My House Is Kinda Clean

Hey Guys!

So I've decided my blog has been too formal. I'll save all the preaching for when I'm actually on the road to being published, how about that?

Now that's not to say I won't be sharing my writing process... I will. I am, first and foremost, a writer. And pretty much my entire life revolves around that fact. Outside of work and my boyfriend... yup, all revolves around that.

SO! Today I was in an odd mood. I was trying to plan my character Jonathon some more for NaNoWriMo. But I decided it'd be a better idea to clean the entire house. You have no idea what an undertaking this is. My boyfriend is a habitually messy person, and I am a habitually lazy person. We don't match well when it comes to keeping a clean house. Also. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?! I HATE cleaning. Like, you have no idea. But suddenly, my OCD kicked in and I was like... "Wow, this place is a mess."

...I don't know either. But I got most of the living room cleaned up. Cleaned the stove, and tidied the kitchen. Finished off my pot of coffee (maybe that had something to do with the urge? Coffee does strange things to a person. Great things, yes, but strange.). All the while I was listening to music. Then I was like "Hey! I haven't seen Tangled in awhile, I'll pull it up online to play it in the background." *shame*

I love the movie, and sat down to watch it. I've done like three loads of laundry, though, so I haven't been doing *nothing* while it was playing... And I suddenly don't want to clean anymore. Maybe I need more coffee...

Onto the writing point! I don't think any of my blogs will be without *something* to do with writing or a book. It's the way I am. While I was making breakfast this morning (oh yes, I did that too, I never do that), I had a brilliant idea! Actually, two. One for Mortality, one for Tainted.

Mortality. So, the Mortality idea came when I was washing the dishes before making breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon, in case you were wondering). I realized I had so many characters that were mentioned but not fleshed out, and was like... "How do I incorporate them?" So, I was thinking, they're about to go on what is essentially a scavenger hunt for an item that hasn't been seen in centuries so... They split into groups. Follow each of the groups and go from there~! GENIUS!

Tainted. This one came... either in the shower after breakfast or while I was making the pancakes, I don't recall which. It's less ground breaking than the one above, but considering I know less about this novel, it means more to me at this point. So, I was toying with the idea in my head, just mulling it around, and it came to me. Garret isn't Jewel's half-brother, he's an ex-boyfriend. The crazy kind. He got it into his mind that the "party" and sacrifice would win her back and show her the joys of being a werewolf, but when she denies him, he chases after them, still trying to win her back, and also, probably kill Jonathon when he finds out she's falling in love with another man (Jonathon).

Ah... I think this post is long enough. Quite a bit of a rant, there.

Leaving you with this

When do you get your best "eureka!" moments?

What's the last such moment you remember?

Characters on Couches 2.2

Hello again, guys.

I'm falling apart, just thought I'd let you know that. I have carpal tunnel in both of my wrists and my right (dominant) hand is so swollen and in pain right now that... well it sucks. Also, I sprained my ankle the day/night before last and worked (standing, moving, bending, heavy lifting) all night last night and will have to again to night and the night after. So that hurts quite a bit too.

I'm eighteen and don't want to know what will be falling apart/off when I'm 30.

Anyway, enough about me, we were talking to Jonathon. I decided to go ahead and finish up this Characters on Couches session, because I have nothing else planned for today.

Characters on Couches 2.2

Jonathon

So Jewel, Sarah-Juliet, walked out. Jonathon watches her with a small frown pinching his eyebrows together, but when the door shuts and he turns back to me, the smile is back in place. Strange man.

"You still have questions for me?" Leaning, he rested his chin in his hand. 

"I do. A couple." Resettling my shoulders, I lean back in my seat. "You're a human." 

"Obviously." Damn that smirk. 

I roll my eyes, I can't help it. "Smart ass. What are your thoughts towards the supernaturals?" 

He grins. How can someone be so happy? "Right to the meat of the issue, huh?"

"I'm not here to ask you your favorite color, though what is that, by the way?" 

"Hm. Green. But a light green, not quite neon, but lighter than the crayon of the same name." 

Specific. "Alright. So Supernaturals."

"Right. That is... a difficult question. I don't hate them. But neither am I really a Sympathetic. They're just people. It's like asking me what I think of Blacks, I'm sorry, African-Americans, or Asians, or Chinese. They're people." He shrugs. His smile is gone. 

"You're one of the few." I make a note in my notebook. 'Indifferent.'

"No, no I don't think that's entirely right. It's just that the ones who oppose their existence are the loudest. Those who speak the loudest, often know the least." 

"Mm-hmm." 'Pessimistic optimist?'

