The Sound of Anticipation

Shhh.

Listen.

Can you hear it?

That’s the sound of anticipation, excitement, and maybe a little bit of fear.

It’s the sound of blank pages moments away from exploding into life.

Of writers all over the world hovering over their keyboards, itching to paint with words the tales inside their minds.

It’s that quiet moment, the calm intro, before everything bursts forth.

NaNoWriMo has loomed before us but its moment has almost arrived. At the gong of midnight, keyboards everywhere will be rattling with the click click click of their users’ fingers, flowing forth the stories that have long awaited their moment to come alive. Coffee shall be consumed in large quantities. Sleep shall be a myth. Everyday duties of life will be shoved into the closet (along with those pesky Inner Editors). There’s a story inside all of us, and right now it demands to be written.

Even now in some parts of the world you can hear the clacking of those keyboards and the churning of those brilliant writer minds firing away.

In two hours my own characters will be breathing upon the pages.

NaNoWriMo 2013 is upon us. And I couldn’t be more excited!

I hope each and every one of you NaNo’ers out there have a delightful NaNo full of thrilling adventures, exhilarating journeys, wondrous surprises, and words that flow as swift and easy as a river.

Happy NaNo ‘13!!!

100th Post

Well, it certainly took me a while to get here but. . .

Yes! 100 posts of pure random crazy Christine-ness.

It has been an adventure, blogging has. But who doesn’t enjoy adventures?

The very best thing about blogging is meeting other amazing bloggers out there. I want to thank every single one of you who follow me. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you all. So many of you have been such a blessing to me. THANK YOU.

Musings of an Elf shall march towards another 100 posts. (Hopefully a little faster this time.) The blogging world is a lovely one and I look forward to making it up to 200 posts.

Have a blessed week, everyone!

More Green than Envy - NaNo ‘13

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge the closeness of NaNoWriMo?

*noises of panic resound*

Ahem. Better yet, let’s not.

Well, over the last two weeks I’ve introduced my main characters, Leiden and Darven, the ones I shall be typing madly over for the entirety of November. Now we know who I’m writing about, but exactly what am I writing for NaNo?

Well, when I first participated back in 2010 I started the first book of a series about dragon riders. Ever since, I write each book of that series for each NaNo. This being my 4th NaNo I shall be writing the 4th book of the series. There should be 7 books in total (although the number keeps changing >.>) so I still have a few NaNo’s with this series to go. It’s going to be a strange day when the NaNo comes that I’m not writing in the Colors of a Dragon Scale series anymore. I’ve gotten comfortable visiting this world each November. Still got a few years to go though, right?

Colors of a Dragon Scale Series

In the great land of Aerigethel, dragons lay down their eggs every twenty-three years and entrust the humans to care for them. Seven years later, the eggs are ready to be hatched. From all over the land, people come to touch the eggs, for if the egg lights up upon their touch, they are chosen as that dragon's keeper and rider. After extensive training, these special chosen ones are proclaimed dragon riders, and keep watch over their land alongside their dragons.

In the region of Sivral, ten young people have finished their training and celebrate their new call of a dragon rider. The merry festivities of that day are quickly ruined when the princess of Sivral, Princess Iraila, is captured by mysterious beings. Though they have only been real dragon riders for less than a day's time, the new dragon riders of Sivral are each sent out in pairs all across Aerigethel on a quest to find the princess and bring her back safely.

Though many wars have taken place throughout its long history, Aerigethel has had a few years of peace. But now Iraila's capture is just the beginning of many perilous events that causes this world to fall into war again, and the dragon riders might be its only hope.

Each book follows a different pair of dragon riders until the final two books which will feature them all. For blurbs of the first three books you can check out this post.

This year’s book is entitled More Green than Envy and follows, as you know, the adventures of Leiden and Darven.

More Green than Envy
(CoaDS Book 4)

Darven has never been one to take to people. His last wish is to be partnered up with someone as energetic as Leiden, an overly hyper elf who seems to have way too much to say. Unfortunately for Darven, both these young men end up with green dragons, putting them together as dragon rider partners for the next thirty years. It's a journey of nonstop chatter on Leiden's part and annoyance on Darven's when the two and their dragons, Barveris and Gaelasil, are sent to the region to the east to search for the captured Princess Iraila.

Ordeth supposedly was on friendly enough terms with their home region Sivral, so when they cross the border and meet up with flying arrows aiming straight for them they know something is wrong.

