Apologies for it taking so long to post again.
I've been super busy. Got a new job and been planning my move. A week to go so it's been super frantic. But at least I've had some time to write. I'm making progress with my alien story. Just finished a romantic scene, which I've been dreading. Now I don't have to worry about it until I get around to editing.
Another cool thing is I plan on doing Camp NaNo. It's basically NaNoWriMo except in April and July. The other main difference is that you get to choose your word count goal. Anything from 10,000 and up. So hopefully I'll finish my alien book.
In other news, I'll work on my next blog post soon. It should be on something like character building and my inspiration for characters.
Xoxo Rachel/Indigo
March 23, 2016
February 11, 2016
Pantsing v. Planning
So unless you've been on NaNo, you probably don't fully comprehend the terms pantsing v. planning. Basically it's two ways of writing a novel. Whether you just wing it or plan everything out. Bet you can guess which category I fit into?
If you guessed pantsing, you're correct. How does that contribute to how I write? Basically for me I have that initial idea that usually comes from a dream. It's usually just some scene that isn't even a big part of the story. Luckily the idea is usually something in the beginning of the story so I can practically start with that. After I get past that idea, I'm basically winging it. I might have an idea on what I want to happen here and there but nothing concrete. I don't even know how I want the story to end... well other than some version of happily every after (unless it's a series and then that might be the ending of a second or third book). The cool thing is that if I don't know what's going to happen, how will the readers know. So if I suddenly decide some character's got to die, I'd assume it's going to be a surprise to whoever reads it.
So what exactly is planning in comparison? Basically this means that the whole novel is planned out start to end. It could be short or pages and pages of outlining. Basically planners know where they're going. They even sometimes already have the chapters planned out unlike me who can't separate chapters until a good most if not all of the story is written.
And I've started to rant on for a while. I'll post another blog post soon.
Xoxo Rachel/Indigo
If you guessed pantsing, you're correct. How does that contribute to how I write? Basically for me I have that initial idea that usually comes from a dream. It's usually just some scene that isn't even a big part of the story. Luckily the idea is usually something in the beginning of the story so I can practically start with that. After I get past that idea, I'm basically winging it. I might have an idea on what I want to happen here and there but nothing concrete. I don't even know how I want the story to end... well other than some version of happily every after (unless it's a series and then that might be the ending of a second or third book). The cool thing is that if I don't know what's going to happen, how will the readers know. So if I suddenly decide some character's got to die, I'd assume it's going to be a surprise to whoever reads it.
So what exactly is planning in comparison? Basically this means that the whole novel is planned out start to end. It could be short or pages and pages of outlining. Basically planners know where they're going. They even sometimes already have the chapters planned out unlike me who can't separate chapters until a good most if not all of the story is written.
And I've started to rant on for a while. I'll post another blog post soon.
Xoxo Rachel/Indigo
January 26, 2016
Naming Revisited
Since I did touch on naming in the last post, I figured I'd get into it a bit more. Obviously over time, I've figured it's really tough to find the perfect name. And... I'm one to obsess over the name sounding and looking correct for whoever I imagine the character to be (personality wise, job wise, etc.)
On top of that, I really can't just leave a blank space where a name will eventually be placed. Oh I've tried it before, but leaving large underscored areas drive me nuts. So basically I know I've got to spend the time (sometimes hours) coming up with the name or I won't be able to work that story until I have the name.
It's not always character names. It's also book names and technology names. Also alien species names, alien foods, and alien worlds. I could go on and on for ages about different types of names.
I'm still working on a couple alien species names. Hopefully I'll figure it out in the next few days. One's a tad more important than the other since the character is about to be introduced. Yay mixing rhino's with pompoms and some other cool stuff. I know it sounds strange but it took nearly 200 words to work out the details.
And with that alien story, my rhino character might turn out to be a main player in a separate book down the road. Just need to introduce a few more characters that would play a large role in his book. But then again, it's a long way off. I only have just over 10k written in book one when it will probably be in the 50k + range.
So where do I figure out these names?
A lot of them I find through random name generators. Some I like a name and change, others I take half of one name and combine with half of another. Another source of inspiration is from ancient god/goddess names. Usually the minor ones. Once I find names I like, I tend to put them on a list for future reference down the road.
Back to my alien story, I used all three of the above. My main character is a hacker. Her name is Nikole but often goes by Niki. I saw a variation in a random name generator and it fit with my description of her. Her hacker name though is Nyx (a minor goddess of darkness). Her best friend, Rebecca or Becca for short is just something I came up with. The rhino alien (species name unknown) is going to be called Gnufie and I do have a god reason for such a funky name. Another random name generator modified name.
Well I'm ranting now, so I'll stop. Hope this helps someone with naming. It's actually my weakest point in writing... figuring out names.
xoxo Rachel/Indigo
On top of that, I really can't just leave a blank space where a name will eventually be placed. Oh I've tried it before, but leaving large underscored areas drive me nuts. So basically I know I've got to spend the time (sometimes hours) coming up with the name or I won't be able to work that story until I have the name.
It's not always character names. It's also book names and technology names. Also alien species names, alien foods, and alien worlds. I could go on and on for ages about different types of names.
I'm still working on a couple alien species names. Hopefully I'll figure it out in the next few days. One's a tad more important than the other since the character is about to be introduced. Yay mixing rhino's with pompoms and some other cool stuff. I know it sounds strange but it took nearly 200 words to work out the details.
And with that alien story, my rhino character might turn out to be a main player in a separate book down the road. Just need to introduce a few more characters that would play a large role in his book. But then again, it's a long way off. I only have just over 10k written in book one when it will probably be in the 50k + range.
