Eggplant.place

95d

Anthropic Settlement: What Authors Should Know

A free webinar hosted by the Authors Guild
Thursday, October 16, 2025 - 6:00 pm Eastern

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://authorsguild.org/event/anthropic-settlement-what-authors-should-know/

103d

Now for something completely different: a novel

Sometimes I take a break from writing programs to make art to write English to make art. Out Oct 1st: Atraxian Blue. Space opera. Our hero is an artist (usually).

Buy it, get it from the library, or just drop me a line. Ebook/print (link). It's about freedom & friendship & forging your own path. Perhaps not your cup of tea, and it has flaws, but I am frightfully proud of myself for making it.

#scifi #writing

https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx

Cover image of the book "Atraxian Blue" by Mary Holstege. There is some kind of design of many overlapping loops, with ants marching along it, etched into some kind of metal with an odd patterned sheen. The work is signed RS. (Spoiler: Renny Samson, the main character.) The actual creator of this image is me.

ALT

Edited 103d ago

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

98d

Finally!
We've completed our little Haikuart-Series "Hedgehog in the four seasons"!

Haiku: @MarjoleinRotsteeg
Watercolor paintings: @KarenKasparArt

All proceeds from the sale of prints and products of this hedgehog haiku artwork will be donated to the Avolare Wildlife Hospital in the Netherlands (avolare.nl).
More infos in comments 👇

#art #haiku #haikuart #poem #poetry #writing #hedgehog #animals #cute #autumn #gifts #giftideas #christmas #support #watercolor #painting #artwork #seasons

Collage of four haikuart artworks featuring watercolor paintings of a hedgehog in spring, summer, autumn and winter combined with haikus. Haiku Marjolein Rotsteeg, art Karen Kaspar.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

101d

Time for October’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

1. Tell us what you’re working on now. What’s special about the project?
2. What do your characters argue about?
3. If your antagonist had to live a week of your MC’s life, how would it affect them?
4. Choose a holiday that people in your world celebrate. What gift would you give to your MC?
5. Antagonist POV: What makes you sad?
6. Does your story involve any events that would make it into history books?
7. How does the world your characters inhabit deal with garbage?
8. When was the last time your MC felt safe and relaxed?
9. Tell us about an event in the history of your world that has a big impact on the period you’re writing about.
10. Tell us about an event in your antagonist’s life that has a big impact on what they’re doing now.
11. Tell us about a strained but important relationship one of your characters has.
12. MC POV: Explain your life in one sentence.
13. Who among your characters is the biggest risk-taker?
14. Who among your characters is the most cautious?
15. If you wanted to achieve your MC’s goal, how would you approach it?
16. If you wanted to achieve your antagonist’s goal, how would you approach it?
17. Who steps up and helps when your MC needs a hand with something?
18. Does your MC know where they came from? (Family history, ancestry, etc.)?
19. How has the MC offended/angered a SC, even if inadvertently?
20. Do you have a favourite scene in your current WIP that gives you a thrill when you re-read it?

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

35d

Writing vs AI slop:

"AI slop is... vomited into existence...something they read, not something the wrote. And to a writer those are not the same."

#Writing #GenAI #AISlop @bookstodon

tumblr post by nocryptographer:
I talked with someone who works in book publishing, and they mentioned they get a lot of AI slop these days. I asked how they know what's human-written, and they said that there's one thing that will reveal AI slop without error, and that's the author not knowing their own creation.
A real author can talk about their story for hours. they love to elaborate every character, every twist, every detail. Because those existed in their head long before they ever made it to the paper. They were loved before they were written.
AI slop wasn't. It was just vomited into existence.
Someone who generates their story with AI will never bond with their story they way real writers do. That's why they may not know what to say when they're asked 'why did the character do this', or even remember the scene in the first place. It's something they read, not something they wrote. And to a writer, those are not the same.
There's a unique bond between the creator and the creation. If your writing doesn't come of you, you'll always lack that.
I keep hearing 'soon we won't be able to tell'. And perhaps, in a superficial sense, that's true. But there is a difference. It's not em dashes or repeated words. It's whether the story was made by someone who loves it and cares about it.
If the writer's eyes light up when asked 'why did the character did that?' and they start their very own Ted Talk about that specific scene...
Then it's real.

