Interview with Brenden

***Note: I'm planning on posting an update once a week, on Saturdays.

Okay, so...I've taken a little pause on Once Upon a Fantasy on accounts of the fact that school starts on Monday and I told my mom that I'd be finished editing Dawn by the end of the summer...Yikes. Still have 100 pages left to edit and I'm getting bored. That's never good, right? I suppose it's because I've read this scene half a million times because I love it so much and now I don't love it as much because I've read it a half a million times.

So, earlier last week I was feeling as though my characters needed to get to know each other better, so I conducted an interview. I'll paste the interview with Brenden and if you have any more questions for him, post them and I'll tell him to answer them for you. Have fun!

Okay, so let’s get some background. Give us your name, you’re age and where you go to school.

So, my name is Brenden Hollenby and I’m sixteen, almost seventeen. (I know that makes me sound like a toddler, rounding my age like that.) I go to school at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs.

Why do you think your parents named you what you did? Include your middle name as well.

Okay, so my middle name is David, and I think it means loved. At least that’s what my mom told me. She said that they named me this because Brenden means prince and Mom liked that because I’m a child of God and the name was symbolic to her.

Do you like your name?

Yes. I like the symbolism and plus it just fits me.

How would you describe yourself, personality wise?

That’s kind of a trick question, because it could end up sounding vain. *smiles* Okay, let’s see…I’m outgoing. I like talking to people and getting them to come out of their shells. It’s amazing what happens when you take the time to just talk to someone. I’m generally optimistic. Sometimes overly so. I like laughing…I can’t think of anything else at the moment.

You say you like to talk to people. Do you have any specific instances about people ‘coming out of their shells’ that stick out to you?

Most of my friends I actually met that way, but the one that sticks out to me most, is Annabelle. I’m convinced God put her in my path, because she really needed someone. She told me that she didn’t have any friends. Part of that was her fault, because she didn’t make the effort to talk to people. She claimed she couldn’t carry a conversation. But part of it was simply circumstance. She had anxiety, which made her afraid to meet new people and her dad was in prison which gave students the wrong impression about her. I’d actually noticed her before because she’s in a couple of my classes and she’s pretty. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a little crush on her. Not fully, because I didn’t really know her, but she was kind of pretty and smart, and super quiet, which really appealed to me, because, like I said, I like bringing people out of their shells. Anyway, I came into the school by a different door to avoid this girl who kept flirting with me. (Again, I’m convinced this was a God-thing, because that girl never gave me a second glance after that day.) I was going through the halls and I saw this guy from school named Conrad, yelling at Annabelle and calling her names, telling her she was ugly. She wasn’t saying anything, but she looked absolutely terrified and like she really wanted to say something. And I felt like God told me to go over and help her. It wasn’t like a voice or anything, just a very strong impression, which I’ve learned usually is God. So, I’m arguing with God in my head, like, seriously, God? I’m going to be late for class and I really don’t want to get in trouble. Conrad is hugely bigger than me and I’m pretty sure that if I get in a fight with him I’m going to epically lose. But, He kept pushing and so I finally did something, even though I was scared out of my wits. I wish I’d done something  sooner, because when I finally got up the courage, he’d tripped her and her books went everywhere and I’m pretty sure it hurt her tailbone as well, just judging by the way she fell. I basically diverted his attention away from her and told him to leave her alone, which sounded extremely cliché, but I didn’t exactly care. She looked up at me, like she totally didn’t expect for someone do anything about her situation. The look she gave me made me wonder how long she’d been bullied. I had to hit him, but I swear, it was in self-defense. Before he could do anything to either of us, I grabbed her elbow and led her away until I figured we were safe, since the hall was crowded with teachers as well as students. I asked her if she was okay, introduced myself and everything. It was an extremely brief conversation and right as the bell rang I remembered what Conrad had said about her being ugly and I told her she wasn’t ugly. It was extremely awkward, but that’s another thing about me. I tend to say awkward things, if it will improve the situation or benefit someone. It was awkward, but I said it and I’m pretty sure she had tears in her eyes as she thanked me. After that, I went out of my way to talk to her, fairly sure that God wanted me to. I just could sense that she needed someone to talk to. I didn’t have anyone else to talk to anyway. I mean, I had friends here and there, but none that specifically went out of their ways to talk to me. As time went on, she began to talk to me more about herself and her family and I began to see that she really had needed someone.

Why do you say that she really needed someone?

