Beautiful People, May 2012 - Evil Edition!

My villains are my favourites. As much as I come to feel affection for my delightful bands of heroes, heroines, and gods know what else they are, it's always the villain I'll love the best. 


Of course, this gave me something of a dichotomy when it came to choosing one for this post.


Should I find you a villain from the Aeserion Trilogy?  Can't - they're all in the middle of reworking, and thus everything I write here is probably incorrect. Besides, spoilers!


What about a villain from the new novel I started last week? Sadly, that won't work either - you guys would have no idea who I was on about.


A villain from a past NaNo, then? Now that got me thinking.


Of course, I couldn't settle for just any old villain - I wanted to find one that would be impressive. Terrifying. Skin-tingling. And not eat me when I dragged him out of his lair to answer the questions.


I half succeeded. It may have cost an arm and a leg - quite literally, I'm typing this with my nose, 'cause I'm so talented - but you lovely people will have an insight into the most terrifying entity who currently inhabits my head.


You all know the lovely Vidal. Meet his many-times-great-grandson.


Sephirax; "Sixknives", "The Shadow", "The Bane of Tanelorn". Murderer and madman.
Even the Stormlord bloodline, notorious murderers, liars, thieves and worse, have disowned him. And you're about to see why.


1. What is their motive? 
It depends what he's doing. Sometimes it's part of a long-term plan. Sometimes it's a spurr of the moment necessity. Sometimes there's a personal grudge involved. Sometimes it's a red herring to throw his enemies off the scent. Sometimes it's for kicks and giggles.

2. What are they prepared to do to get what they want? 
Anything. Sephirax has all the morals of a rock. And a good deal less sensitivity. The fact he's dancing dangerously close to insanity doesn't really help his moral compass.

3. Are they evil to the core, or simply misunderstood? 
In the beginning, he did what he did because he had no choice - it was that, or starve and die, taking the one person he cared about, and who cared about him, with him. Now, though? There's no doubt he's lost his mind - or some of it, at least. But whether it's the madness, or Sephirax's own twisted soul that drives him now, no one knows. Depends who you ask. And if they'll tell you anything. 

4. What was their past like? What about their childhood? Was there one defining moment that made them embrace their evil ways?
Sephirax started out in the world much the same way Vidal did - a bastard to a high-born lady, who died not long after his birth, and whose father never claimed him. He grew up fairly wild in the custody of the midwife's family, but they kicked him out the moment they could. He was strange. Very very strange. But sweet enough beneath that - he had a knack for mischief, and a distinct lack of any sort of conscience, but he never meant to cause harm. Not at first.


Unfortunately, the development of his exceedingly powerful mentalist abilities soon lead him towards darker and darker acts, drawn by a strange morbid curiosity with pushing the limits of his power. His friends, who were all he had in the world, started to fear him. And so did everyone else. This seemingly inexplicable rejection twisted like a knife in Sephirax, and he went south when he was still scarce more than a child, looking for something nobody is sure of. No one knows what happened to him, but when he came back, Tanelorn had no idea what it had created. Or what a bloodstained nightmare his madness would wreak upon them.


5. Now that they’re evil, have they turned their back on everyone, or is there still someone in their life that they care for? (Brother? Daughter? Love interest? Mother? Someone who is just as evil as they are?)
Love is a word Sephirax regards with the worst sort of scorn. The world's rejection of him made him bitter, and he'll happily use the loved ones of others to get what he wants - whether it be crucial to his job, or just because he feels the urge to destroy something. 


But there is one tiny little corner of his rotten heart that beats for someone else. His deafblind, crippled half-sister, Eli, rescued from the clutches of their mother's family who sought to exploit her Stormlord blood and use her as a political pawn. Her protection and welfare is all that stands between her brother's descent into lunacy and death. 


And, despite his bitterness towards them, Sephirax still agonises over actions concerning his old friends. Sometimes his old memories inspire a strange act of mercy. Sometimes they drive him to atrocities.

6. Do they like hugs?
Only from Eli. She sleeps curled up in his arms every night.


*aside* In his heart of hearts, he loves them. But don't try. He'll do something horrible to you.

7. Are they plagued by something? (Nightmares, terrible thoughts?) 
Enemies. Shifting webs of treachery. Lies. Deceit. Bitter memories. Fear. His own mental demons. And a new foe, stalking in his shadow, disappearing every time he looks. But he knows it's there. And he knows it's coming for him.

