sigmoid.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
A social space for people researching, working with, or just interested in AI!

Server stats:

602
active users

#fiction

76 posts58 participants8 posts today
Kurt Hohmann<p>Sinister Minutes 2:9 provides an opportunity for patients to show their patience in "Waiting Room." </p><p>Then slip into a horrific composition called "Tone Poem: It Bites"</p><p><a href="https://www.sinisterminutes.com/episodes-season-2" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">sinisterminutes.com/episodes-s</span><span class="invisible">eason-2</span></a> or wherever you grab your podcasts.</p><p>Written and narrated by <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://writing.exchange/@KurtHohmann" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>KurtHohmann</span></a></span> (me), music by Tim Parker</p><p><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingCommunity</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/podcast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>podcast</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/podcasts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>podcasts</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/Podcaster" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Podcaster</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/Podcasting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Podcasting</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/horror" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>horror</span></a><br><a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/AudioDrama" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AudioDrama</span></a></p>
Steven Cudahy<p>The <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> for Monday 14 July 2025 is:</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/golden" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>golden</span></a></p><p>The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.</p><p>@ me, if you like, or just include the <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.</p><p>If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Writing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallPoem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallPoem</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Poetry</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallStories</span></a></p>
Miguel Afonso Caetano<p>"Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025, I was struck by how eerily prescient Gibson was in so many ways—but also by what he didn’t anticipate. You can still smoke in a bar, for one. Also, print media is still the norm (maybe it makes a comeback?), and discarded newspapers blow through the streets of Manhattan. Most noticeably, not a single person in the book uses a mobile phone. There are levitating trains but no cellular devices—at one point, the main character is stalked by the ringing of payphones (very Matrix).</p><p>But what stands out most of all is that the vast amount of technology described in Neuromancer is either Japanese or German. The Standard Hitachi Pocket Computer, the Sanyo Vacuum Suit, and the Ono-Sendai Cyberspace 7 from Hosaka Computer? All Japanese. The Braun Coffee Maker, the Braun Microdrone, and the Telefunken Entertainment Console? All German. Not one piece of American tech I can think of is mentioned. Even one of the spacecraft is built by the Dornier-Fujitsu yards, a fictional German-Japanese manufacturer.</p><p>Which should hardly be surprising. In 1984, the future of technology looked distinctly non-American: Japan was dominating consumer electronics (think: Sony Walkmans and Pioneer Laserdisk players). The only Microsoft products were software and a mouse; Apple had only just released the first Macintosh. Gibson’s assumption that all of the state of art technology in the future would be Japanese makes all the sense in the world."</p><p><a href="https://mbh4h.substack.com/p/neuromancer-2025-review-william-gibson" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">mbh4h.substack.com/p/neuromanc</span><span class="invisible">er-2025-review-william-gibson</span></a></p><p><a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/SciFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SciFi</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Cyberpunk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Cyberpunk</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fiction</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Neuromancer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Neuromancer</span></a></p>
Strong Language<p>"It’s not enough to swear; one must swear precisely."</p><p>Michael Adams on how Mick Herron uses profanity to build character and narrative in the Slough House series of spy novels:<br><a href="https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/13/jackson-lamb-and-the-slow-horses-learn-how-to-spell-profanity/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/</span><span class="invisible">07/13/jackson-lamb-and-the-slow-horses-learn-how-to-spell-profanity/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/swearing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>swearing</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/profanity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>profanity</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/MickHerron" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MickHerron</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/SpyFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SpyFiction</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/StrongLanguage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StrongLanguage</span></a><br><a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a></p>
Matt Gemmell<p>My 236th free weekly mini-story is out, and you can read it here: <a href="https://mattgemmell.scot/books/once-upon-a-time/stories/the-last-place/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">mattgemmell.scot/books/once-up</span><span class="invisible">on-a-time/stories/the-last-place/</span></a></p><p>(Why not subscribe to get these in your inbox too?)<br><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/amwriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>amwriting</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/shortstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>shortstory</span></a></p>
