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Bethany Drake

@bethany-drake.bsky.social
32 followers 43 following 120 posts

Programmer, writer.

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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
#Preptober : A month of brainstorming in preparation for November.
Two brains discuss ideas over a stack of papers.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The most important part of naming characters is picking something that's easy to spell. #Preptober
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSeG... Someone asked me on reddit why I thought I should be the one to develop a competitor to Nanowrimo. I didn't answer, because I knew words meant nothing compared to actions, and noone would believe I was capable until I proved it with results. But, this is why.
youtube.com
Why I made novel-november.com
YouTube video by Novel November
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𝖉.𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 @dnotive.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This looks slick! Thank you! Couple of quick questions: 1. What kind of community do you have around this so far? Organized chats/groups? 2. I see that you're using Claude/vibe-coding for some of this. How far reaching is that? Do you have a codified AI-policy and how is it enforced? (if at all)
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The ramp up is beginning! This is the graph from the google search console, showing the number of people searching for and clicking on Novel November. Clearly people are starting to prepare even before October begins! #NaNoWriMoAlternative #NovelNovember
This is the graph from the google search console, showing the number of people searching for and clicking on Novel November.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Ai spam filter: obviously ai usage is a sensitive topic in the writing world, but hopefully this is relatively uncontroversial. I've added a feature that automatically reviews each comment and flags ones that are potentially spam, sexual content, or harrassment. #NovelNovember
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A charming thing about rainy cities: when it's finally sunny, everyone uses their umbrella as a parasol. #Xiamen
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Travelling to Xiamen in typhoon season may have been a mistake... 💦💦
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
In addition to being a challenge in its own right, the purpose of the Mid-Year Novelette was to test and validate the features of novel-november.com. Please reply if: - something broke, or - you have a feature request, Thank you for your feedback! #NovelNovember #WritingCommunity
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Next up is the main event: Novel November. Join us to write 50,000 words — an entire novel — in just 30 days. For the best chances of success, start brainstorming your novel before November begins. Check back in October for a month of preparation! #NovelNovember #WritingCommunity
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Congratulations to everyone who completed the Mid-Year Novelette! Be sure to check out the analytics page to see an overview of words written and trophies awarded. #WritingCommunity www.novel-november.com/analytics
novel-november.com
Write a novel this November!
30 days, 50K words. Write a novel this November!
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
It's only halfway through the month, and 17 people have already completed their novelette! More analytics here: www.novel-november.com/analytics
Pyramid of ProgressTrophies awarded
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I'm a little behind, but it's coming along! So far the baby panda has shown disturbing violent tendancies, and a command has come from Chengdu to terminate the experiment. Conveniently, the panda escapes! Now the lead scientist has to sabotage the hunt. #WritingCommunity #MidYearNovelette
Day 12, 3525 total words
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
I didn't write at all yesterday, but I'm back on track today. #WritingCommunity #MidYearNovelette
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The Mid-Year Novelette begins today! www.novel-november.com #WritingCommunity
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Starting strong with 530 words today 😄 #MidYearNovelette #WritingCommunity
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Exclusive trophies available to participants of the Mid-Year Novelette. (Y'know, to make sure tophies are working properly before November) www.novel-november.com
Trophy case showing awards for 5K, 10K, 15K
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💀🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊👻 @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
June 29th – water #AnthropomorphicNovel, today! Ray shares her typical evening routine! #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
My place wasn’t anything special, but it had all the things I valued in a home: thick, concrete walls, a reinforced steel door, reclusive neighbors, plentiful hot water, and my good first aid kit. It was the last two that I was most looking forward to at the moment. 
	I locked the door behind me, three bolts and a chain, and armed my alarm system. Then I turned on the shower and heated the water until it was just short of scalding. I scrubbed myself until my skin was fresh and pink. Then I slathered the scratches in antibiotic salve and bandaged them to keep them sterile. All cleaned up, I checked my watch: 4:00 a.m. Time for dinner.
