One Month In to Second Semester!

Greetings, my friends!

Another several months have gone by without me doing anything to keep in touch through this blog. Imagine that. It's not like I don't have time...

Well, anyway, this semester has been great so far! I'm loving most of my classes, and the ones I don't love aren't too hard to endure, so that's a big blessing. My favorite class right now is probably Creative Endeavors. We're reading and working through the book, The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, and learning how to recover and discover our creativity and art. A lot of the people in the class (it's a very small class) are writers or painters or that kind of "artist," but Professor Beach has been careful to point out that our art is really whatever we do that has our stamp of being on it. The things that are uniquely us. And that can be pretty much anything. Oh, yes, and the professor is my English teacher from last semester, who's fantastic and I love her. So that's part of the reason I love the class :).

One thing that so far has come out of this Creative Endeavors class is that I'm journalling a lot more. Daily, actually. Partly for school, because we have to do what are called "morning pages," which means three written pages every morning (or four times a week). But then sometimes I have other things I'm thinking about, so I just journal them. Now that we're about a month into the semester (!) my morning pages have started to become a habit. I've really enjoyed taking a little time to just sort through and pay attention to my thoughts every morning. I highly recommend it.

Another thing that I've gotten from that class is, as I'm starting to work through what holds me back, I'm also starting to get ideas for creative projects or just ways to finish things. I was able to finish up a short allegory thing that I started last semester, and that was super fulfilling. If you want to read it, let me know. Or I might just send it to all of you anyway.

Once again, I haven't taken any pictures to show you what my life is like. Oh, I might have one or two of my room and/or my roommate. I'll get those up in a sec. Otherwise, just imagine a lot of snow. Like a lot. And cold. It's been super cold this week, and it's not fun. At least my classes are indoors!

Ok, pictures:

This is most of my room from when you walk in the door. As you can tell by the "Merry Christmas" sign, this was taken last semester. My bed is the top bunk.

This is from last Thursday night. My roommate, Mateah, and I both dressed up for a choir concert we were going to (which was great, by the way). So we took a picture. Mateah's awesome, I've enjoyed having her as a roommate. We get along pretty well... :)

Well, that's all I have for now! Hopefully this won't be the only time I catch you up this semester...

Hey look, I have a blog...

Hello, my dear friends and family!

So... when I came to college, I had great intentions of posting something on my blog every other week at least. Right. It's been approximately two months. I'm so sorry.

But life is good! I'm just leaving a crazy week of rehearsals and a crazier weekend of performances of Much Ado About Nothing. Not only is it a ridiculously fun play, it was a great experience and a ton of fun to be a part of! If you go to the Cornerstone University Theatre page on Facebook, you can see some pictures of the dress rehearsal and of the cast...

Now that the play is over, life is going to slow down a lot, I think. I'm not sure I can say it'll be "normal" because rehearsals have been part of college for almost the whole time I've been here. (Can you tell I'm going through a little bit of withdrawal?) One of my classes also ends this week, which will mean less homework and more time to do the homework I do have. Hopefully I'll be able to fill such abundant free time with something productive.

I've been wanting to show you all some pictures of people and places and everything, but *sheepish look* I haven't actually taken many that will give you an idea of what things look like. I really should get my camera out more... maybe that's what I'll do now that I have more time!

Unfortunately for you, I don't really have much else to say right now. I'm kind of exhausted from rehearsals this past week and shows this weekend, but I wanted to take the time to give you a little update and let you know I'm still alive!

Miss you all,
Savanna

College Update!

Hello, my friends!

I'm at college now. I'm about to start my first full week of classes (here we go...) It feels like there's so much to tell you all, but I'm not sure where to start...

I have to say, I'm so glad I'm here at Cornerstone. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be for now, and I love it. Yes, it's probably going to get a LOT harder before the next four years are over, but it's so worth it.

Just so you know, this isn't going to be in any certain order. Oh well.

One of the reasons I love this place is my classes. Yes, for real. I guess it's actually the professors who are really fantastic, but they make me excited about the subject. Which is cool. Right now my two favorite classes are Old Testament Literature and Writing in Culture. The professor who teaches OT is super engaging and enthusiastic and I love studying Old Testament history and stuff anyway. So that's exciting. And my English professor (that's my Writing in Culture class) is great. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. After those two, I think my other favorite class is called Creativity, Innovation, and Problem-solving. It sounded kind of odd, I know, and I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but the one time I've had it, it was different from any other class I've had, and I still learned a lot :P. I think it's going to stretch me a little. But that's OK. Not to mention, a few of my friends are in that class, so that's cool.

Speaking of friends, I am making those! I'm getting to know a few of the girls on my floor (my suite mates, my roommate, my across-the-hall neighbors, my RA) and some of the other girls in various places in the building. I also have a few people that are in a couple of the same classes as me. And I've made a few friends within my Terra Firma group too. (Terra Firma is the freshman program that runs the orientation weekend. We have small groups that'll continue to meet throughout the rest of the year.) I actually have a picture of my Terra Firma group:

So it's not a great picture. Too many windows. Anyway, I could name them all for you (and if you beg me to, I'll just do it) but the three I hang out with the most are the three right behind me and next to me. You probably can't see that well, but Paul and Josh are behind me and Ceonni is right next to me (I'm the one in the bright green shirt, in case you really can't see...)

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of anyone else yet. I'm sorry. I'll get on that. I did take some pictures of nature stuff around our pond the other day. That was fun. :) I don't do that often enough. Here's a picture looking at the residence halls from the other side of the pond:

I really don't know if you can see those little tiny buildings (well, they're tiny in the picture...) but my dorm is to the far right. It's kind of hidden, but it's there. Speaking of dorms, I do have a few not-so-great pictures of my room:

Actually that's just my half of the room. I should take a picture of the whole room, but the angle might be a little odd... Anyway...

Um... I think that's about it! Let me know if you have any questions, it'll give me ideas for what to tell you :)

Hope you all are doing well!

