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I lost the Battle of the All Caps long ago XD I AM SO ECSTSITC THAT YOU LOVE THEM SO MUCH AND LITERALLY WHEN YOU SAID THAT THEY BRUNG THE HUGEST SMILE TO YOUR FACE THAT BROUGHT THE HUGEST SMILE TO MY FACE!!! AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT THEM MAKES ME SO HAPPY I CAN”T EVEN WRITE HOW HAPPY IT MAKES ME BECAUSE THAT”S IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT MAKING THE WEBSITE CRASH SO ANYHOW THANK YOU!!!!! THAT ALL MAKES ME SO GLAD TO HEAR!!!!! 😀 😀 😀
#1, I have to apologize for such an incredibly late response. I’ve been wrapping up the school semester and things have been… hectic, to say the least XD And #2, YES, I definitely agree with you!! Chocolate has been my therapy for writing for *counts on fingers*… too long for me to count XD *happily accepts chocolate* *hides huge stash of it beside writing desk* Hehe, it’s a good motivator/reward after a hard day’s work of writing, huh? And yes, vitamin chocolate is so important XD
Oh, me too! I think I’ve calmed down a bit, and most of my time has been put into outlining the remainder of the novel (I’m trying to outline scene-by-scene because I’ll totally lose the storyline otherwise) but I’m hoping to resume writing shortly!! 😀 😀 How about you?? How have you been post-NaNoWriMo?? Also, The Battle of the All-Caps still continues (seriously, I don’t know if I’ve ever used as many all-caps as I did in my last post) XD Ah, I need to send mine to Mars too, because the temptation is just… *glares at keyboard* IT’S TOO MUCH, I SURRENDER. And yes, OF COURSE (I’ve lost this battle already XD) I adored it!!! It was one of the most incredible things ever and honestly, every time you post a snippet of TSW, it sadly reminds me that I can’t read the whole book yet, because I’M JUST ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT to dig into it!!!! 😀 😀 😀
I can just imagine, on a dark stormy night, curling up with TSW, a warm coffee in hand, and losing myself in the storylines of all your incredible characters!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 *sighs dreamily* That’s going to be absolutely a dream come true!! (I’m still holding you to your word about signing me a copy 😉 )
Yes, it definitely struck my heart, and *gasps* that’s SO SWEET how Lila was planning to share her birthday with Mejia!! *melts* Aww!! And I love how it’s a mystery!! 😀 I love how much unknown information you give about Mejia—it keeps the reader asking questions and constantly interested about her character. A huge well done crafting her!! 😀 😀 😀
*grins* YES, GIVE ME ALL OF THE DETAILS!!!!! I DON’T CARE IF IT’S A LONG POST, I’LL 1,000% READ IT BECAUSE IT SOUNDS AMAZING!!!
Oooh, that’s such a… such a… What’s the word I’m looking for? Astounding? Mysterious? Amazing? Totally-hooks-the-reader-right-away? Magnificent? Yup, all of those describe it!! 😀 I love how you’re expanding on their stories and digging further into their characters!!! 😀 I checked your NaNo and saw that you had made progress on it!!! THAT’S INCREDIBLE!!! *Psst, can I read some of it once you’re done?* Oh my goodness, I LOVE THAT SCENE!! Anton’s medical talk is so unbelievably cute/fits his character so well, and I grinned when you wrote how Mejia didn’t believe him. The dynamics between them are so amazing, I love that!!
And I positively adore the thought of each of them having their own storyline/goal!!! Oooh, Mejia’s is so interesting, Lila’s is so cute that it involves the nightjar, Morio’s is so intriguing (mind if I ask what the prized possession is?), and Filip… *glares at all-caps* *battles the temptation* *surrenders* THAT IS SO CUTE!!! What is the gift??? I have to know, because that’s just so adorable and I need an entire post about Filip getting this present for her!! And I love Anton’s as well, and *gasps* he has a mentor? How awesome!! 😀 😀 Oooh, Ivaski sounds SO SO SO interesting, I don’t even know what to say!! I’m at a loss for words at how positively amazing that is and how the characters meet up together there and find the underground people. *pauses from reading to absorb all of that amazing-ness*
OH MY WORD, I can just envision this flawlessly, and I adore it!! 😀 *melts* YAY, Filip gives her the gift!! How did Filip react while giving it to her??? Was he shy about it??? How did Mejia react??? What was the setting??? Oh my goodness, so many questions!! (I’m already excited to read your reply post because I need to know absolutely everything about this!! 😀 😀 ) That wasn’t long at all!! (It wasn’t long enough, honestly!!) and you should MOST DEFINITELY use it!!!!!!! I NEED to read this once you’re finished!! 😀 😀
Awww, me too!! NaNo was such a treat and an incredible benefit to my writing/word count, and honestly I don’t think I would have considered it if it hadn’t been for you 😉 So thank you immensely for boosting my word count!! 🙂 Yes, I’ve been feeling burned-out myself a little. I think my characters and I have been arguing more often because we’ve been stuck with each other for a month and they’ve been confused at how the storyline is going XD I definitely understand feeling sad and exhausted after expending so much effort into it, and I’d love to read those tips!! Thank you for the encouragement—it’s exactly what a girl needs after surviving a month of writing non-stop 🙂 And *grins* you just gave me permission to eat chocolate? Wow, that’s dangerous XD *pulls out hidden stash and begins munching on chocolate* Yup, this is 100% what I need XD
Oh, of course!! You would definitely be the #1 person I go to for poetry critiquing!! I may experiment with it once the school semester is done and I have plenty of free time to write/be creative!! 😀 😀
And thank you SO much for saying all of that!! It… really touches my heart to know that somebody actually believes in me 🙂 Thank you!! And YES, you’ve been one of the most encouraging people I’VE EVER MET, and I just feel so blessed that we’re friends!! 😀 😀 I don’t know what I or my writing would do if I didn’t have all of your amazing posts to motivate me/help me stay positive about it!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 You’ve worked wonders for my novel!!! Aww, thank you SO VERY MUCH!!! Honestly, I just appreciate that more than words can say:) I started tearing up when you wrote that you think my story is good:) I’m extremely critical of my work and often contemplate whether or not the storyline/any of my writing is salvageable or “good enough”. It was unbelievably hard to even post my writing on Kingdom Pen a few months ago, but I appreciate all of your positive/kind words more than you could ever know!!! THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!!! And yes, you will 1,000% get a free signed copy (just as long as I get a signed copy of TSW in return 😉 )
Haha, yup XD My conversations are 100% about writing, and I’m convinced I could spend days just discussing it!! What’s there not to like about redemption arcs, worldbuilding, crafting characters, dialogue… Ugh, there’s so many options to choose from!! I don’t think my family would find interest in hearing about my rambling, however. XD Hmm… my favorite is probably character arcs. They’re just SO fun to outline and watch your beloved characters change over the story. It’s so heartwarming!! What about you?? 😀 😀 😀 (Don’t feel bad—I love any question at all!!) Which character arc of your story has been your favorite to write? 😀 😀
Aww, thank you!! I’m really relieved to hear that—I’m always worried that I might be rude or talk too much. I never talk to people outside of my family because of social anxiety, so I usually put all of my social-ness here, which is why I was hoping I wasn’t annoying. This is much more calming than a face-to-face interaction with another person. *shudders* So thank you:) And yes, me too!! Questions are so lovely and I ADORE answering them!! Awww, thank you!!! 😀 😀 And yes, Deek might not forgive you if you excluded him XD Of course!!! I always look forward to your posts!!! 😀 😀 I’m already looking forward to your reply post to this one!! 😀
Haha, I’d be terrified trying to lose a trail from Mejia XD YES, and awwww!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT to read about their first kiss scene because that’s just going to be SO CUTE!!!!!! *melts* *fangirls* *cries* *keeps fangirling* Aww, would you mind telling me what happens?? WOW, that’s JUST THE MOST sweet thing IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!! 😀 😀 I love that her feelings were gradual, too—it definitely fits her character and helps the romance seem more well-crafted and overall adorable!!
Aww, THAT SCENE IS SO ADORABLE I COULD ACTUALLY SCREAM AT HOW CUTE THAT IS!!!!!!!! *screams* *melts* Aww, I can just see that scene so clearly!!! And THAT LINE JUST MADE MY HEART MELT BECAUSE I LOVE HOW MEJIA’S TRYING TO HIDE HER FEELINGS AND CHANGES THE SENTENCE AND OH MY WORD ALL OF THIS IS JUST SO ADORABLE!!!!! And I love when Filip realized his feelings for Mejia, too!!! Gosh, when you said ‘felt something slightly more than friendship for him for a moment’, I just melted completely because of how utterly cute that is!! I ship them so hard, I’m going to start getting butterflies if I don’t stop typing 😀 Gosh, that’s so amazing how you said he enjoyed walking beside Mejia:) And that’s perfect, because Filip deserves a thousand hugs after all of that!!!!! *hugs Filip*
Ooh, yes, I’d definitely recommend KotLC!! I’ve only gotten to the beginning of the second book, but from what I’ve read they’re very good!! 😀 😀 And YES, that’s just so incredible and makes my heart warm to think about!! People discussing our novels, creating artwork of them, writing fanfiction, wondering what old drafts looked like—all of those things are so AMAZING to daydream about!!! 😀 😀
Awww, Dolly is just the cutest (give her a big hug from me, okay?) and no, that doesn’t sound crazy at all!! I think that’s so special how you two have such a close bond, and yes, carrots are a horse’s favorite XD Hmm… that’s a tough question. I absolutely adore Palaminos and Shetland Ponies (does that count? Because they’re so cute I couldn’t resist!!!) Haha, yes, that’s both an amusing and dangerous thought XD Caira would refuse to let me keep writing the storyline if I told her that she’d fall in love with Newton… she’d just have to trust me to write the story XD Yay!! *snatches your characters* I’ve missed chatting with you guys. *passes out coffee mugs*
Thank you!! Yes, there’s so many walnut trees around the camp and the wood is mostly used by the craftsmen while the walnuts are used for foods. Alana loves baking, so she uses them quite often 🙂 And yes, you most certainly can!! I have to warn you, though, Alana can be a handful… she’s very hyper and has a tendency to talk non-stop for hours… XD That’s exactly how it goes (especially the Newton-falling-to-pieces-and-losing-his-mind-over-his-romance-dilemma XD) Aww, YES IT DOES!!! It just brings the hugest smile to my face every time you fangirl over my story!!! It means so much to me always!!! 😀 😀
*gasps one thousand times* OH. MY. GOODNESS. Thank you SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I’m just over the moon that you think that, and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!! After the confession, Newton starts calling Caira ‘Caira Rowne’ more often, so it becomes a romantic/teasing thing between them 🙂 Thank you SO much!!! And yes, Newton wouldn’t have been able to take that back if Caira hadn’t suggested they move on. I’m just so ecstatic to know you think that, I don’t even have the proper words to write to express it!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
And awww, yay!!! Thank you!!! Hmm… it’s outside, the moon and stars are out, and Caira and Alana are sitting on a log out of earshot from the others—this is right after Caira and Newton returned from the woodland. Alana noticed that Caira had been unusually quiet and blushing ever since she and Newton returned from scavenging, and so she nudged her and questioned why. Alana had her suspicions;) Caira begins to make an excuse that she’s only been thinking about her diary and her owl, though Alana doesn’t believe her, and keeps prodding her. At that point, Newton hesitantly approaches and questions where Caira put the firewood they had gathered previously, to which she begins blushing and murmurs out a reply. After she points to where the firewood lay, Newton leaves. Alana suddenly comes to the conclusion, from Caira’s mannerisms, that Caira’s started having feelings for Newton. Hmm, would you mind if I shared a long, super rough draft excerpt from that moment?
When Newton had gone, Caira’s heart resumed fluttering, and every nerve in her body went stiff as though she were paralyzed. Her eyes never left him, unable to blink as she lost herself in romantic thought, until his outline vanished into the darkness. She was roped from her daydream when she noticed Alana now staring at her. She had a crooked, knowing grin and her arms were folded as she eyed the blush now reddening Caira’s cheeks crimson. Alana then gasped, her freckled, brown face lighting up, and she didn’t care that her voice was high when she squealed, “Oh my goodness! I know what’s going on! You’re in love with Newt—”
Caira’s heart fluttered so terribly that it missed a beat, and she, without forethought, clasped both of her hands over Alana’s mouth to prevent her from spilling her most precious secret. Caira gulped, her body warm and her blood boiling from the pure emotion now coursing through her, and her eyes pierced through the dark for any hint of Newton standing remotely nearby.
“Shhh!” Caira chided her angrily. “If you say one more word—”
Alana freed herself from Caira’s hold, and her smile hadn’t faded when she now lowered her voice and said, “Are you serious? Are you in love with Newton?”
Caira resumed her twiddling with the ropes, grunting as she tugged on them so that they formed her own signature knot. “No!” she objected, her boot puncturing into the crumbly soil. “I’m the Prodigy–I don’t have time for romance nonsense.”
Caira denies having feelings for Newton, but Alana knows her well and so Caira ends up surrendering. She confesses that she’s started to see Newton differently, but she wishes those feelings would go away and everything would get back to normal. Newton didn’t tell Deek at all—he told Ruko begrudgingly, but that’s it, mostly because he was terrified he might have dropped a hint about his feelings to her. After Caira’s confession to Newton, she may bring that up again and admit she likes the sound of ‘Caira Rowne’. 🙂 OH, questions are SO welcome!!!!! I’m sorry if those weren’t clear answers, but THANK YOU so much!!!!!!!!!! <3333333 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes, unfortunately, Newton didn’t have a good relationship with his parents, which is why most of his “childhood” was lonely. That’s the prime reason why Newton left home at such a young age—to prove himself out in the world. THANK YOU, that is SUCH an amazing compliment for a writer to receive!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 Yes, Newton’s redemption arc is primarily due to Caira. In the beginning, Newton even gets frustrated at her because Caira keeps trying to start conversations with him to know more about him. He’s not used to speaking often (because of his stutter), so he rarely has a full-length conversation at first. Eventually, he opens up, but it isn’t until Book Two that he really digs into his past.
And YES, HE MIGHT!!! I was pondering more about the thought of Newton’s sister yesterday, actually!! 🙂 If that happened, then his sister would have been an infant when Newton left home, which means she’d be around seven years old if they reunited. I thought about the group meeting a peasant girl in one of the cities they travel to. She might be working just outside an orphanage, and when she declares her name (which I haven’t decided yet), Newton would then realize it’s his baby sister. Of course she wouldn’t recognize him, but Newton would gently tell her that he’s her brother who ran away from home before she was old enough to remember him. They would hug and reunite after seven years of separation, and Newton would then vow to take care of her from then on (Newton might be told that his parents have passed away at this point, so he would take full responsibility of caring for his baby sister) I’m still trying to ponder the idea and know if I want to go through with it, but it wouldn’t be until Book Three anyways.
Thank you!!!! I’m curious about it too XD 😀 😀 😀 Aww, THANK YOU!!! Yes, I could probably count the number of times Deek cries on one hand, honestly, because he tends to let his sadness out in anger. Some of the times he truly cries is when he and Caira share a heart-to-heart moment about their parents (this is after Deek has a memory of their mother), when Alana dies, and when Deek is falsely informed that Caira has died. And of course the wedding 😉 THANK YOU!!!!! Yes, the wedding is a heartwarming moment for all of them:) And no no, you’re totally okay!!! Don’t apologize!!! 😀 😀 😀 Yes, that would’ve been sweet, though I don’t think Alana would’ve agreed to wear a dress so it might not have worked out anyways XD Caira’s the only girl that enjoys wearing dresses in this story, it seems XD
And aww, thank you 🙂 Originally I was going to have Isla die, which is why Caira dedicated her daughter’s name to her, though I don’t think I will. Caira does name her second daughter ‘Alana’, however:) And she might even name her third daughter after her mother. (Honestly, just the thought of Caira being a mother slightly terrifies me XD)
And yes, Deek… he isn’t one for fancy things, and his hair turns messy right after the ceremony is over XD You know, I considered the thought of Deek being the one to walk Caira down the aisle since Caira doesn’t have her father, though I think Ellis will do that and Deek will stay Best Man. Aww, thank you!!!!! *Deek shakes his head in objection to a hug* I know he’d secretly enjoy one 😉
Ah, yes, sadly it did :((( And thank you, it was nice!! 🙂 I may be absent from KP for a little while because I’m going to stay with some family today—Saturday, so my apologizes if my responses are delayed. And haha, yes, it made it much more relaxing (though I still daydreamed about writing, like always XD)
*grins* That’s the exact opposite of me XD I never use bookmarks (I don’t know why) and so I have to find my place in a book every time I crack it open… I should start using them more often. Oh, yes please do!! 😀 😀 😀 YAY, I WAS SO AFRAID IT MIGHT NOT BE LIKABLE, so THANK YOU IMMENSELY!!!!!!! Yes, Caira is a huge bookworm (or an ‘egghead’, as Deek calls her) and loves to read and write. I thought about, over the course of the story, Caira continually writing about her travels and at the end of the story she says she’s going to write a book about all of her adventures. She would then ask her friends to join in writing it, and together, all five of them would write Fortitude 🙂 Sort of like how Bilbo Baggins wrote The Hobbit. Thank you!!!! Yes, her theoretical ramblings are often confusing and she enjoys wearing glasses to look more studious (and possibly to copy Ellis). Thank you so much, that means the world to me that you think they’re adorable!!!! 🙂 🙂
Awww, of course!!!!! AND YES, YES, YES, YES, YES I ADORE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT AND I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE INCLUDING THE ROMANCE SUBPLOT!!!!! *fangirls* Oops, I’d better calm down so Mejia doesn’t hear me. *whispers* yayayayayayay!!!! Awww, gosh thank you!!! You gave me a warm welcome and a warm ending to NaNoWrMo!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 I may join you in November, actually!!! I think I’m going to only do about 25-30K this July, so nothing as extreme as April. Ah, thank you for helping me/encouraging me the whole way through!!!!!!!! It’s motivated me/helped me stay positive more than you know, and *gasps* *pauses* WHAT?!?!?!?! NO, DON’T YOU DARE SAY THAT ABOUT YOUR NOVEL!!!! IT’S NOT A MESS, IT’S THE MOST AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFULLY-CRAFTED, FANGIRL-WORTHY THING EVER AND EVERY WORD IS SALVAGEABLE!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Don’t be so hard on yourself, your writing is PHENOMENAL and I’m going to keep cheering you on the whole way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *lights motivational fireworks* *cheers* *fangirls* DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR STORY!!!!!!!! I’m going to keep telling you that until you feel better, okay? 😉 I can’t have a future bestselling author feeling critical of her story, now can I? Think about all of your millions of fans someday. They wouldn’t want you feeling down, would they??? SO YOU’VE 100,000,000,000% GOT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aw, thank you!! Oh, you read an excerpt of hers before??? That’s so amazing!! She doesn’t write fantasy, just suspense novels, but they’re called Broken Identity and A Father’s Betrayal. Her name is Ashley:) YES, OF COURSE YOU WERE!!!!!!! Haha, thank you for encouraging me with this first draft—you’ve really helped me stay on track with everything!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, thank you, AND YES I ADORE THAT IDEA!!!! (Wow, I’ve definitely lost the all-caps battle, huh? XD)
Aw, thank you so much!! It’s from a new novel that I’ve been outlining—about a female knight named Felicity 😉 I probably will finish Fortitude before I start that one, though. Thank you!!! <3333333 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Judging from my last post? Yup, I’ve been defeated by the all-caps temptation, so the battle is officially over XD AWW, YOU ARE SO WELCOME!!! It always brightens my day to know I made somebody smile!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 Yes, all of your illustrations have made me SO motivated/positive during my writing journey, so THANK YOU for every single one of them!! I feel so proud to already have fanart/be able to hang it on my wall and see it everyday!!! 🙂 🙂 I SHOULD BE THE ONE THANKING YOU!!!:D I’m so positively ecstatic over them!!!
“Oh, it’s a case of they think I’ll think that they’ll do A, so they’ll do B because I wouldn’t think they’d think of that but then because I might think I know what they’re thinking they’ll do A after all because I wouldn’t think they’d think that way,” Will said.
Halt looked at him for a long moment in silence. “You know, I’m almost tempted to ask you to repeat that.”I FOUND IT! 😀 That’s that fun sentence from The Ranger’s Apprentice that I wanted to share:) Confusing and amusing isn’t it? XD it was towards the mid to end of the novel and the ‘they’ that Ranger Will Treaty’s talking about are the bandits and their leaders. When I first read it, I laughed before re-reading it about a dozen times before it made any sense XD XD
Don’t worry or apologize about late posts in the least! (In fact, I should be the one to apologize for this one), you weren’t late at all, I understand ‘hectic’ 1000% XD 🙂 And while I’m on the subject, I am very sorry about this one, it seems like things get even busier after the school year for me somehow. Which is odd since it should be the other way around XD
Haha, yes! I second the motion:D Tbh, chocolate is a good motivator/reward for anything really XD
Outlining scene-by-scene sounds like a good idea:) I’ve never been able to do that myself strangely/sadly. Not sure why, though I am not the best at writing novel conclusions so there’s that I suppose. I can outline short stories pretty well, but I tend to make novels very complicated XD But should definitely learn to outline them more than I do though, it would help me stay on track with the plots.
