#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
Uncategorized
885
Posts
1
Posters
86
Views
-
Actually, hang on, that's not *entirely* true. A lot of my writing is close 3rd person. And one of the reasons why is that the "narration" can take on some of the POV character's voice.
So in the vignette I wrote last night, from the POV of Jessie Nakamura back when she was in college, there are some parts that are italicized, literally her thoughts... but there are also some that are roman/normal, but still using some her vocal rhythms and vocabulary. 2/3
Naturally, that doesn't happen all the time. Scene-setting, for example, is generally in my "neutral" narrator voice. And I think one of the strengths of close 3rd is precisely its flexibility: you can back off and be "neutral", *3rd* person, not 1st, but if you want to, you can also get really close to 1st person, with its intimacy and personality.
So I like that best-of-both-worlds flexibility, but it does also mean that "my narrator's voice" is *highly variable*. 3/3
-
Naturally, that doesn't happen all the time. Scene-setting, for example, is generally in my "neutral" narrator voice. And I think one of the strengths of close 3rd is precisely its flexibility: you can back off and be "neutral", *3rd* person, not 1st, but if you want to, you can also get really close to 1st person, with its intimacy and personality.
So I like that best-of-both-worlds flexibility, but it does also mean that "my narrator's voice" is *highly variable*. 3/3
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: What are the top five things people say when you tell them you're a writer?
Honestly, it's almost all some close variant on, "That's cool/interesting. Tell me something about (the kinds of stuff you usually write/the book you're writing now)." So far, nothing has really wandered very far from that basic idea.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: What are the top five things people say when you tell them you're a writer?
Honestly, it's almost all some close variant on, "That's cool/interesting. Tell me something about (the kinds of stuff you usually write/the book you're writing now)." So far, nothing has really wandered very far from that basic idea.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 26: How much time elapses between your WIP's first and last chapter?
About 7½ months. (Maybe closer to 7 months and 3 weeks?)
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 26: How much time elapses between your WIP's first and last chapter?
About 7½ months. (Maybe closer to 7 months and 3 weeks?)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: What's the longest period of writer's block you've suffered, or do you not suffer?
I guess I'd have to say I don't suffer from it. I've had a few stretches of up to 3 or 4 days where I didn't work on the book because I was busy with other things, or tired, or sick, but I don't think of that as "writer's block". Just as being tired sometimes.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: What's the longest period of writer's block you've suffered, or do you not suffer?
I guess I'd have to say I don't suffer from it. I've had a few stretches of up to 3 or 4 days where I didn't work on the book because I was busy with other things, or tired, or sick, but I don't think of that as "writer's block". Just as being tired sometimes.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: What audio/visual artistic work (TV, movie, play, painting etc.) has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I think it'd have to be noir and neo-noir cinema in general. Not any particular film, but the genre and its conventions and style as a whole.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: What audio/visual artistic work (TV, movie, play, painting etc.) has been the biggest influence on your writing?
I think it'd have to be noir and neo-noir cinema in general. Not any particular film, but the genre and its conventions and style as a whole.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: If a video streaming platform were to make your WIP into a series, what would the soundtrack sound like?
It'd range widely, depending on the particular characters and scene. Prominent features, though, would be: hard rock; techno and minimalism; cool jazz, à la film noir; and hip-hop.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: If a video streaming platform were to make your WIP into a series, what would the soundtrack sound like?
It'd range widely, depending on the particular characters and scene. Prominent features, though, would be: hard rock; techno and minimalism; cool jazz, à la film noir; and hip-hop.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: If you're a pantser, have you tried plotting and vice versa?
I *think* I'm kind of in the middle? I've definitely done a fair amount of plotting, and a fair amount of pantsing.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: If you're a pantser, have you tried plotting and vice versa?
I *think* I'm kind of in the middle? I've definitely done a fair amount of plotting, and a fair amount of pantsing.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1. Front Cover> Do you know what kind of cover you'd like for your WIP, or do you only know when it's finished? Share an example if you have one.
There was a question about how you envision your book's cover in WritingWonders, back before it was renamed. I said (at https://wandering.shop/@kagan/110107052596945004) that mine definitely needed some recognizable San Francisco skyline or setting, but I wasn't sure beyond that. That answer hasn't changed in the intervening 15 months. 1/2
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1. Front Cover> Do you know what kind of cover you'd like for your WIP, or do you only know when it's finished? Share an example if you have one.
There was a question about how you envision your book's cover in WritingWonders, back before it was renamed. I said (at https://wandering.shop/@kagan/110107052596945004) that mine definitely needed some recognizable San Francisco skyline or setting, but I wasn't sure beyond that. That answer hasn't changed in the intervening 15 months. 1/2
It's gotta have San Francisco. Aside from that, I don't know if it needs any of the human characters or not — my assumption is that people respond better to covers that have human figures and particularly faces on them, but I'm not positive whether market research bears that out, and I've seen some book covers with really good designs that had no people in them.
