I was sad that NaNoWrimo closed. A lot has already been said by others about the controversial reasons, and I did not want to make a negative post. Instead, I decided to search for NaNoWriMo alternatives and found FicFrenzy, which takes place in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I joined in time for the Fall event.
I decided to do a story that I have been working on for a while (at least behind the scenes, since I have not made many blog posts about it). I have not quite figured out how to explain this series, and that is something I am still working on. This post will explain the changes to the novel series and give new readers the basic gist of it. Also, FicFrenzy's Challenge has given me new motivation to write the series.
Here are the questions for the Challenge, let's begin...
1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?
A part of this idea came to me during college (though I had been thinking about it since 2020). I was tasked to write a screenplay for an assignment. I had written a few sketch comedies and written two short plays in response to Shakespeare's TheTempest, but writing a whole new screenplay from scratch was a fun adventure.
At the time I was inspired by the television show, Sleepy Hollow, because I liked how they portrayed Irving's characters. So, I decided to write about Dorian Gray and this whole trilogy came into being. However, the original idea to make the story into a television series did not last long (because while I like screenwriting, it did not work for this particular story), and instead the story evolved into a novel trilogy.
2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!
To give you an idea of what my story is like: it is a literary fiction trilogy, and it is not the same type of story in every book (though from book to book the same characters will be the main characters). I also tend to mix genres within the series so, the trilogy is not primarily one genre.
Also, the reader is not required to have read Wilde's novel to understand my writing. Familiarity with the source material merely enhances it, but one can read my series without even having read Wilde.
Here is what the first book is like...
Dorian's painting (which is his soul) is displayed in a museum. When he attempts to steal his painting back he finds that his past may not be as buried and forgotten as he believes it to be.
The second book... I am currently working on a summary. That summary will probably appear in future blog posts. However, the second book focuses on one of the character's backstories and their present, which are intertwined in the narrative.
Currently, I am only working on books 1 & 2, since they are in conversation with each other. I have plans for Book 3, but have not yet begun writing.
3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?
There are two timelines in the trilogy: the 20th century and the Victorian Era. I had originally planned to set the series in the present, since I was inspired by Sleepy Hollow. However, the series went in a different direction.
In the first timeline, the setting is the 1920s-40s. I chose this 20th century time-frame, because I wanted to explore the Art Deco and Modernist (literature) movement.
In the second timeline, the setting is the end of the Victorian Era (or near the end of it). And in that time period, I explore the Aesthetic and Pre-Raphaelite movements.
4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).
(Characters from books 1 and 2).
In book 1...
Dorian Gray
An immoral immortal who has his soul stuck in a museum, and wants to free it. He loves aesthetics, and while he may look innocent, he is not trustworthy.
Reed Hayward
Reed is a magical artist. He suffers from false memories, though he is unaware that his memories are not what really happened. He has magical art abilities which allow him to enter paintings and create illusions.
Ivy Hughes
Ivy is a painter who creates replicas of paintings, and owns a painting business with her husband. However, she longs to make her own artwork. She is also witty and thinks like a critic about art.
And in book 2, the same three characters remain, but a new character appears..
Medea
Medea is a magical artist--her magic relates to embroidery and weaving. She is mysterious, and you will never truly understand who she is, even when you think you do.
I am still working on their character pages (the old pages are severely out of date), but if you wish, you can look at the works in progress here.
5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?
In book 1...
Raymond
He's technically not the antagonist unless you see him through Dorian's eyes. Raymond is a thief, who is sly and cunning, and can be vindictive against his enemies.
In book 2...
The antagonist isn't a person, instead it is a psychological feeling (unless you count Dorian, then it's Dorian again).
6. What excites you the most about this novel?
The characters, because they are what fuels this novel series. Spending time with them, helps me to learn about them, and writing becomes a journey of discovery.
Also, what excites me is the world-building for series. A whole new world was sparked because of this story series, and I have been steadily building and writing it.
Also, because of this trilogy, I am researching topics that interest me.
7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?
It is going to be a trilogy series with maybe some spin-offs involving other characters (such as Medea).
8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?
I am doing a mixture of planning out the novel and improvising. I have the basic idea of where this is going, though I am still figuring out how to express some of my ideas.
9. Name a few unique elements in this story.
While I do have other projects which explore art (notably, The Haunted Sketchbook), I like exploring paintings, sculptures, etc. through this idea of magical artists, since they show the magic of art.
And while immortality is not really the focus (morals are), I like having characters from different time periods interacting with one another.
