Story Time: How I Became a Writer

Hello everyone! 

Today, I wanted to tell you the story of how I came to fancy myself a writer. I really can thank my dad for getting me started. My dad started reading Harry Potter to my sister and I when we were about three, and that bore in us a passion for made-up stories.

Stories with Blue

Throughout our elementary school years, my sister––we'll call her Blue––and I would improvise stories together aloud. It started out with inserting ourselves into Hogwarts, then we made up families and had them go on misadventures together, then there were love stories. I always had to be the boy Blue's character fell in love with because she was the main character in our stories 90% of the time. Other stories included colonial America stories, the origins of my Kelisia & Skyr novel (I was actually the main character in that one! I was still the male love interest though...). You name it, we did a story about it.

Those were good times; I miss those days.

Enter Eragon

Blue and I were homeschooled growing up, so we often had most of the day to play and imagine on our own. My favorite pastime in those years was reading. I kind of skipped a couple stages of reading development; I went from The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar to Bailey School Kids chapter books without ever touching Curious George and other books of that level. My next jump was from Bailey School Kids straight to Christopher Paolini's Eragon...when I was nine. Yeah, I was that kid.

Eragon opened my eyes to a side of fantasy that I didn't know existed. Sure, my dad had read us Lord of the Rings (when I was 5...not sure what he was thinking on that one), but I never understood otherworldly fantasy until I read Eragon. I had never realized how amazingly cool dragons were, or that people could bond with them and become friends.

That day, I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a DRAGON RIDER!

Well, no, not really––I knew that dragon riders don't exist. But I dreamed of it and drew a picture of myself and my two best friends at the time as dragon riders and gave us made up names. I also drew two other dragons and riders to be friends with us. I lost those pictures soon after and completely forgot they existed.

*These aren't actually the original drawings;
those are lost forever. 

*These are the second iteration
from when I was 12.

*I know these are bad.
I was 12 and couldn't draw. 

Three years later, I rediscovered them in a box under my bedside table. That's when my creative gears started to turn. I started imagining scenarios of these characters interacting with each other, and eventually, I started writing them down with the intention of maybe creating a short story or two.

One year and 100 pages later, I had the first draft of my Circle of Dragons on my hands. It was complete and total crap, so I started rewriting the stories and making them more cohesively into a novel.

Six years later, that 100 page draft has been separated into four different novels (in varying stages of completion). The first 8 page story alone became the basis for the (currently) 200ish page Pieces of Silver.

In December of my freshman year of college, I discovered Wattpad. A friend who also liked to write had told me about it years earlier, but I finally decided to look it up. I thought it was really cool, so I started putting some stuff up on it. I didn't really want to put Circle of Dragons on there because it was my life's work. However, I got interested in fan fiction and Death Note around the same time; so, I started writing Young L: the Triebome Murder Case, which was my first attempt at fan fiction.

Then I took a poetry class and a creative writing class during the next couple semesters, so I had some actual original material I was okay with putting up on Wattpad. I also wrote a couple articles for The Nerd Daily, but I fell away from that pretty fast.

Conclusion

So, yeah, that pretty much brings me to where I am today. I'm taking a lighter load next semester, so I'm hoping to get a lot of writing and editing done. Hopefully, I'll be able to send Pieces of Silver off pretty soon after I graduate, but we'll have to see if life throws me any curveballs.

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!

My Character Profile: Oliver Brann from The Rose's Flame

Hello everyone! 

*Picture by Jayspeed

Today I will be talking about a character who is near-and-dear to my heart. Oliver Brann is the secondary protagonist of my most popular Wattpad story, The Rose's Flame. He is the "cursed" prince to whom Rose Kijani is betrothed. His profile will contain details from the Wattpad story and those unique to the novelization I am working on. (Don't worry, I'll try not to spoil anything too important from the novel.)

Profile

Name: Oliver Brann

Nicknames: The Goblin Prince, The Cursed Prince, Invalid, Monster

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Ethnicity: Enchanter (meaning "one from the kingdom of Enchantment"), appears caucasian, his name has ties to our Norwegian. (Since Oliver is not really from our world, his ethnicity isn't that easy for me to explain.) 

Age: 18

Date of Birth: July 19th

Height: 5', 6-7'' (depending on who you ask)

Weight: 115lbs.

Why I Love Him

Every time I write about Oliver, I fall in love with him all over again. He is one of those people who cannot stand to be unkind of anyone. His attendant, Mr. Rodenfield (called Sir Nathan in the Wattpad version), taught him to be polite and patient to everyone, no matter how rude or awful they are.

