#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 14: Have you ever written about an ex-partner and changed their name in your story?

No, and I don't plan to.

They're exes for reasons. I don't need to be hauling them around anymore. Not in my brain or my heart, and certainly not in my writing!

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 15: Which conjunctions do you use the most? Does it matter?

I can't imagine that it matters. If I really want to know someday, I guess I'll drop my writing into some kind of thing that generates statistics. But I doubt it.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 17: How do you promote your writing?

I'm going to wait until I have anything to promote before I get into that.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 18: What genres might you try if you wrote outside your chosen genres?

I might give mysteries, and particularly cozy mysteries, a try. Also, I occasionally wonder what it would be like to write a romance or two.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 21: Have you practised your autograph and your selfie pose for your best seller?

I'm deliberately holding off on that kind of thing until the book hits the shelves. I feel like it would be too easy for me to get more into the "fantasizing about having finished the book" stuff than the "actually writing the thing" part. I'm trying to maintain some discipline there.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 22: Would you ever consider collaborating on a book?

I'd consider it. Not sure what book or with whom, but willing to entertain the idea.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 23: Do you read your drafts aloud? How does this help?

I pretty much always read things at least "aloud inside my head"; I'm always trying to find the right inflection, rhythm, and tone of anything I read. So "just reading" my drafts is practically reading them aloud.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 25: What keeps you striving concerning your writing goals?

I have a story that I want to tell. I want to get it out there where people can read it, and I have hopes that they'll like it, and like the characters, and it will touch people.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 26: Have you used a MacGuffin in your writing? Be honest.

I have a couple of plot devices in my WIP, in the sense of "things that people want to acquire for Reasons, but those Reasons affect the plot", but no MacGuffins (in the sense of "thing that people want, but exactly what it is has no effect on the plot"). My plot devices have specific attributes and uses. 1/2

[kagan@wandering.shop]

To clarify, my plot devices are like the Death Star plans in Star Wars IV: A New Hope, not like Marsellus Wallace's briefcase in Pulp Fiction — or the iconic Maltese Falcon, one of the greatest MacGuffins ever, and a good example of the fact that MacGuffins aren't necessarily bad. 2/2

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 28: Do you practice "kill your darlings" in your work?

I haven't yet gotten to the point of editing, where that advice would be practicable. But I have this suspicion that the "darlings" in description are likely to come at points where something magical and special is happening, and so they'll serve as signposts for readers to pay more attention.

So I may need to cultivate those bits, not kill them.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 1: Intro: Shameless self-promotion. What's your WIP? What's it about?

My WIP's in early stages (still building the world, characters, etc.) and has no title yet. It's an #UrbanFantasy set in #SanFrancisco, about people who can hear the voice of the City, and who it teaches to do magic. It's about the life and magic of cities, and how San Francisco is at a crossroads, and how people affect the future by our choices in every moment.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 2: How often do you write in a typical week? How do you find the time?

I try to write every day, but many days I'm too tired after work to write much. Even then, I try to at least poke at things a little.

Over the summer, I did fairly well at this. Lately, with the sunlight fading, I've been too tired a lot of evenings. I'd say I still do at least a little writing 1-2 weeknights, and also do a fair bit on the weekends.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 3: Should a writer have a face shot on their book cover or within their book?

It's absolutely tragic and disgusting that women can still sell better if they hide their gender and use initials (or a full-on male pseudonym). As long as that's true, though, I can't in good conscience say that people "should" have their picture available.

Being a white guy, I could do it. And I won't get judged on whether I'm hot or not. 😒 Not sure if I'll do it or not.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 5: What are your writing project goals?

To finish this novel and get it published, and then to follow it up with two more books to make a full trilogy.

And for people who read these books to feel seen, to fall in love with my world, and want to step into it and become a part of it. To hear the things I'm trying to say, and to want to amplify those messages and make them part of their lives.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 6: Are you self-published or trad-published? How's it going?

I don't have anything to publish yet; I'm still in the early stages of writing.

I plan to try very hard to get traditionally published, once the book's ready. NGL, I'll consider it a bit of a personal failure if I have to self-publish.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 8: Rough, complete or not at all. How do you plan your writing?

I'm doing some extremely complete planning of "the situation as it stands at the beginning of the book." Then I'll run it forward from there and... see what happens. (I have a few items I plan to hit at various points, but I'm not yet sure how I'm going to get to them — and that's okay).

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 9: Recurring themes in your body of work?

I don't have a "body of work" yet. (Yet!) But things I expect to show up a lot are:

* We create the future. Every moment, every action (to a greater or lesser degree) influences what comes next. So it's up to us to build the kind of future we want.
* People aren't "good" or "evil" because of something inherent, but rather because of what they do.
* You can be one of "the cool people" if you want! It's not a closed or exclusive club.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 10: Did you learn cursive/joined-up writing in elementary/primary school?

Yes, but then I abandoned it midway through high school; my writing got progressively less and less connected until it had reverted to print.

Now, I type as much as I can; handwriting is a very rare thing for me (and it's both messy and kind of difficult, leading to hand cramps fairly quickly).

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub 11: What sounds are present when you're writing?

I write in various locations: at home, but also at a few local bars. At home, the sounds are the city outside (sirens, traffic, etc.) and my own writing mix (a bunch of mid-tempo, atmospheric music). At bars, you can guess: people, plus whatever music the venue is playing on their sound system.