This novel series also plays a lot with social situations. So, I get to explore the etiquette from different time periods in which the characters live.
10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).
I am going to share some of the art (visual and music) that inspired me (and is inspiring me) while writing this:
Windflowers by John William Waterhouse
Early Art Deco Furnishings
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What are you working on? Is there anything you've learned about your projects as they've developed?
So, I was not prepared for Camp NaNoWriMo this month. In fact, I didn't even think I was going to be doing July's Camp NaNoWriMo, but I then had a sudden change of plans and decided to do it anyway.
But this is why this post is not my usual "announcing my..." project post, like I did for April's Camp NaNoWriMo. Because while the project I am working on is a new one, I did not have the time to plan ahead for a description of what my story was or make drawings of my characters like last year. That is not to say that I won't make a post like this, but I don't have what I need to do it right now.
So, instead this post will be more like a journal entry about how Camp NaNoWriMo has been going for me this month.
My Writing
The project I am currently working on is called Becoming the Body Thief, and it is the project I mentioned in this post. Basically it is the second half of The Mystery of the Body Thief, but since I felt like this was a whole novel smashed together into another whole novel, I felt the need to separate them.
Without spoiling anything, I can say there will be a whole new view of the world. In the first book, I primarily focused on the upper class--royalty to be more specific--and on detectives. In the second book, however, there is a change of perspective, and I am now focusing on the criminal world. This is interesting, because the series as a whole focuses on crime in the Fantasy world, but crime from the perspective of a detective not a criminal. I feel is really helpful in world-building and understanding the characters, in seeing both sides of crime.
I will say, I have taken inspiration from a lot of TV shows in doing this. I feel the dynamic of characters in my story currently reminds me strongly right now of the characters from Leverage. In fact, a character whose stage name is Venus (I'lll talk more about her in later posts) started reminding me of the character of Sophie Devereaux. Venus like Sophie is a con-artist and an actor.
By the way, here is a small update on the renaming of my characters, which I talked about in a previous blog post:
My characters' names for this novel series are probably going to steadily change over time, as I am give them more fantastical names. So, I renamed Angela. Her name is now Cerawen (pronounced SERA-wen or SEERA-wen) which I think fits her better than Angela. (Even from the beginning, I thought it was a little weird to call her Angela given that the name meant "messenger of God" and given that the world has Greek mythology-inspired polytheistic religions, it felt really out of place).
However, I am still working to create a new name for Annabelle. I haven't yet, but I feel I am getting closer, and once I come up with one, I will update her character sheet.
But, I should say what helped me create the new name Cerawen was actually a technique that the YouTuber Ginny Di suggested which was "keyboard smash." If you can believe it, the name Cerawen actually came out of the gibberish, "Ceqw," from the keyboard smash.
As for songwriting, I made these not too long ago, and they are kind of a work in progress. However, since I am talking about my story which does involve world-building, I thought I would talk about some songs I've been working on that are for my story:
I am planning to make more songs of this type. Basically, these are songs that the priests/priestesses or devotees would use when doing healing in my Fantasy world. I also thought it would be neat if it had an atmospheric background instead of a musical one (that is sounds of fire cracking, forest noises, etc.). These are the musical versions of the chants I had written, here. Like the last song I made a music video for, I am thinking it would be neat to make a music video with all of these songs combined somehow (once I am finished of course).
I should say I am in three different cabins this year for Camp NaNoWriMo--two that are being run by other people, and one that I am running myself. It is fun, as usual. I love connecting with writers from all over the world and getting to discuss writing as we're doing it. I've had a lot of really thoughtful conversations that just happened over an element or a character from one of my stories, and I love it. And actually, two of the drawings I drew in a previous post came from prompts from one of the groups I am in. Anyway, these prompts are really inspiring my writing and motivating me, which is awesome. I love being in writing communities.
The two books I've been reading recently are Dracula by Bram Stoker, and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. For Dracula, I am in fact following the now-very-famous Dracula Daily I love getting it, because I feel like the main character is emailing me, which is fun. However, I do admit that when I get shorter emails I tend to get impatient for the next response. Unlike when reading, I have to wait for the next part (well not really, I could read ahead but it would defeat the purpose of doing Dracula Daily). This is frustrating because I really want to know what happens next. I also love how beautiful the prose is. The prose in classic books are usually so beautiful, and I love taking my time reading it to just get lost in it.
