2YN - Assignment 14

Assignment 14

Assignment

Write a paragraph or two about how you are going to organize your research. Afterwards list at least five things you think you need to study. You can use this as a handy reference to help remember some of the material you need.

Example 1:

I will do most of my research in books, and write notecards I'll later transfer to the computer, where I will organize them for easy reference.

1. Corporate Structure
2. Expensive Clothing
3. Expensive Cars
4. International Law as it pertains to companies who create problems outside their own land.
5. Various monetary systems

Example 2:
Same as above for organization.
1. What is a viable gene mixture for a surviving group?
2. What are the extremes of planetary physics under which a group of humans could survive?
3. What are the nutritional requirements for humans?
4. Anatomy and bone structure for aliens.
5. Paper creation
Answer: Research...most of what I’m writing I know but there are a few things that I need to learn. I’ll mostly write down handwritten notes and end up putting said notes into my binder (before rewriting them a few dozen times and placing those into other binders).

1. Demons: I need to expand on my knowledge and how various religions see them.
2. Religious cleansings: I use a mix but I need to figure out the various types that can happen so I have a good base.
3. Curses: I have a good base but you can never know enough.
4. Ghost hunting: Just in general, various types of hunting groups, the people who call them, types of ghosts a group can run across. Ect.
5. Ghost Hunting equipment: I know very little so I need a full list of what would be used and what the best equipment is for this.

2YN - Assignment 13

Assignment 13

What type of narrator are you going to use? This is going to be closely tied to how you answered the POV question in Week Six. Is there one person in your story who should be the focus of the storytelling, even if the person is not the protagonist or antagonist?

Also, as the final part of the character creation class, list out all the characters you have created for your story and what parts they will play. As always, remember, this is not a final step. Any of these characters may change during the rest of the pre-work process. Some of them may be dropped and others added. In some cases genders and species may change. This is a list to start with, and a group of people to keep in mind as we move on into world building.

Example 1

The story of Emil and Fayette will likely be told in a close third person POV from Emil's side. This will make him an unobtrusive narrator.

The characters I've chosen so far are:

 -- protagonist

Fayette -- Antagonist

Ian -- Works with Fayette but has developed a dislike for what he sees happening in the company

Fayette's Boss -- Think of him as the devil in human form. He'll be charming, polite, charismatic . . . and won't think twice about having you killed if you interfere with business plans.

Fayette's Secretary -- I see this young woman as the latest in a long line of workers who do not last long for one reason or another and it rarely has to do with how well they work.

Senator -- A woman who is determined to bring the people of the corporation to justice.

Example 2

I may go with first person POV from Jet, though I'm not certain yet.

Jet -- Protagonist

Alien Messiah -- Antagonist

Various Alien Elite -- I have not really differentiated this group yet because I'm trying to figure out how many elite there should be in any given collection. Only one? If so, does this mean the change of Elite indicates a significant alteration in the local society?

Various Alien Servants -- For quite a while the servants are going to seem like a faceless horde to the humans. It will be some time into the book before they begin to see the differences and take note of individuals.

Surviving Crew -- this is also a varying number of people, and I need to do research on a few things before I do more than give a few names in passing, like Ivy, Janel, Sam, Derrin.

In fact, until I get a little more into the world building and outlining, I won't really know what I need for this particular book.

Answer:

Let’s see, I’m doing Third Person, which is about what I always write in. I tend to shift from character to character with each chapter so I don’t know how to really describe that.

Markus: Protagonist (first)

Ilander: Antagonist (first)

Lian: Protagonist (second)

Maria: Is a part of the world and is a central character but she’s more supporting and adding a bit of needed drama and underlying tension to the story.

Alexander: Protagonist (third)

Richard: Another central character and one who holds a bigger place closer to the middle and end of the book I believe. He and his brother (Orlender) will be two pieces that need to be used in the correct way.

Orlender: He’s the same as his twin above.

