Desmond and Debra

Hello my faithful followers.  I heartily appreciate the fact that you stick with me through thick and thin, when I'm lazy and when I force feed every silly piece of my writing to you.  I have been quite distracted by my recently borrowed Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  Which I might add is now among my top favorite books, along with The Lightning Thief, Pride and Prejudice, The Tutor's Daughter, and much more.  Many thanks to my friends Johanna and Zack for introducing me to the world of Sherlock, but also to my friend Brian and Pinterest in general for arousing my interest in BBC's Sherlock, without which I would never have given Sherlock a second glance.
 ANYWAY.  Getting a little off track here.  Tomorrow is Talk Like Jane Austen Day, and I would strongly recommend Austen's two finest works, Pride and Prejudice and Emma, in preparation.  I should throw a Victorian-style ball that day.
MOVING ON.  This is not Current Events. :P
As per my usual routine, I have written a bit based on the following writing prompt:
 Write a story that ends with the following sentence: Debra brushed the sand from her blouse, took a last, wistful look at the horse, and stepped into the hot-air balloon.
Sounds interesting and random enough, don't you think?

"It is the silliest thing to ask," Princess Debra said quietly, sidling up to me, "but please do not refuse me.  Will you swear to not refuse me?"  I gulped.  I had never been so close to the Princess before.  "I...I swear, my lady," I managed, curtseying.  What else could I do?  She smiled benevolently at me.  "There's a good girl.  Now, you must swear to not breathe a word of this to anyone." My eyes widened.  The Princess was known for a being a bit reckless, but I never imagined this.  "Good girl.  Now go and fetch him!" I curtseyed again and stumbled away.  At the door of the stables the horse master met me.  "Ho, there, where are you off to in such a bumbling hurry?" he exclaimed, and I nearly fainted.  "Oh - um - the- the Princess - she asked me to - um - do something for her." He stepped aside and let me pass, probably thinking my rush was childish delight in running an errand for a princess.  
I stood nervously at the door of the stall which contained the biggest horse I had ever laid eyes on. 
Desmond was magnificent, sand-colored, and terrifying.  
His very head might have been half the size of me.  He was as tall as two horse masters.  His gigantic hooves struck the ground and the sound vibrated through the stone stall and made me nearly jump.  His intelligent eyes rolled down to look at me.  I tried not to whimper.
I had to pull myself together.  The huge stallion could smell my fear and was enjoying it.  He tossed his great head, his luxurious mane rippling through the air.  My jaw dropped, but I quickly closed it.  The beautiful beast would not intimidate me.  I had lived with horses for years.  I knew how to work with them.  The only problem was, all of the horses I'd worked with were at least two sizes smaller than Desmond.
Gathering my courage, I produced his stall's heavy key from the ring on my belt and slowly turned it in the lock.  "Hey, Des," I said in a scratchy voice.  No, that wouldn't do!  I repeated the greeting in a stronger voice.  He stared down at me condescendingly.  I was sure if he could speak, he wouldn't deem me worthy to speak to.
Bridling and saddling him was no easy task.  Though he wasn't violent towards me (thank heavens!), he kept turning his head away from me.  I continually wondered if he required a person of more dignity to attach his accessories.
Finally, after a short struggle, I managed to slip on his bridle and saddle.  The only problem remaining was to get past the horse master.  I wondered why I had not thought of that before.  How could this great hulking beast grasp the concept of "sneaking"?!  My heart sank as I wondered if this was all a ploy to get me in trouble.  The Princess was right; letting her ride the High King's horse was a silly request.  Perhaps she never meant to ride him at all.  I seemed to recall her getting a cook's assistant arrested for supposedly trying to make off with the King's choice chickens when in fact the Princess herself had hidden them.  When her deceit was revealed, she argued that it was only a joke and had meant to return the chickens after a little while.  No one could arrest a princess, so the matter was dropped and the kitchen girl released.
Suddenly the horse master walked past.  I bit back a shriek and ducked.  He glanced in Desmond's direction, but didn't stop.  I waited until his footsteps receded before I straightened.  Then a low whistle sounded very near.  I peeked out of the stall and saw the princess.  She was beckoning.  I nodded and turned away so she wouldn't see my blanched face.  Maybe she really did want to try and ride Desmond.  This was ridiculous, but I could get in worse trouble for disobeying her than I could for stealing the King's crown.
