Chapter Titles

Wow... so I found this saved as a draft from almost a year ago.  I decided I'll finish it and post it now; hopefully it still makes sense.

Happy End of the World, everyone!

I always seem to have a lot of trouble coming up with chapter titles.  I've heard that you're supposed* to title books after you finish writing them and I know a lot of people have trouble with this -  but to be honest, I have a much harder time titling the individual chapters.

I feel like the chapter titles should all sort of fit together, or have a theme or something.  Sort of like those young adult novels where every book in the series is an adjective (Broken, Taken, Flowing, Smelly) and it would be weird to have one out of place.

The big issue I'm having with Quicksand at the moment is titling the chapters (/parts).  The narrative is so long and convoluted (and will eventually put into an even less linear order) that I think separating it into chapters is necessary - but then I'm not sure how, or if the chapter titles should somehow indicate which of the three plots that chapter is technically about.  I've even considered little icons to indicate this - suns and moons and stars or rabbits and foxes or... something.  I don't even know.

I had this same problem with Aigaion Girl, and I think I was only saved by the fact that I wrote it in first person, so I very lazily titled each section with the name of the narrator, then counted down the signs of the apocalypse and BAM!

Of course, there's a little part of me that wonders if titled chapters are things that belong in children's books and fantasy novels only.  I'm racking my brain and I can't think of where else I've seen them.  Of course, I'm in Slovakia at the moment and don't have any books I can run and check.



*whoever decided that...

Quicksand - Part 13

 

A long, slender foot landed in a pile of decaying oak leaves, sending some of them flying and crushing others. It rolled seamlessly from heal to toe and pushed off again as its twin touched the ground.

The owner of the feet was in a hurry. The speed with which she ran, with which she dodged between the thin, naked trees, was exceptional. Even with her awkward, jerking gait, it was next to impossible to keep up with her. She made almost no sound; the only indication of her placement was the crunching of dry leaves in the distance.

A couple of foxhounds ran behind her on all fours, sniffing their way through the fog, trying to trace her scent. A possum, with one hand on his bowler hat to keep it from falling off, ran behind them, barely able to see and unable to smell anything other than the dogs, the fog and the pervading scent of leaf mold.

And Craven Lorne, alone, and at the back of the pack, screamed into the gloom that he would never, ever forgive her.

 If you enjoyed reading this, stop by next week for another instalment. You may also like my published novel, Aigaion Girl ... a story of the end of days, available here.

Quicksand - Part 11

Minty stood in the field. It was the field now, the only one where Craven Lorne ever seemed to meet her. He found as he'd learned to expect to find her, staring mindlessly into space, unaware of just about everything around her.

She looked at him as he approached. “Hello, Craven Lorne,” she said.

Craven was surprised but not alarmed. He was getting used to Minty's airy voice. “Hello, Minty,” he answered. “I thought I'd find you here.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

Craven couldn't decided if she was agreeing with his thought or its conclusion. She was so infuriatingly vague. “Quite,” he said stiffly.

“Do you kill me today, Craven Lorne?”

“As if I would tell you when.”

“Don't.” There was a change in her voice; she was almost pleading with him.

Craven wondered if she meant don't kill me or don't tell me when you're going to. With Minty, it was impossible to be sure.

He stared at her. She stared back.

“You do not wish to,” Minty said.

“Not really, no,” Craven admitted. “Well, not that. It's not that I don't want to kill you; I do. And I intend to. But—” He looked around the field, at the blue sky, at the big, shade tree in the distance and let out a long sigh. “But I shall be sorry to see you go.”

“You should kill me now,” she told him. “Fast, like a Band-aid.”

“What?”

Minty turned her head on its side. “It will hurt less,” she explained.

Craven Lorne sneered at her. “Why would I want to hurt you less?”

“Not me.”

Craven determined that the best thing he could do with that final piece of conversation was ignore it. “I will kill you,” he told her. “But not today. A little bird tells me you have some powerful friends.”

She didn't answer him.

