The Scribbler Award

Tags

award, characters, editing, editor, kysherin, muse, selay'uu, story dynamics, writer, writing

I was awarded this one the same day as the Sunshine Award, but I decided to space them out a bit. 😉 I was awarded by Tara Therese; thanks, Tara! 🙂

So, the rules are to link to your favorite writing blog, share your favorite writing tip, or do both, and then pass the award along to up to five more people. (I’m doing both.) My best hint for writing would have to be to do it with a friend. It helps. My other favorite tip is that you should never, never, trust a typo turkey, no matter how many interesting names the misspellings crank out. Sooner or later it WILL betray you… Mostly kidding. Really, I think that when you’re telling a story, you should know your characters. (Sometimes it helps to get friends and roleplay random, even mundane, things as your characters. Even when you don’t think they’re getting it right, it helps; you’ll know where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them. Maybe even have conversations with your characters in your head… which is how Selay’uu got started, by the way.) It’s the characters who drive the story and keep your readers reading. They’re there. Use them to the best advantage. Know them well. Be true to your characters, and they will never betray you.

Since I awarded five people yesterday, I’m going to try nominating five different people today, so the awards get spread around more. Sound fair? 🙂

And now, I wish to nominate:

Proverbs31teen, because superheros and Bible trivia at one site and writing stuff at another! ;-D Though technically, as this is a writing award, I suppose I’ll notify her at her writing blog… 😛

PorterGirl, because I haven’t ever nominated her before.

Professor V.J. Duke, because of punchiness and dadblamery! X-D

Sarah, because she posts awesome lists!

Bessie Lark (whose blog is now read by invitation only, so maybe you’ll be able to ask her permission in the comments? 😉 ), because she’s an awesome writer and knows how I feel when I complain about an unruly muse (hers ships Kiliel, while she doesn’t–Kysherin ships Obidala, and I don’t, mainly because except in certain majorly alternate universes it’s pretty unrealistic to me. Besides, I like writing Obi-Wan for the character, not for any romance or shipping. 😉 My OTP, for those who are wondering, is most likely Arthur/Gwen in BBC Merlin, because they’re adorable and so sweet together, and Gwen knows how to put Arthur in his place when he’s being obnoxious! X-P)

Congratulations, everyone. 😀

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

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Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Internship In Camelot

Tags

archives, archivist, bbc merlin, c.s. lewis, camelot, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2014, desks, editing, editor, kysherin, muse, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, paperwork, selay'uu, star wars, the chronicles of narnia

It has taken me a while to write, once more, and I apologize. I have had college to apply for, and Nanowrimo (which, by the way, I WON! 😀 ) to finish, and job applications to work on. Fortunately, there is a “schedule” function on WordPress, and I have lots of random things handy to post. My drafts folder is like my mind; full of partially-completed work, and extremely cluttered and mixed-up.

Once again, I find myself wondering just how my life got this crazy. And I respond to it in exactly the same way as always: I mull over the question for a while, then I decide it’s all Kysherin’s fault. And when I look in the mirror and see my reflection–messy chestnut/auburn curls, dark eyes, square jawline–I decide it’s really not worth it to try and look more impressive. Or put on makeup. I don’t understand why most girls my age wear it.

