Beautiful Books - Plottery Talk {October 2014}

You all probably know by now Beautiful People is like my favorite blogging thing ever. I get to answer a list of questions about my characters, which happens to be my favorite thing to talk about. Um, yes please! Well, the beautiful Beautiful People (yes, I just said that) hosts Sky and Cait decided to do something awesome for the next three months.

Yes, Beautiful BOOKS. In honor of NaNoWriMo (which happens in less than a week? WHAAAT???) they’re doing a linkup revolving around our NaNo books (or any current WIP if you’re not doing NaNo). For this month they’re asking questions about plotting. In November it’ll focus on writing. And then questions centered around editing in December. Brilliant, right? I thought so. To the point of squealing when they announced it. In a dignified manner, of course. Ahem.

. . .Except I’m joining in the first one right at the tail end of it. Whoops. BUT I couldn’t really answer questions about my NaNo novel when I hadn’t, ya know, figured it out yet myself. Thankfully I’ve officially finished up all NaNo prepping and my novel is completely plot-ified. *cue applause*

I suppose this first edition will be ending soon (being as how October decided to take it upon itself to speed into hyperdrive, it really should get a ticket for that), but there are still a few days yet to join in! So if you want to dive deeper into your NaNo novel before November gets here or just beautify your current WIP get yourself on over to Sky's post and/or Cait's, snag those questions, and linkup! You know you want to. *wriggles eyebrows*

Alrighty, heeere we go!

1. What came first: characters or plot idea? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Well, I’m writing the fifth book of a series I started on my first NaNo. I write each book for each NaNo. And the first spark of this series came from a picture of an elf girl I randomly found on the internet. There was so much story in that one picture, and I knew I wanted to write that girl’s tale. From there more characters cropped up, and some dragons, and next thing I knew I had a series. But the characters definitely came first. They usually do. Characters rule my life. >.>

Plotter or pantser? Heheheh. This is kind of a tricky question. See, I’m a pantser, always have been. I love it! Sitting down in front of a blank document and letting the words flow, discovering the story as I go along, it’s thrilling! But. . .not so thrilling when the Great Wall of Writer’s Block pops up and your creativity smacks right dab into it, leaving you befuddled and tired. Pantsing is a fantastic ride, but it comes with a lot of writer’s block since I don’t actually ever know what is going to happen next and I have to figure it out. Writing that way is slow going. And you can’t have slow writing in NaNoWriMo, that defeats the purpose. So, pantser though I am, I actually go to excessive plotting for all my NaNo novels. I literally have a full 10k chapter by chapter outline for this year’s. And character bios and a map of the world and yeah. I’m pretty prepared. There shall be no writer’s block in November! *shakes fist*

2. Do you have a title and/or a “back-cover-blurb”?
More White than Stars is its title. Stars play a big part in it and there’s. . .a lot of white stuff everywhere. White hair, white snow, white. . .stars. Yeeeah.

And I do have a blurb. . .

Iavin is not much thought of by his parents. Or himself, really. So he expected to be happy when he is chosen by a dragon, a white dragon at that, the rarest and most sacred of the species. Now he can prove himself, make his parents proud. Right? In reality, he's scared out of his wits.

Iavin's partner, Sayleth, is a mystery, to put it lightly. Her white hair, pale eyes, and even paler complexion raise questions enough, but the fact that she's a mute and never even attempts to explain where she came from adds to the mysterious shroud surrounding her. Iavin doesn't know how he's going to be a dragon rider partner to this curious, beautiful girl when his tongue ties in knots every time he's in her presence.

It doesn't help matters that less than twenty-four hours after he's initiated as a dragon rider Princess Iraila is captured, forcing the King to send out these new dragon riders across Aerigethel in search for her. Not exactly how Iavin wished to start out his already terrifying new life.

