2026-10-20T13:49:52Z https://nostr.now RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist https://nostr.now/npub1rg874fdgtxmgvypg64mwfcv0f5dygzxykm5yfed8f5zkrtutd4aqwem6l5 https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/accounts/avatars/109/362/623/121/322/154/original/6ed50a52858250ea.png https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/accounts/avatars/109/362/623/121/322/154/original/6ed50a52858250ea.png https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsd2q05f56w8q9h3we80y7x7v90cks5zmudg72f83xtjym4ksfct4gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh59q40sn In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyrmzqp78tc28fmtdhextyag02wtrutuk6tsfelednqv0ut9xm54gexkvs6'>nevent1q…kvs6</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; One of my favorite winter sights in New Mexico!<br/><br/>It&#39;s snowing birds!? 2026-10-20T01:48:56Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9f5jusw6dzplyytxucgjmgp82valvm2njd770vthdguuqesywnlczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5r7d5wa ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.24 — ~Our next featured creator will donate a portion of proceeds from book sales. Have you ever put proceeds from sales towards a cause you believe in?I know this may sound like bragging—I am a traditionally published author—but I do see it as a realization that I&#39;m growing old and there are things I want to accomplish in the world with the bounty I&#39;ve earned. Paying it forward? Because I can? Because helping establish a new generation of writers is something that makes me feel validated, happy, and proud? I&#39;m not apologizing. I funded a full-boat scholarship for gender fiction writers at the #Clarion West workshop (a six week residency for SF, fantasy, and horror) last year and will continue to do so. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #ClarionWest<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-09-24T23:15:44Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs95wcjpg23fc3v04hlchsz66gllq5e0nlhnx56hxrnesyzpdxkv7czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh56q2x6u ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.23 — Have your characters’ journeys affected your own life? Is so, how?I consider that &#34;the journey&#34; has led me socially to become what an atheist is to religion. I eye every gender role and gender restriction with suspicion. I got that way by writing about characters who do not conform to what our modern society would consider socially acceptable but which is acceptable in their world, and then seeing them smash headfirst into their world&#39;s cognate or divergent gender roles and restrictions, which lets me feel freer to live differently, the experience of which lets me write… <br/><br/>Enough said?<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-09-24T22:57:17Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsfemd9p63y6869x9kv2z8fygn3klkuq0fyasl5d2a06xyehwfec9czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5f20ha9 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.24 — If your MC made a grand entrance, what fitting song would accompany them?Partially not to display my weak knowledge of song titles, my MC in ***Reluctant Courier (for the Mob)*** would *never* make a &#34;grand entrance.&#34; She knows from experience that they do try to kill the messenger. She&#39;s more of a stealth-don&#39;t-be-seen-until-it&#39;s-too-late sort of girl. She&#39;s a day angel and not only do her wings have an owl-like checkered dark blue, light blue, white pattern when furled, the feathers are as anatomically similar to owl feathers as human feathers functionally could be. Owls are silent flyers. She delivers her mail and disappears into the dark. The following #excerpt demonstrates her M.O.:<br/><br/>&gt; It took me half a day to track down the miscreant no-pay by asking people in her neighborhood where she worked, where she liked to go, and other such questions. Ended up chatting up a former &#34;client&#34; working in the employment bureau. I hadn&#39;t bothered to punk up [my appearance], so my detective work proved fruitful; eventually a coworker of hers pointed down the block to a restaurant where I found her eating at a café table just inside. I&#39;d dropped and mussed my hair on the way, as well as shrugging on a white silk slip over my wings and chest to anonymize myself. I strode in, shoved the envelope into her grilled noodles and ground vegetable sauce, overflowing the bowl, whispering in passing, &#34;You don&#39;t wanna be put up for collections,&#34; nonchalantly exiting to the pavement and flying away before the past-due borrower thought to bang the table loud enough for me to hear, and rush after.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-09-24T16:14:20Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqszvmyjffrls8ucpsn25t59pnjxzk5h6t7xf3e503n2jrvgvf00wpqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5mtzv7v ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.22 — If you wrote a memoir on your writing journey so far, what would it be called?See image or read #AltText<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/117/313/102/276/522/325/original/6639267e8d507555.jpeg"> <br/> 2026-09-22T05:47:13Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsfwte3t6krqym3627qvvkf9munwv9hfz9h9wv73yq9apkqeektuwqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5f9dd5t ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.21 — In your current WIP, which character do you relate to the least and why?I relate to all the characters in my current WIP because I want the reader to see them as real in both their good and horrible dimensions, even the antagonists. Nobody is saintly, and in the Reluctance Series, no saint is perfect. This is *not* always true. In another story I wrote a goonish misogynist steroid-using prizefighter whose technique was to frighten opponents or victims into thinking he&#39;d murder them before, figuratively, doing just that. Gleefully. More so against female opponents. I think the reader relates to the various injuries and humiliations the MC inflicts on the poor excuse for a human.<br/><br/>In the WIP, the closest is Pigeon the Pilferer, a punk gangster co-worker antagonist who causes the MC unending headaches, stealing into her apartment, roughing up one of her friends, beating her up (well, she started it), and other indignities. As a bonus, he has a bad body odor. He comes off as irredeemable, though in actuality his actions are less malicious than what you might expect of a punk. I know his backstory and why he acts this way (spoilers), and though he won&#39;t clean up his act, I know he is capable of love and is caring—and I can relate to that and his reasons for feeling a victim. He shows empathetic side of him in the story, though he&#39;s still kind of unforgivable. What happens is funny and vulnerable. Regardless, the moral is *don&#39;t work for the mob* if you want respectable coworkers.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-09-22T00:03:31Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsrjd4uhdnm27x8g0cex4lm52a928s6zyjkh2h6xy8jw3xlktsgkmqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5a7jptv ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.21 — ~What character from one of your own books [**and**] someone else&#39;s would you want to spend a day with? What would you do?[*For the better part of a day, I misread this prompt, only realizing it when I sat down to write out my answer. I modified it to what I thought I&#39;d read because… not enough spoons to do it as written! —RS*]<br/><br/>I&#39;d match-up my devil-girl from the Reluctance Series with Honor Harrington from Dave Weber&#39;s Honorverse. These two determined persistent women think both tactically and strategically, and both weld power and empower people in complementary ways. I think the devil-girl, who doesn&#39;t particularly like interacting with people despite being so good at it—she would prefer to study an inviting thaumaturgy book—would strike up an interesting conversation once she realizes Honor can help her think through some of the military issues she&#39;s working through (well, will, in a sequel).<br/><br/>As an introvert, I&#39;ve always been a keen observer, *My Dinner with Andre-*​style. I&#39;d take them out to a fine seafood restaurant (the devil-girl is a pescatarian daemon and doesn&#39;t eat meat) and do my best fly on the wall imitation.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/> #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-21T23:22:06Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqspmrdrm0hp30hrjkrvh53fc9raxgem4pngxhsay0kfp7ngksk6kcszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5y552hf ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.20 — How do your characters access water or whatever they need to drink?*NB: The semantics and slight misuse of language is consistent with how the narrators in the Reluctance Series use language and perceive their world.*<br/><br/>The leading cause of infant mortality is heat exhaustion and dehydration, a severe complication when infertility is a public problem. Everybody wears a machined metal flask on their hip or in a bag, any time they venture outdoors. Most people learn to keep it filled—often by finding themselves stranded and thirsty with an empty flask. The climate, sometimes in the same locale, ranges between desert dry and hot to wetlands hot and humid, the latter being much more deadly. People avoid the savagely fierce day shine [think &#34;sun&#34;], and drink often. Sweating and hydration comes up frequently in the stories. Heat index warnings can be daily events. Those who run Health Services know the best way to prevent service overload is prevention, so water spigots are everywhere in Home City and every municipality. There are laws against charging access. Despite electricity not being in use (except in telegraphy), sanitation, water purity, indoor plumbing, and sewers (or septic outside cities) is well understood and ubiquitous. To our eyes, the cities and towns look modern; urban sprawl is a thing. In rural areas, along roads and major paths, stand wardrobe-sized water kiosks painted a subtly blue absolute white. Isolated, in the middle of nowhere, the machines seem comically out-of-place, but are lit so they are beacons in the dark of day. They dispense water (and shade) freely, into cupped hands if that what you have, but if you want a replacement flask, the remnant-powered machines require a coin.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-21T01:16:25Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsf9vdr0k6ct9sqgvwxe3scqkjjfcrztecehpykdaqkrw9km8ed7cqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5akkm2n ## <br/><br/>The confusion between #author and #writer:Once you have completed a work and preferably published it, you are an author. It&#39;s like being a virgin. Can&#39;t go back. Being a writer is a profession or an avocation. It&#39;s like being pregnant. It begins. It ends. It can become past tense; *was.* <br/><br/>#writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon 2026-09-20T01:01:08Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsdzfcazh66asccnwyg7vf0zsrdteesyt0sf0sf3yu0ttxn0v0crzqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5ep5j0j ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.19 — What are three personality strengths your antagonist has?# <br/><br/>Cares about peopleShe&#39;s friendly, outgoing, sometimes silly, helps those who ask reasonably, is tolerant of stupidity and pride, and is rarely stern except with her students or recalcitrant dragon ambassadors. She even tries to understand why people do the bad things they do, trying to find the flower hidden in the weeds as she offers chances for such people to redeem themselves.# <br/><br/><br/><br/>Is calmIf you find her flustered, that&#39;s usually an act. Rarely, it is exhaustion. Decisions and planning are her life, and because she cares about people, she makes the tough choices (killing some, starting wars) even it those affected by her choices call her evil.# <br/><br/><br/><br/>Is persistentFor her, the continued existence of humanity is a top priority, tempered with ensuring they live good lives even if that conflicts with her top priority, even if it wrecks the world they live in, or kills populations. She&#39;s been at this for uncounted uncountable years. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-19T22:10:54Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqspz65xmmnm6n45agax0c7r87snj9cq4cjgvg6sgsm8j7eegytcfagzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh57y0zau ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.18 — What are three personality strengths your MC has?# <br/><br/>HonestThis doesn&#39;t mean she doesn&#39;t lie, but this is only to protect people. It doesn&#39;t mean she isn&#39;t a criminal; she works for the mob. She won&#39;t steal from you, or others, but she will do what she&#39;s ordered; that&#39;s generally is not stealing, and for other things she will misinterpret nuances to preserve her integrity.