Anyway, creating the cover design is something I mostly plan to leave to someone else — someone who's better at it than I am. 2/2
-
It's gotta have San Francisco. Aside from that, I don't know if it needs any of the human characters or not — my assumption is that people respond better to covers that have human figures and particularly faces on them, but I'm not positive whether market research bears that out, and I've seen some book covers with really good designs that had no people in them.
Anyway, creating the cover design is something I mostly plan to leave to someone else — someone who's better at it than I am. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2. Half Title> When you complete your WIP, do you intend to have a Half Title (Bastard Page)? How do you feel about them?
I never heard of them before. I just looked up what they are, and I honestly don't give a damn. (Some sources speculate they're used to get the total number of pages to be a multiple of 16 when needed, for the binding process; if so, then I don't mind having or not having one based on my page count.)
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2. Half Title> When you complete your WIP, do you intend to have a Half Title (Bastard Page)? How do you feel about them?
I never heard of them before. I just looked up what they are, and I honestly don't give a damn. (Some sources speculate they're used to get the total number of pages to be a multiple of 16 when needed, for the binding process; if so, then I don't mind having or not having one based on my page count.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3. Title> Do you have a title for your WIP or just a working title. Please share. How do you decide on a title?
I don't even have a working title. It's really just "the book", "the San Francisco book" or "the city shamans book" in my head.
A couple of days ago in WordWeavers, I called it TITLE_TK. (https://wandering.shop/@kagan/112712428429386445) I really don't have anything else to call it. The one thing I did come up with once, I immediately rejected as wrong.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3. Title> Do you have a title for your WIP or just a working title. Please share. How do you decide on a title?
I don't even have a working title. It's really just "the book", "the San Francisco book" or "the city shamans book" in my head.
A couple of days ago in WordWeavers, I called it TITLE_TK. (https://wandering.shop/@kagan/112712428429386445) I really don't have anything else to call it. The one thing I did come up with once, I immediately rejected as wrong.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4. Front Matter> Do you have standard front matter (copyright, TOC, promotion, etc.) that you'll apply to this WIP, or does it vary between projects? Share your design.
I'll leave that up to the publisher. I hope* to title the chapters, and if so, I'll recommend that there be a TOC (as long as none of the chapter titles turn out to be spoilers!). Otherwise, I'm fairly apathetic.
* Hope to. Might not be able to. Titles are tough for me. See yesterday's post.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4. Front Matter> Do you have standard front matter (copyright, TOC, promotion, etc.) that you'll apply to this WIP, or does it vary between projects? Share your design.
I'll leave that up to the publisher. I hope* to title the chapters, and if so, I'll recommend that there be a TOC (as long as none of the chapter titles turn out to be spoilers!). Otherwise, I'm fairly apathetic.
* Hope to. Might not be able to. Titles are tough for me. See yesterday's post.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5. Font and Format> Do you have a favourite font you'll use for the WIP? How do you format the paragraphs, chapters, scene breaks, etc?
Again, I plan to have a publisher who isn't me (because publishers can do *marketing*, which I both hate doing *and* am bad at). I assume the publisher will have fonts and formats they prefer, and I don't have strong feelings about those. (Except that it should be easy to read. For Goddess' sake, serif fonts for long, printed passages!)
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5. Font and Format> Do you have a favourite font you'll use for the WIP? How do you format the paragraphs, chapters, scene breaks, etc?
Again, I plan to have a publisher who isn't me (because publishers can do *marketing*, which I both hate doing *and* am bad at). I assume the publisher will have fonts and formats they prefer, and I don't have strong feelings about those. (Except that it should be easy to read. For Goddess' sake, serif fonts for long, printed passages!)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6. Prologue> Does/will your WIP have a prologue. Share a snippet if you've written one. How do you feel about prologues?
Nope, this one starts off by getting right into... well, not *action* exactly, it's more of an internal event. But the book plunges into that without any prologue.
I don't mind them on principle, but this book doesn't want or need one.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6. Prologue> Does/will your WIP have a prologue. Share a snippet if you've written one. How do you feel about prologues?
Nope, this one starts off by getting right into... well, not *action* exactly, it's more of an internal event. But the book plunges into that without any prologue.
I don't mind them on principle, but this book doesn't want or need one.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7. Structure> Do you structure your WIP into chapters/sections as you write? Do you use Epigraphs?
I'm not at the writing stage yet, more outlining, but yes, I'm already structuring the story/outline into chapters. Partly because I change character POVs from chapter to chapter, so knowing whose chapter it is determines what events I can and can't tell.
This book doesn't seem to want epigraphs. I might use them in a future project; I'll see.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7. Structure> Do you structure your WIP into chapters/sections as you write? Do you use Epigraphs?
I'm not at the writing stage yet, more outlining, but yes, I'm already structuring the story/outline into chapters. Partly because I change character POVs from chapter to chapter, so knowing whose chapter it is determines what events I can and can't tell.
