#WordWeavers day 1: What are your wildest (writing-related) dreams for this year?
Well, the absolute wildest would be that I somehow get my WIP submitted to a publisher. That seems unlikely, at the pace I've been going, but at least aiming to have the goddamn first draft done should be achievable.
#WordWeavers day 2: How do your MCs talk? Describe their voice and speech.
For the most part they talk like modern twenty- and thirty-something San Franciscans. Which is what they are. But there are some variations; frex, Carlos is a little more measured and precise in his diction than most, and Jessie tends to be a little more prone to casual register and especially use of the F‑word.
#WordWeavers day 3: What do the ways your MCs talk reveal about them?
Mostly just that they're modern, Millennial San Franciscans. Carlos' precision doesn't exactly *reveal* that he's a librarian and scholar, but it is the sort of thing that makes it unsurprising when you do find that out about him. And Jessie's casual and vulgar speech gives a clue that she's rebellious.
#WordWeavers day 4: Describe an uncomfortable situation a character experiences.
At one point, Angel gets home late from being out doing city wizard stuff. Their boyfriend, Jake, has already gone to sleep. The two of them don't get to talk until after work the next day, at which point he's kind and understanding, but also honest about the fact that he really wishes they'd tell him what's going on with them.
He doesn't push, but it leaves them feeling *profoundly* uncomfortable.
#WordWeavers day 6: If your antagonists played video games, what would be their favorite kind?
Donna Kuang: Casual games that you can futz with on your phone while waiting for things. Probably match three, maybe solitaire, etc. Stuff you can also put away on a moment's notice, and not have to finish out a level. 1/2
Derrick Devereaux: Those games where you do makeovers and dress people up. Especially if there are any that let you go high glam or full drag.
Van Martinez: Fighting games and shooting games.
I'm not sure about Adrian Hardesty or Travis Winter. Not sure what that says about them, or about my understanding of them. 🤔 2/2
#WordWeavers day 7: What are your MCs’ families like?
David: Loving, aside from the antagonism between his parents (who divorced when he was 7). He has good relationships with his mother, father, and older sister, even if they're all a bit geographically distant and living their own lives.
Jessie: Loving, but with some strain. Jessie feels misunderstood by her parents, and doesn't know how to deal with that. She also has a good relationship with her brother. 1/3
Angel: Deeply dysfunctional, quite toxic to Angel in particular (because of multiple types of queerphobia). They're in very low contact with everyone.
Carlos: Do you mean his birth family, or the one he's created with his wife and children? Either way, the answer is that they're loving, healthy families. That doesn't mean there isn't ever stress or conflict, but they know how to resolve it, building on the underlying love. 2/3
Margot: As above; she and her siblings are loving, albeit from afar, as they've each gone off to other places to lead their lives. Her parents are warm and loving and here in San Francisco, and she visits them from time to time. They're a loving enough environment to provide a surrogate family for Angel. And the family life Margot's created with her husband and daughters is modeled on that. 3/3
#WordWeavers day 8: Antagonist POV: What advice would you give to people 10 years younger than you?
Derrick Devereaux would especially tell younger gay men: Don't come to San Francisco. Make a gay community in your own place, don't come clutter up our City. It's getting too crowded anyway, and it's not what it used to be.
[N.B.: I don't agree with everything he says.]
#WordWeavers day 9: Have you invented any words/sayings/swears etc. for your story?
Well, there's the urban wizard community's own name for themselves. I'm not sure if I want to reveal that yet. Aside from that, their language is pretty normal (no faux-Latin for spell names, etc.).
#WordWeavers day 10: SC POV: Describe a perfect setting for you to relax.
Zoë Broadstreet says: I like Yerba Buena Gardens. Especially in the summertime, sometimes I'll go there after work, just walk the few blocks from my office. There's people-watching, trees to sit under, all kinds of nice places to just sit and relax.
#WordWeavers day 11: What does the opening chapter of your story reveal about the world it’s set in?
That it's set in a City that is magical, and that its children — the wizards it's awakened — are on the verge of a terrible conflict among themselves.
#WordWeavers day 12: Do your MCs have good support systems?
For the most part, yes. Among other things, they serve as each other's support systems, and more so as the story progresses.
#WordWeavers day 13: Where was your latest writing session? How did it go?
It was at home, in my comfy green armchair, and it went... okay. Got one scene mostly finished, it just needs a wrap-up of some sort. Fixed some stuff in another.
#WordWeavers day 14: If your MCs lived your antagonists’ lives, what would they be like?
That is a really, really good question. If my MCs lived the very comfortable lives that the majority of my villains do, would it stunt their empathy? Would it make then stop caring so much about their fellow humans? 1/3
There's solid psychological evidence that that *does* happen, that as people become richer, they become less inclined to help others, and more entrenched in a "just world" fallacy that blames those less well-off for their own troubles.
