Theodora Goss
@theodoragoss.bsky.social
The secret to writing with AI: don’t.
January 5, 2026 at 8:38 PM
The secret to writing with AI: don’t.
To read . . .
I clicked with some trepidation, expecting the usual bromides. But this excellent piece by none other than Elizabeth McCracken is full of wisdom and practical thoughts. @elizmccrack.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...
Dreaming of writing your novel this year? Rip up all the rules!
After 35 years of teaching fiction writing, the prize-winning author shares her wisdom. First tip? Don’t write what you know…
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:40 PM
To read . . .
Being a writer is really hard because you have to spend SO long finding the right names for trolls!
January 3, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Being a writer is really hard because you have to spend SO long finding the right names for trolls!
Reposted by Theodora Goss
At the current show on Le Guin's life and work in Portland, visitors can try out her old typewriter. She bought it used in 1966, after she sold her 2nd novel, Planet of Exile. She typed A Wizard of Earthsea on it, Left Hand of Darkness, Lathe of Heaven, The Dispossessed...
January 3, 2026 at 6:31 AM
At the current show on Le Guin's life and work in Portland, visitors can try out her old typewriter. She bought it used in 1966, after she sold her 2nd novel, Planet of Exile. She typed A Wizard of Earthsea on it, Left Hand of Darkness, Lathe of Heaven, The Dispossessed...
Reposted by Theodora Goss
The King Oak - Tullamore, Ireland
Wonderful ancient oak, estimated as up to 800 years old
Photo: Alan Holly
Wonderful ancient oak, estimated as up to 800 years old
Photo: Alan Holly
January 2, 2026 at 8:09 AM
The King Oak - Tullamore, Ireland
Wonderful ancient oak, estimated as up to 800 years old
Photo: Alan Holly
Wonderful ancient oak, estimated as up to 800 years old
Photo: Alan Holly
Reposted by Theodora Goss
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
January 1, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
Instead of watching fireworks, I’m watching snow fall silently, magically over Budapest.
December 31, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Instead of watching fireworks, I’m watching snow fall silently, magically over Budapest.
This is an awesome thread. :)
This set of observations is produced by my scrolling Reddit and otherwise listening to people talk about "how to write."
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
December 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This is an awesome thread. :)
Reposted by Theodora Goss
This Brazilian woman hates AI
December 30, 2025 at 10:25 PM
This Brazilian woman hates AI
Reposted by Theodora Goss
Explore @garykwolfe’s review of LETTERS FROM AN IMAGINARY COUNTRY by @theodoragoss.bsky.social: “her voice remains entirely her own, ranging from clear-eyed lyricism to mordant wit... with more than a trace of melancholy and an unabashed sense of romance”
Letters from an Imaginary Country by Theodora Goss: Review by Gary K. Wolfe
Letters from an Imaginary Country, Theodora Goss (Tachyon 978-1-61696-440-5, $18.95, 352pp, tp) November 2025. “I’m deeply interested in how we create reality through stories,” writes Theodora Gos…
locusmag.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Explore @garykwolfe’s review of LETTERS FROM AN IMAGINARY COUNTRY by @theodoragoss.bsky.social: “her voice remains entirely her own, ranging from clear-eyed lyricism to mordant wit... with more than a trace of melancholy and an unabashed sense of romance”
This is such a good idea. :)
Is one of your New Years Resolutions to do more long hand writing? Well, if it's not it should be, but we can talk about that later, but if you're already on board getting off your screen & getting onto a page, start strong our our first Pencils Up of 2026! Sunday January 4 at 5PM in Cambridge!
Pencils Up Writers Hour
“Pencils Up!” is an informal monthly gathering for anyone interested in writing. Whether you’re a casual journaler or a poet laureate, join us for an hour of silent writing (and a few minutes of optional sharing at the end). Bring something you’re already working on or start something new (informal prompts will be provided). Pencils, pens, and actual paper are encouraged!
portersquarebooks.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM
This is such a good idea. :)
Reposted by Theodora Goss
Also re-upping this interview about Murderbot and real, or the lack of real, AI, one of my favorites of the year:
Linking to this Scientific American interview again: www.scientificamerican.com/article/were...