2YN - Assignment 11

Assignment 11:

Define your character as you see him at the start of the book and how you think he might change during the book. This is not, obviously meant to be an absolute look at these changes since we have not gotten to the plotting yet. However, this is something you need to consider as you work out the storyline, because the main characters have to react to what happens and not just walk through the steps. Do this assignment for as many characters as you can. The more of this material you can build up, the better foundation you'll have as you go into the plotting and outlining section.

Answer: Due to the events in the first book, Markus becomes a bit more cool to those who he aren’t really close to. Really, his lover, he is the only one who is mostly unchanged, but they are closer. But at the end of this book, he opens up a bit more, connecting to his cousins and friends in a deeper way.

He also goes from being uneasy about showing his own stories and researches to actually starting to put it out there. Telling his tale and his family's story in a series of books. He discovers how good it is to be close to his family as he builds his life.

2YN - Assignment 10

Assignment 10:

Back in Week 3 (Set 1) of the class we worked with themes. In this assignment find at least five (and far more if you can) emotional words that relate to your theme. Afterwards write a single sentence encapsulating at least one of those words as it relates to a character from your story.

This is an easy assignment, but it should carry over outside the class. Every time you think of an emotional response for your characters, jot down words and then look up more of them.

Now is a good time to remind you that just because you have done a class doesn't mean you are finished with it. Nothing you write for this is settled until the novel is done and published. Anything can change, and you should always look back over material to see if there's something you want to tweak along the way.

(If you do not have set one, think of works that reflect the story you want to tell. See the examples below)


Answer:

Let’s see if I can’t figure this one out yes? *rolls up sleeves and finds thesaurus for this*

Markus: Anger: Animosity, annoyance, antagonism, displeasure, fury, irritation, outrage, rage, resentment.

-- How dare this little piss ant do this to him, do this to his family? He was going to finish this once and for all, the disgust and hate burbling together until, with a mighty yell, he attacked with all of the anger in him.

2YN - Assignment 9

Assignment 9:

Sometimes it's too easy to make your main characters, antagonist and protagonist, represent black and white aspects of good and evil. Even when we create flaws, we don't always incorporate them fully into the stories. They are only scars we've painted on the character and forget exists. For this assignment, work out your protagonist's weaknesses, flaws, and phobias.

Afterwards, ask the one really hard question: Could the villain of your story offer the hero something which might tempt him to give up the fight? Is it the lives of his friends, whom he fears he might lose? In a romance it might be the offer of a better life for the heroine and her family if he walks away. Would your fantasy heroine be tempted to give up the fight if the enemy promised to leave her village unharmed? To return of a loved one?

You may write this material in any way you want: a list, a scene, a letter from your character. Do it for as many other characters as you want.
Answer:

Notes to self (free form ramble): Flaws. Now, he has a short temper. He keeps pretty good control on it during times outside of work, and especially during his working hours, but he can snap and he tends to be rather on the vicious side when he finally does. He has problems working with certain types of people and can come off as abrasive until that person manages to get used to him. He softens around the person but still he has some sharp edges that come from having to pick up the pieces of his siblings lives, in some cases.

That’s another flaw he has. This need to pick up his families lives no matter how many times they screw up. He doesn’t give them money, not any more, but he does help in any other way that he can. It tends to leave him hurt and feeling raw. But he still does it. Which can be a weakness to, his family. As much as he hates some of them, and barely gets along with the rest, he will do what he can for them.

As for what the villain can give to him in return of leaving the fight behind? I don’t think he has anything in this book. The only villain that goes up against him and his group of people is his ancestor and they’ve already gone head to head a few times. There’s an animosity there that won’t be going away anytime soon.

2YN - Assignment 8

First Glimpse

Write a scene that is a look at one or two of your main characters from the point of view of someone who has never seen this person before and knows nothing about who they are.