I'm also really enjoying Where the Crawdads Sing.I love the descriptions and the characters. I am listening to an audiobook version of it, so it can be nice to just close my eyes and listen to the descriptions. I love how we get to see Kya's everyday life in the marsh. There is something nice about that, and I will say Owns's writing really reminds me of Shirley Jackson's writing style. Shirley Jackson is another author I love. I will say, though, for any younger readers of this blog, that there are two disturbing adult scenes in the book. They are done for the plot and have a purpose later on, but, I didn't want anyone who is young here to pick up the book and get traumatized. Other than that, I am loving the dual time-lines element of the story. It's always cool to read books that have that, because there are basically two storylines to follow, and it is fun to see how they intertwine.
And while I haven't seen the movie yet (I have plans to see it when I finish reading the book), I really love the song that Taylor Swift wrote for it:
I feel it captures the character of Kya so well. And it's also so relaxing to listen to.
Music that Inspires My Writing
I've included playlists for my stories in prior Camp NaNoWriMo posts, and while this post is very different than the usual structure, I thought I'd keep up the tradition.
Some Fun Things
Okay, so I would usually talk about Webkinz on my other blog. However, I just realized Webkinz is actually a really good place for designing rooms for your characters. I made three rooms that I want to share: one for my story, and two inspired by the classics (Gothic and Greek mythology).
I made one of the taverns that appears in my novel in Webkinz! I found that making it in game, was really helpful to figure out the layout. This is the tavern where the main characters meet Venus (character mentioned earlier). It is one of the most luxurious taverns that appears in the story. While some very shady things happen in it, outsiders who go to it are kind of unaware of that. Basically it appears to be safe, but it is a place where criminals often meet and shady things happen. It wants you to think it is safe, but isn't.
One of the reasons why the tavern is so luxurious is due to Venus's performances (at least one of the least shady reasons). Because of her, this tavern has many expensive things in it: an exquisite rug, a beautiful fireplace, and intricate tables. And my Webkinz room is only part of the tavern: the tavern in the book is pretty large, so I may create the second half in the future. (However, I will need to get the same wallpaper, which may take a while, since I had to win it from JumbleBerry Fields, a game within the virtual world).
And since you know I love Gothic literature, I of course made another room, based on one of my favorite Gothic books. This room is inspired by "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I tried to make the room seem cramped and uncomfortable, like it was in the book. Unfortunately, Webkinz did not have aging yellow wallpaper, so I had to improvise with yellow paint instead.
One of my Webkinzes is actually named Apollo, after the Greek god of the sun and music. So I made a room for him. I tried to give it musical references as well as light ones (with the fairy lights). So anyway, I thought I would share this room, because it was Greek mythology inspired.
Also, I thought I would show what kinds of things you can create in a game like Webkinz, because not everyone has the money to use a more expensive game like Sims 4 to create rooms for their stories. But some people do have Webkinz accounts they made when they were children, so it can be an affordable option for creating rooms for your characters.
And that's all I have to say for now, but I will say more later in part 2! There are a lot of adventures I'm going to have later in Camp NaNoWriMo, and I will update you on them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How has Camp NaNoWriMo been going for you? And have you read any good books or played any fun games recently?
So, I decided to do another double tag post. Because both these tags involve writing or have questions about it, I thought it made sense to include them in the same post.
For the first tag: The Jolly Genre Jubilee Tag, I was tagged by McKayla at Tales of a Triple Threat. Thank you, McKayla. :D
I misread the rule at first and for some reason thought you wanted to find a gif of a seagull (and was going to reference "Seagulls Stop It Now"). Then I realized after I had found a really cute seagull gif that you actually wanted one of a pelican....
So, anyway let's begin:
What is your favorite genre of fiction to write?
I have two genres I write in a lot: Fantasy and Gothic.
I have been writing Fantasy for a very long time. My first novels were in this genre. Specifically, the sub-genre of Fantasy I tend to write the most is High Fantasy. I love spending time creating different worlds, species, and magic systems.
I started writing Gothic more recently, and I am enjoying it very much. I am writing my first Gothic novel right now, titled Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass.
What genre would you NEVER get caught writing.....EVER?
(Felix is against the genre of Gothic (even though he is in a Gothic novel)...So, I felt this was fitting for this question)
I think YA fiction. Not that I have anything against it, but right now I can't imagine myself writing a story in that genre. Partly because I tend to write stories with older protagonists (or younger protagonists). However, one day I could write a story with young adult main characters, but at the moment I don't have plans to.
I also don't want to write a book that is romance only. I usually like books that have a subplot of romance, but don't have the book centered completely on that.
What fictional genre feels most like home to you?
