You'd Think I Wasn't On Spring Break...

It's only after four days of school-work-less freedom that I finally sit down and give attention to my poor, neglected blog. I'm fighting a huge bout of writer's block. It's super serious. I really need to have a chat with Ehra, but I just can't focus my attention on her. As for Maethar, he's in the kitchen eating leftovers out of the fridge. Put down that pudding, you greedy character! Whoever heard of a fat knight?

I'm not fat, I'm not greedy, and I am a knight!

And...I'm an author. Your author.

Well, I have the sword.

*icily stares* My good chap, have you ever heard the saying 'the pen is mightier than the sword'?

Well...I'm the one that has to drag Ehra out of her predicament with the wraiths because you were too lazy!

Don't be silly. I couldn't do it anyhow. You're the character. I'm the author. Put down the pudding.

No.

Yes.

No.

Yes!

NO!!

Uh...fine. If you put down the pudding, I'll write tomorrow.

On my story?

*sighes* Yes. Your story.

If you've ever felt that I'm too hard on Maethar, you've never had to deal with him. Sheesh, for a noble and valiant knight who volunteered (hear that? Volunteered!) to save a lady in distress with risk to life and limb, he's pretty annoying.

So, besides arguing with my characters, what else have I been doing?

Sewing. Eating. Playing soccer. Watching hockey. (Capitols won on double overtime! Yes!!). Watching baseball. Playing spider solitaire on the computer. Cleaning. More sewing. Going to bed late. Being lazy.

How has life been for you guys?

Izori

Yes, I am still here

Life has been B-U-S-Y! I'm at a complete loss what to post, but I at least wanted to let y'all know that I have not been abducted by aliens.

I have, however, been abducted by school work. Perhaps it'll return me to earth for spring break. Please, biology! I beg of you... just one last glimpse of my life!

Writing...has not been going...at all. I am honestly and completely stuck. I don't have time to think, let alone hop into another world! I feel terrible to my characters for just ditching them like this, but I talk with them sometimes. They're doing fine. Not too happy at me for leaving them where I last left them. Maethar really does not like being stuck in the forest at night looking for Ehra with creepy wraith-thingies trying to murder him.

See you round!

Izori

I've done it again.

Don't get me wrong. I really love my characters.

But there's something about Elizabeth that...I don't know. Deep down inside, she really likes drama and being the center of the attention. I guess that's why she likes getting killed so much.

Yes! I admit it! It's a spoiler [don't read ahead if you'd rather wait for the book to be published, yadiyadiya] !

*gasp* I killed Elizabeth. Again.

Don't shoot me! I really am not mean to my characters! She's the one who chose it!

Don't worry. I'll resurrect her. Again.

Outlining Characters

It's very simple. All you have to do is think up what exactly you'll need to know about your character, and then you write it down. It comes in handy, especially if you have a hard time remembering the eye color of your character (like I do). You can keep it in front of you when you write, so when you have to look something up about your character you don't have to go skimming all the way back through your work.

Some things to get into an outline: general information, like their full name, age, etc; appearance, as in height, build, eye color, hair color; personality, such as faults, weaknesses, good qualities, strengths, reactions, so on.

An outline can be anything from basic to extensive. On this post, I'll post a template for a more basic outline. To show you what you might fill in, I'll make up a random character.

GENERAL
name: Susanna Smith
age: 17
book they appear in: Candle in a Dark Time

APPEARANCE
height: 5'7"
build: tall, slim, long, delicate
posture: arrow straight
hair color: light blond
eye color: dark brown

PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses: timidity, insecurity
good qualities and strengths: gentleness, humbleness, trustworthy
one word sum-up: quiet
reactions to loss: quiet turmoil
reactions to emergencies: panic, fear
reactions to surprise: edginess
reactions to a love confession: shock, joy
reactions to embarrassment: humiliation, shyness

MISCELLANEOUS
family: father and brother Herbert (20) in WWII, mother and Susanna in city, youngest sister Bridgett (age 11) in the country
Living in: London, England
occupation: student
famous connection: uncle and cousins in Underground
notes: secretly begins to work in the Underground, with mother's permission runs away to Norway to assist there.

