Vanessa

"Goodness and evil are not restrained by blood or being."

-- Vanessa Reese

This is a drawing I did of Vanessa, one of the main OCs in RFWW. Sorry for the really awful quality. My scanner hasn't been working right.

Love Always,

Kayla

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

Except it's not.  It's creepy as all get-out, actually.

So I went on forumspring the other day and I had a new question.  Whoever it was said something along the lines of "I don't know you, but you're really cute."  I told him/her that that was creepy.

They asked how, and I explained to them the concept of a random stranger speaking to you on the internet.

Then, this person was like, "Oh, well, I'm Greg."

GREG.

All I could think of was omfg--Greg Pearson.

Not okay.

He wanted to chat.  Of course I said no.

That was my freaky story of the week.  Until something worse happens.

Love Always,
Kayla

Wings Teaser

“I can’t do it,” said the Head Girl mournfully.  “I’ll just stay in here forever and eat parchment and soap.  And I won’t have to go to classes because you two can bring me my work, and—“

“Mae,” Emily King said firmly, her hands on her hips, “You are getting out of this bed, you’re going to fix your hair and put on your makeup and look stunning.  Then, you are going to march out of this dormitory and down to the Great Hall, and you will face him like a man.”

-- Chapter Eleven

Wings and Raindrops

HELMER:  No man sacrifices his honour for the one he loves.
NORA: A hundred thousand women have done so.
- A Doll House

All right, so I have about four pages of Chapter 11 of Secondhand Wings written.  Which is not a lot at all.  It's only about 1,600 words, and I plan on it being about 8 to 10 thousand.  However, My semester finally ended and now I'll have some time to write over Christmas break.

It includes:  Alicia/Oliver (well, hints at it, since she's only 11).  I know that pairing isn't in the summary or anything, but it's a definite for the plot of this story.  It won't last, obviously, since she does end up with George, but it's in the story either way.  ALSO, I don't know if I've said this yet or not, but Secondhand Wings takes place in the Sober Universe, meaning that it only includes what is in the books.  The things JRK has said (like George/Angelina) is NOT considered canon.

Also in this chapter is Mae realizing that things can never really go back to normal after her fight with Charlie, and there will be a lot of awkwardness as they try.  There is a Care of Magical Creatures camping trip that should be quite revealing!

Nasty!Snape, Jealous!George (also Oblivious!George to his own feelings), immaturity, jokes, general Fred and George-ness.

As for Raindrops, I know that a lot of you are sort of confused as to what exactly is going on with that story.  In the simplest of terms: I AM RE-WRITING IT.  Like, completely, totally, and absolutely.  I will continue to update with new chapters (very slowly, more than likely), but I am writing every day, it's just the beginning rather than the end.  I won't post the new version until it catches up to wherever the old one is.  When it does get released, I would definitely advise reading the new one, simply because it is SO much better than the old one.  Like, a thousand times better.  I know the characters, I know the plot, I know the major themes and ideas that I want to present.  It just makes writing easier.  The style is slightly different too, and I like this way a lot more.

Since the first version skipped over almost EVERYTHING in 5th year, I'm going back and actually writing the year.

Things to look forward to in the new Raindrops:

• Bellatrix as DADA professor
• Vanessa/Caradoc/Waverly triangle
• Auror!Greg Pearson (WHAT?)
• Cool!Peter
• A deeper continuing plot
• More Constance
• James not liking Lily (GASP) until some time into their 5th year
• Actual Jerk!James
• More Dorcas, Marlene, Edgar, Gideon, Fabian, Mary, Amos, Benjy, Reg, and Emmeline
• NEW characters include:
• Olivia Montague (a Hermione that never had a Harry and Ron to mellow her out)
• Amata Blane (that girl that no one wants to talk to because she is completely strange)
• Shay Fagan (has a relationship with a Marauder)
• Euan Ackerley (who eats parchment)
• Lois Li (love interest of another Marauder)
• Jacob Jones (older brother of Gwenog and a Quidditch fanatic)
• Spencer McKinnon (Marlene's older brother, possible relationship with a Gryffindor girl)
• Kingsley Shacklebolt (obviously not mine, but new to the story)
• Hamish Williamson (a rather useless Auror)
• Elvira (the Divination professor that actually predicts things with certain accuracy)
• Towler (the long-winded Magical Law professor with many odd habits)

So, I hope you're looking forward to that!  As for Chapter 51, to be honest, I am TERRIFIED of writing it.  All I've ever done is write about Lily and James being almost there or not there at all.  I don't want the entire rest of the story to be anti-climactic because I can't do them justice.  But I do have a ton of ideas for the chapter (including Neal Harris's reaction to the whole disregard-the-script-and-change-the-ending-of-the-story bit, back to school, new DADA teacher who is FAR more competent then the others before him, the war coming to Hogwarts--not physically, but mentally--the magical population's reaction to the new werewolf law, and of course--LILY/JAMES).

