Everyone: Please please please don't write your books in Google Docs. Frankly don't use Google Drive for personal stuff.
Their terms of service say they take down stuff like content related to terrorism and trafficking, but this Google Sheet was literally a list of movies I'd watched this year and books I'd read.
Holy smokes, guys. It's way worse than I thought. Google actually took away access to every single file of fiction writing I'd made on that account. BUT I backed it all up on Scrivener yesterday by coincidence. So I haven't lost my work, but I could have just lost the 12,000 words I've written this month after a year of really intense writer's block. I honestly don't know what that would have done to my psyche.
Please be careful out there, folks! <3
That is awful! If you're looking for a gdocs-like replacement, Ellipsus @ellipsus-writes is an explicitly queer friendly, anti-AI equivalent with online syncing and sharing - I've been using it for almost a year now as a replacement for gdocs and absolutely love it. They are pro-fanfic, so much so that they have a dedicated "export to Ao3" option that preserves all your formatting. They don't have an app (yet) but you can add it to your home screen via your mobile browser if you want.
I do still back up all my work to local storage on LibreOffice (free to download, Microsoft Office equivalent) too though, thank goodness you backed up to Scrivener OP!
a comment a day keeps the insanity at bay
✨ New in Ellipsus... Highlights!
You asked (nicely, persistently 🫣); we listened...
And after a little reshuffling behind the scenes, we’re stoked to bring you one of our most requested features: highlighter colors are here!
Now you can color-code the chaos, flag what needs fixing, organize to your heart’s content, or just use them for edits, moodboarding, sheer joy. Whatever works for your brain.
We hope this makes your writing life just a little comfier. Happy highlighting!
- the Ellipsus Team xo
Theme Thursday is (once again) upon us! 🎨🪄
This week, we’re getting a little academic, a little magical, with a bit of drama on the side.
You can find ‘em in Ellipsus right now:
Marble: Antiquities, timelessness, parchment scribbles, frittering away a few hours in a quiet museum.
Leatherbound: Dark and dusty libraries, marginalia, forgotten texts, covert whispers in the stacks.
Red Velvet: Passionate, maaaaybe a little vampiric. Bleeding hearts welcome.
Labyrinth A deep purple gradient, for when your words need a little extra enchantment.
New themes drop every Thursday! What vibe are you writing in this week? Let us know, and give us suggestions! 🫣❤️
Witchy drafts deserve witchy vibes, and your words deserve a space as magical as you are. 🪄
... Watch for Theme Thursday, and come cast your spell in Ellipsus. 💜
- the Ellipsus Team xo
sometimes i write one good sentence and then go lie down like i've just been exorcised
Alert, alert—a new THEMES DROP is upon us! 🎨
This week, Ellipsus has four fresh new themes to make your writing space feel a bit more you.
Give your docs some personality with…
- Roseglow: for the romantics; a dreamy soft blush with candlelight accents.
- Resistance: A crumbling dystopia, with a glimmer of green hope breaking through the cracks.
- Jazzy Blue: Deep, mellow blues—perf for moody night owls.
- Mermaid: A glittery fantasy gradient to give your docs a little magic.
Make your workspace as magical (or mysterious) as your writing—head over to the Theme Picker and switch things up! (And please please please! Let us know which one’s your vibe!)
For our final Pride wrap-up over on the blog, we’re shining the spotlight where it belongs: on you wonderful people, the Ellipsus writers who carve out space for your words every day.
We hope you plastered every available surface with stickers (it's not vandalism if it's sparkly ✨)—because thanks to your support, we were able to donate over $1k to organizations that matter so much right now: protecting trans youth (Trans Lifeline), fighting censorship and discriminatory bans (ACLU), and helping keep critical helplines open through The Trevor Project—which needs urgent support after being shuttered by the Trump admin, effective July 17. (You can sign their petition and donate directly here.)
Love y'all. Let's drown out 2025’s hellscape with something that actually matters. Your stories change the narrative—never stop telling them.
✨ We're hiring!
Ellipsus is growing, word by word, story by story... and we’re looking for someone who loves creative writing as much as we do.
If you're passionate about storytelling, fandom, important conversations, and connecting with other writers on TikTok, we’d love to meet you!
TikTok Content Manager at Ellipsus
You'll be helping us build Ellipsus into a creative home dedicated to human creativity, writer empowerment, and community. We’re proudly anti-AI (and proud of every story our community shares!), committed to the unexpected, to amplifying marginalized voices, and supporting creative writers at every stage… on their own terms.
Feel free to share this with someone you think would be perfect!
HMM what do we have here?! (theme drop, theme drop!)
