Beautiful People | Isaac's Addicted to Mountain Dew

What's up, Wordlings? How's the month of March treating you this far? Is writing going well? If it's not, let this be a prompt to open up that document or scribbler and continue working!

This month's Beautiful People came out a few weeks ago which means that there's still time for you to participate. If you're interested, just follow this link and pick a character.

Speaking of characters, I'm currently in the middle of my secondary edits on "Living City" and have noticed that I haven't done too much work on one of my side characters, Isaac Ghassemi. He's the skeptic of the book and a fellow plane crash survivor of my main character, Kimerly. Ironically, I used to know more about him than any other character in the novel. Now I feel as though it's the exact opposite XD

Onwards to the questions!

What first inspired this character? Is there a person/actor you based them off?

There very well may have been something or someone but I can't remember who or what it would have been for the life of me. Isaac's become his own person now which I think is an achievement of any writer. His appearance however is based off of a younger version of Avan Jogia with shorter hair.  

Describe their daily routine.

Before the plane crash, Isaac woke up and ate breakfast at the table while studying for any tests he had that day. At school he hangs out with his best friend Colton and Colton's girlfriend, Audrey as well as Audrey's twin sister, Rynn. Somewhere in the day, he'll have a can of Mountain Dew since he'll need a caffeine boost from staying up late the night before.

At the end of every decent weathered day, he and his friends hang out in a gazebo by a pond and do their homework or play cards. Most of his actual productive work time is done once everyone is fast asleep in his house and he has yet, another can of Mountain Dew. He's gotta stay awake somehow XD

Isaac doesn't really hold a part time job but his dad pays him to do some general office work on Saturday afternoons at his business.

It's a pretty chill life for the most part. The plane crash into Tholus kinda messes everything up.

If they joined your local high school, what clique would they fit into?

Definitely the hyper-academics. He'd probably join the commerce club or the model UN club. I can see him in either. He'd probably try to run for some sort of high-up position in whatever club he joined too. 

Hey look! I found a short haired
version of Avan Jogia!

Write a list of things they merely tolerate. Ex: certain people, foods, circumstances in their lives…

• Arrogant people (which is slightly ironic since he's got a thin thread of arrogance himself) 
• Isaac likes to make calculated decisions so it bothers him when people in his student council jump to conclusions. 
• Broccoli
• Parmesan cheese 
• When restaurants don't serve Mountain Dew
• Friday nights when his sister and mom watch chick-flicks
• School dances
• Lastly (but not limited to), group presentations at school

How do they react in awkward silences?

While he definitely feels the awkwardness, he doesn't usually do much for awhile.

First he'll observe the group and analyze the reason for the silence. After a mental (or visible) eye roll, if he can and feels the need to, Isaac will say something to break the silence—usually a question to get people talking about something else. 

Can they swim? If so, how did they learn?

Yep, Isaac can swim. His parents put him in swimming lessons at the local pool when he was really little and that's how he met his current best friend, Colton. They were pretty competitive, timing each other on laps and trying to finish the exercises before the other one. 

What is one major event that helped shape who they are?

When he was ten, Isaac's travelled to New York with his parents to visit family. While there, they visited the UN building and that sparked a little fire in him that grew over the years. His dream job is to be an ambassador for the UN so he's made an effort to be a part of the student council and also learn Arabic and Spanish.

What things do they value most in life?

His family and friends for sure. They mean the world to him. Also, a pursuit of knowledge is super important to him. In his opinion, knowledge is power and success so his schooling and his personal study of language is placed on a tall pedestal for him. He also values Mountain Dew XD It's his favourite kind of pop and he greatly appreciates it's caffeinated qualities ;)

Do they believe in giving other people second chances? Do they have any trust issues?

Nope. No second chances. At least not if they're a stranger. Friends and family are different. He doesn't have trust issues really, he just trusts himself more than he trusts people he doesn't know especially when it comes to decision making. I guess it's more of a pride issue than a trust issue.

Your character is having a rough day…what things do they do to make them happy again? Is there anyone they talk/interact with to get in a better mood?

Colton and his other friends always know how to make him happy. A few rounds of cards at the gazebo or a trip for ice-cream, coffee or burgers will pick him up again. If something really bad has happened, he usually won't talk about it unless Colton forces it out of him which will them leave him admitting that yes, he does feel better. 

Did you do Beautiful People this month? If you did, tell me a bit about your character! 

