Maverick: a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, or an artist who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates.
A free thinker. A free spirit.
Monday, May 4, 2015
So I finally made one
Hey guys! I finally got around to creating a Wattpad account to post my complete stories. So far I've put up a short story and the first chapter of my novel White Wings. More to come!
Hey, I love that story! It's absolutely fascinating! The colorless aspect is intriguing. I know I'm weird, but I wanna know what happened to the pie. I wonder about the itty bitty details like that all the time for some reason. I guess that's just the way my brain is wired. Another thing, in the beginning you mention that Rae's wings are black, then you mention that Cole's wings are black. I think that if you held off mentioning that right up front you could build a bit of a more dynamic scene later. My reasoning is this: Rae knows her wings are black. I have a problem with characters saying things that are obvious to them just for the sake of the readers. It's a pet leave of mine. I think that if the first time you outright say that everyone has black wings is in the scene with the glass angel then you would have a more powerful impact. That would make everything clear to the reader, and if they have already guessed that everyone has dark wings from the conversation between Rae and Cole at the cliff, then they will feel clever, and believe me, people like to feel clever, I know I do. That's just an idea I thought I'd throw out there. (P.S. I maybe don't hate Cole anymore. He sounds rather practical, I tend to like practical characters.)
Thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it and it's always so helpful! Just before I posted it I switched the scene with the pie around a little bit, which could explain why it disappeared. (oops!). And I really like that suggestion about the black wings. Super helpful! I'll be sure to fix that up next time I go through it. I'll be posting chapter two as soon as I am able. (and I'm glad you're liking Cole much better now. He's a character very near and dear to my heart. The last thing i wanted was for him to be annoying.)
I think that so long as Cole is practical, I will probably like him. If he is kinda annoying because of his practicality (you know, refuses to do dangerous things, won't join the rebellion etc.) then I still won't hate him I don't mind being (mildly, or even, depending on the character, supremely) annoyed by a character so long as they are relatable and doing the annoying things for a good reason aka practicality or whatever is a good reason depending on your story. I do not like them if thereof annoyance stems from snobbishness. I tend to like annoying characters better if they are practical, funny, smart, reasonable, curious, adorable (thing Hiro Hamada [oh man that kid is adorable] or Hiccup), slightly rebellious, kind, selfless, brave and if they are insecure and scared of the consequences of their actions. I find them easier to relate to when they don't have everything figured out and are struggling to do the right thing and to figure out just exactly what the right thing IS. So if you want Cole to be likable yet annoying, give him plausible reasons to be annoying and try to make him relatable. That, I think is the best formula for a likable character. He doesn't have to be perfect, perfect characters are the MOST annoying characters ever, he just has to be smart, practical and, above all, relatable.
Sorry about my grammatical errors, my tablet is awfully hard to work with. Spell check runs wild on this thing. I've decided to write my own version of "Mother Knows Best" from "Tangled." It goes something like this: "Spell check knows best, listen to your spellcheck, something will go wrong I SWEAR!!!"
YAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey, I love that story! It's absolutely fascinating! The colorless aspect is intriguing. I know I'm weird, but I wanna know what happened to the pie. I wonder about the itty bitty details like that all the time for some reason. I guess that's just the way my brain is wired. Another thing, in the beginning you mention that Rae's wings are black, then you mention that Cole's wings are black. I think that if you held off mentioning that right up front you could build a bit of a more dynamic scene later. My reasoning is this: Rae knows her wings are black. I have a problem with characters saying things that are obvious to them just for the sake of the readers. It's a pet leave of mine. I think that if the first time you outright say that everyone has black wings is in the scene with the glass angel then you would have a more powerful impact. That would make everything clear to the reader, and if they have already guessed that everyone has dark wings from the conversation between Rae and Cole at the cliff, then they will feel clever, and believe me, people like to feel clever, I know I do. That's just an idea I thought I'd throw out there. (P.S. I maybe don't hate Cole anymore. He sounds rather practical, I tend to like practical characters.)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it and it's always so helpful! Just before I posted it I switched the scene with the pie around a little bit, which could explain why it disappeared. (oops!). And I really like that suggestion about the black wings. Super helpful! I'll be sure to fix that up next time I go through it. I'll be posting chapter two as soon as I am able. (and I'm glad you're liking Cole much better now. He's a character very near and dear to my heart. The last thing i wanted was for him to be annoying.)
DeleteI think that so long as Cole is practical, I will probably like him. If he is kinda annoying because of his practicality (you know, refuses to do dangerous things, won't join the rebellion etc.) then I still won't hate him I don't mind being (mildly, or even, depending on the character, supremely) annoyed by a character so long as they are relatable and doing the annoying things for a good reason aka practicality or whatever is a good reason depending on your story. I do not like them if thereof annoyance stems from snobbishness. I tend to like annoying characters better if they are practical, funny, smart, reasonable, curious, adorable (thing Hiro Hamada [oh man that kid is adorable] or Hiccup), slightly rebellious, kind, selfless, brave and if they are insecure and scared of the consequences of their actions. I find them easier to relate to when they don't have everything figured out and are struggling to do the right thing and to figure out just exactly what the right thing IS. So if you want Cole to be likable yet annoying, give him plausible reasons to be annoying and try to make him relatable. That, I think is the best formula for a likable character. He doesn't have to be perfect, perfect characters are the MOST annoying characters ever, he just has to be smart, practical and, above all, relatable.
DeleteSorry about my grammatical errors, my tablet is awfully hard to work with. Spell check runs wild on this thing. I've decided to write my own version of "Mother Knows Best" from "Tangled." It goes something like this: "Spell check knows best, listen to your spellcheck, something will go wrong I SWEAR!!!"
DeleteI see what you're saying. Cole definitely has good reasons for acting the way he does.
DeleteHaha! I know what you mean. Spellcheck has annoyed me to the point that I no longer use it when I can get away with it.
Yay! That story is amazing. I can't wait to read more of it!
ReplyDelete:) xx
Thank you so much! :D
DeleteHi Amy, I have a question about your book. Did you name your character Casimir after Casimir Pulaski?
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't, although it is a happy coincidence.
Delete