Week Three, January 2015: Dress up Games

This week I have been spending most of my time working on the story I mentioned last week. It is longer then I planned, and I think it needs editing but I really love it. So Last night I decided to spend some time playing with a dress up game to create Coralia, the mermaid in the story. This is something I love doing (and dolldivine is a brilliant place to to it), you see I don’t think in images, until someone draws a character for me I don’t really see them even though I know them. So playing with these games allows me to see what they might look like, and allows me in turn to describe certain parts better. I can’t always get an accurate picture out of a dress up game, but it makes me think about what they look like more. I find this improves my writing, generally I will focus more on how a character sounds, acts and moves; I only give a rough idea of colour and that is about it. However after playing with these games I am more confident in describing a character visually.

Do you ever use Dress Up games? Can I see some of your characters?

Week Two, January 2015: Mermaids

So this week was rather successful, with roughly 4k words written in the last six days. I started the week working on a virtual reality novel set in a world where the internet is currently being converted to full virtual integration with the mind. In this world people are getting trapped in the internet. However I started by having the character getting stuck in DayZ which I realised later was not relevant to the rest of the story.

With that realisation I decided to start working on a mermaid tale. This was inspired by images of men carrying mermaids in a loving way, and by the fact that mermaids are not your typical fantasy fare any more. I wanted to explore how such a love might develop in a world where mermaids are monsters.

Before I share my mermaid story I would like to ask; What is your favourite fantasy creature that isn’t a dwarf or elf?

Week One, January 2015: Kat Stinson

Hopefully this year I will be writing daily and posting weekly. Each week I will be sharing my favourite scene or short story from the week. This week went quite well, I wrote an average of 744 words per day, with my best day being 1315 words and my worst being today, with 36 before this post.

This weeks focus was on short, stand alone scenes and stories. The themes tended to be sci-fi and apocalyptic stories with a strong sense of survival. The scene I wish to share with you might not be the best of the week but it was one I found very fun. I’ve had some characters in mind for a post-apocalyptic setting for a while now, especially this girl, so I took a few days to write some scenes for this woman. Click through to read the scene.

 

 

 

NaNo Update

I’m behind… you can see that in the image to the write. I go between writing heaps in a day to writing very little. However I am loving my story and using Scrivener has been a blessing. It has me thinking in scenes, something I have never done well before.

I’m even already making notes on how I need to edit, even with notes for rewriting, something I usually hate.

If you would like to read and give me any advice check it out here.

https://t.co/77r3hiSL6x

NaNoWriMo First Weekend

A hundred years after a catastrophic flooding event, the entire world is covered in ocean. Humans survive in boats made of bone and leather, leading nomadic lives, and meeting at coral reefs and kelp forests to trade. Then, one young woman goes diving for pearls, only to find something far more precious: seeds. She finds herself caught between three leaders who think they should have sole control of the seeds. Her own plan? To share them with all of humanity.

So I’m doing my waterworld inspired novel, but I haven’t got much done yet, I’m sick for the first weekend and have very little inspiration to write. But now I have something to live up to. Winning the first day of 30 Covers, 30 Days was a shock, I didn’t even know I had until someone NaNoMailed me. Of course of the last couple of days I’d been debating changing the title, I wasn’t sure it fit and was debating just calling it Waterworld.

I’m behind now, but I’ve finished the first chapter and made some decisions, and am not making others. Do you want me to upload chapters?

Back in Time for NaNoWriMo

So I’m back, trying to get into my writing again. What better way than NaNoWriMo? And this year is going to be even more fun than ever! This year I am taking a whole new generation of novelists with me on the adventure known as NaNoWriMo. I am a after school care worker and when asking to put up a poster about the YWP my boss responded with “You could do that with the students!” I am really looking forward to this, one of the boys is writing a story called Llamas Vs. Zombies.

But before that I have to finish my assignments without getting too distracted by my story ideas. How is your NaNoPrep going?

Stream of Consciousness

I decided today to write a stream of consciousness to try and sort out my problems. This is rare, I don’t write my own thoughts down very often, but I do find it a powerful tool. I was talking about my current lack of writing output and even started talking more directly about my interaction with online sharing like wordpress. As you will see I decided to share it here. I have not even read this over once this is really you guys getting to see me as I am a half hour snippet of my thought process.

Aetheric Turbulence

Turbulence in Aetheria has a different meaning. Turbulent pockets of the Aetheria are places where sudden changes are more likely to happen. Avoiding them is preferable, but the Aether is thick with them so this is not always easy. They appear to most observers as “clouds” of various materials, from bubbles to dust to vapours of various colours. This manifestation however does bleed off some of their severity, a patch of turbulence which has not created a cloud around it will often develop changes more quickly and with less warning.

The clouds will fade as they use up the chaos in the turbulence. This can either be through creating objects or dissolving them, though sometimes the magic goes into messing with time in the area, or with the perceptions of space. Turbulence cannot dissolve a sentient being or their closest possessions as their own idea of themselves leaves an impression on the Aether that allows them to maintain their presence. Non-sentients may be dissolved, but are often recreated elsewhere, though not exactly as they were.

