Shida Ketzer (follows back all fiction writers)

Hi! Just to make sure that the X/twitter account really belongs to you since it’s not listed on you website and there are too many fakes these days. Is this you?
x.com/LogansLiterary

Ouch! I'm sorry! She isn't very nice, and has a worse reputation in Germany than in European Union. But Ursula is a beautiful name and your the best Ursula. I'm naming a character in my book Ursula in your honor😊

Good choice!

If anyone asks, this is where you heard this first! I totally didn't forget to post here when I was too delirious because of being sick!

My first book baby seems to be taking its time like an elephant! But illness has thrown off my release schedule by much. & it's now (hopefully finally!) due on Halloween, as all bloody things!

#UnhingedPit #F #CS

What shape is your preference?

a cartoon leopard is wearing a police uniform and holding a baton . ALT: a cartoon leopard is wearing a police uniform and holding a baton .

So cute!

Such an honor to have my 500-words flash fiction featured in this amazing magazine 😊

It's true!
And the app is rather annoying. I usually use the browser. But a couple of times, I had to post my pitch from my phone, and the app took literally 45 minutes to post it!
I joke about it having been made in the 70s!

#PitchDis
I just submitted a short story that is Spec Fiction. That's the only finished work I've done that is set on Earth! I usually write High Fantasy. So, when I'm done with my current WIP. I'm going to turn that short story into a full Speculative Fiction novel! What do you think?

Of course, I wasn't aware that any person irl is called Sy! The first time I heard it in a series, I was not super happy! But my Sy is her own person, and her name doesn't come from "Seymour" or anything. Her background is similar to my own BIPOC identity.

#PitchDis
My FMC is called Sy.
About 3 years ago, I was exchanging with an amazing CP. Her character was called Em (short for Emilie?). I found it brilliant since most fantasy names are too long or unpronounceable! But I didn't want an Earth name. So I picked "Sy" since it sounds like "sigh"!

🤣 a few people told me Bluesky is the best regarding interactions. That hasn’t been my experience. No matter how bad twitter gets, here is simply a silent vacuum 🤷‍♀️

OMG! I've been trashed by beta-readers, but some of these are beyond that! Homophobic feedback shows the beta-reader isn't a good choice. And Orgasm isn't smut.
I've been told by "expert" that some words "don't exist" despite them being common in the genre.
I hope you get a lot of good feedback too

I do the same!

True! And some are better at separating their subjective feelings from the objective feedback

That's good! You don't want too many cooks telling you what to do. The more advice you get, the more contradictory it becomes. I'm trying to get a large enough sample to see what's real and what's just taste.

Strange! I see that often happening with American readers. But one beta-reader (who isn't actually British but apparently uses that style) "corrected" all my American spellings to British without asking which I prefer/use or simply inferring from the text! I'm simply in awe of their perseverance!

Oh, OK! Well, if the entire text is in one consistent format & spelling style, no one should object.

That's actually cool! I assume you mean that while the whole MS is in the US style, their dialogues use British spelling? I LOVE it! An extra quirk that gives the written medium an advantage over others (movie, audio, etc.). It reminds me of a short story where the MC can "hear" misspelled speech!

That's fortunate! And the best of luck with your querying and publishing journey!

I've had about 100 beta-readers and also read/heard a lot of examples from fellow writers.

#booksky #writingcommunity #writing #writesky #BookSky #amquerying #amwriting

* Flagging, objecting to, & changing the British or American style to the other. Don't get me wrong, it must be consistent. Pick one and stick to it for the entire MS. But if you see all spellings and dialogue formatting are in British or American, don't try to "correct" them all to the other!

* Telling how the story/plot/characters should be completely different! Way too often, I've seen people rewrite a scene/dialogue for you in a way that isn't just an improvement but produces a completely different story, emotions, character personality, and outcome. Thanks, but write your own book!🤷‍♀️

Text in the manuscript: "cracking his wrist. She rammed his dagger into his neck, cutting off his shout. The sticky splatter of his blood on her face was warm and revolting. Comment start He sputtered. His body spasmed, then went limp, collapsing atop her. Comment end Bile rose in her throat. Shuddering, she shoved him aside and dragged herself out of the cart. Her wounds began to reknit, stinging as if crawling with" The reader highlighted: "He sputtered. His body spasmed, then went limp, collapsing atop her." The reader's comment about it: "I feel like I am being told what is happening here as opposed to being shown. I kind of want to really experience this moment because it is so visceral for [redacted]."

everything you type is technically "telling"! The goal is to replace flat descriptions like "he was angry" with more sensory and emotional descriptions (body language, speech, facial expression, etc.). But some readers flag almost anything as "telling". Here's an example I received:

* While I agree with using stronger verbs and avoiding "ly" adjectives as a crutch, one reader flagged "fly" as an "ly" adjective I should remove! (I suppose they just used find/searched the text)

* "Show, not tell" is a big one and I usually agree, but let's not forget it's text not a movie! So

Dear #writingcommunity,
What type of generic criticism (from reviews, beta-readers, agents, etc.) do you find most irritating or absurd?

[I shared a few examples in the thread below.]

#writersky 🦄 🌶️ 🌈 📚💙 🪐📚 ⏰📚

Not vaccinating dogs because of .... *checks notes*, Autism? What?

P.S. I'm neurodivergent myself and I know many dogs!🤷‍♀️

Thank you!

[Sorry, I don't know why I hadn't seen your comment until now!]

Sharing the 1st line pitch for my upcoming fantasy novella.
P.S. I hardly get any interactions here. I've been told to try #writersky & #writingcommunity. Let's see if that works!