Menu Close

Tag: characters

Beautiful People – Friendship Edition – Josiah & Aileen

Tracey Dyck 18 Comments

I put off doing this month’s Beautiful People (which is friendship themed) for a while because I just didn’t know which companions to feature. Luci and Aleida came to mind, but that would be somewhat repetitive in light of last month’s BP post. Then there’s Luci and Hadrian, but they’re a romantic pair. And, erm, she doesn’t really have any friends beyond those two people. So I crossed Sleeping Beauty characters off my list of candidates, and settled on the obvious choice.

You may have seen their names floating around here before: Aileen McKay and Josiah Williams, the main characters of that fantasy series spoken of in vague terms on my Writings page above. I’ve spent so much time with them, they’ve almost become real in my mind. Answering these questions will be fairly easy!

Before we continue, if you’re new to the wonderfulness of Beautiful People, you can find out more from the hosts, Skye and Cait. Now: onward!

1. How long have they known each other, and how close are they?
Only a matter of weeks (although for me, they’ve technically known each other for seven years). Yet in those few weeks, they form a bond stronger than most. Death-defying experiences tend to encourage such bonds, you know.

2. What’s their earliest memory of being best friends?
They were distant acquaintances for a long time–knowing names and faces, passing each other in the halls at school–but the whole best friend thing is quite recent. Their first real connection was when they started talking about the disturbing visions they were both experiencing. Shaken by their most horrible waking dreams yet, they found empathy in each other.

“You mean you’ve been having dreams too?” Aileen gave
a wobbly smile. “I wondered, especially since you were researching dreams in
the library.” The smile disappeared. “Does that mean you had a dream like mine?
About your family?”

Josiah crossed his arms in an effort to ward off the
cold, both inside and out. “Yes.” In as few words as possible, he outlined the
visions of the past few days, right up until the end of the latest one. As he
finished, his eyes welled with tears again. Something conclusive needed to be
said now, something comforting, but no suitable words came to mind. So instead,
he pulled Aileen into a hug—the kind of embrace between friends who have borne
the same miseries. They stood there shivering, Aileen’s head resting against
his shoulder while snow swirled around.

3. Do they fight? How long do they typically fight for?
So far, they’ve fought only once, but it was a doozy and lasted for days. Let’s just say they could have avoided some very bad things if they’d only been more open with each other. *coughs to hide evil author laugh*

4. Are their personalities similar or do they complement each other?
Josiah is more outgoing, whereas Aileen tends to be introverted. He makes snap decisions; she thinks things over, too much sometimes. Both feel very deeply. As for negative emotions, Aileen releases tiny amounts of pressure through biting, sarcastic remarks (which don’t prevent the inevitable explosion later on), and Josiah processes them as they arise. Depending on what’s going on, that process will either be verbal or else shown through body language.
I would say they complement each other . . . which is sometimes code for “they clash.” Most of the time they mesh well, though.

5. Who is the leader of their friendship (if anyone)?
Josiah definitely is. Or at least, he leads in action. Aileen may lead more in the emotional sphere. She was the one that instigated their first connection, and she’ll often be the one to bring up deep or difficult topics.

6. Do they have any secrets from each other?
Naturally–they haven’t known each other long enough to know everything. But do they keep intentional secrets? Well, considering that open communication is pretty vital to staying alive in another world, no. Except for that time when tension drove them apart (see question 3).

7. How well do they know each other’s quirks and habits?
What they do know, they know quite well. But it’s hard to pick up on all of someone’s quirks when they’ve been transformed into a dragon! Facial expressions just aren’t the same, you understand. As for verbal mannerisms and other such things, I’d say they’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect from each other.

8. What kind of things do they like to do together?
Save multiple worlds. Fly around in dragon form. Train together. Fight together. Go off on epic quests together. When life returns to normal, however, they enjoy having long talks, being in the woods outside of town, and wondering when the next adventure will turn up.

9. Describe each character’s fashion style (use pictures if you’d like!). How are their styles different/similar?
In a few words . . .
Josiah: functional and comfortable. Tees and jeans will do the trick.

Not quite how I envision him, so ignore the face.
(Although the hair color is pretty close…)

Aileen: artsy in a casual, somewhat vintage way. Maybe a scarf or cute ankle boots added to a basic outfit.

