RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<p><strong>Introduction to R.S., Author, Novelist</strong> Updated 03/22/25</p><p>First, a few words:</p><blockquote><p>"One thing you learn from watching TV, movies, anime, and reading best sellers, to pulp, to fanfic: No story is perfect. There's always hopeful contrivance and caricature in plot or character, a little or a lot... but it works. We like it. It gets bought, published, produced, noticed, sometimes loved despite the warts.</p><p>"Authors and playwrights of all levels... take heart. Complete your project and go on to the next. Complete is the superpower you can have, perfect doesn't exist."</p></blockquote><p>And something that works for me: Are you blocked by your internal censor? Do you worry you're revealing your embarrassing true self? Say what I say to myself:</p><blockquote><p>I am not telepathic.</p><p>Repeat that: <em>I am not telepathic.</em></p><p>Louder: I AM NOT TELEPATHIC!</p><p>I DON'T know what the reader is going to expect.</p><p>I DON'T know if the current scene is going to frighten, trigger, or be too explicit for my audience...</p><p><em>Because</em> I DON'T have anyone looking over my shoulder, clicking their tongue, and saying, "Tch, tch, <em>tch!</em>"</p><p>I am going to take a deeeeeeep breath, now,<br> clear my mind,<br> and write the flapping scene—<br> full stop.</p></blockquote><p><strong>Who is R.S.?</strong></p><ul><li>I am a formerly published feminist SF author and a prosaist—which is what a poet is to poetry, but for prose.</li><li>I write <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> stories that often address issues of gender at least peripherally. I'm aiming to short list for an Otherwise Award.</li><li>My genre tags are <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fantasy</span></a>, and <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>romance</span></a>. </li><li>I'm a fan of rhetoric and elocution; I'm a prosaist, remember? Humor makes life and writing tolerable.<br></li><li>My community is <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writingCommunity</span></a>, and <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a>. </li><li>I hosted the <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/EngenderedWriting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EngenderedWriting</span></a> hashtag. See: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/EngenderWritingQ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EngenderWritingQ</span></a>.</li><li>I post often to various writing hashtags, which are variously called games, prompts, or challenges: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/pennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pennedPossibilities</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/wordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>wordWeavers</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ScribesAndMakers</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writever</span></a>, and <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>writersCoffeeClub</span></a>,</li><li>If you become confused about my gender, that's intentional. I write gender fiction, so if I revealed mine, it would add subtext to my stories. If you know or learn it, please keep it to yourself. Thanks!</li><li><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ActuallyAutistic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ActuallyAutistic</span></a>, which explains how I can overly focus, seem obtuse, or end up running down rabbit holes. No worries. It's actually a superpower.</li><li>This link leads to a list of shorter stories I've written to post exclusively on Mastodon (<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>flashfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a>). I retain the copyright on those stories.</li><li>My Markdown Reference: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114741821407500330" translate="no" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/11474182</span><span class="invisible">1407500330</span></a></li></ul><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/110470537747067765" translate="no" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/11047053</span><span class="invisible">7747067765</span></a></p><p>I'm building a network of authors by entertaining you, and by sharing what I've learned through decades of doing it the hard way. My motto: <strong>There Shall Be Content!</strong> I want to help our writing community by helping authors overcome what keeps them from completing stories. I'm learning self-publishing as a business. I want to push back the loneliness that's part and parcel of this solitary profession.</p><p><strong>I follow serious authors,</strong> which means people diligently writing or working at completing stories or articles or anything containing words with the intent to publish, whether that's <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/nonfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>nonfiction</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/scripts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>scripts</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/comics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>comics</span></a> or <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/manga" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>manga</span></a>, or <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/games" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>games</span></a>. I will read your profile to check for content before following. You need not courtesy follow in return for a follow.</p><p><strong>I boost posts that announce authors' work and publications.</strong> I want my followers (largely artists, authors, and photographers) to see your work. We're all creatives here, trying to be professional. Everyone needs to promote their work; I want to help you. Don't repeat too often. Since I follow so many people, my timeline is full. Don't feel bad if I miss something. Private mention @sfwtr@eldritch.cafe!</p><p>I'll follow an <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/artist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>artist</span></a> upon seeing interesting artwork, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>photography</span></a> or hand-drawn/painted <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>art</span></a>. I am partial to <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/charcoals" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>charcoals</span></a> and <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/pastel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pastel</span></a>, appreciate <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sketch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sketch</span></a> art, but love <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/watercolor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>watercolor</span></a>. If wowed, I'll discuss what's great in reply, or <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/critique" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>critique</span></a> if you're close and I I can help. I commission cover and interstitial art. I do fine art photography and some wedding and event photography.</p><p><strong>Life and Everything Else:</strong> I have a weird sense of humor, which follows since many of my characters are snide and cynical.</p><p><strong>Favorites</strong>: <em>My clicking the favorite button means something caught my attention, was particularly apropos to the idea, was entertaining, or somehow pithy.</em> If I reply to your post, I've definitely noticed something!</p><p><strong>Hot Buttons</strong>: Feminist issues are my bread and butter. So too labor issues, like jobs being automated out of existence without ensuring former employees can support themselves. If you want to use <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/genAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>genAI</span></a>, <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/chatGPT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>chatGPT</span></a>, or AI to replace writers or artists, or jobs, you're barking up the wrong tree, buster! I post those road apples under <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/theComingLaborApocalypse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>theComingLaborApocalypse</span></a>.</p><p>I believe <strong>Boosting is Sharing</strong>. I appreciate when people boost my posts when they affect them.</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p>