I'm turning 19 years old on September 2nd, so here are 19 fun facts

[Leyelle]

Share as many fun facts about your writing journey or stories as you've got years under your belt, and lets see what you've created.

Nineteen fun facts about my writing journey:

1. I started writing professionally at age 15

2. My first published work was an essay called "Waste Your Time"

3. When I was 18 I won the Turnill prize for a story I wrote when I was 17 called "Rain Dance" or rather "Rain Dance by Leyelle" because of an error lol

4. I love writing spec fic, but my speculative fiction stories are often sort of odd forms of drama/slice of life rather than highly action based stories. that is not to say that none of them are, but the only spec fiction story I have published right now, "The First Time I Grew Wings" is almost a journal entry from the perspective of a fairy

5. I have been rejected more than 500 times. It honestly bothered me more in the beginning than it bugs me now.

6. "Rain Dance" is largely inspired by real experiences I had growing up in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.

7. The "Damsel in the Red Dress" the first novel I ever completed was written in like a month and a half for a competition so a lot of it was improvised on the fly. (probably don't do that it's scary)

8. I personally believe I'm way better at poetry than writing stories but ironically I've still yet to publish a work of poetry tho one is allegedly forthcoming...

9. My siblings are my biggest help in my writing journey whenever I have writers block or feel like a story is missing something.

10. I have made one audio drama in my lifetime, but I'm pretty sure the company was a scam.

11. When I was younger I wanted to be a manga creator, but I later learned that I'm more of a cartoonist art style-wise and anime style just doesn't suit me

12. The first story I ever wrote was when I was like 5 or 6 and it was called "Pam and Gak." Yeah, idky either. It was about a girl named Pam and her cat was named Gak for some inexplicable reason.

13. The first poem I ever remember writing was called "Better" and I was inspired to write it when I learned that my mother had written poetry when she was in college, some of which was published in her school's magazine

14. My favorite writer of all time is Charles Dickens. He made me realize that reading exposition could be interesting, and had a huge impact on my writing (his stories are referenced a few times in my two novels "A Dozen Morning Glories" and "Damsel in the Red Dress")

15. I in fact, could not resist my Charles Dickens admiration to such an extent that even in my action fantasy novel, the dog belonging to one of the villains is named Bullseye

16. I owe a huge portions of my writing development to my older brother, because he pushed me to read more complicated things when I was a kid. I had a period of time when I used to read basically just Garfield comic strips. Then he gave me a novel about quantum physics and now I write spec fic, go figure.

17. My author name is an altered spelling of my real name to make is more distinctive. My irl name is Lael, but I spell it Leyelle because I think it looks fancier. I did accidentally almost write my author name when signing for my passport though and that would have been bad.

18. I have written a total of two stories about fairies trying to hide their wings in a world where being a fairy was not inherently dangerous, but was still shunned, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

19. When I was younger...okay who am I kidding...I find Greek mythology very interesting and mythology in general has a big influence on my writing a lot, even when it isn't set in a fantasy world.

Now for my individual stories where I'll give a TOTAL of 19 facts

Damsel in the Red Dress

1. DITRD was my first completed novel length work of fiction
2. The male lead got his name from my childhood neighbor's boyfriend, who I never met, but I thought the name sounded cool
3. The story was originally called "Tic Tac Toe" because of a statement relating to her scars that the female lead makes in one of the early chapters, but I changed it by my editors suggestion and I'm very glad I did. The new cover is better too.
4. I made the cover to this story myself, but the way the paint splatter is positioned on the cover is all thanks to my youngest sister who noticed that it looked kind of like a heart
5. Several parts of the male lead and the female lead's mothers' designs are inspired by my grandmother on my father's (which makes sense, since my mother is Hispanic, but both my leads' mothers are)

A Dozen morning Glories

1. Essence is my tallest female lead rn at 5'10 inches tall, and I had a very hard time figuring out how to draw her well because I usually draw short and roundy female characters. Now she's probably my most visually distinctive slice of life heroine.
2. My editor feels represented by reading about Essence, probably largely because Essence is an editor and the people she edits for have horrible spelling like me lol
3. Dominic is for sure my strongest male lead, being able to lift a little more than 300 lb. Most of the other's have never taken working out nearly as seriously as he has.
4. Ayla's name mean 'halo' which I think is extremely fitting for the character.
5. Book Bug Publishing is the second majority POC run business I have written into one of my stories, which isn't a lot but...well yk how the line goes.

