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[Below is a conversation I had with my muses. This is pretty much how I'm developing the story for Kunibi, arguing with my muses. :P Red denotes Naoko, the muse who's usually in charge of action scenes and actual story actions. Blue is Sukina, who's usually the one with character ideas and backstory.]

So wait. Instead of her dropping from our world to the next, you want to turn it instead into her moving from one country to another.

She goes into exile, it gives her a reason to be ostracised and she’ll be able to avoid the members of her old mercenary band. What’s not to like?

I won’t have the explosions you promised.

Pfft. Like you cared about them.

They do add wordcount and scenery.

They will also require you to… you know, you are pretty lacking in the “see what makes things when mixed go boom!” department. You’ll need to research that.

Urgh chemicals research. Wait, don’t you dare try put me off track. We would have to rework her entire backstory.

Not as much as you think. You wrote her parents and aunt pretty wildly. The new backstory will fit in better than the one we originally thought of.

This is also pretty different from the dream.

Mreh, details.

… *sigh*

Original entry as appearing at Ink to Screen.

… You know, I’m not sure if I should even pretend this is a letter to you girls.

Awww, you know we love your letters!

Like how I love Claptrap cause I pity him?

… Point.

Mreh.

Well, at least you got something done during your downtime today.

The first part of the novel. Which we weren’t supposed to write.

*Beam*

All you can reply is beam?

Heh. *still beaming*

… I’m out of here.

Well, if you remember the way you write, you always explored the world itself through the eyes of your characters. You’ve not really done a character-driven story before when the limits had already been set.

The idea was to try something new, ladies.

And outlining this way isn’t new? It’s been a long time since you looked at a world from the character’s point of view.

…

Give it a try. You know writing things down helps you remember better.

Mreh.

Original entry as appearing at Ink to Screen.

Hello ladies

I presume that it is mainly the ladies who have given me this idea, mainly because this smacks of you girls, especially you, Sukina.

Yes, I know we have been hearing a lot about MMO/Games being turned into anime. As in anime series that are based on the premise of games, ala Tower of Druaga and Sword Art Online, not to mention Ragnorak Online and .hack.

However, that doesn’t mean we should follow them! You do realise just how @Q^@&*#*^$($^@*$ it is to write a game script, much less write a full-fledged story about such a game? And let’s not even go into the capturable dudes.

Yes, darlings, don’t think I missed those hints. Are we writing a MMO or are we writing a visual novel romance? I counted at least three capturable dudes (yes I know that capturable is not a word but otome fans will know what I mean). So let’s run them down, shall we?

There’s the King. A boy-king who’s apparently quite kind, if a bit spoiled and naive. And one who doesn’t really know how to fight, but he does know how to administer. This is who, the typical shounen nice guy? He is cute, but he is also quite blur (no, ladies, we are not patterning him on Roland no matter how much I might want to drop an anvil on the guy. Sukina’s reference: Borderlands 2). So he’s rich, refined, and capable. If an idiot.

Then as usual we have the usual swordsman. This is an elder guy, the king’s bodyguard or some such. Stern, firm and reliable. He’s the one who meets our heroine first and the one who’s like an elder brother to her. He protects her and is also the ladies’ man. Hmm… I might be able to spin him into being a partner for her when she goes on her missions…

And then there’s the older, grizzled army veteran. No, he’s not a capturable guy, I think. He is, however, the general of the armies, someone whom they all look up to for guidance, and he takes care mainly of the army as I mentioned and the outer citadels…

Naoko’s note: Well, there are people who go for much, much older men….
Me: Naoko, he’s 42!
Naoko: Your point being? She IS 22
… I can’t believe we are having this conversation.
Naoko: ^_^

So back to the story, there are three guys so far. Yes, for those who know my tastes, the megane/knowledgeable character is conspiciously missing. I have no idea where he is. I’m not sure if such a person will even appear or if that position is going to be usurped by someone else, like a woman or a Priest who is not a capturable. Yes, if this were a game, you all know who I would aim for and forget about the rest.

So about the world. The world’s pretty decent, I think? I have rough settings in mind, with actual imagery and sensations. And a particular scene I cannot wait to write. Yes, dear muses, if nothing else, that scene where the character gets hurt really bad has plenty of possibilities. Not least because she then kicks up the level of her fighting by THAT much higher.

And that protective spirit.

Oi, are we recycling Camp Nanowrimo?

Sukina: Maybe….
Naoko: *whistles*
Me: …

Original entry as appearing at Ink to Screen.

I have fond memories of Old Town White Coffee (OTWC), Menara UOA, Bangsar. We had Nanowrimo write-ups last year there, and despite the exorbitant prices, most found the place pleasant and easy to work in. We had no hesitation ordering food as we were assured that we could keep separate tabs, which was one of the reasons why we enjoyed the place so much, even if we were almost kicked out for making a wee too much noise (whoops!).

This year though, it would seem that the OTWC is determined to rip us off. What’s happened?

Well, for starters, they insisted that we could no longer pay our bills separately. The new manager says that they instituted the rule where if you wanted to pay for your own food/drink, you’d have to order and pay at the counter straight away, as apparently they had numerous cases where in a group, everyone claims to have not ordered the last item on the order chit, implying that they had a difficult time getting the customer to settle the bill in full.

Fine, I thought, that seems reasonable.

What is NOT reasonable though, is that if you follow their system, and you forget to take your receipt, they charge you twice.

During the first write-in I went to, I ordered an ice-cream, which I later paid at the counter before I left instead of when my food was ordered, as I forgot that they wanted us to pay on the spot if we wanted separate bills. Never mind, I thought, paying for my food after the manager told me sourly not to do it again. I went back to the table and told them that I had paid for my food. I was later informed by Karcy though, that they had charged her (as she was the last to leave) for the ice cream, claiming that it had not been paid, when I know it was. This is partially my fault though, as I pocketed the receipt and did not leave it at the table, having faith in their machine to note that the ice-cream was already paid for. But no, the fact that she was charged again means that the machine did NOT register that my ice-cream had already been paid.

Having been forewarned, the past three weeks, Nano’ers attending write-ins have been paying as soon as their food arrives. However, today was an exception. Chet had to chase the waiter down as after she paid for her food, he took her money but did not give her the receipt. Both Ultra and Karcy ordered food at separate times and did not pay on the spot (Karcy’s food and drink were left on the counter a good ten minutes each time; we all had a clear view of her wheatgrass drink sitting on the counter waiting to grow before it was finally brought over) as they were concentrating more on eating/writing.

So when Aikuchi ordered his food and tried to pay, they ended up charging him for Karcy’s and Ultra’s meals as well. No issue, he paid, took the money they owed him, and we all went on our merry way, thinking it was solved.

As you can guess, that was NOT the end of the issue.

Ultra was the last to leave. When she went to pay for her extra order, she was told by the counter that our whole table had not paid. When we had. This time, Chet and me left our receipts on the table in clear view where they could be seen; our drinks had been paid for. When she disputed the fact, ONLY then did they bother to check in their system to see whether they had paid and guess what?

The receipts for my drink and Chet’s were there. The largest bill of all was not. In the end, Ultra had to pay, for a meal that had been paid twice. I’m waiting for Aikuchi to reply, so yes, consider this a warning.

STAY AWAY FROM OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE MENARA UOA BANGSAR.

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

So I told Ultra that I’m being especially mean to my characters this year. Celeste has just undergone a painful procedure to remove the spike in her body with no anasthesia while Naoko is on the verge of being dismebered. Yes I have a reason for it all. Doesn’t make the scenes any more pleasant to write though. Here, have a quick excerpt:

“You’re awake.”

A rude voice made her open her eyes. This time it was not the construct that came to her. It was the man who had brought her the ambrosia. She wondered what he had wanted with her, and idly, wondered how much like a mortal she had become. She was delving into her childhood memories to stay alive, to remember this moment. There was vengeance to be had, and she would not let anyone deny her that.

“Do not move, Godling. We are going to remove you,” the man gestured, and around him, several burly men came. “Perhaps this would be better if you were unconscious, but then… maybe not,” he smiled.

She could not comprehend what he was saying. A moment later, they removed her chains. Then, just as quickly, two men stood on a ladder and grabbed her hands and legs on each side of her body. Another man went under her, holding the wheel in place.

“Now,” the man in front of her said, and it was then she comprehended their meaning.

They lifted her bodily from the spike that had chained her. She screamed in pain. The new skin that had threatened to meld itself to the wheel tore and fresh agonies coursed through her body. She could not think but for the pain. The sharp agony took over her mind completely, and it sounded as though she would not stop screaming.

A Divine Being does not need to draw breath in to scream.

The pain blocked out all reason.

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

“Grandmother!” the young witch had somehow made it to the top of the hill.

“My chi… what happened?” the witch’s voice was full of shock.

The young girl, who had been pale and sickly, was coming up the hill dressed in a simple black dress. The dress was quite similar to what the Eternal Witch wore, except that while on the Eternal Witch’s frame the dress hugged her hourglass figure, on the young witch it seemed to emphasise her lack of curves. Yet that was not what drew his eye. It was the red ribbon, tied simply around her neck, that drew his eye.

This was in addition to the fact that her hands were covered in blood, as were parts of her body.

“I killed her, Grandmother. She was going to kill Grandfather. But it’s ok, he’s here with me now,” Kishan could not understand what the girl was saying. As a Priest of Celeste, he could see with his second sight if the souls of the dead resided close by, but there was no trace of it on the girl.

“My child, what do you mean?” there was fear in the Eternal Witch’s voice, a fear that Kishan thought he would never hear.

“He says that it’s ok. That since Celeste is back, we can all finally be together. Wasn’t that the deal, Grandmother? That once Celeste came back, and you came back, we could be a happy family again?” the young girl smiled in a creepy way that sent shivers up Kishan’s spine.

“My child, yes, but I still have…”

“Grandfather says you don’t have to, not anymore. There’s no need for you to be a witch anymore,” the young witch raised her hands and fired.

She had a gun in her hand.

The shots rang out loudly in the clearing.

And this pushes my word count to 49355!

Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.

What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
I… don’t really think I have one. I like components of a culture, like how they cast spells, what they believe in and the like, but I don’t think per se I do have any particular culture in mind when I write. How I approach culture in this sense is pretty much how I approach culture in real life; it’s a component, and I only examine it if it affects how I write.

How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
Do timelines count? Because I have a really, really bad sense of direction and distance, and well… I’ve tried mapping once, many, many years ago. To say that it didn’t work out… :3

Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
Dimmie actually. There’s a lot of thought and life that goes into her characters, and you get the sense that there’s a certain irrelevancy in the way she writes. Not that what she writes is irrelevant, but that it’s irrelevant what happens to her characters because you know they’ll be brought back for more. In other words, she abuses her characters the way I wish I could.

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Original entry as appearing at Reach Into Your Soul.