	I went out to the kitchen to heat a frozen pizza. It was the best part of living alone, not having to worry about disturbing anyone. I had tried living with roommates before, rent was expensive in the city after all, but my unusual hours and…particular nature made me a less-than-ideal person to share a place with.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Just moderated the first 2 innappropriate comments on www.novel-november.com ! It was just some spam, nothing too scandelous, but it's really cool to see the flag and review system in action! #NanowrimoAlternative
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Brainstorming question: How can I weave a romantic subplot into my story about genetically enhanced carnivorous pandas? #WritingCommunity #AmWriting
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
What do you do with physical books you didn't enjoy? I don't want to keep them around, but burning seems a little extreme... #booksky
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Fay Thompson, Author/Artist @faythompsonauthor.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I think every writer should write one novel they are afraid their mother might read. That edge of fear is helpful as it diddles the writer with cowardly bravery. Until you have written that novel you have probably been a bit too safe, a little careful. #writingcommunity #booksky #scarynovels #mum
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I paint my cheeks, for they are white, and cheeks of chalk men hate Mine eyes with wine I make to shine, that men may seek and sate With overhead a lamp of red I sit me down and wait Until they come, the nightly scum, with drunken eyes aflame 1913 "THE HARPY" #Trove
'THE HARPY.'
Th'cre was a v/oman, and she was wise;
woefully wire was she;
SheVas old, so old, yet her years all told
were but a score and three;
And she knew by heart, from finish to
start, the Book of Iniquity.
There is no hope for such as I, on earth
nor yet in Heaven; -
Unloved I live, unloved I die, unpitied,
unforgiven;
A loathed jade, I ply my trade, unhallowed
and unshriven. - -
I paint my cheeks, for they are white, and
cheeks of chalk men hate;.
Mine eyes with wine I make to shine, that
men may seek and sate; :
With overhead a lamp of red I sit me
down and wait. - j
Until they come, the nightly scum, with I
drunken eyes aflame;
Your sweethearts, sons, ye scornful ones
— 'tis, I who know their shame;
The gods ye see are. brutes to' me — -and so
I play my game. ;
For life is. not the thing Ave thought, and
not the thing, we plan;
And woman, in a bitter world must do the
best she can;
Must yield the stroke, and bear the yoke,
and serve the will of. man;
Must serve his need and bear the yoke,
flame of his desire;
Though be she loved , for love alone, or
be she loved for hire;
For every man since life began is tainted
with the mire.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Found this beauty of a mispelling while editing today: "The Watcher cleared his throught." *throat #AmEditing #WritingCommunity
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Instead of genre, novel-november.com lets you break down your novel into 5 aspects. #WritingCommunity #NotNanowrimo
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I made a word-count tool with an unnecessary histogram and breakdown per wordlength. Perfect for the procrastinating writer. #WritingCommunity www.novel-november.com/tools/word-c...
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
As a trial run before November, I'm running a "Mid Year Novelette" challenge similar to Camp Nanowrimo. www.novel-november.com
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
In my 50K word NaNoWriMo Novel, 45% of the words have 3 letters or less. Why use big word when small word good? www.novel-november.com/tools/word-c...
Histogram of word lengths
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
In the style of Camp Nanowrimo, www.novel-november.com is running a mini-challenge in July, "The Midyear Novelette"
novel-november.com
Write a novel this November!
30 days, 50K words. Can you beat the challenge?
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Crunchy garlic soup recipe: 200g greek yoghurt 100g fresh spinach, chopped 4 vitawheat biscuits, broken up garlic powder, salt. All mixed together in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. Sits nicely in the middle of the soup-salad continuum.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Can I draw? No. Had I heard of ArtFight before this month? No. Am I incredibly invested in the drama, rule changes, and community backlash? Absolutely.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Timezones are an archaic remnant of an unglobalised past. I vote we get rid of them. #Programming
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 28/04/2026
Soniferous Aether xkcd.com/3238/
Comic. [Person and second person with ponytail on stage. Person 1 gestures behind at a display of different wavelengths while Person 2 addresses people off-panel.] PERSON 2: We all know the speed of light is constant for all observers. But our experiments show that the speed of sound *changes* based on the observer's motion. Thus, we posit the existence of the *soniferous aether*, a medium that fills the space between us and carries sound waves. [caption] Sometimes physicists forget that air exists and rediscover it from first principles.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Most NaNoWriMo novels are terrible, sure, but most people's first novel will be terrible regardless of whether it's written in 30 days or 30 years. It's better to gain the experience fast than to drag your feet in the name of perfection.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Aw. We probably can't make panda x polar bear hybrids 😞 "Bears not included in Ursus, such as the giant panda, are expected to be unable to produce hybrids with other bears. " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursid_h...
