Unattached

 The playlist for Unattached

Battlefield by Jordin Sparks
What Am I To You by Norah Jones
Corrupt by Depeche Mode
Turn the Page by Matt Hires
Friends by Band of Skulls
Travelin' Soldier by the Dixie Chicks
A Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz
I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt
Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You by Kellie Pickler
Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
All by Myself by Celine Dion
Thinking of You {Live MTV Unplugged} by Katy Perry
Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae
Haven't Met You Yet Michael Bublé
Happiness is a Warm Gun by {originally The Beatles} Joe Anderson
I Saw Her Standing There by the Beatles
Can't Fight It by Oh Mercy
Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkle
In the End by Nick Jonas & The Administration
Connect the Dots by The Spill Canvas
I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman.
Idle & Waiting by Umbrellas
Superstar by The Carpenters
Always Attract by You Me At Six
Shattered {Turn The Car Around} by O.A.R.
Sentimental Heart by She & Him
On A Night Like This by Dave Barnes
Abrázame by Camila
WTF by Ok Go
Time To Move by Crosby Loggins ft John Mayer
Tik Tok by Kesha
I Like It Rough by Lady Gaga
Hell On The Throat by Dashboard Confessional
Water And Bridges by Dashboard Confessional
This is For Keeps by the Spill Canvas
When I Look At You by Miley Cyrus
You and I Tonight by Faber Drive
Brave Face by Delta Goodrem
They Bring Me to You by Joshua Radin
Wild Horses by Natasha Bedingfield
I'll Be by A Bird A Sparrow
Look After You by The Fray
When You Are Near by Carolina Liar
Going Out by The Perishers
Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol
Elsewhere by Bethany Joy Galeotti
While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Jeff Healey Band
Dear You by Josh Auer
Brass Bed by Josh Gracin
Sweater Song by Hedley
Come Home Soon by SheDaisy
Hold Onto Hope Love by Amy Stroup
I And Love And You by the Avett Brothers
Distance And Time by Alicia Keys
Home by Daughtry
Wake Me Up {When September Ends} by Green Day
Just Breathe by Pearl Jam
Unless by St. Lola In The Fields
6,8,12 by Brian McKnight
Brick By Boring Brick by Paramore
When I'm Without You by The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Alone In This Bed {Meet Me In Capeside} by Framing Hanley
How You Survived The War by The Weepies
Turn It Off by Paramore
Almost Everything by Wakey!Wakey!
Piece it Together by Green River Ordinance
Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles
Sweeping the Ashes by Serena Ryder
May I by Trading Yesterday
Letters From the Sky by Civil Twilight


Read Unattached

Cover artwork is mine, the lines: I carry your heart, (I carrry it in my heart) is from the E.E. Cummings poem titled I Carry Your Heart (no copyright infringement intended, I just admire Mr. Cummings' work)

Paint With Me Thursday: Black & White

Howdy doodle, doodlers...it's Thursday again. 

Woo Hoo! (I know, right?)

Over at Simply Feather, the theme this week was black and white. If I'm being honest (which I am) I struggled with this one for a bit. I was like, hmm black and white, like only a black and white picture..or what? 

So I did what I normally do when I'm stumped. 

I Google. 

Yes..I said it. I Google...it almost sounds like a dirty word...like something you'd do alone, locked in the bathroom with the lights out, crouched over your laptop perilously pecking at the keys - g...o...o...g...l...e... all the while your husband is beating at the bathroom door yelling, "Hun, are you alright? What are you doing in there?"

Then you glance at the door furtively and whisper, "Go away, I'm....Googling."

*Pause to reflect on my goofiness and the fact that I just made Googling sound like a dirty word*

Okay, moving on and back to the art. Google didn't really help...so I kind of just winged it..normally winging it works...I start with something mundane, just the pen or pencil moving over the paper and then the ideas really start flowing. This is what I started with:

Just because it was raining and I was inspired...but it wasn't really working for me so I did this:

I had no idea what to do with it...so I turned to my trusty friend Photoshop and whipped this out:

What I was aiming for in the first picture...different words that are associated with the colors black and white...but it still wasn't right. I spent the earlier part of the day painting random flowers and I ruined a sheet of the paper I use..I didn't want to toss it so I reused it and did this:

 "In a world of black and white you were a brilliant shade of red."

