The Tag that Must Not Be Named

Hi everyone,
I was tagged by Briana at No End of Books, thank you so much for tagging me.

Anyway here is the tag:

What book has been on your shelf the longest?

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-J-R-Tolkien/dp/054792822X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518308819&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hobbit ) 

Probably The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, I have loved it for a really long time...I have always and will always love Bilbo Baggins, and his sword Sting. 


What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?

I am currently reading... 

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/1977901573/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518547275&sr=1-1&keywords=a+study+in+scarlet&dpID=51CfHBPqhVL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 

I have been reading Sherlock Holmes lately, so I thought I would read his first ever case!:) 




My last read was... 

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Will-Mystery-William-Shakespeare/dp/1416986618/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518545824&sr=8-2&keywords=wicked+will) 

Wicked Will is a historical fiction murder mystery. It was really good, and had a lot of references to Shakespeare's plays (And there was also a young Benjamin Franklin murder mystery, which was good too.) 

A book I am planning to read next....

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Expectations-Penguin-Classics-Charles-Dickens-ebook/dp/B002XHNMIU/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518547541&sr=1-11&keywords=great+expectations+by+charles+dickens ) 

I really liked this cover of Great Expectations. I am definitely excited to start reading this book (because I read an abridged version that did not have much detail.)

What book did everyone like, but you hated?
Even though I love Percy Jackson now, I did not like it (at all)  before I decided to read it. At first I thought that everyone was getting the wrong idea about Greek Mythology. But when I decided to read the book I loved it. 


What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

It's not books necessarily, it's often a series for me. I try to read the series but then I get distracted by other books, and instead read them. It's mostly with book series that have really long books (such as the Heroes of Olympus, etc.) 

What book are you saving for retirement?

Umm...I don't think I could save a book for retirement (I would probably read it before I was retired.) 
but...I am saving a book for next Camp NaNoWrimo:

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Murder-Most-Unladylike-Mystery/dp/0141369728/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518546932&sr=8-3&keywords=murder+most+unladylike) 

Even though it is technically a holiday murder mystery, and I had put the series down for awhile to read some other books, also I want to read a murder mystery while I am writing the story (not at same time of course.) And I think this would be good to read.

Last page: read it first, or wait ’til the end?

Wait till the end, I like to be able to experience the action at the same pace as the characters do. 

Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?

Well... I do think it could be needed (especially in historical fiction books.) 


Which book character would you switch places with?

Do you mean switch bodies with? or switch places? Anyway I will answer for both... 
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables 
Prince Caspian (or Lucy) from  The Chronicles of Narnia 
Sherlock Holmes (or Irene Adler) from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Annabeth Chase (or Rachel Dare.) from Percy Jackson 
Arwen (or Eowyn)  from Lord of The Rings. 
Benjamin Franklin from The Secret of The Sealed Room. 
William Shakespeare from Wicked Will. 
Hobbes (or maybe even Calvin) from Calvin & Hobbes 
This isn't all the characters that I would switch places (or bodies) with...but it as many as I could fit into a post. 


Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person?)

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Trilogy-Fellowship-Matched/dp/B00CO2MXM0/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519505984&sr=1-7&keywords=lord+of+the+rings+trilogy+book+set&dpID=41y4MYTQj6L&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 

It reminds me of an event that happened to me last summer. 

Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way
I have often gotten books from people, but I can't really name one at the moment. 


Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?

I don't believe have done that before. However, I have given people copies of a certain book, that I had read and I think they would enjoy reading. 

Which book has been with you most places?

                                               Calvin & Hobbes 

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Calvin-Hobbes-Treasury/dp/0836218051/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518548336&sr=8-2&keywords=calvin+and+hobbes ) 

Even though I have read the comics a million times they still make me laugh. 


Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad later?

High school? Just school in general there was an awful book that I don't know why they read to us, 

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Teacher-Black-Lagoon-Mike-Thaler/dp/0545065224/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518548537&sr=1-1&keywords=the+teacher+from+the+black+lagoon+books) 

I will never like this book.


Used or brand new?

Both!:) But I love giving used books a second chance.

Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

I have no idea who Dan Brown is!:) 

Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Inkheart-Widescreen-Iain-Softley/dp/B00267OB9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518548867&sr=1-1&keywords=inkheart+movie&dpID=51AfsFS67RL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 

Personally I like the movie Inkheart compared to the book (The movie has a happier ending than the book) 
and even though it left out some details that the book had I like it. 

Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks included?
Umm...I have actually never gotten hungry while reading (because I am eating while reading sometimes.) Though if the character is eating something like cake or popcorn I might get a little hungry.


Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

My family, they always have good book advice. 

Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Washington-Irvings-Stories-Illustrated-Library/dp/0448420740/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518549093&sr=1-7&keywords=the+legend+of+sleepy+hollow+by+washington+irving ) 

Besides Percy Jackson, There was another book that I ended up loving. It was The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I did not like scary stories or ghost stories at the time, but when I read it I loved it. 

I tag: 

Jane Maree at Her Author site and Maiden of the Misty Mountains 

Emma at Drawn to Writing 

Anna at A world Through Her Heart 

Gray Marie at Writing is Life 

And anyone who wants to do it.

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What are some of your favorite books? Who is one of the characters you would switch places or bodies with? 

Love,
Quinley

P.S. For the other people who have tagged me, I am still working on the tags I just haven't gotten around to posting them...yet!:)

Valentine's Day Drawings

Hi everyone,

 I hope you are having a Happy Valentine's Day!:) 

Here are the drawings: 

I really like how this one turned out! 

I like the details in it, especially the heart. 

I like how her dress turned out. 

This is a drawing of Eros (aka Cupid), 

the god of love, and son of Aphrodite. 

A drawing of a heart, I really like the details. 

This is a my version of the Birth of Venus. 

I think it turned out well, and I like the way her hair looks. 

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Which drawing is your favorite? And I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day, 

Love,

Quinley 

Getting into Your Character's Backstory

Hi everyone,
 Sometimes getting into a character's backstory can be tricky. Sometimes you know the character's backstory well and other times you have no idea what their backstory is like...


Review the facts you know about the character
This can be quite helpful, especially if you made a character bio (with information like name, age etc.). Do they have any relatives? If so, are their relatives still alive or are they deceased? Are they the last living relative or person in the family?  Do they have any siblings? And, if they do, do they know about them or are they really close to their sibling?

After you review the facts here are some things that may be helpful to write down...

What is your character doing? 

Before they got to where they are (in the current story) what location were they in? 

How old were they? (The age may remain the same depending on how far apart the backstory is from the current story.) 

Did they have any bad habits that they got rid of before the current story? (Such as biting their nails, etc.) 

Did they have a past job? 

I recommend (if you feel comfortable doing this) being in a quiet room, and asking your characters the questions out loud. Basically you will be talking back and forth to yourself (pretending to be your character).

Seeing the backstory 
Knowing what the back story is, is good, but seeing it is even better.
What I mean by seeing the backstory, is being able to experience or see the character's back story.

That is why either drawing a scene from your character's backstory:

This is a drawing of Celtiere 

or making a character collage (which I have done before both in The Character Karaoke Tag, and Getting Characters onto Paper (part 2) ) is helpful to get a clear idea of the scene.
 This time when creating a character collage you are
  using images to create a vidid idea of a scene (instead of portraying a character's personality):

(original images from,
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestry#/media/File:The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn_Tapestry_1.jpg,
wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael#/media/File:Raphael_colonna_01.jpg,
Wiki Commons , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Crowns#/media/File:St._Johann_Johannes_B%C3%BCste_Krone.jpg,
wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle#/media/File:Bodiam-castle-10My8-1197.jpg,
wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland#/media/File:Glendalough.jpg,
wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)#/media/File:Phoenix-Fabelwesen.jpg )

          This collage shows some details from Celtiere's childhood, such as his pet phoenix, Fire, and his home, the castle, and the countryside of Ireland (where his story takes place).



Getting to know the other people from the past 
This means getting to know the people who your character could have known from their past.
They must have met someone (unless of course they were locked away somewhere, far from buildings, and civilization).
It could be a  friend from the past who betrayed them, or it could even be their arch nemesis, or even a trustworthy friend who stayed with them (it doesn't always have to be betrayal) and is now a character in the current story.

Here is a form for your character (if you are having trouble thinking about what they are like).

Name: 

Age: 

Interaction with the main character: 

Powers (if any): 

Friend of foe?: 

Rank in society:  

Personality Traits: 

Physical traits: 


After you fill out the form (assuming you want to), I would recommend doing the same things you did with your main characters, such as talking to them or even walking like them. Even if they are minor character you should know what they are like because if you didn't you wouldn't know how they would react in a certain situation in your story.

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I hope you enjoyed reading the post and I hope this was helpful to you.

Do you have any other tips or ideas that help you get into your character's backstory? 

Also do you like my ideas and tips? 

Love,
Quinley