iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I'm going through the first draft of my memoir, hacking off major bits that I'll turn into short stories to submit to literary journals, hopefully drawing interest from agents. I'll pass it on my first draft to a beta-reader. Fun times...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Many times. Editing and re-writing is separating the wheat from the chaff and clearing out the bad bits so that the good bits can shine. Or maybe a better metaphor is cutting a diamond...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In the re-writing process, do you ever come across a line or paragraph you'd written and forgotten, and think, "Damn, that's a solid piece of writing"? #Writing #WritingCommunity #Editing #Rewriting

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

When someone talks about "universals" in storytelling, I put it like this: food is food. But in cuisine, Thai is different from Cajun. Both uses spices but produce different flavors...and these cuisines aren't appreciated by everyone. So they're not universal. Same with writing. #WritingCommunity

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

George Bernard Shaw said the UK & the US are 2 nations separated by a common language. Brit & Irish pals tell me that what's on a baby's bottle is called a "teat." Only humans & other mammals have nipples. So a Yank asking in a shop, "Where are the nipples?" sounds like a creep. #WritingCommunity

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

A dilemma of #writing a #memoir after a certain age: certain pop culture references will miss certain readers. Example: younger readers might have no idea who Imelda Marcos was, or what a Louise Brooks hairstyle looks like. This is why you have to choose your audience. #WritingCommunity #writers

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

For decades, I could not write with music playing in the background...but now I must have something playing in the background. Have anyone else's #writing quirks changed over the years? #WritingCommunity #writers

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Please post something you read at an age far too young...that may have informed your writing more than you'd like to admit. #WritingCommunity #writers #amwriting #guiltypleasure

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

I just saw a video with AI-generated subtitles. The audio said "influencer" while the subtitle read "influenza". Brilliant. #WritingCommunity #writing #writers #AI

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

I knew most of the facts noted in the link, but I quibble with the idea that Morrison rejected the label of "African-American writer"...as shown midway through this interview... www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ0m...

youtube.com

Toni Morrison interview

YouTube video by dadadad321

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Between boycotting CBS/Paramount over Colbert and now ABC/Disney over Kimmel, it seems like a good time to read more books…bought from independent booksellers, of course. #WritingCommunity #reading #amwriting #boycott #writer #books

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

What book or author did you read at entirely too young an age...and today you side-eye your parents for their negligence? #WritingCommunity #writing #reading

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Steinbeck ignored the racial element that blocked socialism from taking root in the US. Said LBJ, “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

On my list of freaky lyrics that I never thought about - Spice Girls' "Wannabe": "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends." I have NEVER made that a requirement in past romances. #WritingCommunity #lyrics #writing

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Watching Cardi B on the witness stand, I can't help but think of Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny." Cardi needs to do a remake... #BlackSky

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

The search for a new James Bond continues. But what original author Ian Fleming created was a product of an era far more sexist, racist, and imperialist. So he's been updated. As a writer, would you like your characters continue as IP for new adaptations beyond your lifetime? #WritingCommunity

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Confession that might get my Black card taken: I'm OK not being invited to the cookout. As an introvert who doesn't drink, I'm good for an hour if a card game is going. After that, folks are tipsy and I'm getting my plate to-go. #BlackSky

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Though not a fantasy writer, I'd say that even after more decades, the answer for "of the era" will change, as relevance is always shifting. It's hard for us to believe that, at certain points in history, Mozart was not as esteemed as he is now.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Familiar can be another word for reliable. It can also be comfort: grandma's cooking, the embrace of a loved one, the smell of home. I long to be with someone long enough for us to become familiars, rather than live with the novelty of successive flings. (Yes, I was born "That Guy" 😉)

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

What film's plot have you always had a problem with? For me, it was the 90s movie about the pig 🐖 “Babe." I was like, "Why is this pig helping the farmer? Don't pig know that farmer eats pig's people? Pig 🐷 is a Sellout!" #WritingCommunity #writing #film #plot

