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Public Key

npub1k673kfahdqpm30aty0kve2qwcynymz0wra4v3s3ezz2xpvxuq9jssamdzr

NIP-05 Address

QuokkaMocha_at_mastodon.world@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstd0gmy7mksqach74j8mxv4q8vzfjd38hp76kgcgu3p9rqkrwqzegygc258

Author Public Key

npub1k673kfahdqpm30aty0kve2qwcynymz0wra4v3s3ezz2xpvxuq9jssamdzr

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Last Notes

2024-08-17 09:35:31

#WordWeavers Are real people ever the basis for characters?
Aspects of my immediate family make it into many of my stories. I actually think one thing that makes me a much better writer than I was when I started out is I now have that life experience and have met a pretty varied and wonderful (and not so) set of people, so it's all a data store. I've never based a character completely on someone but I'll pick and choose traits and characteristics.

2024-08-12 17:42:14

#PennedPossibilities Have you ever mixed a foreign language into your writing?
I write in a mixture of English and Scots in the collection I'm working on. Panelák also has a bit of Czech in it, but really only words that don't translate comfortably into English, and those are explained in context.
Must admit, having been raised on Tolkien, I am a sucker for a conlang, and use them in all my fantasy and SF.

2024-08-03 12:55:55

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@npub1k24…26zw Or "I will just read this book for inspiration / watch this film / show..."

2024-08-03 12:47:48

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@npub1k24…26zw It’s amazing how many tasks I get done when a chapter needs finishing… I think if I didn’t write, I’d have no furniture and the house would be [more of] a tip! 😂

2024-08-03 12:17:42

I've just planted the baby cherry tree and tried cutting back the celosia that's been struggling. The rest are doing well. The fuchsia is looking bright, the petunia is starting to flower and the lobelia is doing okay too. My white mustard flower that grew from a seed is now 30cm high. The hydrangea is still Barbie pink.
So I've done one task I've been putting off today, one to go, not including actually sitting down at my WIP! #writing #writingcommunity #gardening #gardens

2024-08-03 09:21:17

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@npub1k24…26zw Exactly. They should be encouraging people to go by rail more, but for instance to go to London, the rail fare can be anything up to £300 for standard class, and the flight £20. It makes no sense.

2024-08-03 09:16:52

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@npub1k24…26zw Never ever been on the Eurostar. It's one of those things I've always wanted to do just for the experience. But rail here is so expensive, it's usually unaffordable and you have to fly, which makes no sense.

2024-08-03 08:36:03

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@npub1k24…26zw I have actually put my seat cushion on the laptop as I'm trying the new chair without it to see if it helps my hip, and hopefully that cushion being on there will stop me opening that laptop!

2024-08-03 08:13:53

#PennedPossibilities Does your MC have a sense of humour?
They always do. I can't help it. I like a bit of humour in my work. It's usually very similar to my own, so sort of dry, occasionally random. Probably the best example is my sci-fi story, which is ongoing on AO3. I used to work out the conversations and sarcasm between the crew on the bus home when I commuted from Fife to Glasgow at midnight. Kept me sane!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/57429055
#writing #writingcommunity

2024-08-03 08:09:50

#WordWeavers What are you reading now? Does it help with your writing?
I am currently on a book of Brian Lumley's short stories, which does help in that it often sparks ideas for my own horror shorts. I'm also dipping into Ramsay Campbell's back catalogue, because I admire his subtle horror and it's a big influence on my own writing, so I like to see how he does it.
And a lot of fan fiction, which is for fun and relaxes me / entertains me.

2024-08-03 08:08:10

#WordWeavers Is there a genre you haven't written but would like to try?
I've had a brooding idea for a while now for a Western, though a Canadian Western, and that's not a genre I've ever written in or read much in, so I'd need to do a lot of work if I ever wanted to go for it.
Tried my hand at romance once and couldn't do it. That was before I realised I was ace.
Other than that I think I've tried everything else! 😂

2024-08-02 19:20:37

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@npub1k24…26zw Thank you. I hope so. I just wish I could get some sort of medicine that would stop me being useless.

2024-08-02 19:17:33

I am a 45 year old woman. I should not be crying over failed homework. And yet, here we are. Failed my training at work again, and still can't see what I'm doing wrong. And I hate how they always send these things just before you go on two off days. Was feeling a bit down after making that list of all my failed books for whichever hashtag it was the other day. Now I'm just going to bed. I'm fed up with today. And there's a storm raging outside so I can't plant my tree.

