Cake and Brainstorming

Last weekend I added 734 new words to my current WIP, the sequel to A Shadow Story. Writing this story is so much fun, made even better by pantsing it. When I write my MC into a predicament, I take a break and think of a way to write her out of it. It often brings more exciting results than planning the whole thing ahead of time. Of course there will be major plot points I'll have to plan, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm just glad that after months of neglecting it, I'm finally working on this story again.

Last night I brainstormed on Skype with a good friend who opened my eyes to so many possibilities with my villain's backstory I hadn't thought of. But that's the point of brainstorming. As she said, when you're too close to your story, sometimes you don't see the most obvious things.

While I was brainstorming I had cake, which greatly enhanced the experience. Is there a snack you munch on when you're brainstorming?

I didn't listen to music, but if I had, it would've been this:

If Like It You Do, Do It You Must

my friend Larry

I've always been fascinated by the things people like and what those things say about them. Everything from their taste in music to their taste in food, clothes, and especially stories. It all says something about what they value, admire, and pursue. Hobbies, obsessions, and fascinations people have tell the story of what draws them and what they need/lack in their lives. For instance, a fisherman might fish for the peace it brings, the natural communion, the skill and patience involved, while another person might be completely turned off by fishing because they can't stand waiting for fish to bite.

Hobbies, interests, and our tastes reveal personality traits that help us match with friends, peers and husbands/wives. They help us decide the path our lives should take. Job applications use them to determine if we'll fit among our coworkers. We often use them to teach ourselves how to handle life situations - like a shy artististic child using drawing to help socialization. 

Our differing interests and tastes are pretty amazing things. There are as many different interests as their are individuals. No one will share all of yours, but you'll find those who will share many. I've been blessed to have friends who share my values and my interests, but sometimes they share more values than interest and I have to look elsewhere for geek fellowship. With the internet, this is pretty easy to do.

My geek interests are all over the board - from asian ball-jointed dolls and anime, to comic books, videogames, and geeky tv shows (Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time, The Big Bang Theory). I also admire Shakespeare, English poetry, small glass bottles and boxes, tea, and gems and minerals.

When it comes to music, my tastes are eclectic, but I've noticed they linger in the positive mood category. I don't like sad songs. They bring me down too easily.

I had a friend at grad school who would listen to playlists of melancholy songs while she worked on her projects. After only a couple I was ready to climb the walls. When I asked her how she could listen to sad songs without being affected she told me that to her they were beautiful and relaxing. She was always very laid-back, but her major was highly competitive and stressful. Mine wasn't. In fact, the whole Illustration department at SCAD is easygoing, focused on development of personal style and creating gorgeous images rather than grinding out design after design of commercial product.

Suddenly, I understood, even though I didn't share her interest. I also realized music affects us differently. I'm glad for the sharing, since she introduced me to a lot of beautiful (and not sad) music, including Vitas the opera singer. And I introduced her to all my favorite upbeat songs.

Speaking of which, here's a little something that combines two of my interests - music by Awolnation (my favorite band for the moment), and the movie Peter Pan starring Jason Isaacs which I recently rewatched because it rocks that hard. The video's a little choppy due to my low-tech editing software, but it's the first fanvid to a complete song I've made, so I'm proud of it.



I'm not going to guess what it says about me that I'm so fan-mad over a villain from a british children's story, but it's definitely inspired a lot of creativity.

Do you have something you can't help but fangirl/fanboy over? What do you think it says about you?

Sketch-a-Week: Give Us the Hook!

I'm a big fan of the show Once Upon a Time, so I was really excited when I saw that they put Captain Hook in it. I was excited... until I saw what they did to Hook. He became a pretty-boy with a sleezy attitude and a dumb sense of humor. Forget the elegant, somewhat homicidal, gentleman pirate captain you're familiar with. They renamed him, made him much younger, cut his hair, and took all the menacing crazy out of him. This is like Hook Light, and I'm not happy. But would you be if one of your favorite storybook villains became a watered-down, womanizing lackey?

Perhaps one of the reasons I had trouble with Once Upon a Time's version of Hook was that I'd already seen this:

Jason Isaacs fit the role of the slippery, devilish, handsome, maniacal pirate like no other. And no other followed until the role was adapted later in the miniseries Neverland. It's a prequel to the story of Peter Pan that won me over completely.

Neverland's Hook, played by Rhys Ifaan, was surly, half-cocked and brilliantly low-down. I would call that man captain, for sure - especially with two guns pointed at me.

And who could forget Dustin Hoffman in the movie with the wonderfully succinct title (Hook)? Poncy, vain, and comically sinister, much like Disney's Captain Hook. As Hook, I thought he was spot-on.

These varied portrayals of Captain Hook prove two things to me: he doesn't need to be pretty to be charismatic and appealing, but he does need to be himself. I guess there just wasn't room for Hook's real personality in Once Upon a Time. His role took a backseat to the evil queens and Rumplestiltskin, leaving only one male villain for me to admire.

I've since resigned myself to the fact that the Hook in Once Upon a Time isn't the same Captain Hook from J.M. Barrie's novel. But I can't stop imagining what it would look like if the real James T. Hook did show up as a younger version of himself.

Yep, that's about what it would look like.

I even found a perfect soundtrack to listen to while drawing his piratey badness. Nox Arcana's album Phantoms of the High Seas, specifically this song:



Does anyone else feel the same way I do about this particular pirate captain?

Good Fridays: Sketch-A-Week

I've set a goal for myself to do a sketch-a-week to post on the blog and keep myself motivated. However, once I start drawing I have trouble stopping. So my sketch-a-week turned out to be three sketches.