# <br/><br/><br/><br/>Learns from mistakesShe has made so many, she considers herself stupid. She&#39;s done things that make her state she&#39;s lost all dignity, which helps her do the hard things. She sees her pride as evil, and tries not to be prideful—except of her fitness or her flight skills (well earned).# <br/><br/><br/><br/>Knows to flee not fightShe can&#39;t. Fight, that is. She gets in trouble when she forgets that, but it&#39;s always to help another. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-19T22:10:48Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsx6gvprtcynmweez0c8j8znjhajdrqm4kwfpgl28fhgx58y80grrqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5h6p2uh ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.17 — By the end of your story, how many injuries has your MC had?I write gritty stories. I don&#39;t hide the unpleasant parts of violence, though I don&#39;t revel in it or certainly don&#39;t glorify it. Most of my MCs really get banged up. One story features a prizefighter. Imagine the pain. In another story, that same character is falling into feverish septic shock from an improperly healed leopard claw wound when she fights off an assassination attempt. Since she&#39;s somewhat OP, it nicely equalizes the situation. <br/><br/>The great thing about MCs getting beat to within an inch of their life is, like in all great soap operas, that I get to write hospital scenes, convalescence, extended PT (pain and torture, er…physical therapy), finally to leave them with a disability. The devil-girl (from another previous near death experience) will drag a slightly numb foot if she doesn&#39;t think about her movements and keep up her therapy; it affects her ability to fight. You think your barbarian recovering from a sword slice across muscles and tendons won&#39;t have trouble fighting after being healed? Ha! Think again!<br/><br/>But the prompt asks about the WIP. Bolt gets beaten up when she tries to ambush a mob coworker who beat up her friend. Lots of bruises; nothing broken. Later, she gets caught in a crossfire; her upper right thigh and hip gets splashed with daemon-fire, the pain of which stuns her and leaves her a bleeding heap on the pavement. So, injuries? Contusions and burns. That&#39;s 2.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-19T01:52:26Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsqm9qymckgctx7g85g03su4vj6y6ntvd7mv096e8x2uhese9uynyqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh50ykc4d RE: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/117283332995420383##">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/117283332995420383##</a> <br/><br/><br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.17 — ~Link to or summarize yesterday&#39;s poll and reveal the answer.As you can see looking at the quoted post, the Mastodon consensus was that of *rifle, bow and arrow, spaceship, and singularity bomb,* that rifle was the object NOT in ***Reluctant Moon***.<br/><br/>*Bang!* You&#39;re right!<br/><br/>I almost put lunar colony in the list, but thought better of it. All other items appear in the story. Although the singularity bomb is demonstrated, the narrator hasn&#39;t the vocabulary to state that; instead, he describes the launch and the pretty effects of an ionospheric detonation. <br/><br/>**About rifles:** Firearms are the most prohibited device in this era because they can be so long range and lead to ills like canons. Whole populations have been killed due to someone creating one, simply to prevent the mere concept of the technology from propagating. The secret prohibition is no joke. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<blockquote class="border-l-05rem border-l-strongpink border-solid"><div class="-ml-4 bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-100 dark:from-zinc-800 to-transparent mr-0 mt-0 mb-4 pl-4 pr-2 py-2">quoting <br/><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"><a itemprop="url" href="/note1e06eddzxr69ypzzvs885x3t0fd473lhsmyqk3y2le54pj6wla3fqhctm0m" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1">note1e06…tm0m</a></span><br/> </div> ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.16 — ~Create a poll listing 2-3 objects that have featured in your work and one that hasn't. Ask people to pick the one that hasn't.In ***Reluctant Moon,*** an SFF novel with an advanced civilization that relies on human labor but not electricity, there are plenty of modern urban things to cloy readers into thinking it's our world until they realize it's not. <br/><br/>Three of these objects are in the novel. One isn't. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #politics <br/> #mystery #thriller #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory </blockquote> 2026-09-18T05:23:06Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2hxgx6dnguxnpcg9v3sahvclds36ax4rfcx4jxmel6n9ezelw6xgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh576x5cr ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.15 — Your characters get one completely ordinary day with no villains, quests, murders, wars, prophecies, romantic disasters, or impending apocalypses. How do they spend it?FYI: Woman-centric cultures differ from patriarchal ones. <br/><br/>Lightning Bolt, my day angel MC? Lots of soaring, both in the dusk circling on thermals, and then in the cool of the dawn. Add three good meals at popup feather-food tent restaurants *and* in between enjoying a willing man (or two). <br/><br/>Blue, a day angel SC, guaranteed neither to be called in for his praetorian job or to deal with one of his oblivious brainiac sister&#39;s social stumbles, would be all in, including being Bolt&#39;s willing man. <br/><br/>Were Rainy Days (an antagonist who governs) given the same opportunity for guaranteed downtime (and no otherwise inescapable dawn and dusk responsibilities), she&#39;d sleep in, call out for the best takeaway fast food in Home City to enjoy in bed, and share that bed with any or all of a few men she knows who&#39;d be willing to be enjoyed were she only to ask. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-17T22:55:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvhavkk3rpazjq3pxgrn6rg4h5k6lglmcdjqtgj90u62sed807c5szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5jhplh3 ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.16 — ~Create a poll listing 2-3 objects that have featured in your work and one that hasn&#39;t. Ask people to pick the one that hasn&#39;t.In ***Reluctant Moon,*** an SFF novel with an advanced civilization that relies on human labor but not electricity, there are plenty of modern urban things to cloy readers into thinking it&#39;s our world until they realize it&#39;s not. <br/><br/>Three of these objects are in the novel. One isn&#39;t. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #politics <br/> #mystery #thriller #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-16T23:33:58Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsrjvn9xvg3z49m5z4svha6ne8wcqm4y2qz64rcqpfe7ua5qgpl9tszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5kv97p2 #AI appears great for spammers. Apparently now they can research telephone numbers and addresses to better tailor their message to increase their profits. Very targeted texts and voicemails recently! 2026-09-16T17:55:38Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsg3vfnctggaq7klw04y8gswzc33tnmajmh7n5ma0dfmdx6muyr65czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58ddxtx In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvr5keusmsmnu98zkaasd8mqqvjw9juxgfzd7p8gsjqr8748xzrqq2fx036'>nevent1q…x036</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; Flatties<br/><br/>Fascinating! It&#39;s funny how new words sometimes feel exactly right (that one does), but of course in repeated use in a story, they will end up feeling familiar for the reader. Sometimes we just hit on while writing along. <br/><br/>I&#39;ve a 1st person narrator who has wings and flies. She starts the story with disdain for 2D people, those who have no wings, and talks about her transition into seeing 3D world when she fledged. At first the word felt jarring, too obvious. too simple, but it ended up working. 2026-09-15T21:12:32Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsyv25n572u72vwey6cajgrzte4nq7lepstphkqd5uxuun6hhuh8vczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58zv983 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.13 — Share a line of dialogue that sounds innocent without context but absolutely isn’t.&gt; A third voice said brightly, &#34;Tag, you&#39;re it!&#34;<br/><br/>Out of context, it seems pretty innocent, right? Maybe a group of kids having fun? Nope! Signals the segue into a scene where the MC and the main series antagonist spar over a cute guy, an SC LI. The MC and SC are day angels. They have wings. Feathers. They&#39;re flying. The antagonist is also flying, but is… something else†. <br/><br/>Zooming out to a #snippet #excerpt. Might be rough as I revised the snippet heavily in the post as it needed it. I&#39;ll copy back to the manuscript! 😋<br/><br/>&gt; A third voice said brightly, &#34;Tag, you&#39;re it!&#34;<br/><br/>&gt; My first impulse is to flee—always. I&#39;m a courier for the mob, not an enforcer. My lived truth is &gt; *be not the messenger who got killed.*&gt; <br/><br/>&gt; Blue was a praetorian; my friend was innocent of what I did for a living. He did not fright. Reflex had caused me to swoop at him. I pulled up my feet not to kick him, at least, as he dunk-dived at the last instant, furling his wings. His eddy sucked me down. In a heartbeat I overcame that. Wings out catching momentum-heavy air, I slowed scanning the twilit sky—purple and salmon clouds, a flood of deep indigo and sparkling first stars beyond. <br/><br/>&gt; Where?<br/><br/>&gt; My heart stuttered in my chest. Had we both not been intimately aware of each other&#39;s warping of up and down, chaotic attraction would have smashed us together bodily or ripped us apart—literally feather plucked by tangled swirling ups and downs a dozen times or more powerful than down felt standing on the ground. <br/><br/>&gt; My shock wore off. I understood &gt; *I*&gt; was the target, not Blue who returned to my side, breathless. Dropping as he had was the best way to create speed, to leave him safely behind, so I brought my wings close and let my head lead as I fell forward into increasing wind in my eyes.<br/><br/>&gt; A woman&#39;s voice came from behind me, rapidly getting louder, closing the distance. &#34;Aw, aren&#39;t you going to play?&#34;<br/><br/>=+=+=+=+=+†<br/> This short tootfic describes the &#34;something else&#34; my antagonist is: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110993252771253246">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110993252771253246</a><br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S. LLM training prohibited.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-09-13T20:51:35Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgv82gpg4hpawkat7pem3nl4vsjptagw0rztswn346gf588e6zdxqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5ddj3c2 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.12 — If you removed one supporting character from your story, whose absence would change the plot the most?Keeping in mind what I&#39;m going to state isn&#39;t due to strategic plotting ahead of time, all my characters end up being chains of elucidation and emotional connection between other characters, places, and events. I describe the world through characters doing things and interacting. Extracting one will affect the atmosphere of place and the emotion in events. My characters aren&#39;t so much gems as keystones. That said, I must answer this in reverse if at all. <br/><br/>Night on Fire is the closest to gratuitous as any character, acting as a friendly sexy antagonist in black to spur the MC in her unasked-for career and to present a vaguely vampire-like leather-winged night angel for minor world-building to explain facts about then modern human genetics. She could be turned into a background character, leaving her roommate Shugh and Night on Fire&#39;s emotionally damaged sister Light Insight intact with little rewriting. All others are at this point essential to the denouement and epilogue, and would require major story changes. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-13T08:15:58Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsq3tqf6cyfd56vgkl9hfpwfw890ds54g4fr35d9wg8wcxct6h4uyszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh527y456 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.11 — What does your MC believe about themselves at the beginning of the story that turns out to be completely wrong?In the first chapter, Bolt states it clearly. The concepts of belief and fate don&#39;t exist in her world, however *she is convinced she&#39;s stupid.