2024-08-01 13:30:44

#PennedPossibilities How many stories and which is your favourite CONT
Forgot to pick a favourite, which is hard because I've written in so many genres over the years, every story is different and I like different things about them, I hate different things about them.
I suppose it's the ones I keep going back to, so Dex, the Les Miserables one, Panelak, One Small Step, Villain in the Dust, Dashwood.
Or maybe that very first one that was so crap but I so loved creating its universe. I miss it.

2024-08-01 13:20:00

#PennedPossibilities How many stories CONT
Stories - I wrote Blake's 7 and Doctor Who fan fic when I was young, like 10, 11. I wrote maybe 40 stories for a fantasy world I created when I was in high school. Eventually that went into my first proper novel.
Since then, I've written fanfic for Gerry Anderson's UFO, Lord of the Rings, Arrow, The Hour, The Thick of It, Stargate, but mostly Doctor Who. That's on AO3.
I have no idea how many non fanfic stories I've written
https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuokkaMocha

2024-08-01 13:17:59

#PennedPossibilities How many stories have you written and which is your favourite?
Argh. No idea. I have worked out that in my lifetime, I have written either wholly or the major part of 27 novels. Three of those were submitted places, none were eventually accepted. None of it is published anywhere, save parts of City of Unnumbered Stars, which is on AO3.
1/2

2024-07-31 18:05:16

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@npub1ek8…t2en Apparently he’s here for the night.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/882/421/260/396/637/original/2f2ccafb090c40f7.png

2024-07-31 16:12:17

Things have been halted by the invasion of the enormous and very spoiled grey cat creature, who thinks Mummy should stop looking at the flat thing and pay attention to the furry thing. #Cats #CatsOfMastodon #WhiskersWednesday #cat
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/881/974/648/519/098/original/6d3ac87c933737a0.png

2024-07-31 15:31:30

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@npub1k24…26zw If you held it's top left corner pointing directly at the window into the front room, for some reason it got a better connection. God knows what the neighbours think I'm doing. Don't really care though 😝

2024-07-31 15:27:09

#WordWeavers which of your characters would be the last survivor in a horror film?
Aven's got a fairly good chance, Jack and Hathaway a fair chance. The rest? Well, they were just attacked by an insectoid alien species that reanimates human corpses to use as transport, so it's not really looking that good atm.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/57429055/chapters/147139201
#writing #writingcommunity

2024-07-31 14:49:00

Posted from under my tree in the garden! Another chapter of City of Unnumbered Stars is up.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/57429055/chapters/147139201
#scifi #writing #writersofmastodon #writingcommunity #sciencefiction #ao3 #originalscifi #spaceopera
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/881/650/495/774/201/original/29740a07423e411a.webp

2024-07-28 15:47:03

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@npub1k24…26zw Lol, Fab! I was worried it would still be sassy in a sort of "first on the dance floor at a hen night" way! 😂

2024-07-28 13:37:31

#PennedPossibilities Are any of your characters able to play sport?
Malásek (Panelák) did gymnastics in sokol when he was younger, and got a taster of things like football and athletics there, but doesn't really do anything now except running.
Alice (Hatter) is able to play croquet, of course. 🦩 🦔

2024-07-28 13:35:18

#WordWeavers Are any of your MCs ever pregnant or nursing on the page?
Coincidence that this topic lands on my Bday! 🎂
But no, I can't think of anyone. I think it's because I've got no real personal experience of that. I've never had any maternal instincts. To be honest, I actually have a bit of a phobia for pregnant women. There's something about the "bump" that freaks me out and I have no idea why. It's like a sensory thing. There's a pregnant woman in Panelák but she's just a walk-on part.

2024-07-26 18:52:29

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@npub1k24…26zw That place is really good. Schnitzel is something I really miss from Prague. You don't usually get decent stuff here. They call it an escalope and it's usually cooked until you could build with it.