Oliver is meek and humble, but more than capable of taking charge if the need arises (and those he is commanding will give him the time of day). His disabilities and constant illness do not stop him from  trying to be the best fiancé he can be to Rose, and eventually, being becoming the great king he was always meant to be.

My Favorite Oliver Moments/Quotes (Spoilers ahead! Please, consider reading The Rose's Flame and coming back to this bit. If you already have, thank you! If you don't care about spoilers, just keep on reading.)

1. "Would you believe me if I told you that I have never seen a rose before, except in drawings." [Rose said.]     Oliver's eyes widened in shock. "Never? But your name is Rose!" (Chapter 3, "Devising a Plan").  

2.  Just then, I [Rose] noticed a beautiful red rose, brighter than the flowers around it, blooming by my foot. I plucked the rose from the garden bed and offered it to Oliver. "I know I sound hypocritical. It is just...I suppose I have begun to grow accustomed to your appearance."      Oliver took the flower with a smile brighter than the brilliant sun. The sun soaked into my skin, making me feel warmer than I had since my arrival in Enchantment. (Chapter 4, "Lunching in the Rose Garden").  

3. (Okay, this one is kind of cheating because it's more of a Rose moment, but I still love it.) Sir Nathan helped Oliver sit up, and I quickly ducked out of the room, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. As it turned out, Oliver was not wearing a shirt. This in and of itself should not have embarrassed me, for I had certainly seen young men without their shirts before. The reason for my embarrassment lay in that, upon catching a glimpse of his scarred chest, I had felt a surge of attraction. Surely I was not starting to find myself attracted to the awkward, disfigured prince? (Chapter 5, "Meeting Mallow").  

4. Oliver shuffled over to a dusty stone bench that had weathered the years and sat down wearily. I sat down next to him, taking his hand and stroking it with my thumb. Oliver hesitantly leaned on my shoulder before continuing his tale. (Chapter 7, "Walking in the Past").  

5. He reached up and slowly removed his mask, revealing his scars in all their glory. His hair was pulled back in a queue today, revealing his lazy left eye which was usually concealed. I do not think I had ever seen eyes a more brilliant hazel [...]    Oliver looked down at the mask in his hand. He stood there, staring, for a tense several minutes. The muscles in his face visibly twitching as he tried to decide what kind of man he would be. Finally, he dropped his hand to his side.      The porcelain mask shattered as the wedding bells began to ring. (Chapter 8, "Wedding Day"). 

Conclusion

So, yeah, that's my favorite things about Oliver Brann. If you have any questions about The Rose's Flame, drop them in the comments. Thank you for reading! 

Character Profile: L from Death Note

Hello everyone! 

Today I will be talking about one of my favorite fictional characters of all time: L Lawliet, the world's greatest detective from the manga/anime/movie/etc. series Death Note!

L's first true anime appearance

Profile

Alias: L

True Names: L Lawliet

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Ethnicity: 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 English, 1/4 Russia, 1/4 French or Italian.

Date of Birth: October 31, 1979 (manga), 1982 (anime)

Age: 22 (Death Note: Another Note––the prequel novel), 24-25 (every other version).

Height: 5' 10, 1/2' (Only an inch and a half taller than the caucasian average, which most people seem to forget. Sorry, bit of a pet-peeve of mine. Fan fiction writers constantly call him tall; he's not that tall, considering he's 3/4 caucasian.)

Weight: 110lbs.

Actors Ranked 
(This list only includes actors I have watched. The full list available on the Death Note Wiki.)

Kappei Yamaguchi: the original Japanese voice actor in the anime. I watched the English dub, so I don't have much to say about him, but I wanted to note him since he's the original voice actor.

Alessandro Juliani: voiced L in the English dubs of the anime and three of the Japanese movies: Death Note (2006), Death Note II: the Last Name, and L Change the WorLd.

Juliani's best moments: His inclusion of the line, "Yes, that would be dark" in response to Misa saying, "I couldn't live in a world without Light." Bonus: the line, "This is my first time babysitting; I don't think it's going very well" from L Change the WorLd dub.

Kenichi Matsuyama: played L in the three Japanese live action movies listed above. He also did the Japanese voice of Gelus in the original anime.

Best moments: He has so many; I don't know which to pick! Let's say how cute and friendly he is in behind-the-scenes videos, because I mostly watch his movies dubbed. Because of this, what I think of as his best lines are actually Juliani's. In the behind-the-scenes videos, Matsuyama is always bowing to people in an adorable way and is cute with his child co-stars from L Change the WorLd.

Kento Yamazaki: portrayed L in the Japanese TV drama. His is probably my favorite interpretation of L. I was wary about the changes the drama made, but they actually worked. Yamazaki plays L much more trickster-like and has a sadistic streak that his other incarnations lack, which makes him much more obviously "slightly evil."