* She&#39;ll learn that her prior prideful bad choices don&#39;t mean she can&#39;t make better choices going forward. She has free will and learns from her mistakes. It takes a dozen years, but still…<br/><br/>😅<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-13T07:55:18Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs85qvzk9lc08y43zu8mp7cfyx9vm76u8l7xsw264lpjlhqlq5hn0szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5mqpyhz ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.10 — ~Our next featured creator is an acronym. Do you use acronyms in your work?Yes. <br/><br/>Keep in mind there is a planet named Home, the capital of Home and the Nine Outer Worlds, and a city named Home City, the capital city. Here&#39;s a few acronyms that I introduce spelled out the first time and hopefully found in the glossary, depending on the whim of the publisher:&lt;li&gt;HUHC — Home University in Home City.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;HSB or HSA — Health Services Bureau/Authority.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;HBI — Home Bureau of Investigation. Think FBI.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;BHT — Bureau of Human Trafficking, often pronounced pejoratively as the BAT. Deals with remnants, relics, reliquaries, as well newly dead people and what happens to them.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;ICCA — Interstellar Constabulary and Customs Authority (pronounced Ick-uh). Think Interpol on an interplanetary scale.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;RS — My name is an acronym. 😛&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-10T23:35:33Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxu4286ln5vw8wwvrmcc2tmpjxaucjdyn8ks7xz59j6j38m7azssgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh583w87z ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.09 — What secret would cause the most damage if it were revealed in your story right now?Um. 😳<br/><br/>Maybe? 🤔<br/><br/>Nope! 🤪<br/><br/>Spoilers. 😇<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-09T23:24:29Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqstcfls6jpgtj9sckz6a6mz0934lkvxuasum5aguklnrzyl9w5rdlczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh57jqlta ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.08 — ~Gauge?There are gauges in the Reluctance series, but not what you&#39;d expect. There is a scene where they measure the air quality before taking off their spacesuit helmets. They drop a set of beads and feathers. Where they fall they obviously don&#39;t freely roll, but end up in a descriptive orientation which estimates the oxygen fraction amongst other gases. <br/><br/>Explaining the science behind it would be more spoilers than the spoiler I just gave you. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-08T22:29:31Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9ulfp0399cs5p0v2k4r9weurr3gdzdppz2aas6j77xw8pdd3s4xgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5ypj3m8 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.08 — Which character would be the worst person to get trapped in an elevator with?There are elevator scenes in the WIP. In a world where everyone sweats and inescapably has their own unique scent, Pigeon the Pilferer, an SC, really stinks. He is correctly diagnosed by a brainy SC as having *Bromhidrosis,* which sails about a meter over his featherbrain (but he&#39;s a day angel, so it&#39;s both a slur and descriptive). He has a sour scent with a never pleasant personality. You not only don&#39;t want him in an elevator with you and the elevator operator, you don&#39;t want to breathe the same air as the punk gangster, even outside!<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-09-08T22:06:13Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0m3awapdk9e07pyavjuzlvt6xzshazv0lnj9fdvaqr5nvylrvkrgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh558p0dt ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.07 — Describe a moment when one of your characters realizes they’ve made a terrible mistake.The character thinks someone had keeled over in their living room, but when she kneels beside him, her knees end up in something sticky. She had already picked up and is holding a knife she thought errantly dropped.<br/><br/>That&#39;s not the moment.<br/><br/>Someone shows up to escort her away, saying she works for something called &#34;the syndicate&#34; like this character does (news to her), with constable whistles *scree-screeing * in the distance.<br/><br/>That&#39;s not the moment.<br/><br/>As they calmly &#34;stroll&#34; blocks from the incident at a determined pace, the character notices as second escort with a camera. Looking at the first, she sees blood spattered on her face and chest.<br/><br/>That is the moment of realization. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-09-07T17:32:30Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0zmnkwzufzuh0ddsgtn346q0lq50rdmpgprcqyp8c73xfxhlre4czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5jcrdqg ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.07 — ~What &#39;character&#39; (letter, number, symbol, punctuation, space) would make a great main character?† (Dagger) would make a great MC name (or nickname) in an Executioner or Mack Bollan style macho vigilante novel. It&#39;s arguably unisex, so maybe a macha character in one of those?<br/><br/>Actually, an MC with that name may show up in the current WIP, ***Reluctant Courier (for the Mob)***, because in that world, people name themselves!<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-07T17:23:12Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxmeaqlydq8na0r2dmgtqsrj59nuy6l2d42ml6t3ug4sfd42rt24czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5yg879a ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.05 — ~From a purely aesthetic standpoint, what is your favorite color of ice cream?Flamboyant. Pictured, one take on unicorn ice cream. Ask my friends, I have a thing for unicorns. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/117/221/584/193/956/878/original/8974b4f664b702e7.jpeg"> <br/> 2026-09-06T01:53:43Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsr9gysyquc6fu82tryfx7azn74sfuph6ue99leyww2g7x5euqdmcszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5wxpn5j ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.04 — ~Reverse of last month&#39;s question: if e-books stopped being produced, how much would you miss them?I have grown to like not filling shelves with dust collectors. A physical library isn&#39;t a status symbol for me anymore. I also like having my iPhone read books to me, which means ePub with or without DRM. Last, old eyes. I&#39;d rather pinch to zoom instead of hold a magnifying glass or squint through bifocals. <br/><br/>I&#39;d miss &#39;em. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-09-04T05:56:07Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvtd6ufgkwd47p6r7e2ujftvjlk34ka0d4ftgmqnhjlj04e06g6lgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5pt4rg0 ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.03 — ˜Which ebook reader do you use?I realize this has become a political question, but I hopped on the bandwagon over a decade ago. A Kindle. The corpses of previous generations litter the house, but the one that *lives* is a Scribe. Mostly, however, I enjoy books on my iPhone because I can have it read to me with the Alex voice. I try to buy ePubs when I can. I&#39;ve already lost digital comics due to Dark Horse having shutdown their gen-1 service. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-09-04T05:49:41Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsv2skzmk280mxpsvqfxsem75e354smyu0tjhk35xq7t3ajjn465pszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh59htkh2 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.02 — What would your MC notice first upon entering a crowded room?Bolt is a courier for the mob (it&#39;s in the novel&#39;s title). She delivers orders and missives between mob lieutenants, but also delivers insurance bills to customers that are late (protection rackets) and collection notices to clients who aren&#39;t paying their (loan shark) loans. It is no joke that her clients sometimes try to kill the messenger. Once beaten up was enough for her.<br/><br/>The first thing she notices upon entering a crowded room is whether there are any clients; she&#39;ll leave. It&#39;s not much better if there are any mob affiliates there, either. She ascribes to the army axiom about volunteering, as in, *Don&#39;t.* She pretends to be uninterested and bored before leaving as quickly and decorously as she can, so as not to be noticed *or* to give offense.<br/><br/>Beyond that, she IS going to notice the cute guys. She&#39;s sort of a connoisseur, preferring the strong beefy types since she&#39;s somewhat of a jock herself. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-02T20:25:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqswn7s656qgekfx0p002qenq7fsaqyzx99gw5rwnxdtu3lrx264mqqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5rqfyp4 ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.02 — How do you think where you live affects your creative work?I live in a big city. With freeways. Traffic. Constant noise, bustle. No wonder why I tend to write gritty and occasionally urbane urban and suburban stories. University, office, street, and apartment settings abound. Writing what I know. I like to think I am providing a familiar modern backdrop for stories that will lull readers into expecting the story world is like their own until the story escorts them into an uncanny valley, a world that is merely convergent—like fish and dolphins look the same but are different.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-02T17:07:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqszvtn0pswfnft2sg6jqzjr7r73smt25jxu7923xqqcj0lzev5czuszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5q2gzgf ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2026.09.01 — List 7 things about your creativity (accomplishments, goals, etc.)On demand auto-biography, Go!&lt;li&gt;I am &lt;a href=&#34;<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/actuallyAutistic&#34">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/actuallyAutistic&#34</a>; class=&#34;mention hashtag&#34; rel=&#34;tag&#34;&gt;#&lt;span&gt;actuallyAutistic&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. It&#39;s my superpower for concentration and observation. My crippling shyness does help with me having become stealthy! I am an avid people watcher. Such strange creatures!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Was a C- English student in high school but I taught myself writing by reading all my favorite SF authors, copying parts of their stories, then emulating their style.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;My first work was a 25,000 word novella, which I wrote over Christmas vacation, overflowing with creativity after an analytic geometry test I studied furiously for turned out to be both open book and too easy. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I write feminist (and gender) SF and Fantasy.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I sold the third novel I wrote two weeks after I signed with my agent, which was two weeks after I mailed it to him. (Okay, it was a year after I showed him my second novel at a paid-for writer&#39;s event and he told me to send him my next novel.)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I burnt out as an author in 2001. I found it wasn&#39;t a space odyssey when I needed to communicate with my writing and my inventory of finished works was backing up, unsold. I rehabilitated myself starting in 2015 by writing fan fiction. Eventually that tallied to the equivalent of nine novels.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Beyond publishing again, my goal is to at least shortlist for the Otherwise Award. I&#39;m currently working on novels I think will accomplish that goal.&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-02T06:04:19Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsqp6e292zldnmsmhhle26arxn0r3dyzsm77uenmpts0fay86m9elqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh59drj25 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.09.01 — What is something your MC desperately wants but would never admit to wanting?As the story ends, she is discovering she has a crush on a female coworker. It&#39;s physical. Guess why she would never admit it. Fuel for the sequel.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-09-02T05:25:08Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvlh3023f6h25a7ye3j0auqd2ln9rgy30v3wu336ataxq0x6ntjwczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5720mu9 #Quote The author José Benegas states in his article (definitely worth the read) the following amazing statement about something possibly unsavory to some but which is being banned for political reasons not for obvious or glaring fault:<br/><br/>&gt; it illuminates how the &gt; ***ever-artificial set of ideas***&gt; we consider “natural” are merely agreements protected by invisibility.