Hope Unconquered

Worlding Building and Me

2013-08-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about writing is world building. It's not just mountains, trees, and flowers, but all the intricate background pieces that define a world. Keep an eye out here for a series of posts on world building in all of it's many forms. From alien planets and space going vessels to city blocks and the depths of culture, religion, and more, world building takes your story from: Jan lost her ring. Dan and Eric helped her look for it. Dan found the ring. Into a story of intrigue, stress and adventure.

2013-07-23T17:08:00.001-05:00

So, I'm trying a new format, the video blog. At the moment, I'm not planning to upload to YouTube, although in the future, as I get more confident, I will.

Mary Sue: Conclusion

2012-10-21T03:03:00.001-05:00

For the moment, I cannot find anything else to suggest to prevent, adapt or fix your Mary Sue. Just remember that there is SCIENCE behind appearance, conflict is good for the plot, not everyone finds your character beloved, and if the world works for the character, go for it. That one is probably the most important of all.

In the meantime, I'm going to polish up these blog posts, bring them together into a .pdf with some supplementary pages, stuff like worksheets to help you determine if your character is, in fact, a Mary Sue, and links to places where you can check the SCIENCE of appearance.

I'll post the download link on the blog, and it'll be available on both of my websites as well, for free.

I'm not sure where I'll go from here, with NaNoWriMo looming near, as well as the Election Season in full swing at my day job. (American politics...season ends Nov. 6). All I know is, I intend to keep working on this blog. It's rather fun, don't you know?

On Mary Sue: Universe

2012-10-17T13:54:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned this over and over, but the universe or world your character is placed in has a great deal to do with whether or not your character is a Mary Sue. In a lot of ways, making a character fit into the world they find themselves in is your plot. Take superheros, for instance. How many of them do we have running around here on Earth?

None.

How do you put superheros to work on Earth?

You make their existence make sense. For instance, the superheros are given battle suits to fight in, or they have special training in advanced technology. Or even pseudoscience.*

Another thing you have to watch in world building are the laws of the universe. While in most case you are using the laws of our universe, and you don't need to define them. Water will be wet, air will be breathable and things you drop will fall to the floor. On occasion, however, you will defy, bend, or even break the laws of the universe as we know it. That's ok, it happens. The trick is to make sure your story works. DO what you will with the laws of the universe, just make sure you are consistent, and that your unconventional methods explain why your character works.

I think building a universe is the most difficult aspect of fixing a Mary Sue. Probably because I say universe to indicate how big of an effort that is. From who your character is to the people around that character, to the world they live on and the laws they live by.

If the world is wrong, then the character you've created is a jarring anomaly instead of a valuable piece of the puzzle. I have personally never run across a character that doesn't work, period, only characters that don't work in the universe they've been placed in after creation. That takes time though. It's best to start by writing the character and practicing making the world work around them. The better the world works, the better the story will work and the easier it will be to present the story as best suits your ambitions.

So the universe is a pretty big place, and it involves a lot. It's people, it's places, it's accepted rules. It's all the things that create a culture and a society, the things your characters take for granted and the things outsiders have to learn because everyone assumes they know what's going on when nobody really knows anything. It's the notes and half finished thoughts and scraps where you've scribbled down everything from a new word for God to a new word for a mile.

It's books filled with highlighter marks from tracking down this thought or that. It's webpages that are bookmarked and visited so frequently that they're practically your homepage. It's all these things and it centered on one concept. It's centered on the idea of making your character believable.

I was editing a friend's story and we ended up in a bit of an argument over that fact. While her character was possible and there was proof that such people exist, it was a little jarring to run across such a character in a book as a secondary character. I still think that if the character had been the main character, with the story centered on that one's pov and perspectives it would have carried, he was little more than a vague side character at the time and he was jarring and out of place there.

It might even be said that he was too much to accept given the state of things for the main character.

Before I end up rambling even more, I leave you with this.

The Mary Sue is a jarring and out of place character in most worlds, but in the right world, she can fit in just a little bit better.

Next, Mary Sue: The Conclusion

*Pseudoscience: in this case, it's fake science that pulls just enough from real science that it sounds plausible even if it's really not. Can also be used for made up information that has no bearing on real science. This should be used with caution.

