A Prompt: Free and Trapped

Hi all, I am back with another character prompt today. This one courtesy of myself (please hold all applause till the end lol) Today’s prompt is another for character developement since that is what I am working on in editing. I hope you all participate, and again do not hesitate to reply via the comments below or on your own blog where I would be über grateful to receive a ping-back so I can see what you’ve come up with.

Here we go:

What is the most beautiful thing your character has ever seen? Use a flashback or have  them think about it, Why was it so beautiful to them? What made it stick with them?

 I’ll be using my MC Skye for this one.

Again for those of you feeling in the mood here is the theme music for this prompt:

Skyler turned the corner, the slick gray rain, drizzling now, turning every crumbling wall into a smooth blur. She’d been wondering for hours… still nothing. After being turned out of the Orph she’d looked for food, or a dry house, but all the buildings with intact roofing had been inhabited by grungy looking people who ran her of their steps spitting and cursing about the “little theiven’ orphie” that dared amble up their decrepit stairs.

Stumbling now, she came to a square in the city, long forgotten. The tiles jutting up at all corners, densely packed rubble piled up around most of the open area. Then she saw it, there, in the middle of the square was a green crumbling structure. She took a step forward approaching the mass cautiously.

As she came closer she realized what it was…. a statue. Her eyes widened at the delicate carving of a woman that sat upon a bronze base. It had turned green with age and weather, but it was beautiful.

The most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

It wasn’t that the woman was beautiful, she wasn’t. Her face and hands were weathered down to smooth hills, her eyes were to small for her face, and she was too skinny to be healthy, but there was something about the expression on her face. The way she knelt down on the block hands thrown out wide, reaching for the clouds. Her upturned face smiled, as if shed been frozen in mid-laugh. Laughing at the sky, laughing at the world because she could…

Skye had never felt like that.  Never been free, like that. That’s why the woman was beautiful…

She was free.

A Prompt: Archer and the Pendant

I’ve started editing BTE and in a desperate (and pathetic) attempt to multi-task and accomplish blogging and “force” editing/writing. I’m going to blog a few writing exercises for BTE today. I hope you all will participate in the comments or on your own blog!

So courtesy of www.creative-writing-solutions.com I give you today’s prompt:

Is there anything that makes your character feel safe? Something comforting? Describe what it is and why it makes them feel safe?

I’ll be using my Antagonist Archer (name soon to be changed… I know it’s bad ugh…) for this one. Also to get some brain juice flowing in the writing direction I’ll be doing it in fictional context. Enjoy!

(here is the music I used to write this, click play if you feel in the mood):

He pulled out the drawer, releasing the smell of moth balls, and old wood. He stared into the dark, hesitating. He hadn’t brought it out in so long, but seeing Skye made him think of her… he needed to see it, just to make sure that it was still there. That Skye wasn’t her, or she wasn’t Skye. Sometimes he couldn’t tell the difference. He reached in, deft hands brushing over warbling coins, and buttons, until he found it, his fingers brushing smooth metal. He pulled out the necklace watching the steel chain twist against the pendant. It was an old symbol, one that had lost any real meaning other than her name.

The pendant was a simple t shape with thin etchings of flowers curling up its front. Cold iron in his hands, not how he remembered it. Without the warmth of her seeping into the steel, it seemed only half there, as if he could pass his hand right through it if he tried. But it was all he had left of her. It was the only real thing left, the only thing that seemed certain and safe. The only thing that still held him together.

Gee… that doesn’t read much like a bad guy. I’m bad at making people “hate-able” :/

PLEASE post your responses here or link to your blog response! Thanks for reading

© Alexandra Sestito

http://novelideaslifeofateenwriter.wordpress.com

Shiny New Things (The Photo Edition)

Ah what woeful despair my blog has fallen into… the lack of posts/commenting/ and other general signs of my preoccupation are everywhere.

So once again dear readers, I apologize for ANOTHER absence.

You see, there have just been some very shiny new things coming into the picture…

like this:

I didn't realize how much I missed it... until I got a new one!

and this:

purtty ain't she? haha

and also… THIS:

IT HAS BEGUN! MWA HA HA HA

 

SO…. I suppose that pretty much sums up my last few days. I promise I’ll be back with some intelligent and non- “I just wasted ten minutes of my life reading this” posts. Until then, how have your writing ventures been going?

