idea if that's a hankering for research or being sick of writing--probably both. I #amWriting, but reluctantly!! :flan_piteous:

"Oh god..." Danny breathed as she slipped the blade into Patricia's thigh. The soft flesh parted like the surface of cold vanilla pudding. She pressed her mouth against this new opening and kissed.

————

reexamining some of the more grizzly parts of my WIP and feeling good about it again. I was scared it was going to be too much, and it might be for some people, but that's horror for ya. Sometimes it's not for everyone.

#AmWriting

I'm happy to see someone standing up to OpenAI and its disregard for copyright laws.

The New York Times Blocks OpenAI's Web Crawler

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/21/23840705/new-york-times-openai-web-crawler-ai-gpt?recip_id=434909&lyt_id=434909

#AI #writers #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

Reorganized and broke my WIP up into sections and I feel good about it. Now I just gotta figure out how the Tarot theme fits into the story. I chose those cards for their meanings, but I feel like I might use them as kind of story-prompts. Speaking of which, I need to do my writingwonders for today.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity

Did some actual writing today and I feel good about that. Consolidated a couple of chapters into one much more intense chapter. Well, intense in terms of the amount of the amount of story packed into it. It’s actually less intense in terms of its tone and disturbing situations, but that’s not gone from the story. I just spread it out more, and I’m being more subtle and less in your face about it.

I know I’m being vague but what I want to say is more about the process than the content.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity

(Seymour and Milo have just confessed their mutual attraction and are getting cuddly on the couch. Milo POV. Totally SFW excerpt!)

“You in this sweater…” he murmurs.

“You like this sweater?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Roger that. Tomorrow I’m donating the rest of my wardrobe.”

He giggles.

“Including the pants,” I add.

He raises his eyebrows. His thumb moves against my thigh. “Going twenty-four/seven pantsless is a pretty bold move.”

“Yeah, well, cut out the middle man, right?”

He breaks up laughing.

“Sorry,” I murmur. “I’m realizing I quip a lot when I’m nervous.”

“Shut up. It’s cute.” He looks me in the eyes. “So you’re nervous?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Me too.”

“You are?”

“Of course.”

“Haven’t you done this lots?”

He grins, shows those canine teeth. “I see you’ve clocked me as a slut.”

I giggle. “No, I mean…most people have done this a lot more than me.”

His grin fades a little. “I’ve done this a lot-a lot, yeah. But…it…mostly hasn’t been meaningful.”

“…Really?”

He lowers his gaze. Nods.

“So you…don’t just like me like that. You like me like /that/.”

He doesn’t speak. Just raises his eyes again, with the answer in them.

#TakeOnMe

#writing #WritingCommunity #GayRomance #MMRomance #mm #mmr #nonbinary #NonbinaryWriters #NonbinaryRomance #QueerRomance #LGBTQromance #LGBTQbooks #LGBTQwriters #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #UrbanFantasy #AmWriting #cozy #plural #ND #queer #WIP #romance #QueerJoy #mlm #fluff #fluffy #GrumpySunshine

(A fairly spoilery moment in Milo's character development, but I feel like sharing it anyway. He's an Episcopal priest and a living saint according to all who know him, who falls in love with and tries to heal a traumatized, rough-around-the-edges ghost-whisperer, and accidentally uncovers his own trauma in the process. Here he's having a sort of flashback review of childhood family dinners growing up in a traditionalist Catholic household. It's worth noting that, to this day, Milo talks to God and hears God talk back. [This excerpt, I think, kind of works as a response to #PennedPossibilities 27—how does your MC self-soothe?])

They are screaming at each other again. I wish I could make them stop.

At least they are not screaming at me.

They hardly ever look at me at all.

Divine Mercy. The Lord looks at me always, from the painting on the kitchen wall, with his big, beautiful eyes. He is so quiet and kind. He listens. He never, ever screams.

Stay quiet. Don't draw their attention out of turn.

