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.

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? 

Writer's Block

I'm watching Anne of Green Gables and Gilbert said something that struck me as profound.

You can mope and cry all you want, but it won't help you write a better novel. 

I once heard someone classify different types of writer's block. One of the ones that I frequently suffer from is Lazy Writer's Syndrome (LWS.)

• Jessi Roberts suggested to ask "What if?" to jump start a plot. What if so-and-so died? What if they got engaged? What if the dragon didn't die like everyone thought? 
• Or just sit your butt down and force the story from your brain to your fingertips. 
• One thing I like to do is change the font color to white and don't even see what I'm writing and let my instincts carry it away. No one has to see it. You can edit later.
• Even if you're the pansters to top all pansters, sometimes you should try plotting. Or if your a plotter to top all plotters, try writing by instinct. 
• Talk to other writer's friends and ask their opinions. NaNoWriMo is a great place to do that and they're having a virtual summer writer's camp for free, here. 

Foreshadowing

If ever there were an amazing example of foreshadowing, Hugo would have to be number one. There are probably even instances that I didn't even notice, because I wasn't watching it fully.                      

Foreshadow| verb: to give a suggestion of (something that has not yet happened)

                : to represent, indicate or typify beforehand: prefigure 

I'll give you a couple of examples from this movie and then maybe you can see what types of foreshadowing you can put in your story.

So, here's the basic premise of Hugo. Hugo lives in a clock in a train station in London. His father has died and his drunk uncle has abandoned him after teaching him how to wind the clocks. His life's goal is to find out why his father died and he plans on doing that by fixing the automaton that his father never finished before he died. It's a writing automaton and he's convinced that the note it writes will be a message from his father.

The movie

The real life situation

Foreshadowing example #1: Hugo's father always used to take him to the movies and so, when he meets a girl who has never seen the movies, he sneaks her into a movie theater and shows her what a movie looks like. In the movie, a man is trying to climb a wall and loses his balance and grabs the nearest thing, the minute hand of a nearby clock and he dangles. Later in the movie, when Hugo is attempting to get away from someone, he inches out the window in a clock and grabs hold of the minute hand and he dangles, waiting for the danger to pass.

Foreshadowing example #2: Hugo is having a dream. He's walking next to the train tracks and on the slats he sees a key. And not just any key. It just so happens to be the key that operates the automaton that he's finally fixed. He jumps onto the tracks and is turning the key over and over and wondering what it's doing on the tracks and the tracks start shaking and the train is barreling toward him. Later, in real life, the automaton falls onto the tracks and the train is pulling in and Hugo jumps onto the tracks to retrieve it, the tracks shaking and the train barreling toward him.

Foreshadowing can enrich your novel and add depth. It's also a pleasant surprise to re-read a book and look at those little tidbits and realize, "Oh, that's what they meant."

Motivation

What do Finding Nemo, Spiderman and Maleficent have in common? I know, a total cliche to opening a blog post, but I couldn't help myself. So, think away readers, and contemplate my deep question...

Hint: The title has something to do with it...

Each of them have exceptional character motivation that we all can learn from. I'll make sure to warn you if there are any spoilers in case you haven't watched one of them. 

A couple of types of motivation for characters that are believable: 

1. Fear, with a legitimate root. In Finding Nemo Marlin is afraid of two things. The ocean and losing his only family, his son, Nemo. Why? At the beginning of the movie in a prologue of sorts, Marlin is a newlywed moving into his new home with his wife, Coral, and his four-hundred-plus eggs. As they're watching their babies sleep, Coral remarks casually that she wants to name one of the fish Nemo. Mere minutes later, a barracuda attacks, knocking Marlin out. When he comes to, Coral and all of his children are gone, except for one egg that got knocked to the ocean floor and forgotten. And he names the fish Nemo. As a result, Marlin is overprotective of Nemo and doesn't let him do anything that could be possibly risky. 

2. Being too sheltered: This one's also from Finding Nemo. His father's overprotectedness prompts Nemo to chafe under the short leash. After his dad yells at him and embarrasses him in front of his friends for almost doing something against what his father had taught him, he break the rules, resulting in him getting captured. 

3. Revenge: Sometimes this can feel forced, unless you do it right. Maleficent does this incredibly well. Maleficent has been betrayed by the person that she thought was her true love. So, as a result she storms the castle that he lives in and casts a curse on his firstborn daughter, Aurora, that "before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she'll prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death."

4. Power hungry: Again, be careful with this one. This can be super unbelieveable and cliche if the character doesn't have a good reason for wanting power. This one is again, excellently shown in Maleficent. Stefan meets Maleficent when they're both young and points out the castle that exists where he lives. "See that castle?" He says. "Someday I'm going to live there." Maleficent asks him where he lives now. He looks down for a second and finally admits, "A barn." After a bit more prompting she gets out of him that he's an orphan, and homeless, but someday he wants to rule. This later prompts him to betray Maleficent's trust in order to get the throne.

