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4.5.7
Debut author and colossal geek.
#WordWeavers Mar 7: How do you define a “strong” character? How do you create one?
Presumably we're not talking physical strength, since that's simple. "She picked up a heavy thing."
Determination, resilience, and resourcefulness are strengths which are more complex to show. You gotta put characters in a situation that gives them the opportunity to display such things. And, ideally, give some idea why they have those traits. 🤷♂️
#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 6: Is there a local writing community near you? Do you participate in it?
I haven't even had the courage to promote my book at my local library or bookstore. Almost every writer I've communicated with has been online. Which hasn't worked out too badly...
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 6: How do you choose a title for your book?
A lot of my writing decisions are conscious, or at least I can figure out *why* my instincts led me that way.
Titles, though, are still subconscious and vibey. It usually has more to do with themes than premise/plot. Irony might creep in. And it'll generally be simple, or part of a phrase or quote. 🤷
#ScribesAndMakers 5: Post one or more Mad Libs, whatever you have enough words for.
Got several nibbles; the results are in the replies on this thread. 😁
#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 5: How do you make sure you don’t leave plot holes?
Having an overall plan, and rereading during multiple editing passes. I'm a one-person operation, so it's all on me.
I usually have the plot nailed down from the start, so I generally manage to keep things coherent.
#ScribesAndMakers 4: Make your own Mad Lib from your WIP.
Okay, I need:
A NUMBER, an ADJECTIVE, a GERUND, a PROPER NAME, and an ADVERB
Two NOUNS, plus a PLURAL NOUN
Four VERBS
😁
#WordWeavers 4. Last time your MC lied?
That's tricky. Jim's careful to tell the truth; if he's caught in a lie, he's doomed. Still, he's constantly lying by omission. Many aspects of our timeline are distasteful or offensive, best avoided. Does that count?
He does lie to *himself*. No PTSD here, no way...
#WritersCoffeeClub 3: On what are you unwilling to compromise?
I'm overall hopeful, and I prefer happy endings. But the needs of the story come first, which means I can be ruthless. Bad and final things happen if it's that kind of story. And if the details matter, I'll cover them.
Also, IDGAF about publishing trends. I'll tell the stories that I can tell. If they don't fit a marketing algorithm, oh well.
#WritersCoffeeClub 2. Does your overall goal differ from project to project?
Sure. The meta-goal is to explore a premise, of course. Still, what should the emotional journey look like? What kind of ending? What are the overall themes?
The 'overall goal' of a comedy is inherently different from a tragedy. You can mix a lot of genres, but the shape of the emotional journey dictates a huge amount.
#WordWeavers 2. Do you write scenes out of order? If so, how do you decide their arrangement?
I have a plan when I start writing; a beginning, several key scenes, and an end. I'll usually write these first. Gives me a feel for what I'm aiming for.
Then I start from the beginning and work forward. Of course, along the way I'll think up new stuff; this can require changes for subsequent scenes.
Then there's the logic and work of making the scenes in between them. Where I'll learn more...
#ScribesAndMakers 1: How much time do you expect to have for creative work this month?
More than last month, if I focus.
#WritersCoffeeClub Mar 1 What is the fundamental goal you seek to achieve with your current WIP?
I've a set of coordinated goals.
First, to write a story well enough to hold readers interest, maybe even entertain. Second, to make those readers ponder the contingency of history - not just with conceptions of gender but everything else.
My (ahem) 'stretch goal' is to maybe inspire more 'deep alternate history' works, from perspectives I can't imagine. They'd be *fascinating* to read. 🤯
#WordWeavers 1/3: What is your greatest fear about your characters?
That they won't feel like real people (or other beings). That they come across as tropes or stock. That when they make decisions, it neither feels consistent with what came before *nor* reveals something new about them.
Basically, that I'm not good enough a writer to portray them.
#WordWeavers Feb 28: Would you like to meet any of your characters? Would you tell them who you are?
Pumping a few for technical info might be extremely valuable, but I'd hesitate to let any of my characters know I'm their author. I doubt many would forgive me for what I put them through.
#ScribesAndMakers and #WritersCoffeeClub Feb 28: How did your month go?
Various medical - and unfortunately, mortal - events around the family have complicated many plans. Still, I'm making progress. I'm determined to get my sequel out ASAFP.
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 27: Edit while you write?
