Thursday 28 September 2017

Holiday Inspiration #1 In Which I was Hanging Out with a Cousin

Aiya!
Holidays have begun! And yet, I am here. *Shakes head* Impressive. Truly.
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I have spent a lot of time with Jane, and, as you may have gathered, that means a lot of raving, laughing, writing, plotting, deciding, and alllll of the fun stuff that happens when we hang out.
And planning for reckless activities. Always doing that.
Anyways, it’s been fun, and cool, and yeah.
I mean, we climbed hay bales, discussed characters and superhero plot lines. Not to mention the conversations of torturing our characters. And we became Master Jugglers. *nods sagely* 

She also became a slave with myself in the grand art of pencil sorting and clothes counting.

And there was the game if Riskopoly, (An invention of my sister's boyfriend) a cross between Risk and Monopoly. That was interesting to be a beta player for.

So all in all it has been a very cool and fun time. 

Anyways, do not fear- you are still getting some Inspiration from me.
And heeeeeere it is!
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I hope that that was somewhat Inspiring! Any ideas? Please share!

Thursday 21 September 2017

The Hunt of the Sci-Fi Short Story Disease

Aiya!

Well, this has been an interesting last week of school for the term for me.

I love writing and critiquing, and have been doing a fair bit of both lately, and then, all of these kids in year nine suddenly needed my help; all of them Inspired to write 1100 word sci-fi short stories. *Squints suspiciously and puts on detective coat.*

What on earth had overcome them?

I accepted their requests for help and set off to find my answer.

Was there some sort of disease that was running through the year? Why were these highly uncreative people suddenly seeking me out, come of which I hardly knew?

I needed to know the truth.

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My first client had been showing symptoms of this disease early on, talking about the world halting in its turning until one side always faced the sun.

Another was suffering from time travel delirium and thinking that one could sacrifice part of themselves to obtain a supernatural power such as that to time travel.

The next person who was suffering from this disease seemed to think that Earth was flooding, and that all of the countries were slowly submerging; and yet she lives in Australia, “The Great South Desert.”

And even still, I had one very recent patient who seemed to be having visions of people who were exploring the moons of Jupiter, and someone dying along the way.


How could such a disease occur? And to be as specific as to require them to write a story that was between 800 and 1100 words before the 21st of September 2017? Pieces were beginning to fit together in my mind like the puzzles that my mother and I flee from.

I couldn’t openly show that I was trying to hunt down where this disease had stemmed from— else my clients realised and retaliated, attacking me with their strangely programmed brains. Perhaps it was a programming virus; hence they were all thinking in a science-y manner. As it was, to avoid giving myself away I attended school as per normal, spending a fair bit of time around these people.

They were not acting any differently to usual, but they all seemed to want to write; even going as far as to drag me into the library with them at lunch to help them with their writing.

In one history class, I was finished all I needed to be doing, and decided to continue my search on the disease— determined to find where it was coming from before it spread any further in the years. My teacher walked up behind me and peered over my shoulder to see what I was doing. Instead of acting confused that I was looking over a 1000 word sci-fi story written by a highly uncreative student, he nodded, and then answered all of my questions, unintentionally of course.

“Oh good, I’m so glad that she took my advice to get you to look over her assessment task. A lot of them have been struggling to get the short story part written.”

I couldn’t believe it. The cause of the disease was my teacher.

Mission closed.

*Slips off detective cloak*


Aaaaanyways…

After this crazed hunt, I figured I should give you guys a prompt. And, seeing that I potentially just failed as a detective, this one seems quite appropriate. xD

So, here is the prompt to make up for m failure as a detective. See if it Inspires you, to keep writing and to keep your characters and plot despite the hardships and failures you fight through together. (And they will come and be high in number— trust me. I just deleted a whole heap of scenes from my WIP to re-write.)

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Well, I hope that that was Inspiring. Any ideas or thoughts come from that? Any cool character ideas? Plot? Does it Inspire you to keep writing? Or are you Inspired that a little group of symbols can be arranged to have meaning?

Please share! Or just talk to me. I love to hear from you!

Thursday 14 September 2017

Rising Author's Tag... (Or should I say 'Tags')


Aiya!

WOW! I REMEMBERED AND AM HERE! With a double tag post at that!

Wait— double tag? Yup. That is now officially a thing. Basically, I figured I’d toss both of the tags onto the one post, so, I shall begin with the Rising Author’s Tag from Sarah!


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Thanks Sarah, I’m touched to know that ye think of me as a Rising Author!

Erhem, now, to the tag!