... It’s kinda the perfect time to enter your queer-coded villain era… and now there’s a theme for that! 😇
Check out our new Pride Dark theme in the tool! ✨🖤
- The Ellipsus Team xo
ellipsus-writesHey hey hey Ellipsus fam! 💫Happy to share that you can now update your user avatar directly in Ellipsus. Just head to your settings page, hover over your current avatar, click the pencil icon, and upload a new image.We have a few more improvements up our sleeve before we officially say buh-bye to Gravatar, so keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks... 👀
- The Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#fiction#fanfic#fanfiction#collaborative writing#ellipsus460 notes
Sponsored
ellipsus-writes
Know a notebook, laptop, or bathroom stall that could use a little zhuzh? (It’s not vandalism if it’s ✨aesthetic✨)We’ve got just the thing... ... Yep, we’re officially jumping on the merch gambit.With a whole slew of stickers to choose from, you can support your favorite local writing tool, stay delightfully AI-free, and let the world know you write like a human.
And for Pride, 50% of all proceeds will go to The Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline, and The ACLU this June.Check em out here!
- the Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#fiction#fanfic#fanfiction#collaborative writing#anti ai#creative writing#pride#pride month#lgbt pride#trans pride#queer pride#writing tools#ellipsus1,578 notes
ellipsus-writesStories of resistance; communities of power(Read over on the blog!)
The first time I met a queer character was a literal flash in the dark: stumbling onto Maurice on the IFC channel, sometime around midnight—the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel where the two leads actually get a happy ending.Before that, the only queer characters I’d ever seen were Scar and Ursula, camping, preening, and scheming their way to classic villainhood—swishy, fabulous, undeniably doomed. And then I found Oscar Wilde at the library: an actual gay writer (thrilling: I bought a poster on the nascent internet of the author lounging on a settee and taped it too my bedroom door—abandon straightness, all ye who enter here). And then I learned how it ended: destroyed by the state, dragged through a prejudicial court system—the ultimate doomed narrative, for the crime of being human.There have been big strides in the, uh… how many intervening years? (Y2K was 10 years ago, right?) We no longer have to sit quietly, waiting for a flicker of queer joy on late-night TV, clawing our way through a wasteland of tragedy to feel seen.Now, we make our own stories.I wrote my own stories in high school; digging through the cracks to find historic queer spaces I could enter, rediscovering buried worlds and realizing we’d always been here. (Ask me about mid-18th-century gay life in Paris, or ‘20s Berlin... or don’t.) And fanfic, which went mainstream a little later, changed everything. It’s the way so many people carve out space for themselves—claiming stories that were never meant for us and making them our own.Of course, it’s 2025. There are tragedies happening right now. Big ones, small ones, ones so personal they’ll never make the news; losses so massive they leave entire communities grieving. They can feel insurmountable.But we have something stronger—community.You’re already doing the work. You’re making yourselves visible—writing without permission, without waiting for gatekeepers to tell you what’s marketable or appropriate. You write anyway. You’re valid because you write. Your stories spread across the void, forming bonds when they most want to divide us. Instead of more tragedy, you’re making whole universes gay (literally).Telling stories—messy, joyful, painful, honest, true—will always be a defiant act. Every time you write a queer character, spin a fanfic with queer headcanons, share a few lines that spring straight from your gut, you’re pushing back. The act of creation sets off a chain reaction—visibility, empathy, and the simple, profound reminder that you’re not alone.That’s the gift of stories: to expand someone’s world, to help them see others—and themselves—more clearly, no matter what the world tells you. The power of storytelling has always been revolutionary, and the beauty of community is that it makes us unbreakable.Our community proves this every day. You show up for each other—offering feedback, encouragement, shouting 2AM prompts and plotbunnies into the void (and the void answers back). You share your worlds, your ideas, your selves. You make space for each other, and you make Ellipsus stronger, more resilient, and more fiercely alive.That’s why Pride matters. And why writing matters—more than ever.For us, this work is personal. As a queer-founded company (myself—Rex—and my partner, John—hey how are you), we built Ellipsus as a home for creators who, like us, find deep belonging in community and creative expression.With queer voices under attack—rights stripped away, books banned, Pride erased from calendars (FCK GGL)—we don’t need to tell you we’re worried. You’re worried, too. But together, we’re determined. We’re courageous and connected.For Pride Month, we’re excited to give back to the community that gives so much to us—and to launch a few things along the way…A new Pride theme for EllipsusBecause queer joy should shine in every word you write. (Yes, it’s forever—not just for June!)
And coming soon…You’ll be able to support your favorite little writing tool in more ways… yep, we’re jumping on the merch gambit. But it’s not all about us—50% of all proceeds from our shop will go directly to LGBTQ+ organizations fighting back against censorship, discrimination, and erasure:The Trevor Project—Supporting LGBTQ+ youth.Trans Lifeline—Providing life-saving resources for trans people.The ACLU—Fighting for freedom of expression, trans rights, and against book bans and censorship.... Pride is about all of us—so we want to hear from you.What does Pride mean to you as a writer? How does your creativity reflect your community, and your hopes for the future? How does writing get you through it, help you make connections, and bring you joy?Share your stories in our Discord, or shout into the void of Tumblr, Bluesky (and tag us!). We’ll be sharing some of your responses throughout the month.