On Mary Sue: Names

2012-10-14T03:59:00.001-05:00

It may seem a little weird to devote one chapter of the Mary Sue series to names, but I think I can tell you a few things you've never thought of before.

First of all, with a Mary Sue, the name tends to be exotic, like Angel or Raven, or has an odd spelling like Myshel, usually in a world were Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda are common names. An exotic name is meant to convey that the character is special or worth noticing.

There is nothing wrong with Angel, Raven or Myshel. In the proper universe, of course.

I keep coming back to the proper universe, and I will explain more on that as it's own thing later on.

The thing about names is that there are people who dislike their name for one reason or another. I know I prefer not to use my first name when I can. When we name our characters, we give them the names we wish our parents had given us. In this, our characters are our children. The only difference being that most characters will be indifferent to love their names and our children would probably disown us if we named them Princess Raven Margretta Kristina.

Another thing is spelling of a name, while 'Myshel' might make since to me as being pronounced like 'Michelle', someone else might read it as 'My-Shell'. An unusual spelling of a name tends to lean more towards being a personal headache than being a cool idea. Especially in a world with Mary, John, Sue, and Amanda. Of course there's always Sean versus Shawn. Believe me, that one trips me up ninety-nine times out of a hundred.

The trick to a name is to make sure that it fits in with the culture and race of the character. If you have a girl from Russia a name like Natalia will play better than a name like Chang Li.

Nicknames don't really have the same constrictions. They're either short versions of the character's name (Tam for Tammy, Mike for Michael) or they play some meaning on the character as a person (Pocket Rocket, he's short and fast). While they can be cultural in nature, they don't necessarily have to be, like a Japanese-American teen being called Deke because he's the fourth born, only son who loved Mighty Ducks as a kid. (Live-action movie, the triple deke was a hockey move, three fakes and the score if I misremember correctly).

To find a good name, there are numerous sources, particularly baby name sites. My personal favorite for name hunting is called behindthename.com which features the history and etymology of first names. It has a sister site called behind the surnames for last name hunts. Also useful if you're being culturally accurate.

In short, you can call your character any name you want, but the less exotic to the character's culture, the better. A name will work, in the world it's intended to work in. An outlandish name in a mundane world does not work.

Up next, the Mary Sue Universe

On Mary Sue: Interpersonal Relationships

2012-10-11T05:41:00.000-05:00

While this particular section could also have been referred to as popularity, I find 'interpersonal relationships' lends itself better to the topic.

When people talk about Mary Sue, they use phrases such as "everyone loves her" and "all the (appropriate gender) were attracted to her".

This is how people want their relationships to be. In this case, it's a falsehood. When I was in college, I thought that I had managed to be, if not friends, then at least friendly with my classmates, specifically those in my major. I went to a small junior college and if there were fifty of us in my major, then I would have been very surprised. Anyways, in my major, I thought I had at least a positively ambivalent relationships with the others until one of the girls rather casually mentioned that she didn't like me. I was floored, because she had always seemed passively friendly.

Not long after that, I had another unusual and highly upsetting experience. My dorm mate was switching dorms leaving me with a future dorm mate to move in. I hadn't heard anything about who the new person would be, but figured it wouldn't be long before they showed up. I had gone out for a while one afternoon and when I came back to the dorms, I was planning to change, grab a bite to eat and do homework right up until a complete stranger stormed up to me and started yelling at me for talking bad about a person I had never met. They didn't explain, or give me a chance to defend myself.

This is real life. Two incidents wherein people I didn't know displayed that they actively disliked me when I had never sought out to create such a feeling in them.

Characters need the same thing. You don't like everyone you know, and it would probably surprise you to realize how many of them don't like you either.

Disliking people, and being disliked, is part of what makes us real. There are characters we all know and love that wouldn't be half as beloved without antagonists, or rivals. The friction of personalities is a treasure trove of interactions. You can reveal so much in a conversation that you can't any other way.

I know the old adage is "show, don't tell", but using dialogue to give an impression of interpersonal relationships does not violate that rule.

There are various levels of interaction, various stages of relationships, and while you may not need to use all of them in the actual story, having an awareness of them can be useful in dictating how your character interacts with others.

Some examples of relationships would be the Best Friend, Mentor, Sibling, Parent, Romantic Interest, Rival, Nemesis, Archenemies, Archival, and Enemy.

