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

[kagan@wandering.shop]

I do maintain that em and en dashes should be set off with spaces on either side, and the first one should be a non-breaking space, so the dash can never be the first thing on a new line. Is that a "personal typography style"? 2/2

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Do you ever write very short pieces (fifty words, flash fiction etc)?

No. I suck at keeping things short enough. It's something for me to work on... maybe, someday. Right now, I'm concentrating on novel-length.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: Does your work feature on GoodReads? How do you feel about the platform?

Being as-yet unpublished, my work couldn't possibly feature on GoodReads if it tried.

I am dubious about the platform; I've heard all kinds of stuff about its bad side, bad participants, and so on. But I suspect I'll have to get at least a little bit involved there if I get published.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: What's your field of expertise? What are you most skilled at?

I'm a professional front-end web developer.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: If you've read a book series, was there a weak book in the series? What made it weak?

One of my favorite recent series is _The Expanse_, by James S.A. Corey. The first 6 books in it are each "space opera/[something]", where the "something" changes from book to book. In order they are... 1/2

[kagan@wandering.shop]

1. noir detective
2. political thriller
3. haunted house
4. Western
5. disaster
6. war story

*A lot* of the series' fans feel that book #4 was the weakest, but I think it may be because the Western doesn't mesh well with the rest of the series. 2/2

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 17: How much of yourself is in your MC, or do you never write this way?

I put a little bit of myself into nearly all of my characters, but I try not to concentrate very much in any one person. I'm on guard against self-insertion.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 18: Do you suffer for your art? Backaches, headaches, writers' cramps, etc.?

No. I like comfort, and as a coder, I know the importance of ergonomics for anything you want to be sustainable.

I'm not even sure what "writers' cramps" are, unless it means a cramp in one's hand from writing by hand with a pen? In which case, I get *those* if I hand-write for more than about 90 seconds (which is why I type instead)! 🤣

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 19: Do you give your characters mannerisms? How do you do this?

I'm sure at least one or two will have common mannerisms, as many (but by no means all!) people do. I'll probably discover exactly who and what as I'm writing. And I expect and plan to do it by simply describing the gestures.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 20: What's the secret to writing a good blurb?

Hell if I know. I fully intend to leave that someone in the marketing department at the publisher's office!

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 21: Would you ever use emojis in your writing? Why? Why not? 😀

Since my story is set in modern-day San Francisco, some of my characters will naturally communicate by text and by group chat. Yes, of course they'll use emoji in there! I consider that to be akin to dialogue.

Outside of those situations? I can't think of any reason, or manner, to use emoji in my novel.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 22: Thoughts on chapter length. Long, short or mixed? What's a chapter?

I aim to keep them mostly similar lengths, and I currently plan to aim for something around 3000-5000 words per chapter. I'll doubtless adjust that once I see just how much "stuff" fits into that many words, and how "digestible" those chunks feel.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 23: Do you format your own work, or hire someone?

I assume my publisher will format it. I plan to go the "traditional publishing" route.

If that plan doesn't work out, I'd naturally be the person to format it if I self-publish. (Although my partner is very good with design software, so maybe they'd do it. They'd at least advise me!)

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: Has feedback from readers ever changed the way you write?

That hasn't had the opportunity to happen to (or for) me yet.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: How do you feel about Amazon's influence on books and publishing?

I don't know enough about its influence on books and publishing, specifically, to have an opinion. But in general regarding Amazon, I think they're a huge monopoly with atrocious business and labor practices, and I doubt they're any different in this one field.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 26: Would you consider recording your own audiobook?

Absolutely. I'm pretty good at reading things aloud, and I think I'd do a good job. I'm not sure about the time commitment or whether I could get paid, so I'm not sure that I "would do it", but I would absolutely *consider* it.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: How do you find beta readers? Would you beta read yourself?

I have been a beta reader before, for a friend of mine! (Sadly, they don't seem to have published the work I read, which is a shame, because I'd love to see it on the shelves.)

I will tackle the question of how to find beta readers when I have enough for them to read.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: Should you avoid running around the Wrekin, beating about the bush and avoid colloquialisms?

In narration, yeah, I think so. Even in close 3rd, where the narration can (and I think *should*) pick up a little of the character's voice and style, it should still be only *a little*, and I think really noticeable colloquialisms like that would be *a lot*, not a little.

In dialogue, of course, it can help delineate your character; do it! (Maybe don't go overboard, though.)

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: What inspired you to begin writing?

I'm honestly beginning to think it was leaving behind a job that had been progressively worse and worse for me. I think getting that weight off my psyche was what freed up the creative energy I needed to start writing.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Have you ever based a character on a real person? Do they know?

All of my characters have at least teensy bits of real people in them, but usually more than one person, and also they're *mostly* stuff I've created myself. The bits of real people are just to lend a little bit of verisimilitude.

There is one character in my WIP who's 100% based on a dear friend who died a couple of years ago. If there is an afterlife, then he knows.