This morning, I was looking at my books again–my personal books, not the ones in the library/archives–and found a proposal I had begun only recently, but had also recently forgotten. It was a proposal for me to visit Camelot and explore my new-found magical abilities and study with Merlin, Alice, and Gaius. Unfortunately, it had gotten rather crinkled (paper tends to do that when it is lying on a shelf under Anakin’s rock collection–why it was on my shelf may some day be explained–or not…) in its time in hiatus. I groaned and got out a new sheet of paper, picking up Anakin’s rock collection and shoving it under the leg of my desk. Perhaps I should explain. My desk is rather old-fashioned. It is large, with several drawers, full to the brim with stuff. Most of it is orderly (my pens, pencils, mechanical pencils, mechanical pencil refill leads and erasers, vinyl erasers, etc. are sorted in a valet tray in one drawer,) but the one largest drawer–which, by rights, should contain electronics, but instead holds a bunch of old three-ring-binders, each shedding pieces of plastic from their covers, which are held together with duct tape and most of which are mislabeled–is decidedly untidy. I should get around to overhauling it some time. Anyway, my desk is very old. In fact, it’s an exact duplicate of one my father brought home when he was switching jobs when I was very small (just without the same contents.) It is dark, mahogany-colored wood, but the stain and varnish are wearing off in places, and if you scratch the varnish with your fingernail it starts to flake off in an unpleasant-feeling powder. The “legs” of the desk, which, I suspect, have been extended upwards to accommodate my father’s height (he’s a tall man, and I take after him,) are mostly drawers, and the desk is clearly designed to go right up against a wall (I should get Jay to help me with that…) but there is a space in between the bottom drawer on the “leg” and the actual foot of the desk, that rests on the floor. It was covered by a piece of wood, originally, but due to mishandling by the movers and mistreatment by us kids, the pins or staples holding the cover in place gave way, leaving me with a compartment that I can hide things in by pulling the piece of wood off, shove stuff I want to hide into, and then push the pins lightly back into their holes. It’s very convenient.

Anyway, so I pushed Anakin’s rock collection into my hidden compartment (which was, at the moment, empty, though much of the time it’s as full of random stuff as a first draft that needs editing, or a G.A. Henty novel sprung up, grown wild, and gone to seed.) and found two pieces of loose paper and went to work, copying my proposal neatly out twice and completing it. I thought about email, but something of this importance required El’ye’s permission (I still have not figured out why), and she didn’t like modern innovations, though Merlin would have been comfortable with a simple email with the proposal attached. Immortality necessitates being very adaptable, I believe. Which is a bit of a paradox, since I think El’ye is at least a pretender to immortality.

Anyway, after checking my drafts over, I went to my window (living in a tower is quite delightful, by the way, though the people on laundry duty always complain about the stairs) and shouted for Kilgarrah. He was not very happy at being shouted for, and still more annoyed about carrying my mail (“I am not a mail horse, young recorder!”), but as I am on good terms with Merlin (who is currently spending what remains of the summer in Camelot), he condescended to carry my message to the young warlock with a bad grace. That done, I whistled for Glimfeather, who came much more briskly and cheerfully than Kilgarrah had. I was politer to him than I had been with the dragon (Kilgarrah doesn’t like me much, and the feeling is mutual; the dragon is too self-centered and survival-centered and Machiavellian for my taste), and Glimfeather kindly agreed to carry my message to El’ye. So far, so good.

With a much heavier heart, I returned to my piles upon piles of paperwork. At least, hopefully, by the end of the summer I would be serving an internship in Camelot for the term (though I would be in and out of the Selay’uu chateau all the time.) I can hardly wait!

Aren’t Chosen Ones Getting a Little Old?

Tags

bound to the flame, characters, editor, harry potter, j.k. rowling, kysherin, realism, star wars, story dynamics, writer, writing

Seriously, it’s starting to get on my nerves. It’s cliche, and cliches bother me. Does it bother you too? No? Well, let’s see. The post is young yet! *sinister grin*

I give you exhibit A: Anakin Skywalker. The chief mistake they made with this one was telling him that he was the Chosen One. He was sweet in The Phantom Menace, but by the time Attack of the Clones came around, he was bratty, spoiled, disrespectful, and disobedient. Not to mention disgustingly and awkwardly lovesick. And in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan’s gotten to the point where he’s just trying to hold things together, and Anakin’s not helping. And he turns to the Dark Side. We can blame Palpacreep for that, though. He cuts his son’s hand off, for goodness sake! Oh, and we (or at least, quite a few of us) love Obi-Wan better than him. 😛 Maybe it’s the inherent tragedy of Obi-Wan’s position, or that Obi-Wan is a shining example of what an “ordinary” person can be, but… we do. Perhaps it’s that Obi-Wan is even more human than Anakin and still succeeds where Anakin fails. (Oh, by the way. Ever notice how you rarely, if ever, see a poorly-written or grammatically incorrect fanfiction with a lame plot that stars Obi-Wan, but Anakin has lots of those? Not that Anakin-starring fanfictions are all bad, but… food for thought.)