Again, this picture is here only because of the clothes,
but this one’s a wee bit closer to how I imagine Aileen.
Oh, oh–except her eyes should be brown. (Finding
good charrie pictures is so HARD.)
10. How would their lives be different without each other?
They would likely be dead. If not dead, then significantly less than they are now. Aileen wouldn’t have gotten outside her own mind or learned to risk, fight, and forgive. Josiah wouldn’t have discovered humility, sacrifice, or the uplifting strength of companionship. Together they are more than they are apart.
I’m getting excited about this series all over again! In a way, I’ve been missing them. Their world is sometimes an insane challenge for me as the writer of it, but I love it to bits. Keep being patient, Aileen and Josiah–I will come back to you. (Just as soon as my Sleeping Beauty novella finishes growing up, then goes on a cruel diet to lose about five thousand words in weight . . . But that’s another post for another time.)
Keep Reading

Beautiful People – Alucinora

Tracey Dyck 22 Comments

I’m super excited to use this month’s Beautiful People to introduce a character from my Sleeping Beauty novella! Hosted by the ever-creative Cait and Skye, these questions are particularly summery, and a number of them relate quite well to my main character:


Combine this face…

Princess Alucinora

(Known by her closest friends as Luci)

Luci
lowered her gaze and plucked the strings a little faster. “I would very much
like to go dragon riding with Aleida. Her dragons are well-trained—you’ve seen
how gently they draw her carriage.”
Father
cleared his throat, the sound like loose rocks tumbling down a mountain. “That
is not a particularly . . . er, ladylike activity.”
Luci
picked the next note harder. Simply because it requires one to wear
trousers? Aleida wears breeches all the time.
“Nor
is it safe,” Mother put in. “What would Iror do if the crown princess plummeted
to her death on the rocks?”


With this hair (though not quite as red),
and you get Luci.

Oh, and because some of the questions are worded for more modern stories, I’ll be tweaking a few along the way to fit my classic fairy-tale setting.

So without further ado, curious questers, let us begin.


 
1. What’s their favourite ice cream flavour?
There’s no ice cream in Luci’s kingdom, Iror, so we’ll change the question to favorite dessert. She loves fresh fruit, and there’s nothing better than cubed Glair melon and valley berries sprinkled with sugar.
 
2. Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What are they wearing? Who will they be with?
Well, *cough* Luci doesn’t really . . . go out much. Or at all. Her parents are overprotective that way. A night in, however, is not out of the question, and often consists of performing for the nobles. As an infant, Luci received some very special gifts, you see, from eight fairy stewards. Among those magical talents are song, dance, and a way with musical instruments. Thus, she is a popular entertainment choice. So she’ll be in the castle’s Great Hall, she’ll be wearing one of her finer (though still poorly-woven) dresses, and she’ll be with her parents and the nobles.

3. Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Do they wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Are they in socks that are ratty and full of holes? What do they consider comfortable and what do they consider agony?
 
Slippers of the royal sort, though likely scuffed from Luci’s wanderings about the castle or the occasional forest stroll. (When accompanied by guards, of course.) If she’s not wearing slippers, she’ll be barefoot–the most comfortable choice during the summer. What does she consider agony? Well, there is that one beaded pair that pinches and chafes in all the wrong places . . .

4. Do they have any birthmark or scars? Where are they and how did they get them?
Baby Luci–isn’t she adorable?
Another of Luci’s gifts is beauty, so if she was born with any birthmarks, they didn’t stick around. As for scars, not much dangerous or strenuous activity is allowed, so the worst she can boast is paper cuts from all the books she handles. She desperately wishes her appearance wasn’t so perfect, though. It’s rather tiring to have the castle staff gaze at you in awe every time you walk by.
(I have to insert a little aside here. Luci’s best friend Aleida, who happens to be the fairy steward of Iror, has a most intriguing scar . . . a star-shaped one on the back of her neck. She got it at a young age, during magic practice with an older fairy steward.)

5. What kind of music do they listen to? Does it change depending on their mood or is it always consistent? (Feel free to share samples!)
Luci avoids music as much as she can. She has little interest in something she can do perfectly. Her thoughts on being asked to perform?

“Like
asking someone to sit and just breathe for an audience. Ridiculous and dull.” 

If she’s honest, though, she doesn’t mind music in general. The beauty of it has been tainted by her gifts and the attention they bring, but if she can get away from all that, there is something about airy woodwinds that stirs her desire for freedom.

6. Do they have any musical talent? Play an instrument? How’s their singing voice?
I believe we’ve covered that one quite well already.

7. What kind of book would you catch them reading?
Anything and everything, particularly adventure stories or fantastic legends. They’re the closest thing she has to an adventure of her own.

8. How would they spend their summers (or their holidays)?
Outdoors as much as possible! The forest is a favorite, and she loves visiting the waterfall with Aleida. But Luci dreams of an even better summer pastime: dragon riding. Unfortunately, the king and queen aren’t particularly keen on that idea.

9. It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing? Give details. Ex. If they’re eating breakfast, what’s on the menu? Are they hiking, shopping, lazing around?
Spending time with Aleida. They’ll either be talking, dreaming, walking, or holing up in the library together.