So where do I figure out these names?
A lot of them I find through random name generators. Some I like a name and change, others I take half of one name and combine with half of another. Another source of inspiration is from ancient god/goddess names. Usually the minor ones. Once I find names I like, I tend to put them on a list for future reference down the road.
Back to my alien story, I used all three of the above. My main character is a hacker. Her name is Nikole but often goes by Niki. I saw a variation in a random name generator and it fit with my description of her. Her hacker name though is Nyx (a minor goddess of darkness). Her best friend, Rebecca or Becca for short is just something I came up with. The rhino alien (species name unknown) is going to be called Gnufie and I do have a god reason for such a funky name. Another random name generator modified name.
Well I'm ranting now, so I'll stop. Hope this helps someone with naming. It's actually my weakest point in writing... figuring out names.
xoxo Rachel/Indigo
January 18, 2016
Eww - Housecleaning... or more like blog cleaning
Looks like today is the day for cleaning up old posts. Just went through everything... let's just say it was a mess. There were 3-4 different ways I formatted excepts and I just wanted something more consistent. On top of that was spelling and spacing issues. Yes I know, I'm probably a bit OCD at times. In addition, oh my lordie, I didn't realize my excerpts were so darned long. Now they're more manageable in size. So if there's a description that doesn't make sense with the excerpt, it's because I cut down the excerpt.
Been so busy, I haven't had a chance to work on my website (between job hunting and my family adopting a new dog it's been nuts to say the least). I'll see about posting a picture the next time I post. She's absolutely adorable.
Back to writing stuff... so I've mostly been working on an alien story. Let's just say "hacker & biologist & aliens oh my." For the life of me, I can't come up with book names until later. And on top of that I'm really not the most creative with naming. Guess I'm too immersed in the story to come up with something super awesome. So right now I've got to deal with my very basic title of "biologist and hacker w/ aliens." At least it gets the point across for me.
You know what the weirdest thing I've come across with writing alien stuff? It's always the naming. Whether it's alien names, tech names, or food names. I must have spent well over a couple hours trying to come up with a tech and food name. Figured it out eventually but not looking forward to the next one even though I know it's going to be something cool
Although now that I think about it, I have two alien species I've yet to name but so far no luck. Luckily, they haven't been introduced into the story yet, but one is going to be soon. So if you have any suggestions for a two-legged rhino mixed with a pompom and a few other things, feel free to comment it below. :)
Xoxo Rachel/Indigo
Been so busy, I haven't had a chance to work on my website (between job hunting and my family adopting a new dog it's been nuts to say the least). I'll see about posting a picture the next time I post. She's absolutely adorable.
Back to writing stuff... so I've mostly been working on an alien story. Let's just say "hacker & biologist & aliens oh my." For the life of me, I can't come up with book names until later. And on top of that I'm really not the most creative with naming. Guess I'm too immersed in the story to come up with something super awesome. So right now I've got to deal with my very basic title of "biologist and hacker w/ aliens." At least it gets the point across for me.
You know what the weirdest thing I've come across with writing alien stuff? It's always the naming. Whether it's alien names, tech names, or food names. I must have spent well over a couple hours trying to come up with a tech and food name. Figured it out eventually but not looking forward to the next one even though I know it's going to be something cool
Although now that I think about it, I have two alien species I've yet to name but so far no luck. Luckily, they haven't been introduced into the story yet, but one is going to be soon. So if you have any suggestions for a two-legged rhino mixed with a pompom and a few other things, feel free to comment it below. :)
Xoxo Rachel/Indigo
January 10, 2016
I'm Back!
So essentially I forgot about writing for a while & now I'm back. Can't really say I'm going to be posting a bunch, but at least I remembered my login information. :P Oh and you might see that I took down the website linked to this blog, I'm making something more dedicated to writing. That website was for a college class. Might be a while though since I'm job hunting. *play dreaded music*
So since I last posted, I've learned a bunch about myself and taken up some different hobbies... First off I have what I've termed as writers ADD (no I do not have ADD, I was tested as a kid and it came back negative). For some reason it's just around writing. I have to have a zillion stories going on at once (some nearing completion while others are just ideas). I need to be bouncing between ideas, as I learned, to be the most productive.
How did I figure this out? I completed my first NaNo this past November and let's just say it was rough sticking with one story. I kept thinking about what I wanted to do with all my other stories. If you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, I highly recommend looking it up. It stands for National Novel Writing Month and there's a bunch of writers that compete in November to write a novel (50,000 + words) in a month. Even if it's not November, there's usually people hanging around on the forums. Especially helpful if you're stuck. Need a shortcut, click here. If you really feel determined, you can try to find me there... I go by Indigobolt (just like this blog's username). But long story short, my NaNo story is a long way from finished. Oh it's got potential but let's just say it's too predictable in a good portion of it... I don't want straight out happily ever after (which is what happened). I want them to work for it.
I've also figured out what I like to write about more and more... So basically thats paranormal/fantasy stuff. Almost always got to have some sort of shifter. But then again there is the occasional scifi with awesome aliens. And always, always, always a bit of romance. Can't help it, I want a happy ending & what girl doesn't so I want my characters to have a happy ending (eventually... usually after a bunch of torture, maybe some deaths, and a whole lot of bad luck). I'm actually planning on killing a character sometime soon so it's sort of awkward to say I'm excited, but I am.
Since I don't really have anything else to say, here's an excerpt of one of the pieces I'm working on. It's only about halfway finished so it could be a while with my writers ADD happening. Hope you like the teaser...
