sfwrtr

sfwrtr, 2 hours ago to escribiendo

#PennedPossibilities 330 — How does your MC go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality? CW: Sexuality?

Intellectually? Tactically?

She was reputed to have the kiss of death, but that gets ahead of that she used it to control the Doña's underlings in the mob. She even arranged for her own teacher, a mob lieutenant, after she'd throughly studied for the test and felt she was ready. She didn't kill him, don't worry! She found she enjoyed kissing, and used it aggressively on men (and women) as a tool until she discovered the whole thing could be fun—then incidentally found herself "expressive" with two boyfriends in two days.

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sfwrtr, 2 hours ago to escribiendo

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 30 — How do you achieve a sense of wonder in your stories? CW: Intimacy

I don't have a formula, and it isn't something I try to create arbitrarily. It's usually written by accident (or incidentally), and almost always requires tuning of the found passage to make it truly wondrous. It's the right words in the right order. [Not helpful, R.S.!] If anything, wonder is usually tied up with emotion, a sense of achievement, or something well deserved, maybe even something so perfectly crafted by people or nature that it would make a person stare or feel goosebumps. However, I find simply being human can evoke the best sense of wonder—for example:

#Excerpt: (revised)

I woke to dawn rays filtering through lace draperies. A cool jasmine-scented breeze tussled the soft fuzz on my arms and brought the sounds of twittering robins and sparrows. My bombastic bedmate had not molested me. Perhaps she had heard me when I said I preferred men. That, however, did not prevent her from snugging up to me in her sleep.

I grew aware of warmth against my back. I commended myself for not flinging myself from the bed like a crazy person this time, but instead lifted my head and looked back. She lay there, sheets kicked off by one of us, her golden back against my paler one, making us a pair of Cs. Her usually poofy hair matted against her face and spread out in night-sweat glued-together curly tresses across her pillow. She snored imperceptibly, and somewhat daintily for such a large-boned woman.

When I shimmied to break contact, she began to shiver. Even after I gently replaced the sheets over us, she continued. She twitched. After a few moments, I heard the faintest whimper.

I lay my head on the pillow and felt bad. I shimmied back, until our skin made contact. In a minute she quieted and fell deeply asleep. I didn't move. Didn't want to. Because, I knew. She had felt terribly alone—worse, I realized, so had I.

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sfwrtr, 4 hours ago to random

Well, I visited a museum today. One I had never been to. By myself, and I feel doing so is kind of special. As a #shy person, such things are difficult.

Thinking about it, I decided I could explain the feeling this way: Shyness is the opposite of addiction and the same. Both leave a sense of not being in control. You can't help yourself. One is not being able to make yourself do something, and the other is not being able to make yourself stop.

sfwrtr, 4 hours ago to escribiendo

#WordWeavers 2405.30 — Are you comfortable writing from the POV of a child? Written any?

I'll answer it this way: I recently wrote a novelette in the POV of a headstrong 7-year old girl. The story was neither medieval nor urban, simply modern, with the child convincing herself she's been both tricked into being where she doesn't want to be, and lied to. In a make-a-wish scenario, circumstances grants her the djinn's powers. I found it easy to write since I had a good feel for her mentality and her understanding of "pretend" aka "the magic." I kept having to rein in my vocabulary, however. It wasn't a matter of dumbing it down so much getting her clever sophistication right.

Oh, yeah... And she was the first person narrator. Rather than making it harder, it helped narrow everything down to a singular often exasperated voice that made the twist that much more heart-rending.

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sfwrtr, 4 hours ago to Funny

These signs are real. All of them. Including THAT one. Is the telephone number divisible or factorable by 666? Found in LA.

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davidtoddmccarty, 8 hours ago to random

Cars have gotten so stupid. So expensive. So overbuilt. It’s insanity.

sfwrtr, 9 hours ago to escribiendo

#PennedPossibilities 329 — How is your SC typically seen by others? Does it ring true to who they really are?

The roommate SC in a previous story is seen by others as an imperious arrogant bully who is always correcting people and not at all friendly. To say her adoptive mother runs things is an understatement of epic dimensions. The SC, as a controlling person by nature, accepts and amplifies the sense of power her mother lends her. Since she is rarely, if ever, seen around her adoptive mother and then seems both cowed and agitated in her presence, many consider her a bossy blow hard. She's proven herself the smartest student in school and holds a TA position in practical magical arts.

Is this who she is inside?

Hardly.

She has the expected problems with self-esteem. Her mother is her mentor, but she's unable to demand attention despite needing it, and instead drinks (and will take drugs). She feels horribly lonely. Boys run away at their first opportunity, despite the status they could acquire befriending her. She even considers letting herself be used—not that anyone would have the temerity to try, which turns it into a fools quest.

The MC ends up in a situation where the SC offers her a bed when the MC loses her job (okay, quit the mob) along with her apartment (which becomes unsafe). A bed. Literally. The SC's.

The MC discovers her roommate only sleeps well when held.

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sfwrtr, 9 hours ago to escribiendo

#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 29

You: What's the average time to complete a writing project between the idea and publishing/making it available?

Me: ...

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sfwrtr, 10 hours ago to escribiendo

#WordWeavers 2405.29 — How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?

Technically, Wintereyes lives and runs with wolves in the Fell Woods so she doesn't have a home. However, in the worst couple of months of winter, she puts up a lodgepole tent and invites the wolves to stay with her around her cook fire. That means fire wood. That means spiders. If I know her, that probably means blowing them from the wood and safely away.

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