I was there for a bit over 2 hours, and another Sunday chat successfully concluded! This week, we talked a bit more about writing software, what it does, do we need what it does, how we handle tasks (like keeping notes) that writing software does, and how MS Word is basically like democracy: Its awful, except that it's better than anything else out there.
We also dabbled a bit on the importance of names -- the right ones, the wrong ones, the anathema that is placeholder names -- and briefly touched on RPGs and their impact on writing. Starbeam gave us a great link to a podcast on that subject, which I reproduce here with no permission from anyone whatsoever:
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/02/07/writing-excuses-4-5-roleplaying-games-as-a-tool-for-story-telling/Somewhere in there, we also mentioned the usefulness (or not) of deadlines, daily wordcounts (the motivation and demotivation thereof), and talked a little about how "stupid readers" can make for good beta readers as long as you realize what their stupidity is telling you. We danced a little with the topic of infodumping and about all we agreed on was that it's bad, but not if it's entertaining at the same time.
We also learned that neurovore is capable of wordcounts of nigh-Chekovian proportions, that Starbeam actually
writes by hand and can later understand most of her words, that meh's beta readers think his work is moody and disconnected (which means he's a shoe-in for a Pulitzer one of these days), that Enjorous should expect a call from Tom Clancy after he publishes his latest piece, and that Ink Slinger is single-handedly deforesting the world with all that printing-to-edit.
In closing, I have no idea what anyone's actual genders are, so don't mind the random pronouning.
See you all next Sunday!