“Rumour has it that Daisy Chain came to your rescue quite recently – and I imagine that Charm-Charm wasn't far away. The same bird tells me they're not far from here. The rumour is that the rabbits are launching a full-scale military campaign against raiders, that they're even getting humans involved.”

Minty didn't answer and Craven took her silence as acquiescence.

“They're probably lurking in the bushes right now, waiting for me to make a move. Of course, I won't give them the satisfaction.”

Minty stared. The only sound in the stale air was the whirring of her eye. After a moment, she said, “No.”

Craven, again unsure what she meant, ignored her. “But rest assured, when they're not around, when your bodyguards have abandoned you, I will be there and I will catch you out.”

Craven was tired of being the one left standing in the field. He turned on his heel and marched into the forest, sure that Minty was watching him go and not daring to look back to confirm it.

 If you enjoyed reading this, stop by next week for another instalment. You may also like my published novel, Aigaion Girl ... a story of the end of days, available here.

Mock ups

We've talked a fair bit about how figuring out what characters' names are and what they look like can give us a better idea of how they'd behave, so after ages of trying to work out the personality of my protagonist(s), I've come up with this mock up for the book cover (I came up with the working title in the process).  So now I have the looks, I just need the names... and to figure out if I want to write in first or third person. 

I know it's important in all fiction, but this piece is going to be SUPER character driven, so the names have to be perfect; I need to nail these characters.

Any suggestions would be more than welcome :)

Quicksand 3

In a cold, dark warehouse, a green light blinked on and a possum jumped back.

“You've woken her up now,” the possum whispered frantically. “I told you to leave her alone.”

“I just want a bit more,” the other man answered. He jabbed a couple of sharp fingers under his prisoner's ribs. “You worry too much. Look, she's not even moving.”

Darren winced. “Yet.”

“She's tied up. What's she gonna do?”

“She probably doesn't need to do anything,” Darren said, unaffectedly mysterious. “Honestly, Frisco, just leave it.”

Frisco, obviously tired of his cohort's apprehensions, turned his attention back to the unfortunate captive. “We've been waiting a long time to get our hands on you,” he told her. “A long time.”

Minty hung motionless from her chains. She gave no indication, other than the weak glow of her right eye, that she was still alive, let alone awake. Frisco moved closer to her, took a handful of her dress in his spider-leg fingers and gave it a sharp downward tug. His breath crawled over her neck. “The boss will be back soon,” he whispered. He licked the corner of her mouth, dragging his papery tongue slowly across the point where the light from Minty's eye turned the escaping Dust green. He let it linger there for a moment before going on, “Then we'll have some fun.”

“The boss will be back soon,” Darren said, his whisper lost in the urgency of what he was saying. “I think we should go.”

Frisco turned on Darren suddenly and hissed, his own eyes glowing bright yellow in the feeble light that seeped in from under the storeroom door.

Darren took a step back. He didn't like Frisco and he really didn't like being left alone with him. At the best of times, Frisco was malicious, spiteful and psychopathic. He seemed to truly delight in causing pain and he was unnaturally at ease around Minty – a walking disfigurement whom Darren regarded with mortal dread. But at least, Darren realized, taking another backward step toward the door, he knew where he stood with the rabbit girl. If she decided to back to life and kill them all, he was sure it would be done without pretence. Frisco might stab him in the back as soon as look at him – and with Frisco, the stabbing would be as literal or figurative as the bastard chose to make it.

“I'm busy,” Frisco growled, displaying a mouth full of too-long, crooked teeth.

Darren couldn't work out why the boss kept Frisco around. Well, he amended mentally, he wished he couldn't work out why. But it was obvious. Frisco wasn't afraid to get things done. Frisco would get anything done.

“Maybe she's not the only one who needs to be taught a lesson,” Frisco said, taking a step toward Darren and raising a horrible hand. With his sick grin, it was impossible to guess whether or not he was joking and Darren wasn't keen to find out for sure.

There was a sound in the corridor, the telltale sound of their employer's footsteps on the concrete floor. Frisco heard it, started and appeared to melt into the shadows and Darren, under the seemingly watchful eye of Minty, crept away as quietly as he could.

