Eggplant.place

290d

In this month’s Writer Newsletter, Zulie @ #Medium shares alternatives to AI #images for #illustrating stories, popular story topics, #DraftDay2025 stats, a request for editor recognition, and more.

https://medium.com/@MediumStaff/writer-newsletter-7x-more-readers-are-opting-into-story-notifications-b2819c6218d6

#writing #writers

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278d

“It didn’t occur to me for about five or six years after leaving school that literature was something I could be involved in. Then I discovered it was possible to write stories myself…”

—an extract from James Kelman on “Elitism & English Literature”, from a book I’m currently typesetting

#Scottish #literature #workingclass #writers #writing #JamesKelman #elitism

It didn’t occur to me for about five or six years after leaving school that literature was something I could be involved in. Then I discovered it was possible to write stories myself, I just had to go out and buy a couple of reliable ball-point pens and a good-sized notebook. I could even write stories about ordinary people if I wanted to. There wasn’t anybody going to stop me by using physical force. After that I found out there were other people in this country also doing such things, and there were other people who had been doing such things for a couple of hundred years. It was just that nobody in any of the positions of power in society had got round to telling me.

ALT

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251d

I am proud to present you with an interview with an incredible @adapalmer straight from this year #Bazyliszek convention, now available as a #solarpunkPrompts special!

https://podcast.tomasino.org/@SolarpunkPrompts/episodes/special-interview-with-ada-palmer-history-of-ideas-and-our-climate-imaginations

#solarpunk #history #scienceFiction #rome #climate #purity #writing #imagination #hopepunk #apocalypse

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250d

SMHAF 2025: Writing Competition – open for entries

Enter the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s 2025 writing competition with new writing inspired by mental health & the theme of “Comfort & Disturb”

Free to enter & open to all
Deadline 4 August

@writers

https://www.mhfestival.com/2025/05/smhaf-2025-writing-competition-now-open/

#Scottish #literature #writing #writingcommunity #mentalhealth

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276d

Haven't joined my email list yet? Never received your free book? Now's a great time to sign up; I'm changing up my marketing strategy to keep in better touch with my fans!

https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/352eda48-44de-11f0-a3a4-37b9c031cb04

#AmWriting #WritersLife #Writing #SciFi #ScienceFiction #Books

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248d

A CHAOS OF LIGHT
New Writing Scotland 43
Ed. by Kirstin Innes, Chris Powici & Niall O’Gallagher

“writing that unsettles and challenges, that questions assumptions… A rich, boisterous, tender, charming, angry, sorrowful, gleeful mix”

The latest & best collection of new writing in English, Gaelic, & Scots, coming Aug 2025 – available for preorder from all good bookshops!

@writingcommunity

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws43/

#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #Scots #poetry #shortstories #writing

Book cover: A CHAOS OF LIGHT
New Writing Scotland 43
Edited by Kirstin Innes and Chris Powici
Gaelic Editor: Niall O'Gallagher

A dark purple-black cover. The book title is in pale yellow. A beam of white light rises up from the foot of the cover, forming the letter I in LIGHT. It hits the bottom of the capita A in CHAOS – represented by an upwards-pointing solid triangle – and a burst of colour emerges from the right-hand s-de of the triangle, as if light was passing through a prism. Multicoloured sparkles rise from the right-hand edge of the cover where the spectrum of light hits it.

ALT

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275d

Medium Day, our annual community event, kicks off on Sept. 19, 2025. Register now to get updates on confirmed speakers, sessions, and activities at https://www.mediumday.com

#Medium #writers #writing #MediumDay

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270d

The brand-new, interactive #Medium101 Webinars launch tomorrow, June 18, and will be offered multiple times a week. Learn more and register on Zoom here: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AqHsz36w78Tw45-SGmcTeWk5pePMDkp1xTKf5fF21vpX04YSlrnK~ArznQFrP1xm1ZfTwwNikcFd-mmIj5vo6fmn2WTkT2ENpeZ-qs7_IO6WMTg

#Medium #writers #writing

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125d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheWizardsScion

Levi Jacobs always of being like his father, the greatest wizard in the world, but had no understanding what it would be like. Follow Levi's journey from bumbling teen to a great hero, while the young wizard learns to master magical powers that are initially completely beyond him and barely under control.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

The ad flyer for the series The Wizard's Scion.

(Background) View of a planet from space.

(Top Center) A black flying saucer surrounded by this text:
Trolls, boogeymen and witches, oh my!
Just another day for a young wizard.

(Top Left) The cover of Troll Song displays a woman in battered, muddy armor with her two swords crossed against the neck of a dwarf.