There are some other phrases people use, "Brother From Another Mother", "Heterosexual Life Partners", "Soul Mate".

Sometimes, you just have to make up something to define a relationship because that makes it unique and special.

Remember, emotions are key underpinnings to relationships. How a character feels around another character, how they've interacted before, what's happening around them, all of these dictate how a relationship will fall out.

Because of emotional balances, not everyone will get along all the time. That's ok, friction and fights are natural, AND they provide you with opportunities to move on the plot. An argument between the MC and his best friend could lead to said best friend storming off, thus being in the perfect place to see a clue to the villains' ultimate plot.

And what about romance?

Mary Sues are infamous for loving, and being loved by the writer's favorite character. Or any character the writer chooses whether they are suitable and available or not.

While everyone wants and deserves to have a love of their life, as a writer, your responsibility is to show why a relationship works and how it could possibly work.

In fact, you should consider that as an urge, you write the story to explain the relationship. With a little effort and polish, you can convince people that this relationship or that relationship can work.

Here's the thing though. Having a variety of relationships take work and effort. As a writer, your job is to keep track of how your characters are interacting, especially as it furthers the plot. Pulling out the "beloved by all" card for your main character is, in my honest opinion, a cheat. If there's no strife, then there's no challenge in it, because everyone gets along.

Mary Sues are in some ways easy to write, because of their premise. In some ways, they're the perfect way for a lazy writer to create content. Taking the time to throw in some people who dislike, loathe, hate, or antagonize your character gives the story some depth. Even having a fight between best friends gives you something to work on.

Which sounds more interesting to you?

The friendship created out of a partnership founded on the belief by one man that the other would one day find the button to end the world and press it.

The friendship created by two people who just happen to be in the vicinity for no particular reason.

Which of these friendships would you rather write?

Coming up next, we have Mary Sue's name, a discussion.

On Mary Sue: Personality

2012-10-05T19:02:00.001-05:00

Probably the most defining traits of the Mary Sue is her personality.

Mary Sues can be sweet, kind, bubbly, and perfect. They can be any extreme of personality, in truth, although most of them tends toward sweet and naive to be honest. They're the type of person most people hate. Although there are people out there who are sweet, kind, or bubbly, they also have flaws, which Mary Sue does not.

Think about the people you know, in general, you could probably list three things you like and three things you don't like about them. You could also find a mutual friend to make a similar list, but with completely different results. People react to each other differently, and it's the same thing with characters.

To avoid the Mary Sue, the truly dedicated could seek out advice from someone who they are familiar with, although a friend or relative is not recommended. Provide them with a concise character description and ask if they find the character to be too perfect.

For the less dedicated, another way to do this would be to consider your character, and what purpose you have for them. Sometimes, the character is a "self-insertion" character, that is, it is either the author themselves in the book or a person intended to represent the author's idealized self-image.

Now, I confess, I've written two short stories featuring a self-insertion. Both times, the stories were well received, and I didn't get called on it even though I admitted up front that I had done so. Why? Because I didn't over use my character-self. Instead, my pov was the vehicle of the story. It's an outsider's view of an inside world. There was nothing earth shattering about it. It was simply a young woman doing her job and encountering crazy people doing stupid things.

On the other hand, I do have a character that could be called a Mary Sue, believe me, she ticks a hell of a lot of boxes there in. In part it was because my muse abandoned me half way through and in part because I didn't plan things out when I came up with the story.

That's a part of the Mary Sue that I'll be getting to in another article. Back to personality.

Mary Sues are considered perfect. If they have flaws, it only makes them more attractive to other characters.

This is not real life.

In real life everyone has aspects of themselves that someone dislikes and things they don't like about themselves. Think of your own doubts, worries, and fears. Think of the times you've lost your temper. These are what make you human. A Mary Sue doesn't have these.

It's ok for a character to trip and fall or make mistakes. It's ok for a character to NOT be universally loved, because that makes them beloved to readers.

Don't think this means that you have to spend pages telling people about whatever phobias or character flaws your character has. Although it's a good idea to have those pages for your own reference. Instead, find ways to make that a part of the plot. Character afraid of stairs? Imply that their goal is at the top of a flight of stairs. Spiders give your character the shakes? Insert a moment of laughter on the subject.

