#WordWeavers Sep 2: What could you change about your world to make it better for most people?
Racism and sexism. The world has advanced a lot in terms of declawing capitalism, which creates a huge updraft for women, poc, indigenous people, queer/trans people, etc. Economics are the tool of oppression, after all, but white supremacy and patriarchy are still implicit in all kinds of systems of power, not to mention individual prejudice.
#WordWeavers Sep 1: Introduce your antagonist with as much sympathy as possible.
Master Tremblay has dedicated her life, sacrificed family and community, to train young people to defend humanity against the threat of a hundred little Hitlers with super powers carving up the world trying to kill each other and enslave everyone else. That seems like it's worth driving her students fairly hard, right?
#WordWeavers September 5 — How detailed are you when you describe your characters’ clothes / looks?
Not very. I need to so it more/better, but it either comes out like I'm introducing my character in a D&D game, it it doesn't come out at all. I have to work on that. I have clear visions of these people in my head! Readers deserve to know.
#WordWeavers 6/9. When is detailed description necessary, when’s better to skip?
It's necessary when you're in a new space and the details of that space have qualities that enhance the story or are plot relevant.
It's better to skip when you need to maintain the speed or rhythm of a scene and details would interrupt.
I'll second the idea I saw earlier that you can also get readers to imagine things on this own! Neuromancer calls people and objects "expensive looking," and it's very effective!
#WordWeavers Sep 7: Why did your antagonist become an antagonist?
Because she believes entirely in her mission. She believes she's protecting the world from a violent threat, that that protection requires sacrifice and vigilance. It's not even a hard call, for her.
#WordWeavers September 8 — What do you pay attention to when describing your characters’ surroundings?
Colours, amount of space, and what the objects or furniture signify (expensive or cheap; well maintained or dingey; institutional or personal; etc). I don't do enough of that kind of description, but when I do, that's what I'm drawn to.
#WordWeavers September 10: Is writing dialogue easy for you? Why / why not?
Yes, super easy. I've been talking to myself my whole life, son it comes easily.
But seriously, I do constantly daydream conversations, I've been mainlining comedian podcasts since they were created, and I've spent half my life playing D&D, so yeah. Dialogue flows like water. I'm proud of my dialogue to be point of being smug, than you very much.
#WordWeavers Day 12: Side character POV: What do you find difficult to say to other people?
"I don't, um, always know what to, because it's hard. I'm [sigh] I'm fat, and I'm big--sometimes, people want me to. I'm not a 'leader.' I don't want to. I'm quiet."
#WordWeavers Sep 13: What animal would you like as a muse and why?
I'm so confused by this question. Spiders bc they weave intricate patterns? Cats bc they're all cuddles and calmness until they strike, like a slow-burn plot? Geese bc they flock and stick together and always arrive where they're going?
I'm not into by the concept of a muse, fwiw. There's no one thing that "inspires" me. I'm an intuitive writer in all kinds of ways, but I like to be conscious of what my influences are, at least after the fact (bc you never know when you accidentally stole something!), so a semi-mystical explanation for where my stuff comes from doesn't work for me.
Yeah, I'm good. You can have my cosmic share of muses if you want some.
#WordWeavers Sep 14: Does your antagonist have any redeemable qualities?
Sure. She's resolute, tough, honest, a skilled teacher, and has sacrificed having any life of her own in order to take up a pivotal role in protecting humanity from what is, to her, a very real threat.
It just so happens it's not real, and her "pivotal role" is actually in kidnapping and abusing children, so...
At home, she was messy. She'd pick clothes up off the floor in the morning, whatever was closest. All her self-discipline was in athletics. No room for it anywhere else.
Where she is now... she doesn't have enough possessions to make a mess.
#WordWeavers 18 Do your characters worry about their health?
Not really, no. They heal very fast, and generally don't need medical attention unless they're injured, and even then, many of them can heal each other. The cult-adjacent weirdos who keep them locked up use that as an excuse to ignore their safety, of course. It's not child abuse if they can't die!
#WordWeavers Sep 19. Side character POV: Have you ever been treated unfairly?
Grace gets all the attention because she was, like, a gymnast and stuff, so she's really good at fighting (and she's pretty cool, I mean I like Grace a lot), but I'm a fighter too! I'm getting really good! Nobody pays attention to me just because I didn't get here already good at it.
#WordWeavers 20 Sept: How charismatic are your characters?
It varies, but in my WIP, the antagonist has charisma in the form of leadership. It's not my intention for any of my leads to "be charismatic." I'd like them to be interesting, and one of them stepped up to be comic relief (which I really needed!), but none them are going to get up on a stage any time soon.
#WordWeavers 9.22 — Do you purposely use symbolism in your story?
Not on purpose, no. It feels like it's too on the nose.
But I did just realize I've been describing the swords these trapped, doomed teens use as "tear shaped," and it only just occurred to me that that's pretty damn symbolic. They're fighting each other with their own sadness. Yikes.
#WordWeavers Sep 23: What is your favourite drink while writing?
I can't drink, snack, or have music when I write any more. It's all too much of a distraction. Not even music with no lyrics. It has to be just me and screen.
#WordWeavers Day 24 - Any unusual animals in your story?
One of my antagonist side characters is Filipina, and she has a persistent hallucination of a creature called a sigbin. It looks like a scary little kangaroo that walks backwards, so it's aways in front of her and chewing it's tiny jaws. It wants to eat her heart. And it'll never go away.
#WordWeavers Sep 26: Is your antagonist or protagonist more fashionable?
Antagonist, but she's in her fifties and my protagonist is 14, so it's not a fair fight. Also, I'm the one deciding what they wear, and my fashion sense is mostly based 90s comic books, so I'm sure it's all pretty bad.
#WordWeavers 28: Describe the MC’s sense of humor.
She's not a laugher in this story. She laughed and had fun with her family before she was voluntold to leave her home in the middle of the night, but in the sorry, she's amused by the goofiness of one of her side characters. He's silly and free and keeps trying to make something good of their situation. It's relieving. That's as close as she gets to humour.
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