Beast

Siobhan is a beast. I sent her three chapters (chapter 1, most of chapter 2, and the Guardians of Time fic) and she returned each one of them with all of her various descriptive and adverbial additions (she loves her description - I tend to suck at it the first run through) and a sum total of 393 alterations between the three.

I love her. Nothing is so humbling than to know that in 19 pages of work she can find an average of 20 things to correct on each page. That's why she's such a more brilliant editor than me.

In recent writing news, I have wrapped up chapter 2 of The Shift in longhand form. I'll type that up sometime this week, do the preliminary edits, and then send chapter 2 back to Siobhan so she can tear it to pieces. I love getting chapters back in ratty tatters.

They're shiny!

I've been working my new trilogy for probably a year and a half now, though in the beginning it was a very different concept. I wrote three chapters in quick succession, lost the inspiration to continue (something just wasn't right about it), and the plot bunny scurried off into the distance. But, having seven years of experience with this kind of stuff beneath my belt, I saved the files and tucked them away neatly in a folder, waiting to be rediscovered and re-realized as absolutely brilliant. (Of course they're absolutely brilliant, though I may be a leetle bit biased.)

I don't mind sharing an excerpt from the prologue I wrote then, because it does a good job of explaining my approach and really, this was a good beginning but I probably won't be using any of it in the actual story!

Since the first moment I laid eyes upon that elf, he’s had a habit of appearing abruptly and disappearing just as suddenly. At first when I would see him, he would be a disheveled young elfling, hair sticking out at odd angles and clutching at his training bow. He had worn a wicked smile on his face and would duck behind the nearest and most convenient statue in the gardens, clearly hiding from pursuers who would capture him and drag him back to his lessons. Shortly after his appearance, two unsympathetic and entirely anticipated elves would appear, spot their charge, and do exactly what they always did: drag him back to his lessons. His high-pitched yells of protests and whiny complaints would always echo around the halls for all to hear.

Into his adulthood, there came less of him in the halls and more of him on the fields. No longer could he leave the halls, since he was hardly ever home. His place as one of the captains of the army of the wood meant that he had a duty, and that duty, coupled with the crown on his brow, held precedence over any of his childish tendencies. He seemed to forget, or at least put aside, his days of tomfoolery over the years. Usually when I was sure that he had given it up altogether, I would catch him staring longingly at the door and would know who was really behind that well-mannered and composed royal façade.

Obviously that's not the entire prologue, but it gives you an idea of what I began with and where I wanted the story to go. While the premise of the story is still the same (Legolas dealing with compulsivity and other issues to do with discomfort in his own skin) the scale of the story is now much larger, spanning three full-length (at least 50,000-word) stories that are taken from three different points of view and while they will all be sufficiently standalone, they will be more easily read and understood in order. It is an entire new collection of characters, who, already, are some of my favorites.

In the interest of creating something as detailed and realistic as possible, I will be writing one-shots or short stories to do with my new family of characters in order to make sure that I am being consistent and thorough as possible. I will be posting these as I go along and not, likely, with any kind of planning involved. They'll probably be released as I see the need to write them.

What has been gnawing away at my brain recently has been the fact that, while I have these wonderful stories planned, I don't have any titles! So the other day, I spent a good deal of time working on the them. I wrote down what I wanted each of them to portray, what aspects of each story I wanted them to emphasize, and consulted what seemed like hundreds of words in my thesaurus before I came to a collection of titles I approved of. The more I looked at them and thought about them, the more appropriate they seemed.

So without further ado, The Metamorphoses Triology: The Shift, The Battle, and The Inheritance.

They're shiny, they're new, and they're perfect.

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Also, I have finished writing the Guardian's of Time one-shot, which I have titled The Loss, though I will perhaps change it. That will be posted by the end of the month!

