#WordWeavers Nov Intro

SHE is a veterinarian bunny on a mission.
SHE is a local looking into the mystery jellyfish.

Their paths collide, in 1960s France. As monitored by a space station.

(voiceover from Tintin movie trailer:) "I don't think you realize this. But you're about to walk into a whole mess of danger."

Also romance. Maybe.

We're not sure, the audience votes on it. You could be part of that audience, see pinned serial post!

Coming soon. Because we can't turn back. Not now.

#WordWeavers 2: Play games?

Angel will sometimes play mind games with antagonists who are full of themselves or otherwise underestimate her, though I'm not sure if that qualifies here. She will also play solitaire card games.

Somewhat related, so far only one vote in on the next part of her serial, where she could investigate alone or with others.

#WordWeavers 3: Favorite Antagonist?

Of my stories? Probably the ones who are also the protagonists. A future version of Carrie in T&T and an alternate reality version of Alijda in Epsilon. They give the MC a window into what they could otherwise become, showing how their choices really do matter.

Also, becomes a bit easier to understand their characters. ^^

(With an honourable mention to Wanda from Epsilon II because of the misogynists.)

#WordWeavers 4: Films or Theater?

There's no plans for that with Epsilon, no. I suppose Angel might take in the occasional documentary on her own time.

With Time Denied, Sherlock is a theatre major who likes to dress up in disguises.

#WordWeavers 5: Favourite entertainment?

Angel reads, letting her imagination go places. She also reads newspapers, which have the crosswords page that she fiddles with. She may also watch the occasional non-news show on TV as well.

#WordWeavers 6: MC Know that Others Don't?

Angel lives in the world of the Troubleshooters RPG, thus is aware of the mysterious Octopus Organization acting out of the public eye. She's also a veterinarian, thus knows more about animals (and medicine) than others in the cast, and she knows how to fire (and maintain) a gun from her WWII experience.

Finally, she knows why she always wears a hairband with bunny ears. No, she won't tell you. Vote in her serial.

#WordWeavers 7: Change one thing?

ANGEL: As much as I might want to change something I experienced in France during World War II, or one of my early failed romances, those experiences shaped who I am today. So I'll assume the past is off limits.

I would change my bank account to something larger, which would allow me to stop budgeting and help more people pro bono instead. As long as it didn't make me famous too.

#WordWeavers 8: Another author ever inspired change?

Not directly. And no one famous that I can think of. Little things stick, like someone on a forum saying my teenagers sound too intellectual, or a beta reader saying a scene is unintentionally titillating. I try to become more self-aware and fix such things. Try being the operative word?

#WordWeavers 9: Respect about MC?

PATTY: Angel's persistent and honestly seems to care about helping. I just hope she knows what she's doing.

#WordWeavers 10: Unusual food?

Technically, no. However Angel is a vegetarian, so is likely eating food that I personally find unusual. (I really can't abide beans, for instance.)

#WordWeavers 11: Tools?

Angel is a licensed physician, so she knows how to use medical tools. Including those for animals, as she's a vet. She's also an accurate shot with her handgun, and knows how to take care of it.

She lives alone, so is decent at using cooking/kitchen tools.

On the flip side, it's 1963, so don't ask about computers, though she's rubbish at engineering and machinery anyway.

#WordWeavers 12: Food served to enemy?

ANTAGONIST: Easy, meat. Because she's a vegetarian. The only question is whether I'd make that choice obvious, or hide it in a salad or something... depends on mood.

#WordWeavers 13: Consider comps and marketing while drafting?

Hell no. You're reading a post by the guy who developed an entire cast of personified math characters and wrote huge serials with them before realizing that there was no target market for "Hetalia but STEM". Some individuals liked it, at least.

Plus a lot of serial writing has half the thing still being drafted even as the other half is already published, so tricky to plan out the marketing.

#WordWeavers 14: SC becomes MC, better?

PATTY: I'm not sure it would be better? Angel's kind of fascinating. I guess you'd get to see more science, that doesn't seem to be her thing.

BEAM: You'd get a lot more innuendo and lesbian romance. As it's there whenever I show up, now it'd be nonstop! ... That's better, right?

ALISON: It wouldn't be better, you know I'm a depressive. Am I even in this story? And how will it continue since there's only one person voting on the plot of late?

#WordWeavers 15: Favour senses? Dominant?

Here's a weird story for you. When I write, I trend to dialogues and inner monologues, and I'm very bad at describing surroundings. Thus it's sound dominant.

But I don't hear the characters. In fact I'm a much more visual person IRL... if someone just describes something, it's not clear for me, I need a picture.

Curious disconnect. Sometimes I'll invoke scent too, less so taste and touch.

#WordWeavers 16: Make up words?

No, I trend urban fantasy and I suppose I don't want fantasy jargon overrunning the world. Even the scientific stuff for my time travel story I try to ground in real life terms.