I didn’t learn until nearly eight months later, but her dad had been released out of jail the exact day I defended her. She told me that she had an anxiety attack later that day because of it and that me talking to her every day grounded her through everything that happened.

Did other things happen to her that she needed you for?

She got sick and was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease which is a disease that you specifically have to fight with will. She told me that she wouldn’t have had enough fight in her to defeat the disease if it hadn’t been for me, which is totally awesome, since I was only doing what God had told me. And her dad began to stalk her, which was really creepy, but it freaked her out all the more and gave her anxiety which allows the Lyme to progress.

What is your favorite and least favorite characteristic that you possess?

Hmm….Favorite would probably be that I’m not afraid to talk to people and that brings a lot of adventures, I guess you’d say, and different cool stories. Least favorite is probably that I’m extremely afraid of sickness, like it’s probably one of my only fears. And I hate it because it makes it hard to act natural around people I love who are sick, which in turn makes them feel like an outcast, which I don’t want at all.

Did something happen that made you so afraid of sickness?

Yeah. So, it all happened at once in 2014. First it was my grandpa. So, he’d never been healthy, but he was real leery of doctors and the like. It wasn’t until he began to have severe pain that he went into the doctor and they found that he’d had cancer for years and it had progressed to far to do anything. He died at the beginning of the year within a month or so of his diagnosis. Second, I had a childhood friend, someone I’d known since we were like, three. We’d lost touch over the years and one day my mom told me that he had some sort of terminal disease. I got back in contact with him for maybe six months and really got to know him before he died. I hope I did something to encourage him in that time. And last was Jared. *Sigh* He…Him, me and Barry met in kindergarten and were basically best friends all the way through high school. We went on a missions trip to Africa. He was on a medication to keep him from getting sick, but he must have gotten a weird strain of malaria, because the medicine didn’t stop it. It attacked his brain and he died within a few days. It definitely wasn’t easy.

After that year did your faith falter at all?

Um…sort of, but not really. So, I never doubted the existence of God or his benevolence or any of that. I just didn’t understand why everything was happening and I wanted to see what God’s plan was and I couldn’t.

How did you deal with that question?

I talked to my parents…a lot. They told me some things that I actually ended up telling to Annabelle when she asked me the same question.

What did they tell you?

They told me the story of Joseph, where he had things happen to him for nearly seventeen years before he figured out what God’s plan was. So I’ve learned to be patient and trust God, even I can’t see what he’s doing.

Looking back over the past few years, have you been able to see a plan?

Somewhat. I believe God’s plans are complex enough that there are several reasons why any one thing happens. But I suppose I have seen different things that have resulted from his death. Annabelle, is one thing. I probably wouldn’t have met her if he’d still been alive, because we always walked to school together and we always got there early. We probably would have been in class before anything had happened with Annabelle. And even if I had been there when she was being bullied, I probably wouldn’t have noticed her. And even if I had noticed her and helped her, I probably wouldn’t have gone out of my way to talk to her, because I already had friends. We had all our breaks together.

What is your deepest regret?

That’s easy. The old family friend who died. I told you we got back in touch right before he died. I was always too afraid to tell him about what I believed and I wasn’t sure if he knew. He died and I was left wishing that I had the courage to at least make sure I knew what he believed.

What was his name?

Julian

Who do you value the most now? Why?

I love my family a lot, definitely. But outside of family, Annabelle. I’m actually planning on proposing to her after this. And why…do I need a reason to love someone?

No, I suppose not, but what about this? What qualities does she have that you admire?

As much as she told me she was a coward, she’s probably the bravest person I know. Having anxiety and being afraid doesn’t make you a coward. I mean, she went through her parents divorcing, her dad abusing her for five years, being bullied, getting Lyme disease and defeating it. She has aftereffects, sure, but she’s still living in a way she should be. She’s got the most adorable laugh. She is smart. She can cook really well. There are a lot more, but I think I’ll stop there, because I’ll go on forever. *smiles*

What kind of people annoy you the most? Why?

People think that they’re better than everyone else. Or people who hurt people just for fun. Or people who are completely detached from the world.

Anymore questions? Post them below! Or conduct your own interview and post it.

The Hidden Side of Minors

I never knew there was so much of a story behind Adam. He was sort of a flat-ish, side character who was sort of there for moral support for my main character. He never talked to me. He was supposed to be the love interest which never really ended up working...

But then I asked him to tell his testimony to Ray, who's being seriously stubborn about God. And the floodgates opened. I got nearly 400 words of his testimony. The things you learn by asking...

