Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I once thought the above saying to be one of those things everybody says, but which isn't actually true. I've been proven wrong. After finishing the first draft of Ice Roses, I set it aside to simmer while plunging into a new work in progress, Ethereal. I figured I would let it sit a year before attempting to rewrite it. I printed it all out, put it in a binder, squealed with my friends over the fact that I'd finished an entire novel!, and then went on with my life: homework, outlining Ethereal and writing it out on Sundays. In general, ignoring poor, unloved Ice Roses.

However, last night a whole slew of new ideas about how to expand Ice Roses' world, tweak the plot, and make the story a fantasy EPIC rather than a retelling struck me. At 11:30 at night. When I'd have to get up at 8:00 the next day. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep.

Regardless, I'm now rethinking my decision to let Ice Roses be. Ethereal is still trying to figure out who it is, but Ice Roses' characters are only shining more vibrantly inside my head. Gerda, my main character, especially. Parts of her I hated in the first draft are sinking out of sight, revealing who she truly is and has always been meant to be. Her character arc and even her ending is going to change drastically, but it's all in favour of writing the best story--a story full of meaning and layers, love and loss. A story as true to life as possible, yet with the thrill of something beyond.

I am so excited to immerse myself again in Gerda's world, this time with a new sense of who she is and what she must do. It's been a while in coming. Yet I have a great feeling about this story, and with the helpful feedback of friends and family, I'm pretty certain Gerda and I will go a long way together.

So, my question (or questions) to you, readers, is this: Does absence from a manuscript make your heart grow fonder? Do you ever get the urge to go back to one you've set aside or abandoned completely and see if you can tweak it? How do you feel when you gain insights that may mean you have to redo a story from scratch, or change a character's personality? Let me know in the comments!

Mapping Mayhem

The main genre I read--and write--is fantasy, and one of the things I love most about this genre are maps. Tolkien has me going crazy with his amazing maps for The Lord of the Rings, and even in real life I'm always wondering how certain places received their names and the history behind them.

Now, I never particularly excelled in any geography classes in elementary school, and I'm avoiding them like the plague in university. But one of my favourite past times is to create maps for the books I write.

My current Work-in-progress, Ethereal, relies a lot on its geography. The creepy forest in which the majority of the story takes place is almost a character in and of itself. As well, the political boundaries of the two kingdoms are very important when considering the strife in the background of this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Because I can't handle just plain romance, I have to throw in war and politics to make everything a wee bit more interesting, and up the stakes so you actually have to wonder if all things will be right in the end. ;) My friends just roll their eyes at me.

Here's a peek at the map I just drew drew for Ethereal. It's not very good, as I only had Paint to work with, but it's enough to help me keep general worldbuilding in mind, as well as remind me to add some cool tidbits into the story.

MAP OF AVANOR AND TELEMANTH

So tell me, do you create maps for your stories? How important are maps to you when reading a novel?

When Characters Speak

I've read plenty of articles online about authors whose characters 'speak' to them, with the result that plot lines change and the entire book turns upside down. While writing Ice Roses, I'd encountered this in a minor scale. Characters I'd never known existed popped out of the framework of the story, but no major plot lines changed because of it. The extra characters merely added richness and flavour to what was already there, strengthening what I had without being too demanding.

With Ethereal, my Beauty and the Beast retelling, it's a different story. Yesterday, I was writing like I do every Sunday afternoon after church. (I try really hard not to do homework on Sundays, and I've found myself looking forward to them!)

Anyways, at the beginning of the novel, my main character--named Bria--encounters a fairly stereotypical jerk character. Though I'm ashamed to admit it, because it was a first draft I inserted him merely to help flesh out Bria and give hints to her background so I didn't have to dump the information like a ton of bricks. I'd planned on having him vanish after the first chapter or so, nothing more than a breath in the tornado.

BUT.

His name is Kylor, and he Spoke. He showed me that he wasn't just the mean guy I was writing him to be--that he had the depth and the determination to become a Main Character. That he had a life beyond what Bria sees, and hopes and yearnings all his own. In some ways, he's even more heroic than Bria is. He has big dreams and yearns to see the larger picture of life, while Bria, in many ways, is childishly selfish and small-minded.

And thus, plots that I had been struggling to weave fell into place, spinning out of his inclusion. The epic fantasy I'm trying to create from this intimate fairy tale is possible because of Kylor and his demands to be a part of this story. I have a feeling that by the end, this rugged short guy is gonna be a favourite of mine. He's wormed his way into this novel--it's only natural that he should do the same with my heart. ;)

Because of him, I got very little sleep last night. I'd been idea-dry for a long time with this story, but his arrival brought a swarm of ideas that kept haunting me even after I turned out the light. I kept my notebook handy to write them all down. So, while I am exhausted this morning, I am ecstatic that this story is finally getting somewhere--and all because Kylor Spoke!

Out of One Year, Into Another

The end of 2012 is nigh. 2013 is just around the corner, and, with that, people will start putting together resolutions. Here's a list of mine, in no particular order:

1) Get more involved. What with schoolwork and writing, there's not a lot of extra time. But I want to make time to get involved with extracurriculars and volunteer work.

2) Finish Draft One of my current work-in-progress, Ice Roses. I'm 300 pages, 75,000 words into this draft. I have the hardest time finishing stories--I've written lots of short ones, but this will be the first full-length novel that I finish.

3) Start/maybe finish Draft One of Ethereal, my Beauty and the Beast retelling. People always say that when you finish one project, you should start another and ignore the first one for a while before revising. (I think that's Stephen King's advice). And that's exactly what I plan on doing. I have so many stories to write, so there will be no problem finding something else to work on!

4) Continue growing closer to God and living out my Christian faith. This is the hardest one. With faith, you're always growing out. I'm a very introverted person, so making an effort to go beyond myself and my tiny circle is always tough. Only by the strength of God!

5) Do the best I can at school, and try to figure out God's direction in my life. At this point, I want to study English and History at university, but understanding where that's going to get me later on is a difficulty. It's a constant struggle, because school is very expensive and half the time I wonder if I should just drop out and do something that will guarantee me a job. But you only have one life, and with God's help, I want to live it without fear and take some risks.

So there you have it--my New Year's Resolutions. Come on, 2013!