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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 12h

"How hard can contouring be?"
- me, about to find out

Gaudy curtain fabric with an altered bodice pattern sitting up on it, ready for tracing.

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 23h

I few years back, I adopted a pile of curtains that had clearly been on a shop's show floor before being dumped on the side of the road. I wonder why they didn't sell? 🤔

A curtain fabric of blocked hot pink, pale yellow, and orange, with a bodice mock up traced onto it.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 2d

Why is it non-creatives think creatives don't want to do creative work? Like, it almost never pays, so why else would we do it?

VeroOoOnica Wraith @veronicarothbooks.com · 2d

When people ask me what I think about using AI in writing I’m going to send them this screenshot

A screenshot of a post that reads David Simon, creator of *The Wire*, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro, NPR

And then a screenshot of a conversation that goes like this:

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 2d

them. I think you should not use a long word when a short one will do, and save your $20 words for moments of emotional impact, when your reader will scramble to look it up because they want to understand what is happening. Don't use it to spice up a boring passage; it's just more boring now.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 2d

I am appalled by the attitude that novels for adults should not go above an eighth grade reading level, so I generally agree with this. However, I would keep in mind that there is an emotional component to language acquisition. People feel a certain way about words because that's how they learned

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 3d

I've been admitted to the @futurescapesww.bsky.social 2025 Virtual Long Manuscript Workshop with Miriam Cortinovis! Looking forward to connecting with other authors and figuring out what problems with my MS have been eluding me.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 5d

That ICE agent ducking in there like "Guys, I know his weak spot!"
But no. ICE is the weak spot.
www.youtube.com/shorts/g0kt6...

'Frog' protester recounts being pepper-sprayed at protest outside Portland ICE facility

YouTube video by KATU News

www.youtube.com

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 5d

QUEER SCARLET PIMPERNEL

An #ND chronicler pursues a masked folk hero, a kidnapped prince, and his own missing father across a land trampled between two empires to discover a rebellion against oppression. A dashing genderfluid local adopts his cause but is also keeping secrets.

#DVpit #F #A #LGBT

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 5d

Though he cannot sense magic, Pun Wai Lam longs to work with it, and investigating illegal spellcraft has been his way in. But his new witch partner Ffraid Vaughan suspects the glitzy magic company that employs them is up to worse than any of the criminals they're tracking.

#DVpit #F #A #LGBT #CI

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 5d

Rumors of a Robin Hood figure leading a rebellion against colonial forces are the first lead Able's had on finding his missing father in 12 years, but his investigation becomes delicate when he learns his people are the oppressors and that the masked man is very, very hot.

#A #F #LGBT #ND #JV #CI

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 5d

WITCHMARK X TAINTED CUP

The Second World aligns with the First, releasing magical energy. Those without the power to harvest it are left at the mercy of those who can. Special investigator Pun Wai Lam is chasing those who use it for ill, but what if that includes his employers?

#DVpit #F #A #LGBT

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 6d

Also, giant riding cats 😁

Leon T. @leont.bsky.social · 6d

BONE SHARD DAUGHTERxUNBROKEN

As a kid, Prince Marin unwittingly aided his parents' murder; now, he wants to avenge them. However, his old home rests on injustice, and he must decide: claim his birthright or do what's right—even if that means allying with the man who took it away. #DVpit #A #F #LGBT

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 6d

While an industrial revolution is fueled by the cyclical resurgence of magic power, a gay investigator and a butch witch team up to track down spell-casting criminals. But what if the institutions are deeming ancestral magics illegal to protect their own interests?

#DVpit #F #A #LGBT #JV #CI

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 6d

Has autistic scholar Able Houser decided to chronicle a rebellion against the empire because he wants to hold his government accountable or because he wants to find his missing father?

Yes. Stop asking bisexuals to choose.

#DVpit #F #A #LGBT #JV #CI (also +1 genderfluid rebel love interest)

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 10d

I usually buy it by the pound? 🤷
The water content is very low. It often crystalizes on me.

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 10d

Oh no! A riot of color!

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 11d

People have been selling patterns on Etsy since Etsy began. Building a pattern is work, and it is an actual product, even if you're printing it out at home. So, unless this is _not_ a pattern for the suit, this isn't a scam.

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 11d

Giving me flashbacks to the time I had to explain to an adult that the moon goes around the whole earth in a month.

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

I might just have enough space to switch "Tales" with "Rumors."

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

I mean, I would read this

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

There's some repetition in this, which feels like a missed opportunity. Does she have to fall in love with her friend to break the curse? Is that what you're trying to hint at?

Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

QUEER ANTICOLONIAL SCARLET PIMPERNEL

A #ND chronicler pursues a masked folk hero leading a rebellion, a kidnapped prince, and his own missing father across a land trampled between two empires. A dashing genderfluid local adopts his cause but knows more than they're letting on.

#PreDV #A #F #LGBT

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

Though he cannot sense magic, Pun Wai Lam longs to work with it, and investigating illegal spellcraft has been his way in. But his new witch partner Ffraid Vaughan suspects the glitzy magic company that employs them is up to worse than any of the criminals they're hunting down.

#predv #a #f #lgbt

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

Thank you! It is a fantasy empire, but I think calling it by name in the pitch means nothing. But I could just call it an empire!

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Kestrel Craig @biconoclast.bsky.social · 14d

WITCHMARK X TAINTED CUP

The Second World aligns with the First, releasing magical energy. Those without the power to harvest it are left at the mercy of those who can. Special investigator Pun Wai Lam is helping catch those who use it for ill, but what if that includes his employers?

#PreDV #A #F

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