The Importance of Character in Acting

  

I have found that acting itself has helped my writing, and writing has helped my acting and characters in general. While this post isn't about characters in writing (it is about characters in acting and theatre), I do want to show that there is a connection between the two. I have found that I got to know my characters better in acting and writing using these techniques. 

There are many different ways to act, and not all of them fit everyone. I have found that these techniques have helped me greatly with getting into character in acting, but not everyone finds every technique helpful, so think about which ones would work for you.

I even ended up teaching a workshop about this. So, I thought it was time to get some of the things I taught in that class into a blog post. While in that workshop we weren't developing characters from monologues, (we were developing original characters we had created on the spot (and wrote monologues for later)), I still believe these techniques can apply to characters from monologues.  I learned most of the character building questions and tips involved in this post from different acting (or writing) classes I took over the years; so I would like to thank my teachers for teaching these to me. 

Character sheets 

Like with writing, in acting I end up creating sheets for my characters. I find they help me understand the character better. In filling out a character sheet, I feel I have to start with the information I'm given from the source material. This can be done by scanning and annotating the script or monologue.

Once I'm done with everything that is apparent from the monologue or the script itself, I start adding on my own details, making the character mine within the realm of the script. This is where making the character in acting is very different from writing your own character because you aren't fully in control, and you aren't the creator; instead, you're the one interpreting the character. And while in some cases you may be confined within what the director wants the character to be, you can still be free to interpret stuff, like "what happened in the moment before?", "what is my character's family-life like?",  or "what is my character's favorite color?" (assuming none of these appear in the monologue or script).

(Side note: if the character is from a play/movie/TV show where there is a performance done by another actor, I try not to take the choices they made, because otherwise I am copying their character and not creating my own version of that character). 

(Image from wiki, https://dragonshavern.fandom.com/wiki/Benjy_Woodbush?file=Benjyw.jpg)

Just like with writing characters, I have found it helpful to search for a painting or picture that reminds me of what I think my character looks like. I find it easier to get into their mindset if I know what they look like. Above is a picture I used to get into the mindset of Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream when I played him in a monologue. 

 I also sometimes find a single song or create a playlist that reminds me of the character, and I listen to the song before filming/performing because then I feel more energized. These are both things you can include on your character sheets.  For example, here are some playlists I created for characters I have been working on: 

 

 You can also, if you wish, include things like what your character's archetype is, or what their Hogwarts House or Camp Half Blood cabin is, if you think those things will help you understand the character even more. 

Character interview 

If you have anyone in your family or friends that can particape in a character interview with you then that may help. This one activity both writers and actors can do. Basically you sit down and ask questions to your character and respond in character to them. It is not only a good way to get to know your character, but it also helps you figure out stuff you may not have noticed before. 

One of the resources I used for the workshop I taught was this video/list of questions by Ginny Di, in which she lists of a number of questions to ask your (D&D) character to help expand on their personality and backstory:  

You can also watch it here

While it was originally intended for D&D characters, I do believe it works for any characters regardless of the genre. All you need to do is change "tavern" to "bar" or anything else if your character isn't from the Fantasy genre. There's also a text version of it if you need it. 

In my workshop, I had participants respond to the questions given in the video/doc. I suggested they choose some at random (taking turns being the character and interviewer). The person playing the character would improvise on the spot to answer the questions. 

I didn't use the following POV RP videos in the workshop (though I mentioned them to the participants). I have found that if you don't have anyone around you (or you don't feel comfortable doing interviews with family members and/or friends) that these are really helpful: 

   

If you don't have someone around you can still basically play the game with a person (Ginny Di), and think about how your character would respond not only to the questions but the various situations they are put in. (You can also make your own response video, if you feel excited about it).

Also, you should keep in mind that there may be some questions your character may not answer (or answer fully), because of discomfort around the question or a desire to be secretive about themselves. Your character could end up answering a question with another question, if they wanted to.  

 If anyone wants questions beyond those that Ginny Di created, I have included my own list of questions to ask your character at the end of this post. 

Status 

Statuses aren't just about class in society, though they can play into that. They are about knowing your character's status in a scene:  How much control do they have in the scene? And how does their status change? 

