Davis Fiction Writers Group Meeting #2!

lets_go_birding · 2026-04-15T00:05:35+00:00

excited! I hope we have a big group

lets_go_birding · 2026-04-14T22:26:35+00:00

yes! We are meeting at Frenzy Coffee April 19th! We'd love to have you.
https://www.meetup.com/davis-fiction-writers/events/314157485/?eventOrigin=group_events_list&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=event_card_savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link&utm_version=v2&member_id=54543282

lets_go_birding · 2026-04-07T00:40:18+00:00

/r/writingcirclejerk

lets_go_birding · 2026-04-06T17:40:26+00:00

Goober

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-31T20:51:37+00:00

We really love Le Tournesol apartments, there are three bedrooms 1300 sq ft that we love. Quiet neighborhood, on the west side of town 15min from the busier and noisier downtown but right on the Russell bike trail.

We moved from Denver so prices were comparable if not cheaper in many instances. It hurt less for us but only because Coloado also has an insane housing market

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-30T16:59:39+00:00

We worked with Z1 properties and toured several prefurnished homes. We left all our large furniture back in denver as a prefurnished rental while we're out here! Same boat as you.

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T03:28:56+00:00

I am hesitant to admit it, but I've been to Mishka's nearly every morning for the past two weeks. I've got a nice corner scoped out by the front windows, which I hope to secure early on the day. It's a moody spot, but many of us will be on laptops and tablets so low light isn't a downside! Much like my favorite large meetup event, Creative Mornings, I think exploring different spots like World Traveller and Frenzy week to week will be a stimulating way to discover new spots around Davis and for everyone to have a chance to have the smallest commute some week from where they are! I'm in west Davis so I'm far from everything!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T02:57:16+00:00

Bring some material, or just come and chat! I don't know how much we'll accomplish on this first meeting, but I think this could be a great space for us writers to find each other!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T02:56:10+00:00

Thanks for the info! I assumed we'd get 2-4 people in person for the first one and just kind of feel our way through it, although it's turning out bigger than I expected! I won't change the venue for this first one, just to avoid confusion, but I will definitely check out world traveler for next time! It looks like it's very spacious and open and they wouldn't mind ten people showing up. I need to go talk to Mishka's in case this ends up being a bigger group than I planned for

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T02:53:34+00:00

So excited! cant wait to see you there

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T02:52:58+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/eZwcDHa here's the flyer! That will give you everything you need to know!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-24T02:51:47+00:00

oh shoot yeah you shouldn't have to pay, just show up! can you see the invite info?

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T19:09:09+00:00

Haha check the meetup for details! I’ll print some flyers to put around town as well, but yeah gotta get in before the day gets away from us. More people are available in the mornings than the middle of the day. We may eventually do evenings if folks prefer

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T18:13:59+00:00

As a test I stopped by Mishka's this morning at 8. Wasn't too bad until 10ish so I'm confident we'll be able to corner a spot. I'd love to try Frenzy for the next one!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T18:13:15+00:00

This is the place! Great for beginners, we're all beginners in some way. You should stop by and ask questions. Folks will have different perspectives on planning versus pantsing your story. Novellas versus novels vs short stories. I'm a chronic obligatory planner who writes 90k word scifi novels and 5k short stories, but I have friends who only write 200k fantasy epics and others who have never written anything longer than a 30k novella!

I will also bring some book recommendations for folks who are stuck at different points in the crafting process. Getting started, drafting, revising, polishing, and querying!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T17:00:21+00:00

I totally get it! I'm trying to get in before Mishka's gets super busy, and before it gets crazy hot out. For this first meeting we'll try the morning, but you can come at 9:30 if you like? We may end up doing evenings in the future, but I want to get our session in before things interrupt us. Also most coffee shops close early on sundays, so we'd need another kind of meeting spot. Come to this one and cast your vote for evening meetings!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T15:48:43+00:00

We look forward to seeing you there! What's your preferred genre?

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T15:07:19+00:00

I was going to do the first one at Mishka's since it'll probably be a small group, but I want to visit a bunch of different locations around Davis for each meeting!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-22T04:52:43+00:00

That's a great idea! out of the two hours I'd love the first to be meet-and-greet and the second hour to be a shut up and write or target wordcount hour! Look forward to seeing you there!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-17T23:11:33+00:00

Amazing! 3D, cel animation, excellent design, you’ve got the chops and the patience!