How is your outlining going? Any scenes that have been particularly hard or particularly fun outline?:)Heh, me? Well, I guess this year I’ve been pretty busy and aside from writing, I also work on animation and videography sometimes so there are always those things to fill in the time lapses where I would normally be more down about post-NaNoWriMo. I mean yes, I did consider one time, the notion of a different novel… so I just set my story down for a day, thought about the best scenes that would occur in the new novel, and briefly what the end scene might be like, (strange method, but it has almost always worked for me so far), and eventually, the new novel lost its novelty charm. Either than that, I think post-NaNoWriMo has been pretty alright really; I guess the fact that I knew that I’d be able to do it because I’d done it before, de-intensified everything a little bit.
XD I put up my white flag long ago.
And that just *sniffs* I WAS JUST SO HAPPY READING THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!! 😀 😀 😀 Just the thought of readers actually curling up with TSW on a stormy night… I know there are several compliments that I say are the best compliments that a writer could receive, but that one always warms my heart the most!:)
Of course! You’ll be the very first to have a signed copy, (you can definitely hold me to that! 😀 ).Aw thanks! I’m so glad that you like that about Mejia’s character!! (I tend to withhold a lot of things from her… poor Mejia). But I’m so glad you think so!!! 😀 THANK YOU!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 You can definitely read some when it’s finished for sure:D It will probably be rough since the re-writing obviously takes far more time than the actual writing will, but even so, I’d be delighted to share some sometime!! 😀
XD I don’t think Mejia agrees, (but *whispers* it really cute is sometimes:) Thank you so much for saying so 😀Thank you! No I don’t mind you asking at all, in fact, I’m glad you did:) Morio’s most prized possession is the comrade stone that Mejia gave him, which technically is an invaluable object. It is made up of a piece of ore with veins of copper and cut and polished until it takes on its unique shape to signify what it is. Only warriors hold the right to make and give these and the warrior always has to engrave their title’s initials into the bottom and top of the stone. A comrade stone is only given to those who have the warrior’s highest trust and symbolize the warrior’s faith in them. So Morio was all but ready to dig up the burrow to get it back.
Yes! Anton does have a mentor for a long time who teaches him about medicine and consequently, all the legends and folklore that Anton grasped as facts.
😀 Your comment just made me smile longer than humanly possible, I’m so glad you love the concepts of this short story!!!
You said an entire post?:) Well as long as we remember that it was you said it, not me XD
I just figured these details out recently and I have you to blame for helping me flesh the scene out so much:) Your questions helped me discover some core roots in the story as well as several scenes:D (I have realized that this story is going to go far past 8,000 words since the brief scene of Filip getting the gift took over two thousand words itself so far… no I’m not writing the scenes in order really XD ).
So a brief outline of the scene would be: by now everyone has made it to Ivaski and are settled into their own events as Anton is being shown by an older colony member (since Ivaski’s trade is the craft of exquisite objects), how to refine a staff and add copper and amber onto it. Lila had herself an audience of listeners as she told them about Anton’s stories of nightjars, (while having the wounded nightjar sitting perched between her shoes). Morio finally got his stone back as the hedgehog’s owner finally got it back for him, then apologized and asked Morio to sit by her fire, giving him a wet cloth to clean the stone since he wouldn’t let anyone else do it, (though it is extremely brief, I think Morio may have had a slight romance interest there, but it hardly lasted very long).
And as for Mejia and Filip? Mejia was having a terrible time with her memories as she was seeing to her stallions.
Filip had had an excruciatingly difficult day himself, trying to find a gift that Mejia would want since there were few things possession-wise that she cared much about. Throughout the day he kept getting into scraps and predicaments. His whole day in fact had been one failure after another and by the time he got to Ivaski, and he was still empty-handed.
Eventually, after the alarm had died down about the strangers in the underground village and were welcomed as friends, Filip sat down by one of the smaller fires downheartedly and was accosted by a young and slightly eccentric coppersmith named Lev, who told Filip to keep away from the metal rods that were placed in the fire. After a while, Lev had prodded from Filip the reason he was so glum and offered to help in trade for the story of Filip’s humiliating and hard-luck day. Since the Ivaski rarely had new stories to tell, Lev decided it was a fair trade. So Filip told him and in turn, Lev forged a beautiful Ivaski penannular made of silver, copper, and other assorted ores. The colors alternate silver and copper strips.And when it came time for Filip to give Mejia the gift?
*Clears throat* *raises baton* Allow me to paint the scene… *pauses for dramatic effect* ( XD ).
The lighting is almost entirely dark except for Ivaski’s pulsing orange glow from their fires, which sifts gently through the air. There is one grand room in the caves where pelt and furs beds are scattered, basic general trading store areas are lined up near the walls and a roaring fire blazes in the center of it all and a series of smaller ones encircling it. There are many caverns, corners, and run-off tunnels that start in that room. The ground is dirt and shadows shift everywhere and along one of the out-of-the-way walls that runs crooked from the rest of the room, the stone and dirt form a sort of bench. Mejia had been sitting there for over an hour, combing clay from the Koni I’da’s manes and tails that the Ivaski children had woven into them for their games before Mejia had gotten there.Lev nudged Filip and said that according to legend, Ivaski craftsmanship held a flickering of magic in it before the traces of fires were completely gone from it and said that Filip ought to give it to Mejia quickly.
Filip wrapped the sparkling piece in a gunny cloth and without giving himself the chance to think it over, he walked across the main cave room. He hung back near the corner for a moment until she spotted him, but didn’t say anything. And since she didn’t specify that she wanted him to leave, he walked over and sat next to her, warily eyeing the horse that Mejia had finished cleaning and was now stroking steadily, (and though Mejia would never admit it under any circumstances, she liked him being there;)
He was silent for a minute, not sure what the best course of action was – a whole day of misadventures and now he didn’t even know how to give her the gift – until him just sitting there gained Mejia’s curiosity. Filip asked her to hold her hands out, but when she cringed at the request, he quickly set the gift on her lap.
Mejia stared undecidedly at the cloth wrapping for a moment before slowly undoing it and revealing the penannular. She gazed at it a time before looking up at Filip and asking, “what is it?” Referencing the reason of the gift. Now Filip really didn’t know what to say, he tried a couple of things like saying it was for Christmas, New Year’s, or Warriors March. But Mejia shook her head, saying those weren’t even relatively close to the day’s date, (she knew Filip had some other reason behind the gift). Finally, Filip just blurted, “your birthday Mejia! Your birthday…”
She knew that Lila must have told him about what she had said about not having a birthday and just then, she didn’t ask Filip why he did it because she didn’t really even care why someone had gone through that type of trouble for her at the moment. And the way that she looked at penannular, Filip forgot about his series of misfortunes that day and considered them as absolutely worthwhile.
I still have some work to do on that scene, but that mostly how it goes:) And though Mejia never wears the penannular openly on her attire, it’s still partially visible from under her shoulder’s chainmail.Ooh, YES!! I love character arcs:D Hmm, my favorite has got be anything to do character development really:)
Hmmmmm, my favorite arc in my story so far is probably Morio’s. Whose arc was originally going to belong to Filip, but I just couldn’t do that, plus Filip has his own important roles in TSW. I think I like Morio’s the best because of how fun it and how sincere Morio is in his arc. I know, I know, ‘sincere’ seems far from the right word to use for him, but it is in a way because he was sincere about joining Mejia and sincere about fighting for her. The trouble is that he changed what he was sincere to. Plus I love his short redemption at the end of his character arc, so there’s that too:)
I’d ask which character arc in your novel is your favorite to write, but I’ll bet I know that it’s Newton’s arc:) Personally, Newton’s character arc is my favorite arc that I’ve read in just abooouuut…. ever:) I love the redemption and how he goes from coldhearted to more compassionate as he learns from Caira. And I adore that he is an atheist-turned-Christain and he is just the best/cutest character in the universe!!!:D
Aww, well I’m just so glad that I was able to help a friend out!:D And honestly, I wouldn’t have done NaNoWriMo last month if it hadn’t been for you either:)
And yes, all my characters are arguing with themselves and me as well, every chance they get XD I also just wanted to note here that I did have all the post NaNo tips, but judging by the fact that that little bar that says what time a person posts, it didn’t go through. So I decided to re-write them on a doc and send you a link if that’s okay, (I’m really, really, really, sorry about the delay and hope you’ll forgive me for it. I know pretty soon they won’t be much help with April getting farther away, but I promise to have them by tonight, that is today’s tonight’s*- well, you know what I mean, the tonight of the day you get this post:) And since my links just won’t work on KP, I’ll post it on the Google Hangouts thing:)XD Yep, any writer needs chocolate after NaNo XD
Aw, thank you! I will definitely look forward to that!
Oh yes, definitely, 100% 😀 😀 😀 I also just feel so blessed also that we’re friends and no I don’t just believe in you… I BELIEVE IN YOU 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% I mean your writing is just remarkable, your a beyond amazing writer, and a beyond amazing friend!!!!!! There’s just no reason not to believe in you! 😀 😀 😀 Aw, and thank you so much, you have been so encouraging to TSW and me too, (as in I shudder to think about where my novel would be right now if it weren’t for you and all of your spectacular and always completely appreciated questions and encouragement!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 I just hope I’ve helped your writing even one-tenth how much you’ve helped mine:D And your writing is more than good, it is incredible. I mean your very first novel has been more intriguing and the characters lovable and the overall awesomeness more than mere awesome… your first draft does what few novels out there accomplish for me, (even though I’m a bookworm of sorts), it truly makes me care about the characters and their life journeys. So good? No. Amazing? Yes. 🙂
And as writers, we are our own worst critics, so I understand about feeling so critical about writing. But 1# being critical about first drafts is nearly futile because there’s always a lot to change at that fun and messy stage. 2# All words are salvageable, you just have to decide what you want to keep. 3# First drafts are like oil paint of drafts. Oil paints are the messiest of paints, but that was how the Mona Lisa started out.
It takes time to polish a marble statue, (okay you’re going to have to pardon all my art references, I don’t have much else that makes a ton of sense XD ), but from stone blocks come statues. Don’t ever think your writing isn’t good enough, because it most certainly is!! 😀 😀 😀(*Virtually shakes hands* it’s a deal! 😀 XD That’ll just be one of the best days ever when we can exchange our signed hardcovers:)
Oh same here, I don’t usually talk to a ton of people outside my family either, the result of being an introverted, writing, animal lover:) So yep, most of my social-ness is on KP too:) Plus I’m with you 100% with preferring communication-by-writing than face-to-face. *Double shudders*. Face-to-face I have just about nothing to say, but when writing? Well, I literally have novels worth of things to say XD And of course, there’s just no way possible that your posts are annoying in the least!
Haha, that’s what I was afraid of XD Don’t worry Deek, I could never exclude you!:DI’m so happy that your looking forward to my post 😀 (I feel terrible about it being so late:(
Oh yes, trying to lose a trail from Mejia is next to futile, (except for Artur, somehow he manages it…)
THANK YOU!!! 😀 😀 I’m just so over the moon that you ship them so much and no, of course I wouldn’t mind telling you!!:D (I have three first kiss scenes planned out for them actually, but decided to stick with this one for the time being:) It all happens in the way Mejia does things, brief, plainspoken, and directly to the point. I also consider it part three of the confession and is much later after she had rejected the flower he tried giving her. It was in a scene where they are all walking back to Ivatoust nearer the end of the novel; Anton, Lila, and several others were walking ahead of Mejia, and much further behind her was Filip. She had been thinking this over for a while and finally decided that in a place like Birch Woods, it wasn’t a good idea to leave things unsaid that you want to say. She waited for him to catch up and pulled him alongside a wall of rocks, and apologized for clouting him. She tried to tell him how she felt, but ended up voiceless and instead showed him the dried flower petals that she’d saved. It took Filip a moment to realize what they were, and once he did, he looked at Mejia as she said, “and that’s almost all that I have to say.” Filip asked what else and this is the point where she reaches her hand around the back of his head to pull it down to her and she kisses him.
…Not sure if I’ll keep it depending on how the novel comes along time-wise, but that’s Mejia and Filip’s first (and only mentioned) kiss in all of TSW. And it’s not as fabulous as Caira and Newton’s first kiss, (that one is literally my all-time favorite *shoves previous-and-nowhere-near-as-great-favorite off first place shelf and inserts Newton/Caira’s* 😀 ) Those two are just incredible:DI won’t tell Mejia or Filip you said that, but I’m just so super ecstatic by how much you ship them!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Thank you thank you thank you, because all that just makes me so happy, I couldn’t even begin to write how ecstatic reading that made me. I’m so glad that you loved those scenes so much and how they interact and how Mejia hides her feelings for Filip. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER!!! 😀 No, as in I really mean that and would write out every one of those million thank yous if I didn’t think the internet would crash XD
I will definitely have to check out KotLC then! Thank you for the recommendation, I can’t wait to commence reading!!:D
Sure thing! I’m sure that she’ll appreciate it:) Thank you:) Ooh, yes! Shetlands most certainly count and your right, they are so adorable:D But let me assure you that they are just as mischievous as they are cute, (we’ve had three of them in the past and you will not believe the things they can do). *Gasps* YES!!! Palominos are just pure gorgeous and are one of my absolute favorites coat colors, (I have a hard choosing just one favorite in anything when it comes to horses XD ).
Haha, that’s just hilarious (and true, frightening as well) the thought of Caira knowing about her and Newton before it actually happens XD
I think they are all happy to be back and out of reach from my keyboard for a while XD
Wow, that sounds so beautiful… I love the camp more every time I learn new things about it! Really??? YES!!!!! *Snatches Alana* XD thank you for the warning, but that’s alright, I’ll love to hear her talk non-stop about everything:D
AWWWWW, that’s so sweet how it becomes something that they tease each other about after the confession, (which I have not stopped fangirling about btw… which is odd because I normally never fangirl and when I do, it’s never for this long). And just a side note: I LOVE THE WAY “CAIRA” AND “ROWNE” PAIR SO PERFECTLY!!! *Sighs* Rowne… that’s just the best name on the face of the earth, (or Neptune, or Jupiter, or Saturn, or Pluto, or Mercury or-)*Tears up* *Screams* WOULD I MIND?!?!??!??!?!?!??!?!??!?!? I. LOVE. THAT. EXCERPT. And there’s no other way to say that, I mean the whole time I read I was grinning a thousand miles long and when I READ IT AN YES I JUST BROKE OUT IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I JUST LOVE THAT SCENE!!! Oh my goodness, I felt like I was right next to them watching Newton approach, and Caira becoming shy and oh my goodness, I was about ready to whisper to Alana about what happens in the future!!!!!!!!!!! But… Caira would never forgive me so I didn’t:) But wow did I love reading that. The atmosphere was so cozy and at the same time, knowing it was cold out made me feel like shivering and I love how Alana reacted to all that. That was just priceless!! 😀 Poor Caira XD I love how she tried to deter Alana by saying her behavior was because of her diary and Oria and I love how Alana saw right through that;) And when she started to exclaim that Caira was in love with Newton, I was thiiiiiiis close to joining her:D And the brief interaction with Newton and how Caira stares after him is just so *screams* AMAZING!!!!!!! That is just the sweetest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Oh my word those two are just the cutest ever and it’s so awesome that Alana is seeing through all of this, *while I’m borrowing her, we are both going to sympathize with each other for not being able to spill the news XD That is, does Alana want to tell Newton about Caira’s feelings? * Either way ALL THIS IS JUST SO INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Plus on an adorableness scale of one to ten, Newton telling Ruko about letting that slip out and worrying that he’d dropped a hint to his feelings is a one hundred:D
Oh no, I thought those answers were sensational and that is just so sweet the thought of Caira admitting that she liked the sound of their names together, after her confession to him… which makes me curious about the second confession, (which is probably a dangerous thing since I’m already going to be fangirling forever about the first one), what was the setting? Caira was pretty nervous huh? What was Newton’s reaction? *Melts* Caira and Newton are like the greatest couple EVER!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀
Poor Newton:( I really like the concept though of him not having full-length conversations at first and gets frustrated Caira for trying to start them, (I’m sorry Newton, but it’s amazing story material), I just love his stutter all the way around and how it made such an impact on his life negatively and positively and was part of shaping his life.
Awwwwwwwww, that reunion scene sounds like the sweetest thing ever!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 I can just picture it and it’s so heartwarming!! That would be just adorable and I think that if he does have a sister, book three will be a perfect time to add her if you decide to:) Either way you decide, I am a 110% supporter of Fortitude no matter what!!!:D 😀 😀
*Grins* Deek’s crying at the wedding is all that much cuter since he’s usually not sentimental:) *Sniffs* aw Deek, that’s all so sad *starts to sob* especially when you mentioned the time that he thinks Caira is dead….. *actually started to cry at the thought there* that must have been the most horrible time Deek ever had in his life:’( What did he do as soon as he received the news? THAT IS JUST THE MOST HEARTBREAKING THING IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!! I feel so terrible for Deek, (you have no idea how glad I am to know that they all make it in the end).
That’s so sweet how Caira names her first daughter after Isla, her second after Alana, and third after her own mother!:D It adds depth to the story in a way if that makes sense. (And, yes, that is a slightly terrifying thought XD ). I grinned at the mention of Ellis and while that would have been adorable if Deek had walked Caira down the aisle, I’m glad that Ellis does:) His and Caira’s father/daughter relationship is just… just… I can’t even think of the right word to describe how heartwarming it is since Caira didn’t remember her father and Ellis didn’t have a daughter.
(Good, because he needs one:)Oh, don’t worry about it:) (Sometimes I have my own disappearances from KP too 🙂 ), I do hope you have fun though 😀
(I can concur with you on that, sometimes I think I daydream more about writing than I do actually writing XD ).Really? XD I used to not use them, but as you said, I had to refind my page every time I opened it, (and relying on my memory when it comes to that type of thing is not always the wisest XD ). But now I read through books and stick a shred of paper in every page that I read a sentence I really like or find interesting XD
XD Deek, Deek, Deek… that is extremely cute and brother-like though that he calls her an egghead for that XD I think it’s definitely likable and I seriously love that about Caira’s character!!! Plus that is SO SWEET the thought that she would wear glasses to copy Ellis!!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, oh my word that is just purely heartwarming:)
AND OH MY GOODNESS YES!!!!! I POSITIVELY LOVE THE IDEA OF THEM WRITING FORTITUDE!!! I mean that would just be so cool if you decided to do that and the novel would be in a way, a journal of their adventures, and how you said that you sometimes switch POVs in different chapters, well that’d be awesome as they could all write their own chapters or write them together or however! I just love the idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Aw, don’t mention it! I’m just SOSOSO glad that we were both able to do NaNoWriMo together last month, (though I knew from day one that we’d make it to the finish line:) *GASPS* YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES AND YES!!!!!! (And yes, somehow I kept the letters straight while typing quickly and enthusiastically) THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!!!! If you can’t tell, I think that’s an awesome idea XD That would be just amazing and yes, I wouldn’t do anything as extreme as April in July, (and tbh NaNoWriMo doesn’t help with rewriting or anything but first draft materials much since the word goal is meant to drive out perfection and make room for creativity:) Thank you also more motivating and helping me during NaNoWriMo 😀
Her books sound amazing!! I looked them up before you posted and couldn’t find anything under ‘Elizabeth’ so that makes sense:) That’s so cool that she’s published them!!:D
*Gulp* *on the very verge of tears* You know that saying about how you can literally live off of a thought? Well, I think everything you said there is literally going to be one of the things that are going to keep TSW alive. THAT IS- *tears swell up and chokes even my ability to write* … THAT IS JUST THE NICEST/BEST/MOST AMAZING THING THAT ANYONE HAS EVER SAID ABOUT THE SNOW WARRIOR AND YOU. WILL. HAVE. NO. IDEA. HOW. MUCH. THAT. MEANS. TO. ME. I can’t even read that comment without grinning and nearly feeling like crying at the same time, THANK YOU BEYOND THE ENGLISH AND EVERY OTHER LANGUAGE”S VOCABULARY OF ALL THE WORDS THAT COULD EVEN REMOTELY MEAN THANK YOU SO INCREDIBLY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!….. There just aren’t enough exclamation points in the world!!!!! Thank you so much for saying that, that literally just means so much that you you’ll never know just how much that truly means:’)
And though it’s a small word, I mean it to its fullest meaning when I say ‘ditto’:)
Felicity sounds like an amazing heroine!! A story of a female knight??? That sounds awesome!!! Yes, I have almost five novel ideas that I’ve written a synopsis for, but I too am going to stick with my novel at hand and see it through:) THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
OH MY WORD, I LOVE THAT EXCERPT SO MUCH!!! XD It’s positively confusing and yet lighthearted at the same time, and after scratching my head a couple of times and re-reading it, I think I understand XD Oooh, how interesting!! This is only making me want to buy the book even more now (which I possibly will this summer!!)