<br/><br/>My emphasis of &#34;ever-artificial set of ideas&#34; is strategic. It makes the statement exceptional, and exceptionally useful. The &#34;it&#34; in this case is everything we could consider *natural* or *common sense truth* that we wouldn&#39;t normally question, usually for cultural or religious reasons. <br/><br/>Consider the quote from that standpoint. Re-read it. Please.<br/><br/>Hopefully, like me, you&#39;ll copy this and have it on standby for the next time someone, blindly, blithely, or unquetioningly talks about something *natural* or *truthful* that from the outside is neither.<br/><br/><a href="https://medium.com/prismnpen/plato-the-gender-terrorist-vindicated-ca10786c8012">https://medium.com/prismnpen/plato-the-gender-terrorist-vindicated-ca10786c8012</a><br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing <br/><br/>#Quotes #writer #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #bookstodon #books #politics 2026-09-02T02:08:01Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsrm9ffw24v3ykn7whk3apj59ulcezrcyhc6c0kl5v8td267ta0lsszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh532j2h6 So the latest updates to #MacOS has made #Spotlight into a Safari and file-content all-in-one search box. I no longer can start typing the name of *any* app (e.g. Bloom, DeltaChat) and be guaranteed that they will show up in the list so I can press return. It means I have to use the mouse more, or discover a magic word in spotlight which isn&#39;t obvious. In any case, the regression requires dexterity and sight acuity. I have to mouse to the dock or app folder. What a mess.<br/><br/>This is a case of adding features people don&#39;t necessary want while wiping out the features people love to use. <br/><br/>Not saying Windows is better, but macOS has definitely become worse, harder to use, and more difficult from an accessibility standpoint. WTF.<br/><br/>Hey #timcook!!!<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing <br/><br/>BTW, PLS don&#39;t suggest *nix. Ain&#39;t on the menu. My apps aren&#39;t there.<br/><br/>#apple #macos #mac #accessibility 2026-08-31T19:15:37Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgegfqckwjhvxvq3fehv6gtza9c7ncfrtdxvgz7ng54kmjxhwcawgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh56vuza0 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.08.31 — What&#39;s one thing you hope readers remember long after they finish your story?A woman got away with doing something they&#39;re not allowed. It worked out. <br/><br/>…Why would I think it wouldn&#39;t have? 🤔 <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-08-31T07:07:07Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqswuslvuknr590evey65xvt4kvh96vv8khld094qvu5kaw44f4jw3gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5dazxdx ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.08.30 — If you could interview one of your characters over coffee, what would be the first question you asked?Imagine for a moment interviewing a reasonably attractive lady-killer ex-jock with a good reputation for being fun, if never long term. Bolt, my MC, is a female version of this, which—for reasons I won&#39;t explain—is perfectly acceptable in the woman-centric culture she lives in, as long as it is consensual. I&#39;m preparing to write a part of a scene where Bolt is put on the spot by an SC, so I&#39;d definitely ask first, &#34;How many?&#34;<br/><br/>Okay, maybe a little prurient interest here, since her society is way different from ours in these matters. <br/><br/>She could answer quantitatively since women routinely track such things due to governmental regulations. She will approximate because she is estranged from her family and doesn&#39;t have her registry books from her teens.<br/><br/>My second question would be an easter egg for those that read my posts: &#34;How did you discover flying tandem and teach it to yourself?&#34;<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-08-31T01:44:34Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsf374ygkccw3rchq2m0y3cxmjh0pjn399cwf9nflwfpf8hxs4q5qszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5aky6m4 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.08.29 — What writing accomplishment are you quietly proud of?I am becoming quite a proficient essayist. Not what I&#39;m trying for, but one should be happy with their efforts, right?<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2026-08-30T22:02:33Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0m4vq8cgpzuw5tg76fkq2mnusxvnjyctse3g8kng2l867fzcgupqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh524lfvd Found in the seafood aisle. Note the arrow. <br/><br/>#Photography #Funny #Humorous #Photo<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/117/170/146/797/845/079/original/7c2a7fdf49c8bb74.jpeg"> <br/> 2026-08-27T23:50:05Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2f8vp7glkxhkaqqqae87xp36ja0cc7zwqzlfap4f2ua7hfs2zq9czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5rd23xm RE: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798##">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798##</a> <br/><br/><br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.08.27 — Which character would win a trivia contest?Most trivia contests I&#39;ve heard have been to limited specific subjects, like *Seinfeld* episodes. If we are talking about limited contests that a character could elect to participate in, a few characters are candidates here. Rainy Days has lived through it all but—with so much practice at never showing how scary good at anything that might backfire on her in the future—if asked she&#39;d would demure and act the part of an airhead. The professionals in their fields, like Shugh, who only recently graduated from university and is now a journalist, would have the depth. <br/><br/>However, the question states &#34;*win*.&#34; <br/><br/>From the age of five through fifteen, my daemon autist SC, the devil-girl, trained 24/7 in everything—yes, even in her sleep—but sucks at history. (&#34;So *boring!!!*&#34;) After running away, she continued studying and practicing her favs. Miracle working (thaumaturgy)? She cannot be beat, though her repertoire is rather stupidly biased in a surprising fashion. Prizefighting and physical training? She keeps up with the stats, the odds, the contests, the fighters, and the coaches. She reads the scouting mags and the sports pages, as well the thaumatech section of the newspapers. She works out with an eye toward being a contender. She&#39;d be hard to beat in a trivia contest based on these subjects. <br/><br/>If the constabulary learned that the devil-girl knows practically everything about the recent Harbor Cities gang war *and* who&#39;s who in the most important east coast syndicate, they would love to hold a trivia contest with her as the sole player. The snide quoted tootfic provides an entertaining insight into her depth in the subject.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>nostr:note1066w69y602tz5usn35p4avsss8arz74j4ga3tk6uwjyx7vfrk30qpslwcs<br/> 2026-08-27T20:25:38Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsrc2m45sz0gx20vju9u2h3scpgxalwuy7xv0x09wvl384twcqmgtqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh553wle9 ## <br/><br/>#WordWeavers 2026.08.26 — What weather best matches your current work in progress?The weather metaphor that best matches the mood of the WIP is actually two that are not necessarily incompatible:&lt;li&gt;Hot and sultry, damply sweaty. &lt;em&gt;Street Car Named Desire&lt;/em&gt; is a good match.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Dark and stormy with thick oppressive mammiform cloud cover that blocks out all light and holds in heat.&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2026-08-26T22:01:17Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsyxnpy7kshy8g6gpel622ehu0c9yjsknqh7d0pjany9kjw6zlf0gczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5hn6s77 No wonder NASA earth and ocean science is being cut (#uspol). Good science puts at risk masking the true nature of bad weather: acts of God that frees government and corporations from paying to fix things broken. <br/>#boostingIsSharing <br/><br/>#climate #science #nasa #climatechange <br/><br/><a href="https://weather-fox.com/nasa-confirms-atmospheric-shift-over-north-america-8-345225">https://weather-fox.com/nasa-confirms-atmospheric-shift-over-north-america-8-345225</a> 2026-08-03T00:28:46Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgswjuvlpszdkgl8yjp97mqvxc56thfs2k38wm680lpuxk8ph2ghgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5735k3a In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxnrjahue9mjpa06xs37yzv0xq9u0gvulqgrtf3w7788cw2upztkqvfwyac'>nevent1q…wyac</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; I&#39;ve had people come to my books signings the last two months who knew me from my prior work.<br/><br/>It counts! Enjoy the feeling. 2026-06-19T03:12:58Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs06d9dy5wpqxgkqkn8et69uhrz8ffrnnutlhe5uqazjglrttjs2cczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5a9st9e With 26.5, you get ads in #Apple Maps. At least #Apple automatically opts you out of personalized ads. You Can&#39;t Turn Ad Display Off, however. ***Thank you Apple for making 26.x a clusterf%%k of bad design, an accessibility disaster, and now an exemplar for #enshittification***(<span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1fdrpydz4n2dpgpy5xhsa6rjg8ytggn82mt0addw6sf93272nhhnqsjlvhs" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Cory Doctorow</span> (<span class="italic">npub1fdr…lvhs</span>)</a></span>). When you upgrade to 26.5 and visit Maps, read the Advertising and Privacy link carefully. A good reason NOT to update. Can&#39;t tell you truly how disgusted this makes me!<br/><br/>I hope this BADLY damages Apple&#39;s reputation. <br/><br/>#boostingIsSharing and #altText <br/><br/>#iOS #macOS #iPadOS #author #writer #writingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon.<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/698/695/693/201/115/original/4336aea58311f81b.png"> <br/> 2026-06-05T17:36:30Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxqayusddgasgphxrk6z8yajq4nczcvmnwpgjzywm3az35xsqpg4gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh55k9clm In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsypledgydvrnwvplmzp7s5qx3483dpwrm8w0xxnpgg3nwww8hx7hsnqpl72'>nevent1q…pl72</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; Another put a B in the margins....for blasphemous<br/><br/>Such reaction (B) must feel like a badge of honor. 🏅 2026-05-06T22:43:43Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9a46dva2c4apf32h7sj4mt6dy3v5c8fc37pjrfwhuva58kwz4nuqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5pz8nmv When a news article reports an event or something someone important said, then immediately segues to<br/><br/>&gt; People didn&#39;t hold back from sharing their thoughts on social media,<br/><br/>it&#39;s annoying, maybe even malpractice. <br/><br/>Why should *anyone* care about random cherry-picked pithy or funny opinions of people who nobody knows, aren&#39;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?<br/><br/>Look up &#34;trusted sources&#34; and &#34;fact checking.&#34; Do your social media sources fit the bill?<br/><br/>Seriously, folks, especially if you call yourself a journalist: don&#39;t care what the Internet thinks! You might even be quoting bots. The Internet is partly responsible for getting us in the mess we&#39;re in today, to boot. Stop it. Just stop it. Delete your X-Twitter. Turn off your phone. Quote Wikipedia; you&#39;ll at least sound intelligent.<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing so please boost. <br/><br/>#journalism #journalist #news #author #writer #writersOfMastodon #writingcommunity 2026-04-12T05:39:06Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2fduk49pjlaqwj5jelhp7lwfmvhvf4vr73ug7ckjlzeexgtxfmjszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5adslt3 ## <br/><br/>#PennedPossibilities 946 — Do any of your characters have food allergies or sensitivities?Depends on what you mean by &#34;sensitivities.&#34; <br/><br/>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&#39;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 &#34;roosters.&#34; There is a scene where the smell at a &#34;state&#34; 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!<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion <br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2026-03-02T01:57:00Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsfurlke3sztd8prqg5zu2gqph9g8x2dyzl0deyadqplj07h8943aczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5xz5ged Stupidity? Maybe it defines our times. <br/><br/>&gt; “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.”