This is an excerpt from the new Raindrops, Chapter One: Potter and Evans (there is another excerpt back in a post from like, October if you want to read it as well).

“I bumped into Evans.  Turns out she’s been made Prefect.”

 “Bloody hell,” Sirius groaned, shaking his head.  “We’ll have to watch ourselves this year with Prefect Prig on our case all the time.”

“She’s not that bad,” piped up Peter Pettigrew, speaking for the first time.  “She helped me out in Charms last year, she’s the only reason I passed the practical exam.”

Peter Pettigrew was Hermes reincarnate.  He had the slight figure and pointed features that the Greek god was alleged to have possessed, and was more of a trickster than even Peeves the Poltergeist.  He had an all-encompassing sense of humor that drew others to him, and he tried to always speak the best of people unless they truly deserved otherwise.

“You would say that,” James commented, amused.  Then, to Sirius, “How was your summer, mate?  I didn’t hear much from you.”

His best friend scoffed and blew dark hair from his eyes.  “My mum tried to redecorate my room, only to find that nothing would come off the walls.  She locked me in there for a few weeks because she thought it’d be a good punishment.”

“Was it?” asked Peter, a blonde eyebrow arched above his small blue eyes.

Sirius smirked.  “Punishment, are you kidding?  I got be away from the lot of them for all that time,” He leaned back in his seat, a faraway smile on his face.  “Couldn’t ask for a better summer at Grimmauld Place.”

Sirius Black.  Gryffindor.  Ladies’ man.  Prankster Extraordinaire.  That was all most people ever saw of him, and no one ever expected him to be anything more.  However, the people closest to him knew better.  They had seen the bruises and heard the Howlers that Sirius had received from his parents ever since he had been sorted into the House of the Brave years earlier.  They knew that he dreaded the summer, but suffered in silence, because Sirius Black was not someone who wanted pity.

In a few words, he was boisterous, but brooding, ambitious, but unmotivated, dependable, but impulsive, diplomatic, but utterly tactless.  Personality-wise, he was quite ambiguous.  And the girls of Hogwarts saw him as a mystery that they thought they would be the one to solve.

None of them would.

By his family, Sirius was expected to marry a pureblooded girl with decent looks and notable ancestral background.  By his friends, he was expected to fall for some half-decent slag somewhere down the road and lead a moderately happy life with her.  By the female population of Hogwarts, well, each of them expected him to fall for her.

None of them were right.

“What about you, Pete?” Sirius asked, closing his eyes again.  “Do anything exciting this summer?”

“Nothing in particular,” Peter answered leisurely.  “My mum was with the neighbors most of the time.  They’re Muggles, and they’ve got a son with one of those diseases that they don’t know how to cure, so she’s been bringing him soup and slipping Healing potions into it.  So I was alone and I mostly read up on…” he glanced at the door to make sure no one was listening-in. “Animagi.  There were some really interesting techniques we haven’t tried yet.” 

Peter Pettigrew was brilliant at magic.

In theory.

He excelled in History and Astronomy and was decent in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, but when it came to actually performing spells, he seemed to have some sort of block.  He did not know the reason, for none of his friends seemed to have any problems with magic on the whole, but they helped him out as best they could, so he never complained. 

“Excellent,” said Sirius.

“The next full moon is on the twentieth,” James informed them.  “If we work every night, maybe we can make it.  I know I’m getting really close.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “And as soon as we do that, we can really get to working on the map.”

Sirius and James grinned at him, all three boys hoping for their most exciting year yet.

And, let the record show, it would be just that.

The Peter stuff is probably controversial to all of those who hate his guts, however, the way I see it, James, Remus, and Sirius all liked him a good deal.  They were friends with him and they trusted him.  There had to be something good there, it just eventually wore away.

Anyway, let me know what you think about all of this.  Sorry for the uber-long post!

Love Always,

Kayla

To IvyFlight

"Too much happiness? No such thing." -- J. Kociuba

I wasn't entirely sure where to put this, so I decided just to make a post.  It could benefit anyone to read, but It's mostly directed at Ivy.

I really liked your first four bullet points, because they really said something about who your character is, you know?  I can see her, even though I don't really know what she looks like.

After that, however, you really get into her relationship with Falcon, and after that, a lot of things are centered around what he thinks of her and what she does.  That's not really the point of this character exercise.  This is  to help you figure out who she is as an individual.  You have to be somebody before other people will become your friend, and you definitely have to know who you are before you fall in love.  Does that make sense?  Of course it's fine to say that she meets him and whatnot, and I'm sure that he's effected her thoughts and beliefs over time, but don't worry about that.  Forget all of the other characters, forget everything about the story that isn't absolutely relevant to who Nameless is as a person.  Think about who she would be if there was no Falcon, just her.  Who is she?  What does she want from life?  Why does she want it?  What's driven her to love history and want to go beyond her knowledge and see everything?

I really like her strengths, but her weaknesses... eh.  To me, weaknesses are something that is going to truly hinder the character's goal.  It's something that they are going to have to truly work to overcome in order to succeed.  That's what makes a good story.  Don't you think it would be more interesting if she had her own beliefs, but was completely unable to see any other side but her own?

