#author talk

[bestiesenpai]

Hey my dog passed today, processing the grief and just giving a warning that I might take a break from writing for a bit.

[belethlegwen]

Hello i'm thinking of publishing a chapter of my first size related story any advice on what website I should use? I'm nervous I feel like I'm going to be found out

If you have an AO3 account already that's pretty private/unknown by people who know you, I really like AO3 as a platform both for reaching audiences it otherwise might not on Tumblr (what up broken search system woooooo) and also it's great for tracking metrics like views, kudos, a great platform for commenting and responding to comments, etc.

Otherwise, ain't nothin' wrong with a good ol' tumblr sideblog. I feel those are pretty easy to keep private unless someone is desperately digging to find out what your main blog might be. If not, do the Super Trick of using a separate browser and email for two wholly separate tumblr accounts.

Very excited for you!! I hope you had fun writing!

[karen-carlisle-off-the-artboard]

Nullus Anxietas 9 - Australian Discworld Convention Announcement

https://karenjcarlisle.com/2024/03/30/nullus-anxietas-9-australian-discworld-convention-announcement/

I’m a long-time attendee of our Aussie Discworld Conventions. They’re held every two years and alternate between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney. 2024 is Adelaide’s turn. I booked as soon as tickets became available.

I came to Discworld by a different route than my Dearheart. He’d always loved the books, and we have all of them on our shelves. I first came to them via a chance meeting with Sir Terry at the 1999 World Con (Science Fiction) in Melbourne. We attended the event as part of our honeymoon.

Since then, I’ve learnt more about Sir Terry’s work and his ‘quirky omniscient narrator’ style via writing courses, after which I read some of his books. (Death is my favourite character. Writing his dialogue in ALL CAPS is genius at directing my internal narrator.)

I met Sir Terry again in Sydney 2011, at the last Australian Discworld Con he attended. To my shock, I’d won the ‘raffle’ for those booking early attendence, and got to sit with him at the gala dinner. What a conversation! He was an insightful and intelligent man, and I’m honoured to have met him personally – not once, but twice. So I suppose you could say I became a fan of the author and his writing before his Discworld characters.

I’ve been invited to be a Guest Author! So I was a bit surprised (and totally excited) to be asked to be one of this year’s guest authors for Nullus Anxietas 9. (Squee!) We’re still working out the details, but I thought I’ll tell all my patrons first! I’m definitely a judge for the Masquerade. It looks like I’m also doing an author talk (or workshop)- mostly likely on world building, aimed for those who write stories or create roleplaying worlds. I’ll be on an author panel (I’m just a tad excited about who may also be on the panel – shh… spoilers) and possibly hosting a Klatch (I’m more comfortable in smaller groups). I also hope to have my books available to purchase. If you’re a Pratchett fan, you can book your ticket HERE.

Patron Celebration Treat

To celebrate, I’m also inviting top-tier patrons (Adventurer Extraordinaires and Time Travellers) who are in Adelaide over/around 12-14th July to join me for lunch or dinner; my treat.

[thetetra]

I want to talk to you all about fantasy races and how they need... to be something other than humans that were isolated for a few evolutionary steps and just be other sapients.

When you are world building I want you to think of mermaids as if they were dolphins. VERY different people who think differently and act differently and not just humans with fins, but actually unique people.

They can act like people as we know them but their appearance and their society needs to be vastly different than what we have in fantasy right now.

I will share my current project and 2 races I have worked on as examples. Elves and Orcs. Elves are pod people that are the fruiting bodies that come from the trees that they claim as their homes. They last about a year then must return to the tree and be swallowed up by a flower and about a month later they emerge with a fresh new body memories intact.

This gives them a fresh perspective on how their bodies act. What their racial abilities are, and the general feel for what an elf is.

Orcs look like men but are larger and have different coloring depending on tribe. an Orc who lives with a different tribe for long enough will eventually take on the coloring of that tribe. It is the worst kept secret that it is certain foods that hold the secret. Orcs also have the ability to replace body parts damaged in battle with fallen Orcs from the battle field. Lost a kidney, punctured lung? Guts all spilled out? you can find a replacement from a fellow orc. An Crchish tale of two orcs sharing a liver till a replacement could be found or they could regrow a replacement. Strong ties to community and tribe because of the whole village literally sharing their bodies to allow warriors to continue the fight. Also explains why Orcs are considered such fierce fighters, they can afford to be a bit more brash on the battlefield, and capture by a rival tribe has more dire implications. Don't be afraid to completely rethink a fantasy race

[maddilynmuse]

Coming Back!

