#WordWeavers 3 April 2026
For which characters do you come up with a backstory?

Backstory is only relevant when those past events have an impact on the storyline - and is usually only ever revealed by the character, and only insofar as they are willing to share.

Some (rarely) get verbose, others are far more reticent and mysterious, but it's in line with the character's personality.

#ScribesAndMakers 04 How do you answer if someone asks you what you do? Is your answer different in person than it is online?

Usually as much as I have to.
Sometimes more.
Sometimes less.

Oh? You're serious?

It depends on the person asking... but generically I answer with my current professional employment, my TEFL teaching, Authoring, Table tennis playing and any other whimsical thing that I might be involved in at that time. Web dev/coding - a 3D showcase of 3 books for example,

What's on my mind?

A presentation to the local council... as a teacher, you might think this kind of thing is easy, but let me tell you... it isn't. I keep going over the presentation, the associated documentation, publicity suggestions, the search for sponsors and all of this in my second language!

It would be nerve-wracking enough in English, but to do it all in Spanish...?

¡Madre-de-dios!

¿...y si me falta algo, o equivocarme en cualquiera manera?

Yes... I'm a bundle of nerves!

#TransDayOfVisibility #TDOV

The real reason for this is that the world (yes, I am generalising here) refuses to recognise people as they present themselves to you.

If I see someone who appears to be a woman, who has a woman's name, presents herself as a woman I have absolutely no need to doubt that anymore than I would doubt that someone who presents as a man, is a man.

If you are happier as a woman, or a man, I am pleased that you can find happiness.

Those who are NOT pleased can fuck off!

That moment when... your partner is talking about differences between LLM responses and they describe ChaptGPT output as egotestical...!!!!!

Sooooo ACCURATE! (It is a load of bollocks!)

#PennedPossibilities 972 — Do you ever have to deal with “trolls” where your writing is concerned? Do you receive hate?

I have - once - a troll on pre-Musk Twitter. Some pervert who harassed women and was a shit-for-brains who would have been in good company with Trump, et al on Epstein island.

This dork took it very personally when I intervened and gave as good as anyone had received until that time.

He posted a shitty review on Amazon, who took many months to remove it.

Other than that...

#ScribesAndMakers⁩ March 28—Does your day job (past or present) influence your creativity?

JobSSSSS (yes, so many) - a little.

Life experiences - much, much more!

#writersCoffeeClub 29/3: Share one of your writing milestones.

The first ever, most unexpected, review.

"A great, fast-paced novella -- well written, with some surprisingly touching moments for a supernatural action-driven adventure, and plenty of humour along the way. Picked it up on a whim; glad I did!"

The reader was doing a review of covers, and picked my book because the cover was NOT good. Which proved the old adage - never judge a book by its cover!