ALT

0 1 1 View Post & Replies See Original

95d

Last year, our Sisi Film Lab in Kampala got an honorable mention at the Humanitarian Communication Awards 2024. We didn’t take home the win, but it still felt special; like a small nod that we’re on the right track. If you haven’t read about it yet, here’s the story;
https://sisifilmcollective.org/sisi-film-lab-nurturing-filmmaking-talent-in-uganda/

#blog #writing #sisi #film #movies

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

38d

Palisade Green, sequel to Atraxian Blue available as ebook https://books2read.com/u/3RrNwn or print https://books2read.com/u/m0XB6y

Renny thought he'd escaped from his father. He thought he had his addiction under control. Then a bot turns up on his doorstep with a message that changes everything.

#scifi #writing

Cover for Palisade Green by Mary Holstege. It shows glowing rings with streamers of red dust peeling away from them.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

86d

Photography Adventures in JPG [Extra Fine] 📷

My photography workflow with JPG is quicker, easier, leaner and ultimately, a lot less faffy.

How and why I'm ditching RAW files 🗑️

https://mikehindle.uk/photography-adventures-in-jpg-extra-fine/

#photography #photographer #blackandwhite #sonyalpha #blog #writing

A plain white background with the text Words in the centre.

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

81d

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

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

82d

Via @victoriastrauss, another, more urgent, warning about AI generated scam contacts, and how they're evolving into more sophisticated campaigns:

#Writing @bookstodon

https://writerbeware.blog/2025/10/20/army-of-bots-deeper-into-the-vortex-of-nigerian-marketing-scams/

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

7d

moon of the morning
shines through my ice-laced window
more than I can bear

#DailyHaikuPrompt #haiku #haiga #senryu #poetry #writing #SilentSunday

$View through a large window laced with ice fractals, which form a sort of frame for the garden beyond, which is covered with light snow and frost. A clump of trees to the right alongside the garden meet at hedge that marks the garden boundary. Beyond this hedge is a frost fields with more hedge at the horizon. The sky is dawn, a light orange-pink, with the full moon toward the top left of the photo.$

ALT

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

34d

Many thanks to Goodreads editor Sharon for including THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS among the "New Voice Alert: Promising 2025 debut novels." Check out the full list of book recommendations in the December editors' picks column!

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/3034-goodreads-editors-get-bossy-about-book-recommendations

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

78d

“It’s devastating for us to know that these kids who put in hundreds of hours of hard work had that torn away from them because of the objections of a single parent,” says Picoult... "I had 20 books banned in one school district in Florida alone because of a single parent’s objection and she admitted she had not read any of the books...She said that they were banned for ‘mature content and sexuality.’ There were books of mine that did not even have a single kiss in them.”

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://apnews.com/article/jodi-picoult-between-lines-musical-banned-3eff9a30aed283c10a80c6590f1f3496

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

77d

More on school book bans from Kelly Jensen for BookRiot:

"There are now 19 books prohibited in any Utah public school. Of them, 16 are written by women, and their average publication date is 2011. This means that most of these books have been on shelves and available for many years and caused no issues until this manufactured crisis."

"There are 42 public school districts in Utah, but two districts account for nearly 80% of the books banned statewide"

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://bookriot.com/utah-bans-thirteen-reasons-why/

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

77d

Looking for a new ebook? My novel THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS is on sale now! Just 1.99, wherever you buy ebooks.

"In this 'appealing intellectual mystery' (Publishers Weekly) spanning continents, Hase knows exactly what to do when her dad goes missing: Go to the library, find a specific book, and follow instructions. 'Brilliant, uplifting… I was swept away' (New York Times bestselling author Janet Skeslien Charles)."

