#Advice to beginers of Substack

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Featured Newsletters by Substack Mastery Boost Pilot: Episode 17

Curated Newsletters Community nominated newsletters of writers contributing to the Substack Mastery Boost, Curated Newsletters, and Magnetic Newsletter Pro publications on Medium and Substack to create synergy Non-members can read this story on our community blogs. Dear Writers and Readers, Happy February, We, as the volunteer curation team of ILLUMINATION, are excited to curate and feature…

[bettsfic]

some of you may have noticed that i haven't posted a newsletter in a million years. there are many reasons for this and they're nearly all good ones, including making a lot of progress on a novel, exercising and eating well, organizing all my worldly possessions, and watching Succession.

aaaand i've been on the fence about something i've finally made a decision about:

after many, many years of hesitation, i've decided to create a paid publication.

this is separate from my main newsletter in part because 1) i may post more frequently, and 2) it's not the kind of content that i think people signed up for in my main newsletter.

you can think of it as

my lowkey writing-related newsletter: me as a coach/teacher/editor

my unhinged morning pages: me as a writer

over the years, a lot of people have asked for a way to support my writing and suggested that i get a Patreon. Patreon has never sat right with me though. Substack has many, many problems but after much research, i haven't found a suitable alternative that i'm ready to pull the trigger on. it takes a lot to move platforms, and one day i will, but that day is not today.

Unhinged Morning Pages (or "ump" as i've been calling it, because i love my ridiculous acronyms) is a grand experiment in posting my writing logs, original fiction, and personal essays that don't belong anywhere else.

my main newsletter is a far cry from what it started as, and i have more subscribers than i ever anticipated. the lkwrnl won't change at all; i'll still post monthly-ish craft essays along with news and announcements, and writing advice round-ups when applicable. it will remain free to read.

but now i have a sidestack that you can subscribe to for $7 a month (or $70 a year) where you'll get alllll the other stuff i don't post elsewhere and that i'd like to keep to a smaller audience and behind a paywall. although you can subscribe for free, i don't intend to post free content there.

those who sign up for a paid subscription can read the first chapter of the novel that has taken over my life, Heavy for Hire, about a shitty criminal who kidnaps a girl, lets her go, and then 8 years later becomes her bodyguard.

i posted this to lend some context to my writing log which i'll begin sharing next week, hopefully Monday. (ideally i'd like to post on Mondays. maybe not every Monday but i do have a lot of content to share.)

tomorrow i'll be publishing a regular newsletter (on my lkwrnl) about things i've learned after 5 years as a writing coach. plus OFIC Mag issue #11 drops! april is a very big month and i'm excited to join the world again after months as a hermit.

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

Hi Mara,

I enjoyed the first chapter of Cinnamon Psychic and I am really looking forward for more! You have a wonderful way with words, the tone of your writing is extremely unique and lends itself well to the atmosphere that is being built up. Thank you and keep it up!

It made me curious, apologies if it sounds inane or nosy, about the technicalties behind your writing, and maybe to hear your advice on writing stories! I mean, there are many different methods of planning out a story beforehand—like drawing up timelines, creating character profiles, compiling notes and drafts to be stitched into a complete story and so on—and there are all kinds of software that help with writing. I have seen writers who create these complex mindmaps for story notes, draw up charts, write in word processors that have thesauruses etc., and then there are writers who write seemingly off the dome in plain old notepad or even with just pen and paper. I wonder which type of writer you are!

Thank you again for your art, and happy (late) birthday!

hey there anonymous, thank you very much for reading!

for cinnamon psychic you can find my drafts for it extending out a year backwards on my substack subscriber posts (i don:t mean this as an advertisement, mostly just that each month i tack-on every writing draft i hadn't finished to the coat-tails of those posts and the majority of those draft sections had all been sketches for my 'isekai project' which was always the now off-the-ground cinnamon psychic) which gives a good clue to my writing process and also why i am both not an efficient writer and a very slow writer:

i rewrite extensively; for months all of my writing had been rewriting various 'false-starts' for the maud story and the cheryl story and how the two would intertwine; sometimes i would start on the actual 'isekai' portion of the story and detail the assaults the angels would levy against the school or try to sketch out scenes of the dean bethlemass holding meetings of prophesy --this is basically my writing process: i get really excited about a detail (usually while out on a walk or exercising or on a drive) and then rush home to sketch out a small scene for it until i run out of steam and hit an impass, or the scene presents itself as having a 'mental clunk' while i:m writing it -- this is hard to describe but sometimes sentences have a feeling as a food has a texture or flavor; maybe the word choice 'works' but does not match the tone, or perhaps the sentence is all tone but no coherency. then i:ll start rewriting the same scene (top to bottom, reading my own writing and redoing it) with what i think will have a better texture/flavor, and then steadily let myself run out of steam/excitement. these rewrites are mostly my unproductive 'sketching' portions of writing, they:re helpful for slowly fleshing out a story but not helpful for finishing a story.

while i:m writing to finish, (this is especially true for short one-off fictions i write) i really do nothing except 'start at the beginning' and then slowly force myself forwards through a story even if it is boring (maud:s whole scene from waking to eventually going to her closet was something i did not want to write, i only wanted to write her becoming a servant to a demonic painting; her backstory in an initial draft (of the false-maud) was mostly just a 1:1 of a 'what-if i went through with my doomsday plans and drowned myself' and instead one day i got really excited about instead re-using the 'hateful sister' story i had written for hate corp and the warhammer fanfiction that was only left as a draft); for this writing i really can:t make myself do it unless i treat it like a job and intentionally make an hour dedicated to just writing while letting anime play in the background.

then, i try to make a rolodex / concordance of all the details that i know for the setting and want to keep consistent -- character names, their classes, any quirks, rough description, what their house is like, every item i:ve described for them; i mostly just use it to keep details straight instead of proactively flesh out the world unless it:s necessary that i have some boring details thought out, ie: the school of the setting is divided into different colleges with sub-groups in each, and i have to have these planned out in advance with names because chapter 2 needs it;

currently i:m on the "writing to finish, start from a point and go till done" with chapter 2; but also i like to start this from the middle and then go back to the start after i finish, because i think i have a better idea of what characterization should be for both tone and action when i:m at the end.

also, just reading a lot; paying attention to how other authors use language makes me want to write.

thanks for the ask, anonymous; have a nice day

[the-wip-project]

What's all this here?

Here at the-wip-project, we want to help you write and finish your WIPs. Our Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/uAxqrjtcf

barbex's writing advice blog: @the960writers, private blog: @barbex. Maree's blog: @mareebrittenford.

Ongoing: Planning all the plans!

