The Architecture of Willing is not yet complete, but I wanted to lock in my choice of colour: a dark aubergine-violet.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/29/architecture-of-willing-cover-art/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

I hope to release it in May 2026, gods willing. Details to follow.

#book #design #philosophy #coverart #writing #publishing #author #independentauthor #independentpublisher #academicpublisher #nonfiction #doagnosis #language #blog

I'm not sure the gender debate is all that these days with the distraction factory in DC; nonetheless, I've been reading Judith Butler's Gender Trouble.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/the-striated-woman-no-one-owns-the?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

I like Butler's ideas a lot, so I wanted to engage her material directly. Beauvoir is another favourite.

#philosophy #language #writing #blog #podcast #identity #women #feminism #judithbutler #beauvoir #socialontology #legibility #substack #ontologicalgrammar #gendertheory #criticaltheory #politics

"I’m a huge believer in inventing your own rituals before writing. They can be as weird as you want them to be so that when you go into a writing situation or practice it feels cool." —Lidia Yuknavitch

https://longreads.com/2026/04/28/cnf-pod-lidia-yuknavitch/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#Writing #ShittyFirstDrafts

Civilisations die from suicide, not murder. – Arnold J Toynbee

#qotd #quote #meme #history #writing #progress #civilisation #society #death #crows #corvids #birds #satire #philosophy #mood #mondayMotivation

Chapters 46 and 47 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) are up at http://mathling.com/books/index.html

Leaving the Atraxians
In which Lila stews over the invasion of her ship, and Takes Measures

Belle Epoch: Tresselina
In which Tass is told he is to be married off

#scifi #writing #AtraxianBlue #indieauthor

RE: https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn/116461509369370472

LOVE THIS!!!

#writing
#WritingLife
#writers
#storytelling
#prewriting

Your characters encounter a pleasant looking person with a lovely, warm voice.

#WritingPrompt #AmWriting #writing #WritingCommunity #movies

Alt...

Snow white peers down into a well, surrounded by her white doves singing. She says, "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."

In the latest edition of our Top 5:

—Death traps (The Believer)
—Derring-do detectives (The New York Review of Books)
—Drivel inspection (The Drift))
—Deforestation? Not in my back yard! (In These Times)
—Dissonance appreciation (The New Yorker)

https://longreads.com/2026/04/24/the-top-5-longreads-of-the-week-607/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#longreads #top5 #reading #writing #essays

"Weatherbeaten sailors laugh about Tom’s incompetence, trading shipwreck stories of their own over their glasses of ouzo."—Andrew Printer for Narratively #longreads

https://www.narratively.com/p/my-chaotic-adventures-at-sea/?src=longreads

#sailing #shipwreck #alcoholic #memoir #writing

What's on Vauhini Vara's desk? Cards for a climbing gym, a karate federation, and "the business card of a man I once met at a reading whose life story I promised myself I’d write but never did."

Vara answers the Longreads Questionnaire: https://longreads.com/2026/04/22/questionnaire-vauhini-vara/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#writers #writing #journalism #artists #art #longreads

"It becomes a race. Get it done already. In my notes for one course I did, taught by an Australian novelist, I have: 'HOW LONG DOES THE READER HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS??'"

Jane O'Sullivan for The Sydney Review of Books: https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essays/how-to-begin

#Longreads #Writing #Fiction #Novels #Literature #Sentence #Authors #Writers

There are rumours and mythology about your world. Even a science fiction world. Some of it might even be true.

#WorldBuilding #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #writing #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #Australia #SciFi #ttrpg #dnd #GameDev

Alt...

What people think Australia is like: Obi-wan Kenobi fighting an Acklay in the arena on Geonosis. What it's actually like: Obi-wan Kenobi fighting an Acklay in the arena on Geonosis.

Chapter 45 of Atraxian Blue (https://
books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at
http://mathling.com/books/index.html

It's a corpse!

In which Renny does something moderately clever and rather brave to help save the day.

It was his fault there were in this mess anyway.