The character has just walked into a room (or into a glade, or out of a house, etc.). What would someone who happens to be looking that way notice? This is, in effect, your first full view of the character. You aren't going to know the depths you will later, but give it a try and see if anything strikes you.

Whoever views the characters doesn't know them, so you don't need names.

Always remember that nothing you write for these exercises is the final say. You can change anything later. These are practice runs to get a feel for things. A story can change all the way to the final edit. Don't think this has to be perfect.
Answer: Let’s see what I can come up with, yes?

They were younger than she had guessed by the whiskey tinted voice that had come over her cell during their conversations, but so was his lover and business partner by the looks of him.

Markus was kind of short for a man, standing at 5’11, just barely under 6 foot even. With hair much like an almond that was pulled back into a high ponytail that fell in curls she knew her friends would kill for, he was pretty in an unconventional way. His jaw was strong, but had a softness to it that changed his entire face into an open and friendly visage as hazel colored eyes sparkled in pleasure at meeting her and her husband.

His grip was strong as they shook hands, surprising considering just how slim he was. From afar, he seemed as if he had no muscle but up close, she could see subtle definition in his arms that were bared by short sleeves.

His lover, Lien, was quite different than his smaller partner though. He was broad of shoulders, standing at over 6 feet. With strong features, he was quite handsome, full lips pulled into a slight smile as black eyes dance with amusement. He had toffee colored skin that looked natural instead of painted on or gotten with tanning lotion and a tanning bed. Long, rich brown hair was pulled back into a braid that swung against his lower back and his entire being screamed self-confidence.

She could feel herself relaxing in the company of the two men, smiling brightly and getting smiles just as bright in return.

2YN - Assignment 7

Assignment 7

Aside from the protagonist, consider one or two archetypes you might want to work into your novel. What would they be and what type of work would they do?

Remember, this is only an exercise and these people need not really appear in the finished work. This is to allow yourself to 'think outside the box' because we haven't even defined the box yet. I've done this on purpose because once we start defining the outlines of the world and the story it's less likely you'll consider new ideas from outside what you've already imagined.

So for this week consider the possibility of something odd like an archetype.

Answer: Well, let’s see, we have the protagonist and the antagonist. But there are others running around in the story to. *muses*

Let see, there’s going to be a mentor. He’s not much older than Markus. Where as Markus is about 28 in this story, his mentor is around 30, but he has been at his job much longer than Markus.

He’s a DJ who has a morning talk show filled about ghosts and the paranormal. He also has his own ghost hunting business and has expanded into various other connections with things. He tends to be the one that they call when they come up against something.

He’s also the one to point them in the right direction without actually giving them information if he feels they have time for it. Why? Because why hand them information when they can learn to discover it on their own.

2YN - Assignment 6

Assignment 6

Imagine a scene with your main character and write a couple paragraphs, first in first person POV and then in third person POV. You can add an Omniscient POV if you want to.

This isn't going to be anything you must stick with later. It is a good way just to get a feel of story possibilities, though.

Let’s see what I can come up with. 

Just to note: I really, really hate first person. *shudders*

First Person:

My head hurt, throbbing in time with the yelling that was going on between my nephew and his ex-girlfriend in the next room. I grunted softly and shook my head, catching Lien’s eye, reading the sympathy there, and sent a smile to him in return. Looking around the, room, I sighed when I noticed that the rest of the group either had headphones on their heads or were studiously ignoring the fighting going on.

I hated it when personal shit got in the way of a job, but as it was, it was looking as if the job was personal. I couldn’t help but shudder when I remember the snarling face of my ancestor that I had the misfortune of seeing. I was lucky that I hadn’t fallen down the stairs!

Third Person:

Markus rubbed slowly at his head and allowed his eyes to close as it throbbed, the sound of his nephew’s and his nephew’s ex-girlfriend argument coming through the walls easily. He grunted and smiled at his lover, getting a sympathetic smile from the larger man before sweeping his eyes over the rest of his group. They had hidden themselves in books or headphones, trying hard to ignore the fighting going on.