Taking the reins, reopened the door and tugged.  Desmond slowly followed me, keeping his head up as if he could not bear to look at the scraggly peasant who was leading him.  I hoped to goodness that no one was around.  The huge horse and I crossed the stable yard and made it to safety behind a grove of trees, where Princess Debra had gone to wait.  "Ah, she's a beauty," she whispered in admiration.  "Your Majesty, permission to speak." "Of course." "Your Majesty, Desmond is a stallion, Your Majesty.  He's a boy."  Debra looked confused.  "Oh," she said, and giggled.  I did not see anything about the situation that could be described as humorous.  
Debra mounted the stallion with the ease of a well-trained rider.  My jaw nearly dropped again at how quickly she was able to hoist herself up onto the great beast.  She winked at me.  "You may wait here until I come back.  Then I expect you to return her safely to her stall.  And remember, your lips and mine are sealed."  I nodded vigorously.  "Your Majesty, permission to speak?" "Yes?" "Desmond is a boy, Your Majesty." She giggled again.  "So he is!" And with that, she urged Desmond into a run and was off.  My eyes nearly dropped out of my face.  Despite his size, Desmond was lithe and graceful as an elf of the great wood.  His powerful muscles rippled as he streaked across the sand, blending in with it and kicking up dust.  It would have been difficult to see him and his rider in the pale evening light if not for the princess' bright pink blouse.
After a few minutes of watching them gallop further into the flat, deserted plain, I sat against one of the trees and rested.  I began to have hope that no one would catch us.  Maybe Desmond and the princess would return safely, we would all go to our respective beds, and the night could be forgotten.  
I started to doze off at some point, but I was reawakened by shouts and screams.  Starting up, I discerned in the distance a giant cloud of dust.  Every once in a while a flash of pink showed through.  I gasped.  Desmond must have been spooked.  As silly as the notion was that such a gigantic beast could be scared, I knew it was possible.  After all, I'd seen a big dog get spooked by a cat.  And in a circus performance I'd seen those great Eastern elephants get their trunks in a twist over a mouse. 
Debra screamed again.  I wasn't sure what to do.  Then I spotted an air balloon in the sky.  The glint of metal on one of its occupants told me the King was taking his evening ride.  He had probably spotted the helpless Princess Debra by now, though he may not have recognized that it was indeed his daughter, getting tossed around helplessly by the reckless stallion.  
The sudden descent of the balloon confirmed that he had seen the scuffle and was coming to the rescue.  Breathing a sigh of relief, I raced to the stables to get the horsemaster for additional help.  I had promised not to breathe a word to anyone about Debra's riding Desmond, but I had not promised to refrain from saving her life. 
Paul, the horse master, was just exiting the stables when I ran into him.  "Oh, sir!" I cried.  He looked down at me with a puzzled smile.  "Oh, sir, Princess Debra is having trouble with her horse out there - look!" I pointed out across the desert to the cloud of dust.  Paul strained his eyes for a moment, then turned on his heel and ran to his horse's stall.  He mounted it and was off in seconds to help his princess.  I was already more at ease, for if anyone could handle a rogue horse - even one so huge as Desmond - it was Paul.  Still, I wished to see the outcome myself, so I started towards the spectacle on foot.  It was probably too much to hope for, but perhaps the princess would keep her promise to not betray my hand in the matter.
By the time I arrived at the scene, Paul had settled Desmond down and was holding up the cause of it all - a long, hideous snake.  It was dead, probably trampled to death under the horse's massive hooves.  Princess Debra was cuddled up in her father's arms, sobbing.  I must admit that I was disgusted with her.  
 Paul jumped off his horse and walked towards me solemnly.  My heart dropped down to my feet.  He must know what I did.  Now I was in the worst trouble I had ever been in, and I had always led a relatively clean life.  
"Jayne," he said quietly.  I looked up, fear in my eyes.  But to my surprise, he grinned.  "You deserve thanks for running to get me.  I fear if you had wasted another second, our dear Princess would have been trampled under the formidable hooves of this great beast."  Desmond snorted and I could have sworn that he winked at me.  My jaw dropped.  "Th-th-thank you, Sir," I stuttered, bowing and curtseying and shaking.  He clapped me on the shoulder and walked over to the king and his daughter.  "Your Majesty, that was a foolhardy thing to do, it was," he said sternly.  "You could have been killed."  The King nodded at his daughter.  "Yes, child, never do that again.  Now come with me back to the castle and rest your poor frazzled nerves."  Debra brushed the sand from her blouse, took a last, wistful look at the horse, and stepped into the hot-air balloon.