Everybody has a real, hindering weakness.  In books and in real life.  My own personal weakness is being too introverted.  I can never trust people with the things that really mean something to me.  There isn't a reason for it, necessarily.  It's just me, and it's something that I have to work on every day.  Find something like that for your character.  Something that they are going to have to beat.  Because that's at the heart of all the great stories.

The quirks were good.  They made me laugh. (:

And I love the quote.  Quotable people are the best.  Haha.

Thanks for sending me what you have!  I really think that your story sounds awesome so far, and I hope that I was able to help in some small way.

Love Always,
Kayla

I Love Ron

"Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"

This is the shirt I made for the Deathly Hallows Premiere!  My friends and I all had different characters. (:  Just thought I would share this with you.  It was pretty great.

Love Always,

Kayla

"We'll be there, Harry," said Ron.

"What?"

"At your aunt and uncle's house. And then we'll go with you, wherever you're going."

Some Really Good Advice

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

I didn't write this. Nick did.  It's just some general advice--I was talking to him about my story.  It pretty much speaks for itself:

Look, stories aren't supposed to just magically appear (pun by accident). We have to create them with are own minds, and even if we plan, the journey is gonna change some things. I originally knew a plan of Summer With Potter (Go read it! ♥PL). Then I introduced Selina, and Sirius became much more important, and suddenly it wasn't just a Lily/James story. It was MY story, something that had just happened when I was writing. I put myself into it, with my own humor, not someone else's. It was supposed to be longer, but when does length matter? When does anything matter except the story? The words don't, the people don't (usually), but what we receive from that story is what matters. If Jo changed Harry's name to James II, and made it six years instead of seven, or shortened some parts off, I doubt people would love it less.

What I'm trying to say is, you have the ending. And you have the basic plot and the "big" events. Ignore everything else, just let the story take shape itself. You might just skip some events to create better ones, you might add some, delete some, possibly create ANOTHER character. Life changes. You think Jo began the entire series knowing the plan? She knew the beginning and the end. she just needed the middle. And everyone knows the middle is always in the midst of change. Let the story write itself. When you're writing it, don't take anything back, don't add anything. JUST WRITE. I don't get why some people don't understand that to make a great story, all you have to do is write to your best ability with all your soul. POUR everything into this, and you won't be disappointed.Writing. . . well it's just Life. . . or something like that. Everything good (at least in my opinion) I've written has a small, or large, imprint of me in it. Love the story, and it will love you back.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Love Always,

Kayla

Writing Tips: #2 Creating A Character

I know that you have probably begun reading this with pre-conceived characters in mind.

Forget them. 

Now, once you've done that, grab a pen and a notebook (yes, I want you to use PENS AND PAPER).

We may begin.

When an author first decides to create a character, they usually begin by thinking of said character's name and appearance.  We're not going to worry about that.  At least, not much.  Why?  Because that isn't important in the grand scheme of things.  

Instead, we're starting with a blank piece of paper and your imagination.

So, you must first know at least the general setting for your story.  Is it down town New York?  A farm in the middle of nowhere?  Are you writing fanfiction?  Is your setting Hogwarts?

Okay, so if you already have your plot in mind, take a moment to think about how this character is going to affect that plot.  If you have no plot, hopefully it will sprout from this character.

First, on your blank piece of paper, start writing--anything that comes to mind about this person that you are creating that is NOT appearance.  Is the character an extrovert?  Is he arrogant?  Is she shy?  Write out the basics. What does he/she like to do in their free time?  Do they secretly love another character?

Once you've got a good idea of basic personality traits, answer this question:  What does the character want?  Does he want to study law?  Does she want to drop out of school?  Maybe he wants to sail to a foreign land or she wants to become a mermaid.  Whatever it is, that is going to shape the rest of the character.

After goals, write about habits and quirks.  Does he tap his foot whenever he's impatient?  Does she crack her knuckles when she's bored?  Don't, however, get too hung up on these things, otherwise they will come off as over-done in your story.

Give a brief family background.  His mom is a surgeon.  Her dad is a pilot.  He has six younger brothers.  She is an only child. Etc.

Then you want your strengths and weaknesses.  These are very important, and when writing your story, STICK TO THEM.  Of course, the whole point of your story might be so-and-so overcoming their fear of public-speaking, and that's different, but for the majority, make sure that you hold true to who the character is.

Talk about their beliefs.  He's a Buddhist.  She's an animal rights activist.  Their beliefs are important, because they often determine characters' actions even more than their goals do.  Does this character fight for their beliefs?  Or are they an agnostic?

Finally, do a brief likes/dislikes list.  But don't force it.  Don't force anything.  Just close your eyes for a moment and think to yourself: Who is it that I'm writing?  Allow your character to tell you rather than you trying to mold the character.

Do you have an idea of who they are?  Okay, go back over what you've written and decide is this person realistic?