It's seven shades of ugly, yes I know...but it felt...right. So again I turned to Photoshop and this is what I came up with:

"My life was cut and dry, black and white. I knew who I was, where I was going. Then I met you. In a world of black and white you were a brilliant shade of red."

This is a line from a story I'm writing...it was inspired by a black and white photo of the woods and smack in the center of the photo is a brilliantly red balloon. I saw it and that line, "In a world of black and white, you were a brilliant shade of red," just popped into my head. 

To credit the person who drew the people..I'm sorry dude, someone had this image on photobucket and I used it. It's not mine, I am in no way that creative so kudos to whomever drew it. You are a rock star. 

So there you have...I have thrown my scary art at you, I have thrown my lamespice sense of humor at you and probably bored you to tears with my nonsensical rambling. :) My mission here is complete. (lol)

To see more art please visit Simply Feather and check out some of the wonderful art these women (and men?) come up with each week. I am truly in awe of the talent...I think I'm going to hunt down the talent fairy and steal a sprinkle or ten of talent dust..lol.

Til next week!

*Quick note: the font used in the Black and White with the brackets is called Pea Jamie*B* and you can find it here

The font in the "World of black and white" piece is called Joe Hand 2 and you can find it here

I'm so glad I didn't give this up...

Around this time last year I was working on a story called Between You and I. It was the tale of a girl with a drug addiction and her best friend who'd been in love with her all his life. Well I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it, but it was a mess...just page after page of writing, no chapters, no definition..just garbage.

So I decided to stop the story. I couldn't fix it - well I could have but at the time I didn't think I could. So I stopped writing it, put it in my folder with all the other failed attempts and forgot about it. I decided that I would no longer writer, that I would just stop being who I was. I am a writer, plain and simple. It's what I do when I'm bored or stressed, upset or happy. Writing is my therapy and I just gave it up.

Then I found out about this stuff called fan fiction. You write stories based off of other writer's characters. I have an unnatural obsession with the Twilight Saga so I figured I would give fan fiction a shot. If no one read the story I wrote then I would quit writing for real. I would put down the pen and find a new hobby, one that I was better at.

My first fan fiction story was a story titled OneohEightpointNine and it was based off of the characters Jacob Black and Bella Swan from the Twilight books. It was, if I'm being honest, lame. But people read it. Not a lot, but enough to give me the kick in the ego I so desperately needed.

I finished the story, wondering, "What now?" Should I write another one, maybe something more original, more me, (basically meaning, writing my own story, just using the characters names.) I debated over it, considered it, but thought about all my previous failed attempts. My first story was more like a short story. It only had 30,000 words, but it was the first thing I'd ever started and finished that had more than one chapter.

Well, I was listening to the radio a few afternoons later and they played Your Song by Elton John. Lucky for me I have paper stashed around the house. I sat down and quickly started writing, thinking, "oh here we go again, another story I'll never finish."

Boy was I wrong. 108.9 was like the gateway drug. Ideas started coming to me from all over. I would jot them down, but I kept going with the story I was writing. I titled it Pictures of You. It's the story of a model who goes to sit for a painter with a past he's not proud of. There's cheating and infidelity and that sounds bad but its really not. Well, not really. The story was nominated for two awards, something called a Sparkle Award and something called a Moonlight award. It won third place in the Sparkle Awards and heaven only knows what with the Moonlight awards because the site never posted the winners. (mental note to self, stalk the site runner...lol..jk).

I finished Pictures of You then started and completed two more stories. Now currently on my fourth story I wonder why I ever wanted to give this up. I've written three novels (I call them that because on my computer they have original character names, and places that have nothing to do with the twilight novels.) and am eight chapters away from finishing the fourth.

Then this morning I get an email from one of my readers who says she's nominated my fourth story and me for an award. To me, that makes writing worth it. To know that I have touched these lives with my words...it's...insane...I mean, most days I look at it and I can't believe it. Two nods for one story, another nod for Full Circle, now a nod for Unattached and a nod for best author of the year...I mean I know it's just fan fiction and no one outside of that community really cares about it...but its a huge community and its an honor to be nominated regardless...

and to think I almost gave it all up..I almost stopped doing what I love because I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything.

