Tyler James Russell
@tjamesrussell.bsky.social
TO DROWN A MAN and WHEN FIRE SPLITS THE SKY
@UnsolicitedP. Work in @FrictionSeries, @Asimovs_SF. Best of Net/Rhysling Nominee
@UnsolicitedP. Work in @FrictionSeries, @Asimovs_SF. Best of Net/Rhysling Nominee
5 miles for the morning, which means 202 for the year! 🏃
December 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
5 miles for the morning, which means 202 for the year! 🏃
I've written 1,000 words a day for almost 2 years now, good or bad, rain or shine. Annoyingly, the words come a lot more easily if I don't try to make them good...
December 2, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I've written 1,000 words a day for almost 2 years now, good or bad, rain or shine. Annoyingly, the words come a lot more easily if I don't try to make them good...
Lots of grumbling lately about audiences failing to "suspend their disbelief." But writing is weaving a spell, creating the conditions in which an audience can more easily give themselves over to the illusion. When craft falls short, the spell gets broken. That's on writers, not audience.
December 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Lots of grumbling lately about audiences failing to "suspend their disbelief." But writing is weaving a spell, creating the conditions in which an audience can more easily give themselves over to the illusion. When craft falls short, the spell gets broken. That's on writers, not audience.
I refuse to believe that the same animals who created a vast, utopian metropolis would also name it after…a zoo, which logically would not exist in a world where humans never were. In this essay on Zootopia 2 I will…
November 30, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I refuse to believe that the same animals who created a vast, utopian metropolis would also name it after…a zoo, which logically would not exist in a world where humans never were. In this essay on Zootopia 2 I will…
Zootopia 2, really? We could have had:
2-topia
Zoo-2-pia
2Topia2Fropia
Zootopia 2: Electric Boogaloo
2-topia
Zoo-2-pia
2Topia2Fropia
Zootopia 2: Electric Boogaloo
November 29, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Zootopia 2, really? We could have had:
2-topia
Zoo-2-pia
2Topia2Fropia
Zootopia 2: Electric Boogaloo
2-topia
Zoo-2-pia
2Topia2Fropia
Zootopia 2: Electric Boogaloo
In our house, today is an official holiday: PUMPKIN PIE BREAKFAST DAY. Pajamas, leftovers, there’s even a song. For breakfast we have…well, yeah.
November 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
In our house, today is an official holiday: PUMPKIN PIE BREAKFAST DAY. Pajamas, leftovers, there’s even a song. For breakfast we have…well, yeah.
Nothing like the FRIENDS Thanksgiving 50 states game to make you feel like a complete and utter dumbass
November 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Nothing like the FRIENDS Thanksgiving 50 states game to make you feel like a complete and utter dumbass
Happy Traditional Charlie Brown Thanksgiving breakfast to those who celebrate!
November 27, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Happy Traditional Charlie Brown Thanksgiving breakfast to those who celebrate!
A few years ago, we started getting our turkey from a local farm. When my wife asked how fresh it would be (to dethaw) he told her: “Uh, it’s gonna have breakfast the morning you pick it up.” Top tier dialogue. No notes.
November 26, 2025 at 10:46 PM
A few years ago, we started getting our turkey from a local farm. When my wife asked how fresh it would be (to dethaw) he told her: “Uh, it’s gonna have breakfast the morning you pick it up.” Top tier dialogue. No notes.
Calling it now, #StrangerThings has been absolutely chicken about killing characters. Either most of em are safe, or any deaths are going to feel tonally out of whack if they suddenly try for it now
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Calling it now, #StrangerThings has been absolutely chicken about killing characters. Either most of em are safe, or any deaths are going to feel tonally out of whack if they suddenly try for it now
#RingsofPower seems to be in a competition with itself to see how many times a character can say the title
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
#RingsofPower seems to be in a competition with itself to see how many times a character can say the title
Tired of the thing where we magnify and exaggerate critiques of popular art until we pretend they’re entirely void and meaningless as a way of showing TASTE.
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Tired of the thing where we magnify and exaggerate critiques of popular art until we pretend they’re entirely void and meaningless as a way of showing TASTE.
Seeing lots of people nitpick Wicked: For Good, but look, this thing was an EVENT, and in 2025 that event was an epic fantasy deeply focused on female friendship. That's a win.
November 23, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Seeing lots of people nitpick Wicked: For Good, but look, this thing was an EVENT, and in 2025 that event was an epic fantasy deeply focused on female friendship. That's a win.