Iavin, Sayleth, and their two white dragons, Nemayn and Daeomin, are sent northwest to the region of Silhendait where the temperatures are cold and so are the people. Confusion clouds Iavin's mind when they discover the land is being held together by a young man with hair equally as white as Sayleth's. This boy, Cael, is believed to have fallen from the sky to protect Silhendait with his strange powers. Iavin doesn't know what to think, but he almost wants to believe it. There's something alluring about the white headed boy. But when Iavin, Sayleth, and their dragons are forced to the frigid mountains in the north, Iavin is plunged into a part of his world he never even knew existed. In freezing lands with strange people and dark plots, Iavin learns the mysteries of his partner and Cael are deeper than he ever imagined, and the peaceful times of Aerigethel will all too soon be tainted with blood, death, and war. Can frail Iavin, who can hardly hold up a sword, be able to put aside his insecurities before the world he knows and loves is gone forever?

I know, it’s so long. o.O I wrote it three different times and each time it refused to get any shorter. I’m seriously the worst at synopses. Me and summarizing things in a quick manner just. . .no.

3. What wordcount are you aiming for when your novel is finished?
*gigglysnort*

Ahem.

These books always end up being long. Like LONG, long. The first one ended at over 200k words. What? o.o See why I can’t make synopses? I am getting a little better at compacting stories but they still end up far longer than I mean for them to. I guess for this one, anywhere from 80k to 100k would be good. But it’ll probably end up longer. >.>

4. Sum up your novel in 3 sentences.
*blinks* Did I not just SAY I can’t do short summaries?? *siiigh* Okay. . .

Insecure boy and mysterious mute girl get chosen as dragon riders.
Princess gets captured.
Adventure ensues.

I know. Your mind is blown.

Okay, I just made it sound like the most cliché medieval fantasy story in the history of ever. . . I’m not good at summaries, okay???

5. Sum up your characters in one word each.
Oh, first three sentences and now only three words? I can do this, I can do this.

Iavin: Insecure
Sayleth: Mysterious
Cael: Manipulative

Ha, there!

6. Which character are you most excited to write? Tell us about them!
Oooh man. I’m really excited about ALL my characters. I’ve got quite an interesting cast ahead of me. But. . .but. . .to be perfectly truthful the character I’m most excited about is Cael, which sorta kinda happens to be the villain-ish person for this particular novel. *COUGH* Is that wrong? It might be wrong. Also, the next question asks about the villain, so I guess for this question I’m going to go with my main POV character, Iavin. Because, really, I’m kind of itching to get inside his head and settle there for a month. He’s going to be a delight to write about, I can already tell.

Although there are occasional other POVs throughout the novel, Iavin takes the main spotlight. It’s really his story, even if it focuses on other people. (I think I just contradicted myself. Oh, I don’t know!) I actually just did a post all about Iavin, Sayleth, and Cael if you want a more in depth look on my motley cast. But I’ll try to do a quick summary (ha ha) of Iavin here.

Iavin is, as mentioned multiple times already, insecure. His parents expect much out of him but he can’t really deliver. Then he’s thrust into all sorts of peril and is as lost and confuzzled as a bee in a twister. But he’s kind of adorable for it. Maybe his one word above should have been adorable instead of insecure, because he is. His shy and awkward self just makes my heart swell.

But I think what I love most about Iavin is the fact that he’s just all around nice. I LOVE antihero type characters, those gray characters that are sometimes good and sometimes bad, usually snarky, full of sarcastic comments. So much fun. But, sometimes, I want my protagonist to just be nice. Sometimes it gets tiresome having our heroes always dipping into the gray areas. Characters need to be human, yes, and, like I said, those are my favorite types. But every now and again it’s a breath of fresh air to just have an all around nice person as our hero. So yes, I think it’s going to be great spending a month with sweet, little Iavin and his adorkable self.

7. What about your villain? Who is he, what is his goal?
So after that big speech let me totally contradict myself (because I seem to do that a lot) and tell you about the character I’m REALLY excited about.

While Iavin and Sayleth have vaguely been roaming through my brain for years, Cael literally popped out just a couple weeks ago when I was outlining, and demanded to not only be a humongous part of this one book but the entire series. He singlehandedly changed the overall plot of the series I’ve been working on for four years in mere seconds. >.> That alone probably tells you something about him.

Cael fits the bill for the gray characters I was talking about earlier, snark and sarcastic comebacks included. And yes, I like him. A lot. *cough* I guess calling him an antihero is a little generous. Being as how he’s the villain and all. But unlike the main main villain of the series, he’s not just going to go around murdering whoever gets in his way. There’s actually a shred of decency inside that pompous head of his. In fact, sometimes he’s just nice, even while tearing apart the entire world. It’s pretty confusing for poor Iavin and Sayleth.