Even if I was never nominated I wouldn't stop now. I have met some really great people, made some really great friends and have this sense of accomplishment that I have written this and people have liked it, some have loved it. I have made people cry with my words, they have cried along with me when a character becomes ill and dies, or when a character reveals a traumatic past. These people have touched my life in ways they probably won't ever understand because in a way they saved me.

Six Months, Forty Chapters, and over 130,000 words

Six months ago, on November 1st, 2009, I started writing a novel called Full Circle. It was only supposed to be 50,000 words and was only supposed to take a month, the month of November, to write. There is a competition each November called NaNoWriMo or National November Writing Month. I decided to participate because let's face it, I had nothing better to do.

I reached the 50k mark halfway through November and decided to keep going as my novel was no where near being finished. November ended, December began, and still I wrote, pecking away at the keys of my laptop as the winter months progressed, January, February, March. Then April was upon us and silly me was still writing Full Circle.

This month has been completely chaotic. Finishing Full Circle, trying to write my script for Script Frenzy, and working on my fourth novel, Unattached.

As you can see all I do, pretty much, is write. It's like therapy for me. I heap my issues on my characters and make them work it out for me and then I'm cured. Not really but you get the idea.

Yesterday I sat down with my notes and began to write, staring at my computer screen and wondering how in the world this roller coaster ride of a story was to end. Happily of course, there had already been way too many tears, but it had to be realistic. I like to think that I write fiction that could really be taken from a day in the life of "insert your name here." I hate reading a book and thinking to myself, "that could never happen."

Except of course if I was reading Twilight or Harry Potter. Then it could totally happen because let's face it: vampires ARE real AND they sparkle. Who knew? And Harry Potter? Well you'd have to be the anti-Christ to not like Harry Potter...and to all you naysayers who wrinkle your nose at Harry Potter...I am a convert. I thought the idea was lame until my friend Becky made a deal with me. Read HP and she'd read Twilight.

Anywhoo...totally getting off topic.

I write stuff that could happen to Plain Jane in Tiny Town, USA, all with a slightly fictitious twist. So as I was saying I started the epilogue, the final chapter to the beast herein known as Full Circle. It took all day and half the night as well. You see it took so long because I had it written, all nice and pretty and then gremlins stole it. I tore my room apart looking for it, only to find the alternate ending. So I had to rewrite it. No biggie, normally the re-write is seven times better than the original.

Then today I found the original. I typed it and saved it in a folder and didn't label it right. I opened it and read it. Oh wow, hot, steamy garbage. I'm seven kinds of glad that I couldn't find it. But last night around ten o'clock I finished it. It was short, sweet and to the point and my poor, formerly heart broken main character got her happily ever after.

I tried to write more of my script, it's been sitting abandoned for a few days now, patiently waiting for me to finish it, but I'm worn out. So I started messing around with Photoshop this afternoon and decided to commemorate the completion of my third "novel" (I use that term loosely as I am not a published author...yet) by making nerdy book covers.

Here's the one for Full Circle. I had the worst time with this one, the story is so chaotic that it's hard to come up with an image that can fit and encompass the story. I used an image of a solar eclipse more for the lighted circle than the eclipse. *shrugs* Like I've been saying. I'm not an artist, just a geek who can use photoshop fairly well...the title came from the title of Creed's new record Full Circle, and the title track Full Circle. I am a HUGE Creed fan and one night I was listening to the song and I told my friend Jenn it seemed like the song was written for the story. The story was inspired by Mario's song, Soundtrack to My Broken Heart. I was making lunch or dinner one night and the song started playing and the plot, scenes from the story popped into my head. I darn near sprained my wrist trying to write it all down. So much of Full Circle came so easily it should have been illegal. So much of this story is dedicated to a good friend of mine who is no longer with us. Many of the chapters in this story helped me get over not having him around any more. Some of the chapters I can't read because they make me cry so much. How odd is that, that a story I created and wrote can make me cry.

