Back

#WordWeavers Day 31: What would warm your antagonists' hearts?

That's a really good question. They *think* they'd like to "make San Francisco a nice, happy, safe place to be", but if they actually succeeded in their aims, they'd wind up leaching all the soul and delight out of the city. It would become a barren, sterile enclave of mediocrity, and they'd be unable not to see that, and it would not make them happy.

It's possible that they cannot be satisfied.

#WordWeavers Day 1: Let an interesting/unusual character from your story introduce themselves.

Naturally, I think all of my characters are interesting. It's like, you wouldn't ask a parent if you thought one of their children were boring, would you?

I can't have them introduce themself to *youse*, to readers; they don't know they're in a book, and I'm keeping it that way. 1/3

But here's how one particular established magician might introduce herself to one of my newly-awakened learners when their mentor shows them around (which is a standard part of training):

Hi, I'm Zoë Broadstreet! Good to meet you. I've been awake for… holy shit, I guess it must be coming up on 15 years, this summer. Well anyway, I know your mentor's gotta be taking good care of you, but if you want to hang out, just have a little fun, just let me know. I can bring you to some good parties. 2/3

(In actuality, that information would probably be conveyed over a few paragraphs, interspersed with questions to and about her interlocutor — Zoë's friendly and polite, and wants to get to know other people, not just go on about herself! But that would've required picking whether she was talking to Jessie or David, and then there'd be loads of not-Zoë information going into this answer, and... Okay, look, I think my answer to this question just doesn't fit the format well. Sorry.) 3/3

#WordWeavers Day 2: Do any of your characters have creative jobs?

Loads! Angel is an architect. Carmen Lockhart is a sculptor and playwright. Kevin Wingard is a craft bartender and also plays in a pop-rock band. Derrick Devereaux is a drag queen, and Deonte King leads a jazz quintet.

#WordWeavers Day 3: SC POV: You get to swap bodies with another character for a day. Who do you choose and why?

Denise Carrera (who's 77) says: I'd spend a day in the body of that Meredith Romer girl. I'd love to have just one more day of being young and full of energy like that.

[N.B.: Meredith is 26, able-bodied, and fairly energetic.]

#WordWeavers Day 4: How would you describe your MCs' lifestyles?

Jessie's is kind of marginal. She's living on savings while unemployed, and terrified of what's going to happen when that money runs out.

David's enjoying the life of a single, gay guy in San Francisco. He's got a couple of flatmates, he goes out clubbing and cruising a lot, and is generally comfortable and happy. 1/2

The other three are more settled. Margot and Carlos are both married with kids; Angel has a partner that they live with, and they're both fine with being unmarried and not having kids at this time. They (as well as David) all have steady jobs and are as financially secure as most middle-class Americans (for what that's worth). 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 5: Share an interesting fact about the society your characters live in.

I'll take this one as the magical sub-society, rather than our own society. So: Every city shaman has a mentor, chosen for them by the City when the new shaman awakens. All the way back to the first one, Juana Lucia Hernandez Argüello, who awoke in 1850. The City mentored her on its own.

It tries to choose people who will get along well together, but results vary.

#WordWeavers Day 6: Is the world your characters live in a good place to raise kids?

Oh, about as good as the world we live in. At least in San Francisco, there's far less chance of them getting shot in school than in some other places in the US.

#WordWeavers Day 7: MC POV: What are you angry about?

Angel Castillo says:

#WordWeavers Day 8: Share the first thing your characters would see, feel, and hear if they went outside in the last outdoor scene you wrote.

That'd be the denizens of Jungleland¹ on their way to a Concrete Eden party thrown by Kathryn Behr, in Laurel Heights. So:

The street slopes at an angle that many would consider "steep", but which is only moderate by San Francisco standards. Both sides are...

1. A flat with a name. Some folks name their houses/apartments/abodes. (Don't you?)

1/2

...lined by well-kept, expensive Victorian houses and broad sidewalks interrupted every so often by green and pleasant trees. The wind is picking up, as it's early evening, but it's not too cold; September is one of San Francisco's summer months, and Karl the Fog is on vacation tonight. You can hear the traffic on Sacramento Street behind you, but this street is quiet.

2/2

#WordWeavers Day 9: How many people can your MCs call their support systems?

That's not a binary proposition; sometimes, a person can be good support for things of Type X but not so good for Type Y. Or they can provide 3 spoons' worth of support, but not 6. 1/2

That said, Carlos and Margot, and to a lesser extent Angel, have larger and stronger local support networks than David and Jessie. David's family are all on the East Coast, and while Jessie's folks are local, she doesn't feel like she can call on them in times of need.

