#WordWeavers 3/11 - Give an example of brilliant writing. What’s special about it?

I give you the first line of Don't Bite the Sun by Tanith Lee:

"My friend Hergal had killed himself again."

First, because it gives you that kind of whiplash that makes you want to read the next sentence to find out how someone kills themselves AGAIN.

Next, it establishes that this world is not our own, because "Hergal" is not a regular name in the English language.* This indicates that we are in a different time and place.

Also, the casualness of the phrasing shows that death is not a big deal here, which is a fundamental part of this world.

Plus, it's kinda funny. The twist from "killed himself" to "again" (which is not set apart by a comma or period) is something of a punchline.

All this in seven uncomplicated words.

* = A quick net search shows that Hergal is a surname in Algeria and Finland, but not a common one, and not a first name.

A slice of the sci-fi romance Christophina's Wings, which can be found here: https://sarashay.com/books/

#books #bookstodon #romance

#WordWeavers 3/9 - If you need to share an important piece of history/lore, what’s your approach that avoids infodumping?

I'm not sure if i necessarily don't, but I mostly do it with conversation instead of dialogue--one character explaining a thing for someone who doesn't know enough about the topic. I try to avoid as-you-know-Bob type conversations.

WordWeavers 3/6 - If you have several stories, which one should a new reader start with? If 1/not yet published, what other works might your readers enjoy?

[And now, a dispatch from the Shameless Plug Department...]

Start here!

https://sarashay.com/books/

#WordWeavers 3/2 - Do you write scenes out of order? If so, how do you decide their arrangement?

Depends on which series I'm working on. All the Juneiverse novels (save the one still in outline stages) were drafted as NaNoWriMo projects, and I did them linearly. The Golden Circle novels (a paranormal romance/urban fantasy series) started out linearly, but then one day I jumped ahead to a scene that was itching to come out of me, and shifted to that method ever since for those books.

Both have their merits, and both work best for me if I have a detailed outline to work from.

#WordWeavers 3/1 - What is your greatest fear about your characters?

That readers won't like them.

#WordWeavers 2/28 - Would you like to meet any of your characters? Would you tell them who you are?

I'd like to meet them, but telling them who I was would be more of an existential crisis than either one could handle. Ethan would be more approachable--he's used to strangers coming up to say hello--but Christophina might be harder to talk to.

#WordWeavers 2/26 - Who in your book is most like a real person you’ve loved irl?

Okay, this is going to be a weird one. Ethan has qualities in common with someone I didn't meet until AFTER I'd done the NaNo draft for Christophina's Garden. In that particular volume, Ethan and Christophina meet Daniel Weaver, Ethan's father, a British rock star of some repute.

Not long after I'd finished the draft, I met someone we'll call Mod Boy, who was the son of a British rock star of some repute. (Daddy Mod, we'll call him, was in a band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, put it that way.) He had a few other commonalities with Ethan that I won't get into. I just about flipped my shit. I thought I'd manifested him.

I had a bad case of limerence with Mod Boy that lasted several years, but when it finally receded, I still had a love for him that was one of philia instead of eros.

He moved out of the city I live in quite some time ago. I haven't contacted him lately, but I do still have his email address. I hope he's well.

2/27 - Which [of] your characters do you find especially interesting? Why?

I find Christophina and Ethan interesting in equal measures, which is good because they're the main characters, because if I don't find them interesting, who else will?

#WordWeavers 2/24 - Tell us something about your MC that seems unimportant but really is crucial.

Christophina was teased about her eyes when she was going up. When Ethan says he's always been "mesmerized" by eyes like hers, it's a revelation to her, and at least one of the reasons she opens up to him so easily.

#WordWeavers 2/23 - What word/phrase do you use too much? Has it changed over time?

When I'm drafting, I often come up with sentences that read like interoffice memos for The Department of Redundancy Department. Sometimes I catch them myself, sometimes I need a fresh pair of eyes to notice. (My writers group provides many such eyes.)

In terms of words I overuse, I once did a search on the word "bit" in the manuscript of Christophina's Wings ("a little bit..." "I feel a bit..." etc.) and found an embarrassingly large number. I made a point of rewriting most of the sentences it appeared in, which, I believe, led to much stronger writing.