Most Common Moves

Me duele la cabeza

Sophia

Prompt: Chained to a Wall

Fandom: Original Work

@badthingshappenbingo

(Accidentally posted this to the wrong blog. Whoops! Second times is the charm!)

Sophia opened her eyes slowly. The back of her head started to throb. She tried to massage it, but her arm didn’t move. Confused, she pulled again.

The clinking of something familiar echoed through the room.

Chains.

Sophia looked up at her hands and saw that her wrists were locked in iron shackles. The shackles were connected to a chain that stretched to the ceiling.

She closed her eyes. Her memories started to become more evident.

She had left Evan asleep in bed and gone to get firewood. She had walked about a mile to the clearing and started cutting down the trees. Then what?

She picked up all the wood, and then footsteps. Then darkness.

A loud click echoed through the room.

Sophia opened her eyes as the cell door swung open. Two guards walked into the room, followed by the last person she wanted to see.

“Ray.” Sophia grit her teeth.

Ray stepped forward. “Sophia. It’s so good to see you.” His voice was sweet, and his grin was fake.

“Couldn’t say the same.”

His grin faded as he started pacing the room. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you and Evan. Where have you guys been?”

She didn’t respond.

He stopped and turned to face her. The silence hung in the air. They both knew why he hadn’t seen them.

Ray was Evan’s uncle, and they are both members of the wealthiest family in the city. After Evan’s parents died, he was supposed to take over the business, but his uncle pulled the rug out from under him and turned the family against him.

They didn’t trust him anymore, and some wanted him dead, so he ran. Leaving it all behind.

Ray started pacing again.

“Where is Evan?”  His voice was colder than it was before.

“Why do you need to know?”

Ray stopped. He motioned to one of the guards.

The guard stepped forward and punched her in the stomach.

Sophia let out a grunt and tried to bend forward, but was stopped by the shackles.

Ray turned to her again. “Where is Evan?”

“I’m not telling you anything.” She locked eyes with him.

His expression grew more impatient. He let out a huff and stepped closer.

“I will stop at nothing to find him.”

Sophia spit. He took a step back wiping his eye.

The guard stepped forward raising his fist.

Ray put out an arm and stopped him. He finished wiping his eye and slapped her across the face.

Her head snapped to the left.

She took a deep breath before making eye contact with Ray again.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

That was the wrong thing to say. Angry, he punched her in the stomach. Hard.

She gasped for air, as the punches kept coming.

Ray, breathing heavy, took a step back.

Sophia tried to stand, but her legs gave out, and she hung by her wrists.

He motioned to his guards, and they left the cell.

“I want Evan.” He turned and slammed the door behind him.

i honestly don’t think authors grasp the effect dark haired, morally grey characters have on their readers. like i mean they can literally kill a man and most of us will still be here like

You’re a regular office worker born with the ability to “see” how dangerous a person is with a number scale of 1-10 above their heads. A toddler would be a 1, while a skilled soldier with a firearm may score a 7. Today, you notice the reserved new guy at the office measures a 10.

The Kids Pt. 2

Prompt: Don’t Let Them See You Cry

Fandom: Original Work

@badthingshappenbingo

Part 1

The past week had been hell.

Liv paced around her room massaging her sore shoulder.

The tests had been impossible. Yesterday Liv was told to climb the rock wall for hours. If she tried to stop she was met with an electric shock. So, she kept going. When they finally let her go back to her room, she was too exhausted to resist.

She was not looking forward to today’s test.

When the door slid open, she turned towards the people entering the room.

“Hands.” They said sharply.

Not having the energy she held out her arms.

They stepped forward and locked a pair of handcuffs around her arms. They pulled her forward, and she followed them down the hallway.

When they reached the gym, they unlocked her handcuffs and pushed her into the room.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Liv expecting to be the only one in the room was surprised when saw another figure standing in the corridor.

“Conner. What are you doing here?”

Conner turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot. He probably hadn’t slept in the past few days. That was his teachers favorite “assignment.” With lights that stayed on and noises that would sound every hour, Conner could be kept awake for days.

“Liv, why are you here?”

“This is my class time. Why are you here?”

Conner’s eyes started darting around the room. “I-I don’t know.” He started walking back and forth. His hands running through his hair.

“Hey. Hey, it’s ok.” Liv stepped forward, motioning for Conner to come closer.

He glanced at her and took a few steps forward.

Suddenly a shock sent them both flying away from each other.

Conner hit the wall behind him and crumpled to the floor.

Liv slid across the floor until her head hit the wall.

Blinking back tears, she jumped to her feet and ran towards Conner. He hadn’t moved since he hit the wall. She knelt and shook his shoulders.

“Conner, you’ve got to wake up.”

He let out a small grunt, and his eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

“Just the teachers being rude. Try and sleep.”

Conner didn’t argue and closed his eyes again.

Liv pushed his messy hair out of his face. Conner had been the strongest person she knew. The fact that they had reduced him to this mess made her angry.

Tears started to form in her eyes.