Julia S.<p>AN AMBITIOUS, ALLUSIVE MONSTER of a novel takes on the biggest imaginable questions in a kaleidoscope of shifting narratives and riffs on cultural tropes—witty, existentialist, maybe Gnostic, maybe magic(k)al. B PLUS</p><p><a href="https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781953368928" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">arcadiapublishing.com/products</span><span class="invisible">/9781953368928</span></a></p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span> </p><p><a href="https://zirk.us/tags/book" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>book</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Books</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/bookreview" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bookreview</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/bookreviews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bookreviews</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>novel</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/novels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>novels</span></a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/SmallPressSunday" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallPressSunday</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PennedPossibilities</span></a> 726 — If your SC had a picture frame with slots for 3 photos, who / what would be in the pictures?</p></blockquote><p>Okay, helpful since today this SC is about to get her very own story told.</p><p>The photos Bolt would choose wasn't obvious until her situation improved. She had commiserated and been open about her life with another woman caught in a situation like her own. No act of bravery. Simple sharing of support and making now better. It was enough to cause the devil-girl to save her at great risk when their situation went pear-shaped, which (in Bolt's eyes) made Bolt lose perspective and do something arguably suicidal in turn to save her new friend. Her life changed.</p><p>The frame would contain:</p><ol><li>A monochrome halftone picture of a handsome crime boss in chains, clipped from a newspaper. It represents her stupidity in letting herself be framed and blackmailed by him—and that after darkness comes light.</li><li>A state portrait of Rainy Days, who is a scary woman as well aa the Director of Home and the Nine Outer Worlds, a maybe enemy whom Bolt recently figured out hired her for her potential, which wipes out her past sins.</li><li>The devil-girl. Maybe it's a crush, maybe it's something more, certainly it's weird since until now she's flown only with men. The devil-girl is certainly her friend.</li></ol><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mystery</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>thriller</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSReluctanceStory</span></a></p>
Paul Houle<p>I KNEW IT! Worsel really was an Eastern and not a Western Dragon (says so in the first chapter) <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/scifi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>scifi</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/dragons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>dragons</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/lensman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>lensman</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/reading" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>reading</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WritersCoffeeClub</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WCC</span></a> 2025.07.13 — How many ‘layers’ of interpretation do you seek to achieve in a piece of writing?</p></blockquote><p><strong>Interpretation as in deciphering what the words say?</strong></p><p>I talk a lot about direct language and transparency, but nuance counts. Depending on the scene, I will make words perform double or even triple duty. If the reader pays attention, a passage can go from point-of-fact to romantic to explicit simply by reading a word differently. I love innuendo, double-entendres, vague words, and words with a dozen meanings.</p><p>No, I don't do that all the time! But I will admit using them in replies to challenge games like this one.</p><p><strong>Interpretation as in recognizing the messages I am trying to get across?</strong></p><p>I don't write a story without trying to say something. However, if I have a story to tell, it is always saying something. [Shrugs.]</p><p>I cannot get away with simply stating, "Relying on a gender role for your identity leaves you a common nobody." Ok, maybe in a post like this I can get away with that (and just did). Generally, I employ a lot more subtlety; I have the reader live through the characters' bad times and good, then leave it up to the reader's interpretation, but with <em>plenty</em> of hints. If I get a reader to think after finishing a story, I feel I've done my job.</p><p>In <em>Reframing the Experience,</em> the title hints at an interpretation of a story about how surviving adversity teaches lessons. The body of the story could be about how we can go through life oblivious to other's intentions and that maybe we ought stop playing the victim. It could be how putting all our effort into something will reap unimaginable rewards, and that trying is key. It could also be that a world run by women is simply a world run by people? </p><p>Ain't literary analysis fun?</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589" translate="no" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/11249791</span><span class="invisible">5608418589</span></a></p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a></p>
MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today in Labor History July 13, 1863: America's bloodiest riot began when 50,000 mostly Irish working-class men protested the Civil War draft by burning buildings (including an orphan asylum), stores and draft offices in New York City. One of their grievances was that the wealthy could buy their way out of service. The $300 commutation fee would be over $7,000 in today’s dollars and the typical laborer only made a dollar or two per day. The unrest lasted several days and turned into race riots, with many participants blaming blacks for the war. This racist tendency was exacerbated by the participation of nativist gangs, including the Dead Rabbits (from the 5 Points neighborhood of New York), Schuylkill Rangers (from Philadelphia) and the Plug Uglies (from Baltimore). The official death toll was 120. However, some believe that up to 2,000 may have died in the riots.</p><p>The riots have been portrayed numerous time in fiction and film, including Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich cowrote a novel that also depicts the riots: “Grant Comes East: A Novel of the Civil War “ (2004). The various gangs have also been described in works of nonfiction, like in Herbert Asbury’s gang books: “Gangs of New York,” (1928) “The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933); and “The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld”<br> (1936).