iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

In narrative games, the notion of a fail state becomes interesting. Many consider fail states necessary to define a game at all. One of my projects is an "interactive storybook for grown-ups", which means lots to play with, but the main narrative is linear. Thoughts on "toy" vs "game" vs "book"?

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Life took a dramatic, but necessary plot twist which had me under the sand for far too long. Seems I've finally found the blue sky again and there are still cool people and inspiring spirits here. Seems I need to go on a beach walk and do some catching up.

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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Rough Draft vs Final Draft

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

So we've set our sights on making a mysterious social roguelike of sorts, where the relationship with the party and what they remember is key. It fits my excitement for experimental character writing perfectly! We're going for an 8~ hour play time, so I need to show restraint 😆 #GameDev

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Blue Prince is probably the most layered, extensive puzzle game I've ever played, and that includes all of the Myst series. I don't think I've ever used quite so much paper! 📃✍️ I want to write them a glowimg review on Steam, just usually want to beat a game first - but this one just keeps going!

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

So! I've been a little quiet lately, as my creative direction has taken a spin... It turns out, in the attempt to write an engaging paranormal mystery with a witchy fantasy twist, I ended up drafter the outline for an extremely cool game instead of a book 🥲 🎮✍️

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TC @tcustodis.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Happy Pride Month 2025 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Be gay do crow stuff #pridemonth #pridecrows

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Current obsession: Absorbing every psychological and philosophical angle of Slay the Princess 🗡💗 This game is BRILLIANT

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PosterPit @posterpitevent.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

#PosterPit is coming soon!

Poster Pit
THE RULES
MAXIMUM OF THREE PITCHES FOR THE ENTIRE EVENT, AND NO MORE THAN ONE PER HOUR
PITCH MUST INCLUDE A "MOVIE POSTER" GRAPHIC LIKE IN THE PROVIDED EXAMPLES, WITH ALT TEXT
MOODBOARDS, ART OUTSIDE OF THE POSTER, AND ANY OTHER GRAPHICS ARE PROHIBITED
ANYONE CAN LIKE THE PITCHES, WHETHER IT BE WRITERS, AGENTS, OR EDITORS
USE DESIGNATED AUDIENCE, GENRE, AND #POSTERPIT HASHTAGS

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Me: I don't know brain, between all the medical appointments, you think we could do some, ya know... writing? That favorite thing we like to do in life? There's a decent number of days between these things- Brain: But one of them is a blood draw... 👀 ONE OF THEM is a BLOOD DRAW.

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Darling Axe Editing @darlingaxe.com · 22/02/2025

Your opening line is your first chance (and sometimes your only chance) to hook a reader, publisher, or agent. Let's look at some ways to make it unforgettable. A thread 🧵🪓 #writingcommunity

media.tenor.com

a man in a pirate costume with a feathered hat and mustache

Alt: a man in a pirate costume with a feathered hat and mustache

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Amy Oddo✌🏻💙☀️ @amyoddo.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

More to come👇🏻

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Coolest nonhuman character in my book is Shadow Friend, Sage's silent sidekick. The little shadow spirit peers over Sage's shoulder during investigations, and helps out by slipping into tiny gaps or moving light objects. When not on detective duty, it likes to play and nibble on things!

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

I dunno guys, all this time learning how to write complex, nuanced, mastermind villains, and all we get irl is this Saturday Morning Cartoon slop? I now believe we're having a "good guys writing bad guys" problem 🫠

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Had a little binge of major edits on @musedoes.bsky.social and I's shared story for the last few days while waiting out some irl headache issues. The romantasy epic was escalating too far into tragic drama and needed room wedged back in for actual romance ☠️💘

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Kara Moon 🏴‍☠️💜⚓️ @karamoonauthor.com · 06/02/2025

#febredit hahahaha..... The critique that changed my life was @calarion.bsky.social ripping a first draft of a play to shreds. I spent 24 hours thinking divorce was on the cards 😅 When the rage cleared, I realized not only how every point he'd made was right, but that 1/2

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

#QueerPrompts Oh no, they sensed my whole plot!! Run! 👀💦 So, yes, there's a worldbuilding reason that Spirit Eyes are not typically found anywhere near each other. While the scattering of hermits are beyond issues of basic discrimination, the motives behind reinforcing that hermitage run deep 🤫

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Kara Moon 🏴‍☠️💜⚓️ @karamoonauthor.com · 05/02/2025

books while doing structural edits: Saves the Cat, Take Off Your Pants. For the following revision/edit rounds, I've made up a table of approaches for mini-revision runs, getting a bit granular here but they are included below if you are interested 2/2