8. Who are they more similar to: Gollum or Maleficent?
Sephirax is a Malificent from the outset, but inside he's just as lost as Gollum ever was. He's both terrified of and intrigued by the power he has at his disposal, though his concern for Eli and his occasional fits of doubt and agony over the wreck of his life torment him near constantly. But he has made his choice, and he pays the price. Great power has, quite literally, lead to madness. 

9. If your villain could have their choice of transportation what would it be?
He would love to be able to teleport. There are thousands of stories that he can - though according to these stories he's also able to fly, steals souls just by making eye-contact, can walk through walls, and his father was a dragon. Teleportation would be a wonderful compliment to his job, and would cover up several of his somewhat limiting physical and mental weaknesses nicely. Even he can't kill a foe from halfway across the city, however much he would want to.

10. If you met your villain in the street, how afraid would you be? Are they evil enough to kill their creator?
I would just stand there and hope he killed me quickly. I couldn't outrun him - stubby-legged human vs nine and a half feet of muscle and malice is hardly a fair match. I couldn't outfight him - brittle-boned and physically deteriorating or no, if he kicked me hard enough most of my organs would explode. And, at close range, he could tear me apart from the inside out, literally or using his mentalism, depending what mood he was in. Heck, he'd probably hunt me down with the intention of killing me if he was bored. He's that nasty. And has that little regard for life.


Thankfully, I've given him a "squeaky toy" list of other characters he's allowed to maim to his heart's content. That seems to be keeping him happy ... for now.

***

Now ... who's up for a scary story?

- Charley R

Tents! Tagging! Toilets!

My legs.
My legs.
The sheer Volume of Ouch that I felt yesterday evening simply cannot be measured. Four days spent walking up and down steep-sided tors over tussocky ankle-snapping grass - that is, when I wasn't knee-deep in hidden marsh or nursing a bruised thigh from falling down a small canyon - really does take absolutely everything out of you.

Doesn't really help we got lost on Day One either. The routes are a minimum of 17-and-a-half kilometres long, but due to the lack of prominent features on Dartmoor, they're often a lot longer.

Guess which group got lucky, wandered into a desolate area and ended up walking about 23 kilometres in a day alone? That's about ten hours from crawling out of our tent in pre-dawn darkness, swallowing breakfast, taking down tent and setting off to collapsing in the next camp.

Or, it would have been if we ever got to the next camp. We wandered so far that we had to find the best location we could and settle in for the night. We found a little gully, but the wind direction that night was rather unfortunate. The -2 degree night felt like -10 with the wind going as it was. There was an awful lot of frost outside the tent ... and the water in my bottle froze over. Even though it was next to me in the tent.

Yeah. It was cold. And due to the (cursed lying) weather reports, I brought my summer sleeping back and too few layers of clothes. You can guess how that ended.

But, anyway, suffice to say that days two and three of the trek were much better - very sore and wearing, but we got home in the end - I had a little panic because my Mum wasn't picking up my phone, and in my sleep and food-deprived state I began to worry she was going to leave me at school all alone. This wasn't the case though and, as this post proves, I am now very much home and alive.

Duke of Edinbrugh might be agony, but it really makes you appreciate the little things. Like beds, duvets, running water, central heating ... and toilets. Words cannot describe how unimpressed I was when I discovered our allocated location for *ahem* personal needs turned out to be in a patch of stinging nettles in our first camp. My bottom will never forgive me, I swear.

Anyway, after a good night's sleep (which I was honestly beginning to wonder if I would ever feel again), a very hot and very long shower (three days sans washing facilities and only frigid rivers to scrub your face in leaves a very nasty smell, I tell you), plus copious amounts of Ribena have perked me up.

So, today, to avoid turning this post into a long whinge about how much I hate cold / smelly tents / walking boots / Trangia cookers, I shall instead entertain you all with a delightful set of questions that results from a tagging quiz! You can blame the lovely Miriam from A Farewell to Sanity for this one.

Now then, here be the rules:

~You must post the rules
~Post eleven facts about yourself on the blog post
~Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
~Tag eleven bloggers, however, you can break the rules and tag fewer  people if you want. Make sure you hyperlink their names / blogs.
~Let them know you’ve tagged them!
~Have fun!


Rightio ... here we go!


