I guess I'm going to have to get myself some pyjamas, prefferably purple

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#WordWeavers 2504.30 — How and when does your material make use of alliteration?

Whenever it makes rhetorical sense. I am actually very alliterate. Alliteration often happens by accident, but I find it useful to emphasize an idea or event. I rarely exceed two words, but if I do it needs to be supported by the tone of the work in that specific moment. I shy away neither from rhetoric nor eloquence (that is, from turns of phrase), but it must serve the work and must be transparent to the read, unless it serves me otherwise.

In the following passage, I've emphasized the first sentence of the second paragraph, but the alliteration begins before and ends after…

"So, let me get this right," May Ri said. She sat in a small supply dome cleared for the purpose, a light glaring overhead, a table, two chairs, a chamber pot, and a wall vid, currently blank but recording. She scrolled her book plate. "D-u-g Dug… not Doug… not—"

"Douglas," the dirty-haired, dumpy contract colonist snapped, ankle-chained to the floor. Her age. She'd researched how police ran interviews in Randy's library, but between the textbooks and police procedural novels, the latter proved most helpful.

Dug had had a second child…

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#WordWeavers 2504.29 — What’s your best-selling or most popular story?

No bestsellers. Since all were under different noms de plume, I'll answer that a novel from category A sold >25K copies with less than 600 returns. One online short story from category B has >11K views and 2.5:1 like:dislike ratio—and no, of course not, I don't even consider it one of my better works, but readers can be fickle.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2504.29 — What is your proudest or best moment with your creative endeavor this month?

No exact best moment. But I proud of myself that, despite 11 days of COVID, I did plow through most of the revisions to Mars Needed Women, expanding the rather terse alpha version that I posted and later deleted from Mastodon. It has gone from 23K to 38K, adding 16K more words. This does include a glossary, map, and an essay of the meaning of all the chapter titles, all of which have significance to the women's rights movement and gender equality. It also includes most of an epilogue… which I would be writing if I weren't procrastinating by writing this!

I had hoped to send a copy to my beta readers tomorrow, but I'm going to take a holiday. Probably by Friday.

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2504.29 — Have you ever written anything that didn’t age well?

Rolls on the floor, laughing out loud. Had I been drinking soda pop, I might have died from the pain of having the fizz squirt from my nostrils.

Well, okay, with that intro I ought give at least a few examples! I wrote a magical iPad into a story almost two decades before it was invented, conceptually complete with dog ear bookmarks and pages that animated with actual page turns, some of which could be held partially open with one's fingers. The main character uses to summon a demon. It sends her home from the fantasy world but causes a disaster that gets her summoned back. It was spiffy at the time.

I wrote a pair of novellas that took place on Mars. One error almost failed to make it out of revision: The teenage protagonist remembered the moon landing in 1989. Even if she were 20, she wasn't, she would have been 4 years old for the last one, and I was writing about the first one. Oops.

What did make it in was having a rather impressive alien ship having landed on Mars, and human footstep now surrounding the one of the Viking landers. The amazing high resolution imaging of Mars makes that rather untenable today, though not completely impossible. Worse though, the story posited as interstellar transportation depot and city built inside the moon Phobos. I'm sure subsequent spacecraft telemetry would have noticed gravitational anomalies, not to mention that large surface areas of the moon had been developed.

Mind you, it's possible the alien residents might have evacuated and remediated the landscape when they realized Earth cultures might be spoiled. That could be a third story…

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I killed them! I killed my darlings. Yeah.***

https://harpers.org/archive/2014/11/spare-the-darling/ @writers

*** And no, I didn't kill the darlings, only the boring lengths.

Checking this out. Looking for a new place to connect with others. #author #indieauthor #fantasy #books #writer

#WordWeavers 2504.28 — Do you pick the story, or does the story pick you?

My characters speak to me. Yes, I hear voices in my head. They demand I write their stories. They often show up when I'm writing other stories as this or that interesting person, or when I'm playing with an unusual idea. As a recent example, I stumbled onto a set of women's rights / gender equality prompts and misconstrued the French word for March, Mars, for the planet, you know, that red one? The character of May Ri popped in and demanded I help her fight the good fight to finally bring down all the badness happening in our society today. I wrote her web-novel in thirty-one days.

The story picks me. Definitely. The best ones drag me along kicking and screaming, and writing furiously.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2504.27 — Would you ever want your MC’s life?

I realize that everybody's life is difficult, not just the people in the stories I write. Safety doesn't imply that life is good or easy. My general answer is that were I one of my MCs with no more than a dream-like impression of my current self, in most cases I'd like being them. It would be an exchange of my disabilities and fears for their disabilities and fears, along with their capabilities and goals. Since I am already a Walter (Wanda) Mitty as an author, I could live with that.

Devil-girl: She's autistic like me, so I could relate. I appreciate her bravery, brawn, and brains, not so much the terrors she lived through nor the PTSD or physical injuries she deals with. As her love life heats up, her life becomes a lot more attractive.