No. She would not let them see her cry. That’s what they wanted. They were trying to break her, and the others, and she was not going to let it happen.

She turned towards the camera in the corner of the room. “What do you want from us?” She yelled still holding back her tears.

There wasn’t a response. She grunted in frustration and started to pace the room again. After a few minutes, the door slid open. The Principal strolled in followed by a guard. The door slid shut behind them.

“What do you want with us?” Liv said through gritted teeth.

The Principal let out a soft laugh. “We want you to start trusting us.”

Liv couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh. “And you think the best way to do that is to put us through hell?”

He shrugged, “If that is what it takes.”

The tears started to well up in her eyes again. Pushing them back she pointed at Conner. “Does that look like someone who trusts you?”

“Yes. The next time we ask him to do something, he will.”

“Because you’ve broken him,” Liv yelled. “That is not the same as trust.”

“Maybe not, but he will do what I want, without questions.”

Liv stood, stunned, staring at him.

The Principal stared back with a wide grin on his face. “Now you get it.”

He motioned to the guard, and he stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

Liv didn’t struggle as they walked back to her cell.

“Don’t worry. You will start to trust me just like Conner does.” The Principal’s words echoed down the hall, and Liv shuddered.

On Creating Characters- Six Points to Get You Started

As much as I like to complain about my weaknesses when it comes to writing, I’m happy to say that creating characters isn’t one of them. So for anyone who wants it- my quick guide on creating characters.

This list is for anyone who has a vague idea for a character but doesn’t have a plot or a role in the story for them to fill.  It’s for people who have a plot in mind, but lack characters to place in it. It’s for people who love those long, detailed character spreadsheets, but don’t have the patience (or know all the answers) to fill them out. The points I’ve listed below will probably overlap heavily and influence one another- for instance, “societal/cultural influences“ may inform both “philosophy“ and “defining relationships“. It pulls the character together.

Keep in mind that this is not everything you want to know about your character- you should continue to flesh them out as you write them. This is just a baseline, a starting point, an I-just-want-to-write-something-with-this-character-but-I-know-absolutely-nothing-about-them list so you can jump into writing with or without a plot in mind. It describes them as they are on a typical, ordinary day. As you continue to write and develop them, they will become more nuanced and take on a life of their own.

 Base Personality

Jot down some base personality traits. Don’t worry about getting an equal number of positive and negative traits down- or even which is which. Just feel out the character’s base personality.

Significant Historical Events

What events have had the greatest impact on your character (that you know of so far)? Again, don’t worry about getting everything- you can always add more here as they come to you later. Hit the major turning points in your character’s life.

Societal/Cultural Influences

What societal and cultural backgrounds do your characters have? Are they living/working/existing in an area where these influences are the majority or the minority?

Philosophy

What is your character’s default philosophy when it comes to right and wrong, or difficult moral choices? (I usually use the D&D alignment system for its simplicity- feel free to be as detailed or not as you wish).

Defining Relationships

What are this character’s defining relationships? Enemies, friends, and family are good places to highlight. Major conflicts and points of contention are great starting points for plots.

Goals

What does your character want more than anything? What are you preventing them from getting over the course of the story?  If any minor goals pop up while you’re writing, jot those down too.

US Helplines:

Depression Hotline: 1-630-482-9696

Suicide Hotline: 1-800-784-8433

LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255

Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743

Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438

Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673

Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272

Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000

Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-4394253

Child Abuse: 1-800-422-4453

UK Helplines:

Samaritans (for any problem): 08457909090 e-mail jo@samaritans.org

Childline (for anyone under 18 with any problem): 08001111

Mind infoline (mental health information): 0300 123 3393 e-mail: info@mind.org.uk

Mind legal advice (for people who need mental-health related legal advice): 0300 466 6463 legal@mind.org.uk

b-eat eating disorder support: 0845 634 14 14 (only open Mon-Fri 10.30am-8.30pm and Saturday 1pm-4.30pm) e-mail: help@b-eat.co.uk

b-eat youthline (for under 25’s with eating disorders): 08456347650 (open Mon-Fri 4.30pm - 8.30pm, Saturday 1pm-4.30pm)

Cruse Bereavement Care: 08444779400 e-mail: helpline@cruse.org.uk

Frank (information and advice on drugs): 0800776600

Drinkline: 0800 9178282

Rape Crisis England & Wales: 0808 802 9999 1(open 2 - 2.30pm 7 - 9.30pm) e-mail info@rapecrisis.org.uk

Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 every day, 6pm to midnight

India Self Harm Hotline: 00 08001006614

India Suicide Helpline: 022-27546669

Kids Help Phone (Canada): 1-800-668-6868

FREE 24/7 suicide hotlines:

Argentina: 54-0223-493-0430

Australia: 13-11-14

Austria: 01-713-3374

Barbados: 429-9999

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Botswana: 391-1270

Brazil: 21-233-9191

China: 852-2382-0000

(Hong Kong: 2389-2222)