Ever wonder what a necromancer does when she’s not out raising the dead or causing general chaos? Ever wonder how she would stay out of trouble? One way would be to lay low in a dark hole, while another, highly improbable way, would be to make deals. I made one of those impossible deals with Satan a while back.
You see, I raise the dead every so often, and since there aren’t many believers left of the old Gods of the Underworld, I normally raise those who’d go to Satan. Satan - aka Lucifer and Fred - had sent his daughter to try and scare me away from raising his dead, but that sort of backfired. It turns out his daughter and I are really good friends. So, I’ve got a standing deal that the dead I raise, I’ll send them back to him… eventually. I’m also not “supposed” to raise huge amounts of dead at a time, unless it’s an emergency. In return, I get three hellhounds, essentially as pets. The hellhounds actually help with my work when it gets dangerous.
As you just read, the main character is a necromancer and let's just say there are demons, werewolves, and a bunch of other characters I've enjoyed working on.
Have any questions/comments/critiques, feel free to comment them below or find me on NaNo. If you have an idea for my next (eventual) blog post, let me know. Otherwise it may just turn into a rambling rant about something or another.
XOXO Rachel/Indigo
So since I last posted, I've learned a bunch about myself and taken up some different hobbies... First off I have what I've termed as writers ADD (no I do not have ADD, I was tested as a kid and it came back negative). For some reason it's just around writing. I have to have a zillion stories going on at once (some nearing completion while others are just ideas). I need to be bouncing between ideas, as I learned, to be the most productive.
How did I figure this out? I completed my first NaNo this past November and let's just say it was rough sticking with one story. I kept thinking about what I wanted to do with all my other stories. If you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, I highly recommend looking it up. It stands for National Novel Writing Month and there's a bunch of writers that compete in November to write a novel (50,000 + words) in a month. Even if it's not November, there's usually people hanging around on the forums. Especially helpful if you're stuck. Need a shortcut, click here. If you really feel determined, you can try to find me there... I go by Indigobolt (just like this blog's username). But long story short, my NaNo story is a long way from finished. Oh it's got potential but let's just say it's too predictable in a good portion of it... I don't want straight out happily ever after (which is what happened). I want them to work for it.
I've also figured out what I like to write about more and more... So basically thats paranormal/fantasy stuff. Almost always got to have some sort of shifter. But then again there is the occasional scifi with awesome aliens. And always, always, always a bit of romance. Can't help it, I want a happy ending & what girl doesn't so I want my characters to have a happy ending (eventually... usually after a bunch of torture, maybe some deaths, and a whole lot of bad luck). I'm actually planning on killing a character sometime soon so it's sort of awkward to say I'm excited, but I am.
Since I don't really have anything else to say, here's an excerpt of one of the pieces I'm working on. It's only about halfway finished so it could be a while with my writers ADD happening. Hope you like the teaser...
Ever wonder what a necromancer does when she’s not out raising the dead or causing general chaos? Ever wonder how she would stay out of trouble? One way would be to lay low in a dark hole, while another, highly improbable way, would be to make deals. I made one of those impossible deals with Satan a while back.
You see, I raise the dead every so often, and since there aren’t many believers left of the old Gods of the Underworld, I normally raise those who’d go to Satan. Satan - aka Lucifer and Fred - had sent his daughter to try and scare me away from raising his dead, but that sort of backfired. It turns out his daughter and I are really good friends. So, I’ve got a standing deal that the dead I raise, I’ll send them back to him… eventually. I’m also not “supposed” to raise huge amounts of dead at a time, unless it’s an emergency. In return, I get three hellhounds, essentially as pets. The hellhounds actually help with my work when it gets dangerous.
As you just read, the main character is a necromancer and let's just say there are demons, werewolves, and a bunch of other characters I've enjoyed working on.
Have any questions/comments/critiques, feel free to comment them below or find me on NaNo. If you have an idea for my next (eventual) blog post, let me know. Otherwise it may just turn into a rambling rant about something or another.
XOXO Rachel/Indigo
March 26, 2010
Hmmmmm...
So I realized I have not posted as often as I could have. The chaos of classes just about sums it up. With two things, at least, due per week, it is just going to be crazy. Hopefully I will have some time to write otherwise I probably will get crazy with all the stress.
I have two stories I have started since I last posted. I still have yet to finish any of the previous stories even though I want to and have a clue on how to.
So while I'm lazy and need to get some of these stories finished, I'll post a bit from one of my more recent ones. This one has the main characters as four girls with elemental powers, ie. fire, water, wind, and earth. I have not gotten all that far into it and have only 22 pages unlike the 30 plus on others.
I don’t know how I always got in this situation. It’s not like I asked for trouble, but here I am, fighting to stay free. I was out in the country so I had some time to relax, burn something, and during one of the first days, I had these two assholes attack me.
Oh and to add to the trouble, one had an affinity with water and the other with fire. I wasn’t all that worried about the one with fire since I had the same ability but I still had to make sure to keep an eye on both of them.
So I was turned sideways, trying to keep an eye on both of them as they circled around me. One began throwing water at me as the other threw fire. I countered the water by heating my temperature up and throwing fire at the water. Big clouds of steam formed every time they hit. I didn’t do anything about the fire coming at me because I knew it couldn’t hurt me.
My focus slowly switched to be mostly on the guy throwing the water. That turned out to be a very bad idea. With my back partly turned, as well as all the steam, the other guy had no problem sneaking up behind me and injecting something into my back.
I thought I’d have at least a few minutes but it kicked in practically right away. My legs gave out and the guy caught me so I wouldn’t break any bones. The first wave of the drugs hit my head and I blacked out.
