I love the rain

I'm getting better...kind of. :D So, today is the perfect day, in my opinion, to do writerly things. It's cold, rainy and gloomy outside, my favorite type of weather, and it also happens to be a recurring weather in the books I'm working on, aka the only two of twelve that I've written. It reminds me a bit of the atmosphere in the story, the dark, forboding, upsetting undertone of the plot. And it's also the perfect weather for sitting in my favorite chair by my window with a cup of hot chocolate, watching the rain fall while wondering what my character, Jordan, is thinking about.

Also, just a side note. I'm in an Acting class and we were asked to look up monologues over the break because this semester is dedicated mostly to the audition process. I found a few that I like from some obscure, off the wall playwright, which is good because my teacher told me to do something I wouldn't ordinarily do. Hence, I chose a goddess who is getting hit on by some creepy human being for my comedic one, and a girl who (ironically enough) is auditioning for a musical her school is performing as the dramatic monologue. It's...special. But the really cool thing is that while I was reading through each of them, I could hear the character's voice forming in my head, imagining what they sound like and how they would act on stage. It was pretty wicked. I didn't even bother searching for any others because I just felt like these were the pieces for me. Pretty cool.

So, I've been working on character charts, well...just one - Jordan's, and I've put together a notebook full of questions that she answered, quotes and pictures that inspired her character and pictures and sketches of what I imagine her to look like, as well as quotes and phrases that she says in the books so I can keep up with her voice (how she talks in the story, that is). It's pretty cool watching it fill up, the more I spend time on it. It's been taking me...a couple weeks now but it's totally worth it because I'm getting to know her and understand who she is and how she thinks, acts, speaks etc. And just think, there's seven more charts for the books I've thoroughly mapped out, plus another...I don't even know off the top of my head...for the other nine books I've roughly sketched out. :D It's no wonder it took JK Rowling a few YEARS before Harry Potter started getting published - imagine all the planning that went into those SEVEN books. And I want to do twelve...but it's going to be totally awesome when I finish. :) I'm way excited at what all is coming together.

Ashley the Thrilled