Wandering Adventure Party

#WordWeavers - March 31st - Share or tell us about a fun scene you recently wrote.Summon saints for fun and profit!'One farmer's widow in Hochseilstritz was plagued by a heavy load of debt. In her dire circumstances, she decided to beseech the holy Christopher for aid. Late at night, she rose up, lit blessed candles, and prayed the Christopher’s Blessing.The farmhand, who had noticed the light in the living room from the stable, snuck towards the window, heard how the farmer woman prayed, and then diligently prayed the treasure prayer with her. Suddenly, the door of the chamber opened, Saint Christopher appeared, and emptied his sack, which was filled with gold and silver coins, before the startled widow with the words: “This is for you and the one outside who has prayed so dilligently with you.”Even today, after many generations, the heirs of this couple are prosperous people.'

@cpm @cstross I did the programming for a district nurses' data capture system using Epson PX4s and 8s in '85/6. You could put a word processing ROM chip in them. We had mahoosove 512kB ramdisks made for them.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva

#WordWeavers 2026.03.25 —What do you feel thinking about the last scene you wrote?It's a fairly standard "human ferryman transporting invisible spirits across a river" story, of a type that shows up fairly often in German folklore.However, there is an interesting twist: The two visible dwarves among the passengers ask him if he wants to be paid "per head" or just get a flat fee of a barrel of salt.The ferry picks the salt, since he only sees two passengers, and the dwarves then show him how many invisible passengers he had - staying that he ought to have fared better if he picked a payment "per head".However, the barrel of salt is _magical_, and never runs out. To me, this sounds as if the ferryman made the better choice after all.

#WordWeavers 17. Did you ever receive formal education in creative writing?No.However, I received a lot of training in _scientific_ writing, which does help. And I am not just talking about my knowledge of #TeXLaTeX .

#WordWeavers 9 Feb: Have you ever talked to a reader of your story? How did it go?Via the Interwebs, quite often, and I've received almost universal support. It is quite satisfying to have actual fans, although I find that rumors of groupies that authors are supposed to get are widely overblown.

#WordWeavers 7Feb—What's the most rewarding thing about writing?I am building a cultural legacy - not just for me, but for my country. And that's a _huge_ ego boost.

#WordWeavers January 13thWhere was your latest writing session? How did it go?On Sunday. It was mostly #TeXLaTeX typesetting my latest translations for my "Master Volume" - my massive document with all my translations which I send out each month to my higher-tier Patreon supporters. (809 tales and counting.)It's tedious work, but I am glad I've finished it this early in the month - hopefully, I can now get some work done on my actual book manuscript.

#WordWeavers Dec 21: Does your antagonist treasure people or objects more?People.After all, objects don't have souls he can collect.

@anderlandbooks They are probably closely related.

@anderlandbooks There are some similar tales where the returning husband decides to murder the new girl.

#WordWeavers Dec 4. What’s the worst thing about the world of your story?The #antisemitism :https://sunkencastles.com/2022/07/22/antisemitism-and-jew-coding-in-german-folk-tales/https://sunkencastles.com/2024/01/07/antisemitism-in-german-folklore-part-1-host-desecration/https://sunkencastles.com/2024/01/29/antisemitism-in-german-folklore-part-2-blood-libel/

#WordWeavers Dec 3: What’s the best thing about the world of your story?It's a fantastic version of Germany. Many of the places are real and can be visited even today, but then supernatural elements show up and make them magical.And this world was created by folk storytellers of previous centuries. So check out the interactive map on my wiki, and visit some of these magical places if you are in the area!https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page

#WordWeavers 10/29. Pick your preference: drafting, editing, formatting, or marketing1. Drafting 2. Marketing 3. Editing 4. Formatting

#WordWeavers Sep 14: Does any kind of spirituality play a role in your story?The lives of the 19th century German peasants were _steeped_ in Christian spirituality, and of course their folk tales - which I translate - reflect that.The theological foundation of these beliefs was often rather dubious, however...

#WordWeavers 9/1 Introduce your writing to a stranger with 5 words."Translations of German folk tales"