@futurebird 🎯

I remember well my self-finding periods as a teenager by writing "horrible" #diaries. No stuff to be read by others but what helped me to become me.
Very late in life, I relearn how much it can help to write little #diary notes against the feeling of being overwhelmed. Each crooked selfmade sentence helps hundreds of times more than chatting with a slop bot.

#noAI #writing #wellbeing #WellbeingWednesday

Liebe Autor_innen!

Ich arbeite daran, eine übersichtliche Liste der größten Selfpublishing-Plattformen mit ihren Vertragsbedingungen sowie Vor- und Nachteilen für meine Homepage zu erstellen. Dafür suche ich nach Autor_innen, die an Amazon KDP teilnehmen und bereit wären, mir eine aktuelle Fassung der gerade für sie geltenden AGB zur Verfügung zu stellen und vielleicht auch ein paar Nachfragen zu beantworten.

Gerne boosten!

#writing #writingcommunity #autor_innenleben #schreiben #amwriting

A quotation from John Adams

The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
(Attributed)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/35775/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #cursive #handwriting #idiosyncrasy #writing #legibility

My new book is out!

In Drift is a romance that does not follow the usual patterns. The characters question the whole relationship drama, explore their feelings, express their love without falling into the trap of owning each other, and try to find their own little spot in the world.

A book about people how are weird and vulnerable and do not fit in, but are lucky enough to find each other.

http://drift.t3x.org/in_drift/

#books #romance #writing

Alt...

The cover of the book "In Drift", depicting the silhouette of a female dancer against an abstract background. The dancer stands on the toes of one leg, the opposite foot touches the knee. She stretches one arm up and the other up and to the side. The pose looks light and effortless.

According to Pew Research Center, around 10 percent of 500,000 English-language webpages from the last five years were written or substantially edited by AI. The organization determined this using a tool called Open Pangram, which checks text for language patterns, identifying words, phrases and linguistic quirks that are considered typically of AI. When their data is filtered for content published after the release of ChatGPT, signs of AI authorship can be found in over one-third of pages. Here's the full story.

https://flip.it/hrgkQr

#Technology #AI #Writing

New post: I'm Using My Brain

https://lanie.work/advocacy/i-am-using-my-brain/

#Ai #Disability #Assistive-Technology #Ableism #Accessibility #Writing #Advocacy

"If you’re doing something complicated, you have to think about how the reader is taking it in. Is this clear to the reader? Is the reader going to want to read the next paragraph? Where is the momentum?"

—Rachel Hartigan in conversation with Brendan O'Meara for the Creative Nonfiction Podcast

https://longreads.com/2026/08/18/bucking-expectations-rachel-hartigan/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#craft #journalism #writing #reporting

The Sorcerer's Apprentice prefigures the perils of Modernity.
https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/sourcery-of-modernity
#philosophy #modernity #history #literature #writing #reading #blog #podcast #magic #disney #fantasia #competence

Don't give up!

#PhotoMonday #FotoMontag
#photography #city #graffiti #writing

Alt...

Horizontal closeup of a tiled wall of an underpass. The tiles are white and turquoise. On one of the white tiles, someone has left the message 'Gib nicht auf' / 'Don't give up' in green letters.

Writers: here are ten free and easy ways to add a dash of visual interest to your blog posts without resorting to AI imagery (which signals to readers that your blog post is probably also AI and there’s no need to bother reading it):

1) A thoughtful photo you’ve taken yourself — a nice sunrise you saw, a cool angle spotted on vacation, your pet curled up on the couch, flowers. Play with your phone photo app’s filter settings to nail the tone. It doesn’t need to be particularly related to the post, it’s related to you as a person.

2) An image from Wikimedia Commons that’s somehow related to the subject matter — there are unfathomably many, you can search by keyword. Remember to credit. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

3) A screenshot of a scene you made in a sandbox game such as Minecraft or Animal Crossing

4) A scene you made with toys such as Lego (you can also use free Lego design software such as Bricklink Studio) https://www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/main.page

5) Play with the effects in whatever image editor you have access to, using your own photos or free-to-use images, to create something a bit abstract and avant-garde

6) Even if you can’t draw or paint very well, you can probably make some pretty cool abstract or collage imagery with whatever art supplies you have around. Dampen some paper and randomly dip watercolor paint onto it and see what happens

7) Those stickers you stashed and never used? Yeah you can make something with them. If they’re individually cut, you don’t even need to peel them, you’ll still find the One True Way to use them one day, I’m sure

8) Shelfies. None will dare question your competence after they see you have a real paper copy of Subject Matter Tome Volumes 1 through 6

9) You can get a lot of mileage out of compositing pre-made video game assets into an image. A good place to start is Kenney’s free and generously licensed 2D assets: https://www.kenney.nl/assets/category:2D and the Tiled editor which is specifically meant for assembling images out of video game asset tile sheets https://www.mapeditor.org

10) the most ridiculously amateurish thing you can scribble on a post-it note or in MS Paint is preferable to AI imagery because it clearly signals a real human cares about the post.

