iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

"books should start with action" "the first pages must introduce the protagonist" "world building should be invisible" hush child ms. robin mckinley is speaking

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The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like slightly sticky plaster-dust. (Housecleaners in that country earned unusually good wages.) If you lived in that country, you had to de-scale your kettle of its encrusta-tion of magic at least once a week, because if you didn't, you might find yourself pouring hissing snakes or pond slime into your teapot instead of water. (It didn't have to be anything scary or unpleasant, like snakes or slime, especially in a cheerful household magic tended to reflect the atmosphere of the place in which it found itself-but if you want a cup of tea, a cup of lavender-and-gold pansies or ivory thimbles is unsatisfactory. And while the pansies-put dry in a vase-would probably last a day, looking like ordinary pansies, be-fore they went greyish-dun and collapsed into magic dust, something like an ivory thimble would begin to smudge and

crumble as soon as you picked it up.) The best way to do it was to have a fairy as a member of your household, because she (it was usually a she) could lay a finger on the kettle just as it came to a boil (absentminded fairies could often be recognised by a pad of scar-tissue on the finger they favoured for kettle-cleaning) and murmur a

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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 09/09/2026

INBOX: Just before the start of the Labor Day holiday, a major funder confirmed to @bhamwatch.bsky.social it could not honor its planned commitment, leaving a $50,000 gap in expected income for the year. The Alabama Institute for Independent Journalism is now raising $30,000 to close the gap:

birminghamwatch.org

Donate to BirminghamWatch - BirminghamWatch

Founded in 2015, BirminghamWatch is a digitally powered nonprofit news organization produced by the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism, covering Birmingham, Alabama—the City Built to Change...

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Hey you guys!!! I have an article in Writer's Digest. It's on Why Some Writers Struggle to Just Get Started (and What to Do About It). www.writersdigest.com/why-some-wri... If you find it useful, please share!

writersdigest.com

Why Some Writers Struggle to Just Get Started (and What to Do About It)

Authors Brendan Mahan and Alex Hughes Capell share why many writers struggle to get started and explain what to do about it.

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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

“I had to kill so many precious things…”

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Omg guys!!!! I have a book with my name on it in the bookstore for the first time in over ten years!!!

static.klipy.com

Anna from Frozen is Excited!

ALT: Anna from Frozen is Excited!

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

So if you’ve ever known how to do a thing, and wanted to do that thing, but not been able to make yourself do that thing? It might be low executive function or an emotional block, and either way there’s a way around it. The Overcoming the Wall of Awful book about just this is out today! Link next.

gcp-balance.com

Overcoming the Wall of Awful

A groundbreaking, practical guide to accomplishing your goals and thriving in life, written for people with ADHD, autism, trauma and anxiety. “Overcoming t...

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

gcp-balance.com

Overcoming the Wall of Awful

A groundbreaking, practical guide to accomplishing your goals and thriving in life, written for people with ADHD, autism, trauma and anxiety. “Overcoming t...

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Carrie SpookyAtADistance Lynn @carrielynnland.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Feminism isn’t about writing a new script for genders (“women can’t be homemakers or do traditionally feminine things!”) and then insisting everyone follow their new script. Feminism is about “scripts are b*llsh*t, do what is right for you.” It’s that simple.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

There are very few celebrities that are universally loved. I have never heard anyone say *anything* bad about Dolly Parton. And the world is mourning. I am too. Her program sent my child books every month. I loved her movies. What a life. We should all aspire to be remembered like this.

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Brendan Mahan @adhdessentials.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

As @alexhughescapell.bsky.social and I worked together on this book, she recorded our conversations. It led to us realizing that we basically had "behind the scenes" video of the writing of the book. Which is pretty cool!

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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

SNAP has an outstanding ROI: every dollar we invest in SNAP generates $1.54 in economic activity. With SNAP cuts, people can’t continue to support these local grocers, so local businesses suffer. Everyone loses.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Well, I messed up my copy/paste, lol. Teach me to definitely type from scratch and make a point of speaking differently here.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Let's talk about one of the favorite books I've ever done with a client. It's called Talking to Stakeholders, and it is, in my client's words, about the "skill that everyone needs and no one teaches." l.threads.com?u=https%3A%2...

l.threads.com

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to have cool conversations with smart people. I now have a video clip of one of those cool conversations with the amazing @adhdessentials.bsky.social, since we're making them as part of the book launch. It turns out getting over an emotional block...

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I found this lovely picture on my phone today from the early 2010s. My third book in Barnes and Nobles, my dream since I was a child. A lot has happened since then, but for the first time in ten years I’ll have another coming out in the bookstores in September.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If you've ever thought about being a ghostwriter or wonder more about how the industry works, I'll be speaking about that next week with colleague Karen Rowe! All questions welcome. Check out the Write Up Writer's Community event next week, Wednesday July 8th at 11 am ET. tinyurl.com/ghostcareer

tinyurl.com

How to Build a Ghostwriting Career | Write Up!

