Jojo (they/them)
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jojoinabox.bsky.social
Jojo (they/them)
@jojoinabox.bsky.social
650 followers 220 following 1.1K posts
Professional non-creative wordsmith (and amateur creative wordsmith) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Currently crocheting more than reading. See https://red-pens-and-playwriting.ghost.io/.

Profile pic is Mary Frith, aka Moll Cutpurse. Header is Akaroa Harbour.
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And speaking of native birds, I've finally snagged these absolute beauties from @pepperraccoon.com! 😍
A series of eight stylised bird pins in the shape of stamps from Pepper Raccoon's Par Avian collection. The birds are depicted with simple curved lines and bold block colours sort of reminiscent of the style of stained glass? Most importantly, the birds are, clockwise from the top left: pīwakawaka, ruru, tūī, karearea, whio, kererū, tauhou, and hihi.
September 16, 2025 at 6:23 AM
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My favourite news item of all time!
Facebook post by 1 NEWS Quote: "People aren't opening their windows because they're afraid it will go into their house," a woman reported to animal welfare. Image of a croissant wedged in a tree in front of an apartment building Headline: Mystery animal lurking in Poland tree identified as croissant by experts Headline: Mystery animal sighting in Krakow ends up being a croissant Image of croissants in a tray next to the headline
August 5, 2025 at 7:53 AM
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After multiple (!) difficult journeys across the Pacific ocean, I've received this beautiful self-care package from @dawbooks.bsky.social featuring the new book from @wiswell.bsky.social , Wearing the Lion! 🤩🦁

It looks absolutely lush, and I can't wait to dig into it all this weekend! 💙
The top of a decorative teal cardboard box with the words "Sometimes a goddess's worst enemy is her biggest fan" written on it The side of the decoratve box, with "Wearing The Lion" and "John Wiswell" written on it in large letters The box is opened! A copy of the book Wearing the Lion is inside, nestled in yellow and black paper crinkles. The underside of the box lid shows Hercules and the lion as depicted on the book's cover and some complimentary blurbs about the book. The box is unpacked! The contents are propped up against the sides of the box for visibility: in addition to the book, there is a candle (lid sat next to it), a pair of black eye masks, a circular teal sticker with the words "Healing is heroic" overlaid on the image of a lion, and a square gold envelope crossed with a trail of pawprints (this contains tea).
July 15, 2025 at 7:38 AM
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Smol Cat was Big Mad while I was making dinner because the following were not for her:
- bay leaves
- flour
- bechamel
- pasta sheets

(She also yelled at me about cheese, but I did give her and Big Cat some small bits)
A tuxedo cat standing next to a black rubbish bin in a kitchen. She is mid-yell. There is an empty cat dish in the corner of the picture that feels like it ought to be meaningful.
June 22, 2025 at 9:23 AM
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Adding some alt for y'all, in two parts because this is a lot of text 💀

Anyway, have a read and maybe consider buying an inexpensive PDF?
What does it mean to be funny? There is an old quote from E B White which (when paraphrased) maintains that analysing humour is like dissecting a frog: you may understand it better at the end, but the frog dies. The quote was later co-opted by comedians such as Barry Cryer and altered to say that, as well as the frog dying, nobody laughs. Sounds grim, doesn’t it? However, if we really want to understand how humour works—and if we want to be able to deploy it effectively—it’s helpful to take the time to disassemble a few frogs. For many people, comedy is an instinctual talent, and they can easily dip into those instincts every time they want to draw a laugh. That’s nice for those people, for sure, but relying entirely on instinct isn’t possible for everyone, and that shouldn’t stop anyone from learning. As writers, especially, being able to draw on comedy is a very useful tool, whether you’re trying to write a comic piece or just diffuse some tension in a more serious story. Having access to different styles of humour can also help you with developing distinct characterisation and giving your characters stronger voices. Don’t be fooled into thinking that learning to be funny is a one-time thing, either. People who are already confident in certain aspects of humour can find it challenging to develop skills in different writing or performance styles on their own; even seasoned comedians can find value in using analysis to give them a clear direction for improvement. Furthermore, people will respond to some features and styles more readily than others, and particular genres or styles of humour will make use of certain features to different degrees, so by giving yourself more comedic tools to use, you’re broadening the audience that you can reach. [ALT continued in next image] [ALT continued from previous image] So that leads us ultimately to the million-dollar question: what makes things funny? Arriving at a satisfactory answer is a complex process that a great deal of academic study has gone into, and there are a number of theories exploring the various sociological and neurological details. It’s just tricky to pin down something as nebulous as why we find things funny, especially because humour is extremely subjective and individual. [in callout box] As of the time of writing this, Google Scholar lists well over a million studies and articles that are related to humour (spelled with a u) and more than two-and-a-half million relating to humor (without the u). Even accounting for significant overlap and repetition, that is a lot of academic attention! [end box] Now, I am by no means a researcher in this field, nor do I claim to be an expert to any degree, so if you really want to get stuck into the weeds you’ll have to do that on your own initiative. I do, however, have a few broad ideas about some key features of humour that could be a good jumping-off point, at least from the perspective of practically applying them in your creative work. At the very least, I wish to provide some illumination to those of you who aren’t so inclined to reading academic studies. What follows is, firstly, a brief overview of a number of different features and techniques that can commonly be found in humour and how they work (and, in some cases, work together). Then, in the following sections, we’ll look at different styles of delivering comedy, as well as some common genres and subgenres that use those styles. Are you ready? Let’s open up some frogs!
May 11, 2025 at 5:12 AM
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I have very silly cats.

