My first novel wins the Hugo and the World Fantasy Award and becomes a runaway bestseller. Hollywood gets in touch to talk about making it into either a movie or a miniseries. I quit my day job and spend my time: working on more books; going on book tours, including appearances at conventions and so on; talking to people about the things they want to make based on my works (not just video adaptations, but maybe merch and so on); and hanging out with my fans. 2/3
In essence, I become a Professional Very Popular Author, in the vein of GRRM or James S.A. Corey¹, and my life revolves around that.
1. Or, speaking only of their levels of success, That Transphobe Lady or That Rapist Guy. Would I like to be as successful as they are, with no other similarities? Yes. Yes, I would.
3/3
Mar 29: What is your proudest or best moment with your creative endeavor this month?
Hard to find any particular standout "moment"; a lot of this is really "steady, sustained effort". I'll go with the bit a few nights ago when I realized that: A) certain magicians who go out clubbing a lot would naturally have a particular spell; B) that matches up beautifully with one that I wanted Angel to use in ch.01. So it solved that question nicely (albeit while raising another).
Day 1: Analyze this out-of-context quote from obscure influencer/author SA Poscat and tell us how you feel about it. “If I wanted to do something people liked, I would post videos of someone kicking me in the nethers. Instead, I write.”
Ooh, we've moved the out-of-context quotes thing from WritersCoffeeClub over to here? But at least we admit that it's out of context! 
1/2
I am primarily writing for myself, but not completely; I really do hope there will be other people who like my story, my world, and my characters.
If nobody liked my writing, I'd be upset. But I'm pretty confident that there will be some people who do like it, and others for whom it's just not their thing. I'm okay with that. (I hope that confidence doesn't crumble the first time I get a negative review!) 2/2
Day 2: What do you want to work on this month?
Cf. https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114257739564839179, my goals left over from last month:
* resolve the outstanding background issues regarding a few characters;
* finish my (hopefully-)final vignette; and
* start my first draft!
Day 3: Would you like to form a writers/creative group? (Etc.)
What I wrote when these questions first came out: I think I'm good for now. Maybe later.
What I'm thinking after the discussions threaded from https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114263257218788852: I guess having one to talk with might be good for me, but I really doubt that I have the bandwidth for it. Still, I guess if there's a supportive group for a budding urban fantasy writer, maybe I could try it out?
Day 4: Can you handle praise well, or do you get embarrassed and play your achievement down?
I've learned that the proper response to such things is to simply say "thank you". If it seems appropriate, one can add something like "that's/you're very kind" or "that's helpful to hear/know".
What's going on internally? That might be a very different story. But that's okay.
Day 7: Without showing it, describe something you've made or seen that is meaningful to you.
I used to fire-dance. I'd use poi, a pair of, essentially, flaming balls on the ends of chains that I'd spin with my hands. Or sometimes a flaming bokken, a Japanese wooden practice sword in the shape of a katana. It was fire and light and motion and beauty, and I loved doing it, and seeing and hearing people's delighted reactions.
Day 10: Show us a book cover you like. What makes it special?
What makes this cover special is hopefully obvious just by looking at it (or reading the alt text): the workmanship, materials, and attention to detail; the elegance of the design and the way it reflects two central themes of the story within (namely, the Two Trees of Valinor and the three Silmarils that captured their light).
Day 11: Do you use spreadsheets to help in your process? If so, how do you use them, and what makes them better than other tools?
Yes, I use LibreOffice Calc to track huge amounts of data about my characters. It's a giant table of stuff like: where they live; where they work; what their job is; what magical groups they're a member of; what spells they know; hobbies; musical tastes, etc. It includes color-coded backgrounds for some stuff. 1/2
Day 13: Who are the masters of your art or craft to you? Why?
[Keeping it to SFF writers, not just "writers in general.]
Ursula K. LeGuin, John M. Ford, and Susan Cooper. Why? For their storytelling ability, of course! For their ability to tell stories that entertain, that draw us in, that make us feel while we're reading them and then to make us think afterward. Stories that live in our hearts. 1/2
There was a time I'd have said That Rapist Guy, but it turns out he cribbed some of his best work from Tanith Lee, and then refused to credit her as even so much as an influence or inspiration, despite being repeatedly asked to. So fuck that guy, and maybe I'd say Tanith Lee, but I need to read some of her stuff first. 2/2
Day 15: How's your creativity this month? Anything you would like help with?
Things are coming along okay. I finally resolved the ridiculous bunch of questions that were blocking me on my hopefully-final vignette, and have written 3,110 words on it in the past 3 days, bringing it from its stalling point of 264 words to a current total of 3,374. Feels about two-thirds of the way done. 1/2
I'm also making some progress in the background on an unresolved issue that I do need to eventually find an answer for, but it can wait until after I've written the first few chapters if it has to. So knowing that I'm making progress on it is comforting.
I think I should be able to launch into 
WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT before Beltane Eve. It'll feel really good. 2/2
Day 16: What one thing would you tell your older or younger creative self if you could time travel?