Susanna Smith is (c) by me, by the way. I'm planning to write a book about her sometime. However, feel free to use my outline as an example! Here it is, not filled out, so that you don't have to copy and delete the stuff I put in the first one:


GENERAL
name:
age:
book they appear in:

APPEARANCE
height:
build:
posture:
hair color:
eye color:

PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses:
good qualities and strengths:
one word sum-up:
reactions to loss:
reactions to emergencies:
reactions to surprise:
reactions to a love confession:
reactions to embarrassment:

MISCELLANEOUS
family:
Living in:
occupation:
famous connection:
notes:

Also, for every character an outline can have different information. While Susanna Smith doesn't have a sword (she has a gun sometime in the book), for another character you might want to have information on the sword name, appearance, type, etc.

Have fun outlining your characters! For me, it's a cool activity in which I actually think about how I want to portray my character. It's a good way to figure out where you're going with your character, how you want others to see him/her, and so on. It's like having a chat with them. =)

A Wee Dilemma...

Can you guys help me out with something?

Okay. So, I just had this really cool idea for a book. I won't tell you all much, but it's about books, three sisters and gates. The sisters are ages 18, 15, and 11.

Now here's my problem. I have names for the two older girls--Autumn and October. I'm hoping for a fall-ish theme. =) But I'm stuck between the names 'Thanksgiving' and 'Harvest'.

What do you guys thing? Thanksgiving? Harvest? Keep in mind that they're for an eleven year old girl.

And do you all think that October sounds too much like a boy's name? I actually like it, but what picture does it give you?

Thank so much!

Oh! One more question. Should I do the book that I'm talking about above, or write the sequel for my last NaNoWriMo book?

Among other things, answering Margaret Rowena's question

First, a couple of prayer requests. One is for my dad; the surgery to remove lump on his leg is coming up. Please, please, please, PLEASE pray that it's not cancer. We're already not 100% sure if his neck/lymph node cancer has been fully taken care of.

The second is for Laurea at Center Stage. Please go over there and drop a nice comment or two saying you'll be praying for her. She's going through a very tough time with something. Basically, the last thing she needs is to be yelled at.

Now onto Margaret Rowena's brilliant question:

What do you think about slightly stereotyped characters?

I would feel like a loser if I couldn't create my very own characters, but I am always seeing a character in a book that has traits that must be in a character of mine.
~Margaret Rowena

Ah...stereotypes and cliches. One of my favorite subjects! By the way, that is a really good question, Margaret! I'm sorry I didn't get around to answering this as early as I (and you too, probably) would have liked.

First off, what are the different kinds of stereotyped or cliched characters? The four I'll mention here are only a small number of all the types out there!

1. The tomboy. Sometimes she's the main character, sometimes she's a supporting one. Tough, unsatisfied with her role as a female, and rebellious. (I honestly think it's sad to read about these girls...they're always trying to be like something they're not, and disillusioning themselves that they'll only be good if they're male.)

2. The old mentor. Experienced, grizzled, wise, and has a hidden history. Many times the mentor dies in the middle of the book, when the MC no longer needs a guiding hand. Famous examples are Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars Episode IV and Brom from Eragon.

3. The sibling. They can be annoying, comic, or helpful. Oftentimes they're a way of expanding your MC's personality by showing how they react to their family.

4. The cool hero. Like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, they're smart and they know it! Sure of their ability, they sometimes (unfortunately) strut it in front of 'slower' people.

Stereotyped (which I substitute with 'cliche' from time to time) are that way because they are actually very good ideas! Or, at least, they were at first, and then people liked them so much they started following the example. Soon, they lost their 'punch'.

I honestly don't see a problem with using those types of characters in your book, as long as you add something of interest. If you completely copy Obi Wan Kenobi, they just won't have your personal 'stamp'. Give your character something that is completely his own, like a knack for origami or an obsession with proper grammar.

Of course, many characters will have similar traits, no matter who they were created by. They might have short tempers, or show flashes of kindness in a usually harsh demeanor. It's just like people--I have something in common with many of my friends.

However, it doesn't pay to purposefully model your character after someone else's. People don't like it when authors copy other authors. Have you ever read The Ranger's Apprentice Series? Have you ever been annoyed at the too-often reoccurring parallels between those and Lord of the Rings? Yeah. That's what it's like.