What is ideal is balance. Do their strengths and weaknesses even out?  Is her goal something that a person of her skill and background would be able to accomplish? 

Make ABSOLUTELY sure that your character is NOT good at everything.  Maybe they are excellent at art, but terrible at sports.  Things MUST be somewhat equal or the character will be flat and uninteresting.

If you are going to create a character with a certain stereotype (cheerleader, geek, drama queen, etc.) make sure that you give them their own personality.  Think Peyton Sawyer from One Tree Hill.  She looks the part of cheerleader, but she is really into art and music underneath.  Don't make them so stereotypical that they have no actual thoughts and feelings.

Let me know whether or not this did you any good.  I can always do numerous posts on characterization.  Also, let me know what other kinds of writing tips you want to see. 

This is one of the characters in the Dominique story that I'm working on.  I hope the example is helpful . (:

CLICK FOR FULL VIEW

Love Always,

Kayla

Oh. My. MERLIN.

"Long Live Harry Potter."

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Deathly Hallows was utterly FANTASTIC.  I cried at least six times.  It followed the book so so so well, and the acting and effects were SUPERB.

I can't believe it's the beginning of the end.

Harry Potter has always been such a huge part of my life.  I waited for the books, went to the premieres--the whole shebang.  And now... there's only one left.

Of course, I'll always have fanfiction, but somehow, it's just not the same.  It's not what I originally fell in love with.  It's not the characters that have found a place in my heart.

Whenever there has been a new book or movie, it's always been the magic that I've needed in my life at that moment in time.  Fanfiction is wonderful and brilliant, but it lacks some of the memory and enchantment of the original.  JKR is my inspiration, and I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen once it's over.

I'm not even sure what else there is to say.  I don't really have anything deep or insightful.  But Harry Potter means the world to me, and that in itself has always been enough.

Love Always,
Kayla

DH Premiere in T-Minus 17 Hours...

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen.  - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

SQUEE!  I am SO excited for this movie!  My friends and I are making t-shirts and everything and going at midnight (I'll post some pictures Friday or Saturday).  We're all going to make them "I Love ________" and I've got Ron!  YES!

I'm really thrilled, if you can't tell.

Anyway...  NaNo is going slowly, but I've been SO busy with college apps and homework that it's nearly impossible to squeeze in any writing time.  However, it has been helping that I switched to Lily and James, since they are already so developed for me.

So that's what's going on in Kaylaville.  Everyone have a blast at the movie! It's going to be absolutely epic.

See you on the other side.

Love Always,
Kayla

Writing Tips: #1 Bottom-Line Basics

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." -- Barbara Kingsolver

So, this is my first Writing Tip.  I do hope you enjoy it. ;)

While I do believe that grammar and spelling and sentence structure are all very important when writing, there is something that you must have first or all of those skills will amount to nothing.

You must have something to say.

Sound simple?  That's because it is, on the surface at least.  Look at this example:

There was a girl walking down the street.  She had long brown hair that was straight and pulled back half-way.  She wore a pheasant top that was olive green to match her eyes and a simple jean skirt.  Her leather boots came up to her mid-calf and were the same shade as her top and buckled three times down the side...

There are no grammar or spelling issues (that I am aware of) in that paragraph, but what does it say?  Has it affected you at all?  Will you remember it by the time you get to the end of this post?

The biggest mistake I find in stories is when authors get too caught up in setting up the scene, describing what the characters look like and what they are wearing, to actually go anywhere with the story. I, as the reader, would rather be left to picture everything myself as long as there was meaning in the writing.  Because I am particularly verbose, I can't really give an example here.  But think back on that paragraph.  Instead of going into so much detail about her appearance, tell me why she's walking down the street in the first place.  Maybe she's going to visit her dying mother in the hospital.  Maybe she's gotten caught up with a shady crowd and is meeting them to buy illegal drugs.  She could be going to a film festival or returning from the Laundromat.  It could be any of a thousand things, all of which have more meaning than the color of her shirt.

But go beyond where she is headed and where she came from.  Tell me how that place has affected her personally.  How have her beliefs been altered by that place?  Have they even changed? Maybe that place has solidified her opinion on something or someone.

Then, don't just tell me those things straight out.  Make me feel them too.  Make me form an opinion on the topic at hand, whether it's the same as the character's opinion, or the opposite, just make me feel something.  Touch me in some way.

The best way to do this is to first connect the reader with the character.  Make the character easy to relate to.  People are connected through flaws before they are connected through perfections, so find the things that are wrong rather than look for what is right.  I'll do a whole post on characterization, but you can also check out The Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Realistic OC.

Anyway, before you even begin writing, you have got to find that something inside of you--that idea or message or lesson--that is trying to get out.  It could be that you don't believe in true love, or that you think people should listen to their hearts instead of their heads, or that their are casualties in war and some people have to suffer. Whatever it is, once you figure it out, the rest will follow.

