Labotomy of a Writer

So, yesterday I posted up 7 outrageous things about myself and you guys had to guess which were true and which were lies. So today, I'll be telling the truth all the way around.

Okay first off, Amalia was correct to guess that I had put up 6 truths and 1 lie!

1. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be an architect. TRUE
I loved designing houses as a kid with graph paper. My Dad even bought me a computer program that allowed me to design. It was cool because then the system would create a 3D Model that you could tour around (with furniture included)! I love the Sims games because I get to design entire neighborhoods full of houses and stuff!

2. My dream car is an El Camino (tricked out of course). TRUE
Yes Eric, I love El Caminos - not sure why really. I dated a guy in high school whose Dad had the most beautiful El Camino and that's when I fell in love. It was metallic black, grey interior, dual exhaust (with glass packs for that nice sound) *droooools*

3. I think I have the sexiest butt in the world. TRUE
Okay, I know it sounds arrogant, but I do think so. It's one of the few things I actually like about my body at the moment, so I gotta go with what I got!

4. I long to one day write a stage play (or two). TRUE
I wrote a really silly stage play once in High School with a friend of mine. I loved the experience and I want to write a serious one one of these days. (Not something thrown together for a homework assignment.) You were right Carolina!

5. I have an 'unhealthly' obsession with skulls. TRUE
I really do! I don't know why either! I'm not obsessed with death so it's not related to that. I think it's because of the Jolly Roger (ya know, skull and cross bones). I am picky about the skulls that I like - I don't like it when they like a knife coming out of their head or a snake coming out of its mouth. I juse like a skull that is doing like a meniachal laugh or something. MWahahaha!

6. I used to have spikey hair. TRUE
I sure did! Lovely spikey, no hassle hair. *sigh* Those were the days. My date to prom and I had the same style hair (same color and everything)!

7. I have been to so many rock concerts, I can't count them all. FALSE
In truth, I have only been to one concernt in my entire life (Way to go Amalia for guessing this right!) My best friend and I went to go see My Chemical Romance - it was totally awesome! They are my favorite band so it was really great to see them for my first live concert.

And, because it's so funny, I have to share a vision that Carolina had about me! "I'm imagining you leaning over a tricked out El Camino with your sexy butt on display, holding a skull in your hands. :D Interesting image worthy of its own story." So great! I might have to take a picture of this one day! (Of course, I would post it up here for you lovely people!)

And as I am nearing 100 followers (yay!) I am announcing that I'll have a giveaway of some type when I get there. Don't know what to give away just yet - or maybe I'll follow Shannon's lead and make a vlog! (Wait, I vowed to not make one of those things...) I don't know what I'll do exactly, but I'll do something great - well hopefully great!

My husband just told me that I should make a vlog - as he bought me the webcam and I don't really use it - so I might as well use it. We'll see.

I have recieved a few awards as of late but have not had a chance to post about them, so it's a three in one day folks!



The first award is the Butterfly Award from the lovely Nicole!

Now I just pass it on to five people who have cool blogs! So where we go! Remember, I could only pick five! But if I'm following you, I think you're pretty cool too!

1. Andrew - The WriteRunner
2. Eric - Digging with the Worms
3. Carolina - Carol's Prints
4. Karen - Eternal Moonshine of the Daydreaming Mind
5. Simon - Constant Revision




The next award is the Cupcake Award from the wonderful Eric. He renamed it the Beer award since he felt the cupcake was not manly enough. Well, Eric, don't worry. I find it hilarious that I have just recieved two awards back to back covered with the color PINK! *turns to ash - wonderful GREY ash*

1. Annie - Dutch Hill News
2. Dawn - Dawn Embers
3. DL - Crusing Altitude
4. Eisley - Eisley's Ellipses
5. Charity - My Writing Journey



And last but not least, we have the Creative Writer award from the totally awesome CJ Ellison.

I am supposed to tell 7 outrageous things about myself and my wonderful follows have to figure out which is true and which is a lie. I can either do 6 lies and 1 truth or 6 truth and 1 lie. You guys will have to figure it out! Have fun guessing! I do love this award - it's such great fun! (I'll post up the answers in a few days)

This is going to be hard as I did this once before - but I'll give it a shot! Then I must pass it on to seven people.

1. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be an architect.
2. My dream car is an El Camino (tricked out of course).
3. I think I have the sexiest butt in the world.
4. I long to one day write a stage play (or two).
5. I have an 'unhealthly' obsession with skulls.
6. I used to have spikey hair.
7. I have been to so many rock concerts, I can't count them all.

1. Elizabeth - Elizabeth Mueller
2. Roland - Writing in the Crosshairs
3. Sarah Jayne - Writing in the Wilderness
4. Raquel - NiteWriter
5. Amalia - Good to Begin Well, Better to End Well
6. Shannon - Ramblings of a Wanna-Be Scribe
7. Haley Jo - A Journey through the Mind

Woo! That was exhausting! Now, on to finish checking emails and reading blogs! (And leaving comments to tell of these awards, but I'll prolly do that later tonight...)

Yay for another blogfest! This is the Bad Girl Blogfest hosted by the awesome Write Runner (Andrew). Make sure you go check out the other entries, they are going to be awesome, I'm sure!

Here is what Andrew said about the blogfest::

So, what is a Bad Girl? Do you have a female character who’s a little bit mean? Haughty? Conniving? Wretched? Does she lie? Cheat? Steal? Is she on the run from the Law? Or is she an Enforcer, dealing out Justice to those who deserve it? Bad Girls come in all shapes and sizes, from the not-so-innocent schoolgirl to the mad Empress of your fantasy Kingdom. Does she think she’s better than everyone, and that the world owes her something? Does she shoot first and ask questions later? We know they’re out there, haunting nightclubs and stalking graveyards, mixing potions and casting spells, hacking bank computers and pushing drugs, you name it. There’s no end to the variety of good-girls-gone-bad out there. Bring it on!

So, here is my entry, from "The Adventures of Ryn and Ciyme". As it always seems, this is a rough draft from NaNo 2008. I haven't gone back to it yet, as I am focusing on other things!

As she knelt to make the fire, a black horse rode into their camp. The rider sat tall in the saddle, the muscles in his arms flexing as he tried to rein in his horse. His long jet black hair was tied back with a thong and his piercing black eyes were looking straight at Ryn. She was frozen with shock and fear.

“Lady, what are you doing traveling without an escort?” he demanded. His voice was deep and rough but Ryn didn’t seem to notice.

“What makes you think I need an escort?” she said returning to her work. He suddenly was no longer appealing to her.

“All ladies need escorts to protect them from other men and wild animals,” he said matter of fact.

Ryn snorted. “Oh that’s right. Women are so stupid that couldn’t possibly take care of themselves. Go away stranger.” The wood sparked and she gently blew on it to get the fire going. She added firewood before she noticed that the stranger had not moved.

“I told you to leave. You’ll regret it if you don’t,” Ryn said.

The man dismounted, with a smooth grace that even Ryn was jealous of. “I couldn’t possibly leave you without an escort, Lady. What kind of man would I be?”

“A smart one,” Ryn said just as Ciyme came down from a tree branch.

“Ah-ha!” Ciyme yelled before setting fire to the man’s hair.

He calmly patted out the flames before pulling out a bottle of tonic. He sighed with irritation as he put three drops on his hair. Ryn was wondering how and why he had the hair growth tonic when a black dragon the same size as Ciyme flew out of his saddle bag.

He attacked Ciyme and the two tiny dragons fought in the air.

“Ciyme! Stop! Don’t fight him!”

“Molten! Let her go! Stop that!”

The two dragons stopped in mid air, looked at each other, then flew back to sit on the shoulders of their pets.

“Are you alright Ciyme?”

“Yes I’m fine,” Ciyme said out of breath.

“Now, please before anyone gets hurt. Will you just leave?”

“I told you I can’t do that.” He turned to unpack his horse.

Ryn lost her patience with the man and drew her sword. Without giving him warning she lunged. He easily dodged her attack and in the same movement drew his own sword.

Molten and Ciyme settled on the stranger’s horse to watch.

Ryn was having trouble fighting this man. He was so strong that with every block, she felt the force of it in her entire body. Her arms were getting sore but she was not going to let him win.

“Who do you think will be the victor?” Molten asked Ciyme. His voice sounded like drums beating in a flourish.

