I need to do an entire post about story playlists sometime! Music helps me brainstorm when I have writer’s block, and my N&S playlists are helping keep my imagination going right now when college is borrowing so much of my writing time. Since I posted My Characters’ Aesthetics in Song Lyrics for Adin (who was named Alin at the time), I’ve come up with so many more lyrics that fit him! I’ll probably do another post about Adin sometime.

Anyway, this post is about Star, who is a small goblin prone to snarky comments at inopportune moments. Part of my inspiration for this character came from Rocket the Raccoon in Guadians of the Galaxy, so seeing Rocket’s character arc this year in Infinity War and Endgame was really special for me. #nerd

I love this personality type a lot! I’m not always particularly nice to Star, but he has been a champ.

“Living like lions but trapped in a cage. . . with the blood of a king and the heart of a slave” – Run Wild by for KING & COUNTRY

“I was choking in the crowd/Building my rain up in the cloud/Falling like ashes to the ground/Hoping my feelings, they would drown” – Believer by Imagine Dragons

“They’re trying to take me and make me like them/No, I won’t go ’cause I know how that ends” – System Victim by Matthew Parker

“As a child you would wait/And watch from far away/But you always knew that you’d be the one/To work while they all played” – Warriors by Imagine Dragons

“My mind is a home I’m trapped in/And it’s lonely inside this mansion” – Mansion by NF

“Why won’t you speak/Where I happen to be/Silent in the trees/Standing cowardly” – Trees by Twenty One Pilots

“show me where my armor ends/show me where my skin begins” – Pluto by Sleeping At Last

“Your eyes, they shine so bright/I want to save their light/I can’t escape this now/Unless you show me how” – Demons by Imagine Dragons

“show me how to lay my sword down/for long enough to let you through” – Eight by Sleeping At Last

“Do you dream of a home you never had?/An innocence that you cannot get back?/The pain is real, you can’t erase it/Sooner or later you’ll have to face it down” -Loved by JJ Heller

A writer-friend sent me a link to this post a while ago, thinking I’d enjoy reading it. I liked the idea enough to give it a shot with my N&S characters.

It’s pretty simple: a list of song lyrics that remind a writer of a character they’re writing. Fair warning, putting these posts together is way too much fun! All you writers out there should try it. . .

The blogger I linked to above included three characters in one post, but when my list of song lyrics started to get long (as we all know my posts have a tendency of doing), I decided to feature my characters one post at a time. It seemed fitting to start with my main character, Alin.

“Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes/But it’s the only thing that I know” – Photograph by Ed Sheeran

“Together we touch the sky/Wherever we go we fly/Forever we know adventure’s in the air tonight” – Adventure by Matthew Parker

“We heard a voice proclaim: ‘lay your weapons down!/They’re calling off the war/On account of losing track/Of what we’re fighting for.’/So we found our way back home/Let our cuts and bruises heal/While a brand-new war began/One that no one else could feel.” -Mars by Sleeping At Last

“Stand face to face with the younger me/All of the mistakes/All of the heartbreak/Here’s what I’d do differently/I’d love like I’m not scared/Give when it’s not fair/Live life for another” -Fix My Eyes by for KING & COUNTRY

“Back when my mama used to hold me/I wish somebody woulda’ told me/If you want love, you gon’ have to go through the pain/If you want love, you gon’ have to learn how to change/If you want trust, you gon’ have to give some away” – If You Want Love by NF

Bonus – here’s some story:

“Alin could feel everything―every inch of damp soil, every piece of mossy wood, every stick pressed into the mud―through the worn leather of his boots.  The leaves around him were smearing dew onto his bare arms with wet, feathery fingers. And morning was coming, so he could feel the first promise of warmth on his face and his shoulders.

The wet, chilly winter had left the forest, leaving spring to do her work.  And that meant Alin Selvan-Tradson was off the training field, and into the forest. . .”

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’ve probably heard me talk about “Nieo & Star”, the high fantasy story I’m currently writing. If you’ve read my blog very recently, you’ve also heard me whine about the ACT. These two things (this story and this test) were two very big parts of my life last year. I left the ACT in 2018, but “Nieo & Star” came with me.

Part of my preparations last summer for the ACT was taking College Algebra at our local community college. As I was finishing up my junior year of high school last spring, I was not exactly thrilled by the idea of doing math all summer, but since May was going to be my only month off, I (thankfully) had the sense to make the most of it. I decided I would try to write 300 words in “N&S” every day. 300 words-per-day eventually turned into 500 words-per-day, which I managed every day all month, almost without fail.

Combining what I wrote before last May, during last May, the following summer, and the following school year, I ended up with a meaty start to my novel, 60 pages long and over 30,000 words. My words-a-day count was a roller coaster (usually on the lower side, but my record is 1600 in one day), and I took a lot of breaks to figure things out. I had out-written most of my prior plotting and world-building that May, so things were slowing down.

