#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: Do you write to music? If so, do you feel it influences your story?
I have two types of music I write to:
First, my general writing playlist, which is a mix of stuff that varies in atmosphere, but is generally mid-tempo. It's intended to keep me going, keep my mind in a focused-but-loose state where I can play with possibilities, write stuff down, etc. 1/3
Anytime it doesn't mesh with what I'm doing, I bump it to the next track (on shuffle, natch). I can do that with a single keystroke-chord, so it doesn't even interrupt my flow.
So if that one influences my story, something's wrong. It's really not supposed to. 2/3
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Anytime it doesn't mesh with what I'm doing, I bump it to the next track (on shuffle, natch). I can do that with a single keystroke-chord, so it doesn't even interrupt my flow.
So if that one influences my story, something's wrong. It's really not supposed to. 2/3
But second is the whole bunch of playlists I've put together for various characters. There are even a couple that are for specific scenes! And those very much *are intended* to influence the writing. They're to get me specifically in the mood of that character. That's their job. 3/3
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But second is the whole bunch of playlists I've put together for various characters. There are even a couple that are for specific scenes! And those very much *are intended* to influence the writing. They're to get me specifically in the mood of that character. That's their job. 3/3
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: What's the best money you ever spent as a writer?
I can't think of a single thing. I can't recall anything I've spent money on specifically as a writer or for writing, except for the four-color ballpoint pen I got a few weeks back for hard-copy editing. That was something like $3.99. Can I really count something like that? 🤷🏻 Really, I got nothin', here.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: What's the best money you ever spent as a writer?
I can't think of a single thing. I can't recall anything I've spent money on specifically as a writer or for writing, except for the four-color ballpoint pen I got a few weeks back for hard-copy editing. That was something like $3.99. Can I really count something like that? 🤷🏻 Really, I got nothin', here.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: Do you find your writing skills or writer's instinct useful in other walks of life?
Not that I've noticed.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: Do you find your writing skills or writer's instinct useful in other walks of life?
Not that I've noticed.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: Share a snippet of what you've most recently written.
It's not what I'd normally choose to share, but what the hell. Here's the opening of my latest vignette. It's just setting the scene and giving me some practice at things like descriptions (and it also forced me to figure out some side characters and background stuff), but it's not something that'll go into the book itself. Also it's 1st-draft (a natural consequence of asking for "most recently written" material).
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: Share a snippet of what you've most recently written.
It's not what I'd normally choose to share, but what the hell. Here's the opening of my latest vignette. It's just setting the scene and giving me some practice at things like descriptions (and it also forced me to figure out some side characters and background stuff), but it's not something that'll go into the book itself. Also it's 1st-draft (a natural consequence of asking for "most recently written" material).
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Do you ever move characters between stories (if, for example, they don't fit into one plot), or are they intrinsic to their story?
They're intrinsic to their stories.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Do you ever move characters between stories (if, for example, they don't fit into one plot), or are they intrinsic to their story?
They're intrinsic to their stories.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: Is there one genre or subgenre you would never write?
I find Westerns boring and annoying. I'm not much into military SF, either, and I wouldn't be very good at it, having a generally anti-military mindset. I wouldn't write either of those (sub-)genres.
[Edit: Oh that's right, I keep forgetting "Christian" is also a genre. That's one I'd *seriously* never write, and I can't imagine any of that genre's fans would enjoy what I'd produce if I did.]
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: Is there one genre or subgenre you would never write?
I find Westerns boring and annoying. I'm not much into military SF, either, and I wouldn't be very good at it, having a generally anti-military mindset. I wouldn't write either of those (sub-)genres.
[Edit: Oh that's right, I keep forgetting "Christian" is also a genre. That's one I'd *seriously* never write, and I can't imagine any of that genre's fans would enjoy what I'd produce if I did.]
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: Where do you get your books?
These days, largely from the Brooklyn Public Library.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 8: Where do you get your books?
These days, largely from the Brooklyn Public Library.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: Do you ever use particular punctuation characters like [, ], {, }, <, >, #, _, *? How do you use them?
I haven't yet had cause to use those in my *writing* (as opposed to my day job of coding...), with 2 exceptions that only apply in drafts, not the finished product: 1/5
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 9: Do you ever use particular punctuation characters like [, ], {, }, <, >, #, _, *? How do you use them?
I haven't yet had cause to use those in my *writing* (as opposed to my day job of coding...), with 2 exceptions that only apply in drafts, not the finished product: 1/5
1) If I have to leave a note for myself to fix or fill in something later, I do it in ALL_CAPS_WITH_UNDERSCORES_INSTEAD_OF_SPACES. The all-caps ensure I can *really* spot it later, and the underscores mean I can highlight the whole thing with a simple double-click, as they mean the computer considers it to be a single word. Then it's easy to type over and replace when the time comes. 2/5
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1) If I have to leave a note for myself to fix or fill in something later, I do it in ALL_CAPS_WITH_UNDERSCORES_INSTEAD_OF_SPACES. The all-caps ensure I can *really* spot it later, and the underscores mean I can highlight the whole thing with a simple double-click, as they mean the computer considers it to be a single word. Then it's easy to type over and replace when the time comes. 2/5
2) When doing text-message conversations, I format them in my drafts by indenting the whole thing, and each line the viewpoint character sends starts with >> and the ones they receive start with <. They look sufficiently like "outgoing" and "incoming" to my eye while I'm writing.