#scifi #writing #AtraxianBlue #indieauthor

In this Substack, I reveal the sleight of hand psychologists use to domesticate ideas from philosophy and other disciplines by critiquing an essay on nihilism and Anhedonia.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/nihilism-is-not-a-symptom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

#Nihilism #ExistentialNihilism #PsychologyCritique #Anhedonia #Metaethics #LanguageInsufficiency #Philosophy #MeaningOfLife #SemanticDrift #LanguageInsufficiency #PsychologyCritique #blog #podcast #essay #reading #writing #pathology

"Controlling territory is everything, as if the hunters and the sabs really were at war."—Tamlin Magee for Dispatch Media.

https://dispatch-media.com/a-day-with-englands-hunt-saboteurs/?src=longreads

#longreads #UK #foxhunting #hunting #saboteurs #writing

An interaction in Chapter 2 of Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day inspired me to write a Substack article on metaphors we may not consider to be metaphors. I focus on #professionalism and #honour.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/the-metaphors-we-argue-with?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer

Check it out, and pick up a copy of the book. I hear the movie isn't half bad. In fact, I borrowed the image asset from Amazon.

#philosophy #metaphor #language #britain #france #germany #americans #versailles #books #reading #writing #substack #blog #podcast

Out now! Dourian Black

https://books2read.com/u/brnz9M

Renny struggles to turn the path of House Dourian. He struggles with his addiction. He struggles with his relationships with his wives. He struggles to continue his work as a muralist. Then someone tosses him off the edge of the Overlook, and the lives of his family & friends explodes. Can a mysterious alien artifact bring them together again? Or will it just drive the galaxy into war?

Read the whole set!

#scifi #writing #indieauthor

We asked Ibram X. Kendi: Sound or silence?

"I love the loudness of silence, as an introvert."

The CHAIN OF IDEAS author answers this week's Longreads Questionnaire: https://longreads.com/2026/04/15/questionnaire-ibram-x-kendi/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#Longreads #Writing #Reading #Authors #Writers #Race Racism #Antiracism #Interview

I read the opening chapter of Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day through the lens of A Language Insufficiency Hypothesis and the notion of ontological grammar.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/14/the-butler-did-it-to-himself/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

In a manner of speaking, this chapter is about the construction of the self and personal identity through grammar

#philosophy #literature #language #grammar #aesthetics #beauty #butler #ishiguro #reading #writing #critique #ontology #blog #podcast #wittgenstein #institutions #analysis

Chapter 44 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at
http://mathling.com/books/index.html

Hiding

In which Renny panics, lost in bitter memories of the past

#scifi #writing #AtraxianBlue

AI-generated writing can be tricky to detect, especially as more people use it at work, according to a new Gallup poll. (Link below)

Professor Rachel Kane reveals one of the biggest red flags she sees in her students work and how you can use her tips to spot AI-generated writing.

https://flip.it/obnlFk

Gallup poll:
https://flip.it/XSZFrq

#AI #Writing #Education #Technology

Just sharing a book cover design candidate in a blog post.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/13/the-box-cover-design/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

I'll be releasing it later this month.

#books #writing #cover #art #design #minimalism #novella #philosophy

A colleague shared a post today that inspired this, let's say, 'response'. Do #LLMs ruin everything?

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/12/the-environment-always-wins-the-myth-of-pure-voice/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

This is always in the back of my head anyway, so it wasn't particularly difficult to write a #blog post and ask #NotebookLM to summarise it for a #podcast.

#philosophy #language #artificialintelligence #virtuesignalling #culture #gatekeeping art #creativity #innovation #psychology #society ##games #books #reading #writing #absorbtion #influence #literature #homeschool

Sometimes, ideas are contagious.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/12/funny-that/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

I've been doing a lot of writing around a common theme and generating fiction and nonfiction alike around a common topic. And it's nice to get back to writing some fiction again. It's been a while.

#philosophy #writing #fictionwriting #nonfiction #essays #blog #publishing #time #thisguy

T w a w a r e l f

Z e
R
I
N
M p l
U s 0 n e
T w O
H r
E
E
Y f
0 u r

C o n s c i o u s e l f

Z e r u n (S h e r s e l f) i t m u l t i p l i n t w (h) y 0 n e d u a l (l) h y p o t h e (r) t i c a l m i n u s p o l a r i t y

H y p (o) (t) (h e) (t i c) (a l) (r) a n t i s y n t r i n i t ( w h) y t h r e e (t w o)

A l t (w) o (g e t) (h e) r A ((l t e r) n a t i n g

(E g o) C t (Y 0)

U a l (l)

