Marching Forth with Beautiful People

Yikes. Long time no post. Sorry about that. Anyway. Not much going on... School is eating me alive [but that's normal].
To keep my blog alive and busy, here's Beautiful People-The March edition. This one was particularly fascinating, because it deals with more than one character at the same time, and because it involves relationships (and not just romantic relationships). Who doesn't find relationships fascinating?
Anywho...
I answered the questions using Sol and Lillee from my newest idea The Thirteen Tales of Solomon Wise. The title has nothing to do with the plot, so that's a problem. Actually, the book's more about time travel. It's an interesting study for me, because I generally don't go near any more sci-fi fantasy stuff like that. But the story is really engaging me, and I hope you find Sol and Lillee engaging, too :3


1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?
Time travel, for one, because Sol is a time traveller and Lillee is learning more about her deceased father's hand in the time travelling world every day. At first she was skeptical, but the chaotic events which occur when Sol comes to town imply that something bigger is going on.

2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort?
Lillee is tough; she dislikes being seen as helpless or in need of assistance. However, deep inside, the idea of being swept off her feet by a knight out of one of her many books fascinates her. Sol, though he suffers from some memory loss at the beginning of the story, is very committed to protecting Lillee and anyone else who is in danger due to his presence.

3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...)
Lillee lives in her books. She is well-versed in many genres and knows most of her favorites by heart. She often concerns the townsfolk by walking down streets or in front of cars with a book held up in front of her face. Sol, since he is a stranger in the town and the time, feels out of place and is almost never comfortable unless he is completely alone.

4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having?
Sol is a time traveller. I haven't exactly figured out what he does, or why, or how, or anything. But that is his occupation, and he is an expert in his field. However, a bad accident landed him in 1919 from an unspecified future time and robbed him of a substantial part of his memory. There is probably a lot of corruption and conspiracy going on back at Time Travel Headquarters, and I'm still trying to figure out if there's someone higher up who is out to get Sol because of something he knows, or because of something he is trying to learn.
Lillee, though she's only 17, has made herself quite the scholar. She haunts the library and has more than once mentioned her desire to work there. She is also an artist, though she does not devote half as much time to painting as she does to reading.

5. Describe their current place of residence.
Sol stays at a boarding house while he's in Indiana. He rooms alone, but he has trouble paying for his room and has been threatened with eviction by the home's usually gracious matron.
Lillee lives with her estranged mother in a classic home on the edge of town. Her father bought the house for its character; it is a large house, furnished with ornate carpets and sofas from around the world. Professor Dae (her father) was known as "modestly wealthy" by the townsfolk, and left a substantial amount of money to help pay for the upkeep of the home. Most of the rooms stand empty, though, as Widow Dae refuses to change anything from the way her husband left the house.

6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it?
Sol reminds Lillee of her father, whom she dearly loved. She wants to invest everything in him, help him in any way she can--after all, this is the first time she's really lived every since her father died and she buried herself in books. Sol, however, knows that not only will he need to leave 1919 before he overstays his welcome but also that there are certain persons searching for him who want to make sure he never leaves. Unwilling to put Lillee in danger and unsure of his own past, Sol rejects her help almost as forcefully as she offers it. Both are high-strung and offended after the fact, but the dire situations they encounter along the way force them to come up with a new strategy.

7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be?
I see Sol in a classic car, probably German and with a nice loud engine. Lillee would probably go for a brightly-colored buggy.

8. How do they deal with change?
Lillee recoils from it, ignores it, overlooks it, as though it never happened. Sol fights it, always unsure as to where another change might land him.

9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose?
Sol would cut off his hand, as he uses his feet quite often for running and getting from place to another.
Lillee, on the other hand [no pun intended] would rather amputate her leg than lose one of her delicate, overworked hands--and her ability to turn pages quickly and wield a paintbrush.

10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop?
Lillee would go for something tall and cold, like an iced coffee. Sol, though it surprises most people, is more of a hot cocoa guy.

Bonus Quezzies!
1. How did they meet?
Sol landed himself in 1919 Indiana after a massive accident. He is disoriented when he meets Lillee; he is looking for her father, Professor Dae, who was a distinguished time traveller before he died in the Great War. Since Dae was the only person who could have helped him, Lillee takes it upon herself to find a way to get Sol back to his own time.

2. How do these two deal with conflict?
Mostly by sulking or screaming it out--it depends on how hot the conflict is. Lillee will rarely dissolve into tears, but when she does, it's a veritable flood. Sol is more likely to stalk off and frown at the wall--or punch it.

3. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place?
Lillee often quotes her father. Sol whistles a lot when he's working.

4. What kind of things do they like to do together?
Although the two don't have much free time together, they both enjoy reading and do so to a great extent. One of the thing that endears Sol to Lillee is that he has read Paradise Lost and knows parts of it by heart. Paradise Lost was Professor Dae's favorite story and he read it Lillee when she was only three or four years old.

