Cass Morris
@cassmorriswrites.com
Author: Aven Cycle | Story Editor: Mythik Camps | Podcast Cohost: Worldbuilding for Masochists | novels, short fiction, & immersive xp | Shakespeare nerd, once & future educator, rhetorician, geek chic | she/her | Virginia, USA
linktr.ee/cassrmorris
linktr.ee/cassrmorris
Pinned
Cass Morris
@cassmorriswrites.com
· Dec 8
An actual pinned introduction thread!
Hi! I'm Cass, & you've probably found me because of one of these things:
-Books & writing
-The Worldbuilding for Masochists podcast
-Shakespeare & education
-Halcy-Con & other conventions/conferences
-Immersive experience work & enthusiasm
-General geekery
Hi! I'm Cass, & you've probably found me because of one of these things:
-Books & writing
-The Worldbuilding for Masochists podcast
-Shakespeare & education
-Halcy-Con & other conventions/conferences
-Immersive experience work & enthusiasm
-General geekery
The liminal space between Christmas and the New Year is a perfect time for reading -- and if you'd like to pick up the Aven Cycle at a deep discount, now's the perfect opportunity!
From Unseen Fire is FREE, and the other books are half-off!
Only on Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...
From Unseen Fire is FREE, and the other books are half-off!
Only on Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...
December 26, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The liminal space between Christmas and the New Year is a perfect time for reading -- and if you'd like to pick up the Aven Cycle at a deep discount, now's the perfect opportunity!
From Unseen Fire is FREE, and the other books are half-off!
Only on Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...
From Unseen Fire is FREE, and the other books are half-off!
Only on Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/byseri...
Reposted by Cass Morris
There's a thing in Media Discourse that I don't understand the mindset behind: That only ideas "planned from the start" count.
We're seeing this in Stranger Things discourse now, where people are saying the larger arc "wasn't planned" because an old pitch deck talks about an anthology concept.
We're seeing this in Stranger Things discourse now, where people are saying the larger arc "wasn't planned" because an old pitch deck talks about an anthology concept.
December 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM
There's a thing in Media Discourse that I don't understand the mindset behind: That only ideas "planned from the start" count.
We're seeing this in Stranger Things discourse now, where people are saying the larger arc "wasn't planned" because an old pitch deck talks about an anthology concept.
We're seeing this in Stranger Things discourse now, where people are saying the larger arc "wasn't planned" because an old pitch deck talks about an anthology concept.
#PretendPanel Dec 26: I need to maintain good boundaries between day job, familiy responsibilities, and writing time.
Good mental health, a lack of personal disasters, and a calmer ::gestures at world in general:: would certainly help.
Good mental health, a lack of personal disasters, and a calmer ::gestures at world in general:: would certainly help.
#pretendpanel, it's all good saying what our goals are, but we need to slow down and think through the steps it's going to take to get there. So...
December 26th: What do you need in order to achieve your writing goals in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 26th: What do you need in order to achieve your writing goals in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM
#PretendPanel Dec 26: I need to maintain good boundaries between day job, familiy responsibilities, and writing time.
Good mental health, a lack of personal disasters, and a calmer ::gestures at world in general:: would certainly help.
Good mental health, a lack of personal disasters, and a calmer ::gestures at world in general:: would certainly help.
#PretendPanel Dec 20: I would like to remain steadily enthused by and engaged with the work. I don't want to lose heart; I don't want to get stuck; I don't want my momentum to flag.
Hi #pretendpanel, amazing goals yesterday! But more than tangible goals, which can sometimes escape us despite our best intentions, today I wanna get to the heart of it...
December 20th: How would you most like to feel about your writing in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 20th: How would you most like to feel about your writing in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
#PretendPanel Dec 20: I would like to remain steadily enthused by and engaged with the work. I don't want to lose heart; I don't want to get stuck; I don't want my momentum to flag.