We’re Light-Years Away from True Artificial Intelligence, Says Murderbot Author Martha Wells
Today’s large language models are hardly related to the kinds of machine intelligence we see in science fiction, according to Martha Wells, author of the Murderbot Diaries series
www.scientificamerican.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Also re-upping this interview about Murderbot and real, or the lack of real, AI, one of my favorites of the year:
Reposted by Theodora Goss
If all life inevitably comes to an end, we must color ours with the colors of love and hope.
- Marc Chagall
- Marc Chagall
December 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
If all life inevitably comes to an end, we must color ours with the colors of love and hope.
- Marc Chagall
- Marc Chagall
Reposted by Theodora Goss
OUR BEST SALE EVER ENDS IN 3 DAYS!
30% OFF SITEWIDE
Use #coupon code YEAREND30
buff.ly/BCqYRJ9
30% off everything including physical books, ebooks, limiteds, and pre-orders.
When we say everything, we mean everything!
30% OFF SITEWIDE
Use #coupon code YEAREND30
buff.ly/BCqYRJ9
30% off everything including physical books, ebooks, limiteds, and pre-orders.
When we say everything, we mean everything!
December 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
OUR BEST SALE EVER ENDS IN 3 DAYS!
30% OFF SITEWIDE
Use #coupon code YEAREND30
buff.ly/BCqYRJ9
30% off everything including physical books, ebooks, limiteds, and pre-orders.
When we say everything, we mean everything!
30% OFF SITEWIDE
Use #coupon code YEAREND30
buff.ly/BCqYRJ9
30% off everything including physical books, ebooks, limiteds, and pre-orders.
When we say everything, we mean everything!
This. I’m ok with AI training on my IP if we nationalize the AI companies. Fair’s fair. youtube.com/shorts/7eQIU...
Novelist confronts AI researcher over intellectual property | Janne Teller, Timothy Nguyen
YouTube video by The Institute of Art and Ideas
youtube.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
This. I’m ok with AI training on my IP if we nationalize the AI companies. Fair’s fair. youtube.com/shorts/7eQIU...
I added this page in the Fairytale Heroine's Journey sequence, and it occurred to me that I could use these reminders myself . . .
"So what does this mean for us, heroines of our own fairy tales? It means that we will endure temptations and trials."
theodoragossessays.com/the-heroine-...
"So what does this mean for us, heroines of our own fairy tales? It means that we will endure temptations and trials."
theodoragossessays.com/the-heroine-...
The Heroine Endures Temptations and Trials
Temptations and trials are a distinct phase of the fairy tale heroine’s journey, and they are two separate things: temptations, trials. Cinderella undergoes a trial when she has to become a s…
theodoragossessays.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:39 AM
I added this page in the Fairytale Heroine's Journey sequence, and it occurred to me that I could use these reminders myself . . .
"So what does this mean for us, heroines of our own fairy tales? It means that we will endure temptations and trials."
theodoragossessays.com/the-heroine-...
"So what does this mean for us, heroines of our own fairy tales? It means that we will endure temptations and trials."
theodoragossessays.com/the-heroine-...
Today I'm updating the Fairytale Heroine's Journey page on my essays website. All the essays in that sequence will eventually be found at this link.
theodoragossessays.com/journey/
(The illustration is by Florence Mary Anderson.)
theodoragossessays.com/journey/
(The illustration is by Florence Mary Anderson.)
December 28, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Today I'm updating the Fairytale Heroine's Journey page on my essays website. All the essays in that sequence will eventually be found at this link.
theodoragossessays.com/journey/
(The illustration is by Florence Mary Anderson.)
theodoragossessays.com/journey/
(The illustration is by Florence Mary Anderson.)
Poem for today. :)
The fairies came to my christening.
They were not invited — my family,
not being royalty, did not know
any fairies personally.