1. When was the last time you worked on your WIP?

Ummmmm, *Checks watch* Exactly 12 minutes ago. Just editing over and trying to fill in parts and develope my side characters a bit more, y’know.

2. Do you have a comic-relief sort-of character in your story?

Heheh, you may have gathered that that is Ryan Sands. He is an awesome antagonist, emotional character and comic relief. I mean, who doesn’t like a snarky, sarcastic, video game playing, blue haired, evil guy????

3. Do you have a favourite place to write?

Oh wow… I have my writing area in Little Tuscany, (Our garden, ever since the pizza oven it has been called Little Tuscany) But I also like just writing at my desk in my room… *Shrugs.*

4. What's the first book that made you cry?

*Freezes* Uuuummmmm *Mentally scans bookshelves and Kindle collections* I thiiiiiiink that it could be Tuck, by Stephen R Lawhead… but I am not suuuuuuure…

5. How many WIPs do you currently have?

Um, Rebellion of Weddendel- *Carefully avoiding*

The Survivor Trilogy, Sister- *Is writing/ rewriting/ editing*

The Survivor Trilogy, Sweep- *Is plotting for NaNoWriMo*

Tales of a Forgotten Home- *Drafting*

Jade deArchet’s Thingo- *Has got a pile of parts written, and yet to get a plot line*

The Lost Pendant- *Totally has not been highly distracted from my actual WIP by writing.*

*Coughs* Moving on…

6.What was your hardest scene to write?

Oooh, um, yikes… How about that chapter that is still sitting unwritten? Masquerade. I mean, I’ve got soooo many ideas for it, but, like, I CAN’T WRITE IT!!!! I’ve been putting it off…

7. Do you have a specific ambience that you like to listen to for your WIP? (Like an aesthetic/collage almost... but only sounds ;D)

*Scratches head* Music? Are we talking music here? If so, then yes, I do…

Legacy~ Nichole Nordeman.


Sea of Souls

My Epic Music Thingo (I listen to a variety of this sort of music.)


And there is much more, but that’s all I’ve got for you for now!

8. Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you see the colour green.

Rain filled the thirsty country, the water falling through cracks and soothing the burnt and scorched land. Caeden stared out the window, a smile upturning the corners of his mouth. “Jade, rain. At last.” Silently, the girl stood and joined him by the window. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “The green will come back again. It’ll come through the ashes.”

Heheh, I think that will have to go into Jade’s book now… even more ideas…

9. Does your MC have a sidekick/best bud and/or pet? If no pet, do they want one? If no sidekick, do they need one? xD

They have a sister in book one who gets kidnapped, and in the second book/ end of first, they score a sidekick.  

And yes, Connor totally needs one. He would go mad and probably die without one. Or explode like the human atomic bomb that he is.

10. (LAST QUESTION, YAAYY.) How old were you when you first started writing?

Hmmmm, well, I think that was the Treacherous Trio, and that would have been when Izzy was around, so, 7 or 8?

When did I start writing well? Ah, well, that can be debated, but, I will say that that was this year. *Nods* Think that sounds about right.

Okay, so, there ends the “Rising Authors Tag.” I hope that I have answered the questions sufficiently. And now, to the next tag!


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The Rising Author’s Tag #2

So, thank you heaps Ral! And I shall now proceed with this tag… again.

1. Who's your favourite author?

Was this question just asked? HONESTLY???? *Glares* Okaaaaaay, ummmmm...  

They have a name.

And they wrote books.

‘What is their name?’ You ask?

That’s a great question.

2. What's your favourite book? (I know I'm mean; I'm only letting you choose one )

There are many books that claim this title. I love the Silmarillion, the Ilyon Chronicles, Out of Time, Screwtape Letters… ACK SO MANY! (Bad luck, I chose them alllll.)

3. What's your favourite writing quote?

WHAT IS WITH ALL OF THESE “FAVORITE” QUESTIONS!????

Ummmm, well, perhaps, um, I dunno…

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” ~ Psalm 19:14

This verse (although not strictly about) writing really helps remind me who I am writing for, which can be all too easy to forget when you are frantically writing.

4. What do you do when you've run out of ideas at a crucial moment?

*Headdesk* *Glare at screen* *Glare at fingers* Why will my brain not work??!!!!

*Eventually moves onto next scene, noting to come back to it later.*

5. What do you do when you get Writers’ Block?

*Stares blankly at screen.* Oooooh, pretty birdy… *Stares at birdy for an unknown amount of minutes.*

*Pokes Jane* Want a word war?

