Writing Tag on "Eldrei"

Well, I haven't really written a blog post in ages, but the other day I was flipping through the other blogs that I follow and I found this tag on Eldra's blog.  She tagged all of her followers who were brave enough to try to answer all the questions on this immense tag, so I'm going to do something similar. :D  If  you follow me, and if you haven't already done this tag, then consider yourself officially tagged!

1. What’s your word count?
31,752

2. How long until you finish?
Eh… It’s difficult to say.  The rough draft was well over 100k, and as far as this rewrite is going… well, let’s say I took the beginning back to an earlier date in the novel’s timeline… so having to write up to where I started the original story is definitely taking some time.  Knowing that YA novels usually level out somewhere just under 100k, I’d like to say I’m close to about 1/3 of the way done, but knowing what I still have planned for this novel, I’d say the book is more like 1/4 done… maybe…

3. If you have finished, how long did it take you?
I’m not finished with the rewrite and because of other projects I have to deal with right now, I don’t know how long it will be before I finish.  However, I think the RD took me somewhere around 2-3 years to complete at leisure… maybe 4 but I can’t remember anymore.  I started writing Eldrei about a week after I turned 16.

4. Do you have an outline? 
Not for the RD, and for the rewrite?  Well, I consider my RD the outline for my rewrite. J

5. Do you have a plot? 
Yes. Or at least I think I do.  There aren’t many people who’ve read what I have of the story, but the plot makes sense in MY head.

6. How many words do you typically write a day?
That really depends on time and my schedule right now.  Typically I might get out somewhere between 500 to 1k on a good day.  On a bad day I’m lucky to get out 100 to 300 words.  I would love to be able to write more than that a day, but my schedule just doesn’t allow it. L

7. What was your greatest word count in one day?
I wrote over 10,000 words one day last summer, thanks to my mother. Lol!  She told me she didn’t want to see me come out of my room until I’d completed SOTD.  Well, I didn’t finish, exactly, but I got pretty far.  It’s hard not to, with 10k. :D

8. What was your least impressive word count in one day?
10… I think.  One day.  Unless you count all the days I don’t write at all, and then the answer is 0.

9. What inspired you to write?
It’s funny, because I was finishing up reading LOTR for the third time in a row when suddenly I thought “I can do this!” and I got out of bed and went to my computer.  I had an old 95 compaque from my dad at the time.  And I started writing.  However, what seems even funnier was the fact that even though I had been reading LOTR which is what initially started my writing, a major point in the story was inspired from a small piece of info in Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  It’s such a very major point that it’s been there from the very start of the story and there’s no way I’ll ever consider taking it out. :D

From then on, however, the story took on a life of its own.

Before that particular night, I was trying to write a sequel (a very lame and amateur sequel) to LOTR, and before that I wrote mostly poetry with a few short stories thrown in for good measure.

10. Does your novel/story have a theme song?
You know, I never really thought of giving my novel a theme song.  If I were to choose, though, I would have to say that it would be “May it Be” from Celtic Women or perhaps “Caislean Oir” by Clannad.  Maybe the “Love Theme from Barry Lyndon” by the Chieftans in some places… It’s sort of hard to give Eldrei a specific theme song as I can see different songs fit it in different places.

11. Assign each of your major characters a theme song.
Hmmm… I’ve never really thought about whether my characters would have theme songs or not…

You know, I think I’ll pass this one.  I can imagine giving an entire story or plot a theme song, but it just doesn’t hit me right to give my characters theme songs… not sure why.

12. Which character is most like you?
Tibain.  That was easy.  I mean, I guess you could say that both he and Arien are equally important to the story, but Tibain is definitely the most like me…

13. Which character would you most likely be friends with?
Oh, I could probably be friend with any of my three major characters… but probably Tibain once again.  I could definitely be friends with Arien, but if you want the truth, she reminds me a lot of one of my younger sisters and while we get along most of the time, sometimes our personalities clash severely. 

14. Do you have a Gary-Stu or Mary Sue character?
I sure hope not!!!

15. Who is your favorite character in your novel?
It used to be that I would have said Tibain, but lately I’ve been messing around in Dakore’s POV, and I’ve discovered that he’s a lot more complicated than I used to think. :D

16. Have your characters ever done something completely unexpected?
Oh yes.

17. Have you based any of your novel directly on personal experiences?
I don’t think so, but I would say that some of what’s in my novel is definitely attributed in some way to my real life.

