#PennedPossibilities 303 — Is your SC one to be haunted by adversity, or to use what they've gone through to become stronger?
She came from privilege and is enduring a harsh adversity that's forcing her to learn to be violent. The question is whether she has the strength to resist that call to violence.
#PennedPossibilities 304 How did your MC feel about friendships growing up? How do they feel about them now?
She grew up surrounded by the kids from other families, "arcology cousins." When she was abducted, she was cut off from them, so she immediately built a new little crew of people around her. It was a lot smaller, and it was luck of the draw, but they're her new "cousins," and she's ride or die.
#PennedPossibilities 305 — Are there any characters of yours that you wound up HATING once you were finished with a story or WIP?
There's an antagonist that I meant to be sympathetic even though she's doing something awful--bc she's deluded herself into thinking she's doing the right thing--but she just ended up five times more creepy because she's overcompensating. She's so hateable. It works beautifully.
#PennedPossibilities 306 — Are there any characters that you WISH you killed off in a series or standalone story?
The closest I get to this is thinking maybe I shouldn't be so precious with my characters. Like, maybe there should be more genuine risk of death. I'll have to see.
I'm going to have to kill someone early in the climax to make the threat real, aren't I? Sigh. Okay. Whose death is least expected and least conventional? Not the "vulnerable little girl." That's been done to death. I've already done a fake-out death on "the funny one," so I can't do that again. I guess that leaves... the kind one. The gentle one. The one who never should have been on the mission to start with.
I'm not trying to be obnoxious, just pushing a little because killing the nice one feels ... tropey? Also I've got a LOT of characters dying in vol 2 and haven't entirely figured out which ones, so I'm a bit twitchy about it. I may need to make a spreadsheet and get out the gaming dice to deal with the supporting population whose deaths or survival are not specific plot points.
I'm toying with this. Right now, she grew up on the same floor as loads of other families, and all those kids were her "cousins," but for the second draft, I'm thinking of making it more communal. Every family has its own bedrooms and living rooms, but maybe there's one big space that kids run around in that includes a common kitchen and dining hall? I like the idea of communal space but with privacy, too.
My protagonist's mom has got the itchy feet. She wants to go everywhere, but most especially space: Mars and Venus, space stations, space liners. She wants to go as far as people can go and then come back. Ironic that my protagonist immediately goes into space but it's an abduction into a paramilitary murder cult.
SC2: No particular desire to lead. Happy to follow if he likes what someone is doing. Will calmly pick up and leave if he stops liking what that person is doing.
SC3: Raised in consensus decisions-making. Doesn't believe in "leaders."
#PennedPossibilities 313: Is your MC or SC one to confess romantic feelings early on, or to conceal them for long periods of time?
I have one side character who can't pretend not to have a crush when he has it. It's written all over his face. My intention is that he's so goofy and harmless about it that it comes off as cute, but I'll need women beta readers to help me make sure that's the case, I think.
#PennedPossibilities 317 — What clothing materials or outfits feel the most comfortable to your villain?
Stuff like this. White woman who's spent decades studying various martial arts, but kalaripayattu and HEMA-style fencing form the basis of her practice.
Kala is done in pairs, so my characters need to train that way, too! Cannot believe I missed that. It's so good! What a brilliant excuse to create two-hander scenes.
#PennedPossibilities 319 - MC POV: Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like there?
"I'm Cascadian, so I grew up in an arcology. They are the best! All my cousins were around all the time, and we are together and went to school together, and everyone was from everywhere. They were floor cousins. I miss them all so much."
#PennedPossibilities 321 — Did your SC once admire their parents? Who else did they admire growing up? What about today?
She loves her parents. She loved growing up on a farm, and she's still a kid really, so she's not done growing up on a farm. But yeah, she gets all her values and sense of safety from her parents. They're good people.
#PennedPossibilities 322: What piece of advice, as an author, did you once receive but hadn’t followed? Looking back on it now, you might wish that you had.
"Read writing manuals." I haven't. I can't bring myself to do it. Maybe I should! But I know that I'd get obsessed with following the "rules," and I just don't need the joy sucked out of my writing process.
#PennedPossibilities 324 — SC POV: If you could relive one day of your life without changing anything that happened, which day would you choose?
"One day, I remember we got together with our friends from Sto:lo and had a big party. There was food and music. They showed us some of their dances, the ones outsiders are allowed to do. It was so much fun. I miss them."
#PennedPossibilities 327:How much does your MC value other ppl?Do they wish to have many friends, lovers, and/or associates?Are they an easy person to love?
She's very social;when her community is taken away,she immediately forms a new one.She can do it bc she's not a leader but is a sass-mouth with a moral compass.When she talks,it's to chew out someone for being an asshole.
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