Can you introduce yourself to those who may not be familiar with your work and share a bit about your role as the host of a live stream?
Hello hello, my name is Coffee Quills and I stream a writing/productivity channel on Twitch! When it comes to hosting, there are a few things I do to make sure the streams run smoothly (kick out bots and trolls for example), but mostly I concentrate on keeping an upbeat attitude and helping people either herd their words into the best places (like on a paper to edit for later) or check off things they need to get done.
As an author, do you have specific writing genres that you are particularly passionate about? How do these preferences influence your contributions to the live streams?
As a multi-genre author I think I can best describe my contribution and influence to my streams as… “SHINY! Oooh, look at this new idea!” The few things that a person can find me writing about consistently would be polyamorous romances, queer characters, and tropes such as “you’ll have to go through me to get to them!” I do have my likes, but at the moment I currently have publications spanning LitRPG, spicy paranormal romances, bambi Sapphic romances, post-apocalypses (with and without ghosts), cozy fantasy, mythpunk, short story collections, and contemporary romance (not to mention other WIPS of sci-fi, steampunk, political satire, hopepunk, western, and whatever other things come to mind).
What inspired you to host a live stream?
As with several things I do, there’s a weird story behind it. I was involved in a writing summer challenge, and a group of people wanted to keep a rolling 24-hr live stream going on Twitch. One of them realized that me being in a Japanese time zone meant someone could cover the early hour USA/CA times when most people would be asleep. I said I’d try streaming, but if I disliked it there would be no pressure to continue. And I’m still here from that July 21st back in 2020.
As an Author Streamer, how do you prepare for a live stream?
Mentally, I make a list of what I need to focus on and get done, though there are certainly days when I’ll switch between seven or so different projects. Physically, I make sure my desk is cleared (sometimes there’s a coffee mug lurking from the day before), and I’ll set up at least three drinks: water for hydration, coffee for caffeine, and something else for fun. Lately it’s been a mint & mushroom extract drink.
How do you approach fostering community engagement?
There are different levels of engagement in my stream. Stream Raiders lets us fight against enemies and get loot (it’s used as a small brain break while writing and it’s completely free to play). There’s also Stream Avatars, where your fox (or bunny) runs around the screen hugging, fighting, farting (truth!), and can be pinned to the screen. Writing-wise, a person can use channel points (free to earn while watching the stream) to tell me what book I should be working on or to have me run an editing stream. The best thing is I’m always looking for new things we can all enjoy, so this list isn’t finished.
Can you share a story from your streaming of another author or chat participant that stands out to you as a positive memorable moment?
Whenever we do Feedback and Thoughts (when I read through an offered piece of writing and give my feedback and thoughts), other people will add their positive thoughts and emotions (or will give me a piece of information I needed to understand something).
Do you have any streaming events coming up?
This is probably a better question to ask on a month by month basis, but yes! I do! The Writer’s Workout starts the Writers Games (practice event on June 15th), and I’ll be streaming the event on my channel! What happens is that I’ll be given a prompt (your character has to survive until dawn) with a writing focus (foreshadowing, or character development). Then I have 72 hours to plot, write, edit, and submit the short story to the competition. Then, judges will look over my piece and give feedback. FYI – I’m doing these live so I’m auditing the competition part and will not be able to place. I will, however, still get that precious feedback… and it’s a fun challenge! Oh, and there’s always OHHOW (One Hundred Hours of Writing).
What writing projects can we look forward to from you?
Um… Throw a dart at a board of genres and I’m sure you’ll hit something. Seriously! I have a People to Blame list to write down the little ideas that get randomly sparked in the brain, and you’ll find me working on a novel about knitting necromancers one day, a short story about witches in a coffee shop, a serial about queer sky pirates, and who knows what else?
Where we can find you online (besides our favorite Twitch)? https://coffeequills.carrd.co