Best moments: probably when he purposely directs Light into a wall while directing him through the Yotsuba headquarters. Another option would be his serious conversation with Near while they put together a puzzle.

Jarrod Spector: provides L's singing voice on the English demo album for Death Note: the Musical.

Best moments: Spector's duets with Jeremy Jordan's Light are phenomenal. Spector hits high notes that give me chills.

Best Literary Moments 

L has a few hilarious moments that never made the transition from page to screen because they are from spin-off novels or one-shots. So, here are a couple of my favorite L moments that never got adapted.

L Change the WorLd (novelization): L and his companions, Agent Suruga and Maki, are trying to sneaking through government check-points, and they do this by disguising as a family on a road trip. This entire scene is hilarious, but the highlight is that L wears a feminine wig and lipstick and continually weirds out Suruga by calling him "honey" repeatedly. I often find this scene popping into my head randomly, and I crack up every time.

Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case: L makes one in-person appearance to Naomi Misora in this novel, and it is probably one of the funniest scenes he's been featured in. According to the novel, Naomi is the one who introduces him to the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. L does some research on his own but decides he needs to see it in person at least once.

He approaches Naomi outside a subway station and tries to give her a hug. Because she has no idea who he is, she defends herself and sends him flying down a flight of stairs. I was laughing for five straight minutes when I first read this.

Best Fan Fictions Featuring the L

Some of the best incarnations of L I have seen actually come from fan fictions I have read on Wattpad. To honor these writers awesome work, check out these fantastic stories!

Death Note: Game Over (An AU fanfiction) by Thrudi –– follows the story of how Death Note could have ended if the Shinigami King decided to bring L back to life to finish the Kira Case. Thrudi also has a couple clever one-shots that you should check out if you like Game Over. Link to "Game Over"

Highlight: This story contains the best scene of psychological torture I have every read.

Bean by LxNaomi –– shows what Death Note could be like if L had a little son named Bean. Link to "Bean"

Highlight: Bean's origin was done really tastefully (which is unusual), and Bean is so freaking cute!

L's Sister (Death Note Fan-Fic) by pokenaruto58 –– this was the story that got me reading Death Note fan fiction in the first place. Inserts the author's OC, Clare Lawliet, into the Death Note story with humorous results. Link to "L's Sister"

Highlight: Clare asks L what like-liking someone means, and L chokes on a glass of water he was drinking.

Wammy's House by Bladrinito –– this story is set in an alternate universe were Near, Mello, and Matt help L and Naomi Misora solve the Los Angeles BB Murder Case. Link to "Wammy's House"

Highlight: Mello and Matt's endless shenanigans.

At the Heart of Justice by LxNaomi –– Yes, LxNaomi has two entries on this list. This one is an alternate universe where the Kira Case never happens, and L hires Naomi to work with him personally and act as his eyes in the field. I usually try to avoid romance fan fictions (because there are far too many R-rated ones), but this one is a good rated romance. Link to "At the Heart of Justice"

Highlight: Contains the most awesome and intense stabbing scene I have ever read.

Conclusion

That's my character profile and favorite moments for L Lawliet. Let me know what your favorite L moments are in the comments. Thank you for reading!

Introduction to this Blog

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog. I plan to mostly dedicate it to my information about my novels-in-progress, book and anime recommendations, autism acceptance articles, RWBY reviews, character profiles and and analysis, and other random things that are relevant in my life.

A little about me 

I don't want to say too much about myself because I'm not one of those people who spills all their personal information all over the internet for everyone to see. (Honestly, I didn't really want to put a picture of myself on this blog, but I also felt an anime character would be inappropriate.) I am an American college student studying English and psychology. I plan to be a librarian if I don't magically manage to publish my novels and make a living off of them within the next few years. I have autism and anxiety disorder and am very open to talking about these conditions to encourage understanding and acceptance for others. I love Jesus, books, my friends, dragons, anime, comic strips, webcomics, fantasy art, and many other random things.

I have a small following as a writer on Wattpad and a modest amount of reads on my original romance short story, The Rose's Flame. This story is ironic because romance is typically my least favorite genre to read and write, but I have a soft spot for Beauty and the Beast, so I wrote a medieval-ish realistic fiction story loosely based on that fairy tale. It was also for a college class, so I had to compress what was supposed to be a novel into a short story. The result was about 40 pages long and aggravated my classmates because they had to review such a long piece (the assignment was for a 10-20 page story––oops, my bad).