We can all learn from Fairytales

Isn't this an awesome poster? I LOVE it. 

My opinion is you're never too old for a good old-fashioned fairytale. Ella watched Beauty and the Beast for the first time and as I was watching it with her, I noticed some things that interested me. The thing about children's stories and fairytales, is that they're simplified enough that it paints a perfect picture of a good storyline. The plot twists might be easy to predict and the dialogue may be cliche, but underneath all that is a solid story. 

Couple good points to notice: 

Sacrificial main character: 
In the beginning Belle gives herself up for her father and stays with the Beast while her father goes free. It makes her loveable. You look up to her and admire her for her courage.

The love interest's flaw: 

I'm struggling with this one. Every character should have some sort of flaw. Yes, even the love interest. You don't want him/her to be perfect. People are more attracted to people who aren't perfect. Ever read a book where there's a perfect character and it totally ticks you off? This movie did a cool twist with having the love interest also be a villain of sorts. 

The love interest's endearing nature: 

Look how cute he is! Is it just me, or is he better as a beast, than a prince? As flawed as the love interest might be, give him/her something to love. Because you want your reader to fall in love with them just like your main character. 

A hateable villain:

I don't think there's anyone who doesn't find Gaston's conceited nature annoying. Often it's good to give your villain a good trait too. Supposedly, he's dashingly handsome (kind of hard to tell for a cartoon,) but that fact is overruled by his total obsession with himself.

A believable love story: 

Belle begins off by hating the beast for keeping her at the castle. But as time goes on and he tries to be a gentleman, and she begins to see things in him. After him yelling at her a couple of times, and her running off and him saving her life, etc, she begins to fall in love.

The Beast knew from the beginning that she may be the one to break the curse. He's watching her and he feels something come over him and he wants to do something for her. So, he gives her his library. And eventually she teaches him thing, manners, how to read, how to feed birds without scaring them off. And he begins to fall in love.

Have you ever watched  this movie? Anything else stand out to you? 

Surprises

Have your characters ever done anything to surprise you? Something totally out of character, but something that totally and completely worked with their situation? People are unpredictable. Why can't characters be? Actually, aren't characters supposed to have contradictions in their character.

So, here's my point: Ray surprised me this week.

Here are a couple of facts about him so you can see why he surprised me:
1.  He's introverted.
2.  He doesn't talk about his feelings. At all. He's the kind of person who would prefer to deal with his problems by himself and not involve anyone. He doesn't really want anyone to see his pain. He's a good liar and a good actor, so you rarely see what's really going inside his head.

So, here's what he said:

*Note: The POV character is his sister, Aura.

**Another note: He just ran away a week or so ago and tried to commit suicide and they're sort of talking over it.

      “I almost had a panic attack. I’m not kidding.”
      He raises an eyebrow at me and I can’t help but remember a couple of years ago when he’d do that just to annoy me. I always got mad at him because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t do it. The sides of his mouth twitch a little. “That might have been funny to see.”
      “It wasn’t funny at the time. You scared me.”
      “How come?”
      “What kind of a question is that? Because I knew you might be dead already when I left the house.”
      “Why would you care though?”
      He’s never asked me anything like this before and I think I know the answer he’s looking for, but I haven’t told him that in ages, which kind of makes my heart heavy. I laugh a little, like it’s a totally obvious answer. “Because I love you, that’s why.” And as soon as I say it, I know it’s true, even though only a year ago, I would have completely denied it. Sometimes faces are unreadable and right now I can’t tell what’s going through his mind. Especially since he won’t look at me. I wonder how long it’s been since someone has told him that he’s loved. He hasn’t heard it from me and definitely not from Mom.
      “What about Chris, though?” I can tell he’s kind of forcing out the words. I can only imagine how much it would hurt to think or talk about him after what had happened.
     “What about him?”
     “A…are you still mad about what I told you the other day?”
     I can’t help hesitating a bit on that question. “Okay, first off, I’m not mad at you, specifically. But, sometimes it’s hard to get used the idea, you know?”
     He nods, like he completely understands that. ... He has the same expression on his face that he did at the hospital when I told him that Chris had died. Like he’s trying to block his emotions.
Copyright Hannah De

See what I mean? He's never ever said anything like that before. Has your character ever surprised you?

Fear

Every character should have something they fear. Something that, no matter how brave they are, will send them running. I saw an excellent example of this in a TV show that my sisters were watching. It was a Little House on the Prairie episode called Blind Journey, and normally I don't like Little House on the Prairie, but this one expertly showed fear with a legitimate root.