He groaned and rubbed at his face, shuddering when he dragged his thoughts away from the fight but landed on the face that he had seen just a while ago. Lien hadn’t seen it even though he was only a short distance down the stairwell and they both agreed that he was lucky that he hadn’t pitched backwards down the stairs.

2YN - Assignment 5

Assignment 5:

Setting is barely the tip of world building, but it's the first step in creating a believable world and one in which your character can interact. It's the wide brush you use to give some structure to your physical world so you have direction when you work out the details. Creating a setting with character requires you to be as aware of the setting as you are of the characters walking through it. It means you're going to do more than just throw a few plants in the corners of a forest, or line up box buildings on a street.

Setting includes both people and what they have created, the weather and how it affects work, and relationships with other places outside the immediate location. Each of these elements (as well as the others listed below) is a ghost of what complete world building will create, but it can help to start you along the right direction. It is also important to know these basics before you start character creation, so your people and their world interconnect -- or have specific spots where they come into conflict.

Creating a setting can be done for the whole novel at once, or it can be done a step at a time for each scene. Much of it depends on the book in question.

You can adapt the following ideas I suggest for cities and villages to other locations. Ships in a space fleet might have the same sort of relationships as people in a small town. Whole worlds or small portions of a city can be divided up into sections and the same questions applied to each. Tribes or clans may have distinctive areas of their settlements, and subtle changes can help readers anticipate changes in customs or behavior without having to explain it all every time a character moves to a new area.

1. Culture as Personality

The culture of the setting will have an effect on what the characters see and how the people interact. A culture in which women are equal to men is going to be far different from one in which women live secluded lives. A culture in which bravery is praised above education will be different again.

A culture in which the people escaped from a war between star empires might have a strong aversion to building above ground, where the enemy might spot their settlement.

Question 1: What basic overall influence has gone into creating your setting? How is this influence reflected in the setting, in both physical appearance and general atmosphere?

Answer: The basic overall influence is mostly my religious and spiritually research, and what I deal with in my day to day life. It’s heavily influenced with the way I see the world and how things tie into the way life goes. And how I want to sometimes just strangle idiots in general.

2. Scars

No setting should be without some sign of previous trouble, because there will be no place with a perfect history. Battles, weather-related disasters, and accidents will all leave their marks on your setting (the last might be important to a space ship). You can use those scars to bring certain problems to light, or to help give history to your characters' work without having to resort to info dumps.

Question 2: What are the scars on your setting, and what caused them? How do your people react to them?

Answer: The main setting in book one is the family home and the second book, which is the story I’m working on with this, is set on a piece of land that is connected to the families history. That bit of land was where, at one time, slaves were held, and then later where those freed slaves were allowed to live. Due to the families history of a mix of “slavery is our right” and “slavery is wrong” depending on the person, the land went back and forth on how it was treated and how the slaves were treated.

And later how the paid workers were treated.

Fires, deaths, murders, rapes and various other evil happened, but kindness, friendship and a building of families happened. It left a scar that runs deep, flowing and tangling together, giving the ghosts of the home a way to draw energy.

3. Status

Where does your setting fit into the larger universe? For instance, a capital will have an ambience far different from that of a border town always on guard against incursions by the people on the other side of the river. The people in the two settings will have different views on everything from foreigners to the people in charge. Even fashion will be different, since those in a capital are apt to be influenced by those 'foreign' dignitaries who reside there.

Question 3: Is your setting the location of rich and powerful people, a quiet village with everyone working together, or an impoverished town where everyone is scrambling to survive?

Answer: It’s a pretty good mix. There are a few places that have people working hard to survive, but even the richest are willing to help those who have trouble surviving. It’s not a big town, but it’s not small either. The only reason why it is the way it is, is because of how hard it worked to get there. Laws tend to be fairer, even when having to make sure that they don’t go against federal laws, taxes are proper, and newcomers are watched but still welcomed.