Whew.  That was a long post.  I hope you enjoyed it.  
-Ashley

Character Quirks Part 2

So if you'll remember, in my last post I rambled about character quirks and what they were and ways to see them in real life.  Now I feel I should talk about ways to make quirks influential in your plot.

Quirks aren't always this important; they usually just add a degree of humor or uniqueness to your characters; but sometimes they also play a big enough part in the plot to help it move the way it should.  Perhaps their part is to cause the hero/heroine to make a decision (the inciting incident) that propels them into the rising action.  [If you want to know more about these plot points (inciting incident and rising action) go here.]  Maybe it's as simple as this little story about our dear friend Angelica Accola.

Angel absolutely adores chocolate chip cookies.  They are her favorite edible thing in the whole world.  But she's very particular about one thing.  The semisweet chocolate chips absolutely HAVE to be Ghirardelli, or she won't eat them - plain and simple.  Everyone who knows Angel has been given the spiel about her chocolate chips, to save them the embarrassment of giving her cookies she wouldn't eat.  
Well, one fateful day, Angel went to a New Year's Eve party at her friend Gabriellia's house.  She trusted that Gabriellia would have remembered her preference for Ghirardelli chocolate, but she still examines all the cookies carefully.  Across the table, a young man is doing the same.  They don't notice each other at first but study the cookies.  Angel uses her sixth sense that informs her of the kind of chocolate in the food.  Don't ask me how she does it.  O_o  Anyway, Gabriellia's little sister Alessandra toddled up and asked Angel what she was doing.  The young man across the table thought she was talking to him, and the two picky cookie-eaters answered simultaneously.  "Making sure they used Ghirardelli chips in the cookies," was their answer.  Startled, they looked at each other for the first time.

I will leave your own imaginations to divine what happened immediately afterwards, but Angel is married to that young man right now.  His name is Eric Accola.  

So if Angel was not so picky about her chocolate chips she may never have met the man she loves.  So it may be with your protagonist, a supporting character, etc.  But quirks don't always lead to happy endings.  Take Eric's great great grandfather Alan for example.  As a young man enlisted in the army, he had been impetuous and spirited.  A big quirk of his was that he was petrified of needles and other sharp things.  
When his camp was fired at and the soldiers were forced to flee the area, they found that a fence of barbed wire set up for their enemies' demise was now their own.  They crawled under it and hacked it down, but Alan was scared stiff by the pointy things and fainted.  This caused him to be captured.

So that was a sad story.  But sometimes quirks can be like that.  They're not always good for the character.  Maybe the story is about overcoming a quirk that grew into a phobia or an obsession.  It is guaranteed, though, that quirks will make your story more original, more interesting.

So how can you turn your quirks into important elements of the story?  Here are some questions you can answer.

What is the quirk?

How does it affect those around the character?  Do they love it, hate it, or are they indifferent to it?

How does it affect the character? Does he/she love it, hate it, or is she/he indifferent to it?

Can your character be rid of the quirk?

If so, how?

Take these questions, review your plot, and see if the quirk can become more than a quirk.

Hope this helped someone!

-Ashley

Character Quirks

     So I decided to share my thoughts on character quirks with the world after one of my besties was having trouble thinking them up.  Character quirks are sometimes very difficult because we rarely notice them or think about them.  So by all means pull up a chair and listen to me ramble.

For a long time I have made a point of researching cool people and finding out stuff about them.  I have an odd fascination with thinking deeply into their character.  Now, don't think I just stalk people.  I'm talking about actors, musicians, etc, as well as family members.  Even movie characters never escape my scrutiny.  And just recently I realized how I could put my extensive knowledge of formerly useless things to work.  Through writing.

