Tim Clare
@timclare.bsky.social
(he/him) Author, podcaster & tabletop games writer. Books: The Game Changers, Coward, The Honours & The Ice House.
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-game-changers-how-playing-games-changed-the-world-and-can-change-you-too-tim-clare/7687024
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-game-changers-how-playing-games-changed-the-world-and-can-change-you-too-tim-clare/7687024
Pinned
Tim Clare
@timclare.bsky.social
· Oct 12
Intro post to pin to profile:
I'm an author & podcaster. I've written 2 gothic Fantasy novels, The Honours & The Ice House, a book on the science of anxiety & panic called Coward, & a book on how boardgames make us human, The Game Changers.
I make a podcast for writers called Death of 1000 Cuts.
I'm an author & podcaster. I've written 2 gothic Fantasy novels, The Honours & The Ice House, a book on the science of anxiety & panic called Coward, & a book on how boardgames make us human, The Game Changers.
I make a podcast for writers called Death of 1000 Cuts.
Hardly anything done yet. Just an incredibly slow start. We'll see. Naming this as a state of emotional turbulence. Hoping, hoping it gets better.
Oof. Feeling really weird at the moment. So many emotions. Going to try to focus enough to write. I really wish for everyone who needs it, a reprieve, a refuge, a moment of grace or wonder, a surprise good outcome, some tenderness or praise from someone that you weren't expecting, a rest.
February 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Hardly anything done yet. Just an incredibly slow start. We'll see. Naming this as a state of emotional turbulence. Hoping, hoping it gets better.
Oof. Feeling really weird at the moment. So many emotions. Going to try to focus enough to write. I really wish for everyone who needs it, a reprieve, a refuge, a moment of grace or wonder, a surprise good outcome, some tenderness or praise from someone that you weren't expecting, a rest.
February 4, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Oof. Feeling really weird at the moment. So many emotions. Going to try to focus enough to write. I really wish for everyone who needs it, a reprieve, a refuge, a moment of grace or wonder, a surprise good outcome, some tenderness or praise from someone that you weren't expecting, a rest.
I'm pretty sure this guy is getting a writeup in the book I'm working on so any pretence that this is going to be anything but the most nakedly autistic thing I've ever written is gone. You could say I'm going... mask off. Seriously I think this guy has something to teach us.
February 3, 2026 at 11:01 PM
I'm pretty sure this guy is getting a writeup in the book I'm working on so any pretence that this is going to be anything but the most nakedly autistic thing I've ever written is gone. You could say I'm going... mask off. Seriously I think this guy has something to teach us.
Just an astonishingly bad mental health day, stemming in part from real problems, but really taken aback by the kindness of friends & acquaintances who have reached out to check in, talk to me, offer words of hope, etc. It doesn't magically fix stuff but it has massively helped me survive the day.
February 2, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Just an astonishingly bad mental health day, stemming in part from real problems, but really taken aback by the kindness of friends & acquaintances who have reached out to check in, talk to me, offer words of hope, etc. It doesn't magically fix stuff but it has massively helped me survive the day.
I *think* 3 if you include the one I wrote when I was 15. Obviously many more ones where I've written 5-15k & run out of steam/gas/nuclear fission. I try not to think too much about it while writing, otherwise I would be even less mentally resilient than I am
Hey authors -- I'm curious. For various reasons, we usually only see the highlight reals on social media, but how many novels have you trunked over your career? Especially post first published book?
February 2, 2026 at 7:51 AM
I *think* 3 if you include the one I wrote when I was 15. Obviously many more ones where I've written 5-15k & run out of steam/gas/nuclear fission. I try not to think too much about it while writing, otherwise I would be even less mentally resilient than I am
That story about Jesus & the footprints in the sand except it's Shigeru Miyamoto & when I ask why sometimes there was only one set of footprints he says 'it was then that it was Mario time'
According to Motoi Okamoto, Mini-Game Director for Super Mario 64 DS, Shigeru Miyamoto would start midnight crunch sessions for the game's development by walking into the office and announcing "It's Mario time."
February 1, 2026 at 5:11 PM
That story about Jesus & the footprints in the sand except it's Shigeru Miyamoto & when I ask why sometimes there was only one set of footprints he says 'it was then that it was Mario time'
Just went for my first run in ages. Really rough weekend of anxiety & RSD. Hate being this person. Sometimes the lack of structure & certainty feels like being on fire. Such stupid intensity of feeling for what amounts to basically boring normal days where nothing has gone wrong!
February 1, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Just went for my first run in ages. Really rough weekend of anxiety & RSD. Hate being this person. Sometimes the lack of structure & certainty feels like being on fire. Such stupid intensity of feeling for what amounts to basically boring normal days where nothing has gone wrong!
Reposted by Tim Clare
‘Your problem is not lack of ideas. It’s not lack of originality. It’s about commitment.’
lauriepenny.substack.com/p/how-to-pic...
lauriepenny.substack.com/p/how-to-pic...