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

After many dire relationships, I've learned to meet people where they are. On ex ended himself...and no amount of me loving on him could change his mental illness. It was one of the hardest lessons I ever had to learn. So I aim to be the best version of myself - and hope they'll meet me where I am.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

For the uncoupled among us, "should" is extremely tricky. As stylist Law Roach said on America's Next Top Model, "Never fall in love with someone's potential." Women often think they can change a man - which causes so much disappointment. As encapsulated in the below...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

As with so much, context and situations matter. The word "should" is tricky: parents might think their lesbian daughter should be straight...or their trans child be gendered as what the child was assigned at birth.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

#Netflix is diabolical. I'm watching a tell-all documentary about "The Biggest Loser" - which is interrupted by a commercial for Hostess Twinkies and Ding Dongs. #WritingCommunity

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Although my Dutch is crappy (no excuse when my two greatest loves were Dutch and I spent 20 years in Belgium), but one of the things I'm proudest of is being able to swear a bit in Dutch and not get laughed at.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

In translating languages, you're often re-writing text as many concepts don't translate literally. Example: the Dutch equivalent for the insult "a55hole" is actually their word for scrotum. What foreign word/phrase you know has a strange literal translation in English? #WritingCommunity #writing

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

I save versions I like with the date saved as a suffix. Then I can go back to different versions more easily...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

I've just seen a recent full-body photo of Dean Cain. It took 30 years, but I can now say I finally have a better body than Superman. #WritingCommunity #writing #amwriting

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Weird thing about my New York writer pals: they assume NYC is the center of the universe. So in stories they write taking place in NYC, they neglect to let the reader know they're in NYC even when that would be useful information. Get out more, New Yorkers! #WritingCommunity #writing #amwriting

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Time away from a piece can be as crucial as the time you've spent writing it. Largely because "darlings" you couldn't kill a year ago can age so poorly that it's easier to put them out of your misery. #WritingCommunity #writing #amwriting

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

What are the two greatest compliments a reader can give your work? #WritingCommunity #writing #amwriting

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Part Deux...and I never said I wasn't long-winded...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

This reply is a two-parter...again, cheating with posting an image as I've gone over the character count

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

I'm cheating here with Blue Sky by posting an image of the reply I want to send...as it goes beyond the character-count limit.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

This former journalist disagrees that news is a half-step from useless - as malefactors depend on good people being uninformed so that bad acts can go unchallenged. History is important to give us perspective on the news so that we know how generations before & our ancestors handled challenges.

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Because #writers are supposed to be good with words & use them well, One of the biggest challenges is making characters not sound more articulate & educated than they're supposed to be. Even if a character's "educated," there's often tension between speech & motivation. #WritingCommunity #writing

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Of course! Although, as it's as rare as a total eclipse for me to ask to borrow money (prideful person here), the person I'm asking should know it's "serious" if I'm asking. Bonus points for them if they offer me more than I'm requesting...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

The first draft is you getting to know what the story is...because the final product very often different from what you had planned in your mind. Characters become full-blooded and behave in ways you hadn't anticipated...and situations unforeseen pop up. #WritingCommunity #writing

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

I laugh when young'uns think saying someone was "born in the 1900s" is a diss. I'm like, "Baby, that's a privilege. May you live to see two centuries. Because I'm on my second millennium." #Aging #WritingCommunity #writing #inspiration

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

I hate it, as well. And would rather be forgotten than have my name associated with some synthetic crap when I'm not around to denounce it...

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

So many of my fellow #writers are obsessed with their #legacy and their name living on beyond their death. So I pose the question: would you rather your name die out...or live on with AI remixing your work and style so that future generations keep reading "your" work? #WritingCommunity #writing

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Stee Tee @tontonstee.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

2nd rejection received today to my memoir #query. Barbara Walters once said all the successful people she'd interviewed had 2 things in common: their steadfastness in the face of rejection and belief they'd ultimately succeed. So I sent out another 3 queries. #WritingCommunity #writing #agents

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