Frankly, Anakin seems just… overrated at times. And it doesn’t help much that Obi-Wan and Luke are the true Christ figures of Star Wars. (Obi-Wan gets the title because he sacrificed his own life to save Luke and ultimately Anakin as well, and Luke gets it because… dun dun dun! he ultimately saved Anakin, in his own weakness. I love these beautiful paradoxes…)

And now for exhibit B: Harry Potter. Now, I’m fairly sure there wasn’t exactly a prophecy included here, but you know what I mean. (To whom it may concern: I have not read the Harry Potter books and have no intention of doing so. From what I understand, they can be violent and cast doubt on traditional values, not to mention that there are what seem to be veiled attacks against the Catholic Church, and there is no way I can condone that! See Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture, by Michael D. O’Brien. Bear in mind, though, that I am not attacking the author of the Harry Potter books or those that read them. I’m certain that the readers find the books good entertainment, and J.K. Rowling is a well-meaning lady. It’s simply that I object to the books, on religious and spiritual grounds.) Apparently this case is different; they didn’t start calling him that until what? The last two books or so? But from what I’ve heard, they don’t seem to fight the villain with integrity; more with whatever will give them victory. (Recurring theme here; Anakin thought the Jedi “inadequate” and to be “holding him back.”) This is in stark contrast with the way Gandalf, Frodo, Galadriel, and Elrond decide to fight the War of the Ring; they refuse to fight the Enemy with his own weapons. From the reports of the Harry Potter books, not only does Harry indulge in this general lawlessness, but so does everybody else. Yeah, they win in the end… but at what cost? As opposed to Star Wars, where the only victory is by doing the right thing. (I know I’m going to get shouted down for judging without reading, but I really do not need another obsession, or even just more clutter on my mental landscape.)

Exhibit C: Lloyd Garmadon. Despite the Eastern spiritualism perpetuated in the Lego Ninjago series, it really has quite a few redeeming thematic features. I can safely say that I think this is the best portrayal of a “Chosen One” in modern popular entertainment. Lloyd, the son of Garmadon, the supposed “Dark Lord”, is “destined” to “destroy evil” (though, predictably, that hasn’t happened yet or the series would be over!)

Lloyd struggles with his destiny, quite a bit. He is very human indeed (not to mention cute… shhh. 😛 ) He feels rather left out and there are times when he just wants to be normal. He struggles with self-control, and has times when he snaps under the pressure of training. There are days when he just fails. In short, he isn’t perfect, which is a common feature to all humans, and he realizes it, which is a redeeming feature. He realizes his errors and tries to become better. Ultimately, he ends up defeating evil by realizing his own weaknesses, and in the sequel (Ninjago Rebooted,) his powers actually become the team’s greatest weakness. This turn-about, added to the fact that the former Dark Lord, Garmadon, has been redeemed and is now the team’s main “Sensei” after Wu was captured, is nothing but pure brilliance. I’m not obsessed with this show, but I do love the way they suddenly whipped things around fast enough to make the watchers’ heads whirl.

But even without his powers, Lloyd would be quite the character in his own right. He’s mischievous at times, charming, kind, endearingly rascally, occasionally brash, and most of all, he recognizes his shortcomings. Even without the added abilities, Lloyd would have been a valiant defender of the people of Ninjago in his own right.