Ah, thank you SO incredibly much for understanding and being patient with me!! And I feel like I need to profusely apologize again for my tardiness—I’m trying to wrap up the school semester within the next two weeks or less (and I’ve fallen behind), so there’s never a dull moment XD Yup, hectic is the word to describe it, but once summer comes I’ll have much more free time!! Oh no, don’t apologize at all!! You’re totally fine!! And I understand that 100%, so take all the time you need!!:) Oh yes, chocolate is the greatest reward for… *thinks* anything, honestly XD Your posts and my stash of chocolate have been two of the hugest motivators for my novel, but mostly your posts Hehe, it’s much more difficult than it sounds, trust me, and once I hit a certain point, outlining any more without writing on the story seems impossible. I didn’t have any of this planned when I started writing Fortitude, so it’s been an un-outlined journey for me the whole way:D Every writer has their own special writing strategy/process, so don’t feel bad!!
*sighs* I’m with you on the whole making-novels-complicated part… If I’m being honest, I’m considering the possibility of Fortitude having a fourth book now XD Hmm, if you’re wanting to outline, I’d recommend googling some ‘scene templates’, which is what I did. It can help you outline very thoroughly, so I’d highly recommend it!! The outlining is going quite well (though writing has been questionable), and I decided that I was changing up the storyline a little—my characters are going to a different location now (a city), so that should be interesting. Well, the scene I’m writing is currently hard, because as odd as it sounds, it’s difficult writing scenes with all five of my main characters. Newton is guiding them into a city, and most of it is just small-talk, but it’s actually been a struggle to write five characters without it seeming boring in the process. But outlining what happens in the city has been enjoyable:)
*gasps* WAIT. WHAT? You work on videography??? And animation??? *gasps again* THAT IS SO NEAT!! Do you mind if I ask what sorts of things you animate/video? I understand filling your time, though—it’s good to have a break from writing and do other things occasionally (and once your creativity has run dry, it’s so beneficial for writing) Ooh, that’s SUCH an interesting method!! :O And I’m happy to know post-NaNoWriMo has been going smoothly for you, but I’m still wishing you the warmest wishes about it!! Last month was tough, so treat yourself to some chocolate and take a much-deserved break if you feel like it Awww, that makes me double happy to hear!!!
And yes, your novel is just the PERFECT story that I would want to curl up with and read, I’m already looking forward to it!! It’s so cozy and mysterious and I can just imagine myself intensely sipping my coffee as I approach a tense scene, or gasping when I read a plot twist, or just hugging the book when I finish it!!! (Yes, I actually hug books once I finish them XD) YAY, THANK YOU!! Wow, I can’t wait to hold a signed copy of it!! I’ll take great care of it AND YES, ABSOLUTELY!! Mejia is so well-crafted, how could I not adore everything about her character?? *gasps* YAY!! That doesn’t matter at all—even if it’s first draft, I have no doubt it’ll be amazing:D Of course!! <3333
Ooooh, a comrade stone!! That sounds interesting!! Even if it’s invaluable, it sounds like such an incredible honor to have that stone!! I can definitely see why Morio would want to get it back. Oooh, I LOVE that SO MUCH, how Anton has a mentor that taught him medicine/legends!! That’s just so neat, how long has he had a mentor? YES, I’M LOVING THIS SHORT STORY MORE AND MORE WITH EVERYTHING I HEAR OF IT!!! *gasps* YES, AN ENTIRE POST!! I’d gladly read it if you did!! Aww, I’m so thrilled I could help you with it (or my curiosity could, because I just couldn’t help but ask questions!)!! Oh, that’s amazing!! This short story needs to be as long as possible, you know;)
Eh, I don’t outline/write in order sometimes, so don’t worry about it. I still don’t have an official chapter three in my novel, hence why I posted my chapters out of order on KP XD Oooh, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO BEGIN DESCRIBING HOW MUCH I LOVE THAT SCENE!!!!!!!!!! I can picture it flawlessly in my head—Anton exploring Ivaski curiously, Lila happily recounting Anton’s stories of the poor nightjar, Morio feeling relieved to finally have his stone back and probably terrified to lose it again, and… *gasps* A ROMANCE INTEREST? YAY, I love that addition SO much!!! What’s her name? What’s her personality like? Aww, I have to apologize, but I melt and fangirl every time romance is involved in a story, so you’ll have to excuse me XD (If Morio didn’t die in the end, that would’ve been so cute!!!!!! *sniffles*) Aww, poor Mejia!! *starts to give her a hug but then backs off* And Filip… my heart breaks to think of him frantically trying to find a gift, not knowing what she would like as a present, wondering if he’s going to mess it up, and probably avoiding her for fear that she may suspect something. He’s just so adorable, poor Filip!!! *gives him a hug* Aww, even though it sounds terrible, I’m curious what predicaments Filip got into? What were some of the gifts he considered getting her? Sorry if those are odd questions, and it’s fine if you haven’t outlined them yet or anything!! I’m just so curious here!!
Oooh, Lev sounds like such an interesting character, and the fact that he’s a coppersmith makes him 100% more lovable!!:D Oh my goodness, I LOVE that trade, though poor Filip because he had to recount all of his hardships that day XD Oooh, THAT IS SUCH A GORGEOUS PENANNULAR!!! And the PERFECT gift for Mejia!!! *melts* *fangirls* *internally screams* *sighs* Goodness, I love all of this SO INCREDIBLY MUCH!! And wow, that scene sounds equally as gorgeous as the penannular! I can envision it so clearly, and aww, I love how Mejia is helping the Koni I’da with their manes:) And *gasps* that’s such an interesting legend!! And I can feel Filip’s nervousness, probably second-guessing the idea, wondering if she’ll like it (I forgot to ask, is this before or after the confession? Forgive me, my memory can be terrible), and aww, it’s just so cute to think about!! And AWW, THAT IS JUST THE SWEETEST/MOST ADORABLE/CUTEST THING EVER!!! You seriously have no idea how fangirl-worthy that is, and how brave and sweet of Filip to get that gift for her, even if it costs him a day of hardships.
AWW!! That’s so thoughtful of him to get her a birthday present, and it’s so sweet that Mejia liked it:) And how she secretly wore it under her chainmail!! That’s so cute!! And I agree—character development is so heartwarming not only to write, but to see through your characters:) And *gasps* Morio’s arc once belonged to Filip?? Ooh, that’s made me curious now!! And I love Morio’s character arc/development so much, it sounds so heartwarming that he went through such a change!! And his redemption is so… *puts hand to heart* *sniffles* it’s just so touching, honestly!!!
And *contemplates that thought* my favorite character arc probably is Newton’s, though a close second would be Caira’s. In the beginning, she’s shy, has a hard time trusting others, has a hard time accepting help, and most importantly, she puts her entire identity into being the Prodigy rather than who she is as a person. And by the end, she’s a completely different character who learns that her self-worth doesn’t come from a title, but simply from her heart:) I don’t think her stubbornness changes, though XD OH MY GOODNESS, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! That honestly warms my heart SO much and I’m SO ecstatic that you enjoy his character arc so much!!
All of your fangirling over Newton has just touched me so deeply because I never thought someone would feel this way over my characters!!! SO THANK YOU!!! Aw, I don’t think Newton is the cutest—I think Anton would have to win that reward Or Filip. Or Morio. Or any of them!!! Aww, I’m so happy to hear that!! *gulps* Goodness, it sounds like we’re in the same boat—my characters and I have been enjoying avoiding each other as much as possible since NaNo XD Caira refuses to help me with the storyline anymore because I think she’s just as confused as I am XD
Oooh, no don’t apologize AT ALL!!! Thank you SO much for sending that to me, I’ll 1,000% check it out because those tips sound so positively helpful:) Thank you for posting them, and no, it’s not too far away!! I think I need it, honestly, since I’m still feeling a bit of burnout:( Thank you so much!! Haha, agreed—chocolate is the best therapy after a hard month’s work of writing Awww, ABIGAIL YOU’VE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THAT WARMS MY HEART TO HEAR!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT ENTIRE PARAGRAPH, IT JUST MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!!! *virtual hugs* *sniffles* Nobody’s ever called me that before, so just a huge THANK YOU a million times over for saying that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m just over the moon (I use that phrase often, don’t I?) that we’re friends and for every single one of your encouraging posts!!!!!! I’m so ecstatic to hear that I’ve encouraged you, and YOU’VE HELPED MY WRITING SO MUCH I promise!!! All of your questions/motivation/help/support/NaNoWriMo suggestions have been positively AMAZING for my novel, so thank YOU for everything!!!!! I’m just so happy to hear that you think my novel is lovable, because I get so nervous that I’m just wasting my time with it. So thank you so much
Just to know that you care about my characters is one of the most heartwarming and purely perfect compliments a writer could receive!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!! And double all those ‘thank you’s for what you said next!! That’s so encouraging to know I’m not the only writer who’s critical of their work, and all of those things you mentioned truly helped me SO much!! So thank you!! And no no, I love art references Aww, goodness thank you!! It means more than the entire world to read that:) Oh, definitely!! I can’t wait!! Oh, it sounds like we have a lot in common (especially with the ‘animal lover’ part ) Ahh, yup, communication by writing is much more comfortable for me *shudders as well* I never say a word out in public, but I enjoy writing loooooong posts on KP, so it’s a good balance:) Aw, that’s good to hear, thank you!! And Deek also thanks you for not excluding him
No, don’t apologize!! I’m sorry mine have been so late—it seems that I’ve started saying goodbye to free time since May started, so I’m lucky when I get the chance to do anything besides school. *sighs* I hope you’ll forgive me!! *gasps* Wait, there’s three first kiss scenes you have planned out??? *double gasps* Oh my GOODNESS!! Even if you did decide to stick with one, that’s still so adorable to think about!! Sorry Mejia, but it’s the truth Aww, I love that scene!!! I just love Mejia’s conflicting with her feelings, how she showed him the dried flower petals (I’m dying to see this scene illustrated now ) *melts* *faints* *fangirls* OH MY GOSH, THAT IS SO ADORABLY CUTE I COULD SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *endless !’s* THIS IS THE MOST FANGIRL-WORTHY THING IN HISTORY, I just love that!!!
*takes deep breath* Gosh, all of that sounds so sweet and I love how, despite Mejia usually being non-romantic, she still has those romantic moments with Filip:D AWW, THANK YOU!! *smiles one thousand—no, two thousand miles long* I’m SO ecstatic to know that you like it!! Honestly, I was hoping Newton’s confession was interesting enough (I know it’s not a life-or-death situation they’re in, so I was hoping it wasn’t boring or plain), so thank you!! *Newton shyly agrees, Caira still thinks that’s questionable* XD Awww, YES I DO I DO I DO I DO I DO SO MUCH!!!!!!!! They’re the cutest pair EVER and I’m SO glad you decided to include romance!!! YES, all of those things just fit their characters so well and *sighs* this book has made me fangirl harder than I have in FOREVER, so THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! No other pairing remotely compares to Mejia/Filip
Oh, totally!! KotLC is a very interesting book (it’s high fantasy, so keep that in mind), so I’d definitely recommend it!! *sighs* Good, I’m glad they count, because Shetlands are SO CUTE!!! Wait, they’re mischievous too?? Aww, oddly enough, that makes them so much more lovable. What kinds of things do they do?? And yes, Palominos are so gorgeous!! I can’t wait to have a horse someday. I tried convincing my parents, but sadly we don’t have enough room for one :((( Haha, I’m not sure what Caira would do if she found out. That depends on how she feels about Newton in the story—right now, she’d refuse to let me keep writing the storyline if she knew that. But she ends up coming to her senses I think Newton would be secretly love it if I told him that he ended up being with Caira. What about Mejia and Filip? How would they react if you told them about their future romance? (I’m guessing Mejia wouldn’t be too thrilled, huh?)
Aww, thank you!! I’m so happy you think so!! And haha, I’m sure Alana would enjoy your company!! She often gets lonely, so she likes to sit and chat for hours (Deek gets annoyed with her many times for her endless talking XD), which is the complete opposite of Caira. Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!!! Awwww, that makes me SO ecstatic to hear that you fangirl over them!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! *gasps* Aww, you like that name? YAY, that’s exactly what I was hoping for, thank you!!! When I was trying to come up with Newton’s surname, I also had to consider the fact that it was going to be Caira’s surname too THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I’m just SO over the moon that you love it, you have no idea!!! Ooh, didn’t you say Filip possibly had a surname? Does Mejia take his name after they get married? I’m guessing not, but I still got curious:D
OH. MY. WORD. THANK. YOU!!!!!!!!!! Goodness, I’m so ecstatic that you enjoyed reading it, thank you so much!!! And when you said you grinned a thousand miles long… that makes me want to grin one thousand miles long!! OH MY GOODNESS, THAT IS SUCH AN AMAZING COMPLIMENT FOR AN AUTHOR-IN-THE-WORKS, THANK YOU ENDLESSLY FOR SAYING ALL OF THAT!! And that atmosphere was exactly how I hoped to portray it, and yes, Alana can tend to get excited about things XD And yes, poor Caira… *sighs* Alana can read her like a book, though.
Awww, YAY, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t put enough exclamation marks to express how huge of a compliment all of that is!!!!! THANK YOU, it just makes my day to know that you love them, and yes, Alana sees through all of it XD (Oh yes, she’d definitely sympathize with you XD) Hmm, I think Alana nearly spills the beans one time by saying to Newton, “Did you know Caira has feelings for—“ Caira instantly covers Alana’s mouth, terrified that Newton might understand what Alana was going to say, and Caira says, “Uh… I have feelings for… um… owls! I absolutely love owls, you know, because… I have one…” Newton is clearly confused, and Caira quickly changes the subject (Caira is so awkward when it comes to romance XD). Thank you SO INCREDIBLY MUCH!!! Awwww, YAY, that means so much to me!!!
I’m going to try illustrating Newton and Ruko together (and Newton and Caira ), actually. Speaking of which… I feel like I have to profusely apologize a thousand times over for being SO incredibly late in posting those illustrations!!! I’m SO SO SOsorry, I’m definitely going to post them, though, and I hope you forgive me:(((((( Unfortunately (and coincidentally), these past two months have been so hectic and all of my free time has been overtaken by school/tests. I’m trying to wrap up the semester and finish within the next ten—twelve days, so things have been so busy and all of my writing has been put off until then. Anyways, all of that to say, I’m ABSOLUTELY SO sorry and I feel terrible that it’s taken me such a terribly long time, I hope you can forgive me. This is why my posts have been delayed too, sadly…
AWWW, THANK YOU so very much!! Yes, Caira admits that she likes the sound of their names together *takes deep breath* *rubs hands together* I hope you don’t mind long monologues/rambles, because this may turn out long. Feel free to look over this if it ends up being too long XD
So after Newton has failed at confessing his romantic interest in Caira and felt humiliated that he fooled himself into thinking she loved him, he decides to temporarily depart from the others. After the confession when Caira angrily stomps off and hurls the bouquet of flowers to the ground, Newton writes a diary entry to apologize/say goodbye. He tears the page out for Caira, sets it under her diary for her to find it, saddles up his horse, and then departs. The next morning, Caira begins feeling guilty and chides herself for treating Newton so badly the previous night, and that’s when she fully understands she does, in fact, have feelings for him too. She prepares to confess her love to him, but when she steps outside and finds Newton’s letter hidden under her diary, it hits her that Newton is gone. She begins crying, feeling even worse, and then (I haven’t outlined why) suspects where he may have gone. And so, she saddles up Alana’s reindeer and privately heads to Tropan to track him (this is a snowy land). Once there, she hurries to the train station (I’m still trying to outline why she goes here) and finds Newton. (Newton was planning to get on the next train so that he could get nearer to the palace and therefore have the opportunity to face Pirion himself). Caira is tearful when she finds Newton standing there by the train, and she knows he’s going to board it soon. Caira pushes through the crowd of people, and she catches Newton’s arm right before he can step onto the train, startling him. He’s stunned when he finds Caira there with tears on her face, though he gruffly says he needs to get on the train and “I wouldn’t want to break your heart again.” Both of them are heartbroken at this point, with Caira feeling guilty and Newton feeling sorrowful, and after Caira has scolded him for nearly leaving, she softly begs him to stay. The station master questions if Newton is getting on the train or not, to which Newton, feeling conflicted, finally chooses to stay with Caira. The train leaves without Newton, and Caira proceeds to drag him from the train station and toward the back so that they can have privacy and talk about the confession. Once they’re alone, she then begins spilling out broken apologizes to him. She blushes and says, “Newton, I wasn’t upset that you kissed me. I was upset because… I liked it. I was so conflicted with my feelings, so when you kissed me, it hit me of how much I loved you, and… I needed time to think.” Newton is absolutely stunned when Caira begins confessing her own feelings, and he only stands there, unable to stutter out a single word. He begins crying when she says she loves him, because that’s the first time in his entire life that someone’s ever told him that they loved him or even remotely cared about him. Caira pulls out his diary and tells him she read every single page, to which Newton is terrified and embarrassed that Caira read all of his notes. They finally admit their feelings for each other, and then… this is when Newton and Caira’s actual first kiss is. It’s a lot more romantic than the first time because Caira isn’t shouting at him XD Caira was terrified to confess her feelings, and Newton was stunned that she had feelings for him too, but in the end, they’re both happy, and Caira nervously asks Newton if he’ll come back with her. Newton’s almost in tears from how happy he is, and he hugs her tightly and tells her nothing could keep him from being with her.
*pauses* *stares at everything I wrote* Wow, I’m sorry about how lengthy that was. I hope it wasn’t boring for you, and I’m mostly hoping it made sense (I can be confusing with words sometimes), so I’m sorry if it was a ramble!! I still haven’t outlined the tiny details since it’s for the third book (I have a tendency to not do that XD), but that’s the gist of it and I’m hoping to write a rough draft of it soon because I don’t think I can wait until Book Three:D I’ll probably write it soon, though… OH MY GOODNESS, THANK YOU!!!!! And yes, he has a hard time talking for long periods of time in the beginning, and he gets frustrated when Caira begins questioning him about his past. THANK YOU so much, oh my word!! I’m so happy you like that addition to his character!! Oddly enough, it even affects his romance with Caira because he often worries that she’s ashamed of him. It definitely impacts his life both negatively and positively, and he wouldn’t be the same character without it:)
Awwww, thank you so much!!!!!! I’m just so happy that you think it sounds heartwarming!!!! I’m still not entirely certain whether or not Newton has a sister (though it would be cute to see Newton as a brother), and honestly I even thought about giving him an older brother a couple of times. I still haven’t decided whether or not Newton has siblings, though I suppose I’ll just have to find out if that’s necessary to the storyline or not. THANK YOU SO MUCH, and ditto to TSW too!!!!
Aww, goodness, thank you!!! I’m SO honored that you think that!!! It’s adorable writing Deek’s sentimental/cute scenes as opposed to his sarcastic/trying-to-be-tough ones, but unfortunately we don’t get to see much of his soft side XD OH MY GOODNESS, YOU STARTED TO CRY??? That is one of THE GREATESTcompliments an author could ever receive, so you just made me feel so honored!!! Deek was devastated when he thought Caira was dead (I’m considering the possibility of the villains using an illusion so that it appears she’s dead, though that’s another small detail that I have yet to outline XD). I don’t even think Deek cried or shed a tear for a couple of moments since he was so stunned, and he actually seemed calm. When it settled in that Caira had (falsely) died, he went into a state of shock, and then moments later he began crying profusely, kneeling to the ground in a fit of emotion. Deek felt empty and hopeless without her, and that motivated him more than ever to destroy the capital and have his revenge on Pirion for killing the only person he loved. Of course he ended up finding out that it was false information and that Caira hadn’t truly died, in which he was the most relieved than he’d ever been and cried harder than ever before. It’s heartbreaking when they’re separated, but heartwarming when they reunite again:) Awww, even though it’s sad, THAT’S SUCH A HUGE COMPLIMENT thank you thank you thank you!!! *sighs* Yup, poor Deek. He had it tough most times.
Aw, thank you!!! I’m just so relieved that you think it’s sweet!!! Honestly, I considered writing an entire novel with Caira and Newton’s daughter and son being the main characters and going on a journey of their own, and even meeting old friends from Caira’s travels. I may write something along those lines… who knows? Haha, that’s a strange thought… Caira can be scatterbrained at times, so trying to handle five children might prove to be a challenge XD Aww, thank you SO very much!!! I thought it would be sweet to have Ellis in the wedding as Caira’s father:) Aww, goodness THANK YOU so much, that’s so heartwarming for me!!! I thought it would be adorable to have that bond between them (especially since they have similar professor-like personalities), and I’m so happy you love their father/daughter relationship!!!
Thank you so much, I had a nice time!!:) *sighs* For the third time, my apologizes for being so late. And yup, I daydream all the time about my characters and have random scenes come into my head, even if it won’t make it into the final book. Like, what would it be like if all of your characters sat around a campfire? Who would tell ghost stories? Who would roast marshmallows? Who would be poking at the fire? What would each of them be doing? I think Alana would try to tell a ghost story but Evie would be greatly offended because she is a ghost XD and Deek would proudly start the fire and proceed to poke it with a stick, annoying Caira. What would your characters do? I ask random questions, so don’t feel obligated to answer:D It’s just amusing to think of random scenarios.