Long answer for a very 'to-the-point' question! I hope this is what you were looking for, Margaret Rowena!

We just went to the pool an hour ago, and I still haven't showered. An appraiser is coming to look at our house on Friday, and Erestor's gone fishing.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Unique and Beautiful (Book Character Tips)

I want my book characters to be rich and filled-out, like a landscape. The colors may be different, but the result is the same: beauty. Unique quirks that sometimes are so small, you can't notice them unless you're the maker.

If book characters could be translated into a painting, we'd have a vast wealth of completely different works of art. Some would be vivid, like a sunset. Some would be delicate and genuine, like a white flower. Others would be like black islands, unreachable and mysterious, and then if you look close you find a merry figure laughing and dancing on the grimmest cliff.

Have you ever looked at a character in a book and been so stunned by the 'picture' they created that you based one of your characters on that one? And then, your character just seems so flat and dull. You might have gotten discouraged, and maybe even deleted that character.

And of course it would seem flat. It's an unoriginal copy. Naturally the colors would be dimmer--they aren't even the characters real colors.

Don't make the mistake of basing your character off someone else's. Yes, the first character does look great, but that character isn't yours. As writers, it's our job to find the undiscovered and bring it to the world.

Izori

Literary Parents: Pros and Cons

I've had a discussion with a couple of my friends about parents of our main character (MC). There are good things about parents in your books, and there can be bad things. First, the good stuff.

1. Having good, helpful parents can be very un-cliche. In most books you'll find that the main characters are orphans. Examples are Eragon, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Fly by Night.

2. Sometimes, if a character has parents they are unfortunately portrayed in a very bad light, as in 'holding the character down' and stuff. It's a very bad stereotype, not to mention a lie. It's a mold that needs to be broken, and having good parents is the perfect way to do it!

3. Parents can provide another side to your MC. If your MC has a very strong relationship with their dad, it will be more touching if something happens to their dad. Therefore, your reader will feel more with your character.

Then the negatives.

1. Parents, as bad as it may sound, can tie down the MC. After all, it would be easier to have your character race around Washington DC with evil gangsters chasing them without having to wonder, 'And where are their parents?' Do you know what I mean?

2. It's more exciting for you MC to be orphaned. It adds another element. Without parents to protect and provide, your character is on their own.

3. You might feel more sorry for the character if their parents have been murdered by an evil organization.

I personally prefer to have parents in my books. In my NaNoWriMo novel, Elizabeth's mom and dad are divorced. (SPOILER--if you want to be surprised if you ever read my book, skip over this part) I'm planning on having them back together by the end of the trilogy. (END OF SPOILER)

Besides, my dad is my proofreader, and if my MC is anti-parent without reform, I might get a talking to! Jk, lol.

But seriously, when I'm a mom, I wouldn't really want my kids to read a book where the parents are depicted as a hindrance and 'holding the character down'.

Izori

Some Old Writing Tips: Part II

Did I say that I was going to post these *soon*? Because I really meant later. Whoops. Anyway, sorry about so much space between this and 'Some Old Writing Tips: Part I'.

Some all-around tips:

1). Don't be neat. Now, that might seem rather odd, but when I mean to not be neat, I mean to not sweat the details in your first draft. You should be neat in your final draft of your book, but when you're beginning, don't spend half an hour trying to make your first chapter perfect. If you agonize over every single word, phrase, and action, you won't get much done and your work will sound too labored. That is why I like to write my first draft instead of type it. If I type it, I'm tempted to delete and re-delete, which is made very easy by a handy-dandy delete button. If you write with a pen, you can't erase, which keeps you from getting hung up over a mere sentence. If there is something that you know needs editing in your first draft, just make a note of it in the margin and keep going. It doesn't matter if your book is perfect by the first-draft! Because it's not going to be. This is what made the Elandai series [now 'out of print', lol] so hard to write; you guys basically saw my first draft of it.

2). Start out simple. Right now, I'm on a level with some of my books where I have sub-plots and sub-sub plots, supporting characters and characters that support the supporting characters. It's very hard. If you're just writing your first book, I would suggest you start off with just one plot (maybe a small sub-plot, too) and just a few supporting characters. Then you can get more complicated as you go.

