iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Due to health reasons, I sadly need to cancel tonight's stream. I'll post about the next one soon!

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I just entered #RevPit #10Queries, hardly for the first time! You might ant to enter too, for a chance to win free feedback on your query and 1st 5 pages.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Got some #writing you want critiqued? I'll be reviewing 5-page submissions live from 7-9 pm EST. You can ask for a standard mark-up, or ask me if I can picture it--that is I will attempt to illustrate your scene--especially useful for action sequences. youtube.com/live/uQGnMdU...

youtube.com

Office Hours

YouTube video by Herald-ish

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#Writers, how do you feel about 2nd-person POV? (comic from my article on POVs medium.com/@sly_43735/w...)

A four panel comic. A tall soldier points towards the viewer saying, "Hey, YOU!" They then shake a shorter soldier, saying, "I am talking to YOU!" The shorter soldier replies with a smile, "Yes, I understand you are talking to an imaginary person." They continue to smile despite the taller soldier's incredulous glare. "Carry on!"

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

So, it works as a guitar on its own, but it is quiet without being plugged in. I am pretty sure amplifier plugs/cords are universal. So yes, you might want an amplifier. The other thing your 14-year-old might want is a distortion pedal to play around with grittier sounds.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

And the trailer is confusing. What is this about? Anything?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

You got something up your...you know what, never mind. You're good.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Okay, so it's the worst, but it's also not THE worst, as she finally has time to garden and also she can write self-pitying letters to Raubahn while trying to convince him they're pen-pals now. That lasts about five days before she gets into politics, because no one else can do anything right.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ray was super lucky to be chosen as one of the first humans to go on an alien federation expedition to an uninhabitable planet. So lucky they might be the first human to starve on one too, and the missing resupply capsule might not have been an accident, either. #DVPit #SF #A #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Wai Lam was ecstatic to be promoted to head investigator until his new butch witch partner Ffraid declared ACAB. As a gay son of immigrants, Wai Lam knows the system isn't perfect, but if the police can't stop the magic crime gangs, who's going to? The two of them? #DVPit #A #F #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Damn, didn't know sobbing internal was on my to-do list today. Good luck!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Thank you so much! Here's hoping 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

THE MARTIAN X A HALF-BUILT GARDEN Having three species on an expedition to an uninhabitable planet is a first, as one of them is a human. It goes swimmingly until the resupply capsule goes missing—or was sabotaged, as some humans don't want to join the alien federation. #DVPit #A #SF #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

...maybe you can fix her? lol, good luck out there!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

When there's a hot girl, what else can you do?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Nothing! Nothing at all will happen to the escape rocket or the greenhouse they try to grow emergency rations in or

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Mistranslation?! The horror! Good luck today!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

TAINTED CUP X WITCHMARK The magic that fueled an industrial revolution is on the wane, and crime is on the wax. A gay investigator and a butch witch team up to catch magic thieves, but what can they do if the city institutions—and their employer—are the worst offenders? #DVPit #A #F #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Look, murderers have their reasons. Good luck today!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#enby engineer Ray is not only the first human on an alien federation's survey of an uninhabitable planet. They're also the first vertebrate, endotherm, and aerial-breather. Which will make surviving quite a feat when the crew suddenly has to make do without a resupply. #DVPit #A #SF #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

THE MARTIAN x A HALF-BUILT GARDEN Twenty years after first contact, a nonbinary engineer joins the alien federation's survey of an uninhabitable planet as the trial human on the team. Since that wasn't enough pressure, their resupply capsule has been lost in space. #DVPit #A #SF #LGBT #CI #JV

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#DVParty Day 3 Ray triple-checked the seal of their face mask before cycling the pressure lock at the top of the habitat capsule. They didn’t bother with the enviro-suit. Better to remind their Ocean Worlds Federation hosts why they’d brought a human along. #A #SF #LGBT #JV #CI

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Things I learned doing my first critique livestream. - Figure out the chat settings. - I should probably read the piece out loud as I go through it. - My cat really appreciates me having to sit in place for a couple hours.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Hey #DVparty, I'll be offering editorial notes on opening pages starting in about ten minutes. If you would like some feedback, go ahead and email your first five pages to kescraig AT herald-ish DOT com! www.youtube.com/live/9cBbF9v...

youtube.com

Office Hours: First pages review!

YouTube video by Herald-ish

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Love this, but it's a little choppy. Krys had a good idea on how to smooth it out. Could you be more specific about why he likes this boy or how he might lose him? Is it like he'll die without stronger healing powers?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Not a lot of space left, but what can they do about the conspiracy? Or what is the conspiracy, maybe?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

How about: "When Soleil, a super-soldier turned pencil-pusher, escapes an assassination attempt by her colleagues, she can only turn to an enemy for help. While investigating her colleague's motives, the pair discover a political conspiracy that could destroy both their planets."

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is a lot of What where a pitch should be more about Who and Why. Who is Aleyna, what does she want freedom from, and how are "they" stopping her? What is the morally complicated alliance? These specifics help us understand YOUR story.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"A strange cure" is a little vague, while saying both "shunned" and "exile" is a little repetitive when the character count is so tight. Can you cut it down to just "risks exile from the asssassin's guild to forge a cure"---and as for the cure, what is it supposed to do? Resurrect the Princess?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Okay, if they both want the same thing, that's a big source of tension and should be more clear in the pitch! She has to decide which one to give it to.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm here for this, but I similarly found this pitch contradictory. Are the nanites protecting Riley or not?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I would try the dark/gothic route. I think agents looking at that are more likely to appreciate moments of levity than agents looking for something light will appreciate moments of darkness. And anyway, you've already tried whimsical and it didn't work out.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I think you already pointed out the tone mismatch. If your pitch is whimsical but your query/pages are dark, well, the agent requested something whimsical. Pitching something that matches your book will help attract the right agent.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Yay, aliens! While I'm sure following the rules/thinking for self is Glishnagh's personal journey, whatever is actively happening to him should take priority in a pitch. Did following the rules get him stranded, for example?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is pretty good, but I don't understand why she'd consider trusting either ruler, especially when she's already gone behind the first one's back? Is something else at stake?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thank you! So glad it was helpful!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm digging this, but I'm not sure if we're meant to understand that the historian is a love interest? And wouldn't Lena know how she survived? What becomes the conflict?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The first sentence is a little awkward, as we get "her" before we find out who she is. Is she fleeing? Like "Tessa is running from her husband's corpse. The weird part is he's chasing her."?

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

There's a few Chinese fantasy books in the Western market, like the Dandelion Dynasty that's inspired by the classics, and The Poet Empress that's more like the tv dramas. Neither is wuxia, though

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

THE JASAD HEIR X THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO The last living heir of a destroyed kingdom ventures into the capitol of the enemy kingdom to execute everyone who slaughtered her family—but she is constantly thrwarted by the enemy prince who is blind to the wrongs she's endured. #preDV #indo-persian #F

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Hopping over from your other attempt, you can get some word count back from dropping some adverbs and using just #F for fantasy.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"After her sister is kidnapped by the rakshasas, a cowardly relic keeper must find the horror circus of a fallen demigod. There she must survive deadly games against highly-trained opponents to win a wish from an angry god to save her sister."

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is intriguing! And a little bit run-on. I'd break it up:

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