Last day of the month we make writing plans for the coming month. Post is here.

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Ongoing:

For May and June 2025:

Sunday, May 4 until Sunday, June 29 2025.

Daily writing, set your own goal, make a post about hitting your goal, get a star. Post is here.

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Recently finished: Getting to know your story (through writing it)

A special writing event for discovery writers. Masterpost is here. Here is the last post with links to all the advice. You can still follow along with these posts at your own pace.

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Write your novel in 2024 2025

Slow and steady, write and finish your novel this year.

The masterpost is here, or start here at the first post and go through the tag #slomowrino. Subscribe to the substack to get everything in one place

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The projects through the years:

2025:

2024:

Write 40k in 42 days

Start: 4th of August 2024

End: 14th of September 2024

40k First post is here.

Write a short story in 60 days

Write and finish a short story to publish yourself or submit it to traditional publishers.

The start post is here and the tag is #⁠60daysshortstory. this project is done, but you can still use the resources.

2023:

Fall of 2023, the begin of SloMoWriNo https://www.tumblr.com/the-wip-project/736076610461138944/slomo-wrino-master-post

Spring 2023, the start with a special writing docket to download: https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/711609740849037313/the-wip-project-2023

2022:

Here’s the masterpost for 2022’s 90 days to first draft: https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/676795295564234752/the-wip-project-2022-masterpost

2021:

100 days of writing. The tag is here, and here are four posts I find especially notable about The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger:

https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/660848335263023104/100daysofwriting-day-ninety-2021-08-29

https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/660939749305008128/100daysofwriting-day-ninety-one-2021-08-30

https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/661030364772548608/100daysofwriting-day-ninety-two-2021-08-31

https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/661120982330834944/100daysofwriting-day-ninety-three-2021-09-01

2020:

Two short projects in this year. https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/190175623889/the-wip-project-2020 and https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/627604336988618752/im-so-busy-are-you-busy-too-i-was-trying-to

Note how I keep pushing for accountability posts. I'm convinced that accountability posts are the key to getting shit done, but very few people actually do it.

2019:

Where it all started, complete with a sign-up form and prizes. The prizes made everything extremely stressful for me, so I'm not doing that again 😂😂😂. https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/185566159309/the-wip-project-2019

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Our Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/uAxqrjtcfg

[chrisairgames]

Outer Rim Marches, #0.1

In January, I started a westmarches campaign for Mothership RPG. This is the first post in a series of play reports and mini-reviews I intend to share of the campaign-in-progress.

Let's call this post "Zero Session #1," in a series of Zero Session posts, where I'll get into the how/why of organizing and running this campaign.

Why? Well, I own a ton of Mothership modules. I've been playing and writing for Mothership RPG for over two years, yet most of my sessions became playtests and that "work-only" connection to the game was burning me out.

So, I decided to build a sandbox campaign around the physical MoSh games I have in hand, and to find folk to play at an open table.

For now, ok, sure, it's more of an open table sandbox for interconnected one-shots than a "true" westmarches game, especially since the game has only one GM (me, but I'm hoping to open that up soon). But Outer Rim Marches sounds cool, eh?

Initial Forward Operating Base (F.O.B.)

The PCs arrived at Sater's Redemption. They work for The Company, who hired them to represent their new presence amid a mess of other factions, and leases a ship, The Orpheus, to the Crew.

(We decided the official corporation name of The Company that owns their ship will be revealed in play. That hasn't happened yet, eight sessions later. I love hanging this important piece of worldbuilding in the balance for when it can have a bigger narrative impact. Not knowing wtf is going to happen is one of my favorite parts of running ttrpgs.)

The Crew's job: explore the Outer Rim to establish footholds in new trading hubs (F.O.B.s), discover novel exploitable resources (artifacts), capture profitable exobiological lifeforms, and spread the influence of The Company.

The above graphic might be familiar to folk who follow my substack, the 5 Million Worlds Rokaner Report. Each month, I release a free sci-fi adventure setting, and this station was the featured world in the April edition. A taste of things to come.

Game Organization

When I set out to recruit players, the first important bit was setting a firm, regular playtime. When people reached out, I sent them the Consent in Gaming fillable PDF to get an idea of collective Lines/Veils. Once I got that back, I sent a google survey to gauge interest in modules and game commitment to split folks into ping-able groups.

The playtime is working out well. We had one three week break, I was out sick one time, and only once did we have not have enough folk to play. Ten sessions out of a possible fifteen since January!

I kinda fucked up the module-interest part of the survey though. I listed module names, and without content tags this was pretty useless for the players (outside the BIG names, like Hull Breach). I intend to redo this survey soon, and I'll share a copy here when I do!

The player commitment bit was super helpful, at least. Since I run games on Discord, I split players into three groups: the Command crew who vote on which job to take, the mainline players are the Crew I ping each week to advertise the game (I make an "Event" in Discord), and and a final Cryo group to call on when games don't fill up right away.

This has worked super well for me, even when I drop the ball on giving the players the Event ping in advance.

The Sector Map

I built this hexmap using Sectors Without Number, which is a sector generator for Stars Without Number. I opted for this against the recommendations of Mothership's Warden's Operation Manual because in a westmarches campaign, from what I've understood, the world is meant to be established once the game begins. I think this is especially important should other GMs and player groups begin playing in this world.

To be blunt, I found using this is kind of annoying. There's a lot of irrelevant SWN info to delete, TONS of systems to hide individually, and it's pretty intensive to integrate module info into the systems.

In short, listen to Sean McCoy's advice in the Warden's Operation Manual if you're starting your own Mothership game and don't fucking do this, haha.

And to be honest, I'm not sold on this even being useful as a sandbox tool intended to be shared with other GMs, even. The verdict is still out. To be continued in another Zero Session post down the line.

ANYWAY! This map looks empty, but that's because it's the player-facing starcharts the Company gave them. PCs need to buy hyperspace route maps at various hubs to explore beyond these bounds. So the star and hyperlane layers hold loads of hidden info.

Feel free to poke around the current state of the sector.

And I do like the shift from a web to hexmap. Little swirls of points get me all crossed up. The Jump-drive distances in Mothership are amenable to using hexes, and tracking distance (i.e. time passed) is straightforward.

ORM Campaign Sneak Peek

Mothership space travel takes a long-ass time, in case you didn't know. To date, we've played nine adventures over ten sessions, and over two years have passed in the campaign world.

The players skipped over a lot of systems to go to Hardlight, which they've recently learned is on the edge of the Public Sector (from Hull Breach). Gonna be some interesting sessions coming up.

The next Outer Rim Marches post will be the official ORM#1, in which the players board the lauded Year of the Rat.

