Kaylin's Books

Rules: show off some dialogue!

“I need to introduce you to my new friend. I think y’all would get along.” I waved to Carissa as I walked in, and she came over. “Ah, yes,” said Ash. “We have math together. Clarissa, right?” “No,” Carissa sighed as if she’d gotten that a lot. “No ‘l’.” “Noelle?” Ash repeated, confused. “Correct,” said Carissa. “I swear your name was Clarissa.” “I know Clarissa is more common, but there’s no ‘l’ in my name.” Ash blinked a few times. “Oh, my God, I’m an idiot. Your name is Carissa. I thought you said it was Noelle, as in the name Noelle.” I burst out laughing. Carissa and Ash soon joined. “Anyhow, I’m Ash. It’s nice to meet you, Noelle.” The coaches blew their whistles and the three of us followed the crowd outside, ready to work with the archery equipment. “Is she gonna continue calling me Noelle?” Carissa asked. I laughed again. “Who knows with Ash? But don’t worry, it probably won’t stick long.”

Rules: roast your OCs by boiling them down to their most stereotypical/archetypical traits in the style of a headline!

• Round one
• Round two

SSS Rules: post seven sentences on a Sunday!

Extract Rules: post an excerpt from your WIP!

Share Rules: share some writing!

Dialogue: share a bit of dialogue you like!

“However, some people have cereal dry, which means that the cereal is a fatless skeleton, but we add fat if we feel the need.” “Does that make the bowl the flesh?” “Of course it does.” “So we’re eating the insides right out of the skin?” Akash paused. “Yes.” “Terrifyingly morbid,” I said, taking a huge bite of my soggy bowl-innards.

Any art that can be created easily with powers would be completely unique. Ultimates (those with super strength) would be able to make art with large stones and dense metals fairly easily. Those with superspeed could easily make highly detailed compositions that would normally take years, or even go fast enough to make an art piece that would take multiple people.

Hydrokinetics who can manipulate ice could make highly detailed ice sculptures that never melt or don't even need cool temperature to stay like that. There are some Alii with powers that involve solidification of liquids or gases in ways that don't involve changing temperatures - but those are very rare. However, there was a pyrokinetic who solidified their fire for art.

Robbie - This is an interesting one, since his parents are very kind and I'd say good parents, but it's hard to say how close he is to them. Due to their hours, Robbie's parents aren't always home, so he does have to take the bus home to an empty house. There's no strain; Robbie's actually a pretty understanding and empathetic person. They'll go on vacation together when both can take off time. So I'd say his relationship with his parents is good, just not super close.

Akash - Well his dad's been dead for a while so there's no real relationship there, but Akash does take interest in the man his dad was. He still finds ways to be close to him through stories and pictures and other objects. There would be loyalty there. As for his mother, he got to spend quite a bit of time with her. Sure, the Staffords did step in often, but they were not a replacement for his mother, or his father. His connection with his mother is hard to define. He feels deeply close to her, intrinsically connected to her. If there was a way to bring both parents back, he would in a heartbeat.

Robbie - The kid got into a school fight in the honor of a friend, and that's just the beginning of it. Despite not wanting to be seen as a hero, Robbie is very compulsive and feels a drive to do what he believes is right, screw the consequences. It's not so much that he doesn't have any forward thinking--he overthinks, and will run through many scenarios in his head in a few seconds, but then he'll say "screw that" and do it anyway. He'd light the world on fire for those he loves.

Akash - Akash is more hesitant than Robbie to light the world on fire, but he'd find a less extreme way to do the right thing, and if Robbie lit the world on fire, I believe he'd be right there next to him with a fire extinguisher saying something like "if you thought this was the best option, I totally trust your judgement, dude, but maybe warn me next time." Akash would actually be more likely to put himself on the line for someone else, on a smaller more personal scale. He's going to put other's needs before his own, for sure, not usually thinking of the consequences.

Ah, a me question?

Hm, this is a difficult one. Let's think about this.

