iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

When the sacred migrating birds that carry messages between isolated settlements disappear, a misfit courier is sent with a small group on a perilous journey across the wilds hoping to find out what’s gone wrong—and save their community from ecological catastrophe. #BluePit📖 #W #A #WF #F

Illustration: A blue-grey bird carrying a similar colored ribbon flies in front of a forbidding, dimly lit landscape of snowy mountains. In a valley between peaks, a mystical orb of light glows.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

The word "total" appears once in my novel, and I'm suspicious of the tone here. How to make her little sister sound like a teen without sounding like a 20th-21st century American teen? In any case, this is some of what I'm grappling with in revisions. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

She heard quick, light footsteps on the stairs: Caisu. “Hey, lazybones, dinner is almost ready! You ready to come downstairs yet?” Caisu stuck her head through the curtain, and Nairlu glared at her rudeness.

“Almost.”

Caisu shoved her over so she could lie down next to Nairlu. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “This is so weird.”

“Yeah. Someone must have missed the message that I’m a total misfit.”

“No. Well, yeah, you are, but I mean it’s weird to think of you maybe leaving. You’re my sister. You’re supposed to be here always.”

Nairlu turned her head. “I’ll come back, ‘Su.”

Caisu was silent for a moment. “So you’ve decided. You’ll go.”

“I think so.”

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

If I put a reveal like this in a novel, it would be too cheesy to be believable. This timeline sucks. Anyway, here's an alternative that I think *isn't* affiliated with the plagiarism machine that steals from writers. 2/2

nano2.org

NaNo 2.0

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

One reason I backed away from #NaNoWriMo in 2024 was because they accepted a sponsorship from a generative AI company. Now there's a new thing called #NovelNovember! Looks nice, right? But guess who's running that new event... THE SAME GEN-AI COMPANY NANO PARTNERED WITH! 1/2

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Earlier tonight, I attended a practical and inspiring workshop with Jennifer Haigh, hosted online by Grub Street. Her observations gave me some true "Eureka!" moments about my novel. I think I might be able solve at least half of my "oh, no, this exposition is dreary and stupid" problems now.🎉

grubstreet.org

GrubStreet | Homepage

The nation's leading and largest center for creative writing for over 25 years, GrubStreet offers classes and events for writers from all stages and…

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

Here's a #WIPSnips that has the vibe, not the specific word. It's still rather rough-drafty. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Later, when the birds continued their migration, keepers in riavis to the south and west would retrieve the news from Lamavos. This flow of information—across the land to the northeast in the spring, to the southwest in autumn—was how each riavi learned about how conditions were shifting in every region. It was the basis of the most important decision made at every festival: stay or go?

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Not a single instance of "somebody" in my WIP! Plenty of "someones" though. Have a #WIPSnips that's a quote from my protagonist, Nairlu: “They made me a swift because they’ve always thought of me that way. As someone who runs, who goes away.” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

A #WIPSnips, this one fresh off the brain, written just yesterday. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Side streets, then. She followed narrow paths between houses, sometimes north, sometimes west, always keeping at least two rows of buildings between her and the main square. In the cold of late autumn, most window shutters were closed and wrapped to keep in the heat, so she didn’t see the people at work in the ground-floor workshops, but she could hear them. The whir and clack of a shuttle alternating with the rhythmic thump of a loom’s beater, the scrape of a plane against wood, a group of children repeating a lesson in a near-unison, the deep-throated whoosh of a bellows followed by the crackle of embers.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

A #WIPSnips for June 1st... #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

Almost immediately, she was cursing the fact that she had left her walking staff behind. The mix of reed roots, soil held by grasses, wet mud, and a few spots of ice made for an extremely uneven and unpredictable surface. They staggered over bumps and sank into mud and fell through ice into pools of water that were almost knee deep.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Today's #WIPSnips. A fruit glaze is sort of like honey, right? #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

She found some berries, which she crushed and spread over the pieces of meat. It added a pleasant sweetness that was somewhat reminiscent of a fruit glaze her brother made. The flavor brought with it a pang of homesickness...

