Thursday, February 26, 2015

Novel Bits: New Inspiration

Hello! As stated in my last Novel Bits post, I'm going to focus on posting new Novel Bits updates at least once a month from now on. In terms of my writing, lately I've grown to really develop the world where my novel is set. It doesn't really have a name, at its inhabitants consider it to be "the" world, but I've shaped different peoples and cultures by tying them strongly to their environments. It has been a slow process because I really want to develop this world throughly, but I'm quite happy with what I have so far. I've included changes in speech patterns and hope to begin to note differences in word usage or meaning amongst the peoples of this world.


Among the many things that have changed in the last 6 months or so is where I draw my inspiration from. I have a large array of soundtracks I listen to when developing my world further, writing a new scene or trying to flesh out a character. I feel like every week, I pick up on a new song or two that really help fuel my writing for several hours. While I don't write nearly as much as I should be (or would like to be doing), I do feel like listening to music really helps me concentrate and to visualize the world I'm trying to present through my novel. Among the many soundtracks that I now have on my iTunes and listen to often are: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Soundtrack, How to Train Your Dragon Soundtrack, Attack on Titan Original Soundtrack and of course, the Lilium Soundtrack (which I bought along with a copy of the play itself. I may post about it after I've ordered and watched its predecessor, TRUMP.)

I mentioned before that many characters tend to just "show up" when I'm writing. While that still happens, it doesn't happen as often as it used to. I've definitely fleshed out a lot of characters and I feel like I will continue to do this for a while. I have found that the more I know about a character, the easier it's to include them in the storyline, regardless of whether they play a major role or not. Many times, exploring a side character leads me to the a new side or further development on a major character. I have been struggling with what I want to do with some of my earlier characters. For some I am making minor changes, but for others, I question weather or not I really need them. I believe some of the characters I originally had planned to be major characters will become minor characters now, because I just don't see any real use to having them be major characters. That is the only solution I have come up with apart from editing them out altogether.

Speaking about characters, in my last Novel Bits, I promised to introduce a new character. So, without further ado, here goes:
"In the shallow waters beneath a teahouse by the sea, there are four graves, marked with a single, sturdy piece of wood. On each piece, engraved deeply in jagged stroked are four names. "Never ask him about the names" they whisper, "never ask him." The question is asked of others, "Who were they?" No one seems to know. But in the small town of Cumhail to the East, the old master blacksmith Rowan shakes his head sadly. "The third name" he always says, "Sacnit* should have been his salvation but as fate would have it, he was her destruction." And he says nothing more. And so the stories go, that in a teahouse by the sea, there lives a man names Sindile, who plucks sadly at the strings on his ancient instrument. They say he has millions stashed beneath his flower bed, that he was a great warrior of the rebellion, that he can control the weather, that he makes an excellent Earl Gray Tea and that he buried all of his friends."

So, just a quick look at another character that I will be exploring more fully. I have so much left to do on this work and I don't think a coherent draft will start to take shape for another year or two. In the meantime, I will try to post about any successes or frustrations I have had in my writing. I will avoid revealing more characters/ story points for another few months at least for now. Time to explore Sacnit* more in depth. Cheers!


*Name(s) subject to change

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