There are also huge numbers of well-off and even quite rich people who *do* help others, in all kinds of ways, including making very sizeable charitable donations. Even anonymous ones. 2/3
Would my characters be among those who retain their compassion even when in the lap of luxury? I'd like to say yes. (Heck, I guess since I created them, I *can* just say yes, by fiat. But that seems like the easy way out.) 3/3
#WordWeavers day 15: MC POV: What’s the most exciting thing that ever happened to you?
Jessie Nakamura answers without the slightest hesitation: Gotta be when I awakened. The whole City came alive! It was definitely the most exciting thing ever, and I don't think anything will ever beat it.
#WordWeavers day 16: If your MCs had one photograph near where they each sleep, what or who would it be?
David: His mother and his older sister. (Ideally, he'd also like his father in there, but he hasn't been able to get his father and mother together in one picture since their divorce. If he could have only one... yeah. Mom and sis.)
Carlos: Him and his BFF Miguel. 1/2
Jessie: Her friend from college, Aisling. (It's pronounced "ash-LEEN")
Margot: Ideally, a group pic of her with her husband, daughters, and parents.
Angel: Something architectural, maybe one of Zaha Hadid's buildings. 2/2
#WordWeavers day 17: If cost weren’t an issue, what would your ideal setting be for you to write in?
Anyplace with a moderately chill vibe that would just keep bringing me Manhattans, shots of Irish whiskey, and the occasional Espresso Martini, interspersed with various types of food that go well with those and can be nibbled one-handed.
#WordWeavers day 18: Your antagonist gets a call or message from their mother. How do they respond?
Donna Kuang: Take the call and have a nice conversation.
Van Martinez: Pick up and talk for a bit, but find some reason to cut the call off soon.
Adrian Hardesty: <sigh> Let it go to voice mail. 1/2
Travis Winter: Have her leave a message, and I'll call back when I have some time.
Derrick Devereaux: In his words: "B**** doesn't want to talk to me. She and Dad disowned me when I was 16. I haven't heard from her since, and that's just fine." 2/2
#WordWeavers day 19: Who is the most moral character in your story?
Well, one of my characters is autistic, so I'm going with that one.
(Not saying who right now, as I want to see if people can spot it on their own before it's revealed in the book.)
#WordWeavers day 20: Do you make use of weather in your story? If so, how?
Do *I* make use of weather? No, my *characters* make use of weather. Literally, one of them can talk to Karl the Fog, San Francisco's favorite anthropomorphized meteorological phenomenon. She gets some useful information out of him just before the story begins. She and many others can also use him to hide in.
#WordWeavers day 21: If in the middle of the book your MCs discovered a foundling, what would they do with it?
Bring it to the nearest safe surrender site. There are a fair number of those in San Francisco.
#WordWeavers day 22: Would you MCs or antagonists be more successful at school?
Really, almost all of them did go to school and were successful. I guess if I look at "average number of degrees per person in each group", the heroes come out ahead (they've got 2 members with post-baccalaureate degrees, while the villains have only 1, and also 1 who didn't have the opportunity to go to college at all), but it's really not a very wide difference.
#WordWeavers day 23: How satisfied are you with your current story? Why or why not?
I'm too deep in the middle of it to really answer that well. I'm deliberately keeping myself from going back and reëvaluating what I've done so far, because that would lead me into editing, and I need to complete the draft first. I'm trying to keep my eyes straight ahead, and not look down at what I'm doing.
#WordWeavers day 24: Your MC has to start a new business with their current skills. What do they do?
If they're starting separate businesses, individually, then it looks like this:
Angel strikes out on their own as an independent architect. (Is that a thing? Can people still just be individual architects, without having a whole company of multiple ones? But then again, the prompt didn't say they had to do it alone...) 1/4
As for Carlos in a similar vein, I'm not sure there's really a place for researchers as their own thing, independent of any larger organization that employs them. I guess maybe he could try to become a translator?
David would, of course, become a freelance web developer. Boom, done.
Jessie would have to make a decision about whether to try to become a freelance accountant, or try to make a new career in art. One looks dreadful to her, while the other looks terrifying. 2/4
Finally, there's Margot. There isn't any place in the modern job market for freelance radiologists, is there? Honestly, I sort of wonder if she might try to become a private detective. She wouldn't have to tell her clients that she was using magic to help her track people and find lost things... 🤔 3/4
Anyway, those are individually. If they're trying to start a single business, all five of them? *throws up hands in disbelief* I haven't the faintest clue. What the hell business could possibly make use of *that* weird assortment of skills? 4/4
#WordWeavers day 25: If traumatic events happen, do your characters process it on page for longer than a chapter?
When traumatic events happen in real life, people rarely if ever get over them quickly. Sometimes they never finish processing it; it becomes something that haunts them for the rest of their lives. 1/3
That doesn't mean you need to make the rest of the story be about healing or recovering from the trauma, of course. You can have as much or as little of that as you like be shown on the page. 2/3
I doubt I'd ever have an entire chapter be about trauma recovery, all in one chunk. But I think I'd be even less likely to gloss over any serious trauma in such a short time, overall. In fact, I can easily see it cropping up literal years later (in story time), perhaps in a completely separate book if I were doing a series. 3/3
#WordWeavers day 26: What is your current project teaching you, craft-wise or personally?