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

A #WIPSnips from early in my novel: She felt hot moisture pricking at the corners of her eyes, shameful tears. Still, she let them fall, for a little while. Past the tears would be a clearer mind. And indeed, the sun was only just setting when her mind settled. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

This #WIPSnips hints at some peculiarities of the architecture in my fantasy world. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

She imagined a household opening this building some years for now, throwing open the shutters to let in the sounds of celebration. The sun would stream through the windows for the first time in at least a decade and reveal this image among the chevrons, curves, angles and spirals that decorated the walls and beams. Probably they would never know the circumstances of how this bird was painted here.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

A partly familiar #WIPSnips: The pipes twittered and fluttered, mimicking the songs of the ehtis. The drums thumped, a steady heartbeat for everyone to share. Nairlu started to move, trying to give herself over to the drums, trusting the drummers to carry her with the flow. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

This #WIPSnips is one of several song lyrics in my fantasy novel. "Ehti" is a species of bird. A new day on the wing, And so we sing. Our voices greet the day. Oh, the blue and grey. Ehtis, bless us all, And so we call: Take all our fears away. Oh, the blue and grey. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Today's #WIPSnip on "chill": She returned to the hut where the others were already bundled into their sleeping rolls, clustering close to the fire and, reluctantly, to each other. As cold as the still night air was, the mood among them was even more chill. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

A #WIPSnips on "touch": The memory of going hungry clung to him still, sometimes making his thoughts blur and his heart pound. But if he carried a bite of food, he could touch it, and the feel of even a small morsel against his fingertips soothed the prickle in his mind. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

A #WIPSnips using the word "idea": “We move once darkness falls.” Traveling at night was not the best idea. It was easier to get lost or injured. But under the circumstances, it was better than getting caught by people who might already have orders to slit their throats. #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

A #WIPSnips on the theme of "ego": “I have worked under your instruction ever since we arrived and—” “—and you think that makes you as much of an expert as me?” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

A #WIPSnips that toys with a thought I had: If you were about to go on a dangerous, heroic adventure, wouldn't those days of getting ready before you hit the road be kind of... awkward? #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️

The preparations happened as autumn steadily advanced and the usual frenetic pace of the end of the growing season continued as well. Crops ripened and needed harvesting. The nights turned chill. Winter garments needed mending. Houses’ shutters were more often closed, even in the days, and most were now wrapped and sealed against the coming frosts.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

I enjoyed writing my protagonist in this scene. #WIPSnips “Fine. I’ll try to assume you have good intentions, at least until you prove otherwise.” #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

A #WIPSnips from my novel-in-progress: --- All of the knowledge of the riavi was held in the minds of its people. To keep that knowledge alive was everything. It was connection. It was survival. It was joy. “And what did you learn today?” she asked her little sister. --- #writing #fantasy 📚💙🪐

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

#WIPSnips She moved through the dancers to find a space that wasn’t too crowded, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened to the music. The pipes twittered and fluttered, mimicking the songs of the ehtis. The drums thumped, a steady heartbeat for everyone to share. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Today's #WIPSnips: --- One year’s harvest withered, and the next year’s was planted late, after the farmers healed the soil. Riavi Lamavos had to ration food extremely carefully during that time, and those two years had left their mark on everyone in one way or another. --- #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Today's #WIPSnips excerpt from my novel-in-progress: -- They ate every bit of the soup, scraping up the smallest traces from their bowls. “I feel like I could sleep for a week,” declared Drenu. “Well, you have until sunrise, which is a good ten hours away at this point.” -- #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

Kat Beaufort @onbearfeet.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Okay, so at the request of the lovely @trance.bsky.social , I'm going to tell a story about what happens when a shitty person is "just joking", and then discovers there are consequences. AKA That Time Kat Started An Antifascist Hallway Riot In The Third Grade. Grab your beverage of choice.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

