Maybe this sounds a 'lil egotistical, #PretendPanel, but I'm gonna say it anyway...

Former versions of ourself.

And not because they were a good writer. In fact, the exact opposite. Our former host, Chels, assumed a state of being that was a mere shell of a person. She created an identity...

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#PretendPanel Honestly? I read Twilight and thought I could do better. 👀 Mind you my first attempts weren't good, but now I've locked in and getting it done.

#pretendpanel
1. My grad 12 & OAC writing teacher,
2. Other authors especially @annmcman.bsky.social @leewinteroz.bsky.social & @jenlyonauthor.bsky.social who write books I love so much
3. My wife who gifted me Jericho & inadvertently kickstarted everything
4. The MCs in my head who wont shut up!

#PretendPanel On an impersonal level, T. Kingfisher, Stephen King, and Edgar Allan Poe (mostly for craft. First two for their prolific-ness)

On a personal level, my indie friends. Seeing how hard they work to make their books shine and run their businesses. @allyxwood.bsky.social in particular, I -

no story. i was just good at it and liked the feeling of being good at something so i kept doing it.

#pretendpanel #writing

besides my wonderful friends who inspire me with their creativity, it would be Robert Howard

my heart sees a lot of things through the lens of wasteland, ruin, desperate struggle, rage. he taught me that prose can be a powerful tool for reaching poetic ends

#writing #pretendpanel

Pull up a chair, #PretendPanel, and allow a boring old guy to chew your ear off a bit. The inspirations get more significant as I go, if anyone makes it to the end.

My first inspiration is my Grandmother. She had a secret addiction to betting on the ponies, undiagnosed BPD, and was …

#authorsky #booksky #pretendpanel #writers #writing #WritingCommunity

ELEVATOR PITCH?! REALLY?! Okay, fine, I guess.

Sad truth is, I don't really have an elevator pitch. I just always liked telling stories, coming up with worlds I'd rather live in as opposed to my miserable actual existence as a 🧵

#pretendpanel A little sappy but true answer.

The indie author community here 🫂💜

You guys inspire me so much to keep writing and to one day publish what I've been working on!

#pretendpanel

I wrote as a teen but put it down for years due to school.

I used to podcast. Not long before burnout led me to eventually podfade, I interviewed several authors. Fiction & non, all wrote stories from the heart.

That led me to trade in the 🎤 for the 🖋️.

#writingcommunity #writesky

#PretendPanel Who inspires me?

I do. Every dawn, it’s me forcing myself out of bed to work on the MS before the day job; when there’s problems in the text, it’s me fixing them; when the rejections come thick fast, it’s me continuing to submit.

I am a goddamn inspiration! We all are 🖤
#writerslife

9) Origin Story

I'm answering this one late because I feel like it. Let chaos reign!

I have always been a storyteller. As far back as I can remember, I would make up stories about my stuffed animals and act them out. To myself. Out loud.

Or I would walk around talking out dialog.

#PretendPanel

Gonna be basic and say Brandon Sanderson. Man's got a gift for anime-style action and snappy dialogue, both foundational elements of my own writing. And he makes an ungodly amount of money, which would, y'know, be nice 😂

#pretendpanel

There are definitely little bits of lots of people in my characters, but it's more something I notice after the fact.

In terms of writers who inspire me, there are probably threads of Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Coupland, Anne Rice and Poppy Z Brite in how I write.

🏷️ #PretendPanel

I have always aspired to capture even a sliver of the passion, humanity, and bittersweet reality of Victor Hugo.

His work puts you through the ringer and compels you to keep going, immerse yourself more, and then cry through the final pages.

Genius.

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Nothing inspires me better than reading a good book. Every single time, I feel motivated to work on my own writing.

...on the other hand, a terrible book inspires me, too. I often think to myself, "I could write this way better," then suddenly I have an outline for yet another WIP. #PretendPanel

#PretendPanel
I’m inspired by:
-friends who may ask challenging questions but are unfailingly supportive
-anyone who says they like my work (friends, readers, reviewers, teachers)😘
-faceless internet cheerleaders who say ‘do it’ to anyone who wants to write
- authors whose books made me dream.