Love,

Savanna

A Poem

I was feeling writer-ly yesterday, so I wrote a poem. It's the second of my sonnets inspired by The Hobbit (there may or may not be more in the future...). Yes, I did write a Shakespearean/English sonnet for fun. I posted the last one probably about a year ago in this post where I also describe the type of poem that they both are (a Shakespearean or English sonnet). I really enjoy the structure of these sonnets because I think it makes it easier to write. Poetry isn't really my thing... I'm not big on abstract concepts. But I do like these! Here's the one I just wrote:

Master of Bag End

I miss the comforts of my home and fire
The warmth and food, the simple, pleasant rest
These dwarves, they aim to raise a dragon's ire
What made me think I would enjoy this quest?
The wizard said I would not be the same
I do already have a prize to show
A birthday present from a riddle game
For now, I think I'll keep it secret, though
Perhaps, I guess, it hasn't been all bad
Adventure isn't what I thought it'd be
Perhaps, in all the close calls that I've had
I've come to like this Tookish side of me
The 'getting there' seems better than before
It's 'back again' that worries me much more 

So, yup. That's it. :D Oh, and the character in this one might be easier to guess than the first one... 

Let me know what you think!

Dystopian Books -- What They Are and My Thoughts on the Topic

One genre of books that's hugely popular right now is the dystopian. You might never have heard the word "dystopian," or you might have read every book in this genre you can get your hands on. Either way, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the genre and my thoughts on it.

Now, I'm certainly not an expert in this genre (or any for that matter). I've read a lot more fantasy than dystopian, but hey, I'll use what I have. Let's start out with the logical beginning: what does the word mean?

The word "dystopian" is derived from the word "dystopia" (imagine that...) Here's a definition:

dys·to·pia
an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly
OR
an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. 

It always bothers me when definitions use other big words that I don't understand. In case you're wondering (like me) exactly what "totalitarian" means, here's the definition for that word: "controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed." So basically a dictator-based government. 

Anyway, the word "dystopia," and the genre based on it, is closely related to the word (and genre of) "utopia":

uto·pia
an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect

Basically, a utopia is someone's idea of a perfect world, while dystopia is an imagined way that everything could go wrong. 

Here are some things the dystopian books I've read have in common (to help get an idea of the genre):

• They fall into the category of speculative fiction, but they lean farther to the side of science fiction than towards fantasy.
• They tend to be based in a "future earth" type of setting. Actually, most of the ones I've read have been placed in a future USA.
• The societies usually have some type(s) of advanced technology, which is a logical continuation of the whole "future" thing. Not all dystopians have this, but it is pretty common.
• Things are arranged (usually by the government) so that people in general have easier lives. Everything is organized, and the way things are set up is supposed to make everything easier for everyone.
• The government is typically corrupt. Either that or there's someone corrupt taking over the government. Or the government is oblivious to the evils of society. Which leads to the oh-so-popular revolution.
• The main character(s) are young people, usually pre-teen or teen-aged people. This is probably just because of the audience authors are catering towards, but it's still something they have in common.
• In most, the emphasis our current society has on everything physical and everything immediate is taken to the next level--kind of, again, the logical extension of what we have now.

So, there are some general things that I've noticed. Hopefully, you're starting to get an idea of what this genre tends to be like if you didn't already know.

Now, my thoughts on the dystopian genre. In all the dystopians I've read to date, one of my favorite parts of each book has been the authors' ideas of what society might become. While they obviously have things in common, there is always something that makes the setting and society unique. Some of them have settings where people originally tried to set up a utopia, but, through corrupt government and/or natural human issues, things are starting to fall through. Most of the ones I've read take a clear side on a semi-controversial issue, like the value of life/when life becomes valuable, and when they're well-written, those are good messages. But with that type of thing, dystopian books can tend to include some rather disturbing things or situations. Again, when they're done well and they help teach an important lesson, that can be OK. Sometimes a different and more disturbing take on something can help get the message across when it otherwise might feel forced or like "the same old thing."

However, many of the dystopians I've read are not written by Christian authors, as far as I can tell. Obviously, I don't know them and I don't know where they are spiritually, but from what I've read just in their fiction, I don't think they're Christians. I don't have anything against non-christian authors (or people in general) by any means, but it does affect my opinion of the books they write. See, many dystopians end up with or at least include, perhaps even unintentionally, a feeling of hopelessness. There's no meaning. One book I read had a great concept, even some interesting plot things, but even though the author was clearly trying to include symbols and meaning, it just didn't work. She wanted to leave it open to personal interpretation, but to me at least, it ended with absolutely no meaning at all. Because the author didn't assign meaning to her symbols they ended up pointless. Which is never good. But honestly, it makes sense. If you're imagining a future without God, of course it's going to be hopeless. Of course it's meaningless. When humans and human actions and human desires are all there is, what's the point? To be completely blunt, there isn't one.

So yes. I think dystopian settings are fascinating. It's really neat to imagine what might happen far in the future. And yes, that has to include both good things and bad things. I think that's part of why utopian books don't do as well as dystopias or utopias-gone-wrong--things have to go bad for them to be realistic and relatable. However, when everything's going wrong, what do you do without hope? You can hope in people for a time, but they fail. You can hope in technology, but it fails. You can hope in yourself even, but-- you wanna guess? You'll fail too. Only God never fails. That's why we can have hope in him. It's also why many endings to dystopian books are unfulfilling--there's no real hope. No real meaning. Without God, in the end, there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that's an awful way to imagine the future.

Anyway, that's my take on dystopian books. Great idea, sometimes good execution. If you want some really good, Christian, dystopian books, try Jill Williamson's The Safe Lands trilogy. Those are great.

College Stuff/Update

Something exciting happened Monday. (Can't you tell? I seem so excited...) Wanna guess?

I registered for classes at Cornerstone! :) It was a little bit odd, because typically one would actually go to the college itself to enroll and visit the place, but, well, that wasn't going to work so well for me. So I did it over the phone.

It was actually a lot easier than I was expecting. Mom and I looked at some of the online resources they have (last year's academic catalog and a thing called WebAdvisor that tells you what classes are available), and we figured out a schedule and stuff that we thought would work. Then when I talked to my admissions counselor later in the afternoon, I was able to get the same schedule we had planned out. Yay! That was nice.

So, of course, you're probably wondering what classes I'm taking. They're mainly (or actually, all, I think) core classes, so general education stuff. But I think they'll still be interesting. Cornerstone is Christian school, so some of the required classes are Bible classes. This first semester, I'm taking Old Testament Literature, which I think will be cool and probably plenty of work. But that's OK :). I'll also be taking some classes required for every freshman, CU Foundations and Creativity, Innovation, and Problem-solving. I don't know exactly what those two will involve, but they sound interesting, so hey.

