aubreyfrog

As usual, I am distracting myself from writing by doing OMG!Research.
After I found some nice pictures of Dylan's car, Warren's cop car, Dylan's house, the actors that will play Dylan, Warren, Wendy, Sully, Eddie, (Not Gene yet, though, because I don't know who would play him) and other characters you'll meet when I actually post at word_party, I decided to write some more.

What I'm having trouble with is trying to decide how much realism is needed when writing an urban fantasy/supernatural type piece.

My novel features werewolves, vampires, and wizards. Obviously these don't actually exist, so there's some form of invention here.
My issue is - how far can I go in invention when it comes to the other aspects of my story? It takes place in modern times and in a fairly realistic town (although it's a made up town, with made up people... as fiction tends to be).

Two of my characters are police officers. I'm not sure if I should continue attempting at mostly realism. In this case I'm doing basic research and not including too many details as to what goes on at a police station, etc.
But say I just started inventing what my police station was in charge of? If I didn't get the details quite right, would it be a cop-out (pardon the pun) to claim that it's wrong because I meant it to be that way? That it was wrong because the canon of my story calls for it to be that way?
I suppose that would depend on what the detail was.

Right now, I'm going to do the best I can, but focus on getting the story out rather than nit-picky details. When I focus too much on the details, I tend not to write as much.

I have nothing to write about, so here's what's going on this summer (starting this week, before summer "officially" starts).

June
- June 17th: My little brother graduates middle school, 7pm. Sister's 8th birthday.
- June 19th: My grandpa's 80th birthday party. BIG family gathering in NH.
- June 20th: Father's day, taking Step-dad bowling, most likely (with the sibs & mom).
- June 23rd: GETTING MY ACCUTANE PRESCRIPTION!!!!

July
[July, bachelorette party #1? Not planned yet]

August
- August 7th-21st: Paid time off/Vacation.
- August 12th: Brother's 14th birthday.
- August 14th: Liz's wedding.


And, okay, that doesn't look like much, but there's going to be a butt-load of wedding crap coming in July/August. I haven't done much of anything about the wedding/bachelorette parties. I texted Liz today to request a list of names & phone numbers of the girls she wants for the "Adult" Bachelorette party. I haven't even *mentioned* a shower to her, and am afraid to ask NOW if she still wants one. I feel like I'm being a horrible Maid of Honor.

Speaking of which, when I was down there, Liz, her mom and I hung out and chatted. Of course we had a conversation about kids. Liz wants a lot of kids, and I reiterated the fact that I don't want to be a mother. But I have come up with a compromise. If I meet a guy who fits otherwise, and he happens to have up to 3 kids of his own, over the age of 4, I don't mind that. I wouldn't want to be a replacement mom, though. A part-time step-mom who helps with their homework, but doesn't have to worry about the discipline.

But I'm not worried about dating right now. I wouldn't know where to start, because clearly online dating does not work for me. I think it would work better if you could have a website where the information was there, but there weren't any pictures -- so you could find someone you got along with on an intellectual level. Especially because I have little to offer physically.

I do know that I seem to have better luck intellectually with older men (and by older, I mean anyone over 24). I haven't had many conversations with a wide variety of men, but in my limited experience, it seems as though the men my age are more into the physical relationship, even more so than "older" men.

I watched these movie two nights ago and am still not over its awesomeness, so I shall write about it.

First of all, it's a gay movie. The main character, Timothy, is openly gay, and gets made fun of a lot at the private school he attends. Actually, pretty much everyone in the town is mean to him. :-( Stop being mean to the gay people, for real.
Anywho. His school is doing a performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and guess who gets to play Puck? Yeah, Timothy. His crush, a rugby player named Jonathon, is one of the lovers. [I know almost nothing about "A Midsummer Night's Dream," by the way]. Because it's an all-boy school, they have men playing female parts.
Anyway... quoting from Wikipedia here:
"While reviewing his lines, he discovers the recipe for a magical flower wielding the power of love. Timothy uses the flower to have the homophobic town take a "walk in his shoes". The entire town is thrown into chaos as previously heterosexual community members fall in love with their same-sex friends, bosses, and co-workers: whomever they first saw after being sprayed by the flower. The school drama teacher, Ms. Tebbit (Wendy Robie), guides Timothy towards the question of whether his actions have caused more harm than good."


So basically a bunch of the homophobic people that were making fun of him before end up "in love" with someone else of the same gender... his mom's boss ends up in love with his mom... the jerk-face gym teacher ends up in love with the school's principal... a bunch of the rugby players end up making out on the stage...

And there's music. There are only I think 3 or 4 songs in it, so it's technically it's a musical, but it's not a song every five minutes.


Anyway, one of the main reasons I like this movie?



