villain month: in closing…
Today is the last day of June… and an end to the ‘Villain Month’ project.
It’s been great being able to see everyone’s project– the last villain month showcase will probably be up tomorrow, with big thanks to everyone who participated! I really needed to go through this project, and I think the extra effort will show in my writing.
Since today is our last project day, I thought I’d post about one last antagonist of a slightly different flavor. Purposefully underdeveloped; these characters show up very rarely and don’t reveal much of themselves when they do.
The Silver Mask
The king’s secret police all have silver masks. The pieces are all handcrafted, intricate, completely unique. Some have the sculpted faces of angels, some are monsters or dead men, some are dragons or tigers, deep sea fish, insect-like beasts. The shape doesn’t matter. They’re all silver masks, and they all mean the same thing.
You will not know who they are. You will not know if someone in the room might be one. They put on their masks in private, and only when they have work to do in the name of their station.
Every time a mask appears in the book, someone dies.
twittering
I’ve never done flash fiction before.
Supposedly, this is about the time in my book’s progression that I should really start networking, so when I start dancing about, screaming, ‘I published the book I published the book!’ someone might actually take notice. A blog is nice. I can take care of a blog. Something like twitter? Not so much. And yet… a few days ago I found a contest that I thought had a fun prize (free critiques and editing from a published author. One of the ways to enter was to friend said author on twitter. Painless, right?
I never had done flash fiction before. I’m finding it surprisingly fun, though I suspect that I’m bad at it. So. Here’s my new twitter account, and this is the latest bit of fluff to fall out of my head:
Mark thought that he said his proposal very well, on one knee in a park’s rose garden. She considered it. “Ok. But stop wearing my clothes.”
writer’s block
I don’t actually believe in ‘writer’s block’.
Or, rather, what I think that throwing the term ‘writer’s block’ around is like calling an illness ‘a bug’. Yes, there’s something wrong, yes, writing hasn’t happened… but usually I can pinpoint the symptoms. I haven’t started the chapter because I know what happens, it’s a big, important scene, and I’m scared of it falling short to what’s in my head. I can’t keep going because something doesn’t feel right. I have no idea what happens next. I can’t keep going because I’m really taken by this idea for a different story.
Or, this week’s ailment: I plotted out the chapter, tried to go too fast, and did too much action in summary. Everything feels wrong now, and my stomach turns when I look over it. I need to slow down, go back, work things out in scene, because narration isn’t cutting it this time.
Back to the start of chapter eleven.
villain: sorche du remerdii: ten wants
Recently, I started speaking with the gracious Joelle Anthony. Joelle is a published author who was kind enough to help me re-work my query letter.
The first thing she had me do was to write down ten things that my heroine wanted. And I thought, ‘This should be easy. I’ve been writing this character for eight or nine years now– I know Wyrren like the back of my hand.’
It took me two days to come up with a list that satisfied me enough to send back. Two days, and it was actually quite challenging. So since that was such a headache, I’ve decided, ‘let’s do it some more!’.
Sorche du Remerdii
Ten things he wants.
(Took twenty hours to finish).
- Luxury. His idea of luxury, the mental image it conjures, involves crystal plates, wine, music, dim light, and a large bed with entangled limbs on each side: five beautiful girls to share it with him, all with glossy hair and soft lips.
- Respect. Sorche doesn’t care about power, not nearly so much as his brother Kione, but he hates to be left out or seen as second-rate.
- His own small domain. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what he’s put in charge of. He has to work (he would grow miserable without work, and knows it). One of Sorche’s hobbies is to polish tarnished silver. Likewise, he wants to have something of his own to administer and make shine.
- The title ‘bastard’ Mordache changed. Mordache with skin other than the standard icy-pale have human blood and are known as Mordache bastards, despite their legitimacy. This has always irritated him, as a gentleman’s adopted son (and as a bastard Mordache).
- To win a strategy game against Kione. He’s tried. It hasn’t happened (yet).
- His previous lover’s forgiveness. Some of the things she accused him of were true, some weren’t, but he still misses her.
- To learn carving. The Mordache’s main form of art is sculpture, and he’s always wanted to learn how to make it himself, even if it’s just another hobby.
- His brother’s well-being. Sorche is convinced that Kione has no idea how to relax and have fun.
- A moment of glory. Sorche would love to impress his father, to be able to have a very good reason to say, ‘aren’t you glad you took me in?’.
