でね⚡️o̶c̶t̶o̶b̶e̶r̶ 🍁 (fictional writer)

Wow. Well done Hiria. That's a great story/thread. Happy Pride.

#pretendpanel February 21st: ever written something which has been a revelation to yourself?

Every time. As first person writer, I have a view of the story, plot and who I am, but events, characters and 'self' discoveries turn being into becoming

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#pretendpanel Feb 13th: LOVE about writing?

I write first person, and love the danger of that: gradually being taken over.

It's the realisation, per Friedrich Nietzsche, there is no being behind writing, that I am as fictional as the character.

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#pretendpanel Feb 7th: impact world politics?

Politics has impact. Whether you time travel in your stories, mix in an intimate community, or run from monsters. It is background. It is mood.

The evil meme about the Obamas. You can't ignore that.

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#pretendpanel Feb 6th: Do you enjoy writing or reading political plotlines?

Characters live and breathe in political spheres, have points of view and take action.

Some characters aren't turned on by politics, so generally politics turns on them.

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Such a beautiful choir

Fossil February... Marketing March.

#pretendpanel Jan 30th: next evolution for you as a writer?

I want to say marketing and promotion but I don't lie. I hate all that.

I'd much rather just be writing.

I know that's my d-evolution mapped out.

Help.

I'm a social media dinosaur.

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Me too on marketing and the AI vibe-- not because publishers want it, but because they seem confused as to what is AI written and what is us humans. And that's fucking outrageous. But I persist, and my guess is you will too--come the bright days anyhow.

Sounds interesting. You mean hero's journey, archetypes vs stereotypes? Particularly interesting about the conflict take. Did you publish this?

Me too. I particularly like staging the three acts as destabilised normalcy / escalating crisis / battle for resolution. Problem is my actual chapters don't always fit those cosy parameters.

Perfect. That conflict could just be a mild difference which nevertheless brings both characters more into fullness. Or it could be a huge drama which changes the dynamic between them.

But I think this makes you a plantser, like me, which is somewhere between pantser and plotter, someone who wanders a way before sticking roots down and organising. I pull those roots back up, time-to-time, and resettle somewhere I've decided is more fertile.

I keep loads of notes but no matter how organised I think I'm being, my focus on the WIP always sabotages these notes. They're either freehand scrawls, or lack detail, or I lose them. GAH!

#pretendpanel Jan 24: revelatory change?

Work keeps smothering the fire. After being ill, a surge of energy let it flare again. Bathing in its glow, I realised without time and care, it may burn out altogether. And not with a bang, but a whimper.

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I have porridge every morning. Does that count?

The story was liked by my reader, but to me it's a frankenstein monster: I see all the heavy stitching and inserted back story, dialogue, props, etc, and feel this drags what was a well paced story. It's sitting in my to be rescued folder. The monster sleeps while Frankenstein doubts their creation!

I get you, but sometimes it's quite good to read novels that are well paced into even chapters, because then a sudden change to shorter and longer can have greater impact. Some TV dramas are doing that with episodes too, and it's a headache for channels, but makes perfect sense for drama.

Time is both a great healer and better position to learn early mistakes. I have one early finished novel I keep meaning to revisit. It's naively ambitious, or vice versa. I know there's something there in the story, but the plot needs one of those massive diggers you get on building sites.

Best always to hear the advice, listen to what didn't work for them, but ignore any suggestions what to change... unless that's an agent or publisher, naturally. Quite often two readers don't agree, and it can feel occasionally, the issues raised are just them wanting to appear helpful.

Great for an experiment though.

Saving old drafts on a computer is maddening, especially when you come back afyer a week and lose track of the working one, but, yeah, has to be done rather than revising without a comparison.

Absolutely, edit and trim for clarity and readability. But to squeeze those words to submit to some dumb word count? ...over my dead [trim]

Failure is the engine etc... and regret is an opportunity for focused passion.

50% the former, 100% the latter. I don't plan at the outset but, at some point, need to pause, take stock, and leave breadcrumbs. Wait stock and breadcrumbs sounds a recipe for... something.

I love first person and hate reading third person stuff that jumps around a lot. You're right, once you fix what's actually wrong, your speaking subject will tell your story fine.

Good evening #pretendpanel Jan 23rd: Was there ever a process change you later came to regret?

I do this if first draft isn't working.

Once I shifted genres for a short story--it swelled into a heavy long story, needing major life support!!

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#pretendpanel January 17th: How many drafts, then vs. now?

For me writing is the crazy river flowing. Redrafting is the hard shovelling in of banks, to keep it on track. Adding shrubs and trees. I redraft a lot. After every chapter or replotting.

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#pretendpanel Jan 16th: Where are you now with the writing process? How has that changed?

I am a cupboard full of drawers. In every drawer there's a writing process that'll work for one story.

Once I'm done, I lock that drawer and start afresh.

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I still usually let my characters tell me who they are, what their names is, what their goals are. It has to come from them.

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