( @wiswell.bsky.social this features a follow-up on the dual-wielded cats)
A person is sitting on a sofa, draped with a soft blue blanket and using a laptop on their lap. A black and white cat is perched on the person's knees, behind the open laptop screen. (Yes, the cat still does this) The back half of a brown tabby sitting squarely on top of a black and white kitten who looks resigned to her fate. The cats are settled on a light-coloured fuzzy blanket, under which you may be ableto discern the shape of a lap. It is the Best Lap. The Lap Paramount. A light brown tabby with cream face and paws is flopped on his side on top of a mattress that has been turned up on its side. This makes an excellent high shelf for snoozing and looking very clever and cute.
May 11, 2025 at 12:31 AM
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Here's me "wearing" a cat under another cat!
An androgynous person wearing glasses lying along a couch under a fuzzy light-coloured blanket. In the person's lap is a small black and white cat being firmly sat upon by a much larger brown tabby, whose head is out of frame.
April 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
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Post a picture of when your pet was little (x2!)
A very small tabby kitten, light brown with cream splashed on he face and paws. He has frankly enormous eyes and a dark button nose. A black and white kitten being squashed by a much larger brown tabby cat butt. She looks horribly resigned to her fate. At least the blanket beneath her is exceedingly fuzzy.
March 11, 2025 at 8:02 AM
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If you see this, and you're in the mood for this kind of thing, quote post with a beach photo from your gallery.

I always love beach photos!
Most of the lower half of the image is taken up by the surf coming into shore; there is a strip of beach visible along the right side. There are hills marking the horizon, and bright blue sky above them.
February 13, 2025 at 5:45 AM
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Don't be trash!

Alt text added
Infographic reading: Don't be Transphobic [in red] Racist [in yellow] Ableist [in green] Sexist [in blue] Homophobic [in purple]
February 9, 2025 at 5:22 AM
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1. I love my cats! Jarvis is on the left, and Sophie is on the right. They basically never get this cuddly with each other, though.
Close-up of two cats curled up next to each other. The larger cat on the left is a light brown tabby, who is looking at a smaller black and white cat having a snooze.
January 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
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Xmas is over. Baked goods and crocheted gifts have all been received with glee, and I got to chat with family all over the globe in a series of video calls, so definitely calling it a good one! I also got books, a LOT of stickes, and dice with cats in, plus this FANTASTIC decorative saucer!
A decorative saucer with AD/HD drawn on the centre in the style of the AC/DC logo; above and below this is written "Highway to... oh, look it's a squirrel"
December 25, 2024 at 10:50 AM
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Post a picture of yourself to show the newbies what they’re dealing with
A selfie of the poster, Jojo, in stage makeup with heavy brows, bruising around the eyes, and a drawn-on moustache. Jojo is white, with short brown hair (tousled) and blue eyes.
November 15, 2024 at 7:47 AM
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I'm really enjoying the sibling relationship in one of my WIPs; they have a close bond and care about each other so much, but then they can turn around and be snarky little shits the next minute.
"They remained there in silence for a little while, both absorbed in their own thoughts. Silhouetted against the morning glare, Isabel looked more grown-up than Jimmy remembered her being. It wasn't as though he wasn't cognizan of her as an adult; she had often seemed to be the older of the two of them despite Jimmy's seniority in years. But something about Isabel's comportment had changed in her abrupt change from unmarried girl to widow. She seemed brittle somehow, like her spirit was covered over in scabs and she couldn't move for fear of tearing them open again." "'Hang on, Bel,' interruped Jimmy. He'd been rolling Isabel's comments about the police around his head, and something had clicked into place. 'You said they're treating everyone like suspects--are you a suspect, Isabel Mortimer? Do the police think you kidnapped poor Cousin Henry?' "Isabel didn't respond, but her silence spoke volumes."
June 26, 2024 at 5:55 AM
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I have SO MANY beach photos... In a slight change, this is one I took of the sea in Nelson and contains no actual beach.
A photo peeking between some trees over a bay on a bright, sunny day. Across the bay is a cluster of hills coming out of the water. The trees in the foreground frame all the edges of the image, lush and green.
May 1, 2024 at 6:34 AM
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Sun's out, tum's out, and not an ounce of modesty in sight... Happy #Caturday from Sophie!
Photo of a black and white cat lying shamelessly on its back in a patch of sun in front of a floor-length windo overlooking a driveway and small section of garden. There is part of a rainbow flag visible along the top of the photo.
April 20, 2024 at 4:30 AM