"Death of the author!" some readers proclaim—ironically enough, quoting an author to do so. Yet they forget that who the author was—their beliefs, their biases, their culture—is precisely what shaped the text in the first place. 1/2
Livia J. Elliot ~ Author & Podcaster
@liviajelliot.com
Literary speculative fiction author, fusing political theory, psychological depth, and philosophical horror. I write for readers who read to solve. https://liviajelliot.com/links/
Everything I've read has left a mark. Everything I've written has taken something from me and made it into something else. That’s why, for a few weeks, I’ve been telling you about myself. Because there is part of me in my stories. 1/4
I've been sharing much these past weeks. But there's one piece I haven’t talked about. It’s a short story. Borgesian in form—with a narrator that perhaps is not fictional, in a setting that’s dubiously fictional. She is asked one question: “Who are you?” 1/3
Rhythm is not just pertinent to poetry. Prose benefits from it just as much—perhaps even more. Yet a flowing tempo is easier to demand than to achieve 👀🤔 1/3
DANCE WITH ME started as an #InteractiveFiction piece published in Unearthed Stories. Lyra was not a static character—your choices guided her actions. 1/6
MEANS OF EGRESS. Another #InteractiveFiction novel I’m extremely proud of. It’s published in Unearthed Stories by @prowessgames It immerses you, the Wanderer, into a dungeon ruled by an omnipresent, narrative-prescribing Dungeon Lord. It is also a metaphor for the journey of our lives. 1/7
Character descriptions are a contentious topic—yet regardless of editorial opinions, we can indeed find a large variety of character descriptions that seem to disagree with most ‘advice.’ The truth is that memorable descriptions all have one element in common: they appeal to narrative distance.
Psychological horror is the subgenre I appeal to the most. It’s always blended into what I write. It’s the core of REFLECTIONS, an #InteractiveFiction novelette. A man sitting in darkness, talking... and you, listening. Controlling what part of his past you unravel. 1/7
STATIC SIGNAL, LIVING LEGACY. Politics. Knowledge. War. Same themes, genre: near-future sci-fi. 1/2
Two sci-fi stories: ➡️ One near-future and set in Australia, ➡️ The other far-future and following a sentient robot. Same themes as my other works—conflict, war, progress—and one key detail: they’re both #InteractiveFiction stories, published in Unearthed Stories. Let me tell you about them. 1/8
There is no piece of writing advice more frequently repeated than "show, don't tell"... yet it often comes with surprisingly little discussion of how it actually works. The truth is this: "Show don't tell" is not *a* technique, but a cumulative effect. 1/2
Do you know I write across genres? Sci-fi (near and far future). Fantasy Horror. Cosy (yes, indeed). A psychological dungeon-crawler/escape room novel. And here’s the twist: many are text-based #InteractiveFiction. Let me tell you about it 👀 1/7
He commands the shadows to tell a tale. It may not be real… or it may be just too ancient. The one listening to it cannot say. 1/2
This weekend I’ll be back as a panelist at WriteHive’s conference, discussing: ➡️Unreliable narrators (common in my writing), and ➡️Political writing—which is another of my favourite topics. The conference is online and free to attend. You can register and attend here: writehive.org/writehive-a...
A myth. The origin of the alchemists in RECORDS OF THE ORDERS. Told by a Storyteller who moves shadows while he speaks. But how much of it is real? 👇🏻 1/5
What is humanity in the first place? That’s the question cyberpunk explores. So much more than “high-tech, low-life” and so pertinent to the times we live in. Join me in conversation with @trnapper.bsky.social, Dr of Cyberpunk and award-winning author. 1/2
Two more influences: Jorge Luis Borges and Gene Wolfe. Worth noting: Wolfe was a devoted admirer of Borges. I only noticed I'd followed the same lineage after the fact—which is perhaps how influence really works. 1/7
From my cyberpunk short-story, THE BLUE DOOR: Lyon always comes back to his son. But at what cost? 1/2
“Write short, easy sentences” is common writing advice… yet many of the most celebrated writers use long, winding sentences to extraordinary effect. So: is the advice wrong? 1/2
Philip K. Dick. A mad genius. I encountered his work a few years ago and it blew my mind. Granted, I've not loved every book (Martian Time-Slip, anyone?) but that's always the exception. There's something of him in my writing. 1/4
What actually changes when a story moves from omniscient narration to close third-person—or all the way into first person? My latest essay from the “wide shot” of omniscient narration to fully “handing off” the camera to the character. It includes three detailed examples from classic sci-fi. 1/2
The first speculative fiction book I picked up was #Dune. I was 12. I'd seen parts of the Lynch film and wanted to try the book. The copy was well-worn; a translation. I re-read it recently (decades later!) and it remains an influence. 1/6
Non-fiction. I love it. Not of any type, no. War history, political theory—and then psychology, philosophy. More than once I’ve squeaked after finding a second-hand copy of a hard-to-find book (Hannah Arendt, anyone?). These books have influenced my writing the most. 1/5
The bookish need to drop everything I'm doing (and have to finish) to rush to a second-hand bookstore before they close for the day.
Who am I? A writer, yes. But I’ve been a reader for far longer. The first books I picked up were random and based on the titles on the spines. Did it sound catchy? I picked it up—whether it was fiction, non-fiction, or even comics. Old books all of them. 1/5
This year I’m back as a panelist in Write Hive’s conference, discussing: - Unreliable narrators (a regular topic in booksundone.com), and - Political writing—which I’ve also discussed in Books Undone, both in podcast format and as essays. 1/2
THE ECHOES OF YORE is out in the world now. A story about fractured minds, eldritch curiosity, and the side-effects it brings. So for now, I want to share something different 👀👇🏻 1/4
When perception fractures, the mind becomes its own labyrinth. "Mind-rot, a curse, a sign of the Spirits. Whatever it is. Trace it." 👀👇🏻 1/2
“Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.” Anthony Burgess nailed one truth: a translator’s job requires far more than simply converting words from one language onto another. Why? Let’s chat. 1/4