Peril is thrust upon these two riders and their dragons as they discover tyranny, enslavement, and the threat of a looming war across all of Aerigethel in the borders of this region.

Imprisonment, torture, and loss force these young men to learn to rely on one another, and that even in the direst times there is always hope to cling to.

After putting together the outline last week, I’ve realized this is going to be the most intense book I’ve ever written. I don’t know how it ended up that way. It wasn’t really planned. I never exactly let my characters get off easy, but for Leiden and Darven. . .well, let’s just say their book isn’t going to be all that fun for them. But I like books like that, books that aren’t afraid to be severe but, in the end, show a powerful message of hope and light and God’s love, and that’s just how I hope this book turns out.

I have a feeling it’s going to keep me on my toes from November 1st to the 30th. And I greatly look forward to it!

So who else is participating in NaNo? What are you writing this year? I’d love to hear about it!

Beautiful People - Darven

In last week's post I was talking about how I’m working on developing my two main character for my novel, More Green than Envy, for this year’s NaNoWriMo. Last week I did a Beautiful People for my elf, Leiden. This week I’m doing the same for my other MC, Darven Morshar.

Darven is just about as opposite from Leiden as a person can get. He’s a recluse fellow, not having much to do with people. He gets easily annoyed (especially with overly energetic, talkative people. . .like Leiden *cough*). His life hasn’t been an easy one, making it where he doesn’t trust easily. Poor Darven has a lot to work out.

~Darven Morshar~

Do they have any habits, annoying or otherwise?
Is ignoring people considered a habit? Because he does that an awful lot. He tends to zone out a lot into deep thought and block out everything else around him, especially when everything around him is getting on his nerves.
Sometimes when you ask him a question he’ll just stare at you without answering for the longest, making for a very uncomfortable moment. The reason for this is he is a deep thinker and doesn’t like to answer anything until he’s given it long consideration, but for the other person it’s awfully awkward.

What is their backstory and how does it affect them now?
Darven was raised in a shabby, unhappy home with a temperamental father, an older sister that basically had nothing to do with him, and a sickly mother. As a result, he was left to fend for himself most of the time. When he was 13 years old, his mother, the only one that really cared for him, died from her illness. Soon after, some men mysteriously murdered his father and burned down their house (who they are and why they did that is still a mystery to Darven). His sister fled without him and he was taken in by a harsh dwarf whom his father worked for. His family was in debt to this blacksmith dwarf and being as how Darven was the only one left, he had to work to pay off that debt. He was the blacksmith’s assistant for 7 years before the dwarf sent him on his way. Darven wandered for a bit before learning a king of another kingdom was in need of a blacksmith. It was the only thing Darven really liked doing, and he was good at it too, so he managed to snag the job. He’s been living quietly as the royal blacksmith for a few years now when, to his great surprise, a dragon chose him as its rider. (That got long, sorry.)
Darven’s past affects him a lot. Having a hard home life, losing his family tragically, and then working for the dwarf who was pretty abusive, turned his heart cold. It has made it hard for him to trust easily. He’s learned to rely on himself only since his childhood and that’s a hard habit to shake for him.

How do they show love?
Show love? Darven? Ehehehe. He. . .doesn’t? Okay, okay, so he did love his mother an awful lot and he does get better as his story unfolds. Still, he’s a quiet guy and showing love is hard for him. A nod of approval is about all you’re going to get from him. But if someone he cares about is in danger he will practically fight to his death to get them back. Currently though, he doesn’t really have anyone he cares about. Not yet anyway. Hee.

How competitive are they?
Darven has a very “I don’t care” attitude. Frankly, I don’t think he gives a thought about being better than anyone else. He lives only to survive, worrying about competing against other people isn’t exactly high on his caring list.

What do they think about when nothing else is going on?
He ponders the events of his past during almost every quiet minute of his life. He still wonders who those men were that killed his father and why. His mother fills his thoughts a good deal as well And, though he’d never admit it, he thinks about his sister a lot because the fact that she abandoned him bothers him, though he tries to convince himself it doesn’t.

Do they have an accent?
Mmm. . . Not really. I imagine him with a pretty normal American-type voice. Kind of a deep tone.

What is their station in life?
He was a peasant but now, as formerly mentioned, he’s the royal blacksmith. Er. . .no, not now. Now technically he’s a dragon rider which is a step above a knight. So he’s moved pretty far up in the world.

What do others expect from them?
Being as how he tries his best to keep to himself, others don’t expect much of him. The King expects the finest weaponry from him I suppose because he has always produced the best. He has a knack for weapon making and never disappoints. Other than that, I think people know not to expect too much from him.

