#WordWeavers 2025.11.19 — Are there any emotions that are hard for you to write?
I write in first person. There is a distinction between emotions I will write and those toxic things I won't write—and subject the reader to a cesspool.
Of those emotions I will write, perhaps jealousy is the hardest.
Terms
Jealousy is the emotion (anger or resentment) felt or directed outward when the ownership of a resource you think you own is questioned.
Envy is, by contrast, the same emotion elicited by a resource owned by another.
Jealousy, famously, equates the owned resource to a human being. The projected anger, and subsequent fear of that anger, serves to frighten the subject of the emotion into submission, making them chattel.
When jealousy is directed at a loved one, it worsens the feeling between partners. It does nothing to work through the perceived problem. To …
#WordWeavers 2025.11.19 — Are there any emotions that are hard for you to write?
I write in first person. There is a distinction between emotions I will write and those toxic things I won't write—and subject the reader to a cesspool.
Of those emotions I will write, perhaps jealousy is the hardest.
Terms
Jealousy is the emotion (anger or resentment) felt or directed outward when the ownership of a resource you think you own is questioned.
Envy is, by contrast, the same emotion elicited by a resource owned by another.
Jealousy, famously, equates the owned resource to a human being. The projected anger, and subsequent fear of that anger, serves to frighten the subject of the emotion into submission, making them chattel.
When jealousy is directed at a loved one, it worsens the feeling between partners. It does nothing to work through the perceived problem. To the extent that the partners see being jealous as displaying their love—and certainly you've met at least one couple who does this—it irritates the living heck out of me. I'd dump a jealous partner like a hot piece of iron, and my spouse and I have helped friends out of abusive jealous relationships, once just a few months ago.
I can't empathize with the emotion, which makes writing a character experiencing it 1st person problematic. It's not that I haven't felt it, but what little pangs of jealousy I've felt, I've logicked away by reflex–or actually worked on my problem. As a result, any jealous character I'd write would come off as stereotypical and hackneyed. Frankly, I've better things to write.
#WordWeavers 2025.11.18 — What do your MC and SC disagree on?
Lots of SCs, lots of situations (it's a novel), but I'll pick this situation:
The MC (Bolt) tries to be invisible because she's forced to work for the mob, but street photography is her hobby. Through chance and coincidence, to her chagrin, she's discovered. Her work is on the level of Henri Cartier-Bresson. She'd rather crawl back under her rock where it's safe for her. Safer for anyone who knows her.
The SC's:
Shugh is a reporter and he convinced her to share pictures of a dramatic event he found her at, which made the front page on three editions. He wants to team up with her for interviews and to take news photos. Bolt's response: Yikes!
Night on Fire is a photo editor on their version of The New Yorker and she sees a …
#WordWeavers 2025.11.18 — What do your MC and SC disagree on?
Lots of SCs, lots of situations (it's a novel), but I'll pick this situation:
The MC (Bolt) tries to be invisible because she's forced to work for the mob, but street photography is her hobby. Through chance and coincidence, to her chagrin, she's discovered. Her work is on the level of Henri Cartier-Bresson. She'd rather crawl back under her rock where it's safe for her. Safer for anyone who knows her.
The SC's:
Shugh is a reporter and he convinced her to share pictures of a dramatic event he found her at, which made the front page on three editions. He wants to team up with her for interviews and to take news photos. Bolt's response: Yikes!
Night on Fire is a photo editor on their version of The New Yorker and she sees a successful future for them both, already buying earlier photos. Looking at some of these, she proposes a beefcake calendar to someone else. Bolt's response: Yikes!
Blue is a guy she pals around with occasionally and, well, you know. He sees a photo taken of him at the event Shugh met her that Blue was policing. It makes him look masculine, handsome (okay gorgeous and hunky), and super attractive in his praetorian uniform, what little he's wearing. He likes the calendar idea. Bolt's response: Yikes!
Director Rain Days sort of an antagonist, but not in this part of the story arc. It's her praetorian the MC took a photo of. It was to her that Night on Fire proposed the calendar. Think of the project as a hot fireman calendar photoshoot if that works better for you. The Director likes the idea, a lot, thinking it helps with PR—and she wants a copy. She insists that Bolt take a picture of her, too. Bolt's response: Yikes!
Start with Chapter One: War Is in the Air and continue the story as a free web serial. More chapters are available on Wattpad, with early access on Patreon. A free tier for older chapters is coming soon.
The people in my current work are all very human, but like belief and concepts like the supernatural, things like discrimination based on something as fuzzy as race or skin color would be nonsensical to them. That doesn't mean discrimination and prejudice don't exist. They are human, as I said. These evils split down other lines. I do have a lot of fun playing with the reader's preconceptions around skin color though. Thorn Rose† is black as tar and Streak is chalk white (literally), and are lovers, but when colors like blue and green are common, also, it does scramble one's preconceptions! This is what we call allegory.
