Random Questions With Authors (sfw): Question #48

Leyelle 2024-06-06 18:55:00 UTC #81

14: What's the hardest chapter/episode you've written so far?

In "A Dozen Morning Glories" it's probably episode 1. Getting into the head space for writing Essence took a lot of time, because she's so different from me.

In "Damsel in the Red Dress" there have been a couple of tricky chapters, but I know I particularly struggled with chapter one (starting is always hard) and "Red Line."

It was tricky designing the proper lead up for Alicia's emotions in "Red Line" for me, because I was trying to keep it PG-13, while letting the readers understand her panic about what Shannon tried to trick her into.

I think the chapter was rewritten like 3, maybe 4 times, but I like the way it turned out in the end.

binahwrites 2024-06-06 20:47:19 UTC #82

this one is difficult because it is Higen but I can't elaborate too much on why since they could be spoilers, all I will say is that if you pay attention to how Ozwald talks about him when he has the narrator rights and how Higen thinks of himself through his internal monolog he has things going on outside of his knight persona

binahwrites 2024-06-06 20:58:07 UTC #83

wow, today was a Higen is the answer day, "Chapters 20 and 21: The Place I Can Call Home" I love these chapters but it was difficult to sit down and deconstruct Higens demeanor with the simple question "How will Higen react if Ozwald were to die in battle?" I'm very content with the result and how it opens the door for the final arc of the volume.

Kscarlet 2024-06-07 07:14:55 UTC #84

The sexiest character?
For now, as the story is still in its infancy, I would say it's Gregory Lawson.
The smartest character?
It's tough. But right now, I would say it's George Lawson and Marianne Lawson. George has always been talented at reading others and uncovering the truth. Meanwhile, Marianne managed to fool a whole town of people, including George Lawson, for a while.

Leyelle 2024-06-07 16:18:56 UTC #85

15: Who is your most fun character to draw (or if it's a novel) which of your characters aesthetics/fashion statements to you find the most fun?

Maybe I just have a thing for short characters. In "Damsel in the Red Dress" while there are a lot of really attractive characters imo, the most fun character design is Melissa. She is so tiny, cute, and because she loves ugly clothes, the outfits I get to describe for her are tons of fun. She's just extremely colorful.

That said, I love drawing Alicia. I love her hair, her body type. She's also super tiny, so that's fun lol.

In "A Dozen Morning Glories" my most fun design is probably Honey Giang, but I love Scarlet Caralee as well. Neither are short (Honey is taller than her brother, the male lead, but that's not saying much) but I just find Honey's aesthetic really pretty and bright. She's got beach girl vibes, liking to wear halter tops and shorts and things like that, and since she naturally has a honey brown golden complexion, it makes sense with her vibe. She also dyes her hair blonde, which makes her whole appearance brighter.

Scarlet I like just because she LOOKS bubbly. She has shortish red bouncy curly hair, and a tendency for his eyes to squint when she smiles, and she's basically always smiling.

My favorite character to draw so far is Essence. I've only drawn her and Dominic, the male lead. Essence is definitely a challenge for me because I'm not used to drawing girls as thin as her, but I think it will become more fun he better I get at it, and I enjoy the challenge.

rainwang 2024-06-09 05:06:42 UTC #86

Most attractive: Caramella Red

Smartest: Azure

Leyelle 2024-06-09 14:28:14 UTC #87

16: Do you enjoy writing dialog (specifically long conversations?)

The long short of it is YES. I love writing long conversations, be they cute romantic ones, flirty ones, funny ones, arguments, or emotional conversations (sometimes combinations of a few of those or a lot of them.) Conversations are one of my favorite parts of writing stories. I like when I can really channel characters' emotions in a conversational scene to the point where I can feel them myself and make my readers feel them. When a character's tears and heartbreak become real enough that I start to cry writing them, I feel like I'm doing a good job. When the conversation makes me laugh or smile it's also a good sign lol. If I was to pick the two kinds of conversations I enjoy the most it's probably banter and emotional conversations, but I also really love writing flirting and arguments too. It's especially entertaining and rewarding to me when I can write an argument that feels believable, writing from both people's perspectives and understanding their motivations enough to make them seem realistic without losing the intent. It is harder for me to write arguments than other kinds of conversations though without making them seem a little unbelievable or unnatural so they take more effort.