TSP - I stepped out of my comfort zone the moment I opened it up for beta reading. People reading my shit?? That I don't know??? Nerve racking. But also in general making so many revisions and dropping stuff completely has been a comfort zone I've broken out of in the past. I used to not, well, do that. Just kinda go with what I had until I hit a wall. But I've made tough calls of what to keep, and I'm proud of that.

SOTL - Haven't really found a comfort zone to be shattered yet. I guess the closest is the decision to research lesser known fairy tales from a variety of cultures instead of just the easy ones most Americans/Westerners know, but I haven't, well, done that reading yet... I will! But that's the closest I got.

IWAJAD - The concept of everything being a metaphor/symbol terrifies me. It's not like I'm a completely literal person, I love overanalyzing shit, but writing larger metaphors and symbolism is not my strongest suit. This one will be a challenge for sure.

Rules: if your characters were to eat cupcakes with flavors based on their personalities, respond to the following prompts!

Carmen

It would be cute if it was like Robbie and Akash, but they'd be more likely to get complimentary flavors I'd think.

Instead I'll go with Jazlyn and Parker. Something that really pops for both of them.

Sam. She'd just find it fun.

Noelle is the cook but she's not the type! Parker is the type but the dude can't cook!

I'm thinking Ash, actually. I think she'd find the idea fun and she'd see it as a little experiment. She'd find out about some Alii Thing that made this possible. It would also line up with her telepathic senses once they enhance.

Akash. He's talkative and friendly but insanely insecure.

Lexi. I know she loves strawberry and probably got it.

Rules: answer the questions for an OC

“No. My mom would've told me.”

“Recently.” (it was when she realized her mom was right about Alium)

*blatant irritation, offense, and very tired* “I'm tall, but I'm still a kid.”

“Occasionally.”

“Why would I keep track? General demeanor, I guess.”

“Brown.”

“I don't care. My mom definitely likes happy endings more. So happy endings.”

*finally has some edge off of her* “I can cook.”

“My mom tells me I was actually born in Alium, so I guess that's cool.”

“No. My mom doesn't want one.”

“Unless you count cooking, none. My gym coach wants me to sign up for basketball due to my height. Even if I wanted to, my mom doesn't want me to sign up for sports.”

*very tired of this question* “I'm almost 6'10 actually, which is also tall for Alii my age despite the wider height variant. At least it's more normal for Alii.”

“I like math.”

“Huh. Haven't thought about that. I guess cooking for a living would be cool, but I don't think that's reliable.”

Rules: post something about your WIP on a Wednesday!

Rules: answer the questions for your OC(s)!

• Lexi, Maddie, Ash, Gwen
• Noelle, Rose, Kelsey, Robbie, Akash, Hye-Jin

Jedi - evil, failure, losing bonds

Carmen - clutter, germs, privacy violation

Carla - closing eyes in the shower, wasting potential, losing people again

George - boredom, rejection, losing Carla

Jedi - people being disrespectful

Carmen - inconsistency

Carla - lack of regard for personal space

George - judgemental people

Besides the obvious...

Jedi - books, journals, holographic images of his loved ones

Carmen - closet organizers, very organized desk, calendar

Carla - books, computer display, papers pinned all over the wall

George - multiple tech projects he's working on, a science journal, gaming console

Jedi - anything that can indicate their powers

Carmen - height probably?

Carla - hair or eye color maybe

George - way too fast to be able to determine what he saw first

Jedi - 8/10

Carmen - 6/10

Carla - 5.5/10

George - 9.5/10

Jedi - freeze

Carmen - fight

Carla - flight

George - fight

Jedi - not a big family; holds his family dear and deep so I guess is kinda a family person

Carmen - no to both but the people she truly considers family she sees in a very flattering light

Carla - not technically, but grew up with a lot of people around and is a family person

George - same upbringing as Carla but not a family person

Jedi - maybe an owl

Carmen - some kind of cat

Carla - definitely a cat but much more calmer than Carmen

George - squirrel

Jedi - idk I feel like there is a specific plant he hates the smell of

Carmen - body odor

Carla - probably something like the smell closest tend to have idk

George - specific chemicals in the lab

Jedi - yes

Carmen - no but I'm not ruling it out

Carla - yes

George - yes

Jedi - “Oh, that guy? Yeah he's usually on his tablet, maybe reading a book or something. Sometimes I'll see him type away like he's got something super important to write down. He's always kinda following Carmen around. Not sure what his deal is.”

