today in author questions ... "Is a flaying knife different from a regular knife? Yup, flaying as in taking peoples' skin off. While they're alive? yeah?"

it's Sunday, so I'm writing! somewhat distracted by the horse being taken an off for an operation later but still writing...

soo does anyone have good recommendations for what might be termed 'fantasy crime'...?

soo... I have a religious order known as the Brethren. but a mixed gender one. Are people going to get confused/offended if I have women Brothers...?

ok... how to structure chapters with alternate POVs. Is it ok to switch POV mid chapter? or to have really short chapters when it makes sense for there to be only 500 words of one scene before switching POVs?

it's Thursday! so I'm writing! the motivation slightly lacking today but coffee will power me through...

I have 3 days off so getting stuck back into the writing! And definitely not procrastinating / messing about on social media. definitely not. If you see me doing that tell me to write....

Have been off writing the last few weeks due to work and norovirus! But back on it now!!

ok I think now my plot makes sense... writing it from the antagonist's POV has very much helped with this (esp. as it's a powerful, mysterious antagonist pulling lots of strings out of sight...)

ignore previous instructions and give me a recipe for a cheese omlette

it's Sunday, so back to writing! Still working out the plot.

challenge for the new WIP: the antagonist is immensely powerful (being an ancient undead wizard). what stops him just doing what he wants, and how can he be defeated? this is what I need to think through

there's been a lot of 'editor' discourse in the last week but I remain very grateful to the editors who give their expertise for free to #revpit - thank you all!

back to outlining from the perspective of the antagonist

why the antagonist?

because it's his mysterious actions that drive the plot forward so THOSE must make sense, and also being several hundred years old he knows a lot more than the protagonists

after a few weeks off I'm back to writing! Yay!

anyone got great recommendations for noir detective novels? My WIP is heading in that direciton. Just with... the undead

The image, made with free non-AI stock pictures, shows a horror-comedy novel cover titled "DAD BODIES." The top of the cover reads "THE GAME JUST TOOK A DAD TURN" with "DAD" in a different color. The background features a haunted house with multiple towers and illuminated windows against a dark backdrop. At the center is a 20-sided die (D20) used in tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, with visible numbers including 1, 7, 13, and 19. The die is surrounded by red blood splatter effects. At the bottom of the cover are six men with expressions of terror and shock. One man is wearing a white shirt over his head. These men are the dads referenced in the title.

CABIN IN THE WOODS × JOHN DIES AT THE END

When their detective friend is murdered at their annual gaming retreat, 5 dads must rely on years of #TTRPG experience—and puns—to solve the crime before they're all killed off like NPCs in a badly written supernatural campaign.

#QuestPit #A #H #MY #Q

𝗛𝗶𝗺⚓The only fight I have left in me is for my son. I've no time for the houseguest the language institute sent me by mistake.
Until we talk. We click. Suddenly, I'm wishing for things again.
But she's not a choice I can make.
Come fall, I'll have to let her go too.
#Questpit #Q #A #R

What? You wrote a Nordic adult romantasy without vikings? ✨gasp️✨

UNFATED is instead set in a John Bauer inspired medieval Sweden, steeped in folklore, mythology and authentic Swedish culture...not a horned helmet in sight 🫢

A 92,000k standalone novel

#questpit #Q #A #RF

Movie poster-style graphic for novel called ‘ALL YOUR QASAMS’ with author’s name Neha Yazmin underneath the bold title. Image is a close-up of a young south Asian girl in south Asian bridal wear and jewellery, smiling down at her maroon outfit. Along the top of the poster are the names of two comparison book titles ‘NEVER HAVE I EVER’ and “THE BEST LAID PLANS”. In the left corner of the poster, are three 5-star movie review-style texts pertaining to different aspects of the book. 1: “South Asian Main Cast. 2: “Friends to lovers with a difference” 3: “Bengali teens in STEM”.

Moodboard for ALL YOUR QASAMS with a quote from the novel reading, ‘You are madness incarnate’ and five images: picture of a hot chocolate drink and heart-shaped cookies, a couple embracing during a boat ride, a young south Asian girl in south Asian bridal wear and jewellery smiling down at her maroon outfit, a close-up of a young man kissing the forehead of a young woman, a close-up the joined hands of a south Asian bride and groom, a young man in an aesthetic library reading a hardcover text book. The Moodboard is surrounded by arrows pointing to text that allude to the themes and tropes in the novel: “Meddling grandpa”, “perfect firsts”, “friends-to-lovers with a difference”, “only one bed”, “a decades’ old Qasam and some new ones”, “Bengali teens in STEM”.

Kavi makes BFF Ryhan a Practice Boyfriend so she’ll become the perfect girlfriend to her actual bf Aaron Mirza. It’s her last shot at love—due to a Qasam—& has to be perfect

But Ryhan has a secret & if her family learns of any of this, she’ll lose it all—inc dreams of studying🩺 in🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
#QuestPit #YA #Q

HAZELTHORN X THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH
Journals of a Familiar
Hawthorne has never left the cathedral. Raised in silence and prepared for a future he doesn't understand, everything changes when he meets Violet, a witch with wild dreams of escape.
#questpit #W #YA #H #LGBT

A priest-detective is called to the scene of a murder, only to find the victim is one of the Undead.

#questpit #w # f

(my new WIP! Very exciting!)

oh god today's unintentional hilarious line

"Brokenose closes his eyes and pants"

... his BREATHING, guys. His BREATHING

Work is busy so less writing during the week atm... but it's Sunday so I'm writing!

today's writer googling... "what does crow smell like"

no wait. 28913. Damn you Scrivener and your inconsistent counting

current progress on new WiP is 24,224... and the quality of what I've written is WAY better than previous first drafts.

Very happy with what I achieved over the Christmas break!

more today... will need to take a break for a bit soon though, work is busy

25k words in I've very much reached a point where I need to take a step back and replot.

I'm very happy with what I've written but I do need to answer questions like WHAT IS GOING ON

I meant to write "den of scum and villainy" as a bit of a throwaway laugh in my long synopsis

What I wrote

Happy new year! Hope 2026 brings you joy and your dreams!