A character shouldn't be taken too seriously, because then they become dull. It's just like people. You need to be able to laugh at your character, but only when your character deserves to be laughed at. There are characters out there that are known for being pompous, dull, or otherwise uninteresting that are still favored by fans, because they are written into rolls that take advantage of their nature.

A suggestion on working out a personality issue is to try writing shorts about the character, picture them in different scenarios and see how they react. Just take it slowly, and try to make sure that each layer of your character reacts well with each other layer, with the world you are building, and the other characters.

In fact, that's our next subject.

Mary Sue: Interpersonal Relationships

On Mary Sue: Exceptional Talents

2012-10-05T01:26:00.000-05:00

I mean, I can't miss. ... I'm on a team with super-humans. And one god, in case you've forgotten. Even you...well, you climb walls really well. ... I gave up a lot for this life. I could have been happy with Mockingbir-- Bobbi. We could have had a good, simple life. But I wanted to play with the big boys. And if I miss it means I'm just another dude with a bow. It means I've been fooling myself this whole time. And that's why I never miss.

--Clint Barton (Earth-616)

If you're a fan of the Marval comic books or the movies, you know who Clint Barton is, he's Hawkeye, the world's greatest marksman and he never misses.

Not every character can be Hawkeye though. I'm not saying that they can't be the best at their job, I'm just saying that Hawkeye was unique because of his talent. Whatever else Clint Barton might have been, he was known for his skill as an archer.

I feel obligated to point out that Hawkeye works because his universe worked for him. Therefore, it is not that you can't have a character who is best at a talent, but that they have to exist in a world where them being the best works.

Most issues with Mary Sues are that they are perfect at something in a world where that perfection is a dissonance. In a world where mutants exist, a guy who's talent is perfect body memory isn't out of place, but in mundania, the talent would be more distinctive and unusual, if not completely impossible.

People need to learn, and to practice. We say that things are 'just like riding a bicycle', you never forget. That's not entirely true. Take archery, for instance.

An archer needs a specific set of muscles to do his job well, and he needs constant practice to be able to use those muscles well. Setting aside his bow and arrows for months will leave him out of shape when he picks the bow up again. He'll have to retrain his muscles to draw said bow, and to improve his aim. It takes time to be good at archery, and having been good once, it takes time to become good again when you take the skill back up.

Almost all physical activity is like that, and I only say almost because I'm sure that someone, somewhere, will point to something I don't think of. Unless you're a mutant, and in the appropriate universe to be a mutant, you don't just learn in a single lesson. You practice, you learn, and you get better.

Point in fact, training gives you plenty of oppertunities to write about your characters, you can do character development or even plot develepment. Or you can just write about training as a way to insert a laugh.

Conversly, unless your character is the aforementioned mutant, be aware of physical limitations. Body types, agility, stamana, all of these have a play in your character's activities. Bringing up Hawkeye, in fanfiction, I've read stories where Hawkeye spends hours, or even days at the shooting range and coming out just fine. This is not a realistic consequence. After a while, your muscles give out, your body will collapse, your mind will shut down. This is scientific fact and you cannot escape it.

What about other talents of the non physical manner?

Let's start with art.

Some people are natural artists. When you see their work, you know you are seeing something created by a person with talent.

Conversly, one can study and practice and produce art with the same level of talent. Guess which of these is more prevalent?

Take me, for instance. I can put together pictures in interesting collages, and I can trace with the best of them, but as soon as it becomes freehand, I tend to have more in common with Picasso than with da Vinci.

Music?

Not everybody can be Mozart or Beethoven. Not everybody is so dedicated that they'll cut the legs off a piano and compose by how the piano vibrates on the floor.

Musicians practice every day. Have you ever studied a musical instrument? I have.

I studied piano and clarinet. Now when faced with a piano, I could pick out 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' and 'Chopsticks' by memory but that's about it, and I haven't picked up a clarinet in fifteen years. I probably would make the kind of squeals that used to make my dog howl as opposed to actual music.

Singing:

Again, people have natural talent, but to properly use that talent, it takes training and practice. There's learning to read music, learning to breath properly, tone and pitch. That doesn't all come naturally.

There are people with perfect pitch, but think about it. How often would that talent be a good thing? I know one novel that plays perfect pitch for the laugh and does it well. Consider yourself challenged.