The status of your character is often affected by those around them. If a (bad) rumor is spread about your character, they could go down in status. If they are popular, they will have a high status. There is also middle ground between the two, which would be middle status. They can also be a high status person pretending to have low status, or a low status person fighting to get high status or pretending to have it. It all depends on the situation.

 Also, their status can be affected by their religious beliefs, general beliefs, gender, race, etc, and they can have a low or high status in any given situation based on any of those. Some people may treat them differently (and make it low) because of their identity, but if they are around people like them it may become high again. If their status stays the same all the time then there is a lack of a sense of realism, because no one's status is ever low or high the entire time.  

One way to experiment with status, is to randomize it, and try the scene with that status. Use a random number generator with 1 being low status, 5 being middle status, and 10 being high status.  Then see how that status affects your character's actions and how they walk or even talk. While the status you are playing around with may not be the one you ultimately use in the scene or monologue, it is still a way to see how your character's status affects your character. 

Stakes and Goals

There is a reason why your character is saying these things in the scene, and it isn't just to say it. There is a goal behind it. Maybe your character wants to get a reaction out of whoever they're talking to. And also they're probably fighting for something related to their long term goal in the rest of the play and/or movie. 

The stakes might depend on interpersonal conflicts, the plot, the characters, etc. This makes you want to say whatever you're saying more, because there are consequences if you do say it and consequences if you don't. And in doing this monologue and/or scene are you ready to face these consequences? Good or bad? 

Object work 

The premise of this activity is that you take five minutes or so to find an object that reminds you of your character. Once you do, wear the object, hold the object, or figure out why the object is important to your character. (It can be as important as something they need or something they cherish.) Some questions to consider are, how often they carry the object around with them, is it something they keep in their pocket or something they wear, or do they hide it in a bag? Can it be hidden or it something everyone would be able to see? Do they like it or is it just a necessity? Continue asking questions like this and you will figure out your character even more. 

One random object I grabbed in this exercise was a sheep tea cozy. This ended up creating a character that was a possessed librarian, interestingly. 

This same exercise can also be used to create a character as well as develop one. If you have a piece of clothing, an accessory, or an object that you pick at random, you can try and figure out what type of character would have that object, and what the character's liking or disliking of that object says about the character. 

Finding a personal experience (from your life) to associate with the monologue/scene  

If you find a common experience between you and the character (it doesn't have to be the exact same thing as the character has experienced), you can use it to relate to your character even more. Let's say you are performing Hamlet and are playing the lead role of Hamlet. 

One major life event Hamlet experiences is finding out that his uncle murdered his father in order to marry his mother. Now, you don't need to have experienced the exact same thing in order to understand or relate to him as a character. You could have experienced loss (of anyone: a pet, a friend, or a family member) and relate to Hamlet that way or have experienced betrayal and relate to Hamlet's discovery of what his uncle did that way. 

Walking like your character

In this exercise you walk around the room as your character, and you try to figure out how they walk. Do they walk with a slow pace or a fast pace? Do they walk with their head held high, or do they look towards the ground? Do they have a straight back, or do they walk with a slouch? As you walk around the room do that, and try different ways to walk. Keep trying: you're not likely to get the walk the way your character walks the first time. 

Dressing up as your character

I would say this is the last thing to do, given that you go through several performances before you get around to filming or performing the monologue (assuming you're performing it on stage). Knowing what your character wears can be useful in understanding their personality too, but unless you're filming it yourself, you may not be fully in control of what you wear in character. You can still figure out the importance of the clothing to your character, though. There was one show I acted in where I wore a green scarf, and as I was performing in the show I began associating it with one of the characters I was playing, Hortensio (from The Taming of the Shrew). Often I used the scarf as a way to get into character before the scene I acted in. I would fiddle with the scarf before acting in the scene, because I saw that as something Hortensio would do with it. And for my other characters, I tried associating different costumes pieces with what they'd wear. For Maria (from Twelfth Night), I remember associating the leather bracelet I was wearing with her, because it seemed like something she would like. So, even if you don't have full control over the costumes, you can still make character choices. 

This is a costume I wear for a monologue I am working on filming. 
The character pictured is Sherlock Holmes, and this is my take on him.
I decided he would choose to wear this normally (through character development). 