Flirting is just too much fun to write:

Flirting

“Have at it if you like, but I’m warning you, my mom’s set a high bar. She made me a little bit of a party connoisseur, you know. You think you can impress me?”

“Oh yeah,” I smirk, crossing my legs with a diva-ish air, “That’s not a concern.”

I dare to smile a little teasingly and watch the poker face waver, just a tad -

“-I have a certain secret weapon that your mother didn’t make.”

flirting

I want to say something, but my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, as he just beams at me glancing up from beneath the dark lashes with a slight, bashful smile.

“It’s my fault,” and he means it, “I’m all yours.”

Now it’s my turn to flush scarlet, from my cheeks to my hair.

Don’t phrase it like that.

He’s teasing me.

But there’s something about the shy light in his eyes that is so much sweeter and more honest than the roguish, devil-may-care confidence, that I almost lose my sensibilities.

He’s not teasing me. And that’s…

“Never mind, go back to being distracted.”

He smirks, raising one eyebrow as the waiter comes over with our plates.

“I am.” He mouths, and I nearly choke on my water.

flirting

I turn to grab the bag but am stopped short by a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. Before I can comprehend exactly what I saw, I’m being pulled back to my starting point by the stupid pink sash.

I stumble backward, but it doesn’t come untied this time.

“For goodness sake!” I stammer, flushing red up to the roots of my hair.

“Oh look, 2nd time’s the charm.”

Somehow his easy-going manner is even more embarrassing than the antics themself.

“Do you need something? Like a chew toy maybe?” I ask as I adjust the twisted sash crossly.

“I was pulling for service.”

Plus more unreleased flirting I promised myself I wouldn't spoil coming up this month lol.

ThunderChicken 2024-06-09 15:35:15 UTC #88

What character do you think is your most unique design?

In Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days, my most unique character would be me, because I'm the only me.

In Finding Daecon's Way it would be Lucinda the Hecate, because she is (so far) the only female in the story

What's the hardest chapter/episode you've written so far?

There were several difficult chapters in WNHCD: The death of my friend's brother, the death of my first boyfriend (at the age of fifteen), the loss of my best friend due to religious fanatism, my own suicide attempt... but by far the most difficult one to write was the suicide of a very dear friend of mine (we fooled around a bit but never really dated because of his alcohol problem, and that alcohol problem also led to his suicide).

In FDW I would say the fight scenes were the most difficult to write.

Who is your most fun character to draw (or if it's a novel) which of your characters aesthetics/fashion statements to you find the most fun?

In WNHCD I enjoyed drawing Derrick (the one who committed suicide) because drawing him brought back happy memories.

In FDW I originally enjoyed drawing Evander the most because he is simply the sexiest, sweetest, most innocent cinnamon roll to have ever existed. Lately I've enjoyed drawing Daecon more though, because he's acquired a taste for 1980's fashion (bright colours, tight acid wash jeans, etc).

Do you enjoy writing dialog (specifically long conversations?)

Probably a little too much. One of my favourite parts of WNHCD is the conversation that I had with my friend's uncle Carman (note the different spelling from my name, Carmen). This conversation takes up three full chapters and I am quite proud of it. In FDW the conversation between Daecon and Owen, where Owen explains what a shapeshifter is and how their society works was fun to write as well.

Leyelle 2024-06-09 17:10:43 UTC #89

Tbf, everyone else in WNHCD is also the only them in the world, making everybody equally unique in nonfiction lol

Leyelle 2024-06-09 18:42:55 UTC #90

17: If your story is written in first person POV, do your characters have any favorite words they use often?