[angelofthemornings]

I've been mulling over what Brandon Taylor said on his substack recently about how to properly open a piece of writing (in particular, a literary novel). He prefers it when an opening explains the relationships the characters have to one another, and now that he's pointed it out I notice how difficult it is for me to get into a book if the opening doesn't do that. In particular, I find it sort of difficult to get into a lot of SFF and I think it's because a lot of the time they throw you straight into an environment or situation or tone and just have you make of it what you will. This is kind of alienating to me, I want some kind of emotional lead into this space. (Maybe I'm lazy.)

I just started Ghost Junk Sickness (SFF graphic novels are REALLY prone to this) and you don't really have much of an understanding of the relationship between the two main characters until about chapter three, which is the first point where the story and setting began to get interesting to me. (And while you're trying to feel out who the protagonists are exactly, the story throws sixteen other characters at you, none of whom have much to do with each other, and so I found the beginning of this story pretty disjointed and boring. I probably wouldn't be interested in the rest of it if the end of the third chapter didn't do something interesting, which was have a character act in a way that's irrational and unfair, and I really like it when authors let their characters do that.)

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of other SFF I've liked and was able to get into immediately and they took the Brandon Taylor tack - R.F. Kuang's Babel begins by describing the relationship the main character has with his parents (not much of one because they die instantly, but it's *extremely* important to the rest of the book) and with his benefactor; and Tower of God could have started off with Bam going through the preliminaries before he begins to ascend the tower - Christ, that would have been confusing - but instead it takes a couple minutes to explain Bam's relationship to Rachel and not only is it just way, WAY more interesting that way, it made the world a lot clearer to me. If I was just thrown into Bam's first combat situation I'd have struggled to figure out what was going on and what, if any of it, was significant. Instead I knew who Bam was and where he came from, and that meant I had an intimate understanding of what he was reacting to and why - this made all the information and worldbuilding that you get at the beginning easy to understand.

I had issues getting into Dark Souls because of this, I just couldn't figure out the protagonist's point of view. I wasn't sure if I had memories of my time spent alive, or if I had worshipped gods like Gwyn or if this was the first time I was hearing about any of them, and so I couldn't really feel out the emotional weight of the story. I don't know if this is a weakness of mine or if I would like to propose a literary dictum.

...actually I kinda do. Quit starting your shit in media res, it's fucking annoying. I don't give a shit what every other piece of writing advice tells you to do, only Brandon Taylor and I are correct.

[adannamdi]

The life of a Christian is incomplete without a deep encounter with the Word. Join me as I begin my spiritual deep dive—starting with the beginning of all things. Genesis Chapter 1 isn't just history; it's a foundation. Let’s uncover its living truth together.

I apologize but this post is only available on Substack, so I would advice you subscribe and look forward to it's release on Substack

BTW it's free.

[the-fairy-forager]

ADHD makes writing difficult, at least for me.

There are just so many ideas and topics I want to read and write about, that it all gets a bit too overwhelming and I end up writing half finished projects or nothing at all.

It’s been like this since I first realised I loved writing and wanted to be a writer, but how can I even call myself a writer if I’ve never truly finished any of my writing pieces.

Many hours have been spent starting a project and getting so utterly obsessed with the insides of the new project, almost to an unhealthy degree. Forgetting to drink water or to sleep, delaying more important priorities and responsibilities to finish one more chapter or section, and of course, just generally forgetting there’s a world beyond my writing project.

Only… Only to come out of it a few weeks later, feeling suffocated by the project and the more difficult aspects of writing.

That, I presume, is when the dopamine decides to vanish into thin air.

When I realise that a big part of writing is to continue on even after all the excitement goes away. Writing requires focus and dedication to make sure that the piece is as flawless as it can be. and these requirements can be quite temperamental when ADHD is thrown into the mix.

I don’t quite know what to do. I really don’t have an answer. I desperately want to try at least writing essays before I begin to even think about my dream project of writing a massive fantasy series...but even then I’m quite overwhelmed by how much work is required for a simple essay.

Do I want to start a Substacks or go with Medium to write about history, feminism, or writing and books and all the other nonfiction topics I want to write about? If I choose history for example, what kind of history- ancient history, medieval history, and also which region's history… I love all these sub-topics and my FOMO’s starting to kick in.

Essentially, I want to write about everything that I love, and to do that, I have to read about everything that I love… I need to know it all in depth.

This is where I tell myself to take a deep breath in and then out.

I can’t write or read or know that much. And although all the advice seems to be ‘pick a niche’ or ‘find your speciality’, knowing me I don’t thrive well in one corner. I like to obsess over various different things. And perhaps that is the only way forward.

Whatever comes to mind, just write it. No hesitation, no doubts and perfectionism… I’m tired of feeling a fraud or a fake… I’m tired of being unsure of whether or not I should call myself a writer. I am a writer. I’ve been writing private journal entries almost every day since I was ten or eleven. So in that regards, I’ve always been a diarist. The only consistent thing I've done in my entire life besides daydreaming but that's another topic for another time, if ever.

This weird existential dread of who I want to be and my ability to write and publish weighs on me. Writing is probably the only thing I could confidently say I’m kind of good at doing. And even then, I know I still have a long way to go. But it’s been my source of confidence, the key to expressing myself, the same way reading has been my major source of connecting with the world. It is who I am, and I can't imagine my life without writing (or reading as they go hand in hand).

I owe it to myself to be compassionate and forgiving as I begin again another attempt to complete and share my writing projects. And so I begin here, on a lonely blog on Tumblr.

[cleverhottubmiracle]

