Chris Baty's Blog, page 110

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Eight

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Infinity Lane

An Other/Experimental novel being written this November by NaNo participant Cameron Nelson in the United States.

The woodland town of Tariffville wakes up one morning to find space rearranged. Infinite housing developments, impossible alleyways, and paradoxical cul-de-sacs begin to appear like stray cats. Ordinary people start finding themselves unexpectedly lost—in the woods, on streets they have known for years, or inside their own homes. Some get off on this “lost” feeling. Some see it as art. Others see it as dangerous, but no one can seem to leave. The power is out, supplies are finite, and all they have is each other and an uncertain amount of time to figure out how to live in an illogical universe.

Cover Designed by Winnie Storey

Winnie Storey joined Axum Graphics, where she brings her passion in design to create products that delight customers. Clients during her 11 year career include Apple Inc, 3D systems, Amazon, Sunset Magazine, Kroger, and MTV. While obtaining a B.F.A in graphic design at the California College of the Arts she worked as a full time employee of Bank of America. An academic and professional career did not stop her pursuing the dream of being a graphic designer, which she has had since the age of 7. As a first generation immigrant to the US from Hong Kong, Winnie brings together the cultures of the East and West showing the beauty that lies between them. Please view her work at vrdreamcatcher.com and her blog at alonelydumpling.com.

Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: Figuring Out How to Finish

We’re nearing the home stretch with NaNoWriMo, and whether you’re on par, full speed ahead, or feel like you’re falling behind, it’s important to remember to keep your creativity alive. Today, author and NaNo Coach K. Ancrum shares her tailored advice for wherever you are in your writing journey:

As November grinds to a close and the final day of NaNoWrimo looms near, the grand majority of us have one thing left on our minds: How in the heck am I gonna finish this thing?

Writers all have unique relationships with finishing. Some of us, like Stephen King, have conquered finishing with a brutal regularity. Others wrestle finishing like a many headed hydra. But at the end of the day, we all keenly know the burning stretch of reaching towards that precipice. There is peace in knowing there is equality in sharing that feeling.

When it comes to finishing, everyone at every stage needs to hear something a bit different. No matter where you are in this last week, I hope my suggestions make reaching the end––whether this November or otherwise––a bit easier.

It’s the last week and you’ve written:

1–10,000+ words

First of all, this is not a failure. There are people who have been walking around with their novel in their head who haven’t even written a single sentence. Choosing to bring the world you’ve built in your mind out and onto paper is its own sort of bravery. Don’t undermine that accomplishment. 

Secondly, even if you end this NaNoWriMo under 10k, you’ll be able to start strong next November with an entire year’s worth of time to work through all your plot hurdles––and the more you keep writing through these last few days, the more solid a foundation you’ll have. Pat yourself on the back, you’re doing well!

20,000–30,000+ words

You’ve hit the median so  you’re close enough to see the end and to feel all sort of complicated feelings about finishing or not. You’re also close enough to be at a pivotal part of any novel of any genre. Unless you can churn out 6,000+ words a day, finishing within this last week might be a bit too far to stretch. However, you are close enough to potentially finish your book within the year. With agents and editors on vacation for the holidays, you’ve hit a nice patch of free time to finish your work, edit your work and have it ready to go when the end of January rolls around and everyone’s hungry for new talent. 

Keep working. You may or may not finish, but in the grand scheme of things you have more than enough time to be ready when it matters.

40,000-50,000 words

At 40,000 words, you’re a 3 page paper every night of this week away from finishing. You’re also at a point where you can genuinely decide whether your story needs the full 50k to be finished. As someone who got their contract on a slim 32k, if your first draft is feeling well baked, don’t leave it in the oven just to make word count. On the other hand, If you have another 20k+ words of story in you, you just might be able to make this work. Whether or not you feel like your project is finished by Friday, you’re a lot closer than you were to having a completed novel than you were a short 30 days ago. That’s worth celebrating.

Whether or not you make 50,000 words, you’ve started to build something spectacular this November. Treat yourself gently and be proud of this accomplishment. I’m rooting for you!

K. Ancrum grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was lured into getting an English degree after spending too many nights experimenting with hard literary criticism and hanging out with unsavory types, like poetry students. She cut her teeth on NaNoWriMo with her debut novel The Wicker King, and is working on a sequel titled The Weight of Stars. She is a self-professed procrastinator, and firmly believes that you can still get a job done well even if you waited until the last minute.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Seven

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

A Poor Excuse to Pick a Man’s Pocket

A Literary novel being written this November by NaNo participant Adam Burns  in the United Kingdom.

Christmas is a miserable season created by greedy tossers to fleece money off punters and keep their businesses in the black for another year.

