#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: What's the elevator pitch for your current WIP?
It needs a lot of honing; it's not a very good one. But it's what I've got so far:
It's an urban fantasy about people who can hear the voice of the City, and it teaches them to do magic.
(See? I need to learn how to write elevator pitches, honestly. My forte is spec-fic, not sales copy, and the latter is what elevator pitches really are.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: When beginning a story, which do you have a clearer idea of first, the characters or the plot? Both?
With this one, the first idea was the world and the setting. I started getting ideas about plot and characters at roughly the same pace, and then deliberately focused on characters more.
I'm not sure how it will go with other stories.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: When beginning a story, which do you have a clearer idea of first, the characters or the plot? Both?
With this one, the first idea was the world and the setting. I started getting ideas about plot and characters at roughly the same pace, and then deliberately focused on characters more.
I'm not sure how it will go with other stories.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: Tell us about a writer's block you worked through. How did you pull it off?
I'm not sure that I've yet had "writer's block" in the usual sense. I've had a few times where a particular thing was giving me some trouble — like, I wasn't sure how to proceed, or I was just feeling a little burnt out on that particular thing for a bit — but I just shifted focus and worked on another thing for a bit, and then came back fresh to the original one. 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: Tell us about a writer's block you worked through. How did you pull it off?
I'm not sure that I've yet had "writer's block" in the usual sense. I've had a few times where a particular thing was giving me some trouble — like, I wasn't sure how to proceed, or I was just feeling a little burnt out on that particular thing for a bit — but I just shifted focus and worked on another thing for a bit, and then came back fresh to the original one. 1/2
So far, I've been doing world-building, character creation, and now a bunch of vignettes, so it's always been easy to shift from one thing to another. Once I'm in the thick of it, writing actual text, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that anymore. So that'll be interesting to find out. 2/2
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So far, I've been doing world-building, character creation, and now a bunch of vignettes, so it's always been easy to shift from one thing to another. Once I'm in the thick of it, writing actual text, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that anymore. So that'll be interesting to find out. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: What have you achieved in your writing this month? Or were you too busy eating cake?
Wrote roughly 18,600 words' worth of vignette material. Completed 3 vignettes. Got feedback from my alpha reader about 2 of those vignettes, and did a bunch of editing.
Curiously, I *did* also have cake; my partner, their other partner, and I celebrated their themaversary (anniversary of coming out as non-binary), and I baked a cake for them. Everyone said it was delicious!
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: What have you achieved in your writing this month? Or were you too busy eating cake?
Wrote roughly 18,600 words' worth of vignette material. Completed 3 vignettes. Got feedback from my alpha reader about 2 of those vignettes, and did a bunch of editing.
Curiously, I *did* also have cake; my partner, their other partner, and I celebrated their themaversary (anniversary of coming out as non-binary), and I baked a cake for them. Everyone said it was delicious!
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: What makes your WIP (or most recent work) stand out from the crowd? Don't be shy.
It's an urban fantasy with a unique magic system that _requires_ being set in a city; it has no other supernatural races (just humans, and the living City itself); and it has an ensemble cast instead of the usual single MC.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: What makes your WIP (or most recent work) stand out from the crowd? Don't be shy.
It's an urban fantasy with a unique magic system that _requires_ being set in a city; it has no other supernatural races (just humans, and the living City itself); and it has an ensemble cast instead of the usual single MC.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Trauma? Can you write a traumatic, disturbing scene?
I suspect so and devoutly hope so, although I'm not sure if I plan to put any into my current WIP. But I'm sure that *someday* I'll want or even need to write a scene that disturbs the crap out of my readers.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Trauma? Can you write a traumatic, disturbing scene?
I suspect so and devoutly hope so, although I'm not sure if I plan to put any into my current WIP. But I'm sure that *someday* I'll want or even need to write a scene that disturbs the crap out of my readers.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: Do you agree with Isaac Bashevis Singer, who said, "A good writer is basically a storyteller, not a scholar or a redeemer of mankind."
I feel like I should check to see what the context for the quote is, but...
Well, assuming Singer was talking only about fiction writers (which, y'know, non-fiction is completely legit), then I guess he's mostly right. The story is the important thing, sure.
Mostly. 1/3
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: Do you agree with Isaac Bashevis Singer, who said, "A good writer is basically a storyteller, not a scholar or a redeemer of mankind."
I feel like I should check to see what the context for the quote is, but...
Well, assuming Singer was talking only about fiction writers (which, y'know, non-fiction is completely legit), then I guess he's mostly right. The story is the important thing, sure.
Mostly. 1/3
But even a fiction writer shouldn't be actively spreading misinformation, and while stories don't necessarily have to uplift, redeem, or try to make the world a better place, I think the least they can do is not make it *worse*.
And stories can do that. Stories have power. The power to shape the world. If we wield that power, I think it's okay if we use it simply to amuse or entertain, without delivering any uplift or redemption, but... 2/3
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But even a fiction writer shouldn't be actively spreading misinformation, and while stories don't necessarily have to uplift, redeem, or try to make the world a better place, I think the least they can do is not make it *worse*.
And stories can do that. Stories have power. The power to shape the world. If we wield that power, I think it's okay if we use it simply to amuse or entertain, without delivering any uplift or redemption, but... 2/3
...we'd damned well better not drag people down or make the world a worse place.
But if all we do is entertain... that's sufficient, IMO. 3/3
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...we'd damned well better not drag people down or make the world a worse place.
