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1:45 PM
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Q: Are headlines about lists superior in print as they are in web content?

RyanA common tactic for capturing attention is using a headline N something for something For example on Copyblogger some headlines: 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work The 5 Things Every (Great) Marketing Story Needs 7 Scientifically-Backed Copywriting Tips Or here is a screenshot fr...

 
2 hours later…
3:24 PM
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Q: World building SE site

JamesFigured as authors some of you may be interested in this proposal over on Area 51. World Building Proposal The current definition is: Proposed Q&A site for creators (authors, game designers, artists, etc.) who are designing their own worlds, universes, continents, or the like, usually drawi...

4:18 PM
37
Worldbuilding

Proposed Q&A site for creators (authors, game designers, artists, etc.) who are designing their own worlds, universes, continents, or the like, usually drawing heavily on real world science for accuracy and on how real societies come into existence.

Currently in definition.

4:41 PM
Weekly writing exercise?!?
@NeilFein Anyone (including you) here?
5:01 PM
The event has started. If someone is around and interested, give a buzz
@PraveshParekh - I'm here, not sure how much I can be. The Baby's acting up.
No worries. You ready to give it a shot?
or shall we wait for sometime (hoping more people come by)
Can't type, need my hands.
Let's wait a bit?
Sure.
In general, the idea is: one topic, 10 minutes, some word limit, followed by a discussion?
or multiple topics back to back (after 10 mins are over)
I think one, maybe more if people want.
5:06 PM
And the topic can be anything under the sky? (or well...over the sky too?)
Yeah.
It's pretty freeform. Just to get people writing, mostly.
I see. Thanks! Had been skeptical of coming here previously
5:18 PM
Hello everyone
I just got the reminder to be here about this weekly writing exercise ! Is there any wiki page about what to do here ?
;)
I am almost lost here
That was how I was too in the beginning but I guess reading about on various meta posts and help section helped
and like the description says: "On Tuesdays, we write and discuss. On other days, we discuss and write. All are welcome."
On the weekly writing exercise, one person gives a topic. You have 10 minutes and a minimum number of words that need to be written.
You are to be ready with your blog (or some other writing platform that you can share here using a link) before the topic is dealt out. Once all members are ready, the person leading the chat gives the topic.
Once the ten minutes are over, everyone shares the link to their work, which is subsequently discussed/critiqued etc. There can be more topics given out (depending on how the chat is going).
That sounds like a brief summary...right? Comments @NeilFein?
I think that's good. What's the word count this week?
5:26 PM
I would say 200 or more
Or is it just whatever one can write in the time?
That works equally well (some people might not be able to write on certain topics/might have time constraints/etc.)
Are we game?
I'm ready.
@prateek, @MattEckert You guys?
5:41 PM
Give me a minute to pour a cuppa
sure
you will find the topic highly correlated with your current activity :P
Cool
I'm ready
Shall we get going?
its just you
I guess so. Others can always do it later I guess?
You doing this too?
Sure. I was about to ask you!
5:44 PM
Cool
I mean I already know the topic and all...better to just watch the clock, no?
Okauy
*okay
Alright. Here goes:
"The untouched coffee"
10 minutes
112 words in
Good going :)
You still have time
Half time over
5:50 PM
k
Does it have to be exactly 200 words, or can it go a little over?
Can go over
Time up
though you can take a few more minutes if it is going very well
I'm done, let me figure out where to post this so I can link to it.
Or... how much can a chat field hold?
umm...not sure. I guess 200 or so can be put in easily
5:55 PM
The pot been steaming hot this morning. I'd special-ordered the beans and made the pot this morning, and had been looking forward to that first cup. As it brewed, the smell captivated me, like coffee from home. Before I escaped.