Our aim is simple: to give you a space to write freely, protect freedom of expression, and uplift queer voices—not just for a month, but for as long as it takes. #writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#fiction#fanfic#fanfiction#pride#lgbt pride#queer pride#trans pride#creative freedom#freedom of expression#ellipsus#“they're putting chemicals in the water that turn the freaking word processors gay”… See all493 notes
ellipsus-writesHeeeeey all!!At Ellipsus, we don’t just celebrate Pride in June—we live it every day. 🌈As a queer-founded company building a space for our very, very gay (🙌) creative community, we know how much this month matters.Words and books are being banned. Rights are under attack. Pride Month is erased from calendars by our arch-nemesis (and yours). Big tech grovels for power in a race to the bottom (oof, their knees must be raw).But Pride persists, and queer stories won’t be erased.We’re here to stand by our community, protect freedom of expression, and keep queer voices writing loud—not just for a month; for as long as it takes.So, here’s our first little offering: a fancy schmancy Pride theme! ✨There’s much more to come, so stay tuned all month long!
- the Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#collaborative writing#pride#ellipsus3,322 notes
ellipsus-writesReblogged yeahwritenondelphicFollowhow to outline a story:write a bullet point list of everything that happensrealize it doesn’t make sensecrystart writing anywayauthor-a-holmesWrite a bullet point list of everything that happens.Realise that it doesn't make sense, but that's okay because an outline is just a guideline anyway.Start writing, and notice that as you write you are changing things from your outline to better tell the story you wanted to tell.Be shocked that you can adjust your outline as you write, to accomodate the additional storytelling you've discovered as you go, and that an outline is just a set of railroad tracks to take you in the right direction, meanwhile, the story is the train.Have FUN.#writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#fiction
ellipsus-writesReblogged bookgeekdomashstfuFollowif you read, you're hot. i don't make the rules#writeblr#writing#writers on tumblr#reading
ellipsus-writesReblogged yeahwritemy-midlife-crisisFollowNo children are allowed in the Library of Congress.It's not that kind of library.In other words...You are being lied toagainmadenthusiasmsEverything published in the US is copied to the Library of Congress; appropriateness for children is not a criteria. Published is under copyright is. In order to read something in the Library of Congress, you must, in order:1) Be 16+ years old and in possession of ID such as a driver’s license or passport to obtain a LoC card2) Make an appointment to go to a reading room3) Know what it is you want to read and which library building it is in so you can fill out a request form when you arrive. So the chances of a “child” just stumbling over something “inappropriate” that was “put” there by the choice of the head librarian is 100% impossible. Leavitt seems to believe that if she wears a big enough cross, God can’t hear her breaking the commandment against false witness. theyhaveacavetrollCall to Action: Reinstate the Librarian of CongressDr. Carla Hayden was unjustly firedcongresscallers.substack.comRight now, we have large parts of Congress in our corner on this. We need pressure, and we need it now before they can cave and install Trump's goons to start ripping the place apart. The goal here is that, at bare minimum, Congress jerks Trump up short on this and starts the process of removing the power to appoint the new librarian from him. The dream is to get Dr. Hayden reinstated, but realistically speaking, she's in her seventies and her term was up next year anyway, so I'm not sure she'd be willing to step back into the fray. We really, really need to make sure that the regime is not allowed to appoint an acting librarian, not allowed to appoint a new head of copyright, and not allowed to start ripping out large parts of the library's collections and doing gods alone know what with them. #writing#public libraries#support libraries#library of congress#american politics#freedom of expression#important
ellipsus-writesReblogged omskivarsoberqueerinthewildFollowShel Silverstein predicting ChatGPT in 1981 #writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#anti ai#shel silverstein#fck gpt
ellipsus-writesRebloggedya-habibiFollowthe em dash calls to me like the green goblin mask whenever I’m writing a fic#writing#writeblr#fanfiction#fanfic#em dash#one dash to rule them all#don't let AI steal it from us!
