#publishing categories

[thereadingmoon]

the best plot twists of the locked tomb are when it unapologetically fucks genre over and over again—it’s a fantasy story in a sci-fi setting, it’s a whodunnit meets battle royale, it’s a coming-of-age romance at the forefront of a colonial imperialist dystopia, it’s a psychological thriller and a ghost story bubbling in a stew of homosexuality and queerness, it’s a ball of literature references wrapped around memes and pop culture, it’s a slice of life in a cake of political intrigue, and turns out it’s ultimately a climate fiction horror story on steroids

[bomberqueen17]

On the way home from work I was thinking about Rochr and Iorveth in your fic and remembered a question I had for you: there is this scene in which Roche gives an overtired and insomniac Iorveth a blowjob in a secluded room, there are knives involved, I think Breniriel is guarding the door? Anyway, Iorveth finally falls asleep and it is implied that Iorveth has been adapting poorly to feeling save and thus somehow feelt safe enough with Roche to fall asleep but not his friends /family?? I don't think they were even talking at this point in your fic, what did I miss?

Have a nice evening /day!

Well, so like, that's the premise of the fic. I'm not saying this to be an ass, this is a genuine response, because it is sort of an honor to have someone thinking about your work beyond even the time it takes to read it, but: That is the premise of the fic.

And either it works for you, or it doesn't. That's just... how fiction works. Do i think that in real life two traumatized people would actually hit it off just like that? Do I think it would work? Do I think it would be healthy? Do I think it would lead to long-term happiness for either or both of them?

I won't answer that, I will just leave that to sit for a moment. My answer is immaterial anyway, because the author's intent is only marginally relevant in some circumstances.

This is fantasy, critically, more broadly than fiction (is it a broader category? I think so). Like... one of them is an elf, and has a shapeshifting dragon as his leige and protector. Some other fantasy elements are even less realistic, but the idea is that they're plausible, for the purposes of fiction.

So this is kind of how fiction works, and fantasy in general. Do you accept the premise of this story? Do you find it plausible, for the purposes of this fictional exercise, that, to bring it specifically back to this story, two characters who have long been enemies, would find something in common like this? Two people who have been on opposite sides but were in the same conflict, who went through many of the same things, who, crucially, commanded others during this awful cataclysm of violence, who had to warp their own moral centers not only to survive but also to potentially damn others by their tragic, inevitable actions. Who have in the past bitterly fought, physically injured one another, murdered one another's comrades, and worse... but in this new peacetime, find, strangely, unexpectedly, compellingly (precedentedly, in reality!) that their former foe is the only one who truly understands what they've been through. And they can trust this former foe the way they can't trust others, because this foe gets it, because this foe knows what's at stake, fully understands what happened, has the same sense of both the fragility of society and the preciousness of its little contracts. Iorveth knows Roche would stab him in the face, not the back, and that is a kind of trust. The whole underpinning of this ship is that in the video game there's a scene where one can best the other, and in each decision tree the loser says unhinged shit about how if they have to die they're perversely glad that at least it was the other who is doing it. Because that other understands what it's worth, and is a worthy foe.

That's it, that's the ship manifesto, LOL.

So-- that's the exercise of the story, trying to draw the reader along to find this as plausible-- I did not say realistic! Plausible-- as possible. The art lies in underpinning it with realistic detail here and there-- including that after many wars in real life history, the veterans of the conflict have found more in common with their opposing veterans than with the civilians of the side they fought for-- and so on and so forth. To make it vivid, to make it relatable, to make the fantasy compelling.

And if the premise doesn't work, then the story doesn't work. That's fine, not all art is for everyone. But that's how it is. Either you accept the premise, and it works, or you don't, and you go find something else that works better for you. This is no judgement on anybody, you or me or anyone, that's just how fantasy works. A reader brings as much to it as the author, and takes as much away, and while there's an element of skill on the part of the author, a large part of it is just going to be the reader's response. Things will or won't work for you and there's nothing wrong with that, it's just another of the ways fantasy works.

(I don't know if you've missed anything, I haven't reread that scene in quite some time because I'm still working on sequels and that takes up a lot of my energy and time; same reason I rarely respond to comments, I just don't have time to both do that and make new works. I do think the blowjob with knives is a separate scene from the passing out with knives but I don't recall exactly either. It's kind of a long story. If you think you missed something, try rereading it? But if that doesn't compel you, then it's really no skin off my nose if you don't! It's fine! I'm not offended, I just don't know how else to answer that question. I don't remember the scene that well. I wrote it like a year ago or more. But I'm well aware the premise of it doesn't work for everyone, which is why there are so many people writing so many different stories.)

