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August 23, 2007

SHIFTERS - Update on Dream-inspired Novel

August 09, 2009 02:50 PM EDT

views: 134 | comments: 15

For those of you who didn't see the original discussion, I recently had a novel plot inspired by a dream I had. You can read about it here.

Anyway, I wanted to update you guys on how I was doing and also ask a bit of a question (don't worry, it's an easy question).

So far the novel is at 20,300 words. Judging by the plot points I've written down and the action that will follow, I'm going to guess that that's about 1/3 or 1/4 of the way through the novel.

It's had it's ups and downs. Ask Jennifer N, she knows. She's been there with me through thick and thin, helping me through my mental breakdowns (I'M STILL POUTING ABOUT THAT JENNIFER!!) and releasing the pink polka-dot elephants on me if I refuse to write.

So yes, it's going. And I finally have an ending, which I won't reveal, but it took forever for me to realize. The dream had ended in the middle of a sticky situation and had no resolution, so I had to find one for myself. It took a couple hours of completely blanking out and thinking about the novel, as well as a second dream, to help me completely piece it together.

What I have so far is summarized below:

Title: Shifters

Tagline: Sometimes you have to embrace the darkness in order to understand the light.

Genre: Low fantasy (that's what it's looking like so far, anyway)

Words: 20.3k

And now for what I wanted to ask.

A friend of mine noticed that my characters didn't have last names and suggested that I should give them last names to draw more of a distinction between those who do have last names and those who don't. But I'm not sure how well the first name matches the surname, so I would really like opinions on how these sound! Thanks!

Issay (African)

Jahzara (aka Zara)(African)

Alaric (aka Aric) Hoch (pronounced hock) (German)

Anabelle Charlier (pronounced shar-lee-ay) (Belgian)

Sarah Ellis (British)

Ansel Desmarais (pronounced day-mar-ray) (French)

Finnegan (aka Finn) Keane (Irish)

Tags: work, novel, book, author, creativity, writing, character, dream, inspiration, writer, shifters

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Comments: 15

Leah Christensen Aug 9, 2009, 2:59pm EDT

This sounds really interesting!

Sammie B. Aug 9, 2009, 3:06pm EDT

Thanks, that's what I'm hoping for! After all the hassle that's gone into actually getting the plot set up and written and everything, I'm hoping it turns out halfway decent. xD

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Roger B. Aug 9, 2009, 3:28pm EDT

This is the first I've read of your work in progress Sammie. The title alone grabbed my attention and the tag line is quite profound.
As for last names....... I don't think all Afrikaners necessarily had surnames, their names alone are pretty unique. I have a cousin in Africa (not far from Lake Victoria and the Falls) who runs a crisis helpline and some of her staff don't have what we would refer to as surnames.

-R.

Sammie B. Aug 9, 2009, 3:31pm EDT

I know, that's why they don't have surnames. Besides, they're technically tribal Africans, too, so they most likely would not. That's why I was suggested to give the others surnames--to draw more of a distinction between the different people and such. ^_^

Thanks about the title and the tagline. I wasn't 100% sure on that title for quite a while, but I just can't think of anything that suits it any better. And the tagline came from dream #2...lol.

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Howard b. Aug 9, 2009, 3:49pm EDT

It seems your novel is going well. The surnames work seem to fit too. I write but never thought of a novel. It's cool to start one from a dream. I would like to start writting down my dreams as I wake in the morning. They are forgotten about 5 minutes after waking. I really don't know why. Unless they are stranger than usual. I wish you luck on your novel.

Sammie B. Aug 9, 2009, 3:52pm EDT

I'm like you, I tend to forget most of my dreams unless there's something weird about them. I think this one stuck with me because it was so vivid. I WAS the MC (Zara) and I felt all the emotions and was confused and scared and mad and sad and everything all at once, so I think that emotional investment really helped it stick.

And thanks. ^_^ Writing a novel is hard work, but it can be fun, especially if you have people to cheer you on. :D

Howard b. Aug 9, 2009, 4:21pm EDT

I'll cheer you on then. Thanks for the come back. I love your icon. I had a pug. She was beautiful. Her name was rosie. You have a great day.

Sammie B. Aug 9, 2009, 5:28pm EDT

Thanks. This is my grandparents' pug, the second pug our family has had. The first one was a black pug. :) I prefer the black ones better.

Howard b. Aug 10, 2009, 1:05am EDT

My wifes father used to breed the black pugs . But when his female died at the age of 14 He said he would never own another one. The loss was so great. But a friend gave him a fawn pug puppy and he fell in love again.

Sammie B. Aug 10, 2009, 9:41am EDT

They're hard to lose and easy to love, that's for sure. My mother had a pug when she was little. It lived 15 yeas before it got so sick that they had to put it down and it was a huge loss because she'd had it since she was a baby and she grew up with it.

Howard b. Aug 10, 2009, 2:20pm EDT

Thats sad. It's like losing a friend . I'll try to put a couple of pictures of rosie here at Gather. We had her for about a year. My when we closed the house up for the winter . My wife found out that she was allergic to her. She is now the pet for a 4 year old child. They sent us pictures . She used to dance at my feet when I came home from work each day. It really hurt to give her away. That was over two years ago. I have her picture on my desk .she is missed.

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René Allen Aug 9, 2009, 9:46pm EDT

Thanks for this UPDATE Sammie. This is FEATURED in Dream Depths, and I'll be back to comment.

Sammie B. Aug 9, 2009, 9:52pm EDT

Thanks Rene! I look forward to hearing from you. :)

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Jennifer N. Aug 10, 2009, 4:57pm EDT

Well you already know what I feel about them, but I'll say it here, too. I think they all sound pretty good and authentic together.

Oh, and I've trained the elephants to resist ALL BRIBES that you OR I will try to throw their way. :P

And as for the pouting. I sowwy. Now you know why I didn't want to kill Andrew two years ago. :((

Sammie B. Aug 10, 2009, 7:24pm EDT

NO! You can't do that to me! I LIVE off of bribing those elephants!

Yes, I know how you felt with Andrew. But I didn't before. I've killed characters, but none that hurt this bad. They all deserved to die or had reasons to die...this was just out of spite, mostly....kind of...I STILL DON'T LIKE IT.

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