 If you enjoyed reading this, stop by next week for another instalment. You may also like my published novel, Aigaion Girl ... a story of the end of days, available here.

Quicksand - not appropriate for all ages

It was cold in the warehouse. Not frigid, but that damp, persistent sort of cold that seeps into the bones and stays there. It was cold and it was empty. Just wood and cold and dampness and quiet – and a single buzzing light bulb, hanging over her head.

Her ankles were tied with coarse rope, high enough above the concrete floor that her feet, outstretched, could sometimes touch it and never find traction. Her wrists, delicate and slender, were wrapped in cold, thick, metal chains – chains so tight that they sent hairline fractures down the length of her arms. Her dress was torn, more torn, tugged down while she struggled, so that even with her arms over her head, one shoulder was bare, one breast exposed.

One ear was mangled at the end, all of it present, but unattached. The small cuts on her legs, stung, but did not bleed. Only her face, where they'd hit her, again and again, had given in. A tiny tickle bubbled to the surface of her cracked cheek and another leaked from the corner of her mouth, and the resultant powder, super-fine and sparkling white, disappeared into the cold, damp air of the warehouse.

 If you enjoyed reading this, stop by next week to read the next instalment.  You may also like my published novel, Aigaion Girl ... a story of the end of days, available here.

Dirty Filthy Sex Rabbits

I've decided I'm going to start posting Quicksand up here as I write (You all remember Quicksand, right?  My unfinished NaNoWriMo 2011 entry?), and I would love any and all feedback anyone might have to offer.

In an effort not to clog DevCo with too much shameless self-plugging, though, I'm going to limit myself to one scene/chapter-thing per week.  I should mention, too, that when in book-form, these scene-chapters will appear in a different order and heavily edited.   Please enjoy.

 

Darren hunkered down deeper into the grass. “I don't like this,” he whispered. “I feel like she's watching me.”

 

“She's only got one eye,” Craven said. He laughed. “And she's not watching anything, unless she's spotted another butterfly.” He laughed again, a sarcastic, humourless chuckle.

 

“What's wrong with her?”

 

Craven was mildly amused. “It isn't obvious? You know, she used to be beautiful, once.”

 

“Honestly?” Darren was almost afraid to look away. He didn't want to see what would be there when he looked back. “What happened to her?”

 

Craven Lorne glanced at the creature. She walked through the grass, regardless of the long, wet blades that slapped against her bare legs and brushed the seam of her torn dress – regardless of just about everything. “I don't know,” he said. “No one does.” He paused for a second too long. “Whatever it was, she undoubtedly deserved it.”

 

Darren watched her hold a hand out to a leaf and let a copiously-legged insect crawl onto her pale arm, her glowing, green cyborg eye trained on it.  “You sure, boss? I'm not saying you're wrong, but...” He watched as the insect scuttled up her arm and over her cracked, porcelain face. “It's just...” He crouched lower. He couldn't imagine anyone deserving to end up like that.

 

Craven put a firm hand on his back. “Trust me, Darren.”

 

Darren had no choice.

 

The wind blew through purple landscape and the grass sparkled gold in response.

Darren found his voice. “So, do we...?” he left his question there, hoping that Craven hadn't heard him.

 

“No,” Craven said, to his attendant's audible relief. “Not today. We will catch her, make no mistake. And when we do, every bit, every last spec of her Dust will be drained. But it's not enough, not nearly.”

 

Darren still couldn't pull his eyes away from the creature and he was growing uneasy as a result. He had been led to believe that she had more Dust than ten normal figments, more than enough for any purpose he could conceive of—but he wasn't about to question Craven Lorne.

 

Craven waved his hand dismissively, low enough not to draw attention. “I don't mean that,” he said. “She has plenty of Dust. The rumours go that it's white Dust, too, though we can't be sure.” He put his hand up to stop Darren from getting too excited about the colour. “I meant that it's not enough to kill her. We need to chase her first, wear her down. Confuse her, worry her, taunt her, torture her—” Craven stopped and Darren could almost believe he saw a smile play on his boss's black lips, before he recalled himself. “It's getting dark. We'll see her again, Darren, don't you worry.”