At least, that’s the opinion of Ian Melham—the broke, homeless Father Christmas representing a rundown, dying department store in his London borough. And his helper elf Mandy, a teenager from Wales bitter about being dragged kicking and screaming to live down south, is starting to agree.

The one thing that could change their minds is the offer of a mysterious promotion from the owner of their company: the chance to take their Santa & elf show on the road and deliver presents to a number of affluent children.

But strange machines are being constructed in their grotto, people in the neighbourhood are disappearing, and both Ian and Mandy find themselves being followed. 

Somebody high up has plans to make a lot of money, and before Ian and Mandy know it, they’re arse-deep in a conspiracy that will see the return of the Victorian workhouse.

On the run and with nowhere to turn, the pair must take it into their own hands to figure out what’s going on; a quest which will take them across the city, two hundred years into the past, and force them to face the lengths to which people will go in the name of profit.

Cover Designed by Sean Wilkinson

Sean Wilkinson is co-founder and creative director of the Portland, Maine based brand and design firm, Might & Main. Over the past 7 years, they’ve brought more than three dozen restaurant brands to life, as well as a smattering of breweries, distilleries, wineries, and packaged consumer goods. The growing team at Might & Main stays on its toes and rounds out the portfolio by collaborating on brand-focused projects with LLBean, selected non-profits and arts organizations, and interesting tangents like broadway musicals and national grocery chains. Sean lives in Portland with his wife (also a designer), their precocious 3 year old boy, and a hyperactive dog.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Six

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

The Wawel Bones

A Thriller/Suspense novel being written this November by NaNo participant ML Peters in the United States.

Born to Polish parents who immigrated to America to work in the copper mines and smelters in Montana in the early 1900’s, Charlie lived a troubled and tortured childhood. He was fascinated with the dinosaur legends from the home county, especially that of The Wawel Bones hanging for hundreds of years at a Cathedral in Krakow. Decades later, what does Charlie have to do with the body of the missing girl found surrounded by dinosaur bones in the Rocky Mountain foothills?

Cover Designed by Kim Weiner

Kim’s work encompasses analytical thinking with an innate curiosity
for digital culture and narrative structure. She possesses a diverse
set of creative skills, specializing in design, illustration, and
animation. In addition to her recently earned Masters in Branding from
the School of Visual Arts, she holds a BFA in animation from the Rhode
Island School of Design. Visit her online at kimweiner.com.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Five

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Luminescence

A Science Fiction novel being written this November by NaNo participant A. H. Aspar in Norway.

During a mining operation in the enormous asteroid field around θ Columbae, some 720 light years from Earth’s Sun, representatives of the Andersen-Polansky corporation spot the perfect candidate for the terraforming scheme their research department has been working on for the past few decades.

185 years later, θ Columbae V is one of nine planets, spread through seven solar systems, owned and colonized by the company. It is systematically being shaped and formed by a variety of microorganisms and gas-spewing terraforming stations—resulting, currently, in brilliant bioluminescence and awe-inspiring cloudscapes, and someday in a breathable atmosphere and human-friendly climate.

The story follows Alva, a microbiologist working on the terraforming station Von 72 years after humanity first set foot on the planet. Suddenly there are large dark patches appearing in the fields of fluorescing bacteria on the planet’s surface, and no one knows why.

Meanwhile, the station administrators refuse to let her or her team go outside to collect samples. Her friend in system engineering keeps complaining about random power outages all over the station. A surge of random violence among the station’s inhabitants suggests someone has found yet another creative, new way for people to get high despite the ban on hallucinogens in the colony. And the religion which suddenly emerged fifty years earlier is already preaching the coming of the end of the world.

Cover Designed by Debbie Millman

Debbie Millman is the host of the award-winning podcast Design Matters, the world’s first podcast on design; Chair of the first ever Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts, a curator for the Museum of Design, a contributor to Print Magazine, President Emeritus of AIGA, and the author of six books on design and branding. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @debbiemillman. 

Author photo by Chase Jarvis.

The Denouement: How to Nail the End of Your Novel

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Reedsy, a NaNoWriMo 2017 sponsor, is a curated marketplace that connects authors and publishers with the world’s best editors, designers and marketers. Today, Reedsy staff writer Arielle Contreras shares her advice on working through the end of your novel:

A novel needs a great climax—a moment when everything comes to a head—for it to really feel finished to a reader. However, most great stories don’t die the moment the climax is over; they spend time wrapping up final intricacies and resolving lingering questions. This final structural element of a novel is called the denouement.