Let's see, what else... I'll be taking a writing class (kind of the general required English class) and a communication class (a.k.a. public speaking). I had considered taking an Intro to Literature class, but decided with OT Lit. and Writing, I'd probably have enough of that. As much as I love English, it can be possible to have too much of a good thing... especially in school. So I'll probably take Intro to Lit. second semester.

The last couple classes I have next year are Total Fitness and Wellness, which is kind of a general fitness and health course, and an activity course. I wasn't sure what to expect from the activity course, because there are several to pick from and I didn't really know what any of them were. But the ones I saw look really cool! Like, they have a beginning dance class with swing dancing, line dancing, and ballroom dancing, among other things. It looks really cool, but unfortunately it was already full, so... I'll take it another semester :). This coming semester I'll be playing volleyball! It's not for the actual team or anything and it'll probably be mainly basics, but I'm excited to get to play for fun. I'm going to miss playing with all my friends here! But hey, maybe I'll make some new friends and we can be an intramural team or something :).

Anyway, knowing what classes I'll be taking has made the whole college thing a lot more real (besides the fact that graduation is 3 weeks from Saturday...) But it's also made me a lot more excited, to know that this is real! I'm actually going!

Oh, I found out when I'll be moving in, and it's definitely after Pre-season, so I'll be there to watch people :).

I always title my post afterwards in case there's a main point. There isn't.

Soo.... I already told you about what I'm learning about personalities. And I haven't worked too much more on Aubrinn in the last few days (other than narrowing down the is she is for sure an Artisan and either ESTP or ESFP-- I knew those two would be close, because T and F were consistently the closest when I did her personality test. Yes, I attempted to take a personality test as my character. Anyway...)

I did have an idea for my sic-fi novel the other day that has pushed me back into thinking about that too. I don't really want to be working on two stories at once, but this thing I came up with will actually help we work out some things I wasn't sure about, I think. Some. I still need to figure out my villain's motivation, and I've really only focused on Cambriel's side of the story so far. Because it was originally going to be from her point of view. But now that I've decided to add Ainsley's side too, I need to figure out exactly what's going on with her as well. Which shouldn't be too hard, and I like her :).

Ooh, I also had an idea for Aubrinn's story as a plot-twist kind of thing (are you mad that I'm not telling you what these ideas are >:)?) I had originally thought of something slightly different, but I'm not sure either way would really work. I'm sorry, this is probably not making any sense. Ok. I'll explain. It still might not make much sense unless you know at least a little bit about this story... So I was trying to come up with a way to make it so Aubrinn, who does not want to be queen, would have to be queen *evil author grin*. Obviously the best way to do this is to have her father die. But I wanted her to have something that she could work for so that she wouldn't be the heir to the throne in the first place. So I thought, why not give her an older brother? Not obviously, of course. Something happened-- he got kidnapped or ran away (I haven't worked out the details...) and she never knew about him because either they just didn't talk about him or they assumed she knew (or both... family dynamics are fun... :P) So anyway, she has to find her brother so he can stop the villain and she won't have to be queen. Yay! Nope. He dies, not too long after she finds him and thinks he's awesome. Evil Tynon >:(. Poor Aubrinn, losing all the influential guys in her life. Except Drey, almost forgot about him (oops). Ok, sorry.

Anyway, my new twist on this idea was to make the brother Aubrinn's twin. Which would be fun because she's always felt kind of alone and different from her family. I also really just wanted a reason for her to impulsively cut her hair short. Which she would do just to spite her mother, soo...

Okay. I think I've rambled enough about my random ideas for stories that you haven't heard much about in the first place. One last thing for today:

You may remember the original picture I showed you a few weeks ago. Mom found this online photo-editing thing called PicMonkey that's completely free (unless you upgrade, but that's not really necessary.) It's super cool, and there are all sorts of things you can do with it, so I've been messing around with it a little bit for fun. Hence the different versions of the fairy picture. I'm also doing some things for my graduation announcement/invitation with it. And I edited some of my character pictures too (yay for Ainsley's rainbow hair! that was hard...). I'll show you sometime, but you should mess with it yourself. It's cool *nodnod*.

Understanding Personality

As I told you last week, I've been doing some research on personality types as I try to get to know Aubrinn. It's a fascinating topic! I just recently got this book, which was recommended in Plot Versus Character:

Like I said, it's really cool. I haven't gotten super far into it as far as reading about all the different types of personalities goes, but what I have read is just fascinating (and the type I've been reading about seems to fit Aubrinn, so that's a plus).

You may (or may not) be familiar with the 'traditional' Myers-Briggs personality types. There are sixteen of them, based on four different sections that can each go two different ways.

Extraverted (E) or Introverted (I)
Sensory (S) or Intuitive (N)
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

The one I typically have the hardest time understanding is the S/N level (honestly, they aren't words I use a lot...). Basically, Sensory people are observant of things around them on the outside, while Intuitives are more observant of their own thoughts and emotions. I think. The J/P part can be a little confusing also, but Keirsey explains it as J's being more likely to plan and keep schedules, while P's will look for alternatives and opportunities (Guess which one I am...). Lastly, (I'm almost done explaining these, I promise!) the Thinking/Feeling aren't just 'thoughtful' and 'emotional' in general, but more along the lines of how people relate to others. Mrs. Peterman has also explained it to me as describing how we make decisions. According to Keirsey, Thinkers are more objective and impersonal, while Feelers are more sympathetic and personal. Now that I've explained everything except Extraverted vs. Introverted, lets move on (I trust you can figure that one out on your own...)

Keirsey splits these sixteen personalities into four groups based on what letter combinations they have: SPs, SJs, NFs, and NTs. There are (obviously) four possibilities or variations within each group, but the types in each group tend to be more similar to each other than to those in other groups. Each group also has an alternative name that is slightly easier to talk/write about (so you don't have to keep using letters); the SPs are Artisans, the SJs are Guardians, the NFs are Idealists, and the NTs are Rationals. The words do have some relation to the personality groups, but they're not an overall description of everyone in the group, at least in my opinion. Not all SPs are artists, but they do tend to be the ones who are experts in whatever they try to do, especially in active things or activities using specific tools. I'm not sure how I feel about the word "Guardian" being used to describe the SJs (I'm an ISTJ, by the way), but I haven't read that chapter yet so I might accept it :P. Artisans are the ones I've been reading about mostly so far, and like I said before, I think Aubrinn could fit well in that group. I want to look at the others a little but too, but I really don't think she'll be either of them (I already know she's NOT a Guardian... nope.)