10. Is there anything your character wants to be free of?
All her days, Princess Luci has lived in the cage her parents made. They love her dearly, and since her safety has been compromised since birth, they’ll do all they can to ensure she is protected. Luci feels stifled, both by their caution and by her gifts. Beauty and music are the pedestal upon which others have set her, and her gift of diplomacy prevents her from voicing her deepest thoughts. With everything in her, she longs to be free. Free to speak her mind, free to be seen as herself and not her gifts. Free to risk. Free to live. And as her story progresses, the bars of her cage only thicken, bringing a captivity far worse than any her well-meaning parents place on her.
 
~*~
 
I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting my headstrong princess as much as I’ve enjoyed presenting her to you! If you’ve done Beautiful People this month, let me know so I can come meet your characters too.
 
By the way, you know the goal I made to finish the first draft of this novella before the end of July? Well, I’m at about 14K words right now, which gives me less than two weeks to write the next 6. According to the chart I made (yes, I did that), I’m on track . . . but whether this story will actually be done within the word limit is questionable. It’s trying desperately to become a full-length novel. When the whole falling asleep thing occurs around the halfway mark, you know you have a problem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have my editing knife to sharpen in preparation.
Keep Reading

On Dystopias

Tracey Dyck 9 Comments

I can’t help it.
I analyze books.

It may have
started out as an intentional thing, but these days, I can’t help but pick
stories apart. I used to think such a habit would ruin the pleasure of reading,
yet I’ve found that, for me, it only adds to the experience. With most books I
sink into, I automatically look for what works, what doesn’t work, why
something does what it does. Why do I love this character? Why does this other
one fall flat? Why does the pacing feel off? What made that plot twist so
incredibly surprising?

Not only do I
find myself studying books, I find myself studying genres, too. What makes me
love fantasy so much? Why is dystopian so popular? I look at the categories
from my own personal viewpoint as a reader, and also try to see it from the
perspective of a wide audience.

I don’t know—maybe
it’s the writer in me.

 

I was thinking
about dystopias the other day. I’d just finished Allegiant (OH MY GOODNESS I
HAVE NO WORDS) and thoughts on the ending led me down a broken concrete trail
to the idea of dystopias in general. I don’t know if it’s coming or going, that
trend, but it has produced some insanely popular stuff. The Hunger Games,
Divergent, The Maze Runner, etc.

So what’s the
appeal?

I’m sure that
answer is as multi-faceted as the genre’s readers. But a whole lot of the fans
are teens. And maybe all those teens identify with Katniss, who’s forced into
something she never wanted. Who can’t trust those in authority, or even the
friends around her. Maybe we readers see Tris, struggling with identity and a
choice that will determine her entire future, and we feel, “Yeah, that’s me
too.” We watch Thomas try desperately to figure out where the blazes he is, and
who put him there, and what he’s supposed to do . . . and those questions
resonate.

Because those
are our questions.

“What am I going
to do with my life?”

“What will I
choose?”

“Who can I
trust?”

“Why am I here?”
We reach for
independence, sometimes too quickly, and strain against the bonds of childhood.
The fictional cast of characters strives to break the bonds of a despotic government.

We see myriad
choices—big ones—looming in our futures, and we wonder, doubt, panic, analyze,
dream. The characters’ big choices mirror our own, but in a warped mirror that
expands and extrapolates those decisions. A city rests on the choice; lives depend
on the action taken.

We look around
at our world, the dimensions of which have suddenly exploded, and we feel
increasingly small. The characters peel back layers of story and discover all
is not as they once thought.

This relevance
can be true of any story, any genre. These tales echo in the chambers of our hearts
because on a certain plane, they are real. They are our very own
stories, played out with different names, different locations, different
circumstances . . . yet with all too familiar themes.


And so when
Katniss fires a well-aimed arrow, we cheer. When Tris faces her deepest fears,
we pump our fists. The victories of these characters help us realize, “I can
too.”

In a
progressively secluded society, where we can so easily hide behind screens, it
is even easier to feel that we are alone in our struggles. That we must be the
only ones going through this. In books we find companions with whom we
empathize. A poor substitute for real friendship, I suppose, but nonetheless
encouraging. Somebody else out there feels the way I feel. They are facing
worse, and yet they still get up in the morning, they still press on. They lose
and fail and shatter into a million pieces, but they put themselves back together
. . . and they make it.

I can too.

Herein lies one
of the mysterious powers of story—to use an untruth to reveal truth. To use
fiction to shed light on reality. Through fabricated hardships, a story
comforts us in our trials, and inspires us with the courage to walk through to
the other side as a stronger person.

Yes, dystopias
feed on the fears of today and paint grim pictures of tomorrow; of a fallen
race, a broken planet, a corrupted government. Yes, dystopian authors sometimes
write with a societal or environmental critique in mind.

