#writerscoffeeclub

Charlie Stross @cstross@wandering.shop · 3d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 11 Aug—When were you last a student? July 1990, the month I got my Master's Degree (a conversion degree for science graduates transitioning into computer science—roughly equivalent to a Comp Sci BSc). Before that, in 1986 I graduated with a BPharm then did post-graduation training to register as a pharmacist. Guess what? I've been a full-time writer almost continuously (three years in software dev aside) since late 1990! (Technical author, computer journalist, novelist.)

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Sarah J Hoodlet @SJHoodlet@writing.exchange · 4d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 10Aug—Do you reuse characters? Only within a series. Although, there is mention of one character from The Way of the Wielder series in Tredania Chronicles (my next series). They're not described in any detail, and don't even go by the same name, so you'd never know unless you read both series. But for those who have... Oh, what a treat that little discovery will be. ☺️

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Hannah Steenbock @Firlefanz@writing.exchange · 4d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/10 Do you reuse characters? Well, of course. I write mostly in series, which means you get recurring characters. Both the Wolves and the Winds & Pillars feature different characters as MCs in each book, but the familiar ones show up all the time. That is the great fun in series, right? You get to stay with beloved characters for longer. I hope I don't "recycle" chars, as in writing the same type over and over again. (But even that might not be bad.) #WritingCommunity

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Jürgen Hubert @juergen_hubert@mementomori.social · 4d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub – 9th Aug. What’s a subject you’d like to write about, but haven’t yet?

...let me check my list.

I am fairly confident that I could find enough material for books(*) on the following topics, which I have barely started to cover in my translations:

City-themed folk tales
Divine Judgment in all its forms
Churches in folk tales
A separate book on monasteries
Castle-based folk tales
Evil nobles (with parallels to our modern, moneyed would-be aristocrats)
Omens and Prophesies (possibly to be split up into separate books)
Saints and miracles
Springs, rivers, lakes (separate from a book on water spirits)
Fortean weirdness (like omens, but even stranger)
Crime and punishment
Bandits and outlaws
War-themed folk tales
A separate book on the Thirty Years' War (with a special focus on those Evil Swedes!)
Paganism in German folk tales
Folk tales about children (which doesn't necessarily mean for children...)
Graveyards and burial
Plant folklore
Curses
Otherworlds
Tricksters and Fools

And to emphasize, these are the topics I am confident I could find enough material to write a book about right now - and I have only surveyed a fraction of all German folk tales in the public domain. I am sure that there will be more topics in the future.

Though I am curious - which of these topics is of particular interest to you?

(*) I.e. at least 100 tales to fill an entire collection.

#amwriting

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Hannah Steenbock @Firlefanz@writing.exchange · 5d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/9: What’s a subject you’d like to write about, but haven’t yet? I have a near-future vampire urban fantasy on the backburner, planned as trilogy. Done quite a bit of world-building (the world will change quite noticeably in the next 15-20 years), but the story isn't... coming together. I started writing it twice, turning it from noir to near-future. Still not working. And the covers I bought are worthless. *sigh* #WritingCommunity

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Naomi Heartbreak @paranoiapen@mas.to · 5d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 9/8: What’s a subject you’d like to write about, but haven’t yet? Not a subject exactly, but I feel like I need to incorporate more corruption and exploitation into my stories.

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SuzyShearer @SuzyShearer@mastodon.au · Aug 06, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub – 6th Aug. What sort of collectives appear in your work? Mm… One book has UK police detectives, while another had Australian police force. In series I’ve had members of a BDSM club, another had immortal vampire hunters – both sort of collectives…lol

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JallBarret @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph · Aug 04, 2026

Replying to @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph

#WritersCoffeeClub August 4: Do you consider yourself a writer, an author, an artist, something else? Writer first but all of the above and then some.Why?Even if I wanted to only be a writer (and I don't), self-publishing today really benefits from as many other art forms as you can throw at it. In a sense, I get more "readers" through my videos than I do for my published works right now even though I've got like ... 4 entire subscribers on Youtube.

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JallBarret @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph · Aug 01, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub August 1: What are your goals for the month, writing-wise? My main goal is to finish writing The Novel (basically done). I usually do an edit pass after I've written a work. In this case, I already know I need to do a bunch of inserts and I've got a project-based todo list that's like ... 40 items long. Before I even bother trying to do an edit. So ... all of that.