#writing #writingcommunity #collage #blog

Alt...

A pink, purple and soft blue collage created with paper and stickers I had lying around my room: a little robot mascot from Ace Attorney is advising “You don’t need to be ‘a good artist’ to create a unique and interesting image for your blog.”

Vol 07 of my newsletter just dropped. Lots of cool stuff about design, code, accessibility, privacy, and antifascism.

https://markwrites.io/nano-bytes-07

If you want to know when I publish new stuff, grab the RSS feed or subscribe to the email list. Or don’t. Whatevs.

#NanoBytes #Newsletter #Writing #Design #Code #Privacy #Antifascism

These are the common forms of modern, #academic #writing:

• quick reference handbook (QRH) / survey paper
• expository article / introductory book
• in-depth monograph / comprehensive reference manual (CRM)

Of those, the most difficult to master is the mid-sized introductory form, which demands of the author a thorough grasp of the material, a deep experience in teaching novices, and a refined sense of editing.

On the other hand, the brevity of the QRH form shields the author from most criticisms, and the breadth of the CRM form obfuscates the shortcomings in the author's taste and style.

@nixCraft

Reminds me of Isaac Asimov's famous short story: The Last Question. Brilliant! 🌞

https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~gamvrosi/thelastq.html

#asimov #writing #fiction

New post: What Good Days Look Like

https://lanie.work/advocacy/what-a-good-day-looks-like/

#Disability #Chronic-Illness #Fatigue #Writing #Advocacy

Old Reddit is making people log in now to use that platform.

Let's get it clear, when they all force you to log in, they get your email, perhaps phone number, and other information they can sell.

Almost every platform forces you to make an account. And I see this as a "precursor" to the age (ID) verification that came after.

I rant about this pet peeve of mine below:
https://theforesthiker.github.io/ThoughtForest/Blogs/loginRant.html

#internet #freeinternet #reddit #blog #technology #writing #rant #privacy

A quotation from Thoreau

Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 3 “Reading” (1854)

More about this quote: wist.info/thoreau-henry-david/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thoreau #walden #authors #books #heritage #influence #writing

#poetry #poem #amwriting #books #poets #writing

#Writing #AI

@dramypsyd

Nifty. 👍

"I screen recorded my writing"

So it has come to that already: humans must prove they are human, at least regarding their contributions. 🙈

I had a perfect verse while showering. By the time I got out and was writing it down, half of it disappeared from memory.

The mind is a funny thing!

#life #writing

This is less what I am reading than what I've just finished, but you can check out what I'm up to by following the link to Goodreads.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/08/10/what-am-i-reading/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

That I am reading a book is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement. There tends to be an overrepresentation of fiction titles because I listen to these when I work out and to fall asleep, which in each case burns through many chapters. They also tend to be shorter.

#reading #writing #blog #books #goodreads #diversity

When you write a thousand words in just one hour and then spend another three just to get a single sentence right.

#writing

This week's #longreads Top 5 includes:

-Behind the blockade (Associated Press)
-Splendid scribbles (Eater)
-Greenest green (The New Yorker)
-New nuptials norm (New Lines Magazine)
-Tasteless tomatoes (Offrange)

https://longreads.com/2026/08/07/the-top-5-longreads-of-the-week-620/?utm_source=x&utm_medium=social

#longreads #top5 #reading #writing #essays

Friends, I have a confession to make.

I've been thinking a lot about it, and I don't want to sound rude, but I think a lot of other people need to think about it too. The thing is...

If the guy trying to murder me with an axe was gone tomorrow, I have to know, what would I do?

I mean, I don't want to sound axe-murderer-happy, but he's been trying to murder me in the most bloodthirsty possible manner for so long that I just don't know what I'd do without him.

It's only been 21 hours, but it feels like a lifetime! You know what I mean, right ladies?

