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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Sometimes the reader is not confused; you are explaining what they already understood. Trust the image, action, and reaction. If a character slams down a letter and leaves, you may not need to add, “She was angry.” #WritingTips #EditingTips

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Memorable dialogue is often about one thing on the surface and another underneath. “I’m fine” might mean fear, resentment, grief, or a need to be believed. What is one line in your manuscript that means more than it says? #Dialogue #WritingCommunity

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A story’s middle should not feel like a hallway. This is where pressure builds, plans fail, and choices become costly. If it feels slow, increase the consequences, not just the events. What gets harder for your protagonist? #PlotDevelopment #AmWriting

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

“Tell me what you think” is hard for a beta reader to answer. Ask about pacing, character motivation, emotional impact, confusion, or tension instead. Specific questions create useful feedback. What would you ask about your manuscript? #BetaReaders #WritingCommunity

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

When something devastating happens, readers need room to process it. A pause, physical reaction, silence, or changed behavior can say more than a page of explanation. How does your protagonist reveal emotion without naming it? #CharacterDevelopment #WritingCommunity

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A scene can be beautifully written and still be unnecessary. Ask: What changes because this scene exists? Does a decision happen, a conflict deepen, or a relationship shift? Which scene in your manuscript creates the biggest change? #StoryStructure #AmWriting

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Your first page makes a promise: a tone, a mood, and a reason to continue. It does not need explosions, but it does need curiosity, tension, or an emotional problem. What promise does your opening make? #WritingTips #WritingCommunity

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Vomit Emoji Typing on Discord

ALT: Vomit Emoji Typing on Discord

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A rough chapter does not mean you are a bad writer. It means the story is still being shaped. Protect your confidence, but do not protect every sentence. What has revision taught you about your writing? #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

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Ewan McGregor's Shocking Discovery in Ghost Writer

ALT: Ewan McGregor's Shocking Discovery in Ghost Writer

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Bad writing days are just part of the job. You can edit a bad page, but you cannot edit a blank page. Show up for the mess. #WritingCommunity #WritersLife

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Start scenes late and leave them early. Cut the polite hellos and long goodbyes. Drop your reader straight into the middle of the tension. #WritingTips #WritingCommunity

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

When sending your manuscript to beta readers, give them specific focus areas, like pacing or emotional arc, rather than just "tell me what you think." Better feedback leads to a stronger book. #BetaReaders #AmWriting

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Comparison is the thief of joy. Focus on your own page count and your own growth. #AuthorMindset #WritingCommunity

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Read your dialogue aloud. If you run out of breath or stumble over words, your reader will too. Dialogue should sound like real speech, sharpened for drama. #EditingTips #WritingCommunity

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Mom Reading Aloud to Baby

ALT: Mom Reading Aloud to Baby

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

What was it about that character change that made the rest of the story click better for you?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

What caught my attention is that the character suggestion still managed to make such a big difference without changing the main plot or themes. Those are probably my favorite kinds of revisions, the ones that don’t reinvent the story, but suddenly make everything fit more tightly.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

That actually makes a lot of sense. I can see why you’d want to get through that second draft yourself first, especially when you already know the story well enough to spot and fix a lot of the obvious issues.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Because that kind of structure could make for some really fun echoes and reveals between the timelines.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The “circle of 3 witches across 4 centuries” especially has me curious: are the four timelines all connected through the same characters/coven, or does each century bring a different generation into the story?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Ohhh, now I see why the playlist needs some range 😂. Starting with a cozy 90s Wiccan finding her circle, then stretching across four different centuries before things take a darker turn is a really interesting tonal setup.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Once you have that presentable draft, are you thinking you’ll have someone else read it specifically to see whether the themes and overall flow are coming through clearly?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

And getting the beginning reworked first is a good move since that can make it easier to judge whether everything afterward is actually supporting what you’re setting up.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

That sounds like a really solid revision target, especially for a short story. The theme consistency and rambling are probably connected, too; sometimes a passage feels like it’s wandering because it’s not quite reinforcing the story’s central thread.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Totally fair. I appreciate you being clear about that. I’m happy to just talk about writing and follow along with the project; your narrator change has definitely got me curious about where the revision takes it.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

With The Blade That Remains, did the trad-pub process change anything substantial in the story, or has it mostly been about refining what was already there?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It’s also interesting because I find that’s where having a fresh reader/editor perspective can be really useful earlier on, you can catch those setup, payoff, pacing, and continuity issues before they become a long list of things to untangle later.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