A #WIPSnips for Feb 14. This excerpt is the result of my recent revision work, where I'm focusing on replacing exposition dumping with flashbacks into the memories of characters other than the main POV protagonist. #writing #fantasy 💙📚🪐

Ashebo’s laugh rang bright above the sound of music and celebration. “Look!” He squeezed Thakro’s hand to get his attention and threaded their fingers together affectionately. “That’s unlike any hairstyle I’ve ever seen! Someone’s trying to make an impression.”
Thakro watched the dancers in the direction Thakro was pointing. One woman’s hair was piled on her head in a complex, layered stack. Locks and braids looped, twisted, and intertwined. There were several little spirals that built upward each turn away from the center.
“All the little cups on her head are full of grain,” Ashebo continued. “Maybe you should grow your hair out, sweetheart. You could use a style like that to hide away your little snacks.”
Thakro stopped, stunned. “What?”
“It’s just a joke, Thakro.”
“And what exactly is funny about it?”
“You know. It’s the adorable way you tuck a bit of every meal into your pocket to save for later.” His flirtation now wasn’t so much romantic as an attempt to distract from the argument he surely could feel brewing.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

A #WIPSnips selection for this Sunday. The word swift here refers to a job not unlike a courier. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

As usual, Plinsu was coordinating. She no longer ran thanks to a bad injury a few years ago, but she had trained most of the ten swifts who were currently stretching and warming up, including Nairlu. Plinsu handled the flood of requests for the swifts’ services with a confidence that Nairlu admired. (Italic font) If I were the one faced with that crowd, I’d be in a panic! But she’s as calm as if we weren’t at the peak of the festival rush.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Today's #WIPSnips is from a lyric because in a mostly oral culture, song is essential to memory. The "we" here are people. The "you" are a species of bird at the heart of my story. We dance upon the ground And you on air; Our words in ribbons bound, Knowledge to share. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Another #WIPSnips selection this morning: They emerged from the shadow of the trees into bright sunshine and went a short distance west to get around the small wood that had sheltered them through the morning hours. #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

This #WIPSnip is in a section that I'm almost certain is headed for the cutting room floor: "I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly how it started. But at one of the discussions, an argument broke out. It came to blows, and the violence spread." #Writing #Fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Enjoy this peek into my protagonist's personal life: At nineteen, she had felt the unadulterated draw of attraction to many fellows, and the deep pull to act on those desires. After playing that game for a couple of years, though, she was already weary of it. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag @wipsnips.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips! The word for January 27 is "player" #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
January 27 - player
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Happy birthday to @wipsnips.bsky.social ! Here's a celebratory snip from my wip: There was a brief silence, and then a great cheer rose up into the night. The drums picked up a faster beat, the pipes sounded, and the dancing resumed. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Today's little excerpt is one that will probably end up getting edited out, so enjoy before it's gone! "But although we had gained a newfound unity, we were suddenly lacking in…well, people." #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Here's an out-of-context excerpt from my fantasy novel in progress, no explanation: “I found a few pots of water-based paint. Mind waiting for me to leave a mark of our stay here? It won’t take long.” #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Today's excerpt from my book is a bit of a glimpse of the migratory birds that are at its heart. #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

Although all of the birds congregated in the scrublands southeast of the Halis Tundra, just at the eastern foot of the Dragath Mountains, their southward paths branched and forked. They departed their nesting grounds with their new fledgling offspring as one massive flock, then quickly divided into two, then four, then eight, each time spreading their paths to wend through all the places where the humans were settled—and to feast on the grain left for them.

