Monday, October 15, 2012

Writing Tag Of Phenomenal Dimensions

I discovered this writing tag recently over at Kendra's blog and then followed the link back to Anne-girl's blog and then again followed the link back to Jessica's blog. After reading all three posts in full (yes, I said "in full" and yes, I know there's 75 questions in this tag, so there's your phenomenal dimensions), I knew I was hooked and had to fill it out for myself. 

I thought about doing it for multiple stories, but then decided that it would be enough just to focus on Children of a Legend, so all the questions are based on that story. If I feel like it later, maybe I'll do it again for another story. Maybe. :)

So, let's begin!

1. What’s your word count? Currently stands at 102,028 words.

2. How long until you finish? I have no idea. I would like to finish the first rough draft before New Years, but I'm not sure how that's gonna go considering how much more of the story there's still left to write.

3. If you have finished, how long did it take you? Far from finished, my friends! I began writing Children of a Legend back in April of this year, and we'll see how long it will take to finish it.

4. Do you have an outline? Not organized with all the details, but I have a page of plot written down and I know where I'm going. For the most part.

5. Do you have a plot? Yep. Didn't you read that last question about my writing an entire page of plot out?


6. How many words do you typically write a day? On a typical day? Honestly, hardly any. I've really only worked on it during my two NaNo challenges, and averaged about 1700-2000 words per day for that. 

7. What was your greatest word count in one day? 3,076. Not a lot, I realize, but that's a lot to me when I was averaging 2,000 words a day back in June. 

8. What was your least impressive word count in one day? To repeat Anne-girl: 0. Real impressive, right?

9. What inspired you to write? What inspired me to write? A love of words and writing in general. What inspired me to write this story? A combination of a kid's movie that my family watched and a dream I had later halfway based on that movie. Crazy, huh?

10. Does your novel have a theme song? The song that plays endlessly through my head is Forbidden Friendship from HTTYD.

11. Assign each of your major characters a theme song. Is it wrong to assign them all from the HTTYD CD? I really like that CD, and each song fits almost perfectly into the personality of each character.

Davin: Forbidden Friendship
Brice: See You Tomorrow
Rayne: Coming Back Around
Grant: Test Flight
etc. etc. I can't give up all my characters!

12. Which character is most like you? Hmm... that's tough. Probably Davin. Even though he's a boy, I can see some of my characteristics coming out in him.

13. Which character would you most likely be friends with? All of them! Well, almost all of them. I don't know that I would want to be friends with Lord Vernd, Mal Sorcell, Krunnerus, and those like them, but I would definitely want to know Davin and his group.

14. Do you have a Gary-Stu or Mary Sue character? I'm lost... what?

15. Who is your favorite character in your novel? Bricentus Holloman!

16. Have your characters ever done something completely unexpected? Yes! Brice did something I hadn't expected him to do, and Rayne walked onto the pages of the story with ah... something that I hadn't even planned on giving her. 

17. Have you based any of your novel directly on personal experiences? Again... yes.

18. Do you believe in plot bunnies? I like plot bunnies! :)

19. Is there magic in your novel? No.

20. Are any holidays celebrated in your novel? I really haven't thought of holidays. Hmm... I should try to incorporate something like that.

21. Does anyone die? Umm... yes. I won't give you any names, but there is death. I have battles and fights and wars... death is unavoidable. 

22. How many cups of coffee/tea have you consumed during your writing experience? I drink neither coffee nor tea. I find both rather disgusting and leave my warm liquid consumption to only hot lemonade and hot apple cider. 

23. What is the latest you have stayed up writing? Just past midnight, so if you wanted a specific time that would be about 12:30 or so. 

24. What is the best line? Best written line? 
If Davin had known the reason for his father's apprehension, if he had interpreted his hesitation differently, if he had only a small glimpse of reality and what lay before them, he would have wished the road to  town to continue endlessly without ever reaching a destination. Or best happiest line? Rayne's chin trembled, though her happy expression never wavered. “I've waited so long for this day, Davin. I can't believe you're finally here! My brother! My own, dear brother!” She stepped forward and wrapped him in a warm embrace. Davin returned the gesture, letting his tears flow unbidden onto Rayne's shoulder.

25. What is the saddest line? 
And sliding down the side of the door, Davin lay in a heap on the floor and finally allowed his body to succumb to the sobs he could no longer hold back. -- Not necessarily sad just read like that, but it's a big part of the story. 

26. Have you dreamed about your novel or its characters? I dreamed about them before I began the story, but I haven't dreamed about them since I began writing. 

27. Does your novel rely heavily on allegory? Not heavily, but there is some allegory involved in the sense that I have ideas, subplots, etc. based on a famous biblical story. Which one? Oh, fine, I'll tell you: Joshua.

28. Summarize your novel in under fifteen words. "
Believing a legend is one thing. Becoming the son of a legend is something totally different." That's the summary I wrote for CoaL on my stories page, and yes!! I know it's 16 words, but that really doesn't matter, right?

29. Do you love all your characters? I love writing about them. I love imagining them and then following them on their adventures. I love relishing feelings of sympathy, dislike, etc. for them. Do I love each one like a sibling or friend? No, not really. 

30. Have you done something sadistic or cruel to your characters specifically to increase your word count? *ahem* Yes. Guilty. 

31. What was the last thing your main character ate?  I'm not exactly sure what Davin ate last. He didn't tell me. But I can say that currently, Davin is at a table awaiting a fine meal of chicken and dumplings at an inn in Yartella. 

32. Describe your main character in three words. Davin in three words? Hmm... Dragon Tamer's son. Three words? See? Fine. Three other words: selfless, dedicated, and worried.