3). Talk to other first-time authors. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of friends who wrote--but I didn't know they did. It's encouraging to talk to other young authors, not to mention helpful.

4). Find out what genre you are. I am a fantasy/allegorical genre. Seriously, I can't write anything else then fantasy and allegories. I've tried historical fiction, sci-fi, contemporary, and others, but I can't write those. You can experiment to find it out, or you can think on what books you read a lot of. Read a whole bunch of fantasy? You might want to try writing fantasy.

5). Read. A lot. I think that's self-explanatory, but I'll explain anyway. If you find a really good author, study their writing style. They probably use a lot of strong verbs (like sprinted or dashed instead of ran) and you can copy their ways of making the reader interested.

6). Have other people read your books. The first book I actually let someone read was the first third of Sarea. They probably will be able to tell you if your characters are strong, plot interesting, etc.

7). Get a fair amount of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, get a good amount of exercise. They're actually important factors of good writing because they keep your brain in good shape.

8). Get your school-work and chores done before you sit down to write. That way there will be less interruptions from siblings or parents asking if your household duties are done yet, and you will be able to concentrate more if you don't have a to-do list hanging over your head.

9). Try to write often, even if it's only for a little while. If you skip one day, it'll be easier to skip a week.

10). Don't give up! No one ever becomes world-best author without a lot of work.

A tip or two on strong characters:

#1. Base them on a real person. A lot of times, I base my main character, at least, on someone I know, including me. Ehra in Sarea for example. She's based on two real people: one friend for personality, and another for looks (with some of her own, too). If you think you'll get too attached to a character you're going to have die, then...I guess you could make up your own personality or something. I don't usually kill my characters, so I'm not much help there. I also base my bad guys on unsavory characters I know, or even historical ones (such as Sisera from Judges 4, or Judas Iscariot from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Basing them on real people helps when you aren't quite sure how your character would react in a situation; simply have them act like the person they're based on would.

#2. Put some of their background into it. Add something more personal about them, so the reader really feels that they know the character. I added a few pages in Sarea when Ehra is talking to her parents, whom she has a very close relationship with. I also added a chapter when Ehra and her sister are chatting with some gossipy village girls, showing how different they are.

And a suggestion on lightening dark plots:

Add little children into it. They're so innocent and funny; it lightens up the plot right away. I am naturally very optimistic, so I don't tend to have this problem, but I do have it sometimes. Also add some friendly family into it; if your character is an orphan with a sibling who's her mortal enemy, is running away from a cruel slaver while unwittingly falling into a trap their malicious sibling has set, it would make for an interesting story line, but it'd be extremely dark and...not very pro-family.

Izori

What, pray tell, exactly IS a title?

For that matter, what is a blog? What an interesting word...blog.





This is one of Izori's most esteemed and long-lived characters, Ehra. Let me tell you, it hasn't been easy. Did you know that Izori is...well...interesting to work with? As in, a little crazy?



Well, she is. She's had me switch roles at least three times. Once, I was a poor serf. Then I was a kind of middle-class person. Now I'm a high-end character! Will she ever make up her mind?!



Oh, yeah, and now Izori's decided that my name really is Ehrathiwel. At least that isn't as bad as poor Maki's name change...now it's Maethar! He really doesn't mind though, and even I think that Maethar suits him better.



I was listening to a horror story from Elizabeth. Izori killed her off! Of course, she--oh, right. She probably doesn't want me to tell you any spoilers. Or at least that's what she calls them.



Well, Izori is kind of pressed for time today, not to mention she's coming down with a cough, and her wrists are bothering her. (My goodness, will her ailments never end?!). She's going to be helping out in the cooking area for a Date Night in church, and she'll be attending a babyshower before that. So she asked me to do her Writer's Daybook for her. Therefore, all of these answers are mine, and not hers.

What time is it...past sunfall.

I'm feeling...confused by this newfangled laptop of Izori's!

Outside is...Maethar, Abriel, Karo, and Durain having a snowball fight.

Today I...figured out working a laptop! Thank goodness Izori taught me how to type.

I am hearing...Aera jabbering away. Seriously, why did Izori have to make her so annoying? She just talks and talks and talks...

I am hoping...that Aera will stop talking!!

I'm looking forward to...Aera going to bed.

