#SFFChat

Bluesky is so non-function right now that I'm postponing SFFChat till next Thursday evening (EST). Sorry, everyone. D :

#SFFChat

How SFF can be a healthy psychological tool for some. Stories can be a way to take a break from the ills of life, can offer hope, help people feel seen when there's a character they really relate to, provide representation, and help people feel less alone with a trauma or other challenge.

#SFFChat

Sharing OHHOW, since it starts this weekend. Come hang out with me and a bunch of other writers for a weekend of non-stop writing streams and sprints!

Mine will be tomorrow at 10 AM EST if you want a peak at my newest Talitha Harbor WIP.

www.ohhow.net

#SFFChat

#SFFChat 4

Ants and ant warfare.

We humans might think we own the Earth, but that's false. The ants own it. And they're engaged in multiple massive colony-wide conflicts stretching across the globe. I mean they're doing things like invading other countries and continents daily

#SFFChat Hi! I'm May, a queer writer from Brazil! I think the non-fiction work that hits favorite status for me is FIC by Anne Jamison, since I had to reference it so much during my master's and I do love fanfic ^^

#SFFChat Q2: Greek mythology! I'm planning a PJO inspired series and it was fun to dive into the lesser known deities. I also researched Brazilian folklore for my Twilight retelling.

#SFFChat Q4: If we are being silly, I'd write thesis on magic applications and magic fandoms, as if I was a scholar in-world. From our world perspective, I'd write about intersections of queerness and magic, with an aspec focus.

#SFFChat Beyond writing, I'm also an artist with open commissions. I'd love to help indies get the book cover of their dreams ^^

bsky.app/profile/mayb...

Howdy #SFFChat! My name is Linn and some of my favorite nonfiction works include:

Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy
Madness, Rack, and Honey by Mary Ruefle
Satanism: A Reader by Per Faxneld

(Though I am still making my way through the entirety of the third one.)

#SFFChat
hey friends, MC Burnell here. Libraries?! I thought we were talking about worms this week!
My favorite non-fiction work in my home is my dictionary. It is a magical book.

#SFFChat Q1
I don't think I've ever researched before I started drafting. I wait to discover I need to know something and don't. I write secondary world fantasy and I'm not really a research junky: I just want things to feel credible

#SFFChat A1: I do both as needed. I usually do some research before I start a story, and then as things crop up I do more. I'm half a planner and half a discovery writer so I don't always know what I need to know about before I walk into the book, or how much research it needs before it's done.

#SFFChat A2: There have been a lot of fun topics over the years, but two of my most recent were the Jazz scene across America in the 1950s and 60s, and the queer history of San Francisco during the 70s and 80s. I needed to learn about both for BYMMS, as Bell and Key have been in America since 1951.

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This questions presupposes I remember where information came from after it enters my head. I do recall I researched bug anatomy extensively for the new story, that was pretty interesting

Fully agree! The book feels very well-researched

#SFFChat A3: Helene Wecker! I'll be real, I don't actually know how much research she did for The Golem and the Jinni but her attention to detail and myth FEELS like she took great care with it. It's so intricate and a lot of attention is paid to time and place. It's a beautiful book.

#SFFChat A4: I would probably write a writing craft book on how to do character driven SFF. I've got a special place in my heart for very human stories that dress up in a nice jacket of SFF to spice up the story. BYMMS feels like that kind of book for me, and I'd love for there to be more of them.

BETWEEN YOU, ME, AND THE MOONLIT SEA: genderfluid MC; aro-pan love interest; music appreciation; fox politics; shapeshifters; bestie drama; strangers to friends to lovers; human/nonhuman relationship; family drama; queer side cast. (Art by @cryling.)

#SFFChat Outro: Glad I could get in on this one, it's been a minute since I got to!

Between You, Me, and the Moonlit Sea (BYMMS) is currently available for preorder, if this taste got you interested in it.

platinumsoul.shop
platinumsoulpress.itch.io/moonlit-sea
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

#SFFChat Q3
It's not something I particularly value in a story - unless you choose to set your story in Chicago, in which case FOR THE LOVE OF GOD know what you're talking about - but Robert van Gulick's Judge Dee mysteries are very well-researched

Oooo! That's such a great idea

#SFFChat
I've been futzing around with creating a guide on worldbuilding for a while, actually.

You're very welcome!

Against a background of a high-country valley, mountains in the background and a stormy sky. The Tipping World: step into a world where your thoughts control what's real and you see lies and hear fear. The complete 9-book epic now available everywhere. The covers of 9 books are shown, each depicting a shadowy figure with a sword against a different landscape. The books are A Path of Endless Crossroads, The Bull at the Start, The King of Ill-Omens, A Mirror with an Edge, The Hour of the Day, Tally the Betrayers, Under a Sign of Butterflies, Bells Begin to Ring, and Symbols' End.

Thanks for hosting!

I remember when I started writing this walking over to DPL to research arms and armor. Then I decided my magic system made armor nonsensical. Ah, well. It's an epic!

books2read.com/rl/The-Tippi...
mcburnell.itch.io/a-path-of-en...

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#SFFChat

It depends on what I'm writing. With Talitha Harbor, yes, and a lot. I want it to feel, "real." Not necessarily in a hard sci-fi way. But I want the environmental technology and what they've decided to build and give up to make sense. It's also interesting to me, which helps.

1/2

#SFFChat Intro

Heya, I'm Ceritus👋

Here's a book that has been in my library since high school - The Art of Maneuver by Robert Leonhard. It discusses maneuver-warfare theory; how velocity is key to winning conflicts. It's been instrumental in my understanding of many things, not just warfare

#SFFChat 1

I tend to research while writing, specifically during the ideation phase. Mostly to get a specific fact correct in my head before I go and do something dumb like write it into the plot. To that end, I may spend about an hour or two on that subject, depending on how much I need to know

#SFFChat

So hard to pick. Something I haven't mentioned since it's a new discovery. Panthalassa has a device they call Ocean-2. It's a massive globe off the coast of Oregon that bobs up and down in the waves and can produce 500 KW of energy.

It might be too massive for the Talithans, but 1/2

#SFFChat 2

I recently chatted about Dyson spheres and star lifting, which has been my favorite thus far. So instead I'll get into my second favorite: the Ancient Roman Empire.

There's an AU within the series where the MCs somehow end up in an an alternate Roman Empire, but without their memories