So I think it’s well known that I hate killing off characters, but if I think it is needed in the plot, then I do so. For the final draft, I will get around to killing off a certain main character that I refused to kill off in the previous drafts. It just seemed ridiculous to me that they stayed alive, really. I only kept them alive because of how scared I was to kill them. It changes the plot of the second book slightly, but it’s important that it happens. Otherwise, it’s not realistic and the whole point of the story is not as compelling.
I REALLY hate myself for doing this. The fans will probably hate me just as much, but I can live with that.
To end this off nicely, for the final draft, I will finally do what I proudly proclaimed I would do initially. Now, half of the book is from the protagonist’s perspective and the other half is from the antagonist’s perspective.
Basically, what I’m telling you is that there is now no antagonist or protagonist. There are just warring sides. And really, that’s what I should have done all along.
we now have a model for the character of Zenti in my upcoming novel Dark Soldier! It’s kind of an interesting story.
Now that I’m back in university, I am around far more people than usual. There’s a great amount of diversity at LU. Nonetheless, I told Annika (my good friend and the illustrator) we probably wouldn’t find an exact model for Zenti. She would have to fit a really specific description. Like, REALLY specific. I may do too much detail with character description, I’ll admit.
But as luck would have it, my third day back, I spotted someone who looked exact to her description just walking to class. I was shocked to say the least. She smiled, and I tried to smile back, still in shock. Then she scampered away. It was a bit paradoxical.
And only two minutes later, I spotted someone who looked just like the main character! He looked at me oddly, frowned slightly and then walked off. This just so happens to be what Malkeon would do. It was a very exciting day for me.
I told all this to the illustrator, who’s immediate response was: “Why don’t we have her be the model?”
“Well,” I pointed out, “It’s a big college. I’ll probably never see either of them again.”
As luck would have it, day four walked around, I was sitting in class, and a certain person was giving her art proposal for the big semester assignment.
I recognized her immediately.
But the simple fact is that I am a very introverted person. Most of my ability with writing dialogue comes from listening, not talking. So it was very unlikely that I would talk to this person, much less ask them to be a model for a book character. For the next week I left it alone.
Finally I decided it was either act now or get someone who wasn’t as accurate to character.
As it turns out, she not only agreed on the spot but has been wanting to do something like this for some time. And she will probably get to hold that freakishly large sword replica when it’s done. So that’s cool.
Yes, about that size. maybe bigger.
I haven’t seen the Malkeon guy since the first time, though. Here’s hoping…
Now to find Malkeon, Rük, Luc, Sapphire, Crystal, Cedric and Vatrix before the book is published.
I have come up with an idea for a new character for the second draft. I don’t know how well it’s going to go, but here’s to trying! *raising earthen goblet filled with ale into air*
I came to realize that a there are a lot of magical people in this book that I’m writing. Specifically, a lot of them are just born with it. But what if there was someone who wasn’t? With the way that magic is set up in the book, that seems almost impossible. But it isn’t… there is a way. It is known as crystal magic
And what if that person not born with such abilities were to be considered on par with some of the great magicians of their time, all without a single magical bone in their body? It’s an interesting idea, and I want to pursue it. I hadn’t been pursuing it for some time, as I thought I had too many characters. But I offed a few formerly major characters and had room for another.
Also, a Wiccan dude from Tumblr wanted me to make him into a character. That may have played a part in this whole thing.
He most definitely played a part.
And yeah, I’ll admit it. This is super friggin’ awesome.
Also, be sure to check my new short story “Little Folk” at Inkitt!
In honor of the Mayweather vs. Pacquaio fight, I’m showcasing some of the lines for one of the best human fighters in the Dark Veil series. It’s quite a debate as to which brother would win in the series – Luk or Rük, but they’ll probably never get the chance to settle it.
As the dust cleared, he saw Rük’s brother Luk sitting at a table in the midst of the home’s rubble. He took a cup off the table and took a sip. The table and chair he was sitting on crumbled. He looked at the offender angrily as he stood up and took another sip.
