#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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Most of my writing happens in the evening, so I want to be careful about consuming caffeine then if I want to get to bed on time (normally a struggle even when I don't have any caffeine). But — and this is not something I've specifically tracked or kept data on, more like anecdotal observations — the times I've tried a little Irish Coffee to kickstart myself have generally been on the high side of my productivity range. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: How do you handle the physical strain of writing?
I don't experience any noticeable physical strain in writing. I have a nice, comfy chair at home where I do most of my writing. I get up every so often to get myself another drink, or use the bathroom, or suchlike, so I don't get too stiff.
Really, it's one of the least physically stressful activities one could engage in aside from say, meditation or sleeping.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 10: How do you handle the physical strain of writing?
I don't experience any noticeable physical strain in writing. I have a nice, comfy chair at home where I do most of my writing. I get up every so often to get myself another drink, or use the bathroom, or suchlike, so I don't get too stiff.
Really, it's one of the least physically stressful activities one could engage in aside from say, meditation or sleeping.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do writing challenges spur on your progress?
Not sure what you mean by "challenges". Like, some kinds of online challenges? The only thing I do that's even close to those is these prompts (this hashtag, WordWeavers, and ScribesAndMakers). I wouldn't really call them "challenges" though, right?
Nonetheless, some of them have been very useful to me, and gotten me to think about things in a different way or given me more insight about characters. 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 11: Do writing challenges spur on your progress?
Not sure what you mean by "challenges". Like, some kinds of online challenges? The only thing I do that's even close to those is these prompts (this hashtag, WordWeavers, and ScribesAndMakers). I wouldn't really call them "challenges" though, right?
Nonetheless, some of them have been very useful to me, and gotten me to think about things in a different way or given me more insight about characters. 1/2
Addendum, having read other people's answers: Oh, those things. No, I don't do them. 2/2
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Addendum, having read other people's answers: Oh, those things. No, I don't do them. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: Happy Plant a Flower Day! What rôle does nature take in your stories?
Practically none. My WIP (which is my first) is set in a city, and is absolutely saturated in city life. 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 12: Happy Plant a Flower Day! What rôle does nature take in your stories?
Practically none. My WIP (which is my first) is set in a city, and is absolutely saturated in city life. 1/2
Even the places that some might consider "natural", such as Golden Gate Park or the top of Corona Heights, aren't actually natural: GGP was painstakingly built by humans on what used to be sand dunes, and the current top of Corona Heights is many feet lower than it once was before being extensively quarried to make bricks. 2/2
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Even the places that some might consider "natural", such as Golden Gate Park or the top of Corona Heights, aren't actually natural: GGP was painstakingly built by humans on what used to be sand dunes, and the current top of Corona Heights is many feet lower than it once was before being extensively quarried to make bricks. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?
Hard to say. I am trying to be mindful of the idea that if you set up something, if you make a promise to the reader, you must keep it. (Well, okay, you are well advised to keep it, or else your readers will be annoyed.) 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 13: Are you mindful of your readers’ expectations? How so?
Hard to say. I am trying to be mindful of the idea that if you set up something, if you make a promise to the reader, you must keep it. (Well, okay, you are well advised to keep it, or else your readers will be annoyed.) 1/2
And, I guess there are a couple of things I'm planning on that are based on my assumption that readers may expect certain things based on the conventions of urban fantasy, and I want to make it clear whether I'm going with or against those tropes. 2/2
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And, I guess there are a couple of things I'm planning on that are based on my assumption that readers may expect certain things based on the conventions of urban fantasy, and I want to make it clear whether I'm going with or against those tropes. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What new themes are you currently exploring?
This is my first writing project. Everything I'm exploring is new.
Okay, okay, themes I'm exploring in my WIP (new or not): cities; magic; learning and growth; urban planning; what makes someone evil; friendship and found family, and also how friends can become not-friends-anymore; proper and improper uses of power.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 14: What new themes are you currently exploring?
This is my first writing project. Everything I'm exploring is new.
Okay, okay, themes I'm exploring in my WIP (new or not): cities; magic; learning and growth; urban planning; what makes someone evil; friendship and found family, and also how friends can become not-friends-anymore; proper and improper uses of power.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: Are you aware of any fanfiction about your work?
Haha, no, that's impossible at this time. I haven't even written the first draft yet; there's nothing there for people to even be fans *of*, never mind write fanfic about! 🤣
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 15: Are you aware of any fanfiction about your work?
Haha, no, that's impossible at this time. I haven't even written the first draft yet; there's nothing there for people to even be fans *of*, never mind write fanfic about! 🤣
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: What word or phrase do you tend to overuse?
I actually tend to overuse words like honestly, actually, and really. I am actually making a strong effort to really be careful about those, but I'm honestly not sure how well it's really going.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 16: What word or phrase do you tend to overuse?