Three books is surely too many to try drafting at once, right? RIGHT???
November 22, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Three books is surely too many to try drafting at once, right? RIGHT???
Out of nowhere, and for several weeks now, my website is receiving huge amounts of traffic overseas. I am choosing to believe this is entirely legitimate, and that I have suddenly reached enormous heights of readership and popularity in China.
November 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Out of nowhere, and for several weeks now, my website is receiving huge amounts of traffic overseas. I am choosing to believe this is entirely legitimate, and that I have suddenly reached enormous heights of readership and popularity in China.
Ah yes, hello again time of year when I put new coffee directly into the microwave
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Ah yes, hello again time of year when I put new coffee directly into the microwave
Almost 3 years after its release, I still love every word in this angry little book so much. An environmental catastrophe, a road trip, and a crumbling marriage. Why not pick up a copy and see what I'm fussing about?
@UnsolicitedP #postapocalyptic #thrillerbooks #DID
@UnsolicitedP #postapocalyptic #thrillerbooks #DID
November 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Almost 3 years after its release, I still love every word in this angry little book so much. An environmental catastrophe, a road trip, and a crumbling marriage. Why not pick up a copy and see what I'm fussing about?
@UnsolicitedP #postapocalyptic #thrillerbooks #DID
@UnsolicitedP #postapocalyptic #thrillerbooks #DID
My goal was to top 200 miles in 2025. Amazingly, I'm getting close, and with a few weeks left to go!
November 20, 2025 at 12:10 AM
My goal was to top 200 miles in 2025. Amazingly, I'm getting close, and with a few weeks left to go!
Tonight's film is THE SEVENTH SEAL, probably my favorite of the semester. What's not to love? Medieval fantasy. Spiritual haunting. Death-obsession. Yes, yes, and yes, please.
November 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Tonight's film is THE SEVENTH SEAL, probably my favorite of the semester. What's not to love? Medieval fantasy. Spiritual haunting. Death-obsession. Yes, yes, and yes, please.
Reposting this for the morning. Come on friends, looking for some good YA resources and advice!
#writing #writingcommunity #fantasy
#writing #writingcommunity #fantasy
Had an almost fully-formed novel idea fall into my lap yesterday. Only, it's #YA (fantasy), which I've never tried before.
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
November 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Reposting this for the morning. Come on friends, looking for some good YA resources and advice!
#writing #writingcommunity #fantasy
#writing #writingcommunity #fantasy
Finally getting around to #RingsOfPower season 2 and it’s…a show to watch on the treadmill. Could be worse, but could be a whole lot better too. And man, even as a lifelong #Tolkien fan, Amazon should have stuck with #WheelofTime instead
November 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Finally getting around to #RingsOfPower season 2 and it’s…a show to watch on the treadmill. Could be worse, but could be a whole lot better too. And man, even as a lifelong #Tolkien fan, Amazon should have stuck with #WheelofTime instead
Had an almost fully-formed novel idea fall into my lap yesterday. Only, it's #YA (fantasy), which I've never tried before.
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Had an almost fully-formed novel idea fall into my lap yesterday. Only, it's #YA (fantasy), which I've never tried before.
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
#Writer friends: tips, resources, warnings?
#writingtips #writingfiction #publishing
Still not sure what I’m feeling about this book (though I’m curious enough to try the Netflix adaptation). But it does an incredible job of using section breaks as propellant. A twist, a curve, a poetic reflection that lifts the prose beyond everything else surrounding it
November 16, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Still not sure what I’m feeling about this book (though I’m curious enough to try the Netflix adaptation). But it does an incredible job of using section breaks as propellant. A twist, a curve, a poetic reflection that lifts the prose beyond everything else surrounding it
If you offered me the choice between a three day stomach bug and getting shot in the leg I would…think about it
November 14, 2025 at 8:29 PM
If you offered me the choice between a three day stomach bug and getting shot in the leg I would…think about it
Having taught Oedipus for 12 years, and repeatedly doubting it could work in a modern setting, this seems poised to prove me wrong!
www.nytimes.com/video/t-maga...
www.nytimes.com/video/t-maga...
Video: Live From the 10th Floor | A Scene From “Oedipus”
The actors Lesley Manville and Mark Strong perform a scene from the Broadway production of “Oedipus” in T Magazine’s office.
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Having taught Oedipus for 12 years, and repeatedly doubting it could work in a modern setting, this seems poised to prove me wrong!
www.nytimes.com/video/t-maga...
www.nytimes.com/video/t-maga...