There is SO much to talk about on this subject and I'd love to discuss it all, but there's no way that's possible. Definitely not in one blog post. Although all of it is cool, you'll have to read the book. :)

Except there is one more thing I want to talk about. With these four groups, Keirsey organizes them or characterizes them somewhat by how they use words and tools.

So, people tend to use words in either an abstract way (figuratively, symbolically, theoretically) or in a concrete way (literally, specifically, detailed). I'm still figuring out exactly what he means by this, but I think it's more of the way some people tend to use the literal meaning of the word while others make word pictures or metaphors. I think.

Then tools are used either cooperatively (in the way they were made to be used, in the traditional way) or in a utilitarian way (whatever is most practical or useful at the moment, even if it's generally "wrong").

With both of those things, then, you can see that each group has one that it is related to in how it uses tools, one in how it uses words, and one that is completely opposite. These two things (words and tools) can help you identify what type of personality other people have, since they're actually observable things instead of, say, the person's thoughts.

OK, now I'm done. I just found this stuff incredibly interesting (especially as a character-first writer!) and I wanted to share what I was learning! I'd love to talk about it more if anyone's interested :).

Developing Aubrinn

Yay, more writing stuff! Sorry, people...

I believe I told you last time that I'm going to be working on revising/re-writing my first novel. I've been reading this incredible book by Jeff Gerke (a speaker at OYAN Summer Workshop) and I want to try to implement some of what I'm learning.

This is the book:

It's amazing. I've learned much of the basic concepts from his sessions at SW, but he expands on it in the book (and it's just nice to have a paper copy). I shared some of the character stuff with you in this post about a character's inner journey. The plot stuff is about basic three-act structure, but also about using it to amplify the character's inner journey. It's really neat stuff.

But like I said, I want to try incorporating some of what I'm learning into my writing. I feel like there's some things I can put into my sci-fi novel, but it's such a complicated thing and I'm still not super comfortable with it. However, I am slightly more comfortable with the characters and ideas in my first novel. I also have been wanting to work on it again, and the complete failure of my original plot gives me a perfect opportunity to try new things with basic plots and characters I already kind of know.

One of the first things I've been doing is working on identifying Aubrinn's personality. It's a little bit tough, because I feel like she became a bit too much like me in the first draft. Not that it's bad to have a character like myself, but it's not... Aubrinn. It's Aubrinn pretending to be me. Or maybe the other way around (me pretending to be Aubrinn?) Anyway, it's not who I originally imagined her to be, and it's not a unique person. So I've been researching personality types and figuring out which one best fits the real Aubrinn. It's fun :D. So far, I think I've narrowed it down to ESTP or ENFP. Not completely sure yet, but obviously pretty clear on the E and P.

Now that I've told you all that, I'm realizing you might not know much about Aubrinn. I told you about Bryllen and her story last year and a lot about Cambriel and her story this year (go away, SpellCheck). I really can't remember if I've told you anything about Aubrinn, which is sad. She's fun. And her story is... getting there. So, let me introduce you.

Aubrinn is the crown-princess of the kingdom of Alendais. She doesn't want to be. She doesn't feel like she should be, and she certainly doesn't want to be queen. Her sister Beth was supposed to be the heir to the throne, but after the terrible accident, Beth is gone, and Aubrinn is left trying to fill her place. And feeling horribly out of place. Beth was perfect. Aubrinn is hardly queen material, especially in her mother's eyes. Playing tag in the gardens is fun. Diplomacy lessons are boring. But now Aubrinn is practically grown up, and playing with her little sisters (at least, the way Aubrinn likes to play) isn't particularly queenly. Plus, Aubrinn doesn't want to take Beth's place. She doesn't want to deal with the fact that Beth is gone forever.

There you go, some basic set-up. Aubrinn is not happy that I told you that last part, but it's an important part of who she is AND of her inner journey. Sorry, Aubrinn dear.

Oh! I also have these pictures that kind of remind me of Aubrinn. I found this one first and it really seemed to fit her, so I looked for others (of the same person, of course).

I just like her facial expression even though she's in handcuffs. This is another of the ones I found.

Ta-da! Now you hopefully have a better idea of who Aubrinn is. You can expect more updates in the future!

Character (and Writing) Updates

Ok, it's about time for a writing update! (It's been what, a week?) So maybe there's not a whole lot to share, but I'm excited about what's new.

First off, I named a few more characters! Yay! If you know much about my process of character development, you know that my characters often spend their first several months without names. Well, for these two, the wait is over. Allow me to introduce them to you.

This is Malea Scott, my Hero's mother. I feel like I've showed you this picture before, but now she has a name, so you have to have something to associate with it.

She's a very sweet person. I don't know her that well yet, but I think I'll like her. Even if some parts might be challenging to write (for more than one reason!) If I remember correctly, I've told you a little bit about Malea before, especially if I've talked about Cambriel (my Hero). If you look back at this post you'll see a little more about her (as well as links to other previous posts). I haven't worked out a ton of her history, but we'll see how much I actually need… Probably more than I think. ;)

Now this little darling is Laramie Cartland, officially the most adorable baby ever. Ok, not officially. But still adorable! She's the daughter of my Ally/Secondary Hero.

Aww! Yes, I do love this picture… Once again, I haven't developed Laramie very much, since she's kind of a secondary character. She's still important to the story, though, so she'll need some development! Which might be kind of hard, since she's not quite two… Yeah, we'll see. But I think it'll be fun :).

So there are my newly named characters! The other thing I've been working on lately is getting information from my Mentor. I'm taking a different approach than I did with Cambriel and Ainsley in that instead of just asking him questions, like an interview, it's more of an interrogation. I'm also writing it as a little scene instead of just his answers. So it's kind of a little short scene thing of his dialogue and actions as well as mine. Like we're acting together in an imaginary interrogation room. Which I know sounds really weird. Asking imaginary people questions is bad enough, but interacting with them…? Well, sorry. I'm a writer. And I'm getting useful information. Not quickly, mind you, it's hard to get him to talk. But even though I'm mainly asking about something specific he does, I'm also getting insight into his character and seeing him a little differently. He's not exactly the person I originally thought, and he's a lot more complex. Like everything else in this novel….