For the last forever he's been such a disruptive part of my life! I really feel like I'm a different person now. After having to rip out the gas line on my stove and light it with the barbecue stick my husband keeps to start the pilot light nearby, and then flambeeing the bastard with my own improvised flamethrower, can I really ever go back to a pre ax-murderer life--

One sec, bear trap.

There, that's done. But after he sawed through the door of the Rat Museum I was hiding in, forcing me to run through hallways full of rats in order to escape him, will I ever live a truly rat-free existence? Without them? Without him?

I just don't know anymore. Really, is anyone complete without an ax-murderer at their back? Has anyone ever been? I don't think anyone would even want to go back to the way they were before.

Anyway, signing off, I've got a pit of acid behind me and an inadequate railing keeping me from falling into it, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

XOXO

#llm #parody #ai #writing

Story idea: we discover an anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background that we pull the thread on and discover that it is significantly easier to accelerate in one direction in the Universe and basically impossible over long distances in the other.

This leads to one half of the universe being an empty backwater (where we are) and the other end being an overcrowded mess, with a civilizational gradient.

Humans being human we decide to attack The Density from The Sparse.

#story #writing

"The real world is both tiring and tiresome for him, Lewis went on to explain: too many unwritten rules, too many norms that don’t quite make sense." —Eve Livingston for Dispatch

https://dispatch-media.com/meet-britains-hikikomori/?src=longreads

#longreads #introvert #autism #anxiety #reading #writing #family

New post: The Pipe and the Voice

https://lanie.work/technology/the-pipe-and-the-voice/

#Disability #Ai #Writing #Accessibility #Caregiving #Assistive-Technology #Personal #Technology

"Whatever the reason, it’s now de rigueur to be regular."—Linni Kral for Taste

https://tastecooking.com/this-too-shall-pass/?src=longreads

#longreads #poop #BM #diet #influencer #reading #writing

A quotation from Schopenhauer

But, as we have seen, many people try to conceal their poverty of thought under a flood of verbiage.
 
[Aber freilich suchen viele Schriftsteller gerade unter dem Wortüberfluß ihre Gedankenarmuth zu verbergen.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/schopenhauer-arthur/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #schopenhauer #arthurschopenhauer #communication #content #eloquence #logorrhea #loquaciousness #pithiness #thought #verbiage #wordiness #writing

A quotation from E. B. White

I know of one gifted crackpot who used to be employed gainfully in the fields of humor and satire, who has taken a solemn pledge not to write anything funny or lighthearted or “insignificant” again till things get straightened around in the world. This seems to me distinctly deleterious and a little silly. A literature composed of nothing but liberty-loving thoughts is little better than the propaganda which it seeks to defeat.

E. B. White (1899-1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Essay (1939-01), “One Man’s Meat,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 178

More about this quote: wist.info/white-eb/85184/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ebwhite #badtimes #earnestness #gravity #humor #propaganda #satire #senseofhumor #seriousness #war #weightiness #writing

A quotation from Propertius

And should I fail, my courage brings its commendation:
greatness aimed at is enough.
 
[Quod si deficiant vires, audacia certe
Laus erit: in magnis et voluisse sat est.]

Propertius (50-16 BC) Roman elegiac poet [Sextus Propertius]
Elegies, Book 2, Elegy 10, l. 5ff (2.10.5-6) [tr. Holcombe (2009)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/propertius/3221/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #propertius #writing #aspiration #attempt #audacity #boldness #courage #daring #determination #endeavor #enterprise #failure #fallingshort #goal #honor #intention #praise #praiseworthiness #striving #will

BREAKING:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAUSES ORGANIC HYSTERIA 💎

AI presses several #old human fear buttons at once.

It threatens work, status, expertise, authorship, privacy, and the comforting #belief that intelligence belongs especially to human beings.

AI also arrives through enormous companies people already distrust, so the fears are not entirely irrational.

Then there is the fear of losing #control

Most people understand a hammer.

AI is also a #tool, but it is harder to see into. It changes quickly, sometimes gets things wrong with amazing confidence, and can sound far more capable than it really is.

That uncertainty invites #projection

But AI also exposes something uncomfortable.

Much of human #activity was already formulaic.

#writing

#administration

#advertising

#opinion

Even parts of #journalism and professional #commentary .

When a machine can imitate these things, people are forced to ask how original they were in the first place.

The sensible position is neither to worship AI nor panic about it.

AI is a powerful human-made tool operating inside imperfect systems.

It can help.

It can deceive.

It can save time.

It can waste resources.

It can widen access.