*Spends the next 15 minutes typing frantically, somehow coming up with ideas.*

6. What does writing mean for you?

Writing- physically causing words to form in a visual way.

Nah, to me writing is more than that.

Writing is the way to express emotions, ideas, dreams, truth and gifts.

It is the way one can communicate a message to someone to change their heart, and help them through life. Writing and words are a gift from God that has been giving to no other creature, a blessing of the gift of imagination and creation that the Creator has blessed us with. Writing is something that I pray that I use to glorify God not myself as it is He who gave the gift to me.

That is what writing means to me.

7. What makes you continue to write, even when things get hard?

As I said above, writing is a gift from God and that keeps me going. Actually, often I write when things get hard in my own life. That is when I feel I am most able to display my own weakness through my characters, and that is when the most character development occurs.

God sustains me when I am struggling in writing. Sometimes that is through a verse that just suddenly decides to dump itself in my life, or through a friend who just says the right thing at the right time, Or through a random sense of peace and a reminder that, yes, it is God that I am writing for.  

8. How would you cope in your MC's toughest moments?

To be honest, I don’t think I would cope. Not very well at least. I mean, Connor doesn't score an easy life. And I’d probably freak out.

But I suppose that I would probably end up better than he does, after all, I have God on my side. He would help me through the crises.

9. Can you give us any snippety snippets?

I can.

*Hums and wanders away.*

Oh wait, like, you want me to give you some? *Sighs* I suppose I can scavenge some up… *Is beginning to wonder if my entire book will be published in the form of snippets on my blog.*

“The darkness refused to let her go. It shrouded her, hiding her from the light outside. She raised her hand to her face and dabbed at the sticky blood. I tried Alex. They found me out. Now I’m leaving you. A sigh slipped free from her lips and she leant against the wall, sliding down to sit on the dirt. Now what?

Her gaze travelled over the dusty cell and she picked up a piece of hay, rolling it about in her fingers. They’re going to hang me. They don’t care, they just will have me hung. They won’t look twice at my sweeps, at the rest of the starving children. They’ll kill us.

She felt a traitorous tear slide down her dusty cheek and she swiped it away. I can’t cry, not now. There’s too much that I still need to do. She looked up at the small barred window above her and stood up. It was just out of her reach. She stretched as high as she could until her hands gripped around the freezing bars.  With a slight grunt she drew her body up until she could just see through. Feet trampled the snowy ground and her nose scrunched at the scent of horse manure. Nothing to be gained here. She dropped back down quietly.

No point trying to run away or anything. If I wait, maybe things will improve. Maybe Alex will be able to get me out.

Somehow.


That one was from my awesome chimney sweep’s perspective, Ashley.



“He rolled back over onto his stomach and turned his band on, flicking through the holograms that appeared over it. “Contacts- InterDimensional” Perfect. His fingers slid a few times across the image, allowing it to strengthen before speaking. “Lauren Caitlin Daleson.” A life sized image of his sister formed in front of him and he smiled slightly, but the grin faltered as the form flickered.

“Connor? Is that you? Oh, we’ve been so worried about you! Where are you right now? Are you okay?” Laura’s questions came out in a rush, tumbling over each other.

“I’m in Turkey, and, what date does WWI start?” Connor shrugged off the rest of Laura’s questions. For now, I just need to know how much time I’ve got until this part of the world begins to end.

Laura’s concerned voice came across to him, amid some crackling, “Connor, what do you mean WWI? Don’t tell me you’re in 1914?”

Connor shrugged, Hopefully she can see me better than I can see her. “Yeah. July 17, 1914.” It can’t be for another month at least. He heard his sister take a sharp intake of breath. “What? When is it?” Please not today, please no.

“July the 28th. Connor, WWI is going to start in 11 days.”

Connor slowly closed his eyes. “Laura, how do I know how to travel back to the right dimension? What’s the trick to it?” Let’s ignore the fact that a war is about to start and just get out of here.

“Focus your atoms in the way that feels most natural to you. That should then lead you to hear, your ‘most natural’ habitat. Your atoms will pass through easily and should be accurate.” She sounded as though she was reading off a script, but that was just Laura. Ever the factual one. I once was, back when I studied science, before Dan. Before science made a martyr of my brother.

I  will not follow that path.

He nodded, “Okay then, I’ll see you soon.” He paused, then added dismissively, “I also have a tendency to go unconscious after, jumping.” Laura squinted at him and shook her head slowly.

“Okay then. I’ll keep a watch out on you. Get here soon.”

He felt a smirk settle on his face, “Always Laura. I’ll be there.” He swiped at the image making it vanish and turned his gaze to a desk in the corner of the room.