Thorn Rose: She's a brainy over-achiever with plenty of love and support from her friend Streak. She will become an astronaut, so that's a plus. That she has the main series antagonist (an absolute ruler) trying to train her for her unstated goals, her life is a bit intense, but with Streak's support I'd do it.

Streak: For him, Thorn is his one true love and she's never stinting. It's not easy being a guy in their society, but the roller coaster ride he'll go through being with her—supporting her when her meager supply of common sense fails her as it often does—might be well worth the ticket price.

Rainy Days: Despite being the main Reluctance Series antagonist, she's also an MC in some stories. Being able to watch and participate in the history of humanity while never aging beyond being 24 years old is enticing, especially at my age. She witnesses achievements and the fall of civilizations, sometimes being an agent of their decline. But she has family, repeatedly, again and again, but lives to see everyone eventually die. It's hard, but it is an opportunity to experience everything without breaking, and since memories always fade, even the old is new again, eventually. Her goal keeps her going: saving humanity from extinction, something she must work at daily because [spoilers], knowing full well that any mistake could end life on Earth. Okay, I'd take this one. Everybody's life is difficult, but real meaning is a rare and scarce commodity.

May Ri: Don't get me wrong, I love this character, but her life is full of lots of ups and downs. What she goes through is the wringer, and because I just wrote this story, it's visceral. I'm thinking No on this one.

Wintereyes: Her life is hard. She lives from the age of 7 to 21 as a member of a wolf pack she has befriended. She is exceedingly kind and indomitably brave in that, so much so that she befriends a dragon. It's because of her kindness (and the magic it evokes) that she always has friends that are there for her. I'd like to experience that, despite the hardships and the trials I know she will go through.

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#WordWeavers 2504.26 — Does your MC have good or back luck?

Luck is not a word in the language of any character in the Reluctance Series. Literally. Neither do they have a word that can express the concept of the supernatural or the divine. When an unfortunate event or a surprising success takes place, they will say, "Chance or skill?" The MC's totally take credit for being oblivious or having achieved something, and look for interference from people or real world events as chance may have it. They would see someone talking about "luck" or "wishing it" as we do as mentally ill, and this is a plot line in Reluctant Moon.

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#WordWeavers 2504.25 — How long does it typically take you to draft a novel?

I dislike the word typical. I am neither neurotypical nor typically autistic, nor am I a stereotypical author. Mostly, drafts get done when they do. The limiter on my productivity is how difficult the subject is; sex complicates every relationship. Most of my novel length works seem to take 10 to 14 months, and I know this is way too slow. My internal self-censor keeps pulling the hand brake. My aim is to complete 2 to 3 works a year. I am not there yet. Not even close.

My fastest draft took me 31 days to write from conception to "the end" and is 32 chapters long. That was Mars Needed Women, but it's a novel by fiat more so than length. Each chapter had to be short and packed with events, so it feels like a novel. Since the first draft, it's expanded from 23K to 33K in length, and I've got to finish already that flapping epilogue a tragedy in the story demanded. I've got beta readers chomping at the bit and I want to release it by the end of this month.

Prior to that, I it took me three months to complete a 70K SF space opera, and I did that writing (generally) four hours a day four days a week.

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2504.26 — What kinds of conflict do you find the most compelling?

People who are attracted to one another but for social reasons can't show it. Better is when characters have to be together, have to interact. People are so weird. And fascinating. As a shy #actuallyautistic person I've observed them intently all my life. Yes, I've participated, too. I love to explore relationships of all sorts. Remember being shy doesn't mean shy people don't want to communicate.

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2504.27 — What does a session of writing look like for you?

I sit down at a desk, start up my treadmill, or start pedaling my pedal desk. I then open Scrivener on whatever device happens to be there. I start composing. With the treadmill, I stop to write down the sessions stats at the completion of a walk, then start again.

That's composition, of course, which to many is synonymous with writing.

I find that it is easiest and most efficient to revise is using Scrivener on the Mac, as it allows me to have multiple views, access tools I need that only exist in the Mac version, and to use a feature that allows me to highlight my weasel and hedge words as I edit (a combination of a RegEx search and a feature called collections). In that case, it's definitely multiple monitors and multiple windows, and a lot of either reading text out loud or using the Speak feature I set to ⌘-F12 to have the computer read it to me. Yesterday I moved the Mac to the treadmill because I needed exercise as a twofer.

I don't often go somewhere to write, but I do visit the in-laws house or rarely write at a coffee shop (Philz), outside where I don't need to wear my KN95 and can drink my decaf.

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2504.28 — International Workers’ Memorial Day! How important is class or caste in your writing?