But if you are in full control (because you're filming it or for another reason), you can have a lot of fun in designing your character's outfit and finding wigs to match their hair color, supposing their hair is a different color or style than yours. You can also figure specifics involving these clothes, other than just that they wear them. Does your character set up clothes they wear each night? Do they match? Or do they wake up and just put on whatever they can find? If so, is it mismatched? 

Two more costumes from my two other video projects. While Phoenix (left), Gletta (right), are original characters of mine (and not from any monologue), the characters are from Fantasy novels, so there is world-building behind what they wear. 

Also depending on the genre they're from you may also have creativity with the clothes. If it is historical, you can find clothes that match with the time period. But if they are from Fantasy or Science fiction world, there is a reason world-building wise behind what they're wearing, and it may be made of materials that we wouldn't be able to access in our world, like dragon scales or phoenix feathers. 

Here is a character sheet to use when keeping track of your character: 

You can add on as much as you want or take stuff away, but this is just a starting point for you. 

Name: 

Gender: 

Age: 

Status: 

Religion/beliefs: 

Personality: 

Likes: 

Dislikes: 

Prized possession(s): 

Goal(s) in scene/play/monologue: 

The stakes: 

Who are they talking to?: 

What happened before this monologue/scene?: 

Favorite color: 

Least favorite color: 

Clothing style: 

How they walk: 

Other: 

Image that reminds you of them/what they look like: 

Questions to ask your character during an interview: 

Here is a list of questions I created for a character interview, so you can ask them to your character during the interview: 

1. What is your name? 
2. Do you like your name? Would you change it if you could? 
3. What is your family life like? Do you have a good or bad relationship with your parents or siblings, if you have any?  
4. What’s your dream job? Is there anything you’ve wanted to be for a long time? 
5. What’s your current job? Do you like it? 
6. Do you have many friends? 
7. Do you believe in magic or the supernatural?
8. If not, why don’t you? What experiences shaped your not believing in it? 
9. If so, why do you? What experiences have shaped your belief in it? 
10. Are you religious? 
11. Do you have any hobbies? 
12. Do you listen to music? 
13. Can you play any music? 
14. Is there anything in the world you want to change? 
15. What was your childhood like? 
16. Do you have any fond memories from your childhood? 
17. If you could have any magical power, what would you have? 
18. If you were stranded on a desert island what item would you take with you? 
19. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite book? 
20. If you could visit any fictional world, where would you visit? 
21. What is one thing about yourself, you don’t want anyone to know? 
22. What is one thing about yourself, you want anyone to know? 
23. Do you want to be famous or would you prefer to remain unknown? 
24. If you had a blog or YouTube channel, what would you post/blog about? 
25. What would your Hogwarts house be? 
26. If you went to Camp Half blood, who would your godly parent be? 
27. Who is one person whom you confide in, if you’re upset or angry? 
28. What’s one thing that really upsets you? 
29. What’s one thing that really makes you happy? 
30. What is a book or movie that you turn to when you’re upset? 
31. What is one song you play when you’re sad? 
32. What is one song you play when you’re happy? 
33. If you came across a ghost, how would you react? 
34. If you came across a dragon, how would you react? 
35. Do you have any pets? If not, do you want any? 
36. If you were a mythical creature what type of creature would you be and why? 
37. How old are you? Do you care about your age or does it not bother you? 
38. Do you like birthdays? Or do you just try to ignore them? 
39. What is your worst nightmare? And why? 
40. What is something you really want to happen to you? 
41. Do you dream at night? Or do you sleep without dreams? 
42. What is one goal you want to achieve? And why? 
43. What would you do if you achieved that goal? 
44. What would you do if you failed to reach that goal? 
45. Is anyone or anything trying to stop you from reaching said goal? 
46. Do you have any enemies? And if so, why are you enemies with them? 
47. If you were a D&D character, what class(es) would you be? 
48. What subjects in school are you (or were you) interested in? 
49. What styles of clothing do you like to wear? And why? 
50. What types of clothes would you never wear? And why? 
51. Do you like make-up? And if not, why? 
52. Is your hair long or short? And do you like styling it? 
53. Do you like going to the theatre to see a show or a play? Why or why not? 
54. What song(s) would you say best describe your personality? 
55. Is there anything you would change about your appearance?
56. How well do you sleep? Are you a light or heavy sleeper? 
57. How do other people feel about you? Do they like you, dislike you, or are their feelings toward you somewhere in the middle? 
58. What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you? 
59. What is the best thing anyone has ever said to you? 
60. Are you good at trusting people? Why or why not? 
    