Ok, enough weird stuff. I'm also getting ready to start rewriting my first novel. It doesn't have a title (imagine that!) but in case you don't already know, it's the one about Aubrinn. Not that that helps a whole lot. Anyway, I've been thinking about ways I might change things a little bit and brainstorming plot twists *evil grin*. If I do actually get started on this, I think it could turn out to be pretty good. And a lot better than the original draft/idea/mess. Maybe. I'm hoping. But I think it will be really fun to work on it and get to work with my other characters again. I don't plan to drop the sic-fi one, by the way. It'll still be my priority (I think) but I definitely can't finish it in time for the OYAN contest this fall, so I want to revise Aubrinn's story for that. We'll see how it goes, but I'm excited to work on it, so that must be a good sign, right?

Well, that's what I've been working on recently. There are still a ton of names to come up with, and Katrel needs to tell me a lot more before I know what I need to know, but it's coming. Slowly but surely.

The Warden and the Wolf King

Found this cover picture… I AM SO EXCITED!!! I cannot wait for this book! Shouldn't be too long now :D!

Trusting, Waiting, and Hoping

Those three things were the focus of my quiet time this morning. They really stood out to me and I want to talk bout them, but also about some other things, so bear with me as I gradually get to the point :).

~~~

A couple weeks ago, I posted my third (?) post of Pinterest inspiration. I like doing that kind of thing, because pictures are way more interesting to look at and because Pinterest is a great source for story inspiration. But I'm not doing that again today, because I don't really have anything new. Or I don't know what more to show you.

Part of that is because I haven't been on Pinterest for about a week. My friends and I were talking a little bit last Wednesday about what we were giving up for Lent. I hadn't decided on anything yet (plus, it was only the first day of Lent and I actually kind of forgot about it...) but I knew that Pinterest was taking up more of my time than it should have. I didn't want to give it up, because it's a good thing and it's useful and... of course, there's not really a good excuse. I knew God was leading me to give it up for the weeks until Easter. So I did (with the disclaimer that using it for specific story research/inspiration or for showing someone something was permissible. Just no mindless browsing.) And so I have some extra time that needs to be put to use.

It wasn't an easy decision to give up Pinterest, but it hasn't been too hard since I made it. I still have to resist the urge to get on when I have a few spare minutes, but I'm determined to stick with it. I want to direct my thoughts back toward God and spend the extra time talking to him, learning from him, and doing what he wants me to do (stuff like writing or spending time with my siblings.) That's really the purpose of fasting during Lent, to bring my mind back to God.

Fasting and Lent aren't just about depravation. Lent is a time of waiting. Going without, but looking forward to the joy of Easter. I've been thinking a lot about waiting recently. And about looking forward to joy. I think they both can relate to many things, but especially to the plans God has for my future. I'm waiting for and looking forward to graduation (which is 2 months away! O_O), summer, college, and whatever else God brings as I follow his path. Of course there are still unknowns, because God's plan is so much bigger than mine. Unknowns are hard, but that's why I need to trust God!

Some of you read the testimony I wrote for English class a few weeks ago (if you didn't and you want to, let me know.) It was all about trusting God and how he has taught me to trust him through the various experiences he's given me the past few years. There are new experiences now, and many more coming up, that I'll need to continue to trust him through. Part of that trust is waiting (see a theme?)

I read this in my quiet time this morning. It's from Jesus Calling for Kids, by Sarah Young. (It's written as if Jesus is speaking to you.)

"Your faith begins with trust. Each day, choose to trust Me and My way more than you trust yourself. Trust Me to be there for you, to care for you, and to keep My promises.

"Then, wait on Me. I will answer your prayers, but it will be in My own perfect time. If you say, 'I trust you,' but you keep trying to make things happen right away, then you are not really trusting Me. Real trust means waiting for My answer.

"But wait with hope. Don't just wish for My answer; expect it! Expect to live a life full of meaning and purpose. Expect your heavenly reward."

I love the connection made between trusting and waiting. It makes so much sense! Part of waiting is being content with where God has placed me and what he's doing through me right now. Not just looking for whatever comes next, but making the most of the moment. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Delighting in God means finding my joy in him. Not looking to other things for satisfaction, but being content with him and his timing. When I do that, the desires of my heart will begin to line up with his will, and he will bless me.

Another of my favorite verses related to waiting is Exodus 14:14-- "the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." I don't have to worry about making things work out, because that's God's job. My job is to trust in him, wait on him, and hope in him.

My Character Names

I've been thinking a lot about character names recently (can you guess why?) so I thought I would find a way to incorporate that into a blog post. When I came up with this idea to list all the characters I've ever named, I was thinking just within my novels. But then I realized I've named characters in other stories too. So for the sake of sticking with the original I idea, here are all the characters I've ever named.

(Clarification: These are the ones that I remember. I wrote a few stories before I really started writing seriously, but no, I don't remember what I named characters when I was five. They were probably all named after myself, my sister(s), or any other name I liked at the time.)

Oh, wait, another thing before we begin--I'm just going to list these by story so it's slightly organized and so I have a systematic way to remember all of these. Also, I'll try to go in chronological order of when the stories were written.

A Bee's New Job
(I wrote this "book" when I was probably around nine or ten. It's an alternate perspective of The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco. It is "finished" and illustrated.)
-Susan
-Lilli
-Daisy
-Queen Chrysanthemum
-Geranium

Some where in here there was a... something (ok, I guess you could call it a story)... that I started and named people, but it didn't go anywhere and I've started using the names for other things, so I'm not going to include it. So I guess it's not all the characters I've ever named as much as all the ones that went somewhere. There were two of those stories in here, actually.

The Feast and the Falcon
(This was the first of my short stories/picture books we wrote and illustrated for Writing Class. I was probably around twelve.)
-Rana
-Kitcha
-Kadar
-Sarsoureh
-Yasmin
-Omar
-Rakin
-Mustafa
-Amir

Saved By Rubber Bands
(This is my second of the Writing Class picture books. Maybe age thirteen?)
-Jacob Westwall
-Jeremy Westwall
-Ethan
-Anna

Blue and Butternut
(This was a short story for Writing Class that I forgot about until I started doing this. I don't remember how old I was, but we can guess around fourteen.)
-Jack
-Blue

Andreana's Courage
(Here's another one I forgot about. It's a short story I wrote for a contest.)
-Andreana
-Zaith
-Miedor
