The Four-Part Writing Special // Part Four: Writing

Today, we have our last part of the 4-Part Writing Special: Writing! With no introduction because intros are hard and I've already done three in the last three Writing Special posts!

[HERE, HERE, and HERE.]

1. What do you do to get yourself in the story?

I simply write myself in.

'Jemma' is not completely me, but she's close enough that I didn't have to think up another name. Or personality traits. And I think that counts as me being in the story.

...hang on. *rereads question*

Ohhh sorry guys.

I sit down at my laptop. Stare at the wall. Read the last thousand words (or so) that I wrote. Stare at the wall. Check my private story + aesthetic boards on Pinterest. Stare at the wall. Type twenty words and backspace them. Stare at the wall. Give up. Go onto MyWriteClub and try to blast out some writing, flicking over to my story's Pinterest boards when necessary. Stare at the wall.

2. Do you do anything extra - art, covers, character journals, glossaries, playlists, etc. to help you with your story?

The Four-Part Writing Special // Part Three: Story World

And thus, another Wednesday.





Never mind that it's actually Thursday morning here. Due to time zones, it shouldn't be too obvious. Hopefully.


This whole "schedule" thing... it's actually quite good for me, if I admit it. Not only does it mean I post at least once a week, but it means I stay up late on Tuesday nights stressing! Typing and backspacing and typing and grimacing and slapping my laptop. That's basically what I'd be doing anyway, so I might as well get something productive out of it.

(This is in no way an admission that I need a blogging schedule. I'm a pantser.)

You can find Part One here, Part Two here, and now - Story World: Part Three of the 4-Part Writing Special! 

1. Name a unique aspect of your story world.

...

Well, this post didn't last long. *leaves*

...

I'm a pantser, okay?? That means I set stuff up when I need it.

So far, the setting has been: the forest (Ranwood); a small town just outside Ranwood; and the Beast's manor-house-thing inside Ranwood. I haven't even named the country or its capital - but I am feeling the results of that now.

I HAVEN'T SET UP MY WORLDBUILDINGUP. I ADMIT IT.

Probably the most unique aspect of my story world is that, for fantasy, it's a later-feeling time period? Almost Edwardian, maybe?? (Or Victorian, or Georgian... I wouldn't know.) More like ferns in white conservatories, a cottage rough grey wood and checked curtains, high arched ceilings in halls full of white pillars.

...Actually, I found a few pictures which fit the capital, if that helps:

2. Talk about one of the important animals in the story (someone's pet or horse; or a fierce animal the MC must defeat).

Old Bill is a very important part of set-up at the start of the story. Billie would love to have the use of him for doing the heavy work around the house, but she won't ask. So Josie claimed him (without considering) and has used him to ride around the forest hunting and being dramatic.

(I should mention: I did not copy Bill the bony old pony off Tolkien??)

Another important animal which was present for like 2 pages but played an important role is a dog. It doesn't have a name, but it has a good nose. Jemma went and got it so she + Zephyr + his men could track down where Elsie'd gone when she ran. So. Thanks for snitching, slobbery dog.

[That last sentence was Billie. Just so you know.]

3. A paragraph describing something in your storyworld (building, landmark, etc.).

The Beast's home/manor? is the biggest feature at the moment. (Apart from Ranwood forest. But it's just your standard cliche fantasy forest. With bandits in it.) I had to find a floor plan for it before I could write - because I'm terrible at visualising settings - and you can see that floor plan HERE.

That's a modern 'manor', of course, but I've scribbled on my copy to turn it back into a fantasy building. (The Beast, for example, probably does not need a three-car garage. It can be a mini-museum or something. Also the 'lanai' verandah has been changed into a conservatory.)

Like that, but not quite. But this is the closest picture I can find. More ferns would be good.

4. Something dangerous in your storyworld.

The Beast has the potential to be quite dangerous. (Especially if you hurt his tea. Or ferns. Or china.)

I mean, my Beast doesn't have an eyepatch... but close enough. :P

(He counts as part of the storyworld, right??)

There are bandits in Ranwood forest. They are SUPER DANGEROUS. *cough* actually they're all just big softies. And goofs, sometimes.