61. How would you describe yourself in three words? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you do acting what is your favorite part of it? And how do you get into character? 

-Quinley 

How April's Camp NaNoWriMo is Going for Me (Part 1)

Since I have talked about the story I am writing for April's camp multiple times, I think I will talk about my writing process in this post. If you want an (up-to-date) post about the details of my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief, you can check it out here. 

This Camp NaNoWriMo I am focusing on the third draft of my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief. I had initially planned to write the second book, Becoming the Body Thief's second draft. But I realized I did not plot out the second draft's plot, which could cause me to fall into one of the pit-falls of the first draft--having the characters aimlessly wandering. (I usually plot out my stories, but in that case I made the mistake in forgetting to plot and improvised it most of the way.)

My plan instead then is to work on Becoming the Body Thief during NaNoWriMo in November, so as to give me time to re-plot it and create connections between episodes. And in July, I will be working on The Haunted Sketchbook.

My Writing- 

There are two storylines going on at the same time, which I ignored in my first and second write through of the story. This time around, I am giving the characters equal attention. There is a mystery in both of the plots, and I need to give clues to the reader in both of these without revealing too much. So, I am using detective shows I've seen with plots like that for inspiration. 

 Since the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo was yesterday, here are some things I've been thinking about while writing this draft. My goal for this camp is to write 20,000 words worth of rewrites for this story, and so far I've written 3,218 words. 

I have been looking at Greek and Irish castles as models for the castle that Arisias lives in. Greek and Irish culture were the inspirations for my elves in general, and their religion. I don't want it to look fully Irish or fully Greek but a hybrid. I don't want someone to react to it like "oh, the elves are Irish" or "oh, the elves are Greek" but instead for there to be a mixture of both cultures, so that it becomes its own thing. This is a challenge, but it's going to be a fun one. 

(Fiáina the goddess of nature in festive clothes). 

I've been also working on a holiday related to the goddess, Fiáina. I only have one holiday figured out for that world, and that is the Festival of Magic. I want to make another one. It's not simply there to show world-building; rather, it has a purpose to the plot as a whole (that I can't reveal because of spoilers). So, I want to pay attention to what rituals would happen during that festival and what mythological importance it has to the goddess. And, I should add, this song by Spiral Dance was an inspiration to me for the holiday: 

Spiral Dance's music in general has reminded me of my fantasy world, so it is neat that it inspired a holiday for my world as well. 

I have been continuing to improve the descriptions of my elves.(I mentioned last time that I was working on this.)  I've been avoiding mentioning that they have pointy ears. While it may eventually be mentioned off hand, the part of my elves that is important is not that they have pointy ears, but instead that they are deeply connected to nature--even if their duties do not lie in the protection of or caring of nature. So far, it has been going well, but like the writing I have done with description for my other stories, I am going to make several revisions before I get a perfect draft. 

This year, I am also doing a writing prompt challenge, which involves getting to know your characters better. The characters I am doing it for are: Karleon (The God of Mischief), Salissah (The Goddess of the Moon), and Ophelia. 

Responding to the prompts has been helpful in understanding the characters more and also allowed me to get into Ophelia's backstory. I felt as if I had not thought a lot about it, which is strange, because I feel I should have given it more attention, since she has been alive for so long (being an elf). What I've found out about her backstory has added nuance to her character in the current story, and how her past affected her, since in hundreds of years a lot can happen. And if some humans aren't comfortable with events that happened in their past, elves are likely to have some past regrets too.

I am also exploring Karleon's and Salissah's friendship. When I first made them, I thought they'd be enemies, but they ended up becoming friends. (Karleon is not on good terms with Fiáina; however, when around their devotees, they act more as colleagues even if they're not on good terms.) In regards to Salissah's and Karleon's friendship, I guess they became friends because wit (what Karleon has) and wisdom (what Salissah has) work well together. 

While I am not currently writing  All is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again, I am working on the characters and the world.  I've been doing a ton of research for it, but I've been thinking about two characters: Veraly and Seth. The story has many main characters (as opposed to only one), so, it is going to be a good challenge to plot out the series. The world itself is still in its early stages in terms of world-building (unlike Arisias's world). I have an idea about what I want to do with it, but I have not figured out everything yet.  