</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>racism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Riot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Riot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/newyork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>newyork</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/civilwar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>civilwar</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/irish" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>irish</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gangs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gangs</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/immigration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>immigration</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/film" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>film</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>novel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nonfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nonfiction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstadon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>bookstadon</span></a></span></p>
Cendrine Marrouat<p>The latest weekly prompt is here! I can't wait to read you.</p><p><a href="https://creativeramblings.com/writing-prompts/weekly-prompt-17/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">creativeramblings.com/writing-</span><span class="invisible">prompts/weekly-prompt-17/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>poetry</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/haiku" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>haiku</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/micropoetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>micropoetry</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>photography</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/ekphrasis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ekphrasis</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/poem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>poem</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/story" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>story</span></a></p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/poetry" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>poetry</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/haiku" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>haiku</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/photography" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>photography</span></a></span></p>
After Dinner Conversation<p>Do you enjoy chatting about our great writing and short stories? Want others to discuss them with in person?!?! We have started a <a class="hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23Meetup" target="_blank">#Meetup</a> group, join today! (Don't worry, if we aren't yet in your area, we will be soon!) <a href="https://buff.ly/xHivc9n" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">buff.ly/xHivc9n</a> <a class="hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23philosophy" target="_blank">#philosophy</a> <a class="hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23ethics" target="_blank">#ethics</a> <a class="hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://bsky.app/search?q=%23fiction" target="_blank">#fiction</a></p>
Dave Muth<p>“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, ‘Why, why, why?’ Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.”<br>--Bokonon (from Kurt Vonnegut Jr's Cat's Cradle)</p><p><a href="https://mas.to/tags/Genius" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Genius</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fiction</span></a> ? <a href="https://mas.to/tags/FictionIsBest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FictionIsBest</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/Truth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Truth</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/Vonnegut" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vonnegut</span></a></p>
Steven Cudahy<p>The <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> for Sunday 13 July 2025 is:</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/halogen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>halogen</span></a></p><p>The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.</p><p>@ me, if you like, or just include the <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.</p><p>If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Writing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallPoem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallPoem</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Poetry</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallStories</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PennedPossibilities</span></a> 725 — Do you have a favorite character in your current WIP?</p></blockquote><p>My favorite character changes based on my mood and what I recently wrote. I'm big on emotion and what today they call <em>feels.</em> If I choke up while reading my story, I know I've done it right. I'm liking Lightning Bolt the day angel SC who ends up training as a praetorian after having really messed up as a youth. Her story <em>Reframing the Experience</em>, linked in my pinned samples post, DOES choke me up. She's a jock type who has seen her juvenile pride crushed. At 27, she's now learning how thinking about what you are doing keeps you from making stupid spur-of-the moment decisions. She will learn she's not so stupid after all. </p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mystery</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>thriller</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>romance</span></a> <br> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSReluctanceStory</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WritersCoffeeClub</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WCC</span></a> 2025.07.12 — How much do themes of transience or permanence appear in your work?</p></blockquote><p>Often, it appears. Characters, even the most entrenched, find their world is fragile or unpredictable. Like in real life. The devil-girl uses this to her advantage. Any time somebody tries to use a job, a situation, or something material to pressure her (sometimes to the point of blackmail) she tells them if they continue she's okay with throwing it all away and starting elsewhere where they won't have her services. Usually, she gets her way. One story, however, she's attending a school and is loath to give that up. What crap she willing to endure, what bad things she's willing to do, in that situation proves interesting—what the antagonists end up suffering when she reaches her breaking point is even more so. </p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mystery</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>thriller</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>romance</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Restore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Restore</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSReluctanceStory</span></a></p>