<br/><br/>From <a href="https://bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/golden-law-of-stupidity/">https://bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/golden-law-of-stupidity/</a><br/><br/>Worth a read, especially the beginning. <br/><br/>#philosophy #stupidity #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon 2026-02-11T18:38:08Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9l4rl0q37j3kxhh9chrfw0gwdnfa60lm6h7dk6tr65g9jcla9ceczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5mqse87 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&#39;ve used it to run apps by name, which I think was it&#39;s original purpose. <br/><br/>Today, with Tahoe 26.2, I needed to run Orion. Try as I might, it wouldn&#39;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.<br/><br/>Programming 101: Don&#39;t overload functions on single interface items. Users hate complexity. They hate relearning things. And when they can&#39;t do what they want, they begin to distrust you. I&#39;m not ditching the Apple ecosystem for Linux or Windows anytime soon, but neither am I praising their operating systems anymore. They don&#39;t deserve the accolades they once earned. <br/><br/>I wish I stayed on Sequoia. 2026-02-03T21:06:37Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxlgzv0wrmjeywjepj42060yq74wkquz8ea8ytunvpgupqhzm6azgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5tjarhw 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&#39;s your take on the great unchurching?<br/><br/>#religion #politics #author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/26/great-unchurching-america-religiously-unaffiliated?utm_source=flipboard&amp;utm_content=AxiosNews/magazine/Axios">https://www.axios.com/2025/12/26/great-unchurching-america-religiously-unaffiliated?utm_source=flipboard&amp;utm_content=AxiosNews/magazine/Axios</a> 2025-12-26T21:22:01Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvk8z40pc07c8qztn6z3a0jjkhlufqeyeydsag2xsq4zfdw4fzuaqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5077tmj In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsweqx3s3r46ylqhkv7nkc2nshy2walynnhwwlrukf6ghea8snukdqya5jtz'>nevent1q…5jtz</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>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&#39;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&#39;t quote me). <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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&#39;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&#39;s skip discussing worlds with vaporized iron atmospheres. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>#science #photosynthesis #atmospheres #writer #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #sf #scienceFiction 2025-12-05T09:51:27Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsge6u59swsfhzaujeel5y4xx66ucg0fcex28vzgjlcegw6f3jar4qzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5xy2x0u In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8udcc394agahqzzljjdjtkmdv3tn7x0942vhxmgfpxlclfqv5lfq94gq25'>nevent1q…gq25</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I boosted your post to test.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>It works, so… <br/><br/>&gt; This flexibility is part of why I like the feature and think it&#39;s been well implemented.<br/><br/>I&#39;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&#39;t do this right either—no longer making everything new discoverable—so I can&#39;t complain if an indi or FOSS follows Apple&#39;s lead doing the same user-unfriendly thing as a big gun.<br/><br/>FYI: I&#39;ve checked both options because I like confirmation on. I am now very happy again.<br/><br/>#mastodon #fediverse #quote #writer #author #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunity 2025-12-02T22:41:49Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0t7svxmnp79dh7vhxyuhpdns603amyns7ec6qj08kgea5j7qt0dgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5x6jcjz 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&#39;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.<br/><br/>&gt; ...to quote something, copy and paste only the content you need. Be sure to include the user&#39;s handle if you want to attribute the quote.<br/><br/>Nobody that would abuse quoting, that is would misappropriate or twist a toot&#39;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.## <br/><br/><br/><br/>Boost for Sample Size when you vote, please!#BoostingIsSharing #poll <br/><br/>#fediverse #write #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunity 2025-12-02T03:30:24Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2w4d3284kqa26mhh8wexkww2nzaqqczdu7ymqzgpk78nx77aaa0szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58cwyqe In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqst0kcprvpyk7ps2wpjfny8lz52cuck2ye5q2ydry4g5j9d5v0hgzs8ddkak'>nevent1q…dkak</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>#fineart #pastel #drawing #pastels #photography 2025-11-01T08:12:29Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvqt5ffmhqjnqr4tpwcny9rnxyz46hqmms9jzmgm3tqqafng68x6czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh56dtre0 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswshsl72zp747cswg07ka6d3wkszc3cd4ncfmq6cvrp5r47zjwjkcshel3s'>nevent1q…el3s</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>$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&#39;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. 2025-10-16T06:13:47Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsf0qmaky9a4j0xvye37nn3khr4yatzq462wlr9jlh9z4m9u8eq9ygzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5m0yjje In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsw47cf8p5g6qqcwhrss0qe5je2ufd36pfhfj99pn7efj4repkyclgvks7y7'>nevent1q…s7y7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Oddly, I get 54 mpg on my PHEV. The gas-only variant is rated 19 mpg, but you know I wouldn&#39;t get that in practice. Seems like a significant reduction in emissions, but I don&#39;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. 2025-10-16T06:04:57Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgwxe40gqcqz92z4vxfvht32tg0qg2nhrqu7ulr4e85g8ept795xqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5rvpd9n #uspol #politics <br/>Making the job bad news:<br/><br/>&gt; 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: &#34;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.&#34; 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&#39;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: &#34;ICE agent arrested for kidnapping and held without bail&#34; before many agents start looking for other jobs?<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/><a href="https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Oct06-1.html">https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Oct06-1.html</a><br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing <br/><br/>#ice #state #Newsom 2025-10-06T19:04:30Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsztz8ed05xx0n96gm4q9nv2f5tpzgjkxnj3asehp4hpx6a544dxpczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5h47uxq ## <br/><br/>#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.<br/><br/>[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&#39;t help that he was interested in boys not girls. He was the first patient that wandered into my nurse&#39;s office, bruised and scraped up, when I got hired newly licensed. &#34;I tripped,&#34; was his typical excuse, though, &#34;I flew into a lamppost&#34;—being as he was a day angel—wasn&#39;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&#39;d inspired him to go on to nursing school, but I suspected after a time he was in a gang and could fight better. <br/><br/>Then he graduated.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>I called out to him; he hesitated, but flew away.<br/><br/>Today, he knows I know. I&#39;ll have to have the patience for him to get over whatever embarrasses him. Maybe it&#39;s because he&#39;s knows he&#39;s no longer as student and that I might insist our relationship can be different now?<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion <br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2025-10-02T07:37:55Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0j9sqrgerkc8sqgtxhzyghtv0hf3xlawww4gjkd8kvq07w2420jgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5ntzxxv Wouldn&#39;t it be cheaper and more fulfilling to train and employ an army of librarians?<br/><br/><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-energy-use">https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-energy-use</a><br/><br/>#ai #genAI #chatGPT #IEEE #datacenters #writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon 2025-10-02T04:40:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqste6ussmw42p78sd4hu54mahem25n28aj38ncse98rm63plqx7qkszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh53j23lh ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2025.10.01 — How are things looking for you creatively this month? Alt: Pigeon?I should finish the wip. Hopeful.<br/><br/>***Pigeon*** *the Pilferer* is a character in the current wip in a world where people name themselves. Fun, huh? This SC&#39;s profession, if you want to call it that, is *Thug.* He is Bolt&#39;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&#39;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&#39;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.<br/><br/>So, *that* describes the chapter I am writing after I post this response.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking<br/>#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory 2025-10-01T21:33:33Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqstkhmequmjpm36q0xcynkncpwaas0pl4pawd7rqtf49al3d8z9lsszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5956266 ## <br/><br/>#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.<br/><br/>Bolt is a day angel. She has wings, but I&#39;m not 100% on the anatomy other than they don&#39;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&#39;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&#39;t proportionally big enough to let her fly like a bird, let&#39;s call it antigravity tech (which it isn&#39;t). Ethnicity and race don&#39;t count in her world, so what&#39;s in the sketch is an approximation. She&#39;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&#39;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 &#34;dappled&#34; wings in the blue spectrum instead of brown. She is show in 3/4 profile. This description will be repeated in the #AltText.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction #drawing #sketch<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/115/262/325/764/627/599/original/6347423b8d103af3.png"> <br/> 2025-09-25T01:28:43Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqstrk0vn0tx3g8m6yy063z680jupttmv5dhcqh89fc83flaapt0hxszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh572mzrc ## <br/><br/>#WebAuthorsCafe 1: Introduce yourself and your work. If you want, add a link to where your work can be found.I&#39;m a published SF and fantasy author who burnt out in 2001 and returned to storytelling using the excuse that fan fiction wasn&#39;t real writing—you can&#39;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. <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Since then I&#39;ve been adapting my characters and plot lines to conventional F&amp;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.<br/><br/>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&#39;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&#39;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…<br/><br/>***Reframing the Experience:*** <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589</a><br/><br/>***The Wanted Poster:*** <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110136451462609798</a><br/><br/>Pinned Sample Story Link Post: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110470537747067765">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110470537747067765</a><br/><br/>PS: I thought about linking to my 900K of fan fiction, but I don&#39;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.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#Fanfiction #serial #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion <br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2025-09-13T17:04:15Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvs5kxuk0zprts2j9eahg0rc2a3xfsjnjsfn4x70r6gmgn39t08dqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5c4eegr ## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers 2025.09.06 — What&#39;s the hardest thing about gardening?I fancy myself an amateur gardener, and I&#39;ve grown plants in the yard every time I&#39;ve had a yard in my life, beginning in my early teens. I&#39;ve grown popcorn, regular corn, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash, watermelon, and much more. Nothing beats the taste of fresh picked.