His goal? Well, that’s a bit spoiler-y, don’t you think? Let’s just say he’s trying to build a better world for himself and a certain group of people. Even though that means, you know, destroying the peaceful world. Details, details.

8. What is your protagonist’s goal? And what stands in the way?
The original goal for Iavin and Sayleth was to search for their captured princess and if they find her bring her back home. Easy peasy. But then, you know, a certain white headed boy appeared and the simple rescue mission turned into a save-the-world kind of thing. It happens.

But as far as personal goals. . . Iavin just wants to survive his new life as a dragon rider without making a complete blundering job of it. The problem: A bunch of guys with weapons and desire for world domination. Like Iavin was going to get to live in his world’s peaceful years during his service as a dragon rider. Pffft.

And for Sayleth. She just wants to keep her world safe. I think you can guess what stands in her way by now.

9. What inciting incident begins your protagonist’s journey?
Iavin is initiated as an official dragon rider after many months of rigorous training, and then bam, the princess gets captured that very night. So the king is forced to send out these brand new dragon riders in search for her. Nice way to start out his already scary life as a dragon rider, right? I thought so.

10. Where is your novel set?
A medieval fantasy world I made up called Aerigethel. The majority of the novel takes place in the snowy mountains of the north. But a good chunk of it is inside the hilly green land of Sivral where Iavin and most of the other characters are from.

11. What are three big scenes in your novel that change the game completely?
Princess is captured and the dragon riders are sent to search for her.
Iavin and Sayleth meet strange white headed boy in the neighboring kingdom.
Oops, strange white headed boy is imprisoning Sayleth. Now why would he do that?

12. What is the most dynamic relationship your character has? Who else do they come in contact with or become close to during the story?
I’ll stick with Iavin for this question since he really is my main protagonist. The one he’s closest to is actually his dragon, Nemayn (who I realize I haven’t even mentioned yet, shameful!). Dragons and riders have a mental link that connect them at an extremely deep level. Since Iavin is too shy and awkward to make friends, feels pretty uncomfortable around his parents, and has no siblings, Nemayn is really the only one he’s gotten close to. She has a knack for pulling him out of his comfort zone, which isn’t always a good thing in his eyes, but what can you do? She’s mischievous, adventurous, and flighty. And though she rather be out chasing butterflies while Iavin reads, they’re always there for a supporting ear and a nudge of encouragement.

With Sayleth, well, let’s just say Iavin admires her, a lot. But being as how she can’t speak and he’s too awkward to hold a one sided conversation, their relationship is a little iffy. Sayleth, though, is a very kind, gracious, gentle person. She never hesitates to offer a smile. Iavin wants to get close to her, but he’s so uncomfortable around her he can’t do much but babble incoherently in her presence. But, you know, when two people are thrown into life-threatening circumstances they tend to put aside fears and learn to trust in one another. Iavin and Sayleth’s relationship grows into a sweet one through the course of the novel. I look forward to watching it blossom.

And then there’s Cael. Cael actually becomes one of the first people in Iavin’s life that actually acts like he genuinely wants to be Iavin’s friend. Iavin learns to really enjoy Cael’s company. Until, you know, bad stuff happens. But Cael being the conflicting person he is still almost holds a tiny strand of friendship with Iavin. Ish. It gets pretty confusing for Iavin.

13. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?
I think Iavin will always be the awkward introvert he is, but after such circumstances I inflict on him, he can’t help but discover he’s far more adept and confident than he would have ever otherwise believed.

14. Do you have an ending in mind, or do you plan to see what happens?
Like I said, I went a little overboard with a chapter by chapter outline. So yep, I’ve got the ending all planned out. It ends on a satisfying note, but more of a calm before the storm thing. The next two books are the big finales, so this ends kind of leading up to that. The characters are happy, but they know the suffering has just begun.