18. Do you believe in plot bunnies?
Yes.  They like to hop in and out of my brain at the most inopportune moments…

19. Is there magic in your novel/story?
Not as in spells… least not for the good guys.  I can’t remember what the RD had for the bad guys…  


The good guys don’t use spells or anything like that, but my MC’s are gifted, and my “Fae” or “Elvish” characters use a type of “magic” (if you want to call it that) that has to do with singing.  There’s a long and very very complicatedly thought process and reasoning behind this… I may post it someday… but right now it would take up way too much time and space.

20. Are any holidays celebrated in your novel/story?
Hmmm… you know, I’ve never even thought about it.

21. Does anyone die?
Yes.  Of course.  And not just bad guys… :D

22. How many cups of coffee/tea have you consumed during your writing experience?
Lol!  Way too many to count! :D  I am officially addicted to coffee… especially if it’s iced coffee with whipped cream on top (although I’m sure that’s insanely bad for me)… and as for tea… well, once I get started, there is no stopping me for a good long time!

23. What is the latest you have stayed up writing?
Oh I think I managed once to about 7:00 am one time… I don’t think I’ve ever beat that time while writing before, but once it was 10:00 am before I fell asleep after reading all night.  Thankfully it was a Saturday so I was allowed to sleep in. :D

24. What is the best line?
Gosh… That’s a really hard one.  I have some favorites, but I wouldn’t say any of them are “the best” line of the whole story…

25. What is the worst line?
Probably the last one I wrote off the top of my head because then it’s most likely not edited yet. :D

26. Have you dreamed about your novel/story or its characters?
Oh yeah, several times.  But unfortunately it doesn’t usually help me get my characters out of situations…

27. Does your novel rely heavily on allegory?
No.

28. Summarize your novel/story in under fifteen words.
Star Siblings must be returned to their thrones before their arch-enemy succeeds in destroying them.

29. Do you love all your characters?
No. Some of them I like, but actually I wouldn’t say I  “love” any of them completely… (I know that sounds bad…)  It’s just that I like to hurt them all so much and make so many bad things happen to them that “loving” them can be hard in contrast with my evil writer’s side. Lol!

30. Have you done something sadistic or cruel to your characters specifically to increase your word count?
Oh yeah.  Read above post.  ;)

31. What was the last thing your main character ate?
Fish, I think.  Or maybe some other sort of dried meat… but I can’t remember.

32. Describe your main character in three words.
Honorable.  Complicated.  Underestimated.

33. What would your antagonist dress up as for Halloween?
Shoot!  Why would you need to dress up if you were already the biggest, baddest, scariest evil thing to ever exist?!

34. Does anyone in your story go to a place of worship?
Um… the “elvish” characters… yes, if I remember correctly. 

35. How many romantic relationships take place in your novel/story?
None.

36. Are there any explosions in your novel/story?
Maybe… do you count a dragon blowing up things with his fire-breath?  Oh wait, there was one other time…  yes. But that’s in the second book so… well, unless you count the dragon there are no explosions in the first book. :D

37. Is there an apocalypse in your novel/story?
Hmmm… I don’t think so…

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

39. Are there zombies, vampires or werewolves in your novel/story?
No.  Never.  Not gonna happen.  And I don’t think you can count my “satan takes over his own demon” scene… which is really scary and actually freaked me out when I wrote it.  I will probably cut it, but I haven’t decided yet. It's really really creepy.  *shivers*


Weird mixed evil creatures?  Yeah, I have a few of those… 

40. Are there witches, wizards or mythological creatures/figures in your novel/story?
Yes… I have gryphons, dragons, centaurs, nymphs, unicorns, “elves” (although I don’t think they are going to be called that in the story), dwarves, phoenixes, fauns, sprites, and fairies… but no witches or wizards.

41. Is anyone reincarnated?
Eh… no.  There is a surprise planned for the last book… and don’t worry, a totally valid, well thought through reason that doesn’t go against any of my Christian beliefs.  But I don’t believe in reincarnation, so none of that.

42. Is anyone physically ailed?
Well, every time I hurt a character, they are physically ailed… they usually get better at some point in time… I think… maybe… hehe!

43. Is anyone mentally ill?
Uh, no.  At least, one of my characters thinks he may be going mentally ill at the beginning of the book, but he’s not and it all gets worked out. :D

44. Does anyone have swine flu?
What?!

45. Who has pets in your novel and what are they?
No pets.  Not really… Not in the real sense of the word.  I don’t know if you can call a warrior unicorn a “pet” even if it was your constant guide for the first part of the story, and you can’t call a sprite a “pet” unless you want some mischief worked when you aren’t looking. :)

46. Are there angels, demons, or any religious references/figures in your novel/story?
Yes.

47. How about political figures? Are there political figures in my book?
Yes… the story has political figures and such, but the story is more centered around a more, eh… I guess you would call it “spiritual” aspect.