Keep up the writing, Wordlings! 

Beautiful People Valentines Edition | Why Can't Characters Admit Their Feelings?

Happy Valentines Day, wordlings! Even if you're not in a relationship, this is a time to appreciate your favourite fictional couples. And if you are in a relationship then you get double the love ^ ^

While Valentines Day isn't my favourite holiday, I love thinking about my characters that are together—or the ones I want to get together in a later book ;) This month, Cait @ Paperfury is giving all of us an opportunity to do just that with the Valentine's edition of the Beautiful People link up. It took me a solid few weeks to decide who to do (there's an apparent lack of romance in my novels), but I finally decided on Corson and Theron who are an unofficial couple from my novel, Crec. I'll explain the unofficial part below.

Onwards to the questions!

How did they first meet?

Corson and Theron first met when they were in school together as kids. Living in Lowground (the slums of Crec), the run down school didn't have the means to operate on a large scale. This meant that all kids, no matter what the grade level, were combined into a few classes.

During Corson's first week of school at the age of eleven, she took notice of Theron's ability to defend himself. She wanted him to teach her but was too shy to ask. Instead, she sat down against a tree Theron was sitting against and asked him what he was thinking about. Their first conversation was about their favourite foods, colours and seasons. What else do you expect from eleven and twelve year old kids though? ;)

This is them ^.^ 

What were their first impressions of each other?

Theron thought Corson was nice but a little annoying. He's definitely NOT a people person so having a random girl who had just started school that week approach him was a little weird for him. At first he thought that maybe she was trying to get food or money or something out of him. It took a little bit for him to lose the suspicious attitude.

On the other hand, Corson basically thought Theron was the best thing since sliced bread. She's the one who approached him, after all. I guess you could say she's always had a crush on him ever since she saw his wicked cool self defence moves.

How long have they been a couple?

This is where I explain the unofficial couple thing...

There was never a time when either of them asked the other one out or when they discussed being in a relationship. They've never even kissed. *communal gasp* It's more like they have this shared silent understanding that they both want to be there for each other forever. If we want to put a time on it though, they've been friends for five years.

How committed/loyal are they to each other? Would they break up over a secret or a disagreement? 

As I mentioned above, they're not officially dating so they can't really break up. Even if they were to get into a disagreement, Corson would probably say she was done with the relationship in the heat of the moment but then come back the next day and they'd both apologize and get over it. They're extremely loyal to each other despite their many differences.

Could stress drive them apart? Would they die for each other?

Depends on the type of stress. It would have to be a serious strain on their deep rooted friendship. Either one of them would have to basically go through enough that their personality changes dramatically or something.

And yes, they would die for each other but they've agreed not to. Lowground isn't a great place to live. The military that runs it can be brutal. Theron made Corson promise him one day that she would never put her life on the line for him. She agreed on one condition: that he would never put his life on the line for her. This being said, it's never had to be tested. That's what writing is all about though, isn't it? Authors love pushing the limits of their characters ;) Can I get a 'here, here' from all my author buddies? 

List 5 “food quirks” they know about each other. (Ex: how they take their coffee, if they’re allergic to something, etc….and feel free to mention other non-food quirks!)

A slightly younger Corson (minus the pink hair)

Corson 

1) Takes her pine tea with half a spoon of sugar and a little bit of honey if she can afford it. 

2) She eats sandwiches "backwards" according to Theron. By this I mean she doesn't eat starting from that top rounded part of the bread, she starts from the bottom flat part. 

3) If someone is serving her food or tea, she sucks on the tip of her spoon while she's waiting.

4) She's allergic to nuts. She won't die if she eats them—she will get hives though. 

5) When she can find some, her favourite fruit is blueberries. She likes pairing it with goat cheese too. 

Theron

1) He likes bitter tasting stuff. For example, he eats the orange peels of the oranges. 

2) If there's one thing he won't eat, it's chives. Lots of people grow chives in Lowground but he's just not a fan. 

3) Despite not ever adding sugar to his tea or coffee, he always takes a spoon with it and stirs it absentmindedly—especially if he's in conversation with someone. 

4) If somebody doesn't finish all the food on their plate, he'll usually regard them with less respect for the rest of the day. 

5) He's more of a snacker than a big meal eater. He'd rather eat five or six smaller snacks than three meals. 

Does anyone disapprove of their relationship?

