[#]WritersCoffeeClub 1: What are your writing goals for 2025?
Keep writing, keep publishing, don't be afraid to write something weird.
In more concrete terms, I'd like to publish at least 2 books this year and I don't have anything waiting so that's a lot of writing and editing to come!
I'd love to write more text adventures and similar. I struggled to find time for that in 2024.
And I definitely want to stop getting in my own way re: my weird ideas. Still progress to be made there!
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 2: Have you ever made up something in a story which has come true in real life?
Nope! There are some things I'd love to see, though. Hexclimbers (wheelchairs but with legs that can handle most terrains), guidemechs (small robots that can assist with minor tasks and provide basic live audio description of the environment around you), and of course a society free of capitalism.
Oh and dragon-pulled spaceships, for sure. :dragon_coolmlem:
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 3: What form do your stories take? Flash, short, novella, novel or other?
The bulk is novels! I trained myself to write longer stories very young and find short stories much more difficult.
I've done quite a bit of microfiction, though I've had a pause of that, and done some micro/flash fiction text games which I'd love to do more of.
Most recently, I wrote and published a novella. It was my first one and I really like the length, so I will certainly do more!
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Generally, I think I'm better at longer works than shorter. Folk who specialise in microfiction or short stories always blow me away with their work.
There is a conciseness to both the narrative and the prose which is captivating to me, and which I am not yet any good at, at all.
As generally, I am more focused on improving my novel-and-novella writing, I don't know how much better I will get at shorter works. But I'd like to!
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 4: As a writer, what do you get from social media?
As a writer? I get to talk to other writers, find cool books through reviews from friends, and discuss publishing and the industry.
My publishing career is pretty much wholly thanks to fedi, too. If not for friends and readers sharing and recommending my books and Kickstarters here, my books would not exist.
I'm a small (tiny!) indie author. I have no discoverability. Every sale I get starts here.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 5: Whatβs your worst writing month, and why?
Hummm...well, I try to write well every month but in reality, big stressful life events can really knock me off track. Those aren't constrained to any particular months.
I guess December? Family and social events dominate December for me in a way that is very draining. And I often do a lot of very intense writing in November thanks to the comradery that month, so at the beginning of the month I can be a bit burnt-out.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 6: Whatβs your current writing project? Howβs it going?
I am currently focusing on Space Dragons 2. I'm still working through the first draft. It's still a slice-of-life story but touches on my feelings toward military, police, and systemic injustice (just a bit), which is taking some navigating to get right and not let my frustration take over what is meant to be a comforting story.
As with all first drafts, it is very, very tough to write.
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I'm also toying with continuing my Fallen London inspired Victorian Sapphic Mystery Comedy, likely to be a short story.
I need a clearer plot for the mystery, but the setting and characters are there and waiting. (Ko-Fi supporters have already read the first page or so of this!)
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 7: What are your biggest hopes for the writing world in 2025?
I'd like to see more diverse voices unrestrained by what marketing teams think will have the widest appeal and unfiltered from awards.
I'd like authors to unite against the AI scammers trying to replace us (rather than rolling over in exchange for a few pennies, as we're seeing in some parts).
And I'd like a mass unchaining from Amazon exclusivity.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 8: Do you agree with Samuel Johnson, who said, βNo man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for moneyβ?
It would be hard to disagree more. As someone who must write for money to survive, I can tell you that writing for money is poison for creativity, and some of us are just forced to build up a tolerance for poison.
For me, writing is difficult, frustrating, and draining. It's also nourishing and deeply rewarding. If I didn't need to write for money, I'd write a lot more.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 9: Do you borrow settings, plots or characters from other works (without plagiarism)?
Overwhelmingly, I write original stories with no conscious inspirations. Sometimes I take a vague setting thought like 'what if Star Wars but dragons' but that fast becomes it's own thing.
Sometimes I re-read old favourites and discover influences I didn't realise I'd had.
I love the way that creativity feeds creativity feeds creativity.
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I'm not a big fanfiction writer (I've only written one thus far, though it was novel-length) but I think fanfiction is a big positive for the world.
And legally publishable fanfiction, like fairytale retellings or mythological character works, are a big staple of the fantasy genre. I am continually astounded by how different the same story can become when told by someone else.
So borrowing consciously is pretty great, as well.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 10: Do you use dream sequences in your work? How do you feel about them?
I'm not a big fan of dream sequences so I rarely use them. I comment on dreams in a sentence or two, if I feel like it's relevant, but it tends to be more vague impressions than a sequence. More about the emotion than the action.
I think dream sequences are hard to get right. So many are just filler, and extensive filler at that.
I much prefer surreal, dream-like sequences that are really happening.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 11: Do you write or imagine a backstory for your secondary characters, or do they pop into existence as required?
I tend to have some amount of history for characters before writing them because that helps make up who they are. But certainly, I discover a lot of it while I write.
I think knowing your characters' pasts can be very enriching to characterisation and character motivation, whether you plan it in advance or stumble upon it later.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 12: Do characters use words not in the language you write in? Italics for this, or not?
Yes, they do use words not in the language I write in, and it's complicated whether I use them or not.
I was trained to use italics for non-English words. However, this practice can be othering, so I make an effort to avoid it.
The exception for me is magical incantations and fantastical language translation, as that hurts no-one and signals 'I don't expect you to parse this.'
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 13: What's your favorite trope? Do you lean into it for your work or shy away?
Well, this is an unbelievably broad category and I'm not good at ranking favourites. :dragon_sweats:
I write a lot of found family stories and I really love that trope. I love character archetypes that are prickly, withdrawn, or unpleasant, but turn out to be great friends, and I definitely write a lot of those.