HAPPY 2025!! I can’t believe I am writing those words. Last year flew by, and to be honest, I was glad to slam the book closed on 2024. It was such a challenging year for me personally and I am looking forward to all the milestones 2025 will bring. Atlantic-Pacific turns 15. I turn 40. And, I celebrate a big wedding anniversary! I am hoping ’25 will be much more kind than ’24. I thought I would kick off the year with an updated Q&A. Every few months on Atlantic-Pacific I like to round up some new (and a few recurring) questions that I receive via comments, emails, and DMs. So today I am answering some of your most recently asked questions! You can also see older Q&A posts here, here, here, and here as well as visit many of my FAQ posts below. If I didn’t answer your question this time, please reach out and I will try my best to get to it! How do you achieve your low bun hair? See my tutorial here. What is your everyday make-up routine? See it here. How did you start Atlantic-Pacific? Read about it here. How and when did you get into the fashion industry? You can read all about that here. Q: Where do you see the influencer space heading? A: The influencers space is more nuanced than ever. Where we used to see HUGE OVERT trends in the space, I think the growth in diverse platforms and the overall number of influncers means we are seeing the rise of micro communities. Influencing will continue to grow due to more and more people of all ages turning to different platforms for advice, education, and inspiration. Now that there are creators covering any and all topics, and there are so many platforms to deliver information, the influencer space continues to grow and find new ways to reach people. In the beginning traditional blogs were king, then YouTube exploded, then Instagram took over. Now you can look out and find so many different platforms to be successful on and through different types of content. The diversity of platforms allows creators to focus on the content they love and how they choose to deliver – writers on Substack, comedy on TikTok, educational videos on YouTube, controversial conversations on podcasts, etc. Marketing dollars continue to flow to the influencer world because time and time again many influencers can prove their ROI better than traditional marketing. We have seen year over year increases in digital marketing spend in every sector and I don’t think that is going to change. Overall the space will continue to grow and thrive, but now it is much less about being the ‘biggest’ or following a trend and more about micro influence. It is about building communities and having more specific interests to attract a very like minded audience that is highly engaged. And thanks to the growth of different platforms to reach this audience you can do this in different ways and how it feels most authentic to you. One trend I do hope to see is the influencer space more widely embracing privacy, especially for children and non consenting individuals (people in the background of videos, being included in content without permission). Next to time I think one of the most valuable things in our lives is privacy. I think authenticity and sharing is still important, and I am not trying to call any one influencer or type of influencer out, I just hope we can all embrace being safe and protecting our peace in what can be a dangerous online world. Q: Any collabs in 2025 or co-branded product? A: This comes up every year, and always makes me feel so grateful that so many of you enjoyed my past collabs and may be looking forward to more. At the moment, the answer is no. I took a very intentional pause in 2024 and am open to possibilities moving forward. I am having conversations, but nothing is set in stone at the moment. For me a product collaboration is my ultimate stamp of approval. It needs to be the right brand fit, the right price point, and the brand has to have the team/bandwidth to execute new quality designs that can be delivered on time with great customer service. I prefer not to partner with brands that have done multiple collaborations in the past and careful with brands that are too green or with little experience. It is all a delicate dance and after many successful, beautiful collaborations that I am so proud of, I will only commit to the perfect fit moving forward. Q: Ins and Outs for 2025? A: Sometimes I hate year end trends, but this year I loved reading so many intentions for 2025 with what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’. I do set goals, but they are typically quarterly, and usually professionally grounded. That being said, I’ll take a stab at my ‘Ins and Outs’ for 2025 below: IN: secondhand shopping, monthly purges, taking up a new active hobby, shutting down negativity, learning to cook new dishes, handwritten notes, recognizing rest is important and being unproductive at times is okay and not lazy, and consistency over controlled perfection. OUT: doomscrolling, obsessing over the weather in hurricane season (this is joke but also not a joke), too much mindless Amazon spending, being impatient with Penny when she is having an anxious day, sending the reply (text or email) ASAP vs. ruminating, creating a more concrete working schedule. Q: How often do you clean out your closet? How do you decide what to keep vs. get rid of? What do you do with your old clothes? A: Okay, this is always my most asked question. I’ve decided to do a BIG, BIG post on this topic and it will go live later this week! Q: Cute professional work attire? Lightweight clothes for a trip to India? Do you offer personal styling services? A: One thing I have tried to embrace over the years is that I can’t be everything to everyone and I need to stay in my lane. I love fashion and sometimes will dip my toe in beauty and lifestyle where is makes sense. I don’t like doling out advice or giving product recommendations if I am not confident in them. I haven’t worked in a true professional environment in over five years and even then it was more of a ‘wear whatever you want’ office. I have never been to India (would love to go) and wouldn’t want to give recommendations as I am not well versed enough in the climate or culture to provide sound advice. I LOVE dressing myself, but dressing others is a whole different type of art. I have so much respect for stylists, but I am not one! I love answering your questions but always want to honest about where I can truly add value. This hopefully keeps you coming back and trusting me. Q: What is a trend you used to love you find yourself no longer reaching for? What is a trend you are looking forward to in 2025? A: I have a hard time answering questions about letting go of something because I never want to offend anyone. Trends ebb and flow, but know if you love something, WEAR it. For me personally, I am not reaching for overt western boots, headbands, or oversized tunics as much as I used to. This is not at all to claim they are ‘out’, I just find myself gravitating towards different items in my closet! As for 2025, I am most looking forward to sheer materials and the return of more romantic/feminine dressing. I am also not hating the trend of styles becoming more voluminous and baggy. I think when done in a more sophisticated way, mixing and matching volume can be so fun and beautiful. ITEM SPECIFIC QUESTIONS: Q: Where did you get your silver Adidas? A: I bought mine on Nordstrom, but sadly they are sold out. They are still in stock here and here! Q: Best understated luxury bag that won’t break the bank? A: For me that would be the Savette pochette. They are well made, timeless, and I personally love a top handle design. I have the bag in three colors now! Q: Favorite item you bought this year? A: This Oscar De La Rent runway skirt that is SO fab. Almost all my favorite purchases this year were second hand! Q: Favorite outfit of 2025? A: It would probably be this outfit or this one. I think having style means to have a common thread in how you dress but also to be ever evolving. These two outfits feel like a grown up version of 2012 Blair – and I love that! Q: How to create your own personal style and a unique closet? A: I actually did a whole post on that here. It can be frustrating while you are experimenting and figuring out what works for you and makes you feel great. My biggest piece of advice is to take it slow and not invest in anything until you feel you have really nailed what you feel is your unique style expression. Q: Can you do more styling posts? A: In 2024 I did a lot of styling posts and you can see a few examples here, here, and here. I have vowed to do more in 2025! On my list are how to style the button down, loafers, a simple bodysuit, and more. If you have any specific requests DM or email me! The post THE FIRST Q&A OF 2025! appeared first on Atlantic-Pacific. Source link

[norajworld]