But... I think Mrs Potts could be dangerous! She's a ball of glowing light, but capable of handling physical objects. Such as saucepans. Which she briefly attacked the bandits with [except that's the scene I'm still on, so I don't know how it plays out...]. Anyway. She doesn't like Billie - who keeps smashing stuff and making Count Laszlo anxious - so she could certainly be dangerous.

Otherwise, the villain. Who... I haven't developed yet. (I'm starting to see a theme here??)

5. Something delightful in your storyworld.

Rowan. Also Zephyr. 

I CAN COUNT PEOPLE AS DELIGHTFUL THINGS FROM MY STORYWORLD IF I WANT. (And I do.) It's my story. *grumpy face* And I say ROWAN AND ZEPHYR but don't make me pick.

I also find Elsie + Zephyr delightful and completely squishable.

...if you want actual storyworld answers, I'm trying to play with features that wouldn't be the first thing you think of when you think "fantasy". Like the rather period English conservatory. Or the tea + china + scones. Or the entire aesthetic of the Beast's manor. Personally, I find it delightful.

6. A movie soundtrack that would complement the setting.

I don't know.

It's only recently that I've started listening to music while I write. And I don't watch many movies (comparatively). And Marvel soundtracks would hardly fit anyway, and Middle-Earth soundtracks are a bit high-fantasy (also I don't want to be cliche), and I need to find my story a soundtrack but I haven't yet.

Although I do have a few I found for a few dramatic/feelsy scenes. They aren't from a soundtrack, though.

Two Steps From Hell: 

Clair Voyant || Sky Titans (a bit too "epic" to fit perfectly, though)

Alexandra Streliski: 

Bourrasques || Le Sablier

(I was trying to write some painful/feelsy dialogue and put these two, with a few of her other songs, on repeat.)

Helen Jane Long: 

Storm Away

7. How does the geography impact the story?

Ranwood forest plays a big role - "cliche fantasy forest" is a hard thing to live up to! At the moment, it impacts the plot mostly by exacerbating the sisters' problems. For example, their cottage was damaged by the Beast, so Elsie and Josie will struggle to get through winter without Billie to fix it. (See the next point for a further note on the winter thing.) Apart from that, the bandits live in it, which impacts the story because I get 143% more words when the bandits are there providing sass.

8. Is there a particular location or time period your story you had in mind when creating your storyworld?

Just your standard northern-hemisphere forest... *rolls eyes* (I'm thinking I'll maybe change it to more of an Australian-inspired forest? I'm sure we have some good features for worldbuilding somewhere... I like the idea of fire being the danger, instead of snow/cold [which we do get in some parts of Australia, but I have basically zero experience with].)

As for time period, it probably feels later than a lot of fantasy. I haven't picked a specific era, but various elements are semi-modern (as in, not medieval? I guess that's what I'm trying to say??)

For example, my storyworld has teacups (not sure if the whole tea/coffee thing is going to stay in, but at the moment I'm having great fun playing with it - although I haven't used the words "tea" or "coffee"). It has high-roofed halls of white stone and libraries full of books. I feel like I'm trying to get an almost Victorian whimsy in?? but it wasn't meant to be modern (still pre-Industrial Revolution, for example).

Probably the easiest way to get a feel for the time period would be to look at the pictures from the first question. Because despite being a writer I still don't know how to word, apparently.

9. What is the climate like, and does it play a role in the story?

The climate is your standard sort of... I don't  know... There's snow in winter?? (which is bizarre because I've never experienced snowfall) (and don't have snow myself)

BASICALLY, go back and read questions 8 + 9 again because I think I covered everything I know (it isn't much) in those ones.

10. Are there any traditions, and do they have an effect upon the plot? 

There is an important tradition/lore/ancient legend thing. It says that any offer to pay another's debt must be honoured. Even if that debt is a life. And in that case, you cannot harm either the one who owed the debt, or the one who offered to pay it.

So now the Beast has a girl living in his house and smashing his china.

He doesn't like it, for the above-mentioned reasons, and she doesn't like it, because she hates being useless and unable to rely on her own strength. (Also she's watching Elsie and Josie mess things up through the fantasy/book equivalent of a camera installed in their cottage.)