It can concentrate power.

It can produce brilliance and slop, often in the same hour.

The question is not whether it is pure.

Nothing in this world is.

The question is whether it can be used consciously, critically, and without surrendering human judgement.

A tool becomes dangerous when it is mistaken for an authority.

It also becomes dangerous when fear prevents us from understanding it properly.

#human #ORGANIC #HYSTERIA #fear #hammer #privacy #resources #machine #fasting #acim #acourseinmiracles #newthought #eckharttolle #buddhism #breathwork #connection #healing #pridemonth #Karma #TrueNature #Awakening #Meditation #Mindfulness #Spirituality #intermittentfasting #nonduality #reality #life #quantum #kitchen #cooking #AI

🤗☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧🍥🌀🎠🤸🏿‍♀️🎡🤗(For where jealousy!*& selfish ambition exist!*there will be disorder!*& every vile practice!)👉

(James 3:13-18)
#Wisdom #from #Above #We #Are #Called #by #One #Vocation #UNITY #GOD #JESUS #Christ #Holy #Spirit #Savior #Light #World #Pray #Believe #Christian #Heaven #Hope #Peace #Faith #Truth #Goodness #Kindness #Hospitality #Understanding #Love #One #Another #Harmony #Journey #Eternity #Sweet #Healing #Wings #Angels #WRITING #JEWISH #AND #US #ALL #ON #EARTH

🤗☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧🍥🌀🎠🤸🏿‍♀️🎡🤗(Who is wise?!*& understanding among you?*By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom!)👉

(James 3:13-18)
#Wisdom #from #Above #We #Are #Called #by #One #Vocation #GOD #JESUS #Christ #Holy #Spirit #Savior #Light #World #Pray #Christian #Heaven #Hope #Peace #Faith #Truth #Goodness #Kindness #Hospitality #Gentleness #Understanding #Love #Harmony #Journey #Eternity #Sweet #Healing #Wings #Angels #WRITING #JEWISH #AND #US #ALL #ON #EARTH

🤗☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧🌐🌍💗💦🕊️🤗(Servant JAMES OF GOD!*& JESUS CHRIST SAYS!*Who is wise?!*& understanding among you?*By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom!)👉

(James 3:13-18)
#Wisdom #from #Above #We #Are #Called #by #One #Vocation #GOD #JESUS #Christ #Holy #Spirit #Savior #Light #World #Pray #Believe #Christian #Heaven #Hope #Peace #Faith #Truth #Goodness #Kindness #Hospitality #Gentleness #Love #One #Another #Harmony #Journey #Eternity #Sweet #Healing #WRITING

🤗☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧🛩️🎡🏖️⛱️🤗(Servant JAMES OF GOD!*& JESUS CHRIST SAYS TO US ALL ON EARTH!)👉

(James 3:13-18)
#Wisdom #from #Above #We #Are #Called #by #One #Vocation #UNITY #Prayer #Amen #GOD #JESUS #Christ #Holy #Spirit #Savior #Light #World #People #Pray #Believe #Christian #Heaven #Hope #Peace #Faith #Truth #Goodness #Kindness #Hospitality #Gentleness #Understanding #Love #One #Another #Harmony #Journey #Eternity #Sweet #Healing #Wings #Angels #WRITING #JEWISH #AND #US #ALL #ON #EARTH

🤗☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧🦋⛵🌞🤗*Wisdom from Above!🤗🌐🌍💗💦🕊️💒❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑💌👐🫂🏩🫶🩵🫧☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽🤗

☁️🌈☁️🪽😇🪽💦🕊️❤️‍🔥✝️🛐👑👉

(James 3:13-18)
#Wisdom #from #Above #Devotional #We #Are #Called #by #One #Vocation #UNITY #Prayer #Amen #GOD #JESUS #Christ #Holy #Spirit #Savior #Light #World #People #Pray #Believe #Christian #Heaven #Hope #Peace #Faith #Truth #Goodness #Kindness #Hospitality #Gentleness #Understanding #Love #One #Another #Harmony #Journey #Eternity #Sweet #Healing #Wings #Angels #WRITING #JEWISH #US #ALL #ON #EARTH

The AI-authorship debate is bollox.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/human-factors-in-authorship

The LLM-versus-human debate has been raging for several years now, and there seem to be two principal camps: human exceptionalists and agnostics. I suppose there may also be a small, misanthropic faction, but its members are remarkably quiet.

