#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: Some writers hate exclamation marks! How do you feel about them? What about interrobangs!?
I absolutely hate exclamation points in narration. Even when I was a pimply-faced teen with bad enough taste to read Piers Anthony, I still (or already) squirmed and cringed at his use of them.
But they're totally fine in dialogue — at least, assuming a character is shouting, or excited, or whatever. Keep 'em between the quotation marks!
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: How much detail do you put into character descriptions?
Enough to give the reader an idea of what they look like (hopefully including what race they are, like The Hunger Games' Rue), but not a lot beyond that; I go more for quick thumbnail and vibes than detailed portraiture... except for items the character chooses to express themself. Buttons, pins, statement/graphic tees, those all deliver messages. (And in Ángel's fashionista case, their whole wardrobe qualifies.)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: How much detail do you put into character descriptions?
Enough to give the reader an idea of what they look like (hopefully including what race they are, like The Hunger Games' Rue), but not a lot beyond that; I go more for quick thumbnail and vibes than detailed portraiture... except for items the character chooses to express themself. Buttons, pins, statement/graphic tees, those all deliver messages. (And in Ángel's fashionista case, their whole wardrobe qualifies.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: Does your work include any poetry? Share a snippet.
Some might pop up during the writing. I don't have any specific plans for it, but I can imagine a few places it might crop up.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: Does your work include any poetry? Share a snippet.
Some might pop up during the writing. I don't have any specific plans for it, but I can imagine a few places it might crop up.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Do you use ARC readers? Do they help your book sales? What's an ARC reader?
I'm not at that point yet. I haven't even really thought about it.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Do you use ARC readers? Do they help your book sales? What's an ARC reader?
I'm not at that point yet. I haven't even really thought about it.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: What writing advice would you give your younger self?
Maybe to start writing sooner? But maybe not; maybe I started now because now is when I finally have something I want to write.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: What writing advice would you give your younger self?
Maybe to start writing sooner? But maybe not; maybe I started now because now is when I finally have something I want to write.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: Do you/will you write under your own name? Do you share a name with another writer?
Yes, I'll be writing under my own name. And no, I don't share it with anyone else; I'm quite sure there is nobody else in the world with my name.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: Do you/will you write under your own name? Do you share a name with another writer?
Yes, I'll be writing under my own name. And no, I don't share it with anyone else; I'm quite sure there is nobody else in the world with my name.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: What genre is your WIP?
Urban fantasy.
(Technically I suppose I could or should specify _modern_ urban fantasy, since urban fantasy can be set in earlier eras.)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: What genre is your WIP?
Urban fantasy.
(Technically I suppose I could or should specify _modern_ urban fantasy, since urban fantasy can be set in earlier eras.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Is it the reader's/critic's interpretation of a work or the author's? Would you fight an author's opinion?
I'm of two minds (or maybe more) on the Death of the Author. A few thoughts: 🧵 1/5
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Is it the reader's/critic's interpretation of a work or the author's? Would you fight an author's opinion?
I'm of two minds (or maybe more) on the Death of the Author. A few thoughts: 🧵 1/5
* A work needs to, or at least really *should*, be able to stand on its own. It shouldn't need some external "artist's statement" to make it comprehensible. (For example, Félix González-Torres' "Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)" seems to be nothing but a pile of candy unless and until you hear about how it represents his partner, who was dying of AIDS at the time the artwork debuted. Knowing that, it becomes powerful and painful, but without it? It's practically meaningless.) 2/5
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* A work needs to, or at least really *should*, be able to stand on its own. It shouldn't need some external "artist's statement" to make it comprehensible. (For example, Félix González-Torres' "Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)" seems to be nothing but a pile of candy unless and until you hear about how it represents his partner, who was dying of AIDS at the time the artwork debuted. Knowing that, it becomes powerful and painful, but without it? It's practically meaningless.) 2/5
* OTOH, context is important and can add a lot. Picasso's "Guernica", on its own, is obviously a representation of something very chaotic and traumatic, and that's clear without any outside knowledge. But knowing that it depicts an actual bombing of an actual town gives it greater weight. 3/5
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* OTOH, context is important and can add a lot. Picasso's "Guernica", on its own, is obviously a representation of something very chaotic and traumatic, and that's clear without any outside knowledge. But knowing that it depicts an actual bombing of an actual town gives it greater weight. 3/5
* What an author was trying to say, what they "meant", is important. If an author says "Look, my work was really intended to do/say X, that's what I was going for the whole time", I usually take that pretty seriously.
* OTOH, if nobody got that, then the author kind of failed. I mean, an artist or author's job is to *communicate something*. If a few people miss it, that's par for the course, but if most of them do? Then the artist's attempt to communicate was a failure. 4/5
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* What an author was trying to say, what they "meant", is important. If an author says "Look, my work was really intended to do/say X, that's what I was going for the whole time", I usually take that pretty seriously.
* OTOH, if nobody got that, then the author kind of failed. I mean, an artist or author's job is to *communicate something*. If a few people miss it, that's par for the course, but if most of them do? Then the artist's attempt to communicate was a failure. 4/5
* Buuuuuttt... sometimes artists just plain *deceive themselves*. Sometimes someone'll write something, and claim until they're blue in the face that "Really, it's about X! It's not Y, I promise!", and the rest of us can all see, "Sorry, pal, but it's obviously actually Y."
I haven't got any examples at hand right now, though, and I think that's fairly rare. 5/5
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* Buuuuuttt... sometimes artists just plain *deceive themselves*. Sometimes someone'll write something, and claim until they're blue in the face that "Really, it's about X! It's not Y, I promise!", and the rest of us can all see, "Sorry, pal, but it's obviously actually Y."