Don't write frivolously.  That is not to say that you shouldn't have description or humor--those things are important.  But you have to balance those things (or outweigh them) with something deeper.  If you are going to take the time to sit down and write something, make it mean something.  Don't waste your time or your words.  Both are precious.

And yes, if you do write the kinds of stories that are all detail and clothing design, you will get a lot of positive feedback--mostly from little girls who dream of being the characters themselves.  But would you rather write for people who lack imagination or people who appreciate your thoughts on the world?  This is your chance to say something and have your voice heard, so don't make your speech about a strapless dress and heels.

And think about it, truly.  What is it that you read for?  Do you get caught up in glitter or ruffles?  I hope not.  I hope that you get swept away by emotion and pain and truth and love and loyalty.  That's why we read.  Because a book says all the words that we're afraid to speak.  Maybe you will be judged for you ideas, maybe you'll get bad reviews and some people won't like your writing.  But at least you made them think.  That's what's at the heart of good writing.

So figure out your ideas and go from there.  As long as you have something worth saying, you will find a way to make it work.  If you believe in something, it's much easier for your characters to believe in it or disagree with it as well.

Dennis O'Neil says it best: "Here's what I'd like you to do for me: Make me laugh. Make me cry. Tell me my place in the world. Lift me out of my skin and place me in another. Show me places I have never visited and carry me to the ends of time and space. Give my demons names and help me to confront them. Demonstrate for me possibilities I've never thought of and present me with heroes who will give me courage and hope. Ease my sorrows and increase my joy. Teach me compassion. Entertain and enchant and enlighten me... Tell me a story."

I hope you've found this helpful.  Let me know what kinds of tips you would like to see next. (:

Love Always,

Kayla

Change of Plans

"When you read, don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think."  - Dead Poets Society

Okay.  My Dom story wasn't going anywhere.  I'm just completely not inspired by NextGen right now.  (I WILL write that story eventually).  But right now, I've decided to change my NaNo entry.  Instead of doing the Dom story, I'm going to write Lily and James' Fifth Year (which will be incorporated into the new version of Raindrops when I edit it).  It's going much better, and I already have over 10,000 words for that story.

For those of you that were looking forward to Dom, don't worry.  As soon as I get Wings back on it's feet and finish revamping Raindrops and finish NaNo, I will surely get back to work on that story as well.

Now, I've been thinking of giving advice on writing in these posts (I know Anna does that and I think it's a really good idea), but I'm not going to do it if people aren't going to read it.  So let me know what you think!

Love Always,
Kayla

Of Jasmine, NaNo, and Being Grounded

"I don't want comfort.  I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness.  I want sin."  - Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Hello lovelies!

Bad news first--I'm grounded.  Like, cut off from the world completely.  (I've currently snuck on to the compute while the rents are out).  Also, the only tea in the house is jasmine.  Which, is not that bad, but if I'm writing, I absolutely HAVE to have white.  That's just my luck I suppose. But, of course, I'm grounded, so I can't run out and buy some.

The good news--well, there isn't much except that I am still alive and writing, even if you don't see me on for a while and if my NaNo count doesn't go up (you can search me there, my pen name is KaylaKirkendall, add me as a buddy if you want).  I've gone back to what I used to do three years ago when I first started Raindrops and didn't have my own computer--I write my chapters in an old beaten up notebook and sneak onto the computer whenever I get a chance to type them up.  But that was when my chapters were only about 1,000 words.  Now they can be anywhere between 6,000 and 15,000, so we'll have to see how this goes.

Also, this computer doesn't have spellcheck on the internet, so I'm sorry if there are any horrible errors, especially since I am having to do this fast.

Anyway, my NaNo word count stands at just over 7,100 right now, but I've written out a couple more pages (by hand) so there is more than that.  If you want to know, it's about Dom Weasley. So far, she's given her lifestory (in brief), recieved her O.W.L. results, had a run-in with the love of her life (sort of), introduced us to her Victiore-infatuated best friend, Ed, hopped on the train, gotten to school, watched Roxanne and Lucy be sorted, and accidentally started the biggest food fight in Hogwarts history.

So that's what's happening in NaNo.

In other news, I have an outline for Chapter 51 of Raindrops, and I've drabbled in a couple of the sections, but nothing major.  I won't be able to write on Wings until I regain full access to a computer, because I need to re-read what I've got and figure out where I am.  AND I've joined a forum on fanfiction.net called Hogwarts Online, and I'm writing a oneshot for them about George and Alicia based off the prompts they gave me. 

Busy, busy, bee I am.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Drop me some comments!  Tell me about your NaNo, tell me what you can't write without (whtie tea, remember, haha) or give me ideas for any of my stories, whatever you wish.  I just get really excited when people comment on this.  It's good to know that people are reading. (:

PEACE.

Love Always,
Kayla

Happy NaNoWriMo!

