On my stories

I've started writing Kings of Darkness, yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Yip, you heard right. Yesternight I poured out over 3000 words, which was wonderful. For probably the first time in my life I knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going to go. I am so, so happy for that, and I've gone pretty far too. I decided to try using Phoenix Shifter as the main character; I might change my mind later, but why not give it a go? She'll be Emily in this one (partly from the advice of Dear Sister), though, because it makes her a little more ordinary and I want her to be someone you can really connect with - someone whose eyes you can clearly see the land of Glorsifil through.

The trouble is that K.o.D. is only one of many stories I'm in the middle of writing. To put matters in perspective, here are just a few of the others:

An as of yet unnamed story about a man gone mad, his freaky psychologist, and his desperate attempts to go home and be with his family. The story follows Theodore and the other wards and workers in a mental hospital, exploring the idea of insanity and unraveling the mystery behind his mental illness and his new companions.

Dreams of Eden, a story about six miserable children who start dreaming of one another in a special, perfect place. Soon they learn that there is more to these dreams than meets the eye and set off on a long journey to find one other in their hidden paradise.

Twisted, a retelling of Snow White. Beatrice von Iden is a princess in her own right, and as her beloved step-mother taught her she has both a right and duty to all the privileges and obligations therein. When one day in the Queen's childhood castle, Beatrice - or Snow White, as she is fondly nicknamed - stumbles across the mystic Mirrors from her step mother's Fairies' Tales, her perfect world is slowly ripped apart as the years continue, driving her and the Queen further and further apart and throwing her into the hands of her worst nightmare and ancient enemies, the dwarves.

And those are just the most prominent at the moment. I'm still planning on writing a lot more stories in the world of Arrivia (the setting where my self-published sci-fi Project 6-1-2 takes place), for one thing, or a mystery about this guy and this girl trying to unravel their pasts, or another post-apocalyptic story. As you can see, I'm kind of overloaded. But that's okay, I guess, because yesterday I realized something I'd forgotten for a long, long while: I really, really do love to write. I hope one of these days I can make a career out of it, but I know now that I’ll be typing for the rest of my life.

Sad Endings and Mush

Now, I understand that everyone has different tastes, and that's just fine. It's a good thing, I guess. I mean if everyone in the world wanted to be a journalist and nothing else we'd have some serious problems, wouldn't we? ;-) But I - well, I just really really don't like sad endings.

First off, the whole point of reading or watching anything is to feel good, isn't it? And a sad ending really doesn't leave me feeling good. Besides, if the whole time the movie has been building and building up to 'How are these characters possibly going to get out of this?' Then BAM, they just don't, I feel rather cheated.

I guess a lot of times people are just going for an 'impact' when they kill off your favorite character or make all hope lost. And I suppose that in some cases that makes sense; Romeo and Juliet probably wouldn't be near as famous if they'd both survived, eh? But if the impact is a sad one that leaves you feeling miserable - I just don't see the point. Ugh, and I hate those endings that leave you crying and crying when really nothing could ever have been done differently by most the characters, like in The Phantom of the Opera. *sigh*

ANYHOW I couldn't think of anything else to post about, and since I'm suffering from the dreaded Writer's Block, my fall back ended up book related today. What’s really on my mind is whether or not I should completely switch out May Petersen from Kings of Darkness since she doesn't really have much of a personality, but then someone pointed how it's nice in that kind of an adventure for a character to lack much distinction, just so you could imagine that you were the one going through all this wonder whilst she does. My brain feels like mush and I ended up deciding I'll try switching out main characters and write for a while. I might scrap it later and start from scratch once more, but I might love it, too. We’ll see. Wish me luck, please!

My Favorite Original Characters

You wouldn't believe how many original characters I have floating around, and once I discovered role playing – well, let’s just say that doubled. I love them all with a tender passion like I'd love my own children – even my villains – , but I'm a horrible parent and apparently have favorites:

Lyla Alden, previously known as the Sinister Psychologist. An ex rich girl, she had virtually no social interaction as a little girl– her parents being fairly neglectful since they were really too busy for a child in the first place. She grew up around a few expensive tutors learning French, Math, History, and Science. Lyla passed the time watching people; watching her parents' parties, watching the household servants interact, watching how people gossiped, praised, manipulated, loved, fought, and cried. Unfortunately, as she hadn't actually done any of these things herself, when she finally made what Lyla refers to as her 'debutante appearance' (a twelve year old decked up in mother's makeup waltzing in stiletto heels on her parents' party uninvited) she came out stilted and awkward, and to this day hasn't been able to fix that. Sure, she practiced in front of the mirror for hours saying please and thank you, and if you ever meet a person that can smile wider than Lyla I'll give you a million dollars*, but she gives the impression of a moving Barbie doll dripping with sadism. She's so completely over-the-top polite and statically happy that she achieves exactly the opposite affect for which she was hoping. (As I once wrote in reference to Miss Alden: Her voice was cream floating in coffee, crystals of sugar dancing to the bottom. Her voice slid into your ears and gripped at your mind, twisting you from the inside out.) The affect she does achieve, however, is probably much more suiting. Lyla isn't a 'nice girl'. The human mind fascinates her; she loves the way it works and - even more - loves watching it crumble. But if you need a counselor and don't mind mental trauma along the way to sanity, she's your best bet. Sinister she may be, but she's also one of the best psychologists out there.

