I care about people who geek out together

One of the fun things about promoting a book, that I never expected, is that people ask you about things you wrote, and it makes you stop and think. Why did I include that section in my novel? Like, people have been asking me about some of the parts where the witch, Patricia, and the mad scientist, Laurence, are having random discussions about stuff like whether it would be better to be a shapeshifter or an illusionist.

The thing is—and this is something I didn’t realize until I was asked about this a couple times—I automatically care about characters who geek out together.

Like, if you want me to invest in a relationship or a team or whatever, show me them discussing stuff. Not like “figuring out the plot” discussion, but just “which is cooler: unicorns or pegasi?” discussion. Maybe because I spend every waking minute of my life geeking out and arguing about science fiction and fantasy stories, I automatically identify with characters who enjoy geeking out and dissecting nerdy ideas. I don’t even think of it as a thing – I just get more invested and excited when characters are having a highly theoretical or nitty-gritty discussion, just because they enjoy it.

I live for that kind of stuff. Just like I love characters who are curious, in general. Characters who take things at face value or don’t think to question their surroundings, I always have a really hard time rooting for. But I immediately am on the team of characters who have a lively mind and want to know stuff. You know, geeks.