Unconsciously, I think both Essence ("A Dozen Morning Glories") and Alicia ("Damsel in the Red Dress") have some words they prefer. The only one I've picked up on so far with Essence is the word "trounce" while Alicia likes a lot of flowery words, especially references to Greek mythology, "Gaea" "Oizys" and so on, which as of yet, Essence has never used.

binahwrites 2024-06-09 19:08:33 UTC #91

I would say Donna she has a lot of personality on her wardrobe and her hairstyles

binahwrites 2024-06-09 19:11:49 UTC #92

oh absolutely there's nothing like having a good conversation scene, you can give a lot of information just based on how characters talk to one another, what sort of vocabulary they use, and overall how different characters view the situation they are in.

Leyelle 2024-06-10 16:00:14 UTC #93

18: What's the funniest chapter you've released so far? What is the saddest? What is the most romantic? Are any other scenes coming that will knock these chapters off their pedestals.

What's your favorite chapter you've already released? Is one coming that trounces it?

The funniest chapter is hard to judge, there aren't a lot of super funny chapters, but there are funny parts in many of them. If I was to just choose a couple that were the most light-hearted altogether, they'd be "White Hot Sugar" and "A Spoonful of Sugar."

Weird connection between those titles. Must be because they are both sweet, and a little romantic XD.

The saddest chapter? Again, that's hard to judge, but in my opinion, it's "Lurid" though other people have mentioned different chapters being the ones that made them cry.

What's the most romantic?

Mmm, again this is hard to judge, because up until this point, lots of romance has been mixed together with the other chapters. But one of my favorite romantic moments in the story, is surprisingly, more just emotional than purely romantic, and that would be "Black Bile." This chapter was one of the many occasions where my female lead broke away from the intended script and changed her own plot, and it really is so much better that way.

Are any other scenes coming that trounce these scenes?

Sadder? I think so, but it's kind of hard to judge, because there are tons of kinds of sadness and they're hard to compare to each other. Lurid hits home for me because it's inspired by my own trauma, but other chapters are still very sad in a lot of ways.

Funnier? I think funnier chapters are definitely coming, and I hope to make some eventually that are more or less entirely happy.

More romantic?

This one is certain. Definitely. We've barely touched the tip of the romance iceberg up to this point in the story, but there's a LOT more to come. Hang on to your hats folks.

What is my favorite scene and is there one that will trounce it coming soon?

Right now my favorite might be "Black Bile" but I do think there are other scenes I like more coming up later, though Black Bile will forever have a place in my heart.

Leyelle 2024-06-10 17:14:02 UTC #94

19 What is one moment that made you realize you still have a lot to learn as a writer/artist?

Working on "A Dozen Morning Glories."

The female lead is just SO very different from anything I've written before that I knew it was time to roll up my sleeves and get to grinding away until I could write her properly the same way I had to when I was learning the basics of narrating a story at all. Alicia's narration style in "Damsel in the Red Dress" is very much so like my own personality, making Essence's the natural opposite, and it feels harder than it needs to be to flip my perspective, but I'm working on it, and hopefully, finally starting to get the hang of it lol.

Leyelle 2024-06-11 01:20:10 UTC #95

20: What are some parallels/similarities in your different series? what are some differences?

If you have more than one series, do they have a lot of things in common?

What are some similarities?

What are some differences?