"Mm-hmm? What's that supposed to mean?" He lets out a small laugh and when I raise my head, he's smiling again. 

"Oh. Nothing. Thinking to myself. So. Tell me about your parents."

"Ah! Not much to tell, there, actually. My mother- My mother died five years ago. Since then, my father has been living with my older sister and her family. He... quit taking care of himself when she died." He's still smiling. 

How is he still smiling? 'Mother- deceased. Father- living with sister. Incapable of caring for self.'

"Alright then. One last question. How did you know how to keep Sarah-Juliet from Shifting?" 

He stiffens. The smile appears frozen on his face, and it slowly fades, until he's frowning. I don't think he's seeing me anymore. 

"How did I know?" His voice has dropped an octave, and the overbearing sadness within is... well, saddening. "My mother... My mother was a werewolf." 

I feel my mouth drop open with a slight "pop". He smiles, but it's more of a smirk, and saturated with sadness. 

"No one outside the immediate family knows that. I suppose you'd find out eventually. My father did the same for her, that I just did for Sarah-Juliet. My father said the secret was, for my mother anyway, to make her realize that he loved her." 

His head is in his hands, and he stares at the ground as he speaks. "My mother hated her existence. The first time she Shifted, the night ten years ago that everything changed, she was alone with my brother. He has three claw marks down the right side of his face. My mother hated herself. We never blamed her." 

"So five years ago-?" He knows what I'm asking. 

"Yeah. It wasn't just an accident. My mother hung herself. When we found her, I wondered if my father wouldn't follow. That's a big reason he lives with my sister. They watch him at all times to make sure he eats, sleeps, and takes care of himself."

"I see..." I don't know exactly what to write. There aren't words that can express this. 

"Are we finished?" He finally looks up, still unsmiling. 

"Ah... yes. That's all I needed for now. Thank you." 

He stands and as he looks at me, I'm allowed a glimpse beneath the happy-go-lucky outer shell. He's a more complex character than I had first expected. He walks out and the door shuts quietly behind him. 

Hmm.. 

Alright. So that's all for today. 

Thanks for reading!

Characters on Couches 2.1

Alright. So I've put it off for... well, all day.

So, Hi.

This Characters on Couches session is going to progress a little differently then last time. One, I will be using characters from a different story. My NaNoWriMo novel. I *had* planned to use three gals from my WIP Mortality, but, well I need to figure out my NaNoWriMo novel titled, as you know, Tainted.

Anyway, it's going to be written in roaming first person. I don't know if that's a thing, but that's what I call it. What I mean is that I will use multiple first person perspectives. I know, for a fact, it will be awkward as I am *highly* unskilled and unpracticed at first person.

*Anyway* I'm going to start with the fictional "I" as author, and then will switch to I, as the character. Don't judge. I'm bad at first person.

Characters on Couches 2

Sarah-Juliet and Jonathon

Here we go again.

This time, I have foregone the desk and sit instead on level with the others, facing two empty chairs. The two chairs are intentionally uncomfortable, but I am quite happy in mine. Again I have a clipboard and pen, but this time I am determined to actually take notes. 

This time, I can't use Hilia (well, technically I could, but she's from a different genre and time entirely, and she'd have so much to learn in an instant, that she wouldn't be a reliable lie detector), so I have to either trust they're telling me the truth, or figure out what they mean when they aren't. 

Hmm. 

There's a knock at the door and I jump, spitting out a piece of my pen. (That's why I buy cheap pens. I chew them up.) How long had I been staring off into space? 

"Come in, please."

Ah, so it's Jonathon first. He's... wow, he's tall. Taller than I'd thought. He's got to be well over six feet tall. I let out a quiet whistle and he grins. His height would make him intimidating, if it weren't for everything else about him. He's thin to the point of gangly, his hair is the brightest red I've seen in my life and his pale skin is *covered* in freckles. Over all, he's quite a goofy-looking guy, but at that grin... damn. He lights up a room without trying. 

"So who're we waitin' on?" He sits, lounging in the chair, somehow making the stiff wooden thing look comfortable. 

Apparently all of his height is in his legs, because I can now look him in the eye.

"You know full well, who." 

His grin widens and he laughs. Shit but this guy is charismatic. I can almost feel myself start to smile in response, but I have to maintain a serious facade. I cover my mouth with a hand and "scratch my nose" until I can be serious again. 

***

What the hell is this shit about? That woman better not have invited him. If he's here, I swear to god, I'm going to kill him. How long is this hallway? Everything around me is empty and my steps resound back at me. I'm angry. I can't get angry. I can't afford to Shift. 

