Abigail Silver

What does it say about me that I still enjoy your work??

Mildly obsessed with psychology? Nah, not I.

Facts. You have written a genuinely awful human being.

I think writing is just a processing tool in some ways. It has to have something powerful to process.

Is that a skill? Sometimes it feels like a curse. It's almost an obsession at that point; nothing else gives me much pleasure except getting the story down and reading over it over and over. It's never interfered with my life to the point of mental illness, but I suspect it's a close thing.

#WriteStuff A5: Yes, for some reason certain stories have to sit in my brain a long time before I know how to write them. My demon queen story sat in my head for over a decade before I put her on paper. I have another story that I've tried to get down a few times, but its time hasn't arrived yet.

#WriteStuff I won't forget it! If I'm that into it, that's the only thing on my mind! I have trouble focusing on anything else and the scenes will play in my mind until I get them on paper.

Indeed.

Often for me it's falling in love with a character or a scene and going "Oh, I could do that so much better..." or "Well, that would be amazing if only..." and off we go down the rabbit hole!

Another way I end up with a story is asking a ton of "what if" questions.

#WriteStuff A3: I have to do the mental work first, for sure. But it's slow and doesn't always match up with what I end up putting on the page.

Driving... so much this

#WriteStuff A2: All of the above.

Though I think tv, movies, songs, books, life experience... it all comes together.

I've been feeling distinctly uninspired lately, though. I think I need to listen to more music or something.

The love is the important part, not the letter itself.

I mean, to be fair it has been a lot easier to follow as a written document.

And I feel you on the block, my friend. It's real.

That's really special! A love letter in its own way.

Editing can be fun for me, honestly. Especially because I haven't touched this piece in a few years so seeing how much I've grown is pretty cool. It's also nice to have a new vision of something older.

#WriteStuff A1: I'd say my parents inspired my love of reading and books. My dad especially always went out of his way to recommend really good books that fueled my love of sci-fi and fantasy, which are my favorite genres to write in.

Hi Pam! Good to see you! I haven't been on much social media lately, so I feel like I haven't seen most folks in forever.

Hi #WriteStuff, I'm Abigail. I've been focused on editing my space opera the last few weeks.

a rainbow with the words " feeling inspired " around it Alt: a rainbow with the words " feeling inspired " around it

Hey Bluesky #writers, spread the word...

#WriteStuff leads a #WritingCommunity chat tonight at 9:00 ET|6:00 PT - join us!

Our topic will be: Inspiration Point

Jopson Care Fund A picture of Jopson, a tuxedo cat with a white smudge on his face and two white paws in view, laying on an examination table with a cone around his head Caption: full details on next slide

Yesterday (September 17) I rushed my sweet cat Jopson to the emergency vet after fearing he swallowed a sewing needle. After a quick initial X-ray, the vet confirmed that he had swallowed it and that it was already in his stomach. Thankfully it didn’t puncture anything in his throat going down, but we didn’t want to risk it getting stuck in his intestines, so he immediately went into emergency surgery to remove both the needle and the thread that tempted him to chomp on it. I didn’t think twice about opting for surgery, as I think any pet owner would agree with, but the costs of such an invasive and instant procedure were pretty staggering. Upon picking him up today (September 18), I learned that we’d be getting a partial refund, but the final cost is still quite a lot to handle. If anyone is willing or able to chip in to help offset some of the cost, we’d both appreciate it a lot. If you aren’t in a position to donate, sharing would also help. Much love, Austin (& Jopson)

hey everyone- little life update. more details on how to help in the threaded post below. anything would be appreciated and come with my eternal gratitude ❤️‍🩹

plus, if you have tips on how to give a cat oral meds, please share!

Oh he sounds really cool!

Slide 1: Title, Date, & Prompt Introduction This slide features a large torn piece of lined paper with the text "August 1st" at the top and the writing prompt "Arrive Late, Leave Early" in big script letters. There's a typewriter in the corner with a note saying "TOOLS not RULES". On the right, there's a speech bubble with prompt questions, a Bluesky butterfly, and it has a palm leaf background. Transcription: August 1st Arrive Late, Leave Early What's your take on this writing technique? Have you used it before — or do you avoid it? Share your thoughts, drop a snippet, or tell us how you'd use it in a scene.