Allow me to create a character from scratch.  Her name is Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola, but we shall call her Angel for short.  Angel is a very beautiful middle-aged woman, the picture of health.  Blonde hair, green/blue eyes, pink cheeks, manicured nails, healthy weight.  She's a little bit taller than most women, standing at exactly 5' 11".  None of those are character quirks, though.  What's "quirky" about her is that she frequently stands on one leg and uses the other to rub the first leg's calf like a cricket.  She purses her lips when someone's talking to her.  Her fingers often absent-mindedly reach up to twirl a strand of hair.  You can tell she's bored if she starts looking up or down, but normally she keeps her eyes fixed on whoever is speaking to her.  She says "I say!" a lot. Those are character quirks.

Look around you, at your family and friends.  Do they do any of these things?  What about constantly running their hands through their hair?  Do they always wear a hat?  Do they have a very unusual style of walking or running?  What about the way they wear their hair?  Is it odd?  Is there a phrase they say often, or always in a certain situation?  Do they like to collect certain items?

Give Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola a round of applause.  You did great, girl.

Now.  After thinking about your family and friends and the various quirks they may have, move on to book or movie characters.  Jack Sparrow from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean is fairly easy.  Jack always acts drunk and constantly wiggles his fingers.  His favorite word is "Savvy".  Barbossa, his former first mate, loves apples.  
Emma Smallwood from The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen always must have "a place for everything and everything in its place."  
Rachel Elizabeth Dare from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus always has paint on her clothes.
Junie's dad from Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones runs his hands through his hair when he's trying to make a difficult decision.
Mrs. Bates from Emma by Jane Austen is extremely talkative and frequently says "So very obliging!"

Just remember to think of little things.  Observe people.  It helps a lot with the development of lifelike characters!

- Ashley and special guest star  
Angelica Dorothea Elizabeth Morgana Candice Accola

  

Character Post ~ Meridath

Meridath is a spirited, 13-year old farmgirl who was once a part of Snow White's train of personal maidservants.  She was dismissed because of her quick tongue and, frankly, her beauty.  Snow White was jealous.
She lives in a rickety two-story farmhouse with her family of 6: Frederick, her sickly father who can barely stir from his chair by the fire; Jayla, her strong, independent mother who holds the family together; Ethan, her trouble-making, rowdy adult brother who is rarely home; Malik, the brainy, quiet brother; and Daniel, the sibling closest to her and also the kindest brother.  Together the family works hard to support each other.  
Meridath meets the fugitives Morgan and LI and takes them in, finding they have a common enemy: Snow White.  Morgan and Meri befriend each other.

Meri and her family are very interesting to me.  I think they represent the homely life, the average family that doesn't turn out to be the celebrated hero but played a huge part in the hero's life.  I love characters like that; brave, strong, loving, but not in the spotlight.  Meri could have a book of her own about how awesome she and her family are.  Maybe I'll make one. ;)
-Ashley

"To Whom It May Concern"

Here is the promised Mad Libs game.  I am using a few words from each of your kind suggestions.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I have laughed my job.  A most jumpy job it is.  A creature such as I, with my long, obese mane and crazily manicured claws, should not have to put up with it.  The children who visit have no real appreciation for beauty.  And the man who brings my food insults my majesty with his yodeling and cowering.  Does he not know that one so green as I would never eat such a scrawny potato bug?  
Furthermore, I'd like to complain about the food.  Oh my cheesepuffs, what is "jerky", ya jerks?!?  The stuff tastes all dried out like a bilge snipe someone forgot to eat and left in the sun (and those things taste squeaky, let me tell you!).
 Oh, and why for Krypto the Super-dog's sake do you call those hideous, brightly-colored shoes-that-are-full-of-holes "crocs"?! I have seen crocodiles and even they are better looking than that.  Humans tackle me.
Needless to scare, I am thickly disappointed.  None of this was in the job description.  So I am leaving, as any spotty lion would do.  Oh, and don't send out animal control like you did when poor Oobette tried to quit.  I'm tango-ing the first giant-flying-cross-shaped-machine back to Gallifrey.
 - sincerely never yours again, Bisquick the Lion

I do hope someone laughed at that.  It's very silly.  Also the first Mad Libs game I've ever written. 