But she can't leave, because then the debt would be un-paid. So she takes out her feelings on the china. Which I think I already mentioned.

But yes, that's one tradition that strongly affects the plot. 


There you go! You now have a confession - in writing - of my deplorable lack of worldbuilding. Do you have any tips? How much worldbuilding do you do - and how much of it do you use? Do you plot or pants your worldbuilding? What's the most unique feature of your storyworld? What bit of worldbuilding are you most proud of? Any special traditions?


And don't forget to check out the posts from the other participating bloggers! Which I will link here when my eyes are doing better at staying open! or never. I might forget. I'll try not to.

Julian || Sarah || Ivie || Lisa || Faith || Lila || Evangeline

The Four-Part Writing Special // Part Two: Characters

Apparently it's Wednesday again.

Anyone would think Wednesdays were a regular occurrence.

TIME FOR JULIAN'S T H I N G. (I mean, the Special. The not-tag. The... the thing.)

Still talking about Three Sisters here! (Read Part 1)

1. Who is the main character? (Bonus points for a description or picture)

There are three POV characters - Billie, Elsie and Josie. But Billie is the main character. Because she's the most like me. Obviously.

She's... the oldest. So she's bossy a leader. She makes her younger sisters work fairly hard, but takes the worst jobs herself. And while she doesn't show many of the softer emotions, she would literally give her life to protect Elsie and Josie.

...Physical description? Really??

Blonde hair and... um...

...

CONFESSION TIME: I am so scared of info-dumping that I tend to ignore any character description. I mean, how do you work the character's eye colour into a natural sentence?? So I actually haven't focused on developing a full physical description. 

This picture does make me think of her... but it's not accurate to the story.

I can't find out who this is, so I can't find other images
of her and see if Billie looks like that... x(

And I'll probably change my mind later and say it reminds me of her in no way at all. Maybe if I were a plotter I could give you more solid facts, but... I'm not.

2. What is goal of the protagonist? The antagonist? (no spoilers!)

The goal of the protagonist is to keep herself and her sisters alive in their new little rustic life.

The goal of the antagonist isn't to kill the protagonist. Not exactly. She already thinks the protagonist is dead. Instead, it's just your standard sort of take-over-all-the-countries power-grabby goal. Um. Yeah. That's definitely on my list of "Things to change before you let anyone read it, you cliche pengwing".

I could provide spoilers, except I don't know what the ending is... if someone would provide spoilers for me, that would be great. Then I might actually know where I'm heading. 

3. Is there a possession or memory the MC keeps close?

Billie keeps memories of her father close - all the better to brood over.

Nothin' keeps ya bitter like holding your memories close and regularly visiting them to brood. Alone. With your bitterness.

4. What is the MC's greatest fear?

Billie's biggest fear is that she won't be strong enough to protect and look after her younger sisters.

So, obviously, I've used external forces to take even the opportunity of being strong away from her. But I'll come back to her fear before the book's finished.

(And she'll fail. Obviously.)

5. Who is your favorite character?

WHO WROTE THESE QUESTIONS

DON'T YOU KNOW YOU NEVER ASK THAT

 ...

• I like Billie, because she feels responsible and she's a lot like me in her big-sistery-ness. 

• I like Elsie, because she's had to abandon someone she loved without saying goodbye. 

• I like Josie, because... um I think I might need some more character development or a super subplot here. Because Josie's the one who rides around the forest with a bow and arrow, which sounds cool, but I actually feel a fair bit of apathy towards her. Fine, I don't actually like Josie sooo much. (Not enough for her to be an option for my favourite character.)

• I like the Beast (Count Laszlo), because he's a grumpy old thing who just wants to be left in peace with his scones and cups of tea and books and ferns. Without having to deal with people misbehaving. 

• I like Rowan [has his roots in Robin Hood], because even though he's so quick with banter, he has sadness behind his eyes. [Woo that sounds so poetic! now you just have to cOME UP WITH THAT TRAGIC BACKSTORY, YOU DINGBAT AUTHOR.]

• I like Kik, because he somehow developed character better than Rowan, who was meant to be the main character out of the bandits.