15. What are your hopes and dreams for your book? What impressions are you hoping this novel will leave on your readers and yourself? (This is your mission statement, one you can look back on when the road gets tough.)
That it won’t kill me before the end of November. Okay, okay. Really, right now this series is just for fun. I mean, I would LOVE to see it published someday, but it’s so huge and disastrous that may never happen. And if it does, that’s maaany years in the future, and it probably won’t even look like the same series after rewrites occur. But I do love it, so much. I can’t even express what a special place it holds in my heart. I’ve spent all my years of NaNoing in this world of Aerigethel and have a couple left with it. I really would love to see it maybe, someday on bookstore shelves.

And for an impression, I want the reader walking away from it with the realization that no matter how small or insecure you may feel, you have SO much worth. It doesn’t matter what others may think of you. God loves you and created you into a beautiful human being. He put you here for a reason. As long as you cling to Him, hold on to hope and faith, you can find the strength to do what you never thought you had the courage for. The smallest of people can make the hugest impact.

. . .

Whoo, if you made it through all that I applaud you! I apologize for my long answers. I may be a teeny tiny bit excited for this book. NaNoWriMo is almost heeeere!

So do you have a novel in the plotting stage? TELL ME ABOUT IT.

Magic Storytelling

Have you ever watched a show or seen a movie or read a book and by the end you’re just sitting there stunned, wondering how the writers produced such magic? And, more importantly, how can you incorporate that same magic storytelling into your own novels? I think us writers are always on the search for better storytelling, hoping maybe, someday, somehow we can stun people with our beautiful stories just as much as you were by that one special book or that mind-blowing show.

I find myself in this position for, well, the majority of my life. I consume stories like a rabid beast, burrowing into them searching for those little tricks that turn a good idea into something great. One such show that has blown my mind and grown my eyeballs at least three times their size by the pure ingenious of it, leaving me glowing green in pure jealousy of the writers’ brilliant, creative minds is Once Upon a Time. Not only is it one of my favorite TV shows, it’s also magnificent fodder for amazing storytelling for us ravenous writers.

Precious Sky from one of my top favorite blogs Further Up and Further In sweetly asked me to share whatever writerly wisdom I’ve gleaned from said show on her blog. I was excited, to put it lightly.

I certainly don’t have all the magical keys the Once Upon a Time writers hold to unlocking such incredible storytelling, but over the years of watching the show I’ve caught a few of their tricks. Today I’m sharing 7 of them on Sky’s blog. You can click the link right there or the picture below to check it out.

And if you have stories that blow your mind with their well-told storytelling, share them with me! Here or there. I’d love to hear about them!

That Time October Exploded

We interrupt your peaceful blog reading to announce. . .

NANOWRIMO BEGINS IN 10 DAYS.

Um. . .excuse me? 10 days?

*cue the scrambling around, hastily making plot notes, assuring coffee supplies are sufficiently high, all affairs are in order, laundry is caught up, and farewells to your friends and family are taken care of*

Yep. In 10 days those bravely insane writers will be locking themselves up in their writing spaces to pound out 50k or more words in a month, only showing their bleary-eyed faces for more caffeine. Because writers aren’t already mad enough people, right? Of course not.

Last NaNo I was quite on top of things. I had my entire NaNo outlined, a book cover put together, and everything ready and set up to write all by the 12th of October. And then there’s this year, where I have only ten days left and I haven’t even updated my NaNo profile yet. But hey, what’s NaNo without a little panicking? Keeps things interesting and me on my toes and alert. Right? . . .Riiight?

*rocks back and forth in corner while sipping coffee and chuckling madly to self*

Right.

Really, my distressingly behind schedule hasn’t exactly been my fault. Because when plans look at me, they laugh and turn in the other direction.

Recently we decided to sand and put new coats of polyurethane on our floors. Which resulted in taking out all the furniture and leaving the house for a couple days after the coats were applied. Not exactly much time for NaNo prepping during all that chaos. Of course, our water heater and washing machine decided to both break the same weekend we did the floors. I mean, when else would they break, right? During a more convenient time? Pffft. What a silly idea. And obviously I had to get a nasty cold before any of this and it didn’t want to leave so stuck with me some during the chaos as well, leaving me far too out of it to even consider NaNo plotting. Oh, whatever, Mr. Cold. NaNo is only in a few weeks. It’s not like I need to have a clear head to plot. How about you stay a while? That’s fine.