In my experience, Chosen Ones tend to be humans with a superhuman destiny. They have their own lives, free will, and fallibility, just like other humans. Only occasionally have I read a story in which the “Chosen One” is a supernatural or superhuman being, who has been sent especially to defeat evil, or for some other “mission.” Invariably these supernatural, “perfect” Chosen Ones are side characters, and for good reason. If they are infallible, they’re not loveable. They’re not human enough for human readers to get to like them. You simply can not write a story with a perfect protagonist, because if you do, then what? Nothing even happens. There is no point, no reason to fight. The protagonist must change with the story, they must defeat their inner demons and fight with their flaws. Occasionally, there won’t even be a fight because the Mary Sue takes out the bad guys, end of story. So what if it kicks behinds? It’s still just a fight scene, not a story.

So, what am I calling for?

1. For the Chosen One (if human) to have to understand that their powers are not limitless, and that they are still fallible, and to accept that.
2. For Chosen Ones to have to work at controlling their powers before they can actually use them.
3. For humbler Chosen Ones, or at least for Chosen Ones whose lack of humility brings in bad results.
4. For good mentors to work with the Chosen Ones, punishing them for disobedience or disrespect, basically knocking them into shape and making them accept the consequences of their actions, as well as providing emotional support. (Obi-Wan is the best, but fails partly due to his lack of practical experience.)
5. For destiny not to be written in stone. In other words, the Chosen One must have the free will to deny his or her destiny. He or she must doubt destiny, and have the choice that they can make of their own free will to choose this road of destiny or to live a normal life instead (and those who decide not to choose destiny should be pitied, not judged.) They must have the chance to deny destiny. They must be fallible creatures.
6. Most of all, I’m looking for Chosen One prophecies that are realistic. In other words, the Chosen One’s destiny is not to defeat evil, but to hold it back, or to make some vital stroke in the battle of good versus evil. (To refer to the Bible, Christ came to make a definitive blow against Satan, to open the gates of Heaven, to call on sinners to become saints. He did not come to destroy evil once and for all–that would destroy free will, and must wait for the day of Judgment–or to collect those who were already doing good, but to save all of us, to give our good actions true merit, and heal sinners.) After all, a perfect and absolute victory leaves no room for a sequel, now, does it?

These six points are the reason why Rowan, the protagonist of my novel Bound to the Flame, is not really a “Chosen One.” Yes, he is special. Yes, he is gifted. Yes, there may (or may not) be a prophecy about him. Yes, he probably will change the course of this alternate history he’s living in. But his role is really more of a protector and strategist, not the person who is supposed to single-handedly save the world. And if the story does change into him needing to do that… you’ll be the first to know, my dear readers. ;-P But seriously, if he does end up needing to save the world, you can trust that he’s going to do it by God’s strength, not his own. He’s going to find that out, anyway–he’s still learning the lesson of humility.

I think that should be the true message of a “Chosen One” story–you can only find true strength by realizing your weakness, and in some cases, by embracing it.

I’m pretty sure there are other books, movies, and series out there involving faulty portrayals of “Chosen Ones.” Which is your favorite? Which do you like to bash? Please, tell me! 🙂

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Authorized, but not recognized…?

Tags

author, j.r.r. tolkien, kysherin, muse, selay'uu, star trek, star wars, the lord of the rings, writer, writing

Shortly after this morning’s staff meeting, I was typing away innocently at my laptop when I heard a commotion in the corridor outside. I leaped to my feet and ran to the door. In my experience of commotions in the mansion, they were generally well worth witnessing. I proceeded to see one of the oddest things I have ever seen.

The Star Trek 2009 (or was it 2008? I’ve forgotten…) version of Captain James Kirk was running down the hall in a state of some high emotion, though I’m not sure if it was terror, annoyance, or rage. Terror would have been quite acceptable and no detriment to anyone’s opinion of his manliness, as it turns out: Obi-Wan was after him in a flat-out fury, throwing things (such as Arthur’s pewter goblets, a bunch of sofa pillows, discarded garments, and Hon Rosie’s seedcakes and Thunderbeak’s rock-hard scones, among other things) at him, shouting imprecations at him in both Sindarin and Shendi. I was too amazed and bewildered by the spectacle to do anything, let alone intervene. Legolas shook his head as he made his way over to me. “The only person who does a better job of making a fool of himself is Jack Sparrow,” he said.