Heya guys, sorry I’ve been practically dead. Got a full time seasonal job and they’re in the rush season (hence, y’know, why they’re hiring). Been a lot lately.

I know we all hate amazon here, but I’m updating The Longest Night: Village of Lights every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of July (or, well, hopefully, I’ve got through the 21st queued) here on Kindle Vella. Say what you will, I’ll be 500% honest it’s just because I get like 20 bucks a month for it and I’m at a point in life where that’s significant money. Idk if anyone has to read it there tho, but yeah.

If that ain’t your thing though, try my Kofi! I don’t have as much up yet, but I’m trying! Relatedly, does anyone know if there’s a way to just upload documents on there? Because as it stands, I cannot upload any formatting and have to re-italicize everything manually. For some chapters this isn’t too bad, and admittedly it’s made me realize I use emphasis a bit TOO liberally, but for other chapters it is practically hell ;~; (And if it should be obvious, I’m sorry but I’m a tad tech illiterate sometimes a;lksdfja;slkfdj)

And, uh, if there’s anything anyone would like to do or see, seriously just tell me. And talk to me! I don’t bite, I promise! I’m just, like.... really bad at social media. Never know what to say or not say, and I’m trying to be semi-professional and yeah it feels fake as hell. I have NO clue how to self promo, but considering how long I’ve been working on this book, I REFUSE to give it over to a publishing company, so I’ve stuck myself with having to be my own ad campaign... joy ^^’‘‘ Ngl I’m considering just seeing if I can scrap the money together to find someone on tiktok to promo it for a bit.

[extra-v1rgin]

This is not like a uhhh, callout post or anything, or something I'm saying to make people feel bad bc it's not just one person I'm focusing on here.

But please stop asking me to write part 2s to my fics, or continue them generally. I get the sentiment, and I'm very pleased that you want more of my writing, but the reason I don't often continue fics is because I don't enjoy that. I like to bounce around projects and switch my focus often, so writing oneshots helps me stay active in my work.

Especially, again no offense to those who have done this, do not just say "part 2" or "when will part 2 come out" with no actual compliments towards me?? Idk I'm not a machine here to write whatever you want, even if I often take my audience into consideration.

So my plan for now is to just ignore any comments asking for a continuation, if I see a user asking multiple times then they're probably gonna get blocked.

[gtbahproject]

Author Intro

Hello my name’s Hannah!! This blog will be about promoting and sharing my story for an animated show I wanna make someday! It’s about an 8 year old girl who wants to save her town from going down the drain with her skills and the help of her community. If this sounds interesting then please stick around and read! Lots of concept art and character sheets will be shared and I will accept any questions anyone has! Please keep in mind though: this is a PG space so please stay appropriate here.

That’s all from me! Have a nice life!!

[monochromayhem]

Gonna add to this.

This is a fear that I have, and it’s funny how you mentioned Stephen King, because I talked about this fear with my partner on a recent excursion.

The “crazy” fan in Misery is a fear that I imagine many writers have had. The entitlement over how an author writes, the sense of betrayal when a twist they don’t like happens or a character dies or becomes evil (or good or anything that they aren’t before) is something that is, in my opinion, what can kill the authors will to keep going. It has the usually unintentional quality of being anti-art because it attempts to railroad a creator into a narrative they never wanted.

On one hand, I’m definitely the person who feels there are ways to say “fuck off” while encouraging creativity. If someone complained about how a character died, I’d tell them that I understand why they’re upset. That I was that kid reading Michael Crichton’s Micro and I screamed when a character I didn’t think would bite the dust died in a detailed and frankly gruesome manner. And I’d tell them that my writing just sorta unfolds, and that’s how it unfolds. And that they should write fanfiction to work through those complicated feelings— I encourage it.

On the other hand, there are bitter truths to writing that all authors should be more clear about, and the chief one in this instance is that all criticism that an artist faces is ultimately arbitrated by the author and the author alone. All criticism is sorted through by the creator and is sorted into whether it’s in good or bad faith, and then from there what is legitimate criticism that should be considered, or invalid claims that can be dismissed.

It’s something I took from my Writer’s Workshop program that I hold dear, that not all criticism is born equal. Sure, offensive stereotypes and such are something that should be remedied, but things like unhealthy relationships and miscommunications and crimes happening are a normal part of plot.

