#WordWeavers day 23: What would your MCs be willing to die for?
As per the villains (yesterday), all of them have family members they'd be willing to die for. I'm not going to list them all; that might get long. But note that even though Jessie's relationship with her mother is very strained, she'd still die for her if it became necessary.
Also, any of them would die to save the City from a threat... and they very much include Travis Winter and his plans in that category.
#WordWeavers day 24: Do your characters have any "tells" when they are lying?
Probably; poker players will tell you that everyone has a tell. But they'll also admit that most of them are pretty subtle. I haven't bothered to come up with specific ones. Except that Carmen Lockhart fiddles with a lock of her hair when she's nervous... but she hardly ever lies. She just gets nervous in social situations sometimes.
#WordWeavers day 26: How "high maintenance" are your MCs?
I'm not entirely sure what qualifies, TBPH. I mostly hear it used as a way to criticize people (usually women) for having needs or desires that the criticizer (usually male) doesn't want to meet. I'm positive that's not what's meant here... but I'm not sure what *is*.
I guess about average amounts of maintenance?
#WordWeavers day 28: Do you use flowers at all in your story?
The California poppy, the state flower of California, is used as a magical ingredient in at least one spell.
#WordWeavers day 29: Can you describe your current WIP in three words?
San Francisco urban fantasy (counting "San Francisco" as one word... just one that happens to have a space in it).
#WordWeavers May 1: How long have you been working on your WIP?
I started writing the first draft on April 18th, 2025. I'd been doing pre-work for a while before then, though. I think it went from "I idly kick around this idea of 'what if I were to write a story about living, magical cities sometime?'" to "Okay, I'm gonna write this thing" sometime in late 2022.
#WordWeavers May 2: How much longer do you think it’ll take you to finish your WIP?
That question has been weighing on my mind for quite some time now. If I extrapolate my progress so far, it looks like I might finish the first draft in early 2028. Then my thoughts for how to revise are ones that might involve complete rewrites, so...
Honestly, thinking about it is pretty upsetting.
#WordWeavers May 3: Tell us one thing you love about your story.
That (I think) I'm making the City a definite character in its own right. Not just "a setting that has a major effect on the story", but really *a character*.
#WordWeavers May 4: What’s your MC’s critical flaw?
Carlos: He'd say it's his hEDS. I'm more inclined to think it's his refusal to tell his wife that magic is real.
Angel: As with Carlos, their terror of opening up about magic to their boyfriend is major. Also their insecurity and desire for their parents' approval.
Jessie: Her abysmal self-image, which at least partly stems from yet another thing that I want to keep secret for now. 1/2
David: As with Jessie, I want to keep his problems under wraps for now, and see if I can surface them appropriately in the text.
Margot: I'm not sure she has one, really. She's fairly self-actualized, having done the hard work of overcoming flaws before the story starts. 2/2
#WordWeavers May 5: Is your MC aware of their flaw?
Carlos: Is very aware of both flaws, but doesn't see any way of overcoming either of them.
Angel: Much like Carlos, except for insecurity. They don't realize how insecure they are.
Jessie and David: Both nope, at least at the beginning of the book. Jessie thinks her self-image is accurate, though she starts to learn otherwise as the story progresses. David also starts learning about his own flaw as events unfold.
Margot: N/A?
#WordWeavers May 6: What writing-related challenges have you encountered recently?
For one, the increasing awareness of just how long it's going to take me to be done with this. And the awful feeling of how much that's going to make it "a story about the past" instead of "a story about the present day", like I really wanted.
Also having been very busy with other stuff for the whole month of April, which mostly kept me from writing.
#WordWeavers May 7: Do your antagonists have any redeeming qualities?
All of them have at least a few redeeming qualities. Donna truly wants to make the City a better place, and many of the ballot propositions she's helped promote have done good things.
Travis and Adrian both have excellent taste in food, and Adrian used to throw wonderful parties. (He's had to stop since getting married.)
Derrick is an accomplished drag queen.
Van has focus, drive, and determination.
#WordWeavers May 8: MC POV: Describe your neighborhood.
David Hartmann says: The Lower Haight is a completely wonderful neighborhood. Lots of cafés, restaurants, bars, a record store... nice parks, good public transit, but also quiet enough. On a warm spring or summer evening, the main few blocks of Haight are alive with possibility and community. It's a joy just to walk around here.
#WordWeavers May 9: Are there any unusual societal norms in your world?
No, it's basically our world. The city magicians grow up in our society and don't awaken until, generally, sometime in their mid-twenties, so they take their norms from the over-arching, non-magical society.
#WordWeavers May 10: What are the beauty standards like in your world and do they impact any of your characters?
They're just like our world, and they impact various characters in various ways. Margot, for example, has to deal with fatphobia every day. OTOH, Adrian and Travis, two of the villains, are quite handsome, and they use that to their advantage.
#WordWeavers May 11: Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
Adrian Hardesty says: Ah-ah, I don't think I can tell you what I was up to last night. It might get back to the wrong people.
#WordWeavers May 12: What role does romantic love play in your story?
It's fairly peripheral to the main plot, although there is a romance-story subplot. (At least at the moment, there is. I may have to sacrifice it for length and complexity.) However, it play a major role in the lives of 3 of my 5 MCs, who each have romantic/life partners who are very important to them.
#WordWeavers May 13: What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
A fairly large one. Nearly all of the major characters (protagonists and villains) are motivated to greater or lesser degrees by their love for San Francisco and their desire to shape a better future for it — though what they each think would qualify varies, sometimes wildly.
The sibling-ly love that grows between Jessie and David also plays a role.