It's a mix of High Fantasy and Gothic for me. I like them both for different reasons, and I find them comforting for different reasons.
I like High Fantasy because I can escape into different worlds of my own imagination, and I can imagine what it would be like to have magic or be another creature (that isn't human).
What I find comforting about Gothic literature is that I can make myself scared in a fun way, and not scared or stressed in a real way. This is important to me with the world being so unpredictable right now.
If you could transform your life into any genre of your choosing, what would it be?
(Elm (left) and Oak (right) who are characters from a Fantasy story of mine)
High Fantasy for sure! I want to live in a world where I am a shapeshifter or an elf, where magic is everywhere, and where adventures await. It just seems super fun and something I would really like to do. (At this point, this answer probably isn't surprising to you.)
What genre does your real life resemble at the moment?
Interestingly, my life is like a Gothic novel at the moment. There is a lot of fear regarding the unknown, and everything is a little bit unpredictable, so of course it would fall into the gothic genre.
(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89724.We_Have_Always_Lived_in_the_Castle?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=3jautJsjTN&rank=1)
I would say in terms of Gothic stories We Have Always Lived in the Castle is what it closely resembles. I would have preferred it to be like The Picture of Dorian Gray or Frankenstein. But nope, my life happens to be like We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
What's a genre you're interested in writing, even though you've never written it before?
Science fiction, I like Star Trek so I've always wanted to write a novel in that genre, however, I haven't gotten around to writing one yet.
What genre is your most recent plot bunny and where did it come from?
I have two plot bunnies that have been hanging around. They are...
The third book in the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series. I had an idea for a third book in my head for a while, and now I finally know what is going to happen in it. It is a Fantasy/Murder Mystery. The novel was inspired by a mixture of different songs, though I had a bit of an idea in my head for what should happen before inspiration struck.
The second is The Haunted Sketchbook,which is Gothic and Historical Fiction. It (like Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass) was inspired by a nightmare. And I plan to write it once I finish Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass. I also plan to delve more into the details of the story in later posts.
How many genres have you written thus far in your writing journey?
Be prepared, the list is long...
Fantasy, murder mysteries/crime fiction, fan fiction (in comic form), super hero (also in comic form), gothic, historical fiction, romance (as a subplot), contemporary, humor/satire, retellings, poetry, a little bit of science fiction (if we count my numerous fanfics of star trek), ghost stories, spiritual (All Is Not Lost For All Begin Again is in that genre) and so many more.
1. What is your favorite genre of fiction to write?
2. What genre would you NEVER get caught writing.....EVER?
3. What fictional genre feels most like home to you?
4. If you could transform your life into any genre of your choosing, what would it be?
5. What genre does your real life resemble at the moment?
6. What's a genre you're interested in writing, even though you've never written it before?
7. What genre is your most recent plot bunny and where did it come from?
8. How many genres have you written thus far in your writing journey?
For the Second Tag: The HonsTEA Tag, I was tagged by McKayla at Tales From a Triple Threat and by Elizabeth from Autumn Ink. Thank you, McKayla and Elizabeth. :) The tag was created by Nie at From Nie.
The badge:
The rules-
- no lies allowed. if an answer is too shameful to expose you may substitute the answer with a gif/image of someone drinking tea.
- there are optional bonus additions to questions but these are not for the faint of heart. if you complete the tag having answered every question + the bonus additions (no gifs used), you are dubbed a certified tea chugger, and you deserve a badge to show the world that you are not afraid of a steaming hot cup of TRUTH. tag at least one other person (a tea party with just one is not very fun. trust me.) untagged persons are more than welcome to fill it out as well (nothing cooler than crashing a tea party).
what is a 'bad' (generally disliked) movie that you actually love?
(Image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Beasts%3A_The_Crimes_of_Grindelwald#/media/File:Fantastic_Beasts_-_The_Crimes_of_Grindelwald_Poster.png)
This is generally disliked movie because the lore of Harry Potter was altered and distorted. Since I had only read the first five books of Harry Potter, it didn't bother me or affect my enjoyment of the film. In fact, I viewed the movies as a series unrelated to Harry Potter franchise.(I also enjoyed the first Fantastic Beasts film, which is why I wanted to see the second).
In regards to the issues involving the characters and lore, I didn't even know who Nagini was until I looked the character up later, so I was unaware of the controversy about what Rowling did to the character. My first thought was that she was a new character, who happened to be able to turn into a snake, not that she was going to be Voldemort's (evil) pet later...😬 But if you think about it hard, there are so many things wrong with Rowling's choice to do that with Nagini....