Ami Angelwings<p><a href="https://urusai.social/tags/QuestionOfTheDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>QuestionOfTheDay</span></a> for a fighting tournament of all fictional characters, which 2 fictional characters would you want as your TV commentary team? Pick one for play-by-play and one for colour commentary/analysis. </p><p><a href="https://urusai.social/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/TV" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TV</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/television" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>television</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/videogames" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>videogames</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/games" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>games</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/movies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>movies</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/film" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>film</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/anime" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>anime</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/manga" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>manga</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/comics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>comics</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/comicbooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>comicbooks</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/ccgs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ccgs</span></a> <a href="https://urusai.social/tags/ttrpg" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ttrpg</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WordWeavers</span></a> 2025.07.12 — Are you comfortable promoting your own work?</p></blockquote><p>A lot of what I do on Mastodon is for the fun of writing, but it's also aimed at promoting my future career. It's necessary first steps. The only discomfort is not yet having inventory I could sell, but I make that up by posting lots of little stories online.</p><p>I'm very comfortable promoting other's work online, and often boost buy-links, links to posted stories and articles, and self-promotions (if they aren't too repetitive). That goes for art as well are writing.</p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a> <br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RSReluctanceStory</span></a></p>
Strong Language<p>"Chitty fucking Bang Bang", "Jesus screaming fuck!", "Jackabloodynory", "supercalifragilisticfuckmealadocious"</p><p>Michael Adams continues his series on swearing in the Slough House spy novels, focusing here on "infixing and interposing as a means of characterization":</p><p><a href="https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/07/11/a-shit-ton-of-infixing-and-interposing-lands-on-slough-house-everyone-survives/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/</span><span class="invisible">07/11/a-shit-ton-of-infixing-and-interposing-lands-on-slough-house-everyone-survives/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/swearing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>swearing</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/profanity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>profanity</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>books</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/SpyFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SpyFiction</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/StrongLanguage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StrongLanguage</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://lingo.lol/tags/MickHerron" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MickHerron</span></a></p>
GiuliaCosa succede quando un autore di fantascienza si lascia ispirare dalle idee di uno scienziato? Se lo è chiesto il curatore di questa antologia di Urania, parlando con tredici scienziati dell’Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia per poi proporre gli argomenti emersi dalle sue interviste ad altrettanti autori del panorama fantascientifico del nostro Paese. Dalla robotica alla conservazione dei beni culturali, un’antologia che spazia dai temi classici della fantascienza all’elettronica stampata e commestibile, affidati alla penna di autori che non hanno esitato a cogliere la sfida. Che dire! Un’idea bellissima, non vedo l’ora di immergermi nella lettura!<br> <br> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/uraniamondadori?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#uraniamondadori</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/scifi?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#scifi</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/fantascienza?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fantascienza</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/fiction?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/antologia?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#antologia</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/racconti?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#racconti</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/tecnologia?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#tecnologia</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/lettura?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lettura</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/book?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#book</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.uno/discover/tags/scifinovel?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#scifinovel</a>