It took a little getting used to and some in-depth interviews with my three-year-old nephew (Did you know happiness is made of grandma and pancakes?), but I finally managed to write Freya as a two-year-old, including a train of thought that matches her age.
I'm comfortable with it, but it certainly is not easy. I like child characters to have personalities, but I also dislike it when they're portrayed as adults.
#wordweavers 30/5: Are you comfortable writing from the POV of a child? Written any?
I haven’t published anything with POV younger than about 19, but I have unpublished work that takes in considerably younger characters. One who is about ten, for example. It doesn’t feel too hard. I used to be ten, after all.
The risk, I think, is making the character too ‘childish’, not too grown up. #writingCommunity#ThreeKindsofNorth#TheSunderingWall#VowsAndWatersheds#writing#books
#WordWeavers How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?
So, yeah, I just did a search of the novel to see if Etoile encounters a spider. Rat, mouse, roach, lizard, and a dead Napoleon House waiter—yes. Spider, no. How, you wonder, could I forget if it had spiders in it? Because it's a chaotic burst of a book that I unrolled in a fever-dream. Etoile, caught in this net, wouldn't pause over a spider, unless it was crawling across her cheekbone. That would get her attention.
#WordWeavers 29 How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?
Jumhaeg would analysis the spider to see if it was in his genetic repository for arachnids before deciding whether or not to absorb it for later replication.
Erebus would gently capture the wayward spider and return it to the outdoors because their home doesn't have good prey options.
Damian, who is terrified of creepy crawlies would kill it; keeping knowledge of the deed a secret otherwise Erebus would be sad.
#WordWeavers: How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?
Marissa’s cat would likely find and end it before she found it. But if she did find it, she’d safely relocate it outdoors.
Dante would likely squish it, unless it was a wolf spider, lol.
Caylor, a ghost, would wait until he had a day with lots of strength and the briefly become physical and relocate it outside. He wants a clean house, but he’s not quick to kill.
#WordWeavers#Writing 29 How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?
Our Hero don't like spiders and will kill them on sight. Quickly. He doesn't fear them, either, so he'll do it with his bare hands, no matter the species, using a finger if it's a small one, or his fist, if it's something like a tarantula. Scorpions are the exception. With those he'll use either the energy sword, or throwing any heavy object at hand at the "bug". Like Laura. And yes, he did that once…>=)
For Riparia Dellbane, more than any other protagonist I’ve ever written, this is quite simple.
Step 1: Frantic, she runs in blind panic for an unknown distance while beating at real & imaginary spiders she’s certain are on her until dropping from exhaustion.
Step 2: Her sympathetic horse brings her arachnophobic self home.
Step 3: Doppla then restrains her to keep her from burning the house to the ground.
#wordweavers May 29: How would your MC handle finding a spider in their home?
Katja wouldn't bat an eye and get rid of it. She's traveled to Jerusalem and back, mostly on foot, so a spider doesn't scare her (unlike the arachnophobic author 😅)
It’s time for the June #WordWeavers questions!
Written by @AlinaLeonova & I, you’ll find the questions pinned to our profiles. All writers are welcome to join in.
Participate with a WIP or an already published book.
As always, play the days you want, skip the others. Please use CW as necessary. Looking forward to seeing your answers, finding great books, & meeting new friends.
Here we go! #amwriting#writing#authors
#wordweavers 28 Did your MCs have comfort objects they carried as a child?
For Freya's sixth birthday, her brother Lazarus wrote her a story about climbing the highest tree in the world and plucking a few stars from the sky while he was up there. He told her he stuck some of those stars in a peach pit so they could have a nap and gave it to her.
"If you're really quiet, you can hear the little star snore."
She believed him, and on a bad day, she can still hear it snore.
#wordweavers May 28 — Did your MCs have comfort objects they carried as a child? Now?
In my currently work in progress, which is Kindle Vella Serial (titled WARSONG,) most people are found to carry what they are called Lightphones, which serve both as cellular phones and identification devices. It's main character, Harper, is one of her country's most recognized popstars. Her constant travel makes me think that she probably wouldn't carry anything.
#WordWeavers 27 May: What would your ideal writing group be like?
I'll be honest, because my subject matter is steamy, I wouldn't be comfortable sharing it with a writing group.
I've been in a lot of writing groups over the years and they all worked differently. To be honest, as I and my friends have got older, we rarely have the time to do each other's work justice and enjoy the experience.
The ME/CFS unsurprisingly, also interferes. I can't go out and Zoom calls are overstimulating>
#wordweavers May 27: What would your ideal writing group be like?
Kind, dedicated creatives who are not only interested in showing off their own work, who are willing to help and support, and who do not see each other as competition.
Yeah, I'm an idealist. But I've met quite a few people here who fit this picture, tbh.
#WordWeavers 5/27. What would your ideal writing group be like?
This one is tricky, if only because I've had both good and bad experiences with "writing groups," either because they eventually fall apart due to admin issues or because their memberships just evaporated overtime.
In the past few years, I've tried to cultivate a group of like-minded people on my feeds, and interact with them primarily through those avenues.
#WordWeavers 5.25 — How often do your characters think of death?
In my current WIP (which is my Kindle Vella serial WARSONG,) my main character thinks of death constantly, especially as she and her best friend are drafted into a war.
There's some other trauma-associated stuff in the book, but the first answer is more suitable, I think.
#WordWeavers 24-05-25 How often do your characters think of death?
Not often really. It's a part of nature so Parthia and Pintac pay due respects to that part of the cycle, but don't/didn't have any extensive thoughts or concerns about it on the regular.
That isn't to say unexpected deaths aren't stressful. 😔
#wordweavers May 26. What childhood similarities do your MC and antagonist share?
Again, the disclaimer thar the roles of antagonists are fluid. But if we take Rainald: Both he and Katja are the children of wealthy merchants, and both are forced to marry according to their guardians' wishes.
More than they should but no as much as they should. All of Our Hero's team are legally dead, and all of them in fact died and were revived with the medical regenerator. They don't think much about their own death because they know 2 things:
They can be revived
They KNOW there's no afterlife
But they do think about other people's death. With joy if it's their targets, and with sadness if it's about everyone else's…
#WordWeavers#Writing 24 While drafting, do you avoid or binge watch similar material?
I don't deny myself the pleasure of watching/bingeing media of any kind when I'm writing. Not that there's many similar things to my writings. I always can stea…get inspired by those creations. Right now I'm re-watching the first seasons of Chicago Fire, an excellent source of ideas for making the characters experience unnecessary pain and suffering…=)