(Image from Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/the-niffler-is-back-as-you-saw-in-the-trailer-and-the-niffler-may-have-babies-eddie-redmayne--459719074460137904/)
But ignoring those elements, I honestly only watched (and rewatched) the movie for Newt Scamander (who is one of my favorite fictional characters), the (baby) Nifflers, and the other beasts. There were some things about the movie that did bother me, but it is very fun to watch nonetheless. But I should say, I don't agree with or support Rowling's recent controversial behavior. I just like the Fantastic Beast movie series.
what is your most shocking reading habit?
Eating snacks while reading. However, I only do this with books I own, and I make sure to wipe off my hands before turning a page. Annotating could also be considered a shocking habit. In academic settings it is accepted, but not everyone approves of writing in a book.
tell us the number one lie you write in your posts.
I...don't have an answer for that. Not that it is too revealing to share what lie I could have had. But the only lie (which wasn't really a lie) I can think of, is me saying "it reminds me of something that happened to me last summer" in this post as opposed to saying "it reminds me of my surgery that happened last summer." So not really a lie. 🤷 Just me being overly ambiguous about what happened that summer. (I wonder if the readers who read that post when it first came out had wild ideas as to what actually happened when they read it because I was so ambiguous about it, just curious...)
(Ophelia drinking tea to wake up in the morning)
So I shall have to post a drawing of someone drinking tea...
tell us the worst character name you've ever thought up. {bonus: share a character name you find ridiculous in a book/movie}
(Lauralas and George...Totally not Legolas and Gimli)
This isn't so much the worst name as a purposeful play on the name Legolas Greenleaf. But it still sounds silly. It's Lauralas Greenfield. The character, was a comic relief character within a group of comic relief characters in my first (finished) novel, Tess Short (book one). They were created both to be a parody of the Fellowship of the Ring and to be comic relief from the stressful action.
And answer to the bonus question. This is not a bad name, but, I always (even though I hadn't read or watched Game of Thrones) found the name "Jon Snow" to be a little odd, because it's so ordinary. Every time I heard it (from people who liked the show) I always thought it was spelled "John Snow." So there is nothing wrong with the name, it just seems out of place in a Fantasy setting.
what is the real reason you procrastinate writing your work in progress?
Generally because I have schoolwork or an (academic) deadline I have to complete. It isn't really procrastination, just a need to get the stuff that is more important done first.
Also sometimes I have other non-writing related projects I'm working on, like videos I film of myself acting (Shakespearian acting, improv, etc.), or animation projects (for example an animated short film), or even writing a song. So once again, it's not really procrastination when it comes to working on those, but, it is sometimes the reason why I am not writing my current novel at the moment.
what is a genre of music you secretly love?
(Elm (left) and Sebastian (right) performing a song together)
Everyone on this blog knows I enjoy this music style, but I do not (usually) tell this people who aren't on my blog this. So, this isn't a secret or a surprise to you, but to the rest of the world it is...
So I like a lot of folk music with Celtic and/or medieval influences. My favorite music tends to be inspired by mythology, folklore, or a fantasy story of some kind. Since it is hard to look up those exact words on a Google Search to find the music I am talking about, I am going to give you examples:
And that is not to say that I am ashamed that I listen to it, I am happy that I found a music style that I love, but I have gotten some weird reactions from people when I tell them what music I listen to and that it isn't mainstream music.
if you're a plotter, what do you really think of pansters? and if you're a panster, what do you really think of plotters?
Honestly, I tried pantsing before and failed at it, so I am very amazed and in awe of people who can do that because I cannot. I get really stuck if I do not plan ahead for what is to happen next. Though, I am usually very good at improvising on stage, on paper it's much, much harder.
share at least three lines of dialogue from one of your first writing projects {bonus: give us the good stuff. your most gruesome butchering of the English language)
I will be sharing two for the first question, from my first ever novels: One that was just called "my novel" and was never finished and another Tess Short (Book One), which was my first completed novel (first draft-wise not editing wise). Since I have really two first novels, I thought I'd share excerpts from both. Here is the opening (unedited prologue) for Tess Short (Book One):
Mr.short was considered a normal Hobbit which means not going out on adventures with elves , fairies or dwarfs or any creatures of any sort. Until he did , which I may say is a story for anther day.
“I don’t understand why he would want to go on a adventure” said Mr.Largefoot.
“Adventures are a waste of time also” he added.