======= † Should I mention that Thorn is a daemon and Streak is a day angel?
The people in my current work are all very human, but like belief and concepts like the supernatural, things like discrimination based on something as fuzzy as race or skin color would be nonsensical to them. That doesn't mean discrimination and prejudice don't exist. They are human, as I said. These evils split down other lines. I do have a lot of fun playing with the reader's preconceptions around skin color though. Thorn Rose† is black as tar and Streak is chalk white (literally), and are lovers, but when colors like blue and green are common, also, it does scramble one's preconceptions! This is what we call allegory.
======= † Should I mention that Thorn is a daemon and Streak is a day angel?
„I didn’t know how non-neurotypical I was until Murderbot. „Martha Wells talks to Sophie Bushwick about how she came up with the idea for the series, how it was originally intended just to be a short story, and how writing about how Murderbot processes emotions led to a revelation of her own.“ video with 22 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ0wIHRXq0Y
#WordWeavers 2025.11.17 — How athletic are your characters?
The simple answer is as athletic as they need be. They range from couch potatoes to athletes in the current story, and the reluctance series. Since athleticism has become important in my own life, synergistically with developing my stories, I like to include it.
Bolt, in the current story, was a "high school" athlete and Coach's favorite headache because she was a typical vain jock, getting into trouble and pursing the opposite sex. She's a day angel, so she excelled in flying fast and air gymnastics (often with boys). Fast forward to her current life, she still trains her wings for strength, endurance, and flexiblity and flies wicked fast (she's a courier for the mob). Since she uses her gymnastic athleticism when interacting with the opposite sex, she even trains the men in her life. In one such case, …
#WordWeavers 2025.11.17 — How athletic are your characters?
The simple answer is as athletic as they need be. They range from couch potatoes to athletes in the current story, and the reluctance series. Since athleticism has become important in my own life, synergistically with developing my stories, I like to include it.
Bolt, in the current story, was a "high school" athlete and Coach's favorite headache because she was a typical vain jock, getting into trouble and pursing the opposite sex. She's a day angel, so she excelled in flying fast and air gymnastics (often with boys). Fast forward to her current life, she still trains her wings for strength, endurance, and flexiblity and flies wicked fast (she's a courier for the mob). Since she uses her gymnastic athleticism when interacting with the opposite sex, she even trains the men in her life. In one such case, her training lets him land an elite job in what could loosely be called the military. Flying and keeping all her friends in shape is important to her, perhaps (though she wouldn't analyze it that way) the most important thing in her life.
#WordWeavers 2025.11.16 — If your antagonist(s) magically appeared in your home, would you two get along?
Boss Mead? The crime boss can distort reality to conform to his will using only his words in the manner that Trump does and is plenty more erudite. I'm running.
Pigeon the Pilfer? A punk gangster with really bad BO appears in your living room. What do you do?
Rainy Days? She's very nice (despite looking rather strange). Most everyone would accepting having tea with her and sitting down for conversation. Most people would get along famously with her if she were interested in knowing them. However, since I know her, and though she's the most reasonable, interesting, and funny person you might ever meet, she's an absolute ruler. You DO NOT want to get mixed up with one of those. "I've got an appointment, bye!"
[Author retains copyright …
#WordWeavers 2025.11.16 — If your antagonist(s) magically appeared in your home, would you two get along?
Boss Mead? The crime boss can distort reality to conform to his will using only his words in the manner that Trump does and is plenty more erudite. I'm running.
Pigeon the Pilfer? A punk gangster with really bad BO appears in your living room. What do you do?
Rainy Days? She's very nice (despite looking rather strange). Most everyone would accepting having tea with her and sitting down for conversation. Most people would get along famously with her if she were interested in knowing them. However, since I know her, and though she's the most reasonable, interesting, and funny person you might ever meet, she's an absolute ruler. You DO NOT want to get mixed up with one of those. "I've got an appointment, bye!"
#ScribesAndMakers 2025.11.14 — If you could hang one of your pictures anywhere in the world, where would you hang it?
While I do think my fine art photography is rather unique and a noteworthy, I've never had the ego nor the confidence to even imagine it being in a museum or on public display. I've done candid ambient light candid wedding and children's party photography, and I do hope some of it is treasured.
My writing, however… I am hoping some of it might list for the Otherwise Award.
#ScribesAndMakers 2025.11.14 — If you could hang one of your pictures anywhere in the world, where would you hang it?
While I do think my fine art photography is rather unique and a noteworthy, I've never had the ego nor the confidence to even imagine it being in a museum or on public display. I've done candid ambient light candid wedding and children's party photography, and I do hope some of it is treasured.
My writing, however… I am hoping some of it might list for the Otherwise Award.