Where were they born, and when?
He was born in a village just outside a large city on the northeast side of the world (it’s a made up world, but that’s pretty obvious). The land he lived in never did have a good reputation for the most. . .erm, respectable of folks. A pretty dangerous, shady place to be raised. When? Uh. . .25 years ago. He’s 25 so. . .yeah. *shrugs*

How do they feel about people in general?
Hahahaha. I think I’ve answered this one multiple times already. He does not like people. He wishes people would leave him alone. That sums it up pretty well. Eheh.

Yeppers, that’s Darven for you. A bit different from Leiden, wouldn’t you say? They’re going to make quite the pair when they’re thrust together on a perilous adventure. *rubs hands together wickedly* I quite look forward to it.

Beautiful People - Leiden

NaNoWriMo is approaching, people! Like… almost 3 weeks away approaching! *gasp*

Currently I’m working on planning my NaNo novel, More Green than Envy (or trying, it’s kind of been a crazy week). In preparation I’m working on my two main characters. I think I write better when I know my characters pretty well. So, one of the best ways to discover one’s characters is Beautiful People. It always helps so much!

Today I’m doing Leiden Irethen. Leiden is a young, male elf with far too much energy. He’s the jester of the group and a just all around fun guy. I really look forward to writing his story.

To the questions!

~Leiden Irethen~

What is their biggest accomplishment?
Leiden’s younger life was. . .unpleasant, to say the least. He was enslaved by a group of dark elves for a few years. I’d say his biggest accomplishment was making it through that horrible time and still clinging to his faith and hope. He never gave up. He promised himself he’d hold through and return to his mother one day and he did it.

What is one of their strongest childhood memories?
The day the dark elves took him. His father resisted and so the dark elves killed him, hurt Leiden’s mother, and then took Leiden away. Not a happy memory, no, but definitely his most vivid one.

What is their favorite food?
Probably anything sweet he can get his hands on. Leiden likes his sugar. I don’t think it matters what it is, just that it has enough sugar to put him in a sugar coma. *wink*

Do they believe in love at first sight?
Oh, I think Leiden is very much a romantic. I have no doubt that he does.

What kind of home do they live in?
Leiden lives in a small, wooden house with his mother in a quant little elven village. Nothing fancy, but they love it. They’ve always been poor, so they’re quite content with what they can get.

What do they like to wear?
As just mentioned, Leiden has never had much in the way of money. He usually just wears plain clothes—trousers, tunics, the usual medieval-type apparel. Just something comfortable, he’s not picky at all when it comes to clothing.

What would they do if they discovered they were dying?
Firstly he’d be sure to tell his mother he loves her. After his father’s death and his own enslavement, he and his mother have been nearly inseparable. They’re all each other has and lean heavily on one another. He’d also tell her to always cling on to hope. It’s the only thing that has kept him going. As long as he could do this, I think he’d be content with dying and forever being in the arms of his Creator.

What kind of holidays, or traditions do they celebrate?
I’m bad about not really putting holidays into my made up worlds. They’re always on these huge adventures and I just don’t think about it. Whoops. Umm. . .as far as traditions, each year on the day Leiden’s father died, he and his mother go out and plant a new tree. His father loved trees and its their was of commemorating him. (I won’t tell you I just made that up on the spot. This is why I love Beautiful People, it makes me think about these things.)

What do your other characters have to say about them?
Bouncy! Like I mentioned earlier, Leiden has a lot of energy. People refer to him as a bouncy fella. As for other things, I think it would depend on the person. Nicer people say he’s very kind and funny and all around likable. More disagreeable people claim his overly talkative, super energetic self annoying. (Like his dragon rider partner. *cough, cough*) But really, his excessively happy self is actually his defense to block away all the turmoil inside him. He’s had a pretty tragic life and he has to do something to keep himself going, so he keeps a happy attitude. We can’t blame him for that, can we?

If they could change one thing in their world, what would it be?
Only one thing? He would want to change a lot! His biggest thing is that he thinks the innocent need to be more protected. After getting captured by dark elves and seeing other children go through the same trauma he did, he wants nothing more than for no other child to suffer. I think more defense in the southern areas of his world (which are more dangerous than northern places) is what he’d want the most.

So that’s my Leiden! I kind of love ‘im to death! I look forward to writing about him this November.

Next week we shall meet his dragon rider partner and the other MC of More Green than Envy, Darven. Until then! *waves*