I slowly came back around in a car. I was lying across the back seat and slowly pushed myself upright.
“Welcome back to the real world,” one of the guys in the front said.
I tried to make up a fireball to toss at them but nothing happened. “What did you all inject into me?”
“A combination of three drugs,” the one guy said.
The second continued, “The first was to paralyze you and knock you out. The second is to keep you from using your powers. The last is to knock you back out.”
I have two stories I have started since I last posted. I still have yet to finish any of the previous stories even though I want to and have a clue on how to.
So while I'm lazy and need to get some of these stories finished, I'll post a bit from one of my more recent ones. This one has the main characters as four girls with elemental powers, ie. fire, water, wind, and earth. I have not gotten all that far into it and have only 22 pages unlike the 30 plus on others.
I don’t know how I always got in this situation. It’s not like I asked for trouble, but here I am, fighting to stay free. I was out in the country so I had some time to relax, burn something, and during one of the first days, I had these two assholes attack me.
Oh and to add to the trouble, one had an affinity with water and the other with fire. I wasn’t all that worried about the one with fire since I had the same ability but I still had to make sure to keep an eye on both of them.
So I was turned sideways, trying to keep an eye on both of them as they circled around me. One began throwing water at me as the other threw fire. I countered the water by heating my temperature up and throwing fire at the water. Big clouds of steam formed every time they hit. I didn’t do anything about the fire coming at me because I knew it couldn’t hurt me.
My focus slowly switched to be mostly on the guy throwing the water. That turned out to be a very bad idea. With my back partly turned, as well as all the steam, the other guy had no problem sneaking up behind me and injecting something into my back.
I thought I’d have at least a few minutes but it kicked in practically right away. My legs gave out and the guy caught me so I wouldn’t break any bones. The first wave of the drugs hit my head and I blacked out.
I slowly came back around in a car. I was lying across the back seat and slowly pushed myself upright.
“Welcome back to the real world,” one of the guys in the front said.
I tried to make up a fireball to toss at them but nothing happened. “What did you all inject into me?”
“A combination of three drugs,” the one guy said.
The second continued, “The first was to paralyze you and knock you out. The second is to keep you from using your powers. The last is to knock you back out.”
January 21, 2010
New Story
So I obviously have problems finishing my stories. I still have the Dragon story to finish. I know what I to do to finish it but it I don't do well writing scenes that are slow. So I'm now working on a medieval-like story. I also obviously have a thing for big cats because they show up in one form or another in every story. So I might as well post a bit of the new one while I doing nothing much. This excerpt is near the beginning of the story but there is still action before this... Enjoy!
I looked over towards whoever was beside me. It was Nikolas. “How are you feeling,” he asked.
“Worse than shit. What happened? How’d I get here?”
“Ettai knocked out both the guard and the bastard. Ettai then freed himself and Edeos using the iron. They then got the keys and freed you. Edeos brought you up here and waited until I got here a few minutes ago. Ettai had waited out front while Edeos guarded you. They will both want to see you. I know Edeos took it extremely hard that he could not protect you.”
“They can come up,” I said. “I need to make sure Edeos knows he couldn’t have done anything other than what he did.” Nikolas got up to yell down the hallway that Edeos and Ettai could come up.
I was glad that there were sheets that covered me but I looked to my arm to see how bad the bleeding was. The bleeding had slowed to a stop but the brand on my arm looked swollen and possibly on its way to becoming infected.
Nikolas came back in to sit in the chair beside the bed. Edeos was the first to enter, followed by Ettai. “How are you feeling,” Edeos asked.
“Pretty bad but I’m sure I could be worse.” I changed subjects, “You know nothing that happened was your fault. I know you tried but in this situation it was the best you could do.”
“I still feel like I could have done something more. I should have been able to get free. There was so much I should have been able to do to help.”
“Come here,” I said patting the bed beside me. I carefully pushed myself up to a sitting position with only my right arm. I scooted back to lean against the headboard, pulling the covers with me. When Edeos finally sat next to me, I told him, “Trust me. I don’t blame you. You did everything you could and I know you did. The reason he wanted you two in there was to show that you were helpless to stop everything.” I hugged him with my right arm. “Stop worrying about it. I’ll heal from most of this.”
Edeos hugged me back. “I’m sorry, Princess, I couldn’t get away and stop everything.”
I looked over towards whoever was beside me. It was Nikolas. “How are you feeling,” he asked.
“Worse than shit. What happened? How’d I get here?”
“Ettai knocked out both the guard and the bastard. Ettai then freed himself and Edeos using the iron. They then got the keys and freed you. Edeos brought you up here and waited until I got here a few minutes ago. Ettai had waited out front while Edeos guarded you. They will both want to see you. I know Edeos took it extremely hard that he could not protect you.”
“They can come up,” I said. “I need to make sure Edeos knows he couldn’t have done anything other than what he did.” Nikolas got up to yell down the hallway that Edeos and Ettai could come up.
I was glad that there were sheets that covered me but I looked to my arm to see how bad the bleeding was. The bleeding had slowed to a stop but the brand on my arm looked swollen and possibly on its way to becoming infected.
Nikolas came back in to sit in the chair beside the bed. Edeos was the first to enter, followed by Ettai. “How are you feeling,” Edeos asked.
“Pretty bad but I’m sure I could be worse.” I changed subjects, “You know nothing that happened was your fault. I know you tried but in this situation it was the best you could do.”
“I still feel like I could have done something more. I should have been able to get free. There was so much I should have been able to do to help.”