5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words or less.
Confusing. Multifaceted. Endearing.

That's all for now! Enjoying the spring weather,

~Elisabeth

February Favorite: Scrivener

Hi guys! I just wanted to share with you a cool little writing tool I found via the interwebz this past week. It's called Scrivener.

When it comes to writing, I'm a very organized person [Unfortunately, my organizational skills don't extend into the real world, much to my mother's chagrin]. I love to have little folders on my laptop for each book, then subfolders for each character, then sub-sub-folders for every quirk my character has. In short, I love to organize my ideas, my characters, their personalities, their favorite foods, places they've been... I'm a veritable maniac when it comes to character analysis.

That said, I use Microsoft Word for my books. It's great--it has all the tools I need to get a story down on paper. The problem comes when I'm trying to file away characters, scenes, information about my worlds, etc. I can never find the folder I need, the character I'm seeking, the specific picture of a tree I've stashed away. And just as a note: NEVER put all your characters into one Word document. The results aren't pretty.

I've often wanted a better way to keep my characters filed, but I didn't know that way actually existed until I found Scrivener.

Scrivener is a computer program specifically for writers; it's geared towards better organizing your stories, your characters, even your scenes, places and creatures. The opportunities are endless... once you get the hang of the program. But that doesn't take long. After you've explored, it's time to stash. Scrivener has a unique corkboard background, on which you can place an infinite number of virtual 3 x 5 cards. Each card serves as a snippet of the massive document it represents--you can make long character pages without taking up pages and pages of space in a Word Document, and when you're done, all you see on the main page is a little card with your character's name. Same for cards representing scenes, places, interesting facts, etc. It's COOL. I'm having so much fun.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you this. You guessed right if you thought Scrivener is expensive--it costs $40. I'm still debating on whether or not to buy it.

I'll let you wonder how I can have it without buying it for a moment :3

Okay, ready? This program is availible for a free, non-consecutive 30 day trial. It's super easy to download, and if you decide you don't want to make the investment when the 30 days are up, you can export all your information so you don't lose anything. I'm having a blast with those little 3 x 5 cards. I think you will, too.

So go check it out! You can find more information about the program and the opportunity to start your own 30 day trial at:
 http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

I highly recommend this program. Now does anyone have an extra forty bucks I can borrow to have it forever? 8D

Beautiful People-February

Hello, lovelies! It's been a while since I did my share of Beautiful People, hosted by Sky at Further Up and Further In and Georgianna at Before My Penn Has Gleaned. So I decided that now is better than never ^_^
 I'm doing these questions for Anna, one of my main characters from Avaria, because I've recently dusted off her book and started plotting again [finally]. So here we go.

1. If your character could be played by any actor, who would it be?
Eh. I'm not exactly sure. I don't watch enough movies to know any actresses around her age who would make the cut. Maybe... No. I just don't know xD
2. Does your character have a specific theme song?
I almost feel like it should be Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen or something melancholy like that. But maybe that's just the guilt for all the horrible things I've put her through getting to me ;_;
3. What’s their worst childhood memory?
Her dad leaving when she was about ten years old. She's sixteen, and she hasn't seen him since. It scarred her badly--I don't even know how badly, and I've been writing her story for about five years o_o
4. If your character had a superpower, what would it be?
She'd probably be able to fly or something cool like that. Though she's fast, so maybe she'll be Flash 2. Or Flash Jr.
5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how would your character help the group survive?
Not by having a mental breakdown, that's for sure. She'd probably do a good job of masking her fear, organizing the survivors, and being all rough and tumble; then she'd have her breakdown after rescue.
6. Are they married? If not, do they someday wish to be?
She's not married; she'd like to be, but she's terrified of having her marriage end the same way her parents' did. I think she could do it, though, if the right guy walked along. Which he did. In book three. But she doesn't know that. So SHHH.
7. What is a cause they would die for?
A good cause? Saving a friend, because she hasn't had many. A bad one? Getting revenge. She's an unstoppable monster where revenge is involved. It could be her undoing.
8. Would they rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home?
She'd prefer to die quietly. But she's not afraid of fighting. She's been fighting herself all her life.
9. If someone walked up to them and told them they were the child of the prophecy, would they believe them?
You know what, that's funny, because that actually happened. As I remember it, she fainted. Or laughed. Or both. But she ended up being a pretty good child of the prophecy, if I do say so myself.
10. Do they prefer the country or the city?
The city. She grew up in New York, and she despises the small Virginia town her mom's job took them to. *sigh* I guess she can't be perfect.

Okay, that was fun! Every time I finish one of these, I realize that I need to do them more often =D Try one for yourself--you won't regret it!

A Meme for Me, and One for You, Too!

Say that five times fast.