“ and You miss a lot of meals…” added Ms.hairyfoot. folding her laundry into a pile. “But I can’t see why he would run away with that elf like that”
I do actually want to rewrite this novel, given that I really like the characters from it and want to make it less of a...Hobbit rip off. I'm not sure when I will rewrite it, though. Sometime would be nice; maybe in the future.
And then the novel which I simply called "My Novel" (which was unfinished). I stopped part of the way through (because I had writer's block), but it was the story Oak was originally from. Once again this is unedited:
the mist was around the rocks of the beach you could hear the soft sound of a flute playing. but out of the peace and quite a dark looking ship came in. the flute playing stopped, the girl who was the holding the flute got up from were she was sitting,
“What is that doing here?” Delphi said.
she could hear voices inside, she climbed onto the ship, “Now were should I take over first??” a man who seemed to be wearing a crown, but she couldn’t make it out.
...The king was not very stealthy in regards to taking over the kingdom...At all. 🤦(I'm pretty sure he rolled a natural 1 on stealth). Also question (to my younger writer self): "If Delphi is half siren and there are probably other sirens around, how did the king not get lured to his death?" I mean, if he did get lured to his death, all the characters' problems would be solved...easily.
* * * *
And for the bonus question, even though I shared two, I felt spelling-wise this was hilarious. This is from The Case of Confusion, the novel that didn't end up working but introduced me to the characters who ended up being in my current novel (The Mystery of the Body Thief):
"I thought we had solved it!!” said Phillip.
“Well..How could I be sure, and it wasn’t me it was Time” said Annabelle.
“Now your blaming the most famous dective in the world!!” said Phillip.
“Actually I think he is only famous in this kingdom not very much anywhere else”
“Well still your blaming a famous Dective!!” protested Phillip.
I spelled "detective" wrong twice. So, anyway that is all the snippets I will be sharing from my past novels for now.
tell us the title & artist of the last song you listened to.
which beloved book/movie character do you dislike & why?
I have a few book characters I really dislike, but I will go with this one...
(Image from Twitter, https://twitter.com/HorstPhoto/status/540959859043500032)
Anna Karenina. I really wanted to like the book, because I liked other classic Russian books like Crime and Punishment. But I could not enjoy Anna Karenina, because I loathed the title character (and her adulterous-horse-racing boyfriend, Vronsky) with a burning passion. And I just couldn't sympathize with her at all...I somehow could sympathize with Raskolnikov, who is a murderer, but not her.
tell us the title & topic of a post you have left in draft.
"There is no 'correct' way to be creative"
This was me basically writing a rant about "set down rules" for creativity, and how there is no one way to do something creative. I may actually revise that post and post it sometime in the future, though in its current state, I can't really post it.
what is a book you pretend you've read/would like to read but know you never will? {bonus: share a time when claiming you've read a classic/well known book didn't end well}
I do not have an answer for this one because...I tend to read a lot of classic books and I know I am going to eventually read one in the future. I didn't think I would ever read Dracula (when I was younger) and I am currently reading it, so...I can't really make plans for what I won't ever read in the future....
Also I've never really claimed to read a book I hadn't, I've had strong opinions about books even if I hadn't read them (but had read a summary), but never pretended to have read them.
(Matilda drinking tea)
So I guess, I'll have to post an image of someone drinking tea....Since I didn't quite exactly answer the question.
tell us the title & topic of the most embarrassing post you've ever written. {bonus: include. the. link.}
I don't really find my old posts embarrassing so much as funny (sometimes). I do look back at my older posts just to see how I viewed different things when I was younger.
(A drawing of a nameless evil villainess which was included in the post)
I wrote a post the first year I ever did NaNoWriMo called November Novel writing!! (and other fall things). Not only did I talk about the writing I was doing in it (though never talking about what I was writing, just that I was writing), but I posted a drawing and I also included a short book review in it. In that post I say (I highlighted the repetition):
"Inkheart by cornelia funke it's very good so far. the story is very interesting and complex. The characters are very interesting and have very interesting characteristics. I also love that the characters talk about books."
I didn't really describe why the characters were interesting, I just repeated that they and the story were interesting over and over again. Also, I find this line to be so funny (once again, I highlighted the repetition):
"mostly I have been writing and writing, and more writing."
I for some reason find this funny. I mean it's not wrong: I was doing a lot of writing. I just wish I had told people what I was writing. Though, I suppose to say it now. I was writing the first attempt at The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series, which I called The Case of Confusion. That attempt didn't really end up working, but in the end I created The Mystery of the Body Thief,which did end up working.
(The drawing of the nameless villain has nothing to do with the story I was writing. I should add, I just included it in the original post...because).
