Lérowen's Challenge - Day 9 (Current Project)

Yes, sorry, I skipped Day 8 because it was "a video about writing" and I knew of absolutely none.  (And since I didn't feel like searching for any, I guess I kind of failed the challenge... :))

Still fun.  Okay, ready for Day 9?

Day 9: What is your current writing project?

Good question.  With the help of some encouraging friends, I just finished fighting back a bout of writer's block.  This was full-blown writer's block, too, friends.

But now, I'm back to working on Seaspear.  I finished the first draft late May, but that is only the beginning.  I had to rewrite and condense most of the beginning, and now I'm working on the middle. Here's the elevator pitch (a description of my story in 30 words or less.)



When a sailor girl meets a nobleman masquerading as a pirate, she is forced into a search for a legendary magic spear that will determine the future of her country.

Hearts Unbroken, the team story Whisper and I are writing, is kind of at a standstill.  She just got a horse, and I'm too lazy to bug her to writer her chapter, so, um...so much for finishing that up this summer.  I don't have a pitch for that right now, but I'll tell you that it involves three boys, three girls, and one quest.

You can check the current status of all my writing projects on my sidebar.  I do update it.

  

- Ellyn

Lérowen's Challenge - Day 1 (And Pinterest)

Lérowen from Eat...Sleep...Write is hosting a fifteen day writer's challenge, and I've decided to join in for hopefully most of it!

Day 1: Who is your favorite character you've written?

Hmm...
I've written many characters and I think I will have to give you two - a boy and a girl.

The favorite boy is definitely Grailyn.  He's so analytical and exacting, and in the new rewrite of Seaspear, he's going to be so much more mysterious.  You met him here, as well as the other Seaspear characters.

The favorite girl is a little harder to choose, but after some dithering, I choose Haiven from Hearts Unbroken.  I've been told I write her really well, and I find her fun because she's just so sweet.  Sweet, naive, and organized, yet smarter than what everyone takes her for.  Haiven is sixteen years old, and small for her age, which results in everyone treating her like a kid.

via - no, her hair is not this red.

Any strange questions about my characters? Ask away, please!

P.S.  This is random, but does anyone else have a Pinterest account? It was raining today and I spent oodles of time on my new account.  Let me know so I can follow!


 - Ellyn

Quiz Results

Thanks to all who took my quiz! It made my day.  :) And now here are your results.  I'll give you the character you are most like and the next one down, unless you were CLEARLY one or the other.

For those who said "_ or _" for an answer, don't blame me if your answers are messed up.  I did the best I could with those, but mostly marked you down as indecisive.  ;)  The below list of names is in alphabetical order.
-

Alia: Cyrus / Grailyn
Ashley: Chitiri / (followed by a tie between Grailyn and Cyrus)
Book Blogger: Chitiri
Caroline: Chitiri / Ren
Ellie: Chitiri
Emily Ann: Grailyn / Ren
Farmgirl: Ren
Gwyn: Ren / Chitiri
Lily: Tied, Cyrus and Ren
Margaret: Chitiri / Ren
Nela: Grailyn / Chitiri
Nicki T. : Grailyn
Whisper: Grailyn

-

What Character Are YOU Most Like?

1.     I've decided to do something like Gwyn did last year with her book.  This is a quiz on what character from Seaspear you are most like! I'll put the results (along with character pictures) in my next post.  Leave me your answers in a comment, and please put the number of the question beside the letter of your choice.

     This should be fun...

     Oh, also, I've had some people ask me what exactly Seaspear is about.  After the quiz results, I'll share a mini-pitch so you can see.

     

--

1.  1.  You go to a party where pizza is served.  How much do you eat?

a.     Two pieces - you could eat more, but you might get funny looks.

b.     Exactly 7/2 of the pizza.  (3 ½ pieces.)

c.      Just one - you’re not hungry because you’re worried about the hidden meaning in something a former friend said to you.

d.     Two pieces.