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag @wipsnips.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

The #WIPSnips word for January 18 is "division" Happy Caturday! Would love to see some pet friends with your WIPSnips today if you'd like to share! (Doesn't have to be kitties, I'm just partial.) #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts

#WIPSnips a bluesky writing community tag
January 18 - division
Share a line from your WIP with the daily word for inspiration
Use #WIPSnips. Don't forget Alt Text for graphics
Synonyms, variation and vibes are fine.
Support others on the #WIPSnips tag!
Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social

The image behind the text is a border that is black with stars with a light blue rectangle highlighted by a fuchsia line. An illustrated caticorn holding a pencil and writing in a book with a rose behind one ear is in the lower right corner

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Today's excerpt from my novel-in-progress: "Nairlu wasn’t much inclined to decorate herself with jewelry, but one necklace did sit on the shelf, a small piece of white bone carved into the shape of a wing hanging from a length of intricately braided narrow twine." #WIPSnips #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Everich rose hath its þ

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

A bit of dialogue for today's #WIPSnips: “I’m sorry. I know I usually say the wrong thing.” “No, I’m complimenting you! You’re absolutely right. They were only arguing to argue, and I don’t have the time or, frankly, the patience for that kind of nonsense.” #writing #fantasy 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

This #WIPSnips is from a part of my fantasy novel's mythology. Storytelling is essential to the world's oral culture. The ehti are a species of bird.

The ehti were not without pity, but it was too late to save the people from the mistakes they had already made. ‘No. We cannot stay. You, too, must leave here. And you must scatter across the world, living in small groups that do not linger more than ten harvests. We will guide you so that the lands where you settle will feed you all well. But you must never build a place like this again. If you make these changes, you will prosper. If you do not, you will wither and die, like the seed upon your spent fields.’

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Today's #WIPSnip, featuring the word "responsible," a new challenge for my protagonist to face in the middle of this adventure, and some character names I'm almost certain I'm going to change before the revisions are done.

They lay down in their sleeping rolls. Nairlu closed her eyes but could not fall asleep. She knew that weather like this was the most dangerous hazard they would encounter, at least now that they had escaped Korik. It was the first time she or Kruvo had ever been responsible for getting a group through a winter storm on their own. In conditions like this, the community of a riavi was what usually stood between people and death. She hadn’t felt the separation from their home as keenly as she did in this moment.

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

The word "vertical" appears only once in the novel I'm revising. What do soldiers look like to someone who has never seen one or even heard of the concept of an "army" before? #WIPSnips

They were dressed in nearly identical clothing, even down to the colors of the fabric. They wore orange tunics with wide vertical bands of dark grey running down the chest. Over that were heavy cloaks, also in orange with grey bands. The fabric hung oddly on them, as if there were extra bulk in the under layers of their clothing.

She caught a glimpse of one of the reasons the cloaks hung so strangely: a long blade attached to their belts. But their tunics hid some odd, stiff lumps around their shoulders and chests. Something protective perhaps?

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

An excerpt (sort of) from my fantasy work-in-progress, with character names removed: A: What’s wrong? B: It’s dangerous here. A: We knew that. B: No, it’s changed. C: Changed? What’s changed? B: Something’s different today. #writersky #writer #amrevising 💙📚 So what's that all about? 1/3

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

#writers #authors beware scammers! I'm seeing some suspicious accounts that follow a pattern: mass-following & -replying to writers, banner pix advertising services for self-publishing authors, replies that sound AI-generated, no website link in bio, and company name turns up no search results. 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Sadly, the character limit was a lot shorter than I expected, so I had to come up with a simpler idea on the spot. Still, I think this will work.

A royal blue notebook placed partly over a grey-blue notebook. Embossed words are visible on their covers. "Just write"

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Reposted by Cassandra Hartwell

Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

I'm a fantasy writer. What phrase should I put on the cover of my next notebook? I'm looking for a very brief slogan, no more than a couple of words, that will inspire creativity and motivate me to write! #WritingCommunity 💙📚

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Today's editing challenge: How to change the opening infodump into a bunch of flashbacks scattered through later chapters. - Which past events can do the world building work? - Where in the "present" of the story should these memories come up? - What's the minimum context the reader needs?

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Cassandra Hartwell @cassandrahartwell.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

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