(Lower Left) The cover of Forgotten Legends displays a child reading in bed as a black, smoky monster with red eyes peeks out from under the bed.

(Lower Center Left) The cover of The Third Wish displays a wizard on top of a mountain, looking to the sunset, over a city of sky scrapers that have plants growing on them. In his shadow is the red eyed creature from Forgotten Legends.

(Lower Center Right) The cover of Dark Moon displays a witch and wizard fighting back to back, holding pistols, while objects fall around them, with the moon behind their heads.

(Lower Right) The cover of The Inverted Glass displays a line art hourglass with a white figure in black sand at the bottom, with a black figure in white sand upside-down in the top. Balanced on a scale are a heart and a feather.

(Upper Right) The cover of The Wizard's Scion: The Complete Series displays several figures in silhouette representing the main characters, as they traverse a wormhole. Behind them is a red-eyed octopus.

ALT

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269d

My thought for the day. LLMs can string words together according to most likely usage in specific styles.

Human writers can create subtext, foreshadowing, red herrings, unreliable narrators, analogies, allegory. They craft passages which elicit sympathy, foreboding, and any other emotion you care to name. Their work can prompt curiosity and understanding - of self and others.

All these things distinguish pages of strings of words from books.

So that's what I'll be doing today.

#writing

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248d

Introduction Appendix 3: This project will be a bit less socially minded, more just creative, and hopefully even a little lucrative, but I'm not holding my breath.

That's right, I'm writing a novel. I know that novelists are a dime a dozen, but I actually really enjoy writing, think that I'm fairly decent at it, and certainly have no shortage of ideas. There will be sequels, many of them (and prequels, and side stories...).

So what's it about? It's science fiction, because that's what I know and like best. The basic idea is the well-known "lost in space" idea, but I'm hoping that the unique setting, characters, and story are able to carry it. It takes place in an alternate history where the United States, Canada, and Mexico joined together to form a Technate, a country that employs Technocracy (see my Intro Appendix 1), not long after World War 2. Technological progress happens much faster until the start of the novel, where we find our crew of four performing a test flight of a prototype fusion rocket engine. Naturally, something goes horribly wrong and... science fiction weirdness ensues as the crew has to try and find their way back to Earth while navigating several strange (and often hostile) alien civilizations.

The background and setting are fairly detailed, enough that I already have ideas for prequels and side stories in addition to the main series. "Epic" world building appears to be my jam. Now we just have to see if anyone else happens to like it.

#Writing #fiction #amwriting #WritingCommunity #ScienceFiction

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26d

Chapter 14 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Nicole faces apparitions from her past, as she deals with the regret dredged up by being forced to kill.

Mol'os wants a re-match, Nork is embarrassed a 'little girl' defeated him, Irini accuses Nicole of hating her own kind and Krikor forgives.

Nicole runs from each of them...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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268d

I just published “Generating Passphrases Like correct horse battery staple” at
https://www.ii.com/passphrase-generators/ - please post suggestions for passphrase generators as a reply to this toot and I'll include them in my article!
#InfiniteInk #Privacy #Security #Tech #Passwords #Passphrases #CorrectHorseBatteryStaple
#Words #Writing #Byℵ #ByNM

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245d

Book Promotion: Want something new but you don't really know what? Here's a selection of stories from wildly different genres - you don't have to judge the book by the cover because they're all free (yay). #knaves #contemporary #writing #classic @bookstodon@gup.pe #legendary #heroes #fae #detective #amreading #goodbooks #amateur #dragons #knights #future #dwarves #monsters #military #magic #futurism #action #fedibookfair #ladies #murder #elves #adventure #aliens… https://books.bookfunnel.com/starryfreestories/zbszz0qhk1?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

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243d

My newest book is a fantasy short story collection. Contents include whimsy, gargoyles, heroic aunties, brave doggos, & evil bureaucrats who always lose.
https://books2read.com/RelicsFromATravelingShow
Reviewers like it. You might, too!

In ebook & print, also on Hoopla, Libby, and Biblioboard, therefore available on request from your local public library in print OR ebook. (In the US, anyhow)

#Writing #Scifi #fantasy #Books
#TimeToRedoMyPinnedPost

a paperback copy of Relics From a Traveling Show by K. M. Herkes stands on a raised dais against a light blue background. To the right are two 5 star reviews. The first reads. "Perfect. No notes. It's one of those that each one is your favorite, and then you read the next one and now it's your favorite." The second reads, "A collection of genius writing across many genres. I have seldom come across a collection of short stories I enjoyed so much, with such variety."
The image on the cover of the book is a painting of a figure in a green and blue traveling cloak, shown from the rear, seated at a desk gazing out an arched window at a carnival tent bathed in sunset light. The figure has short brown hair, and they are petting the ears of a dog sitting beside them. The dog's mouth is open in a happy doggy grin. An eldritch lamp decorates the desk, beside a binder labeled "DPS Orientation Guide." At the left stands a tall bookshelf filled with artifacts, books, and knickknacks. A bonsai tree sits on the windowsill, and a pair of sinister glowing eyes lurk in the shadows behind the chair.