Writing:

Yes, it was going to come back to this. If you dare me too, I will find an original iteration of a story I wrote in high school and send it (mistakes and all), just to prove how much my writing has improved in ten years.

Writing is a talent, story telling, non-fiction, it's a talent. You have to keep writing to get better at it, and you will make mistakes.

Please note that I have never said that perfection is impossible, it is simply impossible in mundania, and unless the universe lends itself to the character's perfection (RE Hawkeye plus Cap) then you've written a Mary Sue. Also, remember that it takes time and practice to master any skill, and it takes practice to improve and maintain that skill.

Also, remember the phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none'. Mastery takes a lifetime, but you can learn to be competent in many talents. Just know where your character is strong and where they are weak. Above all, have fun with the characters. Otherwise, what's the point.

See here, example of training for fun:

As the target presented itself, I shot my stinger. "Dammit Deke," Jessie howled, "will you stop?"
"I'm trying to help," I protested, unable to hide my grin.
Jessie yelped and turned back to Gabe, "I swear, I'm going to kill you." She rubbed her hip.
Target presented again, I fired a second time.
"Dammit Deke," Jessie said, "shoot me somewhere else!" And with a stamp of her foot, she vanished with a pop.

Next we will look in to Mary Sue's personality.

Appearance

I do not own Hawkeye, he is copyright by Marvel Comics. Quote is from the Marvel wiki, linked via the attribution line and here:
http://marvel.wikia.com/Category:Clinton_Barton_(Earth-616)/Quotes

On Mary Sue: Appearance

2012-09-11T15:16:00.002-05:00

Think on this.

How often during the course of a day do you think about your appearance? What about other people? Do you constantly obsess over what everyone around you is wearing 24-7 regardless of whatever else you might be doing?

If you're a make-up artist, or a fashion designer or in a similar field you might get a pass on this, but is your character?

Most people might notice what someone's wearing if they're just seeing them for the first time, or if it's something particularly unusual, but unless you make an effort, how often do you notice more than 'jeans, shirt, button down, black pants?' What makes you notice what you notice?

If I had to guess, I'd say you notice when someone is wearing clothes with bright colors or an obnoxious pattern. You notice a shirt with writing on it. Once you've noticed it, you tend to let it go unless it's just so incredably unusual that you can't help but notice it.

Unless you're a boyfriend.

Boyfriends should always note what their girlfriends are wearing and comment on it.

The following is some research on appearance, to help explain why some concepts are more than likely filed under the Mary Sue catagory:

Eye color:

According to my research, brown eyes are the most comon eye color with blue being second most common. Hazel and amber, not to be confused with each other, are also more common than rare. Green and grey are the rare colors. This leaves red and violet. According to the reading I've done on the subject, red and violet eyes are found in cases of albinoism.

Unless your character is an albino or an alien, they can have blue eyes that look violet, but not true-violet eyes. Sorry, it's science.

Hair color:

Black hair is stated to be the most common hair color although there is technically no black hair, only very dark brown.

Brown hair is probably the easist hair color to work with, all you have to do is say brunette and people get that.

Blond hair is probably the most variable in color, ranging from white-blond to dark gold. The rarest form of blond is the strawberry blond, which mixes red and blond.

Auburn hair is the hair that falls under "reddish brown".

Chesnut hair, on the other hand, tends towards the darker red browns, but is considered a sepperate range of shades

Red hair, being the rares of shades in the world, ranges from the afformentioned strawberry blond to titian and includes copper. Often also refered to as carrot tops. 1-2% of the world has red hair, with the predominate number living in or being from Scottland and Ireland.

Grey and white hair is, in truth, the absence of pigmentation and not an actual coloration. It typically happens as a person ages although it can start as early as ten.

Skin tone:

I don't know that I can say much about this beyond saying that if you have blue or green skin on a permanent basis, you probably aren't Earthian human, sorry. Although if someone wants to disprove this theory, you're welcome to do so in the comments!

Features:

Mary Sues are known for being exceptional. Pretty, beautiful, ugly, it doesnt' really matter as long as it stands out seems to be the by word.

I feel that this can be unfair because some people are, to put it simply, beautiful. Beauty by itself should not be the byword for a Mary Sue because it invalidates a lot of characters that are otherwise well crafted.

The trick to handling a beautiful character, however, is to not flaunt that beauty at every occasion.