But when you reach your novel’s final moments, how do you go about writing a denouement that results in a satisfied sigh from your readers the moment they finish your book? Let’s take a look (There are spoilers ahead, but you will always be given fair warning when one is approaching!):

What is the denouement?

You can think of the denouement as the “beginning of the end.” It’s the final outcome of a novel. (In case you need a high school English class refresher on the “Three Act” novel structure, you can take a quick look at this article on the narrative arc.)

The denouement can be clearly seen in action in most mystery novels. The climax occurs when all of the various clues come to a head, and it becomes clear to the detective who the culprit is. The denouement occurs afterward, when the detective explains how they solved the crime: they rule out innocent suspects, tie together all the clues, and name the guilty party. Of course, not all denouements will tie up everything with a neat bow—not even murder mysteries. Sometimes the best endings are the ones where we know just enough to leave us wanting more.

Tips for nailing the denouement

There’s no one right way to end a novel. The denouement relies wholeheartedly on the story you are telling, and how you wish to tell it. But there’s just something so satisfying about a well-written ending. It’s the kind of thing that propels people to tell their friends, “You just HAVE to read this book.” So the following tips are for authors looking to write an ending that leaves readers both fulfilled by your book, but also a little wistful that it’s all come to an end:

Tip #1: Don’t tell the reader too little or too much.

The denouement should tell the reader what they need to know. It should touch on the questions or issues that have been brought up throughout the novel, and shed light on any foreshadowing done in Act One or Two that still isn’t clear. It should also tie up story threads that readers have been promised would be resolved. Don’t leave the reader with several unexpected loose ends at the last moment.

But that doesn’t mean you have to spell out everything. All book-lovers know that feeling of reaching the last page of a book and yearning to know just a little bit more. Writers can create that same effect by ending the story in a way that makes it feel like there is more that could still happen, more that could be said—that your characters continue to live their lives after the novel has ended.

[Spoiler alert!] Think of the final line of Gone With the Wind: “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.” The novel concludes with Scarlett realizing she loves Rhett, and Rhett deciding not to be with Scarlett. But this last line leaves us lingering on the possibilities of Scarlett’s future: will her confidence and gumption lead her to further heartbreak? Will it successfully lead her back to Rhett? Their relationship—the driving force of the book—ends with clear finality, but Scarlett reminds us that for her, the rest is yet to come.

Of course, there are exceptions to this tip. Romance novels, for instance, often end with a “Happily Ever After” with no doubts, lingering questions, or uncertainties. Literary novels, on the other hand, can be fond of more ambiguous endings. More on this below.

Tip #2: Approach cliffhangers with caution.

Oh, the cliffhanger. When it comes to reading a series, cliffhangers are both frustrating and exciting: we don’t like to be left hanging at the end of a novel, but we love getting the scoop when we start the next one.

But if you’re not writing a series, ending a novel on a cliffhanger can be a risky move. There’s debate on the topic of ambiguous endings—some readers are for it, others aren’t. If you simply must have your denouement be more of a denoue-what?! then make sure you’ve laid the groundwork, and it is clearly set up by earlier events. You want your cliffhanger to catch readers by surprise, yes, but it shouldn’t come out of nowhere. Imagine if the last page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows showed Voldemort’s secret, even-more-unhinged brother suddenly appearing in front of Harry? No, just no. This would be totally random as there is zero foreshadowing of it in the story. It’s the kind of cliffhanger that will leave a reader feeling more shortchanged than surprised or intrigued.

However, if your characters, their motivations, and the plot are all compelling enough, then you can perhaps leave loose ends or unanswered questions—because you’ve already given the readers enough information to formulate their own conclusions. But that’s the important part: you have to provide them with enough information in Acts One and Two if your denouement is going to be totally open-ended. The trick here is to write a cliffhanger that allows readers to speculate, not one that leaves them dumbfounded.

For an example of a widely hailed ambiguous ending, check out The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber.

Tip #3: Arrive full circle.

Can you recall many great novels that ended with the author plainly stating the story’s theme? Neither can I. What I can recall is the final scene of The Great Gatsby, when Nick Carraway is reflecting how the green light shining from Daisy’s dock was to Gatsby what America was to the early settlers: a goal to achieve, and a dream to realize. A futile chase.

This denouement leaves a lasting impression because it resonates a repeating symbol. The green light recurs throughout the novel, underscoring its overarching theme, and its protagonist’s arc. Ending with the green light is a very satisfying “full circle” moment, and conjures strong imagery that readers can recall, long after they’ve put down the novel.

Tip #4: What’s the point of it all?