ALT

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285d

Want to just start writing? Join the “Write with Medium” June micro-challenge! Learn more and sign up here: https://medium.com/not-perfect/want-to-just-start-writing-join-the-write-with-medium-june-micro-challenge-d8a50f0e384a

#Medium #writers #writing #WriteWithMedium #WritingChallenge #WritersBlock

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247d

Why on earth do publishers do this? It drives me nuts!

Why not just pick a book size and keep it consistent for the whole series?

*eye twitches*
#publishing #publishers #books #book #author #writing #rant

The books of the “Rosie” series by Graeme Simsion in two different sizes

ALT

The books of the inheritance series by Christopher Paolini in three different sizes

ALT

The books of the Artemis fowl series and other books by Eoin Colfer in four different sizes

ALT

Edited 247d ago

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263d

#lispyGopherClimate #technology #emacs #writing #lisp #gopher #podcast #LIVE #archive
https://communitymedia.video/w/hTjTR5cwshdWP7DX3VqWjB

#climateCrisis #haiku from @kentpitman

This week, DJ @damaru of the Evolution Revolution will talk, including about using emacs as a #writer.

I will share my #eev mode experience, and @eduardoochs should be in #emacsconf on IRC.

I'm going to mention incredible show artist @prahou with reference to gef's last episode.
https://analognowhere.com
https://archives.anonradio.net/202506241600_gef.mp3

@mdhughes @rat

Lispy gopher climate banner by @prahou@merveilles.town #UNIX_SURREALISM .

The lisp alien, in a purple tshirt, holding a microphone with its hand-nose and the gopher are carrying radio equipment labeled SDF through flooded AI wreckage.

anonradio.net
Every Wednesday 000UTC

ALT

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25d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheNextHorizon

Amelia and The Book of Newts are in conflict. She wants to explore her feelings. It wants to explore space, taking back the gift for mathematics and piloting it gave her. She’s left unable to plot a direct course home. She’s desperate to see the man she loves, lest she lose him forever and The Book is in her way…

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of The Next Horizon, by Owen Tyme.

The black silhouette of a man and woman embracing. They stand atop the dark side of a planet or moon in space, which has a slim crescent along the right side. The background is the stars of space, but some have been highlighted with a heart shape that surrounds the couple. Everything is in shades of blue.

(Right) Deep space, displaying the edge of an orange and blue gaseous cloud from a nebula, while most of the stars appear golden in color. Floating in space is a square, red leather book with the image of a newt stamped on the cover. Over the top of everything is the following text:

“You can back down and cooperate, right now, or Marta will hit you so hard, you should reach a tenth the speed of light…”

“No one will ever find you again, but even if someone does, there’s no way they’ll have the capacity to safely slow you down, before you’re gone to them!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheNextHorizon

ALT

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24d

Chapter 15 of Princess of Kurg is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/108234/jigsaw-city

Aurora Rosegrass, Queen of Queens, looks back on the day Minerva died, when her successor challenged her for her title...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #actionadventure #fiction #fairies #webseries

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226d

WRITERS!

Submissions are invited to NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 44! We want poetry & prose in English, Gaelic, & Scots from writers who are Scottish by residence, birth, or inclination. All successful contributors are paid – deadline 31 Oct!

@writingcommunity

Submit free via Submittable 👇

https://nws.submittable.com/submit

#Scottish #literature #writing #WritingCommunity #IAmWriting #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaelic #Gaidhlig

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259d

I edited and re-uploaded the first chapter of my Demon fucky story

It's here if y'all are curious https://taullo.ink/defyingorder/

#writing #demon #demons #wolf #werewolf #werewolves #religion

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256d

Check out July’s #WordWeavers questions!
Written by @AlinaLeonova & I, you’ll find the month’s questions pinned to our profiles on the 1st. All are welcome to join in.
Participate with a WIP or an already published book.
As always, play the days you want, skip the others. Please use CW as necessary. Looking forward to seeing your answers & meeting new friends. And a big thanks to those contributing the community questions. (below)
#amwriting #writing #authors