How to Pick the Perfect Idea Every Single Time.
The Tyranny of Potential.
lauriepenny.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:08 PM
‘Your problem is not lack of ideas. It’s not lack of originality. It’s about commitment.’
lauriepenny.substack.com/p/how-to-pic...
lauriepenny.substack.com/p/how-to-pic...
1. Conversational Mandarin
2. Medieval Women's Literature
3. Detective Fiction
4. History of the Western Self
5. Literature of the Anti-psychiatry Movement (dissertation)
Uni is, in some respects, a very natural fit for the autistic mind
2. Medieval Women's Literature
3. Detective Fiction
4. History of the Western Self
5. Literature of the Anti-psychiatry Movement (dissertation)
Uni is, in some respects, a very natural fit for the autistic mind
5 Classes you took in university:
1. British and Irish Novels of the 1980's
2. Public Relations
3. Future Media
4. Victorian Literature
5. Feature Writing
1. British and Irish Novels of the 1980's
2. Public Relations
3. Future Media
4. Victorian Literature
5. Feature Writing
5 classes you took in university
1. Introduction to Byzantine History
2. Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Cultural History
3. The Reformation in Mecklenburg
4. German literature of the Crusades
5. NT Greek
1. Introduction to Byzantine History
2. Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Cultural History
3. The Reformation in Mecklenburg
4. German literature of the Crusades
5. NT Greek
February 1, 2026 at 11:45 AM
1. Conversational Mandarin
2. Medieval Women's Literature
3. Detective Fiction
4. History of the Western Self
5. Literature of the Anti-psychiatry Movement (dissertation)
Uni is, in some respects, a very natural fit for the autistic mind
2. Medieval Women's Literature
3. Detective Fiction
4. History of the Western Self
5. Literature of the Anti-psychiatry Movement (dissertation)
Uni is, in some respects, a very natural fit for the autistic mind
Reposted by Tim Clare
"But Why Vikings?" is a tabletop agony aunt column I do with @ava.foxfort.net and @timclare.bsky.social. We need your engagement to keep it running. Got questions about etiquette at the table? Philosophy of play? The best game to fit in pockets? Send them our way!
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
But Why Vikings?
Games Podcast · Updated fortnightly · Any unanswered questions at your gaming table? Ava Foxfort, Tim Clare, and Iain McAllister mull over tabletop conudrums: from etiquette at the table to recommenda...
podcasts.apple.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:25 AM
"But Why Vikings?" is a tabletop agony aunt column I do with @ava.foxfort.net and @timclare.bsky.social. We need your engagement to keep it running. Got questions about etiquette at the table? Philosophy of play? The best game to fit in pockets? Send them our way!
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
Going to start promoting my books like an AI CEO, by going on podcasts saying my work is so powerful there's a 10% chance it will destroy France & we desperately need laws controlling its sale
January 31, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Going to start promoting my books like an AI CEO, by going on podcasts saying my work is so powerful there's a 10% chance it will destroy France & we desperately need laws controlling its sale
I don't think people are silly in the slightest for liking small talk or indulging in it - but to me it feels like continually being tossed a fencing mask & foil & being expected to keep up a whole feint, parry, balestra routine while buying eggs or watching my kid at the roller disco
January 31, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I don't think people are silly in the slightest for liking small talk or indulging in it - but to me it feels like continually being tossed a fencing mask & foil & being expected to keep up a whole feint, parry, balestra routine while buying eggs or watching my kid at the roller disco
Me, to my toddler: Did you hit [her friend] with a monster truck?
Her (outraged, appalled): No! I hit him with a *normal* truck.
Her (outraged, appalled): No! I hit him with a *normal* truck.
January 31, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Me, to my toddler: Did you hit [her friend] with a monster truck?
Her (outraged, appalled): No! I hit him with a *normal* truck.
Her (outraged, appalled): No! I hit him with a *normal* truck.
All through January I've been setting daily 200 word writing challenges on the Death Of 1000 Cuts Discord. Folks have been sharing their work, & discussing their experiences of trying the different exercises. You can join & work through them at your own pace if you like:
discord.gg/QB4e7kvwD
discord.gg/QB4e7kvwD
Join the Death Of 1000 Cuts Community Discord Server!
Check out the Death Of 1000 Cuts Community community on Discord - hang out with 315 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
discord.gg
January 31, 2026 at 7:42 AM
All through January I've been setting daily 200 word writing challenges on the Death Of 1000 Cuts Discord. Folks have been sharing their work, & discussing their experiences of trying the different exercises. You can join & work through them at your own pace if you like:
discord.gg/QB4e7kvwD
discord.gg/QB4e7kvwD
Look I don't want politics at the gaming table either, in that I don't especially encourage deep interrogations of dialectical materialism or a digest of the week's gossip from Westminster while I'm waiting for someone to guess my clue in Codenames, but *you* mean 'folks should play Snap with Nazis'
January 30, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Look I don't want politics at the gaming table either, in that I don't especially encourage deep interrogations of dialectical materialism or a digest of the week's gossip from Westminster while I'm waiting for someone to guess my clue in Codenames, but *you* mean 'folks should play Snap with Nazis'
Since we live under Capitalism, unless someone is asking 'how the fuck are we paying for this?', a publisher will quickly go bankrupt. It's an industry full of people who *love* reading. They are marketing to *us*. In the current attention economy, vs streaming services, they are looking for hooks.