#philosophy #blog #substack #podcast #pangram #authenticity #quality #facticity #dashboard #authorship #writing #publishing #media #language #llms #artificialintelligence #debate #exceptionalism

"What shall we say of today? Better yet, what shall I say of today? That I will try to do better, perhaps. But Beckett hasn’t much patience for such resolutions." Robert Zaretsky for The American Scholar https://theamericanscholar.org/beckett-the-prophet/?src=longreads #samuelbeckett #godot #theater #art #writing #longreads

A quotation from Schopenhauer

To use many words to communicate few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakable sign of mediocrity. To gather much thought into few words stamps the man of genius.
 
[Viele Worte machen, um wenige Gedanken mitzutheilen, ist überall das untrügliche Zeichen der Mittelmäßigkeit; das des eminenten Kopfes dagegen, viele Gedanken in wenige Worte zu schließen.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/schopenhauer-arthur/…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #schopenhauer #arthurschopenhauer #communication #content #eloquence #genius #loquaciousness #mediocrity #pithiness #thought #wordiness #writing

"This is surely the most exciting development in the field of ancient history in many years." —Carlos Noreña for Aeon

https://aeon.co/essays/uncovering-a-global-ancient-history-beyond-greece-and-rome?src=longreads

#longreads #greece #rome #ancienthistory #reading #writing

✍🏼✍🏿✍️📝💁🏿‍♀️*Hemingway’s Advice on Writing, Ambition, and His Reading List of Essential Books for Aspiring Writers👉

#Writing #Ideas #Art #Ideas

Hemingway’s Advice on Writing, Ambition, and His Reading List of Essential Books for Aspiring Writers – The Marginalian
https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/01/04/with-hemingway-arnold-samuelson-writing/

eat, drink, sleep, cuddle
sometimes I wish
I was my cat

My ink drawing of this cute kitty is also available combined with this lovely haiku.

Haiku: @MarjoleinRotsteeg

#haiku #poem #poetry #writing #ink #drawing #handmade #MastoArt #art #painting #FediArt #FediGiftShop #arte #InteriorDesign #MastodonArt #TraditionalArt #kunst #cats #CatsOfMastodon #caturday #cat #CatLovers #pets #cute #animals #catstodon #kitten #kitty #kittens #katze #CatsOfFediverse #BuyIntoArt #ArtForSale #giftideas

Alt...

eat, drink, sleep, cuddle sometimes I wish I was my cat Sweet dreams is a minimalist black and white ink drawing by artist Karen Kaspar. A cute kitten lies sleeping on the floor. It seems to be smiling and having sweet dreams. This work, a combination of painting and haiku, is a joint project by Karen Kaspar (© art and artwork) and Marjolein Rotsteeg (© Haiku). A haiku is a traditional Japanese poetry form consisting of three lines. Here the ink drawing was supplemented with the haiku in English

Only two more weeks to enter your sci-fi stories for the Protopian Prize, given to works that imagine positive futures for humanity, w/tech that serves the public interest. (I'm one of the judges!) Two winners get $5000 US each, and publication in an anthology from MIT Press! #scifi #future #writing https://protopianprize.com/

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

There is nothing more dreadful to an author than neglect, compared with which reproach, hatred, and opposition are names of happiness; yet this worse, this meanest fate, every one who dares to write has reason to fear.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Source (1750-03-24), The Rambler, No. 2

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/24197…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #author #forgotten #ignored #insignificance #literarycriticism #neglect #notice #oblivion #obscurity #publicity #reaction #unread #writer #writing

A quotation from Cicero

For indeed it is possible that a man may think well, and yet not be able to express his thoughts elegantly; but for any one to publish thoughts which he can neither arrange skillfully nor illustrate so as to entertain his reader, is an unpardonable abuse of letters and retirement: they, therefore, read their books to one another, and no one ever takes them up but those who wish to have the same license for careless writing allowed to themselves.
 
[Fieri autem potest, ut recte quis sentiat et id quod sentit polite eloqui non possit; sed mandare quemquam litteris cogitationes suas, qui eas nec disponere nec inlustrare possit nec delectatione aliqua allicere lectorem, hominis est intemperanter abutentis et otio et litteris. Itaque suos libros ipsi legunt cum suis, nec quisquam attingit praeter eos, qui eandem licentiam scribendi sibi permitti volunt.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Tusculan Disputations [Tusculanae Disputationes], Book 1, ch. 3 (1.3) / sec. 6 (1.6) (45 BC) [tr. Yonge (1853)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/cicero-marcus-tulliu…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #cicero #author #clarity #clique #communication #elegance #entertainment #expression #organization #selfindulgence #writing #writinggroup

Happy Tuesday! Have things in your life you look back on and regret? Read this--I write about how we need to be kind and gentle with ourselves when we remember. #AlignWithLove #Love #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Spirituality #Christianity #SocialMedia #Writing #Mind #Thoughts #Kindness #Gentleness

https://align-with-love.com/2026/07/14/be-kind-rewind/

@alebensform #writing is another big one.