Crystal Blue

1. Mora Glas is my first Welsh character, though her grandmother honestly has more ties to Wales than she does, and since she's older, I guess that makes Grammy Glas my first Welsh Character.
2. The Actaeon's name is foreshadowing, if anyone knows who Actaeon was in Greek mythology (mythology reference!)
3. mermaids in my story have paralyzing venom, similar to many sea creatures, but they can only use it when they are scared, as it's an adrenaline response
4. Faun horns in my story are made of keratin. They can be filed away like your fingernails and they will also grow back.
5. Despite my love for fairy tales, my female lead hates them, but tbf, I'd probably hate them if I was her too.

Sketchy Business

1. this comic was designed to help me improve my art, but the plan for the plot has spiraled way out of pocket
2. Many of the art critiques the female lead receives from her bff are based on art critiques I have received from my older brother over the years
3. I have no idea why my leads' cat is floral. maybe they painted him
4. Texas is currently my second shortest female lead, but she and her male lead have the largest height gap.

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Damsel in the Red Dress | Tapas Community

Read A Dozen Morning Glories :: The Woman of Delicacy | Tapas Community

Read Crystal Blue :: The Actaeon | Tapas Community

Read Sketchy Business :: The Announcement Episode | Tapas Community

[Rayfloret]

Happy birthday day

[Leyelle]

oh, thank you so much XD.

[kyupol]

Happy birthday To you

[skidiggy]

Happy (early) Birthday!

I'm terrifically old, so here's just a few facts to entertain:

1. I've been writing story ideas for "Apparent Secrets" off and on for ten years, but hadn't done anything with it until the "True Love on Tapas" contest.
2. The contest started way late for me. I only learned about it a month before the deadline.
3. My background is more in radio than traditional writing; "Apparent Secrets" and "Of Lowlifes, Lutes, & Liars" are my first efforts to put a novel together.
4. It's a dream of mine to record an audio book for each story someday, and actually get some use out of this ol' microphone.
5. "Of Lowlifes, Lutes, & Liars" is my entry for the Tapas Action Fantasy Tourney, and updates Tues/Thurs/Sat until the contest closes on October 24th. It's a prequel that follows the life of Khazmine before she came to earth in "Apparent Secrets."
6. "Apparent Secrets" launches on Tapas as a premium title on September 29th! I'm so excited to have something published. Dreams really do come true.

Here's my web novel, for anyone interested:

Read Of Lowlifes, Lutes, & Liars :: Chapter 01: Deceiver | Tapas Community

[Leyelle]

wow six years (facts) old, i'm impressed you've written so much lol

[skidiggy]

Aww man, if I had to write as many facts as I am old, we'd be here for ages.

[BellaTheCow]

Happy birthday!

[ThunderChicken]

Wow, nineteen. That was a long, long, LOOOOOONG time ago for me! Like, 33 years ago!

Nineteen is an important age in Nova Scotia, Canada: It's the age you become legal to drink, smoke, gamble, and smoke weed. I remember everybody in my family being excited that I could get my liquor ID (back the it was separate from a driver's license). Didn't matter to me though. I don't drink. Or smoke weed. Or gamble. I smoked back then, but there was no minimum age for smoking back then.

[Leyelle]

Ahh, in my country drinking is legal at eighteen, not that I'm sure it's regulated much...

[Leyelle]

A few facts is fine too. Just 19 was hard for me to manage about my career since it is not very long xd. And I started the true love etc. Contest super late too lol. November 27th. The stress was real. And congrats on becoming a premium title

[skidiggy]

Thank you so much! Yeah, that late start on True Love on Tapas was brutal.

[2DLenzy]

I'm turning 33 this November. BUCKLE UP!
And pardon my typos I'm on phone, and sleepy