#PretendPanel Dec 19 (catching up bc last week I was in Disney World and too busy for Bsky!):
I just put these in my bullet journal yesterday, actually. In 2026, I want to:
-Get Shattered Souls out on sub
-Make some sort of significant progress on Aven 4
I just put these in my bullet journal yesterday, actually. In 2026, I want to:
-Get Shattered Souls out on sub
-Make some sort of significant progress on Aven 4
#pretendpanel, I can't believe it's only been a week, it feels like longer! Tell me...
December 19th: Is there a tangible achievement you want to reach in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 19th: Is there a tangible achievement you want to reach in 2026?
#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
December 26, 2025 at 3:21 PM
#PretendPanel Dec 19 (catching up bc last week I was in Disney World and too busy for Bsky!):
I just put these in my bullet journal yesterday, actually. In 2026, I want to:
-Get Shattered Souls out on sub
-Make some sort of significant progress on Aven 4
I just put these in my bullet journal yesterday, actually. In 2026, I want to:
-Get Shattered Souls out on sub
-Make some sort of significant progress on Aven 4
I give myself the absolute most obscure Shakespearean easter eggs. Sometimes it’s not even the words but a mimicked rhetorical pattern.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
Okay #WritingCommunity, what is a gift you give to yourself in your writing? What tropes or details or motifs do you use simply because you love them?
I love the tiny badass woman trope. I include the trope all the time.
I also love roses, and include them frequently as symbols and motifs.
I love the tiny badass woman trope. I include the trope all the time.
I also love roses, and include them frequently as symbols and motifs.
December 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I give myself the absolute most obscure Shakespearean easter eggs. Sometimes it’s not even the words but a mimicked rhetorical pattern.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Cass Morris
The Company of the Ring gathers on Rivendell’s threshold at dusk, with their baggage loaded on Bill the pony. Sam remembers that he hasn’t packed rope. Boromir sounds his horn. And Elrond gives his blessing: ‘May the stars shine upon your faces!’
They walk south into the Wild.
They walk south into the Wild.
December 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The Company of the Ring gathers on Rivendell’s threshold at dusk, with their baggage loaded on Bill the pony. Sam remembers that he hasn’t packed rope. Boromir sounds his horn. And Elrond gives his blessing: ‘May the stars shine upon your faces!’
They walk south into the Wild.
They walk south into the Wild.
omg I survived Whamaggedon
December 25, 2025 at 2:17 PM
omg I survived Whamaggedon
I can literally recite this start to finish. My family routinely uses the phrases "Careful of the icy patch!" and "Barometers are falling sharply -- OH NO!" and "The turkey's the turkey, you turkey!", among others.
This still goes so hard
A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) - 4K SuperSampled
YouTube video by topher3683
youtu.be
December 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM
I can literally recite this start to finish. My family routinely uses the phrases "Careful of the icy patch!" and "Barometers are falling sharply -- OH NO!" and "The turkey's the turkey, you turkey!", among others.
Reposted by Cass Morris
It should be front page news EVERY DAY that the president is having regular MRIs & won’t discuss why.
In fact, every illegal & “unprecedented” thing he does should be tied back to that in each story. “The White House denies that he’s behaving this way because of health problems.”
In fact, every illegal & “unprecedented” thing he does should be tied back to that in each story. “The White House denies that he’s behaving this way because of health problems.”
December 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
It should be front page news EVERY DAY that the president is having regular MRIs & won’t discuss why.
In fact, every illegal & “unprecedented” thing he does should be tied back to that in each story. “The White House denies that he’s behaving this way because of health problems.”
In fact, every illegal & “unprecedented” thing he does should be tied back to that in each story. “The White House denies that he’s behaving this way because of health problems.”
Reposted by Cass Morris
I just said this on a group chat, and I want to say it here to every one of you who writes book: Don't neg your book.
December 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I just said this on a group chat, and I want to say it here to every one of you who writes book: Don't neg your book.
#Smutcember D24: Figure out what's really driving the action beyond sexual attraction. Other layers might be things like the excitement of discovery, the thrill of the clandestine, the frisson of doing something forbidden, or power negotiations & reversals. That's where character anchors the scene.
