Tuesday 3 July 2012

Beautiful People - June Edition

Yes, yes, I forgot to post on Saturday - I was in Durham, dodging rainstorms and poking my nose into their university. Forgive me, readers. I am a bad, bad blogger.

Life is beginning to get a little mad right now - it's the last week of school, and I have my final five-day Duke of Edinburgh trek coming up the week after. Then it's a "holiday" full of Personal Statement writing (which is already pushing me dangerously close to the border of Loonie Land), writing my Extended Essay (which I am looking forward to with an almost worryingly nerdy glee), cramming the school reading list onto my bookshelf and Kindle, and moving house (more on that at another time).

However, today, the lovely girls over at Further Up and Further In have made time in their own massively busy lives to bring us June's edition of Beautiful People. However, this time around, it's a little bit different to usual. This time, we get to choose the questions for ourselves.

So, being the cherry-picker that I am, I have pilfered their archives and put together ten questions from the mix to amuse you all. Feel free to nick them for yourselves if you fancy!

My victim this month would have been our old friend Rin, but as I have horribly neglected his story for several months now, he's sulking in the corner and throwing pointy objects at me every time I try to get near him. Coupled with yet another plot overhaul, that has upset just about everything in the story, he's in no mood to play the game.

Thankfully, I have my plot for NaNoWriMo coming together already and thus, this week, I will present to you one of its central characters.

The place: the gigantic, sprawling and exceedingly smelly city of Scatterank.
The timeframe: if Victorian England crashed into the Late Mediaeval period, and then spots of Sci-Fi leaked in from the upper floor and left splodgy bits all over the place, you might  get an idea of the place.
The character: our first-person narrator, Deladier Vandaleur. Socially awkward country boy of nineteen, intellect the size of a small country, but a pretty disastrous cook if ever there was one.

Let's begin, shall we?

1. Does your character have a methodical or disorganised personality?
Deladier is a weird mix of the two. Excluding his glasses, he knows exactly where everything is, how it works, and what he has to do with it at any given time. Things may be in odd places (on top of dressers, under beds, stashed in windowsills etc) but they will always be organised and laid out in a sensible, logical fashion. 


2. Favourite writing utensil?
He'll use almost anything, but he's got a particular fondness for fountain pens. One of his mini projects (he has many) is an attempt to build an ink pen that won't coat him in ink. Success thus far has met mostly with over-pressurised ink slots, faulty pen nibs and several small explosions.


3. Where he s/he from?
Deladier was born on a large country-house sort of estate in Pleasancegreen, a small shire populated by ridiculously wealthy aristocratic families. It's about three days out of Scatterank, which is the closest major city. The country as a whole consists of a series of large city-states and their outlying hangers-on situated around the Traders' Sea, a gargantuan natural "bay" that leads out to the open sea and the other countries beyond.


4. Does s/he play a musical instrument? If so, what?
His mother forced him to start playing the violin when he was about five . . . unfortunately, playing music is one of the few things in life that Deladier would sooner avoid. He's hopeless. He loves listening to it, but he can't play it to save his life.


5. How do they feel about people in general?
One word: people-phobe. As much as Deladier likes the idea of social interaction and friendship, he's very shy of people, as he really has no idea how to make conversation. A closeted upbringing with a scary-as-heck father and a smothering, overbearing mother will do that to you.


6. What are they most thankful for?
Books. They're just about the only thing that keeps him sane. He practically lived in his father's library for most of his young life.


Later on in the story, though, there are some very special (if slightly bizarre) people who enter his life, trash it, and leave him standing in the wreckage wondering how on earth he could ever have been who he was before. Whether he's thankful for that, however, remains a mystery to me for now.


7. What's their worst childhood memory?
The day his grandfather died. While the rest of his family were intent on pushing him into a world he has no desire to enter, his grandfather was the only one to consider him as a person in his own right. He was the one who first introduced Deladier to the delights of reading.