During one such break I did some rereading, and began to realize that this 60-page, 30,000-word year’s worth of story wasn’t really what I wanted my novel to look like: I hadn’t known Alin, AEmilia, Nieo, and Star very well, and some of them had been acting out of character. I also hadn’t known my elves’ culture very well, and now that I understood it better myself, my characters (Alin in particular) had been doing things that were awfully culturally inappropriate.

Overall, I was very excited about how my story was developing, but I didn’t like what I had on paper. The idea of rewriting was not a very painful one, because of that, but I was worried about time. Should I charge ahead into my main conflict, or spend time resetting the stage? In the end, I decided to reset. I needed a better foundation to work off of.

So on December 10th last year I opened a new word document, which I called “Nieo & Star (second 1st draft)“. I already have 6 pages, and they make me happy.

So was that over a year and lot of work wasted? 30,000 words down the drain? I say, no.  Not at all! I’m in the process of rereading those 60 pages and finding what I still want to use. I also think that writing all those out-of-character interactions helped me understand my characters better. I think every word that hits paper makes the writer better at writing.

I would have told you in the past that I wrote stories for the finished product. And while the finished product is important and I still desperately want to someday get published, what I learned last May was how much joy there is in the process.

I am a writer. Because I write. And I love writing.

So I’m not upset that I’m rewriting the beginning of my story. Nor am I upset that I think I’ll probably rewrite the beginning again when I edit “Nieo & Star”. Because I’m a writer, and writing is what I do.

That disturbing moment, that happens while you’re comparing all your characters (from the story you’re currently writing) to your acquaintances, finding a real person that matches each one’s personality, to help you write them more realistically–that disturbing moment when you realize that your big, power-hungry, super evil villainess is. . . you.

I mean, we all knew writers could be cruel, but really?

#awkward #writerproblems #nieo&star

I make horrible decisions pretty often.  But once in a while I make decisions like deciding to incorporate tea into Nieo and Star’s story world–that was a good decision.  You have to describe tastes, so I can now randomly make myself my favorite kinds of tea and call it story research.  Clever, I know. 😉

Happy Wednesday!!

I think one of the perpetual questions a writer asks is will anyone really want to read this?  I often find myself wondering if anyone else cares even a bit about the things I write about.  I have yet to find some perfect way to know what the world (or even my corner of it) wants to read, so I fall back on writing to myself–I like reading this kind of thing and I’ll trust that others do too.

So we have this post.

I love reading about other writers’ writing processes, so I’m going to take a little long post to talk about my writing desk.

When I finished writing Catania’s Forest close to this time last year, I was left with the inevitable question of what to write next.  The stories come and go so fast!

There was a quaint little story I had left lying around half-written called Blue Eyes Eastward.  I picked it up again and decided to finish writing it before anything else.  I got a new story idea partway through (Anchored, my pirate story) and started plotting it, but Blue Eyes was still a priority.

Well, then I had a setback, that started when I realized my villainess was sadly shallow.  In the end I realized I didn’t like the themes of my story at all, I was doing things I had seen other authors do and hated, and I needed to consider dropping it.  So that story died–I killed it.  And man! was that hard.  When I look back on it, I don’t feel much for that story, but at the time it was a very hard decision to make.  As Anchored was still deciding what it wanted to be and how many characters would live through it, I was not ready to start writing it (still not!).  So there was a lull.

And into that lull came “Nieo and Star”, the story I’m currently writing.  And guys, I love this story so much!  There literally aren’t humans in this story, it’s straight fantasy creatures, and my imagination is. in. heaven.  While Cat’s Forest was certainly fantasy, I was very focused on making it feel real and it’s darker than what I usually write (I know that some of you will find it amusing that I call Cat’s Forest dark, but it’s dark for me!).  And so as Anchored isn’t typical fantasy and all the important characters are human, and I’ve been toying around with some sci-fi lately, this story is just perfectly timed!  It feels so, so good to get back to good ol’ classic Medieval fantasy and remember why it’s my favorite genre.

But, of course, it isn’t all peaches and rainbows through and through.  While this has been a pretty peaceful stage in my writing with minimal writer’s block, it’s also lead me to think about being a writer more than usual.  This story feels unique.  It’s also very, very me.  It’s been a long time since I wrote something so fresh off my imagination.  It’s hard to put into words, but this story feels personal.  Which means it’s more fun to write, but it’s really scary!  I feel like I’m slicing a piece off my heart and pasting it to a page.

And hence: the inevitable question.  Does anyone want this stuff besides me?

And I don’t really have an answer.  Would people like Nieo and Star?  Would anyone read it?  I don’t know.  But I’m writing it anyway, and I’m writing it the way my imagination wants it, in hopes that someone else is like me, and someone else likes to read such things.

Anyway, I hope this post didn’t feel too down-in-the-dumps and someone found it interesting.  If anything, it was interesting to write!  Happy Monday!!

