Voice Week Day 1 — Above and Below

Maybe you've seen this badge in the sidebar of my blog for the past month. Well it's time to find out what it's for.
Voice week is a challenge where I pick a scenario/prompt and write around 100 words in the heads of five different characters for five days in a row. I'll be exercising my writer 'voice' hence the name Voice Week. 
I've had so much fun reading other posts for this thing...it almost stopped me from making my own tonight! 

But anyways, onwards to the writing!

The purple, star speckled sky reflects off the puddle on the ground beneath my feet. Stars shouldn't be below me, they should be above me as high and as mighty as they are. I don't deserve to be on top. I'm not strong enough. 
Ripples scatter the stars as I step through the water and look up instead. A shooting star streaks through space just in time for my eye to catch it. I used to always make a wish whenever I saw one. When did I last see one? Has it been that long or have I forgotten the simple pleasures already? 

Yep, it's short. 100 words is less than you might think. 

If you want to read more excepts like this, check out the Voice Week blog. I highly recommend it, I really enjoyed going through them myself :) 

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 :) 

Beautiful People | Masara

This week I discovered this fantastic blog link-up called Beautiful People. The host blog, The Notebook Sisters, post new questions for your characters at the beginning of each month and then you get to answers them. After that, you link your blog on their page and other writers or readers can click on it to learn about your characters and you can learn about other people's characters. I'm really excited about this! 

The character that I chose to do for this set of questions is Masara, the main character from my science fiction novel Crec. Let's get right into the questions!

1) What is their full name and is there a story behind why they got it? 

Masara M. Gold. There's not much of a story behind her first name; her parents just really liked the name Masara. The middle initial comes from her mom's maiden name, Morgan. In the future Earth Masara lives on, the classic middle name disintegrated from culture. Everyone uses their mother's maiden name initial as their middle initial.

2) How old are they, and when were they born? 

Masara is fifteen and was born on September 17th.

3) Describe their physical appearance. 

Masara has long, wavy, brown hair and mud brown eyes. She has an oval shaped face and is smaller in build and stature—about five foot three inches in height. 

Bonus questions 1: What is their race/nationality/ethnicity? 

Caucasian.

Bonus questions 2: Do you have a picture of them? If so, include it!

A photo of Georgie Henley that
looks exactly like Masara

4) Describe your character's personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences. 
Suspicious. Masara is suspicious of both people and events. Her inquisitive mind and over-analytical thought process doesn't allow for much to pass through her filter. While she may not always act on these suspicions, she notices danger in things and people where others don't.

5) What theme song(s) fit their personality and story arc?

Probably "This Is Home" by Switchfoot. I've been looking for better songs for my characters and I know there's probably a more suited one out there than this. But this one, especially the first verse, captures her fairly well.

6) Which one of the seven deadly sins describes your character? 
Envy. Not necessarily of possessions but of courage. She looks at her best friend Piper and sees in her a fearlessness that Masara has lost.

7) If they were an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would they be? 
Earth. Masara has a set opinion on things, won't be moulded into someone else's plans, is stubborn and unshakeable.

8) What is their favourite word? 
Adrenaline.

9) Who’s one person they really miss? (It could be someone who’s passed away, or someone they’re not close to anymore, or someone who’s moved away.) 
Her dad. Because of his job, Masara hardly ever gets to see him anymore.


10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind them of that person?

Her brother's and her own cutlass sword, and cinnamon or the two big ones. Her dad taught her and her older brother, Trey how to use a sword and gifted them each with their own one Christmas. As far as the cinnamon goes, her dad used to bake cinnamon twists Saturday mornings when she was a kid and so the smell of it reminds her of him. 

And so that wraps up the questions! 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. 

If a character I mentioned in Masara's answers interested you (despite the little information XD) or you know of some others that I've mentioned in previous posts, be sure to comment below and I'll keep them in mind for the next set of questions.