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JallBarret @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph · Aug 04, 2026

Replying to @JallBarret@hol.ogra.ph

#WritersCoffeeClub August 3: Are your narrators a diegetic part of the world which they narrate? Only when I'm writing first person narrative.

Not to say I wouldn't experiment with something else. I just haven't so far.

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Princess Nettles Succubish @tiefling@bardicperspiration.club · Aug 03, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 8.2 — What's the most challenging thing you've ever written? Writing sex scenes for ppl I know IRL. It is easier if I've done things with them, but getting someone just right is... challenging. And scary to write. I dl let the ppl review, but I always worry I've messed it all up. #writing #writers

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Ixtli Dekami

🍕⚾🖖 @ixtlidekami@mstdn.social · Aug 03, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 02 What's the most challenging thing you've ever written? A 100% fictional story about how the five 100% real people in my area (tech support) replaced all the 100% real network hardware of slightly more than 1000 100% real PCs, servers, etc., in one week, so the assistant systems manager could look good with his bosses, like he promised. We couldn't even do 50 PCs because people wouldn't let us work. So I had to write the report of how we did it. They believed it…=-|

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Laura Hilliger @epilepticrabbit@social.coop · Aug 01, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub My goal for August is to find a community of folks who are interested in constructive criticism. I've just started my own Not a Masters Programme and am looking at #writersofmastodon #writerscommunity and others in the fedi to learn from. Writing goals include finishing most of unit 1 assignments ;) https://laurahilliger.com/tag/nam/ If you have a slack channel, regular meetup, or platform that helps me find like minded writers, I'm happy for the steer.

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Dave Dawkins (D. Harrigon) @golgaloth@writing.exchange · Jul 31, 2026

Okay, #Writers. Who are you using for your covers? Drop me some recommendations for cover artists (maybe a link to their work, or just a chance to post your books). Not interested in people who do their own covers. #Writing #books #art #WritingCommunity #WritersCoffeeClub #PennedPossibilities

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paris @paris@wandering.shop · Jul 31, 2026

Good morning, #writersCoffeeClub! This month, our theme is “being-there.” 🧍 ➡️ As always, a text-based version of the list is available on my site: https://sulfur.ink/wcc-august-2026/ ⬅️ And consider this your semi-regular reminder than WCC appreciates contribution, so do reach out if you have a question you’d like to put to the community or want to offer a hand with next month’s prompts! 📆 We’re looking forward to seeing your responses! #writersCoffeeClubMeta

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Charlie Stross @cstross@wandering.shop · Oct 09, 2025

#WritersCoffeeClub Oct 9: Recommend a fellow writer you believe is under appreciated. Graydon Saunders. (Self-publishes a series of fantasy novels. Ebooks only, refuses to work with Amazon or anyone else who requires DRM, so best sought on Kobo. Absolutely madly different to anything else that fits the label "high fantasy" because, to start with, he's anti-monarchist and anti-aristrocratic *and so are his protagonists*.

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Howard Aiken @technorow@mastodon.scot · Jul 27, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 27th July ~ What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? The realisation that editing and polishing doesn't have an end point. It can apparently go on forever. #writing #histfic #writingcommunity #writersofmastodon

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Hannah Steenbock @Firlefanz@writing.exchange · Jul 27, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 7/27 What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? Actually finding enough readers to create a decent income stream from my books. This is not truly a writing problem, admittedly, but it does feel like some very unpleasant growing pain, because it means I have to leave my comfort zone and invest time into more marketing. It also means finding a way of marketing that aligns with my morals and that I can enjoy. #WritingCommunity

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Jon Sparks @JonSparks@writing.exchange · Jul 27, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/7: What's a writerly growing pain you're experiencing right now? I think it’s ageing pains I might need to worry about, not growing pains. Best thought of as experience, though. #books #writing #writersofmastodon

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Christina Anne Hawthorne @CA_Hawthorne@writing.exchange · Jul 26, 2026

#WritersCoffeeClub 26 other works waiting in the wings? Besides the 4 published Kovenlore novels, there is: • The last 3 Kovenlore novels are in final editing (1 releases this autumn). • 2 anthologies are organized, each with a mix of short stories and novellas. • 5 Pannulus mysteries are drafted, most revised. • 1 Thornwillow novel is also revised. Not counting the multitude of shorter tales, that adds up to 11 novel-length works waiting to be published. #AmWriting #WritingCommunity

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