Stay kind, so they can’t bring themselves to hurt you.

When they speak to you, listen attentively. Eyes on them. Nod so they know you are a good boy and you are listening.

Eyes on them. Learn to notice the signs they are going to erupt. Submit. Appease. Make a joke. Disarm. Head off danger at the pass.

Getting tall…don’t stand too tall. Don’t give them a reason to fear you.

Stay their small, sweet, godly boy so they’ll never be angry at you.

Something wrong? Fix it. Hurry. Before they notice. You are smart and resourceful and can fix it before they notice.

You are getting older, wiser. Sometimes they listen now. Mediate. Support. Harmonize. Hold the moral high ground.

Keep the peace. Keep the peace. Keep the peace.

…And maybe, just maybe, if you are good enough and patient enough for long enough, and never ever ask anything for yourself, they will repent and heal and turn toward you and you will finally have a family.

You are strong. You can bear this burden.

...Too deprived. Too disappointed. Too little. Too much.

Surrender your desires to the Lord.

You are my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased. Your reward is in heaven and not of this world.

God is with me. Nothing hurts me anymore.

I can take on the pain of the world. I was born for it.

Milo wants nothing.

Milo needs nothing.

Milo is but a vessel of Divine Mercy.

Milo doesn’t exist.

#TakeOnMe

#writing #WritingCommunity #GayRomance #MMRomance #mm #mmr #nonbinary #NonbinaryWriters #NonbinaryRomance #QueerRomance #LGBTQromance #LGBTQbooks #LGBTQwriters #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #UrbanFantasy #AmWriting #cozy #plural #infj #hsp #ND #CPTSD #ReligiousTrauma #queer #WIP #romance #QueerJoy #mlm

@RobinApple *waves back* Hello, hello! 🌲 🍃 📚 🚲 🧁

local feeds for interest specific instances can be helpful for finding people to follow

For nature and climate stuff: flipping.rocks (in particular @loren posts a lot of cool photos), ecoevo.social, climatejustice.rocks, birds.town

For writing in general I see a lot of authors on wandering.shop, romancelandia.club, zirk.us, and people use #AmWriting

You'll probably like following the hashtags #Mosstodon #LichenSubscribe #ThickTrunkTuesday

@seachanger I've seen plenty of writers on wandering.shop (but it might be invite only) and if your friend writes in the genre try romancelandia.club . I think plenty of them also use the #AmWriting hashtag

ok so remember the other day when I said that my mom read my breakdown of my WIP and basically tore it apart. While I don't think she's completely right about every change that needs to be made, she does raise some good points and it's making me rethink huge aspects of my book. The most significant is that I want to lean more into the Renfield aspect of the Danny character. I want to show her as a capable and efficient assistant. One thing my mom brought up in subsiquent conversations (we talk on the phone every morning while walking a mile around our neighborhoods, mine in Victoria and hers in California) is that I should really explore the fact that Danny is an elementary school teacher and some of the skills and baggage that comes along with that. I think that's an interesting approach and I'm going to explore that a bit.

Anyway, I just reread the first few chapters of my WIP with that in mind and it's going to require significant rewrites, but I think it's for the best. I'm okay with it. But it's going to put me way behind schedule. The schedule that I myself imposed and I'm the only one who cares about it. that schedule.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity

It's tough hearing your #WIP has problems you thought you fixed. My latest beta reader broke the bad news on Sunday. But, I have ideas for how to fix it (again). In the end the book will be stronger because of it.

At least my reader confirmed the concept is sound. Now to execute!

#AmWriting #AmEditing #Fiction

I am awake and, maybe not inspired, but lucid enough for a good day of #WritingTreat!

We kick off in 10 minutes.

