Pictures and Progress

I’m in a better mental state this week. The kids are doing better, my husband is no longer on antibiotics, and my projects at work are back on track. The parental stress is still running high, but medically, I’m fine.

I’ve also gotten more words in. Yay!

Granted, I’m still 16K behind, but I made it past my block of “this character has nothing to do.” How did I get past it? I killed a bunch of people! It spawned an investigation, which escalated to her theorizing as to why the monster didn’t kill her last time, which led to her encountering invaders on their borders. Things are rolling along.

Of course, writing with children around is difficult, thus why my word count is low. But I have mastered the art of sketching while playing with my son. He’ll drive cars up my legs and over my knees, while I make sound effects and draw pictures. Am I a bad parent for doing that? Yeah, perhaps. I should be more invested in playing pretend and crashing cars into each other. Instead I’ve got the characters in my brain seeping out through my fingers.

First is Cameron. He is usually a clean-shaven guy, but there’s something about a five o’clock shadow that I like on him. He gets pretty scruffy in Isto because he’s out in the wild, and he ends up with a full beard at one point. It’s not until he reaches the Halqua palace that he gets a shave and a haircut, and his best friend says, “Ah, there you are.”

Next is Derek. This is the guy who spawned the whole writing deal. He’s the core piece to the entire story, and the maker of his own mess. But gosh darn it, I do love him. All he wants to do is live a peaceful life with the woman of his dreams and make lots and lots and lots of babies. Is that too much to ask? Of course it is! In Isto, he must leave to find a cause and cure to an illness before it kills his adopted daughter, while battling his own ailments that could result in destroying the world. No pressure. Oh, and he can’t grow facial hair beyond his eyebrows.

I’ve found I can’t draw the same face twice, so I’m practicing getting a consistent look throughout my sketches. These two are the closest I’ve come to matching the vision in my brain.

Do you have a strong visualization of your characters? If you’re unable to write, do your characters or story come out in a different way? Do you ever kill off a bunch of fictitious people just to get from one place to another?

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