(That's at the beginning of the book, anyway. She builds more of a support system during its course.)

Also, Margot and Angel are each part of the other's support system. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 10: MC POV: What was your relationship with your parents? Siblings?

TW: homophobia, self-harm, suicide attempt

Angel Castillo says: When I was small, I got along well with my father. I used to love to watch him work on cars — he's a mechanic. And I loved when I was small enough for him to be indulgent about that, and let me help him.

And then I got older, and it became, "No, cars aren't for girls," and then things got worse and worse when I became a teen. 1/4

And it hit the real rock bottom when I was moving out, my sophomore year of college. That was after living with them, hiding myself, had already driven me to try to kill myself once. On top of having cut myself for years. Anyway, that was when I finally came out to my family — well, mostly, and sort of At the time, I was just coming out as a lesbian, because that's all I thought I was then. I didn't yet realize I was non-binary, or that I liked men as well as women. 2/4

And also, I wasn't coming out to _all_ of them. Theresa already knew I was a lesbian, and had been blackmailing me since high school with threats of outing me, so I had to do her chores and some of her homework. But it was news to the others. 3/4

So anyway, my relationship with Theresa is simple: I hate her, and I'll never ever trust her again. My other siblings? They don't understand me, or care about me, and I'm sure they all think I'm going to hell. Except for Diego, my youngest brother. He's the only one of my family who treats me with any kindness. He doesn't understand me, but he admits that, and he loves me anyway.

And I love him back, and he's the only one of them I can honestly say that about. 4/4

#WordWeavers Day 11: Do you belong to any writing organizations? Are they helpful?

I don't. (Yet? Who knows.)

#WordWeavers Day 12: What are your MCs' favorite times of day?

Jessie likes the evening and the night. Margot used to be right there with her, but years of having to get up early to deal with children have rewired her sleep schedule. (She's not thrilled, but accepts it.)

None of the others have particularly strong pulls to an particular times.

#WordWeavers Day 13: MC POV: Do you believe in romantic love? Why or why not?

David Hartmann says: Yes, of course I do! Why? Because I've been in it! That's like asking, "Do you believe in food?", or "Do you believe in air?"

#WordWeavers Day 14: Does your world have romantic commitment?

Yes, just like our world. Really, it's just the world next door (i.e., our world plus magical, sentient cities); romantic commitment is no different.

#WordWeavers Day 15: How well do your MCs handle being in crowds?

Carlos doesn't handle them well. If he's in his wheelchair that day, he's stuck looking at people's chests and backs, and can't get through the crowd very easily at all. And people sometimes trip over parts of his chair, or even try to seize the handles and move him. If he's on a cane, it's too easy to get jostled or knocked over. 1/2

David, OTOH, loves the fun of being in a rave or nightclub crowd. Feeling all the bodies pressed together, people moving as one in harmony... it helps him feel like people can get along.

The others mostly don't care one way or the other, at least no more so than the average person. 2/2

Yeah, I never got up the courage to talk to her. She just made my knees go all wobbly anytime I saw her. I was something like 13.

As for "celebrity crushes"... at the time, I would only have said that I had a crush on Alyson Hannigan. But in retrospect, I now know that both Richard Dean Anderson *and* Michael Shanks made me feel... shall we say, oddly tingly? Yeah, I didn't notice that until after I came out to myself. But boy, did I like _Stargate SG-1_. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 17: Do your MCs prefer to be indoors or outdoors?

I don't think any of them have particularly strong preferences one way or the other.

#WordWeavers Day 18: How is familial love thought of in your world? What is the ideal and the reality?

It's just like in our world: it's thought of very highly, and possibly more highly or with more rose-colored glasses than it deserves.

#WordWeavers Day 19: SC POV: Who is your best friend?

Hazel Kovalenko says: I don't care if it's a cliché. My wife Judy is also my best friend, and has been since before we even got engaged.

#WordWeavers Day 20: Does the society your characters live in take good care of people with disabilities?

Hell, no! It's basically a society built on eugenics, and particularly since Covid. People make fun of people with disabilities, use words for them as slurs, and it's even legal to pay PWDs less than other workers in some cases.

(Sound like our world? It is. )

#WordWeavers Day 22: Your MC buys a painting. Describe it.