“Come here,” I said patting the bed beside me. I carefully pushed myself up to a sitting position with only my right arm. I scooted back to lean against the headboard, pulling the covers with me. When Edeos finally sat next to me, I told him, “Trust me. I don’t blame you. You did everything you could and I know you did. The reason he wanted you two in there was to show that you were helpless to stop everything.” I hugged him with my right arm. “Stop worrying about it. I’ll heal from most of this.”
Edeos hugged me back. “I’m sorry, Princess, I couldn’t get away and stop everything.”
November 24, 2009
Sooo.....
So I actually seem to be getting somewhere with my dragon story. I officially love working on it a ton. Now I just need to hopefully finish it before the end of November. If you all are at all into creative writing then maybe you heard that this month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)... Basically its a challenge to write 50,000 + words in the month of November. I currently have a little over 61000 words and I still feel like if I end it sort of soon that I am cutting it too short. Oh well. I guess I have to figure out what I want to do with it. While I'm figuring it out I'll post an excerpt that follows the last post. Enjoy and if there are ever any suggestions feel free to post a comment and tell me. :)
“My loyal friends are on the way over now. The first should be here in five or so minutes but it could take as long as thirty for others.”
“So what shall we do while we wait,” Demetrius questioned.
“Um, maybe let me unpack some?” I walked towards the front steps and the pile of my bags. The three guys followed. “You three can help if you want? It will make getting settled so much easier. The least you can do is help me get all these bags upstairs before I search out a room.”
I quickly grabbed the two lightest bags before letting the guys take control of the others.
“What the hell have you got in here?” I heard Mathieu complain.
Looking back, I saw he had the heaviest of the bags. “Clothes and weapons,” I replied.
“Seriously,” he began to unzip it to look.
“Yes,” I said, jumping back down the stairs. “Here I’ll take these bags since you are complaining.” I handed him my two light bags before hauling my weapons up the stairs. Once in the master bedroom, I emptied all the clothes onto the bed before moving back into the hall and moving to the study with all the weapons.
By the time the guys tracked me to the study, I had already found the right book to pull on to allow the bookcase to slide off to the side. It was exactly like home. Same hidden levers to reveal the weapons stored there as well as all the empty space.
Slowly arranging all the weapons on the table, I could feel the shock of the three behind me. Once everything was laid out, I began to put them up on the walls, occasionally cleaning a piece that was dirty.
Once done, I sighed in contentment before finally turning around. Everything was in its place and all I needed to do was unpack my clothes, memories… and a few more weapons. Actually one more bag worth of weapons.
That was exactly when the doorbell rang. I pushed the men out of the room before closing it and going to answer the door. They were right behind me but did not get in my way or even try to answer the door for me.
I opened the door to two guys about my age talking about how they “thought this place was deserted.” After letting them in, I went back upstairs to unpack. Mathieu stayed down there but Jeremy and Demetrius followed me and watched me continue my task of unpacking.
I only finished one bag before being yelled at to come downstairs. My two followers led the way to the living room. I made a pit stop to get something to drink before going into the room. “Oh joy,” I murmured when I entered.
I scanned the faces and stopped on a grinning one. “Byrd?”
I knew it was him when he opened his arms wide so I could run to him. He spun me around quickly before setting me on my feet. “How’s my little Tigress doing?”
Byrd was my first cousin and was like a brother to me. He was a few inches over six feet tall and could become very protective over me at times. He had night black hair with emerald green eyes that always sparkled when he was up to some sort of mischief. I rarely had seen him when growing up but it had always been a great surprise to have someone my age around that I did not need to impress.
“Could be better. Time will tell and once I kill a certain friend of yours I’ll definitely be much happier.”
“My loyal friends are on the way over now. The first should be here in five or so minutes but it could take as long as thirty for others.”
“So what shall we do while we wait,” Demetrius questioned.
“Um, maybe let me unpack some?” I walked towards the front steps and the pile of my bags. The three guys followed. “You three can help if you want? It will make getting settled so much easier. The least you can do is help me get all these bags upstairs before I search out a room.”
I quickly grabbed the two lightest bags before letting the guys take control of the others.
“What the hell have you got in here?” I heard Mathieu complain.
Looking back, I saw he had the heaviest of the bags. “Clothes and weapons,” I replied.
“Seriously,” he began to unzip it to look.
“Yes,” I said, jumping back down the stairs. “Here I’ll take these bags since you are complaining.” I handed him my two light bags before hauling my weapons up the stairs. Once in the master bedroom, I emptied all the clothes onto the bed before moving back into the hall and moving to the study with all the weapons.
By the time the guys tracked me to the study, I had already found the right book to pull on to allow the bookcase to slide off to the side. It was exactly like home. Same hidden levers to reveal the weapons stored there as well as all the empty space.
Slowly arranging all the weapons on the table, I could feel the shock of the three behind me. Once everything was laid out, I began to put them up on the walls, occasionally cleaning a piece that was dirty.
Once done, I sighed in contentment before finally turning around. Everything was in its place and all I needed to do was unpack my clothes, memories… and a few more weapons. Actually one more bag worth of weapons.
That was exactly when the doorbell rang. I pushed the men out of the room before closing it and going to answer the door. They were right behind me but did not get in my way or even try to answer the door for me.
I opened the door to two guys about my age talking about how they “thought this place was deserted.” After letting them in, I went back upstairs to unpack. Mathieu stayed down there but Jeremy and Demetrius followed me and watched me continue my task of unpacking.
I only finished one bag before being yelled at to come downstairs. My two followers led the way to the living room. I made a pit stop to get something to drink before going into the room. “Oh joy,” I murmured when I entered.