I am glad that...my wish was granted! She stopped talking!

What I'm currently working on writing-wise...a mere poem.

What I just finished reading...The Adventures of Tintin. A very good cartoon book.

What I'm hoping to read...The Adventures of Tintin all over again.

Writing buddy who I talked to last...well, Izori talked to Enna-Rin--oops, Catherine Morland!--on the phone yesterday.

Writing tip of the week...have someone else other than you edit your book. Like your character for instance.

Number of words I wrote this week...you mean Izori? Maybe four thousand.

What time is it...still past sunfall.

Yours very respectfully,

Ehrathiwel Miren

Book Review: 'Shadow of the Bear'

It's a lot easier to type now...that's really good, because now you'll be seeing a lot more of me!

Oh, and I took the book description from the book sleeve. Thought it sounded much more dramatic and exciting than one I would think up that didn't flat out copy their description.

'Shadow of the Bear'
By Regina Doman

'Once upon a time in New York City, there lived two sisters who loved books, poetry, music, and fairy tales. They lived with their widowed mother in a brownstone with two rose bushes in front of it. One winter night, a Bear came to their door and they let him in, even though he could not tell them his real name or his real mission. He became their friend, protector, and constant companion.

'They never dreamed that his friendship might cost them their lives.'

Let me state the obvious here. READ THIS BOOK!!!

Okay, now I'll do a serious review.

Negatives: Well, there weren't really any. Although I should point out that this book might not be appropriate for ages below 13 because of a scene where Rose discovers why it's not wise to date. There was only one thing that kind of disturbed me--Mr. Briar and Bear's mom both died of cancer, and since my dad has cancer...y'know.

Positives: The book was really exciting, very well-written, and it was stuffed with positive examples and morals (introduced in a way that you don't notice they're morals :) ) I was really drawn into it. And Rin, I think we'll have arguments over who is better--Bear or Fish. Although both of them are very nice young gentlemen.

Overall: Although the paragraph for the negatives is longer than the positives, looks can still be deceiving. The positives WAY outweigh the negatives! Definitely read this book!

Age: at least 13+

Rating: 10 out of five stars.

Although my review is now officially over, I would like to bring something to any authors' attention--how important it is to have strong characters! One of the reasons I loved 'SotB' so much was because I could relate to all of the characters.

I took a personality quiz, and I ended up being most like Bear, which I think is pretty accurate. But, like Rose, I can get myself into sticky situations and get really ticked when someone picks on my siblings/friend. Ticked enough to get into a fist-fight. Although I rarely show it, my inside personality is very much like Blanche's (not to mention I don't get many zits ;). And I could relate to Fish also (I picked up that Fish can be a little sarcastic. I sure can be).

See? When someone can relate to your characters more, they tend to also feel like they're the ones IN the story ('Wow. I can imagine myself in that EXACT situation! That's cool!).

Okay, there's my little rant on characters.

Izori

I'm back from my 'break'....not to mention insane authors, and a quote from Bob the Tomato

...and I basically accomplished nothing out of the ordinary. Oh well! XD!!

Has my blog been rather boring these days? Sorry 'bout that. I really ought to do something...exciting. How about a book excerpt? Maybe that'll be in my next post.

Oh, yeah, I did get a good bit of a re-writing start on 'Dun Zarum' (once again, a working title). The only thing is...because it's a second draft, should I be more picky with what I write? Or should I just write like mad and hope like it turns out to be as good as my NaNoWriMo book?

Y'know, the only thing that keeps me from ditching the whole Sarea thing is that I'm really attached to my character.

O.O

*gasp* Don't worry, Ehra! I was never...EVER...considering abandoning your book! Ouch!!! You didn't--stop hitting me over the head with my math book! You're going to rip it!!

Scratch that. Please, Ehra, go ahead and rip my math book. You'd be doing me a wonderful favor. And please pay extra attention to the 'Pythagorean Theorium'...or whatever it is. Not to mention the algebra.

Oh, great, now my crazy book character's just ran off and got...

NO!! HELP! Maki, don't you start that too--whoops. I called you Maki; sorry about that. I forgot that I was going to re-name you because your name reminds me of macaroni and mackerel.

*ahem*. Sorry about that little episode. My characters don't like it when I mention ending their--uh, when I mention that delicate subject.