2.    2.  You’re made class president against your will.  How do you react?

a.     Look for a way to get around it, and if there is none, you consult several friends and several books for advice.

b.     Go off into the woods and feel sorry for yourself for a while, and then grimly go back to your duties.

c.      March into the office and spout off some elaborate arguments stating exactly why this is unjust.

d.     Ride off on your horse in a storm of temper.  (If you have a horse.)

3.    3.  How would your friends describe you?

a.     Passionate

b.     Caring

c.      Quiet

d.     Smart

4.     4.  What do you think about magic?

a.     It would benefit society and the country, if its users had the right training.

b.     It was misused and you have no interest in bringing it back to your land.

c.      It’s not worth it’s own trouble.

d.     It’s wrong.  Right? The law does say so, so it must be bad...  …Right?

5.     5.  If you went somewhere to relax, I’d find you…

a.     Standing alone, watching the sea.

b.     The library.

c.      On a long, fast, horseback ride.

d.     Playing a musical instrument or sewing.

6.     6.  How else would your friends describe you?

a.     Ladylike

b.     Indecisive

c.      Opinionated

d.     Sensitive

7.     7.  What game are you / would you best at?

a.     Poker

b.     Risk / Clue

c.      Capture the Flag

d.     Scrabble

*clears throat importantly* You've completed the Seaspear Quiz! Leave me your answers.

- Ellyn

Dirty Work

via

Usually after finishing a novel and reading it for the first time, a writer is seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.  Or at least seeing his book that way.  It has so much potential, it could be a NY Times bestseller with a few grammar tweaks, and oh, that one line of dialogue is so funny that it gets the writer in stitches every time.

But after a while of this, the rose-colored glasses get uncomfortable, the lenses fall out, and then that one line of dialogue seems dumb and incredibly shallow.

Creativity makes a good writer a good writer, but when I - oops, I mean, a writer - is thinking about his manuscript, it can turn out to be a bad thing.  Creativity balloons problems to twice their normal size so I - sigh, I mean the writer - can't get in and figure out what really is a problem.

*frustrated frown*

So, you can probably guess where I am with Seaspear right now.  Of course I'm very happy that the first draft is done.  And there are several things that I'm very pleased with - like the way Prince Cyrus's character turned out, and a certain pirate captain.  But my dad took off my rose-colored glasses and brought several things to light that need a lot of work.

I'll keep working.  The first draft is only the beginning.

"Writing the first draft of a story is like giving a wall its first coat of paint.  You always hope that the wall won't need another coat, just as you always hope your first draft won't need many revisions.  But just like with that coat of paint, you're always wrong." - Me


- Ellyn

A Conversation with His Highness

Ren's border guard ship, by yours truly

Seaspear is at the point where it's not exactly at the climax, but it's coming close.  I'm falling into potholes all the time and all the time I'm getting new ideas for the story.  Today, I wrote 1,000 something words and I'm planning on doing more tonight.  But I decided to take a break and have a conversation with one of my characters, Prince Cyrus, for your enjoyment.
I did one for Jacha a while ago, which you can view here.

---

Me *cheerfully*: So, Cyrus, how do you fare?

Cyrus *huffily*: How do you expect? I'm weary, footsore, emotionally lost, hungry, wounded, and heartsick.  How much worse could things possibly get?

Me: Wel-l...

Cyrus: And you added a whole new subplot that makes me look insecure! I am NOT INSECURE!

Me: Yeah, you ain't very patient either.  Has his Lordship thought anything about how I have felt lately?

Cyrus:  What do you mean? You're the author.  What could you possibly have to worry about?

Me: You'd be surprised.  For one, my characters are taking over my life...

Cyrus: Pssh, what now.  You're the one controlling me, which is five times more frustrating than your situation could ever be.

Me: Prince Cyrus, a prince does not complain about his circumstances.  Not publicly, that is.

Cyrus: I'm sorry.  I just honestly don't think I can make it.  Especially since you want me to walk all the way back to Arben now.

Me: You just need to trust me.  You forget that I can see the big picture - you can't.

