4 Things I Do Before I Write the First Word of a Novel Author Marybeth Mayhew Whalen shares the four things she does before writing the first word of a novel (that's worked 11 times so far).

I like the idea of writing down 40 things that will happen in a book before a word is written. www.writersdigest.com/4-things-i-d... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #WritingAndBooks #WritersNetwork #WritingTips #IndieAuthor #SelfPublished

AI Company Known for Teen Suicides Launches New Feature to Turn Books Into Roleplaying Experiences After a litany of bad press, Character.AI announced a feature that's seemingly designed to stop children from reading books.

The controversial company Character.AI to launch ‘chose your own adventure books (A.I). futurism.com/artificial-i... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #ChoseYourOwnAdventure #BlueSky #BookSky #IndieAuthor #AI #WritingAndBooks #WritersNetwork

Winners and judges out of pocket as £20,000 writing awards appear to have closed The Plaza Prizes offered 10 awards in 2025 but some judges say they were not paid, while a number of winners hit back over AI accusations

The Plaza 2025 writing competition descends into chaos. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks #WritingCompetitions #BlueSky #BookSky #indieAuthor #PlazaWritingCompetition

Amazon upsets ebook lovers by ending support for old Kindle devices Up to 2m e-readers made before 2013 will no longer be able to download new titles

The curse of technology, redundancy. Two million readers disenfranchised. www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #Author #Writer #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #WritingAndBooks #Amazon #Kindle

Lone Jar of Nutella Drifts Around Cabin of Moon Spacecraft A lone jar of Nutella could be seen floating through the cabin of NASA's Moon astronauts minutes before they set an important record.

Couldn’t resist posting this. Advertising coup! Nutella must literally be over the moon! futurism.com/space/nutell... #BlueSky

Gornal Library book returned 10,500 miles away in Australia Librarians on both sides of the world are in shock over the book's mystery journey.

Have book, will travel; a true mystery. www.bbc.com/news/article... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Library #Books #BlueSky #BookSky #BooksAndWriting #TheHive

The Easter crime wave sweeping Norway Visitors to Norway during Easter might find the streets emptier than usual, thanks to the nation's cherished Eastertime obsession: retreating to isolated cabins to binge crime fiction.

Easter crime fiction binge. Great Norwegian culture and tradition. Brilliant! www.bbc.com/travel/artic... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Norway
#EasterBookTradition #BlueSky #BookSky #CrimeFiction #IndieAuthor #SelfPublished #BooksAndWriting

PTSD! A difficult perhaps almost impossible subject to write about sensitively into a character, without falling into the cliche trap. lisahallwilson.com/how-to-write... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #PTSD #WritingTips #WritersNetwork

The Difference Between a Preface, an Introduction, and a Foreward Do you need a preface or foreword in your book? Learn the difference in introductions, how they impact readers, and which is best to include in your manuscript.

Do you know the difference between a ‘Foreward,’ ‘Introduction’ or ‘Preface?’ blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-self-... #BlueSky #BookSky #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks #IndieAuthor #SelfPublished #WritingTips #WritersNetwork

The Black List: Fiction Discovery in 2026 - The Authors Guild As authors struggle to get a foot in the door with publishers, The Black List offers fiction writers a unique entryway to potential industry exposure and connections with agents and publishers. Join u...

Authors register for free access to an online discussion on how to use The Blacklist platform; a new way into the publishing sector. There is also an announcement on their 2026 competition. authorsguild.org/event/the-bl... #Writers #Author #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #TheBlackList

A Startup Has Been Quietly Pitching Cloned Human Bodies to Transfer Your Brain Into A startup has been pitching "brainless clones" of the human body that aging or ill individuals could one day transplant their brain into.

Are clone researchers crazier than fantasy/dystopian authors? futurism.com/health-medic... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #Clones #BlueSky #BookSky #Fantasy #Dystopian #SciFi

‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books US release of horror novel Shy Girl cancelled and UK book discontinued after suspected AI use, as publishers feel ‘cold shiver’

The debate over AI written books and their detection by publishers is becoming more complex and questionable. www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #AI #AIDetection #BlueSky #BookSky #WritingAndBooks #WritersNetwork

Wolf Colmáin – Medium Read writing from Wolf Colmáin on Medium. Wolf Colmain | Retired Police Sergeant | Student of the spiritual and philosophical. Exploring life and suffering at the X of reality and transcendence.

Over the coming weeks and months I will be editing and releasing many of my police journal entries.

So many strange, heart-warming and traumatic things happened in my 20 year career.

If you are on Medium please follow my profile to get notified when they drop ✌️

medium.com/@wolfcolmain

Novel Pulled From Shelves After Author Is Accused of Using AI Amid widespread accusations and conducting its own investigation, a publisher is pulling the novel "Shy Girl" for allegedly using AI.

Hachette Publishing Group cancels US launch of Shy Girl because of AI. futurism.com/artificial-i... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #AI #BlueSky #BookSky #WritingAndAI #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor

Conflict thrives on attention YouTube video by Charlotte V. Warner

A philosophy for doom scrollers. Hard to practice especially when threats are directed at us. But in a crazy world where we don’t control the narrative or decisions made by political egotists, we should not feed them. youtu.be/x4Kw7VcIV7o #BlueSky #ClickBait #DoomScrollers #PoliticalEgotists

How To Legally Quote Song Lyrics in Your Book Wondering how to use song lyrics in your book? Get legal tips and creative advice from the BookBaby team.