8. What is their biggest accomplishment?
Aside from having read every major book by Yostol (a very prolific, very literary and slightly grammatically-challenged author in their world), it would probably be the fact that he's well on the way to being one of the world's top academics. Or he would be, if only he would get around to publishing the essays he writes in his spare time.


9. Is s/he naturally curious?
Very. Despite his social awkwardness, Deladier will jump head first into any opportunity to learn something new, in any area. If he ever plucked up the courage to invite a guest around, he would pepper them with questions about absolutely anything and everything.


10. What does his/her handwriting look like?
For someone like him, it's surprisingly neat - an italicised Times New Roman is probably the best comparison I can think of. He's not into decorative lettering or elaborate signatures - he just wants to get all his ideas down before the ink in his pen runs out, or ends up all over his arm.


And there you have it!

What about all of you? Have you got your NaNoWriMo plots set out? Plotting or pants-ing this year? Anything you're particularly looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

~ Charley R

18 comments:

  1. *giggles* to the second bit of comment Number 6. *grins*

    (Yeah - Inex claps making ELo wondering what she's doing ont eh forfront of her brain, and clapping for Deladier of all people.)
    (Adam shrugs - he's a good chap, and you always thought we'd get along...)
    *facepalm*

    Why do they do this to me? *grins*

    I'm really excited about seeing this novel drafted. I was thinkign of doing a similar thing with Junes questions, but probably more mathmatically *he he*. However I'm still stupped as to who I should be answering them for.

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    1. June's and stumped... go go proof reading. :}

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    2. Bahahahaha, Deladier is currently hiding behind Rem looking very embarrased. But I think he appreciates the love. As for the number six - I thought you'd like that one. They wouldn't let me post this up without a mention of their eventual involvement, the daft bats xD

      Looking forward to your answers, whenever they come and whoever you do :)

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    3. I think I have decided to go with...


      *Drum roll*


      "Lori and her boys!" - to quote your wonderful birthday poem to me. :}

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    4. *has to duck as Mirk and company set up a happy dance for them*

      Heehee, that's good news! That'll be a fun story ... and now Sabby is sulking because he's getting left out *whaps him* Shush, you'll get your turn!

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  2. Sounds like a fun character... I'm trying to put together a post for this chain before I decide to do it. Is there a time limit on posting or anything like that?

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    1. No time limit at all - just do it whenever you like. Doesn't even have to be within the month, really, there's no penalty. you just do it whenever you like :P

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    2. Okay, I'll do my best. It's a good way to know a character-- force yourself to make things up that you would never have thought of otherwise. Now... I need seven questions. Any ideas?

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    3. Pinch mine, if you can't think of a starting point!

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    4. I pinched one of yours... Perhaps two or three.

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  3. Oh, that was such a good interview. I love the "writing utensil" question. For some reason, the word untesil always makes me think of a potato masher. Random, I know.

    I really enjoyed the interview. Made me laugh. :)

    Mime

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    1. Thank you! Planning the scenes involving exploding proto-pen is always lots of fun.

      And welcome to the Tower! Make yourself at home, have a biscuit :D

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  4. haha! loved this interview. My favourite bit (before the interview actually started, I have to admit) was when you described Deladier and said "intellect the size of a small country". That's so perfect!! You have an amazing way with words!! :) And I loved the interview too... :P

    ~cait~ from notebooksisters.blogspot.com

    stopping over from the BP link-up

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    1. Aww, thank you very much! And glad to see you stopping by - new faces are always welcome here :D

      I shall be chasing up thy blog this afternoon methinks ... if my packing doesn't eat me xD

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    2. i LOVE your writing. :) going off to follow right now...

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    3. Thank you so much! I have stalkificated you in return, so you may consider the admiration mutual :)

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  5. "people-phobe"? I feel sure there's a proper word for that.

    *looks it up* Anthropophobia? (Phobia of people or society) Or Social phobia, which is a similar thing.

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