Anyway, sorry for the lapse into silence. I've been pretty busy. As you can see, I sort of redid my blog a bit. I like it so far :] I have a MUCH more detailed profile page and book page up (you can see them under the blog title). Okay, the book page is not done yet, but it WILL be. Someday.

Today, I have a meme for you. I already did it, which kind of makes the blog title...incorrect, in some way. How I don't know. My brain hurts. The Venerable Bede has been chewing on it.

I found these memes here. I CANNOT vouch for the site in that I don't know if all of the memes are appropriate (I've only done two). But I liked what I've done so far, and I thought I'd share the memes with you.

Here's my favorite meme so far. It's UTTERLY confusing and you'll probably do the numbers wrong like me, but it was so fun to do. I would have posted my completed meme, but it's very long and garbled and I was asleep when I did it.

For the record, I didn't write this meme--I only found it online and have duly credited my source.

Have a great time :]

God Bless~

Elisabeth

PS. In case you're totally clueless like me, OC means "original character." Maybe I'm just weird XD

Reality TV Show Writing Meme!

Rules:

- Choose 6 OC's.

- Put your OC's names in list of numbers and answer the questions with your OC's names instead of the number, write at least 100 words to answer.

- Once an OC is evicted, you must choose the next consecutive number to fill in the question.

1. Welcome to the House! Introduce the OC's and what their luxury item would be.

[1] [2]

[3] [4]

[5] [6]

2. There are 3 bedrooms, 1 with 2 double beds, 1 with 2 single beds and 1 with only 2 matresses on the floor. Who pairs up with whom, is there an argument over who should get the better room, and how is this resolved?

3. Now they've decided where they're sleeping, they make their way to the living room but find that it is empty expect for a few large and heavy boxes which hold the furniture which [1] and [4] have been told to put together within a time limit, how well do they do?

4. The furniture's together, now for dinner and a rest! [2] and [5] are designated for cooking first. What do they cook? Do they work well together? Does their cooking go down well?

5. A few days pass and a relationship is growing between [3] and [6], is it a good one or is it a bad one? What measures are made to make their relationship blossom, or stop them from attacking each other on sight?

6. A week has passed and it's time for an eviction! Someone hasn't put in their penny's worth and needs to be gotten rid of. Choose one OC, and have them say their weepy, or exuberant, goodbyes.

7. There's a siren in the middle of the night! [1] has tried to escape with [3] as accomplice, however they are both caught, who blames whom, and what is their punishment? Do the other house-mates suffer for it?

8. The next task appointed for them arrives in the form of a letter and a pack of bendy wires. They pick up the letter and read that housemates [2] and [4] must make a cube using the fewest number of wires possible within 30 minutes of time.

Do they manage it?

9. That evening, they find alcohol [Elisabeth says: They mean root beer, of course :P] in the refridgerator and a karaoke machine in the living room. However, it is incredibly hard to set up and it's instructions are in Japanese. [5] and [6] are bullied into geting it sorted. How do they get on?

10. Eviction time! Eviction this time is based upon house-mates behaviour and performance in the last week, and sadly, [1] and [3]'s escape attempt has not impressed the higher hand.

[1] or [3] must go, choose, and have them say goodbye.

11. Confessions Time! Having been together for two weeks, how do the house-mates feel about the others? How do they feel about the evictions? Let's listen to them now.

12. [1] and [4] have become very close, and [6] is jealous and decides to confront [4] about it, what happens?

13. Their next task is to simply tidy the house, however, they have to do it blindfold, [5] cheats and [2] does nothing, such disobedience so late in the game earns them a time-out and their luxury item is taken away, how do they cope?

14. Due to the cheating in the previous task, the electricity in the building is cut, and the living room is locked off from them. [4] suggests a game of hide-and-seek, does anyone get injured in the dark? Does anyone take this moment to be naughty with another housemate?

15. The living room is open to them again and inside is a television, an XBOX and four Guitar Hero guitars, a not stuck on the television let's them know that it is a play-off between [3] and [6].

Who wins, and did they realise the loser would be evicted?!

16. With only three house-mates left, tension starts to rise, [1] becomes super-competitive and starts taking over any tasks given to them. [1] accepts a task before even hearing it, and it's challenging them to sit in a bath of maggots for half an hour.

How does [1] react and do they complete the task?

17. Another Confession. Poor [2] is starting to suffer from cabin fever and is sure the others are out to get them. Let's listen to their ranting.

18. The house-mates realise they are quite quickly running out of food, and find three unlabelled tins in a cupboard, with blindfolds next to them and a letter explaining that two tins are sliced peaches, one is dog-food, they must each choose a tin with their blindfolds on.

Who gets the dog-food, and evicted?

19. The final task denotes the winner of the entire game, the final two house-mates are given an envelope, inside is the instrutions of their last task, they simply are.

"Choose."

Does this shock them? Do they choose themselves as the winner or the other? Do they give their own victory up, or are they selfish?

20. Now it's (quite abruptly) over, tag someone!