Kurt Hohmann

#ScribesAndMakers 13
Our featured creator writes both novels and short stories. How do you feel about short fiction? Do you read short stories as often as novels?

I love short fiction, writing and reading.

I read at least as many anthologies as I do novels; most of my favorite podcasts (including my own) are fiction anthologies. Novels provide space for deep world and character building, while short stories can quickly spark the imagination, like tales told round the fire.

#PennedPossibilities 954
What is your SC’s skill level when it comes to cooking and baking?

None of the SCs reveal any proficiency in the kitchen, but that's because they're afraid the MC would watch over their shoulders and tell them they were doing it wrong.

He wouldn't do that. Like many people with culinary skills, he's delighted to have somebody else cook for him, whether it's a perfect Beef Wellington or a basic PBJ.

Losing interest in food signals something quite wrong with him...

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How do you use social media as an author?

I use it mostly to connect with other writers, to build some sense of community. And even that is challenging, because outside of Mastodon or private Discord servers, social media quickly opens a pit more harrowing than anything Poe ever envisioned.

#writerscoffeeclub 7
What have you given up to write?

I had to give up:

- a chunk of my imposter syndrome. Not all of it, mind you. I'm not THAT good.

- watching sports. I mean, that alone must have been eating up a solid 10 minutes out of each year. No more!

- internalizing all my thoughts. Damn it, I'm a Scorpio—I'm *supposed* to bury everything deep.

- social isolation. I was well on the way to becoming a full curmudgeon; now I'm regularly interacting with other writers.

#WritersCoffeeClub 6
Is there a local writing community near you? Do you participate in it?

Yes and yes. Although things have changed with time and pestilence.

Members of my local critique group have not been in the same physical space since early 2020. We decided we all preferred zooming to driving somewhere.

That also makes my int'l group feel a lot more local :)

My 2020 NaNo group meets online weekly, and in person for a weekend retreat a few times a year.

@Emmacox@writing.exchange @Ashmire@pagan.plus I only learned the alternative meaning of "pants" a few months ago, and that was due to the British Bake-Off and someone's cake coming out looking like a "bag of pants."

@Emmacox@writing.exchange I'm guessing the American diner staple of "biscuits and sausage gravy" may have sounded a bit odd.🙂

I learned about biscuits as a kid...not from the English side of the family, but my German dad, who quite enjoyed saying, "McVitie's Biscuits" because he liked the way it sounded.

Unrelated to baking or colloquialisms in the English language, I also grew up hearing the name "Draža Mihailović," again because I think it tickled Dad's vocal cords.

@Emmacox@writing.exchange It seems my English heritage did not pass along "flapjacks," but now I must make some.

Language comparison with my critique partner in Birmingham is something we both quite look forward to.

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How do you manage stress related to writing?

Any writing-related stress I experience is self-imposed, along the lines of "I have to get this chapter done in time for my critique group to review it." If I miss that deadline, I can berate myself a little, but that's pretty much the only repercussion.

Whereas people that stress me IRL? I can pull them onto the page and beat them senseless, thus *reducing* my stress levels.

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Ripple?

I can't even consider this word without diving into the Well of Wyrd. Every action we take causes a ripple in that well, and since all of us are connected there, we are constantly affected by our own ripples and everyone else's. Some are bigger and more wide-reaching, some are tiny and are noticeable only to those closest, but they all have an effect.

So the words you write, the picture you paint, the clay you sculpt...they all affect a lot more than just you.

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#ttmd
@NaraMoore

I'm curious about your profile mention of horror-adjacent fantasy. Horror and fantasy are certainly familiar partners, so I'm curious about what, in your worldview, separates "horror" from "horror-adjacent."

Also, I hope you're not feeling besieged by requests to define the genres you create in. Birthdays should never be spent being besieged (unless that is what you desire). I hope your day is a delightful one by your own definition of "delightful."

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How much time do you expect to have for creative work this month?

I suspect creativity will flow out of necessity in the month ahead. For one, I seem to have acquired a non-trivial amount of tools, lumber, and miscellaneous hardware that will require creativity in terms of both storage and community distribution.

I will also make daily time for writing, as I suspect words will simply explode from my head if I don't provide them an outlet.

#WritersCoffeeClub 28
How well did this short month go for you, in terms of writing?

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How did your month go?

Late in Jan, a friend unexpectedly asked if I wanted ALL of her woodworking equipment. My free time since has been spent helping her fully empty a house/garage—thus my relative quiet here. She and her partner are now refugees, escaping from the US for the crime of being trans.

I have gotten a little writing done, somehow. And have LOTS of angry inspiration.

#WordWeavers 18
Can your MC carry a tune?

Zane: "Punks get a bad rap, like we're all about the energy and attitude, and none of us can carry a tune in a bucket. I call bullshit on that. Granted, I don't know if the rest of my old ColdSwitch bandmates listen to classical, but I know for a fact we pulled off some really cool improv stuff in all that chaos. Think pissed-off jazz.

"Or are you talking about singing? Because nobody with ears ever let me get within ten feet of a mic."

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Today is SAM's first birthday. Let's celebrate with cake. Share a description, photo, art, short fiction, or other creative portrayal of cake. Or just mash a piece into the cake drive of your PC so we can all try a bite.

How about a Haiku?

Creativity
Frosted with year-long challenge
Sweetest confection

#WritersCoffeeClub 15
How big are your settings?

They're all over the place. Some of my shorter work never escapes the main character's head. Dream Merchants sticks to the Metro DC area. Marked is mostly in NYC, but hopping around briefly to a few other locales, mostly big cities.

Then there's HelGate, which takes place in the underworld, a place filled with portals that lead to a number of diverse locations. After all, there have to be *some* advantages to being dead.

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Aside from the official birthday song and the ubiquitous Beatles song, is there a song about birthdays you like?

Without a doubt, the birthday dirge, aka Viking or Barbarian birthday. Best when accompanied by a crowd singing the chorus. Sample verses:

May the cities in your wake
Burn like candles on your cake

Now you are the age you are
Your demise cannot be far

We brought linen, white as cloud,
Now we'll sit and sew your shroud

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Is one really the loneliest number?

This presents something of a paradox. I never feel profoundly alone when I'm the only person in the room. The more people there are in the room with me, the more likely I am to feel alone.

In writing mode...hell, in just about any creative mode...I prefer my own company. I'll share when I'm done with whatever I'm working on.

#PennedPossibilities 922
What is something that would be incredibly embarrassing for your SC if it were to be revealed?

Gillian is never seen wearing anything but jeans and black t-shirts emblazoned with the logos of metal bands, from classics like Black Sabbath to debuts like Ancient Death.

But at home, tucked into a hidden container under the bed, is a bright pink, rainbow care bear she's slept with since she was five.