Example, from Jessie's POV:
< Hey Jessie, what's up?
>> Not much, David. How are you?
< Doing good! Wanna hang out?
>> Cool! Meet me at Molotov's3/5
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2) When doing text-message conversations, I format them in my drafts by indenting the whole thing, and each line the viewpoint character sends starts with >> and the ones they receive start with <. They look sufficiently like "outgoing" and "incoming" to my eye while I'm writing.
Example, from Jessie's POV:
< Hey Jessie, what's up?
>> Not much, David. How are you?
< Doing good! Wanna hang out?
>> Cool! Meet me at Molotov's3/5
But, like the ALL_CAPS_NOTES, those are only in the draft version. Even when I simply format them for myself to print out and do hard-copy edits (cf. https://wandering.shop/@kagan/113391383318970874), that script already reformats stuff to have indents and text alignment, but no more angle brackets.
Someone will doubtless use a hashtag in their text messages at some point, though. That's something that would result in # making it unchanged onto the printed page. 4/5
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But, like the ALL_CAPS_NOTES, those are only in the draft version. Even when I simply format them for myself to print out and do hard-copy edits (cf. https://wandering.shop/@kagan/113391383318970874), that script already reformats stuff to have indents and text alignment, but no more angle brackets.
Someone will doubtless use a hashtag in their text messages at some point, though. That's something that would result in # making it unchanged onto the printed page. 4/5
Addendum: I just noticed _ is in that list. I write my drafts in Markdown, so I do use _ for italics. But again, that's draft-only. 5/5
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Addendum: I just noticed _ is in that list. I write my drafts in Markdown, so I do use _ for italics. But again, that's draft-only. 5/5
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
Margot and her family have a pet cat, Pixie. She's a grey tabby, about 5yo.
Carmen Lockhart has a 13yo cat named Random, and a 12yo dog named Shaggy. I still need to figure out their breeds, but I think Shaggy is part English sheepdog and part "some other stuff", leading to his appearance and name.
Hew Morrison has a cat and a dog, both of whom are 12yo; I haven't determined their names or breeds yet.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
Margot and her family have a pet cat, Pixie. She's a grey tabby, about 5yo.
Carmen Lockhart has a 13yo cat named Random, and a 12yo dog named Shaggy. I still need to figure out their breeds, but I think Shaggy is part English sheepdog and part "some other stuff", leading to his appearance and name.
Hew Morrison has a cat and a dog, both of whom are 12yo; I haven't determined their names or breeds yet.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do you agree with Samuel Johnson, who said, "What is written without effort is generally read without pleasure"?
I'm not touching that one without knowing more about the context. I can think of ways in which it *could* make sense, but I'm not going out on that limb.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do you agree with Samuel Johnson, who said, "What is written without effort is generally read without pleasure"?
I'm not touching that one without knowing more about the context. I can think of ways in which it *could* make sense, but I'm not going out on that limb.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: How many times do you usually edit?
To be determined.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: How many times do you usually edit?
To be determined.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Is there a message that runs through all of your work?
We can make the world a better place. And we should.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Is there a message that runs through all of your work?
We can make the world a better place. And we should.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What's the most challenging thing about writing characters of a different sex/gender from your own?
I don't honestly find it all that challenging. I just write them like people, but people who have had different experiences than me.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What's the most challenging thing about writing characters of a different sex/gender from your own?
I don't honestly find it all that challenging. I just write them like people, but people who have had different experiences than me.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: What do you owe the real people you base your characters on?
I'm not sure just what this means. I certainly don't have any character who's just based on one single real-world person; I grab bits and pieces and mix them all around. And I also create a lot on my own. (And some of the bits and pieces I grab are from myself!)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: What do you owe the real people you base your characters on?
I'm not sure just what this means. I certainly don't have any character who's just based on one single real-world person; I grab bits and pieces and mix them all around. And I also create a lot on my own. (And some of the bits and pieces I grab are from myself!)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: When did you reach the point when you thought: wow, I'm a writer? Are you still waiting?
I still label myself as "an aspiring writer"; I'll take the qualifying adjective off the front sometime between finishing a first draft and getting something out there on the shelves.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/tom-homan-fbi-trump.html
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Even if the two of us are torn apart
I swear that I will change the world
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E ricomincia l'attesa...
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@kkarhan taste Is 9/10
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@pertho It depends. In my years in the UK, I've eaten some good pizzas. Yes, they're different, but I've still had some good ones.