<br/><br/>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&#39;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.<br/><br/>My strawberries produce by the five-dollar basket almost daily during the various seasons they flower. So that&#39;s what I grow, mostly.<br/><br/>The second most hard thing: Watering *consistently.* Some plants aren&#39;t at all tolerant to drying out. I&#39;ve recently thrown out a sage plant and a sensitive plant because they were, um, *sensitive* to drought.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>photographer chef cooking #gardener #gardening #strawberry #strawberries<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-09-06T19:26:55Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsw0a6c05gru4rdk3xs8u6gmc7s5ry60kteztcgvw786u9gu45x56szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5pmc6ra 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&#39;m mush now.<br/><br/>I know it&#39;s not good to seek external validation, but it felt really good.<br/><br/>#author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon 2025-09-03T21:58:11Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs8lhddv6fc59062svhmjjchjz0wxvy4w5cuc4f8ncmx629y4qrnuqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5rmk465 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsfz6jt96n4v30var4fxwleqgun3kk7wlv0zgqyftw32r200k5al2qgjx8ea'>nevent1q…x8ea</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; Obsidian has a threader-plugin that allows you to write all in one document and add a marker for each 500 char paragraph.<br/><br/>TY!<br/><br/>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 <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1fdrpydz4n2dpgpy5xhsa6rjg8ytggn82mt0addw6sf93272nhhnqsjlvhs" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Cory Doctorow</span> (<span class="italic">npub1fdr…lvhs</span>)</a></span> &#39;s life a lot easier! It might encourage him to write more essays, though.## <br/><br/><br/><br/>About Obsidian and the plugin:&lt;li&gt;Obsidian is free and supports Markdown.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The plugin is free, GPL2 licensed.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The plugin doesn&#39;t use the publishing feature Obsidian uses to uncharge to an $8 per month subscription.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You can use the combination as a tool. The to-be-threaded text needs only be pasted into Obsidian.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The plugin requires both NPM and Node.js to be installed. This isn&#39;t hard, but it isn&#39;t trivial for people not used to the command line or terminal mode.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; NPM lets Node.js programmers to use code posted on the internet, which could present security issues.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; 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.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The Obsidian + Plugin works on Mac, Linux, and Windows. iOS doesn&#39;t support NPM. I don&#39;t know about Android.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The plugin doesn&#39;t support alt text, but instead allows placing quoted text after images or videos. Your alt text complainer will complain. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; It assigns a special meaning to the &amp;gt; symbol, meaning you can&#39;t use quoted text in your thread. (I do this a lot.)&lt;/li&gt;Despite flaws, it is way more than Mastodon supports natively. It&#39;s on my todo list to see if it actually works.## <br/><br/><br/><br/>Here are links:**GitHub for Mastodon Threading Plugin:** <a href="https://github.com/elpamplina/mastodon-threading">https://github.com/elpamplina/mastodon-threading</a><br/>**Obsidian:** <a href="https://obsidian.md">https://obsidian.md</a><br/><br/>[@lunar_fang](<a href="https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang">https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang</a> ) <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1r95fmsff5e63dhluwvgm87mjdrlts08g6x58rkpggktkh54yw3gqtz0u9c" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Spooky Panda 🕸️🎃</span> (<span class="italic">npub1r95…0u9c</span>)</a></span> 2025-08-11T21:55:51Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgjys8fmwxr0v4huetxsdt5d78akfnzjj9ccwf94tdydtjtjt9umczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58ymy5s In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsptazxfjrldjzwsaspfs585956f6ulzl0dd0dzn0d9uy5u8famfmsj8ds68'>nevent1q…ds68</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>OMFG! [RS shrieks]<br/><br/>&gt; Next I past[e] the whole post into a Mastodon compose field. Working by trial and error, I cut it down to &lt;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&#39;s all done.<br/><br/>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 &lt;500 character &#34;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. <br/><br/>Cc: [@lunar_fang](<a href="https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang">https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang</a> ), <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1r95fmsff5e63dhluwvgm87mjdrlts08g6x58rkpggktkh54yw3gqtz0u9c" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Spooky Panda 🕸️🎃</span> (<span class="italic">npub1r95…0u9c</span>)</a></span> 2025-08-10T23:00:13Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvjyz0xuheffsp2dd69cwtauevux6tzs4ckja2ttnlhjq527umjeqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5a6fz8d In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdgfhuv5thkyx28d84tzlc4rfnq42z9hwwgzdy7fk3sjhwr7tk3hggxpyn8'>nevent1q…pyn8</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Very interesting, especially the view on stanza writing. I&#39;ve never seen your posts out of order. Maybe I should dust off my programming to look at Mastodon on GitHub. <br/><br/>However, you didn&#39;t say whether or not you have helper software to post your &#34;stanzas,&#34; 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&#39;s what you do!<br/><br/>PS: It&#39;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&#39;s a design choice by the devs. 2025-08-10T22:15:29Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsz77l2pfsrvs0k685cqagv9utyf2p6q7puqf0mdw2qz8zj8cs4y8szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5tylgda In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqsecp5vdj7evdanuel7lt5phu5m96wqs72z9jnwt84jlq7f903ucrmd43s'>nevent1q…d43s</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>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!<br/><br/>[@lunar_fang](<a href="https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang">https://mastodon.stickbear.me/@lunar_fang</a> ) Would threaded excerpts and snippets work well with your screen reader?<br/><br/>Hey, <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1fdrpydz4n2dpgpy5xhsa6rjg8ytggn82mt0addw6sf93272nhhnqsjlvhs" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Cory Doctorow</span> (<span class="italic">npub1fdr…lvhs</span>)</a></span>: is there software or a macro that allows you to thread simply, or do you do it manually?<br/><br/>#PennedPossibilities 2025-08-10T18:55:15Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqspxpjxez8r6yjy9qgkqszj8n9ne558sv58eh7sy37jtjvt37ee0wqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5aafzys In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs2jsv2g43huzzjfvam09lldjf2q4qazagluu3x356t2rc98t27zsqqhpl2p'>nevent1q…pl2p</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>It&#39;s one I&#39;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 2025-06-30T02:57:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsf5fm030e88930jn567rxxskgag7574706gp5gyyjra2yl022s5cszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5udfydp In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsx8h2d4dye02lwvehc55xjjjmgqgetqyl44ku8gw5yugw53kxsumgvcq84t'>nevent1q…q84t</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>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. 2025-06-29T21:08:17Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsx03ne0m26s0hq5ktalaqtj5923502w6f7s4s5v7vt40yenu6kh9gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5fspef9 &gt; [&gt; #&gt; ScribesAndMakers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers</a> )&gt; 2025.06.13 — Self-promotion day: show us what you&#39;re proud of. Let&#39;s boost away.<br/><br/>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&#39;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.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer chef cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion<br/><video controls width="100%" class="max-h-[90vh] bg-neutral-300 dark:bg-zinc-700"><source src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/820/576/740/original/8a12180934b51dd3.mp4"></video><br/><video controls width="100%" class="max-h-[90vh] bg-neutral-300 dark:bg-zinc-700"><source src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/848/453/926/original/3ed512051e9dc212.mp4"></video><br/><video controls width="100%" class="max-h-[90vh] bg-neutral-300 dark:bg-zinc-700"><source src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/835/250/740/original/aa56c7d4a21692ab.mp4"></video><br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/677/703/603/702/636/original/1d0bbd81d41c11be.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-06-13T19:32:35Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsd37y8g3flpkdh2rtz6z6agy4upe608d2wj7knhtkfuq8mgmj74eqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5jhz5nq Had a sandwich for breakfast. <br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #AltText. <br/><br/>#funny #food #photo #Photography #humor <br/>#writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/553/821/125/123/814/original/5d5b4e1573f4ddff.jpeg"> <br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/553/821/334/786/678/original/bbd1f4b077bacd94.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-05-22T22:27:48Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxh2qfvchvc75y2umrpthn94jh9qp6pwqt9g37gtptg56qn2etg5szyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5qw2pvk In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszma0s2c7l58vv5xrr69wykc2e0auvx6g9ax6jr95lexyrn3qtfpswyfnw6'>nevent1q…fnw6</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>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&#39;s what it looks like:<br/><br/><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/robots.txt">https://eldritch.cafe/robots.txt</a><br/><br/>What you want to see is the last two entries. If not there, ask your admin why.<br/><br/>User-agent: GPTBot<br/>Disallow: /<br/><br/>User-agent: ChatGPT-User<br/>Disallow: /<br/><br/>cc: <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1r95fmsff5e63dhluwvgm87mjdrlts08g6x58rkpggktkh54yw3gqtz0u9c" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Spooky Panda 🕸️🎃</span> (<span class="italic">npub1r95…0u9c</span>)</a></span><br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/502/718/005/949/061/original/336e2cb082184478.png"> <br/> 2025-05-13T21:49:43Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqstl9kcvquqf6xnu0wfz9egzz2vam2x52w0487aw0lkuspae8sv3aszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5cjq0qw In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdswufn6kplvzv6dhc5v9hstvehzy6e8xutvzld8j5huevagph86g2nz75m'>nevent1q…z75m</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Your assertion in this post is in addition to what&#39;s in the article. However, even with industry, global and local, being responsible for 70% of emissions, it&#39;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. <br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#climatechange #climatecrisis #globalwarming #recycle #Author #Writer #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity 2025-05-09T15:13:58Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2pjsvxphkf9prrzrhx0dpwj04nlegt57cxstuhlsqprh24hd0a0qzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5x86g2m In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdml3r52kevqypnyrc24cdvav52z4xjtpvm3dq833h9cn4z9l9clgqc8kfr'>nevent1q…8kfr</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Beautiful. Simple. Colorful yet monochromatic. Very nice. 2025-04-15T08:59:21Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqspfk9ylmhvvecmr5tram6t4v4as6a9yymkk2v5j0g7y3gr0z8ghuszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5aa5uj5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswps6n4x2yncw2p82g5au4t7nu9tr8fj9mkkxjwf4svgutzze4ydc0ncg9p'>nevent1q…cg9p</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Very interesting. I am glad you posted this, especially these days. What I found enlightening is<br/><br/>&gt; 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. <br/><br/>So much of our time can be filtered through the sieve of those words! Sadly, as LBJ said it a long time ago:<br/><br/>&gt; &#34;If you can convince the lowest white man he&#39;s better than the best colored man, he won&#39;t notice you&#39;re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he&#39;ll empty his pockets for you.