1 Do a run per major character, per scene looking at their INTENTION > WHY they have that/feel like that > the OBSTACLE they face (and remember the four key emotions at the core of everything: Anger, Hurt, Fear, Love)

2. Run through checking that every scene has a turning point. If it doesn't, why is it in there?

3. Check there is Inhaling and Exhaling happening (as in, action - reaction, excitement - calm) - also check Motivation-Reaction Units

4. "Scan through the whole text for POV - what assumptions do people make about the feelings of others, and am I making it clear these are assumptions and why they are assuming e.g. body language? Am I ever head hopping? Do I ever info dump out of POV? Am I ever slipping into omniscient?

Third person close: think about -
Word choice
What to focus on and what to ignore
Whether to emphasize the character’s thoughts and emotions
e.g. are descriptions coming from the point of relevance to protag, or her opinion on such things?
When are we getting protag's thoughts, and when are we not?
Drop AS MANY internal questions as possible!"

5. When doing the dialogue run, look at the speech patterns of every character and make some decisions about stylisation for each - contractions? Slang? other features of speech? Edit for everyone having different facial expressions and gestures

6. Look at using the drama triangle for conversations

7. Edit for exposition, especially in speech

8. Edit for showing and telling - search for telling emotions rather than showing, look for any thought/wondered/realised/hoped etc, look for explaining motivations (usually headed off with a 'because')

9. Edit for - is something a scene when it could be a summary - and vice versa. But also for conversations which might not need to be conversations

10. Edit for adverbs around speech, and for places where said would be better than other words

11. Edit for stage directions by stealth

12. Edit for active/passive voice

13. Edit for speaking and doing at the same time - make sure it is possible

14. Edit for transitions, especially in and out of memory

15. Edit for thinking rather than feeling the moment

16. Edit for removing some of the scaffolding questions and marrying ideas in, in a more organic fashion

17. "Edit using Steering the Craft (a lot of this is covered in other points but also:
- Watch adjectives and adverbs - do you really need it?
- Have fun with pathetic fallacy - putting mood and exposition into the details eg. foreshadowing events, using evocative words, using descriptive passages as a chance to reveal something about character
- Crowd the necessary moments, leap over the unnecessary)"

18. Edit for sentence grammar and making sense - refer to Elements of Style

19. Vary sentence length more

20. Edit for paragraph length and breaks

21. Edit for repetition of words (crowd, threat, long, turn, suddenly, started to, had, down, up, got and also) - run a word cloud first

22. Edit for scenery (this can come way late)

23. Read aloud!!!

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Kara Moon 🏴‍☠️💜⚓️ @karamoonauthor.com · 05/02/2025

#febredit For me, and I'm only just starting to understand this myself, but it's that the first (arbitrary number, but) 1 million words are just practice, and then after that you'll find your voice. It's been true for me, both with first drafts and with revising too. I actually enjoy revising now 😅

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Taking the mandatory two weeks off before beginning edits on my first book in my paranormal mystery series... so of course I've started immediately writing the second! #authorlife #writingobsessed 📚💙

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CPAWS Yukon @cpawsyukon.org · 30/01/2025

OPPORTUNITY: No Wasted Words Writing #Contest ✏️ Submit a short work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry with a zero waste or #conservation theme by March 24th at buff.ly/4hgBfus. Hosted by Raven Centre & #Yukon Conservation Society

Earth Day 2025 No Wasted Words Writing Contest

Submit a short work of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry with a conservation or zero waste theme! Juicy local prizes for top 7 submissions! Age Categories: Youth (18 & under) & Adult (19 & up). Submission Deadline: March 24, 2025.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

SOOO much language research! I have an international cast to juggle, and I enjoy letting them sprinkle their own native words into the "magically translated" english. But I'm me, so they have to be Correct words 🫠 Then there's historical facts, architecture, physics, plants... 🤯😂 #PretendPanel

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Jorah Kai 💫 Author | 👽 Existential Detective 🌏 @jorahkai.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

So I have two books I’ve been working really hard on coming out soon- 1 poetry and a cosmic horror novel. What have y’all found successful in getting the word out? We’re going to bury a manuscript in a haunted cemetery during a full moon so I think we’re basically set right? #horrorwriterschat

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J Renee @justjrenee.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

It is a strange sort of pride to make a character and find out that someone treasures them as they would a friend. #pretendpanel #writers #writingcommunity

