Elektrine
EN
Log in Register
Paige Chat Timeline Communities Gallery Videos Email DNS VPN Uptime Kairo
Back to Timeline
Remote

Jon Sparks

@JonSparks@writing.exchange
  • Open on writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com.
Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com.
Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too).
AI-free (and I mean free).

1072 Followers
1217 Following
50 Posts
Joined November 11, 2022

Posts

Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Jul 27, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange
#WritersCoffeeClub 27/7: What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? I think it’s ageing pains I might need to worry about, not growing pains. Best thought of as experience, though. #books #writing #writersofmastodon
3
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 27, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 27/5: What does victory mean for your antagonist?
Perriad did, briefly, taste victory in Book 3, with her election to Master Prime. Ii only lasted a few days before it became clear how far from the truth she’d strayed. It left her bitter and frustrated for the rest of her life.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 27, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/5: Do you read outside the genre you write?
Given all I’ve said in previous answers about the shakiness of the concept of ‘genre’, you can hardly expect me to say no. In fact it would be easier to list areas of the bookshop that I don’t routinely explore.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 26, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-ten

0
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 26, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

WordWeavers 26/5: What is your antagonist’s earliest memory?
I’ve never asked Perriad, and it’s too late now, but I have a feeling she’d have blanked out anything before her Choosing as a Dawnsinger.
#books #writing #Writersofmastodon

3
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 26, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 26/5: In what ways does your work defy expectation?
By not meekly conforming to a prescriptive 'genre' formula.
I’ve often said genre should be a signpost for readers, not a straitjacket for writers, but to be honest I have a bit of trouble with the signpost bit too.
#books #writing #Writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

11
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 25, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 25/05: What one event defines your MC?
What one event defines you? Or me? I don’t accept such a reductionist premise.
That said, Jerya’s irregular Choosing as a Dawnsinger does have a lot of repercussions… but she’d be the first to say it’s helped shape her life, but doesn’t define her.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

11
1
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 25, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 25/5: Share a late-stage change you made to a work.
This probably counts as 'late' in context of the long gestation of the whole thing; first two books of The Shattered Moon were originally envisaged as one. But at 140,000w plus it was getting out of hand. And by splitting into two I had chance to add depth to some bits, notably Rodal’s journeys and choices in Book 2.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 24, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 24/5: What do you need in order to finish your current WIP?
Had we but World enough, and Time…
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 24, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 24/5: If your characters were pets, what would they be and how would they react?
1: None of them are pets, and woe betide anyone who treats them as such.
2: But we could, at a stretch, see them as canids, bearing in mind that includes everything from wolf to Chihuahua. But is Jerya a Border Collie or is she a fox?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

7
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 23, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 23/5: If your antagonist came with a warning label, what would it be?
This is Perriad. Obsessive, always right (in her estimation), increasingly unstable.
But now dead, so this is more of an epitaph.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 22, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 22/5: How well would your current WIP work as a play?
There are lots of shifts of scene, outdoor scenes, and actual travel, including exploring glaciers and so on. I don’t see it as a stage play… but a radio play—or serial—yes, why not?
They always say the pictures are better on radio, don’t they?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

10
1
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 22, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 22/5: If your MC came with a warning label, what would it be?
Warning to Readers: May cause you to stay up after your bedtime.
😉
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

13
0
5
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 21, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 21/5: What targets do you set for yourself? To what frequency?
I had 30+ years of writing to deadlines and set word counts. As a self published author now, I’ve kept to a schedule of a book every six months, but after a lot of disruption including family bereavement I’m not sure whether or not the next one will slip by a month or two.
I don’t set micro-targets like writing x number of words every day.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

7
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 21, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 21/5: How do you make your MC likeable or relatable to in the first chapter?
Ha ha ha I can’t ‘make’ Jerya do or be anything. The entire Guild of Dawnsingers is about to have the same problem, just you wait and see.
All I can do is watch, and write down the important bits.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

10
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 10, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 10/5: What wisdom do you wish you could share with your younger self?
“You don’t have all the answers yet? The thing is, no one does. The people to avoid are the ones who think they do.”
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

12
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 10, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 10/5: What are the beauty standards like in your world, and do they impact any of your characters?
In the Five Principalities, traditional standards expect females to have long skirts and long hair, ride side-saddle, and generally be modest and not assertive. But these norms are under attack from various angles. Which naturally means males are having to make a few adjustments too, but they don’t always like it.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

7
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 09, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 9/5: Are there any unusual societal norms in your world?
Both slavery and the lower status of women (Five Principalities) are historically only too familiar to us. We might consider the Sung Lands more enlightened… but the Guild of Dawnsingers relies on taking girls from their homes at age 10 or 11, and still only allows limited contact thereafter.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