^ That's part of his costume as Puck. He's definitely quite adorable. But the weird thing is, I don't *want* him... I want him to be my brother or something. I would hug him and be his best friend... Yeah, I don't know.


I just really, really like this movie, and I'm going to watch it again shortly. If you can find it (it's kind of an indie movie, I think) then I suggest watching it.

I apologize for not posting and reading for the past - well, almost month.
I didn't have any internet access. However, now I have my own paid-for internet and should be online more often. I'll try to catch up on reading in word-party and such so that I'm not so far behind.
I should be online a bit more now, too.

"Like a Hero" series. Reworked it like, way more than I did last time. This time they're all connected in a way that makes sense.
If you're interested, read on. Warning, though: just this planning is pretty long.



All four girls are friends and hang out together. Amelia is Jackie's cousin. Roxie lives next door to Jackie, and Clarissa is in her class. They sort of just formed a group and started hanging out together. In Book One, Jackie develops an idea to form a "superhero" group, where they help people out.

The Heroes

Wyvern – Jackie Cohen. Lizard Girl.
Tempest – Amelia Windham. Weather.
Pebbles – Roxie Valdez. Telekinetic.
Captain – Clarissa Rose. Pyro.

Love Interests

Pirate – Tom Webber. Computer hacker. Wyvern's boyfriend.
Bobby Watts - Healer. Tempest's boyfriend.
The Miner – Emma Jean Alford. Metal. Pebbles' girlfriend.
Kenny Gray - Not super. Captain's boyfriend.

Relatives
The General – Michael Cohen. Strength. Wyvern's dad.
Vampira – Delilah Windham. Not super. Tempest's sister.
Maxine Valdez-Warren - Not super. Pebbles' sister.
Spencer Rose - Talks to inanimate objects. Captain's brother.

( In more detail )

he purpose of this entry is for me to list some of the favorite characters that I've created.

I was thinking of doing something fun where perhaps I do one of those "dinner party" stories, where I put a bunch of random characters at a dinner party and see how they interact. We had to do that in AP English, but it was with characters from the books we were reading.

I'll list/describe the characters for now, and maybe later I'll do the dinner party story...


Dylan -- My ALL TIME favorite character. Originally from "3 men & a witch", currently in my "Like a Hero" series.

Physical description - about 5'6", thin, lean. Short dark hair. When he's not working, he wears tight clothes - leather pants and tight shirts.

Personality - Gay. He's also a party boy, whose favorite activities are: having sex, getting drunk, going to clubs and partying. He's also a super-healer, which means he heals quickly (he's in my superhero story). This may contribute to the fact that he enjoys pain and rough sex... because he heals faster than normal people, so "pain" is not the same to him as it is to others. He speaks his mind and can get really angry at other people. He doesn't do "relationships", but subconsciously, he's drawn to what he doesn't have.

Relationships - friends with Ramon, a former one-night-stand. In a relationship with Warren, a police officer. Warren is pretty much Dylan's opposite - he's steady, he's stable, he's calm and collected. He doesn't do "casual" sex. He tames Dylan somewhat. Their relationship is so awesome that I've written like, a bunch of scenes about them that don't fit into the story at all, but are just fun to write. I love them.


Justin -- was originally a minor character in another story. Don't know why I like him, but he's really interesting.

Physical description - med. height & weight, longish messy brown hair pulled back w/a rubber band. wears ragged, baggy jeans and flannel shirts.

Personality - Obsessed with music. Has those big stereo headphones around his neck all the time. Doesn't talk much, gets flustered easily.

Relationships - Two friends - Ike and Kip. Lives with his dad, no mom or siblings.



Gene -- has appeared in a couple different stories as a background character. He's in one of my superhero stories as a were-bear.

Physical description - Tall, broad, muscular. Like, really muscular. Thick arms, etc. Lots of body-hair, though the hair on his head is pretty short. Tattooed.

Personality - Knows how hot he is, likes to show off his body and brag about how awesome he is... but he's still loveable. He drinks a lot, likes to have fun, but he knows how to rein it in when he gets too rough.

Relationships - Has work friends - Justin, Raoul, Peter. They play poker together & get drunk.

In a different story/universe, his work friends are Warren (Dylan's Warren!), Ramon, and Lynn.




Wyvern -- narrator of "Jewel", the first book in the series I'm writing. Was originally a male character, has been changed to a female.

Physical description - about 5'6", thin and wiry. Short brown hair - chin length bob? She likes to wear cargo shorts and tank tops - loose fitting pants, close-fitting tops. Has some scales on her arms and face.

Personality - Can do reptile transformation/communication (hence the scales). She's pretty uncomfortable with her physical appearance - specifically the scales. She doesn't really feel feminine, although she is, really. Not sure of her place in the League, because she doesn't have an actual position other than that of secretary (can't go out and fight). Is very organized and "control freak" - doesn't like people touching her files.