Eleven Facts about Charley:

1. I spell my name with the "L-E-Y" ending so that people reading my name don't assume I'm male. It happened way too much in my childhood, and it really ticks me off.
2. I want to try and teach myself Welsh sometime in the future.
3. My favourite number in the alphabet is purple.
4. I take weekly classes in Washinkai style karate, and am currently at the level of purple belt - halfway to my black belt now!
5. I am the Grammar Nazi from hell. Spelling mistakes on shop signs, newspaper headings and written notices around my school really irritate me. I even went around my boarding house adding in apostrophes to some of the signs on bathroom doors last year.
6. Due to a combination of inflexibility, clicky joints and very long legs, I am physically incapable of sitting cross-legged.
7. I once requested the colour of my braces to be "TARDIS blue". Specifically.
8. Though I am right-handed, I have the weird habit of trying to write with my left hand before I work out that something isn't quite right.
9. I love Post-It notes. My bedroom wall at school is testimony to that. And highlighters ... oh, the highlighers...
10. I was once tricked into eating camel testicles.
11. Instead of flowers, this year I gave my mum a replica of a Notre Dame gargoyle. His name is Francois.

And now the questions...

What is the largest object to the right of the computer or other device on which you are writing this?
The smaller of my two book cases - I'm sitting on the floor in a bean bag, so I don't really have a desk to look from. This one is a horizontal number painted a sickening shade of pink ... I've had it for as long as I can remember, so don't judge me on the colour. 

What was the last book you read? (Not finished. Just read.)
A book of essays on Alfred Lord Tennyson by some critic called Harold Bloom. Though, if that doesn't count, I shall say it was "The Vicount of Bragellonne" by Alexandre Dumas - it's the third-to-last in the Three Musketeers books.

Do you name inanimate objects?
Yes - though only if they're actually mine, and I come into contact with them a lot. I am typing this on the keyboard of Macbeth, with Cersei the phone sitting next to me.

What was your response to receiving the message that you’d been tagged? (Be honest.)
"Well ... I have an excuse to get another blog post up today then!"

Do you have any pets?
I wish - being an Army family, we move around too much to keep pets. The fact that my father hates cats, my mother and brother are allergic to animals and I go to boarding school also undermines any campaign I might mount on this front. Though I do intend to get cats when I've got a place of my own.

How many projects do you have going at the moment?
Depends what you mean by "project". In terms of writing, I have one big collaborative project (the famous "St Mallory's Forever!"), three or four smaller ones on Protagonize.com, and I am vainly attempting to work on two solo projects (rewriting the Aeserion trilogy is one, the other is working on my NaNo stories), and meanwhile desperately wish I had more time for all of them. 


If you're talking about other stuff including schoolwork, extended essays, revision, lines for plays or anything like that ... I would be here for far too long telling you all this. Gotta love being in the Sixth Form, eh?

What are you supposed to be doing instead of writing this post?
Researching universities, revising, tidying my room, purging my wardrobe for clothes that I no longer fit into / want, doing the same for my book case ... yeah. A lot of things. Don't tell my mum!

How long have you been blogging?
I posted not long ago about The Tower's first birthday, so I'll say a little way over a year. I can't be bothered to work it out exactly.

Do you play any musical instruments? (Vocals count.)
Currently, I'm taking singing lessons - and very much enjoying them! I played the guitar for three years too, but I gave that up this year - too painful for my fingers, as I never seemed to build up calluses, I wasn't making very much progress and I just wasn't enjoying it any more. Other than that, I'm not very musically inclined. I play a mean triangle though!

What is the last piece of orchestral music you listened to?
"O Fortuna", from some compilation album of famous sountrack orchestral pieces. 

What is the oddest objects you can see right now?
Take your pick - the dangly bat on my doorknob who makes creepy noises when you poke it, the blue spotty dressing gown doing its best dementor impersonation on the end of my bed, the large pile of cuddly animals sitting on top of my bookcase, the menagerie of books on Beowulf and Geoffrey Chaucer sitting on my bottom bunk ... or the non-existent mattress on the bottom bunk of said bed. And yes, I do have a bunk bed. Be jealous.


