May Day! May Day!

I’m floundering, here. I know April has thirty days. So thinking the first Wednesday in May was next week was a total brain fart. My apologies for the late posting and the brevity of this issue. Coffee has yet to properly do its job.

A member sent me a question and suggested I ask it of either Cia or Mann Ramblings. Not one to waste an opportunity, I approached both.

@Cia

You are an artist in many forms, be it the written word, photography, sculpting, painting, etc. Does your art of writing influence your art of other mediums? Or vice versa?

Yes, it does, actually. Photography/digital art and writing are both creative outlets for me. I often pair them, using art for scene inspiration or published works. I love to take photos of the beautiful locale I live in, but hot gay men draped over each other are seriously lacking in my real life, lol. 

In all seriousness, the saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm always striving to find the ideal angle to capture a beautiful shot or the most expressive language to share a scene. Whether what I see is in front of me or in my mind, the goal is to use the most visceral, the most real, language or viewpoint to paint a picture that pulls others in and enables them to feel. Photography isn't easy, but writing is even harder. If I do that just once with one reader in a whole story, I'm ecstatic. 

@Mann Ramblings

You are an artist in many forms, be it the written word, photography, sculpting, painting, etc. Does your art of writing influence your art of other mediums? Or vice versa?

The answer is kind of yes and no at the same time. While I've drawn character sketches of my cast (some have ended up in GA's gallery) I don't make fanart of my work per se. I have a fascination with Victorian imagery which I will incorporate into ceramic design or decorate pieces with steampunk themes, but I don't make them to go along with my ongoing stories. For example, I don't make mugs with quotes from my stories on them, no matter how cool they might be. (The context would be lost for most of my customers.)  

There's no way to say my different media don't cross-influence one another. I think it's less of a conscious decision and more of directing one another into color pallets, literary genres, and visual elements. Sometimes I make pottery with book/library graphics on them, so it's all connected, I think. 

@Thorn Wilde is a long-time member who’s also a musician. I felt they would fit well into this crowd of authors.

In much of your recent work, including stories, poetry and blog posts, you champion the importance of (and struggles with) transgender/non-binary inclusion. This is a subject not discussed a whole lot on GA. What are the biggest challenges you see in writing about this subject? What are the biggest rewards? 

Oh, that's a great question! 

I guess the biggest challenge is approaching it in a way that people understand. There are a lot of readers, especially older readers, who don't really have a concept of what transgender means, let alone non-binary or genderqueer. There's a lot of misrepresentation, inaccuracy and simplification when the media presents trans identities, a lot of sensationalism and so on. Which is, of course, why I think it's so important to write about it in the first place, to try and get around the stereotypes and the misunderstandings. I kind of see it as my duty to educate, because someone has to, and that requires a certain amount of patience, which can be very challenging in and of itself. I muddle through, though. 

The reward is when a reader says, this is something I never thought about but I get it now. Knowing that I reached someone who would otherwise not have thought about the issue much feels really good. Then I feel like I've accomplished something important, and it gives me a reason to go on doing what I'm doing. And, on a more personal level, perhaps people understand me better as a result, too. And maybe, just maybe, by talking about it and putting it out there, it may help someone else come to terms with their own gender identity. It took me a long time to understand how and why I feel the way I feel, and I did so largely because other people talked about it and gave me the language to put my own feelings into words. If I can pay it forward and help someone else do the same, then that's the greatest reward I can think of.

@Wayne Gray, in contrast, is one of our newest members. His first story garnered a large response and earned him instant fans. Y’all keep sending in questions for him so we can get to know him better. Okay?

As a newbie to GA, you've already made a big impression with Guarded and your latest piece, Silverwolf. You write characters who are very believable/relatable but also have unique, and sometimes quirky, characteristics, which is one of the draws to your stories. What is your creative process for developing your characters and bringing them to life?

First, I'm flattered that anyone would want to know about my process.  Thanks for that!

For characterization, I start with a blueprint based on someone I've met.  I amplify certain traits, mute others to turn my character into someone new.  I've found starting with a real person gives me inborn attributes with which to work.  Karen in the coffee shop in Guarded is one of those quirky characters.  She's wildly goodnatured, bubbly, and has an infectious joy about her.  I had a lot of readers "warn" me not to hurt her during the process of Guarded's plot.  I consider that a successful character.

There's more to it than starting with that base model.  Before I begin anything at all I think about the "roles" in the story I want to tell.  Protagonists, antagonists, side players, red herrings, flavor only, allies - these are all categories make it onto my character tracking sheet.  If you're really interested in that, then I'll link it so you can see it. BEWARE: There are spoilers on the sheet!  Don't click it if you actually want to be surprised by the twists and turns of Guarded.

Guarded Character and Resource Sheet 

Thanks again for your interest.  I look forward to posting many more stories on GA. 

That’s it for this month. I promise to start working on the next issue today, but you can help ensure it’s a good one. Send me your questions!