Digital Magic - Commentary 11

Magical mishap, in Digital Magic chapter 11.

Several things come up here on re-reading the chapter.  The first is that, for all Jackie thinks Trish is her bff, there's some resentment that has shown up from time to time, a hint of jealousy.  Trish, at least from Jackie's point of view, has her life together.  Of course, since the story is written from Jackie's view, we don't get Trish's side of the story, where she is worried about her friend who spends so much of her time working on assignments and needs to be pushed at times.  The scene of Jackie and Trish in the car where Trish gets to unburden herself of what's stressing her.  Trish isn't as perfect as Jackie thinks.

I'm thinking that the video game should've been the focus of the story.  I do have an idea for the characters where Jacinda appears in the real world, one without the romantic leanings.  It's being kept on the back burner for now.  I like the idea of Jacinda rebelling against her creator, so it's something I'll play with for a bit.

Jackie is referencing "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" when she considers cleaning the apartment magically.  She's well aware that uncontrolled magic can cause problems, especially for rookies.  Naturally, when she's trying to rush, she completely forgets the lessons from TV and film.  The Honda doesn't react well to magic.  I didn't want to have technology to have an inherent resistance to magic, especially since Jackie is learning through a computer game.

The Honda is based on a car a friend in university had, a Honda Civic hatchback.  He pushed that car to the limits.  Ultimately, he slightly melted the engine.  Jackie isn't going that far with the car, magical mishap notwithstanding, but it's a car that a university student can afford.  It's not going to be in the best shape, especially under benign neglect..

What's the worst thing to do when naming characters takes an effort?  Introduce a bunch of them at once.  I use a few locations in trying to figure out names.  For minor characters, first place is the lists of popular names by year, including official sources.  I'll also hit up the Seventh Sanctum's quick character name generator and mix and match results.  When I'm aiming for a specific culture, I'll just make a quick Google search on culture and gender and grab what looks good.  Some cultures, though, have an easier approach; Slavic names are easier to find checking hockey team line ups, for example.

I tried to create chemistry between Jackie and Steve.  They even danced again.  I wasn't up to the romance aspects of the romance when I wrote Digital Magic.  I tried, but the magic element was more interesting.  I can work romance in as a subplot, but I'll let romance writers write romance.

The afternoon after the night before, in Digital Magic Chapter 12.
Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, CHiPs.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, Good Omens.