How to quote music lyrics in your book legally! blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-write... #Author #Writer #WritingCommunity #Writing #BlueSky #BookSky #MusicLyrics #WritingTips #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor #LegalTipsForAuthors

Beginner’s Guide to Outlining Chapters Learn how to outline your book chapters effectively. Follow this beginner’s guide to structure your story, stay organized, and write with confidence.

101 on outlining chapters. blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-write... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor #WritingTips #SelfPublished #BlueSky #BookSky

The Fight Against Amazon with Bookshop.org In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," editor Michael Woodson chats with Bookshop.org CEO Andy Hunter about the fight against Amazon.

The competition between Amazon and Bookshop org that promotes authors through independent bookshops. www.writersdigest.com/the-fight-ag... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #BookshopOrg #Amazon #BlueSky #BookSky #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor #SelfPublished #WritingAndBooks

Reader Magnets Are Dead? Why Most Reader Magnets Fail Discover strategies to create a good reader magnet that will engage readers and boost your newsletter subscriptions.

Reader magnets. Have they worked for you, the author? Many fail. www.authormedia.com/reader-magne... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #ReaderMagnets #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor #SelfPublished #WritingAndBooks

Grammarly Is Pulling Down Its Explosively Controversial Feature That Impersonates Writers Without Their Permission Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Grammarly's owner Superhuman, has announced that the company is "disabling" a feature that impersonated journalists.

Grammarly was offering the chance for writers to stand on the shoulders of author giants. Not any more after the outcry. futurism.com/artificial-i... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor #Grammarly #WritingAndBooks #AI

World Book Day record attempt for biggest reading lesson held More than 7,000 children and teachers gather for a literacy class in a football stadium.

World reading record attempt. bbc.com/news/article... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #WritingAndReading #Reading

I’m about halfway through creating this triptych of King Arthur’s Chough. Building up layers of tiny plants on the cliff edge for its toes to sink into. Two layers of extra thick 23 carat gold leaf. Repainting and restoring the details of the original panel. A labour of love. My favourite bird.

Jellyfish in Space – A Case Study of Microgravity - The Average Scientist Explore how jellyfish in space adapt to microgravity, revealing gravity's role in development. Implications for human space settlement are also examined.

Humans born in space may be exiled to space and never return back to earth. Interesting dynamic for SciFi authors. theaveragescientist.co.uk/2024/05/13/j... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #SciFi #SpaceExploration #BlueSky #BookSky #SciFiSky #IndieAuthor

AI Can Mass-Unmask Pseudonymous Accounts, Research Paper Finds A team of researchers found that "large language models can be used to perform at-scale deanonymization."

Could AI be used to unmask ‘Trolls?’ futurism.com/artificial-i... #Writers #Writing #Author #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #AI #Trolls #WriterScams

The State of Publishing in 2026: Opportunity, Adaptation, and the Power of Independence Book publishing always been cyclical — responsive the economy, culture, and technology. But today, we are experiencing a period of transformation.

State of publishing in 2026 from BookBaby. blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-self-... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #WritersNetwork #IndieAuthor

A Serial Killer Used ChatGPT to Plan Murders, Police Say Investigators in South Korea say the 21-year-old woman asked ChatGPT the risks of administering high doses of drugs before killing two men.

Grim news! But the question that crossed my mind, without getting put on a watchlist, are crime and murder authors using ChatGPT to plot their novels? futurism.com/future-socie... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #Chatgpt #WritingAndBooks #IndieAuthor #CrimeAndMurder

Species from 95 million years ago may have been world's first 'dragon' A shocking discovery is rewriting what scientists know about a famous dinosaur as many believe the fossil could be the first ever dragon.

So dragons aren’t fantasy any more. 😵‍💫 www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/... #Author #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #Fantasy #Dragons

Tips for Writing Crime Fiction Unlock your potential as a crime writer! Get our tips on how to write a bestselling crime novel and master writing the best crime fiction.

101 on writing a crime fiction. Helpful reminder. www.writingmastery.com/blog/tips-fo... #Author #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #BlueSky #BookSky #CrimeFiction #WritersNetwork #WritingTips #IndieAuthor #WritingAndBooks

Live-Writing My Thriller Novel Bestselling author J.T. Ellison shares the process of live-writing her latest thriller novel and compiling writing advice at the same time.

J.T.Ellison kickstarted her successful writing career by compiling all her blogs on the craft of writing and was an early adopter to Substack. www.writersdigest.com/live-writing... #Writer #Author #WritingCommunity #Author #BlueSky #BookSky #WritersNetwork #WritingTips #J.T.Ellison #Blogs #Substack

Shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica’s deep waters | CNN An ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun’s rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight.

Nature keeps surprising scientists. edition.cnn.com/2026/02/18/w... #BlueSky #ScienceSky #Antarctic #DeepSeaFauna #SouthernOcean