#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.01.19 — Talk about something (even if very small!) from your own life which made it onto the page.

My mother was a bailbondswoman in the midwest in the 1960s, when I was growing up. Contrary to popular media and conceptions of good guys and bad guys, people still ended up being people. I was brought up in the company of bank robbers, thieves, mafioso, ex-convicts, as well law enforcement. People out on bond that Mom knew. Some I referred to as uncle or aunt (a polite honorific that children were taught to use). It would be hypocritical of me not to paint such people in shades of grey when they appear in my stories; I knew them, and their families, visited their homes. Not saying they weren't criminal or dangerous, or that they were victims of the system or privilege. Each person has their reasons. And there are reasons not to trust certain people without verifying. Even the good guys. Verisimilitude can be a bitch, too.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.01.19 — Who is the most moral character in your story?

...morals usually connotes an element of subjective preference, while ethics tends to suggest aspects of universal fairness and the question of whether or not an action is responsible...

—Merriam Webster

Because in most cultures, the subjective preference of what is or isn't moral is predicated on scripture or other religious doctrine, all the characters in my current WIP are by definition either immoral or amoral.

However, most are ethical and principled. Bolt, my MC, has a sense of what is right or wrong. She treats people fairly and kindly, and works to prevent them being hurt as best as her restricted freedom allows her to; she's even risked her safety to help those she dislikes. Regardless, she's serially immoral by the traditional standards ascribed to by the majority of Earth's population. Doubly so because she's female. Women are killed for her behavior in our world even today, or at very least shamed, shunned, and imprisoned.

I suggest considering the semantics of using the words moral and ethical very carefully.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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The new Patreon post is up. It's a process blog, kinda, with a bit of advice for #writers... www.patreon.com/posts/schedu...

Schedules: A Process Blog (Kin...

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#PennedPossibilities 906 — What is your SC’s response to stress?

There's a reason why The Director of Home decided to send her new praetorian to leadership classes, even though he's male: He acts better under pressure than he does when he is allowed to plan ahead. He worries when he has time to think, an attribute which might run in his family. He's helped raise his sister, who's incredibly smart but lacks all common sense and often requires saving. He's held down many jobs where he's dealt with children or guided adults through difficult times by consoling, entertaining, protecting, or making decisions for them. He's Bolt's casual boyfriend (she's the MC). She enjoys him a lot, but he's often her bulwark when her (secret) life working for the mob becomes too difficult to deal with. We meet Blue when he shows up to help handle a "disaster" in town, which Bolt is photographing.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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Any other #writers out there have a particular homonym they can never get right?

For me it's DISCREET vs DISCRETE.
I blame science.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.01.18 — Vinyl, compact disc, digital, or radio?

The civilization depicted in the reluctance series is an interstellar one, however they don't have much use or need for electricity—and they certainly don't have electronics. They do have telegraphs, also light semaphores. No way they could have compact discs, digital anything, or radio. This doesn't mean they lack computers; it simply isn't what you think it is.

They do have vinyl records (and metal ones), as well as photography and motion pictures with sound.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.01.18 — Your antagonist gets a call or message from their mother. How do they respond?

Three antagonists, briefly:

1. Pigeon is a punk gangster who nobody likes. He'd likely crush the envelope in his fist, unread, and throw it in the messenger's face (likely Bolt, the MC) before trying to break that face, screaming that nobody makes a fool of him. Why? Not saying until defining his family becomes relevant to the story.
2. Boss Mead has plenty of legitimate businesses—that also function as laundries—so he's outwardly well-to-do and would not be embarrassed to communicate with his family. His society places the burden of child-rearing on brothers and uncles, so any message would probably be congenial but likely asking for coin to support his sister's or female cousin's children (though defining that hasn't become relevant). He is a super pleasant man (so long as you aren't on the wrong end of mob† business), so he'd write back and maybe send coin.
3. Rainy Day's mother died giving birth to her and her brother Harvest Days. She would not outwardly display her anger, but such an awful missive if from a certifiable enemy is the type of thing she'd even start a war to rectify. Woe to anybody who did this intentionally.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† Mob, not mafia. Crime as a business model. His isn't a family business, and as its CEO, he certainly doesn't want any of his family involved with what he knows is wrong but feels he is trapped (mostly by inertia) into doing.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#ScribesAndMakers Jan 18: Vinyl, CD, digital, or radio?

Digital. Ideally, ripped from physical media at high quality. Not streamed.

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#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 18: Are you comfortable making your readers uncomfortable? How far will you go?

I'm barely comfortable making myself uncomfortable.

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#WordWeavers Jan 18: Your antagonist gets a call or message from their mother. How do they respond?

"I have work to do." [click] "How did she contact us here!?"

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#PennedPossibilities 905: Is your MC Responsible for anyone other than themselves? How do they feel about that?

She's effectively the leader figure of her little four-person crew, and she feels very responsible for keeping them safe, to the point where it's not good enough that they *are* safe. She needs to be the one who keeps them safe. She thinks only she's able to do that.

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Where's die hard RAMS fan, Johnny, reading BEER POUR today? Of course, Chicago. He's gotta be cold. So happy Davante Adams landed a good team after the Raiders. Hopefully, we'll see Johnny at another RAMS game, or two. Go RAMS! #socialweb #social #mastodon #beer #bookstodon #RAMS #bears #fun #humor #funny #sport #sports #sportsMedia #chicago #LosAngeles #satire #author #authors #authorLife #playoffs #superbowl2026 #superbowl #writersCoffeeClub #writers #writer #Raiders #davanteadams #sunday #beerpour #novel #novels

#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.01.18 — Are you comfortable making a reader uncomfortable? How far will you go?

While I don't work to make a reader uncomfortable, I do work to minimize the discomfort they might build from reading my stories the way I might methodically strengthen a loved one who is under stress and feels fragile. Psychologically. I suspect a certain type of reader might be attracted to what I write: worlds not predicated on shame. Those with traditional views on relationships might feel uncomfortable. I really don't want the latter to press the eject button. To compensate, I work to never contrast the created society with our own, but to maintain the sense of normalcy the characters perceive simply by ignoring what they themselves wouldn't notice that we certainly would, whilst occasionally letting a character notice and react strongly to what we wouldn't react to. I write in 1st person to minimize authorial censorship. Complete immersion in a foreign reality, perceived through the senses of its denizens, should lead to uncomfortable revelations about our own reality—if I've done my job well.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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What She Said

“We’re only here for a short time. So why not go for it?”

— Belle Burden

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#365Ways #365Ways2026 #creativity #inspiration #Thoughts #Writers #writing

I'm accepting a few new #freelance #editing 📝 clients in the coming months. If you're interested, let me know ASAP. Spots are limited :) #writers #amediting #amwriting #indiepub #indieauthors http://www.venessagiunta.com/editing-services/

WRITER FUEL: There are 32 different ways AI can go rogue, scientists say — from hallucinating answers to a complete misalignment with humanity.

https://www.limfic.com/2026/01/18/writer-fuel-thirty-two-ways-ai-could-go-rogue/

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This is your character's family. May or may not include sane people. Explore your character's family tree with the Family Generator. https://twp.ai/NTZL69 #WritingPrompt #amwriting #writers #DnD

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