"Nothing is too high for the daring of mortals: we storm heaven itself in our folly." – Horace

Hey everyone, it's National Novel Writing Month!  And I've decided to use the Dominique Weasley story that I've had in my head for my entry this year.  The title is (tentatively) Just Left of Logical.  This is a brief snippet from the first chapter:

I was thrilled to be starting my sixth year at Hogwarts.  It would be my first away from Victoire, meaning that I would no longer be dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn to have my hair and makeup done (I had to agree to allow her to do this in order to stay on the Quidditch team – my mother’s rule, of course), I could eat whatever I wanted at the table, rather than having to sneak fattening foods into my bag when Victoire’s back was turned, and perhaps I could find a boy that liked me, instead of one who tried to woo me in order to get closer to my sister.

 At least, those were my wishes before a letter arrived and my world burst spectacularly into flames just days before returning to school.

 All right, perhaps that’s putting it a bit dramatically, but that was the way it felt at the time.

It's my first time writing first person from only one POV, so it should be interesting.  I quite like the story so far. (:  Let me know what you think!

I WILL continue to update Raindrops and hopefully Wings as well.

Love Always,
Kayla

Quotes, Quotes, Quotes

"There's something a quote does that nothing and no one else can ever do; it can become a part of you, you may never meet, or even know who wrote your life down in their own words, but that person is your companion. Quotes help you get over pain, feel loved, make you smile or even laugh, on those tough days. And to think you started thinking no one knew what you were going through."  - Unknown

 If you know anything about me, it's that I get a good deal of my inspiration from quotes.  So I thought that I would share some of my favorites (seeing as I need some inspiration right now, and I'm sure you could all use it at some time or another).  Hopefully, I will be able to credit the majority of them, but some I just don't know where they came from and I can't find the source.  In no particular order...

"You always have a choice.  Even giving up is a kind of choice."  - Wildwood Dancing

"A man can change his stars.  I will not spend the rest of my life as nothing."  - A Knight's Tale

"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."  - Lemony Snicket

"Fairytales are more than true.  Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." - G. K. Chesterton

"To live would be an awfully big adventure." - Peter Pan

"If we could control who we love, life would be a lot simpler, but mush less magical."  - Unknown

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."  - C. S. Lewis

"My heart is yours, to fill or burst, to break or bury, to wear as jewellery, whichever you prefer."  - Dashboard Confessional, Hands Down

"Your men love you.  If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough."  - A Knight's Tale

"After all these years I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her."  - Mark Twain

"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood, and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."  - Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery

"If ever you get lonely, just look up and remember--I'm under the same stars as you."  - Chris Coca

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." - C. S. Lewis

"Why do they always teach us that it's easy and evil to do what we want and that we need to discipline and restrain ourselves?  It's the hardest thing in the world--to do what we want.  And it takes the greatest kind of courage.  I mean what we really want."  - Ayn Rand

"Look. (Grownups skip this paragraph.) I'm not about to tell you this book has a tragic ending. I already said in the very first line how it was my favorite in all the world. But there's a lot of bad stuff coming." - William Goldman, The Princess Bride

 “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.”  - Gloria Steinem

"The hero always wins, because in the end, he has the most to lose."  - opalish, A Simple Story (fanfiction)

"Maybe, for once, it's not about the happy ending.  Maybe it's about the story." - Marin Mrowca

"A definition is the enclosing a wilderness of idea within a wall of words."  - Samuel Butler 

"If there's ever a tomorrow when we're not together, there's something you should remember:  You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you."  - Winnie the Pooh

"We read to know that we are not alone."  - C. S. Lewis

"Maybe human beings are programmed--to help one another, even to fall in love, but just because it's human nature doesn't make it bad."  - Pretties

"You've got to go through it to get to the end of it.  Better not be late."  - Catching Fire

"Artists use lies to tell the truth."  - V for Vendetta

"She looked at me, like she was drinking in the fact that I was still here.  And I realized I was doing the same thing. The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive."  - The Last Olympian

"Go after her, fuck, don't just sit there and wait for her to call, go after her, because that's what you should do if you love her. Don't wait for her to give you a sign because it might never come. Go scream you love her and be with her, because that is beautiful and that is generous and that is what loving someone is, that is raw and that is unguarded, and that is all that is worth anything, really."  - Unknown

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.  We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.  And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering; these are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life.  But poetry, beauty, romance, love; these are what we stay alive for."  - Dead Poets Society

“I want to draw something that means something to someone! You know. I want to draw blind faith, or a fading summer, or just a moment of clarity. It's like when you go and see a really great band live for the first time, you know, and nobody is saying it but everybody is thinking it. We have something to believe in again. I want to draw that feeling.” - One Tree Hill

"And the little prince said to the man, 'Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves and it is tiresome for children to be always explaining things to them.'"  - The Little Prince

"So, whoever you are, and whoever I am, you made it all right to be me."  - Driving Lessons

"Speak louder than the words before you, and give them meaning no one else has found." - Ian Axel