"A new initiative is asking #Canadian #Jews to make history by #writing #essays about their childhoods that will be stored in Canada’s largest #Jewish archive.

The Canadian Jewish Life Writing Project is meant to empower Jews to #write first-person accounts about the diversity and undocumented realities of Jewish life in Canada. The Association for Canadian #JewishStudies (#ACJS), which runs conferences, lectures and an #academic journal for Canadian Jewish #scholars, launched a call for submissions at the end of April 2026.

ACJS executive director #JoshuaTapper says the project was inspired by a #Polish writing contest from the 1930s that collected more than 600 #autobiographical #stories from Polish Jewish youth. Members of #YIVO, an organization that has preserved Jewish cultural heritage since 1925, created what Tapper calls “an incredibly rich resource for scholars today” by “going to the people” for their #stories."

https://thecjn.ca/arts-culture/a-new-online-archive-hopes-to-preserve-canadian-jewish-identity-through-storytelling/

You want to read my books and can't afford to buy them.
Then just ask.
Honestly, just ask.
I'll happily send you an e-copy.
And if you want to give something in return, you can write and post a review. That by itself is more than enough.

#Books #Writing

"Yehor stepped and knelt and spun and raised his arms into the emptiness where Masha should have been. In the footage playing behind him, she was still the star." —Siobhán O’Grady and Liubov Sholudko for The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/world/europe/russia-ukraine-prom.html/?src=longreads

#longreads #prom #ukraine #russia #war #reading #writing

"Someone once sent me a model of the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared into the ocean. But the best gift? What a terrifying question. My college education? If anyone ever gives me a human skull, that will be it." Elisa Gabbert answers the Longreads questionnaire https://longreads.com/2026/07/08/longreads-questionnaire-elisa-gabbert/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social #authors #writing #interview #creativity #longreads

A quotation from E. B. White

A writer should cultivate only what naturally absorbs his fancy, whether it be freedom or cinch bugs, and should write in the way that comes easy.

E. B. White (1899-1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Essay (1939-01), “One Man’s Meat,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 178

More about this quote: wist.info/white-eb/84883/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ebwhite #author #gowiththeflow #interest #literarystyle #subject #topic #writer #writing

A quotation from E. B. White

A writer should cultivate only what naturally absorbs his fancy, whether it be freedom or cinch bugs, and should write in the way that comes easy.

E. B. White (1899-1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Essay (1939-01), “One Man’s Meat,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 178

More about this quote: wist.info/white-eb/84883/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #ebwhite #author #gowiththeflow #interest #literarystyle #subject #topic #writer #writing

I look at patterns in LLM output. The tell is more than simple orthographic tics.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/07/07/ai-language-patterns/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #language #llms #ai #artificialintelligence #patterns #comprehension #writing #training #history #english #learning #blog #video #critique #commentary #spelling #pronunciation #content

"The extremely obvious truth (which is barely even veiled) is that at least most of these hustlebros are faking it." —Jason Koebler for 404 Media

https://www.404media.co/how-i-bought-a-private-jet-by-selling-10-subscriptions-to-404-media/?src=longreads

#longreads #hustle #scam #socialmedia #reading #writing

A quotation from Jean Kerr

SYDNEY: A lot of writers drink. Some drink before they write and some drink after they write. The ones that concern me are the ones who drink instead of writing. Even though a number of people have tried, no on has yet found a way to drink for a living.

Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Poor Richard, Act 1 (1965)

More about this quote: wist.info/kerr-jean/30921/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #jeankerr #alcohol #alcoholism #creativework #drinking #intoxication #job #vocation #work #writers #writing

This morning I awoke thinking about sex – actually gender – of borrowed Latin words. Get your mind out of the gutter.

👉 https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/we-still-bury-the-dead

I wrote a piece about it, but I was truly conflicted on my journey, especially as I compared English and French approaches, and a potential feminist rift.