ellipsus-writesReblogged randomramblesofraddersbananonbinaryFollowThis was the funniest hour of my lifetheenglishmanwithallthebananasAt the end of the panel we gave them a round of applause for being so brave in trying to write straights and cisgenderstheenglishmanwithallthebananasEspecially Jasika, who got very emotional about her childhood with straight parentstheenglishmanwithallthebananastypes of comments on this post:-straight people saying :/ love is love :/ gay or straight why does it matter ://///-gay people saying wait no really i’ve never written a non-lesbian pls help-people pointing out that even straight people don’t know how to write straight people without unnecessary romancebryce-bearthe truly impressive part of this panel was how for an hour, a FULL hour, they talked about writing straight characters like the st8s talk about writing queer characters and they did. not. break. It was the most amazing piece of improv comedy i’ve ever seen. patina-millers-bicepsFOUND THE LINK: https://castbox.fm/episode/How-to-Create-Straight-Characters-id1117790-id62875239?country=usthe-cool-one-from-maniact h e l i n kalexseanchai[image: screenshot of the PodCon 2017 schedule listing for a panel entitled “How to Create Straight Characters”, moderated by Gaby Dunn of Bad With Money with participants Cecil Baldwin of Welcome to Night Vale and Jasika Dunn of Alice Isn’t Dead. (not shown, but identified in the Castbox link for the panel recording: panelist Brie Williams.) the panel description is below:]So often straight characters are defined by their romantic relationship with someone who is a different gender. How do you keep a story from being overwhelmed by the sexuality of your main character? Is it possible to have a straight character in a story without having a romantic relationship in order to demonstrate their straightness? And how does an LGBTQ storyteller include straight characters while remaining true to their own values and ideals? alexseanchaiWayback Machine saved the link at some point before it 404ed, but not real usefully. happily, Past Alex saved the audio!…I don’t suppose anyone is up for transcribing the audio?sanwichsharesHere you go :)[Transcript] How to Create Straight CharactersGD = Gaby DunnBW = Brie WilliamsCB = Cecil BaldwinJN = Jasika Nicole(Full transcript after cut)GD: Hello, welcome to how to create straight characters. I’m so glad that we are able to get this representation in. You know, it’s important to have an inclusive, ahem, con. I’m- Let’s go down and say who we are and what our credentials are to speak on this topic. Uh, I am Gaby Dunn. Uh, I am the host of Bad with Money. Noted bisexual. Uh, but I have met some straight people and also I like to look at straight memes. If you haven’t checked that out, they’re incredible. Seems like the straights are cheating all the time or trying to figure out if people are cheating. I constantly am like, are they okay? No, the answer is no.Keep readingalexseanchaioh sweet, people in the notes found Internet Archive has the audio now! let’s get that link on the same reblog as the transcript…Pod Con 2017 Panel: How To Create Straight Characters : Gaby Dunn : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchivePodCon 2017 panel“How to Create Straight Characters”Moderated by Gaby Dunn of Bad With Money, with participants:Cecil Baldwin of Welcome to Internet Archive
ellipsus-writesEach week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. (Find it on the blog too!) This week:Censorship watch: Somehow, KOSA returnedIt’s official: The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back from the dead. After failing to pass last year, the bipartisan bill has returned with fresh momentum and the same old baggage—namely, vague language that could endanger hosting platforms, transformative work, and implicitly target LGBTQ+ content under the guise of “protecting kids.”… But wait, it gets better (worse). Republican Senator Mike Lee has introduced a new bill that makes other attempts to censor the internet look tame: the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA)—basically KOSA on bath salts. Lee’s third attempt since 2022, the bill would redefine what counts as “obscene” content on the internet, and ban it nationwide—with “its peddlers prosecuted.”Whether IODA gains traction in Congress is still up in the air. But free speech advocates are already raising alarm bells over its implications.The bill aims to gut the long-standing legal definition of “obscenity” established by the 1973 Miller v. California ruling, which currently protects most speech under the First Amendment unless it fails a three-part test. Under the Miller test, content is only considered legally obscene if it 1: appeals to prurient interests, 2: violates “contemporary community standards,” and 3: is patently offensive in how it depicts sexual acts.IODA would throw out key parts of that test—specifically the bits about “community standards”—making it vastly easier to prosecute anything with sexual content, from films and photos, to novels and fanfic.Under Lee’s definition (which—omg shocking can you believe this coincidence—mirrors that of the Heritage Foundation), even the most mild content with the affect of possible “titillation” could be included. (According to the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the proposed definition is so broad it could rope in media on the level of Game of Thrones—or, generally, anything that depicts or describes human sexuality.) And while obscenity prosecutions are quite rare these days, that could change if IODA passes—and the collateral damage and criminalization (especially applied to creative freedoms and LGBT+ content creators) could be massive.And while Lee’s last two obscenity reboots failed, the current political climate is... let’s say, cloudy with a chance of fascism.Sound a little like Project 2025? Ding ding ding! In fact, Russell Vought, P2025’s architect, was just quietly appointed to take over DOGE from Elon Musk (the agency on a chainsaw crusade against federal programs, culture, and reality in general).So. One bill revives vague moral panic, another wants to legally redefine it and prosecute creators, and the man who helped write the authoritarian playbook—with, surprise, the intent to criminalize LGBT+ content and individuals—just gained control of the purse strings.Cool cool cool.AO3 works targeted in latest (massive) AI scrapingRewind to last month—In the latest “wait, they did what now?” moment for AI, a Hugging Face user going by nyuuzyou uploaded a massive dataset made up of roughly 12.6 million fanworks scraped from AO3—full text, metadata, tags, and all. (Info from r/AO3: If your works’ ID numbers between 1 and 63,200,000, and has public access, the work has been scraped.)And it didn’t