-Cyrus of Marwood

Untitled, Unfinished retelling of Beauty and the Beast
(Another I forgot about. It didn't get very far, but I'm listing all the characters I've named, so...)
-Elaina
-Gwendolyn
-Everett

Carrie Ann and Rachel Tess
(These were both part of a "series" I started planning but never got very far with. I named a lot of characters, though... Technically I should list them in age order, but... eh.)
-Carrie Ann
-Bennan
-Lynna Kate
-Emma Lee
-Connor
-Miranda
-Rachel Tess
-Elliot
-Leon
-Aidan
-Brenna Grace
-Kayla Beth

My First Novel (which doesn't have a title)
(Yay, the stuff I remember! I would have been fifteen/sixteen when I started working on this one. Some of the names have undergone revision, so I'll list the final (so far) names.)
-Aubrinn
-Captain Zavier (affectionately referred to as "CZ" in much of my brainstorming)
-Drey (who spent the majority of his first months of existence as "U.G."--short for Unnamed Guy)
-Beth
-Dacia
-Corianne
-Francesca
-Elinore (I just decided this one recently. The poor thing has gone through a lot of changes...)
-the Earl Remington
-Edrick Remington
-Edaline Remington
-Britta
-Elliot (who I believe I cut out...)
-Jaina
-Aaron
-Emory
-Eireen

Measure the Horizon (working title for my second novel)
(I didn't get as far with this one, but I do have some names!)
-Bryllen Tate
-Edmin Tate
-Ferris
-Kendric Banner (last name subject to change)

(No, spellcheck, these names are not spelled wrong. They are perfectly fine, so you can just remove your little accusatory red underline, thank you very much. *scowl* #creativenameproblems)

Scarlett and the Woodcutter
(This one was a short story for English Class last year. It has a few names, so yes, it counts. Actually, interesting tidbit, I pulled the idea for what characters to have from Little Red Riding Hood.)
-Scarlett
-Nicholas Turner
-Sterling (a dog)
-Earl (a horse)

The novel I'm working on now (guess what--no title!)
(I definitely remember these! Then again, there aren't that many to remember...)
-Cambriel Scott
-Ainsley Cartland
-Katrel Valerian
Oh, guess what, that's it! Only three... Well, I've been working on more, so I think there should be a few to add to this list in the near future! (I'm really hoping...) If you want to help me out, could you tell me how you would pronounce the name "Melia"? Thanks!

I hope you enjoyed reading through all these names! I had fun listing all of them, and it helped me remember that I have been successful in naming people in the past!

Character and Concept Inspirations

Ok, I need to post about something. What that something is might be harder to come by...

It's been a while since I did a post with stuff from Pinterest! Maybe I'll start with that and see if it goes anywhere...

Isn't this guy just adorable?! I love the concept of an owl griffin. Griffins are cool enough as it is, but then combine them with an owl... Sweet! Typically, a griffin is a cross between a large cat (like a lion) and a hawk or an eagle. I've also thought of griffins that have black panther instead of lion. I mean, how cool would black griffins be? And a bit scary... But the owl griffin looks like it's a mix of an owl and a persian cat (look at the tail!). Personally, I think it would be an awesome pet. If only...

Ok, this guy. He just looks so fun. And absent-minded. I think he would be a really fun character to write about. He's in a suit and tie, so he's got at least a nice job if not important (it's certainly somewhat dignified). But he's young, so he must be smart to get such a good job. And then he's SITTING ON THE FLOOR MAKING PAPER AIRPLANES! The whole situation is just intriguing.

Heehee. For one thing, I love opals. They're probably my favorite gemstone. But I just love the idea of, say, an archaeologist (or someone) digging up an ancient dragon scale. Ok, yes, I do mean in a story (although I wouldn't object to real-life...). Can you imagine? What else would be discovered in the same place? What kind of adventures would it lead to? It just makes my story-imaginer-brain happy :).

For a long time, I've liked the idea of fairies with butterfly wings. It's just different, but still really interesting. I'm not really sure why I like it so much... I suppose with this you could also imagine super-tiny fairies with butterfly wings--so small that you couldn't tell them from a butterfly unless you looked closely! That would be a fun concept...

I don't know exactly what to tell you about this one. I like her, and I think she'd make a great character, but I actually pinned this picture because I felt like she had (or might have) something to do with my novel. Not sure exactly why. Maybe because she has the same color hair as my hero? She definitely fits in with the overall look of the race... I just don't know who she is! (or who I would want her to be...) But seeing how my original ideas for the story have morphed into something completely new (and better), I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up somewhere in there. I guess we'll find out!

Also in relation to my novel, while I'm thinking about it, I need some names for some people. Actually a lot more than just people, there's also planets, races, cities, technology, animals, plants, food, and all that kind of stuff. But people are easier, so I'm starting with those. I've named my hero, mentor, and ally, but I still have quite a few people who are rather important to the story. The villain (who actually needs two names... one his real name and the other the name of the person he's pretending to be), the hero's mom, the ally's daughter, the ally's parent's, the ally's brother and sister, and the queen, just to list some off the top of my head. And a few more councillor names would be good too. Suggestions would be wonderful.

Well, that's it for today! Pinterest is such an amazing source of inspiration...

A Character's Inner Journey

The biggest thing I've been working on for my novel recently is getting to know my characters and their struggles. But even more than that, I've been trying to figure out the main character's inner journey. What does she learn through the outside plot and conflict of the novel? What internal problem does she have that needs to be worked out over the course of the story?

I first really learned about the Hero's Inner Journey at OYAN Summer Workshop last summer. Jeff Gerke, one of the speakers, talked about the inner journey and explained it really well. He said the entire thing can be summed up with this simple timeline:

The Knot is the inner problem the hero has at the beginning, the thing that has to be unraveled by the end of the story. The character starts out in an Initial Condition that, if he doesn't change something, will lead to a not-so-great end for him. And not just an unhappy ending to the story, but a bad place for the character.

So, you start out with the Knot. The goal of the inner journey is to take the character from the Initial Condition to what's called the Moment of Truth. This is the moment where he decides either to act on what he's learned through the story or to forget all that and return to the Initial Condition.

Yup, that's the whole Inner Journey! Of course, there are a few other things along the way. Something has to happen to start the hero on the his way from the Knot to the Moment of Truth. That something is the Inciting Event. This event must be something too big for the hero to ignore. As much as they might want to go back to their old life, they can't, because you don't let them. From here, everything is rising action through the middle section of the story. It's kind of like a constant battle between the old way of life and the new, better things that the hero is learning.

The inner journey fits in with the external plot like this:

The Knot comes in with the main character. The Inciting Event kicks both the inner journey and the external plot into gear. The rising action for each side happens simultaneously. Then, the Moment of Truth comes along. The hero has to decide between acting on what he's learned or continuing with the Initial Condition. Whichever side he chooses carries over into the climax of the story and impacts the outcome of the climax. If he chooses to ignore what he's learned and return to the Initial Condition, he gets the result of the Initial Condition that he would have had anyway, but exponentially worse. However, if he chooses to act on what he's learned, the end result is the opposite of the result of the Initial Condition (which is typically good!). Or if the end isn't exactly that, the hero at least has experienced a full turn-around.

The hero making "the right choice", the second one, doesn't always lead to a happy ending, but I would say that it does lead to a more fulfilling ending. Think of Theoden, from LotR. He chooses to act on what he's learned, but that doesn't mean everything goes perfectly for him. We can still see that he's a changed man, though, and that's fulfilling. Sometimes, the hero does eventually make the right choice, but it's too late for them to escape the consequences of their earlier actions. I'm not saying it's too late for them to change; sometimes a person can have a complete turn-around in heart but still have to experience the consequences for what they did before. The example I'm thinking of hasn't actually been finished yet, so... yeah. Avery's novel that she's working on kind of illustrates this point, I think. The hero realizes what she was doing that was wrong and does her best to make a change, but it's too late for her to escape the consequences. (I don't want to spoil too much... Avery's come up with a great story, though, so go ask her about it!)

So, that's the inner journey. Well, there's probably more to it than that (seeing as I took at least four pages of notes at SW), but I just wanted to give you a basic idea of what the inner journey even is. I'm still learning about it too, and learning how to incorporate it into my story, but I'd love to discuss it more if anyone would like!

Spoiler Tutorial

I had a couple people ask about how to do the spoilers, and the best way I can think of to explain it without showing you in person is to do a tutorial. Hopefully it will make sense. Keep in mind that I don't know exactly what I'm doing or how it works, but I've figured out how to make it work for me, so I would guess it's about the same for you!

OK, let's start out with the simpler one. (For reference, see my earlier post about spoilers.) The code looks like this:

VISIBLE CONTENT HERE
<br />
<div id="spoiler" style="display: none;">
HIDDEN CONTENT HERE 
</div>
<button onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display='none'}" title="Click to show/hide content" type="button">Show/hide</button>

Now, you should be able to copy and paste this into your own posts. As you might guess, you put the main body of your post where it says VISIBLE CONTENT HERE and the part you want to hide where it says HIDDEN CONTENT HERE. One important thing, however; when you insert this into your post, your 'new post' has to be in HTML mode.

Just click that button before you paste in the code. You'll probably have to type in the hidden part while in HTML mode. DO NOT switch back to Compose mode after inserting the code--it might mess something up (this is where the "I don't know what I'm doing" part comes in). If you put it back in Compose to publish it, the post will just have a bunch of weird-looking gibberish.

That's it! If you want to change what the button says, you replace "Show/hide" in the last line with whatever you want it to say.

Leave the > < things there, though.

Now the other spoiler. I think it looks better and I like the way the button changes what it says, but with all that good stuff comes a more complicated process. The code for this one has two parts:

<style type="text/css">
/* animated spoiler CSS by Bloggersentral.com */
.spoilerbutton {display:block;margin:5px 0;}
.spoiler {overflow:hidden;background: #f5f5f5;}
.spoiler > div {-webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease;-moz-transition: margin 0.2s ease;-o-transition: all 0.2s ease;transition: margin 0.2s ease;}
.spoilerbutton[value="Show"] + .spoiler > div {margin-top:-100%;}
.spoilerbutton[value="Hide"] + .spoiler {padding:5px;} 
</style> 

and

<input class="spoilerbutton" onclick="this.value=this.value=='Show'?'Hide':'Show';" type="button" value="Show" />
<div class="spoiler">
<div>
PUT CONTENT YOU WISH TO HIDE HERE
</div>
</div>

Again, the all caps part is where you put the hidden part of the spoiler. Once again, you can copy and paste this into your post when it's in HTML mode. This one is, as far as I can tell, more likely to get messed up if you switch back to Compose.

Ok, here comes the more complicated part. If you want to use this spoiler a lot, you can actually add the first part of the code (the longer part) to your blog's template. That way all you have to put in the post is the second, shorter part. Here's how you do it.

Go to Template:

Yup, that one. Then click on Edit HTML.

What should show up is a bunch of code like the stuff above that sets the specifics for your blog. I highly suggest not messing with it unless you know what you're doing. I'll tell you exactly what to do for this part.

Not too far down, there should be a part that says "</head>".

Now, the stuff before it will look different on yours because I already added the spoiler code to mine. But at least you have an idea of what it looks like. Then what you're going to do is copy and paste the long part (the first part) of the spoiler code and directly before the </head>.

See, this is what mine looks like, with the </head> at the end. (Sorry it's so small... the picture's too long to fit if it's bigger...) You don't have to worry about all the different colors and everything, just make sure it's the right code.

Like the first one, you can also change what the button for this spoiler says (both the 'show' and the 'hide'). It's a similar idea to the first, but since it is more complicated, there is a little more to change, and you have to make changes in both parts of the spoiler code.

The part in the blue box is where you change the words in the first part (in this case in the blog HTML). You just replace the 'show' with whatever you want and the 'hide' with whatever you want.

This is where you replace the words in the second part (shown in a new post in HTML mode). Again, just replace the individual words.

Well there you have it! How to make spoilers in Blogger. Click here to see the website I originally learned this from (it goes to the instructions for the first spoiler, but has a link to the second one). I hope you find it useful, and let me know if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer! :)

Spoilers :D

I'm trying some new things here… On the OYAN forum we have a code that allows you to put things in 'spoilers' so they're hidden unless you click on them. It's really handy when you're trying to talk about, say, a book other people might not have read. I thought it would be cool if I could get it to work on my blog too. So this is what I found.

There's this one, which is pretty simple:

Tada! Cool, huh?

And there's also this one, which is a little more complicated (and the button switches between saying 'show' and 'hide'):

Oh, yeah! You can also change what the button says.

 Anyway, just thought I'd share this little experience with you. If you other bloggers are interested in the codes, I can get them to you :).

Some Characters I Like (and Some I Don't!)

Ok. I'm going to do the character thing from Chloe's post that I didn't do last week. Yay! But first, I have to tell you about these books because I'm so excited