5
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 09, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/5: C&R: Share the first line of your current WIP.
I’m wary of fetishising first lines too much. First paragraph, first page… Still, let’s play:
“Well met, ladies,” said Fedwyn. Kerriel knew that tone, the one that left you wondering if he was serious or on the edge of mockery.
Everyone: How enticed are you?
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
8
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 08, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

The label ‘great’ is attached to far too many people. But I’ve met one person in my life who one hundred per cent deserves it.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/dinner-with-attenborough

3
0
1
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 08, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange
Replying to @JonSparks@writing.exchange
For more on the Swallows and Amazons moment, see https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/holding-to-ransome
1
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 08, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/5: MC POV: Describe your neighbourhood.
Jerya: I divide my time between Skilthorn and Velyadero.
Skilthorn is a large estate centred on a ridiculously grandiose house; obscenely, all for the benefit of one man until Hedric inherited. Now over 200 girls are being educated here.
Velyadero is a modest city, surrounded by green hills, but since it’s the only University in the Five Principalities that admits women, it’s the most advanced.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 08, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/5: What experience can you identify as having made you the writer you are today?
1: All my experience, in life, in reading, in writing.
2: The moment my Mum handed me (aged 9) a copy of Swallows and Amazons.
3: Reading The Left Hand of Darkness.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

13
2
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 07, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Six
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-six

1
0
1
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 07, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 7/5: Do readers need to understand a character's motivations to understand the story?
To understand it, yes, I don’t see how it could be otherwise.
Whether full understanding is always necessary to **enjoy** a story is another, and perhaps deeper, question.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 07, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 7/5: Does your antagonist have any redeeming qualities?
The only out-and-out antagonist in the series is Perriad, and by the opening of the current WIP she’s been dead for a few years. Some, if they’re candid, might say that’s the best redeeming quality she could show.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

7
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

Latest real-world outlet for my books (including some local interest guidebooks and photo books from my previous life): The Velvet Carrot in Garstang.

Also supporting other local authors.

3
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 6/5: What writing-related challenges have you encountered recently?
Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve just gone through the stage of checking through the entire MS for continuity errors. Found a few, the usual result of moving the furniture around. It’s fun being a pantser.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/5: Talk about something you've written which you expected would (or expect will) divide readers.
The current WIP features an MC who is, in our terms, trans. I hope she won’t divide readers, because she’s just someone who wants to live her own life in her own way, but we’ll have to wait and see.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

10
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 05, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 5/5: Is your MC aware of their flaw?
She is now. The drastic consequences—for Railu even more than herself—of her actions towards the end of Book 1 made Jerya think long and hard. Although learning to contain her impulsiveness took a long time and she still has to watch herself at times.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 05, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/5: Have you ever taken inspiration from something which could have but didn't happen?
Read one way, that’s just a definition of fiction, isn’t it?
But if you mean in the ‘Man in the High Castle’ sense, no.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

10
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 04, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

A Study in Starlight—Chapter Five
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-four

1
0
1
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · May 04, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/5: Is there a scene or a character or even a plot you regret adding to a finished work?
In the first book, Jerya and Rodal see a white horse cut into a chalk hillside on their journey to Carwerid. Why’s it there,who keeps the grass from growing over it? Foreshadowing? For what? I don’t know.
But I take comfort from knowing that Ursula K Le Guin included a troll in one of the first Earthsea stories and they never appear again.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
0
2
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 21, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange
Replying to @Firlefanz@writing.exchange
@Firlefanz I wish it was. I’ve done plenty of non-fiction to tight briefs. But I’ve seen it, or something uncomfortably close to it, from respected novelists and fiction coaches.
3
0
1
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 21, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 21/4: What's a (maybe silly) hill you're willing to defend?
Nothing silly about opposing the industrialised plagiarism and degradation of creativity that is AI.
But also… I often find myself shaking my head at ‘writing advice’ that people trot out. One the other day that I particularly recoiled from was ‘know your elevator pitch before you start writing’. I can barely stomach the concept of the elevator pitch after the book is done.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

20
4
7
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 07, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 7/4: Do you combine poetic fragments and prose paragraphs in your work?
No, but not from any philosophical aversion. I’m just hopeless at writing poetry.
#books #writing #writersofmastodo

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors.
Free to read.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/the-kanchenjunga-manifestochapter-e69

