derek
@derekwritesbooks.bsky.social
fantasy author in the query trenches — send snacks and good vibes
writing my way to a tradpub book deal 🤝🏻
writing my way to a tradpub book deal 🤝🏻
“You are not the author of what readers feel, just the provocateur of those feelings.”
~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass
~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass
October 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM
“You are not the author of what readers feel, just the provocateur of those feelings.”
~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass
~ *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 ?
where’s everyone else at ?
September 27, 2025 at 11:19 PM
broke 60k and closed out chapter 16 of my WIP today. closing in on the climax
where’s everyone else at ?
where’s everyone else at ?
readers don’t read. they just crouch like gremlins and say they’re aura farming
September 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM
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.
(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.
September 25, 2025 at 9:32 PM
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.
(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
pro tip:
steal them from people you meet
September 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
having trouble choosing a character name?
pro tip:
steal them from people you meet
pro tip:
steal them from people you meet
did someone say cat girls
September 24, 2025 at 5:26 PM
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
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
September 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
~ 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
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?
September 23, 2025 at 5:27 PM
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
September 23, 2025 at 12:39 AM
pov shifts are evil and you will not convince me otherwise
Reposted by derek
my last two braincells fighting to hit my daily word count goal:
a spinning top in a video game with a blue background
ALT: a spinning top in a video game with a blue background
media.tenor.com
September 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
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
~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass
September 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM
“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
~ *The Emotional Craft of Fiction* by Donald Maass
my last two braincells fighting to hit my daily word count goal:
a spinning top in a video game with a blue background
ALT: a spinning top in a video game with a blue background
media.tenor.com
September 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
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"
"would dismembered hands rot and decompose in an airtight box"
September 20, 2025 at 12:06 AM
most recent google search to make mr. fbi agent sit up straight:
"would dismembered hands rot and decompose in an airtight box"
"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*
Anne Lamott’s *Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life*
September 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
“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*
Anne Lamott’s *Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life*
okay, time to lock in and get some words down
September 19, 2025 at 6:32 PM
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
“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
September 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
“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
“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
“We have everything we need to tell stories full of human authenticity and emotional truth. There is nothing at all to hold us back. Nothing at all. Nothing more is needed. Right now, this minute, you have the instinct, eyes, and heart of a true novelist.” [Donald Maass]
September 16, 2025 at 6:41 PM
“We have everything we need to tell stories full of human authenticity and emotional truth. There is nothing at all to hold us back. Nothing at all. Nothing more is needed. Right now, this minute, you have the instinct, eyes, and heart of a true novelist.” [Donald Maass]
Reposted by derek
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*
Me:
Me:
Me: *sighing, backspacing*
September 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
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*
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
September 13, 2025 at 10:29 PM
… are you suggesting i erp with REAL people, in the irl? that would be... nah, no way. I ain't doing that
my audience is baked in
they are waiting on the sidelines, slavering
i just imagined them, so they must exist
they are waiting on the sidelines, slavering
i just imagined them, so they must exist
September 13, 2025 at 7:22 PM
my audience is baked in
they are waiting on the sidelines, slavering
i just imagined them, so they must exist
they are waiting on the sidelines, slavering
i just imagined them, so they must exist
some person I talked to at the SFWA networking reception at worldcon said they had their query in an agents email for 3 years, met at a convention, shook hands and introduced themselves, pointed towards the old query-- THEN got a deal
September 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
some person I talked to at the SFWA networking reception at worldcon said they had their query in an agents email for 3 years, met at a convention, shook hands and introduced themselves, pointed towards the old query-- THEN got a deal
i summon: blue eyes white dragon
and then: Blue eyes white dragon
I summmon you! blue eyes white dragon
and then: Blue eyes white dragon
I summmon you! blue eyes white dragon
a man in a white coat is holding a blue object in front of a ferris wheel
ALT: a man in a white coat is holding a blue object in front of a ferris wheel
media.tenor.com
September 11, 2025 at 4:08 AM
i summon: blue eyes white dragon
and then: Blue eyes white dragon
I summmon you! blue eyes white dragon
and then: Blue eyes white dragon
I summmon you! blue eyes white dragon
on 1st VS 3rd perspective:
both are good, just pick one and stick with it.
one time i wrote 60k words into a book in 3rd, then switched to first person
… do not do this.
both are good, just pick one and stick with it.
one time i wrote 60k words into a book in 3rd, then switched to first person
… do not do this.
September 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM
on 1st VS 3rd perspective:
both are good, just pick one and stick with it.
one time i wrote 60k words into a book in 3rd, then switched to first person
… do not do this.
both are good, just pick one and stick with it.
one time i wrote 60k words into a book in 3rd, then switched to first person
… do not do this.
Reposted by derek
Wow!!! Major news!!! The judge in the Anthropic AI case is "concerned class lawyers are striking a deal behind the scenes that will be forced 'down the throat of authors.'"
This is what myself and many other authors were saying about the settlement. 1/
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthr...
This is what myself and many other authors were saying about the settlement. 1/
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthr...
Anthropic Judge Rejects $1.5 Billion AI Copyright Settlement (1)
The federal judge overseeing Anthropic PBC’s proposed $1.5 billion copyright settlement is concerned class lawyers are striking a deal behind the scenes that will be forced “down the throat of authors...
news.bloomberglaw.com
September 8, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Wow!!! Major news!!! The judge in the Anthropic AI case is "concerned class lawyers are striking a deal behind the scenes that will be forced 'down the throat of authors.'"
This is what myself and many other authors were saying about the settlement. 1/
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthr...
This is what myself and many other authors were saying about the settlement. 1/
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthr...