Character Sketch: Yamini Lithala

Abandoned by her parents as an infant and left on the cathedral's doorstep, Yamini is raised by a high priestess until the age of ten. She is then offered apprenticeship under the respected master scribe, Azsherade, which she hesitantly accepts. For a year she learns to read and write, a rare skill within the empire, and studies the history of Rhevise. Azsherade adopts Yamini and considers her his own daughter. She is fast becoming an adept scribe when an unscrupulous politician, Councilman Shahid, outlaws the use of handwriting and script in response to an insurrection orchestrated by messages written in graffiti. Yamini decides that Shahid is a bad man and should be killed for the greater good of Rhevise. Against Azsherade's warnings, Yamini abandons her home and mentor to follow the corrupt politician into the night. After a brief verbal exchange, Yamini slays Shahid and leaves him on a residential stoop.

This action gains the attention of Soliessen, guildmaster to a group of rogues, thieves and assassins. Having nowhere else to go, Yamini reluctantly joins the guild after a tiresome initiation process resulting in the death of a young girl. Her first real assignment, a mission of theft that sends her into the Ka'Dence Estate to recover the valuable memory cube artifact, awakens a shadow spirit within Yamini. This shadow spirit, Narran, becomes her only real companion and gives Yamini guidance by whispering into her mind. For three years Yamini trains and learns the ways of the rogue through Soliessen's and Narran's instructions. Her missions range from thievery and pickpocketry to infiltration and sabotage to murder and assassination. Due to Yamini's severe guilt complex, she turns over influence to Narran during deadly missions. Yamini eventually comes to be called by her codename, "Narran", by guildmates. This eventually leads to an identity crisis that threatens to banish Yamini's soul to the plane of shadow...

Progress...of a different kind

I have been away from this blog for far too long, but more ashamed am I of the time I've spent away from the pages of my story. It has been weeks, nigh months, since Yamini has had any action. I can't blame writer's block, because I know exactly what is to be written. I can only blame my motivation. Lack of sleep. Lack of initiative. And lack of inspiration. I need to crawl out of this funk, and ASAP!

Of course, I know the only way to get back into the groove of things is to start putting words down on the screen and stop caring (temporarily, mind you) how pretty or perfect they are. Well, a very large part of me still fights this philosophy of "putting down crap and cleaning it up later" so I've taken a different tack. Character mapping! Probably more exciting than it actually sounds, and way more beneficial to me than any standard outline formatting. I've never been one for outlines, timelines, ANY kind of lines, really. They're too restrictive, too concrete. I liked to color outside them as a kid. Not because I didn't possess the coordination to stay within them, but rather...because I didn't always like where they were placed. My stories are no exception.

The character maps provide me with a deeper insight to the characters, their motivations, their progressions in the story, where significant events overlapped, and the ultimate goals or endgames of each. What I have been focusing on these last two weeks is essentially each character's (sub characters included) entire story, beginning with the start of the book until the end of it, summarizing the whole of their importance, explaining their motives, and drawing a vague idea of how they will accomplish or fail their purpose. It is an interesting strategy, one I've never before employed. And despite the time it is consuming, I am finding it both fun and helpful. Several plot issues--aspects of the story that up until just days ago were question marks even to me!--are being resolved and fundamentally fleshed out so that when the time comes to reveal a twist or hidden motive or some such thing, I will at least know which way the story will go from there.

Perhaps these ramblings sound like that of a poor writer. I can imagine the commentary. "This guy doesn't even know what he's writing half the time!" Well, I don't. Half the time, the things that come out of my characters' mouths or their actions are just as surprising to me as they are to the readers. THIS is what keeps the writing process fun for me. Experiencing the story myself as the reader must. Being surprised. Not being quite sure what will happen, how, or when. Most of the time I'm in the mystery with my own writing, my own characters. But the way I see it...if I can fool myself, then I must succeed, in part or in whole, in tricking out the masses. I consider that a victory as an author.

Now, it wouldn't be right for me to post the character maps I'm creating, for there would be spoilers abound and practically give away the entire story! I can, however, provide a brief bio of each, similar to the character sketches found in video game manuals. The purpose in the game books is to get the players interested in the characters said game has to offer by giving their background and letting the player decide who to be, who to care about, who to trust and who not to. Video games have been such a big inspiration of mine thus far. I see no reason not to continue the trend.

That said, look for these bios to come one at a time in the near future.

What is Shadowplay?

In Part 2 of Yamini's story, we are presented with a rogue's game called Shadowplay. Inspired by ideas of the Battle Room from Ender's Game and Drizzt's melee tournaments in Homeland, Shadowplay is a quarterly guild event wherein combatants enter a large arena with sparring weapons. The arena is sealed and all lights are turned off, creating an area of complete darkness. Combatants must navigate the arena floor, which consists of several pillars, obstacles and fall-throughs, whilst avoiding--or dispatching--other rogues. Dispatching another rogue requires striking a vital area with the sparring weapon of choice, resulting in a temporary stun state until the end of the match. Wound points are taken into account during the final round for placing purposes, but whomever is left standing is named the ultimate victor regardless of point accumulation.

The philosophy behind Shadowplay, in Soliessen's eyes, is to train the students to rely on instincts as well as other senses besides sight. For years, rogues train to manipulate their surroundings and use cover of darkness as their primary advantage. By turning that advantage against them, essentially leveling the playing field between combatants, Shadowplay forces the students to become even more creative, adaptive and resourceful. It also forces them to become more conniving. Alliances and betrayals saturate the playing field. As Soliessen has stated, the only trustworthy rogue is oneself.

Fortunately for Yamini, sometimes the best partner is a specter from another plane...

Elementals' Spells and Abilities list

So this list is...wow, almost a year old. But I thought it would be pertinent to repost it here.

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=293159501&blogId=450886573

A complete but ongoing list of the six main elementals and their respective abilities from Of Avatars. Of course, the same abilities will be apparent in future novels as well (we follow Yamini as she learns most of her tricks in Of Shadow), and there's a good chance that additional abilities will be added in the future as they are discovered. Happy reading, gamers and readers.

At the behest of my fans...

Okay. I should say fan. Singular.

I realize it has been some time since I've updated. This is due partly to life having gotten a bit busy recently, and partly due to there being very little to report. Work on Of Shadow has slowed considerably. Continuity issues. Fears and uncertainties. Nothing out of the usual for me. First drafts aren't easy, and they aren't quick. Couple those things with one of the world's most adept procrastinators and you'll have quite a wait for a piece of literature.

Thankfully, you can be assured that it ends up pretty good. =)

With weekends being the only time I can sit down and focus, and these past several weekends being loaded with weddings and festivals and everything else keeping me away from the keyboard, I've gotten a bit lazy. Sorry to report, I still haven't applied my edits to Of Avatars. That goes without saying, no query letters have been crafted, no agents or agencies submitted to--basically, no progress other than that of the new book. Maybe this is good enough, maybe it isn't. For me, it signifies failure and inadequate motivation.

I'm torn between perfecting my first piece and finishing the second. For being this late in the game, that's kind of bad. Especially since I have to literally wait for Yamini to finish telling the story. I don't know everything that is going to happen, and neither does she. I know where she ends up...just not how she gets there exactly. That is the fun part about writing these stories. It is as much an adventure for me as it is for the characters. They never fail to surprise, never disappoint.

I, on the other hand...

*sighs* Back to work.

Young Assassin's Poem

So I was feeling in a poetic mood again last week and this is what came out of me. My mind has been deep into creating book two and familiarizing myself with the characters. This poem is written from Yamini's perspective after she is given her first journal and expresses her apprehension for following Soliessen's leadership in the rogue's guild. In order to comply with her assignments, she learns to dissociate from herself and forms a vicious, cold alter-ego. Yamini has yet to name the piece.

A tangled web we weave indeed

From blades of steel so crass,

Withdrawn in part a once warm heart

To my dismay, alas.

We fight for those without a cause

And those who lack the skill,

But darkness hides behind those eyes;

She does it for the thrill.

I must get free from their decree,

From hatred and despair...

Find haven safe within this state,

I fear I know not where.

For there must be another way

To circumvent the lie,

To rescue those who'd flee in droves.

How can they? How can I?

"I am Not Reckless"

To celebrate my motivated progress with OSaD I thought I'd share an excerpt of a future chapter with you, dear reader. I thought this bit would be suitable for showing off the main character, Yamini, in her natural setting (and spunk!) three years after her story begins. For a fourteen-year-old, I'd say she's a pretty cool kid! Then again, I am biased...

"Wait, what are you doing?" Henrik asked, his face contorted with concern.

"Is it not obvious?" said Yamini. "I am going after him myself."

The two boys looked at each other and laughed. Then they realized she was serious. "You can't do that!" said Sebastian.

Yamini cocked an eyebrow. "Can is a matter of ability and ambition," she replied, "and I most certainly have both!"

Henrik watched with disbelief as Yamini unsheathed both daggers and concealed each blade behind her inner forearms. "It's bold enough that you've attempted to steal Master Soliessen's recruits--"

"She is no longer our master," Yamini spat, "and by being here you have proven my attempt successful."

"Breaking away from a former guild to forge your own is one thing," Sebastian argued, "but claiming Soliessen's marks is suicide, Yamini!" She ignored him as she stood and crept into the shadowed archway of the arena staircase. "There are codes to adhere to, principles to follow. You are nothing but a rogue, a brash vigilante with a taste for vengeance. Why should we follow you? Your impulsiveness would mean our deaths!"

Yamini glared at the boy. "I am not a vigilante," she breathed. "Vigilantes thrive on chaos. They are mindless seekers of blood and terror, aimless wanderers hoping to vent their discontent with the world on those who appear at first to have caused it. These individuals have become lost in their own corruption, their own greed, resorting to violence disguised as justice while they seek the definition of themselves. They do so recklessly and without planning. I am an assassin."

"And what's the difference between them and you?" said Henrik.

Her wicked smile was enough to make both boys step backward. "I am not reckless."