But under the
agendas, we might find sparks to feed our own dying flames. In the bleak
landscapes, we can rediscover hope. And that, I think, is the reason we are so enraptured with these fractured tales.
Keep Reading

Beautiful People – Leander

Tracey Dyck 12 Comments

My first Beautiful People post! Yay! These linkups are hosted by the creative geniuses, Cait and Sky. I’ve been reading people’s monthly BP posts for quite some time now, and have long dreamed of doing it myself one day.

[br]

Fellow questers, that day has arrived! (Am I not dramatic?)

[br]

But yours truly is completely new at this. I’ve been hemming and hawing over which character to use from my big fantasy work-in-progress series. Should I pick either of my two main characters, Aileen and Josiah? The burdened and noble Lord Mauray? Gruff leader of the dragons, Captain Dauntless? Rex Nelson, a pilot from book 2 whose character arc desperately needs work?

[br]

Or perhaps someone from a story that I’m not currently working on, like Will from Blood Rose? (For those of you wondering, that’s my novella retelling of Beauty and the Beast.) I just didn’t know who to pick.

[br]

But at last it came to me: Leander. He’s a talking white lion living in Demetria, a country located in another world. These ten questions fit him perfectly, as he is one of my most broken characters. His backstory is just one heartache after another. I won’t divulge it all here, but perhaps this inside look at Leander will let you and I get a better understanding of him.

[br]

[br]

1. Does he get nightmares? If so, why or what of?

Yes. In his younger days, he had frequent nightmares of his father. These days, the occasional nightmare involving his lost daughter plagues his sleep. Those bad dreams also include a white orb called ‘the Prophet.’

[br]

2. What is his biggest guilty pleasure/secret shame?

There can be a big difference between guilty pleasure and secret shame. He has none of the former, but the latter . . . Well, he harbors very deep regrets. Firstly, that he was unable to stop his mother’s murder; secondly, that he failed to keep his daughter safe.

[br]

3. Is he easily persuaded or does he need more proof?

Because of his traumatic past, Leander has trust issues. He requires substantial proof, and even then he may still doubt someone.

[br]

4. Does he suffer from any phobias? Does it affect his life in a big way?

He is extremely wary of the Prophet, since it was responsible for what happened to his daughter. If he thought it could be destroyed, he’d do it, but in reality, he fears it. This fear almost prevents him from joining two young dragons on a life-changing journey.

[br]

5. What does he consider his “Achilles heel?”

His daughter is the chink in his armor. He’s built up walls around himself to keep from getting hurt again, but if his daughter was still around, he would do absolutely anything for her. The only way Leander could be manipulated would be through her—hence, the weakness.

[br]

6. How does he handle a crisis?

Depends on the crisis. If it involves any of the few people he loves, he will grit his teeth and charge right into the thick of things. If the crisis affects people he doesn’t care about, or requires him to face his own personal flaws, he will run from the problem as fast as he can.

[br]

7. Does he have a temper?

Oh, does he ever. His father was always angry, so that doesn’t help. And the tragedies Leander has faced have filled his heart with bitterness. All it takes is the smallest thing to set him off. When he finally cools down, however, he will be left with the same old broken pieces as before. That hollowness is a worse feeling than the anger.

[br]

8. What are his core values and/or religious beliefs?

He acknowledges God’s existence, but scorns Him. What use has he for a deity who stands back and watches the world’s pain?

[br]

9. What things does he value most in life?

Family is the most important thing to him, period. But everyone has been taken from him, leaving him a wrecked soul indeed. He also values his dignity, and cannot stand the skin he’s in.

[br]

10. What is one major event that helped shape who he is?

There are three events that shaped Leander—two that battered his heart into its current wounded shape, and one that started the journey of untwisting that heart. One: watching his father murder his mother. Two: losing his daughter. Three: a pair of dragons requesting his help on a rescue mission. It was then that his carefully constructed walls began to crumble just a bit.

[br]

[br]

Leander’s had a special place in my heart ever since I started writing book 1 of this series, way back when I was twelve. For the seven years he’s been with me, he has developed in my mind from a grumpy, reluctant lion to a creature burdened with heavy sorrows. Book 2 (that tangled mess of a draft I once called amazing—ha, what a laugh) offered me an opportunity to explore his backstory. Although represented horribly on paper, his tale does gleam brightly in that netherworld of my imagination. One day it will all be properly polished and presentable.

[br]

Oh dear, alliteration is a sign that I need to stop. Fare thee well, questers! If you’re doing this month’s Beautiful People, let me know! And either way, what are your thoughts on this bad-tempered beast? Besiege me with your brilliant—

[br]

Botheration, I did it again. (Ack, that one was unintentional! I’m done now, I promise.)

Keep Reading