 

Darren watched her dance, lurchingly into the darkness. He worried. He worried a lot.

 If you enjoyed reading this, you may also like my published novel, Aigaion Girl ... a story of the end of days, available here.

A Little Help

So, being mildly obsessed with my NaNo and unable to start writing it, I've been making an uber outline (currenly 13 pages)and (dun, dun, dun-dun) written a synopsis. I've had a lot of trouble with the second part, actually, 'cause I'm not sure how to introduce a fanatasy world without making it sound completely lame (even though it's not).

I was hoping you guys could give me some feedback on the following, ie: is it any good? Would you want to read this book? Is it way too pretentious? Is it confusing? Does it flow ok? Or if you have any other comments you want to throw in there, they'd be more than welcome as well.

Foxes and rabbits don't get along

Someone wants Minty dead and she can't remember why; she can't remember anything. The mysterious event that caused her amnesia has left her horribly disfigured and she finds herself lost and alone during a tumultuous time.

The dreamworld is in chaos. Social media has started people dreaming about places they've never been and there's barely enough space to contain their misconceptions. With nearly seven billion people sleeping through the night, Nod is at full capacity.

Now underground rings of big game hunters are inducing comas to get into Nod – and turn its inhabitants into their prey.

Behind everything is the Dust, the life-force of the soul and the most potent drug in existence. Everyone has some, but many want more – and will stop at nothing to get it.

I'd really appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks!

Hiatus

Sorry for disappearing for forever. I've moved to England and I've been using that as an excuse to be lazy.

OK, yes, leading up to the move, I really didn't have time to do any writing*, but I've been here for a month now, and I've hardly written anything, story-wise or blog-post-wise. I don't know why. I have time, energy, ideas. I'm just lacking... gumption?

I don't know. Either way, I need to stop being lazy and actually produce something. Or a lot of somethings. A few days ago, I read an article called Lies Writers Tell on Terrible Minds and it did an excellent job of lighting a fire under my ass. Unfortunately, it burnt out, but before it did, I edited a huge chunk of eleven eleven wish.

I just need something to keep me going. Suggestions?

A random aside: do other people ever feel like they're running out of time, with regards to their writing? I do. Not in the sense of worrying that I'll die before I've finished writing all the stories that I have in my head (although I do have that concern), but in the sense that, with the Shakespeare-writing monkeys and everything, other people might invent and record my ideas before I do. I was in a book store the other day and noticed a book with a title that I've been planning to use for about eight years, for a story that (so far) is less than a page long. I know it's incredibly unlikely, but what if that happens to all my ideas? I think of them, put them on the backburner, and while they're simmering away, someone else comes along, thinks of them and has them cooked and on the table in minutes. It just doesn't seem fair.

*No, really, I didn't.

Picking Your Battles (or, at least the order they come in)

I have so much going on right now. Not just in my non-writing life (which is wonderful and crazy-intense), but my writing world as well. I've got my normal 60+ stories on the go - I've been trying to pear (pare?) the list down to just a few, so I can complete some of them, and I think I'm down to about 5 that I'm actively writing. What I've discovered: 5 is still too many. I remember the wonderful years between '02 and '07ish, when I could keep all of my characters and storylines mostly straight in my head (2004 saw the introduction of the Characters spreadsheet, which I used to keep my 300+ characters in order and avoid reusing names), when I could write two or three novels simultaneously and not get confused, or figure out the entire plot to a new story and keep it straight in my head long enough to write it down.

So the question is, how do I narrow my list down even further? I don't want to give up on any of my stories, I'd like to think that I'll write them all, eventually, but the problem is that for every story I complete I start at least two, so how am I ever going to achieve that?

To get the 5, I've used a rough set of criteria based on what I feel like writing, what I can complete in the shortest amount of time and what has the greatest publishing potential, all of which, for reasons I don't quite understand, kind of makes me feel like a sell out. I don't know what else I can do to shorten the list, I honestly don't.

