@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

She could hear Kelli sobbing in the dark beyond a chicken coop at the far corner of the barnyard.
Cecelia found her crouching in the grass, crying her eyes out. She crouched down with her and put a hand on her back.
"I hate him," Kelli sobbed. "I hate him so much."
"What he said was cruel," Cecelia said.
"But… What if it's true?" Kelli groaned.
Cecelia was silent while she tried to think of what to say. Finally, she said, "If it's true, then you need to be honest with yourself."

#wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub How do you format your drafts? Is it the same as the final manuscript?

For manuscripts, I tend to use Shunn classic https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/ Unless the submission guidelines say to do something different. Manuscripts don't look right to me unless they're in a non-proportionally-spaced font.

I do a lot of my early drafting using a text editor (I use Pulsar) which looks similar but is functionally unformatted. As I tell my students, write the words first and format later.

I wonder if people would boost more if they got a notification when someone else boosted something because they saw the boosted post in their feed.

The list of participants is up for #Boskone! It looks like it's going to be a great time! https://boskone.org/guests/program-participants/

Practically the first thing I did when I became a faculty member was to join the union. Some scientists don't because they believe their work is of inherent, indisputable value. Look at what the current political leadership is saying about science now and see if you still think that.

It's not too late to join the union. Unions can say and do things that Universities can't. And you're legally protected from retaliation when you work on things together with the union.

The "Gulf of America" is this year's "Freedom Fries."

The little boy sniffed at the enticing odor.
"Whatcha makin', Grandma?" he said.
She had three pots on the stove. She was stirring one that bubbled gently. In the back, a big pot was boiling hard. The last was set to low with a tin can set in it.
"I'm makin' Blackberry jam in this one," she said. "And I'm sterilizing the jars and melting the wax to pour on top."
"Whatcha gonna use it with? Toast? Biscuits?"
"Bourbon," she replied, tweaking his nose. "But you can lick the spoon first."

#wss366

Getting to watch other people finding out is half the fun…

Poor Tanuki-chan had to have that routine operation that girl doggies get. It went about as well as such things can go, but she did not have a good day. At least by wearing the onesie she got to avoid the cone of shame. #DogsOfMastodon

Tau sniffed each one carefully, then he stopped, pointed at Bebe, and ruffed.
"Bebe knew it!" Bebe said, triumphantly.
"Aw!" the other Angels all groaned.
Then Zaza cried, "Hey! What are you giving him? You're giving him treats! That's cheating!"

#wss366

"You have to! You're the only one that can tell us apart!"
"Tau can too. Why don't you ask him?"
"Ooh! Ooh! Cap'n Tau! Cap'n Tau!" they squealed and ran out.
David wiped some sweat from his brow.
Later, Captain Tau walked up and down in front of the Angels who stood at attention.

#wss366

"David! David!" The Better Angels barged onto the bridge.
"What?" he said, sighing.
"We need you to be a #judge," they said.
"OK," he said, taking a sip from his coffee. "What do you need?"
They all struck a pose. "Which one of us is prettiest?"
David choked.
"But you're all identical!"

#wss366

I've been reading a cute manga called *Maou Ga Inaka Ni Totsuidara* (魔王が田舎に嫁いだら) which has a charming sense of *mono no aware* about a demon lord who agrees to marry an elementary school teacher in the countryside because, as a demon of destruction, she loves the ホロビタリティ of the rural environment. They translate this as "decayedness" which I was curious about, so I tracked down the original Japanese manga and laboriously transcribed the katakana to translate it. Don't bother.

The rain storm that had appeared out of nowhere blew through almost as quickly. She stood under the awning of a fruit vendor as the last few drops pattered on the fabric. She overpaid the old woman for an apple as thanks for the shelter.
She stepped out into the sunlight. Curls of steam rose from the hot pavement, but the temperature had dropped significantly. A boy wearing yellow boots stomped in a #puddle shrieking with delight.
She took a bite from the apple and resumed walking.

#wss366

I've gotten my final schedule for #boskone https://stevendbrewer.com/boskone-2025-schedule/

A friend posted something that reminded me of this photograph I took years ago and then used as an illustration in my first book of #Esperanto haiku: *Poŝtmarkoj el Esperantujo*. https://stevendbrewer.com/postmarkoj-el-esperantujo-my-first-book-of-haiku/ #BloomScrolling

#WritersCoffeeClub If people tell you they've always wanted to write, what do you say to them?

I would speculate that they don't want to write, but rather they like the idea of being a writer. If you actually wanted to write, you'd be writing. Wanting to be a writer is like wanting to be an astronaut or movie star. Wanting to be a thing and doing what's necessary to become that thing are different and shouldn't be confused. If they actually became a writer, they'd prolly be pretty disappointed.

#SilentSunday

After breakfast, Kasseh slapped her knees. "Alright! Let's go!"
"Where are you going?" Cecelia asked, clearing the table.
"Oh! Nowhere," Kasseh said. "Today, I'm making gold chain."
"Ooh! Can I watch?"
Surprised, Kasseh looked at her, then smiled. "Sure. It's just kind of tedious."
They walked downstairs to her workshop.
"Can you hand me that #spool of wire?" Kasseh pointed to a shelf.
Cecelia went to pick it up but nearly dropped it with surprise.
"It's so heavy!"
"That's gold for you!

#wss366

I would love one of these but it looks like it costs more to ship from the United Kingdom than it costs for the pin: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1841490403/its-dr-actually-trans-non-binary-pride?etsrc=sdt&variation0=5080357048