“Please tell me he’s not invading as well!” I groaned.

“Technically the Trekkers are not invading,” Legolas explained. “They’re authorized.”

“But I haven’t even seen Star Trek except for a few stray clips!” I protested.

“They’re authorized,” Legolas repeated. “Doesn’t mean they’re recognized.”

“Technically, the Elf is right,” Spock agreed, turning up nearby. I blanched.

“I think I’ve lost it. I should go see Galadriel.”

“I think it’s hilarious,” Kysherin said unhelpfully in her painfully whiny, reedy voice. I scowled at her.

“Shut up. I have a headache.”

“Galadriel’s a shrink! Galadriel’s a shrink!” Kysherin squeaked in a noxious chant. I pounced, fully intending to do murder on her miserable person.

“I will never be able to understand why humans react so to overcast days,” Spock observed.

“I’d give ’em all Vitamin D supplements,” Dr. McCoy added unhelpfully.

“Shut up,” I said, running off into my room and slamming the door. Now all I needed to do was bury myself alone in my story for several hours and I’d be fine at last.

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Staff Meeting

Tags

bound to the flame, disney, disney fairies, iris, j.m. barrie, j.r.r. tolkien, kysherin, lord of the rings, muse, peter pan, selay'uu, star wars

Eight people sat around a table, three of them dark-haired, one blonde, three ginger, and one with mousy nondescript unkempt locks. There were notebooks in front of five of them; the other three weren’t particularly keen on taking notes. All of them had coffee or cocoa in tall mugs, and there was a plate of cookies and another of hot muffins on the table. No one seemed overly interested in the food, though.

I finished telling them about my plans for the Peter Pan story that had recently devoured most of my imagination and time. I turned to look around the table at the two main actors and my various encouragement moguls and assistants. “So, any questions?” There were none. “Thoughts? Pan?” Peter sat up from where he had been lounging in his chair with his light boots on the table.

“We’re dealing with some pretty weighty stuff here,” he said thoughtfully. “It’s as well you banned Tinker Bell from this meeting.” Everyone except Obi-Wan gave a collective shudder at the idea of the jealous and vain fairy disrupting the staff meeting. Wendy nodded.

“I like the multi-generational aspect,” she said encouragingly. “There’s an awful lot of theory involved though.” I nodded.

“This isn’t going to be such a light-hearted jaunt through Neverland. For some reason, as well as emulating J.M. Barrie’s style, I’ve also wound up adding doses of Tolkien in equal parts–completely unintentionally, of course.” Obi-Wan steepled his fingers; it was hard to tell whether he was channeling Mace Windu, or Sherlock.

“Please tell me you’re not attempting a truly dark fantasy, Erin.” he said in a tone that told me he was already fairly sure that I wasn’t.

“No, I’m not,” I said. “I just felt the urge to put my own twist on the classic. Don’t worry, Rowan and Margery, I’ll get back to yours as soon as may be.”

“Are you borrowing theory from our story?” Rowan asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said thoughtfully. “If anything, I’m borrowing it slightly from Heather Dale. But no, I think not. Your Scotland is a very different place from Neverland, and I think that the magic system there will probably be a bit more varied than yours. For instance, Shadow Summoners. Though your novel could do with one, I guess.”

“Mmm,” Rowan said. “I already get the feeling that you’re planning a scene with some sort of monster for us.” I grinned.

“It can only harm you if you look at it.” Rowan shrugged.

“I can walk just fine blindfolded, you know.” I grinned.

“Exactly.” Margery raised her hand, hesitantly.

“What about me?”

“You’re going to be helping him control the Amatane power when that comes up. In fact, I have a feeling that you’ll be key. As a matter of fact, I just realized that Wielders’ powers come from their compassion and their connections to other people and nature. I’m not quite sure how yet. Anyway, back to Peter.”

Iris had listened quietly all this time, but now she spoke up. “I especially like your idea of having Neverland begin to fall apart when Peter goes missing.”