Costa Rica: 606-253-5439

Croatia: 01-4833-888

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Czech Republic: 222-580-697, 476-701-908

Denmark: 70-201-201

Egypt: 762-1602

Estonia: 6-558-088

Finland: 040-5032199

France: 01-45-39-4000

Germany: 0800-181-0721

Greece: 1018

Guatemala: 502-234-1239

Holland: 0900-0767

Honduras: 504-237-3623

Hungary: 06-80-820-111

Iceland: 44-0-8457-90-90-90

Israel: 09-8892333

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Japan: 3-5286-9090

Latvia: 6722-2922, 2772-2292

Malaysia: 03-756-8144

(Singapore: 1-800-221-4444)

Mexico: 525-510-2550

Netherlands: 0900-0767

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Norway: 47-815-33-300

Philippines: 02-896-9191

Poland: 52-70-000

Portugal: 239-72-10-10

Russia: 8-20-222-82-10

Spain: 91-459-00-50

South Africa: 0861-322-322

South Korea: 2-715-8600

Sweden: 031-711-2400

Switzerland: 143

Taiwan: 0800-788-995

Thailand: 02-249-9977

Trinidad and Tobago: 868-645-2800

Ukraine: 0487-327715

(Source)

How I Wrote A Novel.

This, in a nutshell, is what I did to get a book with my name on it.

NOTE: This is just my personal way of making the words go. Other people have different ways to make their words go. In the world of words, there are no right answers. There’s just lots and lots of tea/coffee/tear stains.

1). The Idea

When I get an idea for a story, I open up a document, label it “Brainstorming,” and start making a bullet list of events that consist of the plot.

It has to be an idea with tangible weight. A stray bit of dialogue or something vague like Halloween, that doesn’t give me much to work off of. Halloween creatures living on the same street where it’s Autumn every day- now that’s something I can build from.

What kinds of creatures are they? What do they do? What do their houses look like? The best ideas are the ones that spark more.

2). First Draft

This is the easy part- and the most challenging. Easy, because there’s literally no bar. I just sat there and typed. But it’s a huge mental challenge.

When I was in first draft mode, I wanted that story out. I thought that by making it such a rough, far-away version from the concept in my head, I was only delaying the day where I’d hold it in my hands. Turns out, that’s what got it to take on physical form in the first place. So I quieted down, grabbed my laptop and some hot tea, and typed.

3). Dissecting the First Draft

After I finished draft one, I printed it all off and highlighted the scant amounts that were passable for the next phase. Dialogue, descriptions, setting- anything that didn’t look like it was up to par was scratched out and omitted.

I call the above pictures A Slow Descent Into Madness.

4). The Second Draft

On a fresh document, I rewrote the story altogether- and it make a difference. I was coming up with things I hadn’t even thought of previously. And it was surprising how much better the plot was than the first time around. But it was still rough.

5). Draft Three

My method was to start with the bigger, more obvious issues and work my way down. Any plot holes I found were noted, and my outline was constantly under revision. I cut out entire scenes and made mental notes on ways they could be fixed/replaced.

This is where I started cutting chapters in half to make the story flow better- but I didn’t bother writing in usable chapter titles. Instead, I improvised:

6). Drafts Four and Five

These were dedicated to correcting the smaller, less obvious plot holes. This was the point where the story finally started to look close to what would become the final version.

7). Drafts Seven Onward

With the story line looking how I wanted, I then moved on to sentence structure. That one song that looked terrible? Rewritten. Over-the-top descriptions and excessive prose? Gone.

8). Editing and Proofing

This is where I had outside help. Besides this useful tool, I had two people check for spelling issues and the overall story. Once it was in decent shape to be made public, I asked for some additional help.

9). Betas

My betas were in the age range that my novel was geared toward, along with a couple of teachers and parents (as it was middle grade). I gave them the full manuscript, along with seven basic questions like “Which characters were your favorite/least favorite and why?” and “Was there a part of the story that didn’t make sense?”

I gave my betas three months to read a 42,590 word story, and by the end they gave me back the review sheets.

10). Final Adjustments

After I read over the reviews, I let the comments sit for three days so that I could proceed with a clear head. I smoothed out any flaws, scanned over the MS twice to make sure everything was right, and that is how I got to the end of writing my first novel.

Next comes publishing- which is a different beast entirely.

SUPERKIDDOS, part one! Once again I write too much dialogue… I just really like to see Damian rant. This is the gen, supersons + colin mash-up I’ve wanted for years lol so forgive the self-indulgence! Here’s the blurb:

The Supersons encounter an enemy that threatens to tear them apart: Meep Meeps, the newest fad hitting the country! When Damian gets kidnapped, however, his friend Colin must reach out to Superboy to help get their little Robin back…

Like with RSVP, I’ll be working steadily to get these out in five-page increments. For those curious, you can find all the pre-color work for this fancomic here: thumbs | inks part one

PARTS: Valentines prologue << Part One >> Part Two >> Part Three

‘Missed me!’ 

(I’m back! With some dramatic poses.)