#WritersCoffeeClub (Sep) 1: Intro: Shameless Self Promotion.
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So, for example, in one vignette, I have Kevin Wingard decide he needs a little extra "oomph" for a spell he's not quite confident in yet. (The vignette is set in the past, only about a year and a half after he awoke; he's still learning things.) So he uses some of his high school Spanish for his incantation, and I put it italics like you're supposed to. 3/6
OTOH, Carlos Velázquez and his wife, Raquel, are both bilingual from childhood in English and Spanish. When they exchange Spanish endearments, or just say various things in Spanish like "I'm about to get into an elevator, so I'll call you back soon", I'm leaving those in roman, not italic. 4/6
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OTOH, Carlos Velázquez and his wife, Raquel, are both bilingual from childhood in English and Spanish. When they exchange Spanish endearments, or just say various things in Spanish like "I'm about to get into an elevator, so I'll call you back soon", I'm leaving those in roman, not italic. 4/6
But it gets even wilder, because Carlos and Raquel are both polyglots, who speak a few other languages! However, they learned those later. So when either of them say or think things in German, Latin, or Arabic, those *do* get italicized like one would normally expect. 5/6
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But it gets even wilder, because Carlos and Raquel are both polyglots, who speak a few other languages! However, they learned those later. So when either of them say or think things in German, Latin, or Arabic, those *do* get italicized like one would normally expect. 5/6
Kevin can get a spell boost by speaking Spanish. Carlos _can't_, because it's just as natural to him as speaking English. But he _can_ (and sometimes does) get one from using German, or Arabic.
Anyway, I want to go with it, but I am worried it'll just confuse people. 6/6
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Kevin can get a spell boost by speaking Spanish. Carlos _can't_, because it's just as natural to him as speaking English. But he _can_ (and sometimes does) get one from using German, or Arabic.
Anyway, I want to go with it, but I am worried it'll just confuse people. 6/6
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: What’s the strangest situation or place where you’ve written?
My writing situations don't really get very strange, I'm afraid. At home, in bars and restaurants, on public transit... There's also been once or twice when an idea hits while I'm walking around, and I dictate something into a voice memo on my phone. But that's about it. Sorry, no really wild situations. 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 27: What’s the strangest situation or place where you’ve written?
My writing situations don't really get very strange, I'm afraid. At home, in bars and restaurants, on public transit... There's also been once or twice when an idea hits while I'm walking around, and I dictate something into a voice memo on my phone. But that's about it. Sorry, no really wild situations. 1/2
Later thought: Wait, do you mean the weirdest location *in the story?* <looks at the question again> I think not, but just in case: Sadly, the locations in my WIP are also fairly prosaic. People's homes; bars, restaurants, nightclubs; corporate offices and boardrooms; parks, plazas, the City streets... there might wind up being something in a subway tunnel at some point, but it's not certain. 2/2
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Later thought: Wait, do you mean the weirdest location *in the story?* <looks at the question again> I think not, but just in case: Sadly, the locations in my WIP are also fairly prosaic. People's homes; bars, restaurants, nightclubs; corporate offices and boardrooms; parks, plazas, the City streets... there might wind up being something in a subway tunnel at some point, but it's not certain. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: Happy Respect Your Cat Day! Who or what accompanies you when you write?
Honestly, just my laptop, Miss Sakamoto. And she's not really "accompanying me" so much as "necessary for me to do any real writing" (aside form the voice memos I mentioned yesterday, which can only go so far).
So, really, nothing and no one. I'm kind of solo that way.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 28: Happy Respect Your Cat Day! Who or what accompanies you when you write?
Honestly, just my laptop, Miss Sakamoto. And she's not really "accompanying me" so much as "necessary for me to do any real writing" (aside form the voice memos I mentioned yesterday, which can only go so far).
So, really, nothing and no one. I'm kind of solo that way.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: How do you handle foreshadowing? How do you navigate building up to the ‘big reveal’?
That's something I'll have to work out as I write the first draft.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 29: How do you handle foreshadowing? How do you navigate building up to the ‘big reveal’?
That's something I'll have to work out as I write the first draft.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: Do you label your works as LGBTQIA+? Why/why not?
If I can only put 1 label on them, like "where to shelve this in a bookstore"? No. The best label for my WIP in that sense is "urban fantasy".
But if we're just listing however-many relevant tags? Yes, definitely! 3/5 of my MCs are queer, as are 2/5 of my villains and roughly 33% of of my secondary and side characters (and me, ofc). And they include trans, enby, and demi people, not just the L, G, and B. (Poly, too.)
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 30: Do you label your works as LGBTQIA+? Why/why not?
If I can only put 1 label on them, like "where to shelve this in a bookstore"? No. The best label for my WIP in that sense is "urban fantasy".
But if we're just listing however-many relevant tags? Yes, definitely! 3/5 of my MCs are queer, as are 2/5 of my villains and roughly 33% of of my secondary and side characters (and me, ofc). And they include trans, enby, and demi people, not just the L, G, and B. (Poly, too.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 31: Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility! What trans author has inspired you the most?
I'm sorry to have to admit, I don't think I've read any fiction by trans authors. I'm familiar with Julia Serano's work, of course, but I haven't found it "inspirational". (More like, "intellectually quite persuasive, but about some things I already believed.")
I really need to read more in general. 😐
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 31: Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility! What trans author has inspired you the most?