Nah. No one really knows that they're together to begin with. They don't really know they're together XD Even if people did know, I don't think anyone would disapprove.

What would be an ideal date?

Well, if they would actually ADMIT TO LIKING EACH OTHER, they'd probably find a secluded rooftop or go into the forrest and have a picnic and just talk. They love talking with each other. There would also be blueberries involved since Corson adores those little blue spheres of goodness.

What are their personality dynamics? Similar? Contrasting? Do they fight a lot or mesh perfectly?

They've got a few similarities but otherwise they're very different from each other. For the most part, they just accept their differences but it's not uncommon that they disagree. In fact, it's very common.

What have been their best and worst moments together as a couple?

They're a pretty simple pair so to both of them, their best moments would be the ones where they can just escape their worries and talk all day. Both of them love taking trips to Fromshir or Haylock Canyon so any day that includes either of those places can be added into their best moment book.

A photo that looks like Haylock Canyon

As for their worst moments, they've had a few ugly fights especially since Theron's started talking about getting revenge for the death of his parents.

Where do they see themselves and their relationship in the next few years?

Well they've recently joined Shadowfore—each with their own reasons but they joined together. Since Shadowfore doesn't allow romantic relationships between their Skaces (soldiers), they're kinda both at an understanding that they'll have to be just friends for awhile. 

Who are your favourite couples in your books? Did you do beautiful people this month?

Write on, Wordlings!

Beautiful People | Maybe I'm Overly Ambitious

Hola, Worldings! This is the time of year when a lot of people are getting into the spirit of setting goals. Cait @ Paperfury is no different. Now that NaNoWriMo is over, so is Beautiful Books That means the regular Beautiful People posts have been resumed. This month, we're talking writing goals! I already touched on this in my yearly summary but the questions that Cait asks have gone into a little more depth so I figured I take a stab at it.

Let's get to it, shall we? Onwards!

What were your writing achievements last year?

I went expanded on this in my yearly summary so I'll stick to the basics. 

My three largest achievements:

1) Getting myself picked up by Focus on the Family Clubhouse Magazine for an article I wrote

2) Going to the Florida Christian Writer's conference (I learned SO much there and I was never sure if I'd ever get to a conference like that)

The awesome conference people. I'm in there somewhere XD

3) I finished my first novel ever :D 

Tell us about your top priority writing project for this year

Definitely polishing "Living City". I hope to have that done by the end of August—potentially sooner if an agent requests it (*crosses fingers that I can get an agent to begin with*). 

I know this is going to take a lot of focus and effort—I'm already finding that it's a huge challenge to edit one book while trying to write another one that's in a separate genre—so I've go to buckle down and keep this schedule of mine. 

List 5 areas you’d like to work the hardest to improve this year

I love this question so much cause it's forcing me to think. Let's see....

1) Staying consistent with my writing. That whole "write everyday" thing that people talk about has been applied to my life and I want to keep it that way. 

2) The beginnings of my novels. I know I can always edit them but I really wish I felt good about my beginnings while I write them.

Writing beginnings, I feel like this poor girl

3) Character voices. Making each character distinct from one another and also making each POV character easily distinguishable between novels is something I want to master one day. 

4) Emotion. I'm not a terribly emotional person and already I'm noticing that it's showing in my novel. The emotional reactions of many of the people isn't what it should be. I've got my trusty "Emotion Thesaurus" though. It shall be my guide ;)

5) My platform. By the end of the year, I want to master blogging and keeping up my Facebook page. By NaNo, I hope to include twitter into the mix. I also have plans to buy a domain and print business cards. It's a lot of work but I'm willing to put the time into it. 

Are you participating in any writing challenges?

Yep! Camp NaNo in April for "Crec" and NaNoWriMo in November for "Sunken Sky". I also may participate in Voice Week again. I did it in 2014 and it really changed the way I looked at writing defined voices. Since voices are a focus of mine this year, it's definitely worth the consideration.

What’s your critique partner/beta reader situation like and do you have plans to expand this year?

Currently I have seven Alpha readers. One of them who is both an Alpha and Beta reader is also my unofficial critique partner. As for expanding: yes, I DO have plans for that. I hope to get more Betas: male and female, writer and non-writer. This month I'll hunting for them since I have it in my schedule to send my manuscript out to them in February.

