Yes, I’m ignoring the World Cup (this post apart). But then I ignored the previous one, and the one before that, and…
OTOH, clearing the decks for the Tour de France. #allezRemco

#WritersCoffeeClub 10/6: What is the greatest pleasure of your writerly life?
There are a few candidates, but I think best of all is when a character does something that surprises me. It may be as simple as turning left instead of right (Road Not Taken &c) but that assertion of selfhood tells me the character is alive.
This is the great joy of being a pantser.
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#WordWeavers 10/6: Your MC turns around in the last scene you wrote. What do they see?
In the very last bit, all Jerya’d see is the canvas wall of a marquee. But just before that she was at the edge of a beach looking over a wide bay. Turn round and she’s looking inland, rooftops of a small village with modest green hills behind. And she’s struck by the thought that she’s nearly seventy years old and there’s so much of the world she hasn’t seen.
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If you’re a UK citizen, please get behind this.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/765199

#WordWeavers 9/6: Your antagonist opens their window and reaches outside. What do they feel?
I see we’re harking back to the days when Perriad was still alive… And if she ever took the trouble to reach (which I doubt) she would encounter a rather fine wisteria. But she’d probably see this as frivolity.
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#WritersCoffeeClub 9/6: Have you ever written something which later turned out to be a little too on the nose?
Not in my own estimation. There may, of course, be readers who beg to differ.
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A Study in Starlight—Chapter Fourteen
Continuing this serialised novel, in which Holmes and Watson find themselves very far indeed from Victorian/Edwardian London.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theshatteredmoon/p/a-study-in-starlightchapter-fourteen

#WritersCoffeeClub 8/6: How vast are your settings?
In simple terms, it’s one landmass, about the size of the British Isles (so fas as we know, anyway), plus surrounding waters out to a couple of weeks sailing time.
But… “we are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
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#WordWeavers 8/6: Does your MC have strengths that others see as weaknesses?
Well, ‘strengths’ and ‘weaknesses’ are always subjective, aren’t they?
What I would say, though, is that Jerya’s mix of impulsiveness and stubbornness can be a strength, but there are others (notably Perriad) who see it less as a weakness and more as a threat.
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#WritersCoffeeClub 7. Do you avoid idioms, colloquialisms, or embrace them?
Removed ‘expressions’ from above because how do you write without expressions?
I want idiom and colloquialism to give colour and locality to the writing and the two cultures, but have to be very careful about slipping in anything that would feel to much rooted in our world and time. This includes anything grounded in religion, like ‘what the devil’. But ‘fuck’ translocates well.
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#WordWeavers 7/6: Who is your most visually stunning character?
There is no character in the series I would describe as visually stunning. Not a label I like.
Possibly the one who makes the biggest first impression would be the Prince of Sessapont, but that’s about the trappings of wealth and power, not innate beauty.
There are other characters who can provoke a reaction through their looks, but by defying conventions, e.g. of gender-appropriate attire.
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