#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 1: What's the greatest benefit you've taken from the writing community online?
Breadth of techniques. It's the inverse of reading one book by one person who tells you "the correct way" to write a novel (or whatever). Having a collective that all does things differently means your approach is validated by others who do the same, and you're exposed to and can learn from those who don't.
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molly in missouri
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub
Orion (he/him)
in reply to molly in missouri • • •Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 2: Talk about something you’ve retold.
A *long* time ago, I tried to rewrite "The Knight's Tale" from THE CANTERBURY TALES and set it in World War I. I only got two sections in, but it was so much fun to take characters from one story and "translate" them into another.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 3: How do you come up with the titles for your works?
It's a bit of alchemy. I have to come up with words that directly reference the core premise or theme of the text. I try to be descriptive without making a whole statement out of it. I'm working on a short story called "The Tiny Dynamo's Dad" about a guy who's three-year-old is a superhero, so it's right there in the title. Also, assonance and rhythm play a part. It's got to be pleasing to say/hear.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 4: Share a tool of your trade.
I use #Scrivener via #Lutris (ie, #Wine) on a #Linux laptop (#Debian with #Gnome DE). It's not the best way to use Scrivener, but Gnome is great for focus--it encourages one application per virtual desktop--and my OS doesn't harass me, which is always good.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 5: How do you choose the POV for a new story?
Two things. First, the perspective is whoever's story it is to tell. Second, though, we really have to get off this confining idea that *all* stories are POV stories. That's one way to tell stories, and it's not universally superior. In fact, it's mostly the influence of Hollywood movies. Now, I *love* movies, but we're not writing those, and there are lots of other kinds of movies, too.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 6 Process-wise, what’s improved for you over the years?
I'm less scared of editing, so that's good. It used to break my brain to think about inserting new stuff into text I'd already written.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 7: Continuing from yesterday’s question, what’s gone downhill?
My ability to keep a text in my head and followup on tropes I laid down. Granted, this is my first novel, and it's proven the obvious to me: I *can't* keep a whole book in my head, so I'll need a better system for tracking and mapping it all.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •That reminds me:
Please tell me your preferred systems of tracking and mapping a novel!
I want to find the one that works for me, and I would be very grateful for your help!
Thank you in advance.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 8: While editing, what most clearly signals a pacing issue?
Stuff just sorta happens. I keep thinking to myself, "Oh, we're doing this now?" I've learned to recognize that as an alarm bell.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 9: What's your top tip for writing authentic dialogue?
Consciously decide how different characters talk, how they use language differently than each other, and then imagine their voice, audible in your head. Put them in conversations. Listen to them. Write down what you hear. (It's still you. You're playing a character.)
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 10: How do you steer a reader’s emotional journey?
I show them the story, and then they react as they'll react. I don't think I can "steer" them.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 11 Name a poem (or poet) which has influenced you.
There are so many. I mean, Shakespeare's Sonnet Cycle is huge. So is Ginsberg's "Howl." Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" and Caroll's "Jabberwocky" live in my brain. They're all in me all the time.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 12. How do you get to know your characters before you start writing?
I get to know my characters *by* writing them. That's just how it works for me.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 13. Are you actively building your working vocabulary? How?
No, I build it passively by reading.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 14: What’s a service or skill you’d like to offer your fellow writers?
Honestly, copy editing.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 15: How human are your protagonists? What about your antagonists?
They're not human at all. They're literary constructs. Real humans are much more complex and far less consistent. My protagonists have a handful of traits that I use to decide their actions. My antagonists are the same, and I don't bother coming up with a pseudo-psychological explanations for their behaviour bc that way lies the sympathetic villain, and fuck that in this case.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 16: Name a non-anglophone writer who has really lit you up.
Gwerful Mechain, Welsh female bard in the 13th century. Her most famous is below, and it goes hard, but she's also very playful. She has a pair of poems, "To the Cock" and "To the Cunt" (depending on the translator's level of prudence). Mechain is a god damn delight.
fromtroublesofthisworld.wordpr…
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To the Vagina by Gwerful Mechain
From Troubles of The WorldOrion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 17: What’s frustrating you, writing-wise?
Finding a way to revise a first draft without just rewriting the entire thing. Sigh.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 18: Are you comfortable making your readers uncomfortable? How far will you go?
I'm barely comfortable making myself uncomfortable.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 19: Talk about something (even if v. small!) from your own life that made it onto the page.
The most specific thing I can say is bad teaching. I'm a prof by trade, and teaching is the most fun part of the job, so I take a certain delight in showcasing how a lot of "traditional" teaching methods are on a scale of useless to traumatizing.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 20 Figuratively speaking, do you travel with the caravan or solo over the hills?
I tend to solo, I'd rather caravan.
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Orion (he/him)
in reply to Orion (he/him) • • •#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 21: When writing about unpleasant feelings, how do you avoid alienating the readers entirely?
I didn't realize that was the goal! I lean right into those feelings. There's something sour-sweet about it. It hurts, but it's gratifying.
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