• I like Zephyr, because he's so sweet. Basically he's in the range of Char (Ella Enchanted) for sweetness (at least that's what I'm aiming for). And he's hurt.

• I like Jemma, because she's a Camp NaNo panic-fueled creation based roughly on myself because I didn't want to have to make up another full character.

... Billie'd be my favourite female. Male characters... probably Zephyr and the Beast, for different categories. But then, Rowan has come up with some amazing banter... [a significant amount breaking the fourth wall to question if I happened to have such a thing as a plot about me??]

6. List some of the more prominent characters, and then provide a line that describes them (from your WIP).

[Everything is liable to change. But this is how they stand at the moment - or at least how they stood at the start of the draft. Some things have changed already.]

[Also I've taken a not-terribly-literal interpretation of "a line that describes them". Describing their character is much more important than their eye colour! *cough* I don't know their eye colour *cough*]

Billie:

Grabbing two handfuls of tablecloth, she pulled. The porcelain cup, plates and cream pot smashed to the floor, and the cutlery tinkled among the pieces.
The Beast roared and leapt forward. "How dare you!"
Billie kicked her chair in his bath* and grabbed the edge of the table.
"Don't you-"
With muscles toned and knotty from seven months of digging potatoes and cutting trees, she lifted the table and hurled it among the ferns.

(She's having a fit because she thought she'd offered to die in her sister's place... and instead she's being [grumpily] offered scones and tea, while her sisters think she's dead and now have to look after themselves. Which they would have had to do anyway if she'd died, but Billie's not feeling logical at the moment. Besides, watching and being useless COMPLETELY grates against her character.)

* It's five months later and I've only just seen that typo. PATH. not bath. *dies*

Elsie:

Before moving to the forest, she'd been very social, making friends with everyone. The forest, on the other hand, was so lonely and empty. She hadn't seen anyone except her sisters for seven months. If that wasn't enough to drive a person mad, she didn't know what was.

(Billie's "dead" and Josie's run off into the forest. Elsie never took to the rough life like the two of them, and copes so badly on her own that practically the first thing she does is leave their hidden cottage and go talk to people.)

Josie:

If she hunted again, would the Beast come back? Would it take her? Josie thought of the crossbow, hanging on the rack inside the door. Let the Beast come. She would train. She would fight. Let the Beast come; she would welcome it. For Billie, she would kill it. She had been too weak and Billie had died because of that. Josie would not wait until the Beast came after her to avenge her sister. She would hunt the Beast down.

(This is Josie's internal monologue. IMPULSIVE DECISION-MAKING RIGHT HERE. No. Seriously, Josie. Maybe tHINK THIS THROUGH.)

Count Laszlo/the Beast:

"Mrs Potts! I will be needing tea. Excessive quantities of tea every day for the foreseeable future. And a large portion right now."

(I'm not sure how he went from trying to kill them to being a grumpy old teddy bear?? but that's a problem for the second draft.)

Rowan: 

Tall but not overly broad, he had the air of a little boy who'd never grown up, and the tousled brown hair to match. His skin was freckled and his eyes dark; he wore a simple shirt and pants in patched brown and green, with soft leather boots like her own. Her eyes went to the bow and quiver on his back, and she wished again that she had her own bow still.

(But that's Josie's impression when she met him [she's actually pretty immature at this point and I was trying to bring that through in how she saw people; for example, she's misinterpreted "the air of a little boy who'd never grown up" - that's him bluffing that he's okay]. Billie notices different things about Rowan. Mostly because he's tying her to the table leg while he + his men try to raid the Beast's house.)

Kik:

[Rowan:] "These are my men, all of whom I trust with my life."
Kik snorted. "We have a common goal, but adding the compliment - thank you, by the way - doesn't mean you can call us your men, Rowan. We discussed this. We're willing to follow you, but we aren't your men."
"Aren't they all such lovably humorous rogues?" Rowan's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
...
[Later; Rowan to Josie.]
"Welcome to the Hood's Men."
Kik mumbled something from back at the clearing. 

Rowan ignored it.

Zephyr: 

The only [foreigner] not dancing. The only [foreigner] wearing black. The [foreigner] who should never, never have seen her again.
"Elsabeth," he said again, hoarsely, and stepped forward heedless of the dancers. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Which he had.