(Moodboard for Veraly. Images from Wiki commons, Pixabay, and Pexels.  The template I used to make this mood-board was made by Ayzrules). 

As for the characters, Veraly is a performer and Phoenix's (adoptive) sister. She has water magic and enjoys performing arts of different kinds. I've been thinking about what creative things she does and how those creative things affect how she views the world. 

And Seth is a shapeshifter spy. He's also incredibly religious, and the reason why he is doing that is due to that world's religion. An object important to their religion was stolen, and he has to find it. 

And I want to figure out how he feels about being a spy given that he is religious: how he handles it, whether there is guilt from it, and things like that.

Both these characters I am trying to develop more, so hopefully I will learn more about them too, along with their world. Even though I am not writing their story at the moment, I thought I would share. 

Playlist for The Mystery of the Body Thief 

And also since I shared the playlist I made last year's camp, here is the playlist for the novel I am currently working on. 

  Fun (Non-Writing Related) things- 

 * In March, I went to an online S.J. Tucker concert: it was so fun. And as a songwriter myself, it was fun to find out that she too was inspired by books in writing her music. Since the concert was collaboration with a library,  there were a ton of book recommendations that came with the songs she sang. 

I've previously never found a way to go to concerts for the singers I love (since they are either in a different country or don't do concerts at all), so finding out about this was so fun and I am glad I went. It was a fun way to celebrate spring equinox. She ended up playing "Rabbit's Song," which was a song that served as an inspiration for Karleon's myths in the myth collection and was one of my favorites of hers. And I was introduced to some new (and unreleased) songs that I had never heard before. 

One of these was "Kashkash," which was inspired by a book, In the Cities of Coin and Spice. 

*

(Image from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_You_Like_It#/media/File:Rosalind_-_Robert_Walker_Macbeth.jpg)

 I attended and participated in a dramatic reading of As You Like It and read some parts in it (Rosalind, Celia, Orlando, and a few others). I had not read or seen the play in a long time, so that was fun. It was fun to perform with a group again and to play different roles. It makes me want to try to get Rosalind or Orlando as a part in a full production of As You Like It sometime. 

And that's the end of part one!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How was your March? Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo or another fun activity this April? 

-Quinley 

How April's Camp NaNoWriMo is Going for Me (Part 2)

Click here to read Part 1. 

Greetings Adventurers, 

This is the final part of the series about my adventures in Camp NaNoWriMo for April 2023. Next year, I may do something similar if I am working on a project that I've already talked a lot about. But in terms of posts relating to Camp NaNoWriMo, you can look forward to hearing about the project I am working on in July, sometime soon. 

My Writing 

On April 14th I got to my word count goal! The story is far from finished and I still have a lot of work I need to do in terms of writing it. But it feels good to have a better version of it written than my first attempt at the third draft. It still needs a lot of editing and rewriting, but I am getting closer

     in terms of publishing. 

 However...I am going to have one of my standalone books be my debut novel, since this novel lands on a cliffhanger and is a part of a series.

 In the meantime, I finally rewrote the summary. The original summary I had written was from 2018, so it was outdated. Here is the new summary:

“Arisias” is the only thing Horatio remembers after waking up from a coma. He doesn’t remember who he is or what happened to him before the accident. 

At the same time in Dragons' Province, two detectives are working on solving the case of the murdered royalty. It’s unclear who the killer or killers are, for a different person is always seen leaving the scene of the crime. Will they be able to find out who or what is behind it all, before it is too late?

(Two pages from my writing notebook from 2016) 

I feel the story is becoming clearer and clearer, though it is very different from the first draft. I found the first page of the notebook I had written about the characters, when I first created them. They were so different then. And it's interesting to see how it evolved. I don't know what younger me would have thought of the story as it is now, but the fact that I've been able to work on it for so long and have not given up is an accomplishment. 

I do, however, have a to-do list of things for the story from writing this. I figured out some world-building elements, which I will now need to decide how to fit in. And I need to redesign one character's clothes--while I may end up using them somewhere else in a different project, they now seem out of place in this story. They were inspired by 18th century clothes, and most of the other characters' clothes are inspired by Ancient Greek and Irish culture. 