Theodore Rosefelt (yes, he was named in mock reference and honest tribute to a famous former president), or Farmer Ted, or the guy rolling his eyes in the corner before getting the job done and acerbically working out whatever argument he was rolling his eyes at. Teddy is a born and bred farmer (an acrobat, too!) and proud of this, but he doesn't act like stereotype would suggest. He isn't jolly or simple or even friendly. In fact he's sardonic, crabby, and a real pain in the neck. He's one of the snappiest average Joe's out there, and frankly kind of scary when you irk him. Despite all this, Theodore is loyal, loving, awfully clever, HORRIBLY witty, and a good person if you cut his chest open and take a good look at the very center of his heart. He had a tendency to feel fatherly towards people and then beat himself up about it, and is a 'family man' despite himself. This really surprised him since it seemed so inconsistent with what he knew about himself so before. But that's Teddy in a word: inconsistent. He's crabby and sardonic, but clipped and polite. He's quiet and observant, but rash and wild. He can lash out madly like a whip and later just sit quietly making a comment or two when he thinks it’s really necessary. Ted is very clever and pretty subtle in his emotions, but when he does feel he becomes completely caught up in the anger or joy and becomes absolutely, positively irrational. He's somewhat bipolar, terrified of death (though he hardly ever brings it up; it's kind of a quiet fear), and a little bit crazy. Theodore would let the world go to flames to keep himself and those he loves safe, but he loves more strongly and completely than could ever be put to words.

Emily Ana “Phoenix” Shifter, the spunky sweet firegirl. Named for her mother, Emily prefers to go by the stage name she uses when she performs with fire. It's one of her favorite things to do – grab a few sticks, rub 'em together with a match or two and dance around flaring with them. She does so for tips and performs at birthdays and parties when she can as she has absolutely no idea what she wants to do with her life – beyond opening a bakery, but the idea of settling down in one place like that rather frightens her, no matter how perfect her Shifterian Chocolate Chip Cookies may be. Phoenix is sharp as a tack, perky, bouncy, witty, open and buoyant. She is everything light and happy, completely optimistic in nature and a great sufferer of wanderlust with a longing for adventure. She's a terribly oblivious romantic at heart, and has a tendency to see the best in everything – sometimes over idealizing what something is to the point of heart break when she learns what is wasn't. Despite that setback, she sees the good in everyone and plays at it, drawing it out and brightening the world (both metaphorically and literally) wherever she goes. Phoenix has a temper she works really hard to keep a handle on, but if someone really pushes her buttons she'll go kind of crazy (word of advice: don't call her cute, don't call her 'Fifi', and don't you dare hurt someone she cares about). She's good at martial arts, knows how to hold a sword and can use it adequately (her father makes replicas of old-time weaponry and she couldn't resist goofing around with them a little. She can actually make sloppy swords if she words hard at it – all the heat and fire appeals to her – and is real good at making simple repairs), plays the flute, and is a bit of an acrobat. On the other side of things, she is one of the worst singings to ever curse the poor helpless Earth, thick crowds make her panic (especially indoors) and she hates being wet or cold. Overall Phoenix is just a kind hearted girl who wants to have a good time and really needs to find herself fast before she grows up and is still stuck performing on the streets. She's actually Theodore's granddaughter in my head - and she has a tendency to act snarky like him when annoyed – , but I doubt it'll ever come up in whatever story she features.

Fredric, or Freddy, or Fred, or the cheerful bloke Dear Sister gets a kick out of. The son of a sailor who is often off on his trips, he cherishes every moment he has with his family together. A bit of a sailor himself on occasion, Fredric loves nothing like the sea - endless and wild and lovely. He's jovial and light, always with a joke (though not always a particularly good one, he certainly seems to find them funny) and a bright smile on hand. Fred locks grief - when he ever feels it, which is rare - underneath his cheer, preferring to pretend everything is exactly the same as it was before and act accordingly. He's loyal and determined, though so easy going it's easy to sway him in his opinions - unless, of course, you're talking about someone he cares for, in which case Fredric is stuck as a boot in mud and no amount of pulling will make him budge. Near impossible to irritate but rather childish when he is such. Fred can get quite cold on occasion, particularly if he feels like someone is prodding underneath the happy-go-lucky exterior which is honestly his heart ninety percent of the time. Not particularly clever or particularly slow – he honestly doesn’t think about thinking most of the time –, he’s an excellent horseback rider and just a pleasant person to be around.

Phew! That took forever, heheh. But hey, I had fun writing it. Anyhow, these are some all-time favorites out of my characters. I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoy writing about them.

I can draw now!

...In that my drawings aren't horrible failures anymore. I'm actually okay, I think. Do you know what it took? (you'll hate me:) PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. And more practicing like crazy. Daddy said I was drawing 24/7 at one point.

Here are a couple sketches (some old, some new) that I'm rather happy with:

This is Phoenix Shifter. She's a spunky sweet countrygirl that can spout fire at will.

That's Chibi Dear Sister and me. Chibi is a cutesy style I use when I'm lazy.

This is Phoenix again. I kind of gave up when I got to the collarbone.

This one is a bit awkward, but I like it nevertheless. She's Aletheia Pierce, a gypsy daughter of Hermes (Ancient Greek God of anything that travels the road - diplomats, thieves, tricksters, thieves, merchants, THIEVES... et cetera.).

Again, Aletheia. Only now she's with her father.

---

So I've got tons more where that came from. But these are just a few of the ones that I can look at without screaming in horror. Thanks for checking 'em out, and do comment!

My First Dance

Last Sunday night just me and I went to a homeschool costume dance together (to clear up any false assumptions, I'll tell you now that we're JUST FRIENDS); Dear Sister would have come with us, but she isn't quite old enough yet.

Eventually we had fun... but at first I really didn't know what to do, the music was deafening, I kept tripping on my skirt, we didn't like any of the songs, we weren't allowed to go outside (to ESCAPE the noise and commotion!!!) if we wanted to come back in, and my hair fell out the moment a good song started to play(of course it was BEFORE we remember to get our pictures taken).

So my hair is a bird's nest, I'm feeling nausious from the "dancing" and we're both bored and a little lonely. We decided to get our pictures taken (for five dollars) before my costume got any messier, and we did--the lady was very nice and she said my smile was pretty, which made me feel good, though even now I'm sad about my hair. We still didn't want to go back up (anything to keep away from that noise), and we THEN found the room...

It was light peach and pink, with two cozy chairs and a vanity with a cushioned pink bench. There the music wasn't quite so loud, and even though we weren't allowed to keep the door closed (why, I have no clue), it was still a wonderful escape away from the ruccus.

Anyhow, I got the pins out of my hair, we chatted for a bit, then he went up when he heard a song he liked, while I braided my hair (without a hair-dooly-bopper) and pinned it (with the pins from my old hair-do) to the nape of my neck. It actually looked kind of pretty. I then followed him upstairs, and we had quite a bit more fun after that, going back and forth from dancing and eating grapes (me), oreos and punch (just me).

On our way upstairs we ran into someone who's makeup was done wonderfully to look like a skull. It was terribly frightening. Anyhow, he stopped just me and asked if they knew each other. Just me said...

"Well, I can't really tell..." then gestured to his makeup. I could empathise.

"Oh... yeah..."

Their discussion afterwards was really very, very humorous and I couldn't help but laugh as they speculated as to how they could possibly know one another. Eventually just me acknowledged that they must have seen each other at some point. It ended like this:

"Well, we know each other..."

"We don't know from where..." (just me)

"But we know each other! It was good to see you again!"

"You too!"

Later just me and I discussed who to vote for in the competitions (scariest, best make-up, craziest, prettiest,... and I think the last one was 'most creative'). I didn't vote, but gave advice to him on his choices(later two of the people we voted for actually won! It was pretty cool). I then looked behind me and saw a girl with a cute, short haircut, and I wasn't quite sure what she was dressed up as. I got closer to her, and then I noticed the 'blood' all over her and the bloody gash on her neck.

I talked to her for a little bit, and it turns out we both have the same name! I introduced her to just me and she introduced us to her friends and it got a lot more fun after that, because dances are just more fun with more people.

I entered a dance contest (just by dancing in the circle of people) for 'most original dance move' and did a few double pirouettes and developes because my arthritis was really good that day (of course, after I did that I could hardly move... so maybe it wasn't so good after all. And even that day I couldn't jump... it's been a while since I could jump). I didn't win, but it was fun, and just me and I decided we'd have to choreograph something with a bunch more people for next time.

We went to the room (which I mentally called 'The Escape Room') a couple times, running into the girl who shares my name and her friend and hanging out with them for the rest of the time.

We did the macarana, danced some more, they played Chasing Cars (one of my all time favorite songs!!!) and the Beetles (which just me apparently loves) and had a DJ contest. I requested Because the Night (another of my all time favorite songs), though they didn't have it by the right artist.

I warn you, I probably got the order of many of these events off because that night, when I look back on it, really is quite a blur. During the last 20 minutes of the drive home just me and I wrote the following poem:

The night was dark,

With ne'er a spark,

The wind it tossed and howled,

The birds came down,

Without word,

And the world was silent,

Then came the knight,

Of the white light,

Who called forth the sun,

The sun then said,

Gold and Red,

"At last the world is lightened."

When I got home it turns out my sibling had missed me so much (and had been so bored) that they made me a card! It was lovely, and they even cut out a sunflower and stuck it on the inside! Both Brother1&2 "drew" inside it, and I absolutely loved it! Anyhow, I said goodbye to just me and his mother, went to bed and promptly slept in to an hour I am, quite frankly, too embarrassed to mention.

Go to the top to see some pictures of me before I left (with my hair done-up). I was Cinderella, and just me was a Gambler/High Roller. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him dressed up, or of the girl who shares my name and her friend.

So, boring at first, but later lodes of fun!

Happy Halloween!

Galaxy

P.S. This is a nice follow-up to my pathetically short posts, eh?

Capturing Santa--BETTER QUALITY!

Just what everyone has been waiting for--Capturing Santa in better quality!!! (see this post)




I now have a youtube account (after quite a while of considering it) and I was able to post this there. I'll be known as 'SheWhoShines' there since someone else stole 'Galaxy'. I know, it's not fair(here's where I pout).

Anyhow, here's the link to my under-construction-account... I'm still trying to figure youtube out, so it won't be very good until later, if even then. I'm not sure if I should call my 'channel' "Where Light Falls" or "Happy Thoughts"... you know what, I'll make a poll! If you have any better ideas please comment on this post!

http://www.youtube.com/SheWhoShines#p/a





Galaxy

I have decided!

Yes, everyone, I at last know what I'm going to be for Halloween!

Not a Fairy... (I was one when I was six)

Not a Vampire... (did that... twice)

Not a Witch... (too cliche)

Not Medusa... (honestly, getting the snakes out of my hair was worse then getting my hair up for a ballet recital. That's saying something. I am never doing that AGAIN!)

Not a Harpy... (I was that last year)

Not a Ghost... well, actually, I am a ghost, but a bit more specific...

I will be The Ghost of Anne Boleyn!

You probably know who she is, but I didn't until I read Shakespeare's Secret (which was fairly recently) so I'll just say a few things about her:

She was the second wife of King Henry VIII (the 8th), mother to Queen Elizabeth I (the first), and was beheaded for adultery to the King. Whether or not those charges were true is under speculation... there really isn't a way to know for sure. Supposedly she was cheating on King Henry with five different men (it might have been four... I am uncertain), one of which was her brother (rather weird, right?). All of them (one might have been spared, but I'm pretty sure all of them) were beheaded. Including Anne.
Probably the main reason for her execution was that she never gave birth to a boy, just one girl, Elizabeth. She did get pregnant at least one other time, but the children never made it.

King Henry had four other wives after Anne, and one before. He had three children together, a daughter named Mary (with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon--how do you spell that? I ), Elizabeth (Anne Boleyn's girl, who only saw her mother in her youngest years), and a boy, Edward (can't remember his mom. I get them confused) and three of his six wives were named Catherine (though they differed on the spelling).

I've liked Anne since I first read about her... she seemed smart, kind and brave to me from what I know about her. I think it will be a lot of fun to be her ghost for this Halloween, and I plan to do a big bloody gash on my neck where my head had been 'chopped off'.


Galaxy

P.S. I'm not really certain of what kind of costume I'll wear, so suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

Iya

Brother2 is starting to talk (you know, stuff like 'Mama', 'Hi', 'Hello', 'Hi There'...) and just today, he called out:

"Iya!"

It turned out he was talking to me. Yep, that's right, Brother2 is calling me Iya.

It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!

The whole 'Iya' thing reminds me of when Brother1 was calling Dear Sister 'Bobby'... that was pretty cute too. He's grown out of it now, though.

Lucky for my, Iya is a lot better than 'Bobby', so I can actually live with it. I can actually like it. He gave me his own name... it makes me feel really good... like he really really loves me... I really really love him.

Galaxy

If I had children...

...I would name them:

Emily Carroll

Ronia ??? (I don't know what her middle name will be... if you have any ideas, please let me know)

and

??? William (his first name would be after Daddy, so he'd normally be called William)

I know I can't choose what gender of children I have, but if I could, I'd want two girls and a boy (the boy being the middle child). If I only had one girl I'd name her Emily, and my first boy would have to be named after my father because Daddy is just so awesome! Carroll is my mom's middle name, and my grandma's, so it makes sense to name Emily Emily Carroll after her.

So, what do you think of my names?

Galaxy