Readers want to know how the climax has affected the status quo. What impact did it have on the characters’ lives? What’s changed in the aftermath? Just because the climax has occurred doesn’t mean your characters are suddenly immobilized. The climax is the peak of both the story and character arc, so it can be very unsatisfying to not receive even a glimpse of how the characters have been affected by their journey.

[Spoiler alert!] At the end of Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games series, we see the toll the revolution has taken on Katniss. She is a shell of her former self, both physically and mentally. At one point at the end of the book, she is so weak from starving herself that she has to be wheeled home in a cart used to collect dead bodies. This symbolizes the “death” of the Katniss we knew prior to the climax. However, the denouement ends with a destroyed meadow slowly coming back to life, and Katniss and Peeta confirming to each other that their love is real—signifying that there is hope even in the wake of destruction.

The denouement doesn’t need to show everything working out. In fact, stories where everyone wins can feel contrived or forced. But as readers, we want to be rewarded with a view of the other side of the mountain if we’re going to spend time hiking up it.

Arielle Contreras is a staff writer at Reedsy, a curated marketplace that connects authors and publishers with the world’s best editors, designers and marketers. Over 2,500 books have been produced via Reedsy since 2015.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Four

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Queen of Fire

A Fantasy novel being written this November by YWP participant Emily Silvers in the United States.

Crown Princess Splendora has never known anything but war. She was raised to hate the neighboring country of Oring with her entire being, and she has always been active in the fight against those who would dare oppose her family and people. A gifted warrior and a strong leader, she is already a respected military figure at the young age of fifteen.

But when her father is abruptly killed during the attack she concocted, Splendora ascends the throne and becomes Queen. She quickly proves herself a fiery and reckless matriarch. She struggles to piece together her dying country, and to reconcile her thirst for vengeance with morality.

As her loved ones start perishing one by one, Splendora becomes locked in a battle with her own demons: corruption, and utter desolation. Court intrigue, war, love, and heartbreak await her in this breathtaking second installment.

Cover Designed by Maribeth Kradel-Weitzel

Maribeth Kradel-Weitzel is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design Communication at Jefferson University. She is principal of the internationally award-winning firm, Kradel Design, is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of AIGA, and is a Sappi Ideas That Matter grant recipient. Kradel-Weitzel has an MFA from Tyler School of Art and a BA from The Pennsylvania State University. Please view her work at kradeldesign.com.

The Secret to a Successful NaNo

As we’re nearing the end of November’s creative challenge, it’s important to remember that a month of writing doesn’t need to mean a month of solitude. Today, writer and Austin ML Jackie Dana shares one of her secrets to NaNo success: 

We tell ourselves NaNoWriMo is all about the writing. We’ll write a novel and prove we can do it,
impress our friends, or maybe give ourselves an excuse to get out of
Aunt Rhonda’s Thanksgiving “Massacree.”  

But there’s a secret the NaNo veterans know: it’s not just about the writing. NaNo is people!

The Ordinary World

Before NaNoWriMo,
you were probably like most people. You might have a job, or you’re
in school. Maybe you’re raising small children. But you’re also
that quirky friend with a good imagination—a person whose compulsion
to write befuddles friends and family.

So NaNoWriMo seemed like it could be fun, but it’s a big commitment. Could you really put
your social life on hold? Would your family and friends understand why
you’re going to become a hermit for a month?

When you sign up for
NaNoWriMo—alone on a strange website filling out your personal
details—you can almost hear the devil on your shoulder urging to
forsake your social life.

But as you may have already discovered, that doesn’t have to be the case.

The Adventure Begins

Once you created your
novel on the NaNoWriMo site, you might have gotten curious, and started clicking around. First, you discovered the discussion forums for all
participants, and then your regional forums…

Whoa, where
did all these people come from? There are in-person activities and
Facebook groups?

When you
discover that the “solitary” act of writing is more social than you
thought, your inner introvert may be scared
and confused.

What do you do?

It’s All Fun and
Games

Many regions host
kickoff parties on Halloween or November 1st. Maybe you summoned up the
courage to attend, thinking you could get a few lingering questions
answered. Maybe that’s when
everything started to change. Writers—at
least the kinds who do NaNoWriMo—are a tribe.

We understand the
compulsion to write. We like going into those scary places inside our
heads and finding out what’s lurking within. We enjoy putting our
characters through torturous twists and turns, only to discover that
the evil queen is really the most interesting character, so we make
her the protagonist, and we start slaughtering all of the good guys
just because we can…

Did I mention we’re a tribe?

The Whiff of Death

When you’re caught
up in the midst of NaNoWriMo you might struggle a bit. The holidays
are tough. You’ve got a week to go and you might be barely past the
halfway mark. You might become tempted to give up and
walk away from the whole endeavor. Let the novel-in-progress die a
slow, forgettable death. That’s you
talking—but you’re part of a tribe now, remember?