stop at AO3. Art and writing communities like PaperDemon and Artfol, among others, also found their content had been quietly scraped and posted to machine learning hubs without consent.This is yet another attempt in a long line of more “official” scraping of creative work, and the complete disregard shown by the purveyors of GenAI for copyright law and basic consent. (Even the Pope agrees.)AO3 filed a DMCA takedown, and Hugging Face initially complied—temporarily. But nyuuzyou responded with a counterclaim and re-uploaded the dataset to their personal website and other platforms, including ModelScope and DataFish—sites based in China and Russia, the same locations reportedly linked to Meta’s own AI training dataset, LibGen.Some writers are locking their works. Others are filing individual DMCAs. But as long as bad actors and platforms like Hugging Face allow users to upload massive datasets scraped from creative communities with minimal oversight, it’s a circuitous game of whack-a-mole. (As others have recommended, we also suggest locking your works for registered users only.)After disavowing AI copyright, leadership purge hits U.S. cultural institutionsIn news that should give us all a brief flicker of hope, the U.S. Copyright Office officially confirmed: if your “creative” work was generated entirely by AI, it’s not eligible for copyright.A recently released report laid it out plainly—human authorship is non-negotiable under current U.S. law, a stance meant to protect the concept of authorship itself from getting swallowed by generative sludge. The report is explicit in noting that generative AI draws “on massive troves of data, including copyrighted works,” and asks: “Do any of the acts involved require the copyright owners’ consent or compensation?” (Spoiler: yes.) It’s a “straight ticket loss for the AI companies” no matter how many techbros’ pitch decks claim otherwise (sorry, Inkitt).“The Copyright Office (with a few exceptions) doesn’t have the power to issue binding interpretations of copyright law, but courts often cite to its expertise as persuasive,” tech law professor Blake. E Reid wrote on Bluesky.As the push to normalize AI-generated content continues (followed by lawsuits), without meaningful human contribution—actual creative labor—the output is not entitled to protection.… And then there’s the timing.The report dropped just before the abrupt firing of Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter, who has been vocally skeptical of AI’s entitlement to creative work.It's yet another culture war firing—one that also conveniently clears the way for fewer barriers to AI exploitation of creative work. And given that Elon Musk’s pals have their hands all over current federal leadership and GenAI tulip fever… the overlap of censorship politics and AI deregulation is looking less like coincidence and more like strategy.Also ousted (via email)—Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. According to White House press secretary and general ghoul Karoline Leavitt, Dr. Hayden was dismissed for “quite concerning things that she had done… in the pursuit of DEI, and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.” (Translation: books featuring queer people and POC.)Dr. Hayden, who made history as the first Black woman to hold the position, spent the last eight years modernizing the Library of Congress, expanding digital access, and turning the institution into something more inclusive, accessible, and, well, public. So of course, she had to go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯The American Library Association condemned the firing immediately, calling it an “unjust dismissal” and praising Dr. Hayden for her visionary leadership. And who, oh who might be the White House’s answer to the LoC’s demanding and (historically) independent role?The White House named Todd Blanche—AKA Trump’s personal lawyer turned Deputy Attorney General—as acting Librarian of Congress.That’s not just sus, it’s likely illegal—the Library is part of the legislative branch, and its leadership is supposed to be confirmed by Congress. (You know, separation of powers and all that.)But, plot twist: In a bold stand, Library of Congress staff are resisting the administration's attempts to install new leadership without congressional approval.If this is part of the broader Project 2025 playbook, it’s pretty clear: Gut cultural institutions, replace leadership with stunningly unqualified loyalists, and quietly centralize control over everything from copyright to the nation’s archives.Because when you can’t ban the books fast enough, you just take over the library.Rebellions are built on hopeOver the past few years (read: eternity), a whole ecosystem of reactionary grifters has sprung up around Star Wars—with self-styled CoNtEnT CrEaTorS turning outrage to revenue by endlessly trashing the fandom. It’s all part of the same cynical playbook that radicalized the fallout of Gamergate, with more lightsabers and worse thumbnails. Even the worst people you know weighed in on May the Fourth (while Prequel reassessment is totally valid—we’re not giving J.D. Vance a win).But one thing that shouldn't be up for debate is this: Andor, which wrapped its phenomenal two-season run this week, is probably the best Star Wars project of our time—maybe any time. It’s a masterclass in what it means to work within a beloved mythos and transform it, deepen it, and make it feel urgent again. (Sound familiar? Fanfic knows.)Radicalization, revolution, resistance. The banality of evil. The power of propaganda. Colonialism, occupation, genocide—and still, in the midst of it all, the stubborn, defiant belief in a better world (or Galaxy).Even if you’re not a lifelong SW nerd (couldn’t be us), you should give it a watch. It’s a nice reminder that amidst all the scraping, deregulation, censorship, enshittification—stories matter. Hope matters.And we’re still writing.Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, or join our Discord and share it there!- The Ellipsus Team xo#ellipsus#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#creative writing#anti ai#writing community#fanfic#fanfiction#ao3#fiction#us politics#andor#writing blog#creative freedom
ellipsus-writesReblogged yeahwriteprophetic-writerFollowgoddamn it.#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#writing memes
ellipsus-writes
If you outsource the act of being a fan to AI, what does that leave you? Fan creators are powerful because they’re deeply participatory media consumers—they don’t passively absorb a work, but grab onto it and reshape it to their will. Large tech and entertainment corporations prefer the passive: they want us sitting there, clicking a button, as stories wash over us like the automatic scroll of a video app. Next, next, next.