(PLEASE REPLACE "foreigner" WITH SOME ACTUAL WORLDBUILDING THANK YOU)

Jemma:

"Do you sell paper?"
"I do." The woman looked up, brushing a strand of hair off her face and leaving a swipe of ink in its place. She was only a bit older than Elsie.

(She wasn't supposed to be in more than one scene?? but she stuck around and made herself useful.)



I understand that these aren't all main characters! But I thought I'd introduce a bit more of the cast haha this practically is all of the named cast.

7. Who is the funniest character? Smartest character? Creepiest character? Most reckless character? Quirkiest character?

After careful consideration I have decided that my characters don't seem to be funny on their own, but in pairs. I'm not actually terribly far into my plot, but where I currently am, Billie and Rowan are... well, I think they're funny, but I suppose they're really just bickering.

The Beast is probably the smartest... in book learning. Not so sure about real world application, since he doesn't seem to understand - for example - how human emotions work.

I guess the creepiest character is the girls' father?

And Josie is definitely the most reckless character.

For quirky... maybe Mrs Potts?? I mean, she's a glowing orb that floats around glowering at Billie. That... is not terribly quirky. I do not actually have one of those quirky and lightheartedly and funny characters.

8. How do you come up with names?

It's not my division if I can't see it.








*also external screaming* *that's very important* *can't forget that*

9. What is the Myers-Briggs type of your MC? (Bonus points for side characters!)

I actually hadn't gotten around to doing this yet! So... now I know.

Billie: ESTJ. This fits perfectly with how I pictured her, which is cool! She's leader who values dedication, honesty, and hard work - and clashes with anyone who goes against those values. Not touchy-feely or big on words of affection (I actually did her Love Language too - Acts of Service); can miss emotions in others; stubborn and not very sensitive.

Elsie: The first time, the result was ENFJ - "natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma... with a natural confidence that begets influence." That doesn't sound like Elsie to me; she enjoys being around people, but not being the centre of attention, and she's not as much of a leader as her sisters.

So I did it again, and the result was INFJ (which is funny because that's mine). This seems a bit more like her: "soft-spoken, but with strong opinions", private, could be seen as a quiet Extrovert but still needs time alone to recharge.

Josie: My first try gave ENTP. This seemed partly accurate, but she's not overly selfless or sensitive (she's a bit self-centred, at least at the start). Next time, the result was ESTP, (intuitive/sensing was hovering around 50%). "Little regard for sensitivity"... "leap before they look"... "likeliest personality type to make a lifestyle of risky behaviour"??? JOOOSIE RIGHT HERE.


(Anyone have experience with the MBTI system? How would you say these would interact? Anything in particular I should know??)

10. Are any characters influenced by someone in your life?

Billie: myself - even though our personality types are apparently practically opposite, we share a silent but fierce protectiveness.
Josie: annoying little sisters who don't behave logically??
Zephyr: I wish he was based on someone I know xP

So that's Part Two of the Four-Part Writing Special! I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about the characters in Three Sisters. (Sorry about the length....)

Which character do you like best? Which one would you like to hear more about? Who's your quirkiest character? Do you like the sweet guys in books? (Char! Kai! Faramir!) Are your characters influenced by (we won't say "based off") someone in your life? Do you know your characters' Myers-Briggs types? What's your Myers-Briggs personality type?


...
Update:
I forgot to link to the other bloggers.  Oops.

Julian's post || Sarah's post || Ivie's post || Lisa's post || Mrs Baldwin's post || Faith's post || Lila's post || Evangeline's post

Have you read the posts by these amazing blogger-writers too? (If not, go do it!)

The Four-Part Writing Special // Part One: Story

Julian (over at Saver of Memories) has created a thing. It's been through a bit of discussion and modification, but now it's ready for the first part to step into the blogging world!

It's... a link-up? Tag. But not tag-gy because you don't tag people.

See, there was a REASON I called it a thing.

The 4-Part Writing Special // Part One: Story

Basically, there's a few of us who've joined Julian in answering four sets of ten questions about our current WIP. We've even decided to put up our posts on the same day.