I just read over the above post. Are all authors crazy? Or is it just me, Enna-Rin, and igirl (sorry for the lack of grammatical structure there--it should really be igirl, Enna-Rin, and me, or something like that).

We started schooling today. It actually feels good to stop lazing about the house all day and to actually have a mission! Although I have over-load history and grammar, and of course a report on Clara Barton.

Soooo...that was probably my most random post ever.

*shocked gasp* I almost forgot about Harry!

Harry is a ball that we got for Christmas. Not just any ball though, he's all squishy and has these...well, I suppose you could call them tentacles. And his tentacles are pink with purple ends. It's really cool lookin'! Basically like a sea anemone. I knead him while I'm doing math.

To quote Bob the Tomato...

'It's good to be back!'

Izori

I cannot believe this.

I really can't.

This is the first time I have ever completely shocked myself with my story, and I also made myself cry for the very first time in my story.

I just killed my main character.

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM!!!!!

I'm making plans to get her back to life...I hope. Good thing its an allegory, so maybe I can have this a sort of allegory for the story of Lazarus.

But I still can't believe this! *sniff* My characters have completely run off with my NaNoWriMo story! Now one is about to be tortured, one is believed to be dead, one has been tragically shot in the back by an arrow, and now one has been killed!

*sniff*

Poor Elizabeth.

...whoa, read that out loud! Sniff, poor Elizabeth. It rhymes!

Okay, random person here...

Personalities

What are your guys' favorite personalities for characters? I have a lot.

The easiest to write, I think, is the chatty twit. One of my characters, Aera, turned into that on accident (whoops!). It actually turned out great! I had at first thought of her as the brilliant, beautiful and strategic girl who does everything right and that my main character, Ehra, was slightly jealous of her. Well, she turned out to be a bit of a klutz, although she was still pretty. The reason why I was okay with that was the beautiful and brainy Aera would have been no use further in the plot, whereas the not-so-brainy Aera fit in perfectly!

Another easy one is the shy, greatly skilled character. Leela is that, which was sorta of what I thought her to be. Reserved, quiet and gentle at first glance, shrewd and insightful on the inside.

Yet another commonly-used one is the bitter person. Maybe something happened to them, and they blame somebody(s) for it, whether they really caused it or not. They're usually proud. I think that this is a tiny, tiny bit like Ehra, the main girl. That is not how I thought she would turn out...AT ALL! I thought she would be an optimistic, happy-go-lucky kind of person, sort of like what Aera turned out to be. But as we have observed, authors have a hard time controlling that stuff.

Probably another good one is the hovering guide, an older person, steering, protecting, and advising the main character (especially if he is young). This is played by Gnomi, the old 'peddler' in my book. And that is what I expected him to be like.

One of the reasons why I like all these personalities is because they all have faults and strengths. A faultless character is a very boring one, you know. A strength-less one can be a little boring, too.

The first personality--the cheerful twit--is vulnerable to walk into a trap because they don't use their brains much. They also have a habit of being dependent and annoying to the other characters. However, this character can easily spot a glimmer of light when everyone else is ready to give up. Sometimes they are even dumb enough to be smart, helping solve things by thinking up really crazy solutions that actually work...only everyone else at first dismisses them because they're too silly and impossible.

The shy but skilled character often has the fault of being very observant of their surrounding and yet hesitant to speak up. They are often rather serious, but they are smart enough to help, when they talk.

The bitter person--a lot of faults, there! Often blinded by their anger and pride, un-bending and un-forgiving, these characters are often very good warriors. On a positive note, they are useful for fitting some good virtues into your story by having them finally soften.

Finally we get to the hovering guide. This character can be overly protective, yet he also serves an important purpose--making sure your main character can survive their early days in the book! :) An interesting thing about these guides is that the author usually kills them off when the main character has become mature enough to live on their own. An example of this is Brom from the Inheritance Cycle.

What are y'all's thoughts?

Character Sheets: Leela and Lydia

Leela and Lydia--very different, but both loosely based on me! Loosely, I say, because as I have brought up before, my characters have personalities of their own. This time, however, I didn't mean to base them on me. They did that themselves.