Apprehension

No, I have not started editing.

BTE now... but worse (it was suppose to be realistic *shrugs*)

No, I have not begun writing CARVE yet.

Why? I am LAZY… also it’s kind of scary! Don’t laugh at me please! Just let me explain.

You see BTE as it stands is a mess. I don’t even have to reread it to know. It’s slop… it’s grossly disfigured. It basically looks like one of those Picasso abstract portraits… and nor in a good artsy way. It looks more like a five year olds imitation (without the “Aww I’m five and I drew something” factor) And I’m kind of freaking out about editing it, the more I think about it the more I realize that it will not look a thing like draft one (hopefully).

And that involves a lot of work (again…LAZY!)

Secondly, I haven’t begun CARVE for much the same reason. BTE is giving me a complex for starting CARVE. I’m spazzing about writing crap like BTE’s first draft for CARVE’s first draft. It’s innerving. Plus, I feel ever so guilty for the lack of plotting that CARVE has had. Despite me still being psyched about the idea itself, it makes me apprehensive to begin the project.

Besides, I’ve been busy! I sware I’m not just sitting around blubbering like a baby about my writerly woes. I’ve made over 70 bucks in the last four days babysitting, and I’ve been guitar shopping J! I’m getting my beautiful instrument Monday or Tuesday , which means I will be even less likely to write.

So before I’m aloud to play my new guitar, I’ve promised myself that I will download BTE onto my nook and that I will write CARVE’s first chapter. Ridiculous the lengths I have to go to to get myself to write!

What are you all up to?

CURRENT MUSIC: Look What You’ve Done by Jet (LOVE this song! The band is named after my character O.o)

Hungry Parasites

I need to start writing again. I’ve taken my week off, and my fingers are itching to type, I’ve been trying so hard to resist though :/ I need to flush BTE fully out of my system before starting CARVE, but I can wait no longer! ERRR. CARVE is just eating away at my insides like a hungry parasite (too graphic? haha) I have the first scene so perfectly entangled in my consciousness that I sware if I close my eyes thinking about it, I’ll open to find myself there. O and the beginning is just SO good in my head, not sure if it will be as good on paper… but nothing ever is.

I’ve been forcing myself to at least scribble a bit of plot in my notebook, it’s killing my not just to pants it. I feel like I’m forcing myself to touch a hot iron or something! It’s terrible! Planning just feels so “un-fun” when looking at a brand new book idea it’s a fun sucker! I just want to sit down and type, even though I know it will be a lot cleaner if I pre-plan.

Though,  Ally gets at least a few points, because I do know the ending for this one. Can’t say the same for BTE, I had no idea where that was going, and it is ever so apparent in the writing.

So to stave off the hunger of starting CARVE I’ve been occupying myself with playlist making (it’s going quite well thank you) and reading. I’ve found CARVE’S theme song it’s called “Near To You” it’s by A Fine Frenzy. Feel free to google. Right now I’m reading The Picture of Dorian Grey, it’s a really old book, written in 1891 or something crazy like that, but I’m telling you it’s pretty much amazing so far. If nothing else the premise is enough to keep me reading!

Anyway, I mostly did this post to tell you all that CARVE is beginning tomorrow, after tennis (ahhh how I love tennis and CARVE!) I can’t wait to write that opening scene, which also happens to be the “last scene” of the book too. I’m writing backwards That’s right, Ally has big plans for this one! haha

So, since I’ve been gone how are you’re writerly ventures going? Anything new?

CURRENT MUSIC: Falling Slowly – Kris Allen

 

The SECRET to BREATH-TAKING PROSE!

Before I got in deep with BTE this past year, I wrote a lot of poetry. All last summer I wrote a poem every flippin’ day!

And I realized, looking over some older work this past week, that I am a MUCH better writer for it.

I think, as “novelists” we tend to square ourselves off into our little box, and just stick with that one thing. Granted we may tip-top cautiously into short story or even (if we’re brave) non-fiction. But, I’ve noticed that most “fiction writers” don’t write poetry. I suppose it’s because it is so different from the style of prose writing, “it doesn’t even have paragraphs!” you say “how can that help me write a novel?”