Slide 2: What and Why This slide is a piece of lined paper with "What?" and "Why?" highlighted at the top and middle. It explains what "Arrive Late, Leave Early" means as a writing technique and why it's useful. There's a Bluesky butterfly and palm fronds in the backgrond. Transcription: What? Originally a screenwriting technique, "Arrive Late, Leave Early" means starting a scene as close as possible to the moment of change, conflict, or plot development, then exiting as soon as it resolves—or during, if you're aiming for a cliffhanger. Why? Streamlines the storytelling, keeping the reader engaged and the narrative moving at a brisk pace.

Slide 3: In Practice This slide looks like a piece of graph paper and features stick figure doodles telling a story about someone waking up, brushing teeth, encountering a bear in the kitchen (the bear!), and fighting it off. Key moments are labelled, and there are arrows suggesting where a scene could start or end. Transcription: Where should this scene start and end? Asleep → Wake up → Brush teeth → Doom Scroll → Walk into kitchen (Start here?) → Find bear → Fight bear off with air freshener → Bear runs away → React (End here?) → Post about it → Haggle with locksmith → Wait for new locks But what if it's a romance and the locksmith is the LI? Where is the latest point we can enter that gets straight to the meat of the conflict? (Yes, that was a bad pun)

Slide 4: What do you think? This slide is a torn piece of paper with discussion questions for writers about using the "Arrive Late, Leave Early" technique. There's a speech bubble repeating "TOOLS not RULES," a blue butterfly, and palm fronds in the background. Transcription: What do you think? So, what's your take on "Arrive Late, Leave Early?" Do you like to drop your readers into scenes close to the conflict/action, or do you prefer a slower start? Do you plan your scenes with this in mind? Why not share your experience or a snippet with the community? Hot takes welcome—jst please don't set anyone on fire!

Welcome to #SummerOfStory, a game all about the craft of writing. Can't wait to hear everyone's opinions.

NB: My goal is to prompt discussion, not tell anyone how to write. These aren't my ideas, just my interpretation of well-known tips & techniques

Day 1: Arrive Late, Leave Early

#WritingPrompt

List of prompts for #MythAugust, presented by @professoremily.bsky.social. Prompts are listed by weekly topics over a background painting of shiny Thor going ham(mer) on a bunch of unfortunate dudes. WEEK ONE: BASICS 8/1 - Type of religion 8/2 - Major gods 8/3 - Moral alignment 8/4 - Factions of gods 8/5 - Hierarchy/minor deities 8/6 - Relationship to mortals 8/7 - Gods' home WEEK TWO: PICK A GOD 8/8 - Introduce this god 8/9 - What do they represent? 8/10 - Appearance 8/11 - Powers 8/12 - Symbols 8/13 - Interactions with mortals 8/14 - Myth(s) about god WEEK THREE: FOLLOWERS 8/15 - What kinds of followers? 8/16 - Reason(s) for worship 8/17 - Authority figures 8/18 - Religious sects 8/19 - Values & sins 8/20 - Beliefs about the afterlife 8/21 - End of the world WEEK FOUR: TRADITIONS 8/22 - Places of worship 8/23 - Sacred texts 8/24 - Blessings & curses 8/25 - Holidays 8/26 - Initiation rites 8/27 - Gods' role in major life events 8/28 - Everyday life WRAP-UP: 8/29 - Were you inspired by any real world religions? 8/30 - Role of mythology/religion in your story? 8/31 - Freebie/How did you expand your worldbuilding?

Hey there #WritingCommunity!
Next month I'll be hosting #MythAugust, a worldbuilding prompt game.

Have a fantasy religion you really want to yap about?

Want to build a fantasy religion but don't know where to start?

Either way, this game is for you! Hope you'll join in ☺️
#Writers #Writesky

Thanks for the shout, Ellie!

#FantasyIndiesJuly prompt list 25. Shout out writing besties

25- #FantasyIndiesJuly- Awesome indies to check out!!! @joharraharper.bsky.social
@alyssalouttit.bsky.social
@katkinneywrites.bsky.social
@servantand.bsky.social
@abigailsilver.bsky.social
@adamandrewsjohnson.bsky.social
@shannonbarnsley.bsky.social
@diannalgunn.bsky.social

Delighted to be on the ride with you, my friend ❤️

I used to abuse this tag for dialogue, but now I save it for my biggest, most surly characters.

From Bride's Beginnings, Rory's first novel.

#WIPSnips

For those who may be interested, I’ve added a redbubble store with lots of art and poetry quotes from yours truly as well as greats like Edgar Allan Poe. Link is in the comments. #edgarallanpoe #poe #redbubble #poetryquotes #edgarallanpoequote #gothic

Love the Art Nouveau influence! Beautiful work.