If you have a character who is a model, that's great, but they don't have to always be at the height of fashion and beautiful. Have fun, write a scene where they spend the whole time in a ratty pair of sweats and their dad's college shirt.

What I'm trying to say is to write your characters as human.

Next is my thoughts on Mary Sue: exceptional talents.

On Mary Sue Intro

2012-09-07T14:53:00.002-05:00

Mary Sue is a character trope more commonly found in fanfiction, although they can also be found in original stories. Here are some comments made about Mary Sue:

Urban Dictionary:

A female character who is so perfect that she is annoying. The name originated in a very short Star Trek story that mocked the sort of female characters who showed up in fanfiction. It usually refers to original female chaacters put into fanfiction but can refer to any character. Mary Sues are characters who are usually extraordinarily gorgeous, amazingly talented, unusually powerful, and exceedingly attractive to whoever the author has a crush on. They often possess ridiculously fancy and pretentious first names -- Angel, Raven, Jewel, Lorelei Bianca Julia Marizza Snape -- and are very, very annoying.

TV Tropes has a page for her:
Mary Sue on TV Tropes

Wikipedia says:

A Mary Sue (sometimes just Sue), in literary criticism and particularly in fan fiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author or reader. It is generally accepted as a character whose positive aspects overwhelm their other traits until they become one-dimensional. While the label "Mary Sue" itself originates from a parody of this type of character, most characters labelled "Mary Sues" by readers are not intended by authors as such. Male Mary Sues are often dubbed "Gary Stu", "Larry Stu", "Marty Stu", or similar names.
While the term is generally limited to fan-created characters, and its most common usage today occurs within the fan fiction community or in reference to fan fiction, original characters in role-playing games or literary canon are also sometimes criticized as being "Mary Sues" or "canon Sues" if they dominate the spotlight or are too unrealistic or unlikely in other ways. One example of this criticism is Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The thing is that everyone bashes the Mary Sue, but how many people offer to help fix her? I haven't heard of anyone doing so. Therefore, I am going to undertake to fix a Mary Sue.

1.) Appearance
2.) Talents
3.) Personality
4.) Interpersonal Relationships
5.) Names
6.) Universe

I have way too many ideas...

2012-09-04T04:21:00.000-05:00

Personal note:

I was organizing my laptop the other day to reflect a priority change I've had lately and I realized that I have ten works that I want to publish that are in the midst of rough draft stage.

TEN.

Over half of them are novels, one is a short story that I'm hoping to sell on Amazon at some point, there are two short story series one for kids, one for adults. Seriously brain. NO MORE IDEAS.

I am working on a rather impressive blog post but it's taking time because I want to do this right.

In the mean time I have ten works that I need to try to finish at some point.

A Thought on Names

2012-08-15T04:48:00.002-05:00

My Elven book contains names that I created at the age of 13. Why am I keeping them? Because they fit the characters and can be outlandish enough to be considered Elven names.

The thing is some of my characters have outlandishly long names that are generally saved for formal or 'you're in trouble' moments.

Take the MC and his twin brother.

Trebonistanthilis and Kristonistanthilis

Similar names, identical appearances what's the catch?

They use short names.

Trebon and Kris

Although I didn't realize it at first, as I get to know Trebon specifically I've come to realize that their short names actually say a lot about them.

Trebon, the somewhat speciesist (like racist but with species) younger brother
Kris, the more open minded (in this instance) older brother

Trebon doesn't shorten his name to 'Trey', which he could. I don't remember why originally, but it makes sense now. Trebon grew up in an isolated, nomadic warrior society that puts a lot of emphasis on purity of birth, strong traditions and faith. Kris, while also isolated, was raised with tutors who left him open to the concept that he shares his world with Humans and they aren't all bad.

Later on, Trebon does take on the name 'Trey' for the purpose of hiding. (Long story, Gods and Magic involved) but at the time he does that he also is spending a great deal of time amongst Humans and learning to understand and respect them. He doesn't think of himself as 'Trey', but he's not so snaptastic about being called 'Trey' as he was in the beginning.

Kris, on the other hand, could have used Kriston, but he doesn't. He uses Kris. (Point in fact 'Kriston' was the nickname used by his ultimate namesake before the deconstruction of Elven society occurred) Kris never really had an issue with Humans because he's been raised that way.