Eventually my cold did go away, we got the water heater and washing machine problem taken care of, the polyurethane dried and furniture was returned. Life slowly seeped back into normalcy. Ah, now I can jump into NaNo prepping!

I did. But only a little. Next thing I knew we were headed out of town for a couple days. No problem. I can plot during the car ride.

Well, our “couple days” turned into many days because my family is insane and why not have a mini vacation? We’ve already driven this far. It’ll be fun! And thus an extremely impromptu road trip ensued. But our life being how it is, things didn’t exactly go as planned. Of course. . .we didn’t plan anything. Us and planning do not go hand in hand. But the things we thought we could do didn’t really turn out. Still, it became a very memorable trip, hectic as it was. Best of all, we found the biggest secondhand bookstore I’ve ever seen in my life. It was literally the size of a warehouse and two stories high with thousands upon thousands of books of every kind imaginable. I spent two hours on one aisle alone. I’m pretty sure I got a glimpse of heaven when I walked into that place. And I walked out with bags full of happiness.

Ah, if only I had had more time and money. Then again, we probably would have had to attach a trailer to our vehicle just to carry all the books home. Still, my heart flutters every time I look at the treasures that did come home with me.

Then there was the place I found twin elvish swords with a plaque and all on sale for a shockingly low price. To say I was excited is an extremely mild way of putting it. I’ve wanted a medieval and/or fantasy type sword to display on my wall for yeeeears. And then I found these. Well, you can imagine my ecstasy. They’re still packaged up, so I don’t have a picture but they’re basically replicas of Legolas’ twin blades from Lord of the Rings.

Except mine have red hilts for some reason. I wish they were exact, but still, they’re scrumptious. And that’s the same plaque mine came with.

Though the impromptu vacation was rather hectic and nothing went according to plan, many good things came from it. But, as you can probably guess by now, not much NaNo planning went on during riding in a vehicle with many people, drooling over books and prettyful swords, being distracted by the gorgeous scenery outside (God has blessed us with some beautiful weather), and attempting to share single hotel rooms with the whole family. But, as of last night, we made it back home safe and sound and now, maybe, hopefully, this week I can buckle down and work on some serious NaNo planning. Of course, I’ve said that every week this month and you’ve seen what has happened. But I shall prevail! Thank goodness for caffeine.

Of course, NaNo planning isn’t the only thing demanding my attention. I’m also participating in Rooglewood Press’s Five Enchanted Rose’s contest, as mentioned before, and my entry still has a heavy amount of editing pressing down on me.

It was my hope to have it done by the end of this month but that’s looking less and less likely the further into the month we get. The idea of working on it during NaNo, well, doesn’t sound fun. So I’m not sure what I’m going to do. We’ll see how much I can get done in ten days and then figure out the rest from there.

So the plan for right now is to dive into finishing up my NaNo’s outline, which, honestly, is very close to the end. Then I need to work on a few other NaNo things—make a book cover, write a synopsis, put together a calendar to keep up with my wordcount, something I do every year, fix up my NaNo profile, just little things here and there. And, of course, see about editing what I can of my Five Enchanted Roses entry. Suddenly I’m glad the word limit was only 20k. And in the midst of it all, do my very best to not throw away all responsibility and reason and instead devour all my new, scrumptious books. That’s going to take a lot of willpower, let me tell you.

Oh yeah, and I probably shouldn’t just entirely ignore life. It does get left behind sometimes. . .

Phew, it’s going to be a wild ten days. And then I’ll be thrust right into NaNo, which brings on even more frenzy and life ignoring. But to me, it’s worth it. Life is crazy, yes, and trying to write 50k words in a month doesn’t exactly aid in making it calmer. But knowing you’re writing right alongside thousands and thousands of other writers all around the WORLD. . .wow. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more magical than that. To me, insane as it is, NaNo is my favorite part of the year. It’s my Christmas, and however chaotic and stressful it may be, I wouldn’t give it up for anything. So maybe I’m a little behind on my planning, and from the looks of things next month might be just as crazy as this one, but I’m still counting the days in excitement for the calendars to turn to November 1st.

NaNoWrioMo, here I come!

The NaNo ‘14 Cast

It’s that time of year again, peoples! Where that last smidgeon of sanity us writers have gets flung out the window and locked out for a month. That’s right, NaNoWriMo is coming! Which means October is NaNo-prep month.