Imagine if someone hated Robin Hood for being a thief and demanded the author rewrite him to be a priest or a merchant or anything that could be twisted into absolute morality. The author would look at them, go “haha, no!” and keep doing exactly what they were doing. The artist has the right with their IP to reject things that don’t make narrative or thematic sense.

The final judge of criticism is the artist, full stop. If you wanna write the story for the author, you don’t respect their art. A good artist knows that balanced discernment of comments is an important part of shaping their creation, and if you just want them to bend to the whims of the fans, you don’t want their art—you want your fanfiction version of it.

In other words, go write a fanfiction if you don’t like something an author does.

Oh, and fuck off.

I think more creators should openly tell their fans to fuck off and stop being weird

[badolmen]

People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

Edit: if you are able, use $5 you would otherwise use for a streaming subscription to donate to a GazaFunds campaign.

[dragongirlau]

Meet the Authors: Winds of Change Launch Event

In my last post, I revealed the cover for the steamy paranormal romance anthology in which my novella, Pillion for a Police Officer, will be appearing, Winds of Change. Today I’m here to invite you to our book launch event! Celebrate Halloween with your favourite Melbourne-based authors, hosted at Wheelers Hill Library. Join us from 6:30pm, Thursday 31 October, 2024 for a fun-packed book…

[bestiesenpai]

kinda praying no one suggests infidelity😭

I hate to say, I kinda already made an infidelity scene in my head and I liked it😔

[gentil-minou]

Everytime I see posts like this I get filled with such profound sadness

Cause you know who has the same brainrot as you? The same unhinged feelings as you after you've read the fic? The person who always wants to scream about the fic with you?

THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT

I never used to leave comments but since I got into the habit of commenting on everything i enjoy it's been incredible. Especially when the author gets back to me about it and we get to have a discussion of what other ideas they had. One writer replied to my comment with a 5 paragraph essay detailing the Floorplan of the building the characters lived in and it was incredible

Anyways this is all to say that if you find a fic that just makes you want to scream from the rooftops, leave a comment saying that to the author and maybe they will join you and you can scream incoherently together

[professionalowl]

so. um. the good news is we found your boyfriend. the bad news is that, well, we sort of…dug him up…in the middle of a car park. in leicester (buckley et al. 2013). leicester, yeah. sorry. they demolished the friary he was hastily interred in when henry viii dissolved all the monasteries. you know how it is. and as it turns out, well, shakespeare was…sort of right about him. scoliosis, yeah, sorry (appleby et al. 2014). if it makes you feel any better we analysed his bones and it turns out he had a pretty high-protein diet before he died (lamb et al. 2014). and he drank so much wine that it changed their chemical composition, which we didn't know could actually happen before we analysed him (lamb et al. 2014), so he was having a good time, at least. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Appleby, J., Mitchell, P.D., Robinson, C., Brough, A., Rutty, G., and Morgan, B. (2014). The scoliosis of Richard III, last Plantagenet King of England: diagnosis and clinical significance. Lancet 383, 1944. 

Buckley, R., Morris, M., Appleby, J., King, T., O’Sullivan, D., and Foxhall, L. (2013). ‘The king in the car park’: new light on the death and burial of Richard III in the Grey Friars church, Leicester, in 1485. Antiquity 87, pp. 519-538. 

Lamb, A.L., Evans, J.E., Buckley, R., and Appleby, J. (2014). Multi-isotope analysis demonstrates significant lifestyle changes in King Richard III. Journal of Archaeological Science 50, pp. 559-565.

[kurogxrix]

me when the READER in the X READER has a name:

like babe the fic ate but i do NOT look like an Aurora🙁

[misspoken-mistaken]

6.4.24

The girl and I have seen death before. I have seen it much more than she has. But she is not a stranger to small deaths. Flies die on the bathroom floor or on the window sill. Birds die on the back patio or along our walking path or even in the back yard. Cats die at the vet’s office, as do dogs. People die. But we don’t see much of that. When people die, they appear to sleep in strange beds…

[karen-carlisle-off-the-artboard]

Oz Comic Con Floorplan Out Now

https://karenjcarlisle.com/2024/05/27/oz-comic-con-floorplan-out-now/

The Adelaide Oz Comic-con floorplan and schedule are out now!You can find me at AA03 (with my fellow local indie authors). Our panel is in the Comic Book Lounge on Saturday at 12pm.

Full floor plan: