Hello, Protagonists!
In this post, you’ll find:
🎥 The video replay of our January Book Club meeting
🤓 February Invitation + Book Club Discussion Questions: THE 7-1/2 DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE
Our Book Club is for our community members who want to dive even deeper into writing craft. Come nerd out with us! 🤓
🎥 The video replay of our January Book Club meeting
If you missed our book club meeting, you can watch the replay now.
We had such a fantastic discussion of Deep Work by Cal Newport and talked about:
The structure of non-fiction
laying the evidence to persuade the reader
debate: was is too long? could Part 1 have been condensed?
The four types of deep work structure - what works for you? and what is my style?
monastic
bimodal
rhythmic
journalistic
During the writers’ hangout portion, we talked about:
How do you find the confidence to continue working on a project, when you don’t know if what you’re doing is important, or you’re not guaranteed a book deal at the end of all the work?
Embracing boredom to spur creativity
Social media
Does it actually sell books? (if not, what are better ways to use your time)
Do publishers want you to be on social media?
How do you balance your time there with actually writing?
We also shared updates on our writing in January
Outlines - when do you know it’s time to move and do the actual writing?
How we have already applied some principles of Deep Work to our writing this year, and whether we saw a difference in our work
My update on a new book I’m working on (for publication in 2026)
Link to the War and Peace slow-read we mention
»To keep our members’ conversations private from the general internet, the Book Club replay is behind a paywall.
If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:
or:
Get a complimentary paid subscription when your friends subscribe:
1 referral = one-month paid subscription, comped
2 referrals = three-month paid subscription, comped
3 referrals = one-year paid subscription, comped
🤓 February Invitation + Book Club Discussion Questions
Who is invited?
Writers who love reading and want to examine stories more closely, and
Readers who are curious about why they feel the way they do about a book.
When is the next meeting?
Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT
🥰 Introverts, you are welcome to keep your cameras off.
What is our next Book Pick?
The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
This book blew my mind the first time I read it, and I’m very excited to tackle it again. I’ll admit that it was a little discombobulating at the start (and we will discuss whether anyone else felt the same), but then the way the story structure unfolded after that was masterful, in my opinion.
Of course, I look forward to your perspectives and disagreements, haha. I learn so much when other writers and readers share their reading experiences.
This novel is a historical mystery (usually not what I read), but if you’re only ever going to read one, this is a good pick.
I also heard that the original title (published in the U.K.) was The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and the rumor is that the 1/2 got added by the American publisher for marketing reasons.
During the book discussion, we’ll chat about:
the pros and cons of immersing the reader so deeply into a confused protagonist, that the reader is also confused
how to plot mysteries
book titles and how they affect our perception of a book (and whether we decide to buy it)
During the writers’ hangout portion, we will talk about:
Plotters vs Pantsers: Do you outline or do you write by the seat of your pants? Is one method better than the other?
Do you have any tricks for coming up with good book titles?
Foreign sales:
How do books get published in other countries?
How much do those publishers get to change (title, book cover, etc.)?
How much input does the author have?
I think this is going to be a wonderful conversation!
In case you missed it, here are our books for the first half of the year:
February RSVP link is below!
To prevent Zoom-bombing from not-nice people, the RSVP (and Zoom link) is below the paywall.
This also allows us to keep our members’ book discussions private from the general internet; it’s nice to have a cozy, totally private space for just us!
If you’d like to join us in the Book Club, you can upgrade to a paid membership here:
or:
Get a complimentary paid subscription when your friends subscribe:
1 referral = one-month paid subscription, comped
2 referrals = three-month paid subscription, comped
3 referrals = one-year paid subscription, comped