Is this a side effect of everyone, eventually, having to justify any art created as part of a business to a finance goblin who doesn't understand the concept of 'reading for pleasure'?
And I suppose we can't say 'I'm really good at this, trust me'
And I suppose we can't say 'I'm really good at this, trust me'
January 30, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Since we live under Capitalism, unless someone is asking 'how the fuck are we paying for this?', a publisher will quickly go bankrupt. It's an industry full of people who *love* reading. They are marketing to *us*. In the current attention economy, vs streaming services, they are looking for hooks.
It's weird how, when thinking about how you'd pitch a book to the industry or promote it, you ask 'what's it about? Why me? Why *now*?' but as a reader, when I'm reading, the only thing I ever care about is 'is this good?'
January 30, 2026 at 9:12 AM
It's weird how, when thinking about how you'd pitch a book to the industry or promote it, you ask 'what's it about? Why me? Why *now*?' but as a reader, when I'm reading, the only thing I ever care about is 'is this good?'
So the good news is I'm writing plenty at the moment. The bad news is it's not very good & probably irrelevant.
January 29, 2026 at 5:50 PM
So the good news is I'm writing plenty at the moment. The bad news is it's not very good & probably irrelevant.
Hey folks. Who are your favourite nonfiction authors/what are your favourite nonfiction books? Hope I'm not being annoying forever asking questions like this but I find reading really good books as I write helps me to be less rubbish & reminds me why I'm doing it. Any topics/style welcome.
January 29, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Hey folks. Who are your favourite nonfiction authors/what are your favourite nonfiction books? Hope I'm not being annoying forever asking questions like this but I find reading really good books as I write helps me to be less rubbish & reminds me why I'm doing it. Any topics/style welcome.
Welp. Looks like I'm attempting to fold something about Disco Elysium into my new book, since I was already obsessing over wonder, intensity, neurodivergence, attention, capitalism, monstrous outsiders, cosmic horror & abstruse webs of connection. 2000 words of first draft vomited out
January 29, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Welp. Looks like I'm attempting to fold something about Disco Elysium into my new book, since I was already obsessing over wonder, intensity, neurodivergence, attention, capitalism, monstrous outsiders, cosmic horror & abstruse webs of connection. 2000 words of first draft vomited out
Well, I finished Disco Elysium. I had a good time & I thought the writing was excellent. Pretty incisive review that may change the fortunes of this plucky indie title.
January 28, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Well, I finished Disco Elysium. I had a good time & I thought the writing was excellent. Pretty incisive review that may change the fortunes of this plucky indie title.
The writing process feels like a weird long distance drive through tundra right now. Never quite sure why I'm writing anything I decide to work on, except a vague sense that it *feels* important. That I want to solve it. That's notably distinct from reasons anyone would want to read it.
January 28, 2026 at 4:13 PM
The writing process feels like a weird long distance drive through tundra right now. Never quite sure why I'm writing anything I decide to work on, except a vague sense that it *feels* important. That I want to solve it. That's notably distinct from reasons anyone would want to read it.
One must imagine Sisyphus is doing a bit
January 28, 2026 at 9:26 AM
One must imagine Sisyphus is doing a bit
What makes 'good writing'? In your opinion. Do you have a pocket definition of qualities is possesses? Or do you have a kind of book of carpet samples of great examples you think of? Is it a 'I know it when I see it' thing? Or can you break down common aspects of what it actually does? Thoughts?
January 28, 2026 at 8:57 AM
What makes 'good writing'? In your opinion. Do you have a pocket definition of qualities is possesses? Or do you have a kind of book of carpet samples of great examples you think of? Is it a 'I know it when I see it' thing? Or can you break down common aspects of what it actually does? Thoughts?
This might be the dumbest thing but I've sat down with my elder daughter this evening & played Mario Odyssey with her, & genuinely my feelings of hope & meaning & happiness have increased. I'm starting to wonder whether some of what I think of as depression is actually autistic overload/burnout
Hit by a wave of - relatively mild - depression this morning. Don't know if it's grief or stress or seasonal or just, you know, the price of entry for loving people. Don't know if there's a place where life neither too intense nor numb, busy & trivial.
January 27, 2026 at 7:07 PM
This might be the dumbest thing but I've sat down with my elder daughter this evening & played Mario Odyssey with her, & genuinely my feelings of hope & meaning & happiness have increased. I'm starting to wonder whether some of what I think of as depression is actually autistic overload/burnout