I'm sorry to have to admit, I don't think I've read any fiction by trans authors. I'm familiar with Julia Serano's work, of course, but I haven't found it "inspirational". (More like, "intellectually quite persuasive, but about some things I already believed.")
I really need to read more in general. 😐
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: April Fool’s Day! Do you include in-jokes, hidden messages, or “Easter eggs” in your writing?
Only in ways that will enhance a reader's enjoyment if they get it, but not bother them if they don't get it. Not things that will make people feel excluded because they can see that there's a reference that they're not getting.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 1: April Fool’s Day! Do you include in-jokes, hidden messages, or “Easter eggs” in your writing?
Only in ways that will enhance a reader's enjoyment if they get it, but not bother them if they don't get it. Not things that will make people feel excluded because they can see that there's a reference that they're not getting.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: International Children’s Book Day! What makes for a good book for children?
Heck if I know. I'm not writing books for children, and have no plans to in the near future.
[Edit: But lots of other people are giving excellent answers today!]
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 2: International Children’s Book Day! What makes for a good book for children?
Heck if I know. I'm not writing books for children, and have no plans to in the near future.
[Edit: But lots of other people are giving excellent answers today!]
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: How do you navigate scenes with many characters?
By describing people's actions and reporting their dialogue. The way I'd navigate any other kind of scene.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 3: How do you navigate scenes with many characters?
By describing people's actions and reporting their dialogue. The way I'd navigate any other kind of scene.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: What are some tips and tricks you use to convey strong emotions?
So far, the main "strong emotion" I've depicted has been ecstatic joy. Some of that is already public, in https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114201094504049029.
In many ways, it works like the usual advice about "clenched fists" for anger: much of emotion is rooted in the body. Even if it's also in other places, or happens in subtler ways, describing it in somatic terms helps readers *experience it*... 1/2
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 4: What are some tips and tricks you use to convey strong emotions?
So far, the main "strong emotion" I've depicted has been ecstatic joy. Some of that is already public, in https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114201094504049029.
In many ways, it works like the usual advice about "clenched fists" for anger: much of emotion is rooted in the body. Even if it's also in other places, or happens in subtler ways, describing it in somatic terms helps readers *experience it*... 1/2
...rather than simply reading about it and trying to reconstruct it in their minds. It helps them feel it, just like the character does. 2/2
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...rather than simply reading about it and trying to reconstruct it in their minds. It helps them feel it, just like the character does. 2/2
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: Sum up your current WIP in five words.
Wild how this one is similar to a recent WordWeavers prompt that wanted 5 *nouns*! But this is looser, so I'm going to have a little fun... "Magical hijinks in San Francisco."
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 5: Sum up your current WIP in five words.
Wild how this one is similar to a recent WordWeavers prompt that wanted 5 *nouns*! But this is looser, so I'm going to have a little fun... "Magical hijinks in San Francisco."
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Do you edit while writing, or go wild and fix it later?
Somewhere in between. Sometimes while I'm writing, I'll go back and improve something immediately. I've been trying to get better about just dropping notes for myself like "find better word later", or just trusting that Later Me will see the problem and fix it.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 6: Do you edit while writing, or go wild and fix it later?
Somewhere in between. Sometimes while I'm writing, I'll go back and improve something immediately. I've been trying to get better about just dropping notes for myself like "find better word later", or just trusting that Later Me will see the problem and fix it.
#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: World Health Day! What’s your take on the “suffer for art” argument?
I'm a little unclear on what, exactly, the argument is. That one must have suffered in one's life before one can create art? (Or sometimes only "great" art, which sounds like a No True Scotsman fallacy.)
Or is it that one must suffer *while* creating the art? 1/4
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#WritersCoffeeClub Day 7: World Health Day! What’s your take on the “suffer for art” argument?
I'm a little unclear on what, exactly, the argument is. That one must have suffered in one's life before one can create art? (Or sometimes only "great" art, which sounds like a No True Scotsman fallacy.)
Or is it that one must suffer *while* creating the art? 1/4
Anyway, they both sound deeply sus to me. For the latter, even the most positive interpretation of it would be that in order to create something, you have to put the time into it, and that is time that you can't be spending on other "more enjoyable" activities. Like, if I'm writing, I can't be playing video games or getting a massage or something. 2/4
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Anyway, they both sound deeply sus to me. For the latter, even the most positive interpretation of it would be that in order to create something, you have to put the time into it, and that is time that you can't be spending on other "more enjoyable" activities. Like, if I'm writing, I can't be playing video games or getting a massage or something. 2/4
But the act of creation itself is also enjoyable! (This is why I have a fair amount of side-eye for writers who constantly moan about how painful writing always is. Come on, if it's such an ordeal all the time, just stop doing it! *And* stop complaining!) Similarly, dancing is fun to do just on its own, knitting is a fun activity that feels good in the hands (or that's the impression I get from knitters), and so on. 3/4
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But the act of creation itself is also enjoyable! (This is why I have a fair amount of side-eye for writers who constantly moan about how painful writing always is. Come on, if it's such an ordeal all the time, just stop doing it! *And* stop complaining!) Similarly, dancing is fun to do just on its own, knitting is a fun activity that feels good in the hands (or that's the impression I get from knitters), and so on. 3/4
For the first one, I think there can be a kernel of truth in there: some people have taken the pain they experienced and used it to create things that were amazing. Sometimes even things that helped them, or others, deal with or heal from things. But I'm really wary of saying it's necessary. 4/4