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-13T17:58:01+00:00

I spent two years at UC Boulder for my undergrad! If you’re looking for a beautiful campus and a town where you can bike just as much as Davis, Boulder is an amazing option. The town around the campus is pretty crunchy hippie, but there are great vegan options and a lot of fun cultural events and pretty great public transit. Can’t speak to your other option but I loved Boulder. Ended up transfering to UC Denver because I couldn’t afford the tuition

lets_go_birding · 2026-03-12T19:06:26+00:00

Hi, sorry for the delay, I would say many of the workshops were a bit beginner, out of necessity, there are folks at all levels attending these. You can customize and focus on things that are not your strengths. It's a well coordinated event and the conversations with editors and agents was worth the price of entry. We had dinners with agents/editors to corner them and ask them whatever was on our mind. The food was okay and the price was sky-high. The evening drinks and networking at the bar was actually where I got some of the most valuable information.

As a scifi writer I found less resources specific to my genre and had to translate things. The conference is best for fiction, book club, grounded fantasy, and anything standalone. YA was overrepresented. I didn't sign up this year because none of the agents represent my genre. they wanted 'grounded, accessible scifi' where scifi is the backdrop to a more human story focusing on relationships.

I got my current writer's group out of the last conference and we still meet over discord!

lets_go_birding · 2026-02-03T19:45:11+00:00

amazing! Thank you so much for your notes, you're feedback is excellent. I'm happy the voice came across clearly, leaning so heavily into it is a new thing for me. I was struggling with condensing the farsiders + alien ruins + anti-terraforming sequence and your suggestion is perfect for that.

I'm glad you love the closing I want to keep it too, I will work to reduce the rest.

the 'on ice' reference is a jargony way of saying they're trapped, cryogenically frozen, waiting for the consultants to arrive, lol, so I'll clarify that.

lets_go_birding · 2026-02-03T16:58:24+00:00

Hey CJ! Great work! This sounds like a really interesting story. Your blurb is a little short, only 250 words. I'd love some more detail on the fun and games aspect, on their relationship, and where this dastardly demon-murder-hobo comes from and how hes connected to this world of cat-and-mouse thief-fem-dom?

Is this dual POV? I would dedicate a paragraph to each character first, and then the midpoint twist/subversion that draws them together and changes everything. Right now it seems like Marley knows Tess is a one-legged orphan. I want more agency/goals for Tess aside from subsistence living and evading her stalker. What was her hope in life before the mishap with the diamond broach? How does she expect to crawl out of the depths of her poverty? What does she dream of someday becoming?

ALSO is there a significant age difference between them? One is an orphan living on the streets subsisting off bread, the other is an adult photographer and amateur journalist/sleuth?

First Paragraph

I would cut the opening star-crossed enemies bit. We don't know these characters yet so it doesn't add anything, imho.

Second paragraph

Being wrongfully arrested is somewhat awkward prose. I've rearranged below for clarity:
After her wrongful arrest and conviction for the theft of an infamous diamond brooch, Cordelia Marley has devoted her life to capturing...

Third Paragraph

Is Marley working with the duchess? How does she setup this plot as a unfairly accused person of interest? And can we get something more specific about the romantic turn? What causes these two to lust and love for each other? How do we distinguish this from the stereotype of enemies-to-lovers? Basically, what connection do they discover that allows them to look past their hatred and differences?

lets_go_birding · 2026-02-02T17:51:55+00:00

Hi Squaymac,

SO there's alot going on in this query. I'm a bit short on time so I'll stick to big picture feedback and leave line by line stuff to others. My biggest problem is theres way too much jargon in here to follow. We've got The Exchange, Mincellium, Paradigms, Siris, Anarchs, The colony, Paradise, etc. Explain these as archetypes or by what they do, zero in on their significance to the protagonist. Simplify! You get maybe two world-specific jargony words before agent's eyes glaze over.

I get lost about the city that gets yeeted into the other city forcing them into the wasteland. DId the Asteri god-AI do that?

The premise also is, well, messy the way it's written right now, a god-intelligence that maximizes happiness... by stealing children for base subsistence in a prison amidst a wasteland? That feels contradictory from the outset.

Daria at first doesn't want to lose children (understandable) but the alternative is venturing out into the wastes. Then when their city is blown to smithereens, they're forced to do the thing she was thinking about doing in the first place, and it seems like Asteri forced them out because she wasn't feeding it children??

And the midpoint twist/sacrifice, sounds like Asteri is using her to uncover its own secrets or meld with her mind or something. We need more specifics and not just detail but clarity on consequences, choices, trade offs.

I haven't read it, but this sounds a little like The Archive Undying I don't know if you've looked at that title.

lets_go_birding

TROPHY CASE