“Ryn, my pet. She’s a mean fighter and she would never let a man beat her anyway. She’ll fight dirty I’m sure.” Ciyme said proudly.

As if she heard Ciyme, Ryn kneed the man in the groin. He bent over in pain just long enough for Ryn to hit him over the head with the hilt of her sword. He fell into the dirt and Ryn quickly grabbed the rope, tying his ankles and wrists together.

“I could easily untie him,” Molten said.

Ciyme pounced on the black dragon before he could take flight. They fell off the horse and into the dirt. They rolled around for a few moments before Ryn went over and picked them both up.

“You aren’t going to do anything,” she said. She wrapped Molten up in a sac then hung him from a tree.

Then she went to investigate the stranger’s horse. As she was looking through his bags, he came to.

“Hey! What is going on here?” he demanded still lying in the dirt.

“You were beaten by a girl.”

“You didn’t stick to the rules of warfare.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that not lady like? I’ll have to work on that,” Ryn said sarcastically as she continued to rummage through his things.

“Ryn! What happened here? I’m gone for thirty minutes and you tie up a man!” Y’ron said stepping into the small clearing with two rabbits in his hand.

“This pompous man insisted that I needed an escort. I tried to tell him I don’t need one but he refused to leave so I subdued him.”

“Ryn, you are the weirdest girl.”

“I know.”

Tada! I hope you like it. Ryn is definately one of my favorite characters, she's just so spunky.

Yes, it's the end of the series - officially. We covered a lot over the last few weeks and I'm sure some of you are freaking out! That much information to research oh no! It's not as bad as you think, seriously. Your story may not require all of the things that we discussed and even if it requires all of them, it is really easy to research, especially with the worksheet I created. It at least keeps me from forgetting something that is important to the story.

I used my novel "The Story of William Archer" as it required me to fill in most of this information. The rest of it I made up based on the story for this post. The italic parts are my little notes for you to refer to, hints and things to help you use the worksheet. I also reference things in my research notebook, enclosed in brackets [ ]. This allows me to fill out this worksheet without writing my notes down twice. If you don't have a research notebook, I suggest you get one - or you can reference file names that are on your computer if you don't print them out.

*Kingdom/Country Name: Ollur

Commerce:

Currency:

• copper kiln - $1,
• bronze tellik - $10,
• silver kelit - $50,
• gold frellik - $100

Trades: (common trades that the country is known for) Ship building and weapon making

Government:

System: (what type of government rules the country) Monarchy [see notes, pages 12-16]

Class: (where do people fit?)

• Merchant Class - shop keepers, tailors, etc.
• Trade Class - blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers, etc.
• Political Class - Barons, Knights (non-military), Viscounts.
• Noble Class - higher nobles like Dukes, Marquees, Earls.

Military: (repeat as often as needed)

Type: Royal Guard

• Rank: Guard (Name)
• Awards: Royal Rose Medal (valor), Royal Star (bravery above and beyond)
• Weapons: Pistol & saber

Type: Royal Navy

• Rank: [see notes pages 5-6]
• Awards: Royal Star (bravery above and beyond), Aquarian Award (after famous Naval General)
• Weapons: Pistol, saber, cannons (on ship)

Weaponry: (here you can say commoners and nobles but I say each class of people)

Merchant Class: simple pistols, crude swords, daggers

Trade Class: simple pistols, crude swords, daggers

Political Class: the best pistols, rifles, swords, daggers

Noble Class: swords (useful but mostly for show), daggers, some may carry their own pistols

Religion:

Gods:

• God of Water and the Sea, Illiat (you can also make a note of what their “sign” looks like, like the Sign of the Cross)
• God of War, Trellin

Goddesses:

• Goddess of Fertility, Nephina
• Goddess of Earth and Farming, Ollura

Beliefs/Superstitions: gifts to the gods bring good fortune, not blood offerings, blood or live sacrifices bring bad luck,

Myths/Legends: Illiat, the God of the Sea – similar to the legends of King Tritan of the merfolk, (you can add more here for each of the deities in your story, but I’ll stop with just one to keep from boring you.)