Carmen - “Oh, I'm not going near her. She has this threatening energy around her. Like she'd kill me. At least she'll lecture me in my face, and I don't want that. I hear her bark is worse than her bite, though. But I wouldn't intentionally upset her.”

Carla - “The young girl who's always in her own head? A little off-putting, actually. She seems like she's completely lost in her mind. She'll stare off into space for hours. I don't think she likes people very much.”

George - “Pretty talented speedster. He repaired my replicator once. He had it done very quickly. He didn't do a lot of talking except to imply we were idiots. Don't think he meant it to be rude, though, he just seems to be oblivious to everything but his work. But again, he was good at his job.”

Jedi - both (insomnia)

Carmen - both (bad sleeping habits without the excuse)

Carla - night owl

George - morning bird

Jedi - loves seafood, hates bacon (from a spiderpig specifically)

Carmen - loves savory foods, hates cheese

Carla - loves chocolate, hates nuts

George - loves salty chips, hates citrus

Jedi - journaling, researching, reading

Carmen - unironically says organizing is a hobby but she'll sometimes turn on an audiobook

Carla - reading, writing poetry, watching TV, daydreaming (yes, she'd list daydreaming)

George - programming, tinkering, video games, research rabbit holes

Jedi - eh, not too big on surprises, but he would greatly appreciate the effort

Carmen - hell no, hates surprises, she'd just be pissed

Carla - is pretty neutral on surprises themselves, but I think she'd cry over the thought of throwing her a birthday party in general

George - does not actually like surprises that much since he'd much rather do the planning himself, but he'd be chill and nice about it

Jedi - only if we count watches

Carmen - yes, she has some jewelry on that won't get in her way

Carla - yes, some, such as a necklace and earrings

George - yes, some, including a necklace and earrings

Jedi - neat

Carmen - very neat

Carla - a little sloppy

George - very sloppy

Jedi - passion, guilt

Carmen - anger, grief

Carla - loneliness, reservation

George - excitement, gratitude

Maybe maybe not I'll just say that they'll like Alii fabrics I haven't come up with yet <3

But I think Carla and George would have synthetic bearfalo skins

All four would have specific regional Alii accents.

Jedi - grew up in Sector 2, spent formative years in Sector 8, spent most of his life in Sector 9

Carmen - grew up in Sector 9 with her uncle from Sector 3

Carla - has only lived in Sector 9

George - same as Carla

Well, it depends. I don't like one word titles that much, and The [Word] isn't much better (for my things specifically - I prefer making them a bit more distinct). For me, I like 3+ words for abbreviations.

Most of the time, the names just came to me. Let's look at these guys:

The Secret Portal - refers to the main gimmick, magic source, concept, inciting incident, etc of the story. Can't exactly reduce the conflict or broader concept down to a snappy title, so here's the Thing that got everything started and makes it possible. Plus, it gives the reader a bit of context going in, since knowing a portal is involved I think helps.

School of the Legends - what else am I supposed to call the fairy tale school parody? Everything else is taken lol

It Was All Just a Dream - well it's a classic trope that's hated by a lot of people, though it's occasionally used well, it's hard to pull off. So I'm just telling you straight up that it's all a dream. Plus, it's snappy and demands attention

TSP - mainly they come to me but sometimes I will scroll through behindthename.com

SOTL - I usually try to find a name with a relevant meaning since I'm working with fairy tales

IWAJAD - legit they just came to me, but the less common names like Noemi and Phinessa are names I've gotten from real people

TSP - I cry and pull my hair out until I find something that kinda works

SOTL - jury's still out

IWAJAD - real life baby