2024-07-26 18:48:59

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@npub1k24…26zw This is the result of bringing schnitzel in the house. We haven't ordered from the schnitzel place since we've been at this house. I forgot how they get. 😂

2024-07-26 18:37:33

Frankenstein has had a sore stomach since this morning and has felt extremely sorry for himself all day, but it is amazing the curative properties of ordering in chicken schnitzel in tomato-based mushroom sauce. Suddenly he was up, running around and could eat again. Weird that. Must've been good schnitzel though because even Rassilon, who doesn't normally care about human food, was over, paws on my knee, peering down at the plate.
#Cat #Cats

2024-07-23 18:24:46

Just had to jump on the work computer to do the news at less than an hour’s notice because someone’s internet crashed. They said they hoped they hadn’t disturbed me doing anything important.
I don’t know how to tell them I was sitting in the garden watching snails. #snails #SnailsOfMastodon
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/837/197/978/374/797/original/152da79821e4e68c.png

2024-07-23 14:26:17

#PennedPossibilities What's your MC's legacy?
Alice - having told her story to the clergyman who lived down the road, a lot of it ended up in a children's book.
Malásek - thinks he probably won't be remembered, as he's someone who lives in the shadows. Actually, he might've saved the world from a nuclear apocalypse, but no-one will ever know.
Aven Belkanti - doesn't really think he'll have one at present, unless he can succeed where his predecessor failed and find the city.

2024-07-23 13:46:17

#WordWeavers Authors may write to share their philosophy. Any revelation you wish to share?
As I've worked on my short story collection, I've noticed a tendency towards very left-leaning anti-capitalism and anti-fascism in general, but that's the times we live in bringing that out. My writing is a way to express the anger I feel at some of the things happening in the world. Latest story, I caught myself about to go off on a rant about landlords.

2024-07-22 17:34:47

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@npub1ek8…t2en Ooh, I've done that. Hurts like hell! Here's hoping it heals quickly. Hugs.

2024-07-20 16:52:15

#WritersCoffeeClub Is your WIP going well at the halfway point?
Hatter - going well but is probably a bit too verbose. Also, I could do with looking at my notes instead of just letting characters have a rambling conversation while I try to remember what was supposed to happen next.
Panelák - no idea on that one. I find that project really hard to judge, so I'm actually resting it a bit at the moment, then will have a fresh look later on. Hopefully then I'll know more if it's working. >>>

2024-07-16 19:39:51

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@npub1k24…26zw Would be just my bloody luck!

2024-07-16 19:34:14

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@npub1k24…26zw It went odd when I tried to upload earlier. Logged me completely out after I pasted the text in. Must be having one of its days.

2024-07-16 18:33:29

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@npub1k24…26zw Oh, yeah there is a new one. I am slowly making my way to the end of that story, I just have been very distracted lately! But I missed my Valeyard and had to go back for a bit.

2024-07-15 19:52:00

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@npub1k24…26zw I should be so lucky!

2024-07-15 19:48:11

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@npub1k24…26zw Now you mention it…
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/792/231/758/987/540/original/620009e816088933.png

2024-07-15 19:37:23

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@npub1k24…26zw Yeah, it might just be a while. It is a bit... big. I think it's at about 70K already.
Also, weirdly, I opened it to see what size it was, and MS Word said it was "last modified 25th August 2024"... 🤔

2024-07-15 19:35:06

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@npub1k24…26zw Yeah, I think the advent of social media has given trad publishers a route into skiving off. As well as the rampant capitalism of copying whatever happened to be popular (in fiction).

2024-07-15 18:54:05

I'm going to see Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Wheeldon version, by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden!!! Birthday present from my uncle.

2024-07-15 18:52:21

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@npub1k24…26zw Same. The more I go down the rabbit hole of self-publishing my short story collection, the more I love the freedom from that money-grubbing nonsense and popularity contest.

2024-07-15 12:21:35

#WordWeavers How clever is your MC? Cleverer than you?
Malásek is clever. He knows more about radio technology, bugs and spy craft than I do, but that's where the research comes in.
Alice is very clever but in an abstract sort of way. She thinks along knots instead of straight lines, but she's been told all her life she is "abstracted" and "childish" so she believes herself to be stupid.
Nat's educated, but a bit naive. He's seen little of the world beyond his father's shop (until now!)

