January 2019 Writing Challenges: #FantasyWIPJanuary Challenge Week 2

Welcome to week two of the #FantasyWIPJanuary writing challenge. I hope you'll enjoy these responses and that they'll encourage you to read Over Land & Under Stone once I publish it.

#FantasyWIPJanuary Week 2

Day 7 - The prompt was "Your Favorite Writing Quote" and maybe this one is more about creating in general. It's still my favorite, though. And I'm not sure how I did it, but I got behind on adding these to my blog posts. So I'm catching up today. You'll see this quote pop up a lot in my writing challenges. It showed up in my own Writing the Senses challenge! :)

Day 8 - We were asked to share our favorite thing about our main character. I love how joyful Liha is, even though there's the threat of death lingering nearby if she ever leaves Si'Yinte Falls. Her faith is undaunted and her joy just beams out like a ray of sunshine.

And that's how Zec sees her, almost from the time they meet. Zec is shy and gentle. He knows what could happen if his gift is ever discovered and he's learned to be as unobtrusive as possible. He's Liha's gentle friend and though there's a decent age difference between them, romance could grow. To be honest, I hope it does but we'll have to see which paths the characters choose to take.

That's all for today. I apologize for the lateness of yesterday's post. I had it scheduled but there must have been a glitch in the system. I'm scheduling this one, too, so I will check back tomorrow to see if it works like it's supposed to.

Day 9 - My plot is still in the works but I jotted down a basic sketch of the plot as it stands right now and then snapped a photo and blurred it a bit so no one can see all the different variations. I'll share with you what I posted as the IG caption.

Zec and Liha are as different as night and day...literally. Both are forced to leave their homes. Both live under a threat of death through no fault of their own. One was born a dream-seer. The other was simply born at the wrong time of day. They still choose to bravely walk the path that lies before them -- whether they end up walking together or alone.

I honestly used this challenge to start sketching out a more accurate back cover blurb since that gives the basics of the plot, anyway. This is one of the main reasons I enjoy writing challenges. They usually ask me to do things I haven't gotten around to yet at some point along the way. And many times, I like what I come up with off the top of my head. It's usually a good foundation I can go back to and refine later on. I feel that way about my response to day 9's prompt. It's not complete and it's not pretty. Yet...

So how do you craft your plot? With an outline? With a session of brainstorming? Drafting paragraphs? How did you answer the Sounds Sketch prompt? I'd love to see any of your responses in the comments below or on IG (share with the hashtag #writingthesenseschallenge). I have to be honest about not searching out the hashtags yet. I'm swamped - beta (or maybe alpha) reading for a friend, tackling two challenges, and revising OLUS, along with keeping up the blog and transferring my writing vidz to my new author channel on YouTube. I'll get to it, though. I really do like seeing how others meet the challenges presented to them. It's going to be a busy month!

Day 10 -  This was fun! I loved being able to share some of the backstory that might not get shown in the final manuscript. And I'm so happy with the background photos for each of these frames I'll probably use them in the book trailer.

I use several photography apps to create my photos. I've been using open source/royalty free photos from either Pexels or Pixabay to find good quality representations of my characters and settings. I use Pixlr for creating photos with effects and overlays, as well as creating collages and adding text to photos. And to create the watercolor effect you see above, I use Portra for Android.

Now...about the details...

Zec's family is far more insular than Liha's. Zec's parents are both dead (father before he was born, mother in childbirth) and he's being raised by his uncle and aunt, still within the Inessi family so his name is unchanged. His parents are both part of the Guild of Masters which is the ruling body of northern Genzet. This allows them to raise Zec safely, moreso than if he'd been born to an apprentice or lay-guildsman. Their position in the Guild of Masters doesn't completely protect them from the gossip which eventually spreads about their son, though it helps.

Liha, on the other hand, has a pretty complicated family. Her father is a high ranking official in southern Genzet as well as a follower of the Sekot Mundei religious cult. Her mother (whose job is unknown really at this point) births her in secret because she's born during the day. Babies born during the day are seen as blasphemy by the Sekot Mundei and are sacrificed to the moon deities they worship. Liha's father would agree to this but her mother is a follower of Andurdrao, the creator deity the True Children of Y'Dahnndrya worship. She refuses to allow her child to be offered as a sacrifice to false deities. She calls on her friend (and past suitor) for help, knowing he won't refuse her. Enter Master Tor Gervell who accepts the challenge and adopts Liha officially, changing her last name from Natro to Gervell. But the complications don't stop there. Liha is an obvious Drositiri, from southern Genzet, by her coloring. Also, she looks so much like her father, the risk of her being recognized as his child is too great for her to remain in any part of Genzet other than at Gild'n Mountain Shrine. Even there, she may not be safe. So Tor takes her to the Bot'hani shrine, Si'Yinte Falls and the Guardian of the shrine, Zim Haya Ne, raises her there as her unofficial guardian.

What do you think? I like the backstory so far and it works so far, though if the Sekot Mundei have their way as often as they probably would, it would decimate the numbers of Genzetti. Methinks there must be liars among the Drositiri, though they are viciously forced into doing so.

(I didn't mention it before but Zec's faction, the northerners, are called Tanderali because they live under the mountains in cavern cities.)

Do you enjoy creating the backstory behind your WIP? Do you often share it with others? I'd love to see your responses either in the comments below, or on IG.

Day 11 - This prompt asked about our MC's siblings. Mine don't have siblings, at least as far as either of them know. Zec doesn't have siblings for sure. He was the first child of his parents' marriage and both of his parents are dead. Liha could have siblings but she may never know because of her circumstances.

Day 12 - This prompt was fun! was fun. If I was stranded in my WIP, what three things would I take with me. Since I worked from the theory that it would happen suddenly, I chose hair clips (usually how I fix my hair), my glasses (which I am never without), and a handkerchief or at least a pocketful of facial tissues because of my allergies.

I'd love to see your responses in the comments below, though at this point I feel more like I'm talking to myself. I checked the hashtag yesterday and discovered on my posts have it. This is cool with me. I've always been a weirdo among weirdos so I'm used to others not understanding where I'm coming from. You do your thing; I'll keep doing my own thing; and the world goes round and round... :) It could also just mean that people may want to do this challenge during another month that fits better with their schedule. That's cool, too. If you are among that number, please go ahead and add that hashtag (#writingthesenseschallenge) so I can follow your progress.

Day 13 - Ah, have any of you ever been asked if you have a certain outfit you always don to write? I never even heard of such a thing before I did this challenge. Now I'm curious about whether people actually do. Kind of mind-boggled about it, really...

I don't normally like selfies, but since I found Portra, I've enjoyed seeing what I can come up with. Add to that the awesome effects in Pixlr, and you get wins like the one just above. I love how that came out! LOL

Day 14 - My mother first inspired me when she gave me a notebook to write in over the summer when I was still in elementary school. But I was also inspired later on by my 12th grade English teacher and later still by my husband and kids.

Please do not be surprised if I get behind on posts this week. Since setting down the details is the focus, it'll be more of a challenge to find the sections of rough draft I wish to share with you and refine during the last week of the challenge. Even then, I know it will be more of a challenge to sit down and copy/paste a piece of my rough draft, than it sounds. Bear with me and I'll keep going.