It's all in the names, and I never actually realized it. It's why the brothers have names like Kenilias (Ken), Kerilias (Kerry) and Rubelation (Rube), and Trebon's guards are Andalon (Andy) but the other Cailiyan might occasionally be called Cai, he doesn't have a short name he prefers.

I could go into other names and what they say about their characters. (Blog of an Ex-Teenage Superhero comes to mind especially or even AKBF) but I'd rather not since I haven't put as much development into the Blog or AKBF yet that went into the Elven Story.

To read writing books...

2012-08-07T20:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do read writing books. Some of them I put aside because I don't particularly like the style, and some I rather enjoy. It amuses me though, because a lot of them talk about the importance of social networking. It scares me because me and social networking are not friends. We aren't even acquaintances. Ok, that's an exaggeration. The truth is, I might have a Tumblr, LiveJournal, Dreamwidth, Twitter, and Facebook account, but I don't actually use them. Not the way a lot of people do. I know that my Tumblr stuff goes to Twitter, and for some reason that makes people think they want to follow me, and I know my LJ and DW are crossposting (or are supposed to be crossposting). Facebook just sits off on it's lonesome now that I've got bored with playing games over there.

The latest book I've been reading, and one I really liked is 'How To Be A Writer In The E-Age And Keep Your Sanity', By Catherine Ryan Hide & Anne R Allen. I recommend this book for people who want to be writers because it's rather awesome. This joins one other book as a default recommendation at the moment, and the other book is "Sometimes The Magic Works, Lessons Of A Writing Life" By Terry Brooks, who numbers as one of my three role models in the publishing industry.

What I get out of these books mostly are ideas of how to do what I'm already doing better, and renewed confidence that I can do this, that I can be a great writer if I push myself hard enough. I just have to keep putting one word after the other until I can see the story for what it is.

I think the most important thing about reading books on writing is that at the end of it, you are the only one who can decide if a book works for you or not. You are the one who has to figure out what to take out of the book, and what to leave because it doesn't work for you.

For me, that means, learning to write an actual blog. Usually this will be about writing. This isn't my diary (really, you don't want to read that,) this is just a way for people to see me evolve and celebrate. Maybe I'll even get brave enough to post something on Twitter soon.

Camp NaNo August 2012

2012-08-02T14:32:00.002-05:00

On day two of this most interesting challenge, to write 50,000 words in 30 days, I find myself in good position. I have already written over 5,000 words and I think I'm going to write so more in a few minutes. I'm working on Warrior's Rage, which I also called the Elven Fic.

I've decided for NaNo to write this particular rough draft because if ever there was a story I knew front to back and side to side, it's this one.

I also decided to just tell the stupid story as I see fit and I can fix it in the next draft.

Which is why scene (chapter?) 1 is written in a completely different form of pov than scene 2. I intend to just write this, learn about the characters and make notes on my plot ideas as I go along. I have eighteen scenes to write, which means I need to strive for between 2500 and 2750 words per to achieve the stated goal.

I anticipate more to go into the story after I've written the pivotal scenes.

Not to mention I really haven't figured out what they spend fifty years studying at the sequestered palace. I know they don't start studying riding until age 40, and weapons at age 45, but what about earlier? I picture Elves developing through baby/toddler/childhood at the same rate as a Human child, but to then mature through adolescence on the long track.

I'm using Scrivner to work all that out, and I fully intend to use it to organize the drafts later, when I'm in the revisions, so that I can see what I started with, what I've changed, and where I need to go.

Honestly, I think Scrivener is going to be an awesome assistant to writing this novel just because I can stop, write out some thought or idea, and then go back to writing without going crazy. I prefer to write the novel itself in Word at this time, but that's just a personal preference.

I'm sure as I become more adjusted to using Scrivener I'll actually use it more, but the editing features in Word are, at the moment, far superior to Scrivener

Always on my mind

2012-07-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

Setting aside the childrens' books, it's a week away from the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo the August edition.

Originally, I was going to write Highband Honor the sequel to A Killer Best Friend, but I'm not. I've decided to bring up an old but good story, Warrior's Rage. I keep trying to write this story, it's been fifteen years, you'd think I'd have a passable rough draft at least.

We'll see if I can hammer out Warrior's Rage for August. Then it'll be a toss up of "Finish Gemini" "Finigh Highband Honor" and "Write King's Peace" for NaNoWriMo. I'll probably do a combo of all three, now that I think of it.