Haha, I should use them more often!! I’m planning to read more this summer, so I’ll need them… Oh, my memory isn’t the greatest either XD I’ll usually end up re-reading a lot because I can’t remember where I left off in the chapter XD Oh, that’s a great idea!! Aww, thank you so much!! *Caira shakes her head* She’s infamous for loving books and often teased about it, mostly by Deek of course. THANK YOU so much, I’m honestly so happy you like Caira’s character because oftentimes I’ve worried she isn’t a good enough protagonist. While she does have her soft side/quirky characteristics, she truly is the strongest character I’ve ever written and saves the kingdom from crumbling into ruin by her own strength and power, so thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) And yes, she’s fond of glasses so that she can copy Ellis:D
THANK YOU so very much, I don’t even know what to say other than how heartwarming that is!!! *gasps* You really like that idea? YAY, thank you (is that redundant now?)!! I’m still considering the thought, though nonetheless I’m so ECSTATIC that you love that idea!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!! Yup, I switch POVs between many of the characters, so I thought it would fit for them all to write their own chapters (though I’m not sure Newton would want to recount most of what he went through in his military days). Still, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I know, I’m so proud to have done NaNo with a future bestselling author That’s such an honor!! And thank you!!!! I’m thinking about doing it, and yes, not as extreme as April XD Most of June would probably be outlining then or writing very little. And yes, that’s so freeing how it’s purely meant for being creative rather than editing it. Exactly what I need Aww, of course!!!
Yes, they really are!! Oh, haha, I could see how that would be confusing:D Yup, she’s also written two un-published books, but hopefully they will be soon:) Aww, goodness you don’t need to thank me!!! YOU ARE SO WELCOME, AND I MEANT EVERY SINGLE WORD!!!! It warms my heart to know that I helped you, but honestly it’s the truth of how much I enjoy your writing You don’t need to thank me one bit, but all of those exclamation marks make me SOOOOOO happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OF COURSE, you’re SO welcome!! If you ever need someone to vent/ramble to, or are in need of some encouragement or motivation, *raises hand* I’m always here!!:) Awww, thank you!!!!!!!!:D And double thank you!!! It’s a new idea, so I haven’t outlined much of the story, but I’m so thrilled that you enjoy the thought of it!!! (I actually made a collage for Felicity in the Book Aesthetics category:D )
Thank you!! *gasps* FIVE NOVELS?? Would you mind sharing even just a little bit? Because I’m SO curious now!!:D I completely understand sticking with one novel (and honestly, I fully support you with writing TSW ) OF COURSE!!!!!! (Also, sorry for this long post… I guess after not chatting for so long I can get carried away with writing!! :D)
Also, sorry if you got a notification for my latest post twice… I went to edit it, and then it glitched and vanished :((( I had lots of 😀 ‘s in there but now they’re gone, too, so the punctuation might look a little strange XD Sorry about that.
(Also, thank you SO very much for posting those tips post-NaNoWriMo on the doc!! They were immensely beneficial, and I’ll certainly test out the methods that they (and you) recommended!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 )
A few times? I take my hat off to you then because it took me much longer than that to figure it out and I had the whole novel’s knowledge behind me XD But yeah, I’ve been enjoying the series (even if I’m enjoying it out of order), and tbh the only reason I’m getting any reading done is because my dog gets me up at about very early each morning, so I can read while I let him out XD But if weren’t for that, it’d be on my Summer Book List, (too many are on that already). *Sigh* reading is something that just seems to be something I fall behind on sometimes… I’m hoping to change that this summer though 🙂
Oh don’t give it another thought! I understand completely:) Wrapping up school can be really time taking and tiring. Plus you have your novel to keep up on and the month after NaNoWriMo is very difficult, especially after the first. Second’s not the worst, but first? It’s really brutal at times. So never apologize about late posts, and in fact, they really aren’t all that late. I had a penpal once, and those letters took months, so don’t feel bad about it:)
And if I’m being honest, I haven’t been on KP ever since April because of, well, a combination of post-NaNoWriMo and all the work that sprouts up like daisies on a farm when the weather turns warm XD So before I posted this, I looked at the forum and all the topics all look so new to me XD but hopefully, as soon as I have my summer writing/animating plan organized, I can collaborate more on KP.
Ah, that’s true:) Every writer has their own unique process that’s for sure… my process is mostly- obsessing about teeny tiny details, ignoring the villain for half the novel until I realize I was ignoring him, writing random scenes on a hundred different docs, writing two firsts drafts that exclude a plot and arguing with my characters on a daily basis to the point I get asked why I just apologized to my character, count as a process? Because if it does, then… I guess I have one XD The thing I like best about it though, I think is that I’ve been able to come to an understanding with failure as an invaluable tool of learning that success won’t give me… so I can at least look forward to messing up a scene without any high stakes and just have fun with it.
What about your process? Or maybe I am the only one with these writerly, uh, writing quirks? Maybe that’s the right word to use. But anywho- what is the very messiest thing about it? Very favorite thing about it? 🙂 You’ll have to forgive me in advance here, since not chatting, I find that I have a ton to write and have nearly, oh, a million questions. Feel free to ignore the ones you don’t want to answer, but I look forward to the ones that you do:)XD Yes, the making-novels-complicated part pretty sums up my writing life. I’ve considered making TSW everything from a series to a stand-alone to a collection of short stories, so, your not alone XD Oooooh, a fourth book? That’s sounds interesting! What made you think of it? No offense or anything of that nature in any way whatsoever, I’m just always interested and love hearing all about your novel updates and what’s new in Aldova:)
Speaking of novel updates, I was so excited when I saw your NaNoWriMo Projects Board and saw that you created a new goal for Fortitude and started one for Echoes of Destiny! That’s the novel with Felicity the female knight, right? Gosh, I was so thrilled to see those goals posted! I have got to get cracking on that short story of mine and I’ll probably post one or two of my other novels on my board as you did. Since Neil Gaiman has quoted something about how working on multiple novels can be beneficial, I thought I might give it a shot this summer, (never hurts to post projects in advance anyway). Echoes of Destiny sounds amazing and I’m so excited to see the progress your making on Fortitude!!! 😀
Ooh, thanks for that tip! I’ll have to do that, in fact, I may have a couple in one of my manuals that I never used (since I’m not what you’d call a planner when it comes to certain things), but thanks to your advice, I’m going to give it a shot:)
I love the sound of this scene already! I can imagine how this must be an extremely enjoyable scene to write:) Why are they heading to the city? What is the city called? (These are some of the questions I warned you about XD ). And Newton’s leading? I LOVE IT! Was he there before? This sounds simply just amazing and small talk? Nearly half a dozen characters on set at once? MY FAVORITE! I mean, yes, it can be hard, I’m with you on that since you got to keep tabs on everybody’s unique character and what they’d say… but those are also my favorite scenes ever to write, (plus I think I have an obsession with having many MCs in one novel). So if you need any tips on keeping small talk interesting, *raises hand* I may be able to be of service:) Who is the POV of this chapter? I can already tell that this whole chapter is awesome:)
*Grins* Yep, I love working with film whether it’s animated, raw video, or the stuff that’s been dosed with countless effects. I mostly animate scenes of object movement and am currently going to be working/planning on getting my concept art drawn up, practicing even more this year, and possibly animate a couple of scenes from TSW. I have a lot of experimenting to do with the storyboards first, but I’m going to shoot for animating snippets from scenes here and there and making an animated music video based on TSW’s end credits song. I’m aiming to create my own animated series and make some good headway with it this summer. Who knows?:) I have even been tempted to animate some from Fortitude, but I got a lot of brushing up to do before I start tackling another project:) As for videography, I do just about everything. Next to writing and horses, it’s one of my favorite things to do, (that and trying out the million and a half apps to find good ones for photography and videography editing). I mostly create music videos, stop motion, concept videos (such as one ridiculous video that appears to be filmed by a one-inch tall person running through the grass and up a tree), and event movie albums. Oh and trailers, I can add that to my repertoire since I made a book trailer for TSW last winter… and because I have a brother: mini war films… *sigh* XD
So yeah, that’s generally what I do in the direction of film:) And yes, it is a nice break when one project needs a slight rest, to be able to work on a different one.
Thank you! Yes! I always feel like chocolate XDHmm, I’m not sure how many plot twists you’ll have to read by the time it’s published, since you’ll probably be hearing about them all beforehand, (as you know, I love spilling spoilers pretty often XD ). But still, knowing that you think of my novel as the type of book you’d want to curl up with with coffee on a stormy night, is an amazing thing to hear. Since that’s also what I try to shoot for: stormy night and coffee stories that a reader will want to reread again and again. So yes, it always makes me smile to hear that and you’re not the only one who hugs books when you’re finished with them. Although for me, it depends on the book. Some make me want to hug them, some make me want to toss them aside, some I carry around a day after I finish them, some I don’t ever want to read again, some make it to my studio shelf if they were really good and some make me want to do all the above to them XD
Well in that case, once I finish a legible draft, I’ll let you know and post some:) In fact, I’m seriously considering posting it on the forum for a critique for plot holes and major issues like that *shrugs* I’ll have to see how it goes:)
But yes, you and your questions have been extremely helpful in moving it along, and XD 😀 thank you! I’ll see how long I can make it;)
Thank you:) Yep, the comrade stone -a lot like Mejia’s journal- has its own storyline, so it gets treated like a character most of the time XD
Hmm, let me think about that… Well according to Anton’s timeline, he was found and adopted at the age of five, then after his adopted parents died in an avalanche when he turned nine, Dimitri took him in. So he’s had a mentor for nearly five years I believe 🙂
Yes, that’s pretty much exactly how it all happened!:D I’m so glad you were able to envision it despite my helter-skelter explanations XD
And yep! Though it doesn’t last very long, -hardly a few days if I’m being honest- but yes, Morio does have a brief romantic interest in the Ivaski girl. Thank you though! Her name is Klasha and is more on the orderly side of things. She doesn’t mess around with getting things done -like putting the cloth in Morio’s hand for him to clean his stone, feeding the fire, and asking Morio what his stone meant. She isn’t anywhere remotely close to Mejia’s down-to-business personality, but she wasn’t too interested in making talk for the sake of it either and asked Morio only the things she really wanted to know. But at the same time, she was interesting and thoroughly piqued Morio’s curiosity in her. (I agree, if he didn’t die in the end and they had stayed in closer contact, it would have been pretty cute:)
XD That described Filip’s day perfectly actually and no, that doesn’t sound terrible, what might sound terrible though is that I love putting him in those predicaments XD And that’s true, I hadn’t outlined them until you asked, so thank you for that!:D
He got into just about every predicament he could really, like getting himself strung up in one of those rope traps, that are tied in a tree. And as soon as you step in the loop, you get suspended upside down, hanging from the tree by one foot. Mejia eventually found him and had to cut him down.
He got attacked by a falcon, fell into a thorny pit and a river, narrowly escaped being eaten by Lila’s mountain lion friends, and I’m sure there were a couple other scraps, but my memory isn’t cooperating with me. As for the gifts, he considered the things that she actually used such as her journal. But halfway into harvesting birch bark, he came to the decision that she could do that just as easily and stripped the half-finished paper and put it in her kindling bucket. He considered offering his services, but he knew that she didn’t want his help. And eventually (when they reached Ivaski) he tried to look over the Ivaski trades but found nothing, (plus looking over trade goods for a gift seemed foolish to him). But it worked out in the end for Filip. My favorite paragraph so far is:Lev shrugged, “you will not believe how few new stories there are here in Ivaski and a new one is worth its weight in silver-”
“I thought you thought silver was an insult.”
“No, silver is not an insult. Its far more valuable than copper, but being a silversmith? That’s the insult. But never mind, you interrupted. And as I was saying before you interrupted, a good story is worth its weight in silver. So I’ll make a bargain with you, if your story is a good one, I’ll help you with your problem free of roubles. If not, I’ll pay you a rouble anyway for your time. But a coppersmith’s help, if you need the help I think you need, is worth far more than a rouble, so try and make it a good one, alright?”Thank you!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 I appreciate you saying all that about that scene and that you liked it. I always love hearing the things that stand out in scenes:D This happens long before the confession, (no need for apology:) Actually, I don’t think I said yet when it happened), and Mejia doesn’t have hardly any feelings for him outside of comradeship. Filip… eh, I’d say he’s beginning to at this point, but he gets extremely frustrated at himself for it and wonders why in the world he was getting her a gift, half the time and the other half, he got pretty softhearted about the whole thing. Thank you! Yeah, she doesn’t know that anyone knows that she wears it under her chainmail, figuring it’d be too hard to thoroughly see under the closely-knit metal. I guess I’m not going to bother to explain to her that readers have all this type of info despite her efforts to conceal the penannular;)
Ooh, definitely! That’s one of the best things about it, is seeing your characters through their journeys and arcs:D
Yes it did! And it was a million more times heartbreaking, having Filip turn on Mejia than Morio. In the end, I couldn’t do it because it would go strictly against everything about Filip. Even though Mejia and Filip can argue and fight until they’re blue in the face, rival their training against each other, and bicker about ridiculous things, neither of them would ever turn against the other. So that role got passed to Morio. But yes, I’m glad he gets his redemption too, even though it happens quickly, and he doesn’t even get the chance to ask for Mejia for her forgiveness, (writers can be cruel sometimes, but to coin the phrase, it was necessary for the sake of the plot… plot and theme).
Ooh, I love Caira’s arc! I haven’t heard a lot about it until now and that is so interesting! Looking back, I remember from chapters four and five, how she kept putting her identity in being the Prodigy and referring to herself like that. I think that is awesome how she learns to see herself as who she is and not entirely as a title she didn’t choose; plus I think that that arc fits Caira’s character really well too:) XD Her stubbornness is one of those endearing characteristics about her, so I’m glad that that doesn’t change about her much. 🙂
Of course! How could I not positively love them? 😀
Aww, thank you! Anton, Morio, and Filip thank you too, but that’d be some competition to find a character more lovable than Newton:)
XD It looks like we are in the same boat then. I have recently been abandoned by my characters who have all found other things of far higher interest than my novel for the time being. But I’ve been able to catch bits and pieces here and there of what they’re up to:)Aw, of course!!! 😀 😀 😀 I’m happy to hear it means so much to you, but honestly, I can’t write anything but the facts. And they definitely should because it’s definitely the truth:)
I don’t think you use that phrase too often really, (I have my own catchphrases too 🙂 ), but yes! I’m also over the moon that we get to be friends and there is just no way you could ever be wasting your time with your novel any more than I waste my time on TSW or Grace on BAD or Tolkien wasted on LotR. Fortitude is anything but a waste of time and is for sure one of my favorite books of all time, (I can’t even wait till it’s published to make it a favorite:)*Sets Mejia waaay out of earshot* THANK YOU 😀 😀 😀 It was one of the scenes that came out of NaNoWriMo, (I wrote everything out of order this year), and so it’s rough, but I’m glad you thought it was so adorable:) I still have no idea whether I ought to have a kiss scene in TSW or not, but even if I don’t, it was fun to write. I’m also just happy to hear how much you like the flower petal part of it! If I ever illustrate that, I’ll definitely post it on KP and tag you for it:)
Thank you for saying that! Well that probably sounds like an odd thing to thank you for and Mejia is already objecting to the notion – since she never plans for any of their romantic moments to actually be romantic – but it means so much to hear that you love that about them:)
I LOVED Newton’s confession! ‘Like’ doesn’t necessarily cut it with that one. I didn’t think it was plain or boring at all really and it was just so adorable and it was such an honor to read 😀 It wasn’t life or death, but confessions don’t always have to happen like that and honestly, the way Newton decided to go about it was so adorable. It showed depth and his soft side as he made the decision to take the risk and confess to Caira. It was SPECTACULAR!!! Haha XD Caira, how could you ever think that’s questionable? It was just so adorable:D
Ooh, thank you for telling me that about KotLC! A change in genre will be good for me and my reading/writing though:)
Oh yes. Shetlands are the peak of mischievousness next to miniature horses and have a nose for trouble. I guess it can be lovable sometimes, but their lovable-ness and troublesomeness equal out most of the time. They like to open grain cans, and only cooperate when they decide they want to, they are the Houdini of escape artists and can manage impossible little feats when their stubbornness takes over. I remember once we had an old Shetland named Blue (in our defense though, we didn’t name him. The previous owners get the credit for that name’s originality), and he somehow managed to jump a stall fence that was at least a foot taller than his head. But despite the mischief, Shetlands are a lot of fun too and have a lot of cute quirks:)
Aw, well maybe someday you’ll be able to have one!:) But I suppose, like owls, they can always be written about and if you ever need help with writing horse behavior, I have plenty of stories/pointers to share:)
Awww, I love hearing about your characters’ reactions to things and that’s just so sweet! (sorry Caira). I laughed when you said Caira wouldn’t let you keep writing if she knew, with how she was feeling about Newton at the time. And Newton? That’s just so cute how he would secretly love to know that he would be with Caira in the end;)
XD You guessed right:) I think at this point, Filip and Mejia would look at each other, then at me, and both object to the outlandishness of the idea. But they’d both know that I control what happens and Filip would accept the fact inwardly and would smile to himself at the thought. Mejia on the other hand *shudders* I don’t know what she’d do. I think she’d consider banning him from Birch Woods for a while before considering the idea that maybe their romance was just another possibility that I wasn’t a hundred percent sure on and would instead be exceptionally hard on Filip for a long time to prove that it wouldn’t happen… yeah, she wouldn’t be too thrilled XD
That sounds great by me:) I’d love to hear all of Alana’s stories and chatting. That’s so cute that Deek get annoyed with her for it XD
YES! That is the most perfect name ever and it fits with the name ‘Caira’ so so so well!:D
Yes, I’m not completely sure whether he’ll have a surname or not, I sometimes consider giving him Kondrash as a last name… hmm, I’m not sure yet. But you’re right, Mejia doesn’t take his last name after they’re married and keeps her title foremost with her name. 🙂
XD (I love how Alana can see through all of them:)
It can be so difficult huh Alana? XD Oh my word, that is just awesome how Alana almost spilled Caira’s secret to Newton. I was about ready to help Caira cover Alana’s mouth and ready to help Alana tell Newton at the same time, (quick thinking Caira:) (and they’ll figure it out sooner or later Alana;) And it’s so cute that Newton is standing there, completely confused by all that, probably arching an eyebrow subconsciously and trying to grasp what was going on XD Poor Newton. But that makes him all that much cuter:)
*Gasps* YES YES YES YES YES! You should definitely illustrate them!! Aw, that would be so adorable:D
Don’t be sorry at all! It’s perfectly okay, May has been one crazy month for me as well, (which is partially why I’ve been disappearing from KP lately), and it sounds like it’s been super crazy for you too. I’m just so happy that you wanted to illustrate them and I know that illustrations take time, (everything does actually). Plus it’s good to have something so amazing to look forward to!:D
*Claps hands together in enthusiasm* *screams* YEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE monologues and especially ones that have anything to do with Fortitude!!!!!!!! I was hoping you’d want to answer my question about Caira and Newton’s second first kiss and you have no idea how ecstatic I was to read that outline 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
It wasn’t long at all and I enjoyed reading every single word!!! I felt like I was right there alongside Caira riding Alana’s – I still love that Alana’s a reindeer shepherdess and that Caira is riding a reindeer – reindeer and it broke my heart seeing Newton standing there, waiting to board the train. I pictured it all so clearly and it was all so heartbreaking when Newton told her, “I wouldn’t want to break your heart again.” *Sniffs* that is so sad! And then heartwarming as Caira convinces him to stay and finally confesses to him:D And that Newton starts to cry when she tells him that she loves him and WHAT!??!?!?!? You mean that nobody ever told Newton that they loved him??????? EVER???????? How is that even possible???????????