LOL I have more to say on this topic because I got a faintly ridiculous comment on a story recently on kind of a loosely related concept, but this is getting long and I should address it separately. Suffice to say, you got a long reply here because I have been spending some time thinking about fiction, what it is and isn't, and how it works.

[pollyna]

They published my first article, it took two years, I don't remember writing it or what was about in the specifics or if it was like good or anything but,, my name is on a printed paper now??? I'm so trying not to scream or make weird faces rn it's embarrassing

[stillsolo]

ROLEPLAY HISTORY post characters you’d like to roleplay as, have roleplayed as, and might bring back.

CURRENT MUSES

han s. — star wars ( canon/eu )

anakin s. / vader — star wars ( canon/eu )

luke s. — star wars ( canon/eu )

obi-wan k. — star wars ( canon/eu | discord only )

WANT TO WRITE

it takes… a lot for me to pick up a primary muse lol

PAST CANON MUSES ( primary )

john shepard — mass effect ( ot canon )

kaidan alenko — mass effect ( ot canon )

kurosaki ichigo — bleach ( canon )

grimmjow jaegerjaquez — bleach ( canon )

PAST CANON MUSES ( secondary / casual )

dr. henry walton / "indy" — indiana jones ( ot canon )

elka solo — star wars ( fc | canon/eu )

astri solo — star wars ( fc | canon/eu )

chewbacca — star wars ( canon/eu )

leia organa — star wars ( canon/eu )

lando calrissian — star wars ( canon/eu )

padmé amidala — star wars ( canon/eu )

assaj ventress — star wars ( canon/eu )

wedge antilles — star wars ( canon/eu )

biggs darklighter — star wars ( canon/eu )

ARC/CT-8080 / liner — star wars ( oc | canon/eu )

urahara kisuke — bleach ( ss canon )

kuchiki rukia — bleach ( ss canon )

david anderson — mass effect ( ot canon )

WOULD WRITE AGAIN

primary muses never leave me! e.g: han harassing me for like 10 fuckin' yrs

TAGGED BY: @valorums omg thank you for thinking of me!! TAGGING: @techniiciian @sgterso @desiccation @jedibattlemaster @strcngered @fcalty @debelltio @vibraea @red-flight @reawakcn @cnlyluck & anyone else who wants to do this! pls link me if you've already done it 👀

[humming-fly]

im not even trying to be a hater but im sorry your job poll is genuinely so bad bc so many jobs fall into 2 or even 3 categories its not even funny

i made it that way to fuck with you specifically anon <3

[obeetlebeetle]

ok sure the books arent ya but it's not bc of the vocab or the pov or literally anything happening in the content of the books. you sound so fucking condescending rn.

[skyward-floored]

Alright lads, poll time

[dyrewrites]

It has been just long enough since I published a thing that I am over here agonizing over categories.

[the960writers]

Dave at Kindlepreneur:

As you might know, Amazon recently did an overhaul of their category system. Today, we can go into our KDP and select 3 categories from there…No more BISACs, or requesting more through forms. Just 3 and done.

Sounds pretty simple right?

Well, on the surface it seems that way. But there are some serious problems with it that you need to know about. [...]

[greyias]

AO3 Meme

Tagged by @queen-scribbles -- thank you for the tag! No pressure tagging for @elveny, @keldae, @captainderyn, @meanbihexual, @rinskiroo

So, wanted to get some hiatus rec lists going and encourage some self promo in my friends so how about sharing your top fics no matter how big or small - give us the links to your wonderful words with the Most hits/Most kudos/Most comments/Most bookmarks/Most words/Least words.

Most hits: Across the Stars, which is my collection of Theron/Knight prompt fills from over here, collected together because I hate writing summaries and didn't want to do it for 100+ ficlets (nor completely flood the SWTOR category with my fic*). Actually a little surprised that one was at the top in flat view, because I was absolutely planning on ignoring all my SGA fics for the purposes of this (it's not that I don't care about them I just... don't care) Although granted, there are a lot of chapters in that one, so that's probably part of it.

Most kudos: If you want to be technical it's an SGA fic but once again Across the Stars is trailing like a whole 5 kudos behind. My little MVP, just chugging along.

Most comment threads: All right, now I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I will give you three guesses which one came in at the top again... by a wide margin. But #2 is By Guidance from the Stars.

Most bookmarks: That SGA fic again, by a wide enough margin that I can't really dismiss it on a technicality. Granted, I know it's a favorite among a lot of folk, and is one that from the comments is actually re-read a lot? Which is impressive staying power for something I wrote in a manic fever dream in the span of a few weeks for a fic fest.