So how do I (or how does any writer) decide which projects to work on and which to push to the (seemingly endless) back burner?

Yay! Also, not yay.

I'm done! Woot!

Got me 50016 words in 29 days. Most of those are crap, and the story's not anywhere near done, but I still feel accomplished. Even if I basically just wrote a 50016 word outline for what will probably be two books, when I actually get through with it.

But, for the next few days, I'm going to put it aside and ignore it and then start the mammoth task of stripping it of it's awkward phrasing and filling in its plot holes. And then, I might just let people read it. >:D

Bit of a bollocks-y problem, though: Every time I try to get my story verified, so I can have WINNER! enscribed across the progress bar, it takes a moment to think and then tells me that I've only written 48517 words. I've most assuredly done 50016. I can do screencaps, if anyone really cares. The problem is, I can't get my goodies if the verification process isn't working, and if it doesn't start working by this time tomorrow, the past month of mental agony will have been for naught.

So I'm a little stressed. I don't understand why it's not working. It lets me update my word count just fine; it even tracks my stats without complaint. It's just not letting me verify and win.

I just don't get it.

The NaNo Post, a Shameless Plug and a Plea for Advice

dI guess it's not that time of year again yet, but August is always the time when NaNoWriMo is foremost in my mind. I didn't participate last year and I've been regretting it for 10 months. This year, I'm definitely going to take part.

My problem, as ever, is deciding which story I want to write. With Aigaion Girl, I picked the story that I thought was least-marketable, which I liked least of all the appropriate-length* ideas, which I still thought was worth writing.

This time, the story I've picked (or at least mostly picked) a story that is actually among my favourites (of stories I haven't started, at least). It's (loosely) based on my own experience, and I think I've got two of the three main characters nailed down. The only reason I'm not sure about it is because it promises to be a research-intensive story and the library here would fit in my living room at home - so I'm not sure how much help it will be. I'm writing this while at work; that should give you an idea of the situation with the Internet at my apartment (non-existent). It's mostly a drama, with a touch of the supernatural (of course) and a bit of romance (double of course). Also, I've decided to go with a style that's a bit different, and switch between 3rd Person Omniscient and 1st Person... um, nonomniscient.

I'm not sure if I'll post this one up on FictionPress. Part of me wants to, just to keep people reading my stuff, but I think (*knock on wood*) that I might actually have a chance of getting this published through an actual publishing house and having it available for free would severely reduce my chances of that.

*as in, which would, once complete, be an appropriate length for the contest.

Now, as for my plea for advice... I really wanted to have a book signing/release party for Aigaion in the fall, but there was no way I could get the money together for that at the time. Even though it would have been better for me to do it right after the book came out, it's not like it's famous, or like most people would have any idea that it existed before this party anyway. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go ahead with that for sometime in the winter, in my home town, and maybe have a similar sort of thing here, sometime around my birthday.

What I wanted to ask you guys is, what are your thoughts on blog tours? I don't know how many people actually go searching for book reviews online before buying a book. Is this common, do you think, or do people just buy based on word of mouth, bookstore displays and TV? Basically, my marketing budget is approaching $0, and I want to spend it as wisely as possible.

I think that's everything for now, except another friendly reminder to invite all the writers you know to check out Devereaux Court, and to join if they're interested :)

Introducing...

Marco, the marketing gorilla! I kinda felt like DevCo could use a mascot (not that I don't love the fish!). What do you guys think?

Also, on a total aside, I'm trying to find a way to a) put our profile pictures with our names at the bottom of each post and b) rotate the scribes list, so my name isn't always at the top. If anyone has any ideas on how to do either of these things, please let me know.

