Posts Tagged ‘fiction’

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings

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“Anytime someone starts a sentence with, ‘why don’t you just,’
immediately stop listening to them.”
~Valerie Valdes (Lia Amador)

New 2025 logo, tiny Mur on pink/orange background with purple circle saying I should Be Writing.While it hasn’t been a long time for podcast listeners, it’s been a while for us and considering her expertise, I’ve invited Valerie Valdes back for a candid discussion about the recent demise of NaNoWriMo and what it means for writers. We delve into the challenges of maintaining community and motivation without the established infrastructure of the once-beloved event. Valerie shares her insights as a former municipal liaison and offers alternatives for writers looking to stay engaged during November.

We cover Nano 2.0, Shut Up and Write, and 4 The Words. Community is one of the most important parts of this month, and we make sure people know that they’re still not alone!

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on November 4, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

 

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“NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

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CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

November 6, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 21 | murverse.com
“NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

Projects

[Fic] An Unauthorized Holiday Blaseball Fanfic: “Loopholes”

Loopholes coverNotes-

  • This is my holiday Blaseball fanfic. I have nothing to do with Blaseball, I make nothing from it. It’s a free story called “Loopholes” and it’s entirely unauthorized. If you’re not familiar with Blaseball, then check out the wiki for clarification on some of these people/terms I use. (Don’t look up Lancelot Dine-N-Dash or Eccentric Performance on the wiki; they’re original characters.)
  • If you’re here from Blaseball fandom, welcome! I write fiction, do livestreaming, and am a veteran podcaster (16 years at last count).
  • This is totally free. If you like my fiction, I’m going to start releasing stuff monthly on my Patreon.
  • I wrote this 6400 word story in two days with one to polish, so if there are typos, tense changes, or inconsistencies, I apologize. But I wanted to get it out before Christmas.
  • CW: lots of blood (very little comes from living beings), confinement, speaking of incinerations.

 

Loopholes
by Mur Lafferty

There are no holidays in blaseball.

Well. Except for the Singe, the day commemorating the first incineration. And the *******, the Day of Silence where we mark the unholy necromantic return of Jaylen Hotdogfingers. And Two For One, where folks celebrate the return of Hotdogfingers.

Blaseball exists in a multiverse, you see. If you can imagine it, then it’s probably happened at some time, to some person.

But we can’t tell all the stories at once. We don’t have that kind of time. So we are telling this story, which is the story of the Field of Eggs on the winter solstice. And a loophole in the strict rules of this world.

Look over there, trudging through the bloody Field of Eggs with his head down. It’s the keeper of the eggs, Lancelot Dine-N-Dash.

In some multiverses, Lancelot Dine-N-Dash is a blaseball manager. At last count, he managed the Tokyo Lift, or the Houston Spies, or the Hades Tigers. In these ‘verses, he is wealthy and wears pinstripe suits with polka-dotted ties.

Aside- in no known multiverse has Lancelot been known to put together a flattering outfit. (more…)

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