2024-07-14 17:39:03

Today, I have finished recovering the top of the old magazine table I'm repurposing as a planter / garden table. I also got started digging the border and took some of the cuttings I've meant to do for a while. Got a bit more done on the painting and did the laundry (by hand as the machine is still caput). Much though I love my projects, when I'm tired like this, I just want to write a big lavish epic fantasy political thing with fancy costumes and lots of gilt. So I might sketch some characters

2024-07-13 11:39:03

#PennedPossibilities Do your characters have irrational fears?
Malásek is basically a bundle of irrational fears. He has phobias for pretty much everything.
I have a character in a story in my collection who is afraid of the cold (cryophobia), and another who had a fear of bones and skeletons as a child, but who decided to explore them as an artists to conquer that fear (and maybe took it a bit too far...)
Most of the fears in the collection though are perfectly RATIONAL! 😂

2024-07-13 11:27:22

#WordWeavers If your MC had to make dinner for close friends, what would they cook?
Bold of you to assume my MC has close friends! 😂
Malásek can actually cook quite well when he has the right ingredients. His grandmother taught him a few of the old family recipes, and he's adapted a couple to make them his own.
If he did have to entertain, although he doesn't really have friends outside of work, he'd probably bring out his svičkova, which is steak in a cream and vegetable sauce.

2024-07-13 10:37:57

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@npub1k24…26zw Woke warning 😂

2024-07-11 18:10:26

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@npub1k24…26zw Frankie literally got out of bed ten minutes ago because he heard me moving around and thought I might be making food.

2024-07-11 18:06:00

I’ve asked if he’ll help by reading out what’s in the notebook so I can type it but he says my handwriting sucks. #Cat #Cats #CatsOfMastodon #writing #writingcommunity #writersCats
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/769/175/108/081/556/original/d9f995d70c46276c.png

2024-07-11 17:08:57

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@npub1k24…26zw Good for you! Well done for bringing it up.

2024-07-10 19:29:04

Been at this a week now and I am nearly finished… the background. 🙄 This is one of those “might not finish in my lifetime” projects but it’s been enjoyable repurposing an old 1970s prints on bits of board that I found behind the wardrobe. #art #painting #oilpainting #wip #WIPWednesday
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/763/835/084/708/710/original/3f95c4de146dd231.png

2024-07-08 19:22:51

Was so tired after my shift last night (show I was working on didn’t send the media until about a minute before TX, so it was a scrabble to get it done in time to be loaded up during the VC as break) that I went to delete an email thinking it was from Marks & Spencer, only to read it properly at the last second. It was from someone called Mark, telling me a story I submitted to an anthology has made the shortlist! Probably won’t go any further but still nice news. #writing #writingcommunity

2024-07-07 11:06:00

#PennedPossibilities Anachronisms CONT
It's just occurred to me that Hatter features Time as a character, so it's absolutely riddled with anachronisms but deliberately so, where Time loses track of what's happened when. It was a good way of covering my disappointment to learn that the Floral Clock in Princes Street Gardens wouldn't be made until 10 years after my story is set.
I also just very nearly mentioned the series Monarch of the Glen in a story set in 1991. The show aired in 2000.

2024-07-07 10:57:16

#PennedPossibilities What would you do if you found an anachronism in your story?
I write a lot of historical pieces so it happens ALL the time. Even with my book that's set in 1987, I keep having to double check "did this exist then? I can't remember." So usually I will correct it if I find it. Unless it's something I love, in which case I can usually find some in-timeframe excuse to include it.

2024-07-07 10:52:15

#PennedPossibilities favourite writing snack or drink?
I don’t actually snack much any more. Making an effort to lose about 20kg for health reasons. But my favourite writing drink? As always.
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/744/823/325/418/071/original/105e0e72fd8630dc.png

2024-07-06 11:13:57

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@npub1k24…26zw Yeah, it turned out quite a good summary. I might put that as the author bio on my story collection when it's done! 😂

2024-07-06 10:58:49

Me: I’m not sure if my neighbours know my stance on LGBTQ+ issues.
Also me, turning the external monitor on to take the MacBook input for the first time in ages:
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/739/183/973/996/476/original/c5ceae3e38f85009.png

2024-07-02 23:55:37

It just occurred to me that my story about the cartoonist from Dundee has him living in the 1930s exactly the right age to have been over in Spain. Only thing is now, it is nearly 1am, I have work tomorrow and have to go to bed, and the story is over 11K already. Another novella then. Unless I go really drastic on the edit (I think I can lose a bit of the beginning where I didn't really have a direction yet)
#writing #writingcommunity

2024-07-01 17:35:15

Where I keep art supplies - anyone know what sort of art materials this is? #cat #CatsOfMastodon #Cats #Catstodon
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/712/432/402/819/799/original/8a8ceffd306ea0fb.png

2024-06-30 20:54:00

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@npub1k24…26zw I just saw Rassy do it. It was the weirdest thing. He sort of turned into a liquid and just plopped over the side, then was in the kitchen eating the next second.