Then when she tells him that she read his journal? And when they finally had their actual first kiss? AwwwwwOHMYWORDTHATISALLJUSTSOAMAZINGLYADORABLE!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀Of course! Newton’s stutter impacts his character so much and is just. Like. The. Best. Thing. EVER!!! 😀 😀 😀
Thinking of Newton as a brother IS super adorable and *gasps* Wait. An older brother? I am a number one fan of that idea!!!!! 😀 😀 Aw, oh my goodness that would be so incredibly cute:) Let me know if you ever decide to give him one because that sounds like such an amazing thing for Newton to have a big brother who would pick on him and look after him and either kid or sympathize with him about Caira, and other things like that. I love those type of relationships:D Aww, if Newton had an older brother, what would his name be?:)
Yes, I did start to cry hearing about that, I couldn’t help it really. Poor Deek! That’s utterly devastating to read about how he thought Caira was dead, THAT IS THE -I’ve said this before- SADDEST THING EVER!! :’((((( And his whole reaction to the news was heartwrenching and the villains might create an illusion?? HOW DARE THEY?????? *Sniffs* *Sobs* That must have been the worst moment in his entire life and then he was even more determined to destroy the capital and get revenge and then- wait, does Newton know about this? That all just breaks my heart into a million pieces for poor Deek! :’’’(
That is such an awesome idea!! To have Caira and Newton’s daughter and son go on their own adventure… that’s, that’s.. that’s a SPECTACULAR IDEA!!! I love it:D 😀 😀
Oh definitely, I love thinking up random scenes that’ll never make it into the novel itself:) aw, I loved imagining all your characters around the campfire, seeing Deek managing the fire, probably enjoying the flames, and annoying Caira XD And Alana and Evie’s interactions are just so hilarious and heartwarming at the same time! What would my characters do around a campfire? Hmm, I think Anton would be huddling as close to the fire as he could manage, adding a bit of kindling now and then. Lila would most likely try roasting something to eat or would catch the tips of sticks on fire – too bad marshmallows weren’t invented in the thirteenth century or she’d be roasting them instead:) Mejia would be taking advantage of the fire by drying out her gloves or anything else that was damp and she’d most likely be getting up frequently to walk and collect firewood, glad to get away from the heat from time to time. Morio would probably rearrange the stones around the fire pit when the wind blew the flames in the opposite direction and would be the least talkative out of all of them. And Filip would most likely be the one to try out a ghost story and insist on helping Mejia with the firewood to which she’d tell him to get his own armful if he wanted to help so badly.
Speaking of random situations, what if all your characters had to invent a sport of some kind, what would it be? What would they want to add to the rules? It’s alright if you don’t answer that one, it’s a pretty tough question. I was just wondering since lately, I’ve been having a blast with inventing sports for my novels and was wondering what kind of sport your characters would like to create:)
I love Caira’s love of books and how Deek teases her for it. Oh no! I think Caira is an INCREDIBLE protagonist!!! 😀 😀 😀 (I’m always going to love that detail about her wearing glasses to copy Ellis:)
Are you kidding? I don’t like that idea, I LOVE that idea!:D And think that it would work beautifully with the fact that the POVs switch from chapter to chapter:D Aw, thank you:) I’m super proud to have done NaNo with a future bestselling author as well!!!
Of course! I could honestly never thank you enough for all your encouragement/motivation/everything, even though my all caps button has tried its very best, it’d be an impossible feat to even fathom. Thank you! And same, if you ever need someone to vent or ramble to or need encouragement or anything, *raises hand* I’m right here!!!!!!!!!! 😀
*Gasps* Yes! I saw Felicity’s board and loved it so much! She sounds like an awesome MC:)Yep. Five novels:) And I wouldn’t mind sharing a little bit about them in the least. In fact, I’m glad you asked actually 🙂
Number one (I haven’t given any of them solid titles, just for-now ones so I can find them among my docs) is ‘An Equestrian Epic’ which is (because I tend to like to make things tough on myself) about an elite military equestrian academy set in a fantasy-medieval earth. It follows the academy life of several protagonists and their equine companions in their journeys to becoming Realm Guardians. I consider it low fantasy, even though I will be employing the use of all the legendary steeds of lore such as The Kelpie, The Unicorn, The Pegasus, The Centaur, The Nuggle, The Winged Unicorn, The Colt Pixie, The Wind Horse, (and a couple of magical breeds that I invented). So yes, horses will play a huge role in this novel.The second is ‘Princess of Earth, Princess of Troff’ where I’ll be telling two stories at once basically. There are two different MCs who live in two opposite worlds; one is a more-or-less average girl from earth and one is a princess in the other world. But they share strangely similar lives and adventures, from having difficult roles to fill to dealing with struggles of the age to their only friend vanishing on the same night for the same reason.
Third is a more recent idea, ‘Shackleton’s Ghost.’ It’s basically based on the famous Shakelton Expedition and takes place in Antarctica; the protagonist is a girl who is trained for survival and sets out in a one-person ship by herself in the vision that she could relive her hero’s daring, fantastic adventures. But soon learns the true hardship in her choices as they land her exactly where Shakelton had been. And it turned out that it wasn’t at all what she’d been hoping as she nearly dies within the first day she gets to the frigid tundra and her ship becomes lodged in the ice. Frostbitten, she is now faced with everything the great Shakelton himself had merely narrowly escaped, what chances did she have? Now committed to her quest, she has to hold tight the only two tools that once kept the great explorer and his men alive: endurance and perseverance. If she lets them go, she will let go of her slim hope of survival.
Fourthly, I have ‘Emerald Lockhart,’ which is my pirate story and centers around Emerald Lockhart herself, a lady-in-waiting turned notorious pirate captain. She has always had a fascination for the sparkling sea and after being turned down for a place on a ship’s crew, she takes a cob and after a series of trades, turns it into a ship and crew. My favorite parts of this novel so far are Emerald’s Sea Horse, her method of gaining crew members, and the fact that the monarch that she had once served befriended becomes her enemy as a price is placed on her head.
And the fifth is ‘The Great Battle.’ This is perhaps the most complicated and yet simplest novel I have. It’s an allegory and the protagonist is Farah, a homeless girl of her village as both her legs are slowly paralyzing worse each day. In the knowledge that she will become a cripple with a small shot at a future, Farah is obviously tempted when a foreign sailor shows up in her village of a strange war brewing in the far lands and all who join his side (no matter who or what they were) would own great power and treasure. Then one night, two unicorns by the names of Emeghera and Nova appear in Farah’s life, disrupting her plans as they tell her the truth and treachery behind the sailor’s words and offer her the opportunity to join the true general’s army. Farah agrees and tries to spread the word throughout the village, only to be falsely imprisoned for insanity. The unicorns help her escape and they head for the king’s land for the battle that is swiftly approaching. One girl, two unicorns, and a hope that will illuminate the world.
So yes, I’m pretty terrible at summaries, but that’s the idea anyway XD I plan on starting or at least posting the first and fifth on my NaNo Projects Board soon and see if I can work on multiple novels or not, (I’m banking on the latter, but who knows? Maybe Gaiman knows something XD ). But either way and no matter what, TSW is always going to be my main project:) Thank you!:D
I didn’t think it was long at all!! It’s always just awesome to read your posts and I think mine turned out pretty long as well XD Awesome Profile Portrait by the way:D
Don’t worry about it!:) That happens to me all the time when trying to edit a post XD
I’m so ecstatic to hear that the tips were so helpful!! 😀Haha, well, I certainly had to read it very slowly because it was hard to wrap my head around XD Honestly, it makes me even more curious about this novel now, and you’ve possibly just persuaded me to buy it this summer 😉 Aww, you have a dog??? *melts* Sorry, but I just think dogs are SO cute!! What’s his name? 😀 Oh, me too! I’m definitely guilty of falling behind on many hobbies due to school (it’s hard to read for enjoyment when you’ve spent hours reading schoolwork), but I’m hoping to change that as well:) Oh goodness, thank you!! *sighs* *shakes head*
I’m so sorry for yet another late post, but the past several days I’ve done nothing but pore over my schoolwork, and I’m relieved to say that I’m going to be finished tomorrow (or today, depending on when you get this:), which means I should be more consistent with posting XD *glares at schoolwork* Wrapping up your sophomore year of high school is no easy task. And yes, writing so much during April has still taken its toll on me, but I think I’m starting to recover and fall back in love with writing again:D It’s brutal, that’s for sure! *shivers* But you’re encouragement/preparation/tips helped me immensely, so thank you!! 😀 😀 😀 Haha, same here. I haven’t been on KP for more than two seconds in the last several days XD
And I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s it like living on a farm? 🙂 I used to wish that I lived on one but we don’t have the land, so I got curious. What animals do you have? Do you enjoy working with them?:D Sorry for all the questions, but I get so curious about everything and can’t help but ask a thousand questions:)
And I actually laughed at the next part XD Your writing process sounds EXACTLY like mine, especially “ignoring the villain for half the novel”, because that reminded me I haven’t brought Pirion back into the story in forever XD And arguing with my characters is accurate too XD That’s a great lesson, and it totally counts as a process! There’s no rigid structure of writing, so having fun (and messing up) is exactly how it’s meant to be:) Hmm… my writing process? Usually, when I get a story idea, I’ll have the opening in mind and a few key scenes come into my head. With Fortitude, I had the idea of Caira being in the ice cave, the monolith, the lantern ceremony incident, and other key moments from future books in my head, and that’s what I wrote from. I don’t outline heavily in the beginning, but usually as I go (which is why my storyline is so messy XD). I also ignore my villain, have several unfinished chapters, write out of sequential order, and sadly, argue with my characters all day XD I’m trying to get better at outlining, but pacing is still a huge struggle for me.
Oddly enough, I have a tendency to write way too many slow scenes. Not ‘slow’ in a bad way, but just long, deep conversations between characters. It’s hard to balance high-intensity scenes with heart-to-hearts between main characters. The messiest thing? Not outlining the last half of the book. I feel like my storyline train has de-railed and now I’m trying to get things back on track. My favorite thing? *taps chin* This may sound odd, but just thinking about my characters is such a crucial part of my process:D Throughout the day, I’ll think, “What would Caira do if she were doing this very same thing?” and it strangely helps me to figure out their character better. So daydreaming, definitely:) Oh no, don’t apologize!!! I LOVE questions, and all are 1,000% welcome!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Ahh, it’s unfortunate, isn’t it? But I guess that’s one of the many writerly struggles, huh? Oooh, how interesting!!! And yes, possibly a fourth book (though I’m not certain). I thought about it because I’ve started tweaking the storyline and coming up with new ideas (like how Caira might meet an evil version/copy of herself). And also, I started thinking more in-depth about Caira and Newton’s relationship. Since it’s a hate-to-love, it’s such a struggle trying to write it realistically and get the pacing right. In the beginning, they’re sworn enemies, but at the end, I considered including Newton’s proposal. So… definitely a lot of character development and time involved, so I thought that a fourth book might help drag it out a little:) *shrugs* Oh no, no offense taken at all!!! Thank you SO much and thank you for asking!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
*gasps* Aww, THANK YOU!!! I’m planning on FINALLY finishing Fortitude in July (though I’ll continue to write until then and will probably alter the NaNo word goal) and maybe starting Echoes of Destiny next year! And yes, it is!:) (Although I may start EoD late this year… who knows? 😉 ) Thank you so much!!! And OH MY GOODNESS, you should!! I’d love to see what they’re about/look like!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, goodness thank you so much!! That makes me so happy to hear you say!! 😀 Of course!! I hope it helps you as much as it does me, but again, everyone’s writing process is different so you may find something else that works better! But let me know how it turns out! 😀 *high fives*
*grins* Aw, thank you!! Yes, it’s been SO enjoyable to outline/write, and *rubs hands together* YAY, thank you for all these questions!!! 😀 😀 😀 At this point, the five of them have left the camp and now are headed to gather supplies at the nearest city. They have to stay anonymous since Caira and Newton are both wanted criminals by the authorities (Caira is wanted because of the lantern ceremony incident, and Newton is wanted for obvious reasons). I don’t have an official name for it (possibly Cava), but I’ve just nicknamed it ‘The Golden City.’ It’s called this because the sun shines on this city more than any other place in Aldova, so it’s warm and has a yellowish aesthetic. There are four temples on the four corners of the city where Evie teaches Caira how to use her magic. But again, the group must stay anonymous, which means keeping quiet/getting new clothing/not drawing attention.
And YES, he is!! Newton leads the group throughout the three books, slowly getting closer to the palace and relying on his photographic memory the whole time. He was in The Golden City once before, though he doesn’t tell the others, even when Deek questions him about it. Newton went to The Golden City after he departed his military camp and became a scavenger. He mostly stole food/equipment from the stores and hid from the authorities in the process. (Actually, there’s a scene where Caira finds Newton stealing bread from the bread shop one night, and she confronts him about it. It turns out to be a sweet, heartfelt scene between them, though, and it’s the first time that they share a hug:) So yes, Newton does plenty of thieving XD) Aww, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!
Yes, it’s a bit hard to keep track of everything, and since all of my characters have such different personalities, it can be a challenge with dialogue/mannerisms. *gasps* YES, YES, YES, ONE THOUSAND TIMES YES!!! If you have ANY tips, PLEASE share them because I’m quite confused on what to do with this scene XD Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 🙂 Hmm, that’s a great question XD Right now, it’s Caira, but I may change it to Newton since he hasn’t had a POV in a while:)
Aw, thank you!!! Maybe once I finish it, I could let you read a bit of it? 😉 You could critique it for me:D OH MY GOODNESS, that is just the NEATEST thing EVER!!! I think filmmaking is so interesting, and *gasps* *gasps again* *yes, gasps a third time* ANIMATING A SCENE FROM TSW?!?!?!?!? Wow, that would be astounding/incredible/amazing and I WOULD ADORE to see that!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 Which scenes would you animate? I have full faith in you *pumps fist* and I KNOW you can do it!! 😀 😀 😀 And an animated music video?! That’s just so cool, I’m so curious about all of this now!! 😀 And an animated series sounds AMAZING!!! You go, girl!!!:) *gasps for the fourth time* *mouth falls open* … Animating some from Fortitude?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I FEEL SO INCREDIBLY HONORED THAT YOU WOULD EVEN CONSIDER THAT!!!!!!!!! And even if you don’t, I just feel SO happy that you would think of my story and OH MY GOODNESS THAT’S JUST THE GREATEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!! *internally screaming* *throws confetti for no reason* Either way, thank you for considering that!!
Oooh, how interesting!! Haha, finding good apps is SUCH a challenge, so I understand the feeling XD WOW, I would LOVE to see any of your videos if you ever wanted to share!! They sound INCREDIBLE!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 YOU MADE A BOOK TRAILER?!?!?! (I know I’m typing a lot in all-caps but this is an all-caps-worthy moment!!!) OH MY WORD, I would love to see that if you ever wanted to post!! :O Aw, that doesn’t matter!! I’ll still get super excited every time I read them, no matter what!! 😀 😀 😀 I love spoilers, so spill away!! I feel like I’ve spoiled quite a bit of Fortitude, so I hope you don’t mind.
AND YES, it totally is that type of book!! 🙂 I can’t wait to curl up with it and re-read for the dozenth time, fangirling and whispering to myself, “this is when such-and-such happens, and then…” *sighs* That’s going to just be incredible:) Wait, you also hug books? I didn’t know anyone else did that! Oh yes, definitely those books XD And then, if you’re anything like me, you have five unfinished books you’re in the middle of… *sighs* I really need to finish books rather than just start them XD *gasps* YOU’RE CONSIDERING POSTING IT FOR CRITIQUES??? (Not that it needs critiquing at all 😉 ) OH MY GOODNESS, that’s so exciting for me to hear because I’m just dying to dig into the story and read about these characters!!! 😀 😀 😀 If you do, totally tag me because I’d love to read it!!! 🙂
Aww, it’s no problem at all! I love asking questions, and I’m glad you like answering them because I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t ask them!!:) Oooh, that’s so interesting!! I love it when objects have their own special storyline, and Mejia’s journal and Morio’s comrade stone are among my favorites already! 😉 Aww, poor Anton! But that’s very sweet that Dimitri took him in—I just adore their relationship already! 🙂 Oh no, your explanations were very clear and I got a picture of what was going on flawlessly! Oooh, I love the name Klasha, and yes, I’m totally getting a picture of her now:D I love her personality, too! Aww, I can’t wait to read that scene and all the things they talk about!!! Yes, that would’ve been so cute if they were a couple… *sighs* are you REALLY sure Morio has to die? XD He’s such an incredible character and… gosh, he’s just so amazing! *hugs Morio* Haha, I say the very same things about my characters XD Oh, of course! Oh my gosh, he got strung up in a rope trap??? *gasps* *hugs Filip* I’d LOVE to see the look on Mejia’s face when she found him XD How did she react? How did Filip react? Oh my goodness!! That’s so terrible, poor Filip:( Can I give him another hug? Because he honestly needs two!! Aw, that’s so sweet that he thought of gifting her another journal!! And *sniffles* aww, when you said he knew she didn’t want his help, that’s just… *sniffles again* I know I keep saying this, but poor Filip!
*eyes widen* OH MY GOSH, I LOVE THAT PARAGRAPH!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 I just love Lev’s character so much, and all of that dialogue was so amazing, and the fact that he’s a silversmith is so neat, and *inhales* that’s just AMAZING!!! 😀 😀 😀 (I really can’t wait to curl up with this short story now!:) Of course!! Haha, honestly everything stands out in scenes!! You’re such a talented writer!! 🙂 Oooh, how interesting!! I actually really like how it’s before the confession and how Filip is confused about why he’s getting a gift for her:) That’s just so cute and it fits so well!! I just love ‘softhearted’ moments, so that was perfect!! Aww, that’s so sweet that she wears it under her chainmail:) Does Filip know? THAT’S SO ADORABLE! 😀
*sniffles for the third time* Aww, that would’ve been so terribly heartbreaking!!! And even though it’s already sad that Morio turns against Mejia, it would’ve just been crushing if it had been Filip:( Awww, that’s so cute that, even though they argue/fight/compete all the time, they would never turn their backs on each other. Sorry Mejia, but that’s just adorable and I’m loving this romance more and more with every post!!! 😀 😀 😀 Aw, that’s SO sad!!!:( But Morio did get his redemption arc, and that’s so heartwarming and really adds so much depth to his character! *sighs* Yes, writers can be terribly cruel, and I think all of my characters would nod their heads in agreement XD Oooh, I just got a question idea!!! How would the storyline go if each of your characters could write it? I’m guessing Mejia wouldn’t include any romance, Morio would change his betrayal, and Anton would avoid getting blind, huh? Sorry, I just love random questions, but don’t feel obligated to answer!! 😀
Aww, thank you!!! *grins* And wait, you NOTICED that? Thank you SO much because I was hoping that was clear enough, how she kept referring to herself as the ‘Prodigy’. That’s one of Caira’s several weaknesses—being the girl that everyone else wants her to be and feeling guilty for not saving them before. I included that because, *spoilers ahead*, there’s going to be a scene where Caira is taken prisoner and held in the palace prison (this is also when Deek thinks Caira is dead). Primrose is going to steal her magic, and Caira is going to sit there in the dark prison, with chains and ropes binding her wrists and feet, hopeless, and without her powers. At that point, she feels like a failure, because she’s not the heroine that the world expected her to be, and she feels like her life has no purpose anymore because it seems the villains have won. She knows that the world thinks she’s dead, and that’s when Caira’s ‘ah-ha’ moment is, when she realizes that, even though she doesn’t have her magic, that doesn’t define who she is. Of course she ends up narrowly breaking herself out of the prison and getting her telekinesis back, stronger than ever, and reuniting with her companions:)
Anyways, sorry about that ramble, but that’s why I included it:) Thank you SO much!! And yes, she’s definitely stubborn and gets more headstrong as the story progresses XD Thank you so much!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, and double thank you!! That makes me so happy to hear!! *Newton blinks, unsure of what to say* I know Newton is equally as happy as well—he’s just not very good with saying thank you. 😉 Oh my word, that’s so relatable XD I’m afraid my characters are going to tie me up and threaten to take over my story if I don’t explain to them where the plot is going XD *shudders* Oh well, it’ll all be worth it when you see TSW sitting proudly on a bookstore shelf 😉 Aww, thank you!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 Haha, that’s good to know. I have catchphrases/words I use often, so I was hoping it wasn’t too much.
Aww, I DON’T CARE IF THIS IS GETTING REDUNDANT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH THAT JUST WARMS MY HEART TO HEAR!!! 😀 Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!:) And without a doubt, 1,000% ditto to you as well:) Of course!!! And *tries not to fangirl but fails* I know I’m not the author, and whichever choice you decide will be AMAZING, but I’d personally love to see a kiss scene in TSW because they’re just SO cute and that would be ADORABLE!!! (Wait, I did set Mejia out of earshot, right? Oops…) Anyways, YES, please do if you illustrate it!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 No no, it isn’t odd at all!! I love hearing absolutely anything about this novel/the characters/Mejia and Filip, so there’s no need to thank me at all:) Aww, goodness that’s just so heartwarming to hear!!!