For fanfic writers, it can feel like generative AI is closing in on all sides.
… But isn’t writing the whole point of fan writing?
The incomparable Elizabeth Minkel shares her take on the intersections of fan culture and the rise of AI.
Read more over on the blog!#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#creative writing#ao3#archive of our own#ellipsus#generative ai#anti ai
ellipsus-writesWe know that privacy, safety, and security are incredibly important concerns for writers right now.So we’re running a short (anonymous!) survey about privacy, safety, and creative tools—what that means for writers; what features you need when it comes to protecting your work, identity, and creative freedom… and how Ellipsus can build around it.Your answers will help us shape new features that stay true to our values, and yours.Check it out here—we’d love to hear from you! <3- the Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fiction#fanfic#fanfiction#collaborative writing#collaboration#creative writing#writers community#anti ai#ellipsus
ellipsus-writesEach week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. This week:Inkitt’s AI-powered fiction factoryInkitt started in the mid-2010s as a cozy platform where anyone could share their writing. Fast forward twenty twenty-fuckkkkk, and like most startups, it’s pivoted hard into AI-fueled content production with the soul of an algorithm.Pictured: Inkitt preparing human-generated work for an AI-powered flume ride to The Unknown.Here’s how it works: Inkitt monitors reader engagement with tracking software, then picks popular stories to publish on its premium app, Galatea. From there, stories can get spun into sequels, spinoffs, or adapted for GalateaTV… often with minimal author involvement. Authors get an undisclosed cut of revenue, but for most, it’s a fraction of what they’d earn with a traditional publisher (let alone self-publishing).“'They prey on new writers who have no idea what they’re doing,' said the writer of one popular Galatea series."Many, many authors have side-eyed or outright decried the platform as inherently predatory for years, due to nebulous payout promises. And much of the concern centers on contracts that don’t require authors’ consent for editorial changes or AI-generated “additions” to the original text.Now, Inkitt has gone full DiSrUpTiOn, leaning heavily on generative AI to ghostwrite, edit, generate audiobook narration, and design covers, under the banner of “democratizing storytelling.” (AI? In my democratized storytelling platform? It’s more likely than you think.)Pictured: Inkitt’s CEO looking at the most-read stories.But Inkitt’s CEO doesn’t seem too concerned about what authors think: “His business model doesn’t need them.”The company recently raised $37 million, with backers including former CEOs of Sony, Penguin, and HarperCollins, proving once again that publishing loves a disruptor… as long as it disrupts creatives, not capital. And more AI companies are mushrooming up to chase the same vision: “a vision of human-created art becoming the raw material for AI-powered, corporate-owned content-production machines—a scenario in which humans would play an ever-shrinking role.”(Not to say we predicted this, but…)Welcome to the creator-industrial complex.Publishers to AI: Stop stealing our stuff (please?)Major publishers—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Vox Media—have launched a "Support Responsible AI" campaign, urging the U.S. government to regulate AI's use of copyrighted content.Like last month's campaigns by the Authors Guild and the UK's Society of Authors, there's a website where where you can (and should!) contact your representatives to say, “Hey, maybe stop letting billion-dollar tech giants strip-mine journalism.”The campaign’s ads carry slogans like “Stop AI Theft” and “AI Steals From You Too” and call for legislation that would force AI companies to pay for the content they train on and clearly label AI-generated content with attribution. This follows lobbying by OpenAI and Google to make it legal to scrape and train on copyrighted material without consent.The publishers assert they are not explicitly anti-AI, but advocate for a “fair” system that respects intellectual property and supports journalism.But… awkward, The Washington Post—now owned by Jeff Bezos—has reportedly already struck a deal with OpenAI to license and summarize its content. So, mixed signals.Still, as the campaign reminds us: “Stealing is un-American.”(Unless it’s profitable.)#WarForeverWe at Ellipsus love a good meme-turned-megaproject. Back in January, the-app-formerly-known-as-Twitter user @lolt64 tweeted a cryptic line about "the frozen wastes of europa,” the earliest reference to the never-ending war on Jupiter’s icy moon.A slew of bleak dispatches from weary, doomed soldiers entrenched on Europa’s ice fields snowballed (iceberged?) into a sprawling saga, yes-and-ing with fan art, vignettes, and memes under the hashtag #WarForever.It’s not quite X’s answer to Goncharov: It turns out WarForever is some flavor of viral marketing for a tabletop RPG zine. But the internet ran with it anyway, with NASA playing the Scorcese of the stars.In a digital hellworld increasingly dominated by AI slopification, data harvesting, and “content at scale,” projects like WarForever are a blessed reminder that creativity—actual, human creativity—perseveres.Even on a frozen moon. Even here.Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, (or join our Discord and share it there!)- The Ellipsus Team xo#ellipsus#writblr#writers on tumblr#writing#creative writing#anti ai#writing community#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#inkitt#us politics