0
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/4: Do the plots or characters in your work converge towards a single point?
Well, possibly, but only in the sense that lines of perspective converge towards a vanishing point. You can conceptualise it, but you can never actually get there. (See also rainbows and pots of gold.)
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 06, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 6/4: Can you create a character/place/storyhook/device on the spot, if you need to? If so, share an example.
No, that’s not how it works. Sure, I could think of something, but it would barely be the scaffolding, not the building, or even the foundation. Real characters and real stories don’t happen at the snap of my fingers.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 04, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 4/4: Choose a character to invite to a party. What kind of party is it? Does it have special rules (dress code, bring alcohol, etc.)?
It would have to be someone who’d join me in forming an escape committee and making a discreet exit to the nearest decent pub at the first opportunity.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
0
4
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 04, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/4: Do you switch between past and present tense? How do you make it work?
I’ve written a lot of experience-based articles in present tense, including some that I’ve resurrected on Substack. Yet I have a mild aversion to fiction written in present tense. I can’t readily explain this anomaly.
I fiercely dislike flipping between tenses in the course of a narrative and unless there’s a very clear rationale, I’ll probably put the book down.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

6
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 03, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

Another damning piece of evidence in the case against AI.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2521256-ai-data-centres-can-warm-surrounding-areas-by-up-to-9-1c/

AI data centres can warm surrounding areas by up to 9.1°C | New Scientist
New Scientist

AI data centres can warm surrounding areas by up to 9.1°C | New Scientist

Hundreds of millions of people live close enough to data centres used to power AI to feel warmer average temperatures in their local area

2
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 03, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors… what happened after last time’s cliffhanger?
Free to read.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/the-kanchenjunga-manifestochapter-c59

1
0
0
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 03, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 3/4: For which characters do you come up with a backstory?
I don’t ‘come up with’ backstory for any of them. They tell me, when they need to, or it emerges organically, or, somehow, it’s ‘just there’. There’s a lot of Jerya’s backstory in the the first chapter or two of Three Kinds of North, but I didn’t plan, devise, contrive, or ‘come up with’ any of it.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
5
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 03, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/4: Have you studied writing? Did it prepare you, or did you learn more by doing?
The only formal writing course I ever did was one week on ‘writing for outdoor magazines’. It was useful in terms of understanding that particular market, at that time, in the UK, but it didn’t teach me ‘how to write’. Teachers’ comments on school essays were some help, but by far the most valuable training I’ve ever had was from voracious and eclectic reading.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 02, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/4: Visual presentation: how do white space and typography become meaningful elements of literary form?
Having worked extensively with designers in my photography career, and as I now do my own covers for my novels, I’m well aware of the importance of these elements. But I think we can overstate the case for the text of a story. When reading, the design elements should be as clear and unobtrusive as possible; essentially they disappear.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

11
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 01, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 1/4: What arrangement of plots do you have? No plot? Only one? A main plot and a side plot? Something else?
Characters let me follow their stories. Stuff happens. That’s all I know.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

8
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Apr 01, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 1/4: Your opinion on April Fool's Day & do you incorporate the day into your work?
April Fool's Day is a fine thing when the spoof is done well. And as the originator of the Spaghetti Harvest story on the BBC, and of the San Serriffe feature in the Guardian, you can believe every word I say.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

13
0
5
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Mar 31, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WritersCoffeeClub 31/3: What are we celebrating regarding your writing this month?
That I’m back in the groove after a period of disruption (as recounted yesterday), and that the latest book is coming together.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

9
0
3
0
Open post
JonSparks
Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Mar 31, 2026
Jon Sparks
@JonSparks@writing.exchange

Had a long career as a photographer & writer about the outdoors, but now much more focused on fiction, especially SF. Author website is https://www.jonsparksauthor.com. Lots of photos and quite a lot of words at https://jonsparks.zenfolio.com. Still very much into the #outdoors, especially #cycling #gravelbikes (I’ve written about that too). AI-free (and I mean free).

writing.exchange

#WordWeavers 31/3: Share or tell us about a fun scene you recently wrote.
‘Scene’ may not be quite the word as it’s an epistolary episode, and I’m not sure about ‘fun’ either But can’t be picky as I’m mostly in revision mode, not many brand new scenes happening just now. This is Tari, who’s been on a big journey in the geographical sense, and is also on a journey through gender, writing to her friend Avi. Sory about the speling.
#books #writing #writersofmastodon

writing.exchange

Writing Exchange

5
0
3
0

Remote instance

writing.exchange
Open on original server

Media

313k7r1n3
Elektrine

Tor hidden service

elekhj7afj4qnrr4yd3bkzslsyo5jgfxw3orgjkhlcxifueodybyiiad.onion

Platform

  • Email
  • Chat
  • Timeline
  • Communities
  • VPN
  • DNS

Company

  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ

Legal

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Warrant Canary
  • Lite (no JS)
  • VPN Policy
  • Source code

Support

  • support@elektrine.com
  • Report Security Issue
Mail client setup IMAP mail.elektrine.com:993 POP3 mail.elektrine.com:995 SMTP mail.elektrine.com:465
© 2026 Elektrine. All rights reserved. Server: 20:50:50 UTC