Traditions: (I just made small notes here, but you can or may need to show more detail. I didn’t put all information here, again to not bore you)

Birth: Each year celebrate “birth anniversary” for one week until the age of 16, huge party for “sweet 16” for both girls and boys,

Graduation: Two day celebration

Marriage: Bride and Groom wear colors of their family, altar is decorated in both colors with the family crest (grooms) embroidered on it,

Death: A day of silence followed by a day of great celebration; color of mourning: red

*Race: Ollurian

Skin: light, peach colored

Hair: brown, black, blonde, purple

(add any other details about their race, like if they have pointed ears or horns or attenae, only 4 fingers, etc)

*Styles: (list for all classes and males, females, and children)

Merchant Class:

• Males: simple tunics and leggings, boots,
• Females: one layer dresses, simple belt, sleeves hug wrist, hair pulled up but no head piece,
• Children: same

Trade Class: *will also wear special clothing for their trade, like aprons

• Males: simple tunics and leggings, boots,
• Females: one layer dresses, simple belt, sleeves hug wrist, hair pulled up but no head piece,
• Children: same

Political Class:

• Males: Tunics with family crest embroidered on the chest, leggings, leather boots,
• Females: two layer dresses (tunic and under dress), loose sleeves, hair pulled up with beautiful clips,
• Children: same, girl’s hair pulled into braids with colorful ribbons

Noble Class:

• Males: Elaborate Tunics with family crest on chest, expensive trimmings, leggings, expensively made boots with some sort of decoration (like fur on the cuff),
• Females: two layer dresses (tunic and under dress), billowy sleeves, hair held in exquisite head wraps and veils,
• Children: same, girl’s hair styled in curls or under a veil,

*Location:

Located: North border: the ocean, South: Country of Welish, East: Country of Betern, West: Country of Martyn

Cities: Port Illiat (capital), Trellin, Rentin, [setting sketches pages 1-2]

*Technology: [see notes pages 20-21, 24-26, 27-30]

Names: Cities are named after Gods and famous military heroes

*Language: English with Ollurian accent (sounds like British), [see notes pages 43-45]

So as you can see, I only refer to my huge research notes a few times. The other stuff I made up or used other research notes to make up my own information. It's not as hard as it seems if you look at it this way. At least it isn't to me. I was able to fill in this page in about an hour, with very little research. Granted I already had a lot of research done, so I guess I could say it would take a day or two to fill out this entire thing.

Remember that your story may not use every single one of these points! (So it may not take you quite as long, just depends on how much extra research you need to do)The bolded titles with an asterix are the ones that I think are required for every story, but you can pick and choose as you like.

Are you excited? It's the last part of this series! Well sort of. I will sum it all up tomorrow and give you a worksheet sort of thing, the one that I use, when creating a new world. You'll see that it's a bit easier than you think.

Names

I mean naming the locations and places in your story, not your characters - although this could apply depending on how you want to work your story.

We did talk about ranks in the military and noble titles and this plays along into it a bit but more specifically. If you have military ranks and noble titles - but you made them up, why did you choose the ones you did? I read a novel once where soldiers added a prefix to their last name to show their rank. It changed their last name entirely. If I remember correctly, the prefix was a letter or two with an apostrophe so it would look like this : Last name: Palmer, with rank Ni'Palmer.

When it comes to naming or making up your ranks and titles, what reason did you use them? Were they chosen by some historical event or after a deity? (Like "Knights of the Goddess Harley" have a special way to show their status or something, that differentiates themselves from regular Knights.)

Now naming your towns and other locations (and even your characters) where do the people in your world draw inspiration from? The Gods? History (famous people or events)? A little of both? Knowing this bit of information can add a bit to your story and how the characters interact with their world. In my novel "The Story of William Archer", the towns are named after famous military heroes that fought for the country of Ollur when it was first established. Now, this does not have any real bearing on the story plot it self, but it does have importance to William. He loves Ollur and it's people and having him think of the wonderful history that made the country really cements to the reader how much William cares for his country. Your story may have the deities come into play which could tell the reader how your character has a strong faith or perhaps how the country itself feels about faith - as in the entire country holds faith and religion to a high importance.

This gives a huge clue into what type of people are in your story - what drives them. Like with William, he is driven to protect Ollur - and it's rich history - from a tyrant King. So, I had to make up little stories about the history of the country.