ellipsus-writesNew templates, new templates!If you’re knee-deep in chapter 83 and your characters haven’t even locked eyes yet (we salute your dedication)—or staring down a fix-it fic with dangerously high emotional stakes—we’ve got some templates to help you plan and transform the stories you love.Find three new templates in Ellipsus (just choose from template when you start a new doc).The Canon Divergence Template—break the timeline, rewrite the rules, and give your faves the ending they deserve.
The Fandom Ship Template—map your ship’s emotional arc, from first emotionally repressed gaze to cathartic confession.
The AU Planning Template—modernize, magicalize, or make em rival antique shop owners (you know you want to).Read the full post over on the blog, and may your slow burns always pay off. - the Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#writing prompt#writing prompts#writing ideas#writing inspiration#character sheet#ellipsus
ellipsus-writesWe’re always building toward a creative space that works the way you do.If you’re a visual thinker, a fan of fan art, or like to keep 53 reference pics of your favorite characters close at hand... you'll love our latest update. ✨🖼️
Illustrations, visual inspo, or a few cursed memes—you can upload them all (or any other image) to your docs and drafts!
- The Ellipsus Team xo#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#creative writing#collaborative writing#writing memes#ellipsus#images images images!!!
ellipsus-writesRebloggedmayor-mclikeme-pleaseFollowHow dare they#writing#writers on tumblr#writeblr#creative writing#fanfic#fanfiction
ellipsus-writesEllipsus Digest: April 2Each week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. This week:Meta trained on pirated books—and writers are not having itICYMI: Meta has forever earned a spot as the archetype for Shadowy Corporate Baddie in speculative fiction by training its LLMs on pirated books from LibGen. You're pissed, we're pissed—here's what you can do:The Author’s Guild of America—longtime champions of authors’ rights and probably very tired of cleaning up this kind of mess (see its high-profile ongoing lawsuits, and January’s campaign to credit human authors over “AI-authored” work)—has released a new summary of what’s going on. They’ve also provided a plug-and-play template for contacting AI companies directly, because right now, “sincerely, a furious novelist” just doesn’t feel like enough.No strangers to spilling the tea, the UK’s Society of Authors is also stepping up with its roundup of actions to raise awareness and fight back against the unlicensed scraping of creative work. (If you’re across the pond, we also recommend checking out the Creative Rights in AI Coalition campaign—it’s doing solid work to stop the extraction economy from feeding on artists’ work.)Museums and libraries: fodder for the new culture warNot to be outdone by Florida school boards and That Aunt's Facebook feed, MAGA’s nascent cultural revolution has turned its attention to museums and libraries. A new executive order (in that big boi font) is targeting funding for any program daring to tell a “divisive narrative” or acknowledge “improper ideology” (translation: anything involving actual history).The first target is D.C.’s own Smithsonian. The newly restructured federal board has set its sights on “cleansing” the Institution’s 21 museums of “divisive, race-centered ideology.” (couch-enthusiast J.D. Vance snagged himself a board seat.) (Oh, and they’ve appointed a Trump-aligned lawyer to vet museum content.) The second seems to be the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a 70-person department (now placed on administrative leave) in charge of institutional funding. As we wrote last week, this isn’t isolated—far-right influence overmuseums and libraries means this kind of ideological takeover will seep into every corner of the country’s cultural life.Meanwhile, the GOP is (once again) trying to defund PBS for its “Communist agenda.” It’s part of a larger crusade that’s banned picture books with LGBTQ+ characters, erased anti-racist history, and treated educators like enemies—all in the name of “protecting the children,” of course.NaNoWriMo is no more; long live NaNoWhen we initially signed on as sponsors in 2024, we really, really hoped NaNoWriMo could pull it together—but its support for generative AI and dismissiveness toward its own audience prompted us to withdraw our sponsorship, and many Wrimos to leave an institution that helped cultivate creativity and community for a near-quarter century. Now it seems NaNo has shuttered permanently, leaving the community confused, if not betrayed. But when an organization treats its community poorly and fumbles