Writing “Nieo and Star” while listening to the soundtrack to “Moana”. . .  A good day in my book.  #summerbreak #ilovebeingawriter

I know I’ve been gone a lot, but I’m hoping to be around here more in the near future!

Happy Friday!! 😉

Ugh, it’s been way too long!  Anyway, I’m back now, with a new story idea in tow.

This random plot bunny showed up a little while ago, and I liked it but didn’t give it much attention.  Very recently though, it started to take over more and more of my thought-life, until it finally just straight-up asked to be written–right now.  I tried to explain I had too much going on and it wasn’t fair to the older story ideas if I didn’t write them first, but to no avail.  If you haven’t yet realized, I frequently argue with plot bunnies, yet never win.  All that to say, the story won as usual, and I started writing the first draft yesterday.  Still not sure where it’s going, but I’m still super hyped about it right now and I decided to do The Describe Tag again with five of my new characters!

(I changed the order of the questions and left the last one out, because I’m just having fun here and making my own rules. 🙂 )

1. Alin

Is the character the main character of the book it’s in? Yes!

Is the character magical? I don’t think so. . . ?

What is your character? Human or other? Other.  In fact, there isn’t (as of yet!) a single human to make an appearance in this story.

(And because you probably want to know, Alin is an elf.)

(Yes, I am obsessed.  End of story.)

Good or bad? For some reason, this question always throws me off!  Maybe because I end up redeeming so many of my bad guys and I try so hard to make all my characters realistically flawed?  I don’t know.  To stay on topic, I’d call Alin good.

What hair color (if applicable) does the character have? Blonde.  Because for some reason I’m really “in” to blonde elves??  I do often relate to elves, and I’m blonde, so maybe I just subconsciously portray all elves as me?  I really have no idea.

Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.? Hm.  Pretty quiet and reserved before he gets to know people er, creatures really well.  Very determined.  A bit impulsive, quick to act.  A deep feeler, but quiet about it.

 

2. Nieo

Is the character the main character of the book it’s in? No.  But he might be my favorite. . . *insert guilty smile*  What?  Authors pick favorites?  Yep, totally.

Is the character magical? Not. . . as of yet?  As you can see, I don’t have my world-building figured out yet.

What is your character? Human or other? Nieo is a troll, but since my trolls aren’t typical trolls, I guess that’s not super helpful. . .

Good or bad? Good.  Like I said, potential favorite.

What hair color (if applicable) does the character have? Inapplicable.

Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.? Very reserved, very quiet, but very strong and opinionated.

 

3. Star

Is the character the main character of the book it’s in? Nope.

Is the character magical? No.  (As far as this poor, uninformed author can tell!)

What is your character? Human or other? A goblin.  But once again, not a typical goblin, so that’s not an altogether appropriate title, though I don’t know what else to call him.

Good or bad? Good.

What hair color (if applicable) does the character have? Brown.

Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.? Uh. . . Star is hard to categorize.  He’s energetic, but pretty laid-back and forgiving.  He’s cautious, very sarcastic, squirrelly (in every sense of the word), and pretty emotional.

 

4. AEmilia

Is the character the main character of the book it’s in? The story began by following Alin, but I’m pretty sure some of it will be from AEmilia’s perspective as well.

Is the character magical? Potentially.  Even probably.  I could see her being “magical” like Luthien was in The Silmarillion (subtle magic connected to her voice and–when she wants it–her hair).  I think I want to give AEmilia healing powers.

What is your character? Human or other? Another elf.

Good or bad? She doesn’t always move the story in a positive direction, but I’d call her good.

What hair color (if applicable) does the character have? Also blonde. *cough cough*

Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.? Hm.  She isn’t reserved, she’s very open and blatant about her opinions, though she usually tries to be respectful of others’ beliefs.  She likes to think things through, but once she makes a decision, there’s no turning back!  AEmilia goes all in, and she’s very loyal.

 

5. Kaen

Is the character the main character of the book it’s in? No.

Is the character magical? This story world is very open to magic, so I’m really enjoying experimenting with it, as you might have noticed!  The plotline would work perfectly well with Kaen only using his wit and physical skill, but I think he’ll use some simple magic as well.

What is your character? Human or other? ‘Nother elf.

Good or bad? Once again, kinda grey area here.  But unlike AEmilia, he doesn’t really have a decisive ending and character arc, as he’s not a main character.

What hair color (if applicable) does the character have? Blonde again, but dark blonde, slightly red.

Is the character mean, loud, quiet, reserved, etc.? I wouldn’t call him reserved–he’s friendly and very outgoing–but I wouldn’t exactly call him loud.  Kaen is very sympathetic, and very loyal–loyal to a fault, maybe.

 

And there’s that.  Yes, they’re all pretty much good–my bad guys are boring, so I never talk about them. 😉  Hope you all enjoyed reading this!  Do my characters catch your interest?