THANK YOU!!! That’s honestly such a huge relief that it didn’t seem boring, but I thought it fit his character better because #1 Caira is very quiet and softhearted, so he wanted it to be quiet and slow, and #2 I was hoping it would show more of Newton’s soft side. Thank you SO MUCH!!! You know, if I decide to write it before Book Two, I wouldn’t mind letting you read it if you’d like 😀 Only if you’d want to, though! THANK YOU so very much!!!! Haha, Caira ends up coming to her senses 😉 Newton starts getting feelings for her before she does for him, considering their history XD Oh, of course!:) I’m afraid I don’t have too many recommendations since I haven’t done much reading for enjoyment as of late, but I’m going to start The Wingfeather Saga this summer, so I could let you know my thoughts on it:)
Aww, Shetlands sound so cute, even if they are mischievous:D Haha, I wouldn’t doubt it—sometimes it seems like the cutest things end up being the biggest troublemakers. That’s just like one of my cats—cute, but mischievous XD Oh my goodness, SERIOUSLY??? Wow, they really are mischievous, and escape artists? *gasps* Aw, I actually love the name Blue! It’s so adorable, but it sounds like he was quite the escape artist XD Well, if I ever decide to get a Shetland at my future house, I’ll keep this in mind!!! And that’s so true!! 😀 They can totally be written about, and *gasps* hey, maybe once I write that scene with Newton teaching Caira how to ride a horse, you could give me some tips? I’ve never owned a horse so I don’t know many of their mannerisms, so any advice would be appreciated!!:D
Haha, thank you!!! Yes, Caira’s not very romantic toward Newton at the moment XD I suppose things have calmed down between them after he saved her life with the avalanche and she saved his life during a battle in the forest, but still, they aren’t ‘friends’ just yet. But their relationship does improve after that bakery scene I mentioned earlier:) Aw, thank you! Newton wouldn’t complain at all if I spilled the secret to him 😉 Buuuuut, I don’t think I can tell them just yet. Awwww, THAT… THAT’S JUST SO CUTE I COULD ACTUALLY SCREAM!!! The reactions are PRICELESS, and when you said Filip would inwardly accept it and smile at the thought… that makes me smile too because of how incredibly sweet that is!! And Mejia… XD That made me laugh when you said she’d consider banning him from Birch Woods. *to Mejia* Come on, Mejia, you have to admit it’s at least a little cute 😉 Their dynamics are just so amazing!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, thank you:)
Yup, Alana would definitely chat with you as long as you wanted XD She’d probably talk about hunting, her bow and arrow, her reindeer, how she used to live in a teepee, her grandmother, and her friends:) And yes, Deek gets annoyed with Alana many times, mostly due to her endless chatting (and also when she gives him hugs, but I think he secretly enjoys it 😉 ) Deek and Alana’s relationship is really cute to write (if Alana didn’t die in Book Three, I’d definitely include a romance with her and Deek:) Aww, thank you!! *Caira blushes and shyly agrees, and Newton most definitely agrees*
Oh my GOODNESS, I love the name Kondrash!!! Filip Kondrash… it sounds so brave and bold and oh my word I love it so much!! Even if you don’t decide to keep it, it’s still an excellent name:) And honestly, I think that’s so interesting how Mejia doesn’t take his last name, because it really emphasizes her title even more:) I love that SO SO SO much!!!:D It really makes her character have more depth that she keeps her title first and foremost:) Haha, it’s very difficult for Alana to keep any sort of secret XD She usually claims to be a master at keeping secrets, but she ends up spilling them shortly after. *shakes head* And aww, that makes me so happy to hear that you liked that part!!! Thank you!!! 😀 😀 😀 And yup, Caira’s reply didn’t make much sense, but she was so worried that Alana was about to embarrass her that she didn’t care very much XD Newton got confused, but he’s used to being confused by Caira and so he just shrugged it off. Aww, thank you:) *Newton, once again, is hesitant about what to say*
I might try!! You’ve totally inspired me to #1 illustrate more often, and #2 try my hand at poetry, which I possibly will this summer! I’ve had such fun illustrating (I even sketched Evie a while back), so THANK YOU!!! And *sighs* thank you for being so patient with me on the illustrations. I can be very slow when it comes to things, and I’ve been trying out some new illustrating methods so that they can look their very best!! I’m trying to critique my style a little bit and make it look more ‘realistic’, so hopefully that will help give the illustrations a refreshing touch:) Yeah, May has been very hectic for me and my family, and I postponed a lot of schoolwork during April, which means I’ve done nothing but catch up in May. Needless to say, I haven’t done hardly any writing either:( My schedule is so crammed, but now that summer’s here, I can finally post more often/do more illustrating/writing:) Aww, I hope they’re look-forward-to-worthy, but THANK YOU!!! 😀 😀 😀
Awwww, double, triple, and quadruple THANK YOU!!!!! Seriously, that just warms my heart one thousand times over to know that you enjoyed that confession!!! 🙂 I’m still trying to decide if that’s set in stone or not (this all happens in Book Three, so the details are foggy, and I may think of a better confession until then), but still, thank you!!!:) Aww, yes it was heartbreaking to envision Newton leaving, and oh my goodness THANK YOU!!! I was hoping that would be a good enough confession (again, I’m still hesitant about it), but thank you nonetheless!!:)
And yup, that’s right, unfortunately. Nobody has ever told Newton that they loved him, so he’s spent his entire life believing that no one in the whole world even cares about him. That’s why he’s so nervous to confess to Caira, because he starts doubting that she would ever love him back. And that’s also why Newton is so impacted by learning about God and salvation, which literally brings him to tears to know that he’s loved even though he’s done terrible things. And AWW, THANK YOU SO VERY VERY VERY VERY MUCH I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY!!! 😀 😀 😀 And I’m so happy you like Newton’s stutter, too—that’s such a huge compliment for me!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Thank you for all of that:)
Aw, yup, it is adorable to think about:) And yes, I’m still considering the thought!! Thank you so much!! 🙂 Hmm… I’m still hesitant about it, mostly because I wouldn’t want that to take away from Newton and Deek’s brotherly relationship at all. But who knows? *shrugs* And yes, TOTALLY!!! I’m not entirely sure how I would outline their relationship, but yes, that would be SO adorable! I originally thought about Newton’s brother being estranged, though I’m not sure. Hmm… his name would probably be Khal:) I’m so glad you enjoy that idea, though!!! <333333
OH MY GOODNESS, YOU BEGAN TO CRY??? *sniffles* That’s… That’s such an AMAZING compliment!!! Yes, it was a devastating moment for Deek and definitely one of his most emotional moments in the whole story. Caira is Deek’s best friend, so when he thought he lost her, he felt like he lost everything. And yes, I think the villains do create an illusion so that it appears it’s just Caira’s body lying there, which further convinces Deek that she’s truly dead. The villains get more and more merciless as the story progresses, unfortunately, because they start learning how to turn the characters’ strengths into weaknesses, like Deek’s love for Caira. And no, I don’t think Newton is here when it happens. I want to keep it strictly with Deek so that it will further emphasize his grief, although I think Evie ends up approaching near the end. Evie is devastated as well, because Caira was the closest friend she ever had. Awww, that’s such a great compliment, and yes, poor Deek:( But all is well in the end, because Caira ends up coming back mightier than ever with her powers. I’ve considered having Caira return just in time to save her friend’s lives from one of the villain’s attacks, shocking everyone that she’s still alive.
Aww, THANK YOU!! I thought it would be heartwarming to show them, and even if I don’t write a full-length novel about it, it would be cute to write a short story about them:) But then again, Newton and Caira’s daughter is possibly narrating the epilogue, so I may keep it at that:) Thank you!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Haha, daydreaming is something I just love doing with my characters. One of my favorite scenarios to think about is… what if all of my characters played ‘Truth or Dare’? What would happen? Ooh, what would happen with Mejia and her band if they played? That’s an interesting thought!:D Aw, thank you!! Yup, Deek would be pestering Caira by poking at the fire and probably using his bare hands to adjust the firewood since fire doesn’t affect him. Caira would be trying to relax and write some poetry while scolding him at the same time XD Aww, thank you!! 😀 😀 😀
Oooh, I LOVE HEARING ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS’ RESPONSES!!! Anton’s fits his character so well, and I just love Lila’s!! *gives Lila marshmallows* Here Lila, try some of these. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them 😉 And I equally love Mejia’s—she’s always doing something productive, and that just fits her character SO well!!:) And I can totally see that with Morio—he doesn’t seem like the talkative type—and Filip… I can just imagine him trying to tell a ghost story XD And he’d want to help Mejia with the firewood? *fangirls* *melts* AWW, that’s so cute!!! Mejia doesn’t think so, but I disagree 😉
Oooh, this is a great question, but forgive me if I’m vague with my responses because I haven’t given this idea much thought until now!!! *rubs hands together* Hmm… Caira’s would involve agility since she’s very light on her feet when using her magic, and also water since she enjoys training near the ocean… Hmm… I’ll have to give that more thought!!! 😀 Alana’s would definitely involve archery since she’s VERY skilled at that. She would probably hang plenty of targets in the forest, mount her reindeer, and ride through the woodland, trying to hit as many as she could in a limited time while doing dangerous things like crossing a narrow log bridge and jumping her reindeer over the crystal lake. I don’t think Evie would be one for sports XD Newton would CERTAINLY include his swords since that’s his weapon of choice since he doesn’t really have ‘magic’. Does swordfighting count as a sport? That’s one of his favorite things to do, honestly:D Deek’s… hmm, I have a feeling that, if Deek lived in our world, he’d definitely play football, so perhaps something along those lines. I know it would involve plenty of fire and action 😉 I’m SO SORRY that those responses were a bit shallow and not very in-depth, but honestly I’ve never really thought about my characters inventing sports and so this is the only thing I could come up with on the spot! But that’s such a FANTASTIC question and I’ll keep thinking of better answers in the meantime!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 You’ve totally given me a great question to think about:)
Aww, thank you!!! Caira and Deek tease each other a lot, but mostly it’s Deek teasing her about #1 her being a bookworm, and #2 her secret romantic interest in Newton. Caira, in turn, often teases Deek about being a terrible cook, being her ‘baby brother’, and secretly having a crush on Alana (which he neither admits nor denies sometimes 😉 ). Aww, THANK YOU SO MUCH, I’m so glad you think she’s an incredible protagonist!!! I was really hoping she didn’t come across as being ‘too soft’ or ‘weak’ in any way, which is definitely not what I was wanting, so that’s such a relief to know!!! And aw, thank you!!! I thought that was a sweet detail to add:)
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! Goodness, that makes me so ecstatic to know you think so!! It’s been a little hard, switching POVs, because I feel like I have too many MCs and I don’t want it to feel overwhelming. Mostly I stay with Caira’s, but I want to write chapters from Newton’s, Pirion’s, Evie’s, Deek’s, and Alana’s POVs as well:( Do you have any tips on that? I still want it to be clear that Caira is the main character, but I didn’t want to just stay with her POV throughout the entire book. Aww, THANK YOU so much, that means a lot to me!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
And you are so welcome!! Thanks for giving me that permission to vent and ramble XD *sighs* Aww, thank you!!! I’m so very glad you think so!!! It’s going to be interesting writing about her because she’s the complete opposite of Caira. While Caira is very softhearted, motherly, and caring, Felicity is more tough, stubborn, and very gruff in her mannerisms. She does have a soft side, though, when she’s taking care of/protecting her crippled cousin, Atreyu—the second MC:)
*gasps* YAY, thank you for sharing all of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, for #1… OH. MY. WORD. I just absolutely, completely, utterly LOVE THAT IDEA!!! That’s so amazing, I’m seriously at a loss for words!! I love the storyline of an elite military equestrian academy, because there’s so much potential and I love all of those legendary steeds!! (Especially the Pegasus, they’ve always been a favorite of mine 😉 ) #2 sounds SO AMAZING as well!!!!! 😀 😀 I love how you’d divide the story between the two MCs and how they’re so different!!! Oooh, and that’s just so mysterious!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 I love it!! #3 is equally as fantastic all the others!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST LOVE IT!!!!! How she sets out to relieve her hero’s quest, only to find herself enduring the very same hardships he did… I love the theme of survival in this story already!!! 😀 😀 😀 #4 is AMAZING!!! I love pirate stories and this one sounds incredible!! 🙂 🙂 She sounds like such an interesting heroine, her Sea Horse sounds equally as interesting, and *gasps* the monarch becomes her enemy??? Oh my goodness!!! #5 is SO LOVELY, I just love everything about it!!! The strange war brewing sounds so positively mysterious, and the two unicorns sound AMAZING, and the sailor sounds so interesting!!!
Gosh, I love all of this!!! THOSE WERE EXCELLENT SUMMARIES AND I SERIOUSLY ADORE EVERY ONE OF THESE IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You need to TOTALLY write them and I 100,000% support you in them!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Well, don’t overwhelm yourself by working on too many projects, but you should definitely put them on NaNo!! 😀 😀 😀 I feel that way too—EoD is a project I’m looking forward to, but I think Fortitude will always hold the most special place in my heart:) Aww, thank you, and no it didn’t at all!!! I think this post is going to be quite long… oops. Awwww, thank you:) I didn’t know what to put as a new profile portrait, so I may change it, but I appreciate that:) And thanks for understanding! YES, those tips were immensely helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Hi Alexa! (Btw, I don’t think I ever asked you, do you like Lexi or Alexa better? Either is 100% awesome. I was just wondering:)
Don’t worry about it at all:) And I agree sophomore is really tough to wrap up, but that’s awesome that you did last week! 😀 Relief isn’t it? I mean, afterward, there’s always so much more time for writing and hobbies and all sorts of summer activities:D And I was so ecstatic when you said that you were recovering from April and are falling back in love with writing!!! Like, I am just so happy to hear that you have no idea. It’s always SUCH a great feeling, isn’t it? *Releases the confetti* Because you know, to be honest, I think the moment you re-fall back in love with writing is just as, if not more so, important than finishing NaNo. So, yes, I’m so so excited for you!! 😀
Yeah, I really haven’t been here too often this week. Gosh, being on KP after a week feels like coming back to a hometown full of old friends…… that sounds weird, but I am sorta weird, I guess I should just admit that even though I think I have before. Anyway, that to say I’m sorry about this late post again. Tbh I haven’t been on KP for long for over a week now and though I’m hoping that this weekly visit thing won’t become a habit, I feel like it might be for a little while yet… *sigh* But I am really truly sorry about it.
This is completely random but, in any case, I thought I’d ask. How’s your writing coming lately? I know some days it gets tougher to write out words than others, sometimes it goes more smoothly and other times the words don’t seem to cooperate, and well, anyway, I just thought I’d ask:)
Aw, haha, thanks! 😀 His name’s Arlo:) He’s still a puppy, ( a.k.a lots of training required XD but we’re getting there:) And he’s pretty well behaved, cooperates for the most part, and is the only reason I’m getting any reading done XD
Don’t be sorry at all! Those are all great questions and I am only too happy to answer:)
What’s it like living on a farm? Well in three words, it’s muddy, sweatbreaking, and extraordinary. In the winter there’s always a ton of snow spread over the fields and the water hoses freeze so you have to hull water to all the animal troughs by bucket; the water sloshes everywhere and by the time you’re done, half your snow clothes are frozen solid from it. And of course, all the animals need extra warmth sources and care from the cold and there are other daily duties. But winter is also the very best time of the year since 1# winter is awesome in the first place 2# it’s when I get the best inspiration/ideas/photography for TSW 3# the snowboarding. Is. Amazing. Best winter sport ever invented outside of skijoring, (I have got to try skijoring sometime…) But yes, winter is great on the farm and when it snows, it’s incredible to be in the middle of a field with nothing else there to break the… well the magic I guess you could call it if you wanted to:) In the spring, everything gets mucky and rain pours, the pastures and fields become a mess… all animals need washes and everything else needs washing… *shudders* it’s actually kind of funny how to most people, spring makes them think of flowers and gentle spring rains. But to a farmer, spring can only mean one thing and one thing only: mud. Yes, there’ll be more mud than ground, more rain than air, and more, well, you get the idea XD Not many flowers come up around here until early summer. In fact, for many years, the fields got so flooded, we’d take canoes out into them and row them in the miniature lakes that formed in the lower fields XD And in summer, the fields light up with fireflies and the night creatures make a concert out of the outdoors. Everything finally seems to get past its rain drowned stage and grows. Then the summer farm activities can ensue such as prolonged groundwork with the horses, more hiking, fence repairs, larger building projects, taking care of the gardens, working for neighbor farmers, animal raising, and all the typical things. But on a less whimsical note, summer is fly season too. Yeah, with each season comes the good, the bad, and the challenging. Fall is pretty neutral though, it’s mostly preparation for another winter. But farm life no matter the season always includes the absolutely unavoidable element of dirt one way or another. As for the animals themselves, we have horses, cats, dogs, poultry, and a parakeet, (a parakeet sounds like an odd addition -which it is- but… long story on that one). We used to have pigs and rabbits, though not for several years now. I love working with every one of them:)Well, then it’s good to know that I’m not alone. I have no idea how it happened really, but one day I just look at my scenes and thought, ‘where in the world is Artur?!’ Thence I’ve been working on trying to bring him back, I should have known there was a reason things were calming down… I think my characters were all holding their breath hoping that I wouldn’t notice XD Sorry guys.
It looks like our writing processes look nearly exactly alike then, especially writing out of sequential order, (I actually got the timelines mixed up once or twice). And yes, pacing is my mortal enemy *raises sword dramatically* *XD*Really? That’s kind of ironic because I have a tendency to write too many intense scenes that don’t match up very well XD But still, no of course those type of slow scenes aren’t bad at all. Farthest thing from bad really since heart to hearts are fun to read and fun to write and can reveal depth and layer to characters. But your right, it’s hard to keep a good balance and find that elusive middle ground of how many of each scene type there should be. But that depends on the genre too I think. Historical romances are bound to have a different balance of scenes than say high adventure novels. As for TSW, I try to curb emotional scenes since having them very sparse will magnify their effect. But that can work the other way for a writer too, and tbh I think I probably include too few emotional-type scenes. Finding the balance is very difficult and it all depends on the story too really:)
Oooooooooh!!!!! YES!!! That is the absolute BEST 😀 Thinking about characters and what they would do in certain situations and how they’d react to random things. That’s not odd at all and actually, it has been recommended to do just that with characters because of how it broadens and deepens them to see how they’d handle different scenarios. Since characters are exposed to be real people (providing the character is a human that is), it’s important to know what they’d do with different things because we as humans would also have different reactions to situations as well. Plus its just pure fun! I do it all the time, (my cast often takes up my thought process, and daydreaming about them is my favorite hobby), and lately I’ve been giving my characters some tough situations to figure out. And I ask that very same question all the time! 😀 I think ‘what would Mejia do in my shoes?’ Or ‘how would she react to this?’ That’s awesome that you ask Caira those very things:D What’s your favorite response you’ve ever gotten from her?:)
Wow, Caira meeting an evil copy of herself? Okay, that’s kind of scary, kind of funny, and a really awesome idea:D That is just so interesting, how would that happen? *Gasps* Would the copy run into Deek and Newton? I’m assuming yes, but you never know. Oh and what about Caira? What would she think or do about it? What does the copy do/mess up/complicate? Ah! I just have so many questions for that somehow and would totally be an unexpected plot twist, especially if the copy shows up on ‘screen’ without the reader knowing that it isn’t Caira. But even if we see Caira with the copy beforehand, it’s still super interesting!
Ahh yes, the relationship timeline… or at least that’s what I call it. That’s a difficult thing to time right, hmm, so yes, I can totally see where a fourth would help drag that out further since they go from sworn enemies to getting married at the end of the books, (I still am fangirling about the awesome proposal tradition in Aldova and that Newton didn’t want to wait for the stores to order the Golden Candles and that he had spent all night to make them:D ). Romances are definitely really tough to time just right alongside the main plot…Cava… I love it!! 😀 The Golden City sounds incredible and the concept of why it’s called that is awesome too, I mean the whole idea is amazing! They’re heading to The Golden City, Newton leading by his photographic memory, his history with it after leaving the military, Caira, and Newton wanted, undercover, the aesthetic (aesthetics are strangely something I have an obsession with and I love all the aesthetics in your novel 😀 ). It’s all so mysterious and breathtaking and the four temples sound so interesting! And this is strange, but being detail-oriented in a way, I love all the things like how they have to buy new clothes to help remain anonymous. Speaking of which, what do their new clothes look like? Is the attire in Cava more expensive than in other cities? Better or poorer quality? Fancier or simpler designs? Okay, those seem like boring questions, but I am really curious about it! 😀 Speaking of potentially odd and boring questions… would you mind if I asked some? Don’t feel like you have to respond to them but I think I’ll burst if I can’t ask:D Okay number one is: are Talents the main currency in Cava or do they have additional trading sources like say fabrics or jewels? Two is: is the food different there? Taste differences such as does it have a tendency to be sweeter or hotter than other places in Aldova? Number three is: did Newton ever get caught or in trouble with anyone in Cava, whereas he might take extra precautions to avoid them?
No way! Really? Caira catches Newton stealing from the bread shop? This might sound awful but that sounds like just the best scene ever! I love it for a number of reasons, 1# (I use numbers a lot don’t I?) is because Newton is still inside his scavenging habits, and being back in Cava is probably drawing up some very clear and unwanted memories 2# Caira confronts him and that is just awesome because it creates conflict, reveals more about themselves to one another, and shows some great dynamics going on:) 3# It’s the first time they hug. Nothing more needs to be said. THAT. IS. *SCREAMS* SO ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 Aww, oh my goodness, that is so cute 😀 😀 Well maybe Newton wouldn’t want me to call him cute… but it is:)
*Grins* *rolls up sleeves* *rubs hands enthusiastically* Okay, small talk, (I LOVE it), is so so much fun. And hard. But let’s not forget fun. Alright I better get moving with this or I’ll be in the crazy hard-yet-fun-and-fun-yet-hard-but-fun loop all day about this XD
First of all, their personalities may clash. Who will be the gloomy one, the cheerful one, the inquisitive one, or any other. Focusing on their unique voices so you’ll know who is who, remember Puddleglum? Whenever he spoke, you could always tell it was him XD Hard thing to master, but there are tiny things that can do to assist like staying true to their characters and figuring out their own unique verbal habits and word choice.