en.wikipedia.org
Ursid hybrid - Wikipedia
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
On Fridays we ✨ sparkle ✨
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
In the ai summary of our meeting, each of my male colleagues were mentioned by name. My contributions were attributed to one of them. AI amplifies bias.
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Clémence Royer was French self-taught #polymath born #OTD in 1830. + Best known for producing the first French translation of Charles Darwin’s 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 + First woman elected to the Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, 1870 & remained its only female member for ~15 years #WomenInSTEM
Black-and-white oval studio portrait from 1865, taken by the renowned French photographer Nadar, depicts Clémence Royer (1830–1902), the pioneering French intellectual, philosopher, economist, anthropologist, and feminist best known for producing the first French translation of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1862. In the image, the thirty-five-year-old Royer is shown in a classic three-quarter pose, her head turned slightly toward the viewer with a calm, intelligent, and resolute expression—her gaze direct and thoughtful, lips closed in a subtle, serious line. Her dark hair is parted severely in the center and styled in an elegant, thick curl that falls over her right shoulder. She rests her cheek on her left hand in a contemplative gesture, elbow presumably supported just out of frame, conveying quiet intellectual depth. She wears a dark, richly textured 19th-century dress with a high lace-trimmed collar, elaborate lace cuffs, and a prominent circular medallion or brooch pinned at the throat. A wide decorative belt or sash accents her waist, completing the refined yet serious attire typical of an independent woman of letters in mid-19th-century France.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Just opened a winning #NaNoWriMo project for the first time in 5 years, 50016 words exactly. I'm scared to read through the carnage 🫣
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
A berserker who knits socks. It's not a quirky hobby to make his character more interesting, it's a representation of genuine sweetness, a warrior who makes sure his friends are safe and have warm feet. I've never wanted to hug a protagonist more. #Booksky
Paladin's Grace, by T. Kingfisher
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
People with unreasonable expectations are doomed to disappointment.
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Reposted by Bethany Drake
Spritanium @spritanium.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
AI is great at tasks that computers generally struggle with. It's frustrating to see it used for tasks that computers were already good at
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Gergely Orosz @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com · 15/04/2026
I hate AI when it's like this: Notion used to have a one-click way to turn text into a quote. They removed this and now I have... AI So instead of sub-500ms, it now takes 10+ seconds to turn selected text into a quote (type out the prompt, then wait ~4 seconds) So backwards...
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Telling a mentally ill person to "try yoga" is like telling a person with pneumonia to try green tea and honey.
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Laika L. Gagarin @laikalgagarin.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
this reminds me of the NaNoWriMo incident and how it played out. The groomer didnt just mess with teens going into like Fanfic Erotica or anything no, they were a moderator OF a youth space.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Running is for people with poor time management.
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Did Camp #NaNoWriMo usually happen in June or July? I get my j months confused...
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Bethany Drake @bethany-drake.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Pro writing tip: make sure you know how to spell your MC's name. Changing multiple variations after the fact is a massive hassle 😂
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Tanner Linsley @tannerlinsley.com · 13/04/2026
Finally, TanStack Start now supports React Server Components! Start's RSCs are a truly fetchable, cacheable and composable primitive that work with your favorite tools instead of dictating your entire architecture. Oh, and one more thing... "Composite Components" 😉 tanstack.com/blog/react-s...
tanstack.com
React Server Components Your Way | TanStack Blog
RSCs are genuinely exciting — smaller bundles, streaming UI, moving heavy work off the client — but existing implementations force you into a one-size-fits-all pattern. What if you could fetch, cache,...
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David J Prokopetz @prokopetz.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I think there should be a microblogging platform where the complete text of each post is also its primary database key. Want to make a post with the exact same text that anyone else has ever made? Key integrity violation, try again. This would not benefit anyone in any way.
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