Relationships - Works with The General, Lady Lightning, and Pirate. Eventually ends up marrying Pirate & having a son, Spencer.



Tessa -- narrator of "Time & Again". My new favorite.

Physical description - Small. Brown hair & eyes. Not sure, really.

Personality - Independent. Can be kind of abrasive. Also somewhat butch, but not really... I mean, butch attitude, I guess. She's generally pretty honest when she speaks. Lives with her parents, who own a ranch, but she isn't involved in any of the ranch work.

Relationships - Mom Maggie, Dad Christopher, Brothers Dan and Tom, sister Rachel (all older). Two close friends - Wendy and Troy. Eventual relationship with Link. Works with (and despises) Eric. Uncle Luke.




Aren't my characters awesome? I think I'm going to go try to write a piece with all of them together, even if it doesn't go anywhere.

I'm going to post a weird short-story called "The Dishwasher Breaks Down", but not yet. I've got to fix it up a bit.

Is it better to write and get the story out...
...or should you work on quality instead?

I ask because, if I focus on having excellent quality, I can only write a maximum of five hundred words a day, if I'm lucky. If I focus on the story, and getting the general idea out, I can write more, and it flows easily. But it's pretty much crap as far as being enjoyable to read. Everything's choppy and awkward.

So... thoughts?


Meanwhile, I'm sticking with the getting-the-story-out and seeing what I can do. It's not like I don't go back and edit. I do edit.
But right now I'm writing.

So I had finished most of my stories and was focusing on just "THE NOVEL", but that didn't turn out so well. I now have quite a list of stories on my hand.
So, let's see...


( Current Stories )


Okay. So I'm going to go work on those now. Probably will post either What the Heart Wants soon, if I finish chapter two soon. Same with Time & Again

I was about halfway through rewriting Ruby's first chapter for "Jewel", and decided that it was boring. There was no conflict except for Ruby's potentially creepy obsession with that guy.
SOOO I was at work and it was slow and there was nothing to do. As usual, I had my notebook out. Started a couple of different potential beginnings. Then I found something that clicked.
Wrote about 1500 at work. Looked over it, decided it wasn't compelling enough. Inserted a prologue that adds something, wrote a bit more.

So, tell me what you think --


( Warning: Language. Reptiles. Also, it's long. )

Ah, because I am procrastinating from actually writing, I'm going to post a list of the superheroes that make up the current League in the book I'm writing.
Gonna skip the LJ-cut this time, because I am lazy.

~ Eddie Thatch. powers: walk through walls. superhero name: Domino. Costume: black suit with white dots. White dots painted on face, white mask over eyes.
looks: Short, thin black male. Bald. Dark eyes.
clothes: usually wears black & white – baggy pants, tank tops.
personality: friendly, joking around, sometimes flirtatious. Likes dirty jokes.

~ Jack Cohen. powers: reptile control & transformation. superhero name: Wyvern. Costume: green, reptile-skin leather suit.
looks: med. height, stocky. Short brown hair w/green tips.
Clothes: windpants, t-shirts. Dresses like a gym teacher.
personality: Friendly and good with children. Sometimes condescending.

~ Michael Windham. powers: super-strength. superhero name: The General. Costume: army-style camouflage pants, black t-shirt and black boots. Camo paint on face.
looks: Tall, broad, muscular.
Clothes: khakis, soft sweaters.
personality: Gentle and kind. Very paternal, but he can be rough when he gets to work.

~ Ella Fairchild. powers: super-speed. superhero name: Lady Lightning. Costume: dark brown spandex bodysuit with yellow lightning bolts running down the arms and legs, and complete with a yellow mask
looks: long face, a large nose and thick brown hair. Tall, thin.
Clothes: shapeless dresses.
personality: Awkward with people, uncomfortable. Kind of abrupt and doesn't know what to say. In uniform, is all business.

~ Ezekiel "Zeke" Webber. powers: pyrokinesis. superhero name: Pirate. Costume: ripped jeans, black boots. No shirt, but chest & arms covered in tattoos.
looks: tall, muscular. Med. black hair, neatly combed.
Clothes: suits that hide his muscles. Usually professionally dressed.
personality: seems gentle, kind, almost weak... nerdy, but hiding a sarcastic, rough personality.


I feel like I need more girl superheroes, but I want the original League to be mostly men. I'm pretty sure that Wyvern/Jack is gay, but I haven't decided. The General's daughter appears in a later story. And Zeke is the love interest of the narrator of the current story - Ruby's.
Not sure what Ruby's dad's superpower/superhero persona is going to be, but I won't have to come up with that for a while, since she won't find out.

Ah, sorry if my notes make no sense. I will probably post the first part of Ruby's story after I finish the scene I'm working on... a couple days, probably.