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Kelli and Cecelia spent the morning weeding the vegetable garden. Their hoes rose and fell with a monotonous rhythm in the late-morning sun. Then Kelli saw Cecelia pause. She crouched down to look at something.
"What is it, Sisi?" she asked.
"Toadflax."
"What?" (1/2) #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub Have you ever written a story-within-a-story?

I've written a couple of stories with "framing stories." *Curtains Rise* in *Revin's Heart* is like that. Grip, the Captain's First Mate (and lover) has discovered that the Captain knew his father previously and asks him about it. Will opens a old bottle of rum he'd been keeping, takes a drink, and then proceeds to tell the story of how they met and what happened after. I was pretty pleased with how the story turned out.

If you have more than three hashtags, you're almost certainly using too many.

From *The Mary Stories* a dark, rural fantasy available at TheoReads https://www.theoreads.com/story/54e5936b-8455-4db3-b5f7-06a98f051700/view

I started heading toward the sandwich place, but Mary grabbed my sleeve and pointed a little farther down the street to a dingy sign with a picture of a wolf labeled "Rio Lobo" that was above a dim stairway into a basement.
"You want to try that place?" I asked. She nodded. (2/2) #wss366

"Are you hungry?" I asked. "Should we grab a bite to eat before heading back?"
We turned left past the station and walked along the street toward a line of businesses. There was a burger joint, a sandwich place, and some kind of asian-fusion restaurant. (1/2) #wss366

James Cambias is offering a presentation about worldbuilding in science fiction organized by the Straw Dog Writers Guild. Join us at 3pm on Sunday Nov 9, 2025 in the North Amherst Library Community Room. The presentation is free & open to the public. https://strawdogwriters.org/event/worldbuilding-101 #WesternMass

#ScribesAndMakers Do you prefer fonts with or without serifs? Do you like different fonts for different purposes?

I use different fonts for different purposes. I like serifs for text in blocks and sans serif fonts for labels or single lines of text. I like monospaced fonts for all of my drafting and manuscripts. For publication, I particularly like Garamond. I actually bought a copy of the original 1989 Adobe Garamond on floppy disks for formatting my dissertation.

#WritersCoffeeClub What is your take on the adverb debate?

I think it's stupid. When I learned Esperanto, I discovered that adverbs are just shorthand for prepositional phrases. "He walked quickly" just means "He walked in a quick fashion" but less wordy. Of course, you could use a different verb because English has an absurd number of vaguely synonymous words. He hustled. He jogged. He trotted. But I'm a proponent of saying what you mean. If you meant "He walked quickly," then just say that.

"People are always talking about the hero's journey, but what about the #heroine's journey?"

"I dunno. Sounds addictive." #wss366

Ouch. An unflinching perspective that someone deeply immersed in a culture could not see about their own country, at times both hyperspecific and universal. https://hyperallergic.com/1050197/what-i-wish-i-had-known-about-germany-earlier/
via @j12i &
@elilla

Another rejection. Another submission. #writinglife

Someone asked me about the local sci-fi community and, as I wrote the email, I realized that I know rather a lot about what's going on. Who would have thought! https://stevendbrewer.com/local-sci-fi-community/

All October, Ronnie has been transported to the world of Star Trek: https://www.whompcomic.com/comic/star-dreck

But just think how much money the campus saved by shifting our on-prem services to the cloud…

Revin's Heart is a steampunky fantasy adventure with pirates and airships and a trans protagonist, available now from Water Dragon Publishing. https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/revins-heart/

Revin entered the Queen's audience chamber.
"Is Lord Douchenozzle gone?" Momo asked.
"Yes, he's gone," Revin said.
"By the Skies, but that man tests me. What's next on my schedule?"
"Nothing," he said. "I thought you might like a break."
"You are truly my #hero," she said. (3/3) #wss366

"Your behavior is most unseemly," Revin said. "I will call for guards if you do not control yourself."
Lord Deucecastle glared at Revin then turned and went back through the Portrait Gallery toward the offices of the Baron. Revin wished them well dealing with the furious octogenarian. (2/3) #wss366

Revin barred the door to the Queen's audience chamber
Lord Deucecastle, in his wheelchair, shook his stick with fury.
"I demand to speak with the Queen immediately!" he shouted.
"Your appointment is tomorrow, Milord," Revin said.
"I must speak with her today! This must not stand!" (1/3) #wss366

Robert stood tapping his foot.
"I'm sorry," she said, as she offered it to him. "I guess I was wrong."
"By the way," the officer continued. "We apprehended the terrorist you knocked out when you fell on him and the children are all safe." (4/4) #wss366