#WritersCoffeeClub 10: How do you steer a reader’s emotional journey?

I mean, I sort of...don't? Or at least, that's not what I'm thinking when I'm writing. I'm following the story's emotional journey, the character's emotional journey. I'm feeling out the scenes and the beats for when it's time for something brighter, darker, calmer, or more exciting.

I steer the story, not the reader. But hopefully the reader goes on the same journey I do, or close to it!

#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 4
How much detail do you use to describe your settings?

The reader's imagination is very good at filling in gaps in the picture, you just need to nudge it in the right direction. As I write SF/F, a lot of this amounts to dropping alienating details: a family gathers around the dinner table to eat, their father picks up the carving knife then begins to carve up a small velociraptor. You don't need to describe the table or the knife! "Here, have a drumstick."

#WritersCoffeeClub 4/2: How much detail do you use to describe your settings?

The setting in question is mostly 19th century Germany and surrounding areas - which is as alien to a modern English-language audience as many fantasy worlds.

Thus, I have an appendix giving some cultural context, and the tales I translate have numerous additional commentary and footnotes. This is actually a large portion of my work, in addition to the translations themselves. This is also part of the reason why I refuse to use #LLM for translation (beyond the usual ethical objections) - I want the readers to understand the context of the tales, and AI would inevitably get that wrong.

#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 3 - What signature marks your work as definitively and effectively yours?

Taking an idea and running with it, then giving up running and stealing a hot set of wheels then driving around an obstacle course at high speed making unexpected turns and doing donuts with the kidnapped idea screaming from the passenger seat.

Sort of like that over-extended metaphor.

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/3. What signature marks your work as definitively and effectively yours?

I translate old German folk tales into English.

Please tell me of _anyone_ else who is doing that these days!

#WritersCoffeeClub ~ How satisfied are you with the rhythm of your works?

Overall, very satisfied.

One of my editing steps involves reading the entire story outloud to myself. It lets me catch places where wording or rhythm are off and has helped my writing immensely.

#WritersCoffeeClub 2 February. How satisfied are you with the rhythm of your works?

Sometimes it works okay. Others, not so great. But there are tools to help with that—any folding text editor, for example, or @scrivenerapp: they make it easy to see the deep structure of a long document and rearrange it.

#WritersCoffeeClub 2/1. How satisfied are you with your current writerly 'voice'?

I'm pretty happy with it. It shifts a fair bit from book to book, depending on the story and characters. I like the way that helps shape each book into it's ownt hing.

#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 1: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?

I adjust my narrator voice for every project. To me, the narrator is a character, the one readers will spend the largest amount of their time with, so I need to be conscious of how it sounds. I noticed Cat Valente does that, and it's super effective.

#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace

#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 1: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?

I adjust my narrator voice for every project. To me, the narrator is a character, the one readers will spend the largest amount of their time with, so I need to be conscious of how it sounds. I noticed Cat Valente does that, and it's super effective.

#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace

#WritersCoffeeClub February 1: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?

It's been selling my books for 25+ years so I guess I'm okay with it?

Having said that, I keep trying to mix things up. Letting yourself go stale is bad.

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 31. What did you learn this month about your writing process or habits that you want to carry forward?

Giving myself dedicated time off is REALLY important. Take a 'self care' week this month almost definitely prevented another burnout. Going to be taking one every month if possible going forward.

#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 31 - What did you learn this month about your writing process or habits that you want to carry forward?

Two highly recondite features of @scrivenerapp that probably aren't news to most power users, and also that SimpleNote on my desktop is intermittently failing to sync for some reason.

(Nothing really new about writing-as-writing, per se: I've been doing this for most of 50 years now, major new insights are rare.)

#WritersCoffeeClub Today I *FAILED* to surmount the challenge posed by starting the day with a medical appointment at 9:30am that included the memorable phrase, "I'm just going to lay this fine silver electrode across your cornea ..."

#WritersCoffeeClub Today I *FAILED* to surmount the challenge posed by starting the day with a medical appointment at 9:30am that included the memorable phrase, "I'm just going to lay this fine silver electrode across your cornea ..."

#WritersCoffeeClub day 30: This month, how did you successfully navigate a challenge or a sticky point in your writing?

That happens to me pretty much every working day and is unmemorable as a consequence.

#WritersCoffeeClub 27 What's a technical skill you think should be more widespread?

Basic file management on a computer. I've seen many people (young and not so young) save *EVERYTHING* in one directory (I refuse to call them "folders") and later can't find anything. They should learn that basic skill in school, but no. No one teaches them that. I'd blame phones for this but this trend started in the Windows 95 days with the "My Documents" directory…=-|

#WritersCoffeeClub January 29, Which phrase, paragraph, or page are you most proud of writing this month?

See screencap (full text in alt-text). Yes, it's a goddamn infodump. So what?!?

#WritersCoffeeClub 1/29 Which phrase, paragraph, or page are you most proud of writing this month?

'Until quite recently, there used to be a second, smaller graveyard in Reith, the parish village of the outer valley estate in the Alpbachgrund valley through which the Alpbach stream rolls down from the Plaknerjoch. This second graveyard was barely the size of an elongated chamber. It was called “The Graveyard of the Innocent”, since only children were buried there who had not received baptism. Such graveyards also exist in many other villages. But it was very painful for the inhabitants when they lost a little child so quickly that they could not receive the holy baptism nor even the emergency baptism. Thus, usually everything possible was attempted so that even a half-dead child could receive the blessing of the holy baptism and a name. And physicians and midwives were praised and rewarded highly if they succeeded in extending the fleeting life of such a child for just long enough so that they could still be buried in the large graveyard.'

#WritersCoffeeClub January 29, Which phrase, paragraph, or page are you most proud of writing this month?

See screencap (full text in alt-text). Yes, it's a goddamn infodump. So what?!?