iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 30/09/2026

#WIPSnips September 30 - guard The world is a dark place. When I began this story, the world was a dark place, but not as dark as it has become. I've had to darken the story's world to keep pace. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi

Text that says:
As Hope ducked out of sight, Miss Nella said, "Take care of yourself, Child. The world is a dark place."
Hope paused in the shadows to sigh, "Okay," and put her mind back on task. Stay focused. Stay vigilant. Danger lurks. Miss Nella was right. The world was a dark place, and Hope had to be ready and on her guard.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 29/09/2026

#WIPSnips September 29 - well Well, well, well. "Well" occurs 123 times. Well, I think that's a bit much. I go to that well to often and might do well to remove a few. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi

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Hope's food cache was well stocked, but she wanted to add extra food before Monsoon. When she was young and her hiding place had been the swill container, her food supplies were always sparse. Enduring Monsoon often meant days of hunger. She did not want to experience that again.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 22/09/2026

I do my best from beginning to minimize time consuming rework, but things slip through. To help, I created macros to highlight unnecessary or bad habit words and phrases, my common typos, words that could be contractions, adverbs, anything I decide needs attention. Writing is hard. Editing is fun.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 22/09/2026

If Pratchett, Butcher, and Weir jumped off the roof, would I? (Joke, not snark.) "What was she going to do?" better as "What should she do?" "I'm going to take you outside." better as "I'll take you outside." I evaluated every "going to" for possible improvement. Writing is hard. Editing is fun.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 22/09/2026

One of my writing tics is the phrase "going to." My current manuscript has "going to" 33 times. My characters are always going to do something. I'm going to have to do something about that. #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 20/09/2026

When I'm struggling, I remind myself that Gene Kelly did the Singin’ in the Rain song and dance scene while suffering a fever of 103 °F.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 10/09/2026

All the world's skies are connected. All the world's skies are one. When you destroy your sky, You destroy everyone's sky.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 09/09/2026

Rereading Spark by Sarah Beth Durst. I realized what the title meant. I had missed it on my first read in 2019. Pixit to Mina: "You are the spark that can ignite the world." Mina: "I am the spark." Spark isn't in reference to the lightning beast Pixit. The spark is Mina. Roll credits. #AmReading

Book cover for Spark by Sara Beth Durst that says across the top: Even the quietest voice can change the world. The image shows a city of lights in the background. In the foreground, on a hill, stands a girl facing the city. In the air in front of the girl is a dragon-like creature with his wings spread in flight as he looks back at the girl. All around them are sparks of lightning.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 08/09/2026

#WIPSnips September 8 - mental Hope writes and talks about her experiences. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi

Text that says:
Miss Nella taught Hope to write and talk about her experiences. By describing painful or overwhelming events, and naming the emotions they caused, she could reorganize them and add meaning, emotional context, and resolution. She embraced writing in her experiences and observations journal, and talking to her stuffed toy Foxy and the dragon egg, because it gave her active control over the memories and reduced the distress they caused, thus improving her mental well-being.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 06/09/2026

#WIPSnips September 6 - sigh Hope sighed, "Okay." When I finish a task and prepare to tackle the next, I sigh, "Okay." So, I give that characterization to Hope. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi

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Hope had survival tasks to do. Survival was a daily struggle. She reminded herself to stay focused and vigilant, because danger lurks. Her fearless and stoic mental state set, she was ready to do what she did most days. With a deep sigh, she whispered, "Okay," slipped out of her hiding place, and faced the world.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 05/09/2026

Longs times ago, the story of how the book got published intrigued me. When I read the first book (which is the only one I've read), I understood why 12 publishers rejected it. The writing in act one was horrible (IMHO). I doubted slush readers got very far before saying no. But, what do I know.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 31/08/2026

#WIPSnips August 31 - chip Potato wafers for the baby dragon. I hadn't planned a snip for chip since it doesn't occur in the story. Then I remembered the reason there's no chip is because I had chosen to use wafer. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #Dragons

Text that says:
"Your teeth indicate you're a carnivore. Are you sure you want to try fruits and vegetables?"
"Ee foo. Ee foo." He opened his mouth.
"Okay." Hope tossed in a two-handed scoop of potato wafers.
He held them in his mouth for a moment, then worked his jaws by sliding his lower jaw forward and backward and side to side several times. Sometimes the left and right sides moved independently of each other. She didn't know how that worked as chewing since he had spiky teeth not chewing molars.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 26/08/2026

Most people read at a 4th- to 7th-grade level. So, I should write like a 10-year-old? My word processor rates the writing in my current story at grade level 5.3. I remember from back in the day, one of the technical papers I wrote rated at grade level 17. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 25/08/2026

The world is a dark place. Now we've lost one of the world's brightest lights in that darkness.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 25/08/2026

#WIPSnips August 25 - panic Hope disliked jingling, tinkling, and clinking sounds. Panic occurs 20 times in this draft. That might be too much panicking. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Text that says:
Riffraff jingled chimes to warn of approaching militiamen. When Hope heard the sound, she fled. Sometimes, she would hear a tinkling or the clinking of metal hitting metal, and even though it wasn't a warning chime, she felt panic. She disliked jingling, tinkling, and clinking sounds.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 23/08/2026