2024-06-30 12:14:35

#WritersCoffeeClub If you're a pantser, have you tried plotting or vice versa?
I usually do a mixture of both. I like to plot out the story in the beginning to work out the general shape of it, things that definitely need to happen, but when I actually start writing I tend to go with the flow. I usually need an outline of some sort, not necessarily blow by blow, to rein me in though. Otherwise I tend to spiral off into the absurd.

2024-06-29 11:39:02

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@npub1k24…26zw You’ve got a lot of folk behind you to wave the pom-poms or hold your hand or whatever you need through this. So excited for you. And I hope the post-project phase passes quickly!

2024-06-27 15:48:56

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@npub1k24…26zw Oh, no. I hope you can find a solution to suit you and HR sort themselves out!

2024-06-09 13:43:58

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@npub1k24…26zw More than I did. I managed to check on the hydrangea (which is still alive), put some trash out, and write a bit of meandering story that I've no clue how to reel in. But I also watched DW.

2024-06-08 12:58:09

Soundtrack to today’s writing session, via an appropriate speaker. #PeterCapaldi #writing #DoctorWho
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/112/581/107/484/105/420/original/43874f0ea88a5553.png

2024-06-08 11:00:14

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@npub1k24…26zw Oh, no. Well, safe travels! Hopefully it will all go smoothly.

2024-06-08 10:59:23

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@npub1k24…26zw Happy cleaning! I also have a ton to chores waiting, none of which I am currently paying attention to... 😂

2024-06-04 20:12:07

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@npub1k24…26zw your world building was amazing in HP. So excited it’s going out into the world! (Beyond AO3 I mean)

2024-06-03 12:39:08

#WordWeavers Who is your most creative character?
In Hatter, probably Nat, Sissy and Liza are the most traditionally creative, although Robert Burns makes an appearance, so I suppose he needs a bit of credit too. With Nat it's design, Sissy, embroidery and Liza, millinery. But it's when the three get together that they can produce something incredible.
In my fantasy book, Varyenukha is the composer and musician but also a bit jaded. A lot of the creativity has gone into just surviving.

2024-05-19 11:39:20

#PennedPossibilities Writing space CONT
Just as an addendum - the other thing I need to concentrate is for Frankenstein to be OCCUPIED ELSEWHERE! Otherwise I get halfway through a paragraph and then there's a cat sitting on my wrists. It's no wonder I've got arthritis and carpal tunnel and all the rest of it, trying to type with 7kg of annoyingly adorable cat on my hands. I have just had to deflect an attempted laptop invasion, so now he's sulking.

2024-04-28 13:44:15

Been having a really hard time with impostor syndrome lately, thinking all my projects and potential projects are useless and not good enough. Since today, I'm so sore from my fall yesterday that moving out of the chair is a massive endeavour, I am going to just write something, dammit. To hell with my stupid mental health issues that insist on getting in the way all the time. I'm actually fed up of it now. #writing #writingcommunity

2023-12-06 17:56:23

After a conversation with @npub1ek8…t2en the other day, I signed up for a free trial on Ancestry. Found what I'd sort of known already - nothing interesting. Nothing whatsoever for Sam's side of the family, even his parents aren't in any searches. But I did find this photo of my great grandparents, whom I've never seen before. My great-grandmother, Edith, was supposedly a renowned psychic and tarot reader, though I only have family stories as evidence of that.
#geneology #familyhistory
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/111/534/751/119/184/197/original/68693699983681da.jpeg

2023-10-21 14:32:54

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@npub1k24…26zw Yeah, it was a bit weird finding that. I'd ignored the Reddit notification thinking it was just one of those "there is a discussion going on" because I'm not active on there.
Good thing they mentioned that story though because I had forgotten all about it.