Do you have plans to read any writer-related books this year? Or are there specific books you want to read for research

Yes I do! "The Emotion Thesaurus" for one, is great for research; "Now Write! Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror" is one I picked up from my book store specifically for the writing exercises at the end of each informative chapter; and "Blogging for Writers" is one that my sister got me for Christmas that has some great technical and market tips. I hope to read all three and write reviews for them right here. I'm looking forward to it ^ ^

Pick one character you want to get to know better, and how are you going to achieve this?

Hm....probably Masara Gold. I know a lot about her but I can't seem to write effectively in her voice. Maybe I don't know her as well as I think I do?

Since I'm working on "Crec" this year, I definitely need to get the hang of her. I'll be CCing (character chating) with her and use her in the writing exercises in the "Now Write!" book. Also, I have a few tips and tricks I'm gonna use on her.

This picture of Masara's celebrity look alike reminds me of a scene I recently wrote :) 

Do you plan to edit or query, and what’s your plan of attack?

Edit, yes. I wrote my process down in last month's Beautiful Books post. As I mentioned above, I hope to have the whole thing polished by the end of August. Of course, this means that I'll need to edit every day until then. Bring it on.

As for querying, I'll be doing that in the summer if I don't get picked up by anyone at the conference in Florida. All I know about the queries is that I'll be looked for agents instead of going directly to a publishing house.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”  What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

I want to see more retellings of stories that aren't classified as a fairytale. For example, I've found a few for Frankenstein in my bookstore and I know there's one for the Nutcracker out there. Some retellings of Shakespeare plays would definitely hold my interest.

Excuse me while I check out a few of these from my library

As for the holes, I thing YA need more mythology that's not written by Rick Riordan (which I love, don't get me wrong). Even adult fiction needs it. I want to see more of this ^ ^ I touched briefly on some other holes in my post, "7 Reasons Why Every Aspiring Author Should Work In a Bookstore". 

What do you hope to have achieved by the end of 2016?

I go into more detail with this in my yearly summary post. Basically I have four main goals. 

1) Prep for the conference in February (business cards, one sheets and all that jazz) 

2) Polish "Living City" 

3) Draft "Crec" 

4) Draft "Sunken Sky" 

I'm ambitious, I know ^ ^ I also know that I'm not the only one ;) But hey, this way I'll never run out of stuff to do this year! Three cheers for that!

Get it? Three cheers? :D 

What are your writing goals this year? 
Did you do Beautiful Books? Share a link with me in the comments and I'll stop by your blog!

Happy New Year, Wordlings! 

Beautiful People | Writing Origins

Beautiful People is back! *cheesy children cheering sound effect* 
Paperfury (formerly The Notebook Sisters) has been putting on this blog linkup for awhile now but took a break for Nanowrimo—I both pity and applaud anyone who went through the entire month fully committed to that thing.
Now they're back with a special edition: the writers! After all, writers can be beautiful people too. I mean, we're the minds behind our beautiful characters so I suppose we must be beautiful ^.^ 
I've been given fifteen questions to answer and if you've got a blog and would like to answer them, head on over to this link and link up with the other bloggers! If you do so, comment below and I'll go read and comment. I'd love to take this opportunity to get to know more of my readers :) 

Onwards to the questions! 

1. How many years have you been writing? When did you officially consider yourself a ‘writer’?
I've been writing since I was four. No lie. My mom said that I started as soon as I got a pencil in my hand. So I guess that means fourteen years...wow. That's a long time...
I didn't title myself as a writer until I was ten and went to my first writer's conference. It was for kids in my district called the "Young Authors Conference". All the teachers at the workshops referred to us kids as writers and so I adopted the term officially as part of my identity.

2. How/why did you start writing?
When I started writing as a kid, I wanted to keep stories in the way I kept memories. I could basically keep my imagination immortal and in the mind of a girl who plotted each Barbie game I played with my sister, there could be nothing better than that. 
The way I started was by drawing pictures and then asking my mom to write certain things on each page. After that it was my own writing in my own picture books and then I upgraded to scribblers I collected from school.
Now I write because to me, writing is an expression of truth. I'll never write anything I don't believe fully in. If a single sentence, word or even a whole page feels wrong, I delete it and start over.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing?
Extended metaphors, symbols and motifs! I love it when I can use those things to enhance the meaning of my story. Most of the books I want to write in the future are one giant extended metaphor. I'm super excited to write them ^.^

4. What’s your biggest writing struggle?
Staying focused is a big one but I think beyond that it's characterization. As an analytical person, connecting with my characters is rather difficult. I've had to work very hard to get them to the place they're at now. Next to characterization I'd definitely say pacing. 