Back when the earth was new and...no I'm kidding. We're working backwards here. Disenchanted was the second novel I wrote. It was supposed to be a prequel to Full Circle, but added together, the drama and angst is unreal. That and the plot, well when I wrote it I didn't stay true to myself and I changed the plot to please other people which I never should have done. The title is taken from a song by My Chemical Romance, which is also titled Disenchanted. The plot, however, came from what happened to Jaguars football play, Richard Collier. He was shot in the street of a Jacksonville neighborhood and paralyzed from the waist down. I found, and still do find, his story extremely motivational. His dreams were dashed and he still gets up in the morning and lives his life to the best of his ability. It's very inspirational. This is also the story my script is based off of. I'm planning on rewriting this with different characters as a stand alone novel and the way I want it to be. Everyone else can take a  long walk off a short pier...just saying.

Pictures of You is my baby, its my first novel (I wrote a lot of other stuff, none of which I ever finished) so this is something I'm exceptionally proud of. The title is jacked from the song by The Cure, but the idea came from Elton John's song, Your Song. I was doodling one day, listening to the radio and that song came on and I just started writing. Like, Full Circle, Pictures of You came so easily to me it should have been illegal.

So there we have it. Three book covers and an afternoon spent doing nothing. Tomorrow is Paint with me Thursday over at Simply Feather, so check back tomorrow and hopefully I'll something some kind of arty to show off...

Third time's a charm....or so they say

 
I feel like my name lately should be changey-mind-ey-Mary...lol...I heard about this (I'm taking off the big girl panties here, excuse the childish rant that will begin in...3...2...1) stupid script frenzy back in November and thought, eh, what the heck...I don't do the whole, over-indulgence on the details aspect when I write. I feel like it gives the reader the opportunity to see things they way they imagine it should be. My character, my setting, all that stuff...yeah I write a little that tells you the basics, but that's it. I hate it when an author tries to force you to see the story their way because 90% of the time, I see it my way regardless of what they write and it just throws me off. But back to my point, I figured okay, I could write a movie, no big deal.

HOW WRONG WAS I?!?!?

I started with Fall of the Fairytale, an idea I got a while back...still don't know the specifics, but whatever, it's saved in the back of my brain for a rainy day, exactly where I like my ideas to reside. I wrote an actual novel chapter for that then tried to make it work in script format. I got a page of scripted material and stared at the screen like "are you kidding me?" for twenty minutes; seriously contemplated giving up, but didn't.

Then I decided Full Circle, my current novel work-in-progress would make a great movie. OY VEY! The story is good, but when I tried to write it in movie form, it was so cheestastic that even the most horrid B-Rated actors and production companies wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Don't worry, I'll clean up the grammar & spelling errors and post it so you can giggle at its horridness.

So this morning, I gave serious consideration to just quitting. To admitting defeat and instead of saying I was defeated just saying I was too busy with school and finishing Full Circle and starting the re-write of Unattached to finish Script Frenzy.

So I closed the documents and walked away wondering what to do. I hate giving up, it's totally not in my nature. I may pout and throw a hissy fit (mentally) but I hate giving up - especially when it's something I know I can do.

So I sat down, scoured the internet for the scripts to my favorite movies (New Moon, Shakespeare in Love, P.S. I Love You, etc...The list goes on and on) and tried to find the secret to writing a movie...

I didn't find the secret, but I found an idea that might work. Back in September/October, I wrote a story called Disenchanted. It was supposed to be the prequel to Full Circle, but for whatever reason, it just wouldn't work..But, so not the point. I started skimming through Disenchanted and as I sat there reading it, I started to notice my problem. A lot of stuff goes on in my characters heads, and you can't really (or I can't) translate that to stuff viewers can see. Disenchanted isn't really like that. Beth, the main character, is very upfront about her feelings and emotions and has no problem telling you where to stick it. So I started writing Disenchanted in the screenplay format, looking at the novel and picking out what to keep and what to toss.

I've gotten further writing Disenchanted than I have with Fall of the Fairytale or Full Circle. Heck, I've gotten further writing Disenchanted than Fall of the Fairytale and Full Circle combined, lol. It's an interesting and challenging process. I definitely have loads more respect for people who write movies, it's not easy at all, but in all honesty, I think after this month and this script is finished it will conclude my venture into script writing.