Only line-level, *maybe* scene level. Process engineers first work on making the output consistent and correct. Only when you have a reliable, repeatable system can you actually improve it.
Later edits tackle larger chunks. Watching tone, plot progress, and opportunities for humor, or wordplay, or impact. Making sure the characters are portrayed both subtly and overtly, etc.
Then it's just a matter of multiple 'rendering passes.' 🤷
#WordWeavers Feb 27: Which of your characters do you find especially interesting? Why?
Lots of them. I know their personalities, motivations, etc. I know their arc, where they'll be at the end of the story. Often, I'm writing just to get to see that process happen. 😁
Nusuku is in the running for favorite. In some ways, she could seem to be a stereotype, a trope - the Honest, Honorable Cop. But there are reasons why she fits that mold, and encountering Jim will put her through some changes.
#ScribesAndMakers Feb 26: Do you abandon creative projects? If so, how do you determine when to abandon them?
A few times I've started projects, then realized partway through that I didn't have either the skills or the background to write those stories.
At least I've learned from them. Generally these days I figure that out much earlier, before I've put too much work in.
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 26: Does your current WIP have an antagonist? Why or why not?
Long term, Jim will have a primary antagonist. But at the start, he's not important enough to warrant one. The antagonist is introduced in my current WIP (the second in the series) but won't develop into a full enemy until book three.
She's going to be very good at it, though.
#WordWeavers Feb 26: Who in your book is most like a person you’ve loved irl?
Supposedly, in Zen, "mu" is a word that unasks the question. That basically means, "the question is ill-posed and cannot be answered."
So, um... mu.
#ScribesAndMakers Feb 25: Would you stream your creative process/ the creation of your work? Why or why not?
Aside from spoilers, there's nothing really to hide. But there's zero risk of it taking off as an entertainment medium. 😂
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 25: What’s a unique habit you have while writing?
I dunno about 'unique,' but I will drop notes or snippets around the WIP when I have a good idea while writing a different scene, then come back and flesh them out later.
#WordWeavers Feb 25: How is light created in your book? Candles, electricity, magic, or what?
Electricity. Duh.
They have better materials science; more efficient than our LEDs, Jim can tell the illumination isn't neon, incandescent, LED, fluorescent, or anything he recognizes.
(Fire still burns, of course. Not needed too often for light, is all.)
#WordWeavers Feb 24: Tell us something about your MC that seems unimportant but really is crucial.
Jim's quite good at lying by omission.
The reader gets to see him practicing this skill *a lot* when describing our world to the matriarchal deep history which #TimeTravel has created. Not saying anything untrue... but avoiding topics which could cause difficulties for him.
Of course, he's the narrator; the book is his memoir. It's in his voice. What does that say about his narration? 🤔
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 24: Greatest challenge fleshing out your setting?
Scale.
I've seen the idea of 'a *really* alternate history that diverged a *long* time ago' done - but it's usually at the end of a short story ("whoa, that dude's screwed"). *Maybe* it's a scene or chapter of a #SciFi book.
But that's my whole concept. Everything needs to be *different*, from the toilets and building materials on up to the cultures, governments, religions, and philosophies.
But still comprehensible. 🤔
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 23: What techniques help you write a difficult second act?
“I’ve described my usual writing process as scrambling from peak to peak on inspiration through foggy valleys of despised logic. Inspiration is better when you can get it.” — Lois McMaster Bujold
What works for me is having a plan. I know a couple key scenes that have to happen (don't start writing until I do), so it's a matter of working out how to get from one to the other. 🤷
#WordWeavers Feb 23: What word/phrase do you use too much? Has it changed over time?
I definitely use an "X, but Y" construction a lot. Of course, the situation in my current series is... complicated, and lends itself to that kind of thinking. I'll have to watch out for that, on other projects.
#ScribesAndMakers Feb 22: Create a poll giving a line from a book you wrote (or a favorite if you haven't written one) along with lines from two other books. Ask people to choose which was from yours.
(Little sad the length of poll options is so limited. 😁)
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 22: Are there types of settings you avoid writing? Why?
About the only types I try to avoid are ones I don't know enough to properly represent, or that involve cultural factors I'm not qualified to tackle.
A lot of that's respect... though part of it's pride. After reading too many stories where the author made a mistake that could have been fixed with a few minutes of research, I resolved not to do that to my readers if at all possible.