Ghostwriting can be one of the most fascinating and rewarding paths in the writing world, but it’s also one of the least transparent. How do ghostwriters find clients? What kinds of projects are out t...

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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 15/03/2026

Happy March 15. Here is my favorite Ides of March meme:

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Tauriq Moosa @tauriq.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Hello, I am looking for freelance writing gigs quite urgently due to being a victim - now twice - of theft. Any help is appreciated. I have written widely on games, TV shows and film for a variety of outlets - IGN, The Verge, Slate. If you have or know anything, plz DM me ASAP.

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Dansonofdirm @dansonofdirm.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Specifically the former King of Thailand. He established a fund for any Thais looking to open a restaurant overseas that you could apply to for low cost loans. To this day, if you look around a Thai restaurant almost anywhere in the world, they have a portrait of the old king on the wall somewhere

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Excellent and thought provoking article even for those of us who aren’t big into sports.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Helping my fourth grader with her history homework is kind of a trip right now. Checks and balances, the American revolution and tea party, the founding fathers, everyone still being mad about the British quartering soldiers in homes…. I’m like, oh honey, we’re talking about this stuff every day.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Okay, so I am obsessed with this woman’s answer… we do in fact have the opportunity to shape our own brains to become the kind of people our 8 year old selves would be obsessed with. WOW. I think I want to. www.instagram.com/reel/DVFrINZ...

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

As a reminder, a small and important thing you can do as an individual to combat racism and sexism— When they make One of Those Jokes in front of you, don’t laugh. Even awkwardly. Be silent, stare, and when the laughter dies down, say, wow, that’s not funny at all. Then sit with the silence.

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ΛTLΛS 🔜 MFF, WOE @atlasbun.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Call your house rep and tell them to support HB 2540 which will increase the amount disabled people can save from $2k to $10k and remove the marriage penalty where you lose your only source of income if you get married regardless of how little they make. Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Half of what I do as a ghostwriter is ask good questions and push people to figure out what they actually think, clearly and at depth.

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MdDoogie3 @mddoogie3.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

To everyone thanking me, much appreciated but not why I posted! Pls support your local immigrant defense group like: The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota: www.ilcm.org/donate/ Or my hometown LUCE: www.lucemass.org/donate Or Google your city/state & “immigrant defense” to find your local heroes!

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

The actual observation is dead on here, but also… this is an example of truly phenomenal nonfiction writing. The point is made in the specific, relatable examples. It gets you in the human gut with emotions, without cheating. Specific. Relatable. One example per sub point. Emotions. You win. :)

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KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 11/02/2026

I am generally dismissive of these things but this actually feels scary. This isn't just a scam email, it is an elaborately worked out and callous deception scheme, enabled by AI, and it is hard not to feel targeted. Be careful out there, authors. Be *very* careful.

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Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 10/02/2026

Expertise is the product of lived experience. AI processes are simultaneously embeddings of linguistic encoding because any attempt to encode meaning is always inherently a linguistic work, but they always necessarily lack the lived experience that produces that meaning.

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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 10/02/2026

Congress is scrambling to pass a DHS funding bill by Friday, and we need to make it loud and clear that our senators and representatives must oppose any bill that hands ICE and Border Patrol more funding or fails to include strict safeguards to protect our communities.

act.indivisible.org

Tell Your Members of Congress to rein in ICE NOW

On January 24, federal forces with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. This was just over two weeks after the killing of Renee Good. These killings are a direc...

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🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Always ask these things about Ai ads and possible intimates : - “helping” by controlling your access to information and inserting themselves in - isolating you by demanding reliance where you should be growing resilience - creating an enemy out something they don’t control - future faking

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🌱Wild Country Girl 🌱 @midwestwildchild.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

You don't have to immerse yourself in the news or the conversation. However. Please, when you see injustice, speak up. The goal of all this hate is to normalize it. To make it okay. Let them know it is not. And that will do not accept this reality.

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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

This is an important point. Empathy—in and of itself—is anti-fascist. The arts—and the project of higher education as a whole—teach empathy, enabling you to put yourself in other people’s shoes. So to a fascist, they must be destroyed.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

My favorite quote from a software engineer is “they’re trying to solve a people problem with technology. You can’t do that.”

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 05/02/2026

anyway i know how many of you hate that i’m so vocal about this and think it makes me a naive shitlib or whatever. but again, i think the best thing you could do for yourself here is to get involved in election administration where you live.

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Daniel Suitor @danielsuitor.com · 04/02/2026

Just to throw this in at the end: if you can afford a donation, the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund is helping detainees post bond and get them out of custody ASAP. A worthy cause.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

My older cat is mad at me because kitten, sigh

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

*Law morality and the state *Family love and marriage in early modern Europe *independent study in writing science fiction *Irish literature *Freshman Seminar (a masterclass in critical thinking)

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I love people getting the details right. :) Definitely something I’d research before writing!

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

The cats are getting along! Considering one is new, that’s huge.

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Alex Hughes ( Capell ) @alexhughescapell.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I know I’m in my forties because I saw an opportunity to argue with someone who was clearly wrong on the internet, and I kept walking.

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