I’m a wee bit behind on my prepping this year, but I’m starting to get into the swing of things. It hasn’t been easy though, this year’s novel is being stubborn, but I’m starting to discover its secrets and pull a story out of it.

As I know I’ve mentioned, every year of NaNo since my first in 2010 I write each book from a fantasy, dragon rider series dubbed the Colors of a Dragon Scale series. Each book follows a different pair of dragon riders and I’m quite excited about this year’s cast. So excited that I thought I’d share a little bit about the characters who will be fighting my family and friends for all my attention next month, and basically taking over my life. (But that’s okay, I love my babies.)

. . .

Iavin

Most of the story is from Iavin’s POV. He’s the poor dear that gets dragged around to strange places by even stranger people and spends the majority of the story in complete cluelessness.

Some may say his life has been full of ease and pleasure, but that’s certainly not how he’s seen it. Iavin’s elvish mother came from a well-to-do family in an elven community where her seamstress skills were renowned, so much that she was asked to be the official seamstress to the royal family. His human father was a dragon rider himself and almost singlehandedly prevented a war between their kingdom and another one, making him an instant legend. Our little half elf Iavin has a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, his short stature and regrettable lack of muscles isn’t much to compare to his father’s great physique or his mother’s height. Besides which, he’d much rather spend all day in seclusion reading a good book than attempting any form of greatness. He knows he’d just mess up whatever he tried anyway. To be part elf, he’s awfully clumsy. Embarrassment is a well known emotion to him. With parents such as he has, he’s thrust into a depressing amount of social events where his anxiety and insecurity get the best of him. He thinks he’s a failure to his parents, which results in a lot of self-conscious problems.

But then the unthinkable happens. He’s chosen by a dragon, and a white dragon at that, the rarest and most sacred of the species. One would think he’d be very proud of that fact; maybe now he can finally prove himself worth something and make his parents proud. In reality, he’s scared out of his wits. I mean, how is he supposed to live up to his legendary dragon rider of a father? Especially when he can barely hold up a sword.

Overall, Iavin is a shy, insecure little thing that wants nothing more than to be alone with a book about adventures instead of living one himself. But despite not quite living up to his parents’ standards, he has a beautiful heart for others. He may think he isn’t worth anything and people look down on him, but anyone who spends a lot of time with him cannot help but be drawn in by his kind, gentle nature. To be perfectly honest, I kind of love this precious boy to death and I cannot wait to start his story (even if I feel a teeny tiny bit guilty about all the peril I’m going to thrust the tenderhearted lad into *cough*).

Sayleth

Sayleth is Iavin’s dragon rider partner and our second main character. I’ve had the idea of Sayleth for years and yet I only just figured out who she is a couple days ago. She’s a mystery girl, even to her author.

With her almost white hair, unnaturally light blue eyes, and extremely pale complexion people are a bit wary of her. Her pointed ears suggest she’s an elf, but rarely is an elf so small and pale. She merely showed up the day the dragons chose their riders. When one chose her, and a white one at that, people decided she must be trustworthy, dragons only choose the best of the best. Still, most keep a distance of caution between themselves and her. She never attempts to explain herself, but it’d be pretty difficult being as how she’s a mute. Her peculiar appearance, unknown background, and inability to speak wraps her in a mysterious aura. She doesn’t interact with people often, and no one is quite sure if it’s because she’s shy or just prefers keeping to herself. And yet, despite her mysteriousness, she has a charm that gravitates people to her, wary or not. There’s a peaceful pleasantness in her company that can never quite be explained. She’s gracious and kind in whatever she does, and as graceful as doves. Because of this, it’s a bit of a surprise when people discover this tiny, pale, delicate girl surpasses almost all the other riders during fighting training.

I’m looking forward to the challenge of writing Sayleth. I’ve never had a mute character before. It’s going to be an interesting thing to work around, but I’ve got quite a few things in the works. *grins* I can’t say what all her mysteriousness is about because spoilers and all that, but I will say it involves stars and snow and another character. . .