Aetheric turbulence can not, on its own, create life. This complexity is beyond the ability of the random nature of the changes. Life may appear however and the Aether has maintained an imprint of something it has dissolved and has recreated it. This recreation may happen anywhere though their are theories that their are currents in the aether to allow these imprints to move around.

Some clouds in Aetheria are actually quite stable, the turbulence having been used up simply creating them. These will dissipate over time as turbulence slowly dissolves it. This is also a main factor in the argument of not simply avoiding all clouds, as these “stable” clouds are safer then clear aether. However there is no way to know whether a cloud is one of these “stable” clouds or a dangerous one.

It is a matter of much debate amongst explorers as to whether the best thing to do is to avoid the cloud or to fly for the clouds. Consensus tends to be that just flying straight is preferable, Aetheria is dangerous enough already and its a death sentence to spend any more time in any part of it then you need to. All this talk is often irrelevant though as in most places in Aetheria these clouds are so thick there is no way to go but through them. Some travellers swear by certain strategies to picking which clouds to fly through, (ie. cool colours, vapourous only, thinnest or thickest) but their is evidence to suggest this is only superstition and has little actual information. The clouds merely indicate areas where the aether is more susceptible to chaos, and by the very nature of chaos the fluctuation which caused the cloud to come into existence may be either more or less violent then any other fluctuation, or the cloud might never happen at all. Some even argue that the cloud itself is not a clear indicator, and that turbulent patches have only a 25-33% chance of causing a cloud, while the other two thirds – three quarters of the time the turbulence throws up something more dangerous or complex.

Studying the aetheric turbulence is extremely difficult, as it is simply chaos. Pure chaos cannot be studied as there is no underlying pattern, and as more druids pool their information at Corazon it is becoming clearer that the turbulence is so close to being purely chaotic that no study with current techniques will uncover its inner workings.

Naccara – The First Druid.

The title of first druid is an odd one, common folklore gives her this title, but few can agree whether this is a statement of time or power. The story has her as being old when other Aetherian druids were young, but some argue that there will always be older. The story also proclaims her great strength, her power beyond measure, but others make this claim too and who can know who is the most powerful. This is a story of her greatest project, one for which few give her credit. Her earlier works are well known, but it is safer if few know her role in this one.

Lovebirds

I haven’t posted the information on the Lovebird Gryphs yet, I might post their information sheet sometime over the next couple of days as I continue this story.

 

The herd was moving away from the edge of their world, but two individuals lingered by the edge, looking out across the myriad of little island worlds nestled between cloud of all colours and shapes. They were creatures that were mostly green, perhaps the best colour to blend into the plains of these island worlds. Their forequarters were reminiscent of lovebirds, with small patches of orange around their eyes and beaks. Their hindquarters looked like those of a sheep, with thick green wool and red hooves to match their beaks. They were both carrying packs slung over their backs, which were presumably holding all they would need in the herd’s nomadic lifestyle. The herd was drawing further and further away, but they hardly seemed to notice. They continued to stand together, hips touching, one gently preening the other as they looked out across the horizon.

“Lilian,” said the one being preened, her song beautiful and soft, “Maybe out there we could find acceptance?”

Lilian stopped preening her and looked back out her eyes wistful but her song sad, “I’ve heard from others Nyasa, they’re no different, some are even worse.”

Nyasa sighed, it was a low whistling noise, “I don’t mean the other herds, I mean out there, beyond the clouds.”

“Surely you cannot be serious!” Lilian’s song was suddenly loud, then she dropped her voice, “Nyasa, no one has ever returned.”

Nyasa began to preen Lilian now, trying to calm her, “Few have ever gone, maybe they found something beautiful.”

“Or maybe they found only death, even travelling between the island worlds is dangerous.” Lilian said, but she was calming, “Out in Aetheria, in the raw aether, surely we’d have no chance.”

“Then maybe we should go talk to Fischer and Rosie again about…”

“I’m going nowhere near that close-minded goat.”

“That’s no way to talk about our herd leader.” Nyasa said, but there was an amused glint to her eyes, “Then maybe we should try another herd?”

Lilian shook her head, “No I’ve heard too much that sounds unpromising.”

“Then lets go, let’s take a chance.” Nyasa sung with great feeling, “A chance of something better is better then a lifetime where our own kind looks at us with disgust.”

“And what if only death awaits us out there?” Lilian asked.

“I’m willing to face that,” Nyasa said, “With you by my side.”

“Maybe I’m not.” Lilian said, “What if I said no?”

“Then I would stay, with you by my side I am sure we can overcome anything.” Nyasa said.

“But you believe we have a better chance of surviving the unknown then converting the herd.” Lilian said, “I’ll admit I probably agree.”

“Will we go?” Nyasa said, pausing her preening filled with anticipation.

Lilian stepped away from her and spread her wings. With a few flaps she took to the air and flew off the edge of the world. Nyasa had to scramble to follow, she should have expected this. Once Lilian made up her mind she would act on it straight away. They angled themselves towards a cloud that looked like a collection of bright green bubbles. Nyasa drew close to Lilian, her right wing settling over Lilian’s left as they settled into a glide. Her vision blurred and she realised she was crying.

“Thank you Lilian, you are so brave, I couldn’t have done this without you.” She said.

“You’re a romantic fool Nyasa, but maybe this is the only way we could have a hope.”