“Whit is thes, ye comin’ ower an’ knockin’ mah hoose doon loch ‘at? Bludy rude, e’en fur a monster.” He picked up a sword from the rubble and threw the cup over his shoulder. “Ye need some ‘elp, Rük?”
***
***
“Can ah gie ye a bevvy?” asked a hooded man at the bar. He had the general appearance as Rük, with his long beard and braided hair, but looked unique all the same. He had lighter skin than Malkeon, and golden hair like a Euronian.
“Luk, you’ve ask me that almost every time,” Zenti replied nonchalantly. “How many times have I said ‘yes’?”
“Twoice,” he replied.
“I have gold,” she said, “I can buy myself a drink. Thanks for the thought, though.”
“Yoo’re welcome,” he said with a nod, and returned to his own drink. “Who’s th’ bairn?” He asked, keeping his eyes on Malkeon without turning his head.
“A newcomer,” she explained.
“Ay.” He took a quick swig of the mug. “Where’s ma brither? Ah heard he was wit’ ye.”
Speaking of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, who are you rooting for, if you’re watching at all?
By far one of the most dangerous characters in the Dark Veil series. I won’t give out what side he roots for, as there are dangerous and evil people on both sides of the imminent war. But be very careful with this one. His killing power rests more in his mind than in his fists.
The hooded figure in the front stopped feet from the guards and stood silently.
The guards looked between themselves, and finally the left guard spoke. “Hello gents! Is ‘ere a funeral goin’ on?” He joked.
The hooded figure stood silently. The guards looked between each other with raised eyebrows, but decided to press the matter.
“Oo’s is it?” asked the other guard.
The figure stood silently again. The guards were quite distressed for a couple moments. Then the hooded figure spoke, looking between the two guards. A deep, gravely voice came from under the hood.
“I hath not yet decid’d.”
A trickle of sweat dripped from the left guard’s brow, but he tried to attribute it to the sun. He laughed softly, nervously.
“Wots, ah, wots ‘at supposed ta mean?” the right guard stammered.
Suddenly the hooded figure locked his stare onto the guard who had just spoken. A sharp-toothed smile glimmered under the hood.
“I hath decided,” the figure concluded. “Thine.”
The guards, realizing what he intended, braced themselves with weapons raised.
“A’ight, now,” started the right guard, “‘at’s just about enough o’ your…”
The figure raised his hand and swung it at the guard forcefully, beheading him.
As many people are not writers, I feel like explaining the thought process of a writer after writing a death of a character. Contrary to popular belief, we do not thrive on the thought of ourselves as an evil god of destruction while doing it. Ok, maybe a little, but there’s way more to it. So here it is, the written description, at least what happens to me:
Stage 1: The Grim Reaper. The writer has not yet actually written this scene, but is plotting this character’s demise. The writer does this not for shock sake, but mostly because they need to die. That’s one of the cores to a fantasy book, I think… someone has to die.
Stage 2: The Procrastinator. So now the writer actually has to write this death down. But, depending on whether they’ve written a death before or not, they avoid it. We remember what happened to us the last time we wrote someone’s death.
Stage 3: The Death Note. Now they must do the deed – someone must die. And now it is their time to write that death in all its emotional, traumatic detail. Every word feels like blood pouring from your pen, but it must be done.
Stage 4: The God Complex. You’ve done it. You’ve killed your own creation.
Stage 4: The Banshee. Then comes the stage that almost no one knows about, the mourning stage. We mourn for our characters. We typically feel like we just killed our own child. We sort of did. And that’s what makes us feel like a disgusting monster.
Stage 5: The Guardian Angel. We desperately attempt to find a way to keep this person alive. There must be a way! We must be able to save them! There must be some way to bring back the dead!
Stage 6: The Accepter. You realize that there’s really no way to keep them alive. When you said there was no other way originally, you meant it. And now you know that your readers will think you’re an awful person for all this. But no, you’re not a monster. You’re just a writer.
So, for those who have written books before, what happens to YOU with writing deaths?
Gabriel to Earth 