HAPPY 2025!! I can’t believe I am writing those words. Last year flew by, and to be honest, I was glad to slam the book closed on 2024. It was such a challenging year for me personally and I am looking forward to all the milestones 2025 will bring. Atlantic-Pacific turns 15. I turn 40. And, I celebrate a big wedding anniversary! I am hoping ’25 will be much more kind than ’24. I thought I would kick off the year with an updated Q&A. Every few months on Atlantic-Pacific I like to round up some new (and a few recurring) questions that I receive via comments, emails, and DMs. So today I am answering some of your most recently asked questions! You can also see older Q&A posts here, here, here, and here as well as visit many of my FAQ posts below. If I didn’t answer your question this time, please reach out and I will try my best to get to it! How do you achieve your low bun hair? See my tutorial here. What is your everyday make-up routine? See it here. How did you start Atlantic-Pacific? Read about it here. How and when did you get into the fashion industry? You can read all about that here. Q: Where do you see the influencer space heading? A: The influencers space is more nuanced than ever. Where we used to see HUGE OVERT trends in the space, I think the growth in diverse platforms and the overall number of influncers means we are seeing the rise of micro communities. Influencing will continue to grow due to more and more people of all ages turning to different platforms for advice, education, and inspiration. Now that there are creators covering any and all topics, and there are so many platforms to deliver information, the influencer space continues to grow and find new ways to reach people. In the beginning traditional blogs were king, then YouTube exploded, then Instagram took over. Now you can look out and find so many different platforms to be successful on and through different types of content. The diversity of platforms allows creators to focus on the content they love and how they choose to deliver – writers on Substack, comedy on TikTok, educational videos on YouTube, controversial conversations on podcasts, etc. Marketing dollars continue to flow to the influencer world because time and time again many influencers can prove their ROI better than traditional marketing. We have seen year over year increases in digital marketing spend in every sector and I don’t think that is going to change. Overall the space will continue to grow and thrive, but now it is much less about being the ‘biggest’ or following a trend and more about micro influence. It is about building communities and having more specific interests to attract a very like minded audience that is highly engaged. And thanks to the growth of different platforms to reach this audience you can do this in different ways and how it feels most authentic to you. One trend I do hope to see is the influencer space more widely embracing privacy, especially for children and non consenting individuals (people in the background of videos, being included in content without permission). Next to time I think one of the most valuable things in our lives is privacy. I think authenticity and sharing is still important, and I am not trying to call any one influencer or type of influencer out, I just hope we can all embrace being safe and protecting our peace in what can be a dangerous online world. Q: Any collabs in 2025 or co-branded product? A: This comes up every year, and always makes me feel so grateful that so many of you enjoyed my past collabs and may be looking forward to more. At the moment, the answer is no. I took a very intentional pause in 2024 and am open to possibilities moving forward. I am having conversations, but nothing is set in stone at the moment. For me a product collaboration is my ultimate stamp of approval. It needs to be the right brand fit, the right price point, and the brand has to have the team/bandwidth to execute new quality designs that can be delivered on time with great customer service. I prefer not to partner with brands that have done multiple collaborations in the past and careful with brands that are too green or with little experience. It is all a delicate dance and after many successful, beautiful collaborations that I am so proud of, I will only commit to the perfect fit moving forward. Q: Ins and Outs for 2025? A: Sometimes I hate year end trends, but this year I loved reading so many intentions for 2025 with what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’. I do set goals, but they are typically quarterly, and usually professionally grounded. That being said, I’ll take a stab at my ‘Ins and Outs’ for 2025 below: IN: secondhand shopping, monthly purges, taking up a new active hobby, shutting down negativity, learning to cook new dishes, handwritten notes, recognizing rest is important and being unproductive at times is okay and not lazy, and consistency over controlled perfection. OUT: doomscrolling, obsessing over the weather in hurricane season (this is joke but also not a joke), too much mindless Amazon spending, being impatient with Penny when she is having an anxious day, sending the reply (text or email) ASAP vs. ruminating, creating a more concrete working schedule. Q: How often do you clean out your closet? How do you decide what to keep vs. get rid of? What do you do with your old clothes? A: Okay, this is always my most asked question. I’ve decided to do a BIG, BIG post on this topic and it will go live later this week! Q: Cute professional work attire? Lightweight clothes for a trip to India? Do you offer personal styling services? A: One thing I have tried to embrace over the years is that I can’t be everything to everyone and I need to stay in my lane. I love fashion and sometimes will dip my toe in beauty and lifestyle where is makes sense. I don’t like doling out advice or giving product recommendations if I am not confident in them. I haven’t worked in a true professional environment in over five years and even then it was more of a ‘wear whatever you want’ office. I have never been to India (would love to go) and wouldn’t want to give recommendations as I am not well versed enough in the climate or culture to provide sound advice. I LOVE dressing myself, but dressing others is a whole different type of art. I have so much respect for stylists, but I am not one! I love answering your questions but always want to honest about where I can truly add value. This hopefully keeps you coming back and trusting me. Q: What is a trend you used to love you find yourself no longer reaching for? What is a trend you are looking forward to in 2025? A: I have a hard time answering questions about letting go of something because I never want to offend anyone. Trends ebb and flow, but know if you love something, WEAR it. For me personally, I am not reaching for overt western boots, headbands, or oversized tunics as much as I used to. This is not at all to claim they are ‘out’, I just find myself gravitating towards different items in my closet! As for 2025, I am most looking forward to sheer materials and the return of more romantic/feminine dressing. I am also not hating the trend of styles becoming more voluminous and baggy. I think when done in a more sophisticated way, mixing and matching volume can be so fun and beautiful. ITEM SPECIFIC QUESTIONS: Q: Where did you get your silver Adidas? A: I bought mine on Nordstrom, but sadly they are sold out. They are still in stock here and here! Q: Best understated luxury bag that won’t break the bank? A: For me that would be the Savette pochette. They are well made, timeless, and I personally love a top handle design. I have the bag in three colors now! Q: Favorite item you bought this year? A: This Oscar De La Rent runway skirt that is SO fab. Almost all my favorite purchases this year were second hand! Q: Favorite outfit of 2025? A: It would probably be this outfit or this one. I think having style means to have a common thread in how you dress but also to be ever evolving. These two outfits feel like a grown up version of 2012 Blair – and I love that! Q: How to create your own personal style and a unique closet? A: I actually did a whole post on that here. It can be frustrating while you are experimenting and figuring out what works for you and makes you feel great. My biggest piece of advice is to take it slow and not invest in anything until you feel you have really nailed what you feel is your unique style expression. Q: Can you do more styling posts? A: In 2024 I did a lot of styling posts and you can see a few examples here, here, and here. I have vowed to do more in 2025! On my list are how to style the button down, loafers, a simple bodysuit, and more. If you have any specific requests DM or email me! The post THE FIRST Q&A OF 2025! appeared first on Atlantic-Pacific. Source link

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

22-Day Formulized Intense Writing and Engagement Challenge for Substack Writers

This is not a usual story writing challenge; it is for gaining paid subscribers subsidized by Substack with a strategic move.  Why 22 days? It is because the offer by Substack ends on 30 November, and some of us have already missed 8 days because we did not hear about it despite my writing twice about it in the last 8 days.  Any story about Substack, including my book chapters related to…

[chilimili212]