I can't seem to deal with this question, because I'm too distracted by the fact that the very first scene of my WIP has one MC *painting* a painting. (It's of the Bay Bridge, affectionately called the Emperor Norton Memorial Bridge by those in the know.)

So anyway, I just can't get past that. (Does another MC later buy one of Jessie's paintings? Could be!)

#WordWeavers Day 23: If your MCs were to have villain arcs, what would set them off?

Angel: Something to do with a techbro, for sure. There are so many ways they can piss people off.

Jessie: I'm thinking financial desperation might get her stealing, and then maybe that could be a gateway to worse stuff? 1/2

Margot: She'd finally get fed up at people being anti-vax, anti-mask, and anti-health.

Carlos: Learning some kind of secret, forbidden knowledge. Or else some occurrence of ableist crap just makes him snap.

David: I'm really not sure he could ever go villain. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 24: If your antagonists were to suddenly become heroes, what caused the change?

Travis Winter: He'd have to realize that the policies he's been promoting and pursuing are bad for San Francisco's long-term diversity, and that they're also bad for *people* — at least the ones who aren't rich (and generally white). He might also have to start seeing poor people as actual people, not just background characters or an inconvenience.

Donna Kuang: Same as Travis. 1/3

Derrick Devereaux: There are two things that might do it: 1) Realizing, and really accepting, that San Francisco *must* change and grow, and it *cannot* continue to be the same place it was when he got there; and 2) Realizing that his fellow villains don't really give a shit about him and simply find him useful. 2/3

Van Martinez: It'd take a major restructuring of her entire psyche.

Adrian Hardesty: Like David Hartmann's opposite (see yesterday), I don't think he could ever do a real Heel-Face Turn. He just doesn't have it in him. 3/3

#WordWeavers Day 25: MC POV: If you could have any job in the world, what would you choose?

Angel Castillo says: The one I have. I worked hard to become an architect, and I love it! About the only thing I'd change is that I'd like to have my own company, or at least be a partner, instead of a junior architect. But I think I'll get there if I keep on going.

#WordWeavers Day 26: If your SC could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

Aisha Morgan (who was Aisha Quinn for a while; I switched some surnames around roughly 5 weeks ago: https://wandering.shop/@kagan/113851643685111324) finds this one to be a painful dilemma: does she get rid of poverty, racism, or sexism?

After much internal debate, she decides to get rid of poverty. If people must be subject to bigotry, they can at least be comfortable and have food in their bellies while they're at it.

#WordWeavers Day 27: What is the love interest or friend's least favorite thing about the MC?

Jake Mansour's least favorite thing about his partner, Angel Castillo, is the way they keep part of themself walled off. He respects their privacy, but he wishes they felt they could open up to him.

He has no idea that what they're keeping secret is the facts that magic exist and they can do it.

#WordWeavers Day 28: What would your MCs think of your life?

David Hartmann, as another queer front-end web developer, would look closely at my life and wonder if it was a sign of where he was heading. I think he'd find it uncomfortably lonely.

Margot Chu, OTOH, might slightly envy the fact that I can take time for myself any damn time I want, without having to juggle the demands of spouse and children.

I'd love to introduce him to Angel Castillo. He was a digital artist, and I think he and Angel might get along either on the basis of Angel's architecture, or more likely, on the way they used to do slam poetry. 2/3

As for where, I'd ideally invite them to meet at Café International, in the Lower Haight, near where my friend Jace used to live for over a decade. But once he moved to Oakland, it might make more sense to have Angel drive out to the East Bay in their Caddy and we could meet up at Eli's Mile High Club. 3/3

#WordWeavers Day 2: Are your MCs picky eaters? What are their preferences?

No, they're San Franciscans. That City'll make a foodie out of anyone. (And none of my MCs have any dietary restrictions that would make that difficult.) Pretty much all of them have wide-ranging tastes.

#WordWeavers Day 3: MC POV: You get to spend a fun night out with anyone. Who do you choose and where do you go?

Margot Chu says: Wait, so someone took the kids for the night? Hell, I'm going out with [her husband] Al! Let's have a nice dinner, where we both dress up, and go to a really nice restaurant. Then maybe dancing somewhere, and what the heck, let's cap it off with a night at a swanky hotel.

#WordWeavers Day 4: How much does money matter for your antagonists?