Time to share some wisdom, #Smutcember:
What advice would you give others about writing smut? Alternatively, if you're newer to writing smut, what advice would you like to get from your fellow participants?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
What advice would you give others about writing smut? Alternatively, if you're newer to writing smut, what advice would you like to get from your fellow participants?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
#Smutcember D24: Figure out what's really driving the action beyond sexual attraction. Other layers might be things like the excitement of discovery, the thrill of the clandestine, the frisson of doing something forbidden, or power negotiations & reversals. That's where character anchors the scene.
Reposted by Cass Morris
All of this, but especially back to the AI debate too.
As a writer, I can feel in my gut when something works and clicks, but that's because I've spent thousands of hours practicing and getting it wrong.
I've seen how my work does/doesn't resonate. When you're generating... how do you learn?
As a writer, I can feel in my gut when something works and clicks, but that's because I've spent thousands of hours practicing and getting it wrong.
I've seen how my work does/doesn't resonate. When you're generating... how do you learn?
The act of writing is *thinking*. If you do not allow yourself to think thoughts that feel wrong, you will never get a feel for what feels *right*.
December 24, 2025 at 4:08 AM
All of this, but especially back to the AI debate too.
As a writer, I can feel in my gut when something works and clicks, but that's because I've spent thousands of hours practicing and getting it wrong.
I've seen how my work does/doesn't resonate. When you're generating... how do you learn?
As a writer, I can feel in my gut when something works and clicks, but that's because I've spent thousands of hours practicing and getting it wrong.
I've seen how my work does/doesn't resonate. When you're generating... how do you learn?
It was so much fun the year (I think 2012) that the American Shakespeare Center did this in repertory with Shakespeare’s King John, with every actor doing the same roles or analagous ones (ie Richard Lionheart also playing his own Bastard).
"The Lion in Winter" is the best Christmas movie.
December 24, 2025 at 3:56 AM
It was so much fun the year (I think 2012) that the American Shakespeare Center did this in repertory with Shakespeare’s King John, with every actor doing the same roles or analagous ones (ie Richard Lionheart also playing his own Bastard).
Re: Last repost:
Some “friends” will only celebrate your victories so far as they can claim a share of your achievement for themselves.
They will only tolerate you shining brightly if they think they can use mirror-tricks to bounce your light in a way that advantages them.
Some “friends” will only celebrate your victories so far as they can claim a share of your achievement for themselves.
They will only tolerate you shining brightly if they think they can use mirror-tricks to bounce your light in a way that advantages them.
December 24, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Re: Last repost:
Some “friends” will only celebrate your victories so far as they can claim a share of your achievement for themselves.
They will only tolerate you shining brightly if they think they can use mirror-tricks to bounce your light in a way that advantages them.
Some “friends” will only celebrate your victories so far as they can claim a share of your achievement for themselves.
They will only tolerate you shining brightly if they think they can use mirror-tricks to bounce your light in a way that advantages them.
Reposted by Cass Morris
This turned out to be the case.
For all my adult life, I’d have told anyone that my two “best friends” were my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.
By unbelievable coincidence, when they both ghosted me about a decade ago… everything in my life changed for the better.
I feign no hypothesis.
For all my adult life, I’d have told anyone that my two “best friends” were my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.
By unbelievable coincidence, when they both ghosted me about a decade ago… everything in my life changed for the better.
I feign no hypothesis.
Maybe you weren’t being abandoned. Maybe you were being released.
December 24, 2025 at 2:52 AM
This turned out to be the case.
For all my adult life, I’d have told anyone that my two “best friends” were my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.
By unbelievable coincidence, when they both ghosted me about a decade ago… everything in my life changed for the better.
I feign no hypothesis.
For all my adult life, I’d have told anyone that my two “best friends” were my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.
By unbelievable coincidence, when they both ghosted me about a decade ago… everything in my life changed for the better.
I feign no hypothesis.
Reposted by Cass Morris
So I am going to say something about romance as a genre.
A lot of people think that romance is ignorable because <insert thing they think about romance> and romance authors don't count because <insert thing they think about romance>.
This thread is not about whether you have to like romance.