T h

E

S

I

S

0 n e

F (Y 0) U r

Q u a d r i (y 0) (u) n i t (w h) y

#poem #poetry #individuality #authenticity #sovereignty #tolerance #reconciliation #letterlab #source #zero #writing #letterportals #wordpuzzles #programming #perception #encryption #code #polarity #one #unity #binity #trinity #quadrinity #singularity #duality #ternity #quaternity #p01 #fediverse #exquisitesocial

Grandpa Simpson raising a fist and yelling at clouds. I attended an online close-reading™ of Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, and let's just say, I came away disappointed, and so I wrote about it.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/11/nietzsches-beyond-good-and-evil-a-close-reading/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #community #reading #writing #reviewing #scholarship #integrity #interpretation #blog #podcast #meaing #critique #books #nietzsche #livestream #streaming

I've always been leery of the AI debate over creative content – audio or visual media, including written material. A recent interview between Rick Beato and Justin Hawkins provided me with a frame.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/10/art-or-content/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

It reminds me of the old argument between high and low art, another bollocksed argument in my opinion. Homey don't play dat.

#philosophy #music #art #ai #language #perception #popculture #popmusic #protectionism #psychology #society #taste #technology #video #virtue #writing

Busy past few days, so a quick update on my current project.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/09/meta-of-the-box/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

I discuss the meta and sources of inspiration for this writing project, literary speculative fiction.

#philosophy #inspirations #sources #writing #fiction #update #blog

"'A doorknob is a rock for the hand. It opens a hole in the wall,' Siken writes, and I can feel the rock in my hand. There is no metaphor here, only a search for the meaning that comes before metaphor." —Joseph Osmundson for the Los Angeles Review of Books https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/siken-carson-poets-language-memory-loss-parkinsons-stroke/?src=longreads #writing #craft #poetry #longreads #biology #health #stroke #parkinsons

What's a single word to describe a romantic partner who prefers a date to an ice-cream stall than a rollercoaster? I was thinking "Foodie" but not really

#GaystationSunside #writing #gamedev

I've been putting off posting about my 5,000+ essay downloads in deference to more 'important' pieces, but since my weekend was occupied plotting a new story idea, I have space for a short celebratory piece. Hooray for me. 🥳

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/06/celebration/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

The two favourites were 'Objectivity Is an Illusion' and 'Rational Ghosts: Why Enlightenment Democracy Was Built to Fail'. Follow the link.

#philosophy #essays #writing #reading #democracy #fiction #nonfiction #objectivity #rationality #celebrate

Chapter 43 of Atraxian Blue (https://
books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at
http://mathling.com/books/index.html

Attack

In which the peaceful interlude comes to an end, from a surprising direction

#scifi #writing #AtraxianBlue

Finally finished A Language Insufficiency Hypothesis, this post is about my philosophical influences. If you follow me, they'll be obvious, almost self-evident. I've likely forgotten some. I also reveal the ones I have little use for.
https://philosophics.blog/2025/12/05/philosophic-influences/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #blog #podcast #nietzsche #foucault #Derrida #thinking #logic #reason #language #languagemodels #books #amwriting #writing #personal #story #composition #news #update

Alt...

treemap

Using AI in a legal context is perfectly defensible. Not following up and not performing due diligence is lazy and derelict. This extends to any serious endeavour.

https://www.whro.org/2026-04-03/penalties-stack-up-as-ai-spreads-through-the-legal-system

#philosophy #law #legal #ai #negligence #lazy #duediligence #performance #article #npr #lawyers #lawschool #attorneys #authoship #responsibility #accountability #references #citations #writing #publishing

A little bit of short fiction, if that's your thing:

A housemaid's dream
Two Housemaids. Two Different lives. One Idea.

https://david.shortfiction.online/a-housemaids-dream

#writing #ShortFiction #WordWranglers

LanguageTool is an open-source proofreading tool that supports 20+ languages and detects grammar issues beyond basic spell checking.
Can be self-hosted and used with browsers, editors, or via API.

A solid alternative to cloud-based writing tools.

👉 https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool
👉 more privacy-friendly tools: https://digital-escape-tools-phi.vercel.app/

#OpenSource #Privacy #Writing #SelfHosting #Productivity #DigitalMinimalism

Alt...

Screenshot of LanguageTool description: “LanguageTool is open-source proofreading software for English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, and more than 20 other languages. It finds many errors that a simple spell checker cannot detect.”