James Parenti
@jamesparenti.bsky.social
Writer, performer, cat dad (he/him)
My writing:
- https://www.havenspec.com/the-back-of-the-hand-to-everything
- https://www.thedreadmachine.com/nothing-separates-you/
My writing:
- https://www.havenspec.com/the-back-of-the-hand-to-everything
- https://www.thedreadmachine.com/nothing-separates-you/
“Show me slowly what I only know the limits of.”
February 4, 2026 at 3:16 AM
“Show me slowly what I only know the limits of.”
“Dance me through the panic til I’m gathered safely in” is a line that just had no right to go so hard.
Leonard Cohen was a real one.
Leonard Cohen was a real one.
February 4, 2026 at 3:15 AM
“Dance me through the panic til I’m gathered safely in” is a line that just had no right to go so hard.
Leonard Cohen was a real one.
Leonard Cohen was a real one.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve been beating myself up for not being more productive lately, so it’s nice to know I’m not the only one!
January 22, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve been beating myself up for not being more productive lately, so it’s nice to know I’m not the only one!
POST AN EMERGENCY CAT PIC
January 22, 2026 at 2:49 PM
POST AN EMERGENCY CAT PIC
As someone who’s moved to Philly in the last few years, I’d like to add that the local population’s enthusiasm for fireworks cannot be overstated. I think there’s a box or two ready to go in every basement at all times. Just putting that out there!
January 16, 2026 at 1:32 AM
As someone who’s moved to Philly in the last few years, I’d like to add that the local population’s enthusiasm for fireworks cannot be overstated. I think there’s a box or two ready to go in every basement at all times. Just putting that out there!
I'm on a big Cure kick lately! The whole Bloodlowers album, but especially "Watching Me Fall." It's great writing music!
Watching Me Fall
YouTube video by The Cure - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:20 PM
I'm on a big Cure kick lately! The whole Bloodlowers album, but especially "Watching Me Fall." It's great writing music!
Amazing, thank you!
January 5, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Amazing, thank you!
Your guidelines say 4000-ish words max—may I ask how strict that cutoff is?
January 5, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Your guidelines say 4000-ish words max—may I ask how strict that cutoff is?
Reposted by James Parenti
For 2026 let’s remind ourselves what really matters: weird fiction
January 1, 2026 at 12:30 AM
For 2026 let’s remind ourselves what really matters: weird fiction
Here’s a vote for Option 2. Finished reading Shriek earlier this year and I’m still hungry for more ways to engage with it
December 30, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Here’s a vote for Option 2. Finished reading Shriek earlier this year and I’m still hungry for more ways to engage with it
There’s a newer horror mag called Remains if you haven’t tried them yet! @remainsmagazine.bsky.social
December 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM
There’s a newer horror mag called Remains if you haven’t tried them yet! @remainsmagazine.bsky.social
And now it's been fully deconstructed, rebuilt, polished, and sent off to my beta reader friends. After focusing on longer projects for a while now, this quicker turnaround is really refreshing. Getting excited to start subbing it hopefully early next year!
December 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
And now it's been fully deconstructed, rebuilt, polished, and sent off to my beta reader friends. After focusing on longer projects for a while now, this quicker turnaround is really refreshing. Getting excited to start subbing it hopefully early next year!
“The Mastermind” and “Sorry, Baby” were both instant classics for me!
December 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
“The Mastermind” and “Sorry, Baby” were both instant classics for me!
Check it out: "Last Play of the Game," an urgent, breathless flash piece by @marioaliberto3.bsky.social that uses a single sentence to move laterally, backward, and forward in time. I love that the whole team is the protagonist rather than a single player!
www.vestalreview.net/last-play-of...
www.vestalreview.net/last-play-of...
Last Play of the Game — Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
December 8, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Check it out: "Last Play of the Game," an urgent, breathless flash piece by @marioaliberto3.bsky.social that uses a single sentence to move laterally, backward, and forward in time. I love that the whole team is the protagonist rather than a single player!
www.vestalreview.net/last-play-of...
www.vestalreview.net/last-play-of...
You did it, you did it! And now I hope you can find some time to rest :)
November 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
You did it, you did it! And now I hope you can find some time to rest :)
This is a great thread, and one I really needed to read today. I'm always grateful when @delilahsdawson.bsky.social shares her hard-won wisdom!
I think one of the hardest things about being a career writer in traditional publishing is that writing attracts the neurodivergent brain while the variable reinforcement schedule punishes it. We are all the rat at the water bottle, waiting for the hit of cocaine. You get one win, and you need MORE.
November 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
This is a great thread, and one I really needed to read today. I'm always grateful when @delilahsdawson.bsky.social shares her hard-won wisdom!
Ooh, I loved this story! So glad to see it find a wonderful home!
November 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Ooh, I loved this story! So glad to see it find a wonderful home!
Reposted by James Parenti
if you think "AI" is going to "outperform" writers at "literary fiction" we have nothing else to talk about. there is a fundamental rift in the way we see art and humanity and it's never gonna get solved, even when this AI horseshit goes away
November 19, 2025 at 2:53 PM
if you think "AI" is going to "outperform" writers at "literary fiction" we have nothing else to talk about. there is a fundamental rift in the way we see art and humanity and it's never gonna get solved, even when this AI horseshit goes away
Reposted by James Parenti
A bunch of writer friends are noting that they have not used LLMs to write. Me either, absolutely not. I feel like we need to stop asking kids what they want to BE when they grow up and start asking them what they want to DO. Because: I am not here to BE A WRITER, I am here to WRITE.
November 9, 2025 at 12:04 PM
A bunch of writer friends are noting that they have not used LLMs to write. Me either, absolutely not. I feel like we need to stop asking kids what they want to BE when they grow up and start asking them what they want to DO. Because: I am not here to BE A WRITER, I am here to WRITE.
I did some of my earliest writing when I was working as a waiter. You know those tiny moleskine notebooks the size of your hand? They fit perfectly in the server book I kept in my apron, and nobody was the wiser!
November 8, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I did some of my earliest writing when I was working as a waiter. You know those tiny moleskine notebooks the size of your hand? They fit perfectly in the server book I kept in my apron, and nobody was the wiser!
Well I just watched the first episode and I am now very excited to read your story!
November 8, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Well I just watched the first episode and I am now very excited to read your story!
Just ordered my copy—really excited to read this one!
November 6, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Just ordered my copy—really excited to read this one!
Out here representing in PA. Hoping for good news from NYC.
November 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Out here representing in PA. Hoping for good news from NYC.