HAPPY 2025!! I can’t believe I am writing those words. Last year flew by, and to be honest, I was glad to slam the book closed on 2024. It was such a challenging year for me personally and I am looking forward to all the milestones 2025 will bring. Atlantic-Pacific turns 15. I turn 40. And, I celebrate a big wedding anniversary! I am hoping ’25 will be much more kind than ’24. I thought I would kick off the year with an updated Q&A. Every few months on Atlantic-Pacific I like to round up some new (and a few recurring) questions that I receive via comments, emails, and DMs. So today I am answering some of your most recently asked questions! You can also see older Q&A posts here, here, here, and here as well as visit many of my FAQ posts below. If I didn’t answer your question this time, please reach out and I will try my best to get to it! How do you achieve your low bun hair? See my tutorial here. What is your everyday make-up routine? See it here. How did you start Atlantic-Pacific? Read about it here. How and when did you get into the fashion industry? You can read all about that here. Q: Where do you see the influencer space heading? A: The influencers space is more nuanced than ever. Where we used to see HUGE OVERT trends in the space, I think the growth in diverse platforms and the overall number of influncers means we are seeing the rise of micro communities. Influencing will continue to grow due to more and more people of all ages turning to different platforms for advice, education, and inspiration. Now that there are creators covering any and all topics, and there are so many platforms to deliver information, the influencer space continues to grow and find new ways to reach people. In the beginning traditional blogs were king, then YouTube exploded, then Instagram took over. Now you can look out and find so many different platforms to be successful on and through different types of content. The diversity of platforms allows creators to focus on the content they love and how they choose to deliver – writers on Substack, comedy on TikTok, educational videos on YouTube, controversial conversations on podcasts, etc. Marketing dollars continue to flow to the influencer world because time and time again many influencers can prove their ROI better than traditional marketing. We have seen year over year increases in digital marketing spend in every sector and I don’t think that is going to change. Overall the space will continue to grow and thrive, but now it is much less about being the ‘biggest’ or following a trend and more about micro influence. It is about building communities and having more specific interests to attract a very like minded audience that is highly engaged. And thanks to the growth of different platforms to reach this audience you can do this in different ways and how it feels most authentic to you. One trend I do hope to see is the influencer space more widely embracing privacy, especially for children and non consenting individuals (people in the background of videos, being included in content without permission). Next to time I think one of the most valuable things in our lives is privacy. I think authenticity and sharing is still important, and I am not trying to call any one influencer or type of influencer out, I just hope we can all embrace being safe and protecting our peace in what can be a dangerous online world. Q: Any collabs in 2025 or co-branded product? A: This comes up every year, and always makes me feel so grateful that so many of you enjoyed my past collabs and may be looking forward to more. At the moment, the answer is no. I took a very intentional pause in 2024 and am open to possibilities moving forward. I am having conversations, but nothing is set in stone at the moment. For me a product collaboration is my ultimate stamp of approval. It needs to be the right brand fit, the right price point, and the brand has to have the team/bandwidth to execute new quality designs that can be delivered on time with great customer service. I prefer not to partner with brands that have done multiple collaborations in the past and careful with brands that are too green or with little experience. It is all a delicate dance and after many successful, beautiful collaborations that I am so proud of, I will only commit to the perfect fit moving forward. Q: Ins and Outs for 2025? A: Sometimes I hate year end trends, but this year I loved reading so many intentions for 2025 with what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’. I do set goals, but they are typically quarterly, and usually professionally grounded. That being said, I’ll take a stab at my ‘Ins and Outs’ for 2025 below: IN: secondhand shopping, monthly purges, taking up a new active hobby, shutting down negativity, learning to cook new dishes, handwritten notes, recognizing rest is important and being unproductive at times is okay and not lazy, and consistency over controlled perfection. OUT: doomscrolling, obsessing over the weather in hurricane season (this is joke but also not a joke), too much mindless Amazon spending, being impatient with Penny when she is having an anxious day, sending the reply (text or email) ASAP vs. ruminating, creating a more concrete working schedule. Q: How often do you clean out your closet? How do you decide what to keep vs. get rid of? What do you do with your old clothes? A: Okay, this is always my most asked question. I’ve decided to do a BIG, BIG post on this topic and it will go live later this week! Q: Cute professional work attire? Lightweight clothes for a trip to India? Do you offer personal styling services? A: One thing I have tried to embrace over the years is that I can’t be everything to everyone and I need to stay in my lane. I love fashion and sometimes will dip my toe in beauty and lifestyle where is makes sense. I don’t like doling out advice or giving product recommendations if I am not confident in them. I haven’t worked in a true professional environment in over five years and even then it was more of a ‘wear whatever you want’ office. I have never been to India (would love to go) and wouldn’t want to give recommendations as I am not well versed enough in the climate or culture to provide sound advice. I LOVE dressing myself, but dressing others is a whole different type of art. I have so much respect for stylists, but I am not one! I love answering your questions but always want to honest about where I can truly add value. This hopefully keeps you coming back and trusting me. Q: What is a trend you used to love you find yourself no longer reaching for? What is a trend you are looking forward to in 2025? A: I have a hard time answering questions about letting go of something because I never want to offend anyone. Trends ebb and flow, but know if you love something, WEAR it. For me personally, I am not reaching for overt western boots, headbands, or oversized tunics as much as I used to. This is not at all to claim they are ‘out’, I just find myself gravitating towards different items in my closet! As for 2025, I am most looking forward to sheer materials and the return of more romantic/feminine dressing. I am also not hating the trend of styles becoming more voluminous and baggy. I think when done in a more sophisticated way, mixing and matching volume can be so fun and beautiful. ITEM SPECIFIC QUESTIONS: Q: Where did you get your silver Adidas? A: I bought mine on Nordstrom, but sadly they are sold out. They are still in stock here and here! Q: Best understated luxury bag that won’t break the bank? A: For me that would be the Savette pochette. They are well made, timeless, and I personally love a top handle design. I have the bag in three colors now! Q: Favorite item you bought this year? A: This Oscar De La Rent runway skirt that is SO fab. Almost all my favorite purchases this year were second hand! Q: Favorite outfit of 2025? A: It would probably be this outfit or this one. I think having style means to have a common thread in how you dress but also to be ever evolving. These two outfits feel like a grown up version of 2012 Blair – and I love that! Q: How to create your own personal style and a unique closet? A: I actually did a whole post on that here. It can be frustrating while you are experimenting and figuring out what works for you and makes you feel great. My biggest piece of advice is to take it slow and not invest in anything until you feel you have really nailed what you feel is your unique style expression. Q: Can you do more styling posts? A: In 2024 I did a lot of styling posts and you can see a few examples here, here, and here. I have vowed to do more in 2025! On my list are how to style the button down, loafers, a simple bodysuit, and more. If you have any specific requests DM or email me! The post THE FIRST Q&A OF 2025! appeared first on Atlantic-Pacific. Source link

[bethestaryouareradio]

Fall Reset, Grieving a Pet, Newlywed Paperwork

Tune in LIVE weekly to the upbeat, positive lifestyle broadcast where producer and host Cynthia Brian showcases strategies for success on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®. Available wherever you listen to your favorite programs!