A lot of people think that romance is ignorable because <insert thing they think about romance> and romance authors don't count because <insert thing they think about romance>.
This thread is not about whether you have to like romance.
December 24, 2025 at 2:51 AM
So I am going to say something about romance as a genre.
A lot of people think that romance is ignorable because <insert thing they think about romance> and romance authors don't count because <insert thing they think about romance>.
This thread is not about whether you have to like romance.
A lot of people think that romance is ignorable because <insert thing they think about romance> and romance authors don't count because <insert thing they think about romance>.
This thread is not about whether you have to like romance.
At first I was like “Should I really have another glass of wine considering I’m technically working tomorrow” and then I was like “It is the last night of Saturnalia”, so io Saturnalia, meretrices!
December 24, 2025 at 1:22 AM
At first I was like “Should I really have another glass of wine considering I’m technically working tomorrow” and then I was like “It is the last night of Saturnalia”, so io Saturnalia, meretrices!
I swear to Juno, so much of line editing is just de-Virginia-ing my prose. No, Cass, you do not in fact need all those double prepositions. Or those emotional support “that”s. And the phrase is “try to [verb]”, not “try and [verb]”.
December 23, 2025 at 11:36 PM
I swear to Juno, so much of line editing is just de-Virginia-ing my prose. No, Cass, you do not in fact need all those double prepositions. Or those emotional support “that”s. And the phrase is “try to [verb]”, not “try and [verb]”.
#Smutcember D23: Lots of my friends have read my smut, particularly anyone who knew me back in my more fanfic-focused days. In fact, I still have many friends I know originally *because* of such escapades back on LiveJournal.😅
Considering that many of you may be spending time with loved ones this month, #Smutcember:
Who among your friends and family has read your smut? Has it been a positive experience sharing it with them?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
Who among your friends and family has read your smut? Has it been a positive experience sharing it with them?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
#Smutcember D23: Lots of my friends have read my smut, particularly anyone who knew me back in my more fanfic-focused days. In fact, I still have many friends I know originally *because* of such escapades back on LiveJournal.😅
Hm. I knew my ring finger felt a little weird after yesterday's archery, but I didn't realize just how weird until I got home and started trying to type on my laptop.
I have too much writing work to do, I cannot have a non-functional finger right now 😅
I have too much writing work to do, I cannot have a non-functional finger right now 😅
December 23, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Hm. I knew my ring finger felt a little weird after yesterday's archery, but I didn't realize just how weird until I got home and started trying to type on my laptop.
I have too much writing work to do, I cannot have a non-functional finger right now 😅
I have too much writing work to do, I cannot have a non-functional finger right now 😅
Reposted by Cass Morris
2025 Headline of the Year nominee (April)
December 23, 2025 at 12:19 AM
2025 Headline of the Year nominee (April)
#Smutcember D20: tbd if I'll catch up on all the missed days from my vacation, but this one felt necessary. 🥰 I've shared this quote before, back in November, but it's just too good an "almost" not to share again. 😉
December 23, 2025 at 3:25 AM
#Smutcember D20: tbd if I'll catch up on all the missed days from my vacation, but this one felt necessary. 🥰 I've shared this quote before, back in November, but it's just too good an "almost" not to share again. 😉
#Smutcember D22: I actually rolled up character sheets for Sempronius and Latona as Star Trek ttrpg characters, just for my own amusement, though I didn’t get as far as how they hook up. 😅 I’m certain I could, though.
Here's a fun exercise to start your week, #Smutcember:
If you were to write a sexy AU for any of your characters, what’s the setup, and who’s hooking up? If you HAVE written (or drawn!) such an AU already, feel free to share it!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
If you were to write a sexy AU for any of your characters, what’s the setup, and who’s hooking up? If you HAVE written (or drawn!) such an AU already, feel free to share it!
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
December 23, 2025 at 12:40 AM
#Smutcember D22: I actually rolled up character sheets for Sempronius and Latona as Star Trek ttrpg characters, just for my own amusement, though I didn’t get as far as how they hook up. 😅 I’m certain I could, though.