JW Warner

#SummerOfStory 5
Okay, for my real answer: I love Chekhov's Gun and I love to include it in my books. BUT, I also love adding random worldbuilding details to flesh out the world and provide Vibes™️(more below)

(Sadly, I find most authors do Schrokovam's gunblade):

#WIPSnips #BookSky #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #snippet

Yes, this is from the Good Thyme Inn wip. Every once in a while, I take a break from the gang and show you what the villains are up to. Here's Anya, THE villain of the Greed Wars, thinking about how she can use a princess she's holding hostage

#MythAugust *cracks knuckles* Here we go. I'm going to give a one-post yap about each God of the Decatheon, going in elemental order. More on Lucognidus next week!

The Decatheon:

-Sawyer
-Windesoar
-Cherribell
-Entomothy
-Flamboil
-Sparkato
-Machenerate
-Lucognidus
-Liqua
-Icsnow

#SummerOfStory 2

I've given a lot of thought to psychic distance. Years ago, I heard some people talk about how they disliked 1st-person PoV because it's often too close, and they like to be more distant from the narrator. That's when I realized "wtf, I love 1st person because I love being close"

Sapling cafe by margaret killjoy with a floral design on the cover. Paperback on a dock by a mountain lake

One of my current reads, a trans witch story by a transfem author I haven’t heard nearly as much about as I would’ve expected!

It feels a bit YA so far (50 pages in) (not a criticism but it wasn’t shelved as YA do I’m curious)

Saturday Snippet Image shows a holographic page with writing against a blueish background

Happy Saturday, writer friends! Did you get any writing done this past week? Share a line or two from your recent writing sessions with us 🙌

#writingq #booksky #writesky #writingcommunity #readingcommunity #indieauthors #selfpubauthors #shadowsparkpublishing

I use them but now I keep reading they’re an indicator of AI so in my new WIP I find myself avoiding them 😟

Tuesday Trope Treasures Open chest of gold. Pirates, stay away!

Today's trope is all about.....Creepy Kids!

Do you like it? Do you not? Have you ever used it in your own writing? Best insurance you've seen it used? And perhaps in a genre that's *not* horror?

Bring on all the creepy kids!

#booksky #writesky #writingq #tuesday #shadowsparkpublishing 📚🪐

I am reminded that at some point I will have a sword & sorcery & serpents & sass story out, featuring my fat lippy competent girl assassin (a vishakanya that I just made up and yes she's venomous AND poisonous AND toxungenous)

Excited to see her square up against not her victim but an assassin bro

Every time I finish writing a book, I think “wow, that almost killed me. Never again.” Then, like, three weeks later I’m googling how many moons my made-up planets should have.

Art is wild.

Please hydrate and romanticize your weird little passions before we all turn to dust.

#writingcommunity

So I'm working on a post for disabled indie authors for Disability Pride Month (yes I know it's later, but better late than never!) and this may be the biggest collection of authors I've ever included in one article.

Y'all, a friend just wrote a fanfic for my world

If you need me, I'll be over here celebrating in my little corner of the world.

And also reading it😂

If you loved an author’s book, tell them! They will completely ignore it because they’re fixated forever on the anonymous person who once gave them two stars on goodreads but it’s probably good for your karma

We're so excited to bring Amy's book into the world! Stay tuned!

POWELL'S BOOKS - PRESENTS WENDY C. ORTIZ WITH EMILLY PRADO WENDY C. ORTIZ POWELL'S CITY OF BOOKS WEDNESDAY, JUL. 30 • 7 PM

People of Portland, I hope to see you a week from today when I’ll be discussing my books with Emilly Prado at Powell’s.

SSP Author spotlight featuring Salem Wolf, with the covers of the anthologies she's been involved in: "When Peter Became Pan" in Panthology, "But I Have A Boyfriend" in Horn(y), and "Hot and Cold" in Cozy-ish

It's Shadow Spark Thursday! Where we shine a spotlight on one of our wonderful authors. In today's case, Salem Wolf does more work behind the scenes as an editor, but she's written stories for our anthologies, too! Go check them out in Panthology, Horn(y), and Cozy-ish!

Help I’m writing an epic fantasy 😭

love when a paywall sounds like it’s drawing a gun on you

Got the itch to play a City Builder (video game genre). Played a game of Banished, which is my usual go-to, but I've built the town as far as I want. Anyone here ever play Timberborn? I had it on my wishlist forever, then bought it during a recent sale. Looks cute. How's the gameplay?

The exact midpoint of my current wip is... a scene I plan to delete because it's so cringe 💀

Parsnips talking to Grilled: "There are things you just can’t do until you’re an adult because it carries responsibility with it. Owning a house, having a job, drinking alcohol…”

“Deer head” Chihuahua mix dog. Brown hair on head but mostly white

Chihuahua wearing a harness perched on a chair

Sleepy chihuahua mostly white hair with brown around eyes and ears

Six pounds of pure energy

I'm delighted to announce that my poem "the jacarandas are unimpressed by your show of force" will be published by @strangehorizons!

The first sign that food will be important to my wip should be the fact that the characters are named after foods 🤣 And if that's not enough, I even include recipes! Many members of the cast show their love through food (whether making it, eating it, growing it, or providing a space for meals)

Lilly Wachowski’s Anarchists United Foundation Reveals Grant Recipients, Writers Discovery Fellows The list of lucky recipients includes Stanley Kalu, Jennifer Reeder, Marco Bermudez, K. Broch, Quincy Cho, Jacy Duan, Sydney Laws, Amir Mo and Sule Murray.

Grateful and proud to be supporting and fighting for artists and diversity in our industry!

SSP Author Spotlight, featuring Mirai Amell with her three books, Truth in Blue, Jaded Reasons, and Red of Reckoning

SSP Thursday! Today we're highlighting Mirai Amell and her series, All That Matters

Sometimes life is better as a lie
Malakai wanted to protect his kingdom from threats beyond its borders. Instead, stripped of his magic and on the run, he now needs to save it from his brother, the king himself.

There is someone out there who wants your weird little book. Even if you doubt yourself sometimes, don't doubt their earnest enthusiasm.

Wednesday Hump Day Picture of a two humped camel giving his best judging look.

The SSP camel demands tribute for today's post!

Flip to page 83 of your published book or WIP and give us a little taste of what's going on.

Write poems? Pick your fav and share a line!

#booksky #writesky #writingcommunity #Wednesday #indiepub #writingq #poem

Person with short hair and sunglasses with the ocean behind them

Some nonbinary people look like this

"Good books make bad movies, bad books make good ones." I always urge people not to respect my book too much. This way if the movie is good I can claim it was because they followed my advice, and if it's bad it's because good books make bad movies. Just they should make it and send me my check.