So...there's my update about Script Frenzy


 

Character Interview # 1 - Ivy

1. What is your name?
Ivalyn Margaret Matthews.

2. Why were you given that name?
It was my grandmothers’ (my mom’s mom was Ivalyn, my dad’s mom was Margaret)

3. Is there a nickname you’re known by? Do you prefer it?
Ivy. I hate being called Ivalyn, only my mother calls me that. Everyone else (without a huge stick up their ass) calls me Ivy

4. What is your birth date and current age?
September 23, 1982. I’m 27 years old

5. What, if anything, does your zodiac sign mean to you?
Nothing

6. What is your height, weight, and build?
I’m 5’9, I weigh about 140 pounds…build…average…I guess

7. What is your hair color and style, eye color, and skin tone?
I have brown hair and eyes, I’m kind of on the pasty side...(laughs) I do live in Seattle…my hair is long, on the curly/wavy side..

8. Do you have any scars, tattoos, piercings? What do they mean to you?
No

9. How much pride do you take in your appearance?
A lot. I like to look nice, it makes me feel more confident

10. How do you feel about your appearance? Favorite / most hated features?
I hate my eyes, they are the color of mud and just plain. I love my hair. It’s naturally curly, but not too curly..It’s perfect for me

11. What is your preferred style of clothing to wear?
I wear whatever is most comfortable. Some days it’s a pair of skinny jeans and a sweater, other days it’s a pencil skirt and ridiculously overpriced Christian Louboutins.

12. What is your preferred style of clothing for the opposite sex?
I like men to wear whatever they are comfortable in, but I won’t lie. A nice pair of jeans a black blazer and a colorful button up..To die for

13. Do you have a personal scent (perfume or cologne)? If yes, what?
Clinique Happy.

14. Who are your parents?
Rena Sophia Matthews
Nathan Grant Matthews

15. Do you have any siblings? If so, what are their names and ages?
Yes, an older sister. Her name is Victoria and she is 34.

16. Where do you currently live (town, neighborhood, locale)? Do you like it?
I live in Seattle, in the city. I love it. The city is alive with culture and personality, but it’s not too crowded like larger cities. It’s big without being impersonal

17. Did you choose to live there? If so, why? If not, why are you there?
I chose to live there. I’d gone to college in California, but came back because of a guy, but stayed because of me.

18. What sort of a home is it (castle, apartment, cardboard box)?
I live in an apartment…or a condo, depends on what you want to call it

19. With whom do you live? How do you feel about that person / people?
I live alone, just me and my plants and books and chick flicks

20. Do you have any pets?
Nope

21. What is your current job title / social station / rank?
Owner/Fabric buyer, Two Red Birds

22. How do you feel about this role?
I like it. I love my job, and my company.

23. How do you think your colleagues would describe you?
They’d say I’m a bitch but it’s only because I don’t take any crap or excuses. You were hired to do a job and you’re expected to do it. If you can’t do it then you need to find a job you can do.

24. What has been your education / training for this role?
Four years of college and a lot of trial and error. Things haven’t always been the greatest at TRB but slowly we built our reputation from the ground up.

25. What is your ultimate professional or life goal?
I’m doing it.

26. Who is your best friend? Describe them briefly.
Allie is my best friend. She’s quirky and tough, but sweet as pie too. She’s the kind of person who would do anything for you because she could.

27. Who is your biggest rival / enemy? Describe them briefly.
Myself. I tend to doubt myself, even when I know I can do it.

28. What is your greatest talent?
My ability to find things others have trouble finding.

29. What are you the most hopeless at?
Anything to do with technology. I am a technological retard

30. What are your hobbies? Why are they important to you?
I like to read. I used to sew, but not so much anymore. I like to read because it offers and escape from the real world and sometimes it’s nice to get away for a little while.

31. What, if anything, do you do to keep fit and healthy?
I watch what I eat…most of the time

32. How would you spend an unexpected day off?
Probably at the bookstore or a cafe

33. What sort of vehicle / transportation do you rely on?
Jaguar XK

34. What is your favorite food, drink, musical artist, song, and movie / play?
Favorite food: Chinese food
Drink: White chocolate mocha espresso
Musical Artist: She & Him
Song: Take It Back – She & Him
Movie: Message in a Bottle
Play: Rent

35. Do you belong to a religious group? How important is it to you?
No

36. What is your favorite or most dreaded holiday? Why?
Any that requires I spend time with my family. I don’t get along with my mother or my sister so it’s always uneasy being around them

37. Is your family currently close? Are they a source of support or stress?
No. My sister and my mother are close, I’m close-ish with my dad, but not especially close.

