'Gender Phantoms': Your most pressing questions, answered!

Q: Will the ikea meetup still be present in the book version? (from not_leader)

A: In the process of tightening the narrative, we've relocated several story beats both in time and space, so the events that originally took place at the ikea in the serial may end up elsewhere in the book. Like a cafe, perhaps.

Q: Since we know some of the POVs from the serial will be removed from Book 1, how did you choose who to cut? (from Morgan Braymer)

A: We basically had to ask ourselves whose perspectives were actually advancing the story and who was simply padding or otherwise not contributing to the main storylines that ended up becoming the focus. (This is what happens when you end up discovering the actual story during the process of writing it.) One character, for example, was largely rehashing her internal conflict over and over in her POVs, and she did not end up adding much to the narrative that cannot be told better through a more central character's eyes.

Q: How do you structure co-writing? Shared google docs, freeform mutual yapping in voice, carrier pidgeon, etc? Also, how do you decide who writes what, and how does sharing the workload outside of the actual writing part work (like planning, outlining and working on getting Gender Phantoms published)? (from Roscoe)

A: We had one google doc and a lot of Discord conversations for the serial, and when our editor came on she took one look at it, screamed, and told us how to structure a proper planning document and prepare notes on characterization, plotlines, and pre-summaries of chapters before writing them, which is a much more structured and helpful way to approach a co-written book.

Q: I have 4 questions: a) I personally have been struggling with editing a draft for a while now so I'm curious: can you describe your methods you are using for the edit? Since your doing some major reworking, and we are going to be able to do more comparisons of the before and after works, I feel like I'll be able to use this more effectively for my own education, so I appreciate any insight. b) You're expanding the characters of Rashmi, Rupali and Tahani into more prominent characters from the jump. Can you say what it is like giving them more expanded involvement and how that's been fun to write? c) you now have, in a way, diverging canons. Not extensively, but in some ways. Moving forward, is the book fully going to be in line with the book and the scribhub going to be fully in line with the scribhub, or is one considered the primary source? d) which of the "server regulars" who isn't a principle character walking around is the most fun to write? (From Anais L)

A: a) We've summarized all the imporant events in the serial and are streamlining the extraneous/abandoned plot threads, and planning out each scene keeping in mind what its purpose in advancing the plot and characters' personal arcs is. This is to make the final product more cohesive and less scattered. b) Rashmi's arc has been a lot of fun to expand on as it's one of the weirdest paced in the serial, given that she's not even in the earliest chapters. Tahani and Rupali similarly take a long time to show up, and the process of expanding on the roles of all three of them has been focused on getting their plotlines integrated more thoroughly with the other characters. They basically have much more room to be established, grow, and develop while advancing the conflict and interacting with the othes in a way that strengthens everyone's characterization greatly. c) The book is going to be the 'primary' canon, since we can't really maintain two separate ones. All the main events in the book and serial will be the same (Discursive Combat, Drag Ball) and the minutiae like won't come up often enough to make the serialization of Book Two confusing for serial readers, but we do intend to make the reworked, polished version of the story the relevant one. 4) Bench Press Meta, though he may not remain confined to the server for very long.

Q: Since you've mentioned that you're introducing some characters sooner and showing other less, wich characters are you most excited to feature more of? Which are you going to be sorry to cut down? (Cassie Nogar)

A: We actually didn't say we'd be featuring anyone less, and we're not. That's the paradox with a tighter focus and fewer POVs: In the process of prioritizing character interactions and telling critical parts of the story through the eyes of a lower number of central POVs, we actually end up featuring everyone more. Already there's going to be more Tahani, Rupali, Rashmi, and even Laura and Emmy than there was in the serial, because instead of switching POVs to show a pair of isolated characters interacting, we'll be making the cast more interconnected and showcasing their interpersonal dynamics far more than we initially did.

Q: You've mentioned that the end of informed consent will be a bigger plot beat introduced earlier in the book. Will this play into competition server dynamics and character motivations beyond the Breaking Bad dynamic duo? (from Raven Gough Photography)

A: Making the scarcity of HRT and trans healthcare more explicit will definitely flesh out the setting much more and be very relevant to our characters, including those involved with the GSA plotline (which is MUCH more contentious in the book).

Q: You've mentioned before that the Laura POVs are being removed, will she become a POV character again in Book 2 or 3, or are we locked out of Laura's head from now on? (Ada McDiarmid)

A: We definitely intend to give people access to new character perspectives in the sequels.

Q: Any characters or plot beats you're particularly proud of? Either in the original serialisation or the ways you've adapted them for Gender Phantoms. (Emma, maybe)

A: We liked taking Nichole's arc and going from a fairly straightforward audience POV to a much more contentious and toxic relationship dynamic precipitated by a level of popularity and early-onset hotness. We're also quite happy with how much more complex and well-established Rashmi is shaping up to be in the book!