Whew! That was fun! Now, onto Phase Two of the operation:


- What was your favourite TV show when you were a child?
- What is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word "cornucopia"?
- Where is the weirdest place you have ever been on holiday?
- Do you know what part of the body a "weenus" is?
- Early bird or night owl?
- Concerning naughty children: smacking, or just telling off?
- What's the strangest thing, edible or otherwise, that you've ever eaten?
- Someone attacks you on the street - fight, or run for your life?
- What is your middle name?
- Do you have any food allergies or intolerances?
- Who are the top three people, past or present, you wish you could meet?


And finally, Phase Three - tagging. I don't have the time or energy to tag eleven people, but I shall do my best to get a good few in here.


Taylor Lynn from Perfectly Sensible Nonsense - because her posts are always fantastic, whatever subject matter they may concern. That, and she always leaves lovely comments on my posts, which makes me a very happy Charley.


Gillian from Of Battles, Dragons and Swords of Adamant - not only do I adore her "Villainy 101" posts, but being a fellow fantasy addict and tentative Christian, I find her posts wonderfully inspiring and insightful.


Kirsty from The Ramblings of Randomspirit - I know I tag her a lot, but this blog really is what it says on the tin: a load of hysterically funny randomness from an even more hysterically funny girl!


Hmm ... I think I shall leave it there. Tagging too many people at once is a bit stressful, and I'd hate to think I was annoying anyone by taggin them too much. However, if anyone feels desperately left out, feel free to just do it yourself and let me know - I'd be more than happy to come over and read your post! I do love some good random facts, me.


In the meantime, I shall bid you lovely people farewell - I'm going to do some of that university research before my mother eats me, and then my poor feet are due for another round of pampering. Perhaps I should get you a picture of them - some of the colours in the bruises are really quite something...


- Charley R

Beautiful People - February 2012

It's that time again! Although I've had very little time for writing recently - what with plotting my extended essay, doing all my required and extra reading and keeping on top of my ever-mounting pile of homework - but, be warned, there is a good deal of plotting going on. This summer will be a wordy one, one way or another!


Not in the least because the Aeserion Trilogy rewrite will begin. And, in honour of that, Rin - whom you may remember from last month's post - has been dragged out from his hiding place happily returned to answer this second load of questions!


Now, without further ado, here we go!


1. If your character could be played by any actor, who would it be?
Without a doubt, I'd love to see Viggo Mortensen (better known as Aragorn, from Lord of the Rings) playing Rin. From what I know of his off-camera antics, he'd have the perfect mentality for the role, and - this may or may not be the result of my fangirl-ness - I think he looks rather like him. Unfortunately, as he's probably too old by now (and might not take well to having to dye his hair bright ginger!) Ah well, I can dream, can't I?


2. Does your character have a specific theme song?
Not really - unlike many of my characters, Rin's creation as a character wasn't influenced by any particular song. A couple that do make me think of him when I'm writing though, are Disturbed's "I'm Alive" and "Hero" by Heather Dale.


3. What’s their worst childhood memory?
When he was about fifteen, Rin decided to present himself to his local lord and ask to be hired as one of his household company. Unfortunately, taking one look at his narrow frame and unorthodox fighting style, Lord Bragan laughed in his face and told him he would eat his boot if he ever saw the day when a "skinny bag of maggots" like Rin ever lifted a sword. However well he's done for himself since, Rin still can't stand attacks on his honour like that - people who make them tend to end up with several bruises and a broken rib or two ... if they say sorry fast enough to avoid further injury!

4. If your character had a superpower, what would it be?
His personal choice would probably be flight - his advantage in a battle lies in his speed, and being able to take off into the air at any moment would definitely compliment that nicely. From my perspective, looking at him as a person, I'd say he would probably be some sort of pyromancer - a manipulator of fire. Not only does it match his general temperament nicely, but it would probably come in very useful for those long cold nights he's had to spend sleeping up trees!

5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how would your character help the group survive?
Probably by seeing off any nasty critters in the vicinity, and, most likely, by taking the lead and organising immediate survival strategies. And giving any weepy-waily fools a good dunking in cold water. He can't stand hypochondriacs.

6. Are they married? If not, do they someday wish to be?
Ah, now THIS is a complicated question. In book one, Rin is engaged to marry his long-term girlfriend. Not to give any spoilers, but we all know I'm too mean to let that work out. From then on out, it all gets a lot more complicated. Rin would love to settle down with a woman and have kids ... it's all down as to whether I'm going to let him! *cackles*

7. What is a cause they would die for?
Rin would sooner impale himself on a spoon than let anyone take away his freedom, or that of people he cares about - whether that be his friends, his family, or his homeland. Unfortunately, I haven't yet been able to persuade him to do a William Wallace and yell "freedom!" on a battlefield.

