derek

getting the boys back together for a late-season half dome hike is like trying to hit a moving target while sailing the high seas. but it’ll all be worth it for that shared view at the summit

as a california boy i will never get used to going outside and feeling like i’m underwater. Floridians are just built different. someone please tell me: is there a way to walk around during the day in such a way that i won’t start doing my best impression of these windows here?

*okay* ~cracks metaphorical knuckles bc i don't have the cartilage to spare in my old age~ *let's do this*

Preorder The First War, the final book in the first arc of the A Thousand Li series!

so... uh, i know it's not spooky season quite yet, but i think i trapped a LITERAL GHOST in what was meant to be a nice little ocean sounds recording?? please tell me you can hear this thing say "hi" *headphones on*

Had some new headshots taken on my way to war... These are by the incredible @kaitrinacuna.bsky.social of KaitrinAcuna.com.

Men would rather talk to an AI agent than their wives.

working on some truly shocking content ⚡. trying to commit to low-no planning & retakes, and minimal editing... so far so good, but i'll update you all as i go along

The latest exciting news

Ancillary Review is looking for more editors! Message me if you're interested in copy-editing, dev editing, or graphics creation for a Hugo finalist magazine of spec fic criticism! It's volunteer-based and fits with your schedule <3

why yes, i did eat mustard and drink soy sauce straight for my before-bed snack. why, you ask, would i commit such an atrocity? well… 🪡🧵

IT’S OKAY TO BE MESSY :). ~ allow yourself to create without the crippling expectation of perfection hanging overhead.

happpyyyy Monday everybody! today is going to be an amazing day! let's *make* today an amazing day.

Hey, everyone! Come by, come by! Times listed are in Pacific time, so I should be there with no complications, and I hope good folks like you will be, too. Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026 Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Pacific Location: Online mountainview.libcal.com/event/17274404

the old guy in the gym on TRT told me I had the physique of a 10-year-old boy 🫪. now i really gotta build breasticles so he’ll respect me

“You are not the author of what readers feel, just the provocateur of those feelings.” ~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass

broke 60k and closed out chapter 16 of my WIP today. closing in on the climax where’s everyone else at ?

readers don’t read. they just crouch like gremlins and say they’re aura farming

objective reality exists for me to dunk on solo leveling (i read the webnovels: twice, because I forgot I read it the first time [brain damage simulator was very effective]) i got tired of the MC glazing tbh.

having trouble choosing a character name? pro tip: steal them from people you meet

did someone say cat girls

~ and so the push towards The End continues WIP: book 2 in the Series that Shall Not Be Named [stats] chapters 1-15 are complete, and account for: 55,284 words ~250 pages. onto the rising action >>> towards the climax. all gas, no brakes. let’s go

so did the rapture get rescheduled or… ? can someone please call up customer service and report back to us what the deal is?

pov shifts are evil and you will not convince me otherwise

my last two braincells fighting to hit my daily word count goal:

“Put on a page what a character feels and there’s a pretty good chance that, paradoxically, what the reader will feel is nothing.” ~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass

my last two braincells fighting to hit my daily word count goal:

most recent google search to make mr. fbi agent sit up straight: "would dismembered hands rot and decompose in an airtight box"

“Hope is a revolutionary patience… so is being a writer. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” Anne Lamott’s *Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life*

okay, time to lock in and get some words down

“Do you think your writing is worth doing— as an end in itself?” “Oh, yes.” “You are sure?” “Very sure.” “That must be very pleasant.” “It is,” I said. “It is the one altogether pleasant thing about it.” Ernest Hemingway *On Writing* — Edited by Larry W. Phillips Green Hills of Africa, p. 26

Me: *typing carefully* I have decided that 'comps' is short for 'compsognathus,' and therefore you will note that my pitch document describes small dinosaurs rather than 'comparable titles,' so if you Me: Me: Me: *sighing, backspacing*

… are you suggesting i erp with REAL people, in the irl? that would be... nah, no way. I ain't doing that