And now for the actual reason for the post, which wasn't really going to be about Marco, but was going to be about marketing. I want to know what you think of this idea for marketing on less than a shoestring:

My thought is this: I want to do a book tour, but without the author, the signings or the book stores. Not a blog tour (although I do plan on having one in the mid-to-late summer), but an actual physical tour. What I want to do is send a single copy of my book to someone who has agreed to read it, review it (this may be optional, not 100% decided) and pass it on to someone else who has agreed to read it (possibly review it) and pass it on to someone else, etc., etc.) Each person who receives it will write their name (full, first or last), approximate location (as long as they give province/state and country, they don't have to give a city if they don't want to) on the inside cover, along with, if they want, the date they received it. They'll also be encouraged to include small stickers/business cards/lightweight, flat tokens of their location (ie small canadian flag stickers, or whatever) next to their names or on the inside back cover of the book. For my specific purpose, I plan to include a little paper doll of Moloch which will fold flat and make the journey with the book, so that participants can post pictures on the Facebook fan page/blog that I'm going to create for the purpose of Moloch in their town/ wherever he ends up. I kind of want to make it an interactive sort of deal, where the page (wherever it is) would track the book's progress (and Moloch's adventure) as it travels around to various places.

So, that's my plan. Thoughts?

Websites & Attracting Attention

My website is almost up and running, and as such, I've been thinking of ways to publicize it, as well as myself. More than that, though, I've been thinking about content, which brings me to my question of the day: What should be included on an author's website?

So far, I have the page titles: Home, News, About, Stories, Poetry, Photography, Bits* and Blog**. The Home page has (for the moment) an ad for Aigaion Girl, which will change based on what I'm trying to publicize at the time. The News page is where I'll put information about new books, book release parties and whatever else I can think of that's newsish. The About page, obviously, is a little blurb about me, and the Photography page will have a bunch of pictures which I took last year (when I have some more $$, I'll have it adjusted so that I can upload and my own content for that page). Where I'm confused is with the Stories and Poetry pages. The more I'm thinking about this, the more I'm wondering if they were really necessary - especially, because right now, I really only have one story that's ready for public consumption. The poetry page is a bit easier, because I can include the full text of my best poems... but again, is it necessary? Will people be interested in reading my poems?

This, of course, brings me to my other question, which is: How do I go about getting my name out there? I have some ideas fot this. Once A/G is actually available for sale, I'm going to invite all of my friends to take that silly FB quiz and ask them to ALL invite their friends as well. Then, at the end of every single possible result, include a link to my site. I'm also going to put my website in the signature of my emails, so all of my correspodence has it, and anything I send out that gets forwarded has it as well. I know I want to have a book release party, to which I'll invite everyone I know, but beyond that, I'm kind of at a loss.

I read somewhere (I believe in my Writer's Market Guide) that a writer should spend ten minutes a day networking, which I think is probably true, especially when you consider the way that the famous writers of yore always seemed to travel in packs. The problem is, I'm not really sure how to go about doing it, or who I should be networking with. Plus, even if I knew a tonne of people, I always feel weird about taking advantage of my connections, even if those connections are happy to help.

So, there you have my little (and long-winded) dilema. Enjoy your day ;)

*Bits is the page where I can upload whatever I want: flash fiction, pictures, whatever.
**The Blog link links to my personal blog.

Aigaion Again

I know it's a while off - I still have a lot of editing to do - but I realized that I'm approaching the wire that I'll soon be getting down to, and I have no idea what to do for things like cover art, etc.

(Please excuse yet another self-plug.)

Self-publishing gives me some options that conventionally published authors don't have, not the least of which being that I can publish a book that's available online for free, and not get in trouble over it. Also, I have choices like: cream or white paper, standard paperback size, or something completely different. And I can design my cover all by my lonesome, which suits me down to the ground.

I'm thinking white paper, white cover with something simple in the middle of the front cover... but, what? Should I do this art myself, try to have it comissioned, use something that's in the public domain... just have text... I honestly have no idea. I have a picture in my head of what I want the cover to look like, but I'm not sure if it'll work. I like the tree I've been using. This was the original title page I came up with. Obviously, it woul dhave to have cleaner edges, and look more like one big picture, but... I don't know. I actually don't mind it, in principle. I think I'd like it better if it was just the tree, coloured as is, very slightly bigger, then my name in the middle at the bottom... the problem is, out of all the pictures I made this out of back in November, the tree is the only one that I'm not 100% sure is a public domain image... I guess I'd have to find that out.

