Wrestle it to Submission

Finding Stability

Hi readers, if there's any of you left. The last post I did on this blog was April. That was the longest run on any resolution I've ever made. I will not be making the same resolution again.

No, instead I've vowed to make a ritual out of writing. That means I will write because it is what I love to do and it is something I need to prove to myself. The characters of this trilogy have been poking at me lately and I realized just how much I missed them. There's so much of this story that I want to write and expose to everyone who loves a good story, yet I've failed at revealing that. I need to get back to my roots of wanting to make an audience feel the tug of a good adventure.

So, I will post here from time to time. Not regularly. Not on a schedule, but out of ritual as I take on the creativity that I refuse to let wither. Like anything else,  I suppose creativity takes some cultivating and I've done a very poor job of that as of late.

Julian de Arques III will take the adventure of a lifetime if it kills me... or him. Check back if you wish and please feel free to annoy me at sailthecartographer@gmail.com if you aren't sure where I've gone. Or even if you just have other questions or encouragements. I'm looking for support. Please bring some.

205

I wrote that many words today. I hope to write more. I hope that they come out right. I'm terrified with every single word I write down that it will come out wrong. I keep second guessing myself. I need to do some writing exercises to get back into it. Have any ideas?

Also, in case anyone was curious, it does start with 'Once upon a time...'

More Milo!

Hey look! I did something just like I promised! This isn't very interesting though, because the answers don't vary. Though I've realized I want to do a series of posts about Sirens.

Relationships

1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents. 

Non-existent. He doesn’t know much about either of them and he basically raised himself. 

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? 

Also non-existent. They were all fending for themselves and Milo had very little connection with any of them. There was a total of five kids. Two of them did stick together, but the rest went their own ways.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand? 

Nope. He’s always flying solo.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? 

He has a few people that he ‘trades’ with or gets information from. He has various connections in most villages and cities, but they are few and far between. None of them truly trust him and he doesn’t trust them either. That is the closest he comes to relationships.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? 

He doesn’t have a best friend. The closest he has or will ever have is going to be Julian. 

6. Does he have other close friends? 

None.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people? 

He makes enemies everywhere he goes. Friends are nearly impossible to come by for him.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? 

Himself. He doesn’t think that family or friends are trustworthy. He never had a reason to believe them.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? 

Single. Never married.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? 

None.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? 

His first crush was a Phantom (one of the three ‘species’ of Siren). He didn’t know she was  a Phantom. He hasn’t had any crushes lately. 

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? 

If he’s looking for something, it’s purely physical, but Milo is too easily driven by money, so any kind of romance is just background noise.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?

None that he is aware of. 

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? 

Uhhh, I’d love to give you a list and/or description, but the list is too long. 

I Keep Lying to You!

Okay, not totally lying. At least I am posting daily to let you know that I am alive. I was supposed to have more Milo stuff for you, but I don't. There is a long section about relationships that I'm not really finding inspiration to answer. That and dinner is calling... so is Repo Men. I'll let you know how it goes. Have a great night and I WILL talk to you all tomorrow!

Friday Fun Time, Yes?

I thought I would get this in there before it got too much later and I started to pass out. I have Friday off (yay!) and HOPEFULLY I can go out and start some writing! Saturday is going to be nuts because I will be gone for almost all day for my brother's drumline competition. They made it to finals, which is awesome. I can't wait. There's also the fact that RCC (Riverside Community College) who is the number one drumline and/or marching band used in television and movies will be there. Their drumline's show? My Steampunk Heart. I haven't seen it yet. I'm excited.

Okay, so I think I owe you more details on Milo. I don't think I can keep myself awake long enough to do it justice, but I'll have something for you tomorrow, hopefully. I don't even know who is reading this and following along. Clearly I've been neglecting it, but I knew that life was going to eventually get complicated. I still can't wait to get writing. I WILL DO IT, I SWEAR! Let's just make it through work tomorrow.

I hope you have a great night. See ya tomorrow!

Not Dead... Yet

I'm alive! Somewhere out there in this big wide world I am alive and I have not lost my motivation (entirely). I have no excuse for being so bad at this, but.. well, yes I do. Work. I'm getting used to this whole schedule and daily thing. Once it gets easier and more familiar I will be better at getting things done.

Now I'm going to take a nap.

Uhhhhh... What's Today?

Yeah, definitely not doing a good job at this whole 'stay on track' thing. I am failing miserably. Even though I do know that there is all of 12 people subscribed, one of which is myself. I am trying to get my head wrapped around this and the first thing I do when I get home should be that I make a post. I need to start writing, as well. I am excited, believe. Who knew that this whole 'job' thing would make me such a bum. Oh wait, I totally knew.

