#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 23: Some people can't access literature due to social factors. Are we, as writers, doing anything to break down these barriers?
This is almost impossibly broad. "Social factors" could be anything from illiteracy to problems in the publishing industry to poverty combined with sustained right-wing attacks on public libraries.
Are writers doing anything to combat illiteracy? Honestly, *writing interesting literature* is one of the greatest things in that regard! 1/4
JK Rowling has become a transphobic horror, but remember how much the popularity of the Harry Potter books drove interest in reading back in the early 2000s? Well, practically every writer is trying to do the same thing. We'd almost all love to get that popular, and have so many people clamoring to read our books! 2/4
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JK Rowling has become a transphobic horror, but remember how much the popularity of the Harry Potter books drove interest in reading back in the early 2000s? Well, practically every writer is trying to do the same thing. We'd almost all love to get that popular, and have so many people clamoring to read our books! 2/4
Problems in the publishing industry? We're generally *aware of* them, and have strong opinions, and *would love* to have things be different... but how much power do we have to make those changes? They'd require changes in society as a whole — much like the problems of illiteracy and poverty and right-wing attacks on libraries (and bibliophilia and literacy). 3/4
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Problems in the publishing industry? We're generally *aware of* them, and have strong opinions, and *would love* to have things be different... but how much power do we have to make those changes? They'd require changes in society as a whole — much like the problems of illiteracy and poverty and right-wing attacks on libraries (and bibliophilia and literacy). 3/4
I don't know of any writers who wouldn't *love* a world where people are reading lots more, and books are more easily available, and where reading is held in higher regard than it is right now. But expecting us to fix the whole goddamn world is a helluva burden to place on shoulders that I don't think are the right ones to target with this. 4/4
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I don't know of any writers who wouldn't *love* a world where people are reading lots more, and books are more easily available, and where reading is held in higher regard than it is right now. But expecting us to fix the whole goddamn world is a helluva burden to place on shoulders that I don't think are the right ones to target with this. 4/4
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: What does your narrator sound like in your mind?
A "fairly neutral" voice, which I put in quotes for good reason: *to me*, that means one that speaks in General American English, in a baritone or tenor register (or possibly alto — but either way, with fairly few gender clues).
The fact that my own voice is baritone, and my dialect is GAE, is not coincidental here. I'm not saying my narrator voice is *my* voice specifically, but it's… close.
[Edit: nope; this is 1/3]
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: What does your narrator sound like in your mind?
A "fairly neutral" voice, which I put in quotes for good reason: *to me*, that means one that speaks in General American English, in a baritone or tenor register (or possibly alto — but either way, with fairly few gender clues).
The fact that my own voice is baritone, and my dialect is GAE, is not coincidental here. I'm not saying my narrator voice is *my* voice specifically, but it's… close.
[Edit: nope; this is 1/3]
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
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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
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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.
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#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?)
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#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.
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#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.
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#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.
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#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.
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#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
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#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
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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.)
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#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.
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#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.
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#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!)
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#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.
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#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.
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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Paolo Mieli fa negazionismo del #genocidio e Tomaso Montanari lo mette a tacere con eleganza espressiva e profondità argomentativa.
https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2025/09/19/gaza-mieli-montanari-genocidio-israele/8132395/
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@Umbertogaetani @scienze @astronomia
e anche dove vive il drago di komodo...komodamente😋
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@filippodb @attualita praticamente censurato perché ha detto e ha fatto vedere la verità.
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@ElManga è una vigna piccola.
Cmq se mi regaleranno una bottiglia ti faccio un fischio 😉
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Isola di Komodo, Indonesia
#terra dallo spazio @scienze
@astronomiaQuesta immagine del Copernicus Sentinel-2 cattura una veduta priva di nubi sull’isola di Komodo, nel sud-est dell’Indonesia.
https://umbertogaetani.substack.com/p/isola-di-komodo-indonesia
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Cyberattacco contro aeroporti europei: voli cancellati.
Voli cancellati o in ritardo e file interminabili al check-in. Questo è il risultato di un cyberattacco effettuato contro diversi aeroporti europei, tra cui Berlino-Brandeburgo, Londra Heathrow e Bruxelles. Al momento non si conoscono i responsabili, ma c’è il sospetto che siano cybercriminali pro-Russia.https://www.punto-informatico.it/cyberattacco-contro-aeroporti-europei-voli-cancellati/
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@francina1909 questo egoismo mi intristisce, per questo il mondo va a rotoli.
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✊MUTU MEDIAS LIBRES✊
[en image] retour sur la manifestation du 18 septembre
https://dijoncter.info/en-image-retour-sur-la-manifestation-du-18-septembre-6404"À Dijon, 6000 personnes ont manifesté ce jeudi 18 septembre"
![[G.R.K.]🌈🏳️⚧️Ⓐ💣¡NoPasarán!](https://anarchism.space/system/accounts/avatars/000/121/277/original/2beab96cfa221ced.jpg "[G.R.K.]🌈🏳️⚧️Ⓐ💣¡NoPasarán!"){kind=avatar}