Most words: A different SGA fic, written for one of the SGA Big Bangs eons ago. Somehow between the first and second drafts it ballooned up 18k in edits to nearly 89k words. If I ever finish poor languishing Smoke and Mirrors, maybe it will unseat the king from his throne. That or I will eventually write so many ficlets I can't be arsed to create a summary for, Across the Stars will win by attrition, slowly expanding and engulfing everything like a dying star.

Fewest words: Harmony (575 words) I am absolutely cheating here because I looked at the bottom two on the list, one of which I wrote when I was sixteen and was like "Nah, I don't want to share that", so instead, please have this lovely story from the point-of-view of lightsaber crystals. I wound up putting my drabble fic into a collection because, one again, I hate summaries.

[itzpris15634]

in desperate need of lps 2012 content. videos, fics, art. p l e e e a a a a s s e e e e e -

[pastafossa]

I have two questions:

1. Have you ever considered writing a book that you would want to get published?

2. I wonder if you will explore Matt’s blindness in TRT. Like for example at the end of the day Matt did lose his eyesight and maybe sometimes wished he could see Jane. It doesn’t have to be a big thing because Matt has accepted his disability but like a moment when he’s just really wants it. Idk I thought it would cool

1. I’ve thought about it, yes! And I’ve actually got an (unedited) trilogy of vaguely humorous, post-apocalyptic scifi adventure books that’s like... halfway written, and that I’d love to get published. I was actually in the process of working on Book 1 when Covid hit, and then my writer’s group kinda... collapsed, which is when I promptly discovered that as an extrovert, I desperately need interaction to make The Story go. No interaction, no drive (and that’s also why fic works fine). And sometimes I toy with the idea of starting up again, maybe with a new writer’s group. I’m also looking into taking a lot of the original elements of TRT and then self-publishing that (with some changes to get Disney off my back obvs), which would let me keep the fic up, too. Not sure! I definitely have plans to try to get a book published eventually though!

2. Sometimes I’ve thought about it! I may touch on it eventually, though very, very delicately. Like you said, it wouldn’t be big because I really do think Matt’s accepted he’s blind and he doesn’t see it as a bad thing, and it’s really not. I do admittedly think he probably still gets understandably frustrated at how blatantly inaccessible some things still are (ex: i literally walked by a coffee shop that had a printed piece of paper inside the window in small print that said ‘large print or braille menu accessible on request!’ and I was like... ok but a blind/visually impaired person can’t read that???). Cause that’s the truth of it - he is still blind. He’s got a disability that affects his day to day and even if he’s happy the way he is (or that’s how I read him), he still needs his aids. I’ve tried to make that clear in TRT - Jane’s taken up his labeling system with braille, she leaves things in *very* specific places because Matt’s got an organization system he needs, he uses his ear pieces and refreshable braille display. And yeah, as someone who’s disabled myself, I could see him now and then going... ‘I wish I could see just for a second’ when there’s no solution for something - when he’s touching old pictures of his dad, or now and then when he’s with Jane, in the same way I’m sometimes like, ‘I wish I could literally run somewhere without pain, just to feel the wind’. It’s a passing thought usually, but it’s probably there now and then for him. So the thought’s rattling around in my brain, definitely. If the right moment in fic comes I can see touching on it!

[freakoutgirl]

"Flowers in the Attic is YA???" believe it or not books written for younger readers sometimes deal with dark themes

[bubbloquacious]

So my exams are coming up, and like any sane person I looking good for some more math to learn after they're done.

Do you have any recommended reading for introductions to cat theory, and something on logic? (The logic book can be about anything I just love logic and set theory too much)

Thanks!

A couple weeks ago I recommended Category Theory by Steve Awodey to @wuggen, and she seems to be enjoying herself. There's also Abstract and Concrete Categories: The Joy of Cats by Adamek, Herrlich, & Strecker. I never read through much of that one but supposedly it's a slightly more applied math perspective. I personally started with Mac Lane's Categories for the Working Mathematician, which I would recommend if you're already kinda familiar with some abstract algebra and topology and their common constructions. The bits I've read of Borceux's Handbook of Categorical Algebra have been really nicely detailed and worked out, with a lot of full proofs, so if you like that sort of thing and can get your hands on it I'd recommend it.

I've never read a single book or paper on logic lol. The thing that made a lot of logic click for me was learning Lean, actually! I'd highly recommend trying the Natural Number Game, and after that working through the exercises in Theorem Proving in Lean. Keep in mind that this will mostly train you in working with intuitionistic logic, as opposed to classical, but I think it's a better perspective anyway even if you don't plan to think about the law of excluded middle a lot.

[sainamoonshine]

Unfortunately for me I think “the title can be read and understood by someone sitting a normal distance in front of the computer” is the bare minimum for a book cover design and once again the nominees for the Goodreads book of the year awards are trying my patience