Ben Cass

@bencass.bsky.social

Fantasy author. linktr.ee/bencass

#wipsnips #writesky “Oh! Bode, quick question: has Archie always been totally oblivious to, like, any kind of hints?” “Yes,” Bode said immediately. “I’ve never seen anybody that spectacularly unable to understand subtlety. You have to be very direct, no matter how mundane the topic.”

I actually wrote a post for my website about this a week or so ago. Many of the names in my trilogy were placeholders that just turned into the actual names. I don't put the same emphasis on names that many writers do. I really don't think the names are important at all to the story.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters Writing technical question! Do you name your characters right away or do you use placeholder names? Are the placeholders descriptive or just filler names you'll change? Has a placeholder ever grown on you? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Nothing. I only create what I need for the story as I write the story. If it doesn’t appear on page, it doesn’t exist in my head.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters Technical question today! How much backstory/history for your character have you created that isn’t part of the actual story? Do you write it down, or is it in your head? What sort of scenarios do you explore? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Archie is a human working in a magical library. His coworkers? An elf who always “knows a guy,” a dwarf who expects a good insult every chance you get, a lederhosen-loving Sasquatch, and a relentlessly cheerful pixie. Their boss? A tiny book dragon with an insatiable need to hoard books.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters What's your character's weird meter like? Do they encounter strange (for their world) things? Is ordinary for them very different from ordinary for those around them? What's the weirdest thing they've seen? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

#wipsnips "That was impressive, Detective," Sharian said. "How did you know to look there?" "A benefit of being a comic book nerd. I loved Will Eisner's 'The Spirit' comics, from the 1940s. They taught me that the story is already present, and I just have to put the clues in order."

I prefer to not have the antagonist on page that much. In my trilogy, you don't meet the main antagonist until a few chapters into the second book. He then appears here and there in the second and third books, but not too much.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters Antagonist day! How are we first introduced to your antagonist? What are they doing when they appear on the page? Is it meant to be apparent that they are a villain? What is being showcased about them? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Archie solves math problems to relax, but he has a Ph.D. in math and was a professor for almost two decades before switching careers. We haven't seen him doing it yet. Rowan, on the other hand, collects comic books. She mentions it in the first book, but we'll actually get to see it in the second.

Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @ Megaplex C9@cometkins.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What sort of hobbies does your MC have? Do they get to do this in your book/wip, or is there just never time? #WritingPrompt

#wipsnips "You're awfully calm about finally meeting your daughter's first real boyfriend," Rowan said. I shrugged. "I...um...already met him. By accident." She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "How?" "At the grocery store. He introduced himself." "And you didn't tell Ada?" "Um...no?"

#wipsnips "When I started dating, I made certain promises to myself. I told Aunt Helena about those promises, too. Why would she even ASK me that question?" Before I could reply, Rowan tapped her own shoulder, the signal we used in the Curiousium to mean "Let me handle this".

#wipsnips "So how long do you think before your daughter begins to bug you about proposing?" the Sasquatch asked. "I figure less than three weeks," I said. "You?" He laughed. "Bro...she'll bring it up by Friday." "Today's Sunday," I said. "We've only been a couple since last night." "Exactly."

Archie spent nearly 20 years as a math professor and just got sick of the whining and complaining and cheating. Since he loves books, he decided to work in a library. He hadn't expected a magical library to be the answer, but he loves his job and his coworkers.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters How did your character get started on their current line of work/quest? What started them down that path? Was it a specific choice they made? Serendipity? Was their hand forced by someone? Was it a mistake? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #writingprompts

#writesky #writingcommunity #1 goal is to finish and publish the second book in my Curiousium series, and if I'm lucky, the third book as well. I somehow doubt I'll be THAT lucky, but fingers crossed! Secondary goal is to write a juvenile/middle grades novel. Haven't tried that before.

Charlie Knight [they/them] | Editor / Author 📚@cknightwrites.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Hey, #writingcommunity... What's one big writing goal you want to accomplish in 2026?? I'd like to start cheering you on immediately, please and thanks 💜

And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, but moved silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last.

The Faekind revere the Exalted Phoenix as a god, even though he’s not. He just has the ability to temporarily wield the power of creation to make things happen. He gets annoyed with all the bowing and deference.

🌱🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊🪻@charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters Is your character religious or spiritual? Is there a god/gods in their world? Is their existence a matter of faith, or are physically present? Does your character believe? Do they pray or perform rituals? #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Well, that was fun. I was walking out to the van to get the last bag of groceries when my bad knee gave out—for no reason—and caused me to misjudge the 2-inch step down. Ended up crashing onto the concrete patio. My poor wife heard me crash and looked around the corner to see a single foot...

Survived my first Bookfest/convention as an author. I've been writing and publishing for 7 years, but had never tried anything like this before. Ended up selling 9 or 10 books total, I think, which is way more than I'd expected! My second one is only 6 days away. #booksky #writesky

#wipsnips "Dad, you're 6'6"!" my daughter retorted. "You don't know what it's like being this short!" I chuckled. "Honey, I feel little every time I stand next to BT." "He's a Sasquatch! He's over 10 feet tall! He makes EVERYONE look tiny! That doesn't count!"

Actually, that's what happened with my latest novel. One of the side characters, who's part of the primary cast but not the lead, ended up with the biggest supporting part and kinda helped drive the story...

The Book Bazaar: Coming October 29th, 2026@the-book-bazaar.com · 9mo ago

Which side character tried to steal the spotlight in your draft—and did you let them? Quote post and include the tag #TBBChat so others can find you. No links or covers. Save the self-promo for the outro. #TBBChat #BookBazaar25 #Writing #Writesky

#wipsnips "Cute for a costume," my daughter said, folding her arms, "but not for a date." "Ada..." I sighed. "We're going bowling. I'm not dressing up for that." I held my phone up to face her. "And I came prepared." "Hey, girl!" Rowan said. "Let your dad off the hook, ok? I'm fine with it."

#wipsnips "Dad, you've got to talk to him!" my daughter said. "He's insisting on wearing lederhosen on his date with Rainbow!" "BT always wears lederhosen," I said. "You know that." "Yeah, but they're orange and green, and he's wearing a yellow shirt! And a cowboy hat!" "Sounds normal for him."