#books #writing #writersofmastodon #WritingCommunity #bookstodon @bookstodon

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-expert-of-subtle-revisions-by-kirsten-menger-anderson-2025-10-22?ebook_deal

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

34d

This is only true for TV writing 😊
Playing the masterpiece #DiscoElysium I learnt that a detective can in fact be Sad, Cold, Wet, Drunk, and Sexy 😂

@galacticwriters @writers
@writingbooks @keepwriting
@worldbuilding @humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop

#Game #IndieGame #Meme
#Games #IndieGames #Memes
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #AmWriting #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon

A map of Europe seperated in diffrent colours.
Caption: Will the detective investigating your muder be sad?

Nordic countires in red: Sad & Cold
England and central Europe: Sad & Wet
Eastern Europe, Ireland, and Scotland: Sad & Drunk
Southern Europe: Sexy

ALT

3 1 1 View Post & Replies See Original

32d

50% off @ #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1789471

The undead queen of the space pirates kidnapped Amelia’s sisters and damaged her ship, leaving her with little fuel. Amelia’s a dead woman without her sisters, forced to attack the pirate’s mountain-sized star ship, despite how slim the odds are…

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books #EOYSale25 #ebook #sale #books2read #indiebooks

(Left) The cover of Starwitch, by Owen Tyme.

In the background is a red, orange and white nebula.

In the foreground is a line drawing of a red spotted newt, in white. The lines of the newt are outlined in black, to help it stand out. The interior is red, with an appearance similar to stained glass.

(Right) In the background is a red and orange galaxy, with a blue core, which bears a resemblance to an eye. It has the following text over it:

“First you turn my dog against me, then you steal my ship’s core? What’s next, pulling my teeth?”

“We didn’t ask for this! You attacked us! Why don’t you just let us go?”

“I might as well cover myself in tartar sauce, then go swimming in shark infested waters! My lieutenants would tear me to shreds, just the same!”

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

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

31d

50% off @ #Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1821081

The undead witch that rules the space pirates, known as the Dead Queen, has finally been defeated. That only makes it worse for the witches that pulled it off. She’s livid and coming for them, at least once she gets her star ship back under control…

@bookstodon #author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books #EOYSale25 #ebook #sale #books2read #indiebooks

(Left) The cover of Legacy of Newts, by Owen Tyme.

In the background dawn, as seen from space, above a blue world.

In the foreground is a line drawing of a red spotted newt, in white. The lines of the newt are outlined in black, to help it stand out. The interior of the line drawing has been filled with the image of a spiral galaxy in red, orange and yellow, with a blue color that shades to white at the center, which lines up with the newt's head. The galaxy almost looks like fire.

(Right) The background is a blue and orange nebula, with the following text over it:

“You gotta be real strong, real bright, real quick, or real lucky to survive drawing *attention*. Which are you?”

“I’m quick, Amelia is bright, Marta is strong and all three of us have been lucky, after a fashion: if we didn’t have bad luck, then I suppose we wouldn’t have any luck at all.”

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

ALT

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

73d

WRITERS!

Submissions 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

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

31d

The other day I had the intrusive thought

AI is intellectual Viagra

and it hasn't left me so I am exorcising it here. I'm sorry in advance for any pain this might cause.

#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #DiffusionModels #tech #dev #coding #software #SoftwareDevelopment #writing #art #VisualArt

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

5d

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 hugging and kissing. The woman has lifted one leg, while the man leans toward her. They stand atop the dark side of a planet or moon in space, which has a slim crescent along the right side. The background in the stars of space, but some have been highlighted with a heat shape that surrounds the kissing 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

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

68d

It’s past time for November’s #WordWeavers questions!
Written by @AlinaLeonova & I, you’ll find the month’s questions pinned to our profiles on the 1st (usually, lol.) 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