48. Is there incessant drinking?
No.  Not in this book.  In one of my other books there is some, but my MC’s never drink much if they drink at all, and then only wine for the purpose of it being a fantasy book.  They never get drunk.  And the person who does get drunk in my other book is a total butt.  (if you’ll excuse my saying so… HE IS THOUGH!)

49. Are there board games? If so, which ones?
Hmm… no, but now I might think of putting something in… maybe… it would be an interesting concept to try and create…

50. Are there any dream sequences?
Only every other page.  Ok, maybe not that much, but dreams and visions play a HUGE roll in this story.  HUGE.

51. Is there humor?
In some cases I sure hope so…

52. Is there tragedy?
Yes.

53. Does anyone have a temper tantrum?
No hissy-fits.  Frustrated arguments, yes, but not trantrums.

54. How many characters end up single at the end of your novel/story?

And the end of this particular book they are all single.  My characters aren't married at the end of this trilogy either -- at least they aren't to this point.  At the end of this series, however, I’m thinking about maybe planning a very special wedding… but that's around 9 books away. :)

55. Is anyone in your novel/story adopted?
Eh… no.  Not in this one… but they do have a guardian who isn’t their parents, and it is true that they don’t exactly know their parents… but they aren’t really adopted either…

56. Does anyone in your novel/story wear glasses?
Not that I can think of…

57. Has your novel/story provided insight about your life?
Uhhh. . . I think in some cases, yes.

58. Your personality?
Sometimes.  Most of the time it shows up in Tibain.

59. Has your novel/story inspired anyone?
I have no idea.  Not many people have read the rewritten version of it, and I don’t show the RD to ANYONE.

60. How many people have asked to read your novel/story?
A few.  Three or four maybe…

61. Have you drawn any of your characters?
I’ve tried, years ago.  They never came out right.  I might try again someday, but I’m not sure…

62. Has anyone drawn your characters for you?
Yes.  My dad painted a picture of my Dragon for me once on a T-shirt, although I'd sketched out the original.  My dad was an airbrush artist before he had his stroke, and we used to travel the US because majore Mobile Home industries would ask him to come and paint their rigs at rallies they held.  My dragon turned out awesome!

63. Does anyone vomit in your novel/story?
Yes…

64. Does anyone bleed in your novel/story?
Of course.  Gallons and gallons of the stuff…

65. Do any of your characters watch TV?
TV?  Never heard of it. ;)

66. What size shoe does your main character wear?
Lol!  Never thought to ask him.  He probably wouldn’t tell me anyway… shoot, he probably doesn’t even know!

67. Do any of the characters in your novel/story use a computer?
No.

68. How would you react if your novel/story was erased entirely?
That almost happened once.  I was devastated.  Thankfully it didn’t happen, but I stayed locked in my room for a week trying to figure out how to get the story back, and when I finally did, it had to be entirely reformatted by hand before it was even readable.  I cried a lot, and I might have screamed in anguish some too, but I don’t remember for sure…

69. Did you cry at killing off any of your characters?
No. I tried to write the scene so that I DID cry, but it just didn’t happen.  Maybe it will in the rewrite, but who knows…

70. Did you cheer when killing off one of your characters?
No.  Not even my evil characters (minions, mostly), and I’ve killed off plenty of those.  I think I’d start to be scared for my soul if I cheered when a character died. 

71. What advice would you give to a fellow writer?
Find someone who loves writing as much as you. Talk to them; brainstorm with them.  Then write, write, write.  And when you aren’t writing, read, read, read.  Seriously.  Research comes in many forms, even if you’re just reading for pleasure.  You learn things every day that pertain in one way or another to something you may end up writing about, so don’t take anything for granted… (except maybe math… I have no idea when I will ever use that awful, detestable subject. :D)

72. Describe your ending in three words.
Just three?  You have got to be kidding, right?  Oh… You’re not?  Well it was worth a shot…

Siblings return home…

That just sounds boring… :P

73. Are there any love triangles, squares, hexagons, etc.?
No.

74. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least stressful, 10 being the most) how does your stress rank?
It’s different all the time depending on what I’m thinking about.  Right now it’s probably rated at a 5-8 because I have a test tomorrow and I have to catch up on some of the homework.  And since I know that at this very moment I am procrastinationg, my stress gets racketed up.  However, some days it might not even register at all…

75. Was it worth it?
I sure hope so.