Handwritten

In the last two years or so I've taken to writing by hand and then typing it up as I go along. The process slows my thoughts and makes me think about what is exiting my brain and actually making it to the page. Sometimes what goes down in ink actually makes it to the 'final cut'. Most of the time I will write something and as I am typing it up I will edit. It forces me into the first stage of editing, which I have never really enjoyed.

Having a beta has been great all of these years, but to be honest it's only been in the last two or three years that I've really taken a good look at what gets sent out. It's never the best it could be - but before now it's been: "Write it, send it, let Siobhan deal with it."

I guess I have higher standards now.

In any case, yesterday I was typing up something I'd written about three weeks ago while wasting time in Barnes and Nobles (I do so love to waste time in that bookstore!) and what had been five solid pages of black ink and hours of meticulously crafting the words barely made one page typed up. I threw away a lot of what I'd written. It just wasn't good, it didn't fit the story, it was dragging a point that I realized I didn't want to drag that far. I mourn the loss of the words, but hey. First drafts are like that, I guess! (Hear that? I'm LEARNING.)

Today, I will be working on EFC and the Guardians of Time one-shot. I am also thinking of finding some kind of "works in progress" bar for the sidebar of the blog.

Closure... Almost.

So for AGES (really, since I finished writing Caen's story Upon Earth's Opening) I've been trying to wrap up her tale. The way that I finished her story (in case you don't remember) was very sudden and there were a lot of loose ends. In the interest of finishing the story and not dragging out the end, I got the idea to write some kind of one-shot sequel in order to wrap everything up. So, Earth's Final Closure was born.

I've been writing it for about two years, and while it's not very long (It is nearing 20 pages), it's taken a while to get things right. I wanted to mix flashbacks with Caen's present. Flashbacks of, say, her arrival in Valinor, her last moments with Arwen, and even a fight with Legolas. All the while, she is getting ready for and marrying Legolas. It's a pretty straightforward story, I just have found it hard to push through for several reasons:

In the time that has elapsed since I finished publishing UEO, I have written another story (Elfaer's story, Never Realizing) and began working on an entirely new trilogy, (which I have yet to name). So in the two or so years that it has taken me to write this, I kind of feel like I have lost touch with the characters.

I have found that as I mature, my idea of Legolas changes - the quirks of his personality are different, his eye color (I need to create some kind of chart or cheat sheet for myself, because I can't seem to choose one!), his weaknesses... they always change for me. The Legolas that I was writing about then was a very different one from the Legolas that I am writing about now. That Legolas is, well, history to me. So going back in time four years to recapture what it was that I found appealing to me then has been difficult to say the least.

I am almost finished! I wrote a lot over the weekend, and I really only have one or two more hurdles/major scenes left. That being said, I have a few goals.

By the end of the year, I think I will want to have posted three things:

1) EFC (Duh.) I am giving myself a July 2010 deadline.

2) A prequel to my newest series, which will detail my main character's relationship with her husband before the series begins. This will have a November 2010 deadline.

3) Another Guardians of Time one-shot. My first one was so successful that I have been wanting to write another one for a while now. This one will also be about Arkarian and Isabel, just of a very different nature! I am giving myself a July 2010 deadline on this one, too.

By the end of this year, I hope to be finished writing the first new story, Lin's story. I promise I will write more about this soon. I want to be completely finished with the trilogy by the end of 2012. I know this seems like a long time, but trust me. It took me 3 years to write Not Knowing, 2 to write Upon Earth's Opening, and 1 to write Never Realizing. I will give myself about a year to write each story. This is totally doable!

Let Me Introduce You to a Mermaid

Let me introduce you to my writer BFF.


(I stole that off of her facebook page. I just think it looks cool.)

Her penname is Mermaid Sushi. Her real name is Siobhan.

Siobhan and I are besties, but, like in every good story of a friendship, we have our problems. The biggest problem is the Atlantic Ocean.