Cael

This guy. . .I don’t even know. I had absolutely no intentions for this guy to exist. I was simply minding my own business, outlining my NaNo quietly, when boom he appears out of nowhere and demands to take over the story that supposed to center around Iavin and Sayleth. And not only that, he’s attempting to take number one place in my heart out of all the characters in the entire series! Rude much? I always tend to fall for the ones that I don’t even plan. Am I the only one that does that? Ah well, at least he’s making things. . .interesting.

Technically Cael is the antagonist for this particular novel, but to call him a villain is kind of stretching it. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He’s not, but at least he gets points for trying, right? And he can actually be a likeable fellow. In fact, Iavin likes him a whole lot when they first meet. Until Iavin discovers what he’s up to that is. Things go downhill from there.

Cael is an interesting person, to say the least. He’s cocky and snarky and carefree and optimistic, in a sinister sort of way. He’s quite the manipulator. But there’s still something about him that can’t help but be liked. He’s a charmer, I suppose. He makes himself friendly even while he’s doing dastardly deeds. I mean, if you’re going to imprison your friends the least you can do is lock them in a fairly nice room and give them plenty of torches to stay warm, right? That’s Cael for you. He makes it almost impossible to call him evil even though he kind of is. He’s quite a character, that’s for sure. (And I sort of totally love him and can’t wait to write about him. Why oh why do the antihero types always capture my heart? It’s a problem.)

Also, Cael is not his official name yet. I’m having the worst time settling on a name for him. I’ve also considered Cerus or Serin. What do you think?

. . .

So that’s my main cast for NaNo 2014. They’re going to be quite a group to spend November with. And I’m only about halfway through the outline, so who knows what other characters decide to leap from the blue and steal my heart. Oh, the things we writers must endure.

What about you? Are you participating in NaNo this year? If so, are you excited about this year’s characters in your novel? Or if you’re not doing NaNo, are you working on a novel right now with some interesting charries? Tell me about them! Characters is my favorite subject!

Kindred Spirits and a GIVEAWAY

Once in a blue moon, you may stumble right into a person, and as you get to know them you begin wondering if you were separated at birth. Maybe you spilled your coffee on them in Starbucks and now, years later, you laugh about it and are grateful for your clumsiness. Because how else would you have gotten to know this awesome person? Or maybe it was something more direct, like another acquaintance introducing you. Or maybe, chance of chances, you find each other’s blog in the infinite vastness of the internet.

It seems impossible to discover such a person upon the billions and billions over the interwebs, but I’ve been beyond blessed to find not only one, but multiple kindred spirits. Some I’m just sure have the other half of my brain. Or are perhaps simply me from a parallel universe. (That’s possible, right?) It’s pretty fantastic finding someone so like-minded.

One such twin of mine is Sarah from Sarah Plain and Average.

But, let me tell you, she’s anything but plain and average. Sarah is a complete delight and one of my closest blogging buddies. And though we may not really be twins (as far as we know *cue Twilight Zone music*) she is my sister in Christ, book loving companion, and fellow writer. Sarah is beautiful inside and out, always inspiring me to grow closer to God. And a just all around fun person!

I highly encourage you all to go follow her scrumptious blog. She writes some of my favorite book reviews, constantly making my to-read shelf on GoodReads grow. She shares a lot of fun things for writers. And has some superbly fun posts that have made me laugh out loud. Trust me, you’ll love her blog!

And guess what? If she reaches 80 followers she’s going to host a fabulously epic giveaway! Three lucky people can win a crocheted pair of beautimous finger-less gloves, straight from her and her sister’s enticing Etsy Shop and just in time for the cooler weather. Or a copy of the novel Stepping Heavenward: One Woman’s Journey to Godliness by Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss. OR an absolutely whimsical painting by Sarah’s sister. Let me tell you, you’re not going to want to miss out on these prizes. You can click right down there on that there button (*gestures widely below*) to see the prizes and details of the giveaway.

Wait, why are you still here reading my blog? You should be at Sarah’s! Shoo with you. Go, follow her. Enjoy her delightful wittiness. Your poor blogger dashboard feels neglected without Sarah Plain and Average brightening it up. And don’t forget to take the giveaway button above with you. Who doesn’t love a fun giveaway, am I right?

Have an absolutely wonderful week, you dear bloggers! You are ALL a blessing to me. I don’t know what I’d do without each and every one of you. <3