However, I am not going to completely forget about the clothes: they will be reused somewhere else. I have done this before with other story elements. For example, Ophelia's former boyfriend, Austen, ended up getting a project of his own, which I hope to explore sometime. And a character who changed appearance wise, but is still in the story, had their appearance used by another character in a different story.  (Admittedly if someone heard this out of context, a person using another person's face would sound incredibly weird.) 

(Image from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_De_Morgan#/media/File:Cassandra1.jpeg)

In the writing group I am in, there was a fun exercise to "post artwork that reminds you of your project." It reminded me how much of my project-- character wise was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite art. Besides being inspired by Tauriel from The Hobbit (movies), Arisias took some inspiration from a painting when I first created her. And more recently, there are paintings that remind me of her, one of which is posted above. 

(Image from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Waterhouse#/media/File:Waterhouse,_JW_-_The_Sorceress_(1913).jpg)

I even found some paintings that remind me of Ophelia, in particular this one by John William Waterhouse. 

The writing challenge I mentioned in the previous post has helped a lot with understanding my characters more. I not only figured out the relationship between Karleon and Salissah, but I also figured out the inner workings of other relationships that they have with other characters-- which is great. 

What I've Been Reading and Watching 

While in the past I have read fantasy and murder mystery books to get into the mood to write, now I am mostly reading classics. I'm currently rereading Jane Eyre. It's fun to delve back into it since it has been a year since I read it. (The last time I read it was for a book club.) It's nice to read about the characters again, and I also am appreciating the descriptions in the book, upon rereading it. I particularly enjoy the gothic elements spread throughout, with the red room, and Jane thinking she sees a figure in the mirror.

I've also been reading Middlemarch and watching the BBC adaptation. I love George Eliot's writing style, and it makes me want to read more books of hers. I will have more to say about it on a later date. 

And I've been loving watching the Sleepy Hollow tv series. I started watching it recently and am on the second season.

(Fan art I did of Abbie). 

 I love Abbie's and Ichabod's friendship. While the main story is nothing like Irving's story, they sprinkle elements of the original story back into it. 

I also love the aesthetic of the title sequence. 

So, from reading Jane Eyre and watching Sleepy Hollow I may have gotten ideas for my gothic novels. 

Anyway, that's the end of my posts about April 2023's Camp NaNoWriMo. I am looking forward to July's. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How has been April been? Have you been reading or watching anything good recently? 

-Quinley 

Writing Reflections

   I thought I would do a writing updates post, since it's been a while since I did one and I have a lot of thoughts about the projects I am currently working on.  

                       

                       What I'm Working on 

Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass

 

Last month, I started working on Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass again. I had previously paused for research, which I have now partially finished. (I still have to research the spiritualist movement, which I need for Matilda's portion of the story.) Some of the research I did involved reading Beckett's trilogy, since there was an aspect of the trilogy that I felt would work in Felix's narration. In the time that I was drafting, I got a satisfying partial draft of Felix's part done, so I will feel good about coming back to finish it in a few months. 

As I was writing the draft, a singer I like released a song that reminds me a lot of my story, and it was helpful for writing a scene involving the Wax Witch. The song itself is about a folk figure, Black Annis, who is a blue hag that eats human flesh. She is not exactly like the Wax Witch, but some of the lyrics reminded me of her. 

It feels good to get back into this story, since I realize I tend to miss characters if I don't write about them for a while.  

The Haunted Sketchbook

In The Haunted Sketchbook I figured out a problem I was having with Edith's narrative, which will make it much easier to do the second draft. Earlier, I had been trying to adhere to a certain formula (from a M.R. James ghost story), and that constrained the story too much. So, I will let the story move outside of this formula and become what it wants to be.  In this way, I figured out that I want a combination of a murder mystery and a ghost story but not in the formula of either: merely using elements of both genres. 

I also discovered a similarity between Ferdinand and Macbeth. While it is not a perfect resemblance, Ferdinand's motives (for doing what he may or may not have done) are similar to Macbeth's: ambition. However, he is in the art world instead of in the world of kings. The similarities between the motives has made it easier for me to understand Ferdinand as a character.  