38. Have you ever been abused? If so, how? How do you feel about it now?
No

39. How deeply does your job / social role define you as a person?
I don’t think it does, some might say that it does, but I disagree.

40. Do you have strong political leanings or affiliations?
No

41. Whom would you contact first to share good news?
Allie. She’s my best friend and she would always be excited to hear my good news.

42. What is your relationship status at the start of the story?
I was single at the beginning of my story.

43. Describe your past relationships. How many? Who? Why did they end?
I had a lot of past relationships. A lot of them weren’t really important, they were just brief flings. My last long term relationship was with Rex. We dated for five years. I met him at an art show. A friend of a friend of a clients (or something like that) invited Allie to a show, and she asked me along. He was beautiful, standing there with a delicate glass of champagne in his hand, his dark curly hair sat disheveled on his head. Then he turned and smiled at me. I felt like a family of butterflies had just hatched in my stomach, then he walked over to me and asked me if I’d like to have a drink with him. It was all downhill from there until five years later he broke up with me because our relationship was old, and the stripper, tulip – or daisy – was more interesting.

44. How do you think your exes would describe you?
I think each one would describe me differently because I knew them all at different points of my life. If you asked Rex to describe me he might say that I was fun and knew who to have a good time, but that as the years went by I didn’t want to go out as much as I used to, that my life changed and I started to mature.

45. How do you feel about money?
I think money isn’t important. Necessary yes, but important no. I make a lot of money so it’s easy to say okay yeah, of course, she’d say that but it’s seriously not true.

46. Do you have any irrational fears / phobias?
No

47. What is your worst habit / vice?
I like chick flicks probably way more than any person should

48. How would you treat yourself if you came down with the flu?
Stay in bed, lots of fluids and rest..

49. What is your most cherished possession?
I have a stuffed bear, gray in color, whose name is Corduroy. My dad gave him to me when I was just a little girl. I took him everywhere with me, even to college, and I still have him, in a box in my closet.

50. Are you shy or social? How do you feel about attending parties?
I’m pretty social. I can handle an occasional party, but I don’t like to party.

51. How do you feel about being the center of attention?
I don’t have a problem with it, circumstances permitting, but I don’t need to be the center of attention, I’m perfectly content living in the limelight.

52. What makes you blush?
(Chuckles to self) talking about sex…or affection or anything that is embarrassing or uncomfortable.

53. Have you undergone any dramatic physical transformations in your life?
No

54. How do you feel, generally, about the opposite sex?
Men are somewhat bizarre, it’s hard to find a good man, but when you do, you gotta hang on to him.

55. How do you feel about romance at the start of the story?
I was a little jaded I think, I was mad that Rex left me for someone younger, or prettier or chestier…I knew there was someone out there for me I just felt like I’d never find him…

56. How do you feel about sex at the start of the story?
I felt seriously undersexed, which is funny because talking about sex embarrasses me…and it’s funny because my story starts with Allie and I perusing the ‘net for vibrators.

57. How do you feel about children? Do you have / want to have your own?
I love kids, I don’t have any but I definitely want some

58. What do you dislike most about your life? What is missing?
I don’t think I dislike anything about my life…its pleasant and comfortable. I think what was missing was Jude…after I met him, he sort of completed the picture…if I had to say I disliked anything it would be the fact that he is leaving.

59. What would you like your life to look like in twenty years?
I’d like to be married and have some kids, you know, settle down somewhere quiet, maybe away from the city

60. What crisis are you facing at the start of the story?
Well, at the start of the story I’m dealing with Rex, who just broke up with me, and the fact that I’m 27 and single. Then I meet Jude who’s getting ready to go to Iraq for a year…

61. What makes this crisis such a challenge for you in particular?
Well, at 27, most women are ready to start thinking about settling down, but for me, the person I wanted to settle down with just left me. Then I meet this incredible man who literally sweeps me off my feet and he’s going to a war zone. It’s incredibly unpredictable. I could fall in love with him, and he could die…

62. How would you define ‘power’?
I define power as the ability to make an intelligent decision. I have to have the knowledge to make the right decisions and being able to do that gives me power.