I did have occasion to need characters to speak a made-up Temporal language, but I simply tossed %%s in with the quote marks as I typed in English. Call me lazy but that was a rabbit hole I didn't want to pursue.

#WordWeavers 17: Book cover ideas while writing?

Not really. Certainly no scene ever jumps out at me as one to illustrate. I may have vague thoughts when I happen to write (like timeline arrows or showing the love triangle) but I wouldn't call those great cover ideas.

#WordWeavers 18: Superhero name?

Angel would definitely be known as "Gun Bunny". She has the omnipresent ears hairband, the accuracy with her handgun, and her love of animals.

Bonus round, Carrie might go with "Time Gal" (given the time powers), unless that video game has it under copyright. Then maybe "Shadow Clock". (It's only now that I realize I gave her a rather hourglass body silhouette, go figure.)

#WordWeavers 19: Mundane daily tasks for fun and profit?

Not as often as I should. Part of that is Angel (or whichever story MC) is rarely at home when interesting stuff happens, while there isn't generally a side character around to notice when they go home to brush their teeth. (As to world building, it's largely like ours.)

But I know that's an excuse. I tend to jump to the next plot point. Something to work on.

#WordWeavers 20: Antagonist soft spot?

They're jellyfish. Every spot on them is pretty soft.

Seriously though, whomever's behind the jellyfish is liable to be tripped up by a friend or family member, that's how it often goes with me. (The character remains to be developed through audience votes.)

#WordWeavers 21: Scene is boring?

If the holes need to get drilled, you do it, dragons or no dragons.
...
Wait, wrong boring. Seriously then, drop in something unexpected, whether a homograph, a non-sequitur, or a visitor from the future. The scene is presumably necessary (versus a time skip), so that helps to raise the stakes while giving the reader something to look forward to (namely your explanation).

#WordWeavers 22: Influences?

Angel was literally created for a #Troubleshooters #RPG campaign, so there's a character influence. In fact, a lot of my Epsilon cast came from former RP campaigns.

If we're talking plot, I've been known to rip from the headlines (Epsilon 6 had a pandemic) and time travel media has been huge (esp Back to the Future), extending to non-fiction articles.

I'm not sure why lesbians. It's reverse led to me consuming #Yuri media, so I've crossed the streams.

#WordWeavers 23: Express gratitude?

Angel is pretty polite, thus would be grateful for assistance. Which isn't to say anyone profane wouldn't be (flip side of #WritersCoffeeClub here), but when you're in the habit of giving thanks, it tends to happen automatically.

Carrie in particular is grateful for her friends, and has needed to express gratitude to her time travel selves too.

#WordWeavers 24: Human sacrifice! Protagonists and antagonists working together! Mass hysteria!

Angel will be on the side of whomever has the best interests of the animals at heart, so if an antagonist sets aside their ego long enough for that goal, there's one way.

Epsilon antagonists tend to have not unreasonable goals that they're merely approaching in absurd ways, so if Angel can make them realize the error in their thinking while providing an easier path to success, that's another way.

#WordWeavers 25: SC pranking MC?

PATTY: I cannot think of any prank that Angel would find amusing, only things that would anger, depress, or puzzle her. Granted, I don't know her that well yet.

I suppose if we're going for puzzlement, affixing some sort of decal to her vehicle, such as resembling her bunny ears, might be an option?

#WordWeavers 26: Bad Q to antagonist from journalist?

Probably something like "Do you have any thoughts about where the jellyfish came from?"

(We're still working out who the antagonist is, new serial entry should come out this week.)

#WordWeavers 27: Know the last line when?

As I write my stories backwards, the last line is actually the first one, then characters experience regression instead of development as time flows backwards and events are undone.

Yeah, no. Last line is when I get to the end. Even then there's a chance it gets modified in edits.

#WordWeavers 28: Target to a specific audience?

My latest serial entry has been out for a month, with 4 views and 1 plot vote, so if I do, I'm doing a ludicrously terrible job of it.

I trend urban fantasy and time travel. I've tried serial guest posts, circles of friends, chats, hashtags, and as Kirk said in Star Trek II, I just keep missing the target. Personified math never seemed to find its audience either.

I like to think my audience isn't rejecting me, I'm just very inconspicuous.

#WordWeavers 29: Change one thing about earlier writing?

Had you asked me over five years ago, I would have said I should be using more colloquial language (being less formal, particularly in dialogue). It's something I'm still working on.

Yet five years ago I had occasion to revisit (and finally finish) a story from 2000. Wow, I head hopped a LOT back in the day. I should have had a more consistent POV, but think I'm already doing a better job of that now.

#WordWeavers 30: Characters describe author?

ANGEL: Nice enough guy, weird quirks, like giving ladies bunny ears to wear. Works too hard, sleeps too little.

CARRIE: Kind of crazy, but not in a bad way, probably? Needs to resolve this love triangle already. Does care for his family. Very organized.

CAREY: He's put me in a no-win situation, yet with an illusion of opportunities to win... or escape. I can respect that, as I'm trying to do the same to his protagonist.