*Happiness!* The author, Jill Williamson, spoke at Summer Workshop last summer and was absolutely fantastic and such a fun person. I read Captives after I found it at a Christian book store in Michigan, and then got Outcasts right after it came out last month and read it in two days. Amazing books. I wouldn't recommend them for younger readers (they do deal with some more mature topics) but they're so good. And I just found out the last one is supposed to come out this August! YES!

Anyway, now the real part of the post...

Characters (I seem to have a theme going on here...) I'm going to restrict myself to "fictional" characters just to make things simpler.

#1. The first character I fell in love with. 
I've never really had a crush on a fictional character, but I still love lots of characters! I just can't remember the first... Probably Bree from the Viking Quest series. That's the first series I remember designating as a favorite.

#2. The first character I never expected to love as much as I do now. 

Ooh. That one's hard... I don't know about the first, but I can name a few. Bilbo Baggins, from The Hobbit. Remus Lupin, from Harry Potter. Kai, from Story's End. Margaret, Mr. Thornton, and Mr. Higgins from North and South. Thor, from... the movies about him. Ohh, Eustace Scrubb, from Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The character change he goes through... wow. And how can I forget! Elrond. He's an amazing character.

#3. The character everyone else loves that I hate.

Hmm... I don't really hate any characters that tend to be lovable, but there are some that I got really annoyed with. Like Katniss, from The Hunger Games. And there are others that I don't understand why everyone loves them, like Sirius Black from Harry Potter. Iron Man/Tony Stark. He's funny sometimes, but I really don't like him most of the time. Ohh, yeah, and Galadriel from the LotR movies. She's just weird. I don't get it.

#4. The character everyone hates that I love.

I don't know if everyone hates her, but one of my favorite characters in North and South is Mrs. Thornton. I think it goes back to what I talked about with conflicted/complicated characters being so incredibly interesting. Oh, also, Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. I don't know why people don't like him.

#5. The character I used to love but I don't anymore. 

Maybe Violet Travilla, from the Life of Faith series? I haven't read those in a long time...

#6. The character I'd want to be like.

Remus Lupin. Jane Bennet, from Pride and Prejudice (not necessarily the circumstances, but her personality, kind of). Lucy Pevensie, from The Chronicles of Narnia. Sam Gamgee, from LotR. And I know one character I think I'm already like: Elinor Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility. It's crazy.

#7. The character I'd slap. 

Harry Potter in Order of the Pheonix. Oh. My. Goodness. So annoying! Mason Elias towards the end of Outcasts. The obvious baddies like Wormtongue and Umbridge. But I feel much more inclined to slap characters I like who are acting stupid. 

#8. A pairing that I love. 

Just one?! Never :P. Omar and Shaylinn from The Safe Lands Trilogy. Faramir and Eowyn from LotR. Margaret Hale and John Thornton. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. 

#9. A pairing I don't like. 

I have to agree with Chloe, I'm not much in favor of Tauriel and Kili. Mostly because it doesn't make sense and it doesn't fit. Harry and Ginny in the Harry Potter movies. The books are fine, but the movies make it look really stupid. 

And that's it! I'd love to hear about some of your favorite/least favorite characters too!

Pictures I've Found for my Sci-fi Novel

I was going to do a post like Chloe's because it looked super fun, but I decided it wouldn't be nice to copy her exactly :). So, this will not be a post like Chloe's post. I also thought about doing another post where I show you a bunch of random inspiring stuff from Pinterest, because there's so much awesome stuff on there. But I've done that a lot. So, this will be something different. Kind of.

I already showed you the picture I found for my Hero, but I'll put it here again to remind you.

Yup, that's her! And, she finally has a name! Everyone, this is Cambriel Scott. I spent awhile this morning starting to get to know her, and I plan to spend some more later! I like her already :).

This is Cambriel's best friend, Ainsley Cartland.

Yes, she does have rainbow hair. Ainsley was actually the first character in this novel to have a name, but I still don't know her super well. I do know that she's going to be a very fun character, though!

This next picture is one I found for Cambriel's mom.

She doesn't have a name yet. If you've read my earlier posts (this is probably the main one) or talked with me about my novel at all, you probably know that Cam's mom is sick. She has a disease caused by the element they use for power (see this post). It's kind of complicated, but basically the disease causes backwards mental development (like slowly becoming mentally younger.) The situation makes things very difficult for both Cambriel and her mom.

This next one is kind of my idea for the mentor. (Chloe, I already know what you think :P)

He's another one with a name! Yay! This is Katrel Valerian. He's the youngest member of the council, which is the main governing group on the planet. You might notice that he's the only one of my characters so far who doesn't have blond hair (yes, I know Ainsley's is rainbow, but you didn't think that was natural, did you?) I'm thinking that's because he's half different race (I told you about how I made everything more complicated for myself in my last post. Remember I said I now have three/four planets and three/four races to develop now? Yeah, those don't have names.)

Ok, since I'm now on the topic of planets, I'll tell you a little more of what I have.

This is my inspiration for the smallest planet, which is also the one that the story happens on. It's a desert planet and not super easy to live on, but it's the only known source of the element I mentioned before. The native race is kind of based off Arabian nomads here on Earth. Kind of. But they have really long life-spans. Then there are settlers from this next planet:

This is kind of the 'capital city' planet of the system. They have advanced technology in transportation and communication. The people are also humanoid and have fair hair and blue eyes for the most part. (This is the race the hero's from). Also, the people have much shorter life-spans, which, along with the fact that they're just settling on the planet, causes some conflict with the people of the desert planet.

This is my idea for a planet I'm calling (for the moment) the medicine planet. Wanna guess what they specialize in? Medicine. The people are not humanoid, in fact, they're actually shape-shifters. Like, they can take on the form of another being. They're pretty reclusive and don't like to share all their research, but they do have really advanced medical technology and do help people, if somewhat reluctantly. I'm still figuring this one out, but one thing I do know is that this is where the villain comes from…

This last one is the one that I won't be developing as much because it's not as important to the story. It's the largest planet so it has the highest gravity. It specializes in weapons, so I kind of imagine it as a giant military base. That's about all I know about it.

Well, there you go! Now you know more what I'm thinking about for my novel. I had fun finding all these pictures, and I hope you enjoyed them too!

P.S. I guess I did end up showing you a bunch of stuff from Pinterest after all. At least it had a purpose, not just random stuff I found interesting :).