I know I'm smart. My mother had me tested.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 22/08/2026

#WIPSnips August 22 - fresh Hope freshens up. In days past, public restrooms for women were rare. Therefore, when a woman guest arrived, she was offered the opportunity to "freshen up." #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Text that says:
While waiting for the baby dragon to wake, Hope performed her morning routine by freshening up in the washroom and doing her morning exercises.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 19/08/2026

This thread hit me hard because — it's me.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 15/08/2026

Being brave brings light to a dark world.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 15/08/2026

Surprises while writing are magical moments. The rush I get from them drives me. I'm always chasing that dragon.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 12/08/2026

#WIPSnips August 12 - heartbreak Big Bear Valley eagles Jackie & Shadow and their eaglets inspired several scenes (such as attached) in my current project. Hope would be heartbroken if Baby dispersed and left her. I'm heartbroken that the eagle Jackie passed away. #AmWriting #Dragons #Eagle #Jackie

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Hope had one purpose: love, protect, and care for the baby dragon. But for how much longer would that purpose last? Baby was growing and maturing. He would become an immense and powerful adult dragon. When the young reach a certain age, they leave their home and their parents to go out into the world, self-reliant and living on their own. Would Baby leave her? Was he going to learn to fly, then fly away from her? What would become of her then?
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 10/08/2026

Big Bear Valley eagles Jackie and Shadow and their eaglets inspired scenes in the story I'm writing (caring for the baby dragon, him begging for food, struggling with learning to fly, and Hope realizing he will someday disperse and leave her). Jackie passed away. Loss leaves a hole in one's heart.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 09/08/2026

In college, I worked on the crew that filmed games and practices for the coaches of one of the most winning football teams in the nation (I believe my work helped them achieve that). My last season, I had an existential crisis when I realized all the players on the field were younger than me.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 07/08/2026

#WIPSnips August 7 - handle I was told goat horns are great "handles" to manage goats. Does that apply to baby dragons? #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Dragons

Text that says:
Hope woke from a dream where she had been bashing her head against a wall. The baby dragon still slept. Books say babies need a lot of sleep. That must apply to baby dragons as well.
She pondered his horns. He had used the tan-colored, angled-back, handle-like horns to break out of the dragon egg.
That was the dream she had. She still felt the frustration when the wall wouldn't break.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 07/08/2026

Another magic moment happened today. A paragraph appeared on the screen as I let my mind and fingers flow, a paragraph that captured the spirit of the story, a paragraph that led to a chapter ending that brought tears of joy. Days like today make the hard work of writing worthwhile. #AmWriting

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 06/08/2026

I'm reminded of Marigold's active inner life before she met Phoebe.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 01/08/2026

Could the Fantasy Name Generator at rinkworks.com/namegen/ help you? It lets you define a Name Generation Template with rules for how words are to be constructed.

rinkworks.com

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 31/07/2026

I write and edit with format that works best for me: 12-point Courier Double-spaced One-inch margins Two spaces after sentence Two hyphens for em dash Underscore for italics Straight quotes Automatic 0.5 inch paragraph indent Scene break pound sign centered End-of-document three pound signs centered

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 31/07/2026

When I submit: I tweak the manuscript to match the publisher or editor's manuscript formatting specifications. I consider this to be the last task, the packaging task, not something to do while writing.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 31/07/2026

I was taught, when submitting, to follow publisher or editor's manuscript formatting specifications exactly (be aware this can vary from one organization to another, at least it used to). That doesn't mean you have to write that way. Write the way that works best for you. We each have our own needs.

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 31/07/2026

#WIPSnips July 31 - twist Didn't think twist in story. Discovered nine — two because I had twist problem with shoulder strap on bag. Kept untwisting wrong. I laughed at my clumsiness and said, "I need to put this in the story." #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Text that says:
Hope placed the courier bag's strap over her left shoulder to let the bag ride against her right hip, and had a problem: the strap was twisted. After struggling with the strap, at first turning it the wrong way and making the twist worse, she got it straight and flat. Mister Randolph and Miss Kallie both grinned but refrained from laughing.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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Lester D. Crawford @lesterdcrawford.com · 30/07/2026

#WIPSnips July 30 - relax The world is a dark place. I had to rewrite part of this story because the dystopian world I had created turned out not to be as dystopian as what the real world has become. #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy #AmWritingSciFi #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

Text that says:
The militiamen laughed as they exchanged stories about mentally and physically abusing and traumatizing riffraff; how many they had harassed, humiliated, threatened, or simply chained and hauled away, or sent to work camps; how they had forced them into surrender, into submission, into silence; and how much coin reward they received from the City Lords for each riffraff they abducted.
They were proud of the fear they had instilled, and all with no accountability. They had made the world a grim, miserable, dreadful place where riffraff hurried along, head down, afraid, paranoid, and subject to being disappeared at any moment.
When the militiamen finally left, Hope breathed, silently hummed as she relaxed, and then whispered, "The world is a dark place." She put her mind back on task. Stay focused. Stay vigilant. Danger lurks. After sighing "Okay," she came out of hiding to continue surviving.
— The Dragon Universe Hope (working title, work-in-progress)

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