8. Would they rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home?
He would definitely like the latter better, but even he knows in his heart of hearts that there's a snowball's chance in hell of that ever happening. Hazards of the job, and all.

9. If someone walked up to them and told them they were the child of the prophecy, would they believe them?
Rin would give them a confused look and walk off. Unless he's clutching at the nearest tree, trying not to asphyxiate from laughing.

10. Do they prefer the country or the city?
It depends - he was born and raised in the country, and I like to think he has a certain attachment to it. He certainly likes the simplicity of life there. But, the city is where he's likely to find employers, and he and his men do need to stock up on gear, weapons and food fairly regularly, and they can't always find everything they need in the countryside. And who can resist a little fun and havoc in a city bar every now and again?

***

Phew! Another month of questions over already!

This month's questions - as well as those from ages past, links to the blogs of other participants, and the answers of the creators themselves can be found at Further Up and Further In.

- Charley R

Beautiful People - January 2012

I love this challenge. Devised by the wonderful people over at Further Up and Further In, it's a clear, simple and very enjoyable exercise that is a massive help in thrashing out and fleshing up characters in one's work. I did the full 2011 series of questions back in late October last year, just before NaNoWriMo, and let me tell you, it is probably half the reason I hit 50,000 words at all.

And, this month, our lucky victim is ... Rin! 

To those of you from Protagonize - or have read my blogposts griping on the subject - you will doubtless be familiar with my brain-breaking fantasy, the Aeserion trilogy (the original draft of Warrior, the first book, was once thought to be the longest solo work on Protagonize, before I took it down and edited it to half the length. Links to each of the stories can be found in The Plots!). Well, of late, I have finally decided that it needs a rewrite - for obvious reasons, if you know the stories, and not in the least because the characters are awfully generic. So the unfortunate Rin (formerly Gwythryn, thought technically he still is ... long story) has kindly "volunteered" to be put through this first round of questions!

Heeeeeeere we go!

1. If your character’s house burned down, and they were left with nothing but the clothes on their back, what would they do? Where would they go?

Well, as Rin doesn't own a house, he wouldn't really have that problem. However, if such a situation did arise, I reckon he'd probably end up salvaging what he could from the wreckage and moving in with the local warlord - heck knows he hires him often enough. If that didn't work, he'd probably head to the nearest tavern and invade the cheapest rooms they had on offer.

2. Are they happy with where they are in life, or would they like to move on?

At the start of the trilogy, Rin's a happy man - he's the leader of a band of well-trained (and very expensive) mercenaries, and up in their native northern lands, they're much liked. His men love him, despite his eccentricities, and his best friend's sister, and his longtime sweetheart, has decided it's time they were properly engaged.

But, as often happens in stories like this, it all goes down the drain ...

3. Are they well-paid?

Very. Rin's very particular about hiring himself and his company out only to those he's sure will pay their price, and if they won't, he'll take them off somewhere else without a backward glance. His second-in-command has a quick mind for figures too, so they're rarely ripped off!

4. Can they read?

Not terribly well, but he can plough through simple prose. Shakespeare might be a wee bit beyond him though!

5. What languages do they speak?

Just his native Errion, though he does manage to become passable in a second through the course of the second and third books of the trilogy.

6. What is their biggest mistake? 

Errr ... there's a very big list. Good thing he has the devil's own luck really - bit prone to misadventure is Rin.

7. What did they play with most as a child?

He and his best friend Florien would often play at fighting with long sticks, but as they grew up in a working village I'd reckon they spent most of their time helping their parents. Though they probably found enough time for messing about with whatever they could get their hands on.

8. What are their thoughts on politics?

Rin's from a fairly rustic background, so his knowledge of politics is pretty sparse. Not that it really matters - there's a war on, and he knows which way to point the sword. Leave the plotting and wheedling to the people who have time for it.

9. What is their expected life time?

As the story's a medieval fantasy, I'd say the average life expectancy for a fit, healthy man like Rin would be somewhere between fifty and sixty. Though, as there's a war on and, as mercenaries, he and his men could be dead at any time they're fighting, either from disease or infected wounds or the ever-deadly axe to the skull. It all depends if Rin's uncanny luck and speed with a sword hold out.