No, you don't have to do this! So don't freak out. It is just one more layer that you could add. Your story may not need this layer at all. In "The Adventures of Ryn and Ciyme" I just made up the names with no particular reason why. They were just a way to label the places the characters went to.

Language

No, you don't need to make up an entire language like Tolkien did for his elves in "Lord of the Rings". You could yes, and I give you huge kudos for doing so! It's hard to do - I've tried and epically failed.

That being said, I'm sure you're wondering what I mean. I read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi novels that perhaps only make up a few words that cannot be "translated" into English. This can include things like drinks, food, other objects, or ideals (like honor or faith or love).

You could also use another language that is not your own! In "The Kinir Elite" I have Latin sprinkled throughout the story. Derac, is the captain but Kie calls him "Centurio" which does mean captain in Latin but is for a captain of a huge battalion not a small group. I also use the world "salve" for "hello or greetings" and a few other common things. I also have a phrase that the Elite say to one another at the start of the mission that basically says "Live Slow, Die Fast" (loose translation - supposed to really convey the meaning to enjoy life but do not suffer in death) - but I write it in Latin each time.

Also, in the "Faery's Tale" I don't ever say any words in the faery or elvin languages but I do make mention of the difference. When the faery's are with the elves, obviously they are speaking two different languages so to tell the difference I simply say "she said in faery". So the reader still knows what is said, but the other characters in the scene don't. (This is the novel where I tried to make up a new language and failed miserably.)

There are a few different options as you can see to show language without making up a new one. Again, you don't have to do this in your novel, but I do want to ask you this "Would an alien race from another planet or dragons in another world speak the same language as us?"

Another blogfest! Woot! I just love these things! This is the Primal Scream Blogfest hosted by the wonderful Raquel Byrnes. Make sure you read the other entries!

Many of you remember reading my entry for the Last Line Blogfest! I decided to be nice and post the "inciting incident" - well one of them - and give you all another look at who Palto and Kie are. So, here we go! Again, it's the first rough draft so...

Instead of going to bed as ordered, Kie gathered her things and made her way to the bath house. The large bath house was split into two areas, one for females and one for males. The place was always welcoming to Kie. The stone floors were somehow always warm and Kie loved to walk on them with bare feet. Steam and sweet incense filled the air, making for a very calm atmosphere.

Kie inhaled deeply. The lavendar and vanilla in the air made her mind clear and her soul calm.

Kie undressed and slowly stepped into the steaming water of the. She sighed in relief as the warm water enveloped her and loosened the stress in her muscles. Lilies floated on the surface of the water and they flaoted near her to tickle her skin.

"Kierianna Shaphros."

Kie looked over her shoulder to see Palto looking down at her with hungry eyes.

"Commander, how may I help you?"

"Oh there are so many ways." He eyed her hungrily and licked his lips.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ya know Kie, there are so many reasons why we should be together." Palto laid down on his stomach so that his lips were mere inches from her ear. "I am a very powerful elf."

"You are the Mission Commander."

"Oh no my pet, I am more powerful than that."

Kie felt the water turn cold. What did he mean? Regarless of his meaning, the thought of partnering with Palto in any way, made Kie sick to her stomach. She tried to keep herself from shivering in the suddenly cold water, but she tembled anyway.

"Ahh, so you do like power."

"With all do respect, Commander, power does not impress me."

"It should. You should seriously consider a partnership with me," he whispered in her ear.

Kie could feel bile rising in the back of her throat. "What would I gain from that?"

"Power of your own. A powerful partner. What better arrangement is there?" Palto chuckled.

"Again, power does not impress me. I have no need or want of it."

"Mmm, why don't you think about? We'll talk again after the mission. The events that happen might cause you to change your mind."

"What events?"

"You'll see. Just pay close attention to what is going on around you. The mission will help you to decide. Trust me, darling." Palto kissed her neck before Kie could react. He left the room as mysteriously as he arrived.

Kie looked around to make sure he was gone. The began to scrub her skin, disgusted by what had happened. She continued scrubbing even after her skin turned red.

So, there it is. Just to give you some insite - the Last Line blog fest scene is towards the end of the story and this one here is in the beginning - so there are plenty of other evil happenings inbetween! Mwahaha!