Dan F. Beast
@danfbispo.bsky.social
130 followers 89 following 240 posts
Professional word extruder. Author of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. Currently working on: FIRST LIGHT, a sci-fi novella
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You and me both! It's much more fun to write about characters who have to make their own decisions and deal with their fallout.
Reposted by Dan F. Beast
Well Toren saw a thing he never wanted to see. Kaili sorts the whole thing out. Elara meets embarrassment. And the Rec is up to something...isn't it always? 😮

#WIPSnips
#WritingCommunity
#WritingPrompts
#SciFiWriters
#WriteSky
#sff
Reposted by Dan F. Beast
G'morning #WIPSnips. We have something from TLC, but might need to move back over to Clipper again at some point. Progress is stalled, and i think it will be till next month.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
“Oh. That’s good,” I say, but sceptical warning bells start ringing in my head. I don’t have many options besides, though. I look to my side and see that Driona’s stride is incredibly complicated. Her two outer legs bent forward like a human’s, while the middle leg bent backwards. It looks awkward as hell, but  have to pick up my own pace to keep up with Driona, so I may well be wrong there.
“There is a problem with the situation, though,” Driona adds.
Welp, there it is.
“Problem?” I ask, becoming more and more concerned. The corridor only barely has enough room for the two of us, and I don’t think I can outrun her. I’m trapped.
“See, this friend of mine, we’re not exactly on the best of terms right now… because I owe him some money from a failed venture. However, you might just be able to help with that.” Driona says this with a level of certainty in her voice that makes dread bubble up in my stomach.
“What? How?”
“Well, your mention of personally owned firearms amongst your people gave me an idea, compounded by you mentioning a certain level of constant warfare on your world.”
“…yeah?”
A lot of people have been experiencing it, I think. Some kind of bug? I like scouring tags for entries I may have missed, and a lot of them just don't show up.
If anyone comes across my #WIPSnips posts, please be kind and give it a retweet? I've been participating daily, but this is the last time my posts showed up when searched.

It's not a huge deal, but still, a bit deflating. I can only imagine how many people I'm missing when I search the tag.
From First Light:

Yana has never seen a boat before, but often finds herself imagine what it would be like to sail a sea. She experiences little bits here and there--in this case, the concept of seasickness.

Welcome to Bayinnaung, Yana.

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts
The ship’s umbilical manifested itself as a new corridor branching out of its spine. In that brightly-lit tube, right angles became round, rough fuselage became smooth, and the whole thing moved, gentle, like how Yana imagined a sea vessel might. She was no stranger to the feeling of nausea that came with walking down passages like this, but this time, she contended with something other than a wobbling walkway: the smell.
The unique aroma of Deep Space Outpost Bayinnaung, District B bid her welcome even before she caught her first glance of the place. It smelled of iron filings and exotic spices, of sweat and fire, of mycofuel residue spreading through recycled air. It clung to the inside of her lungs like smoke.
When the time comes to put someone in the literal captain's share, the rest of the cast are simply faster at saying 'not it' than Yana. Meanwhile, she finds a scrap of that agency she was missing.

Different struggles with different facets of Authority will no doubt come later. 3/3
She comes to term with this by teaming up with two characters that are even worse at blazing their own path: Rook, who cannot imagine a worse experience than to coerce or demand something from another, and Six, who is still learning how to best connect with organic lifeforms. 2/3
A lot of First Light is about Yana vs the concept of Taking Orders: namely, she comes to terms with the fact she has very little agency about what she does in her life, and how that's something she causes for herself due to her inability or unwillingness to put her foot down. 1/3
You love to see it. Congrats!
Reposted by Dan F. Beast
From First Light.

Regrillians are defined by the contrast between their wild 'beastgods' and the protective, nurturing influence of machine spirits. Their 'mechanists' are half-shaman, half-engineer, and by all accounts work miracles at both.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
Diodorus rolled his shoulders again. “Pacified the glitch-sprites, stabilized the flow of the power lines. Even the smallest disruption can lead to a whole system collapse; you can’t be too careful. Then again,” he shuffled back into the Bridge, “false starts are to be expected if a ship hasn’t flown in a while.”
From First Light.

Regrillians are defined by the contrast between their wild 'beastgods' and the protective, nurturing influence of machine spirits. Their 'mechanists' are half-shaman, half-engineer, and by all accounts work miracles at both.

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
Diodorus rolled his shoulders again. “Pacified the glitch-sprites, stabilized the flow of the power lines. Even the smallest disruption can lead to a whole system collapse; you can’t be too careful. Then again,” he shuffled back into the Bridge, “false starts are to be expected if a ship hasn’t flown in a while.”
Sounds metal. I love it!
#WIPSnips

Also, follow Jan if you haven't already! An actual pillar of the community.
‘Eventually’ instead of ‘Ultimate’ for today.