10. If they were falsely accused of murder, what would they do? How would they react?

Not well. Never one to take a slight against him lightly, Rin would probably demand to know who had the nerve to accuse him, then find them and kick them into the middle of next week. Especially as it's likely he could be proved innocent by his men - you'd have to be a bit of a fool to accuse him, unless he actually DID kill someone. And that is a whole different kettle of fish...

***

I'll be back again soon with more posts on writerly tips, exciting news on the publishing front, snippets from my non-writerly life, complete with all the daftness you've come to expect of me.

In the meantime, have a go at the Beautiful People challenge yourself, and feel free to leave me a link to your post in the comments and tell everyone how you found it! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

- Charley R

Beautiful People - Challenge Charley!

... Please tell me I'm not infringing copyright with that title!

Yes, I'm still here! I swear to you all, lovely readers, I will explain my absence in a later post - I'm a bit pressed for time right now.

Let's have some fun first. The blog Further Up and Further In has set a wonderful little challenge to all NaNo-ers and, as I'm competing this year, I've decided to join in. (read this post for the full scoop of what I'm up to, but overall it seems to result in asking lots of fun questions about your characters to help you thrash them out)

In the meantime ... here we go!

March 2011

What is their full name? Vidal Crossblood
Does his or her name have a special meaning? "Vidal" means "spite", but that was a joke on the part of the nasty woman who decided to raise the little git. Hardly hints at a grand destiny, does it?
Does your character have a methodical or disorganized personality? Scarily methodical.
Does he or she think inside themselves more than they talk out loud to their friends? (more importantly, does he or she actually have friends?) The words coming out of his mouth are always near opposites of what he says in his head.  He does have friends, though they are an exceedingly small number. And I doubt you'd consider his treatment of them very friendly.
Is there something he or she is afraid of? Losing. In any sense of the word.
Does he or she write, dream, dance, sing, or photograph? He sings very rude songs when the mood takes him, but not really. As for dreaming ... I really don't want to think what goes on in his head sometimes.
What is his or her favorite book? (or genre of books) He can't read!
Who is his or her favorite author and/or someone that inspires him or her?  Nobody. The only inspiration he gets from others is reasons to stab them.
Favorite flavor of ice cream? He has no idea what ice-cream is (it doesn't exist in this world), but if he did, I suspect he'd be a mint sort of guy.
Favorite season of the year? Anything but a hot summer. His people don't cope well in hot weather - they're not built for it.

April 2011

How old is he/she? Nearing 140 I think. For his kind, he's nearing middle-age.
What does he/she do with his/her spare time? Plots.
Does he/she see the big picture or live in the moment? He's the scary sort of person who can do both, but his actions aim more for long-term results.
Is he/she a perfectionist? Not really.
What does her handwriting look like? (round, slanted, curly, skinny, sloppy, neat, decorative, etc.) He doesn't' write, but if he did, it would probably look like something written by an epileptic spider.
Favorite animal? Anything that won't maim him painfully when he tries to eat it.
Does he/she have any pets? Nope. 
Does he/she have any siblings? How many? Where does he/she fit in? No siblings.
Does he/she have a 'life verse' and if so what is it? ... I don't know what a "life verse" is. I wrote a poem about him though!
Favorite writing utensil? As I said, he doesn't write. 

May 2011

What type of laugh does he/she have? He has a variety for different situations
Who is his/her best friend? Probably a fellow named Caiafal Greysong, though how Caiafal puts up with him I have no idea.
What is his/her family like? His mother died giving birth to him, her family hate his guts, and he has absolutely no idea who his father is, and he doesn't give a toss either. Lovely eh?
Is he/she a Christian, or will he/she eventually find Jesus? They don't have Christianity in my world.
Does he/she believe in fairies? They exist in his world! Vidal's none too keen on them.
Does he/she like hedgehogs? They get stuck in his teeth too much.
Favorite kind of weather? Dark, misty and lots of places to hide and jump out at people.
Does he/she have a good sense of humor? If so what kind? (Slapstick, wit, sarcasm, etc.?) He does indeed, though he's a high-brow, wit and wordplay sort of person.
How did he/she do in school, or any kind of education they might have had. Never had any. Probably would have bunked out if he did. He learns by experience (and raiding any books he considers remotely interesting. Damn his    creepy photographic memory)
Any strange hobbies? You mean, aside from plotting? Not really.