1. what is a 'bad' (generally disliked) movie that you actually love?
2. what is your most shocking reading habit?
3. tell us the number one lie you write in your posts.
4. tell us the worst character name you've ever thought up. {bonus: share a character name you find ridiculous in a book/movie}
5. what is the real reason you procrastinate writing your work in progress?
6. what is a genre of music you secretly love?
7. if you're a plotter, what do you really think of pansters? and if you're a panster, what do you really think of plotters?
8. share at least three lines of dialogue from one of your first writing projects {bonus: give us the good stuff. your most gruesome butchering of the English language)
9. tell us the title & artist of the last song you listened to.
10. which beloved book/movie character do you dislike & why?
11. tell us the title & topic of a post you have left in draft.
12. what is a book you pretend you've read/would like to read but know you never will? {bonus: share a time when claiming you've read a classic/well known book didn't end well}
13. tell us the title & topic of the most embarrassing post you've ever written. {bonus: include. the. link.}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is your favorite genre to write (or read)? And do you have a genre of music you secretly love?
**warning this post contains spoilers for Disney's Frozen**
I have been thinking about the plot of Frozen, and why it failed as a story for me. I did really enjoy watching it when I was younger, but then I got older and started noticing plot holes in the story here and there. Admittedly, Frozen did inspire some things in my writing (e.g. evil prince characters). However, I feel as if some elements of the story telling failed. While from an animation stand point the animation is the highlight of the movie, there are some elements of the story that need improving.
I am also using this as an exercise in rewriting, given that with one of my novels that I am editing, The Mystery of the Body Thief has some elements that need changing and I was stuck on what to change to get across the point I wanted. Sometimes when you have that difficulty, it is much easier to rewrite someone else's writing than your own. This allows you to look at your writing challenges from a different perspective.
I am also probably going to turn this into a series called "my rewrite of [blank]" so if you know of any TV shows, movies, or books that you feel like need improving story-wise that you would like me to see rewrite in another installment, I'd love to hear it in the comments. (It has to be one I've seen though, so I may not be able to do every suggestion.)
Let's begin:
Hans would not be a villain. Instead, he would be misled-
The problem I had with Hans was that he suddenly (out of the blue) became a villain, wanting to rule the kingdom and tricking Anna into loving him. I could not find a way to make it so the twist made sense in the story. So, in my rewrite, he would instead be the person he was showing Anna he was: kind, generally trying not to hurt anyone, and slightly awkward.
(Image from wiki fandom, https://frozen.fandom.com/wiki/Hans_Westergaard?file=Hans_and_Elsa_in_the_dungeon.png)
Instead of wanting to claim the kingdom, he would believe Elsa was evil and was hurting Anna. And in doing that, his motivation would be to defend Anna from her sister. Because his kiss wouldn't work on Anna, he would think to go to extremes to have to kill Elsa in order to free Anna from the curse.
This would backfire, but instead of Hans getting punished for his actions (or Elsa getting punished for almost killing her sister), they would make up in the end and resolve to be friends. Also, they would resolve that they should communicate better in the future.
Elsa and Anna would not be fully separated from each other-
Anna has more scenes with her love interest than she does with Elsa. In my rewrite, Elsa and Anna would have several more scenes together. This would not just tell the audience, but show them that they love each other as sisters. And since the story is much like Cupid and Psyche, where someone has to fight to get the person back who they love, showing their sisterly love for each other would be necessary in making the story work.
The problem is, the scenes we do get of Elsa and Anna show how aloof Elsa is from Anna and that she is ignoring her. Instead, we need to see scenes where they actually talking to each other and interacting in a loving way, in order for the audience to believe they really love each other.
And while Anna wouldn't know Elsa has powers until later, there would be some comedic moments of Elsa going out of her way to hide her powers. This would also show how hard it is for her to lie to her sister.
There was actually a deleted scene from the original movie that I feel would fill the gap for this, which was "the dressing room scene":
We would see their bond, and because of that in the end it would confirm to the audience that the true love they saw was really sisterly love instead of needing to be told that by Elsa.
Kristoff would not bring Anna to Elsa's castle. Instead, he would be replaced by someone else-
The problem I had with Kristoff was that as a love interest he overshadowed the sisterly love of Elsa and Anna. So, he would be entirely cut out of the movie and instead be replaced with three different characters. Each of these characters would help Anna in getting to the castle, without one being more important than the others.