For Travis Winter and Adrian Hardesty, not at all. Travis is a tech billionaire, while Adrian was born into a rich family, descended from one of San Franciso's "Big Four" 19th-Century Robber Barons. (Travis grew up middle-class, so he at least knows what it used to be like to have a budget. Adrian, OTOH, has never had to worry about money in his life.) 1/2

Donna Kuang is quite comfortable, but not *rich*. Money matters to her a little.

Van Martinez is a cop, on a cop's salary. But those are not as small as you might think, and she's pretty high up in the department. Money matters to her, yes. But it's not a pressing issue.

Derrick Devereaux has gotten to the point where he doesn't worry about how he's going to make rent next month, but he still needs to save up before a big purchase. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 5: What social classes do your MCs and antagonists belong to?

Everyone's mostly middle class, with the following exceptions (whether past or present):

Among MCs, Angel was born and raised very poor, and has clawed their way into middle class upon graduating college. 1/2

Among antagonists: Adrian was born (and remains) very upper-class; Travis was born and raised middle-class, but has ascended to the very upper class; and Derrick Devereaux was born and raised poor and has made it to the bottom strata of middle class. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 6: Are any of your characters trying to change the world?

*Nearly all of them* are. Definitely all the MCs and villains (albeit the particular ways they want to change the world vary greatly, and are even in direct opposition).

Many of the side characters are also trying to change the world, though in smaller ways. Not all, though; some just want to have a good time, or live their lives and learn things.

Also, "the world" here mostly means "San Francisco".

#WordWeavers Day 7: Which one of your characters is in the safest situation?

Either Travis Winter or Adrian Hardesty. Both of them are filthy-rich white men who... well, I wouldn't say they "have no enemies," but the kinds of enemies they have can't do them any real harm.

#WordWeavers Day 8: Which one of your characters is in the least safe situation?

Not sure who takes the prize, but the two strongest contenders are:

* Derrick Devereaux: Black and a drag queen, and not as financially stable as he might like.

* Aisha Morgan: Black, female, drives a bus. Her situation has *always* been precarious... but at least she doesn't have Culture Warriors claiming she's a threat to decency and children.

#WordWeavers Day 9: Could you survive a day in your MCs’ shoes?

"Survive"? Sure, it's not like they're facing any fatal threats. "Get through a day in their body, like in a _Freaky Friday_ situation"? Hmmm...

Normally I'd say that nobody can really pull that kind of thing off in real life. How do you do things like recognize their co-workers, or know what projects they're working on at the office? 1/2

But in this special case, I *can* know those things, because I created them all!

Of course, I still can't do Margot's, Angel's, or Carlos's jobs. I don't have their skills and expertise. But I *could* stand in for David! And at the book's start, Jessie is unemployed, so that's also no problem. 2/2

#WordWeavers Day 10: What is the most useful skill your SC has?

Aisha Morgan is a bus driver. It's a very useful skill; have you ever tried to run a city without a bus system?

#WordWeavers Day 11: What’s your most useful skill that could help you in your story’s world?

My deep and intimate knowledge of San Francisco itself? As a friend once observed when I was navigating us from Point A to Point B by the most economical route, "Kai, you know this city like a Dashiell Hammett character."

(That's still one of my favorite all-time compliments that I've ever received. )

#WordWeavers Day 12: Do your MCs love the spotlight or try to pass unnoticed?

David loves it. Carlos and Jessie are more comfortable in the background.

Angel and Margot both love the spotlight, but have also learned to blend in and go unnoticed when it's useful. They're flexible.

#WordWeavers Day 13: If your MCs were music genres, what genres would they be?

Angel: post-punk
Jessie: hard rock, edging toward heavy metal
Margot: goth, especially '00s goth
David: club-dance/EBM
Carlos: he'd like to say Latin hip-hop, but he's actually more like Latin pop

#WordWeavers Day 14: Antagonist POV: Do you want to be perceived as “good?”

Van Martinez says: What do you mean, "perceived as"? I *am* good. I've been out there, walking a beat, keeping the streets safe. Now I'm at headquarters, still a cop, still keeping the City safe. Serving and protecting. What's more "good" than that?

#WordWeavers Day 15: If your SC found a wallet full of money, what would they do with it?

Hew Copeland (previously Hew Morrison) would try to return it. Find the person's ID, look them up, try to get their phone number. If the person tried to reward him, he'd decline the reward the first time, but accept it if the person insisted.

#WordWeavers Day 16: If someone reads your book in the far future, are there themes or influences they’d identify as relevant to our time?

Yeah, the entire setting and backdrop is very, very "early '20s United States".