Leela is my shy side (sometimes I'm really quiet, other times I'm...not)

name: Leela, Elashi of Fire

age: 15-17 in Sarea.

personal status:
-married: no
-best friend (s): Ehra, Aera, Maki, Karo, Lafael.

appearance:
-hair color: blond-ish red
-eye color: gold
-skin color: fair
-facial features: oval face; slightly pointy, pert nose.
-height: 5'8"
-posture: slight slump.

personality: shy and reserved on the outside, but inside has strong opinions and emotions. Sensitive and gentle. Brave.

weapon: Good with the sword, although she is an extraordinary archer.

fighting style (w/sword): right hand, quick moves.

faults/weaknesses (physical and mental): rarely speaks up when she is against something, a bit timid.

qualities/strengths (physical and mental): physically strong, considerate of others, courageous, willing to listen to other people. Stands up for her twin brother, Maki.

scars/markings (physical): It is assumed she has several from her tough battles, but they are not known.

family:
-father: unknown, dead.
-mother: unknown, dead.
-siblings: Maki (twin)

ancestry: Laith, Latro, and (as later discovered) some Elven [?]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And next up is Lydia, my other side.

name: Lydia

age: between 19-30

personal status:
-married: no
-friends: unknown

appearance:
-hair color: bright red and curly
-eye color: blue
-skin color: very light
-facial features: square jaw, long nose
-height: 5'7"
-posture: straight.

personality: talkative, friendly, merry, though she has a quick wit and a sharp eye.

weapon: food tray (LOL)

fighting style (w/sword): uh...she doesn't have a sword. She has a food tray. But I guess she holds it with both hands, bringing it down with devastating force on someone's head.

faults/weaknesses (physical and mental): loud, quick temper.

qualities/strengths (physical and mental): friendly, intelligent, brave.

scars/markings (physical): Has a whole bunch of freckles.

family:
-father: unknown,
-mother: unknown
-siblings: unknown

ancestry: unknown.
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Lydia, although she plays an important part in my book, is a supporting character, so we don't know much about her.



P.S. Did you notice that both Leela and Lydia have red hair? I didn't until now!

Characters: Ehra

Just for fun, I'm going to tell you all about my main character! Aren't you so excited? (Hint: you're supposed to be ;)

name: Ehra, Elashi of Water

age: 14-16 in my book

personal status:
-married: no
-best friend (s): Mina, Leela, Aera, Betha

appearance:
-hair color: black
-eye color: dark brown
-skin color: slightly darker than peach, yellowish undertone
-facial features: small, straight nose, largish eyes
-height: 5'3"
-posture: neutral posture, walks with a teeny, weeny limp.

personality: not particularly out-going, yet not shy, either. Usually peaceful, but can really fight when she has to. Slightly pessimistic, sarcastic sense of humor.

weapon: sword, although she can be an archer in a pinch.

fighting style (w/sword): both hands on hilt, although she can fight excellently with only her left hand.

faults/weaknesses (physical and mental): sometimes assumes without finding all the facts, slightly prejudiced occasionally. Also can have a bit of a temper (which she has learned to control a lot). Small stature often tells the enemy that she is the most vulnerable, and therefore she gets plenty of action in the sword fights.

qualities/strengths (physical and mental): good aim, quick, loyal. Good self control and has a strict conscience. Brave (aren't they all?)

scars/markings (physical): scar from a sword slash on her forehead (from her first real battle).

family:
-father: Lerikan, Elashi of Fire
-mother: Ruth
-siblings:
-older: Jerad, Sarono, Betha
-younger: none.

ancestry: Mother has roots in Latronia and Uraith. Lerikan's family is Sarean.
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Isn't it funny how characters take on a life of their own? Ehra was supposed to be based off two friends of mine: Tatiana and Rin. But Ehra now is like neither! True, she still does look the same, but she is sort of pessimistic and a tad sarcastic. Tatiana nor Rin is like that (I think), and I didn't mean at all for Ehra to be like that! But she has. Oh, well. See what I mean? I can't even keep control of my own characters!




P.S. This is a scheduled post. I actually wrote it on September 15, 2009

Character's can be very stubborn...

...right when you don't need them to be!

Has anyone ever had a great new idea for a plot twist in your book, and tried to try it out, only to have your characters refuse to follow it? I know at least my characters can be downright persnickety sometimes!