Fall is here and it’s time to do garden chores to get ready for winter. Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian, gives you tips on what to do now before the downpours begin.

Pets are part of our family. When they die, we grieve. Losing our furry companion is devastating and there is no one way to express our sadness.

Heartfelt advice on how to endure during an animal loss may help you recover.

October is one of the most popular months for weddings. In our excitement to tie the knot, we sometimes forget what legal documents need to be altered. You may need to take a day off work to get the paperwork filed on time. Find out what to do for this “qualifying event”.

Listen at the Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/146981/fall-reset-grieving-a-pet-newlywed-paperwork

RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOK: Family Forever: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/p/family-forever Available at www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store or  www.StarStyleStore.net

LIVE SHOW 4-5pm PT: https://bit.ly/3cDti0Z

Places to Listen to StarStyle Radio:

Apple Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2

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Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/be-the-star-you-are

IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-starstyle-be-the-star-you-31083110/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zDdwzlsHH44caWiMQdD25

SubStack: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/228120.rss

Pocketcasts: https://pca.st/mjw2ng5n

Be the Star You Are! 501 c3 charity offers help, hope, and healing for women, families and youth in need.

BTSYA Operation Disaster Relief. Please donate. http://ow.ly/ks8A30lekGe

Read how BTSYA is Making a Difference: https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/460747/IBPA-Member-Spotlight-Cynthia-Brian.htm 

Read our Newsletter: Looking Back with Pride, Forward with Hope and Optimism

Read Cynthia’s Voice America Blog Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/author/cynthia-brian/

Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

Or you can choose to make the donation using many different payment methods which may have fees via by Givebutter at https://givebutter.com/be-the-star-you-are-charity.

Small DONATIONS Make a Big Difference to Others: Decrease Violence. Increase Literacy. 

$25 provides 5 new books.

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Donate via Paypal Giving Fund

or Visit www.BTSYA.org

[aadmelioraa]

Hi! I was just wondering, what is the difference for you between the Scrivener categories you use? What makes a certain section redrafted vs revised vs punched up vs polished? Thank you!

Hey!! I am more than happy to elaborate on that post. Here are the scene (or chapter) draft categories I use via the "Label" function in Scrivener, and what each category means to me:

To Write. Any scene that I haven't fully drafted, ranging from an idea in my head to a few bullet points to a scene that doesn't yet have a beginning, middle, and end. Lots of ellipses and all caps notes to myself [ADD CONVERSATION WHERE X AND Y ARGUE ABOUT DINNER PLANS] at this stage. I am a planner-pantser hybrid—I usually start writing without a real outline, and then create and reshape my outline as I continue writing new scenes, the outline evolves as my draft evolves and vice versa. 

Drafted. I have written a full version of the scene. It has a beginning, middle, and end. I have hit all the major points I want to hit. It's messy, but it's on the page. These scenes comprise the Rough Draft.

Redrafted. At this stage, I follow Matt Bell's "Rewrite Don't Revise" advice in Refuse to Be Done (highly recommend this craft book!). Once I have a Rough Draft version of the project (the entire book has a beginning, middle, end, and enough essential connective tissue scenes to prop it up), I print that off* and open a fresh Scrivener file. I hold myself to Matt Bell's no copying and pasting rule, and it's honestly been a game changer mentality for me. I refer to my Rough Draft and my Revision Plan Outline as I create a new draft that is both leaner and more fleshed out as needed. The Revision Plan Outline is the roadmap of the book I wrote (the Rough Draft) spliced with a roadmap of the book I want to write, including new scenes, stronger versions of the scenes I already have, and notes about what needs to be cut. *This is probably obvious, but you don't need to work from a printed copy, you can open your Rough Draft doc side by side with a blank doc if that is more your speed. The important thing is to start with a blank document rather than making revisions to your Rough Draft. It might sound insane, but I've found that it allows me to let go of what I would otherwise struggle to cut, and opens me up creatively to write new material.

Revised. Once I have the fresh, stronger, more intentional version of my scene, I go through and check that it's doing what I need it to do in terms of character work and plot points. It's not only a complete scene in that it begins and ends where I want it to, it's also functioning as part of a whole. 

Punched Up. This is my favorite draft stage in most ways, I just find it really fun and satisfying. My goals are to make sure that the tension is properly threaded, that the emotional beats are landing how and where they need to, that the humor is working, that each character's voice is coming through, that my language is vivid and interesting. 

Polished. Here I am making final cuts and changes, taking things at a line level and evaluating individual word choice. Nitpick city, but ideally in a productive way.

Right now in my current WIP I have an array of scenes at every level in a single Scrivener file. Most of them are Redrafted or above (I already completed a Rough Draft, printed it off, and am working from that and my Revision Plan Outline to create a new version of the book) but there are plenty of scenes in my Revision Plan that didn't exist in the Rough Draft. I will once again shout out @bettsfic and her invaluable developmental insights, you can check out her substack here and read more about her services here.

Anyway, this is what works for me, it definitely won't work for everyone, but hopefully you find something useful here! I will note that you can use the Scrivener "Draft Status" category to function in a similar way as the "Label" category, allowing you to use "Label" to denote POV or something else. Labels are visible in the sidebar (you can find options under "View," and Draft Status shows up in the corkboard view (it's stamped over the notecard for each scene if you select that option).

[the-wip-project]

The WIP project - quantity vs quality

Hello writerly friends!

Today, let's talk about productivity, especially about quantity versus quality. Michelle Schusterman had a great post about this in her substack newsletter:  https://michelleschusterman.substack.com/p/on-daily-word-count-goals-and-toxic

If you want to be good at the thing, you have to practice the thing. You have to smear the paint on the canvas. You have to pick up the instrument and honk. You have to accept that your art, your music, your photos, your writing, is not going to be good in the beginning.

Because quantity, especially in the beginning, is just practice. That's why it really bothers me that we have a versus thing set up here when it comes to writing and word count goals. Is it better to get a ton of words, or focus on the quality of those words?

Quality versus quantity—but they aren’t rivals. Because the reality is we need both. We need quality, obviously, we want our writing to be good, quality is the end goal. But we also need quantity because novels are made up of a quantifiable number of words.