I've seen so many artists on Deviantart draw themselves as racers from the game Sugar Rush in the movie Wreck-It Ralph. So I decided to try it. I came up with Berianne Crumpet, a racer who's polite and sweet as teatime until she gets behind the wheel. Then you'll eat her steam. Her candy theme is based on gingersnaps and cinnamon sticks (with tea). When I color her, I'll post her on the blog. Maybe I should draw her kart too.












After my Sugar-Rush Self, I fulfilled my promise to my SCAD friend to draw our two characters together. Hers is Absenth on the right and mine is Silvan on the left. They have a kind of sibling relationship and I wanted to draw them in a funny situation. I don't know why she decided to wash his hair, but he doesn't look too happy about it.








My sketch session couldn't be complete without drawing Lividia and her Boogeyman. I just love these two, and the more I draw them, the more I love them. This time I tried a new style with Lividia, inspired by Monster High dolls - big head, tiny waist, long legs. She pulls it off, I think.


I'm happy to have succeeded in my sketch-a-week goal. Hopefully I'll be just as motivated next week.

Double Book Review: Sabriel and Mister Monday

I read Sabriel the first in the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix because of all the glowing recommendations people gave it. Often I heard "You should read this! It's so good!" and since it was an author I was familiar with and loved already, I did. Unfortunately, Sabriel disappointed me. Rather than comparing it to books by other authors, I'll compare it to Nix's other YA fantasy series Keys to the Kingdom which began with Mister Monday.

The first books I read by Garth Nix were his Keys to the Kingdom series which are seven books set in two universes - our modern universe and the bizarre fantastical dimension of the House. The
protagonist in this series is a reluctant teen named Arthur who is prone to life-threatening asthma attacks. He stumbles upon a clock key that leads him into a supernatural battle and quest to save the world. His quest carries through the seven books in the series, each book named after the adversary he's supposed to defeat in that book.

I loved the theme that connected this series and relied on it when Nix's prose got a little convoluted, which, after reading Sabriel, I've realized is just his style. I loved the influence of the seven deadly sins concept in the development of Arthur's adversaries and their respective floors of the House. I loved the outright bizarre quality of the setting, in spite of the occasional arbitrary solution to a problem Arthur was faced with. Arthur was satisfactorily transformed by the end of the series and had grown from his adventures, which is what you expect from a series with a concept this big.

Sabriel is set in Ancelstierre which is similar to England in the early 1900's, and the Old Kingdom which is more medieval and governed by a magic system. The protagonist is Sabriel, the teenage daughter of a powerful necromancer who banishes and lays the dead to rest instead of raising them. When something untoward happens to her father, his role and responsibilities suddenly fall to Sabriel who embarks on a quest to find him. Sabriel learns about her significant lineage along her journey, fighting the undead and evil spirits that have ventured into Life to spread destruction.

The concept of Sabriel is absolutely amazing. A female necromancer, a magic system using bells and symbols to fight and control the dead, a world in which magic is the ruling order, horrible undead monsters, and a talking cat. However, after the prologue, the pace slows to more of a crawl and the writer's tendency to weigh down sentences with stiff language and unneeded descriptions is difficult to read. It became painfully evident that this was his first foray into young adult, but I gritted my teeth and kept reading.

The stilted language wasn't the most difficult part of reading Sabriel. While we followed Sabriel through most of the book, we didn't actually get to know her. We didn't see inside her head, only what the author told us was there, so the book read from the outside like watching a movie or playing a game. Even when we were introduced to the love interest there was barely any romance. What romance was hinted at was clunky and felt like an afterthought, included just to spice the book up, which it failed at. This was sad, because I rather liked the guy.

The most emotional part of the book was the conclusion to Sabriel's quest to find her father. Their relationship was more compelling to me than any other in the book. I somehow liked her father as much or more than I liked Sabriel, even though I only saw him in the prologue and after she found him again. I'd really like to know his story.

I liked the world-building and magic system in Sabriel and don't have any qualms with it. I do have qualms with the third-person head-hopping Nix did toward the end of the book. I don't know why he chose to suddenly change perspectives from Sabriel to her love interest, then to two minor characters, and back to Sabriel. It felt jarring and left me with unfullfilled expectations.

Between the two book series, Keys to the Kingdom was easier to read and the pace matched well with the YA genre. They both had great concepts, but I wish Sabriel hadn't been so much of a 'tell' rather than 'show' book. While it was plot-driven, I still think Nix could've done a better job developing the MC.

Have you read either of these? What did you think?

Being Amazing

I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been plotting. No, not plotting another MS, just plotting in general. I've been going through the mental "What should I share on my blog? Is it time for another book review? Movie? Game? Should I talk about my day?" There will be a book review soon, and I'm going to mention at least one movie in this post, as well as talk about my day. So that about covers it. I've decided to cut back blogging to twice a week and see how that works out. I'm horrible at scheduling myself, so this is largely experimental.

I'm planning to draw more often and post my sketches on the blog to keep me motivated. A great friend from grad school requested a fun illustration of two of our characters, so I'll be getting on that soon. I'm excited to see what I can come up with and maybe try a new approach.

I've been watching Doctor Who and The Amazing Spiderman which gives me the urge to be amazing. Rachel Pudelek gave me the urge to be amazing when she shared her great agent news on her blog. I sent another query flurry and those things always leave me flying high for awhile. (At least until the rejections start rolling in.)

For this post I'd also like to share some art that is amazing.

Not my art, but the art of Brian Kesinger. These are his two original characters Victoria and Otto being very Whovian. If you've never seen steampunk octopi or if you have and you love them, you really need to check this artist out. Since I saw his work on Devianart, I've loved his style and the personality he imbues his illustrations with.

What about you? Are you feeling amazing over anything lately?

Monday Pick-Me-Up

This quote seemed appropriate for writers/illustrators and anyone who's ever waited for their turn at success.