This book doesn't seem to want epigraphs. I might use them in a future project; I'll see.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8. First Line> Share the opening of your work. First line or paragraph, Your choice.
I don't have the specific prose yet (still outlining, as per yesterday), but it will start with the bells of the San Francisco Ferry Building chiming the half-hour. The sound rolls over various Downtown landmarks, and also over Jessie Nakamura, one of my MCs.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8. First Line> Share the opening of your work. First line or paragraph, Your choice.
I don't have the specific prose yet (still outlining, as per yesterday), but it will start with the bells of the San Francisco Ferry Building chiming the half-hour. The sound rolls over various Downtown landmarks, and also over Jessie Nakamura, one of my MCs.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9. Chapter 1: Setting the Scene> Is your WIP's first chapter or section indicative of the whole work?
I think the first chapter's indicative of one of the strands of the work. The second chapter is a definite shift in tone and style, introducing a few other characters in a way that complements what happened in the first chapter. Chapter 3 then introduces *other* characters, and lays down a third strand of the whole. 1/2
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9. Chapter 1: Setting the Scene> Is your WIP's first chapter or section indicative of the whole work?
I think the first chapter's indicative of one of the strands of the work. The second chapter is a definite shift in tone and style, introducing a few other characters in a way that complements what happened in the first chapter. Chapter 3 then introduces *other* characters, and lays down a third strand of the whole. 1/2
That stuff builds up the first section — the book seems to be arranging itself into a three-act structure, and I'm not fighting it. There is going to be a definite tonal shift at the end of act 1, but that's kind of the nature of three-act stories, right? So, "the whole work" is constantly shifting in tone, but I think — and truly hope — it's in ways that grow logically from what's gone before, and that won't confuse my readers. 2/2
-
That stuff builds up the first section — the book seems to be arranging itself into a three-act structure, and I'm not fighting it. There is going to be a definite tonal shift at the end of act 1, but that's kind of the nature of three-act stories, right? So, "the whole work" is constantly shifting in tone, but I think — and truly hope — it's in ways that grow logically from what's gone before, and that won't confuse my readers. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10. Chapter 1: Characters> Do we meet any significant primary or secondary characters in the first chapter of your WIP. Who are they?
Yes, the book opens with Jessie Nakamura being introduced in either the second or third paragraph. Then her mentor, Ángel Castillo, shows up maybe a page later. Those are two of the central 5 MCs.
Also, the very first paragraph "introduces" San Francisco, who is a critically important character. I'm not remotely joking about that.
-
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10. Chapter 1: Characters> Do we meet any significant primary or secondary characters in the first chapter of your WIP. Who are they?
Yes, the book opens with Jessie Nakamura being introduced in either the second or third paragraph. Then her mentor, Ángel Castillo, shows up maybe a page later. Those are two of the central 5 MCs.
Also, the very first paragraph "introduces" San Francisco, who is a critically important character. I'm not remotely joking about that.
Addendum: We also "meet" Jessie's mom, sort of; Jessie has a phone conversation with her. That counts, right? Anyway, she's a side character of middling importance, despite having fairly little "screen time".
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
-
رئيس البلدية الجديد
-
Io che sto diventando sabbia del deserto, ringrazio i venti che mi cambiano forma … https://cctm.website/franco-battiato-italia/
Franco Battiato
#francobattiato #vento #cctmwebsite #anoipiaceleggere #leggere
-
Diario “La Gomera”, giorno 6 : di nuovo nel Garajonay
In questo sesto giorno del mio viaggio a La Gomera, ho deciso di iniziare esplorando la valle/canyon parallela a quella di Valle Gran Rey. Se Valle Gran Rey mi è sembrato un posto da favola, la valle di Chipude mi ha dato una sensazione completamente diversa: anzitutto il paesaggio è ancora più secco e poi è più vuoto, più spoglio, potremmo dire deserto.
https://simoneviaggiatore.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/diario-la-gomera-giorno-6-di-nuovo-nel-garajonay/
-
Verso Casa
Il mio nuovo podcast. C’è chi viaggia per rilassarsi, per scoprire il mondo o per fotografare. Io ho sempre viaggiato per fare tutte queste cose insieme...fino a qualche anno fa. Poi, tre patologie dolorose mi hanno costretto a rivedere tutta la mia vita. Quando ho capito che il posto in cui vivo ora è una parte importante del problema, ho iniziato a provare una strana sensazione: che la mia casa non fosse qui, ma da un’altra parte, in uno di quei luoghi…
https://simoneviaggiatore.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/verso-casa/
-
-
wow this acceptance speech is amazing https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ysB8KifC8&t=1740s
-
@phastidio
gli extra profitti ci sono tutti gli anni, con una adeguata definizione di extra
-
@snow ma con migrazione o viaggi leggero ?