 

You were supposed to be reading more about Milo and how unbelievably awesome he is, which still holds totally true. Unfortunately, I'm being horrible and posting this while I'm at work. I have some down time at the moment and can do it really quick. I'm trying to figure out what to write more about in this blog. I'm really hoping that I can get on a writing schedule soon though. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I'm in need of the motivation at the moment.

 

Hope your week is awesome even though it has been distinctly lacking a lot of me. I know, I know. That is so lame, isn't it? Maybe I will have to start posting on weekends to balance out my weeks. I don't know. I can't even think at the moment. But tomorrow is Friday! I think tomorrow should be 'Suggestion Friday' instead of 'Question Friday.' Anyway, have a great evening!!

 

LL&P

Revisions

Things are going on. Life is changing and moving in a different direction. These past few weeks have been overwhelming, whether it be drama with family, health in the family or just the need to be there for someone else. I've found that I can't guarantee that I can post five times a week and though I still want to and I will continue to try, I am resolving in my resolution that I don't have to post that often. I'm going to drop it down to three times a week (probably Monday, Wednesday and Friday). This will give me a few days in between to make better planned out posts and make sure that I'm getting something done too.

Writing should start soon. Cross your fingers that it does. I'd like to be able to have the first chapter written very, very soon. There's still a lot of fun stuff going on in my head and I can guarantee that this change in the blog is not a reflection of how I am feeling about the project. I am just as dedicate, but dedicated with a full-time job, now. It will take some discipline, that I might have to learn. I've never been good with motivation.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of sun and fun (depending on where you live. It's been hot out here).

BUSY! Oops.

I just realized a few things. First, I didn't post yesterday. Second, Monday was my 50th post! Isn't that exciting? As for missing Tuesday, I was home for about a half hour after work and then left again and didn't come home until 11:30PM. Sure, that isn't an excuse and I'm going to need to work out a posting schedule to coincide with work. 


In case you were wondering, so far I am liking it. I'm hesitant to say that I love it, because I haven't really started doing anything just yet and we will see how it goes. Customer service isn't really my favorite thing to do in the world, but I'm glad that I can be involved somewhere. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to do some graphics with them, too, eventually. No rush at the moment. This is all just a means to have a living and still get to write. Which I haven't done any of. DON'T JUDGE ME.


Okay, here's some more Milo!

Mental and Emotional

1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? 

He is crafty. I wouldn’t ever call him book smart. He didn’t get the opportunity to get any education, but he can read and he’s clever. He’s extremely street smart to the point that no one can get anything by him without him knowing.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? 

He’s quick on his feet. Thinking too hard about things produces less than wanted results. He sometimes plans longer cons, but he likes to be quick more.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? 

He is much more intuitive. A lot of times that doesn’t work out for him when he is involved in friendships (to which he has very, very few). He tends to make stupid assumptions and his intuition isn’t so great on that level, but when it comes to lies and deceit? He’s great. He is neither idealistic or practical. He’s whatever he needs to be at the time.

4. What kind of education has the character had? 

Only what he learned on the street.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? 

Thievery, cons and lying. He is the master at all of them. He’s good with languages and he’d love to learn Siren’s language.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? 

Extroverted all the way.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? 

He is cheerful and laid-back. He’s driven, but only when he knows whatever his goal is, it will make his life easier. He doesn’t like working much. He is the kind of free-loader type with the laid-back personality.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? 

He rolls with the punches pretty well. He takes everything in stride and seems pretty relaxed about it, but he can turn his personality into whatever he needs it to be when he sees that there’s a possible con in it.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react? 

He is more likely to act. He is always on the offensive.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight? 

Flight. He’s a coward.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? 

He has a rampant sense of humor. He’s extremely sarcastic and can be very, very morbid.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? 

Nope.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person? 

His whole life was based on the fact that he essentially raised himself. There was a moment in his life as a nine-year-old where he realized he needed to do more than beg for food, so he learned to steal it.

14. What does he fear? 

Oh, plenty of things, I’m sure. Getting caught is one of them, I would imagine. He doesn’t like authority so that would be something he avoids.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations? 

He doesn’t have any. Mostly, it’s ‘survive to the next day’ and/or make it big and be rich. He doesn’t exactly have a plan for that, though.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him? 

Probably that he’s a bit of  a sap and he’s terrified of woman.