I scanned the faces and stopped on a grinning one. “Byrd?”
I knew it was him when he opened his arms wide so I could run to him. He spun me around quickly before setting me on my feet. “How’s my little Tigress doing?”
Byrd was my first cousin and was like a brother to me. He was a few inches over six feet tall and could become very protective over me at times. He had night black hair with emerald green eyes that always sparkled when he was up to some sort of mischief. I rarely had seen him when growing up but it had always been a great surprise to have someone my age around that I did not need to impress.
“Could be better. Time will tell and once I kill a certain friend of yours I’ll definitely be much happier.”
September 23, 2009
Back to Blogging + Writing
So I know I haven't posted in forever. Been woorking on a new story... Still haven't finished the Werewolf/Mut story I put excerpts from in the past 5 posts... It's complicated. I sort of finished part 1 and needed a part 2 to explain the story.
So current work is on dragons in Australia. Excerpt follows. Yeah I need to put more grief in the beginning.
Today, October 10th is the day that qualified as the worst in my life. Five days ago I had just turned seventeen and today I get home from school to find out my parents had died, a few hours ago, in a car crash.
You see, this is where all my plans of having a good senior year of high school fell through. I mean literally fell through. The police were waiting for me at the door to my house. They had already dug up my parents will and needed to get me to my guardians so I had somewhere to stay.
I automatically called my best friend, Mel, to see if I could stay with her until they found said guardians that I did not know even existed. By then, I was completely numb. The police dropped me at my friend’s house where she and her family tried to comfort me. All I could think about was what I did not say to my parents and how I was never going to see them again.
I had no appetite the rest of the day, so I just went to my friend’s room and cried myself to sleep. Mel’s parents said they would gather my parents’ friends to put together the funeral and that all I’d have to do was show up.
The next few days went by in a daze. I didn’t eat, nor did I sleep too well, and just stayed at Mel’s house refusing to go to school. And then Friday came along with my parent’s funeral. I found out before leaving Mel’s house that I would be leaving the next day for my guardian’s home.
I slowly began to sink lower and lower into my misery. I was in shock as the funeral slowly progressed and it did not get any better when I was introduced to some guy who came over to bring me to my guardian. I still had no clue who my guardian was and even where they lived.
After the reception and a ton more tears and hugs, we went to my home. I was only going to be there long enough to pack up everything I needed… clothes, pictures, books, and whatever else. I packed all my clothes, shoes, jewelry as well as my favorite books and pictures. I also packed a few things of my mom’s and dad’s so that I could be able to remember them.
When we finally left, Mel’s mother gave me a letter that the lawyer asked her to give me. It was from my parents:
To our little Tiger,
If this letter is getting to you, it must mean that something happened to us. We’re so sorry to have to leave you on your own but I hope that you will be strong for us.
I know you have no clue who your guardian is but he will always be there for you when needed. And I’m sure you know you will be leaving our little house for elsewhere. There is a school where you are going as well as a college but your journey will probably be difficult.
A long time ago, we built a house in your guardian’s town. It is fully furnished and all yours, so you can stay there if you wish but someone will always be nearby to check up on you.
Our suggestion is that you get a pet, to take care of and be able to hold when you miss us. It was hard for us when we lost our parents, and I’m sure it will be just as hard for you.
Know that you will always be in our hearts and to expect numerous surprises. Don’t forget your training. Take care, baby. We love you.
Your Mom and Dad
So current work is on dragons in Australia. Excerpt follows. Yeah I need to put more grief in the beginning.
Today, October 10th is the day that qualified as the worst in my life. Five days ago I had just turned seventeen and today I get home from school to find out my parents had died, a few hours ago, in a car crash.
You see, this is where all my plans of having a good senior year of high school fell through. I mean literally fell through. The police were waiting for me at the door to my house. They had already dug up my parents will and needed to get me to my guardians so I had somewhere to stay.
I automatically called my best friend, Mel, to see if I could stay with her until they found said guardians that I did not know even existed. By then, I was completely numb. The police dropped me at my friend’s house where she and her family tried to comfort me. All I could think about was what I did not say to my parents and how I was never going to see them again.
I had no appetite the rest of the day, so I just went to my friend’s room and cried myself to sleep. Mel’s parents said they would gather my parents’ friends to put together the funeral and that all I’d have to do was show up.
The next few days went by in a daze. I didn’t eat, nor did I sleep too well, and just stayed at Mel’s house refusing to go to school. And then Friday came along with my parent’s funeral. I found out before leaving Mel’s house that I would be leaving the next day for my guardian’s home.
I slowly began to sink lower and lower into my misery. I was in shock as the funeral slowly progressed and it did not get any better when I was introduced to some guy who came over to bring me to my guardian. I still had no clue who my guardian was and even where they lived.
After the reception and a ton more tears and hugs, we went to my home. I was only going to be there long enough to pack up everything I needed… clothes, pictures, books, and whatever else. I packed all my clothes, shoes, jewelry as well as my favorite books and pictures. I also packed a few things of my mom’s and dad’s so that I could be able to remember them.
When we finally left, Mel’s mother gave me a letter that the lawyer asked her to give me. It was from my parents:
To our little Tiger,
If this letter is getting to you, it must mean that something happened to us. We’re so sorry to have to leave you on your own but I hope that you will be strong for us.
I know you have no clue who your guardian is but he will always be there for you when needed. And I’m sure you know you will be leaving our little house for elsewhere. There is a school where you are going as well as a college but your journey will probably be difficult.
A long time ago, we built a house in your guardian’s town. It is fully furnished and all yours, so you can stay there if you wish but someone will always be nearby to check up on you.