How serious and large an undertaking writing an entire novel is. Holy shit.
I mean, I wasn't exactly taking it lightly; I didn't think it was going to be some teeny little thing I'd just dash off in a month or two. But damn, I really didn't expect it to be *this* big a project (especially considering how small a fraction of the way through it I am).
#WordWeavers day 27: Is it difficult for you if your partner or closest friends don’t enjoy books?
I truly can't say, because I'm pretty sure I've never had a partner who didn't like books, and if I've had a friend who didn't, it was so long ago that I can't remember (or they were so subtle about it that I never noticed, but I kind of doubt that).
#WordWeavers day 29: Have you ever written a pet into one of your stories?
Some of my characters do have pets, but I'm taking "written a pet into..." to mean "used a real-world pet as the template for one in a story". On that basis, no. My characters' pets are original, not based on any I've had or known in my life.
#WordWeavers day 30: If there were a party, would your MCs be the center of it or hiding in the corner?
It entirely depends on: the particular character; the party, including who else was there; and their mood.
#WordWeavers day 31: What are your MCs’ relationships with food like?
Generally pretty "normal", I think. None of them have disordered eating patterns, or are food-insecure, or anything like that. 🤷🏻
#WordWeavers day 1: Who is your most despicable character and how do you feel about them?
Well, my *second*-most-despicable character is a corrupt cop. It'd be hard to say much about the character who's even more despicable without giving away some things that I want to show up naturally in the book and give people the willies. But I will say that my feelings about this character are that they're a scary monster. Hiding behind a pretty face — as many of the scariest do, especially recently.
#WordWeavers day 2: Do you enjoy writing "good", "bad" or morally grey characters more? Why?
Honestly, I think my biggest enjoyment seems to come from writing characters who are having a good time, enjoying what they're doing. Whether that's good, bad, or neutral (just having fun and not hurting anyone) seems to be irrelevant.
#WordWeavers day 3: Share a vivid sensory description from your story. What was writing it like?
Here's Kevin Wingard experiencing a magical warding charm plucked from one of three guards Margot Chu has just knocked out, in chapter 2. Writing this was fun and interesting, as I tried to imagine: If I were a magician, and suddenly had a charm like this handed to me, what *would* that feel like, anyway?
#WordWeavers day 4: Look back at the first thing you wrote. What did you do right?
A few things! I did a good job (IMO) of describing a numinous experience; I think I gave a pair of characters distinct and relatable voices, and I also, serendipitously, happened to be able to throw in some fun symbolism.
#WordWeavers day 5: If you found out that someone had to live one of your MCs' lives (like in the "Stranger Than Fiction" movie), would you change the story?
Huh? 😕 But someone *does* have to live their lives: they each do. They're people. How are they not people? Of course they have to live their lives! What‽
#WordWeavers day 6: Share an important or fun lesson you've learned as a writer.
I've learned that pantsing ("discovery writing", "gardening", whatever) is really hard for me. I'm still trying to decide whether that means I just need to outline the hell out of things, or whether I should practice and get better at pantsing. I'm leaning toward the latter... but it ain't easy!
#WordWeavers day 7: What's the most rewarding thing about writing?
Getting to create an entire world and people, and even sometimes see them having fun in it.
#WordWeavers day 8: What's the most frustrating thing about writing?
How incredibly long it takes to get even a little bit done.
#WordWeavers day 9: Have you ever talked to a reader of your story? How did it go?
To me, this phrasing implies something other than "I handed someone a piece of my writing and asked them what they thought." More of a chance encounter with a stranger who'd read my stuff. So in that case, no, I haven't published anything yet, so I haven't yet had the opportunity for this to happen.
#WordWeavers day 10: Have you ever dedicated your work to someone?
I'm not yet at the point where I have enough to be worth dedicating to anyone.
#WordWeavers day 12: What would you tell a fellow writer who was struggling with self-doubt?
It would depend heavily on what it was they were doubting: their ability to complete their book? Whether their work was any good? Whether they'd ever be able to sell it, or make a career out of writing? 1/3
And it would also depend on what they said when I asked the question I've learned is crucial if you want to help someone: "Would you like some advice? Or would you prefer sympathy?" N.b.: It's critical that you *mean it*, that you be willing to provide either, and not look down on sympathy as being "lesser" than advice. Maybe remember a time in your own life when you've wanted sympathy, not advice. 2/3
Alternatively, "I'm sorry, I don't have any advice, but I can offer sympathy" is a very valid thing to say! 3/3
Is that what the question meant? Then I answered wrong 😆
I don't think there's a wrong way to answer the questions. A lot of times they can be taken more than one way, and answering either way seems fine.
Kagan MacTane (he/him)
Asakiyume
C. R. Collins 🌳 🐸
Joyce Lionarons
Orion (he/him)