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Chris Baty

@chrisbaty.bsky.social

Writer, former word nerd at Figma, and founder of NaNoWriMo. Doing NaNoWriMo this fall? Check out www.nano2.org! 🏝️Alameda, CA

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Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 5d ago

Tired of doomscrolling? Exhausted by the AI-ification of everything? Escape it all with a month-long vacation to novel-land! The 28th-annual #NaNoWriMo kicks off November 1, and we’ll be writing charmingly terrible first drafts together. Come join us! nano2.org/posts/2026/t...

The Noveling Season is (Almost) Here!

On behalf of all the NaNo 2.0 volunteers, I’m so happy to welcome you to the start of the 28th-annual novel writing season. Let the countdown to NaNoWriMo commence!

nano2.org

Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 2w ago

Working in software design has given me the gift of getting annoyed at things that are invisible to most people. Example: I spent 10 minutes this morning shaking my fist at the fact that "Odd" and "Even" appear above "Custom" in this print dialog.

A print dialog showing a drop-down menu that has a stacked list of options that goes, top to bottom: All, Current, Odd, Even, Custom.
Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 3w ago

Does anyone else get weird book publicity scam emails all the time? Here's a screenshot of an email I got today generously offering me “permanent” placement in a Goodreads community called Around the Year in 52 Books. The next screenshot is the first pinned post in that community. 😂

An email that reads…You are probably wondering three things. Is this real? What do I want from you? And what is the catch? Let me answer all three. It is real. The link above is the group. Look around. It has been active since 2016. I want to add your book to our permanent recommendation lists so members find it when they plan those weeks. That is it. There is no catch. If you want in, say the word and I will walk you through the next step. If you have questions, ask. I will answer honestly. Either way, thank you for writing a book that stayed with me.A message board post that reads… Multiple authors have received emails purporting to be from Mods or members of GR groups, including this one. They include flattering comments about their book and an offer to "feature" the book in the group. After a response or two, they ask for money. These emails are always illegitimate and a scam. This group never has "featured" authors and no group on GR requests money from authors. GR has been notified but because these emails come from multiple sources, and are almost certainly generated by AI, they are very difficult to trace. If you have questions, you may ask in this thread. Because there is no more direct messaging on GR, we can't respond any other way. But any email an author receives from a name in this group is unauthorized spam.
Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Question for the book writers out there! When you set goals for yourself on a manuscript revision project, how do you measure your progress? Chapters completed? Words revised? Hours spent?

Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Shifting into that key phase of novel revision where I zealously protect my most creative writing window (8 AM to 10 AM), and then spend it watching videos of veterinarians removing barnacles from sea turtles.

Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This connects to some hopeful news I heard from a friend who works in social justice law. It sounds like attrition from heroic lawyers stepping down instead of doing unethical work has left the administration so understaffed that they increasingly lack bandwidth to appeal rulings against them.

Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges

The Trump administration is dropping its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked a campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion threatening federal funding to the nation’s schools and colle...

apnews.com

Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Totally in awe of the mood boards authors are creating for books they're writing next month. As someone who struggles to visualize my scenes ("Phil was an older man with reddish hair and two eyeballs"), it is really inspiring to see stuff like this.

Madison Ainsworth@maddie-writes.bsky.social · 12mo ago

I've plotted a whole novel for the upcoming @nano2point0.bsky.social ! This is the first time I've attempted #plotting rather than #pantsing and it has me so excited. I've made a mood board to mark the occasion, and plan on updating my journey as it happens 🥰

Mood board with the novel title "Faith of the Foe" in the top left corner and a quote; "Oh my dear... faith is stronger than science." beneath. Tracking from the bottom left to the top right of the image is deer prints, and in the centre are three images; a black and white cathedral arch, a burning newspaper, and a conspiracy board.
Chris Baty@chrisbaty.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Newbie cat parent with a question. We adopted two strays a few months ago—a mom and her orange tabby son. Every time they see us they act like they haven't eaten in weeks, so we've been feeding them 3 times a day. That's too much, right? We want to dial it back, but we fear their hangry wrath.

Orange tabby kitten sprawled across a chair smiles up at the camera.