The Future of Q&As
Hey, everyone!
I only received one question for the September Q&A, which, combined with viewing numbers, leads me to believe that, while everyone likes watching the livestream, coming up with questions isn't as fun for the Mad Post-Doc level of support as we here at the Lab had imagined.
So, let me ask you--what would you like the award for the $20 level of patronage to be? What would be worth it to you, what would excite you and give you a healthy heaping of fun and fiction each month?
I'm opening this to everyone so that I can hear suggestions from people at all levels. I love doing Q&As, both live and on stream, but if the questions aren't there, I can't give you good value.
So, pretend I'm a drive-thru waitress. What can I get ya?
Comments (13)
Just joined, but I love the idea of the Q&A, tbh. The introduction of a primary theme sounds fun, and it could add some structure that may help!
I'm new to the $20 level and am figuring patron out. But I'd like to be able to ask questions now that I'm here.
I really like the Q&As too and I enjoy the videos. Can there be a cameo of Lumen at some point?
I'm normally a regular question launcher - missed last month due to being on holiday (many an animal was seen!). I really like the Q&As, I like asking questions, and am happy to continue asking them - I have lots of random questions stashed away. Something to maybe increase participation though: You could try linking the experiments and the Q&As to give the Q&As more of a theme? That might help people with the asking. At the moment we can ask you anything, and it might be that it's too big a spectrum. (Might be wildly incorrect but it's worth a shot!) Everything you're posting on here is excellent - I already feel like seeing the experiments and excerpts and things are getting my 'money's worth' (hate that phrase but am too tired to think of an alternative at present). I do love the live streams, even though I normally have to watch them after the fact due to time zones, so would love to keep some kind of live streamy situation going.
Oh, I feel so bad for neglecting you. I'm a terrible Patrron! But trust me I think I can speak for the other Patrons when we say it's not you, it's us. :) Everyone has so much going on and I, for one, sometimes think I'll shriek if I have to look at a screen for one more minute. But your posts are so wonderful and anything you choose to throw at us, either in text or "live" would be welcome. As a non-writer, I confess to being less interested in your process than in the background to it. What inspires you? What are you reading/watching/listening to that drives you and gives you your inspirations? (Or you could just talk about the Brontes all day - I'm good with that, too.)
Just back from reading your "Scarface" post - loved it! I now have a specific question: How do you create characters who are smarter/sassier/more evil/etc. than you are? Where do you find their brilliance and wit? I often feel like I'm just not clever enough to "be" these characters. How do you tap into something that's not already part of who you are, or that maybe is part of who you are, but only a very small and somewhat buried part?
Oops ... premature send. Also wanted to second Sean Elliott's questions AND his comment about you being one of the most productive posters. I'll add that I also ENJOY your posts SO much. I feel like I'm hearing from someone I know personally, which is not an easy thing to pull off.
I apologize in advance if I'm bringing up things you already cover (still learning my way around here), but I'd love to hear anything about craft as well as what you're reading at the moment.
Ohhh.... I feel we patrons have let you down. I am sorry -- the last month, was, well, just an never ending shit-storm that was punctuated by bursts of "isn't it great to not be online", for me at least. The idea of the virtual Q/A that is most appealing is the notion of getting spend a half-hour or so with you through streaming video. And that is pleasure enough. So, if not answering questions ... then, maybe doing post-mortem analyses of your own work? You know, something like -- here's what was going on when I was trying to do X.... That sounds like a LOT of work for you though. While in full honesty mode, I'm never quite sure what is fare game in the Q/A's. I don't want to ask anything too personal (e.g., How the hell did you end up in Maine of all places? How does your ManFriend maintain those rugged good looks? Given that being a writer mostly involves being hunched over a screen, psychically bleeding out into a keyboard... how do you take care of your physical self?) nor do I want to ask things that have been asked a thousand times before. Meanwhile, here are some more questions, if we are re-stocking the larder.
Q1: ever write in Longhand? Q2: What are three things on your bed-side table? Q3: Does music ever play a role in your writing (inspiration, need it for writing a specific flavor of scene). Q4: Where did you come down on the recent Wonder Woman? Q5: Do you have an ongoing table-top gaming RPG that you are in now? (If you had infinite time, would you care to be?) Q6: Do you like Cons?, like, if you were not the successful writer that you are, would you just like to go cons? Do you have faves, from a fan-perspective. Q7: In general, how is the Patreon experience for you? (FWIW, you are the amongst the most productive posters of material/updates of those I back... so YAY YOU!)
I mean, that's what the experiments are meant to be...
I have the same problem, alas.
What have you done to solve it?