#philosophy #language #sociolinguistics #etymology #english #french #latin #gender #writing #culture #feminism #linguistics #reform #administration

🐈🐈‍⬛*A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat doesn't🐈‍⬛🐈

~Hemingway

#Quote #Cats

Novelicious on X: "A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat doesn't Hemingway #writing https://t.co/9jN66jCKpO" / X
https://x.com/noveliciouss/status/2072906686281441345

"What set of circumstances favored an animal that weighs up to 600 pounds, moves at four miles a day, and takes a quarter of a century to reach sexual maturity?" —Helen Lewis for The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/writers-way-galapagos-charles-darwin-travel/687480/?src=longreads

#longreads #darwin #evolution #originofspecies #reading #writing

The good news: Claude Fable 5 is back.

The bad: Claude suggests chatting in English.

https://substack.com/@brywillis634737/note/c-286996142?r=pvxh5&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

I was chatting with Claude and suggested either French or English was fine, but it suggested I'd be better off sticking to English because of its training data.

#artificialintelligence #claudeai #llms #training #data #communication #bias #blog #substack #note #français #writing #brainstorming #workflow #analysis

"To call it a speck is generous. At first, I mistake it for a particle of dust. But then, it catches the sun and sparkles undeniably." —Eve Livingston for Dispatch

https://dispatch-media.com/the-brits-panning-for-gold/?src=longreads

#longreads #gold #hobbies #subculture #reading #writing

Les Années Vécues
https://philosophics.blog/2026/07/01/les-annees-vecues/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social
I’ve shared a piece of fiction writing meta content and the rôle of LLMs in my writing workflow, in particular, a punch list to track idea instantiation. I don’t, however, discuss my fondness for diacritical marks, especially those with no phonetic function.
#philosophy #writing #fiction #timetravel #LLM #scifi #process #author #time #blof #podcast #language #workflow #frnech #english #shortstory #method #ai #matrix #spreadsheet #google #claude #chatgpt

A quotation from Salman Rushdie

The creative act requires not only freedom but also this assumption of freedom. If the creative artist worries if he will still be free tomorrow, then he will not be free today. If he is afraid of the consequences of his choice of subject or of his manner of treatment of it, then his choices will not be determined by his talent, but by fear. If we are not confident of our freedom, then we are not free.

Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) Indian novelist
Speech (2012-05-06), Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, PEN World Voices Festival, New York City

More about this quote: wist.info/rushdie-salman/84768…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #salmanrushdie #pen #art #artist #censorship #creation #creativity #fear #freedom #selfcensorship #subjectmatter #worry #writer #writing

Alt...

Salman Rushdie quotation

Happy Monday! Start your week off with some ideas about how to NOT get "hijacked" but your own thoughts and feelings. Give my writing a whirl, if you haven't tried it yet. It may change your life--and I am just getting started. Did I mention I am on Substack now? Some things will be duplicated there from Wordpress--but not everything. https://substack.com/@wordsmith25112
#AlignWithLove #Love #Change #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Spirituality #SocialMedia #Writing

https://align-with-love.com/2026/06/29/dont-get-hijacked/

A quotation from Jean Kerr

I have two trifling ambitions in the theater: to make a lot of people laugh and to make a lot of money.

Jean Kerr (1922-2003) American author and playwright [b. Bridget Jean Collins]
Interview (1955-07), Theatre Arts magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/kerr-jean/84710/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #jeankerr #ambition #amusement #dramatist #entertainment #humor #laughter #makingmoney #money #profit #stage #theater #writing #playwright

"The appeal of dog neuroscience is not limited to understanding their adolescence, indeed it kicks in as soon as you take a new puppy home." —William Davies for The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/25/what-training-my-chaotic-dog-taught-me-about-power-control-and-human-beings/?src=longreads

#longreads #dogs #dogtraining #sociology #control #reading #writing

I wrote this book a while ago to inspect the nature of time travel.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/impossibility-of-time-travel?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#philosophy #time #phenomenology #epistemology #writing #reading #fiction #books #blog

Shel Silverstein on success in creative fields (1975):

"I think if you're a creative person, you should just go about your business, do your work and not care how it's received. I never read reviews because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too.

"Not that I don't care about success. I do, but only because it lets me do what I want.... I have an ego, I have ideas, I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and don't care if they are published ... I hate to hear talk like that. If it's good, it's too good not to share."