(Quick sketch of what she could look like)
The first character would be a thief girl, who would show up for part of the time and help Anna part of the way. But she would have to stop because she wouldn't be able to travel the entire way. This character was taken from the original story that Disney based the movie on, "The Snow Queen." I thought basing a character on one of the characters from it would be fitting as well as alluding to it.
The second person to help Anna would actually be Sven, and he would help her by leading her the second part of the way. This I took from Fairy Tales since in a lot of fairy tales, princesses or princes have animal helpers who help them or come in when they're needed.
The final person would be Olaf. Anna would get to see what Elsa is able to create with her powers, but also she would see that not everything that she creates is bad and that there is good in Elsa's magic.
These friends who helped her, would then come back to lead her back to the castle after she got hit in the heart with ice magic by her sister. But they wouldn't overshadow the relationship.
Anna would face some real dangers in finding her sister-
Instead of a simple journey to the ice castle, Anna would have to deal with real dangers throughout her journey that would propel her forward to helping her sister.
The wolves from the movie would remain, of course, but there would be more dangers than the wolves and the monster Elsa created. Anna would have to go through challenges presented by people along the way, each trying to steer her away from rescuing her sister but pushing her forward to doing so in the end.
(Image from wiki fandom, https://frozen.fandom.com/wiki/Oaken?file=Oaken.png)
The guy with the sauna, Oaken, who appears briefly in the movie, could serve as a challenge for her. He wouldn't be evil per se, but he would tempt her and try to stop her from continuing on her journey.
Because the sauna would be welcoming and warm, she would want to stay there instead of venturing out into the cold. So, she would have to fight to get back to the quest to save her sister. This would act as a challenge like the island of the lotus eaters in The Odyssey.
And given the addition of the thief girl, Anna may even get robbed by bandits (because she is a princess, the richest person in the kingdom, going alone on a journey). Eventually she would get the help of the thief girl who is part of the gang of bandits. The Thief girl would decide to help Anna eventually, after having to be convinced.
All these events would happen in an episodic way and then lead up to Anna's finding Elsa.
There would be scenes jumping back to Hans taking care of Arendelle-
Because there would be a lot of intense and stressful scenes of Anna fighting against the urge to turn back and go home instead of finding her sister. As relief scenes, we would see Hans trying and failing (and sometimes succeeding) in taking care of Arendelle, while the princess and queen are missing.
Since Hans is the youngest in line (with twelve older brothers), I doubt that he has much experience with taking care of a kingdom. He would know how to provide food and shelter for people (as we actually see in the movie), but we would see him failing at other things.
And that would provide comic relief from time to time. It would also serve to enhance the plot, because it would show what was going on in Arendelle and how eternal winter hurt it. But it also would show how unsuited Hans actually is at ruling a kingdom.
But despite all this, some of the citizens would make comments throughout (perhaps in song form) that he seems like a better ruler than either Elsa or Anna, who abandoned Arendelle when it was at its weakest and not sending someone else out to find Elsa. While Hans would be protesting that he's just taking care of the kingdom until Anna return, there would be some citizens questioning the whole situation.
While (if) there were to be a song within in the sequence (the sequence itself would appear much more than just once), I don't imagine it being exactly like the song "Prince Hans of the Southern Isles (Reprise)" that appears in the broadway musical version of Frozen:
Since that song takes a more serious tone than I imagine this subplot having, I could imagine taking some of the elements and just turning them around into being more like complaining from the citizens point of view.
Here's what I imagine the song being like (the chorus that is). Interestingly, I imagine it sounding a little like this song and having it be sung by the ensemble:
🎶 Our queen froze our kingdom,
Our princess left us to die,
Now all we can do is groan and sigh,
But the thirteenth in line,
Seems very fine,
Compared to our royalty who decided to resign. 🎶
Of course, but this not the whole song, but it is the gist of what I feel like it would be.
The trolls would be used briefly-
They would show up in the beginning to erase Anna's memory of Elsa's powers and make Elsa insecure about her identity and her abilities. And they would show up to tell the heroes what to do about Anna's frozen heart. But they would not have a musical number, because it feels like it drags on a little too much and because in this version of the film Kristoff is nonexistent.
They may, though, hint that Anna needs to find her true love. Of course, the characters would assume her true love was Hans. And in the end the audience and characters would find out it is in fact Elsa. This change has to happen, since with the original plot, the movie tells us that Elsa is Anna's true (sisterly) love. However, that version of the movie shows Kristoff as her romantic love more often, and that really confuses the audience.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How would you rewrite Frozen? Would you watch my rewrite of Frozen?
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