&#34;<br/><br/>It doesn&#39;t apply just to whites, but whatever groups we divide ourselves into. I think articles like yours really help. 2025-04-14T02:02:12Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2y79arv4tvu9sykacwh9nfsz277lfd6wxn4xkm9yzrs6z9uu3rxqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5etxku0 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&#39;s the SEC when you need it. Oh, wait, that&#39;s controlled by executive branch, too?<br/><br/>#boostingIsSharing <br/><br/>#uspol #politics #economy #economics #stockmarket #tarrifs #trump 2025-04-09T20:52:33Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsru2yjgd5tvlzm2jgr3mfvqj60jl4scevz4t94k0fn694n4v8aykgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5qwhqqw In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqstsfessknql9n3x4gyytlkqgh253m2p325unmcszlzjh3vlgtcprsl3tq8r'>nevent1q…tq8r</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; The US media is too cowardly to cover the [Hands off!] protests for fear of Trump.<br/><br/>I assume you mean on broadcast TV. I get my news on the web, not on TV. Here is what I found:<br/><br/>Fox News isn&#39;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.<br/><br/>#boostingIsSharing <br/><br/>#USPol #Politics #Protests#HandsOff #News #Author #Writer #WritersOfMastodon #Journalism #writing community 2025-04-05T17:59:15Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9y8aetlxcer83d9uqg3ue9k7k0j2f08en6ec3ynqn899yvkgtl2czyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5ne7255 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvasn3a03vkrra3x0qv3crdtfzlpf6dgcrpamy90wvzdthrafk48qvsjzlz'>nevent1q…jzlz</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr<span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1jfujtv072aq7h6p5ucy7qa7t3aahmpguaetahw8grt8ccpfjdjlshv2sf8" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Walter Thinman</span> (<span class="italic">npub1jfu…2sf8</span>)</a></span> <br/><br/>&gt; Did &#39;Laugh In&#39; contribute to the imaginary play at all, or was it just background? Do you still like some sort of background noise when you&#39;re creating?<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>When I was a teenager, all through high school, I always had the TV on, especially when doing my homework. When you&#39;ve seen all the reruns of Doctor Who, Speed Racer, Kimba, Green Acres, F-Troop, Gilligan&#39;s Island, and Star Trek, it&#39;s easy to use it as background and still enjoy the best parts!<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-03-30T20:47:20Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsy5hsuxrrc8m737y6nxe04kv7mu02r24x4c6twcrrgv2s0h3xl6yqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5mp8k95 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrz9fj2u3j70el229phq43p7qauxlnx03tsln9tmmr53qtcaajc7gx2css3'>nevent1q…css3</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr<span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1k4992ynrwhw278psrcaq70y7x76l59ycw83u09ka5qqhf3xty7lqsx36ra" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>GH Learner</span> (<span class="italic">npub1k49…36ra</span>)</a></span> <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1jfujtv072aq7h6p5ucy7qa7t3aahmpguaetahw8grt8ccpfjdjlshv2sf8" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Walter Thinman</span> (<span class="italic">npub1jfu…2sf8</span>)</a></span> &lt;li&gt;When do you write your cookbook? 😁 &lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>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!&lt;li&gt;Do you bake (like that) too? I mean, I&#39;m a lousy cook but when I cook I often improvise too. But never with baking.&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>I used to bake. I had two breadmaker machines! But I am very much low-carb now. (It&#39;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.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-03-30T20:23:09Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsyck9lpdhctjgjkc9azh7qznc5w4tkc5pa6khsuvmenq4zqtfylggzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5f3qher In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8kmkdq4t4rhfd932rjkp9gzcqjle96smwyj2g3slscwq63ka4qxca9unje'>nevent1q…unje</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr<span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1mc3m4fz0kw4ufzzexvew96nteskvcvq2ug26ykp6kqrgt8kphw0sv9lwu2" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Will Elm</span> (<span class="italic">npub1mc3…lwu2</span>)</a></span> <br/><br/>&gt; 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?<br/><br/>My incessant answering prompts on Mastodon surely helps! Especially this one thing I learned here, which reaffirmed something I knew:<br/><br/>*Write stories you want to read. For crafters or artists, craft what you want to use (I love what I cook) or paint what&#39;s beautiful to you. I love my photos. Be your first audience.*<br/><br/>But it&#39;s up to you whether you are your only audience. Is that okay for you?<br/><br/>For me, sadly, no. That&#39;s why I burnt out. I was failing to communicate. Getting my ideas into other people&#39;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.<br/><br/>However, you asked for tips to prevent it:&lt;li&gt;I found that writing fan fiction solved my not-communicating problem. I found the right fandom for me and couldn&#39;t avoid the feedback. I wasn&#39;t writing SF (except in stealth mode), it wasn&#39;t commercial, but it did satisfy, and I did communicate with readers. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Whilst not for me, joining a writer&#39;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 &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; professional at the same time.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I stop writing, crafting, painting, whatever, when it isn&#39;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.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I try to recognize whether I&#39;m being too hard on myself. In the realm of art, nothing is the Right Way™. I&#39;ve seen plenty of artwork that looks unskilled in museums or as wall art. It&#39;s the expression and meaning that counts, and being persistent.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;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&#39;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.&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-03-30T20:14:16Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs0xzgpgdy4z78pkyq2kszwswg7lcx4qx8drt0cpuvfesnp7jrrk0gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5yqa5ps In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqspewl74467xxmql0f6f4g38jz583hhnngkujce5pqa7ejkkhzykaqsjpt4h'>nevent1q…pt4h</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>## <br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers ##TTMD @sfwtr<span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub165n9ggp4a7fzkuc28v89ec82fns4vtp3aa79qud9phplrrfw7avsedkjw4" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>Lydia Vvinters</span> (<span class="italic">npub165n…kjw4</span>)</a></span> <br/><br/>&gt; [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?<br/><br/>It is all about the point you are trying to make. <br/><br/>All cultures cook. <br/><br/>Sure, she could be trapped by her gender role; it can be the only creativity she&#39;s allowed; you can emphasize subservience and frustration that leads to a break. That&#39;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&#39;s recipes as weakness.<br/><br/>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&#39;s head. As a writer, you *must* entertain. That doesn&#39;t mean you can&#39;t enlighten.<br/><br/>My current story breaks the rules. She&#39;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&#39;s important is she&#39;s also escaped being a housewife to become an engineer (her dream) on colonial Mars, and her specific efforts shapes that world&#39;s female future (and maybe ours). Along with her woman friends and her girls, the reader watches gender roles melt to insignificance..<br/><br/>**To answer your question:** Assert what&#39;s *true* for the character in her quest to become more than she&#39;s allotted. The fear you feel is you imagining other people&#39;s judgement. Feminist writers always make somebody angry.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writer #author #photographer #chef #cooking<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-03-30T19:23:03Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsdjc2nhrdw9296xngyzwlzw7u7gwz82rr9s4xnsj9mjv083udmrtgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5w88gdt Whilst I try to only rarely cross-announce on the various writer challenge game hashtags I frequent, I&#39;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:<br/><br/>#ScribesAndMakers #TTMD <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1rg874fdgtxmgvypg64mwfcv0f5dygzxykm5yfed8f5zkrtutd4aqwem6l5" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist</span> (<span class="italic">npub1rg8…m6l5</span>)</a></span><br/><br/>Follow the two hashtags to participate in the answers and fun. <br/><br/>Here&#39;s the announcement: <a href="https://indieauthors.social/@saposcat/114240655183968909">https://indieauthors.social/@saposcat/114240655183968909</a><br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#PennedPossibilites #WordWeavers #WritersCoffeeClub #Writever #Writephant #TimeTravelAuthors <br/><br/>#writer #author #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon 2025-03-30T05:17:29Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs08l6pchxzxw7ecs87s229qzs24vn9z34appx2h6dtal7t0gvgdugzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh50y8neg &gt; [&gt; #&gt; PennedPossibilities](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities</a> )&gt; 629 — How did you break into publishing? (If you’re already published, of course.)<br/><br/>I think I&#39;ve answered this elsewhere over the few years I&#39;ve been on Mastodon, but I&#39;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:<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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).<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-03-30T05:06:38Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9dv7ar8x5q9c3xvhw5mg8leep2xs0gm34y4fqru6vq3ggqegw3dqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5zjxxau In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszlfytn788d7rr8ryfszcuj7jw70zn7ve58lx0hcv39tg24scvxacdhdtu7'>nevent1q…dtu7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>First, to clarify, do I expect the #TTMD #ScribesAndMakers hashtags AND my <span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a itemprop="url" href="/npub1rg874fdgtxmgvypg64mwfcv0f5dygzxykm5yfed8f5zkrtutd4aqwem6l5" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1"><span>RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist</span> (<span class="italic">npub1rg8…m6l5</span>)</a></span> handle, meaning I will get mentions for each question? Or do I need to make a follow column for the two hashtags?<br/><br/>&gt; **As a chef, do you design your own recipes from scratch or do you get or modify them from family, friends, cookbooks, or magazines?**<br/><br/>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 &#34;Best&#34; x &#34;Recipe.&#34; I then use that as a base and improvise. <br/><br/>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&#39;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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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&#39;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.<br/><br/>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&#39;d bought with the first next week.<br/><br/>I hope that wasn&#39;t too rambling.... 2025-03-30T01:14:33Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs82vludwfl5u4ud3jmzdn2wxaca99rgamtcqxmw542hlu33u4svxszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5sj3q0v In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdjg455lpq8y8mc8yfer5frmazezcklscfuu0u85vt0uh3x0kf46q5hyder'>nevent1q…yder</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&gt; A reader complained... [forgot to describe the MC]<br/><br/>While I don&#39;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! <br/><br/>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&#39;s a way to measure whether you are productively programming reader&#39;s heads and getting the message through, or not.<br/><br/>Of course, if you wanted to do something and didn&#39;t, you&#39;ll probably not make the same mistake in the future! 