May Invite & April Replay: Our Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers
Our May Book Club Pick, announced!
Hello, lovelies!
If you missed our book club meeting, you can watch the replay below (scroll all the way down).
We had such a fantastic discussion of Daisy Jones and the Six (the book and TV adaptation) and talked about:
the “documentary” style of narration
character development
exteriority vs interiority and show-not-tell
how character flaws and redemption arcs affect the reader experience
why this book was chosen by Reese Witherspoon as her book club pick (she also optioned the book and made it into an Amazon Prime series).
In the writer hangout portion, we chatted about:
how entertainment is moving toward multimedia (not only a book, but also on-screen, with additional audio experiences like original music or podcasts)
my literary agent journey
how you know when your manuscript is ready
when to set a manuscript aside and move on to writing something new
book coaches vs freelance editors (and recommendations in each category)
tips for structuring scenes & chapters
I’m also really excited about our May book pick. Details below!
»To keep our members’ conversations private from the general internet, the book club replay is at the bottom of this post, behind a paywall.
Paid subscribers get full access to our Book Club for Writers & Curious Readers, as well as our private Creativity VIP chat group.
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*I want to make sure that everyone can participate in our Book Club, so if you cannot afford a paid subscription, please email me at evelyn@creativeinspiredhappy.com and I will gladly set you up with a complimentary subscription.
Our Book Club for Writers and Curious Readers
Your May Invitation!
WHO: 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.
WHAT:
Book Discussion (30-45 minutes)—What makes this book tick? We’ll talk about things like whether the plot worked and if not, why not? Where was the pacing great and where did the tension dip, and why? And why do some people love Character A but others hate him, while Character B is universally adored?
Bonus Writers’ Chat (30-45 minutes): After the book discussion, we’ll have an optional hangout to share what we’re working on, ask each other for advice on writer’s block, finding a literary agent, doing book publicity, etc.
WHEN: Monday, May 27th @ 5pm PDT / 8pm EDT
(Meetings will be at the end of each month, with book picks announced the month prior.)
WHERE: Zoom (feel free to come with your video off, introverts!)
WHY: Because it will be so much fun to look at published books through a writer’s lens!
HOW: Bring your smart insights and your “dumb” questions, and always lead with kindness, generosity, and a spirit for learning! (Because most of us are writers, too, and we know how much hard work goes into creating the books. And those of us who aren’t writers love books so much, we come from a place of admiration for the authors).
To prevent Zoom-bombing from not-nice people,
the Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers 2-3 days before the meeting. (Recordings of the book club meetings will be available to paid subscribers if they can’t make it live.)
May Book Club Pick:
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett
This month’s book pick is again very different from last month’s, which I’ve done on purpose because it gives us a completely different genre and style to examine.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies is such a delightfully light read (at least, I thought so!) The story is from the perspective of a very serious and grumpy academic, Emily Wilde, and I really enjoyed how for once, it was a woman who got to be the curmudgeonly professor.
We will talk about character development—contrasting Emily Wilde with her ebullient colleague and the other personalities in the remote Nordic village, as well as world-building in fantasy (and how that relates to world-building in contemporary novels).
Interestingly, the author, Heather Fawcett, began her career writing for young adults, and this novel was her adult debut. So we will also discuss career transitions and genre-hopping for writers (something I have done, too.)
How I Choose our Book Picks
Based on my many years of running another book club for writers, I’ve come up with some guidelines for our Book Picks:
We never read our members’ books — this was a hard and fast rule from my last book club, because even though we discuss our book picks with kindness and curiosity, it’s still virtually impossible for a writer to listen to other people critique their work, especially if it’s already published and there is nothing they can do to change things. (And sometimes, hearing analysis from their friends is the hardest thing!) So if I ever accidentally choose one of your books (or one of a dear friend whom you’d rather not hear analyzed), please let me know and I’ll pick something else. We are a supportive community and want everyone to feel buoyed by what we do!
Paperbacks, not new releases — For the most part, I will pick books that have been out for a while and already in paperback, because this makes them more affordable to buy and/or accessible via libraries (because new releases tend to have longer wait lists). There may be occasional exceptions if you all are hankering to read a specific new release, though.
Varying genres — We have writers and readers of all different genres in our wonderful community, so I’m going to try to reflect that. I find that even when a novel might not initially be what I’m normally inclined to read, I am often the most surprised and delighted by those very books. Plus, there is always something interesting to study and learn, no matter what the genre.
Replay! - April Hangout
If you couldn’t make it live, here’s the recording. (Book discussion until 0:39:40, and then the writers’ hangout begins).
I mentioned my literary agents, a book coach and a couple freelance editors during the writers’ hangout. I’ll drop their names in the Comments, in case that’s helpful!
And Yes, I chose that video thumbnail on purpose because I look like a massive dork, lol. Everyone else’s reaction is my fault. ; )
Add your thoughts on the book to the Comments and we’ll keep the discussion going!