Adam Something-or-Other is married to Mary Ingalls and both are blind. They teach at a school for blind children and teach them how to live life without sight. They're moving the school to a different location and they know they must cross a river in order to get there. They're camping close to the river (I think) and Mary is curled up next to Adam, and even though she's blind, she knows something's wrong. "You're shaking," she observes. He assures her that it's nothing and they go to sleep. They get to the river and the ferry doesn't arrive, so they have to ride a zipline-type thing across the river, one-by-one. Adam is the last to go over and he's curled in a ball and he won't let go of the rope that connects him to the wagon. He shouts at the man who tries to get him across, "I won't go and you can't make me!"

Later, when they've finally got him across, he's laying next to Mary again. He hasn't said anything since the incident. He's breathing heavily and shaking and Mary tells him, "We're okay. Everyone is safe and sound." He doesn't answer for a second, and finally he whispers, "I'm a coward." He tells her a story of when he was a little boy and his father took him fishing. He hopped around on the rocks, without a care in the world. Then he tripped and hit his head. When he woke up again, he was in a hospital and he couldn't see. Since then he'd always been afraid of water. "I acted like a coward, Mary," he says again, sobbing now. 

She comforts him saying, "After what you've been through, you have every right to cry."

Every character must have a fear, and, if possible, a legitimate root to that fear. We relate better to a person who doesn't have everything together and is sometimes afraid, and even more so, when we can understand their fear. Hope this got your creative juices flowing. Do you know of other stories that pull this off well?  

Guest Post by Aurora "Aura" Simms

Once upon a time, I dreamed of a hot guy riding into my life and sweeping me off my feet. I envisioned myself as the damsel in distress. He would see me. I would see him. We'd fall madly in love and he'd rescue me. Carry me away from my awful life. Away from my mom and her constant lectures. Away from my little brother and his constant teasing. In my dreams, he'd love me like no one had in a long time and we'd live happily ever after.

Actually it was different than I'd envisioned. I was in the high school parking lot and I backed my car into Chris's on accident, gained a ticked-off mom, a one-time meeting with an averagely cute guy (though he was too short in my opinion) and a dented car, that actually wasn't mine at the time. Somehow he figured out that I did housecleaning to earn money and told me he'd tell his mom about me, since she was always busy and could use the help. He actually followed through, so we were kind of stuck with each other each Sunday evening when I'd help his mom with their apartment and often stayed for dinner. He always made me feel special, even if he just smiled at me as I passed him in the hall at school.

So looking back in hindsight, I guess, in a way, my dream came true, with a few revisions that ended up being for the better. It wasn't quite the love-at-first-sight meeting I'd wanted, but he loved me more than anyone had in a while. I specifically remember the day he told me he loved me for the first time and I cried, because that's the first time someone had told me that in almost four years. I only wish we could have lived happily ever after.

Pain and Suffering

I've found that I can discover key things about my characters through the way they handle pain. Now this may seem completely obvious, but I'm going to give you an example anyway, between my main character, Aura, and her younger brother Ray.
When the story starts, Aura's boyfriend, Chris, dies in a car crash. Ray was driving the car at the time it crashed, so he feels responsibility. So each of them have sufficient suffering that I put them through. *evil writer cackle* They each handled their pain in different ways.

Aura yelled at God, got another job, refused to think about Chris and basically shunned anything that reminded her of her pain.
Ray started doing drugs and did anything in his power to make his pain go away and got angry and defensive when anyone told him he shouldn't be doing what he is.

So, here's what I learned through observing these things:
Aura: 

1. She's a person who believes on just pushing through.
2. She's a person who wants to blame someone for her pain.
3. She believes that forgetting and ignoring what hurts her is the solution to her problem 

Ray: 

1. He's a problem solver.
2. He doesn't like being told what to do.
3. He believes that he doesn't need help and that he can do everything on his own. 

I just thought this was interesting. I figured this out after I'd written half the story and it helps shape their character. Try it!

And, one more thing: I'm ecstatic! I found a song that perfectly sums up the lie Ray believes. It does have a lot of screaming in it, so if you don't like that, don't listen to it. It's called Damage by Red.

Now the damage is done. I can't escape, can't run, can't undo what I've done. All I do is damage...It's destroying me...I'm sick of the misery...I am human debris....I'm a catastrophe. Take this away. It was just a mistake. Save me.