- Ashley

A Mad Libs Game

I know I said a post about Meridath was coming up, and it is.  Later. xD  Today I got a writing prompt saying "Write in the form of a letter starting with 'To whom it may concern.'"  I started writing and when I was done, I thought it may be humorous to turn it into a Mad Lib.  Ever played Mad Libs?  I love them!!!  If you don't know what they are, let me tell you.  It's a short story, a couple paragraphs long, that's missing certain words like some adjectives, verbs, or names.  One person asks for the missing words, calling out something like "Adjective?" And other people respond with a word of their choice like "Pink!"  

Just in case, here's a list of definitions of some of the words I'll be asking for: 

Noun = person (eg your mom), place (eg Washington DC), or thing (eg a chair).

Adjective: a descriptive word (eg pink, silly, resplendent)

L-y word: a word ending in l-y (eg playfully, stupidly)

I-n-g word: a word ending in ING (eg grumbling)

Now.  I'm going to ask for words and after everyone's commented and answered (and agreed on all the answers!!!) I'll post the finished story.  Here's what I need:

Verb

Adjective

Adjective

L-y adjective

I-n-g verb

Adjective

Insect

Exclamation

Animal

Adjective

Famous animal

Verb

L-y adjective

Adjective

Silly name

I-n-g verb

Place

Silly name

 

 

Have at it!  I will be checking frequently until all the words I supplied.  Then I will  post the finished story. :)

 

-Ashley

NaNoWriMo Is Nearly Upon Us!

Alright, so I don't know about you guys, but I am super stoked for NaNoWriMo.  I have been brainstorming, writing, scribbling, notetaking, and otherwise preparing like a maniac.  With the start-up of school, it has gotten a little harder to find the time, but I hope I will persevere, for November is swiftly approaching.  
[I would also like to add that my birthday is coming up, too....]

So, during November I most likely won't post anything.  At all.  And if I do, it is probably something very incredible that I really wanted to tell you guys about.  Which I hope something like that happens - a bizarre dream that gave me a brilliant idea, maybe? *crosses fingers*

Anyway, I have tweaked and polished my story, affectionately nicknamed "The {Good} Stepmother".  ( see "The {Evil} Stepdaughter" and "NaNoWriMo!" )  It was previously titled "The {Evil} Stepdaughter", by the way.  

To do:

• I need a name for Morgan, my MC (main character)'s love interest.  I currently call him LI (for Love Interest, of course).  See my "NaNoWriMo!" post for information on him.
•   I need a better name for Snow White's father, who I have dubbed Lee because it was the first random name that came to mind.
•  A new, neutral character is "The Witch".  She proves herself both an antagonist and a helpful supporting character during Morgan's adventures.  The actual story doesn't reveal her name, and I have yet to think of it.

Developments:

• I think I have decided on dwarf names: Gretten, Nyse, Sove, Minsten, Likkelig, Lege, and Blyg.  Trust me, I have a very plausible explanation for these ridiculous names, but a magician never reveals her secret - nor does an author.
• New character: Prince Beau.  I positively hate that name but it fits this spoiled Prince Charming very well.
• New character: Meridath.  A gorgeous farm girl, she was once a maidservant of Snow White's but was dismissed because she was too spirited and Snow was just a little jealous of her beauty.  She has three big brothers and her two parents living with her: Frederick, the ill old father who rarely stirs from his chair; Jayla, the strong, firm mother who holds the family together; Ethan, the oldest son and also a disgrace to the family name with his rowdiness and drinking; Malik, the quiet, thoughtful, and brainy son; and Daniel, the warm-hearted, gallant youngest brother who is the closest to Meri.
• Revenge on a stepmother isn't the only thing Snow White wants.  A powerful, mysterious jewel called "Malificent's Stone" plays a key part in this tale.

Certainly there is more, but why would you even read my book if you knew all about it?  I'm very excited to write this.  Very excited indeed.  Give me a shout if you think of possible names for my nameless characters; help is always welcome.  If your name wins, you get a free tshirt!  No, not really.  Sorry to dash your hopes.

A full post about Meridath is coming up!

 God natt og gode drømmer,
-Ashley