While I skip using caste in my stories (I have no experience with it), class (as in aristocrat, plutocrat, midde-class, homeless) shows up relatively often. Such distinctions are tools for the characters to get what they want and weapons to protect themselves. Class is a known social contract in society. Class distinctions work solely by agreement of terms by the classist and the classless. Events like the French and Marxist revolutions happen when the agreement breaks down. Class is a great shorthand for me as an author; it allows me tap into the stereotypes the mind of the reader. For example, let's talk about a princess. Princesses, indeed any royalty, are rarely as portrayed by Disney. Having brought up the stereotype, I can place it on a pedestal… and proceed to take a sledgehammer to the marble, or polish it like the brass not gold it is.

I employ class in the background of the devil-girl's various storylines. She's a middle-class girl elevated stratospherically in station at 5 years old, then ruthlessly trained. Not realizing it's an earned thing because of her capabilities, she rebels and runs away when she can be mistaken as adult. She goes through being homeless to using her capabilities to become somebody in her own right, but she gets used a lot (because she is capable) by the highest of the high, the monied, and the oppressed. Class generates story; the structure gives me opportunity to discuss women's issues and gender in a different light.

To be clear, class is only one of many tools.Moreover, the above was an analysis of my writing. I'm not one to plot or plan out these things. I just tell the story of a person who has such attributes and watch to see how it plays out.

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Today in labor history April 28, 1896: Na Hye-sok was born. She was a South Korean feminist, poet, writer, painter and journalist. She was the first female professional painter and the first feminist writer in Korea. In 1919, the authorities jailed her for participating in the March 1st Movement against Japanese rule in Korea. In 1934, she published an essay called “Divorce Testimony.” In that piece, she wrote about the repression of female sexuality. She also said that her ex-husband couldn’t satisfy her sexually and refused to talk about it with her. And she also promoted the idea of "test marriages," where a couple would live together before marrying to see if they really were compatible. These ideas were considered so scandalous and shocking that her career took a tailspin and never recovered.

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#PennedPossibilities 656 — How forgiving is your MC?

You get to make a mistake once, so long as you didn't badly injure or kill someone. She will correct the mistake, and ensure that you understand what went wrong and why it was a mistake. Don't repeat your mistake. Don't try to lawyer your way out of it. Don't be a fool.

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Today in Labor History April 27, 1521: On this day, Philippine Natives fought the battle of Mactan against Ferdinand Magellan. Lapulapu’s warriors ambushed him and overpowered the Spanish forces. They killed Magellan with a poison arrow. Their victory delayed Spanish colonization of the Philippines by forty-four years. For centuries, native Muslim Filipinos fought wars against their Spanish rulers. The Spanish saw these as a continuation of the Reconquista of Spain from the Moors. They brought in conscripts from Mexico and Latin America, including many Native Americans. Mortality was high on both sides. Many conscripts fled into the countryside, or joined with the Filipino forces. Yet, despite all the slaughter and repression of Native Filipinos, the colony was never profitable to Spain. During the 1800s, Filipino immigrants fought alongside Latin Americans in their wars for independence from Spain. In 1896, Filipinos fought their own war for independence from Spain.

When the U.S. initially landed in the Philippines, in 1898, they supported Filipinos in their uprising against Spain. However, by August, 1898, the U.S. had ended their collaboration with Native Filipinos and soon annexed the country. American rule was brutal. In 1899, American went to war against their colonial subjects. The war was far deadlier and more costly than their war against Spain. 4,200 American soldiers, up to 20,000 Philippine soldiers, and at least 200,000 civilians died.

The Japanese occupation during World War II was also brutal. In the most infamous example, 10,000 Filipino and 1,200 U.S. soldiers died in the Bataan Death March. However, during the occupation, Filipino guerillas fought an insurgency against the Japanese. Consequently, the Philippines became the costliest theatre of war for the Japanese. Nearly 500,000 Japanese died fighting in the Philippines. But it was much worse for Filipinos, with over 1 million dying during World War II. The Battle of Leyte Gulf, toward the end of World War II, was the largest naval battle in history.

Mark Twain, who was vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 until his death in 1910 said “I have read carefully the treaty of Paris and I have seen that we do not intend to free, but to subjugate the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem… And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.”

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Today in Labor History April 27, 1759: Mary Wollstonecraft, was born. She was an English philosopher, historian, and early feminist who advocated for women’s rights. In her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), she argued that women are not naturally inferior to men, but only appeared to be because they lacked education. She married the philosopher William Godwin, one of the first modern proponents of anarchism. She was also the mother of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein.

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Today in Labor History April 27, 1882: Jessie Redmon Fauset was born. She was an African-American editor, poet, essayist, novelist, and educator. Her emphasis on portraying an accurate image of African-American life and history inspired literature of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. In her fiction, she created black characters who were working professionals. This was inconceivable to white Americans at the time. Her stories dealt with themes like racial discrimination, "passing", and feminism. From 1919 to 1926, she was literary editor of The Crisis, a NAACP magazine.

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