"Here's what I'd like you to do for me: Make me laugh. Make me cry. Tell me my place in the world. Lift me out of my skin and place me in another. Show me places I have never visited and carry me to the ends of time and space. Give my demons names and help me to confront them. Demonstrate for me possibilities I've never thought of and present me with heroes who will give me courage and hope. Ease my sorrows and increase my joy. Teach me compassion. Entertain and enchant and enlighten me... Tell me a story." - Dennis O'Neil, from 'The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics'

"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things– trees and grass and sun and moon and stars. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones."  - C. S. Lewis

I hope you all liked these.  They kind of mean the world to me and I hope they can affect you as well. (:

Love Always,

Kayla

The Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Realistic OC

I just posted a How-to guide to writing an OC.  It includes the Marauder's Era and Harry's Hogwarts years, and talks about naming, appearance, background, personality, and examples of characters.  I really hope that it helps you guys come up with characters, and feel free to ask me anything about my characters or your own and I'll be happy to do whatever I can. (:

Love Always,
Kayla

He's Worth It (Chp. 50 Spoilers)

"You give me the kind of feeling people write novels about."

Well, it's done!  It was a mammoth of a chapter, but it is finally posted!  I'm really excited and I know that you are (hopefully) going to love it!  Or you've read it already and you did love it (again, I hope).  I had a lot of fun writing it.

Cado was particularly intriguing.  Do you ever have characters that just speak to you and connect with you easier than all the others?  That's what he was like for me.  As I was in the process of creating him, he obviously had to have a reason for turning into a murderer, and he simply told me his story. All I had to do was write it down.  I love characters like that.  The whole chapters actually just ended up flowing out.  I'd started it about six different times and scrapped every single one of them, but I sat down and ended up writing all 15,000+ words in a day.  (That's what White Tea does for you!)  Anyway, definitely don't forget about Cado, Caradoc, and Waverly.  They are going to play larger roles as time goes on.

Writing this story, I'm beginning to realize that to have a 'good' James/Lily story, you really have to have a lot of other people involved, you know?  Their lives were so focused on the big picture that the story would be flat if you only talked about Lily, James, and their closest friends, which is why I am loving the Amelia/Cado and Caradoc/Waverly subplots.  They're very different from each other, but they are equally fun to write. 

I especially liked the part where Cado talks about not everyone having a happy ending, because it's so true.  We only really hear about James and Lily, who are tragedies in themselves, but at least they found love, which made it all worthwhile.  But some of the people obviously did not find that love, or they had it and lost it in the end, and I don't want to get super angsty, but I also think that you can't tell a true war story without a lot of pain and loss.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter!  I would love to hear if you have any guesses about what might happen to Amelia from here and what the mission is that Cado is planning.  I'll tell you that you'll recognize one of his fellow-assassins. and that there will eventually be four of them total working together for C.W. Umbridge.  So tell me what your thoughts are!

Also, did you notice all the sets of brothers in this chapter?  Gideon and Fabian, Cado and Caradoc, Sirius and Regulus.  I was considering naming the chapter Brotherly Love, but I wanted the title to relate to James and Lily instead, since the major event of the chapter was the last scene with the two of them.  But you did get the reference to troll blood, didn't you?  I hope so.  I know it's been forever.  In case you didn't, Lily and James got detention together back in their 5th year, and had to spend it cleaning out Slughorn's store closet.  James accidentally knocked over a barrel of troll blood and covered them both with it.  It was that night that Lily first agreed to be friends with James if he left Severus alone.

So, drop a review on ff.n and leave me a comment here!  I want to hear all of your thoughts!

Love Always,

Kayla

Chapter 50!

"And the cynics were outraged,

Screaming, "This is absurd,"

'Cause for a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans 

Got to rule the world."

Chapter Fifty is completely written!  I just have to edit it and it will be ready to post.  But while I'm doing that, here's what happening:

It's titled Between Blood and Fairytales and includes Peter's decision, Remus and Vanessa telling Ms. Lupin about the new law, Lily struggling with idea that James wants her out of his life, and finally taking some action, Alice and Frank starting the Order, what happens to Amelia Bones (sort of), play practice and the play itself, some Stellar advice, a Sirius decision, brotherly love, Greg being slimy, and a grand finale you won't forget. ;)

New characters come into play as well.  There are Gideon and Fabian Prewett--two very different brothers who have to make a decision regarding the war and their careers.  Cado Dearborn, who struggles with the idea of right and wrong and tries to find a definition for love and an escape from its pain.  And Caradoc Dearborn, who (somewhat unwillingly) takes his older brother in and nurses him back to health, all the while trying to show him the true meaning of goodness and love.

I think you're really going to like this one.  It's the longest yet--right now 13,700 words.  Look forward to it this afternoon (Sunday, Oct. 24th)!!

Love Always,
Kayla

Sincerely, Me

"Artists use lies to tell the truth."  - V for Vendetta

Hey lovelies!  I have decided to start posting a blog to keep you all up to date with developments in my stories (currently Of Raindrops, Flowers,& Wishing Wells and Secondhand Wings), just so that you all know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or anything.  I'll also give you teasers and post drawings occasionally.