😋 <br/><br/>#pennedpossibilities #author #writer #writingCommunity #writersOfMastodon 2025-02-24T06:40:50Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvzuqa3vm88q7sakmjvwp9snn4sj2qcjvzljrmqepm6hcjg786g6qzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5j5l9wh &gt; [&gt; #&gt; PennedPossibilities](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities</a> )&gt; 596. How would you describe your MC’s facial features?<br/><br/>I do my best to NOT to specifically describe the distinct features of characters unless it&#39;s important to the plot, and until the moment it becomes important to the plot. I use readers&#39; 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&#39;re drawn, readers write stories in their head that are not what I intend, or expect what won&#39;t ever be. <br/><br/>So. Nope. Not saying. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-02-24T04:38:52Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs8sdvvah38slunvsc795ge0zjpdna73gyfx77uhul5x3mr2g586fqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58f8z03 &gt; [&gt; #&gt; PennedPossibilities](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities</a> )&gt; 595 — How does your SC feel about your MC’s temper or lack thereof? <br/><br/>This MC is the DJ I&#39;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&#39;s actually evil—her opinion; nobody would agree if asked. <br/><br/>Everybody knows in the face of danger to others, she&#39;s forgotten how to fear. You don&#39;t get knighted by a demon and not lose something. <br/><br/>A succession of SCs know her flaw. They don&#39;t want her outrage to flare into anger. They don&#39;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&#39;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. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #thriller #romance #fantasy<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion <br/>#RSstory 2025-02-24T04:19:42Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgs5mvahutw5lgn0zlnh49uur0kvrkvl4w5upwln760xms8fzz0ggzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5f3pkuu &gt; [&gt; #&gt; ScribesAndMakers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers</a> )&gt; 2502.23. I do my best work in _ ? <br/><br/>English. <br/><br/>CW: Probably best to ignore me today...<br/><br/>&#34;Specifically,&#34; you ask as if being on point with details were a virtue whilst rambling or telegraphy were a synthetic syn? <br/><br/>Ok: I do my best work in _? (I warned you.)<br/><br/>*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&#39;t go with the flow *because* it&#39;s waxing poetic; it&#39;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 &#34;catch the eye&#34; there? <br/><br/>Look it up, though. *Grammar B.* Not the wax thing. <br/><br/>Fascinating? <br/><br/>Yeah. Points down a rabbit hole. 👇<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-02-23T20:39:31Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsxxd3k8hk95j0m9r4wzxt2hg7yvnn5c229k0v2dn6jp0vlyyzf9aszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5envge7 &gt; [&gt; #&gt; ScribesAndMakers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers</a> )&gt; 2502.22. Which creative activity gives you the greatest satisfaction, and why?<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>When it really does NOT work, it can be torturous. Write. No. Write! No. Do it! *No!* But I don&#39;t think about that. Much. 🤪Like<br/><br/> now. Writing this reply IS procrastination...<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-02-23T20:04:59Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs2a8du3ujuc7rtq0d0aarkj3fqgj54rzj7jj55l74a85qgwcvauyqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh55pgyqh #psa If you&#39;ve been fired as a govt employee that opted into Fork-in-the-Road, you need to opt-in again immediately. <br/><br/>#federal #federalgovernment #federalworkers #ForkInTheRoad #firings #musk #doge #elong <br/><br/>Read and opt-in again. Boost please. <br/><br/>&gt; 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 &#34;Fork in the Road.&#34;<br/><br/>&gt; ... Neither the White House nor the federal agencies have publicly disclosed how many of them were laid off, and within that group, it&#39;s not clear how many people were mistakenly terminated despite accepting the &#34;Fork in the Road&#34; offer, which about 75,000 workers did... <br/><br/>&gt; **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.**&gt; &gt; *But they worry that others who were terminated will slip through the cracks, unaware that they can still qualify for the deferred resignation program.*<br/><br/><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-workers-buyout-fired/story">https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-workers-buyout-fired/story</a><br/><br/>#boostingIsSharing #uspol #politics<br/><br/>#Author #Writer #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon 2025-02-21T00:13:04Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsqx4wcfzumh6c9s7g24hyqer6h6m7raewhj77k8gzd9xtezajyejgzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh559wqyd &gt; [&gt; #&gt; PennedPossibilities](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities</a> )&gt; 592 — Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs in your WIP?<br/><br/>My first novel had a unique title. A word from that title always shows up in my larger works. <br/><br/>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&#39;ve missed. I&#39;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. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-02-20T05:44:06Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvtsyf20h9tzxjwxkzdjxhp629kq2v983xnhk2t3ah73v6n93yqyczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5m0srng &gt; [&gt; #&gt; WordWeavers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers</a> )&gt; 2502.19 — SC POV: Who is your best friend? <br/><br/>I know better than to assume that the woman feels the same as do. It feels like we&#39;ve been to war together and survived by having each other&#39;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&#39;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&#39;s as elite as they come, though. I&#39;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&#39;ve street smarts not an education; my manners come from reading romance novels. I&#39;d be embarrassed to claim her as my best friend if it would hurt her to reciprocate. <br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author <br/>#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion <br/>#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory<br/>#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory 2025-02-20T04:27:14Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsths0znln3z5nujz2p6a2xfj7e7w7a76pcqpvqk5fh0er4r5xmehszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh53cnl4e Behold! A shrimp-scape! <br/><br/>#boostingIsSharing Click #alttext for more.<br/><br/>#food #photography #photo #writer #author #writingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/032/563/291/228/217/original/abd9d5ce6df08c47.jpeg"> <br/> 2025-02-19T21:01:41Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqs9hfdqpr5zwhaz7rp03rp8rsdvw5setvsxqx27jc80vrmjfdyrseqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5mdmfr2 &gt; [&gt; #&gt; ScribesAndMakers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers</a> )&gt; 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?<br/><br/>*Therapeutic* to me means restoring to health, so I can&#39;t state that it is. I do find cooking and photography fun, relaxing and diverting. There&#39;s also the improving of skills, which makes spending time on the activities worthwhile. As for writing, that&#39;s a zen experience. I become the character. I live their lives. That&#39;s special, when it happens.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author #photographer #chef<br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-02-19T20:52:37Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsgtndjsxzyhndwuqyd0plkadtcplxnhru30z53kwu0g98etthsgfczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh54nt3x4 #uspol. If you acknowledge that propaganda vs critical thinking is responsible for today&#39;s geo-politics, you&#39;ll be interested in this analysis of US audiences. <br/><br/>&gt; 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).<br/><br/>&gt; 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&#39;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.<br/><br/>Knowing your audience is key.<br/><br/>Read the full article here: <a href="https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Feb19-4.html">https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2025/Items/Feb19-4.html</a><br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing<br/><br/>#Politics #Fox #MSNBC #Democrats #Writer #Author #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity 2025-02-19T19:02:13Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsd72g724l6rv7tzkrmkpdzvw86v45vc43nxwuxyu0lajxhchcadfczyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5uy4s0f #psa: #Howto #download #Kindle #books: Amazon is removing the book download to a file feature Feb 26th. Here&#39;s how to download your purchases.<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing&lt;li&gt;Log on to Amazon.com and click &lt;strong&gt;Account &amp;amp; Lists&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Click &lt;strong&gt;Content Library&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Click &lt;strong&gt;Books&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find a book and to the right, click the &lt;strong&gt;More actions&lt;/strong&gt; button&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;In the dropdown, click &lt;strong&gt;Download &amp;amp; Transfer via USB&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Read the dialog. Click one of your Kindle devices&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Click the yellow &lt;strong&gt;Download&lt;/strong&gt; button.&lt;/li&gt;<br/><br/>Repeat 4 through 7 for each book or comic. There is no bulk download.<br/><br/>An .aws digital book file will download to your downloads folder. I&#39;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.<br/><br/>**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.<br/><br/>**Please BOOST!**<br/><br/>#books #bookstodon #reading #writer #author #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon #scribesandmakers #pennedpossibilities #writerscoffeeclub #wordweavers<br/> <img src="https://eldritchcafe.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/031/807/695/628/987/original/7697a2291085c1b6.png"> <br/> 2025-02-19T18:14:56Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqspuvgqr38v0qqq2mnztxc30dcj76q68m9w6mrxjcz82ckhfg0v3nqzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5rtueya In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswen34lcfpy2mpxjkjl537klv4x3y7fcmsm55gkt5magpefdrccwsa4rfw5'>nevent1q…rfw5</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I think the rule is the sheep going downhill yield to the one going up hill, backing up if necessary. 2025-02-04T23:28:36Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsz9p88qycueyupn8ytxqx5x4tscg8vsz334jf8fhz8vkw9v83hl5gzyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh5879lpq 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&#39;s minds by teaching them not to think. Interesting article attached.<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing <br/><a href="https://bigthink.com/thinking/a-c-grayling-we-dont-need-to-bring-back-religion-we-need-to-bring-back-education/">https://bigthink.com/thinking/a-c-grayling-we-dont-need-to-bring-back-religion-we-need-to-bring-back-education/</a><br/><br/>#Philosophy #Conservative #Liberal #Education #Religion #Humanism #Writer #Author #WritersOfMastodon #WritingCommunity #Theism 2025-01-30T20:43:02Z https://nostr.now/nevent1qqsvdgf5ymy7t8gv8dx4v7kqfd3jmvg2sc4qkcpd48jekcfxh3352eszyqdql6494pvmdpss9r2hde8p3ax353qgcjmws3895axs2cd03dkh58jjrgu &gt; [&gt; #&gt; WordWeavers](<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers">https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers</a> )&gt; 2501.17 — Do you prefer [writing] long or short works? What’s your sweet spot?<br/><br/>After nearly a decade of actually writing both, and spending some of my time on Mastodon writing &lt;850 word stories, I think I prefer writing shorter works. Less time to &#34;It&#39;s done!&#34; Less angst and worry about the story failing. I still consider myself a novelist, but I&#39;ve discovered since 2015 that there are an unlimited number of story ideas and nobody&#39;s, least of all mine, are unique. That isn&#39;t to say I don&#39;t love long format. If a short story goes long, it&#39;s a novelette. If that goes long, it&#39;s a novella. If that goes long, it&#39;s a novel. Yay.<br/><br/>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<br/><br/>#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool<br/><br/>#gender #fiction #writer #author <br/>#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers<br/>#RSdiscussion 2025-01-18T17:23:50Z