This aligns with the common advice to "write every day, write as much as you can". And I think this advice is valid, even though most people who have lives and jobs can't write every day. As Michelle says, "a lot of words" is a relative expression. A lot of words are not the same for every writer.

There's also the expression "the first one million words are just for practice". More writing is always better, even if some sections are not as good as others. It doesn't matter. If you're worried about quality, tell yourself "it's just for practice", because that's just what it is. Just practice.

Write more words!

@quilleth, @theoriginalladya, @kmlaney, @coffeewritesfiction, @mareebrittenford, @lilliebellfanfics, @keyboardandquill, @fontainebleau22, @kinetic-elaboration, @wildswrites, @rhikasa, @inkvulture, @heroofshield, @bad-at-names-and-faces, @sabels-small-sphere, @annaofthenorthernlights, @sarahawke

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Interview with Jessica Mahler Part 2

Today's interview is with Jessica Mahler, writer of serialized queer SFF fiction! You can find their work at the following:

Substack: https://jessmahler.substack.com/

Webserial catalog: https://jessmahler.com/webserial-catalog/

Author page: https://books2read.com/ap/nAEEOn/Jess-Mahler

A pre-sale for upcoming release: https://www.smashwords.com/books/presale/1154035/DJNG3G

Part 2 can be found below the cut!

 If someone wanted to get into serial fiction, what advice would you give them? 

Well, definitely stay off of Vella. Amazon is evil, but beyond that – if you go through Vella you give Amazon control of your writing and audience. Don't give evil people control of you or your career.

You need to know yourself as a writer – how fast do you write, how often, and how quickly do you edit? It does no good to commit to writing three episodes a week if you can't reliably write more than one.

Think about what audience you are writing for. I know, I know, trite advice. But here, we're coming from a different direction. Remember what I said before about how I know folks who don't have time to read, so I stuck with short episodes? I went with a newsletter format for the same reason. Quick and easy reads in your inbox. I went with multiple stories running concurrently so new readers would always have a story they could jump into without a huge backlog.

What are the reading habits of your audience? Do they want to curl up with a long chapter each week? Do you think they care how consistently you update? (Long-term fanfic readers won't care about consistency, mainstream readers probably will.) Will they prefer to read on a website? Email? App? "Fast, Good, and Cheap, pick two" is the business maxim. I think the serial equivalent is "Frequent, Good, and Word Count."

You can post good stories frequently. You can post high word counts frequently. You can write good stories with a high word count per episode. But posting good, high-word-count episodes frequently? Not so much. Put your writing habits and audience together, and pick two.

I picked frequent (twice a week) and good. I know of folks doing serials that only post once a month, but when they post, it's a lot at once. You can do whatever works for you – but unless you are a full-time writer, you can't do all three. 

Can you tell us more about some of your favorite stories you've written, and why you decided to write them? 

Oh geez, I have to pick? Tell you what, let's talk about the 2023 schedule instead of making me pick between my babies. I've got 4 stories I'll be posting in 2023. The Bargain and Planting Life in a Dying City are two of my older stories. I started them both as novels and actually published the Bargain. (Please don't buy the ebook, it wasn't properly edited, and I'm embarrassed. The publisher is supposed to pull it soon.)

The Bargain – so, I'm aro-ace, though I didn't even know the words when I started writing this one. I'm also kinky. The Bargain began as me writing the kind of kink story I wanted to read. It's got heavy queer platonic/chosen family vibes and focuses on the bond between people in a power exchange relationship. With fae, magic, a bit of court intrigue, self-discovery, and a few other things.

Planting Life is a world-building project that spawned a story. Hopefully several stories. The original idea was 'how would tech and society have developed if magic existed as a kind of natural force.' So, of course, I had to define my magic, build my world, etc. Planting Life is set in a Bronze age society before anyone has learned to control magic. In fact, magic barely exists in the story. Instead, the story is about a group of traumatized individuals creating a new family and a new start in a stagnating society. But there will be spin-offs and sequels.

The next story will focus on an Archimedes-like character who is one of the first to begin understanding and harnessing magic. Last Lady of Lună is my newest story and grew out of my finally understanding and accepting that I am aromantic.

I just don't understand WTF romance is and that comes out in my writing. See, I write a lot of love stories, but while they meet the technical criteria for romance stories (stories about love and relationships with an HFN or HEA ending), they don't register as romance with a lot of people. So… I challenged myself. I love romance stories, especially paranormal romance stories.

Last Lady of Luna is me making a conscious effort to write a why choose romance story. It's about a vampire and the humans who agree to be her companions, food, protectors, and (eventually) lovers. Slow burn, but I'm told that so far I'm nailing the burn.

Mighty Hero Force Epsilon started as a dream. Literally. There's this one scene, about halfway through the first season, where the Big Bad's lieutenant– anyway, yeah. So I dreamed that scene. And when you read the scene, you'll understand why I had to figure out what happened after. Which meant I had to figure out what came before. Which is how we got here. Folks familiar with the genre will recognize it as a sentai story (think Power Rangers if you aren't familiar with anime). 

When it comes to writing serial fiction, finding a place to host it can be a challenge. Why did you decide on using Substack, and what advice can you give others who want to check out that platform for themselves? 

I went with Substack because it's a good newsletter platform. It doesn't make me pay to have a subscription set up when I have less than 50 subscribers and allows 'adult content'. I'm looking at alternatives because the navigation is a pain. (New readers should start on the website to get caught up.) And I'm hearing things about the folks running it being transphobic.

Turns out my web host, Dreamhost, has built-in newsletter functionality now. So that's a thing I'm looking at. But yeah, finding hosting can be a challenge, which is why I'm still here. Just… try not to stress the stats. I've had days where Substack told me I had 0 views, 1 like, and 1 comment. I've had it tell me that I had a like from a subscriber who supposedly has never opened a single email.

You should never take numbers (other than number of subscribers) too seriously if you can help it – you never know how they're calculated. But extra don't take Substack numbers seriously. 

Any last thoughts to share?

I should do a 'call to action,' shouldn't I? The truth is I suck at all that marketing shit. I took courses and read books about it. I just make a fool of myself when I try. So I mostly have fun with my writing and don't worry about it.

But there's a reason I reached out when you posted about doing interviews: I need a service dog, and I can't afford one without bumping my writing income.

So, 'for folks watching at home,' as they used to say, here's the pitch. If you like original world sff with queer characters, queer love stories, and queer takes on family (and you want to help out a disabled author): grab a subscription and tell all your friends how awesome it is.

And please check out their preorder sale for their next book here!