33. What would your antagonist dress up as for Halloween? I don't celebrate Halloween, so I doubt any of my characters would either. 

34. Does anyone in your story go to a place of worship? Davin worships the one true God of Dron, but I don't think I've written about him worshiping in a specific place.

35. How many romantic relationships take place in your novel? I'm not much on romance, especially writing about it, but somehow I can't help it. Two of my characters decide they're perfect for each other and tell me they're going to get married, whether I want them to or not. I can't control my characters. I really don't write about romance, but I can't stop the relationships forming against my better judgement. How many relationships? At the moment, there are one or two that I'm aware of or have suspicions of.

36. Are there any explosions in your novel? Explosions... hmm... none right now, but maybe. 

37. Is there an apocalypse in your novel? No.

38. Does your novel take place in a post-apocalyptic world? No.

39. Are there zombies, vampires or werewolves in your novel? Big NO!

40. Are there witches, wizards or mythological creatures/figures in your novel? Nope.

41. Is anyone reincarnated? No, I don't believe in reincarnation.

42. Is anyone physically ailed? Yes.

43. Is anyone mentally ill? No one that I'm aware of. But there could be. Someone waltzed in and told me he/she was blind, so someone could just as easily waltz in and tell me that they're mentally not all there. It's very possible. 

44. Does anyone have swine flu? I don't think they even know what swine flu is. Someone does get Pepper's fever, though. When I write fantasy, I tend to make up my own illnesses. 

45. Who has pets in your novel and what are they? The six children of the Tamer all have a dragon. Since the dragons themselves don't really give anything away, I'll give you their names: Pennar Greenspike, Scarlet Broadwing, Borlo Goldtalon, Netsrik Firehorn, Azulla Clawbane, and Quinessa Violettail. Other dragons include Essore Midnight, Hreg Bloodson, Silver Airress, and Cren Bluepaw. You're allowed to guess what color each of the dragons are. 

46. Are there angels, demons, or any religious references/figures in your novel? No, unless you count the references to the specific Bible story that I mentioned before. 

47. How about political figures? Yes.

48. Is there incessant drinking? No, not incessant drinking. There is some consumption of alcohol, but it is always viewed in a bad light.

49. Are there board games? If so, which ones? Don't know. Most of my characters don't have time to play board games. Maybe I should invent one.

50. Are there any dream sequences? None that I know of at the moment, but that doesn't mean there won't be one. I don't usually plan dream sequences; they tend to sneak up on me.

51. Is there humor? Oh, yes!

52. Is there tragedy? Yup.

53. Does anyone have a temper tantrum? I haven't written any tantrums yet, but I know of one or two characters who might have a tantrum later on.

54. How many characters end up married at the end of your novel? I can't tell. I know at least one person will end up married whether I want them to or not, but other than that, who knows?

55. Is anyone in your novel adopted? In a weird sense, yes. It's complicated.

56. Does anyone in your novel wear glasses? Not any main characters, but I may have written in some minor characters at a university as having glasses.

57. Has your novel provided insight about your life? I think so.

58. Your personality? Umm... probably yes again.

59. Has your novel inspired anyone? Maybe... 

60. How many people have asked to read your novel? Quite a few actually. I've had a bunch of volunteer editors.

61. Have you drawn any of your characters? No! I'm a terrible artist!

62. Has anyone drawn your characters for you? No.

63. Does anyone vomit in your novels? Yes.

64. Does anyone bleed in your novel? Um, a fantasy book with battles and journeys? Yes!

65. Do any of your characters watch TV? They know not the meaning of this word "TV."

66. What size shoe does your main character wear? Davin? I would imagine he's about the same size as my dad: 9.

67. Do any of the characters in your novel use a computer? Nope. Why would fantasy characters in a medieval world use a computer?

68. How would you react if your novel was erased entirely? Cry. A lot. But do my best to trust that God had a reason for it.

69. Did you cry at killing off any of your characters? Let's just say I haven't cried yet.

70. Did you cheer when killing off one of your characters? Nope. Haven't killed any of those kind yet.

71. What advice would you give to a fellow writer? Write. Repeat. You can only get better with practice.

72. Describe your ending in three words. Dramatic, intense, and magnificent. I hope. I haven't written it yet, so we'll see.

73. Are there any love triangles, squares, hexagons, etc.? None that I know of. I would guess probably not, but then again, I'm not in control of my characters. 

74. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least stressful, 10 being the most) how does your stress rank? While I'm writing... I'm only really stressed if I'm doing NaNo and my word count is behind. I get frustrated sometimes when I can't get a sentence or paragraph to sound the way I want it to sound.

75. Was it worth it? Was what worth it? Filling out this tag? Yes, it was fun. I love tags. Writing CoaL? I love writing it now, and one day I hope that it will be well worth the effort and time I put into it.

Thank you all of you who made it all the way to end! Aw, you're welcome! :)


God bless!

4 comments:

  1. It was so funny. I just looked at the picture was like "ASTRID!!!!!" and then clicked the link to your blog. =D

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  2. CoaL sounds most intriguing! I enjoyed reading this. (btw: Mary Sue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue They're not nice things to have on your hands. I've encountered a few ...)

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  3. Nice tag! Not knowing if some of your characters get married or no, that sounds like me.

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  4. Questions 35 and 54. I'm shocked beyond belief.

    Question 60. Not only have I read all you have written, but I've offered to edit it with the Red Pencil, too. When am I allowed to tear your manuscript apart? :) By the way, when are you planning on adding more to your story? The 100+ pages you have written aren't enough and you left me hanging! Ahem.

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