From ‘The Big Feat’.

#WiPSnips

(If someone that *is* showing on tag searches could quote post this with the WiPSnips tag, I would be grateful. It only needs one. Thank you!☺️)
Through cavernous rooms and twisting corridors, dark backways used mostly by servants and the like, the man led Murple a heady path, but she took note and knew exactly where she was. Long ago she had memorised the layout of the Palace, just in case. It always paid to know where the exits were in any given place. Eventually, they returned to carpeted and furnished surroundings, the man bobbing his head in greeting to people that could very well be identical siblings, until they emerged right where Murple had surmised they would. Right outside the door of the most powerful man in Bruta(1).

It seemed she had an appointment with the current leader of the Rhug Party, member for the Borough of Vaneintern, First Counsel of the Partliment of the Kingdom of Bruta, and they were usually the biggest scoundrels of them all.
I think that's a perfectly satisfying ending! Certainly seems to fit what you're going for much better than taking the boring and safe route.

Love stories are allowed to have conclusions other than a happily ever after, no matter what the rare salty reader might tell you.
Reposted by Dan F. Beast
I really enjoy writing Six and Rook just vibing--both exploratory in their own way, both relatively insightful and self-realized but with massive blind spots. Their rapport developed all by itself as I wrote the book.

From First Light.

#WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
“Unlike more recent models, I have had ample time to develop both my sense of self and a tolerance for conjecture. Tell me, Rook, what is your purpose?”
“Uh. Helping out, I guess?”
“I meant as an ultimate objective. Many sentients also refer to it as a ‘life goal’ or ‘dream’.”
“Yeah,” Rook answered, not a single beat skipped. “Helping out, pretty much.”
“Interesting.”
“And yours?”
“I follow my predefined prerogatives.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t dodge your own question like that.”
I really enjoy writing Six and Rook just vibing--both exploratory in their own way, both relatively insightful and self-realized but with massive blind spots. Their rapport developed all by itself as I wrote the book.

From First Light.

#WIPSnips #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #WritingCommunity
“Unlike more recent models, I have had ample time to develop both my sense of self and a tolerance for conjecture. Tell me, Rook, what is your purpose?”
“Uh. Helping out, I guess?”
“I meant as an ultimate objective. Many sentients also refer to it as a ‘life goal’ or ‘dream’.”
“Yeah,” Rook answered, not a single beat skipped. “Helping out, pretty much.”
“Interesting.”
“And yours?”
“I follow my predefined prerogatives.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t dodge your own question like that.”
This whole snippet is absolute fire. I love the use of pacey but evocative prose to keep it flowing while also saying so much and implying even more. What's this from?
Reposted by Dan F. Beast
I really thought the only push I had in my story was going to be mother of all spoilers, but nah. Turns out there are other options, and we shall remain unspoiled this day :)

From First Light:

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Nobody knew. Nobody could have known. And if they did—would they even have cared?
They walked in single file down a wide street, lined on both sides by ramshackle buildings, uneven and jagged, some bent, all covered in street art and fading calls to action. A mass of commuting bodies struggled to flow; a thousand species, a hundred models, the local and the ethereal all pushing impassively past each other. The concept of a crowd, until recently little more than a theoretical construct to her, had lost no time in becoming an omnipresent nuisance.
I really thought the only push I had in my story was going to be mother of all spoilers, but nah. Turns out there are other options, and we shall remain unspoiled this day :)

From First Light:

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Nobody knew. Nobody could have known. And if they did—would they even have cared?
They walked in single file down a wide street, lined on both sides by ramshackle buildings, uneven and jagged, some bent, all covered in street art and fading calls to action. A mass of commuting bodies struggled to flow; a thousand species, a hundred models, the local and the ethereal all pushing impassively past each other. The concept of a crowd, until recently little more than a theoretical construct to her, had lost no time in becoming an omnipresent nuisance.
This is a wonderful initiative--goblincore in the best way possible.

I'm going to be staying with my family for a while and I can't wait to see what's around the area. There's a town nearby where everyone has avocado trees hanging over the sidewalk, and nobody ever harvests them...
Reposting the falling fruit map in case anyone wants to know where to forage in their area 🌱

fallingfruit.org
In time (the sequels, he means the sequels), other problems will arise, some of them with human faces. An unequipped Yana would fold immediately--but by then, she will not be that person anymore. She has gained in wisdom and companionship. She can face them head on. 3/3