That's organisation and coordination.

Of course, once you factor in time zones, it isn't quite so neat... and the chosen dates don't work for some of the participants... but iT'S STILL IMPRESSIVE. 

BE IMPRESSED.

These are the participants! You should go check out their blogs and read their 4-Part Special posts too!

And now for the questions, kindly thrashed out by [mainly] Julian, Sarah, Lisa and Ivie. (The images were created by Ivie, too. :)

1. What is the title, genre and current status of your WIP?

Working title: Three Sisters.

Genre: fairytale mix/retelling [shush that's totally a genre]

Current status:

(What I say:) 

(What I mean:)

[Ooh look at me. Mixing Marvel and DC again. *gasps all round*]

2. What do you think makes your story unique?

I think it's unique among Beauty and the Beast retellings, because I've chosen to have the younger sister cause the Beast's anger, and the older, responsible sister pay for that.

I haven't read too many B+B retellings... but as far as I have read, they try to stick to the "father trespasses/etc, Beauty goes to live with the Beast so it won't kill her him". But what kind of father would do that?? Not to get too iffy here, but all he had was the Beast's word that it wasn't going to, I don't know, eat her. As an older sister, I can't fathom how he wouldn't have protected his daughter with his life, if necessary. I'm trying to investigate that sort of angle.

Oh, also, the Beast was never human, does not fall in love with "Beauty", and ends up being a grumpy/legalistic/slightly bewildered great-uncle kind of figure, who just wants his books and his tea and to be left in his garden in peace. So there's that too.

3. Where did the title come from?

I have a habit of titling my WIPs after their MC. Thus, I have Lyndie, Emily James, Huck Morton, etc.

Thusly, Three Sisters.

Because there are three. (Although Billie's my favourite and is therefore the main main character... but Elsie's story is growing on me [it involves a tragic romance backstory]; Josie's story thread still needs a bit of work though. [It's not very exciting or twisty.])

These are just working titles, after all. I have no idea how to title properly. I've never gotten that far.

4. How long have you been working on your WIP?

I started Three Sisters for April's Camp NaNoWriMo, and got 15k. After that, I worked on it during July's Camp and got another 10k (with a rather spectacular finish, if you remember...). And I haven't really considered November yet (because it's wAY TOO EARLY TO WORRY ABOUT THAT, RIGHT??), but currently I'm thinking I'll continue with Three Sisters. Because I haven't worked on it since July.

Anyway. The answer is either 6 months, or two months of actual work.

5. What do you think people will enjoy most about your WIP?

I think they'll enjoy the characters and their interactions. (I certainly do.) Also the nods to various fairy tales.

6. Provide a snippet (long or brief) of a favorite scene.

Josie backed away, leaving Old Bill's side, but she was surrounded. Rowan stepped closer.

"I did apologize before, but I'd like to do so again. This is nothing perso-"

Josie slid a knife out of the sheaths inside her boots and spun Rowan, twisting his arm up and holding the knife to his ribs. "You seem to be a leader. So tell them to let me go. Or I will make this personal."

"Easy, now." His voice became even calmer. "Have you considered that this might be a bad idea? There are a lot of us, and one of you, and we're skilled archers. Except for Kik, but he won't practice, so he can't expect any better."

Kik snorted and let Old Bill away into the trees. The rest of the men remained, a ring around Josie and Rowan and the drama. They didn't, Josie was bothered to see, look at all worried. She pushed Rowan and tried to walk forwards using him as a shield, but he dug his heels in.

"I only have to say the word and they'll shoot," he warned. "You can't do this."

"Shut up!"

"You're forcing us into a corner, you know that? We never meant for anyone else to get involved, but you wouldn't take a hint and leave."

Josie changed her grip on the knife, the handle sweaty. "Nice, now let me go."

Rowan twisted his body away from her, seized her wrist and forced the knife, point-first, away from both of them. "How about we discuss that now you're not holding a knife to me?"

With her free left hand, Josie reached for the knife's twin in her other sheath.

One of the men shouted a warning, and Rowan grabbed her arm before she could get it.

"That isn't very polite. I was talking to you."

"And I was ignoring you." Josie tried to bite his arm.