1. My first comic that was actually a comic is a superhero story of an acorn man, done at age, uh, 5? 6?
2. I wrote a bunch of short stories and drew a lot as a kid. My classmates loved it. Ego activated!
3. Being autistic, I took things literally and didn't understand metaphors or symbolism until I learned about Romantic poetry and imagery in high school. Then it all finally made sense and I was better at critical reading.
4. This new understanding brought me to writing a huge sci-fi novel with Biblical imagery, metaphors and allusions. Called it "Humanity" and I never attempted to publish it. Too cringe now XD
5. Through college, I wrote a historical fiction about a British man who adopted an Indian girl during WW1 and ended during India's independence from British rule. "Pita Penguin" was the title, as his whole life resembled the life cycle of an Antarctic penguin. Unpublished, unfortunately.
6. I wrote a short thriller about an elderly Nam vet dealing with an antagonistic neighbor who was after everything of his. "Dead Ringer".
7. After a long period of no writing and drawing, and COVid hit, I wanted to get back into drawing, so I got my first tablet and first idea, "Friar Chicken", the first and only published thing I've created.
8. Original first upload was meant to be Jan 7, 2022, but I panicked so bad that I decided to work on it one more year. Glad I did. Published officially Jan 6, 2023, on Epiphany, an Eastern Orthodox holiday.
9. Friar Chicken was meant to be a funnies comedy, but I wanted a more challenging art style with dramatic shading, so I had to change up the story/genre.
10. The first panels with the coop took me eighteen hours to complete from draft to render XD
11. Humans were not supposed to exist beyond the first ep, which is why I left them hideous. But later, I decided to do a 2-sided story for more content and contrasting viewpoints on chickens.
12. Alec Tryon came from the Greek myth of the guard caught sleeping and turned into a rooster, hence why you first see Alec in bed at the beginning.
13. Seriously 20 more? Hoo boy. Uh, Friar's appearance was loosely inspired by a Franciscan monk, but feathers instead of a robe.
14. Bucky was originally supposed to be all black, but I felt it wasn't interesting enough. So I gave him red features to make him look distinguishable.
15. Gallus's appearance was inspired by Mayan chieftains, even the obvious feather crown.
16. Chantecleer was inspired by the breed of chicken, in both name and appearance. Thought he looks too much like Mufasa
17. The Four Orders were first derived from the common colors of plumage I saw in breeds of chickens -white, brown, black, red. Then I assumed those colors could represent ideals or ways of life, so I based the Four Orders on qualities, that kinda serve like cults.
18. The Whites are all about purity and high morality. The Reds are all about discipline and warrior-type ideals. Browns and Blacks will be discussed later, as not to spoil too much.
19. The Blind Owls and Marek eps were impromptu, cause I don't always follow a script.
20. I just realized I'm supposed to be talking about my journey and not just Friar Chicken, but it is my journey rn.
21. One thing I miss about my old pages is the compositions, which you can't really find in a scroll format.
22. I don't really have anyone or anything that inspired many of my prior stories except fascination in a certain subject I did have a time where I drew and wrote fanfics on a video game character -Sly Cooper-in my early teens. Yep, I might be a furry.
23. I tried to draw anime/manga in my tweens. No...I'm a cartoonist, though and through.
24. 2DLenzy was a play on the '2D lens', cause artists have to be able to draw in 2d, right? Kinda silly cause I'm better at using 3d software.
25. Oh yeah, there was a period where I did a bunch of 3d animation projects that I could never finish. Did a capstone project of a robot monk finding peace after killing an insect, "Transmittance", but there's no soundscape, so I didn't publish. Got an A though.
26. Despite not going through and finishing/publishing a ton of projects, each has taught me lessons that are finally sinking in. Ambition is great, motivation is good, but practice and habit are the greatest actions.
27. I worked on this comic for three years before publishing. Now it's been a year and a half more. It'll be five years total in 2025, which is awesome.
28. I tend to write morals in all my stories. What I try to do instead of going too preachy is hide it all under different layers - comedic bits, growing plots, focus on fun/entertainment and just tell a story that means something, without having to tell your audience what the moral/message is.
29. The humans and chickens have an Egyptian connection. I'll let you figure out what that means.
30. The T in TFC stands for Tryon's, though it could also stand for Tennessee...or Terrified
31. Is Alec the villain? I wrote it in a way so that you the reader can decide.
32. Teresa's face hasn't been shown yet. Guess I like the hidden-face trope. But there's a reason the reader nor Alec can see it.
33. Alec is too young for white hair. He dyes it

Jeez, that was a lot of facts, ramblings and memories. Might organize it later. For now, sleep!

[supriyashukla2398]

@Leyelle Happiest Birthday layelle. I hope you have a great day.

[Lensing]

Happy birthday my fellow 100 days of art artist

[2DLenzy]

@Leyelle HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
You accomplished a lot of creative feats at your age! Wishing you another year of greatness!

[Leyelle]

What I try to do instead of going too preachy is hide it all under different layers - comedic bits, growing plots, focus on fun/entertainment and just tell a story that means something, without having to tell your audience what the moral/message is.

i think i do something similar in many of my stories without spelling out the moral of the story explicitly, though occasionally my characters come to revelations that are clearer

You accomplished a lot of creative feats at your age! Wishing you another year of greatness!

ohh, thank you. fingers crossed

[Leyelle]

lol, thank you, hopefully i'll do better at art at age 19 than i have at 18

[LunarScyphozoa]

Happy birthday! Let’s hope this year is as fun as these facts for you

[Lensing]

I think you are doing great. I was really bad and drawing like I was 11 when I restarted to draw,
it took me 5 years to see some improvement because I´m a slow learner and now after almost
10 years I´m getting to a point where I feel more self confident.

Imagine how good you will draw in some years when you keep at it