Our suggestion is that you get a pet, to take care of and be able to hold when you miss us. It was hard for us when we lost our parents, and I’m sure it will be just as hard for you.
Know that you will always be in our hearts and to expect numerous surprises. Don’t forget your training. Take care, baby. We love you.
Your Mom and Dad
April 4, 2009
The Reason... The Why
So by now... I'm sure anyone who has read through the last four posts is wondering why I write. I guess I should start with the when I started to write. I started writing when I was bored in an English class in sophomore year of high school. It all started from a weird dream. From there a story began to develop. To be truthful that story has never been finished. I have written around one thousand hand written pages and have no idea how to finish it. I doubt it ever will be finished. I have way too many characters that I can not keep track of names and have already had two wars plus a numerous of other incidents. It just turned into a never ending way to test my ideas.
I wrote two stories after that. Both are completely typed up on some computer or flash drive. They both needed to be edited because my timeline for both are awful. The stories are awesome but just need to be extended into a longer amount of time. I am working on finishing my werewolf and Mut story to make a third story that will be finished.
I guess I should really get back to the main topic since I strayed for long enough. Writing is my way to relax. I can get away from all my troubles and stress. I can't be angry or sad while writing because that may influence what I write. I just have to completely forget all my worries and focus on what is going on in the story. I absorb myself into the story to stop the worry or the stress. Some people may go to the gym or run or play sports or hang with family and friends. Writing is just my way to get rid of all the stress and it fulfills its job quite well, even if typing and editing it is a major pain in the ass. It's hard to explain my thoughts of writing but am awfully glad I got into creative writing.
I wrote two stories after that. Both are completely typed up on some computer or flash drive. They both needed to be edited because my timeline for both are awful. The stories are awesome but just need to be extended into a longer amount of time. I am working on finishing my werewolf and Mut story to make a third story that will be finished.
I guess I should really get back to the main topic since I strayed for long enough. Writing is my way to relax. I can get away from all my troubles and stress. I can't be angry or sad while writing because that may influence what I write. I just have to completely forget all my worries and focus on what is going on in the story. I absorb myself into the story to stop the worry or the stress. Some people may go to the gym or run or play sports or hang with family and friends. Writing is just my way to get rid of all the stress and it fulfills its job quite well, even if typing and editing it is a major pain in the ass. It's hard to explain my thoughts of writing but am awfully glad I got into creative writing.
April 2, 2009
The Dreaded Timeline
This is the one part I really really hate the most about my stories. I never pay attention to the amount of time that a specific event take to occur. I just write. Until I go on to editing I never really notice. It just all seems to flow perfectly but the tiny detail of the time is the major problem. My current story is almost done but the whole timeline happens in just over a month. From the first meeting to the happily ever after, that is not too good. A previous story I wrote happens in about a few weeks, which is even worse. Plus one of the characters is unconscious for a good part of the time.On to the how to fix this problem... I have a few friends who willingly read my stories whenever they have free time. Mainly it was for editing anything I may have missed but also to help me with my writing problems. From then on I'm always nagged until I actually work towards fixing the problem, the timing. To add trouble to me trying to fix the timeline is the dislike of editing. Whenever I have free time I try to edit the stories but always am trying to find ways to drag out the timeline. To the story I keep posting bits of, I need to add more descriptions of what the characters look like and have my main character, Kat, take a longer time to get to know the werewolf pack.
The when... My thoughts are that I need to first finish the story before actually beginning to work on the timing problems. I should be finished with the story *fingers crossed* by the end of the semester but that is not definite. Then I would be going onto typing the story on the computer. That is definitely not what I'm looking forward to.
I could not find a good passage that went with this topic but found what follows. Katrina, the Mut, is sort of a conservationist of animals thought not to exist, like dragons, griffons, centaurs, etc. The problem with the timing in this excerpt is that she only knew Shane, the alpha of the werewolf pack for about a week to two. They had a small argument before this which explains the first line.
“I like winning hate losing, and refuse to give up or give in,” I told Shane. “It’s a difficult habit to break. What time is it?”
"About midnight. Why are you asking?”
“Because if you want me to trust you, I might as well take you to meet the animals since it looks like I won’t be able to sleep.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yeah, but there is one requirement. It is you having to be blind folded on the way over.”
April 1, 2009
Naming of Characters
One of the hardest parts for me is naming my characters. Most of the time everything else comes easily, the setting or the main plot, but as soon as I get to names I have problems. The names have to work for the time period that the story is written in or the time period that the person was born in but that is not all the requirements. The names have to be easy to say as well as short enough or with a nickname that does not have to be thought out each time.There are numerous ways you could come up with names. One is writing random names on a piece of paper and assembling them into some semblance of a name. I have to thank one of my awesome friends, Laeia, for giving me this way to find a decent name for a few of my characters. She is sort of also an inspiration because she already self published a book that is just awesome and interesting (see picture *points left*). For example, take the letters t, z, a, l, i. Some names you could make from those letters are tali, zail, liza, litza, etc. Another way of finding a name would be to go on the internet searching. The last way I have found inspiration for names are from books and history. For example, one character I made is named Artemisia. Artemis is the god of the hunt and I figured that was a good werewolf name.
Some of the names I have used so far are Katrina, Shane, Shawne, Willow, Artemisia, Erica, Emilia, Ivan, Night, Dia, Mia, Fernandez, as well as numerous others. These are just the ones that come come to the front of my mind.
I figured I might as well add another small excerpt... It is a little further along from my first blog post. It's a bit choppy but gets the point across and hints what my thought of a Mut really is.