Well, someone very wise once said that ” poetry is what is lost in translation”. In other words, poetry speaks volumes in a very crafty way. One well placed line of a poem can say a thousand times more than what three paragraphs of description can. Poets (good ones anyway) have a way of cutting to the chase and finding the very roots of a description, all the while communicating something more with that description.

Bottom line:

Poetry teaches you how to make every sentence pull double (even triple) duty!

Poets are the ultimate multitasker’s!

Take Maya Angelou’s poem “I rise” she uses the metaphor of “Like dust I rise” immediately you get a picture in your head don’t you? A perfect descriptor, of an effortlessm almost unstoppable climb. This line also shows the actual meaning of the poem, being Maya’s ability to keep coming back, and to never be tamped down by anything or anyone! Genius? Yes, I think so.

If you are able to infuse this powerful art into your writing you’ll have agents drooling at your feet! Crowds of  the opposite sex chasing you down the street…. okay maybe that was The Beatles…. yeah that was them.

:/ you get the point though, right?

Anyway if any of you are interested in getting feedbacks on your poetry I would recommend joining poemofquotes.com they have an AMAZING community that is über supportive and helpful!

Until next time, I leave you with a tid-bit of my own poetry. Enjoy!

Frozen Roses

Frozen rose
Bloody red
Shatter at the pavements headBleeding once a radiant love
Broken bitterly like the heart of a dove

Shattering petals blow in the wind
Crisp edge all curled in

Hiding in the dark of night
Carrying past kisses in a dead loves flight

Broken dreams
Broken hearts
Shattered roses to wanting embark

Frozen roses bundled black with silk
Heart sick with the loss of lovers they wilt

The sun shines upon them

but never do they heal
frozen roses un-distilledWilting with a love lost
Broken petals shriveled with frost

 

CURRENT MUSIC:  Somewhere a Clock is Ticking by SNOW PATROL

 

What Are Your Characters’ Most Precious Belongings and Why (via Of a Writerly Sort)

AMAZING IDEA ALERT! Gabrielle of “OF A WRITERLY SORT” had an amazing exercise on her blog today. What are your characters most precious belongings and why? I love the idea, and think it’s a very good starter for character building, so from her lovely blog I give you my MC of BEFORE THIS ENDS most prized possession:

Skyler Hannan’s most prized possession is a red bandanna that she keeps tied around her ankle (usually under a black army issue combat boot), after all something like that will get stolen, if she keeps it out in the open.

It’s her most prized possession because it was her best friend in the orphanages’ bandanna, before the war started, when things were… not good, but better than they are now. The little boy (David) was dying of phenomena, and he was the closest thing Skyler had ever had to family. When she was sitting by his bed the night he died, he took it off from around his neck and tied it around her head, trying to cheer her up. He died later that night, and Skyler has always kept it in an effort to remind herself of why she does what she does. Kill.

 

Hope you all participate! Please leave a comment if you do, but leave one if you don’t too! haha

See the original article here:

My sister and I were talking about weapons the other day, which made me think about the characters in The Monster, aka The Angel Saga. The main character, Angelica, has a switchblade that she loves, both to fight with and just to have. That, in turn, made me think about what all of my characters’ most precious belongings were, and what that said about them as people. I picked three characters and decided to figure out what their favorite material … Read More

via Of a Writerly Sort

A Manuscript’s Soul: Music

Music is one of those things I can’t write without. I have to have something filling my ears so that my writing comes out clear. Music has a way of putting me on auto-pilot if you know what I mean. As soon as the earphones are on, the world goes out and then *snap* I’m zoned in!

So today I wanted to spend a little time talking about how I find music for writing, and why it’s important to me as a writer and just as a person.

First of all, I think (as I’m sure many of you would agree) that all “arts” are based upon each other like the limbs of a tree, they all share the same trunk. I think that the connection of music, literature, and the physical (draw, sculpted, etc.) arts is very strong and that intermingling of any of them is almost effortless if you know what you’re doing.

For me it seems natural to channel emotions or ideas from music into what I write. The absence of that music seems to make my writing fall flat. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I kind of view my music as the “soul” of my work.