Writing at night somehow brings out
the best ideas.

5. Do you write best at night or day?
It depends on what I write. Poetry will usually only happen at night, short stories are best in the late afternoon and my novel will have the best ideas at night.

6. What does your writing space look like?
I'm a bit of a nomad. I actually don't have a 'space'. I just float around and write when and where I can.

7. How long does it typically take you to write a complete draft?
Well I haven't completed a full first draft yet so I can't say. Based on current progress though, about five months.

8. How many projects do you work on at once?
One novel and then as many short stories as I please. I'll only work on one poem at a time but I'll always finish it in one sitting so I'm not sure if that counts as overlapping with my novel or working on a single project.

9. Do you prefer writing happy endings, sad ones, or somewhere in between?
I like writing indeterminate endings. Some things will be happy, some not so much and some will be in between but the reader is left to decide overall how it ended. However since I've never actually finished a draft of a novel I'm not sure if this question really applies to me ^.^

10. List a few authors who’ve influenced your writing journey.
Lois Lowry, Edgar Allen Poe, Anthony Horowitz, William Shakespeare and Jill Williamson. That's already more than a few and I could go on and on.

If you're a writer, you know
the feeling.

11. Do you let people read your writing? Why or why not?
I've started to let more people read it recently but I'm still selective. My novels I'll only let critique partners read for the sake of critique. I hate to have people read my unfinished work; since I value truth in my writing, I want to make sure that what people read is true truth.  
My poetry I'll let more people read but that's because when I finish a poem, it's finished. However, I'm still careful about who reads my poetry. It reflects a very deep part of me and what I was thinking when I wrote it. Reading my poems is like reading my mind sometimes and that makes me uncomfortable XD

12. What’s your ultimate writing goal or dream?
I would love for my work to be studied in schools. To have my writing looked at in depth would be a dream come true and even more so if I got to go into schools and talk with the students about my stuff to help them understand it.

13. If you didn’t write, what would you want to do?
I'd probably devote more of my time to academics, photography or learning new instruments. I'm not actively pursuing writing as a full time career at the moment (still struggling through high school here) so other passions would probably just be more prominent. 

14. Do you have a book you’d like to write one day but don’t feel you’re ready to attempt it yet?
Yes, absolutely. I have many of those. I have a mystery that I'm holding onto for the future. It will be really hard to write but amazing when it's finished. 

15. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?
The one I'm working on right now, Crec (though, I plan on changing it's name). Whether I publish it or not, I need to finish it and finish it well. The characters won't let me abandon it and as I mentioned before, I hate to leave my work unfinished. 

I feel like I learned more about myself answering all those questions. Hopefully you learned some stuff about me too! If you'd like to answer some of these questions, head on over to the link in the beginning of the post and let me know that you answered the questions. I'll be sure to check them out. 

Paperfury asked a bonus question on their blog asking if you're a one genre writer or if you can write many. So expanding on that question, what genre do you enjoy writing (or reading if you don't write) most and why?

Beautiful People | Louis

Hey guys! School's back in and so I took a little break from blogging so that I could get back into the groove of studying, essays and deadlines again. If you've been following my blog for a couple months, you'd know that I've been participating in the Beautiful People link up hosted by The Notebook Sisters. The last few times, I've been answer questions about Masara, my MC from my science-fiction novel, Crec. This time, The Notebook Sisters have challenged us bloggers to answer questions about one of our villains. I've chosen to do Dr. Louis (pronounced Lewis) Taylor from my WIP The Dome.

Onwards to the questions!

1. What is their motive?
Pleasure. Louis does what he wants because he wants to do it. He's even more likely to do something if it can help him get what he wants most (another major motivation). Three cheers for a segway into the next question!

2. What do they want, and what are they prepared to do to get it?
Louis believes that power comes from knowledge and so ultimately, he wants knowledge. It sounds cliche but he'll do anything for knowledge. A better question would be, "what won't he do?" In that case he wouldn't hurt Andrew, his longtime, childhood friend and coworker or his dad.

3. How do they deal with conflict?
If he's in the middle of the conflict, he thrives. Half the time, he's the one that's started the whole thing. If he's just an observer, he typically watches with interest or else ignores them.