When the email came in, I thought it would take me just a few minutes to reply to it. But I ended up checking this and verifying that, and a few minutes stretched into an hour, and soon it was time for lunch and I was still researching background for the spreadsheet meant to accompany the presentation I was putting in the email reply. Ah, the glorious life of a tel
2
Yep, that's the whole thing.
That was fun!
This is nice.
A good "blend" of present and the nostalgia of the past. Goes well with the smell of coffee which is almost the same as the smell of nostalgia
Thanks, it was easy to write. Just added a mysterious past and a vague homeland.
Yeah.
Shame the pot got cold, though.
Do you have one?
I sometimes wonder...do writers really put in something from their past when they add that "vague mysterious past" element?
Nope. Not tonight. Got a major examination this weekend so studying parallelly for that. Would be able to participate more freely from next Tuesday onward.
What do you think?
5:59 PM
I was imagining a place like Cuba, with a trade embargo to the US.
I have nothing like that in my past. I'm a suburbanite from northern New Jersey.
Would have been better with more people, but it was still fun. Let's keep doing this!
Wondering if we can post stuff written at the chat somewhere.
If we had a site blog, that'd be the obvious choice.
I thought of a largely empty field with a small house in the middle of nowhere with a few children running around, half clothed, shouting at each other. All of this shot in "sepia" mode
I was wondering the same. It would really be cool if we had a collection of writings for each week in one common spot
That's pretty cool. Wanna add some backstory to mine? Feel free to chop it to pieces.
After your exam, of course.
For sure. In fact I was hoping I could write on this topic.
And I just logged in at Writers and saw your comment.
6:02 PM
Yeah, I saw. Nice!
Didn't really have to think of a topic. Was already there :)
I hope it was not too vague or something?
Nah, it can be vague or specific. Just need something to start with.
That's the fun part. It doesn't matter so much what people write about, just that they're writing something.
A few years earlier I had written something on a similar line
exactly!
you want to have a look?
6:03 PM
Please
That's so very sad.
What I really liked about your story was the fact that the narrator was being honest. He did not mind stating it right in the beginning: "before I escaped". This immediately sets the reader to a vague timeframe that is not polluted by the modern lifestyle. It transported me to a time when things mattered. Further, the narrator keeps dipping back into the past.
I cheated a little; added that little bit after I wrote the bit at the end.
One can almost feel taking a sip or two of the coveted brew while at the same time realizing the fact that the brew is not the same (no matter how similar) to that one special one shared with friends on a Saturday morning. The fact that it was "a" Saturday morning and not "the" Saturday morning is also interesting to note in that it hints at the morning being not the only one.
That's alright :)
One is further touched by the fact that the narrator's father made an effort to send the coffee via a less "suspicious" (the "..." before the word adds to its weight) address. It further increases the value of coffee and the weight of the past in the entire flow.
Finally, towards the end the narrator is kind of "full" with the past and no longer really cares for the way "modernised" things are going. He ends up sending the email without really caring about it, while his heart is somewhere far back in Time.
For at the end, the things that matters was The untouched cup of coffee.
Sorry...kind of blabbered on and on...hope you did not mind too much
6:14 PM
Wow, I must be really smart to put all that subtext in there! Seriously, it's fun to see what people see in a piece.
I kinda meant the stuff about the past.
The present is kinda like my regular day - working at home on the computer. Except I don't do presentations.
I'm my only co-worker!
That should be fun! No annoying colleagues thankfully!
Fun, but like all freelancing, not as steady as one might like.
I always enjoy listening to what people think about when reading anything that I write...so I try and tell them what I think when I read their work (though not possible always)
Your piece got me wondering about how the character got to this place where they're so very alone.
Were there lunch companions in the past?
BRB
Well I believe that the character was always kind of alone. Always one step away from actual companionship
He sees, he understands, he wants, but cannot get. Or maybe he is subconsciously denying companionship to himself?
6:20 PM
Cool
It's hard for me to relate on some levels to a character like that, since I'm very outgoing and find it easy to talk to people. So it's good that you developed the protagonist somewhat in the story.
I think I was travelling then and was sitting in a cafe enjoying an espresso when the thought came to me. I think it was raining too.
One almost always sees people like these dining alone at a restaurant or sitting at a corner table at the local cafe
Sorry...got disconnected
'scool
I am glad we had the session tonight. It is fun, for sure. Would be great if quite a few people are around
Is it okay if I share what you have written with a friend?
If we keep it up, I hope we get more people. There used to be a bit of a crowd here on Tuesdays.
And sure
Thanks! I think she is writing on the topic too (she is not at Writers...have told her to join :) )
Well got to go now. It was fun. Will look forward to next week (if I can make it). Have a great day!
6:34 PM
You too!
6:46 PM
I was thinking about how we can keep a log of all the writing exercises. Each week after the session is over, the person who initiated the chat can post on Meta: <Month name> Week <no.>: Writing Exercise.

with details about the topic and the number of people participated. All the people who wrote/shared links can then put their writing as an answer. In case the person is not a member of Writers, someone else could post it on his/her behalf.

What do you think?
7:11 PM
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Q: Weekly writing exercise: keeping logs

Pravesh ParekhAfter 25th March 2014 writing exercise, a question came up about how do we keep a log of the exercises and its contents (refer this). In response to the same, I propose that we keep a log of the chat conversation this way: I was thinking about how we can keep a log of all the writing exercise...

 
1 hour later…
8:19 PM
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Q: How short can a poem be until it can no longer be a poem?

hello_there_andyI am on a small journey to help me understand what the definition of a poem is to different people, what poems mean to them (I am an amateur of Literature). This made me wonder, some poems are longer than others... how short can a poem be until it can no longer be a poem? What are your opinions...


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