They just showed up, as fairies
do sometimes.
theodoragosspoems.com/2020/06/11/t...
The fairies came to my christening.
They were not invited — my family,
not being royalty, did not know
any fairies personally.
They just showed up, as fairies
do sometimes.
theodoragosspoems.com/2020/06/11/t...
The Fairies’ Gifts
The Fairies’ Gifts by Theodora Goss The fairies came to my christening. They were not invited — my family, not being royalty, did not know any fairies personally. They just showed up, a…
theodoragosspoems.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Poem for today. :)
The fairies came to my christening.
They were not invited — my family,
not being royalty, did not know
any fairies personally.
They just showed up, as fairies
do sometimes.
theodoragosspoems.com/2020/06/11/t...
The fairies came to my christening.
They were not invited — my family,
not being royalty, did not know
any fairies personally.
They just showed up, as fairies
do sometimes.
theodoragosspoems.com/2020/06/11/t...
Reposted by Theodora Goss
My dad’s review of the first 5 stories of the new @theodoragoss.bsky.social collection that I have not read myself yet: “deeply strange, beautiful word choice though” Alright thanks man
December 28, 2025 at 4:04 AM
My dad’s review of the first 5 stories of the new @theodoragoss.bsky.social collection that I have not read myself yet: “deeply strange, beautiful word choice though” Alright thanks man
Reposted by Theodora Goss
This is a great expression of the thing I keep saying about text-generating algorithms: “Hallucination” isn’t some kind of glitch. ALL their responses are hallucinations. Sometimes they align with reality, sometimes they don’t.
December 27, 2025 at 8:07 AM
This is a great expression of the thing I keep saying about text-generating algorithms: “Hallucination” isn’t some kind of glitch. ALL their responses are hallucinations. Sometimes they align with reality, sometimes they don’t.
New blog post: "Mother Night's Tapestry"
"Let’s go into the castle — Mother Night has beckoned us in. We follow her to the tower, which is so tall that we can’t see the top of it — it’s taller on the inside."
theodoragoss.com/2025/12/23/m...
"Let’s go into the castle — Mother Night has beckoned us in. We follow her to the tower, which is so tall that we can’t see the top of it — it’s taller on the inside."
theodoragoss.com/2025/12/23/m...
Mother Night’s Tapestry
First, you have to get to Mother Night’s country. It’s both through and beyond: through any doorway, but also beyond the place you’re stepping into, so you can’t just step t…
theodoragoss.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:49 AM
New blog post: "Mother Night's Tapestry"
"Let’s go into the castle — Mother Night has beckoned us in. We follow her to the tower, which is so tall that we can’t see the top of it — it’s taller on the inside."
theodoragoss.com/2025/12/23/m...
"Let’s go into the castle — Mother Night has beckoned us in. We follow her to the tower, which is so tall that we can’t see the top of it — it’s taller on the inside."
theodoragoss.com/2025/12/23/m...
My annual Christmas poem. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! :)
"In the cold, dark night, a woman is giving birth."
theodoragosspoems.com/2018/12/26/c...
"In the cold, dark night, a woman is giving birth."
theodoragosspoems.com/2018/12/26/c...
Christmas Night
Christmas Night by Theodora Goss In the cold, dark night, a woman is giving birth. She is young and beautiful, not much more than a child herself, and all the stars are looking down to watch this e…
theodoragosspoems.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:21 AM
My annual Christmas poem. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! :)
"In the cold, dark night, a woman is giving birth."
theodoragosspoems.com/2018/12/26/c...
"In the cold, dark night, a woman is giving birth."
theodoragosspoems.com/2018/12/26/c...
Does anyone else just stop looking at something the moment you realize it’s an ad, now? I find the moment I realize someone on social media is advertising something, I tune out. (Promoting your own book or art does not count. That, I support and want to hear about.)
December 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Does anyone else just stop looking at something the moment you realize it’s an ad, now? I find the moment I realize someone on social media is advertising something, I tune out. (Promoting your own book or art does not count. That, I support and want to hear about.)