4. Describe their current place of residence.
On the very edge of the city, right next to the forrest and in the newer part of the town, Louis lives in a brand new condo complex. So new that he's only one of two residents. He stays on the third floor in a two bedroom condo. 
It's pretty modern with an open concept main room; it's not really furnished other than the futon and small wooden round table and four matching chairs in the living room. There's a bed, nightstand, lamp and digital clock in one bedroom. The other bedroom has been converted into a laboratory. It's filled with metal cabinets, lots of tables for makeshift counter-space and a bookshelves to hold his binders of research.

5. If they were writing the story, how would it end?

Richard Armitage who looks
scarily like Louis is this picture

He'd make it back to Up There with his research and and use it to get his job back as a geneticist.

6. What habits, speed patterns, etc. are unique to them?
If he's got keys on him, he'll spin the key ring on his finger. Also, he typically speaks in shorter sentences. Longer ones really aren't his thing. He certainly doesn't communicate figuratively.

7. How do they show love? What do they like to do with/for people they love?
He shows his love through words. If Louis gives you an honest to goodness compliment then he cares about you. Something he'll do for someone he loves is some sort of simple act of service like cooking a meal or washing their car or something. It's been a really long time though since he's ever done any of that though.

8. Do they have any pets?
He doesn't. His 'pets' are the animals he's studied back Up There. He's not overly affectionate with animals so as a warning, no one should give him a puppy for Christmas.

9. Where would they go to relax/think?
Louis doesn't really relax but when he does he'll go to his lab. Doing little experiments even if they're just simple high school level reactions gets his mind off other things.

10. What is their weapon to choice? 
His wit. Louis is freaking smart. His wit is too strong for his own good which leads to successful manipulation. He'll learn all about you and then use yourself, those you love or anything you care about against you. If he uses a physical weapon, it's mostly a threat to push you in the 'right' direction. 

So that's Louis for you :) If you want to check out more posts like these, click here. If you're interested in participating in the link up, be sure to head over to The Notebook Sisters to check it out. Thanks for reading!

Beautiful People | Masara 3

*happy sigh* Oh summer, how you've flown by. This summer I've been participating in a blog link up called Beautiful People. It's hosted by the world dominating Notebook Sisters. (They really do promise world domination so you might want to check them out cause lets be honest here, we all secretly want to take over at least a part of the world ;) )

If you haven't heard of Beautiful People, you can check out what this fun is all about here.

This month I'll be using Masara for one last time. Masara is from my WIP science fiction novel, Crec. I've gotten to know her so much better through this link up and I've only done two other posts with her! If you're considering doing this thing, I highly recommend it. 

And now, onwards to the questions!

1) What does your character regret the most in their life?

Masara regrets agreeing to go with her friends to Brooks Tower when she was twelve. It's kind of a minor spoiler but what happened there sparked a new wave of cautiousness in her. She constantly wonders is she'd be a lot braver now both physically and emotionally had she refused to go.

2) What is your character's happiest memory? Most sorrowful memory?

When Masara was seven, she, her older brother Trey who was fourteen at the time, and her dad hiked up the mountains near their hometown. They had a picnic in a field at the top overlooking the valleys and played games until the sun went down. On the hike home, a tired Masara was given a piggyback ride on the way down by her dad. Since she hardly ever sees her dad now because of his job, it's one of her fondest memories.

As far as most sorrowful memory goes, that would probably have to be what happened at Brooks Tower.

3) What majorly gets on your character's nerves?
Masara really hates it when people don't take action. Whether it's for something smaller like a school project of something bigger like spying on some baddies, she's one of few words and much action. Talking about plans mean nothing to her if they're never followed through.

A picture I found of a girl that looks a bit
like Masara.

When all people do is talk and talk and try to revamp plans until they're 'perfect', she really wants to smack them upside the head and get moving.

4) Do they act differently when they're around people as opposed to being along? If so, how?
I guess in a way she does. When she's around other people she likes to try to prove herself to both them and herself. People are her motivation to push herself a little further. When she's by herself, she tends to give in a bit to her fears.

5) What are their beliefs and superstitions? (Ex. their religion or lack of one, conspiracy theories, throwing salt, fear of black cats.)

Masara really doesn't have many beliefes or superstitions. She bases a lot of things—and by that I mean almost everything—on facts and logic. Since conspiracies are all theories, she doesn't waste her time with them.

6) What are their catchphrases, or things they say frequently?

"Alright, let's go."

"Just forget about it."

