#writermagic
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CET #WriterMagic 15 what are your writing weaknesses?
I don't like any action scenes, be it hand-to-hand combat, a battle, or even a sex scene (no surprise, they got their own stunt coordinator in #filmmaking, called #IntimacyCoordinator). I have no idea to make this bustle interesting while also making it relevant to the plot.
Because of that, writing #ForYou was such an interesting challenge.
#WriterMagic 6 What is your creative process like?
I usually think about a story until it becomes concrete in my head and I have a good idea about the plot, the theme, the main characters and the ending as a destination. Then, I usually just start writing chronologically with each chapter going through the same process as the story as a whole in terms of fleshing out the plot for each chapter in depth.
#WriterMagic 13 What are your personal writing ambitions (becoming famous not included, more like self-growth ambition, things you want to get better at)
I'm not one of those, who are satisfied with primarily/only writing for themselves, though I envy them a little. I just need to get my stuff out. When I don't think, I can, I won't write a particular story. That doesn't mean that a huge amount of readers have to read it.
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#WriterMagic 10 what kind of character conflicts define your work?
I love internal conflicts! You don't get any more raw than this. And you can't run from them. There can also be interpersonal conflicts, but they are usually related to an internal conflict.
What can make interpersonal conflicts also interesting are society problems, usually systematic ones.
#WriterMagic 7 How do you name your characters?
I try to avoid naming characters after people I know. Of course, the more people you know, this is getting a little complicated. I also try not to rename characters once their names have been written down. In the rare occasions, I did this ended up with one previous name being left in one chapter and people asking "Who is Max?" I usually just go with my gut when it comes to names. I can't explain, why Chase is a Chase.
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14. what are your writing strengths?
I'd like to think strong characterization, concise details, and visceral descriptions of dark content.
15. what are your writing weaknesses?
Because I often envision my stories in a mix of prose and comic, it doesn't always translate properly into a finished product. I want to improve in effectively utilizing my medium of storytelling.
And that's a wrap!
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13. What are your personal writing ambitions?
One major goal I've had for the past year is to do more 'show not tell' and express more information through scene, and visual novels are somewhat perfect for practicing that!
Rather than paragraphs of description, I want to convey my story through character interaction to keep things entertaining.
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11. What is the role of love in your work?
See above; love acts as a source of conflict.
12. Do you tend to write more large group dynamics, smaller pair dynamics, or are your characters lonely cowboys?
Terminal Status is what helped me transition from protagonist-focused character exploration to large cast ensemble stories. I'm proud to say the latter is now my norm (though I also write a lot of duos).
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10. What kind of character conflicts define your work?
Primarily, one-sided love. Sooo many unrequited feelings, so much pining for people who are unavailable, just an absolute love polyhedron.
There's also a lot of warm, meaningful friendships, as well as casual "I guess we're together because we're in the same place" friendships. Everyone is just kinda chilling in Terminal Status; the conflicts are largely internal.
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8. What is your favorite part of the creative process?
Really hard to say, especially for Terminal Status. Working on this project has taught me to enjoy so many parts of the creative process; character design, world building, scripting (which is an entirely different type of writing than straight prose, I learned)...
But I think the bit I always enjoy most is making the initial storymap & watching full arcs develop. Sooo satisfying.
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7. How do you name characters? how do you design them?
Terminal Status runs fully on Rule of Cool; any remotely interesting medical word is a name to me. It's how this thread came into being https://gamedev.lgbt/@TerminalStatus/109426128029354264
I've spent years where seeing doctors was basically my full time job. I'd learn new terms frequently in my appointments, and words that stuck out to me would be adapted into names for my universe.
🏳️🌈 Gamedev ❤️ LGBTQIA+Terminal Status (@TerminalStatus@gamedev.lgbt)"Disfigure" is a great name for an elegant woman
Replied to ob
@swanchime Thematically, I kind of have a thesis about "you don't need to perfectly understand someone to love/appreciate/connect with them", or even that that sort of deep inside-your-head empathy can be in its own way shallow or destructive. So choosing to not tell my story that way fits along that theme. But also I'll admit it's kind of a retrofitting to my stubbornness about writing in the (b) way (which I feel is most fashionable at the moment)
Also there's your answer to #WriterMagic 5 too!
#writermagic character questionnaire edition! answer in any order
1. most secret, intimate wish
2. greatest regret
3. how they perceive themselves
4. how others perceive them
5. how they define love
6. how they can (or cannot) accept love
7. greatest source of emotional strife
8. greatest source of emotional joy
9. the greatest horror that has happened to them
10. the best thing that has happened to them
11. the person they are "happy to have met in this lifetime"
12. the person they would press a button to instantly kill if they were forced to eliminate one person from the world
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6. What is your creative process like?
>be me
>Write giant bullet point outline
>Oh shit half my bullet points are paragraphs
>I'm basically writing the book at this point
>Misc writing inspiration ends up in at least 3-5 separate phone notes
>I slot them into the outline like puzzle pieces
>The rest says "figure this part out when you get here" (usually the middle of the story)
>Sometimes I figure out those sections by the time I get to them. Sometimes I curse past-me instead.
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6+
(Of course, usually the early middle & very end of my projects are loose suggestions and notes of "figure it out when you get there." But that's a problem for future me.)
When I get stuck, I tend to turn to songwriting for inspiration. Through exploring my characters through lyrics, I often focus in on the themes I'm looking for and hit new inspiration.
Music has always been an important part of my work on Terminal Status.