Siobhan is also a writer. (You should get to know her better, because you'll be hearing a LOT about her on this blog. I may even let her write on it. This is her profile. It hasn't got much in the way of good writing on it (just kidding!) but it'll be getting better soon. She is writing this Story of Epic Proportions which will knock y'all flat, you just wait.)

Siobhan is my British Bestie, and we met each other long ago when she left me this review

and then I read her stuff and left her reviews, then she read more of my stuff and left me more reviews, and then I wanted a beta, and then she wanted to be my beta, and out of that review-seeking, beta-offering haze: BAM. FRIENDSHIP.

Now, one of the things I enjoy being the product of an American mother and a British father is the opportunity to travel a bit more often and a bit farther than the average American and, having the opportunity to go to England over Christmas break of 2004, I got to finally meet her in person.

To embarrass her (and quite frankly, me) further, here is us!

Aww, what wee 14 and 15 years olds we were! (Those of you who are clever, will note that we are indeed in London, and indeed in front of the London Eye!)

Well, after that, we lost touch for a few years. Because, well, it's hard to be Besties with just an internet connection!

Two years ago, as a high school graduation present I traveled for two months around Europe. On a whim, I emailed her to tell her the dates I would be in England, and we immediately reconnected. I stayed with her for a few days, and we took more embarrassing pictures:

(Those of you who are clever will have no idea where we are. This was Siobhan's 18th birthday, and we were in a dance hall. Also, we were drunk. It was her 18th birthday. Enough said.)

We spent the time writing, I inspired her to resume writing the story that she has been writing for like seven years (it's almost finishshed-ish!) and she helped me wrap up my second multi-chapter story, Upon Earth's Opening.

Our most recent visit was this last Christmas.

(Those of you who are clever will note that we are cold in this photo. It was snowing. Also, we were drunk, coming home from the pub. I wonder if I see a recurring theme?)

There was just as much talk about writing this time around, but this time it sparked the idea for my newest story which has yet to be named, and will someday be discussed on this blog. Someday soon, I promise. Once I finish up the huge one-shot sequel to Upon Earth's Opening, Earth's Final Closure. EFC is 14 pages long right now and is almost finished!

So, Siobhan is my beta, and I am hers. What is great about having her edit my stuff is that she knows me so well that even when I don't get something right, she knows exactly what I am trying to say and fixes it for me. She probably knows my writing better than I do at this point!

She is who I go to for ideas, for inspiration, and for a good kick in the butt. And believe me, a well-placed kick every once and a while does not go unrewarded. Usually that is all it takes for me to spin off into my own little world of writing and fiction. (Tonight, for example, she made me write about 700 words.)

So, in conclusion... it's her turn to cross the Atlantic now. See you in July, Siobhan!

Ivy Starts Here

So, I've decided to start a blog.

Well, that's not entirely true.

I have decided to start another blog. I already have a blog. It's here, in case you're interested. I've been blogging there for years. It's kind of my spot to talk to my family these days, and frequently I want to talk about my writing there, but it feels weird. My family knows I am a writer - this we established long ago - but having just celebrated my seventh "Writerversary" (The anniversary of when I first started writing. Which is May 31st, in case you were wondering!) I have been thinking long and hard (okay not that long OR that hard) about starting a blog devoted to my writing escapades and adventures.

They're not so much escapades OR adventures as much as I would hope, but hey. That's what this blog is for, right? You take a little this and a little that and turn it into a HUGE DEAL.

So here I am, Stefanie, writer extraordinaire, sometimes known as Ivy, the notorious-ish 'The Hobbit Ivy' of the land of Fanfiction.net!

I am a Lord of the Rings fanfiction canon-whore, a fierce beta, an aspiring editor (in real life, I know!), a longtime lover of fluff and a writer who has seen her fandom prosper and wither throughout the last decade.

Here, I will write about my writing. It's pretty simple, actually. I'll write and then I'll write about it. Perhaps it will keep me motivated?

Get ready, blogosphere. Yall ain't seen nothing yet.