Turn to your new
NaNoWriMo buddies—the ones you met at the kickoff or on
Facebook—and ask for help. Maybe you need a pep talk, or someone to
sit across from you at Starbucks while you play catch-up. Or perhaps
you just need to hear from others who have been in your shoes and be
reassured that yes, it is possible to turn this turkey into a winner.

Writers don’t let
fellow writers give up.

The Reward

Joining a community
of fellow writers could very well change your life.

You’ll make
friends with people who understand that sometimes you’d rather stay
home and write or read a book. You’ll discover that you’re not
the only person who takes notes during a movie. It will no longer
feel so weird to spend two hours researching all the different kinds
of barrels, or which kind of chain mail best resists a
broadsword—because your friends do those things too.

Your writer friends
will become your favorite people to hang out with. They’ll also be
the ones who will help you succeed over the long run. After
November’s over, those people might have tips for revising your
novel, and there’s a good chance they’ll join you for coffee to
discuss the ideas you have for your next book.

A Believer’s Born
Every November

Before you started NaNoWriMo, you might not have realized how much fun it would be to meet
other people like yourself. But once December rolls around, you’ll
discover that it’s not enough to hang out with your new writer buds
once a year. You’ll want to keep the spirit of writing camaraderie
going.

Here are a few ways
you can indulge your writer fix throughout the year:

Become a Municipal Liaison—join the ranks of the MLs who help run local regional events. 
Join a local writing group on Meetup.com—or start your own! You can host regular write-ins, book discussions, critiques, or workshops.
Attend writers’ conferences.
Enter short story writing contests online.
Join writing groups on Facebook.
Organize writing retreats. 
Attend fan conferences and book festivals and schmooze with fellow authors (that’s right, you’re an author too!).

And if all else
fails, you’ve always got Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July to keep
you going until next November.

As you plunge
head-first into NaNoWriMo this year, don’t think of it as a solo
pursuit. Use it as an excuse to climb out of your shell and meet
fellow participants. While we might spend time getting into the heads
of adulterers, serial killers, and evil goblin kings, most of us are
actually pretty cool people. And every single one of us wants you to
win!

Jackie Dana loves
words and the people who write them. She’s a professional blogger and
content manager, and published her first novel, By
Moonrise, in 2015 (with a sequel on the way).
Recognizing the value in a writing community, she serves as a
NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for Austin-Central Texas and organizes
the Write
It Already! Meetup for all writers. You can check out
her blog at JackieDana.com .

Top image licensed under Creative Commons Zero.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2017: Day Twenty-Three

Every November, during National Novel Writing Month, thirty professional designers volunteer to create book cover art inspired by novels being written by aspiring authors from around the globe. Why? To encourage new, diverse voices, and help build a more creative world.  

30 Covers, 30 Days is presented in partnership with designer and author Debbie Millman. Read more about these NaNoWriMo 2017 novels-in-progress, and the cover designers, below.

Harbour

A Science Fiction novel being written this November by NaNo participant Ivo Alekseev in Bulgaria.

Humanity had successfully colonised a planet and called their first colony Harbour. It was a beautiful place, a city with generations of ships stood upright like skyscrapers; people enjoyed all the advanced technology they brought from Earth. Their excitement was short lived, however, as the planet turned out to be home of an alien intelligence that promptly expelled the colonists from Harbour and occupied the colony.

Hundreds of years later, human society has devolved into warring feudal states, with only the spires of Harbour gleaming on the horizon to remind people of their lost haven. Victor, son of a minor noble, enters Harbour to try and recover the technology, which will help his house to dominate on the planet.

Inside he finds a society of outcasts, warriors and all kinds of people that have found their way into Harbour over the ages. Supervised by the inquisitive Hosts, the colony is one big social experiment, designed so the natives could better understand the human mind. Now, as the experiment nears its end, the Hosts are looking to expand their domination over humanity. Victor races against time to escape Harbour and to warn the people outside about the impending danger.

Cover Designed by Jim Killian

Jim Killian is the Principal/Creative Director of Chop Shop a Salt Lake City based design studio specializing in melding the past with the future. He likes anything that is loud or has wheels. 

“If you don’t know where your story is going, that’s not a bad...

“If you don’t know where your story is going, that’s not a bad thing.” ––Grant Faulkner

Our amazingly multi-talented Customer Service Captain, Wesley Sueker, has illustrated quotes from this year’s Pep Talks! Check out Wesley’s other work on DeviantArt, and read the rest of Grant Faulkner’s pep talk here.