Cyrus *hopefully*: So that means you're going to send me help?

Me *mysteriously*: You'll see.  Take heart, my good fellow, I believe in you.  That's why I named you Cyrus.

Cyrus: Wait - I'm named after someone in your world?

Me: Yup.  It was a noble king, Cyrus the Great of Persia.

Cyrus: I'm flattered.  So, uh...how did he die?

Me: I'm not that dumb! Look it up yourself.  I have to go to dinner in my world now, so goodbye, old chap!

Cyrus *grumbles*: I wish I had a dinner to go to right now...

Me: I said, good-bye, Cyrus.  Hang on.  Help's on the way, I promise.

The Actor Game

Remember when I played "the actor game" for Torn Heart here? This is a fun game that gives you an excuse to avoid writing...which I happen to be doing right now with Seaspear.
In my version of the Actor Game, you are allowed to use people who have deceased and younger versions of people who have grown up.

So, without further delay, I give you...

Ren (no last name yet) played by Rachael Henley.  The only change Henley would have to make here is chop her hair.  Ren's a sailor, so she wears it short.

image not mine

image not mine

Grailyn Beckton played by...well...let me explain.  Grailyn is the lead male, but I can never, ever find anyone to play lead males in the Actor Game.  So, if Reese Witherspoon had a brother who looked like an exact male version of herself, it would be my Grailyn.  Dear, cynical, quick-witted, bossy, studious Grailyn.  He has to be my favorite.

image not mine

Next, we have Merriam.  Finding her actress took a really long time, but I finally found someone.  I've settled for a young version of Winona Ryder.  Okay, hang "settled".  She's pretty much perfect.

There's me beauty.

not my image

not my image

not my image

Shiloh, one of the "bad guys", is played by Geoffrey Rush.  I did not pick him because he was Barbossa in Pirates of the Carribean - Shiloh isn't even a pirate.  I saw him in Les Miserables and knew he was perfect.  Look at him! *gives happy shriek*

not my image - who would have guessed

And last and probably the least (:D), I'm toying with a younger Christian Bale for playing Prince Cyrus.  Maybe. 

not my image

guess what? this is not my image! 

Tell me what you think! And be sure to try the Actor Game yourself, if you're suffering from writer's block.  I don't know if this helped me or not...

Well, I'm off to bed.  But do you know how I spent the evening? *laughs* Fencing with my brothers and making orange muffins for breakfast tomorrow morning.  That's me - I skip from mighty warrior to sweet little homemaker all in a moment.  I admit I might have stopped fencing because of the hearty whack my brother gave me on the index finger.  It started to bleed - I was kind of proud ^_^ 

Farewell, friends.  

-- Ellyn

Magic in the Air...

I made this little blurb for Seaspear on Picasa :)
The tagline is temporary - I just made it up on the spot.

Seaspear is not my "Nano novel" - but I'm still honoring National Novel Writing Month and pounding out words every chance I can get.

A blessing on you real Nano folks!
And of course, everyone else too.  :)

Love, Ellyn

Character Organization

Thanks for all your comments on the last post! I was too excited to show you the organizing method, so I'm not going to wait until tomorrow.  :) My friend Sarah gave me this.  (She wrote a book about a blog, but she doesn't have a blog.)

Basically, you just give your characters labels.  A character can be more than one of these, too.  I'll give you the list and then explain the hard ones.

- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Conscience
- Tempter
- Buddy
- Gamepiece (I added this one)
- Skeptic
- Emotionalistic
- Rationalist


Ok, so you have your basic ones at the top, and then after that is the conscience.  The conscience is like the person who makes the protagonist really think about what he/she's about to do.
The tempter is someone who tempts the protagonist. (duh.)  Sometimes it's the protagonist him/herself. The buddy is the best friend...I'd say that the buddy is usually a static character who doesn't change through the story, but I've seen books which don't have that.  Just an opinion there.
Gamepiece is the person who gets taken advantage of for the profit of the antagonist. (usually)

Here we come to the three that Sarah deems the most interesting.  They are also the three that I found hardest to understand.  The skeptic is the sarcastic person who questions what he/she observes.  The emotionalistic person just jumps right into things without thinking about them.  Goes by the "emotions", get it? :) The rationalist is the person who always has a well-thought out reason for what he/she does.