I was not happy and changed into a lynx. The man, who turned out to be Shane, released me. I turned to face him.
"I just want to chat,” he told me. “I don’t mean any harm.” As an emphasis, he had his hands raised.
“And there is nothing to worry about my pack attacking.”
I growled disliking him being the dominant. Especially disliking him for being stronger than little-ole-me.
“I know your scent missy and I’m sure the town would give me your address since I can describe you. I just want you to hear me out.”
I growled even louder.
March 23, 2009
The Original Ideas
Everyone has an original idea, from which a story comes. It could come around at a random time when your mind is blank or it could come from dreams or even come from the inspiration of adventures with friends or families. Everyone has their own way to come up with ideas and it takes time for a perfect idea to come around. Most of the time these ideas are written down, whether in notebooks or on a computer. It just depends on the person and how they best work with writing.So by now you may be wondering how my ideas came along. Every story idea I've had up to now has come from dreams. Normally the dream's idea is only a small part of the whole story. I might as well point out that the only dreams I remember are sort of scary or could be but I morph them, when in stories, into a sad part with a happy ending. Yeah I wish I could have happy dreams since I've had enough of spiders or giant bugs and random kidnappings (where I am the observer, and seem to be hovering there) with a few vampires but then dreams really do not like me obviously. The bugs and spiders will never come part of any story I create especially seeing how much I hate and fear them.
Onto my werewolf and Mut story, as I've recently been calling it. The original idea came from a really weird kidnapping dream. It became really weird when I actually thought about it later and really did not fit with my ideas after I began writing. So the dream was the main character being kidnapped via a taxi, driven somewhere out of the town, thrown in a dark cell with vampires, and eventually being rescued. When I had finally gotten to writing the scene there was a major problem... The setting is a small town where one could easily walk around and thus no needs for taxi's. *Cue the death march* Well my solution was the only one I could come up with. I had the made the werewolf pack into a group of outcasts, to say the least. It turned into a sort of rival fight with the main character getting in the way.
Below is the excerpt of that portion. It is really choppy though from lack of editing. There is some background to keep it from being too confusing. As a note, apostrophes mean talking telepathically...
“Are you beating up my second in command, Kat?” I heard Shane ask from behind me.
“You are the one who wanted them to keep an eye on me,” I replied turning to face him. I went back to twirling the staff. “Finally done?”
“Almost. There is still a few things but that’s all.”
I dropped to the ground as I heard the air moving as Tomas swung at my side. I switched into a panther and attacked. I caught him in the leg before he hit me aside with the staff and werewolf strength. I got to fly.
I landed unsteadily on my feet and dropped onto my stomach immediately. I knew I had some bruised and cracked ribs. It was a bit hard to breathe and I realized my clothes were in rags.
I stood and realized something was wrong with one of my front legs, since it was painful to put any pressure on the leg.
March 22, 2009
Inspirations
You need to have some sort of inspiration before you begin to think writing. If you had never read anything related to what you wish to write about, you may not be able to fully write as in depth about it. Personally I had a huge break in reading anything... middle school was just the time that I hated reading but eventually I got back into reading. Reading mainly about vampires and werewolves, that is.
I only brought a small sampling of my favorite books from Cincinnati to college. All but two of the books belong in a series. All but three have werewolves, vampires, some form related to the two like a mix or a creature based off them. Back in Cincinnati, there are about four to five times as many books that I love. Ever need some recommendations I'd willingly help if you read the same type of literature... in other words fantasy.
Now back to the topic, inspiration. My main inspiration is werewolves and vampires. There are multiple variations on both creatures. For example take werewolves. Some books have werewolves that can only change the night of the full moon. There are others that have to change more often than that, once a week or they would be forced to change at bad times. There are even some that can change whenever but take some time to change and consists of a large amount of pain. Every werewolf created is different from the original thought one may have.
The main story I have been working on is one with a werewolf pack and a new type of creature, that I call a Mut, which is a mixture of Were's, shifters, and a vampire. My types of werewolves are able to shift within a second or less depending on the rank in the pack, ie. alpha, beta, omega, or anything in between. The alpha's can shift into a wolf in under a second while those at the bottom of the pack order may take a few seconds longer. As you can probably tell, my form of a werewolf can change into a wolf whenever he or she may choose.
On to talk about the new form of creature, the Mut. I came up with the idea with my love of shifters and Were's. From there I came up with the creature, a Mut, that I can write about and enjoy. I end up having only four total in the story and they end up having their variety of animals they could change into, depending on their hetitage. My main character has a number shapes she can take on including big cats, wolf, and a winged amazon like creature I created. She is a bit rough around the edges and does not trust easily, which makes the conflict between her and the invading pack all the more interesting.
Posted below is a bit of the story I am nearly done with. It is in first person because I feel like you can connect to the story better. Please note that I have not really edited it and have major issues putting things together in a reasonable amount of time... More will be posted later.
My story begins on a full moon night when my territory was invaded. My name is Katrina West and I chose to have some “fun” trying to defend my home turf and sort of got into a huge mess on my part. Oh and I may as well mention that the species I am is classified as a Mut.
You see being a Mut means I have almost any type of shifter, Were, and vamp with a few other strange creatures in the mix. It all has to do with my genetic background and I really don’t want to get into that complicated mess. Back to the story, well the night of the full moon, I have to change into one of my many Were forms.
The night I met Shane I was in my were panther form. We had a little dispute. You see, I had lived in the town for years without any Were’s living there. It was peaceful. Well, anyway, Shane and his pack must have moved into town after the previous full moon.
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