Again, sorry for the random rant about my novel... I was just thinking about it today and freaking out because I have about a month and a half to finish it if I want it ready for September, which I really, really do. I'm hoping to give copies of it as Christmas presents to some of my more open-minded family members, and I'm kind of hoping other people will want to give it to some of theirs as well.

Also, I'll be putting a link to Createspace.com in the links list. They're a subsidiary of Amazon, so anything self-published on there is automatically available for purchase on Amazon. Also, unlike Lulu.com, they d0n't charge you for your ISPNs (barcodes) but provide them for free. They charge a set fee plus a percentage of the selling price (40% if it's sold from Amazon, 20% if it's sold from their own site)... kind of high, but I worked out what I would make from each sale, if I spent the $40 to upgrade to their 'pro plan' ($5 annually to renew), and I would make nearly $5 on every book sold for $10, which is pretty effing good.

Which brings me back to my final question: is $10 a reasonable price for a novel by a first time author? Assuming you knew nothing about me, say some random friend recomended me, would you be willing to spend $10 on a book by an unknown?

That's all I have for now. I'll likely be keeping you all painfully updated on how my self-publishing adventures pan out.

Ugh.

I've been trying to write the last chapter of Aigaion Girl for ten days now, and I'm completely blocked. I even started writing a numberless chapterette, so my fictionpress readers would have something to read while I'm getting out of this funk - and even that is giving me trouble.

I think it's just because of the build up. I've written things this long before, and I've written for fictionpress, with next-to-live updates, but I've never written anything that I worked on and updated so consistantly - or anything that's gotten as many good reactions from people - or anything that I myself have liked this much. I feel an inordinant amount of pressure to get the ending perfect, and I'm terrified it won't live up to anyone's (including my own) expectations.

I honestly am not sure what to do about it. I've written the whole thing thus far gin-free, and it would be a shame to start relying on my trusted writing aid now - but at the same time, if I don't post the last chapter for ever and ever, I'm going to lose the interest this story has generated, not to mention delay editing it for publication.

Anyway, I don't mean to whine. I guess it will come to me when it comes to me and until then, about all I can do is keep my mind fresh and clear. That being said, if anyone has any advice, I'd be more than happy to hear it.

That's it for me. Time to go work out (*ambivalent aski face*)

Hot Chocolate and A Cry for Help

I'm obsessed with these little notebooks designed by Jacqueline Savage McFee. They sell them at Wal-Mart for about 97¢. I have three of the little ones in various colours and one of the more expensive hard-cover ones with the magnetic flap. I honestly think everyone should have one of these; apart from being useful, they're also absolutely adorable.

...Okay, so it's not really a cry for help. I have a question concerning my newest story. Like so many other things I've written, or started trying to write, I've started with two well-defined characters. My problem is, I have nothing else.

So, I have a thirteen-year-old named - I think Lacie - who has grown up rich(ish) and ignored. She's very strong-willed, independant and secure in her somewhat quirkey personality. She's often dry and sarcastic, but occasionally philosophical and can be a little melodramatic. Then I have Dude (who still doesn't have a name), a guy in his mid-to-late twenties. He works a boring office job, lives alone and doesn't really have a lot of friends. He has never been overly wealthy or successful and has basically lived his entire life - or at least his life up until he met Lacie - the way he thought he was supposed to: he went to college, got a job and started working toward a promotion. He's also fairly sarcastic, but he's a little less sure of himself.

These two are friends, and I've worked out how they met, but I don't want the main focus of the story to be on that.

So, thoughts? I'm not looking for a full plot or anything, but I would love an idea or two for what kind of adventure these two people would have together, or what type of plot would suit them. I'm thinking something... not fluffy, exactly, but lighthearted, I guess.

Thanks in advance,

~Athena

PS, if it helps, think of them as brother and sister, just so you're not wracking your brain trying to figure out how the Hell these two met and became friends. That part's a secret, only because it's a little darker than I want the story to play out.