5. Something wakes them up: In Spider-Man, after Peter finally figures out about his powers, he intends to use them to get the attention of the girl he likes. He goes to a wrestling match with the hopes to win $3000 to buy a car that will impress his lady. He knows he can win. Right before he goes, his uncle pulls him aside and gives him a talk about using what you have to help people. "With great power comes great responsibility." Peter yells at his uncle to stop acting like he's his father and leaves. After the match the man refuses to pay him the amount he feels is due to him. "I fail to see how that became my problem," he says. "Now get out." So, Peter stalks out of the office. As he is walking away, a man walks into the office and holds the man at gunpoint, demanding all the money. The theif runs past Peter, and he has an opportunity to stop him, but he doesn't. Just lets him go. When the money man asks him why he didn't do anything to stop the theif, Peter simply says, "I fail to see how that became my problem." And he leaves. SPOILER: As he leaves the building, he sees a crowd of people and pushes through it. His Uncle Ben is on the sidewalk, bleeding from a wound in his chest. A man had shot him and stolen his car. Later Peter realizes that it was the theif that he had let pass at the wrestling match. If he had only stopped him....SPOILER END In the end, he remembers what his uncle had said, and begins to do things for people to help.

I'd suggest watching these moves and noticing different character motivations. I haven't nearly covered all of them. Are there any movies you've seen that have exceptional character motivation? 

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.

Empty, useless brain!

Okay, I'm not exactly blocked, but I made this today and I wanted to post it.

Fun writing exercise: (you'd think since I was a writer, I would know how to spell that, but it took me maybe five tries before I broke down and used spell-check)

Next time you're watching a movie,  either one you want to watch or don't, it doesn't matter, keep a notebook by your chair and focus specifically on the structure of the movie. Foreshadowing, plot development, character arcs, symbolism, anything and write it down.

For example, I was watching Larry Boy and the Bad Apple with Liam the other day and here are some of the things I noted:

   * Symbolism - they are celebrating the 300 year anniversary of their town. The number 3 has significance in Christian movies because of it's representation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
   * Increasing stakes - the villain (Temptation) increases the tension as the movie goes on, first entrapping the mayor, then the people's only way to the outside world, Petunia Rubarb, the news reporter, and finally, their savior, LarryBoy.

Another example, from Charlie and Lola, the episode I've Won, No I've Won, No I've won:
   * Charlie (the narrator) always gives you a short description of each character and their relationship to him or his little sister, Lola. ex. This is Soren Lorensen. He's Lola's imaginary friend and no one can see him but Lola.
   * Charlie has a huge dilemma at the end, where he has to decide whether to save Lola from the top of the enormous slide or win the race. 

One more, from Mr. Peabody and Sherman:
   * Foreshadowing - Sherman bites Penny in the beginning and Mr. Peabody reprimands him for it. Later *SPOILER* Mr. Peabody bites Mrs. Grunyun to protect Sherman. *END OF SPOILER*
   * Flaws - Sherman's main flaw is the fact that he's so naive (and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to spell that...) and impressionable. He listens to everything anyone tells him and that is much of the reason for the conflict in the story

  I've got to go, because I've got to go eat dinner, but try it! It helps improve your writing!

Lost in Translation

If you're stuck (doesn't always work), or you want to write a unique poem, or you want something fun to do, I've found this, quite-possibly-nerdily-fun activity. So, here's what you do. You can copy and paste your favorite lyrics, a poem of your own or even your synopsis into Google Translate. Now, translate it to different languages, not turning it back to English, for maybe eight languages. Example: I began with translating it from English to Latin to Spanish to Hebrew to Arabic to French to German to Greek to Norwegian to Swedish and then back to English. Then I just started doing random languages.

Here's an example of what happens from the first stanza of my poem Tasting Stars:

Original Poem:

Where silence has a sound
Where you can feel the world spinning
Where darkness has a heavy touch
There's nothing in the universe but me
And I'm tasting stars

Lost in Translation Poem:

When silence is a sound

Where can you find the world has known

Handling heavy dark

I have, and I

Try stars

Sometimes it's not as cool as that (from my poem Whole Again):

Original Poem:

Please come
Someone come
And make me
Whole again

Lost in Translation Poem:

fiber

human

USA

egg

Don't even ask how it got to that point.

I even tried my synopsis. If you haven't read it, click here. It's the second paragraph where I talk about Ray's problems:

In fact, the beam, the sins of his brother, Chris aura service is free. The success is not possible. It is important to get rid of this disease is, it was not murder. They begin to deal with this problem, and suicide is a sin, I do not think so.

There is some gibberish in here, but somethings are kind of inspiring.

Try it! It's a great exercise for when you're bored, stuck or just want some fun. Sometimes it can inspire whole poems. And if you like the descriptive language of some songs (especially Owl City songs) see what comes out and you could possibly use it for your own song.