I don't think there's anything I could tell my younger creative self. "Start writing sooner" wouldn't have made any difference; I started when it was time for me to do so. (I really wish it could've been earlier, but... yeah no, it couldn't have been.)
Anything my older creative self needs to know? He'll remember, because he used to be me now.
So, yeah, I look at cover art! I read the — not sure if "blurb" is the right word, or if that specifically applies only to the quotes by other writers. I mean the sort of "synopsis of the opening premise of the book", the thing that gives you some idea of what it's about and what happens. I definitely pay attention to that. 2/6
I only care about quotes by other writers if the quote: 1) comes from a writer that I know and respect a lot; AND 2) gives me a general sense of what the book is like. (So things like "spellbinding!" or "a gripping tour de force from a new talent!" cut exactly zero ice with me, no matter who they're from.) 3/6
And I'll be honest, one other thing that gets my attention and makes me want to buy/read/watch/consume? Really good worldbuilding, and the best option there is language. Just today, I saw this post (https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ufphsioisawta53vxjg3ufkw/post/3lmjhjqdve222) about how some dude's doing a werewolf movie set in 13th-century England, and so "obviously" it's all done in Middle English! 
I don't care much about werewolves, and I've never heard of this director. But now I'm interested anyway! 4/6
Anyway, just because that stuff catches my interest doesn't necessarily mean it'll hold my interest. I started watching _The 100_ because I'd heard it also had a conlang (Trigadesleng). Maybe it does, but after something like 3 or 4 episodes, I bailed out, because I couldn't handle the teenage interpersonal drama bullshit. (Was it realistic? Probably, yeah! Am I glad I'm not in high school anymore and don't have to deal with that crap anymore? Also very much yeah.) 6/6
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his commitment to justice, for seeing how poverty and militarism were intertwined with racism, and for trying to create a better world for all people.
Ada Lovelace, for her astounding balancing of poetic and mathematical impulses, and for inventing computer programming before there were any decent computers to program.
There are others, but I'll stop there. 2/2
Day 19: Would you like to hang out with your favourite creator or do you think it's better to appreciate the work but keep a distance?
I'm not even sure who qualifies as "my favourite" creator (heck, that includes film, TV, and music, right?), but I incline toward: yes, I'd like to chat with them, ask them about how they developed the thing I love, and just generally shoot the breeze.
Day 21: Do you create for a certain niche or do you hope to have as broad an appeal as possible?
This came up in a WritersCoffeeClub prompt just over a month ago. Sadly, I screwed up the threading, so I'll have to provide two links:
https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114128005400123220
https://wandering.shop/@kagan/114128006293293099 1/2
Basic point: I need to write for the people who will get it, understand it, and enjoy it. The ones whose hearts will be touched by what I'm doing.
Of course, I would really like it to be the case that millions of people fall into that category! But if not... then that's okay. The few who love my work will have to be enough. 2/2
Day 26: Do you engage offline with other creatives? What did you/would you do if social media didn't exist?
Offline? Not particularly. If social media didn't exist, I might try to find a local writers' group (Maybe by bulletin board? Classified ad? Usenet newsgroup? I dunno, what does exist in this hypothetical?), but I might just stay solo.
@kagan@wandering.shop
Day 30: How did it go? Were you able to work on the things you wanted to?
See yesterday's answer. Yup, got the things done that I wanted to, and got started on the first draft like I've been aching to for months!
(Then promptly found out I needed to have done even more preparation. Seriously? Whatever, I'm moving forward. No more delays, dammit!)
Day 1: What do you want to work on this month?
More of my first draft, of course! (Also, moving to another country. Ugh. That needs to happen.)
I want to be very explicit that I have ZERO expectation of finishing my first draft this month. I am currently just under 10,000 words, and I plan to shoot for ~100K (and I'm fairly sure I'm going to overwrite the first draft by an annoyingly large margin). I always thought NaNoWriMo was... 1/2
...a fairly aggressive target at 50K; trying to do 90,000 in a month (especially while working full-time and also doing other stuff like that aforementioned move) would be utter lunacy.
Just off the cuff, I think 25,000 words is a slightly challenging target for me for this month. 15K should be doable. 2/2
Day 3: What does the word creativity mean to you?
Immediate response: Creating new, interesting things, of whatever type, and coming up with new ideas.
Next thought: Or, you know, just _creating things_, whether they be "new and original" or not. Really, even if you write a "hackneyed, derivative" story, or make "trite, pop" music or whatever, you're still putting something new into the world, and putting some of yourself into it. That's creation.
Day 5: What word(s) always trips you up when writing? Common misspellings or misusage
I'm good on usage, and I'm very good at spelling, but there are a few words I still need to check every time to make sure I'm not misspelling: silhouette; camaraderie; reconnaissance; pronunciation (I somehow got "pronounciation" in my head at one point and it won't let go); and a few others that I can't recall right now.
Day 6: Would you like to go to a creative retreat? Would you prefer a mixed retreat or your art only?
I think a mixed one would probably just be too distracting for me. I'm not sure about a writing retreat; for one, that'd imply that I had the time in my schedule for it, which I don't. But also, I'm not sure if it would help me or not.