He pulled out of her reach. "There's no point in all this. Let's talk it out sensibly. We want our presence to remain secret, and we feel you're a threat to that, so we would like to keep you contained here until we have packed up and can move. You are unwilling - understandably - for us to contain you. That about covers things?" He saw she was not going to reply, and continued. "Do we have an alternative to containing you?"

"You could shoot me, I suppose." Immediately after saying it, Josie realised that might not be the most appropriate thing to say, unless she didn't mind being shot. They were, after all, holding bows. "I'm not too keen on that plan either, to be honest."

PLEASE FORGIVE. It's first draft writing from Camp NaNo. By all rights, it should never have seen the light of day.

And because I am apparently crazy like the Beast, here's a snippet with him:

Count Laszlo poked his head gingerly inside the door. "Ah, you're awake? I heard voices... thought I might check on you. Is there any chance I could get my study back soon?"

Billie looked down at the open book, its edges pressing red lines into her skin. "I- no!"

"Do you mean you've gotten attached to my room, in which case I must strongly object, or has something happened which has distressed you?"

She shook the book. "I've only been gone three days! Three days!"

"I'll leave you alone, then." He coughed. "But could you possibly move to your own room?"

Billie flapped a hand at him without looking up, and Count Laszlo sighed - but not loudly enough to draw attention to himself - and withdrew his head, pulling the door gently shut behind him.

Same disclaimer as before - if your eyeballs have received permanent damage, that's not my fault (even though it completely is).

Oh, and the book is like the magic mirror from Snow White?? the Beast helped Billie set it so it was set to watch Billie's cottage [where her sisters are supposed to be].

Actually, I guess it's more like a security camera...

Also please note that the Beast has undergone multiple personality changes through the first draft so far, and will need to be made consistent in editing. Although it kind of makes sense here that he's not-grumpy, because last time Billie came out on top, so he's a little more cautious. (You can read a little of what happened earlier - when he pushed Billie too far by talking insensitively about her sisters - in question 9. He's right to be cautious now.)

7. Describe your WIP in 10 separate short phrases.

Fighting, protective sisters
Remnants of a family banding together
Teacups and glowing orbs
Confusion and misunderstanding all round
Banter and snark
A grumpy Beast who wants to be left alone with his library and scones and cups of tea
A prince who thinks he's seen a ghost
Forest aesthetics
Also garden/library/scones/tea aesthetic
Have you figured out yet that I'm making these up on the spot
I'LL COME UP WITH A BETTER LIST LATER okay? because this would actually be helpful.


...Also, none of these are technically phrases. Never mind. I DO WHAT I WANT. Also it's going on 11pm so I'm not going to sit here arguing the finer points of grammar (I save that for daylight hours).

8. What is the hardest thing to write with this story? What is the easiest?

The easiest thing is the banter and people being snarky at each other. The hardest thing is making sure that the banter and snark has a point and progresses the story.

#noplot

9. A line where the tension builds.

"We discussed this yesterday. I don't think I have enough furniture to do it every day."

...

Billie stuffed the last of her bread into her mouth and, maintaining eye contact, swiped everything off the tea-table onto the floor.

The teacups and scones with honey are innocent victims of the 'discussion'. This causes enormous tension. ENORMOUS tension, I tell you.

Do not attack the Beast's teacups.

10. Explain the plot in one line. 

People are confused and make bad decisions and I do too. 

Um, this would require me to... have a plot.

I have some ideas and some things I want to do and just a whole heap of situations to make things awkward for my characters.

I do not know how the story is supposed to end.

And there you have it! Ten tidbits about my WIP, Three Sisters.

Because you all wanted to know more about the ramblings of my brain  amazing thing I am calling a "story" smushed-up fairytales I'm writing as one big happy story!

Now you should definitely go check out the other participants' posts on their WIPs, answering these same questions. Here they are again:

Excellent! Off you go, then - no, WAIT. Comment first. Obviously. (Why are you sneaking away like that?)

Banter and snark - vital or no? Do you know how your story is going to end? Do you think the Beast is justified in his protectiveness of his teacups [and food]? And the most important one: HOW DO I PLOT. (Please and thank you for answering that one.)