I don't think there are many tropes I love that I would deliberately shy away from.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 14: Are you a pantser or a plotter? Have you always been this way? What brought you here?
I am in-between! I used to work very hard at plotting but got very mired in the details and restricted by my own plots. Since then, I plot light and mostly feel my way through the story.
I need some amount of planning to give me a vague direction to head for. I run out of steam without it. But if I plot too heavily, I might never make it out of the opening.
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It's important to remember that this is a false dichotomy and that, as with all writing advice, you should be suspicious of anyone claiming to have the one true path.
The right path for any writer is the one that works for them. The written telepathy business is far too arcane for hard rules.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 15: Would you ever hide your politics to avoid alienating some readers?
There is no way to do this. When there are people out there who have politicised others' right to exist, to pander to them is to harm everyone else. It's taking a stance either way.
I don't deliberately write political stories. That doesn't mean people don't get angry about it.
Anyway, as a queer, neurodivergent author, I'm alienating assholes no matter what. I won't hide myself to please them.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 16: How would you describe the way you create your stories to a non-writer?
I read a lot, I write a lot, I consume a lot of stories of all media types. That's the basis. When I want an idea, I try to come up with it on the spot, hate all of them, and start writing the one I hate the least. Then it's just showing up as often as I can to write until the book is done or discarded.
People never fail to look underwhelmed when I tell them this.
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I think non-writers (and a lot of writers, too) want to hear about a beautiful experience that inspired the book, or me getting stuck until genius strikes, or the music playlists I meticulously craft.
But I don't do any of that. Read a lot, write a lot, come up with something (anything, really!) and show up until the book is done.
This is not romantic, but it's practical because it works for me.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 18: Would you serve as a judge for a literary award?
It very much depends on what is expected of me and how closely it correlates to my ability. If I'm championing favourites and not denigrating those I didn't choose, that's a good start. If it's in fantasy or sci-fi, particularly if it's cosy or queer SFF, then maybe.
It's not something I particularly aspire to do.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 19: Did you find a way through the maze of traditional publishing to get your book published? Whatβs your secret?
Nope!
I thought I wanted to be trad published since I was a teenager. Submitting books for years, I kept getting answers like 'We love your writing but don't know what audience this is for'.
I later understood that my books were too autistic without being ABOUT autism. At the time, I was just confused.
...
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Then, I thought I wanted to work in publishing, too. And I was exploited by the industry both as an unpaid lit agent intern and an extremely underpaid 'freelance' assistant reader. I fell very out of love with trad publishing. It just didn't seem like it was for me.
The last book I queried to agents was Books and Bone. I told myself that if it didn't get an agent, I would self-publish anyway because I knew this was finally good enough.
...
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While waiting for a response, I looked into the practicalites of self-pub and got very excited. And discovered that when my first response came back, a full manuscript request, I was...disappointed? Rather than excited.
So I withdrew Books and Bone from querying, even from the person who'd requested it, and self-published. And I haven't looked back.
Trad publishing is a joy for some. But it is very much not for me.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 20: Do any of your stories take place on the sea? In what way?
On the sea? No. On ocean planets or planes of existence? Yes. Actually, I've sort of realised I have a thing about ocean worlds because of how often they seem to creep up in my fiction.
For me, the big thing about ocean worlds is that they can feel so incredibly alien and unreal. They are beautiful and terrifying, full of unseen depths, enormous creatures, crushing pressures. That's just great writing fuel.
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 21: What differences do you find in your process if you write both short and long-form?
I mostly write long-form! I'm a novels (and now novellas!) person for sure.
With longer-form fiction, I can plan light and feel my way through the stories. They have so much room to explore.
With short stories, I feel PRESSURE and PANIC because I need a tight plan before I go in. There are only so many words!
I am so impressed by short story writers.
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Microfiction is a bit of an exception for me. I do need to know where it's going, but it's small enough that there's no pressure.
Which is why I've written so much of it π
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[#]WritersCoffeeClub 22: What prompted you to begin writing?
I have been writing fiction since I learned how to write. Maybe a bit before (with help). As a very small child, I loved books, and the idea that I could make them absolutely fascinated me.
I have been informed this is one of my autistic special interests, so perhaps that explains why I'm doing the job I've wanted to do since I learned what jobs are. π
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@vicorva if you do write more about cosmorans, I'm curious about how things work on the ocean planet
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@WizardOfDocs oh cool! :D I don't currently have any inclination to set a story there specifically, but I can imagine another visit.
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@vicorva totally true for me as well. I loved writing since I was old enough to put sentences on pages, and an author since hearing authors get paid for it age 9. (Still looking for the money though π).
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@ElisesWritings :D yeah!
(Very much still looking for the money as well XD )
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@vicorva Your reaction to a full manuscript request is fascinating! I'm glad you didn't keep wading through the trad pub mire in the hopes of a deal, tho. If trad pub had worked out for you, I bet you would've felt much more constrained about writing weird, cozy, queer, neurodiverse stories. And that would've been a great shame!
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@rowyn I had just gotten so excited about self-pub that the thought of having an agent was kind of a let-down! Also I'd had full requests multiple times before and it never went anywhere, and I knew trad publishing is SLOW so...yeah, I just wasn't at all excited! π
I definitely would have felt more constrained. At the time, everyone was advising everyone to stay in their lane and never write an identity you didn't possess, and I wasn't out yet (and hadn't fully processed various things, too).
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@vicorva oh gosh, imagine trying to get trad pub to take your dead name off your books. x_x
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@rowyn :dragon_sweats: there's no way
nightmare
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@vicorva @rowyn that thought made me shudder
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