The Heist of Dorian Gray 

I finished outlining The Heist of Dorian Gray. This is the first time that I've written a story involving heists, so I wanted to make sure that I had a basic idea of the structure of them. (However, I may change some things about the structure, since other genres are present in this story).

I watched The Great Train Robbery to get an idea of the heist structure, and it helped. 

Also, Ivy now has a character sheet which you can look at here. I still need to make ones for Ava and Alfred, but for now I have the three up. 

I then began writing the novel. I found that "zero drafting" (basically outlining and writing short scenes as exercises), helped clear things up, that otherwise might have caused awkward scenes in the first draft. I basically see zero drafting as throwing things at the wall, to see if they stick, if they don't that's fine, or if you miscommunicated a concept you get to clarify it in the 1st draft. (This then makes 2nd, 3rd, etc. drafting much easier, since then it isn't a mess of awkward scenes). 

The Mystery of the Body Thief 

(image from wiki commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Meynell_Rheam_-_The_Fairy_Wood.jpg)

In world-building recently, I have since changed what I call my elves. I now call them the Sídhe (pronounced like SHEE. This is the Irish word for "people of the fairy mound.") So, if you see me referring to them as that, don't be confused, because early drafts of my story had pointed to them being like Irish fairies. This will be a part of the update in the character sheets. I am also working on a short story set in that world (from the myth collection). I am working on editing and rewriting, and I plan to release it as a story introducing the world. Once it's published I will make an update post on that. 

Also in my world building, I figured out a division between the humans and Sídhe in terms of learning magic from the gods.This was inspired by the research I did for a paper I presented at a fantasy conference. Magic is less common among humans than among the Sídhe, and the humans who do have magic call themselves "fairy doctors." Magic is still a religious thing among humans, as it is among the Sídhe. But the Sídhe call those of their own kind who have magic from the gods, "devotees" or "priests/priestesses." 

And that's all I've been working on writing-wise. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What are you working on this September? Do you have a song that reminds you of your story and/or character? 

-Quinley 

November Novel writing!! (and other fall things)

Hi everyone, it's November so that means....

November Novel Writing!

(a photo I took)

So far I have 5,294 words I need to get to 15,000.   

now changed to 13000. 

I have been writing a lot recently (and annoying my characters) , but don't worry I still will be posting, if I can. 


mostly I have been writing and writing, and more writing. 

I have many words on my word count right now, and am very excited to finish my novel. 


-----


for reading I'm reading 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 have been drawing and plotting out characters whenever I have the time. 

Here is actually one of my designs of the villain (who currently has no name) 

and here is a close up of her face. She was fun to draw. 



That's all for now, 

Quinley 

How to get out of Blogger's block (tips for Bloggers)

Hi everyone, today I have anther writing post but this time It has to do with blogging... 

Post Ideas- 

If you have no idea what to post, it's good to take a quick break from your computer (much like what you do in writing) or ask for some ideas and suggestions from friends or family. Keep in mind you're doing blogging for fun and you should not be pressured to do it. 

- If you're an artist then you can take pictures or upload your art and make a post that way, you can talk about which art or drawing is your favorite or which one you particularly enjoyed creating. 

-If you're a writer you can share a little bit of a story you're writing such as snippets from your novel (especially if you're doing Camp NaNoWrimo or November Novel Writing),  or share a short story you wrote, or even short bios of your characters.

- If you do photography you can post a photo-shoot, you can take pictures with a friend or take pictures of one of your toys (like a doll or stuffed animal)

Getting Ideas- 

It doesn't always happen that you get idea right away sometimes it takes days to come up with a idea or longer. Sometimes the Idea sneaks up on you, or something happens that makes you want to make a post...

but here are some things I do that help me get ideas:

1. Draw or doodle , sometimes just doing that helps me think of a idea..

2. Listening to Music, it helps me get into  a blogging mood.

3. writing, writing down ideas or even a short story helps me think...

4. Reading, The Funny thing about this one is when I'm reading sometimes I come with a post idea out of the blue.

-------------------------------

hope this post was helpful for you!:)


Have you ever not known what to post? how did you come up with an idea? 


-Quinley

Once and Future Fantasies: My First Conference

(The background image is from Pixabay, the drawing I did myself)

                                                       Greetings Adventurers,  

In July, I presented at a conference with the The Centre for the Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow, virtually. I could not attend in person due to the fact that I had a surgery (tonsil surgery if anyone is worried) and also because of other health reasons, but it was a fantastic experience that I wish to share with you, along with my paper and my experience writing it. 