2023-10-21 14:14:47

Nice surprise, though now I’m guilty! I took the story down because it was getting a lot of stick in comments. The few it had were all either “damned by faint praise” types or outright critical, and I was never too happy with the quality of the story as it was my first DW story in 20 years. I was rusty. I intended to give it an edit and shove it back on but got distracted writing “Hatter” and forgot all about it! Now I’ve lost my edit notes. #writing #fanfic #ao3
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/111/273/412/279/248/315/original/b14d15f49d62591a.png

2023-09-17 13:32:38

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@npub1eeu…4aku @npub15wt…7rek I think it depends what you want as well. I’d be happy if I made enough from writing to not have to work a second job but to do that (barring becoming very lucky and hitting the bestsellers list) I’d have to write different kinds of books, churn out several in a year, that sort of thing, and that doesn’t appeal to me. Also, my current WIP started in lockdown 2020 so three years ago, and I consider that a recent one. Im not a fast writer

2023-09-17 12:51:47

#WritersCoffeeClub 17: Promotion
I'm awful at promoting work. it's one of the reasons I want to try trad publishing first and only if that fails go to self publishing, because I dread having to promote my own book and, from experience, reckon any project I self publish will just die without selling a single copy. I think to have a chance at promotion you need to be someone with friends, someone people like, so people want to share your posts etc. I'm not that person. #writing #writingcommunity

2023-09-15 14:06:58

A little upset today. My health and mobility have taken a turn for the worse, my back and my hip mainly, and I can barely walk today. So I've had to cancel Stirling and the torchlight parade for Bloody Scotland. I'm telling myself I can go again next year, but I'm still sad.
But I'm also telling myself actually writing more of the book is as profitable a use of time as going to a festival to hear other people talk about books. And again, there's always next year.
#writing #writingcommunity

2023-09-03 14:22:45

#WritersCoffeeClub 3 Thinking of specific advice I've had and ignored...
"Don't have any foreign characters - American readers can't empathise with foreigners" (on a book set in Czechoslovakia, written by a Brit).
"Don't describe the setting, you should leave that to the reader's imagination". No.
"Having LGBT characters alienates the readers". Get in the bin.
"You can't make the MC asexual. Readers want romance in every book." I read. No I don't.
#Writing #writingcommunity

2023-08-20 20:17:47

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@npub1k24…26zw It makes sense, and one of the big symptoms is thinking that you caused bad things to happen because of something else you did. Like you wore the wrong top, which brought bad luck, and so someone else's misfortune that comes on that day is your fault. That in a war zone must be horrific!

2023-08-20 20:02:35

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@npub1k24…26zw It's good. A lot of people just think of OCD as counting or arranging things, but there's the sort of superstitious side of it as well, anxiety that if you don't do these things, something terrible will happen, spirits dropping because something happens and that thing is associated with bad luck. There's such a range of manifestations and it's nice to see it explored beyond the surface.

2023-08-20 16:15:48

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@npub1k24…26zw Yeah, this book is basically two stories that both head towards the same epic downfall!

2023-08-20 15:44:40

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@npub1k24…26zw He is basically the "inciting incident" in that storyline. His decision to start bad mouthing the Irish whilst surrounded by Irishmen leads basically to everything else that happens, the downfall of the Chapel family.

2023-08-20 14:46:42

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@npub1k24…26zw His name's not even John. It's Joshua Junior, but he could never manage it as a child and it always came out as something resembling John, so that's what stuck.

2023-08-20 14:41:06

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@npub1k24…26zw John is described in the book as "more meat than brains". No offence to Rory McCann, but that's who I always picture. He's the eldest brother. The one who's meant to inherit the business and run it. The family are a bit worried...
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2023-08-20 14:31:17

#PennedPossibilities 46 - priorities
Alice - Right now, getting away from an absurd dinner with her cousins so she can get back to reading Nat's manuscript.
Nathaniel - carrying his idiot brother John back to the house before he bleeds to death, having been stabbed in a fight with a group of Irish labourers (John started it).
#writing #writingcommunity

2023-08-09 20:06:31

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@npub1ug8…ytkq Wonderful! I imagine I've walked past that building dozens of times on my way to work without knowing what it was.

2023-08-09 19:55:26

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@npub1ug8…ytkq There were a few nice ones uncovered around Shawlands last time I was down at the flat. I love these. Sometimes it's easy to just see the hairdressers and the vegan cafe and forget that those buildings have stood there and served so many purposes over the centuries.