So, what do you do? Other then tell them they have to follow it because you're the author and you said so, here's some advice.

1). Hold an interview. No, I'm perfectly serious. Write down a list of questions about the characters in your book. Something like (here I'm going to use a sub-character in the book I'm writing. She's not really giving me grief, but she's my example) this:

name: Lydia (this is just for keeping track of whose interview is who's.

job/profession: tavern-maid

personality: spunky, energetic, observant and quick-witted but at first glance acts like a silly twit.

problem: she wants to quit her job at the tavern. I want her to stay and gather information for my main characters.

Now that you've written it down, think on the problem. Maybe you could compromise some way between your opinion and that of your character's.

#2). Your character may have a point in their suggestion. You could try to do it their way and see what results. You could come up with something very interesting! This is the one I use most often and that helps the most.

#3). Kill the character! Uh, might I add that this is only useful when your problem character is only a sub character that can't add anything more to the story and you have no emotional attachment to (is it possible to have no attachment to characters you made up?). Once again, this can lead to interesting results.

#4). Conflict with your character and do it your way, just to experiment if the character really will refuse to work for you. This is something I DON'T suggest.

Out of all the cures, number 2 is most suggested.

Izori

(Oh, by the way, this post popped up a day ago. If you were reading it, and it suddenly disappeared, sorry about that. It was right in front of a rather important announcement)

P.S. This was a scheduled post. For all who are curious, this was really written on September 15, 2009.

Results for Poll

The "Should I end the Elandai Series, and then write more series' based on Elandai" results have come in! Three people voted yes, and one voted no, so the yes-people have it!

What I think I'll be doing after 'The Return to Elandai' is writing one more book about Ben and Kaela's adventures in Elandai. Then I'll write a trilogy about there parents, Michael and Katherine (I thought I named them somewhere, but I guess not, because I can't find anything about their names. If I come across it later, I'll make an edit).

And I'm going to be checking e-mail a lot today. I had a dream last night that I got an e-mail from this publisher-dude who asked if he could publish all of the books I've written and am going to write, and then he offered, like, a million dollars! *dollar signs appear in my eyes* That was a very good dream

Izori

Injuries

I'm extremely injury prone. Besides having my sweet, kind, caring, gentle brother 'break' my finger, I have also sprained my ankle, done something to my back, re-sprained my ankle, 'broke' my big toe (also partly courtesy of my brother) and bravely sacrificed my finger providing food for my starved family (translation: I burnt my finger taking muffins out of the oven). Poor me. And with all of this...I can type!

And I'm very bored.

Sooo...ah, yes. You may have noticed I have a Lord of the Rings character quiz on my sidebar. You also may have noticed that I have changed characters. When I first took the test, I was Arwen. Then I took it again (this time to put it on my blog) and I became Elrond. Not that he's bad or anything, I'd much prefer to be a girl character. So I re-tried and re-tried, and I was still Elrond. Finally I just did the quiz again without trying to be anybody...and I'm Arwen! Yay!

Izori

Favorite Characters

Okay, today isn't as action packed as I pictured it to be. And my brother 'broke' my finger , so it sort of hurts to type (that emoticon is one of my favorite!), but I'm really bored, so I guess I'll just tell you my favorite book characters. That I can think of.

Legolas (Lord of the Rings)
Saphira (Inheritance)
Susan (Narnia)
Edmund (Narnia)
Lucy (Narnia)
Peter (Narnia)
Eragon (Inheritance)
Obi Wan Kenobi, if I spelled that right (Star Wars)
Angela (Inheritance)
Arya (In all the Inheritance books except for 'Eldest')
Mhegan (The Journal*)
Ein (The Journal*)
Ehra (Sarea*)
Matthias (Redwall)
Mattimeo (Redwall)
Samkin (Redwall)
Maki (Sarea*)
Gimli (Lord of the Rings)
Leela (Sarea*)
Aera (Sarea*)
Karo (Sarea*)
Kaela (Elandai*)
Ben (Elandai*)
Josh (Elandai*)
Lindsey (Elandai*)
Meggie (Inkheart)
Dustfingers (Inkheart)

There are many, many others, by the way. (* means I wrote the book)

Izori