And knowing their personalities so you can determine who would respond to any questions that might be asked by the others or who would notice certain things. Who would notice the flowers on the side of the path? Who would shrug at them? Who would be thrilled and how would that character react to the others’ enthusiasm or lack of it? Questions like that can really help sometimes when writing virtually anything.
They might all be doing different things. One might be really talkative, one might hang back or two might be jesting in conversation and would occasionally interrupt the others.
I think ‘what if’ plays a big factor here and ooh, what if one of them accidentally lets something secret slip? Maybe the others would try to pry the rest out or be suspicious or maybe just open up a whole new topic altogether. The possibilities go on with small talk and it can often lead to bigger stuff even if it doesn’t appear that way on the surface.Perhaps have little things happen along the way to distract everyone. Let’s say they find a wounded dog or bird or even pegasus, who would immediately leave the trail? Who would glance around before following the others? Who would tend to its wound? Who would ‘adopt’ it? Would they bring it with them or leave it? If they leave it, who would bring it up later? And if they brought it with, then the small talk -if it’s not more important- might veer towards the animal and perhaps the characters might feel small rivalries for its loyalty.
Or what if one character dodged to the side of the trail, thinking they saw something and end up falling in a pit? Some characters might grumble about delaying after they find out they’re alright, some might be in a fit of worry, there might be arguments popping up, and all sorts of fun events!:D*G. A. S. P. S.* YOU’D LET ME READ SOME OF IT??? YES YES YESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!! OF COURSE, I WOULD LOVE TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 That’d be so amazing and I am seriously so interested in this whole awesome scene!!! So absolutely, definitely love to read some, I mean how can I even say yes? Well, I guess I did XD but just in case… YASSSSSSSSSS That would be so incredibly amazing:D 😀 😀 THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!
Thank you! Yep, I seriously plan on it:D I think I would first either animate a series of intense ket moments in the novel and compile them for a music video or animate this one scene that takes place one afternoon Destal where Mejia swordfights for the life of a pheasant boy. Inspired by FK&C’s song ‘Ceasefire’ it’s one of my favorite TSW scenes next to the scene where Mejia finds out Filip can dance;)
Thank you! I’m going to need all the luck and faith I can get with animation.
And yes! I’ve done more than consider it actually, I’ve played out how the scene I have in mind to animate and have practically drawn out the thumbnails for it:D I have been tempted several times to animate some from Fortitude and someday, (this may not be for a long time since my animating skills are in serious need of elbow grease and practice), I really believe I am going to be animating some from it some time and I can’t wait to show it to you when I do! And honestly, if and when I do animate some, the honor will be all mine! 😀THANK YOU!! Yes, it was a ton of fun to make, (transferring the film between apps and filters was slightly excruciating, but all worthwhile). And funny you should mention that, I actually tried posting the TSW book trailer a little while after I made it, but it turns out the KP forum can’t post videos that aren’t from youtube or an internet source… *sigh* But I would love to post it! If I ever figure out a way to post it, I’ll be sure and let you know:D
Of course, I don’t mind! Spoilers are a personal favorite of mine:D
I most certainly do! Books are just such incredibly huggable things. And actually, that’s me as well; I have about nine books I’m into and I just started another one! XD But yeah, I really ought to start finishing them… *sigh* it’s strange, sometimes I can read a whole book in a day and sometimes it takes me a whole month (if not longer) to turn the last page XD
Yes, I am! Though I haven’t written much in it recently, I’ve been working out different plot points and things and ideas have been changing around. But I hope to have a presentable draft within the next month or so to post:) I’m just so ecstatic to hear that you can’t wait to read it!
*Whew* I’m glad my explanations weren’t confusing and that that you were able to picture Klasha so clearly:) Yes, it would have been cute if she and Morio could have been a couple but yes, Morio has got to very sadly, (and actually I’m not sure Klasha doesn’t end up turning to Artur’s side herself).
Yep, he did! 😀 And let me tell you that it was so much fun to plot out that I think Filip would hate me if he knew I had enjoyed it as much as I did. Yeah, that sounds awful but I couldn’t help myself. Mejia had rigged the rope trap herself earlier that week and when she first caught sight of Filip dangling there, she was exasperated and thoroughly amused by it at the same time. Filip was appalled to have his rival see him like this and after making a half acceptable comeback, blamed the hunter that set the trap for his mess. Mejia walked past him and sliced the rope holding the trap, which landed Filip practically on his head. Poor Filip indeed… XD Thank you!! Yes, Filip knew that she wore the penannular, but never gave it a lot of thought outside of being glad that she liked it of course:)Ooh, that’s a great question!! Hmm, yes I think you’re exactly right about all of them:D Mejia would most likely erase any romance, changed the leadership of Ivatoust, and removed almost all the character deaths in the novel. Filip would have a tough time at the pen I think because he would be pretty confused about how to write Mejia into it, but he would undo the stampede that his father died in and would erase a couple of particularly humiliating incidents. Morio yes, would change his betrayal definitely and give Mejia reasons to give trust. Anton would most likely avoid becoming blind as you said and move himself more permanently to the Shelter, (which was a primitive cabin tucked on a wooded slope where he stayed for a little while during a conflict). Lila. I don’t think she’d change much in the story except wanting to change Mejia’s hardships to lesser ones and release all the captured animals in Destal. How about your characters? How would they change the story?
*Double grins* I did! I thought it was clear how Caira was using her title as Prodigy to define who she was. *Claps* YES! I love spoilers! … WHAT?!?!!?! Primrose was plotting to steal her magic and made Deek think was dead?!?!? How could she??? But still, even though that’s horrible, that sounds like a fantastic scene at the same time. That’s awesome how she has her ah-ha! Moment while captured in prison and breaks free, returning to the others stronger than ever… that’s just amazing 🙂 I love her arc and how in the beginning, she only sees herself as a title she never chose and later learns that it doesn’t define her.
Oh no, I didn’t think it was boring at all! And your right, it does match with Caira’s personality and shows Newton’s soft side, (I love Newton’s soft side, it’s just so cute;) Book two? You know I think that would be perfect timing, but you are the author and only you know the best timing for your novel:) And how do I say this? YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 I. WOULD. LOVE. TO!!! If you really wouldn’t mind sharing it with me, I’d be incredibly honored to read it:D 😀 😀 That is definitely a thing for me to look forward to! (Well actually, reading anything from Fortitude is always something for me to look forward to 😀 ). Haha yes! *to Caira* back when I read the part where you told Newton you two would part ways, I knew you guys would come to your senses eventually;)
The Wingfeather Saga? That sounds really interesting! Ooh yes, thank you! Definitely let me know what you think of it when you finish, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
They are pretty cute, that is true, but Shetlands… yeah, troublemakers through and through. And all that’s not even half of what they can do XD Awww, that’s so sweet that your cats are cute yet mischievous 🙂 Which one? *Grins* cats are just the cutest things ever and make good writing partners I think.
Yes seriously, Shetlands are practically world-class escape artists next to miniature horses and other pony breeds. That’s the funny thing about horses: different breeds have different dispositions. Like shires are gentle, Arabians highly intelligent and save their energy until their late teens, (which is pretty old for a horse), and Shetlands are mischievous. It’s a general rule with horses that the smaller the breed, the more of a troublemaker they are, (no myth either, I’ve seen it first hand for years. Hackney ponies too, *shudders* very difficult breed, even worse than Shetlands when it comes to making mischief. Except hackneys do it out of their high energy and Shetlands do it because they feel like it mostly XD ).
Okay, I know I have said this twice already but *tries not to scream* *nearly bursts* *can’t not scream* READ THE SCENE WHERE NEWTON TEACHES CAIRA TO RIDE A HORSE!?!?!?!??!!??!????!??!?!?!?!??!?!??? REALLY, TRULY, HONESTLY, YOU WOULD LET ME?????? *TRIPLE MILLION GASPS* OH MY WORD, YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OF COURSE I WOULD BE 10000000000% HONORED TO READ IT AND GIVE ANY TIPS I CAN ABOUT HORSE MANNERISMS AND JUST PLAIN YASSS!!! I WOULD LOVE LOVE LOVE TO READ IT!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀Wait, Caira saved Newton’s life during a battle in the forest???!?!?? I think you mentioned this before but my memory won’t cooperate. Still though, I love it! 😀 How did she save his life? Gosh, I love everything about these two and how their relationship starts to improve after Caira catches Newton stealing at the bakery:) Plus that is so cute that he wouldn’t mind if you told him about his future with Caira;)
*Looks over shoulder* okay, *whew* Mejia and Filip aren’t around at the moment so I can say THANK YOU! That made me grin about a million miles that you thought their reactions were priceless. Though I seriously believe Mejia would have banned him XD *Mejia walks over* *blinks* I don’t think she’s ever even considered the possibility of her and Filip being cute, *covers her ears* but they are;)
Thank you! I’ll have to tell Filip you said that he’d like the terms ‘brave’ and ‘bold’ describing him;) I may decide to exclude surnames for plot and theme reasons, but if I give any of my characters’ last names, Filip will definitely get ‘Kondrash’. If I don’t, I’ve got several characters I could give it to in other WIPs. But I’m pretty tempted to keep it for him:)
XD I love that how Alana claims to be a secret master but spills them all! And how Newton is often confused by Caira and shrugged that off, awwwww that’s all so one trillion percent cute!:DReally?? Wow, that’s such an amazing and heartwarming thing for me to hear that I actually inspired you to illustrate and experiment with poetry!! 😀 😀 😀 *gasps* you drew one of Evie?!?!? That’s so cool! You know you can feel free to post any illustrations any time if you ever wanted to and I’d love to see them:D And no worries, I know they are look-forward-to worthy and I can’t wait to see them!
*Sniffs* That always makes me so heartbroken to hear about Newton’s past and him never being told that he was loved, ever, is just… Okay, where did I put those tissues? The second confession was heartfelt as it is and then knowing that was the first time someone told him that they loved him? That makes it triple as heartwrenching! And *sigh* Newton’s Salvation arc is amazing… how’s that coming by the way? I’m just curious how it’s coming 🙂 That part of his journey is just… it’s one of those things that truly make me believe in the power of writing you know? Being so connected to good characters, caring about their journey, and getting excited about it. That’s something amazing only writers can accomplish. It’s a very powerful thing. And Newton’s journey holds a lot of that power and truth. I’m still so excited about him being saved and the whole idea of Christianity in a fantasy world!
Of course! 😀 Personally I love the idea 100%!! Hmm, I see what you mean though, how that could take some away from Newton and Deek’s relationship… though that could make some good grounds to create conflict for them, perhaps rivalry for Deek and later a deep moment for them or something like that. I’m a total fan of both ways:D (I adore the name Khal btw!:)
Poor Deek!!! D’: I feel so sad, no devastated that he will have to go through that… Deek where are you!!?!?!? He seriously needs a hug, but I have a feeling he’s hiding from me by now XD And though this sounds really terrible, I think it’s good that the villains become more merciless as the story progresses so the battle/conflict isn’t too easily won and tests the characters and just makes for a greater story. And I positively love that idea for Caira to reappear, fighting the villains and shocking (and relieving) everyone with her return. A brilliant idea:D
*Gasps* Yes! I think a short story of them would be utterly amazing!!! 😀 And really, anything you decide about Fortitude will be and already is incredible!!:)
Daydreaming about characters… there are few things I’d rather do sometimes. Sometimes, whenever I can find a spare piece of time, I like to go on ‘Character Hikes’ which is what I call wandering around or walking or doing something where I can spend time thinking about characters and scenes. And actually, some of my favorite scenes and character quirks came out of Character Hikes, such as the confession scene in which I plotted the whole thing out while mini biking on flatland. OOOOOOH!!! Now that is an amazing idea!!!:D 😀 😀 And now I am extremely curious, what would happen if your characters played truth or dare??????? 😀 I think that’s a marvelous scenario and ooh I just adore it so much:D
What would happen if Mejia and her band played? *Glances nervously at all of them* That’s a slightly frightening thought. I think Mejia would be first to stay out of it entirely, refusing any part of it. But for the sake of this subject, I’ll force her to play a little bit. Though I have never played it myself actually and had to research the rules to verify them before writing my answer XD I’m not one hundred percent sure how it’d all go, but I could imagine Morio accepting only dares to avoid having to say anything about himself. He’d most likely be the most merciful and not give anyone really tough questions or dares, though I think he’d probably ask everyone if they planned on getting married one day. To Mejia and Filip gave flat out ‘no’s and Anton and Lila admitted it was possible, (though I don’t think Anton ever did get married). Lila would be pretty relaxed about the whole game and choose truth or dare at random. I think she’d actually enjoy the game and decide to be mischievous about it, mixing up dull questions and dares with really hard ones. She’d do anything from having Mejia build a horse from sticks to asking Filip what he did to his hair, (this’d be before they knew he cut it by dagger and ignored it the rest of the time). Filip most likely would accept half dares half questions, alternating every turn since he figured that one couldn’t be worse than the other and most often he was right. Except for a few times, he might be asked things such as whether or not he ever learned to ride or what was the most humiliating thing that he’d ever done or was he ever in love. As for Anton, he would most likely have Filip hang upside down from a tree on a dare and ask Mejia what her favorite possession was and what she loved or hated the most.
And Mejia, if she hasn’t walked away by then, would be purposely slow to ask, answer or contemplate questions since she wouldn’t be having the world of fun with any of it. Although she enjoyed putting Filip on a dare XD But I’m sure that she’d soon be walking out of the game. 🙂*Lila accepts the marshmallows curiously* *tastes one* Oh great, now she’s hooked on marshmallows… XD Lila thank you a thousand times for them, now she’s going to be pestering me about them XD Yeah, I don’t know if Filip’s ghost storytelling skills are the greatest… but he tries and has fun. The others, apart from Mejia, will often interrupt him and guess what happens next, so honestly, Filip only ends up telling half the story and the other half is by the others’ ideas. Which doesn’t frustrate him so much as the fact that they usually guess exactly what he was about to say.
Those answers weren’t shallow at all! I thought they were great and I can just picture Caira’s:D Ooh, Alana’s sounds INCREDIBLE!! In fact, it even sounds like a sort of sport that Mejia would love to compete in. And don’t worry Evie, I have characters who aren’t into sports either, Anton for one XD Hmm, I don’t know 100% whether sword fighting is a sport or not but it definitely should be though and I love how Newton would include swords in his sport:D And I grinned so huge thinking of Deek playing football if he were in our world:) I can just picture him trying to pack as much action into a sport as possible XD He should visit the academy that’s in one of my other WIPs sometime to play Guards with the cadets, (a ton of action in that one).
I love Deek and Caira’s teasing each other about those things and how she refers to him as her little brother *internally screams* THAT IS JUST SO CUTE! Like the time she kidded him outside The Snow Dragon and she ruffled his hair and he protested… that was just so adorable:)I’m definitely a fan of the idea of making it written by all of them. Hmm, let me see… okay so some things to consider -especially to help keep the protagonist the center of the story- are focus and balance. What I mean is, when the POVs are switched, the focus will still be on Caira. Caira can still remain the center of the plot and be a spotlight in the others’ thoughts.
Then perhaps pattern chapters, like first Caira, then Deek, Newton and loop them. I read that in a book once, where the chapters were evenly alternated between characters. Maybe even give Caira an extra chapter to give her more ‘screen time’.
Anyway, I hope some of that was a bit helpful:)Of course! You can vent or ramble anytime and wow, I love this Felitciy already and I love her relationship with her cousin! And that is such an awesome name as well 😀
AND THANK YOU SO INCREDIBLY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I’m so happy to hear that you loved all those ideas so much:D I was smiling nearly a thousand miles long, reading what you wrote about them and makes me ecstatic that you liked them so much 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Ikr? Pegasus are the greatest and are one of my all-time favorite magical creatures:) I truly appreciate all that and I’ll also 100,00% support you in any and all your writing/novels/stories:D
Oh no, long posts are awesome/wanted and I think this one turned out pretty long too:)Me again XD Remember when I said I’d share a picture of the Koni I’da? Well here it is and though it’s not 100% accurate, it looks a LOT like them:)
Oh, either way is totally fine by me!!:) I don’t get called ‘Alexa’ very often, so that 1,000% works for me!! 😀 Ah, unfortunately I had gotten behind on school, so I had to cram everything in before May ended, but now that I have free time, it’s been so much more relieving!! Aww, thank you!! It is such a good feeling to be falling back in love with writing (and my characters) again, and I’m hoping to finish my draft by the end of June possibly!! 😀 😀 😀 *crosses fingers* Haha, that’s exactly how I feel after being gone from KP for a while. I just narrow my eyes and think, “How much did I miss???” No, that doesn’t sound weird at all!! In fact, that’s mostly how I feel too!! And you don’t have to apologize, I TOTALLY understand!! Don’t feel any rush to post back, I completely get having a crammed schedule. Hopefully things will lighten up for you, though!!:)
Aww, thank you so much for asking!!:) It’s been going well, actually!! I’ve made a lot of progress on some chapters and even wrote another one from Newton’s POV (where they enter into the city) and am currently about to write one from Alana’s POV. Lately it’s been tougher and harder to crank out as many words, but I’m hoping that’ll change. I feel like I have an okay-ish outline of where the storyline is going, so I’m hoping to wrap it up within the next month or so!! 😀 😀 😀 How is your writing coming along? If you’re ever in need of any encouragement, *hand shoots up* I’m just a post away!! 😀 😀 😀 But I hope it’s going well for you!!:)
*gasps* AWWW, that’s, like, the CUTEST name EVER!!! And *eyes water* *melts* he’s a puppy??? That’s double cute!! I love puppies so much, even though they can be a handful at times XD OH. MY. GOODNESS. Living on a farm sounds so interesting!!! And *shudders* yikes, that sounds like a lot of hard work, and very cold in the wintertime!! Oooh, I totally agree with you about winter being amazing 😉 Unfortunately it’s so warm right now where I am, so all the snow is gone until a looong while:( Oooh, you do photography for TSW? *gasps again* How neat!! And yes, you and me both!! I totally want to try skijoring sometime:D Oh my goodness, I never thought about how hard it would be living on a farm, and during the springtime, too:O Haha, mud is never fun, is it? XD Sometimes I’m in charge of feeding my outdoor dogs and it’s never fun when they splash mud all over you XD THANK YOU for that explanation, it sounds so interesting!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 It helped me understand more closely what life on a farm looks like!! And aw, you have a parakeet? I used to have parakeets only about two years ago, actually!! 🙂 Sadly, I was too busy to care for them so I had to give it away to someone, but I remember they were lots of fun to chat with:)
Oh my word, that’s exactly how I feel about Pirion XD I’m like, “Wait, where did he go?!” Haha, the very same XD My characters hardly ever find any calmness, but *shrugs* that’s one of the roles of being main characters, I suppose. Oooh, your writing process looks like that too? I’m currently putting a huge scene in parenthesis for now because I’m too impatient to write the next one, so yes, definitely going out of order XD *also raises sword* Ugh, pacing is such a challenge, isn’t it? I’m not sure I’ll ever defeat it, but I’ll try anyways XD
Oh, seriously? XD I love writing intense scenes, but unfortunately I feel like my novel is lacking in them, which makes me worry that it’s too slow-paced. I often write slow, heart-to-heart conversations (whether it be Caira and Alana having a sisterly heart-to-heart while hunting in the forest, or another Newton/Caira moment) but I also enjoy writing the life-or-death ones. In fact, I’m coming up on a VERY intense couple of scenes in Fortitude… which may or may not include Deek pretending to go on a “date” to get information and Newton and Caira actually sharing their ACTUAL first kiss. (Yes, I’m including a brief kiss scene between them in the first book, but it’s one of those do-it-to-avoid-death scenarios so it isn’t romantic. Caira ends up slapping him in the face and calling him a ‘good-for-nothing scoundrel’ immediately afterward XD) Sorry about that little ramble. Aw, thank you SO much for saying that, it helps me feel one thousand times better!!! 😀 😀 I totally agree—having heart-to-heart moments very sparsely will make them more emotional and magical, even!! 😀
Ooh, you have? I just LOVE thinking about characters and how they would respond to things. Like if I told Caira that she was someday going to be offered the royal crown of Aldova or become Newton’s wife, or if I told Alana that she was going to eventually confess her love to Deek, or Newton that he (might) end up becoming a pastor. Or Deek about becoming half-blind… *gulps*
Or Evie about her possible death…That would be so interesting to see how they would respond XD I wonder how your characters would respond if you told them about certain key moments in the story?I totally agree!! I honestly think it’s a necessary part of the writing process because it’s helped me flesh out my characters more than just writing about them on a screen:) Oh, and illustrating them/making collages, too!! Aww, I’m so glad to know somebody else does this too!! *high-fives* Hmm… one of my better responses from Caira is Caira scolding me for not doing my homework when I should XD I think, “Caira wouldn’t delay this, so I shouldn’t either.” It’s oddly motivating, actually XD What’s your favorite response from Mejia?:)
Haha, yup, she totally might!! I was thinking possibly an alternate version of herself/a future version of herself, and the first time Caira meets her other self is during a dream. If I do end up including this, Caira’s evil twin would be named Acari (it’s just an anagram of Caira’s name). I’m still on the fence about it, though, and am only considering whether or not to write it in/if it’s necessary. Caira would be terrified because she’s worried that this is what she’s going to end up becoming (especially if it’s a future version of herself). Ah, that’s a PERFECT idea!! 😀 😀 😀 Hmm, Acari would probably try to withhold Caira from her goal of finding the ancient crystal tree, and then make an appearance and actually battle her alongside Pirion. That probably sounded confusing, but things do start getting hard to explain when you’re talking about time travel/alternate versions of characters XD I’m hoping I’ll be able to wrap my head around it myself.