63. Do you consider yourself a moral / ethical person?
Yes. I always try to do what is right, not just for me, but for everyone my decisions will affect.

64. What would you never do, no matter the price?
Murder. Steal, rape, pillage, kidnap.

65. What do you believe happens when you die?
I think your soul just kind of floats away. I think you see what will happen to all those that you love and then you just…drift away..

66. What makes your stomach turn?
Ugh, those nasty reality shows where people eat nasty stuff, child molesters, and people who kill simply because they can.

67. What makes your blood boil?
Ignorance. Everyone is afforded the same chances in their lives, some people reject those chances, and others make something out of nothing. I can’t stand to hear someone who complains about life when they’ve done nothing to make their lives better.

68. How would you behave when cornered / bullied?
I stand my ground.

69. Who has hurt you the worst in your life, and how?
My mother, we’ve never seen eye to eye and it hurts because she always expects me to walk in her shoes but she refuses to try to walk in mine.

70. Have you forgiven them? Could you ever?
No. I hope one day I can.

71. Who have you hurt the worst?
I don’t know. No one I think, but if I have hurt someone, they’ve never told me.

72. What is your biggest character defect?
I’m wary. I want to be happy, but I feel as if maybe I don’t deserve it. I have trouble being happy

73. How hard is it to for you admit when you’re wrong?
It’s hard. I hate being wrong and I work hard to ensure that I’m not

74. What was your first impression of the hero(ine)?
Oh la la. He was like a candy bar for the eyes. Then I got to know him and he was like chocolate for my soul. I thought maybe he was just another guy, here for a time then off to do whatever.

75. How accurate was this first impression?
Oh, I was wrong. He was more than just some guy.

76. What revelation surprised you most about him/her?
That he was a marine

77. What would you most like to change about him/her?
That he’s a marine

78. What makes him/her the best possible partner for you?
The fact that he not only listens to me, but he hears me. He sees the real me. And he knows things that not many people pick up on. We can sit in silence and be comfortable, and he’s easy to be around.

79. What makes him/her the worst possible partner for you?
The fact that he’s going to go away for a year. And the fact that he lives across the country. Distance and time is going to make this the hardest part for us.

80. What do you most agree on?
Nothing and everything which is odd, but we have our own ideas and beliefs and they are so different that there the same.

81. What do you doubt you could ever agree on?
Hmm…I don’t know.

82. What has he/she changed your mind about since you met?
Everything…

83. What song reminds you of him/her?
Sweater Song by Hedley

84. How would you define the word ‘love’?
The ability to be consumed by a feeling so deep that it swallows you whole and it makes you unable to think about anything other than that person..

85. Why should the reader care about your story?
I’m a women, women feel insecure or successful and they feel loved and in love, we feel wanted and desired and we all know that sex isn’t like it is in the movies, its awkward and fun and its messy and we don’t all make cheesy porno faces and come every single time. My story could be your story or your friend’s story. It’s real and its life….it’s something that could happen to anyone.

Bringing The Story To Life

I previously posted chapters for a story I’m working on called Unattached. I took them down today because I wanted to start the story over. I found a few websites that had printouts of questions you could “ask” your characters and I thought it would be interesting to see what they had to say.

I’ve done something like this once before for a story I started writing, but I got to a certain point in the story and lost my focus because life just so happened to get in the way. I got pretty far into it before stopping and I had so many notes and details written down, it was just ridiculous – but the characters felt real. Somewhere between then and now I lost that, I jumped into the writing half-cocked and my characters come off being pretty two dimensional. I want to get back that old feeling, the one where the character practically leapt off the page and begged me to have coffee with her.

So like I said, I’m starting over. I’m going to interview the characters and really get to know who they are before I attempt to tell their story, because I think their story is worth telling. It’s light and fluffy at times, and serious and heartbreaking at others, but at the end of the day I think it’s a story that people would want to read and would be able to say, “you know what, I felt like that before.”

So all that being said, I’m going to work on my characters, bring them to life, slowly, yet surely and then tell their story. So…stay tuned and watch them come to life with me.