#writing

See tagged statuses in the local bookrastinating.com community

13/12: How do your characters relate to nature? Is it threatening, idyllic, indifferent, or something else?
It’s a world where most people have regular contact with nature and therefore understand that all of these adjectives can apply at different times. As an example of this close contact, in the first chapter of Three Kinds of North Jerya swims in a forest tarn and contemplates why some things float and others don’t.

2025.12.12 — What's the longest book you've ever read?

Don't laugh! My nose was in that book a lot as a teenager and university student. Read the .

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


photographer chef cooking


Thicker than three reams of paper, smellier than most libraries, with enough dust to kill a bear, weighing in at 11.5 lbs. my black hardbound Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia 4th Ed 1968 sits on an office chair with reading glasses atop it for a size comparison.

2025.12.12 — Are bodily functions omitted or discussed in your stories?

I don't write things intentionally squick or gratuitous, but on the other hand the stories in the reluctance series do not take place in any society that is remotely derivative of any currently extant human culture. Part of the raison d'être of the stories is to point out how strange humans are. Are bodily functions mentioned, referred to, discussed amongst, or commented upon (sometimes rudely) by characters? Yes. Each culture has its standards and has its manners, and there are always people unwilling to follow the rules except when they suit them. When such matters pop up, they're important to the characters and therefore important to the story. One major example is that most public places have a unisex restroom that is more on the Roman model than it is on the Allie McBeal model, and …

Does anyone know of a free online alternative to Google Docs or Office 365? I want to be able to write on the go without have to bring my personal laptop everywhere I go, but be able to use any of my devices.

I could use a file share system, but I think that might not be the most effective.

Perhaps something that I could install on my personal website/server.

50% off @ : https://books2read.com/SkyChildren

With a strange virus giving colonists magic powers, they call for government aid, but warships packed to the gills with nuclear ordnance arrive! They run for the hills, totally terrified for their lives as their city is struck down as if by the wrath of an angry God!

@bookstodon

(Left) The cover of Sky Children, by Owen Tyme. The background is a nuclear explosion and its mushroom cloud, in some distant hills. There's a dirt road along some rocky hills leading away from it. The foreground is dominated by the dark silhouettes of another hill, some tall grass and a family of five holding hands, going left to right: girl, mother, girl, boy and father. The mother and father look down at the children, while they look up at their mother. The tallest of the children appears to be a boy in shorts, while the other two are girls of the same height, indicating they may be twins. The girls have pony tails and wear dresses. The mother wears a skirt and the father wears pants. The family holds hands. The silhouettes are highlighted by the orange light of the explosion. (Right) An explosion is fiery and bright. Someone hold up their left hand to block the light, but the light is so intense, their flesh only tinges the light a pinkish-red shade and their bones are visible, outlined with dark red lines. The following text is laid over that: He shielded his eyes with his hands, but even with his eyes closed, he could see the shadows of his finger bones, as highlighted by the monstrous, nuclear light! Temporarily blinded, tears fell from his eyes. *What more could I have done? Could we have saved more people somehow? How could I have known the consequences of setting up the navigation beacon? Why is this happening?* (Bottom) https://books2read.com/SkyChildren

Two very different examples of -

  1. This article in Smithsonian feels helpful and informative to me. Even without the photos I picture things easily from the writing. The phrasing, imagery/analogies (for us non-specialists), and the organization of the piece help me slide easily into understanding the various messages. I like it. However, I read the one below, first, which was frustrating.

  2. This article in Popular Mechanics feels very weird. I had a hard time visualizing things or knowing what context to put the information in. It was pretty frustrating. Eventually I searched and found the Smithsonian article.

12/12: Are bodily functions omitted or discussed in your stories?
It’s interesting how ‘bodily functions’ is generally taken to be a euphemism for pissing and shitting. Are, say, breathing or heartbeat not also functions of the body? Aren’t vast swathes of prose and poetry devoted to bodily functions of a sexual nature?
If you’re asking whether P & S appear in my work, the answer’s yes, on the usual basis: when they advance the story.

Looking for some soft, comfy reading to ring out this hard old year? You're sure to find something delightful in my whimsical fantasy story collection. Elves, gargoyles, mischievous young magicians, heroic aunties, brave doggo, and much more.
@bookstodon
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK2DG8T8
-and-
Bookshop
https://bookshop.org/p/books/relics-from-a-traveling-show-k-m-herkes/0abf2118b4e0a1c2?

3D mockups of a paperback and ebook for Relics From a Traveling Show by K. M. Herkes on a green background with dancing gingerbread figures wearing top hats in the foreground and strings of vintage holiday bulbs hanging overhead. The cover of the book shows a figure in a green and blue traveling cloak, shown from the rear, seated at a desk gazing out an arched window at a carnival tent bathed in sunset light. The figure has short brown hair, and they are petting the ears of a dog sitting beside them. The dog's mouth is open in a happy doggy grin. An eldritch lamp decorates the desk, beside a binder labeled "DPS Orientation Guide." At the left stands a tall bookshelf filled with artifacts, books, and knickknacks. A bonsai tree sits on the windowsill, and a pair of sinister glowing eyes lurk in the shadows behind the chair.

2025.12.11 — People are often frustrated by the lack of engagement on social media. Do you have any ideas for how to improve it?

When I was self-publishing niche material on its de facto niche platform, I worked every dimension of the platform that I could perceive. I wrote enough for nine novels. The platform included blogging; I regularly discussed my characters and those of others. I provided writing tips. The platform encouraged writing blurbs for my stories, long ones and short; I refined my process over a sequence of stories. I did keywording. I researched how to, heavily. I participated in included forums that focused on promotion and on group discussions. I contributed. I commented there, and on other's stories. Considering that I wrote material more like SF than fantasy, and gritty (gangsters were a theme at one point) rather than somewhat fluffy, I wrung out …