But if all we do is entertain... that's sufficient, IMO. 3/3
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: What was the first book you read that enormously impacted you?
Probably either _A Wrinkle in Time_ or _The Dark is Rising_. I'm not sure which one of those I encountered first.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: What was the first book you read that enormously impacted you?
Probably either _A Wrinkle in Time_ or _The Dark is Rising_. I'm not sure which one of those I encountered first.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: You're the Ruler of the Writing Universe for the day. What petty rule do you decree?
If my decree can have force after the day is over, I decree that nevermore shall anyone teach those bullshit, prescriptive "rules" based on trying to turn English into Latin.
If not, then I just decree that everyone shall have a good day of writing, and also some fun and enjoyment of whatever other type would please them.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: You're the Ruler of the Writing Universe for the day. What petty rule do you decree?
If my decree can have force after the day is over, I decree that nevermore shall anyone teach those bullshit, prescriptive "rules" based on trying to turn English into Latin.
If not, then I just decree that everyone shall have a good day of writing, and also some fun and enjoyment of whatever other type would please them.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Have you mixed genres in your work? Would you?
I'm putting a romance subplot into my urban fantasy WIP.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Have you mixed genres in your work? Would you?
I'm putting a romance subplot into my urban fantasy WIP.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: Tell me about something new you tried to do with a story. Did it stretch you?
Honestly, pretty much *everything* I'm doing is new, at least to me — I'm a new writer.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: Tell me about something new you tried to do with a story. Did it stretch you?
Honestly, pretty much *everything* I'm doing is new, at least to me — I'm a new writer.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: What's your favourite food and drink combo when writing?
A Manhattan with a shot of Tullamore Dew, and some kind of cheddar nibbles — possibly just small bites of cheddar cheese, possibly on crackers. There's this lovely spreadable pub cheese in a sharp cheddar flavor that I quite enjoy.
[Edit: Might've been unclear, that's a Manhattan, plus the Tully shot is a separate thing. Not a Manhattan made with Tully.]
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: What's your favourite food and drink combo when writing?
A Manhattan with a shot of Tullamore Dew, and some kind of cheddar nibbles — possibly just small bites of cheddar cheese, possibly on crackers. There's this lovely spreadable pub cheese in a sharp cheddar flavor that I quite enjoy.
[Edit: Might've been unclear, that's a Manhattan, plus the Tully shot is a separate thing. Not a Manhattan made with Tully.]
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: What motivates you to keep going when sales are low?
🤣 I don't have any sales! All that motivates me is the desire to finish writing this thing. Then I'll worry about maybe trying to *get* some sales.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: What motivates you to keep going when sales are low?
🤣 I don't have any sales! All that motivates me is the desire to finish writing this thing. Then I'll worry about maybe trying to *get* some sales.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: How do you research and plan your stories?
Research: basically, "on the internet". Since my WIP is set in the modern world, this includes lots of Google Maps and Street View, plus things like checking Yelp reviews to see when businesses opened (and verify they haven't closed!). Plus, of course, all the usual weird questions writers do research on.
Plan? I'll have to say "increasingly loosely as the story progresses." 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: How do you research and plan your stories?
Research: basically, "on the internet". Since my WIP is set in the modern world, this includes lots of Google Maps and Street View, plus things like checking Yelp reviews to see when businesses opened (and verify they haven't closed!). Plus, of course, all the usual weird questions writers do research on.
Plan? I'll have to say "increasingly loosely as the story progresses." 1/2
The first few chapters (and increasingly, some stuff that happened in the few months before them) are pretty tightly plotted. Chapters 4 and 5, more loosely so. And after that? I have a few ideas of, "Thing X should happen around ⅓ of the way through the book" or "Thing Y, some time as the climax is approaching," but I'm mostly going to set all these things in motion in the first 5 chapters and then see how they interact with each other. 2/2
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The first few chapters (and increasingly, some stuff that happened in the few months before them) are pretty tightly plotted. Chapters 4 and 5, more loosely so. And after that? I have a few ideas of, "Thing X should happen around ⅓ of the way through the book" or "Thing Y, some time as the climax is approaching," but I'm mostly going to set all these things in motion in the first 5 chapters and then see how they interact with each other. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do you have a favourite phrase or word that crops up in most of your work? What is it?
Nothing I've discovered or noticed (or implemented) yet. Maybe once I've written more.
(I've noticed in "my non-'writing' writing", i.e., texts and emails, I tend to use "kind of", "actually", and "really" a lot, probably more than I should, but I don't think that's come up in "my _writing_ writing"... yet. I'm keeping an eye out for them.)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do you have a favourite phrase or word that crops up in most of your work? What is it?
Nothing I've discovered or noticed (or implemented) yet. Maybe once I've written more.
(I've noticed in "my non-'writing' writing", i.e., texts and emails, I tend to use "kind of", "actually", and "really" a lot, probably more than I should, but I don't think that's come up in "my _writing_ writing"... yet. I'm keeping an eye out for them.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: Do you prefer euphemisms or technical terms to refer to genitalia in your writing? Why?
I haven't had to refer to any yet, but when it happens, it'll depend on the situation. Who's doing the referring, and in what context?
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: Do you prefer euphemisms or technical terms to refer to genitalia in your writing? Why?
I haven't had to refer to any yet, but when it happens, it'll depend on the situation. Who's doing the referring, and in what context?
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Has anything you've written made you cry, either when writing it or on a re-read?
Not yet. I truly hope something does at some point.
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