#PennedPossibilities 976 — What aspect of your SC’s personality are they most insecure about?

Blue recently became a praetorian guard†, something that in his society is rather rare because he is male. Best (or worse, because of his insecurities), his boss†† has decided he merits training for a leadership role, which is doubly special. The problem is, he never planned to find a dream job. The MC Bolt had been training him athletically for her own reasons (okay, sex), and he was approached by a recruiter in the gym. Bolt pushed him to try out, then trained him hard when he aced the initial interview. Of all the men in the story, Blue is the most invested in his gender role. Like most men he is strong and dependable, but atypically, at least in the eyes of what's typical to many women in his society, he's both a people person and intelligent. Perfect for his new job.

But, in their society, men raise their sister's children (which requires a big explanation, so just go with it). He knew this growing up, planned for it—really wants to raise any nieces or nephews his younger sister might have. He would never have thought of refusing…

But now. A praetorian? A rare job? Prestigious? And he loves it?

Frankly, his responsibilities to his family, the contradiction of his gender role, and his loyalty to a liege he would never have met personally††† are messing with his brain.

Yes, this is a turn about story plot roughly equivalent to a woman with a demanding CEO job faced with a pregnancy, and really wanting to raise that child. He is taking the situation absolutely as seriously.

RS writes gender fiction, naturally.

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† Substituting that Blue is working for the absolute ruler of the world, Director Rainy Days, here's a definition, cribbed from Wikipedia:

[A] Praetorian Guard (Latin: cohortes praetoriae) was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and gathering military intelligence.

†† Director Rainy Days.

††† Director Rainy Days likes men. She made sure she met him. Personally. A male praetorian guard can serve additional purposes.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.02 —Visual presentation: how do white space and typography become meaningful elements of literary form?

Oddly enough I can answer this. Normally, as a conventional writer, it's the publisher who takes care of these things. Even to handle breaks mid-chapter, However, I do something unique.

Well…

I'm told.

I'm told it is.

Not right to do.

To do this.

But.

I do. Only when it reveals something important about the mental state of the narrator—unlike in this passage. Of course, a publisher could overrule such things. I probably wouldn't complain.

Probably.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.04.02 —Do you use any special means to get to know your characters? E.g. character sheets, prequels, interviews, etc.

I will admit to taking advantage of writing challenge hashtags to ask questions of characters or to tell small stories from characters past, dreaming that information up before including it, if ever, in the story. Recently, I took advantage of one question to define the backstory of a character who for the sake of discussion is trans (https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/116344746242207037). I think of these answers as non-canonical until it influences a the storyline, though I think is very much on the mark. Typically, I write the story to get to know the characters. Prequels, sequels, and side stories happen not to learn about characters, but because my demandy-pants characters insist on possessing me a making me their ghostwriter.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.04.01 —Your opinion on April fools day & do you incorporate the day into your work?

I never write modern fiction. The poor characters don't even get Christmas to celebrate, let alone acting like malicious fools in April!

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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.04 —Do you switch between past and present tense? How do you make it work?

Logic says this question is asking about narration. That's easy, I never narrate stories in present tense. In dialogue, a narrator might report to someone what they are doing at the moment, which would demand present tense. More often though, the narrator might relate a story that happened in the past, switching to the past of the past to do so. I generally switch to the simple past once the narrator establishes the time in that passage. Same goes for more complex convolutions that require more complex tense "situations."

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#WordWeavers 2026.03.04 —Choose a character to invite to a party. What kind of party is it? Does it have special rules (dress code, bring alcohol, etc.)?

I am going to choose the SFW meaning of party. These are things the Bolt normally would never get invited to. As a courier for the mob, blackmailed into doing it, she actively avoids her coworkers. However, due to chance, a photo editor for a major magazine discovers that Bolt is a street photographer, and incredibly good. With nothing other than ferrying messages for a decade, she has focused on her craft photographing pictures the accentuate normalcy and plain life, something she's denied. It please her, and she's become of a similar caliber as Henri Cartier-Bressen. With the editor acting as an agent, Bolt has become a sensation. Not the best thing for a person inextricably tied up with the mob, but, oh well…

I could see Bolt getting invited to a publishing party, not for all the photographs that get published in the magazine or the newspaper, but after all her work on a highly anticipated photo calendar. We'd call it a beefcake pinup calendar, but their standards and our moral standards differ a lot. I'd expect the party to take place in a rented room at a restaurant, lots of food, and plenty of millet beer to go around. Bolt would worry the entire time that a coworker, or maybe even the mob boss, might crash the party.

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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.04.04 —How do you answer if someone asks you what you do? Is your answer different in person than it is online?

In person, I avoid the question. Before I was retired, I was a "programmer," and trust me, practically nobody is interested in finding out more about that. But. Now. Retired, and only in the case of what-do-you-do questions, sadly so. With nothing recently published and numerous works in progress, it's just too difficult (possibly embarrassing) for a shy autist to answer. Small talk is an anathema to me. I even have a gesture my spouse understands—touching my nose—to intervene before I might have a meltdown. It isn't that I don't want to communicate—I really do—and if I am comfortable with a person, or for example on a panel, meeting a fellow author, or needing the chat up a publisher, that's a totally different thing; it is something I can prepare for. I can become downright loquacious!

I am much more facile and neurotypical sounding when answering on-line. For starters, that I am a published SF author is all over my profile, with all the information the questioner needs to know to ask questions I am able to easily answer. Also, on-line, I can take my time or deflect questions.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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I understand it’s considered wise to publish your eBook on a variety of platforms to take into account the reader’s prejudices regarding big tech. What’s the consensus on which platforms one should choose?

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