4. Population

Of course the population of an area has a big effect on the setting. Places with higher populations generally have the ability to designate larger groups to work on things which are not necessary to survival. Large cities have pretty buildings and arts because they can afford to support some people working on such professions. They have a surplus of workers.

Having such things also makes them more apt to be attacked by others who want to steal their glory. So a city with fancy buildings and museums must not only have the artists, but also the army to protect them, as well as the workers to feed and clothe them all. Survival is always the first priority.

Question 4: What is the general population of the setting for your story? Consider this not just as a number function, but also a relative function as well. One hundred people on a small ship can be far more trouble to maintain than 1,000 people in a small village.

Answer: The population of the town ranges from around 80K upwards to 400K depending on the time of year. It’s a rather nice getaway town, with part of the town acting as a kind of tourist area. There are rentable homes, both large and small, but there’s also normal everyday things. A few grocery stores, big chain restaurants next to the small home grown ones, and so on, and so on. Pretty normal American town with a gear towards the spiritual side of things.

5. Weaknesses

As with a person, every setting should have a weakness or two. It might be evident in the rundown buildings or in the marching patrols of the night guard who never ask why you are out on the street before they grab you. Weakness might be shown in the fallen walls of a city, or in the overworked engineering crew on a ship.

Weaknesses can appear in a number of areas, which can mirror each other. The crumbling infrastructure of a city might be mirrored in the destitute state of the rulers, who dress in the moth-eaten finery of another time.

Question 5: What are the weaknesses within your setting and how did they come about? Are the people aware of the weaknesses, blind to them or worried about them?

Answer: The weakness has to be the fact that the town itself is right in the middle of a piece of land that big business owners would love to get their hands on, but it is also very fertile. They are also uncomfortably close to a dam that keeps cracking and they are worried that they’ll be flooded out, much like their last town two hundred years before. They know about it, but they make to much money from tourism and farming that they can stop the first from happening and push the government into making sure the second doesn't happen.

For the moment.

6. Relationships

Like those within a family, your setting and others nearby will have relationships affecting the background. Does your city have an adverse relationship with the capital of the country? Does it harbor malcontents and rebels?

Is there a sister city with which it is particularly close, perhaps sharing some mutual history where they fought off an enemy together? Or perhaps one is the colony of another.

Question 6: What are the relationships within and outside the setting which helps to define it?

Answer: Seeing as this world is built around a family and their friends, it’s only really focusing on a small part of the township. In later books, it will expand to more families, or at least those who families can trace their roots back to pre-Civil War. But for this book, it’s mostly the family and a few close family friends that are shown, outside of the couple who brings in the group.

7. Weather

Of course the weather has a big influence on a world; so much so that sometimes it's easy to forget it exists. We brush it off by including in our stories a hot day, or rain -- but there are degrees between these extremes (no pun intended), and weather does not change on a whim.

Weather is influenced by location (among other things), and buildings are influenced by weather.

Question 7: What is the general weather pattern for your setting? What extremes might affect your story?
Answer: There is going to be plenty of sun for most of the story with some storm clouds that finalize in a heavy downpour of rain before once more ending in sun. The power will probably flicker and flutter for a while.

8. Emotions

Think of the emotional impact of a setting as a combination of the outward facades of inanimate objects, the impact of the weather, and the moods of the people who live there. In some ways this could almost be considered a psychic emanation -- the way in which a group of people in a given area seem to fall into the same mindset and moods.

Rage and despair can be evident in a war-torn city. Suspicion and peace might be part of a small town setting and not be at odds with each other. You can set the 'emotional' ambience to heighten the tension in scenes.

Question 8: What is the emotional impact the background has on your setting and scene?

Answer: It’s a mix of rage, hate and that betrayed hurt that can mix into something seething and disgusting. But it’s also a mix of little things that feed into the emotions.