I'm getting really sick of saying he/she......

Anyway, I'll give you my lists for both stories.

Torn Heart

Protagonist: Jacha
Antagonist: Queen Livia, Lark, Vorrda
Conscience: Mala
Tempter: Jacha
Buddy: Violet
Gamepiece: None...Jacha, sort of....
Skeptic: Kiann
Emotionalistic: Jacha
Rationalist: Oren

New Story (Seaspear)

Protagonist: Ren
Antagonist: Captain Shiloh, SAMA
Conscience: Grailyn
Tempter: Captain Shiloh
Buddy: Grailyn
Gamepiece:  Merriam
Skeptic:  Grailyn
Emotionalistic:  Sahmo
Rationalist:  Grailyn

You can kind of tell which characters are more developed, can't you? :P But really, this is so much fun.  It makes me want to pull out my favorite books and classify all the characters.  So, hop to it, fellow writers! I'd love to hear what character classifications you do for your stories, if you'd like to share.  :)

Love,

Ellyn

On the Write Again

Well, it's been a few months since I finished Torn Heart, so you may know what time it is: new story time! If you followed my old blog, you might have seen my "potential story ideas" page.  If you have, I'm going with the ship story.  For all the rest of you...no more information given on the plot.  :D

I've always wanted to write a ship story with pirates!!! So excited.  I started writing back when I took my trip to PA, because when you're in a car for ten hours...you get tired of reading.  So I wrote.  Despite the ten hours there and back, I only finished about two chapters.  And they're short ones.  But that's because I really wasn't sure of the plot.  However, now I have it almost completely under control.  Right now, I'm doing my version of "outlining", which most people would call...well, a conglomeration of character sketches, drawings, and snippets.  Here's an example of how I'm planning my plot threads out this time.  Remember - JUST EXAMPLES.  :)

Conflict 1 (Action): Porridge is too hot for three bears -- They leave -- Goldilocks comes and eats it -- Bears come back and find her -- She escapes


Conflict 2 (Character Development): Goldilocks angry at parents -- Runs away -- Gets caught by bears --Realizes her parents just want to keep her safe -- She goes home and they make up

See? This actually works pretty well in that I don't feel confused at all about my plot so far.  Now all I have to do is write the story by intertwining all of my plot points (four), like braiding a rope.

Here's a list of "outlining" I have to do before I start writing again.  (I have already done the crossed out things.)


- Finish worldbuilding questions (you can use the same ones here) 
- Find picture of Merriam online (minor female)
- Polish Merriam's character sketch
- Finish Grailyn's character sketch (lead male)
- Research guns/cannons (This is the first book I've tried to write with firearms - should be interesting.)
- Write Sahmo a character sketch (minor male)
- Develop SAMAn group
- Research John Paul Jones (Maybe.  Don't ask.)
- Watch Pirates of the Carribean (Yay! I have an excuse to watch it! Hopefully my dad will let me...is there anything bad in it?)
- Find theme verse and maybe song for story (I did this for Torn Heart - my theme verse was Matthew 6:24, and my theme song was Half of What We Know, by Crooked Still.)

I'm having lots of fun with this part of the book - it's like the icing on the cake, especially since I love organizing and putting things in their proper places.  But soon I'll have the icing all licked up and I'll have to start on the actual cake part: writing.
Ah, well.  I'll just try to make the cake a chocolate one.  :)

Oh...do you want to know my theme verse and song? :)
Verses: Proverbs 18:15, and Matthew 7:1
Song: Sometimes in this Country, Crooked Still (Have you noticed I like them? :P)


P.S. Next time, I'll post a way to organize your characters.  It's really cool, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Ellyn