Guess what, peeps? (Did I really say peeps? Oh lord, my cousin is rubbing off on me… Back to the point.)
Guess what?
No idea? Well that’s fine. I’ll tell you.
I am working on my original story. The one that is based on this house:
Isn’t is beautiful? That, my dears, is my grandparents’ house. My grandparents are amazing. I love them. They have always been there.
I lived with my grandparents when I was in fourth grade. Their house always seemed so…. magical. They live in a sort of shallow valley, surrounded by trees (well before some asshats decided to kill all the trees…) My grandpa used to tell my siblings and I the story about the werewolf in the shed. Obviously I knew it wasn’t real but it’s was still important to me. This story is based off their house and I think it’s about damn time I started to really work on it instead of talking about it.
Don’t you?
I haven’t written anything yet. Right now I am beating out the details. Also research! That is needed. A lot. This story is a fantasy thus I am delving into some lore when it comes to faeries, vampires, druids, witches, werewolves, etc. I also am creating a few of my own creatures. My goal is to have most of the creatures in the story be mine with the ones we all know and love sprinkled with in. I will be adjusting some lore one those to make it more original. (Don’t worry, my vampires will NOT sparkle. I do believe that was throwing “shade.”)
What is the story about? Well, it’s about three sisters who have to work together after their mother’s death in order to keep the secrets of the their little town, Edge Hollow, well, a secret. (Yes, yes, I know, lame summary.)
The story will be told in each sister’s point of view – in first person.Probably every few chapters it’ll switch. Or, I’ll have three different parts and each in a different sister’s POV. All of the sisters play a part in the major plot of the story. They all have their own trials to go through and everything. I haven’t started this story (though I know where to start and such) because I am having problems with the voice of each sister. They all sound the same…and they are so not the same.
Calleigh is the oldest. Brave. Strong. Independent…and a thorn in my side. I hate her. I am proud to say that. If I can hate a character I created then I know I must be doing something right. Calleigh (Calli for short), is arrogant. She is the oldest of the sisters. She is everything that I can’t stand when it comes to typical heroines. (That’s a blog for another day.) She is brash. Just…ugh. I hate Calli. I will probably always say that when I mention. Does she have an amazing character development? Oh hell yes. It’s fantastic. If I had to compare her to someone, I’d say Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…before she becomes a hardcore badass instead of a whiny, selfish bitch.
The Cordelia we all hated and then suddenly we didn’t, and wow, was that a shocker. Hate is too strong a word. I didn’t hate Cordelia. I just didn’t like her. It’s the same with Calli. It’s important to have characters that readers will dislike and then eventually like. It’s also important to have characters that the readers will always hate with a fiery passion. Like my vampire character who is also in the story with the sisters: Chekov. More on him in a later blog. He’ll take an entire one.
Calli’s twin sister is Samantha (Sam for short.) While Calli is an amazing huntress (think slayer), and Aislin is well on her way to be an accomplished witch, Sam…Sam is lost. She doesn’t know who she is. She is sweet, kind and caring…with that dry humor. She’s quick-witted and always ready to defend anyone. Even if they don’t deserve it. Her heart is her biggest weakness and greatest strength. If I had to compare her to a character, maybe Harry Potter (obviously from Harry Potter). I’ll have to do more thinking on that.
Finally, Aislin (Ash for short). Ash is adopted. She feels like she still has to prove that she belongs in the family. That is why she always obeys Calli…even when Calli is way off the mark. Ash is constantly playing referee with Calli and Sam, who often clash heads a lot. Calli is the act now, think later type, while Sam is the think now, act later type. Then there’s Ash who is meekly telling them to get along. Like Sam, Ash hasn’t found herself yet. She could be compared to Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Maybe, while we are on the Buffy thing. Maybe Sam is more like Xander? Hmm. I could see that. So three sisters: Calli, Sam and Ash. Their are so many more characters too. Ugh.
I want to write in first POV with all of them because then the reader will see them very clearly.
I’ve got a list of books that I need to get which some lovely friends recommended to explore novels written in multiple first person POVs. I hope it’ll help me to find each sister’s individual voice.
Here’s the list of books:
- A Song of Ice and Fire series by G. R. R. Martin
- The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
- Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
- The Iron Druid Chronicles by David Hearne
- Assassin’s Creed series by Oliver Bowden
- The Unwind series by Neal Shusterman
- Phantom by Susan Kay
Any other recommendations? Feel free to comment! I am going to continue to work on my story. That’s all I can do. It’s time to stop talking and to work.
-K
The Inner Workings 