“Well, in my mind, it just made sense,” I excused myself. “Peter Pan is, essentially, the life of fairy tales. His role is just to be, and to keep back the dark. So when he’s gone, or threatened, the person who threatens him is essentially threatening to let all the powers of evil–at least in this world–loose on both Neverland and the mainland. You know…” she paused. “If we could get someone half-decent to do the editing and effects, this would make an amazing movie.”

“It would,” Iris said. Obi-Wan decisively downed the last of his coffee and leaned back with a grimace.

“I’d suggest that you keep it doable, keep up a realistic outlook.” he said. “After all, unlike some of your projects, this one is completely doable.”

Kysherin gave an evil, uncanny, skin-crawl-inducing chuckle. “Yet.” I scowled at the Muse.

“This is why you’re ugly, Kysherin,” I said. She smiled evilly.

“I know.”

Suddenly, the doors slammed open and Legolas burst in. “Someone left the stables unlocked, and all the flying dragons and horses and even H’vyenteh are getting away!” he shouted.

Life as usual with Selay’uu.

You’re BOTH in the wrong!

Tags

aladdin, author, barbie dolls, characters, disney, kysherin, muse, rambling musings, sherlock, star wars, story dynamics

*blushes* Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean you, my dear readers.

I just got mad at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan because they’re getting on each other’s nerves (not a rare occurrence) and they’re having a shouting match (a very rare occurrence!)

And I don’t even know how it started!

Ahem.

Anyway, I think that now is a very good time to address a Point of Importance: *takes a deep breath and holds it* Get ready, here it comes…

*exhales suddenly and says all in one breath*

NotevenMr.Perfectisrightallthetime!

What? You want me to repeat that? Okay.

Not even the main character can be right all the time. *glares at Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon* Nobody’s perfect… *mutters under breath* especially not you two!

Only a Mary Sue would be as trite as to be perfect and always on the right side (okay, for the nitpickers: the author’s side!) all the time. Only a Sith (or somebody worse) deals in absolutes… because nobody is perfect. (Of course, there are absolute morals, absolute-right-and-wrong, that sort of thing, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.) And Mary Sues are even more worse than Sith. Hey, even villains don’t ruin the book! After all, they make the story in the first place! From a certain point of view (aka, Moriarty’s.)

(Wow. Referencing Star Wars twice in one paragraph and then Sherlock… I must need coffee.)

So? you ask.

So, sometimes the characters must be in the wrong! You heard me. In. The. Wrong!

I don’t care if you have a loving husband and wife blowing off steam by getting into a shouting match (as long as I get fair warning enough to grab my earplugs! :-P), or two friends getting into an annoying argument about which one of them is a heretic (though they may not be an ingrained and sinful one; there is such a thing as accidental heresy… though I’m not sure the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it that… GAH! I forget the term! Don’t rush me! Oh, sorry. Caffeine-starved, again.), or a couple of stupid people just shouting for the sake of shouting (hey, they’re more evil than the rest of the bunch!–Shut up, Kysherin, this is my blog! Erin’s blog! NOT the annoying deadbeat muse’s!)

Sorry about that. Sometimes the voices… we’ll call them in my head though they’re really in my mind palace–won’t shut up. Last night, Anakin was wandering around singing “We are never ever ever getting back together!” And I asked him if Padme had ditched him, but it turns out he was just singing the song because he liked it… ah, lovebirds. Deceptive lovebirds, but lovebirds all the same. He was singing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin to Padme as I left.

Anyway, so, to recap: Don’t be afraid to have people in the wrong. Let them argue over nothing at all. Even if you’re writing a sappy, sugary, asinine little allegory, your characters will not come across as such if you let them argue and fight over nothing at all just because they’re grumpy, mad, or have low blood sugar.

Have fun with the battles!

Authors are all high-functioning sociopaths… they call us high-functioning because we limit our murders to fictional people.

Thanks for stopping by, and God Bless!