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

What I'm proudest about in this book (and the series it starts) is how it ties so many layers of meaning together. The big, medium, and small mysteries fly in parallel so well. It's been crazy how many details have arisen during writing that help perfectly to circle back (or forward). #PretendPanel

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

I'm pretty hard to get weepy, but there are spots in this book that fought me on it. There's a bit where the little sidekick buddy (Shadow Friend) has to be locked away for its own safety, and the ache over whether Sage would actually see it again is surprisingly wrenching. 🥺 #PretendPanel

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London Price, author 🌈 PREORDER YULE BE SORRY @londonpriceauthor.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

@assignedmedia.org came up with an excellent set of essays, basically their version of Reasons to Stay Alive, and I don't think enough people have read it. So I made a postcard. However you're feeling is okay, but I urge you all to stay grounded in one of these reasons to stay with us. (1/4)

A black postcard on a bulletin board with the words "stay with us" in large letters. It also lists the names of the authors of the essays in blue and QR code to the article in pink. The word stay has the trans flag in the background.

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Alex Is Writing @alexfromawen.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Writer friends, do you ever struggle with your MCs tenses? In most of my work, I feel most comfortable writing things from the MCs POV, past tense ("I went to the market"). But with with my current WIP, I have one MC where that's the same, but the other, Hook, seems to demand present tense.

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Alex Is Writing @alexfromawen.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

AN EDUCATION IN MALICE x PETER PAN A cranky immortal & a smug pirate must partner to save the family neither knew they needed. ⚔️Enemies to Lovers 💀Dark Reimaginings 👩‍❤️‍👩Bi FMC × Lesbian FMC 🫂Found family 🥵Spicy Sapphics 🩸Pan-pires "FOREVER IS A VERY LONG TIME" #BluePit📖 #W #A #LGBT #ND #F #H #P

The Pitch:
Gwen Dale, aka Wendy Darling, has been drifting on the fringes of her family for a century, keeping a promise to her long dead brother. But when a girl named Mona awakens a long lost sense of family, she finds she’ll do anything to keep her safe, even if it means returning to the one place she swore she’d put behind her, Neverland.
Everyone knows Captain Hook is the woman in charge, a pirate with a quick wit and a sharp blade. But no one knows she’s on the verge of her breaking point, under the toll of a lifetime of fighting. When her long-time nemesis gives her an ultimatum she can’t refuse, she’ll have to make a daring mission to the heart of enemy territory.
Together, the cranky immortal and smug pirate will be forced to put aside their animosity and work together to save the family neither knew they needed, and try not to lose their hearts in the process, to defeat their shared enemy, Peter Pan.

Mood board images clockwise from top left:
The torso of an attractive woman in pirate clothes; the mast of a pirate ship against a dark sky; aerial view of a tropical island; a woman lies amongst green leaves, covered in blood; a pale woman with supernaturally blue eyes and fangs stares at the camera; two women sensually kiss; black and white image of a girl's face stained with red, the word 'missing' is written in white; an intricate bronze sword with feathers on the hilt and strange writing on the blade; close up black and white image of eyes glowing yellow

Comps & Tropes:
The cover of the first edition of Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie x the cover for S.T. Gibson's An Education in Malice.
Underneath is written:
*Wendy & Peter (but not how you remember them...)
*What happened after...
*Piles of Gay Pirates
*Dark Faerie Magic
*Mermaids (that you don't want to mess with!)
*Dark Reimagining
*Spicy Sapphics
*Dual POV
*Enemies to Lovers
*Vampires (Pan-pires?)
*Hurt & Comfort
*Generational Trauma
*Found Family

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

My MC has natural dad energy, and it's told from his POV, so I consider myself pretty fortunate he's only made one true pun so far 😆 But my fav giggles are from notes the Love Interest leaves in the margins, horrified by new details they've never heard before. "You did *what*?!" 😵 #PretendPanel

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Lizzie Blackwood @lizzieblackwood.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

There definitely are, often in character conversations between friends. One of the most painful parts of the editing so far has been cutting some playful snark that was no longer appropriate to the tenor of the moment. I think I'd like to try writing a genuinely funny book one day. #PretendPanel

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Dad Jokes @dadsaysjokes.com · 15/01/2025

My toxic trait is telling people I'm up for anything when in reality I mean not after 8 pm, food should be involved, and it also depends on the weather, the parking

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Kara Moon 🏴‍☠️💜⚓️ @karamoonauthor.com · 13/01/2025

inspired by OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH + THE RED SCHOLAR'S WAKE #BluePit 📖 #A #LGBT #F #R #W (collecting feedback on 2nd draft) #OV (for the Māori influences and queer writer) (Art = my own)

Text is surrounded by border of small squares with art done in dark brown and white. Figures depicted include: a mythical parrot, a white flower, a nereid, a sphinx, a harpy, a cherub, a sparm whale, a cat on a ship's deck, a mermaid, a dragon flying over islands, a hippocampus, a seagull, a satyr, a dryad

Text in the centre:
Kallista Audax is a proud naval captain until colonial injustice turns her into the notorious Pirate Queen.