Oh, the relationship timeline is the perfect name for it!! I’m not certain if I want to write a fourth book (that might be overwhelming for a first-time author), so if I have to exclude Newton’s proposal for the sake of the story, then *shrugs* that would be fine. I would recount it in a diary entry, most likely:) Aww, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, I’m so happy you remembered all of that and that you’re actually fangirling over it!! Yup, romances are hard to write but definitely worth it:D (I didn’t fully realize how heartwarming and sweet it was to write romance until less than a year ago, back when I was only going to have Newton give Caira flowers at the end and that was it XD)
I’m already wondering if I should try to write in a side-romance between Deek and Alana:) It would be awfully cute to see more of Deek’s soft side (and even a slight romantic side). It would probably be from Alana’s POV, however, because she starts having a crush on him in the first book and would probably be the one to confess. I can’t decide what Deek and Alana’s relationship looks like, honestly XD
Aww, THANK YOU!!! Yup, that’s totally how it’s going!! Newton doesn’t have… fond memories of The Golden City since he remembers stealing weapons/a host of other things, and that’s even the city where he stole his signature brown cloak. Newton and Caira find Wanted posters of themselves side-by-side within two minutes of being in the city, so the stakes are high. Aww, thank you so much for saying all of that!! I adore aesthetics too, and I totally adore yours!!!:D Aw, THANK YOU! The four temples are the most famous parts of The Golden City. Caira gives a very long explanation of how the city was founded during their travels, and therefore boring everyone with her history-talk XD
As far as clothing? *rubs hands together* Well, Caira ends up finding a pale, knee-length yellow dress, white gloves to hide her tattoo, and braiding her hair down one shoulder. Deek finds a black jerkin and new, finer boots (he begrudgingly gives up his old ones). Alana finds a white and soft brown tunic (she consistently refuses to wear a dress) with tall, brown boots, and might braid her bushy brown hair. Evie wears a gray, starry cloak (she loves starry, constellation-inspired clothing) with a gray hood to hide her white hair. And Newton buys a cloak identical to the one he previously had. He traded it because the one he originally had was quite dirty and muddy—much to Caira’s disgust—and also traded out his old military boots. Hopefully that wasn’t too detailed!!
Yes, the attire is more expensive since Cava is quite a fancy, well-to-do place (exactly why Newton wanted to steal from it), and it’s heavily guarded by soldiers. The clothing is finer quality, often having colors of yellow, red, and browns, and there is HIGHLY more fancy designs. Caira falls in love with all of the elegant attire, while Deek complains about how fancy it is and wishes he had his worn boots back XD No no, those aren’t boring at all!!! Seriously, I LOVE QUESTIONS and will happily answer them!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 I don’t mind at all!!! Hmm, Talents are the main currency, though craftsmen will often accept fine fabrics as payment, and tradesmen will be more than happy to lend you items for jewels and crystals (which are rare in that land). But yes, mostly Talents:) Yes, the food is different! Since Cava is more fancy and elegant, they often serve the highest-quality food and palatable desserts (much to Alana’s delight XD). I think the food is slightly sweeter than other places, actually—especially with the bakery, since they serve loaves of sweet honey bread—and it has many cafes along the street.
Ah, yes, Newton did find himself in trouble during his last stay. He rode into town, his cowboy hat helping to cover his face, and his ragged cloak hiding his wounded arm/Shadow Phoenix uniform underneath, and he soon found the general store. He used the last bit of Talents he had left to buy weapons and ended up stealing an armful of food so that he wouldn’t starve to death on the road. He was caught, chased by soldiers, and in some form or fashion managed to escape being stabbed, though he lost half of the provisions he had stolen in the process. I’m also thinking Newton might have met a fellow swindler named Uroh while he was staying at the inn, to which Uroh taught him how to steal and become a master at thieving and pickpocketing.
Newton and Caira end up meeting Uroh again (Uroh mistakenly assumes Caira is Newton’s girlfriend, to which Caira strongly objects), and Newton has to bribe him to not tell the authorities of he and Caira. So yes, many things happen during their stay at Cava—including the group meeting a mysterious girl named Ivee who has been blackmailed to kill Caira if she had the chance (this is the same girl that an undercover Deek goes on a “date” with to get information, which actually turns into a huge battle in the middle of the city). Yup, she does!! AWW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! 😀 😀 😀 Yes, Newton is still inside his scavenging habits all right, and he isn’t having a fond time being back in Cava, where he could be hanged if he were found. Aww, THANK YOU!!! I’m so glad you love their dynamics and the hug between them:)
Yup, Caira is out and about that night when she hears commotion from behind the bakery, and she thinks it must only be a raccoon or some other nighttime critter. She finds Newton crouching down and successfully stealing an armful of bread from the trashcans, and both of them meet eyes for a moment. This is when Caira realizes that Newton has been slowly starving this whole time, and he defends himself by saying “This bread was going to be thrown out anyway. Someone might as well take it.” He quickly devours the food, clearly showing signs of starvation because #1, he’s homeless, and #2 he doesn’t have any money left to buy food. For the first time, Caira suddenly begins having sympathy on him. She ends up walking into the bread shop, purchasing a huge number of bread loaves, and then giving them to Newton, who’s still hiding behind the bakery. Newton and Caira finally begin to understand each other more, and they begin to engage in a heart-to-heart conversation. Newton smiles for the very first time, and Caira hugs him, startling him because he’s never been hugged before and he doesn’t really know how to hug. One of my favorite parts is when Caira refers to them as ‘friends’, and Newton says, “Friends…? Is that what we are?” Caira thinks a moment, and then answers softly, “If you want to be.” It’s going to be a very cute scene to write, and maybe I could post an excerpt of it once it’s written:) I’m SO SORRY about my rambling, sometimes I can get carried away XD
*gasps* OH MY GOODNESS, thank you one thousand times over for all of those helpful tips!! Yes, my characters all have VERY different personalities, which can add to the struggles of small talk, but I never thought about having unique things about their voices!! And when you said that about noticing certain things… that’s another thing I hadn’t considered!! 🙂 And oooh, the “what if” sounds incredibly interesting!! I may try it on my cast and see what comes up!! Eeeeeek, THANK YOU so very much!! That was seriously SO helpful and will totally, 1,000% without a doubt help me to outline the scene better!! Thank you!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes, I most certainly would in a heartbeat!! You’re welcome to read any of those key scenes, if you’d like!! 😉 I’d love to write it during the course of summer, and having you critique it for me would be amazing!! 😀 😀 😀 I think I’m going to write the confession from Newton’s POV, probably:) You’re so welcome!! I’d love to share any of it with you!! 😀
*gasps* YES, YES, YES, you totally should animate some of the TSW!! (Also, goodness that scene sounds so interesting!!:) Oooh, I would just love to see any part of TSW animated—that would be, like, a dream come true!! 😀 I beg you to share some of it with me after you’ve done it (though I’ll have to warn you that I’ll most definitely fangirl XD) Awwww, YOU HAVE??? *tears up* That would be ABSOLUTELY incredible, and I feel so honored that you would even consider animating some of Fortitude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *infinite !’s* Oh, totally take your time with it—I’m just actually over the moon that you would think of my story!! 😀 😀 😀 Oooh, KP wouldn’t let you post it? Yup, this site isn’t the most dependable when it comes to links:( If that doesn’t work, perhaps you could try it on Google Hangouts? Or maybe you could talk to Kathleen about why the links have been acting wonky? *sighs* I’D LOVE TO SEE IT!!! 😀 😀 😀
Oh yes, books are very huggable and lovable (sometimes). Oooh, nine books? Wow, that’s amazing!! I’m in the middle of… *counts on fingers* five, I think? Have you ever read The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler? It’s a popular nonfiction book about structuring your story and going in-depth about characters:) Haha, that’s so relatable XD I’m such a slow reader, honestly.
Oh my goodness, YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!! I simply cannot wait to read it!!! You can always count on me to be a #1 devoted fan of TSW 😉 Yes, I’ll totally read it in a heartbeat, without a doubt!!:) Aww, that would’ve been awfully cute to include, but *sighs* while it is heartbreaking that Morio dies, you’ve done an extremely great job handling it, and it’s so touching:) Ooh, Klasha might turn evil??? *gasps* Interesting!! Awww, poor Filip!! I would give him another hug, but I think he’s hiding from me because I don’t see him XD And that made me grin to envision Mejia’s expression as she cut him down, probably trying not to smile out of amusement and wanting to shake her head at the same time. And oh my goodness, I can just see Filip being appalled and trying to make excuses for how he ended up in that situation, all while frustrated that Mejia had to see him like that XD Aww, that’s so sweet how he knew about the penannular!!:)
Haha, I had a hunch that Mejia wouldn’t be very thrilled about the romance, and *puts hand to heart* when you said she would remove all character deaths, it’s just… *sniffles* I don’t know what to say to describe it!! And poor Filip, wanting to undo his father’s death… That must’ve been absolutely tragic for him:( How old was he? Awww, all of those answers were so heartwarming:)
Hmm, that’s a great question XD Caira would remove her amnesia so that she could remember her parents, change her past so that she actually had a chance to say goodbye to her family before being frozen, and alleviate all of the heartache that she and her companions went through. Deek would also remove his amnesia, probably remove his scar, and also completely erase the time that he thought Caira was dead. Newton would be very hesitant if I gave him the pen. On one hand, his childhood was disheartening and very rough, but he learns to #1 become a kinder person and #2 become a better, more family-oriented father because of it. He wouldn’t even scratch out his military experience because of how much it’s affected him. He would make his confession to Caira much more romantic, and he would also remove his photographic memory. Alana would erase her grandmother’s death, that time when she became fatally ill, and probably just let the world be in harmony once and for all. I’m not entirely certain about Evie because I’m highly considering there might be a plot twist involved (as in, Evie may have been evil at one point), so I’ll just leave Evie’s for now…
Aww, THANK YOU!!! And yes, unfortunately that’s right. Primrose often used Caira and Deek’s love as a weakness since she knew how strongly they cared about each other, and she knew Deek would angrily charge into the palace if he thought his sister had died. Aw, thank you!! It’s a moment where Caira reflects on her journey, thinks of her friends (who, at this point, have become her new family), and finally realizes that her heart is stronger than her title. Thank you so very much!!! Seriously, it makes me really ecstatic to know that:) I often worry that I’m using cliches in my book, like with Caira being the Chosen One, and I wonder if it’s a good storyline even with such a huge cliche. So that makes me feel a lot better:)
*sighs of relief* Phew, thank you!! Aww, thank you!!!! Newton’s soft side is so heartwarming and cute… (especially after he marries Caira and becomes a father:) Aw, thank you!! And *gasps* DOUBLE thank you for saying all of that!! I would be absolutely honored if you would read any of those scenes!! 😀 😀 😀 Awwh, thank you:) And yup, that was my thought while writing that scene!! 😉 Caira never in a thousand years would have thought she’d even be friends with Newton, much less his future wife. Oh, I totally will give you my thoughts on it!!:)
Haha, that makes me grin to think of Shetlands being mischievous:D Oh yes, my cat is a huge troublemaker (and he’s an indoor cat, so that’s even worse XD) His name is Jasper, actually! We found him as a stray sitting on our porch last winter, and after I thoroughly begged my parents to let him stay, we ended up adopting him:) Yup, they’re good writing partners, and I may include a cat in some of my works because of them. Oooh, that’s so interesting about how each breed has its own disposition!!! Wait, seriously? I’ve never heard that rule, it’s so interesting!! 😀 Oooh, Hackney ponies sound very mischievous XD
Awwww, OF COURSE I would!!! I don’t know very much about horse mannerisms, so I would totally need your help writing it accurately!!! THANK YOU FOR BEING SO EXCITED TO READ IT!!! You’ll be the very first person to read it once I write it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I don’t know very much about horses, and Newton is going to be explaining things about how to ride, so I’ll DEFINITELY need your help 😉
And yes, she did!! The group ends up wandering into an ‘enchanted’ forest and involving themselves in a huge battle (I’m thinking possibly a pack of wolves). One of them lunges directly for Newton while he’s distracted fighting another one, but Caira skillfully uses her powers to ward it off before damage can be done. Afterward, the two of them just stare at each other in disbelief since the whole thing only happened in about a second. Later, Newton hesitantly mutters a “thank you” to Caira for what she did, and Caira says she’s only returning the favor for when he saved her during the underground avalanche. Aww, THANK YOU so very much!!! It’s such a relief to know their relationship is lovable!!! 🙂 Newton would be stunned and probably wouldn’t believe me if I told him about he and Caira’s future, since he thinks it’s too good to be true, but he certainly wouldn’t mind 😉 Aww, I’m glad to hear that!!!
Mejia, Mejia, Mejia… How could you consider banning Filip?!?!?! XD You’re so adora—Oh wait, I think she’s coming this way. *whispers* YES, THEY ARE THE CUTEST EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Goodness, I hope she didn’t hear that… XD Yes, definitely do!! Filip is totally brave and bold 😉 Oooh, that’s so neat, and whatever you choose will be amazing!! 😀 😀 😀 Haha, Alana spills almost every secret, not deliberately but simply because she can’t keep her mouth closed XD Awww, THANK YOU! 🙂
Yes, you totally, 1,000% did!! By the way, I recently finished another illustration for TSW, so hopefully I can FINALLY have them posted very soon!! Progress is coming along great with them!! 😀 😀 😀 And yup, I did!! I also drew Arya from the first chapter, too:D Aww, thank you!! I may post them and see your thoughts on them!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
*sniffs as well* It is heartbreaking to write about Newton’s past… Honestly, Caira is the first person that ever truly loves him. He’d never been told that he was loved, never been hugged, and never knew what it felt like to care about another person until he met her. Aww, thank you so much for saying that it was heartfelt!!!! I’m so glad you liked it!!! 😀 😀 😀 It’s coming along nicely, actually:) I’m not going to include the majority of it until Book Two, when Newton begins having feelings for Caira and decides to change his life around for the better. Newton has become curious of the church and often listens to the sermon outside, though he’s never had the bravery to step foot in there because he believes he’s done too many wretched things to be saved. Finally, he does. Newton staggers into the church, his face and clothes filthy, his heart yearning for help, and nothing to his name except a past he isn’t proud of and a reputation for thievery. He thinks the church is empty until he sees the pastor, and Newton assumes the pastor is going to scold him for being in his church since he’s dirty and homeless. But the pastor shows compassion on him, sits with him on the benches, and begins having a heart-to-heart with him. It’s very heartwarming to write:)
Aw, thank you so much, and yes, that’s SUCH a powerful thing!!! 😀 😀 😀 Thank you!!!:) Awwww, yay, I’m so glad!!! Yup, that’s still an idea that’s floating in the back of my head, honestly—I wouldn’t want it to take away from Newton and Deek’s relationship because that’s why they bond in the first place. But who knows?:D Oooh, that’s a fantastic idea!! I love how that would create conflict, too!! Aww, thank you!! 😀 😀 😀
*sniffles* I’m not the most merciful to Deek, honestly, and I don’t know why he even lets me keep writing the story XD But that significantly strengthens he and Caira’s relationship, so it isn’t all terrible, but actually bonds them more than ever:) Oh yes, I think Deek’s hidden from me many times XD
Thank you!! I’m still trying to re-work the beginning chapters so that the battles don’t seem too easily won, but honestly, the villains had no idea who the Prodigy would be/if they even existed, so they were greatly caught off guard. But yes, they eventually learn more of Caira’s secrets and how to turn her strengths into weaknesses. Primrose also has illusion powers (which she stole, of course), which is a major factor in how she manipulates Caira, often telling Caira that Caira’s the true villain. There are some hopeless/heartbreaking moments where it seems the villains have won, but Caira’s stubbornness always pushes her to keep fighting for what she believes in. THANK YOU so much!! I thought that would be a huge moment for not only her companions, but for the whole kingdom, who previously thought she had died. Thank you! 🙂
*gasps also* And double thank you!!! I may consider it, who knows? Aw, that means so much to me!!! 😀 😀 😀 Daydreaming about characters is such a crucial part of the writing process, isn’t it?:) Ooh, Character Hikes sound AMAZING!!! Wait, that’s how you plotted the confession scene? WOW! Thank you!! Oh goodness, that’s a hard question and slightly terrifies me to think about XD
Caira would be way too terrified and probably want to stay out of it, but Deek would call her a “scaredy-cat” and so she would begrudgingly sit in. Honestly, I think Alana and Deek would be the only ones willing to play XD Alana would say ridiculous dares like, “Do a handstand for fifteen minutes” or “Sing everything you say for the next hour”, or maybe something with desserts XD Deek would use the opportunity to tease Caira by questioning if she had a crush on anyone, to which she would start blushing and hesitantly murmur a “Yes”, therefore making Newton curious. To have revenge, Caira would then question if Deek was in love with someone, to which he would only shrug and say himself XD Newton would be uncomfortable with any truths or dares, honestly, and when Alana questioned what his favorite memory was, he would say meeting Ruko. Evie would amusedly dare Alana to wear a dress for an entire day and have a makeover, to which Alana would break the rules and refuse XD Caira would have mercy on her friends and proceed to, like Morio, ask everyone if they planned on getting married someday. Deek would oddly hesitate and mutter, “I don’t know.” Alana would smile and nod as an absolute yes, and Evie would give a flat-out “No.” Newton would start blushing and say, “I hope…”
Caira would definitely have the most mercy, Deek and Evie would find enjoyment in teasing the others, Alana would say ridiculous dares to make the others laugh, and Newton would either walk away or ask questions to Ruko instead XD Haha, I’m glad Lila likes the taste of marshmallows!! She can always hang out with Alana if she wants—Alana has a whole stash of them XD Oh my goodness, that’s actually SO neat that Filip tells a ghost story!! And how the others interrupt him all the time, guessing what he’s going to say and probably frustrating him that he’s so predictable XD *sighs* Filip, I would give you a hug, but I don’t know where you are XD
Oh, good!! I was hoping they weren’t!! *wipes perspiration from forehead* Aww, thank you!!! *Alana gasps in the background and tries to take over my keyboard* Yup, I think she’d LOVE to compete with Mejia in the sport XD Haha, I could see where Anton wouldn’t be one for sports, either XD Hmm, that’s still up for debate on whether sword fighting should be a sport, but either way, THANK YOU! Since Newton doesn’t really have “magic” to battle with, he mostly uses dual swords to fight with in each hand. Oh, Deek would LOVE football if he lived in our world, though I don’t think he’d be allowed to play because he’d want to somehow include fire… yup, definitely lots of action with Deek XD Ooooh, he TOTALLY should because that sounds AMAZING!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I’ll have to let him know on my next trip to Aldova 😉
Aww, thank you!! Yup, Caira and Deek’s never-ending argument about who’s older is definitely cute, but also a huge rivalry. Caira loves calling him her ‘little brother’ even though he’s only eleven minutes younger XD Awww, you remember that moment? THANK YOU, yes!!!:) Oooh, that is SO helpful, thank you!!! What you said about keeping Caira as the main spotlight made total sense, and how I should pattern the chapters. Caira’s definitely going to have the majority of ‘screen time’ and take over most of the book, though I did want to slip inside the minds of her companions as well:D Yes, that was totally helpful!! Thank you!! 😀 😀 😀
Aww, I’m so glad you like her already!! She’s still un-outlined and very un-developed, but I thought it would be interesting to change my heroine in my next WIP. And I thought it would be interesting to have the second MC be her cousin (though he’s more like a brother, honestly), because I just love family-oriented stories:) Awww, of course!!! I loved every single one and I’m totally cheering you on with them!!! 😀 😀 😀 *throws confetti* *cheers* Oh, definitely!!! Pegasi are just so CUTE and AMAZING and I love how you’re including them!!! Awww, thank you so much!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 Oh good, because I think this one will be awfully long as well XD
OH MY GOODNESS, I LOVE THAT!!! That’s EXACTLY how I imagined them, too!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Did you find that picture somewhere or illustrate it? Either way, thank you for posting it and showing me!!! They look so magical and gorgeous!!! (Now I want one so badly!!!) 🙂
Hey!! I know you mentioned wanting to see that artwork of Evie a while ago, so I thought I’d post it here and let you see it:) I also illustrated Arya as well as Newton and Caira’s daughter, Isla, so I hope you don’t mind if I share those as well!! Anyways, here’s Evie’s:
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