Writing Exchange

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writerscoffeeclub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writerscoffeeclub</a> 31/5: What other hashtags inspire you on Mastodon' or similar? As a regular thing, just this one and <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/wordweavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#wordweavers</a>. I get a lot of fun and food for thought both writing my own responses to daily prompts and reading those of others. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/wordweavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#wordweavers</a> 31/5: Do your MCs enjoy games? Jerya never had much access to games growing up. Her recreations were reading & walking, both solitary pursuits. In later life she has very little free time and her main way to relax is by riding (horses; bicycles haven’t been invented yet). She still reads, too, but a lot of it is work-related in one way or another. What she needs is for someone to invent Sudoku. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/wordweavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#wordweavers</a> 30/5: Are you comfortable writing from the POV of a child? Written any? I haven’t published anything with POV younger than about 19, but I have unpublished work that takes in considerably younger characters. One who is about ten, for example. It doesn’t feel too hard. I used to be ten, after all. The risk, I think, is making the character too ‘childish’, not too grown up. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 30/5: How do you achieve a sense of wonder in your stories? Like everything else, it happens (if it does!) because I feel it myself first. There is no recipe or formula. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 29/5: Average time to complete a writing project? There must be an average (mean, median, or mode) but ask around among writers and you’ll find the standard deviation is pretty wide. I used to do camera guides in six weeks, because we didn’t get the cameras until official release and the publisher wanted them out ASAP. On the other hand, <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> took probably 20 years from idea to publication. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WordWeavers</a> 29/5: How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home? Jerya grew up living in caves. She wouldn’t have a problem in the slightest. (Fortunately the biology of the Known Lands is more like Britain than Australia, so there aren’t any venomous spiders to worry about.) <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/wordweavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#wordweavers</a> 28/5: Did your MCs have comfort objects they carried as a child? Jerya grew up in a remote village with very few personal possessions, and nothing inessential. Her comfort as she grew older came in walking the forests and the moors and teaching herself to swim in a secret tarn. Now (aged 33 in Book 4, due out in August) her main source of comfort is around horses and going for solitary rides. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 28/5: Do you have advice for other writers you have yet to hear from different sources? Every piece of writing advice I’ve ever seen is contradicted by someone else. Of the two writers I regard as my biggest influences, one was a plotter and one wasn’t. The only advice I would give is this: ‘Someone told me’ is no basis for anything. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 27/5: What's the ideal story length? Isn’t this the ultimate beginner question? To which the only answer is: Not too long, not too short. Probably somewhere between five words and half a million. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WordWeavers</a> 27/5: What would your ideal writing group be like? I am a Life Member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and have benefitted greatly from that, but I have never come across anything even remotely equivalent in the world of fiction. <a href="https://www.owpg.org.uk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no">https://www.owpg.org.uk</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WordWeavers</a> 26/5: What childhood similarities do your MC and antagonist share? Nothing whatsoever that I can think of, but then I haven’t given thought to Perriad’s childhood. She’s one of those people who you can’t imagine ever being a child, like Margaret Thatcher or the dreaded Great-Aunt in a couple of the Arthur Ransome novels that were formative reading in my childhood.) <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ArthurRansome" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ArthurRansome</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writerscoffeeclub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writerscoffeeclub</a> 26/5: Would you consider writing a guide to your work, e.g. for aspiring writers? TBH, I’m not sure I understand the question. ‘For aspiring writers’ suggests a guide to my writing process, but I’d just point them to Ursula K Le Guin’s beautiful book on the craft. (Or you could start with my Substack post on some of her gems of advice: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/58cudxj4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no">https://tinyurl.com/58cudxj4</a>). <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/LeGuin" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#LeGuin</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 25/5: Do you use a cover artist or design your own covers? Share your cover art. My non-fiction covers have been done by the publishers, often using my photos. For my novels, I’ve done my own, again based on my own photos, using Lightroom and Photoshop. Below is the potential cover for Book 4, due in August. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WordWeavers</a> 24/5: While writing, do you avoid or binge watch similar material? If there was any similar material, I would be fascinated, but I’ve never found anything that close. If you can think of anything that matches ‘Earthsea x Northanger Abbey’ please let me know. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 24/5: Is there any work of fiction you could have written better? Don't be shy. Yes, loads. It’s mean to mention names, of course… …mutter ‘Jeffrey Archer’ mumble… In fact, I’m far too busy writing my own books, and the likes of JA sell far more than I do, so what can you do? <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WordWeavers</a> 23/5: Are your MCs picky about where they sleep? Both Jerya and Rodal grew up in a village where they slept on platforms carved from solid rock with only a thin pad stuffed with goat-hair for a mattress. And crossing the mountains they (and Railu) slept under a tarpaulin on whatever bit of vaguely smooth and level ground they could find. so, no, they’re not picky. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 23/5: What gets in the way of your writing? Life. Riding bikes, and cleaning them afterward. Going to coffee shops (but we have some great conversations about writing, so maybe that’s a help not a hindrance). General household chores. And more life. How do people with full-time jobs and kids manage it? <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/wordweavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#wordweavers</a> 22/5: Is your antagonist more a dragon or a dragon rider? Once you’ve explained what a dragon is… Ask Perriad and she’ll probably see herself as a dragon rider (or else as a slayer of dragons!). Ask Jerya, or anyone else who‘s butted heads with Perriad, and they’ll see her as a dragon—and they won’t mean it as a compliment. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writerscoffeeclub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writerscoffeeclub</a> 22/5: If someone were to write your autobiography, who would you want to write it? Pardon? Who else but myself? The question is, who would want to read it? <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

Jon Sparks<a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> 21/5: Format as you write or at the end? I format my WIP solely to suit myself—preferred font, spacing, etc. It looks nothing like Standard Manuscript Format, or like my finished books, but that’s cool. The one trick is to make consistent use of Paragraph Styles so that when needed I can change all the parameters in a few clicks. My other essential for happy writing is never to use Word. <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/ThreeKindsofNorth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ThreeKindsofNorth</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/TheSunderingWall" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TheSunderingWall</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/VowsAndWatersheds" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#VowsAndWatersheds</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="https://writing.exchange/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#books</a>

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