Then Doctor Geni Philistos comes into her life, providing Kallista's crew with much needed medical care.

But there's a problem: despite all her talent, Geni stands up for her medical ethics to a near-mutinous degree... and maybe worse than that, Kallista is falling hard for her newest crew member, which will just not do!

When the colonial powers tighten the snare around them, Kallista and Geni must decide whether love or duty wins the day.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Oh this is a big question 🫨 ☆It's list time☆ - Ecological oneness as a mindset - My bro and I's shared storyverse - Big heart and whimsy meets mature philosophy and relationships - Always wanted to make my own paranormal mystery series with a fantasy magic system - Shadow Friend 🖤 #PretendPanel

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

#StartingOffWrite is really giving my marathon writing abilities and energy reserves a run for their money! Today is the first full day I lost out on making any word count contribution, because Act 3 needed more outling. Hopefully the prior overachieving makes up for it, but I'm scarce on socials.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Originally Spirit.I. was meant to be my brother and I's take on a point-and-click adventure game series! We added a magic system and the appearance of "live" spirits actively haunting the locations as you explore. We also wanted to explain real paranormal reports in a unique way 👻 #PretendPanel

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Daniel J. Pool🦩 @gywair.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Books with AI covers are like restaurants with health code violation posters--both tell me to avoid giving business to them.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Learning the hard way that Bluesky has a tendency to refresh while I'm in the middle of writing a post/comment 🫠 I've also gotten used to in-progress texts waiting for me fine in other apps (while popping over to things like google to spellcheck something), but it's only 75% reliable here.

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ThePoetJean - currently drafting! 💫 @thepoetjean.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

A4. FELLOW WRITERS: WHERE DO YOU READ YOUR WEBSERIALS? I'm curious if there's a posting platform I should keep an eye on, at least as a mirror for my own webserials #SFFChat

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Start with what you love, make what you want to, and don't run right out the gate thinking of it like a sellable product. There are a lot of skillsets that go into being a habitual writer, a good writer, and a book selling writer. Passion first is how you fill a blank page! #PretendPanel

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

I have a 1am point I need to make to my fellow indies in the #WritingCommunity I'm using an AI Labeler that helps point out people who use generated machine imagery in pfp, banners, and book covers. Don't cheap out on getting an artist. It doesn't bode well for your writing being human either.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

STOP THIS IS A CUTE ANIMAL PIC CHECKPOINT. PLEASE SHARE A MINIMUM OF ONE (1) CUTE ANIMAL PIC BEFORE PROCEEDING. THIS IS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO PRESERVE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THIS SITE. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.

Koda the incredibly cute tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel sitting pretty for a holiday portrait, surrounded by lots of decorations and stuffed animals.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

These are some conceptual sketches I did of my story's love interest, Thistle, when I first came up with them! I would love to do a more elaborate picture for them sometime soon.

Hand drawn digital character art portrait with basic color blocking. Thistle has a gentle, yet clever spirit here, rainbow threads in their white coat and white hair. They have actual thistle leaves in their hair and magenta-plus-green irises that are meant to evoke the plant. Their costume implies the prisms of rainbow light given off by a prism of crystal. Some of their hair is green, especially at the ends. Must be a Spirit Eye thing?

Full-body image of Thistle with their antlered, obsidian mask on and crystal knives out. They're swoopijg in over a watercolor-washed background of hazy yellow light, ready for action.

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

I just wrote 2,800 words.... for the wrong story 🫠 *sobs in writer who is now late for getting in today's #StartingOffWrite goal* #AuthorLife #AmWriting

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Laki - Narrative Designer | Author | Artist @lakilarian.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

While you may be inclined to think a massive plotter with a highly determined daily word count during writing marathons like #StartingOffWrite might have a solid routine, the truth is... ... there's a reason I need the marathon events 🫠 #PretendPanel

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