Here’s the cover for Day Four which I designed myself! It’s not finalized but I’m proud of it nonetheless!

Father: The creator of Agora, tired, lonely. One of the few who still respects mortals autonomy Theorin: His son, petulant, brash, power hungry Erlea: Theorin’s sister, clever and resourceful, keeps her motivation hidden Rake: Chaos personified

🫜Prof Emily🫜@professoremily.bsky.social · 4d ago

#MythAugust Day 2 Tell us about the major god(s) or spirit(s) in your fantasy religion! This is meant to be a broad overview - we'll have focused questions for specific gods later! Feel free to interpret the question as loosely as you need to if you aren't working with a traditional pantheon 😁

2) Two truths and a lie about Origin - Its stories span ages and universes - Characters don’t overlap between them - It’s technically science fiction masquerading as fantasy

I’m late so I’ll do both today! 1. I’m Nick, a fantasy and sci fi author and software developer. I’m currently working on: Day Four - a fantasy duology I’m (self) publishing soon Origin - a complex interconnected set of short stories that are free to read here: nicholasjcollins.com/origin/

In addition to writing this is my project. I’m really proud of it. Please consider signing up and throwing my pennies at people that deserve our support! Thank you all for reading!

👏 slowclap@slowclap.bsky.social · 3d ago

In addition to those, I’ve added a preliminary bonus applause system that I’m hoping to use to power some cool features in the future. To test these features and to help make it more accessible for all our new creators to see how fun applauding can be. I’m going to try something cool! Please see 🧵

I’d also be happy to do this if anyone is curious about me! (I didn’t read all the questions I hope I actually would like to do this oh no)

E.M. Anderson | THE LORD OF THE WOOD is out now!@elizmanderson.com · 6d ago

what ho, good fellows, let's do this one like = one answer

Do you like: 🛡️classical inspired high fantasy 💪 powerful capricious gods 💔 complex characters ⚙️ maybe not just high fantasy? why is that there? Then you’ll love Origin, which you can read for free at: nicholasjcollins.com/origin/ If you want to support, please consider signing up for slowcl.app!

Can you find Iona? Why do you think her name sparks fear? nicholasjcollins.com/origin/

@bookspotlight.bsky.social how about some free short stories that were written by a human person? nicholasjcollins.com/origin/

Thank you to everyone that’s read Origin so far! If you haven’t it’s free on my site nicholasjcollins.com/origin/ It’s stories plus a scavenger hunt so even if you don’t like them you can still feel proud you caught them all pokekon. But you’ll like them!

Origin is a slowly expanding scavenger hunt of stories. The world grows as you explore it and there’s much more to come. I hope you enjoy! If you want to know the best way to support me, ask a creator you love to sign up for slowcl.app and 👏 the heck out of them!

"In another life, they had known each other, tasted each other's lips and everything in between. They had loved like only the young can love, wild and with abandon, without the sense to protect their own hearts." 👀 👉 nicholasjcollins.com/origin #writing #fantasy

Oh, and I should add (though I with this could still go without saying). I wrote Origin. Not AI. Every word is mine / an edit from an actual editor (most of those are still mine because I’m stubborn) AI has no place in creative writing because it’s neither nicholasjcollins.com/origin/

You can also read more about Origin here: nicholasjcollins.com/posts/202607...

Hey bsky! I’m super proud to announce that the first set of stories in Origin are available to read for free: nicholasjcollins.com/origin Origin is a world that expands and unfolds as you explore. This set includes 4 stories and a poem. This is just the beginning! More Origin is coming soon!

You’re on a crowded pier and you need some money. Let’s just assume the person you’re asking has some cash. I know no one has cash anymore, don’t worry I’ll get back to that, baby birds. (🧵 incoming)

Please don’t have a $1 Patreon tier. Unless you’re Stripe, the economics on these just don’t add up. Supporters might not know this, but on a $1 sub, Stripe eats 33 cents and Patreon takes around 10. That means if you’ve got 5 active $1 subs only around 2.85 is going to creators.

Friends, I know AI is scary, especially if you’re a creative person. But the problem isn’t that there’s newer better clipart now. The problem is how this stuff is monetized. AI slop works because they make money the second your eyes hit the page. AI Art is disruptive because patronage is broken.

Thank you to all the creators who have joined Slowclap recently! If you’re one of them, send me where you’re creating so I can boost / support!

Massive update to slowcl.app today! It’s now even easier for people to sign up and start getting paid for the stuff they’re already making! Before, you needed to onboard via Stripe Connect prior to receiving applause, but now it’s enabled as soon as you sign up! New design too! Hope you like it!

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the economics of kofi, patreon etc don’t make sense for the majority of creatives. There’s too much content, and payment processing fees mean the people you’re supporting end up with very little or most people go unsupported.