That makes a lot of sense. The “did I set this up earlier?” checking alone can eat up so much time when you’re still in the developmental stage. Once those bigger story decisions are settled, the line edit becomes much more about precision and consistency than problem-solving.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Plotter or Pantser? Do you outline every chapter before you start, or do you fly by the seat of your pants and discover the story? #WritingCommunity #AmWriting

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Progress isn't always measured in thousands of words per day. Sometimes, writing a single sentence that gets the emotional note right is a victory. Celebrate small wins. #WritingCommunity #WritersLife

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Now I’m curious about the manuscript itself: is the witchy element more about the atmosphere and characters, or is the actual magic/coven system a major driver of the plot?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

And that playlist tells me Coven Thing is probably not going for the cute, sparkly witch aesthetic 😂. Paris Paloma, Myrkur, Kiki Rockwell, and Green Lung is a very particular atmosphere.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Ahh, okay, almost a year changes the “20k already” context 😂. Still, getting that first chunk of a draft down after living with a story that long is a pretty satisfying milestone.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

When you go back through it, what are you most suspicious of right now: the pacing, the character work, or whether all the pieces actually land the way you intended?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

That actually makes sense for a short story. I like the tie-everything-together approach because that’s often where the real revision work shows up. Once you can see the whole thing, you start noticing which details are pulling their weight and which ones are just hanging around.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Once you’ve finished that assessment, I’d be really interested in hearing what ends up changing the most, the plot structure itself, or the way the story is revealed through her perspective?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I especially like that you’re not immediately throwing out the existing plot points. Some of them may work perfectly once they’re repositioned around her journey, while others may reveal where the new material needs to go.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Ah, that makes a lot more sense now. Since the sole-narrator decision is only a week old, assessing what can stay, what needs to move, and what needs replacing is probably the right first step before you start rebuilding anything.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

What would someone have to show you before you’d consider them trustworthy enough to read it?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Honestly, I don’t blame you; trust has to be earned before anyone gets access to a manuscript. A good beta reader or editor should be able to explain their process, genre experience, and exactly what kind of feedback they provide before you hand over your work.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

That “endure, endure, endure” feels like the heartbeat of the whole post. Poetry that acknowledges the struggle without letting it have the final word can hit really hard. What sparked this particular poem for you?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

50k! You’re officially in the “just get the messy thing across the finish line” phase 😂. And honestly, a rough first draft is doing its job if it gives you something you can actually fix later. Now I’m curious about the big villain 👀 What makes them the character everyone is going to love to hate?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

That’s the classic first-draft milestone. The good news is, “making it not suck” is a much easier problem to solve when the entire story is finally on the page. Are you planning to start with the big-picture structure, or dive straight into the chapters that are already bothering you?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

20k already! That’s a solid chunk of Coven Thing down, even if the final word count is still playing hide-and-seek 😂. And a witchy playlist is absolutely part of the writing process. What kind of witchy vibe are you after: dark and atmospheric, mystical and dreamy, or full-on chaotic coven energy?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The draft doesn’t have to be pretty yet, it just has to exist. What part is making you feel the most scrappy about it right now?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

That’s such a normal first-draft feeling 😅 You’ve been living inside the story for so long that it’s probably easier to see every rough edge than to appreciate the fact that you actually finished it.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

140 pages in two days is wild 😳 It really shows how much easier editing can be when the story structure is already solid, and you’re mostly polishing instead of discovering the book as you go. What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed between this line edit and editing your own first drafts?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

150,000 words?! 😳 That’s not just a first draft; that’s a serious amount of story brought into existence. Huge congratulations on getting Book 2 across the finish line! 🎉 Are you taking a well-earned breather before revisions, or are you already thinking about what needs to change?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Do you think merging Chapters 1 and 2 will change how you approach the opening once the full first draft is done?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Honestly, I think letting the story grow as it needs to is the right call, especially when the ideas are still evolving this much. 😅 Going from 25k to a 35k target while already getting the coding sorted sounds like you’re adapting the plan without losing momentum.

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

First draft done! 🎉 Letting it sit for a few days before editing sounds like a great call; fresh eyes can make such a difference. And now I’m curious about this “niche fic” you’re teasing 👀 What makes it so niche?

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Hutom Ghostveil @hutomghostveil.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

37,811 words and a completed first draft, congratulations! 🎉 Letting it sit for a few days before editing is such a good way to come back with fresh eyes. When you start that first revision pass, what are you most hoping to discover about the story?

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