Bound to the Flame preview

Tags

brave, disney, frozen, kysherin, madeleine l'engle, pixar, star wars, stories in progress, story dynamics, tangled

All right, this story has a lot of backstory. It’s my first novel-length original story to be posted serially on this blog, and I hope everyone enjoys it! Please note, Bound to the Flame will be posted as I complete the chapters, so there may be some pauses longer than others between chapter postings, and the chapters may be of odd lengths.

Anyway, this story was inspired by an idea I had while watching Disney/Pixar’s Brave, and I thought, hmm, what would happen if Star Wars had happened in the medieval Scottish Highlands? Then the story slowly gained influences from Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and (possibly) Frozen (?). Then it changed from a crossover to an original story. Why did that happen and how? I’m not quite sure, but this is the result. I hope you enjoy it…

Bound to the Flame

Prologue

                Queen Melilana was not an easy woman to faze.

However, despite being among the most powerful Wielders in existence, she was still human, and the return of her son, missing for a fortnight, was enough of an event to break even her stoic fortitude and run down the hallways of Castle Daareth, down to the courtyard. As she hurried down the stairs, Fortaine came to join her.

“Queen Melilana,” he said. Melilana instantly knew that he was troubled, due to the use of her formal title, rather than his more familiar manner with her as his adoptive parent, but neglected to ask him to call her “mother.” She looked at him in silence. “We… we found him.”

Now King Halbryn was hurrying across the high entry hall to meet her. She grasped his hand as they both ran toward the hall doors, drawing strength from their unity, their connection, much as she always had, even when he was a young knight errant and she the inexperienced Queen of the kingdom of Ertraia. He smiled reassuringly down at her once, then the doors boomed open and they were running down the steps into the courtyard.

Julian, their other adoptive son and Hal’s second apprentice, came slowly toward them, bearing the young prince of Ertraia in his arms, as if the boy weighed nothing. The boy was wrapped in the traditional green cloak of the knights of Ertraia, the same cloak worn with formal wear by all the nobles. The cloak was faded and worn, made of a durable, coarse homespun cloth, being more practical than fine. It was tattered, the edges torn. Both the boy’s cloak and the knight’s were streaked with damp, dark stains. Melilana gasped.

“Rowan,” she whispered. The boy was perfectly still. Melilana ran to her son’s side. Julian stared at her, their eyes meeting. His eyes were hollow. Together, they slid slowly to the cobblestones of the pavement, Julian cautious to shield the boy’s broken body from any jarring or sharp impact. “Is he all right?” Melilana pleaded. “Please, tell me he’s all right!” Julian’s midnight blue eyes filled with tears.

Between them, the boy breathed, but only barely, as above the merciless moon stared down from the night sky.

Its light slowly dimmed to nothing as clouds gathered across the sky, veiling the stars. It was dark, but not as dark as the night that awaited them now.

 To Be Continued

So, that’s the story… you’ll have to tell me if it’s any good. Also, I may need ideas for continuation… however, that depends on my muse. *leans out the window to shout at Kysherin, who is currently engaged in blowing away all clouds that might lead to any snow* HEY! GET BACK HERE! And leave off blowing away all our poor snowstorms!!! *turns back to audience with an apologetic smile on my face* Sorry about that. She’s such an idiot sometimes.

Failed Novel

Tags

author, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, insanity, kysherin, long rants, nanowrimo 2013, national novel writing month, rambling musings, small rants, stories in progress

Okay, so I have a funny and somewhat awkward and embarrassing story to share. I started out on Nanowrimo all excited and everything, only to discover that my novel (the one I had been continuing for Nanowrimo) had paused at an especially awkward point that completely killed my muse on that point. (This is only a figure of speech… unfortunately Kysherin is still alive and kicking… :’-( ) So I’ve been writing ahead (a euphemism among writers for skipping scenes on your novel, planning on coming back and adding them in during the editing stages; yes, this is perfectly fine, as long as you leave some sort of marker to note that you know what you’re doing, and have to add them in.) on that novel, and changed out my Nano project, a screenplay for a sort of television show that my good friend Iris and I plan on filming at some point in the future. You can find a synopsis and sample from my current project here, and here is my synopsis from the original project:

Angels’ Reflections: All Roads Lead Here

(Author’s note: This is the continuation of a novel which I started in the April summer camp, and continued in July. I plan on completing it this November. Wish me luck!)

