71 Comments

Re: footnote #1. The first time I see a playmate or flirty friend reading is always a turning point. My heart jumps into my throat a little as I recalculate the person's focus, curiosity, and self-sufficiency. Extra points when they're reading a book by you, Mr. P!

And I never look at them the same way again.

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Happy to help you vet spaces in Chicago. The top floor of the Harold Washington Library is a light-filled dream but I'm not sure the cost of rentals nowadays.

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The first rule of write club is to talk about write club

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Write club really has a good ring to it. If you don't write, then you gotta fight.

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Why do we have to choose one?

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I am on that awful first draft. I nearly threw it out yesterday. A study hall here in U.K. would be welcomed

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I second that. A study hall in London would be much appreciated

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author

My alternate name was "Carrel" but it seemed a touch monastic. But I have to love that dweeb energy.

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As I mentioned, I registered WerdPDX when I was worried (werried) that this might not live on. But you're a better namer in general.

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I've been considering a move to the Portland area forever and it would be one more reason to relocate...but I'm also curious if starting up such a space in Boise would give me reason to stay. Our writing community feels really disjointed for genre writers. We have The Cabin but from what I understand they only run workshop like once a week over Zoom for the time being.

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author

Hello Steena -- Let me work the kinks out. At present we could accommodate many more writers, but it's only one night each week, and we might soon lose our lease. More soon.

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founding

Let's buy a church!

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founding

Or a steam boat.

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founding

We could fit a lot of writers on a steam boat.

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Please, are we wearing period costumes? Steampunk? Burning man-style anything goes where we set the ship ablaze at the end? Pretty please?

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Or an island?

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Oh, it definitely wouldn't be SUPER soon haha I'm still saving up cash. But! I'll definitely keep my ear to the ground :)

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author

Color me an idiot. I mean Lidia Corporeal Writing space. See! I am a lazy ass.

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I wasn't going to say anything.

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Wow am I behind on reading these, I must first apologize. But what I want to say is that the thing I love about reading your writing is that fine line between truth and fiction, be it intentional fiction or accidental. I can read a post like this and believe every word, then scroll to the comments to see that one piece of factual information is in fact wrong, throwing the entire post into a sort of scavenger hunt of finding what else might be false. But the joy of it is not to point out error, it's to accept the fiction, to dive deep into it, to know and feel that at any moment what I read could pull the rug from under me and I wouldn't even realize. That's what I love about books and that's what I love about reading your work. Thank you for this.

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Study Hall sounds lovely.

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Wow! I'm jelly that I don't live in the Portland area. How do you feel about me/us starting our own Study Halls? Moreover, how do you feel about attaching your name to different spins on the idea? For example, I'm a morning writer, and I'm rural. If I started a virtual AM version, would that be too much of a departure from your vision? I'd keep it free of charge. Wadda ya think?

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author

Fully support the idea. Expanding the idea would mean classes, workshops, performance. Hosting tour events. Hosting launch events for local authors. I see a whole book mafia taking shape.

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V interested in this. Was going to try do a writers group primarily based on Discord now that Australia is locked down, but I also lost lots of friends and contacts so I'm treading water kinda. There's not as much of a scene in Sydney for creatives to get together and workshop ideas.

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Maybe in the future, Study Hall could become a non-profit type enterprise and be funded that way?

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founding

Advocate for a Massachusetts study hall checking in ✔

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author

Be careful what you volunteer for, Nic.

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My first thought reading about Study Hall in other cities - "Fucker's setting up franchises."

I love the idea!

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author

he, he, he, he....

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I’ve been wanting to drive up to Portland for years. This would give me a great excuse. I appreciate that you’re so generous to the writing community. Very admirable =)

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But... surely the best place to write is a remote woodsy location where you drag tour family so you can neglect them as vengeful spirits pick them off one by one. Did horror movies lie to me?! *chin wibble*😥

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Thorazine... the writer's muse.

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author

Or not. And I'm not sure if I'm an Adderall fan, either. People talk a lot but I'm not sure they write much.

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This is an amazing vision. I work in a public library as an archivist, and hours are the biggest limiter in working there, which is a bummer. But also as a library employee, I'm ok with not being there until 10.

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founding

I'd gladly help vet spaces in San Francisco! I tried something like this once through MeetUp, but the group was always one or two people in a tiny space

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author

Hell, if the Cacophony Society can set up chapters (like herding cats!) then this should be easy. Just keep in mind I only launched this three days ago. Time.

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founding

Anything you need, Mr. Dur- er, Mr. Palahniuk

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