She uses the word, "Fantastic," quite often.

She also asks, "What do you mean?" more than she should XD She's a very questioning person.

7) Would they be more prone to facing fears or running from them?

She'd really like to run from her fears and her instincts tell her to but her friends and older brother subconsciously motivate her to face them. Their own fearlessness is something Masara really admires and she strives to be like them. She's sees them as strong people and wants to be able to call herself strong too. 

8) Do they have a good self image?
I wouldn't say she does. In the case of her own appearance, sure. But when it comes to other things, not so much. Like I mentioned above, she looks at other people's strength and longs to be like them. She's pretty hard on herself and doesn't think she'll measure up to the standards she's set for herself. 

9) Do they turn to people when they're upset, or do they isolate themselves? She isolates herself. Masara's doesn't like to bother other people with her problems and prefers to move on when it comes to emotional and personal problems. She won't dwell on anything long enough to feel the need to vent. 
"Just forget about it," is something she'll tell herself as well as other people in a variety of circumstances.
Look how nicely those two questions tied in!

10) If they were standing next to you would it make you laugh or cry?
I would laugh ^ ^ I'm imagining her just popping up beside me and looking super bewildered. Her expression would make me laugh! And then she would blush and wonder what she did...

So that's this month's Beautiful People. I hope you enjoyed reading it and that you got to know Masara a little better over the last few months. I know I have! Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next month for the next Beautiful People featuring a new character :) 

Also, stayed tuned for a super neat research/interview project I'm working on right now. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to share it :D

Beautiful People | Masara 2

Hey guys! Last month I participated in a blog link-up called Beautiful People hosted by The Notebook Sisters. 
Each month they post new questions and anyone has the chance to answer them. Once they publish the blog post, bloggers link their post to the Beautiful People page and other readers and writers can check it out!
I really enjoyed doing last month's questions for Masara and after talking with a fellow writer, decided to do her again this month and next. 
If you missed last month's post, click here. 

Masara is the protagonist from my work in progress science fiction novel Crec. 

Onwards to the questions! 

1) What’s their favourite food? 
Masara loves mostly any type of fruit. Give her a fresh fruit salad and she's in heaven. Her favourite fruits are mangos and plums.

Bonus question: favourite flavour of chocolate!
Dark chocolate for sure!

2) What do they absolutely hate?
Being alone. Don't get me wrong, Masara's an introvert and spends time by herself quite often to recharge. The type of loneliness she hates is more along the lines of long term absence from the people she loves. To her, it's more like they've disappeared. 

3) What do they enjoy learning about?
Anything involving Crec and the Sentries that guard the portal to Crec. Since both topics are super secretive to the general public, any new information that she can get ahold of will satisfy her curiosity.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life?
Without a doubt, her older brother Trey. The two of them are seven years apart but are closer than ever. Once Trey turned ten, he basically took over the job of raising her. Not only did he quickly become a close friend but he became her mentor. 

A photo I found that reminds me
of a younger Masara

5) What is their childhood fear?
Masara used to be afraid of the dark but grew out of it. She hated being alone in an environment she felt trapped in. To combat this, Trey suggested that she and her friends press their handprints and sign their names to the ceiling of Masara's bedroom above her bed using Lumipaint. Whenever she felt alone and scared, she just had to look up to the handprints and names of her friends.

6) What is something they have secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible?
She's always really wanted to take a trip somewhere with just her dad. Going somewhere with him for like a week or so would be a dream come true because she could just spend nonstop time with him. Because of his vacationless job though, she doesn't even both to bring it up. 

7) What is something she is impractically afraid of?
Heights. When she was twelve, she witnessed an accident from high heights and ever since then, she's been afraid of them. 

8) Are they a night owl or a morning person?
A night owl. Sometimes she's forced to wake up early for her volunteer position or her older brother will wake her up but by nature she's a night owl. 

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid?

Masara leaves a lot unsaid around most people. The closer she is to a person though, (for example Trey or any of her besties) the more open she'll be with them. However, she certainly doesn't just let her thoughts go straight from her head and out of her mouth even with them.

10) What are their nervous habits?

When Masara is nervous she'll wring her hands together to stop them from quivering or play with the ends of her hair. 

There you have it! If you want to read more posts like this or write your own, click here. 

If you want to check out the Pinterest board from Masara's world, follow this link. 

Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment if you have any questions about Masara or would like to know more about a different character I mentioned :)