Stopping, I take a deep breath, hold it for three seconds, let it out. Again. When I can feel I'm calm again, I push my way through the door that has suddenly become close. It's quite a plain door, really. Nothing special about it. I thought our author would be more ostentatious.

A woman is sitting in a... I stop just inside the door. I swear it's a... 

"Is that a throne?" 

So much for not being ostentatious. 

I swear, it really is a throne. It's twice as high as the other two chairs, and it's... it's black. But the decorations on it. I shake my head. Jesus H. Christ. They're bones. 

"Don't worry, they're not real. Please, take a seat." She waves a hand and gestures to the two seats in front of her. 

My fuse is growing short again. I'm not an idiot. I know the bones aren't real. Even an idiot could tell that. I can tell I'm getting angry because I can hear my footsteps again. I'm stomping. I sit in the chair. God damn, this thing is hard as a rock, I swear. No matter how I shift, I can't get comfortable. It's pure wood, there's no cushion whatsoever. 

"Why ya fidgeting, Jay-Jay, nervous?"

My back goes rigid. I hadn't been paying attention to the second chair. Turning I'm met with a glowing smile. Idiot. Why is he always happy? This is not a happy time. I'm irritated. 

"Calm down, Sarah-Juliet." 

"Don't call me that!" My head whips back around and I give the author the most biting stare I can manage. 

"Fine, fine. Jewel, then. Can we get started?"

"Sure!" God, Jonathon's enthusiasm is so annoying. 

At least it's not him, though. I brace myself for her first question. 

"Why do you call her Jay-Jay?" 

Relief. She turned to him first. Thank god. 

"Cuz she hates her name." He says it matter of factly. 

I shake my head again. He really is an idiot. 

"Why don't you call her Jewel, then?" Her pen is poised over her notebook. 

"I don't like it." I swear he's like a child. 

"...Alright then." There's a slight pause before she answers. She's dumbstruck too. 

"How'd you guys meet?" 

"Fuck you." I talk over Jon. "I know you know exactly how we met. You wrote, well, will write it. God damn, how is it I have knowledge of past events that haven't happened yet? You haven't written a damn word."

She shrugs. My blood begins to boil. This woman... she's just doing it to piss me off. I can feel the blood in my veins. It's getting hot. My ears are ringing. My jaw hurts. Everything hurts. No. Not now. I can't Shift now. But I'm so angry. I'm angry all the time, and it's boiling over no. 

"Jay. Look at me."

 Something cold touches my face. I can't focus. Is that... fire? No. It's not fire. It's Jonathon. Shit, Jonathon. I can't Shift. He can't see that. I can't. I'm stressing. I can't stop it. I'm shifting. My bones start to grind and stretch. It hurts. 

"Hey... Jewel. Come on. Deep breaths."

Jewel. He called me Jewel. He's never called me that before. My skin begins to cool, and my bones settle. My ears stop ringing and I can finally focus. 

We're on the floor. Jonathon's arms are... he's holding me. For the first time, I realize just how much bigger he is than I am. I'm not short, but he's... huge. But he's so thin, I don't think about it most the time. His skin is cool, too. Not burning all the time like mine. No. This isn't right. I can't do this. 

"You're so... annoying." 

He smirks at me and stands, reaching down to help me up. Ignoring his hand I sit in that god-forsaken chair again. 

The author looks completely and totally composed. God she's so irritating. But I'm cool now. Relatively. 

"Ask your question." 

"Why do you hate yourself?" Her pen is poised. 

"Go to hell. You know I hate being a werewolf. I didn't ask for this. Yet I'm a pariah." 

She nods. "Yes, yes, that's all well and good, but you hated yourself before this." 

I can feel Jonathon's gaze on the side of my head. He's curious too. Damn them. Damn everyone. 

"You want to know why? Fine. My father, on the day of my birth, killed my mother. And then he took his own life."

"And-?"

"Would you just shut up for a minute?" My breathing is heavy, but I'm not on the Edge yet. "He left no note, so everyone says that we can't know why he did that. But I do know." 

I can't sit any longer. Pacing, I can focus on the floor and my feet and not have to look at either of them. "He wanted a son. My mother didn't give him one. So he killed her. I don't know if it was sorrow or guilt that cause it, but... either was the reason for his suicide. Can I go now?"

I walk out. I don't care what her answer is.

Alright. So that's it for that. And... well, these characters are not what I expected them to be. It's nice to get to know them before November, though. 

However, I decided this is only part one of this Characters on Couches. I don't know when I will continue it, either tomorrow, or next Wednesday. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Questions

Are you doing NaNoWriMo?

Will you be my Buddy?