#WordWeavers May 14: Which of all the characters you’ve ever written are you most proud of?
I don't think I could possibly pick just one. That's like trying to decide if sushi, Eggs Benedict, or a hot fudge sundae is the most delicious. They're *all* delicious, just in very different ways.
#WordWeavers May 15: What type of writing (novels, shorts, poetry, etc) comes more naturally for you?
Absolutely novels. I've written poetry before, and I should really get back to it. Short stories... I suck at keeping things short. I may try to do short stories someday, but I know it's going to be a major challenge.
#WordWeavers May 16: Would your WIP still work if you changed the gender of your MC?
I have 5 MCs, one of whom is agender. All of them have at least a few personality characteristics that are tied to their gender (as most people do). Swapping everyone's gender would mean some of those traits would now mismatch their owners, or have to change in some ways. 1/2
(And what gender do I change Angel to? I guess from agender to genderfluid?)
But the basic storyline would still work; it doesn't require that any of the MCs be any particular gender. 2/2
#WordWeavers May 17: How would your MCs react to being handed a kitten?
Presuming it wasn't a bad time to be handed one, I think they'd all react positively: smile, make happy noises, pet it, etc.
#WordWeavers May 18: If your antagonists had to arrange a contest they knew they could win, what would it be?
For Travis Winter, the answer is probably, "Sue them. If necessary, just drag the case out and exhaust their money supply." Ditto for Adrian Hardesty; since they're both quite rich, that works for them. 1/2
Van Martinez would opt for hand-to-hand combat in most cases; unless an opponent has a huge size/strength/weight advantage over her, or is extremely skilled, she can be confident of victory. She's worked hard for that. 2/2
#WordWeavers May 19: What % of your typical day involves writing/writing-adjacent activities (including thinking about it, lol).
If I include just thinking about it, rather than restricting it to only time that I spend actually doing writing, researching, or outlining, then it's probably up above 2 hours a day on average. Given that I only seem to be awake for roughly 15 hours a day, not 16, that makes about 13.33% of my waking hours.
#WordWeavers May 20: Does your MC enjoy haircuts or hair styling?
None of them are *super* into it, but David does get his hair styled regularly.
#WordWeavers May 21: How do you make your MCs likable or relatable-to in the first chapter?
I think Angel is likable partly because of the way they take care of Jessie. I'm a little less sure about Jessie; I think maybe she's relatable because she's just been thrown, or fallen, into the deep end of reality, and maybe readers feel a little similar as they're starting a new book in a new world, and maybe that sense of disorientation mirrors their own? 1/2
Anyway, I really hope they're both likable and relatable. It's something I've worried about. 2/2
#WordWeavers May 22: If your MCs came with warning labels, what would they be?
Jessie: Caution, low self esteem
Angel: Warning, may cause wardrobe envy
Carlos: Note, may cause you to rethink your preconceptions about disability
Margot: Danger, black belt, do not engage in combat
David: sorry, I can't think of anything anyone would need to be warned about regarding him
#WordWeavers May 23: If your antagonists came with warning labels, what would they be?
Derrick Devereaux: Advisory, exceeds FDA recommended limits of fabulousness
Donna Kuang: Handle with caution, is even shrewder than she looks
Travis Winter: Warning, is every bit as much of a rich, powerful, privileged white guy as he appears to be
Adrian Hardesty: Extra warning, is every bit like Travis Winter, with less empathy
Van Martinez: Danger, black belt, do not engage in combat
#WordWeavers May 24: If your characters were pets, what would they be and how would they react?
They're somewhat common, but I can't shake the feeling that Angel, Jessie, and Margot would all be cats (though different types). David would _definitely_ be a dog.
Carlos is a little odder. If people kept crows as pets, that'd definitely be the right answer, but since I don't think crows are a valid option… I don't know, something very intelligent and curious. But not as high-energy as a ferret.
#WordWeavers May 25: What one event defines your MCs?
There's a case to be made that "the moment they awakened" (became aware of magic's existence and the fact of San Francisco being alive and able to talk to them) qualifies for all 5 of them. But leaving that aside and going for more individual answers:
Angel is far too defined by the time they came out to their then-girlfriend about having awakened, and about magic existing. 1/4
On a more positive note, Jessie found the TV series _Dark Angel_ to be a formative influence when she was younger, so her being introduced to that show might qualify. Maybe not "completely defining", but certainly at least "life-changing".
Margot was similarly influenced by the time a friend showed her a kung fu movie starring two women. It sparked her lifelong interest in martial arts. 2/4
I'll do a pair for David: there was the time someone showed him how to "View Source" on a webpage, and how he could use that knowledge to customize his MySpace page, and then there was also his first visit to an all-ages EDM club. 3/4
For Carlos, it was the first time he dislocated his knee, while running. He hadn't done anything particularly difficult or dangerous, he was sure; there was just a little irregularity in the ground. He hadn't even tripped over it, just a slight stumble! That shouldn't have dislocated his entire knee! But then it happened again a few months later, and that was what made it clear that Carlos was going to have to give up most forms of physical activity. 4/4
#WordWeavers May 26: What is your antagonist’s earliest memory?
I don't think most people's earliest memories are particularly notable (except in cases where they're subjected to major trauma early on). Frex, mine are brief snatches of playing with my kitten in my apartment, or riding the bus with my mother to a nearby store, where sometimes she'd buy me Matchbox cars.
So I think my antagonists' earliest memories are similar small bits of daily life.
#WordWeavers May 27: What does victory mean for your antagonists?
Making San Francisco a safe place.
Kagan MacTane (he/him)
Branwen OShea (she/her)