its ethics, people notice. (You can watch the official explainer here.)Still, writers are resilient, and the rise of many independent writing groups and community-led challenges proves that creatives will always find spaces to connect and write—and the desire to write 50k words in the month of November isn’t going anywhere. Just maybe... somewhere better.The continued attack on campus speechThe Trump administration continues its campaign against universities for perceived anti-conservative bias, gutting federal research budgets, and pressuring schools to abandon any trace of DEI (or, as we wrote on the blog, extremely common and important words). In short: If a school won’t conform to MAGA ideology, it doesn’t deserve federal money—or academic freedom.Higher education is being pressured to excise entire frameworks and language in an effort to avoid becoming the next target of partisan outrage. Across the U.S., universities are bracing for politically motivated budget cuts, especially in departments tied to research, diversity, or anything remotely inclusive. Conservative watchdogs have made it their mission to root out “woke depravity”—one school confirmed it received emails offering payment in exchange for students to act as informants, or ghostwrite articles to “expose the liberal bias that occurs on college campuses across the nation.”In a country where op-eds in student newspapers are grounds for deportation, what part of “free speech” is actually free?We now live in knockoff Miyazaki hellscapeIf you’ve been online lately (sorry), you’ve probably seen a flood of vaguely whimsical, oddly sterile, faux-hand-drawn illustrations popping up everywhere. That’s because OpenAI just launched a new image generator—and CEO Sam Altman couldn’t wait to brag that it was so popular their servers started “melting.” (Apparently, melting the climate is fine too, despite Miyazaki’s lifelong environmental themes.) (Nausicaa is our favorite at Ellipsus.)This might be OpenAI’s attempt to “honor” Hayao Miyazaki, who once declared that AI-generated animation was “an insult to life itself.” Meanwhile, the meme lifecycle went into warp speed, since AI doesn't require actual human creativity—speed-running from personal exploration, to corporate slop, to 9/11 memes, to a supremely cruel take from The White House.“People are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people,” Altman said in a post on X. “What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does.”Still, the people must meme. And while cottagecore fox girls are fine, we suggest skipping straight to the truly cursed (and far more creative) J.D. Vance memes instead.Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, (or join our Discord and share it there!)- The Ellipsus Team xo#ellipsus#writeblr#writers on tumblr#creative writing#writing#us politics#freedom of expression#anti ai#nanowrimo#writing community
ellipsus-writesReblogged yeahwriteglassfrogforestFollow#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fanfic#fanfiction#fiction#writing memes
ellipsus-writesThe words they're afraid of.(Read on our blog.)The recently appointed Department of Defense head Pete Hegseth (formerly Fox News pundit, perpetually soused creepy uncle, and current group chat leaker of classified intel) banned images of the Enola Gay from the Pentagon’s website for the offense of “DEI” language. In keeping with the far right’s stated war on anything vaguely resembling diversity, equity and inclusion, even historical photos are up for cancellation. When a literal weapon of mass destruction is censored for being a bit fruity under the Trump administration’s war against inconvenient truths, what exactly is left untouched?This is clown show stuff, but the stakes are far from funny. While some might be hesitant to compare the current administration to the very worst history has to offer, we can at least all agree that they are dyed-in-the-wool grammar Nazis. Policing language has been the objective of the MAGA culture war long before Project 2025’s debut—the wave of book bans orchestrated by astroturf movements like Moms for Liberty, and Florida’s 2022 Don’t Say Gay bill have already had a profound effect in the arena of free speech and freedom of expression (despite the far right’s long tradition of doublespeak performative free-speech martyrdom to the contrary). Don’t Say Gay ostensibly targeted K-3 education, but LGBT+ content at all levels of education (and beyond) was either quietly censored or entirely preempted in practice. The results were not just a war on so-called ideology, or words alone—but on reality and essential freedoms.Now, words as innocuous and important as racism, climate change, hate speech, prejudice, mental health, and inequality are targeted as subversive. Entire concepts are being vanished from government institutions, scrubbed not only from descriptions but from metadata, search indexes, and archival frameworks.If you don’t name a thing, does it exist?Keep reading#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#fiction#fanfic#fanfiction#us politics#american politics#lgbtq community#lgbtq rights#trans rights#freedom of expression#censorship#writers#writerscommunity#creative writing