Writing you can read

Most of my currently available writing is anime fan fiction. My Wattpad page features two Death Note fan fictions: a one-shot called "The Detective's Sons" that reimagines Near and Mello as they were originally conceptualized (as L's twin sons); and a longer story (you could almost call it a novella) called Young L: the Triebome Murder Case, which imagines what L's life might have been like at Wammy's House. My page also features the beginning chapters of a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the anime The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

I also have two original works available on Wattpad, including the aformentioned The Rose's Flame and a collection of poetry called Poems From My Messed Up Mind.

Works-in-progress

For Wattpad, I have another Death Note fan fiction, set in an alternate universe, in the works, as well as a Pokémon one-shot about Team Rocket. I am also working on another Wattpad original story for which the working title is The Sink in the Crawl Space and is about a merman. The Death Note one is the closest to completion, but I'm trying to finish Young L first.

As for works that are not publicly available, I have about 50 novels-in-progress. I'm sure many of them won't see the light of day for many, many years, but here are the ones that I work on pretty often.

The Circle of Dragons and Riders: Pieces of Silver: I began writing this novel when I was 12, and it is (hopefully) on its last draft before being widely submitted to publishers. It follows the story of Kelise Kennedy, a teenager who gets kidnapped by a dragon named Hornagal and shown a world called Dageryn, where dragons and magic exist and castles and corsets are still a thing. Kelise is invited to join an elite group of dragon riders known as the Circle of Dragons and Riders. She is hesitant but finds the offer too interesting to pass up and become a dragon rider without her parents' knowledge. However, she soon finds herself caught up in an ancient feud, hiding her secret, and a potentially dangerous friendship with an abrasive assassin who may have a few secrets herself.

Circle of Dragons Sequels: Pieces of Silver is the first in a series of 5-6 books set in Dageryn, as well as few novellas detailing the backstories of some of the older riders and their dragons. The working titles for the first three sequels to Pieces of Silver have working titles of Shards of Onyx, Fragments of Citrine, and Remnants of Emerald.

The other novels from the series I will likely talk about the most are the fifth and sixth book in the CoD series, which are both currently just called Scrap Klents 1 & 2. These two novels are set 100 years after Pieces of Silver and follow the life of Scrap Klents, a reluctant dragon rider who is dragged into a war that she is supposed to win for the Circle. Her road is probably the most difficult of any character I've ever written, especially once she is experimented on by a demonic creature called Hepherates. Finally, I will likely talk quite a bit about the novella currently called Charlie's Recovery. This novel focuses around Circle rider Charlie Schneider as she struggles with PTSD after being rescued from a two year imprisonment by a Dagerynian terrorist.

The Almost Life of Margaret Magistrate: I used to have a few chapters of this novel posted on Wattpad, but I took them down because they contained wildly inaccurate details about the world of the story. Margaret Magistrate is the closest science has ever come to creating a synthetic human; she is an android who feels emotions, pain, and can build bonds with humans. She lives in a world where Earth's landscape has become practically uninhabitable, so humans live in overcrowded domed cites. Margaret's civilization is divided into two factions: the inner ring of her city is ruled by Kovalishin, a large government-like organization run by President Theodore Castor, and the outer ring is controlled by DRAK (Defense Resistance Against Kovalishin) which is a smaller, militant organization run by Commander Alan Parkinson. Margaret fights for DRAK's cause, while finding herself a stranger among its people, while Kovalishin would have her and her father's heads (if they knew she existed).

Kelisia & Skyr: This novel is loosely based off of a long-running story my sister and I used to tell when we were kids. Kelisia and Skyr and island nations that have recently made peace after a war where most of the Kelisian people were killed. The story follows the Kakus family, three Kelisian blood siblings and their five adopted siblings. All eight of them were orphaned during the war and become a family under the care of the eldest two, Nunna and Kakus. The story focuses on their daily struggles to get by on the small pay they make from their pottery shop and attempts to uphold their tribe's traditions. Life becomes a lot more difficult from them when Kakus accidentally befriends Crown Princess Skylynn of Skyr.

The Rose's Flame (novelization): This novel is exactly what the title says. It follows pretty much the same plot as the Wattpad short story of the same name but fleshes out characters such as Mallow, Hagmir, and Ambrosia significantly. It also goes into more detail about how Oliver's reputation for being cursed affects the two's early relationship and goes on to tell the story of Rose and Oliver's marriage––as well as thoroughly expanding on the world they live in.

Conclusion

There are a few other novels I work on from time-to-time, but I'll summarize those if I ever talk about them on here. Hope I haven't bored you to death by this point. I promise there will be lots of other stuff that isn't about my writing, especially since I don't want to spoil everything about them before they ever reach a publisher.

I plan to focus a lot on my anime posts and autism articles, because those are a lot more relevant to general readers. Thanks for reading!