2023-08-09 19:42:54

Some of my favourite Duolingos so far. #duolingo #LanguageLearning
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2023-08-09 18:45:25

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@npub1k24…26zw I'm arranging a storage locker for Uncle's stuff tomorrow. I have a plan now to box up my own stuff in Glasgow and put it in there too, then sell my flat and find a house somewhere. So at least I don't have to put up with him much longer.

2023-08-09 17:32:08

#PennedPossibilities 34 - a phrase to hear right now?
Alice - "Everything was real. Everything IS real."
Nat - "It was all a big mistake, you actually have no brothers! Let alone ones who are about to cause a riot in a 25,000 strong crowd!"

2023-08-09 17:30:23

#PennedPossibilities Introvert or Extrovert?
Alice - Introvert, though as the eldest daughter and therefore mistress of her house, she does have to socialise to keep up appearances. She does not enjoy it and prefers being alone, or if she must have company, be it the company of younger people.
Nat - introverted unless he is with people of similar sympathies, then he can he outgoing, but generally no, he would prefer to keep in the background, in the quiet.

2023-08-09 17:24:56

#writingwonders 9 - children
Alice - No. She's unmarried and imagines that is how things will be. But her sisters have children and Alice enjoys the company of her nieces and nephews very much. They are much more receptive to ideas of wonder and the unusual than adults.
Nat - No, not yet married, but again has many nieces and nephews and a young sister, all of whom he helps care for. He imagines he will have children one day as that is what's done, is it not?
#writing

2023-08-09 16:44:48

Sam screamed and shouted at his computer today, blamed me for it not connecting to the internet ( I never even go in that room let alone touch the thing), and he has now stormed out. I offered to go visit Uncle tomorrow and got told to ___off basically. So I have booked another stay at the caravan for early next month, and am having a couple of hours on the WIP. At least when he storms out, I get some peace for a while.
#writing #writingcommunity

2023-08-06 18:25:58

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@npub1k24…26zw It's that glimpse of other lives, isn't it? I think sometimes you think of relatives more as a concept than as a person. The idea that they had all these passions and interests and relationships before you were even born, before your parents were even born, it feels weird to see it. I think, anyway. I found sketches of my great uncle in one folder and I have no idea what the story was behind them, who did them etc.

2023-08-06 18:24:25

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@npub1k24…26zw Just the caravan park, but this caravan overlooks the duck pond. I have annual leave booked in September and I think I'll come back for a longer stay. I get so much work done here.

2023-08-06 17:11:39

#PennedPossibilities 32 first thing ever purchased with own money
Viola (WIP2) - Star Trek VHS tapes from Woolworths and a bag of pick-n-mix. It was done secretly as her mother didn't think Star Trek was suitable for a young girl. She thought it was "too weird". After that, it was mostly 7inch or cassette singles. Never usually had enough for an album unless it was in the sale bin. First one of those was Kylie Minogue.

2023-08-06 17:08:08

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@npub1k24…26zw I have this to do on Thursday. I think most of the stuff from my grandparents and great grandparents is in the wardrobe in the spare room. But already, I've found so much stuff. right now I'm just boxing to look through it later as the house needs sold pronto, but I find that stuff so odd, because there's a connection but I never knew most of these people, or didn't know them long. Hope all goes well, and you don't get any trouble! 😲

2023-08-06 16:15:17

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@npub1k24…26zw Glad to see you back! I was just saying to my uncle earlier I hadn't seen you about for a while and hoped you were OK.

2023-08-06 12:40:46

#WritingWonders - kept a secret from a close friend?
Nat - I met an artist's apprentice while his master painted our family's portrait. He said I had "classical features" and asked if he might sketch me some time. I was flattered and I enjoyed his company. The thought that he could mean anything more than he'd said did not occur to me, naive as I was. I do not know how to put into words exactly what happened, but I ran from his house and have never spoken of it to anyone.
#writing

2023-08-06 11:30:42

Al fresco writing today. I’m finding it more difficult to get into Nat’s voice than Alice’s, but hopefully it’ll come as his version gets moving.
15,500 words so far!
#writing #writngcommunity
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2023-07-30 18:02:14

I feel like I have been really struggling with the opening to my fantasy book even though I see it really clearly in my head, and yet I've just looked and there's over 3000 words of it now. Four more work shifts (on 5:30am starts, ugh!) then I have a stay out in Perthshire where, hopefully, I'll get a load of work done. Cannot wait.
#writing #writingcommunity #amwriting #amwritingfantasy