So as of right now, Raindrops is in it's fiftieth(!) chapter, and as you know, it's been a WIP for a long time.  This is mostly due to the fact that I have been re-writing the story, and I've been having more inspiration with that than with the newest chapter.  I won't post the re-written version of Raindrops until I catch up with myself (and I'm only in the third chapter right now), but I will continue to post new chapters as I get around to them.  Fifty is going to be the longest yet, and it will include Peter's answer to Bellatrix's offer, the play, the beginnings of recruitment for the Order of the Phoenix by Alice and Frank, Remus and Vanessa's reaction to the Werewolf Rights bill, Amelia's plans now that she is no longer involved in the MoM, the Ministry's reaction to Amelia's double-crossing, Lily coming to her senses (or in a way, loosing her senses completely), and further details about the war with Voldemort.  But while you wait for all of that, I've decided to give you a snippet of what the new Raindrops is going to look like.  This is an excerpt from Chapter One:

Her cold, bare feet drug in the grey sand as she swung back and forth in the low swing.  The wood beam above creaked in protest at the weight, as though it had not been used in many years, and the chains reeked of rust and mildew.

It was, like everything else in the small industrial town (ironically named Lantern City), in desperate need of repair, but the landlords that owned most of the area around the old textile mill had never seen fit to waste money on something children would not use.  Few people went outside at all due to the thick smog that hung in the air like a dark, suppressive cloud, and those that did hurried from one place to the next, shielding their faces and never stopping to speak with anyone.

The only residents of the town were those who worked in the mill, and over time, they had taken on the filthy, grey look that had seeped into the small brick houses and stamped out any amount of color there once was.  Their faces were ashy; their hair was somewhere between grey and mousy brown and hung limp about their thin, sallow faces; their eyes were flat and pale, and no longer told the million little stories that most eyes can convey.

She looked up suddenly when she heard the sound of feet on the cobbled street, and saw a man in the dusty, grey uniform that all of the mill workers wore.  His salt-and-pepper hair looked out of place on such a young man, but the shadows of lines forming on his brow told her what she already knew—work at the mill aged people far too quickly, drained them much too soon.

He caught sight of her sitting in the swing and seemed unable to look away, like he was suddenly a child brought into a toy store for the first time and astounded by the innumerable colors and sounds.  She blushed and turned her head, and the man kept walking, but she could feel his eyes on her until he turned onto Factory Way.

Her mother had once described her as the stained glass windows in a dreary old church, and while the once-beautiful windows in the church at the end of the road had long-since been boarded up, the girl could understand the analogy.  Perhaps, had she lived in the little town year-round, she would have faded, too, but she attended school far away, and as such, had maintained her vibrant color.

Her skin was pale, but not in the sickly way that most in the town had, and accented with freckles.  Many girls her age hated their freckles, but she was able to see them as just one more part of the spectrum.  Cracked pink lips framed her wide mouth, which was full of too-big teeth that all showed when she smiled, and her shockingly green eyes were almond-shaped and surrounded by thick black lashes.  But easily the feature that stood out the most was the long, red-bronze hair that curled softly and thickly down her back.

She had, however, inherited the rail-thin figure that was common in the townspeople, though while at school she was able to gain a small amount of weight.  But she always appeared too thin to truly be healthy.  During her time at home, she seemed to absorb the smell of smoke from the mill until she could not get it out of her skin for weeks into the school year.

She coughed, the smog getting into her lungs and affecting her breathing, but still she sat in the swing.  She was waiting for him.  She and him—an unlikely pair that was misunderstood wherever they went.  While at home, the locals assumed that they would be yet another marriage of convenience, as so many were, and at school, people thought of their friendship as impractical, impossible even. 

He was supposed to be there, and the only reason she could imagine that he would be late would be that his father, who was far too fond of liquor, had been rampaging drunkenly about and hurt him or his pacifistic mother.

As soon as the thought of her friend in trouble crossed her mind, she was on her feet, but a second set of footsteps interrupted her.

Hope you guys liked it so far, let me know what your thoughts are on the whole process.  Obviously, this is just the introduction to Lily's life, so there isn't any real interaction yet, but still talk to me! I'm re-doing a lot of the story, and writing all of fifth year, since I skipped so much of it when I first wrote it.  Let me know if there is anything you want to see (Constance's home life, Regulus at school, a confrontation between Lily and Remus, whatever you want).

As for Secondhand Wings, my current priority is Chapter Fifty of Raindrops, but once I get that out, I plan to continue with Wings ASAP.  I can't honestly tell you what I have in store, because I haven't decided yet, but in no way have I forgotten this story!

And I wanted to say THANK YOU to all of those who have reviewed both stories and sent me notes to ask where I am and if I'm okay.  It all means so much to me that you guys care, and I promise to get back on track hopefully by this weekend.  I'm taking the ACT for the last time on Saturday, but I'm hoping to write Saturday afternoon and hopefully Sunday afternoon as well.  I LOVE YOU ALL TO BITS!

Love Always,
Kayla