Writing the Great American (Romance) Novel, Thursday, Per 2

[glacial_queen]

Karla a great deal of chocolate with her in class today, ranging from morsels of bitter dark to bars of sweet milks all the way to squares of spicy chocolates mixed with chillies. Various piles of chocolates were arranged neatly on small plates on a sideboard, next to a vat of coffee and a large kettle of boiling water with a variety of teas.

"Congratulation on having thumbs and only two legs today," Karla said, giving them a grin from behind her desk. "I know I'm thrilled about this development." Not for her. Her daughter. Toddlers should not be allowed to be flying ponies, it was a goddamn rule.
( Here there be talkiness. )

"These are hardly the only subgenres of romance novels, but these are the ones where the setting plays a vital component, becoming something akin to a character in its own right and defining the novel within it. Today, I want you to pick out a setting subgenre from the list I've just given you. That will be the genre your novel falls into. Now, I know many of you aren't from Earth, so I've included some references for you to page through while deciding which setting to use. Feel free to branch out from what you're used to, explore a subgenre you don't often read, get a little creative. And, while you're brainstorming, help yourself to some chocolate."

Working With Jerks. Still, Thursday, July 21, 2016 [1st period]

[imafuturist]

Today the class room was pony free and decorated with a hodgepodge of holidays and seasons like they couldn't make up their mind on what they were celebrating. There was food and non-alcoholic drinks for the students once they arrived. Because this was a school, kids. This was still a school.

"Nice to see you've all made if through last week," Tony said, so, so happy that he was bipedal again. "That was... a thing we could so without repeating again."

HE FLOATED LIKE A MAGICAL GIRL.

And Steve had piiiictures. His Tony had demanded to know who'd taught him Photoshop. "Sometimes offices try to foster community spirit outside of the office through voluntary--but not really--socializing," he said, waving his hands at the set-up.

He should have destroyed Steve's phone on accident. Hindsight was 20/20.

"Welcome to Holiday Inclusive Parties in July," Tony said, holding up a giant iced coffee. It was his small nod to the fact that it was hotter than hell out. "Where you have to socialize with people you barely know or hide out with the few you do. Sometimes it involves alcohol and that one coworker who thinks they should drink more than socially acceptable."

"And also the one that brought That Weird Salad," Steve said, "which the tipsy co-worker is definitely going to try."

Tony's eyebrows went up. "I think there's marshmallows in there. There shouldn't be, but there are." Fear it, kids. Fear the social quagmire full of bad food and small talk.

How to Win Friends and Influence People | Friday, period 1

[nuclear_snide]

Kanan had a hangover. Kanan was not talking about the hangover, okay? It was just that going by the island's schedule, he'd had one day left to try to win against the ryncol, and the ryncol had won the best two out of three.

So he was looking a little bit bleary as he looked at the class and said, "What week is it? Last week nobody had thumbs, so this week we're talking about fundamental techniques in handling people? That's what this is?"

He really should have taken water with that Krogan liquor. Or basically anything that wasn't ryncol. Everything tasted purple again.

Bob rolled his eyes. He had no sympathy; at least Kanan could drink. "Yes, techniques in handling people. The first thing you should learn about that is that there's no one technique that'll work with everybody. Convince them logically - you'll find someone who doesn't care about that and makes decisions emotionally. Tell them a sob story - you'll find someone who doesn't care. Beat them up, and you'll find there's always somebody bigger."

"The trick is to make them want to open up to you," Kanan offered, because he could be hung over and at least slightly functional all at the same time. It was a special talent he'd been honing for years. (Also he felt like something that a nexu had coughed up, but that was irrelevant. Really.) "And to do that, you need to listen, pay attention to the person you're dealing with. Do they seem like the sort of person who wants to talk, or fight, or empathize? Do they just want their space? You can learn a lot about a person by paying attention to them, instead of trying to get them to pay attention to you."

Okay, that was a lot of words all at once. Kanan was reaching for his bottle of water and downing about half of it, signalling that it was Bob's turn again.

"Not to mention the more you're learning about them, the less they're learning about you," Bob pointed out. "Knowledge is very much power." He clapped his hands together. "So, put that to use. Pair up, talk. See how much you can learn about the other person or what you can get them to do, without them getting the better of you." He shrugged. "We may drop by and offer suggestions."

Or just enjoy the show.

"Oh, and Lucille," Kanan said, snapping his fingers and pointing her way. "Luck of the draw says that you're our TA for the rest of the summer. Congratulations. You get to carry things for Bob."

Bob grinned.