June 2011

What kind of music does he/she like? He doesn't give a fig.
Does he/she like to go outside? All his kind do - he practically lives outside.
Is he/she naturally curious? To a certain extent
Right, or left handed? Ambidextrous, though he's naturally right-handed. He taught himself to use both hands in his boyhood.
Favorite color? Subtle colours. Good for creeping up on people
Where is he/she from? The great mountain city of Tanelorn, ancestral seat of the Vanyar bloodlines in Syracethra.
Any enemies? Pretty much everybody in the story, really.
What are his/her quirks? He likes to eat fish head-first, starting with the eyeballs. He's always wanted to learn the flute, but the noises they make scare the heck out of him. That, and he'll often narrate his thoughts to himself in third person, just for his own amusement.
What kinds of things get on his/her nerves? People, and almost everything to do with them.
Is he/she independent, or needs others to help out? He doesn't trust anyone, so he does almost everything himself, where possible.


July 2011


What is his/her biggest secret? That he does have feelings. And he's very very lonely.
Has he/she ever been in love? Not yet *cackles*
What is his/her comfort food? Small animals that he can disembowel to make himself feel better about whatever has peeved him.
Does he/she play a musical instrument? If so, what? Absolutely nothing. 
What colour are his/her eyes? Left eye is a very dark brown, with a tiny rim of red between pupil and iris. His right eye is a very pale grey (the mismatchedness is a result of his crossblood heritage)
Hair? It's brown. No wait, it's black. No, brown ... no hang on, it's black! (Nobody can actually tell which it is!)
Does he/she have any pets? None.
What is his/her favorite place to be? Lurking. You hear all sorts of wonderful things when you lurk.
What are some of his/her dreams or goals? He wants a future, and to drag his name out of the dirt. 
Does he/she enjoy sports? Depends what sort of sport. Most of the time he just likes to sit back and watch the others make fools of themselves and laugh himself silly.
What is his/her favorite flower or plant? .... You should see the funny looks he's giving me at that question.

August 2011


What is their biggest accomplishment? Staying alive? Oh, and orchestrating a civil war, manipulating hundreds of people and avoiding getting found out.
What is one of their strongest childhood memories? He's done his best to forget most of his childhood. It sucked.
What is their favorite food? Fish. Raw and wriggling.
Do they believe in love at first sight? He'd choke laughing if you asked him that.
What kind of home do they live in? He lives in the attic of a rich friend of his. Until then ... probably in the bottom of a very dark hole, I have no idea.
What do they like to wear? He always wears dark colours, but he's happiest in his black armour, complete with cunningly placed spiky bits.
What would they do if they discovered they were dying? Get peeved and kill whoever put him there, then trick someone into saving his life.
What kind of holidays, or traditions do they celebrate? He'll take any excuse to get drunk off his head. Provided nobody's going to try and kill him in the process...
What do your other characters have to say about them? 
Ambrais Mistlord (his uncle): Pure evil.
Falladan Greysong (plotting nobleman): Merciless git. Just the sort of man I need...
Yallar Fairwind (particularly thick nobleman): Intelligent, but not very nice to me at all!
Selfrae Noonlight (wussy nobleman): Someone kill him before he gets us!
Arundel (Rhydel leader): Treacherous to the core. Not a moral bone in him. My best agent.
Caiafal Greysong ("best friend"): Well, he's vindictive, and he's not terribly nice to anyone. He's never offered anyone a scrap of sympathy, he'll trick you for his own amusement and laugh in your face when things go wrong ... but he's not that bad! He does have a heart in there somewhere ... I hope.
If they could change one thing in their world, what would it be? To be legally allowed to murder everyone who gets on his nerves.

