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leeronheywood.substack.com
Writer, knitter, gamer, cat person. Pronouns ne/nem/nir (they/them is fine if you're not used to neopronouns). Autistic psychopath, agender/genderqueer, aro/ace, disabled. Profile pic courtesy of my void floof Salmiakki
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🎶There is power in a uniooooon.🎶 Ending was abrupt, no room for a victory epilogue, but I’m happy to call this story done. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I failed to wrap the story up in this chapter, so I’m delaying the roundup post to tomorrow afternoon to fit the last piece in. Either I get the story done in the next 500 words or I write two chapters and post them back to back. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I'm tired of seeing talented musicians using generated artwork for album covers & music videos or writers using it for their book covers. Generative tools harm the creative ecosystem as a whole. Do not normalize the devaluing of anothers field while expecting the world to respect & value your own.

Channeled my existential dread into responding to my MP on the AI copyright consultation.

I’m hoping to tie the story up tidy in the next instalment, but cropping the climax into 500 words is going to be tricky… open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I decided to continue this story, attempting to skirt around my lack of mule knowledge. 😅 Please do point out any errors to me! open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Knowing some are conducting a boycott today - particularly in the US - of large companies, I'll be taking any royalties made through sales of my book on 'Zon today and donating them to campaigns.allout.org/donate/ 🏳️‍🌈

I welcome advice from people with mule experience, or resources on how to write mules. 😅 My online searches aren’t finding much to help here. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Ehh, not happy with this one. Too on the nose? Too on the nose. Kinda more venting than writing. Ah well. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I’m curious if the ending felt natural or sudden to people. The intention is for it to seem inevitable on a reread but fitting an arc and foreshadowing into 500 words is tricky. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Great minds think alike! I've always found the Tooth Fairy mythos creepy, which is what inspired leeronheywood.substack.com/p/baby-teeth... I say kudos to these kids for being sensible and setting firm boundaries.

Note that there is no mention of poor Fish getting time and a half. Vital service workers frequently get shafted. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

:laughs in specfic author:

I tried so hard to fit in a final paragraph from Maisie’s perspective but I couldn’t figure out what else to cut! Agggh. (I mean, I could just break the entirely self-imposed rule of 500 words, but the point is to learn these lessons.) open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I've seen an old misunderstanding going around; that libraries don't benefit authors. But they do! A lot! Here's how:

On behalf of Beth Train-Brown "I'm a Creative Writing PhD applicant researching Deaf representation and Sign Language in Fantasy novels, looking to speak to D/deaf or sign-user members about their experiences with sign and how they could see it in a fantasy setting.

Trying to fit a sense of wide scope into 500 words is hard. 😅 Also, my first instinct was to make this story about a cat. But variety is important, so I cast about for another species, and with parrots being long-lived it seemed perfect. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

First time writing to a reader submitted prompt! I hope they like the result. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

The parable (I think I’m classifying this right?) draws to a close. I wanted an open feeling ending which still has closure, and I’m happy with the balance here. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I urgently need $100 to pay a bill that's due tomorrow. Please help out! I have books on my Ko-fi shop, and I'm also an editor. Every bit and every boost helps. Please help. ko-fi.com/geethakrishn...

Sometimes you just need a pep talk. From a childhood quasi-real imaginary friend. Who's got a lot of sharp teeth and no tolerance for meanness. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

This didn’t start out as an aesop but as soon as that aspect crystallised the story came to life. I think this is going to be a two-parter, maybe three. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Hm. I definitely felt the pinch of the word count on this one; I might redo it as a short story so I can expand on the ball and the aftermath relationship. But on the other hand, barely meeting the king does give it that cinderella feel. 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

FYI- Not shopping on one day of the week does absolutely nothing. No company reviews their books on a daily basis. It’s either weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Buying all needed the day before or the day after is the same as buying it the day of.

Hell hath no crushing disdain like a minimum wage worker you were just inconveniencing. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Because beancounters get everywhere, even worlds with superpowers. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

There we go! Now they’re having a proper conversation. Still no idea if this counts as ‘meet cute’ but at the very least they can make friends now. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

Advice pls! I’m looking at crowdfunding my first novel. I’ve read all the ‘how-to’ articles I can find but would love to chat with people who’ve actually been there - whether it worked for you or not.

Being disabled sometimes really sucks, I have the vision the drive, the talent, the will, the resilience, to make all of my ideas real. And then my body will just break and I can't do anything for days and days.

I wonder what he did to get this job. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I'm sure they're fine. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I actually hate the "lol the giant asteroid will deliver us from this suffering" jokes. Are there any other people in the progressive movement who think that humans are actually fucking amazing?

Strayed from the prompt again. Oh well. This time I was distracted by the diary reportage angle. Not tried that before. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I’m still declining the flash poetry prompts and doing prose instead. This is one of those stories where I wish I could draw, to show off the ugliness of the sweater. 😂 One day I will be making my own thumbnails. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

In which Lee once again gets distracted from the prompt, because writing a Machiavellian fairytale frog was way too much fun. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I decided “Victor” was too obvious a reference so opted for “Percy” instead. Probably overthinking it tbh. 😄 open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

One of the issues with having had mental health crises is sitting here going “But would this character be doing it differently tho?”. I don’t want to act like going crazy is universal or something. First person rambling is fun to write regardless. open.substack.com/pub/leeronhe...

I’m alternating between sending emotional support to friends who are at risk of 💀 and learning how to set up an author website. Dissonant af. 🫤

Applications now open for the BFS's new mentorship programme! We've got 15 partially-funded places and 3 fully-funded places and a whole range of inspiring mentors to support your journey. britishfantasysociety.org/launching-th...