The conference was called Once and Future Fantasies playing on the title of the book, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, which is a retelling of the Arthurian legends. The Conference on the other hand was about the past and future of fantasy. So, here is my experience with the conference: 

                                                      Writing the Paper-

(Image from Wikipedia, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling#/media/File:John_Bauer_-_The_Princess_and_the_Trolls_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

 I feel like I should mention this part before I talk about my experience with the conference itself. I first heard about Once and Future Fantasies through a request for papers from The Centre. And I decided to submit a proposal to them. Here is my proposal: 

This paper will begin by looking at the theme of the Changeling Child in Celtic fairy tales. It will show the similarities between this theme and present-day dilemmas of parents of disabled children. It will demonstrate that there are parallels between the parents’ appeal to magic in fairy tales and the parents’ appeal to medicine in today’s world. In both contexts, parents call on special powers to “recover” the child that they expected to have. In spite of this, trying to recover the child can cause a disconnect between the parents and the child, because it communicates that they do not love the child as they are, and that the child needs to be “fixed.” As someone who is disabled, I find researching and analyzing this analogy between fairy magic and Western medicine to be interesting. In Folklore, a parent gives birth to a child; the child is not what the parent expected, and it turns out their real child was replaced with a Changeling. The parent tries to return the changeling to the fairies in order to get their real child back: that is, the child they expected. In our modern-day world, a parent gives birth to a child; the child is not what the parent expected, and it turns out the child is disabled. The parent turns to Western medicine to find cures for the disability in order to get their “real” child back: that is, the child they expected. Comparing these two contexts helps to highlight the flaws in medical-centered “cures” for disabilities and in the thinking of parents and doctors about disabled children.

In the months after my proposal got accepted, I worked hard on my paper in order to get it to the point where it could be presentable. This required a lot of research and reading to find the sources I needed to get my points across. Though it was a lot of work, it was very fun because I got to read a lot of books I had not thought I would read before and I learned a lot while doing so. Some of the books I read were: Fairies: A Dangerous History; Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms' Fairy Tales; and a lot of Irish fairy tales and folk tales, as well as folk tales from other Celtic and European cultures. 

When writing the paper, I talked about my own experiences with my disabilities as well as those of others, so this paper was pretty personal as well as academic. 

I should say, for those looking to write a paper or essay for a conference, that like novel writing you will go through several drafts, and you will do a lot of research before you arrive at an end result you're happy about. (I had to read several books, some of which did not end up getting included in the final paper). I began writing in February, and didn't deliver the paper till July, so I had a lot of time to research and write. 

                             The Paper and My Experience Presenting-

(Image from wiki commons, 

                                https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Z%C3%89LIE_AND_THE_FAIRY_CANDIDE_PRINCE_CH%C3%89RI.jpg)

My paper was pre-recorded, so I spent time editing and recording it before the conference. To me it was really similar to the experiences I've had with recording my acting videos-- though a bit different since I was not in character. I was very happy with the end result. On the day of the conference, I had to wake up very early, but it was worth it. The video for my paper was just posted on The Centre for the Fantasy and the Fantastic's YouTube channel, so you can check it out: 

I also want to give a huge thank you to the Centre for the Fantasy and the Fantastic for allowing to present virtually and making this a wonderful experience. I want to say "thank you" to them, also, for posting the video of my paper on their channel. 💙 This experience has inspired me to want to be a professor, because I won't be doing acting, writing, animating, etc. as a full time job. Having a job as a professor would allow me to continue to do those things professionally-- while still having a "day job" that I like. 

After I presented, the audience asked a lot of wonderful questions about my paper, such as how disability is presented in current Fantasy media-- or even how disability should be discussed and presented in classroom settings, and what resources to use. I am very happy that my paper sparked discussion and questions. And I am so happy that I got to present at Once and Future Fantasies. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have you been to or presented at a conference? And do you have a favorite folktale involving Changelings or the Fair Folk? 

-Quinley 

How Camp NaNoWriMo Has Been Going for Me (Part 1)

 

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. 

                                    Books I've Been Reading 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here) 

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? 

-Quinley