- An interesting life. Perhaps not always a good or a happy life, but he would very much like his to be an eventful one.
villainous links, and a fun text tool
Browsing the internet yesterday and today, I’ve found a few fun links that I thought to share.
But Seriously, Villainy, taken from Steve Malley’s blog. A pictoral list of villains, most in the style of despair.com, and a hilarious read.
Developing Villainous Characters, part 1, on Belinda’s blog (Worderella Writes). Only half of my villains fit in with the beginning stereotype on the links listed, but still link-worthy.
And then, I found wordle.net. Enter in a bunch of text, and it makes a pretty spiffy looking word cloud based on the most common words (excepting and, the, was, and the like). So far, I know for a fact that it can take at least 65 thousand words.
Here’s the word cloud for ‘Blue Crystal’:
Highly fun to play with.
weekly goal (and a long moment of cringing)
Over the weekend I didn’t get much writing done. This is partly because I’d had a tough week and needed to take a break, and partly because after that really climactic scene I needed to step back and figure out where to go from there.
So I started plotting out the next few chapters, and I realized that I’m only five chapters from the end of the book. I knew that I was close, about 30 or 35,000 words away… but even so. That puts a new perspective on things. My new goal is to write a chapter every week. I should have this draft finished at the end of July.
And… … because I’m an idiot… I accidentally erased my last twenty-five comments on my blog. I was trying to erase one (I referred to my own article and I hate pinging myself) and woosh! … Out they went. Excuse me while I go smack myself on the head repeatedly, and know that I really don’t hate you all.
villain: sorche du remerdii: introduction
“Common sense really isn’t that common.”
Sorche du Remerdii
(Ideally read to the tune of Don’t Fear the Reaper, by Blue Oyster Cult.)
Sorche is my favorite villain in this story– I’ve touched on him before in my Kione excerpt, and have been working on him in the background since June began and I figured out what a smart-ass he was.
“Apologies, du Jadis.” One of the men in black bowed slightly. Rylan decided (for now) that he was the leader, and noted his unusually dark skin showing between his cap and scarf. “This is a rescue, despite appearances. We’d appreciate it if you would move quickly. We’re not to hurt anyone.”
Another man appeared with bandages while a third pulled out Rylan’s coat that he’d left in the other room, along with his hat, muffler, gloves, but not his swords. Rylan allowed them access to his wounded arm, and they bandaged it (sloppily– Rylan thought he could have done better, even with one hand). “Who do you serve?” Rylan asked.
“Now?” The leader glanced back to the men who were keeping the doors. No one had intruded on them yet. “Very well. On behalf of my lord, Rylan du Jadis, I commend you for your bravery, congratulate you for your victory, and condemn you for your idiocy.” He offered Rylan an exaggerated bow, and pulled back his left sleeve to show a golden bracer, celestite set into the ring on his middle finger instead of a sigil. “You can call me Sorche du Remerdii.”
Sorche is the adopted son of Remerdii, a landed gentleman who has managed to achieve great wealth, and foster brother to Kione Remerdii. Sorche was taken as a small child and given the name of the Remerdii’s dead son and brother. Sorche has always been considered a gentleman as long as he could remember, given good rooms and private tutors, encouraged to compete with his brother Kione. He’s better than Kione at the Mordache Art, fighting and other physical activities, but falls short at tact and diplomacy. Sorche just can’t help but take jabs when he sees the opportunity.
I’ve put another Sorche excerpt, longer this time, under the cut.
Read the rest of this entry »
showcase of villainy, part iii
Here’s the weekly showcase for the third week in June. We’ve got one more week before the end of Villain Month!
I worked on my bully, Redaechyl, and wrote about what I think makes a good villain.
- Good villains don’t pull punches
- Redaechyl: introduction
- Redaechyl: rank and status (includes world building notes)
- A study in writing bullies
Saint Know-All started on her second villain: Darren Hare.
Aldersgatecycle has been working on Sir Sylvan DeLoire.
Nymeria spent this week focusing on Dawnelle Nymeron.
Ashley made a post on her villain’s setting.
That’s it for this week! I’ll post the final character showcase on July 1st!
cover art, redux
The final cover art for ‘Blue Crystal’ is done (here’s a small version– the title font is temporary filler). The full images are being sent to me by mail.
Thoughts?