I haven't got any examples at hand right now, though, and I think that's fairly rare. 5/5
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: What's your favourite book? Why?
I couldn't possibly pick just one. A few that come to mind as "ones I've loved", though, include:
* The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
* Earth, by David Brin
* The Last Hot Time, by John M. FordI feel like I'm missing something here, and it'll hit me two weeks from now and I'll wonder how I could possibly have left it out.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: What's your favourite book? Why?
I couldn't possibly pick just one. A few that come to mind as "ones I've loved", though, include:
* The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
* Earth, by David Brin
* The Last Hot Time, by John M. FordI feel like I'm missing something here, and it'll hit me two weeks from now and I'll wonder how I could possibly have left it out.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: Do you write in the active voice, passive voice or a mixture? Does it matter?
I think passive voice would be a really weird choice for a novel. It's great for scientific papers and other academic work, but it has fairly limited use in fiction. (An exception that comes to mind is Kafka's use of the passive voice in describing how Gregor Samsa became a cockroach: it serves effectively to obscure the agency behind that, because it's Not The Point of the story.)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: Do you write in the active voice, passive voice or a mixture? Does it matter?
I think passive voice would be a really weird choice for a novel. It's great for scientific papers and other academic work, but it has fairly limited use in fiction. (An exception that comes to mind is Kafka's use of the passive voice in describing how Gregor Samsa became a cockroach: it serves effectively to obscure the agency behind that, because it's Not The Point of the story.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: How would you write an online chat or text message conversation in your novel?
In fact, I'm going to need to put at least one group-text convo into my very first chapter. I guess I'll probably indent (both right and left), and precede each message with the person's name.
Later chapters may need instances of "[name] is typing..." and so on. (My MCs are Millennials. Yes, of course they text each other a bunch!) Hmmm, that'll be interesting to run into/play around with.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: How would you write an online chat or text message conversation in your novel?
In fact, I'm going to need to put at least one group-text convo into my very first chapter. I guess I'll probably indent (both right and left), and precede each message with the person's name.
Later chapters may need instances of "[name] is typing..." and so on. (My MCs are Millennials. Yes, of course they text each other a bunch!) Hmmm, that'll be interesting to run into/play around with.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: What aspect of your work are you most proud of? Don't be shy.
The fact that my sweetheart really loved the one scene I've written.
I'll have more to be proud of when I have more written.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: What aspect of your work are you most proud of? Don't be shy.
The fact that my sweetheart really loved the one scene I've written.
I'll have more to be proud of when I have more written.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: How close is your final manuscript to your first draft?
Hell, I don't even have a first draft yet! I can hardly guess how close the final version will be to it (or how far away from it).
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: How close is your final manuscript to your first draft?
Hell, I don't even have a first draft yet! I can hardly guess how close the final version will be to it (or how far away from it).
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: A game developer wants to base a game on your book. How do you feel about it?
I think my book might actually be a fairly good basis for a TTRPG, actually. I'd be cautiously in favor, depending on the developer/company.
I'd be more lukewarm or "meh" about a video game, but could be convinced.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: A game developer wants to base a game on your book. How do you feel about it?
I think my book might actually be a fairly good basis for a TTRPG, actually. I'd be cautiously in favor, depending on the developer/company.
I'd be more lukewarm or "meh" about a video game, but could be convinced.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Do you write to a specific word count, or do you let the story dictate the length?
I'm just shooting to try to be in good "first-time urban fantasy novel" length. That has some range to it, thank goodness... but for the first draft, I'm planning to just see how long it comes it out, and then see if I need to do anything to expand or pare it down.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Do you write to a specific word count, or do you let the story dictate the length?
I'm just shooting to try to be in good "first-time urban fantasy novel" length. That has some range to it, thank goodness... but for the first draft, I'm planning to just see how long it comes it out, and then see if I need to do anything to expand or pare it down.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What's the biggest edit you've ever needed to make to your work?
It's too early for me to have nearly anything to respond to this with. I guess there's this one case of a setting description, where I wrote it just to see how well I could describe a place that will figure prominently in the plot, and then later I realized I wanted to start my story earlier in the year, so I needed to change the trees from leafy and green to bare branches, just beginning to bud.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What's the biggest edit you've ever needed to make to your work?
It's too early for me to have nearly anything to respond to this with. I guess there's this one case of a setting description, where I wrote it just to see how well I could describe a place that will figure prominently in the plot, and then later I realized I wanted to start my story earlier in the year, so I needed to change the trees from leafy and green to bare branches, just beginning to bud.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: Are there any writing tropes you dislike, without insulting other club members?
Writing tropes or story tropes? (What's the difference?) Anyway, loads! One quick example is that any kind of forced pregnancy situation will infuriate me. I hate when creators do that to their characters. (Yes, that includes Steven Moffat.) Also mystical/alien/whatever children who grow up abnormally fast (ST:TNG *and* V, I'm looking at youse.)
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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@Ulrich (Hubzilla) also have a look here!
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@stefano Where is that hosted?
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Happy Birthday @stefano, thank you for the awesome community building work you keep doing, for all the technical and non technical notes you share, for the inspiration you are and because in a world full of tech bros you keep showing the gentle and smiling side of IT.
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@G3rt e come si fa? 😪
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@Madmonkey @ClayAdventuresontheShelf
Allora mi gioco il pezzo forte 😉
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@francina1909 @ClayAdventuresontheShelf domani fotografo i miei, E VEDIAMO CHI VINCE!
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@Madmonkey @ClayAdventuresontheShelf
Questi sono i miei e sono super cute 😍😍😍
Regalateli e regalateveli
