iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 16/04/2025

Ah, love this. 👏 Also Twickenham was just a short bus ride from my childhood home. Hope London treated/is treating you well.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 10/12/2024

Massive relief to take 8,000 words of reflective writing process notes and turn them into something resembling structured academic writing. Not saying it's any good, but my brain sure feels a lot better.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 10/12/2024

Celebrating the agent query success of new friends is a lovely highlight of my day. Hope to have a positive experience to report one day myself.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/12/2024

I do. Longer fiction seems so wasteful. It's weird having to control pacing. Not something you have to worry about so much with flash fic.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 07/12/2024

Writing is divided between the study work (creative stuff on pause while I prep for formal submissions of research stuff), and my novel I did for my MA - just finished a Path to Publication course, so agent submissions will be soon. My poor brain. How about you? Where is my Grind Spark sequel? 😀

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 07/12/2024

Thanks, Tam. The optimist in me thought Musk would realise he was burning the place down and bring a hose. Instead, he threw more petrol. Saw your blog post and realised you were right. So I fired up the dormant account here. I'm good, thanks. Hope you are well, too.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 06/12/2024

Ah, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 04/12/2024

Ah, thank you so much, Jenn. You have contributed so much creativity and talent to the community and beyond. It's people like you that made writing on social media so special.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 04/12/2024

Rebuilding connections after such amazing times on Twitter feels hard, painful almost, but necessary. Thanks for following or interacting, it's making it all so much easier.

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Reposted by Mark A. King

PatchieSteve @patchiesteve.bsky.social · 11/10/2024

A hare stood on its hind legs, ears erect, whiskers twitching. It watched the lone figure descend, until the night swallowed her. And then it vanished, too. The Between is at a loose end in Episode 25, as we talk to the inspiring @makingfiction.com. Visit writteninhope.ink/the-between

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

The Silent-scream Vending Machine will neither confirm nor deny that it was the hen and stag (from these previously unknown parties) that thought it was wise, in the moment, to do such things.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

Who wants to hear about lurid moments of passion, inebriation, and foolishness anyway? Moments of unfastening, of being squashed against the wall, of two people in the moment, uncaring that CCTV might be only feet away? A few nights back it was the merging of a hen and stag party.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

The machine has stories to tell. But no means to tell them. It has a hidden camera. Always looking, always watching. Sometimes in UHD, sometimes in the spectral night-vision glow of green-on-green. It never judges. But it’s done many a thing it’s not been programmed to do.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

Like the machine is screaming into the abyss, across the black waters and towards Europe. This space, this land, this diamanté vision of Britannia, was once connected to the continent. Any connection to Europe seems like a dream, as distant and alien as the surface of the moon.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

The gangs, hard-as-(manicured) nails, can’t even tag the machine with spray-paint as the manufacture has thought of that too. The spray simply drips to the ground like droopy neon-hued gravy. The machine’s mouth, its dispensing flap, sits slightly skewed in the winds.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

The kids arrive in packs at night, fists slamming the glass, elbows smashing the metal, they push, rock and tilt the machine. But it’s been tested for worse. It’s constantly watching them without them even knowing.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

It’s easy to pilfer from the unwary who watch this town rust itself into the North Sea. Boys; skin-fades beneath baseball caps pulled low. Their baggy jeans sag, suspension ropes slung beneath dirty grey pound-store boxer-shorts.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

~ The Silent-scream Vending Machine ~ The vending machine sits near the entrance to the dilapidated pier, some place on the East Coast, the arse of England. It’s seen a thing or two. It’s no stranger to teenagers on stolen scooters or bikes.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Poll on Twitter decided the first location and story should be: Seafront Vending Machine.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 08/01/2024

For more information on #vssphd see: t.co/uiNa00qkHw (c) Mark A. King 2024. This is a work of fiction. All elements in this story are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 22/12/2023

Once upon a time... this beautiful thing happened. #FlashDogs Wishing you a wonderful #WinterSolstice

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 20/11/2023

Massive few weeks ahead. Probably biggest night of career in the day job, tomorrow. PhD formal proposal due by end of month. And a trip to Killarney to celebrate by brother's 50th. Brain is melting.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 07/11/2023

I actually texted my brothers before the game and said Romaro would be sent off. He was overdue a red. And Chelsea, like Liverpool, are a team we always struggle with. But, yeah, it was weird.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 06/11/2023

It's fair to say, Spurs were always going to be Spursy. And that was most likely to start once we played Chelsea. 😱

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 28/10/2023

Thanks for the lovely welcome, Leslie. It already feels better.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 27/10/2023

Looking forward to reading more from folk I know. I've not checked much on Twitter - so I'll try to keep an eye out. Good luck.

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Mark A. King @makingfiction.com · 27/10/2023

I finally got to post under a beautiful blue sky. It's taken a while. Life has been crazy. Having a second round of Covid meant I had some time free and I'm pleased I spent it here. Looking forward to having grown-ups in charge again.

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