It's amazing how my writing tends to become so sporadic when it comes to original fic. I guess it's because it's not as instant gratification as fanfiction. Oh well. I'll keep adding words, maybe, some day, I'll get the groove figured out.

Until then.

Just some updates

2012-07-08T05:55:00.004-05:00

Did some research about the books I want to compete with. Figured it would be five books. Each books focuses specifically on two characters, but all ten characters play a greater or lesser role in the stories. Definitly sticking to the series title though. I kind of like it.

Note to self: GOOGLE THE TITLE!

Trying to decide if I want to do something with a touch of social commentary in there or not. Don't want to loose my readers on the last book, but I just want to present this concept without problems.

Also, note to self: WORK ON BIG PEOPLE NOVELS!

Didn't write adult becuase that sort of implies a level of maturity I donn't necessarily advocate.

That's about all I have to say right now. :)

Back Again

2012-07-05T03:52:00.001-05:00

Look, here I am again. I guess I found something to say for a change. Today, I devoted all day to working out the kinks to an 'easy reader' children's book. Now, I'm working on the rewrite, pulling some things, adding others, and generally sure that this is going to be a horrible project.

Why?

Because I can think of three stories for this series, and I'm terrified they would want more.
Because what do I know about writing for the under-10 catagory?
Because I now have to seek out an agent willing to take a chance on me.

I'm excited because, again, I can think of three stories off the top of my head and I want to find more.
Because I'm doing something new and dangerous, mostly because I can.
Because getting an agent is an important part of being a seriously published author.

I'm going to sit down and write out the next book in the series here soon, and then wrap up with the third. I call the series The Toybox Gang, both because of the prominance of magical stuffed animals, and because of the relative age of the kids.

Wait, I have a fourth story! I almost forgot about that one. It started the whole idea of magical toys after all.

So that's four stories. One written, three additional concieved.

Wish me luck!

2012-07-04T07:08:00.002-05:00

Do you see this? This is how long it takes me to care that I have a blog and write something. I really need to get better at this. Maybe if I made it a really annoying reminder? Who knows (NOT ME!). I'm so deep in not caring at the moment that it ain't even funny.

Working on a kid's story to compliment The Gemini and Highband Honor. Hope to have a first draft done by tonight.

2011-09-19T14:27:00.002-05:00

A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will
always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.

-Lemony Snicket

What to do with a Blog?

2011-09-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I decide I want to do these things. I'm not the sort who consistantly writes anything, except stories. But, I am a writer and I'm working on making that my sole focus of support. I have published my first novel via Lulu.com (A Killer Best Friend) and I'm working on the sequel plus a more fun sci-fi story. My true focus in life as always been more towards sci-fi and fantasy writing anyways.

AKBF and it's two sequels are mysteries, and they aren't the best mysteries ever. They are a good beginning for me, I guess.

My science fiction story is currently entitled The Gemini Warriors, and I'm starting the third chapter. It's about ten twenty-somethings from different planets of a Galaxy at war. One of them's from Earth, and she was a dancer who knew about life on other planets because of her adopted brother (aka her "brother from another planet") before Earth was invaded by the bad guys and she was taken prisoner.

The brother from another planet came to Earth when he was twelve and met up with the girl, Jessie, when he was fourteen. They also have another sister and two brothers as part of their family. Daniel, the alien, came from the planet Javor original, and is a soul reader, that is, he can tell when people are meant to be together, as friends, family or lovers, and he likes to keep people's spirits up. Jessie and Daniel are fun, they make jokes that are a little obscure for the off planet people, they play pranks and just generally enjoy the fact that they're together.

The leader of the group is a girl who is currently named Angel, and her second/best friend/brother-in-arms/partner is Alex. They're from Amarantha and Jessie offten refers to them as 'cat people' because of their vaguely cat like features (eyes, ears, retractable claws, aspects of their physiology. No tail though.) Angel's a badass, hands down. She was raised to be a leader and a fighter and she honestly can't picture reacting to life any other way. This usually translates as being a domeneering sort, especially to Alex.

That's enough musing for now, however. I have things to do before I go to work. Be happy!

2011-09-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What
you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what
has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?”

--Author Unknown

--Author Unknown