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 Books | The Tholus Trilogy: Book 1

Guess what everyone? Beautiful Books is back! And by back I mean it's back on the Paperfury blog (an all time favourite blog of mine). I haven't done Beautiful Books yet but I'm really excited to!
This time of year they halt Beautiful People and doing Beautiful Books for the sake of all people doing Nanowrimo and even for those people who're just writing and want to talk about their work of art.
I'm participating in Nano for the first time this year as an attempt to become more disciplined with writing. For one thing, I need to have a book ready to pitch this February as I'll be making my first attempt at publication of a novel!
My amazing friend, Victoria from StoriTori has been helping me with every procrastinator's worst nightmare—*whispers* scheduling. One of those things on the schedule is blogging more frequently. Beautiful Books will help me with that. 

I'm choosing to do the first book, which is currently unnamed, from my Tholus (the 'h' is silent) Trilogy. It used to be called "The Dome" but because of confusion with Stephan King's "Under the Dome", I had to get creative ;)

But enough of that. Onwards to the questions! 

How did you come up with the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

I came up with the idea while sitting at the kitchen island with

my mom and my friend, Kendall. I was staring at the picture over there *points to picture* and said out loud, "How cool would it be to write a story about a flooded city? Or a city that's about to be completely flooded? What if all the people have to escape before it floods?" The questions came from a recent article I read about underwater hotels that were in development. 

I shelved the idea since I was working on another project but brought it back the next week when I entered a novel writing contest. Even though I pulled out halfway through, the time I spent on it was enough to solidify a premise. 

It's been about three years since that happened. Now the idea is being revisited for a makeover and complete drafting :D

Why are you excited to write this novel?

The Bermuda Triangle and other pseudoscientific conspiracies have always fascinated me. To fictionally explain one of them makes me a little giddy. I can't wait to complete my own explanation of why the planes and boats keep disappearing. Plus, my characters have been staring at me for some time now, begging me to write their story. *glances at them*

What is your novel about, and what is the title?

As I mentioned above, my novel is about the Bermuda Triangle. Kimerly Hayes, my MC, boards a plane bound for Bermuda that's pulled down into the ocean. There she discovers a city—not Atlantis, but Tholus—where superhuman abilities are part of how the city functions. However Kim isn't interested in abilities or underwater cities. She wants to go home. As she searches for a way out, she uncovers secrets and conspiracies about Tholas's history and very existence that threaten her life and the lives of ever citizen. 

Three cheers for coming up with that description in five minutes. Not too shabby, eh? 

As for the title, it's currently title-less. Thanks a lot Stephan King. *shakes fist at him* Oh well. More creative brainwork for me. 

Sum up your characters in one word each. (Feel free to add pictures!)

I have a pretty large cast so I'll just focus on the five main protagonists and one of my antagonists.

Kimerly—Quick-witted

Matt—Assertive (His Character Interview)

Isaac (he has shorter hair though)—Skeptical 

Colton—Level-headed

Rynn—Observant

Louis—Apathetic (His Beautiful People Post)

Meet Erik

Which character(s) do you think will be your favourite to write? Tell us about them!

I love Kim. She's my POV character and I love her. She's got a little bit of sarcastic sass that makes her interior monologues really fun to write. I also love her inner journey and can't wait to see her blossom as a person. 

Louis is my next favourite to write about. He's my twisted scientist. Any of my friends would agree that twisted is a good word to describe him. Despite his...experiments, he's somehow a character you can't help but love. 

Lastly, there's Erik. He's not super important in the first book but I can't wait to introduce him. He's another villain of mine who has a mansion in the forrest. He works in the museum and is infatuated with art from 'Up There' (land). 

What is your protagonist’s goal, and what stands in the way?

Kim wants to go home. However first she needs to find out if that's even possible. 

Because she skips class to find out some important tidbits, she gets in trouble with Louis and also the Council. 

Internally, she has some confidence issues. While she covers them up with her pride, her lack of self-confidence often gets in her way and prevents her from finding things out that could help her. 

On top of that, she's not the most sociable person. This is a pretty big obstacle since getting out of Tholas isn't a one man job.

Where is your novel set? (Show us pictures if you have them!)

Tholas is positioned at the bottom of the ocean in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. It's protected by a large dome that has a city, lake and forrest that loops in a ring around the edge of the dome.

City skyline I modled Tholas after

What is the most important relationship your character has?

This is an interesting question. I think I'd have to say the one she has with her parents. While you never see them in the book, she thinks about them a lot in interior monologue. When she thinks of going home, she often thinks of her parents. It's a driving force in her journey. 

How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Kim isn't totally sure of herself yet but she's beginning to gain a bit of boldness. She's also got a group of friends around her that she's starting to love. She wants to protect them and would risk her life trying to save them. Also, her independence is still there but she now has learned to lean on others too. 

What themes are in your book? How do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?

Still trying to figure this one out. I think it will come more to me as I write. So far my thematic ideas are friendship and trust, how society and people masks their flaws, fear vs. love as a driving force, the dangers of curiosity, and where and how a person finds their worth. 

Some of those themes are themes for the whole trilogy and they'll be more prevalent in the sequels than in the first book.
I want my readers to be left thinking but I'm still trying to figure out what type of thinking. 

BONUS! Tell us your 3 best pieces of advice for others trying to write a book in a month.

1. Write

2. Write

3. Don't stop writing

Even 500 words is good. And also, word war! Find some writer buddies to word war with. 

As a university student, I squeeze in 250 words on the bus to school and 250 back. Then if I try to get up to 1k or 2k depending on homework.

Write on, fellow writers! We got this! If you did Beautiful Books, let me know! If not, feel free to tell me about your novel in the comments below. I'd love to here about it :)