#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 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.
#WritersCoffeeClub Sept 2: On a scale of plotter to pantser, what are you?
Fwiw, I Ike GRRM's metaphor better: architects and gardeners. Anyway, I start with a concept and then let myself discover as I go. Once/if I find something interesting, I write down outlines and character sketches, but they're mostly a record of what I found than they are a plan that I intend to follow. Basically, I plan to wander.
#WritersCoffeeClub September 6. Easter Eggs in your work? Give some examples?
My novella is set in Ancient Greece, so everyone has a symbolic name that fits their personality: bitter, clever, vengeful, angry, etc.
My work in progress (novel) has one or two local references to Vancouver, which I love doing, and it's one extended Star Wars riff, so there are bits here and there that resonate.
A long time ago in a now lost hamlet nestled amongst the rolling green hills of a long forgotten county, there lived an old woman named Matilda. She was known for her eccentricities, so no one was surprised at her continual wanderings and fascination with a certain hill. Although on common land she claimed it as her own, declaring it a sanctuary where she could find solace and respite from the chaos of the world.
On the crown of that hill, standing tall and proud, was a solitary cherry tree. It was a young sapling when Matilda first discovered it as a child, and she was instantly captivated by its delicate beauty. Over the years, underneath its branches, she would often find shade and tranquility, spending hours immersed in her thoughts or drifting off into peaceful slumber.
One day, while basking in the warmth of the sun, Matilda dozed off under the cherry tree's loving embrace and she dreamed of the tree's cycles throughout the seasons. In her dreams, she saw the cherry blossoms unfurling their delicate petals in the vibrant spring. She tasted the sweet, dark cherries that ripened under the summer sun, feeling their juice trickle down her chin. She savoured the long cooling afternoons of autumn, when the leaves painted the landscape in fiery hues. She saw the serenity of being wrapped in a pristine blanket of snow in the depths of winter.
So deep was her sleep that hours turned into days, days into weeks and weeks into years. The tree grew around Matilda, encircling her with its protective branches and sturdy trunk. She became intertwined with the tree's essence, blending her existence with its very soul. Eventually, she forgot she was a person, lost in the dreams and memories that flowed through her veins like sap.