September 2011


Do they have any habits, annoying or otherwise? He tries not to develop any, in case his enemies work them out.
What is their backstory and how does it affect them now? Born to the daughter of one of the most powerful Vanyar families, he was dumped in the arms of a sour old priestess while his family hushed up his existence. He's the world's first Vanyar-Rhydel hybrid, and he sticks out like a sore thumb. He's hated and mistrusted by everyone (and rightly so - he's a bastard by nature as much as by name). But all this hasn't changed his ambitions - in fact, it's only heightened them. 
How do they show love? By not killing you.
How competitive are they? Extremely. 
What do they think about when nothing else is going on? Everything that's going on around him, and how he can twist it all to his advantage.
Do they have an accent? I don't think so. 
What is their station in life? Reluctantly made a member of the ruling Twelve, but apart from that he seems to do as he pleases.
What do others expect from them? That he'll turn around and kill them whenever he gets the chance.
Where were they born, and when? Born in midwinter, in Tanelorn.
How do they feel about people in general? He doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them. He tends to presume people already hate him before they meet him.


And, last but not least, this month's:


Sum up your novel in five words or less. As I'm not doing one "novel" per se, I'll go with: saga, epic, exciting, fantasy and hilarious (I hope...)
Novel title? "The Thirteenth Line"
Sum up your main character(s) in one word each. There's a lot of them, but I'll pick a few from the first story in the pack: Vidal - cunning. Caiafal - noble.  Falladan Greysong - power-monger. Arystel - rebellious. Arundel - cold.
Advice for newbies in three words? GO FOR IT!
Tell us about your secondary characters, how do they affect the story? They're all part and parcel of the story. A lot of them end up manipulating or being manipulated by my delightful assortment of hits
Do you plan to stay up till midnight on the 31st? Probably!
How many years have you done NaNo? This is my second year.
What came first, characters, or plot idea? Characters. They have a habit of waltzing into my head and demanding my attention.
How much prep do you do before November? Not much - though I should probably try and thrash out a bit more of everyone's story so I don't end up repeating myself.
Now be honest, how do you really feel about NaNo? Excited like mad, but also utterly terrified by the prospect of having too much work and having to bunk out.

Charley's 2010 NaNo-isms

For some bizarre reason (probably boredom) I found myself trawling through the NaNoWriMo site this afternoon, and found a few of my old posts. I thought some of them were somewhat hilarious, so I have decided to post them here for you all to enjoy *grins*

1 - In reply to "What Will Your Characters Do after your Novel Ends?"

Mine, I think, will probably end up being ditched on another world by their somewhat careless rescuers. I like to think they'll be happy, but after all the trauma I've put them through I think it might take a while for them to recover. The cute pair I've matched up should be fine, but one of my other FMCs may be eternally miserable because I drove her lover mad, then had him try to kill her, then, just when it looked like I'd be nice and give him back to her, I had him killed off brutally. Mwua ha ha ha ha.

My villains have all been blown up into tiny little bits by said murdered character ... and now I have a horde of dead bad guys running rupshot in my head with my other dead characters chasing them. It's like a demented game of ectoplasmic stuck-in-the-mud!

.... I think this is their idea of revenge.

2 - In reply to "Mistakes You Made as an Amateur Writer."

Ahaha, while I'm still not the world's best writer, I've been flicking back through my old stuff recently and ... oh my gods, it burns my eyeses!


1) Over-dramatisation. My MC did not fall in the river, he plunged head first into the icy cold abyss of freezing water that dragged at him and tore the air from his lungs. Yeah ... I still do that occasionally.


2) My characters all have ridiculously complicated names. Spell-checking them was a nightmare ... and I mis-spelled them enough times to blow my own brains out.


3) My heroes are such wusses. One second my warrior-hero is chopping through piles of evil enemies, the next he's blubbing like a baby because someone tried to take his arm off with a sword. *facepalm*


4) Cliched characters. Perfect heroes? Check. Sarcastic sidekicks? Yep. Evil swishy-cloak-wearing villain? You betcha. And don't get me started on the women .... because I rarely had any. As I myself am a girl, I find this slightly worrying ...


And finally ...

5) Character abuse. I must have been an axe murderer in my past life because I can't seem to go a chapter without brutally injuring someone. Broken arms, lost eyes, stab-wounds, enormous scars, limbs hacked off .... I was evil.


Probably still am, as I still torture them a good deal more than I should .... someone call the Character Police on me :P

And finally, in reply to "You have just been ... DELETED!"

I didn't delete any characters .... I just abused, tortured and brutally murdered all the ones I had already. I think I may be one of those writers whose body count is higher than her word count ... *looks at wordcount and giggles nervously*

I blame the bad guys.

Hee hee hee! *does crazy dance and runs away singing "God Save the Queen" with a floral towel around her head*

- Spook