Striding over he found some paper and a pen, then sat down, turned his band on, and started writing down everything he could find about WWI.”


And that was from Connor’s POV.

*Gasps* Did I just give snippets with no Ryan? *Shakes head* The world must be ending…

10. What do you do when you've (finally) finished your book?

*Blinks* I will scream to Jane of course. Then to everyone else. And then collapse.

And then really hope that it ends up better than the last book I finished…



So, there is my double tag! I really hope that my answers passed.

Ack. Now it appears I must tag.

Okay, so, I will toss in a few names, and if ye feel like doing one go ahead. Or if you read this and just feel like doing it also go ahead.


Ah, I suppose questions would be good. I shall give them to you also.

  1. What do you struggle most in your writing with?
  2. What inspired you to write your WIP?
  3. What is the theme of your WIP?
  4. Which do you enjoy more; planning out your character development or your world?
  5. Do you have a set genre that you write to?
  6. What would be your most dreaded genre to have to write?
  7. Do you have a favorite character?
  8. If so, why are they your favorite? (If not, why don’t you have a favorite?)
  9. Are you a nice writer or an evil one?
  10. If you could insert yourself into any part of your WIP in the place of your MC, what would it be and why?

Have fun!

So, any favorite writing quotes from you? And anyone here want to rave about characters and theme? (Cos I will rave with you happily! xD)

~J.A.Penrose~



Tuesday 5 September 2017

It's Tuesday; Late Inspiration... (And a hint of a Giveaway...AND EPICNESS!!!)

Aiya!

You may (Just possibly) have noticed that I am extremely late. Sorry!


I’ve had a WHOLE HEAP of things on lately, and, unfortunately, a lot of them involved detentions for non-attendance/completion. I don’t want a detention. So, yeah. Hence I have been lacking a lot lately.

One of these things was awesome. My cousin, Jane Maree, has published an official author’s website and blog. I was so excited, getting to look at it, AND IT IS REAL AND BEAUTIFUL AND EPIC AND ARGH!!! *Coughs* Aaaaanyways… She also has a giveaway, for two books that I have been RAVED to about COUNTLESS times, so that will be cool. To see the Website, click Here, and to see the Giveaway on her Blog, click Here. (I TOLD YOU THAT THERE WOULD BE EPICNESS!!!)

And I had a philosophy and poetry comp on for one of the times, and a Tolstoy presentation the second time. So, I’ve decided to share with you a poem I wrote as an apology, AS WELL AS a normal prompt, AND my usual Thursday post. *Gasps all around.* So, will that pass as an apology for being late?

Now, I hope to give you guys a prompt that both redeems myself from my awful poetry from earlier, and Inspires you… so… I wonder if you can be Inspired by a poem. (I know I can!) Maybe you could have a character that matches? Anyway, here is your dose of Inspiration and my own attempt to write… less horrific poetry.

AND GUESS WHAT GUYS? THIS ISN’T BASED OFF THE BUS!!!

Nah, I came up with it in a challenge thingo. I got a friend to give me a topic, then a few other people gave me numbers which I then used to come up with the syllables, lines, and stanzas. The topic I got given in this case was ‘Fishing’… I don’t think that it turned out how my friend was expecting…

I Stand Alone

Coiled wire unfurling,
Ocean roars, far away sails-
Sails the ship, Vessel of Dreams,
Riding the tide, dancing high.
No longer mine. Never was.
Now I stand. I stand alone.

Memories as waves, sweep, sway,
Drowning me with tortured dreams.
Tortured dreams of my life now lost.
I am safe, but at what cost?
For a life no longer mine?
Now I stand. I stand alone.

I cast the line, flies over waves,
I sit, wait, I spend my days.
Reeling in catch after catch-
Gazing afar, where I lived.
Is fishing my only life now?
Fishing for a hope not mine?

Here I stand. I stand Alone.

~J.A.Penrose~
Weeeeeell, does this almost redeem me from my appalling poetry of old? And, more importantly, have you got a story or a character to go with it? An artwork or piece of music?

AND NOW FOR THE SECOND THINGO!!!

So, I reckon that this one is cool. And has been interpreted in many different ways among my friends.

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Does that inspire you? I’m curious, if it does, in what way? My friends had idea ranging from trees, to dragons, to politics, so, who knows!

Feel free  to share any ideas, or comments below!  (And you MUST look at Jane Maree’s site if you haven’t already. And even if you have, YOU MUST SEE IT AGAIN!!!)

~J.A.Penrose~