#shelsilverstein #creativity #publishing #writing #success #quote #quotes #quotation

"#LeoraFreedman, the #author of four #novels and numerous #shortstories that explore aspects of the #Jewish experience, lives in #Toronto. But back in the day, she was a student at the #University of #Arizona, graduating from the creative #writing program with a Master of Fine Arts in 1985 and winning first place in the Robert Downs #Fiction Contest, among other awards.

[...]

In #Freedman’s new #novel, “#CherryBaum” (KTAV, 2025), a Jewish blogger and mother of four realizes she has the power to heal the sick, communicate telepathically, and soul-travel through time and space. After deciding to go public as a holy woman, she quickly reaches the point where she can’t turn back, despite the fears of her family as their Toronto home fills with Cherry’s grateful followers."

https://azjewishpost.com/2026/cherry-baum-novel-of-jewish-holy-woman-in-modern-toronto-is-ua-grads-latest/

A quotation from Horace

For ridicule shall frequently prevail,
And cut the knot, when graver reasons fail.
 
                              [Ridiculum acri
Fortius et melius magnas plerumque secat res.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 10 “Nempe incomposito,” l. 14ff (1.10.14-15) (35 BC) [tr. Francis (1747)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/horace/1955/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #horace #argument #comedy #debate #derision #humor #impact #jest #jibe #jokes #laughter #mockery #rhetoric #ridicule #satire #scorn #wit #witticism #writing #persuasion #influence

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@darkuncle/116778528340746246

“When writing is hard, it’s often not just because we are tired, underfed, or inefficient but because our mind is trying to tell us crucial things. How many draft texts to colleagues or family members have we all stared at in frustration, wondering why they don’t feel quite right—until we finally realize that they need to be rethought completely, or not sent at all? When a book I was writing became an almost hopeless grind, I tore up 90 percent of the manuscript; it became a far more honest work for having been halted at a conceptual dead end, forcing me to turn back.

AI can’t make that kind of judgment.”

Holds equally for code.

#AI #writing #code #LLMs

New post: Highly Verbal Does Not Mean Words Are Easy

https://lanie.work/advocacy/highly-verbal-does-not-mean-words-are-easy/

#Advocacy #Accessibility #Disability #Neurodivergent #Communication #Writing #Ai #Personal

We've been handling two rounds of house guests over the last couple months. But we, just the two of us, managed to squeeze in a nice beach walk to Glass Beach out by Port Townsend. I wrote a story in Daily Kos about it. #PNW #outdoors #nature #geology #beach #writing
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/11/800052337/community/the-nature-bucket-glass-beach/

"But follow an obsession long enough, and the joke changes. Excess becomes craft, even service."

In our new reading list, Dr. Dinesh Kumar Jangra celebrates the fixated:

https://longreads.com/2026/06/18/reading-list-amateur-experts/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#longreads #amateurs #hobby #obession #reading #writing

Interesting piece about the evolution of the written Japanese language:

#japan #language #writing https://unseen-japan.com/japan-kanji-korea-hanja-abolition/

📝 Zettlr is a free and open-source Markdown editor built for researchers, students, writers, and anyone who prefers owning their notes.

It supports citations, Zotero integration, LaTeX exports, full-text search, and Zettelkasten-style knowledge management while working entirely with local files.

A powerful privacy-friendly alternative to cloud-based writing tools.

More details: https://digitalescapetools.com/tools/tool.html?id=zettlr

#OpenSource #Markdown #Writing #Research #Privacy #Zettelkasten #NoteTaking

Alt...

Zettlr logo and project page shown in dark mode. The screenshot highlights Zettlr as a publication workbench with GPLv3 licensing, version information, and passing build and test badges. The interface emphasizes its open-source status and academic writing focus.

Alt...

Screenshot of Zettlr's writing interface on desktop. A research paper is open in Markdown format with a file browser and note organization panel on the left, document editor in the center, and a references sidebar on the right. The layout showcases academic writing features, citation management, and structured note-taking workflows.

Today, I look at the grammar of fitness in 'survival of the fittest'.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/fit-for-what-over-what-duration?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=masto&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I was thinking about this as I was writing on a meta topic, so I felt like sharing it, since I won't be pursuing it further.

#philosophy #language #writing #blog #fitness #grammar #Darwin #substack #podcast #obligatesiblicide #justkiddingabouttheprevioushashtag

Cross-writing was a writing technique commonly used during the 18th and 19th centuries to save paper and reduce postage costs.
It involved filling a page normally, then rotating the paper 90 degrees to write directly over the original text.
📹Verse & Sip @_fluxfeeds #globalmuseum #writing #history