This was hard but gave me some insight into what I'm going to do with this story.

2YN - Assignment 4

Assignment 4: Assignment

Write what you see as the main goal which will define the novel and at least two conflicts standing between the main character and achieving this goal. And remember that these can change later! This is an exercise to get you used to the idea of looking at goals and conflicts. 

This actually made me think of how each MC (“hero” and “villain”) had their own goals and conflicts in this story. It’s turning out to be an even draw with who is the Main Character between Markus and Ilander.

So I suppose, once more, I’m going to be doing it twice.

Markus: He wants to figure out the true history of his family and build the business that he has started with cousins, nephew, lover and friends.

Conflict 1: The rest of his family really doesn’t want the dirty laundry to come out, even though it ties in with their supposed family “curse”. They try to constantly stop him from exploring.

Conflict 2: He seems to keep running into Ilander, be it in his spiritual form or mentions in family journals, he’s everywhere. Just what did this half white, half black son of a slave master have to do with the family curse? It seems that even history wants to make Markus work for the truth.

Conflict 3: His business is built with family. Granted family that doesn’t care what he’s doing, but family nonetheless. And there will always be squabbles and disagreements with family, especially when it comes to business.

Ilander: He wants to destroy his family line, for reasons that only he seems to know, but he also, in some way, wants to free them of the curse that dogs their every step.

Conflict 1: He’s...well he’s dead. He has power that allows him to do what he wants, but he’s dead and needs a body. Easier said then done.

Conflict 2: He’s on a short leash due to his newest Master. He can’t do a whole lot while his master says he needs to not kill his family.

Conflict 3: Himself. He’s had so many chances, but he’s never quite been able to do it, something deep within himself staying his hand.

Why is it my mind provides me with all sorts of details?

2YN - Assignment 3

Assignment 3: Work out what you think your theme is going to be. This, as with the idea, it is likely going to change during the writing. Don't worry if it sounds like a cliche or stupid. Themes have a way of sounding trite when we try to write them out. However, they can lead to better understanding of what the story represents.

Once you have worked out your theme, write or print it out and put it somewhere you can see it. Refer to it in both your emotional scenes and if you feel you've lost your way. This is a guidepost.


Let’s see. How to go about this one?

Seeing as I have a few different themes that all intertwine, drawing together my characters again and again and again, I’ll list them and how they are intertwined for this round.

Greed

Betrayal

Need

Let’s break them down even more.

Greed:

It was all consuming, the want and need for everything that is considered their due. And he wants it all.

Betrayal:

When there has been betrayal it is not that hard to paint those who were connected with the same brush. Betrayal cuts a deep groove that fills with hate.

Need:

Need comes in many forms, both good and bad. The need to protect friends and family can be good or bad depending on how the person takes it. The need for money again can be good or bad depending on the person takes it.

To build on that:

He wanted everything, everything that he had been denied. And he was going to use the fool whose own family had turned on him so long ago. He would get his power, the fool would get his revenge and in the end, not even the need that the fools descendent felt to protect his family and friends would stop him. He would do what needed to do to get what he wanted.

I think I have a general idea now. :3 Happy times.

2YN - Assignment 1

I'm going to work on Book 2 of a book rewrite. Pretty much, I'm taking my novel Crimson Shadows and splitting the original into two different books.

So I know where I'm going, it's just the details and adding a few different characters. Here I go.

Assignment 1: (which was easy since I already had most of this thought out anyways):

Sentence: Freedom tasted like blood of kin: oh so sweet and lovely.

Drips of Crimson: He was free of his ties. His descendant had made sure of it. But he wasn't free of the being that had tied him to that damnable doll. Now he was on the land that he and his used to live on, when they worked the fields. And died in them to.

Now he had to draw his descendants and get them to die. Somehow.

Genre: Horror supernatural

Here goes. *rolls up sleeves and dives in*