Comparing "Damsel in the Red Dress" and "A Dozen Morning Glories"

Similarities:
1. POC leads and a largely POC cast
2. Dark skinned female leads
3. Asian male leads (though Kattar is technically only half)
4. Drastically unusual heights for the female leads
5. Female leads working in creative-based fields
6. The female lead is an older sister
7. Introverted female leads

Differences:
1. very emotional female lead vs. emotionless female lead
2. tall thin female lead vs. very short, slightly chubby, curvy female lead
3. A long put off reveal of feelings vs. a very very reveal of feelings
4. a girl most people consider pretty vs. a girl who has mostly been considered "not good enough."
5. Friends to lovers vs. perfect strangers

There are probably more differences and more similarities but I can't think of them right now lol

binahwrites 2024-06-11 01:42:55 UTC #96

I think I always think I have more and more to learn, even when I like something I have the mentality that probably in the future I can do something even better, and here is my journey so far; from writing horror I learned to write emotional scenes, form that I entered writing heart-wrenching scenes and started ToV and I'm applying what I learned for the new novel I'm writing "the Journey"

Leyelle 2024-06-11 14:44:53 UTC #97

21: What would you consider the main idea behind your story?

I think the main idea behind "Damsel in the Red Dress" is recovery and growth. While this might be an aspect in a lot of my stories, it's very specific to this story in a lot of ways.

There is the literal physical recovery after the car accident for one, with the leads trying to rebuild their lives after that trauma and all that means. Kattar learning to walk again etc.

There's also a lot of emotional trauma the characters have been holding onto for a very long time, and the recovery from these things, even being able to share these things and be loved through them, as they don't go away quickly, is super important.

I love the title "Damsel in the Red Dress" so much because it tells us where the story starts, but not where it ends. Alicia feels helpless in the beginning and has basically let life do whatever it wants to her and just been subject to her emotions on any given day, but as the story progresses this idea starts to be turned on it's head.

The male lead at first seems like the Prince Charming, but the further into the story you go, the more complex you start to realize that the roles people play really are, and maybe people can be a combination of damsels and knights in shining armor at the same time, and take turns to care for each other.

In "A Dozen Morning Glories" the central concept is probably "to feel and experience life." The female lead has little to no emotion and even her senses are pretty numb. The male lead lives vibrantly and he wants her to be able to enjoy the world around her and live life.

"Care" is also a very central concept, because the importance of loving, helping and caring for the people around you, in all the ways that people need to be cared for (physically, emotionally, etc) is also extremely important to the plot.

Little forms of care are shown with the subtlest things about the way certain characters (like Tiffany, and Dominic and Cocoa) live their lives. And it shows so vividly a lack of care in the way other characters (like Dorine and Thanh) live theirs.

binahwrites 2024-06-11 20:05:20 UTC #98

I think many of my non-horror works are about found family and self-confidence/worth those are the main topics I like to show in my writing

Leyelle 2024-06-12 17:09:41 UTC #99

22: Do any of your characters seem to write themselves?

A number of the characters in "Damsel in the Red Dress" honestly seem to write themselves, the most shocking for most people probably being Mrs. Moon. She was originally not really supposed to appear in the story at all, but she inserted herself into the story with an already fully defined personality it feels and it just comes through poignantly in everything she does throughout the novel without me really having to think about how she would do something almost ever.

Melissa is another one of those characters who wrote herself with a fully defined personality from the first mention of her (a letter she wrote) and from there, her behavior and attitude has just been so abundantly clear that I rarely struggle to think how she would react in any scenario.

In the realm of other characters I feel like Alicia has annexed control of the story a couple of times, as has Kattar, and just veered away from the way I had planned it because their personalities just developed to a point where the things I planned for them no longer made sense for them. Kattar refused to wait until the point I intended him to before he asked Alicia to be his girlfriend. Alicia decided to comfort Kattar rather than being in a state of emotional collapse/shock like I had planned. I find these moments interesting, but I also enjoy when the story flows well enough and the characters are alive enough that I don't have to stick to the original plan and can let the story change directions and almost write itself.

This is the first chapter where we see Mrs. Moon:

binahwrites 2024-06-13 04:47:56 UTC #100

I think it comes down to how much do you write a character, the more you do the ideas for their dialogues or scenes come more naturally, I think that for me is Niko the one whos dialogs come more natural to me than anyone else