That is what I like to start with in my writing “The Soul” what makes the piece tick, what is the emotion that drives these characters, and that’s when I pick music that lets me channel that “soul” or “emotion” or what have you, for that piece.

So that brings us to the how. How to find music that not only fits your piece but music that is easily accessible.

To find music for my “manuscripts” first I like to find a single song that I think expresses the general mood of the piece, in BTE’s case I chose “The Call” by Regina Spektor. The song had a sullen mood, with a hopeful undertone, and seemed to have a nice flow to it, and I thought the lyrics pretty well suited the book (as it stood then).

Next I use pandora.com , or more recently jango.com (which will probably be what I use for CARVE’s soundtrack) to find “similar” songs,  or sometimes artists, I feel will pull the piece in the direction I want. For instance, I’m pretty positive that the bands SEETHER, and ANGELS AND AIRWAVES will be playing a part in CARVE’s music.

After I figure out “songs” and “artists” I want on the track, I pull up my favorite site in the world: playlist.com. Here I label a playlist with the manuscripts name, and begin to add my sound tracks preferably in chronological order (This all depends on how well my plot has been outlined, and how well I know the manuscript before beginning).

And there you have it! A “Soul” for you manuscript!

I usually heavily revise my playlist after first draft editing has been done (as BTE’s will be before I start writing draft 2). My playlist evolves as the manuscript does, changing a little with each draft.

So, go on out and do some soul searching! Check these sites out:

www.pandora.com

www.jango.com

www.playlist.com

UPDATE:

Inspired by Maggie Stiefvater’s blog I am adding a “Current music” blurb at the end of every post, so you guys can keep up with my musical craziness

Juan’s blog “These Immortal Words” has finally been added to my blog roll! A long over due addition, check it out!

The Problem with PIXIES

 

YA is chalk full of paranormal. Particularly fairy/pixie stuff, among other things.

CARVE, my next project has a little to do with said mythical creatures, and I’m just now starting to consider the repercussions of said Pixie involvement in said novel.

After all don’t you think Pixies are being a little over done, and they are all done in the same way? May I note the following about “modern” pixies:

Extremely attractive

Human Like

No wings

Not evil

But not good either.

Generally, most pixie/fairy books fall into this criteria. And, frankly, it’s getting old. This is why taking on a Pixie book freaks me out. Granted, CARVES Pixies, follow none of those criteria (Let me stress that again NONE) but I fear that readers will automatically assume that it is just “another pixie paranormal” and I don’t want to be “pulp pixie fiction.” Even for a moment.

My Pixies’ are extremely dark, not nice little “hawteees” for Mary Sue. They have a taste for blood, knives, underground tunnels, and taking advantage of naive humans. (Yes, they also have wings.)

That’s another thing I don’t get. Why don’t any modern versions of pixies have wings? And they are all so human! (That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but not my take on them for sure!)

I suppose that’s why they say “If there’s a book you want to read that isn’t written write it.”

I’m just kind of spazzing about writing a new project. Especially one that has so many assumptions automatically surrounding it because of its “Pixie content.” Anyway… that’s CARVE for you my “Pixie Project”. Here is the trailer for any of you that didn’t get to see it when I first posted it… two/three months ago? Anyway enjoy:

Anyone else have spazzy-ness about writing paranormal for these reasons? Or is it just me?

DONE! A THOUSAND TIMES DONE!

It is over.

that is all I can say. As of 11:08 Sunday, June the 5th  2011 the first draft of BTE is done.

I know I cut it a little close… i only had what? 50 minutes left before I didn’t make my deadline. That’s so typically me. LOL, but at least it’s done.  FINALLY DONE!

I really can not express to you the huge relief of being finished. So instead of  rambling for 20 pages about it I leave you with the final sentence of BTE:

I squeeze Jett’s hand, feeling my heart go out to him, a tiny beat in this too big world. But a beat that counts. Every. Beat. Counts.

*Claps and does a happy dance*

It’s not that great of a sentence, but come on, it is the last one!

And now, I will take two weeks off BTE… heck maybe three! haha, good luck to you all on your writerly ventures, I must now go and throw some glitter in the air!