I actually tend to overuse words like honestly, actually, and really. I am actually making a strong effort to really be careful about those, but I'm honestly not sure how well it's really going.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 17: Does alcohol intake influence your writing?
Yeah, it helps me loosen up and get a flow going.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 17: Does alcohol intake influence your writing?
Yeah, it helps me loosen up and get a flow going.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 18: Happy Awkward Moments Day! What’s the most awkward moment you’ve ever written?
That's definitely got to be one of the vignettes I've written about Jessie Nakamura's past. I'm just not sure if her first kiss, or the time she came out to her parents, was more awkward. I think it's probably her first kiss.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 18: Happy Awkward Moments Day! What’s the most awkward moment you’ve ever written?
That's definitely got to be one of the vignettes I've written about Jessie Nakamura's past. I'm just not sure if her first kiss, or the time she came out to her parents, was more awkward. I think it's probably her first kiss.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 19: What’s your narrator’s sense of humor like?
This question appears to assume a 1st-person POV, and apparently one restricted to a single character, but I'm writing close 3rd, bouncing around through multiple people. My *narrator* has no sense of humor; that's not the place for it. As I get further into various characters' thoughts, their senses of humor range from dry to good-natured to strongly self-deprecating.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 19: What’s your narrator’s sense of humor like?
This question appears to assume a 1st-person POV, and apparently one restricted to a single character, but I'm writing close 3rd, bouncing around through multiple people. My *narrator* has no sense of humor; that's not the place for it. As I get further into various characters' thoughts, their senses of humor range from dry to good-natured to strongly self-deprecating.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 20: What was the most writing-related fun you’ve had?
I'm not sure what counts as "writing-related fun" except for the fun of actually writing. So, I guess, any of the times I've gone out to bars and just sat there for a few hours, cranking away and occasionally asking for another drink.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 20: What was the most writing-related fun you’ve had?
I'm not sure what counts as "writing-related fun" except for the fun of actually writing. So, I guess, any of the times I've gone out to bars and just sat there for a few hours, cranking away and occasionally asking for another drink.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 21: Happy World Poetry Day! Share your most poetic line.
Gonna have to be a paragraph, sorry. And you'll need context: this is from a few hours after Jessie Nakamura, who rides a motorcycle, has awoken as a magician. Now the City is teaching her how to absorb magical energy by staring at skyscrapers along straight roads.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 21: Happy World Poetry Day! Share your most poetic line.
Gonna have to be a paragraph, sorry. And you'll need context: this is from a few hours after Jessie Nakamura, who rides a motorcycle, has awoken as a magician. Now the City is teaching her how to absorb magical energy by staring at skyscrapers along straight roads.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 22: What distracts you the most from writing? How do you deal?
In terms of _distraction_, not just "life"? Gotta be playing games on my phone. It's just so easy to pick it up and start playing.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 22: What distracts you the most from writing? How do you deal?
In terms of _distraction_, not just "life"? Gotta be playing games on my phone. It's just so easy to pick it up and start playing.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 23: What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a reader?
I can't really answer this yet, not being published in any way. The only "reader" I have so far is my partner, and I don't really "have encounters with" them in the sense this question is asking.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 23: What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a reader?
I can't really answer this yet, not being published in any way. The only "reader" I have so far is my partner, and I don't really "have encounters with" them in the sense this question is asking.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: Is there a particular reader you keep in mind when you write?
No. I try to write for a hypothetical "aggregate reader" of my stories — basically, just a vague notion of "the kind of person, or people, who will like my stuff."
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 24: Is there a particular reader you keep in mind when you write?
No. I try to write for a hypothetical "aggregate reader" of my stories — basically, just a vague notion of "the kind of person, or people, who will like my stuff."
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: Describe your workflow if it had to be 100% analog.
It wouldn't. If I had to write by hand, I just wouldn't. The hand-cramps after only a few minutes would be too much of a barrier.
[Edit: Oh yeah, typewriters. I guess they're analog too. I think it'd still be too onerous for me, though; the mere idea of having to retype *everything* for each new draft, not just the changed stuff, makes me want to cry. I *hate* repeating work I've... 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 25: Describe your workflow if it had to be 100% analog.
It wouldn't. If I had to write by hand, I just wouldn't. The hand-cramps after only a few minutes would be too much of a barrier.
[Edit: Oh yeah, typewriters. I guess they're analog too. I think it'd still be too onerous for me, though; the mere idea of having to retype *everything* for each new draft, not just the changed stuff, makes me want to cry. I *hate* repeating work I've... 1/2
...already done; in fact, it's what got me into programming: the ability to make the computer re-do something so that I didn't have to.
So, "analog only" means "no writing for Kagan". 2/2]