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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 2d

A little under a third of the way through my novella draft now and sitting pretty at 15,456 words. Four more chapters to the halfway point!

#AmWriting #QueerRomance #QueerAuthor #WritingCommunity

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 3d

I *may* have panicked a little too soon... A few tweaks here, some character profiling there, and my antagonist isn't AS antagonistic as they claimed they needed to be.

#AmWriting #WritingJourney #WritingCommunity #QueerAuthor #MMRomance #NovellaInProgress

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 3d

Seriously feel like I could walk a mile and write at the same time. Not sure if this is a good thing or not. Kind of regretting my life choices in this moment.

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 3d

10 oz. of Death Wish Espresso Roast + 10 oz. of Cafe Bustelo Espresso Roast within 3 hours = I can count colors and see numbers!

#ARealWriter #AmWriting #WhatIsSleep #DoAllTheThings #WriterSky #QueerAuthor

a man with a beard is dancing in a room with a skull poster on the wall behind him .

Alt: A man with a beard is dancing in a room with a skull poster on the wall behind him.

media.tenor.com

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 3d

10 oz. of Death Wish Espresso Roast + 10 oz. of Cafe Bustelo Espresso Roast within 3 hours = I can count colors and see numbers!

#ARealWriter #AmWriting #WhatIsSleep #DoAllTheThings #WriterSky #QueerAuthor

a man with a beard is dancing in a room with a skull poster on the wall behind him .

Alt: A man with a beard is dancing in a room with a skull poster on the wall behind him.

media.tenor.com

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 4d

I hate being the type of neurospicy that can't move forward in a draft until I untangle all the knots in a chapter. I don't necessarily have to start over completely, but I definitely have to do some deep edits to untangle said knots.

#AmWriting #WritingProblems #WritingCommunity #MMRomance

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 5d

I got a real profile and cover pic now, y'all 😭

#QueerAuthor #AuthorJourney #WritingCommunity #MMRomance #BabySteps

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 7d

Mostly done drafting Chapter 7 of my novella, and who decides to come in and tap dance all over my outline? A minor side character who has self-upgraded to Main Antagonist.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #WritingProblems #QueerRomance #IndieAuthor

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 15d

I'm high-key terrified folks won't love my stories like I do, but I know, at least on some level, that that's nothing new to the writer's life. Thanks for the well wishes!

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 15d

Slowly but surely building out my website 🫣😁

Moved over some already existing #flashfiction, and I didn't realize how many I'd written up last year. You can check it out here: authorkalibenson.com/kalis-kreati...

#AmWriting #QueerAuthor #GenreWriter #WriterSky #WritingCommunity

kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .

Alt: Kermit the frog typing wildly on a typewriter.

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger

DESIGN THINKING! Comic @designthinking.lol · 16d

Small Language Model.

(Yes, I know these are already a real thing. Don't make me tap the sign.)

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 15d

I'm sound sensitive. There's a droning in the background (outside) so steady that I can hear it even over my rain white-noise playlist. I cannot find the source. Concentration is now impossible.

I cannot live, laugh, love in these conditions, dammit!

#WriterProblems #QueerAuthor #WhyIsItSoLoud

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 16d

Nothing quite like working on a chapter for three days wondering why it feels like I'm scraping my soul to get words on the page...only to realize that, oh, I'm starting it in the wrong place. *sigh*

#WriterProblems #AmWriting #MMRomance #WriterSky #WriterCommunity #QueerAuthor

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Reposted by Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger

Daryl Marez @darylmarez.bsky.social · 17d

Support a queer author! Because someone out there needs to know they're not alone, and we're handwriting it into chapter seven

🌈✒️ 📚💙
#AuthorSky #WriterSky #WritingCommunity

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 17d

I'm stoked to announce that the novella I've been steadily working on is for the Neurodivergence in Queer Romance BookFunnel Event! 28 original stories, 28 insights, 28 amazing authors!

I'm humbled and grateful and terrified!

#QueerRomance #NeurodivergenceRep #DebutAuthor #ISuckAtMarketing

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 19d

Who's your favorite Jedi wrong answers only

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 26d

I feel this in my spirit.

Daryl Marez @darylmarez.bsky.social · 26d

Self-publishing means building a brand from scratch, and by 'brand' I mean screaming "please buy my book" into the internet void in between memes and existential dread

🌈✒️ 📚💙
#AuthorSky #WriterSky #WritingCommunity

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 26d

Wrote 1,000 words tonight. I'm counting it as a hell of a win today given I forced every single one of them out. But I've got a little over two months to get this manuscript written and edited, so...

1,000 > 0.

#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Journeyto35K #MMRomance #PublishingJourney

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 26d

Almost completely done with MMC1's profile and I can't find where I came up with the core virtues and values of the MMC1 of another manuscript-in-progress. Literally spent hours yesterday reading through character trait craft books and nothing.

#WriterProblems

Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 27d

This week's writing goals:

✒️ Character arc outlined for my primary protagonist ✅
✒️ Character arc outlined for my secondary protagonist
✒️ Draft two new chapters

#AmWriting #WritingGoals #PublishingJourney #MMRomance #WritingCommunity #Roadto35K

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 28d

Spent over two hours tonight just on character profiles and brainstorming. Maybe I'll actually getting some writing done tomorrow... 🤞🏾😭🤞🏾

#WritingCommunity #MMRomance #PublishingJourney #DebutAuthor #AmIReallyDoingThis

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 28d

This is why I have no idea how I ever got anything organized prior to Scrivener. I'll handwrite out my chapters, but I need a digital outline with a damn Delete key!

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 28d

My process:

1) Write 2-3 chapters.
2) Update the outline.
3) Write 2-3 chapters.
4) Update the outline.
4) Rinse and repeat forever.

😭😭😭

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · 28d

I'm not exactly an outliner and not quite a pantser. I lie in that glorious in-between of plantsing. Give me my major plot events, my biggest turning points, then let me loose, and I'll churn out 32–37K words of what was supposed to be a 10–25K word story.

#WriterProblems #AmWriting #WriterSky

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · Sep 16

Finished the third chapter of my novelette-in-progress last night. Steadily chipping away at it, and it's sitting at just about 6.5K words. With a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 30th to write 30–35K words? I'm on track.

#AmWriting #MMRomance #WritingJourney #WritingCommunity

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Kali Benson | MM Romance Author | Two Pandas & A Honey Badger @authorkalibenson.bsky.social · Sep 15

Figure if I'm going to do this #MMRomance writing thing, I should set up some socials. I've got a lot in the pipeline: short stories, flash fiction, even a novelette or two, all while trying to draft a full-length novel AND work a day job.

Glad to be here! Website and newsletter coming soon!

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