As the threads of fate pull the friends’ roads closer, each action further solidifies one reality: There is no going back. While Aliana struggles to comprehend and learn to use her new powers in conjunction with her “kantavali’yana”, her “Destiny Sharer,” Jay, Jay is still trying to cope with his past. Klis’s journey of self-discovery takes a frightening and possibly dangerous turn as she discovers that she has fallen in love with the young Chiavan warrior, Starlun. Maya’s emotional scars, despite Aliana and Jay’s attempts to heal them, are growing steadily worse. And if Jay and Aliana don’t learn how to work together in harmony soon, they could easily unleash chaos on the land of Elayatar, plunging it into a second darkness far more menacing than the first.

Now, all the roads are leading them into a confrontation with the dark forces that threaten their world. And if they fail, their whole world is at stake.

First day of Nanowrimo and going strong…

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author, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, editor, insanity, kysherin, long rants, muse, nanowrimo 2013, national novel writing month, rambling musings, small rants, star wars, stories in progress, story dynamics

Welcome to the first day of Nanowrimo!!! 😀

Hello, 1,666 words per day craziness! Oh, how I love thee ;-P

Soooo… ;-P I think I know now why Nano starts the day after Halloween. It’s all that candy. Better that the sugar-crazed authors should be removed from the streets and slave away at their computers instead. ;-P

Let’s see… so far, I have written about 500 words. And already hit the first block with a depressed Seer and uncertain equivalent of a Chosen One. Next block: Find another outlaw group to contact. Preferably one who will be interesting. Third block: have one girl be manipulated into betraying her friends.

“Have fun, Kenobi. Your life is about to get a lot harder.” — Kysherin the Muse

May the Force be with me. (I’m going to need it.)

Joining Nano!!!

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author, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, editor, insanity, iris, kysherin, long rants, muse, nanowrimo 2013, national novel writing month, rambling musings, small rants, story dynamics, writer

Hey, everyone! It’s two days till November, so I thought I’d go on and tell you all what I’m up to.

I’m a proud participant of National Novel Writing Month!

This November, I’m going to be writing a 50,000 word novel… or, actually, the third section of a 150,000 word novel. Next comes editing… which I don’t exactly look forward to. Or maybe I do. Hmmm… X-P

Anyway, as is likely very obvious, when you’re an author it’s hard to understand the ins and outs of your own mind. Even your muse (mine is named Kysherin and is a wicked little creature) doesn’t understand you. I really should clean out my mind palace… heehee… Fortunately my editor (who normally only grouses about my posture and spelling/grammar errors, though when I’m in editing mode he’ll make numerous brilliant suggestions faster than I can type) is more than just an editor. He also knows the ins and outs of my mind better than I do… which makes things far easier. Funny how these people who are only “figments of the imagination” are so real… Incidentally, if you want to know my editor’s name, it’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and he is far less annoying than most authors’ inner editors. ;-P

Anyway, I’ve already done both of the Nanowrimo Summer Camps (April and July), and enjoyed them. Like Crazy. Crazy is awesome. Anyway… Irisbloom5 (aka Iris) was a big help then, since she already had one Nanowrimo under her belt, while I was still just a newbie. So this is a shoutout to the MOST AWESOME BEST FRIEND out there. You know who you are. You just don’t accept it. ;-P

And about my novel… Like all authors, I can talk about it for hours if I get going. So I won’t. But if you do want me to tell you all about it, tell me in the comments and I’ll see what I can do!!! 😉 But if you absolutely can’t wait, then go here. 😉

Anyway, so I won’t be around quite so much. But now you know what I’m doing, you’ll hopefully feel better… 😉