Now pray for me that IBS doesn't force me to not attend 🤣

#WritingCommunity #amWriting

@sleepyeyes for some excellent scicomm @dantheclamman @SarahMackAttack
@skrishna

for books a lot of people post using #Bookstodon (also #AmReading and #AmWriting)

some servers make their local feeds public and you might enjoy browsing these for people:
birds.town, scicomm.xyz, mstdn.science, fediscience.org, wandering.shop, romancelandia.club, zirk.us, biologists.social, genomic.social, ecoevo.social

Also, welcome! 🚲 🧁 🧪 ⚗️ 📚

welp, I was doing really well with my writing until I sent a synopsis of what I've written so far to my mom for her feedback. My mom is a pretty accomplished writer and I value her opinion. However, her feedback was that I needed to change a couple of fundamental elements of the story and now I'm questioning the whole thing and am feeling like I might need to scrap the whole thing and start over. Feeling kind of despondent about it actually. wheeeee

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting

I was up from 2-4am writing and I think I’ve come up with a solution to my WIP problem. At least the immediate problem of how to go forward. I still don’t entirely know what’s going to happen but I at least got some forward momentum and wrote around 1200 words. Now it’s 7am and I’m about to start writing again.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity

(Reclusive ghost whisperer Seymour is crashing with his new colleague, recently ordained Episcopal priest and unconventional exorcist Milo, until the two of them can find a way to neutralize a demonic presence that's taken over Seymour's house. Despite Seymour's trademark misanthropy, an awkward little friendship is starting to bloom.)

I catch him looking at me again. Not at my eyes, for once. “Okay...do I, uh…have something on me or…?”

Milo’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry, no…I keep looking at your hair.”

“My hair…?”

“I guess you could say I’m neurodivergent in some unspecified way and sometimes I become preoccupied with things.”

“…Like my hair?”

“It’s pretty. It’s very dark and shiny and I like the way the cut frames your face and kind of swoops over your eye and conforms to the shape of your head in the back.”

“Oh. Uh…thank you…?”

“I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. I have to remind myself it’s unsettling for people if you stare at them. Because personally I never mind it. In fact I think it’s strange that most people seem afraid to look at each other. Anyway…I like your hair. But I’ll try harder not to stare at it.”

“It’s okay,” I hear myself saying.

He blinks. “…Is it?”

“I mean…it’s not a big deal or anything.”

“No, I know it’s weird. I was bad about it when I was younger and people really didn’t like it.”

“I don’t, uh…I don’t really mind.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

We lapse into silence for a moment. He’s still stealing glances at me, but seems even shyer now, despite the permission—keeps looking away when our eyes meet.

“Do you…like having your hair brushed?” he asks out of the blue.

“Uh…I guess? Are you…you saying…you want to…?”

“I think it might get it out of my system. But I know that’s weird, so it’s completely okay if you’d rather I didn’t.”

“…You want to brush my hair.”

His fingers flutter against his knee. “I feel like it might resolve the fixation. But it’s totally okay if you don’t want me to. Actually, no—I’m sorry I asked. It puts you on the spot, doesn’t it? No, no—it’s okay.” He closes his eyes; lays his hand on his chest as it rises and falls in a soft, slow breath: “I can manage this myself…”

“Um…I guess you can brush it,” I hear myself say.

His eyes spring open, rounder than I’ve ever seen them. “Are you sure?”

“I mean…somebody’s gotta do it. If you don’t, I’ll just have to do it myself at some point.”

He giggles. “Um…okay. Thank you.”

“You’re…welcome?”

He pops up. “I have a really nice brush my hairstylist recommended. Let me go get it.”

#TakeOnMe

#writing #WritingCommunity #GayRomance #mm #mmr #nonbinary #NonbinaryWriters #NonbinaryRomance #QueerRomance #LGBTQromance #LGBTQbooks #LGBTQwriters #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #UrbanFantasy #AmWriting #plural #ND #CPTSD #queer #WIP #romance #QueerJoy #mlm

okay, so I managed to crank out 1200 words in the last hour and I don't want to jinx it but I think I may have figured out a way forward. I want to keep writing, but I'm going to be trashed tomorrow if I don't get some sleep.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity