Do Your Best For the Black Belt

Today at the cafe, I walked passed a table with several young children at it. I heard one of the girls tell her younger brother "in karate we do our best, otherwise we will never get the black belt." I wanted to stop and tell her to keep that attitude through the rest of her life.

I was feeling lonely today. The weather is overcast and cloudy, and it's been raining off and on, not normal for this area. It didn't help my mood. Then I kept running into people I know, and even if they just waved hello as they walked by, I realized I knew more people then I thought.

Honestly, I wasn't even intending to write a blog post. I was going to work on my outline for my NaNo novel this year, but then I realized the outline I already have started is in a notebook, at home, under my bed. I can't go home to get it until later tonight after I get off at Gymboree. I suppose I could just wing it, considering I'm just going to write the whole thing over again, but I actually don't remember the majority of what happens in this novel. Despite the fact that it's part of a series I've been working on for the majority of my writing life.

Speaking of my entire life, I turned 20 last week. That was weird. Not really, it doesn't feel any different then 19. It just feels weird that I'm 20 now, and all my friends are getting engaged, or married, or joining the military, or have kids. At what point did we all grow up, and why do I still feel like the child, left behind because her legs are to short to keep up? 

Beautiful People - Karis

Yes, I'm finally getting around to answering this months questions for Beautiful People. Part of the reason it's taken me so long is because for the longest time I just didn't even feel like writing. It was bad, I was pretty much getting nothing done. Then yesterday morning happened.

Every week I get together with some writing friends of mine at a local coffee shop and we work on whatever writing projects we've got going on. While drinking coffee. Talking... observing all the strange people. I've been outlining for the novel I'll be using for Camp NaNo in June. It's great, only it had a ton of plot holes I couldn't bring myself to fill. Until yesterday morning. Talk about inspiration migraines. Anyway, since then I've been outlining a ton, which includes character analysis. Thus, this Beautiful People post is finally going to get done.

Now that I've explained that in full detail, I'll move on to the questions.

Karis is my hero's best friend, and later becomes his wife. She used to work for Prince Trinn, but she disobeyed him one day. He had all her beautiful hair chopped off and she was stoned out of town. Lovell, the hero, found her in the woods and he's the one that got her to leave the trees again. He showed her that anyone can be forgiven, no matter what they've done. She showed him that love is a real thing.

1. What is their favorite type of shoe? 
She doesn't wear shoes. She hates them. She had to wear them all the time while she was working for Prince Trinn and now that she's free of his command she avoids them as much as possible. She probably hasn't worn a shoe for several years.

2. Do they journal?
Nope.

3. What's their favorite animal? 
A dog. She loves dogs, and always manages to find time to scratch a strays belly.

4. What does their average day look like? 
When she's living in the woods it's pretty simple. She pretty much just goes with whatever happens to come her way. Living at home though, she spends a lot of time with her family, and doing chores for her Mother, or just playing games with her sisters.

5. Night owl, or morning person? (Optional: What time do they normally wake up, and go to bed?)
Night owl, she always seems to be more alive once the stars have come out, and she loves the moon. She'll generally stay up as late as she possibly can, even though she also gets up early. In other words, she doesn't sleep much.

6. Do they have a sweet tooth? 
She doesn't really have sweets. So, not really.

7. What colors are their bedroom? 
When she lives in the woods she sleeps in a cave. When she lives at home she sleeps in the same room as the rest of her family. No beds, they sleep on the floor. The walls are brown.

8. Can they cook? 
Yes, when she's actually got food to cook with.

9. What is their favorite household chore? 
Getting water. It means a walk, often times by herself. It gives her time to think.

10. Favorite kind of tea? 
She doesn't really drink tea. If she did she'd probably like something fruity, or maybe peppermint.

I'm Yours, and Writerly Musings

First of all, I love this kid. 

This video has 53,468,658 views. 20 of them were probably me. 
I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately, although I should be. My plan is not only to convert my NaNo novel of 2010 into a film script for Script Frenzy, but I would also like to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo this year. Both times. Thus, on top of the rewrites I should be doing to The Way We Think, I should be outlining. Ha. 
By the way, if you go to the Script Frenzy website and use the Plot Machine on the main page, you'll probably laugh. I did. 

While drowning in the Caspian Sea a wedding photographer with Tourette's puts his life on the line to save the ant colony. 

The great thing about writing is that nothing is really impossible. The other great thing, is everything you can put the characters through. You would think drowning in the Caspian Sea was rather life threatening, but just wait till we reach the ant colony. That's where you'll find the real danger. 
I have been working on a bit of a short story. It's based off of a quote Fin and I found on the internet. You can read the entire thing here (it's rather long). It inspired something along these lines. 

He reached the little shop within twenty minutes. A sign on the door warned him to step down as he entered. The first thing he noticed was the air. Not just the smell of an old book, or turning pages, but that thick air that surrounds them and makes them feel that much different. The second thing he noticed was the cat, sitting next to the cash register. Perhaps he'd chosen the place to rest, not only because he could easily keep an eye on those who entered, but also because every other surface on the counter was covered with books. Piles of books. The long haired creature blinked lazily, as if Reed held no interest for him, and yet the soft green eyes remained locked on him. Watching his every move. Reed found an uncertain smile on his face and a few words stuttering from his lips. "I... just wanted to... to look around." He stopped when he realized he was talking to a cat. He wasn't sure if there was any other human in the building. Not only could he hear no evidence of it, but he could also see none. 

I'm sure I'll get to my outlining eventually. The week before Camp NaNo begins perhaps? 

Beautiful People - Heskith Cealnoor

Beautiful People! It's back. I love answering random questions about my characters. You would be amazed how much you learn about them in just ten questions!

This month I'll be answering the questions for the main character in the novel I'm working on outlining at the moment. His name is Heskith Cealnoor, and he fights to keep the royal family alive, while his brother seeks to destroy it.

1. If his house burned down, and he was left with nothing but the clothes on his back, what would he do? Where would he go? 

Well, the entire capitol and castle would have to burn down before it really affected him to the point of doing something drastic. If it was just his house though, he would move into the castle until he could get things sorted out.

2. Is he happy with where he is in life, or would he like to move on? 
He's pretty happy with where he is, but he doesn't complain when change comes his way.

3. Is he well-paid?
That he is. He's body guard to a king, and then a princess. They pay well.

4. Can he read? 
Yes, but he's never really enjoyed it.

5. What languages does he speak? 
English... that's it, although he later learns to pick up at least a few phrases in other languages.

6. What is his biggest mistake?
In his eyes? Letting his brother slip from his life and become evil.

7. What did he play with most as a child? 
Miany, his best friend. Their most used "toy," were their horses.

8. What are his thoughts on politics? 
He believes Miany should be on the thrown, not Dugan. He would die to defend this belief.... actually, it's his job to defend this belief.

9. What is his expected life-time? 
He's expected to life for awhile... I still haven't actually decided if he will, or not.

10. If he was falsely accused of murder, what would he do? How would he react? 
He would probably laugh, and then once he realized everyone was seriously, he would attempt to find all the flaws in their theory. If they still wouldn't believe him, he'd get angry as the escorted him to the dungeon, where he would stew in his cell until his death. Yep. He would.

If you're a writer, feel free to answer the questions for a character of your own!