Monday, June 23, 2014

Beautiful People: Evangeline



 Allow me to introduce one of my main character's older sisters: Evangeline.  She has her place in a small Texas town east of Houston and west of Louisiana during the Great Depression.

1) What is her full name and is there a story behind how she got it?
 Her full name is Evangeline Rose Dalton but most people just call her "Vangie". She was named after her father's mother.

2) How old is she, and when was she born?
 Vangie is nineteen. She was born in 1915.

3) Describe her physical appearance. (Bonus questions: 1. What is her race/nationality/ethnicity? Do you have a picture of her? If so, include it!)
 About 5' 5'', round face, slender, with dark brown hair that becomes wavy when it is humid and rich, dark brown eyes. She's American, but she has a small amount of Spanish and larger English and
via Pinterest
Scottish heritage on her father's side. On her mother's there is mostly English, with some Irish. The closest resemblance I have found to how I picture her is Selena Gomez in this photo.

4) Describe her personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences.
 A tomboy. She loves playing baseball with the neighborhood kids and unabashedly slides into home plate. Unlike her older sister Molly, she is less conscious of following the rules of etiquette. She's smart, quick-witted, and unafraid to stand-up to anyone. She defends her loved ones like a tigress. Not everything is rough edges, however, she faithfully cares for her crippled mother, even so far as concealing and not carrying out her own dreams in regards to studying art.

5) What theme song(s) fit her personality and story arc?
 Finding songs for my characters is one of the hardest things for me to do. I have to say the jazzy ease and breezy feeling of the song Ain't We Got Fun suits her personality but I have yet to find something that suits her lyrically.

6) Which one of the seven deadly sins describes her?
 It would probably have to be wrath or anger. When somebody hurts one of her loved ones her anger is easily aroused towards that person, and, if she didn't have self control, she'd probably march straight up to the person and begin spouting off.

7) If she was an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would she be?
 Earth. She's deeply rooted and despite her easy-going attitude, it can be hard for her to adapt to change.

8) What is her favorite word?
 "Hey!" She makes no claims to being a literary genius.

9) Who's one person she really misses? (It could be someone who's passed away, or someone they're not close to anymore, or someone who's moved away.)
 Her older sister Molly, who has been off attending the University of Texas in Austin. She misses Molly not being around and misses the time when she wasn't so bent on adhering to all the rules of etiquette and being a lady in their Aunt Mae's eyes.

10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind her of that person?
 Molly's room, the sound of a piano being played, or the smell of lavender sachets.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

A Renaissance

via Pinterest
 Life moves quickly.
 Life can be rip-roaringly fun.
 Life can be terrifying.
 Life as an adult is not what you imagined it would be at age ten.
 Life is good.

 Those five statements are truths that have been hitting home with me recently. With the advent of graduation from high school a couple of weeks ago, I have been groping about trying to find my new ground. I know roughly what I want to do and I have a rough idea of how I'm going to do it. It is taking that rough idea and fleshing it out into a clear and decided plan of action that is difficult for me.

 There are several things that am decided upon doing. First, keep studying. Second, keep writing as incessantly as I can. Third, try to post more frequently here. I would like to mainly focus my posts on writing, but I sometimes have a difficult time opening up publicly on the internet about my writing. Hopefully, I ease into a more comfortable zone with that by participating in Rachel Heffington's monthly Chatterbox, the monthly snippets that go around, and Beautiful People when that starts up again.

 I have a busy life and a great many things I want to accomplish. Lord willing, I would like to post at least once a week as a starter and try to grow from there.

 Here's to hoping this resolution comes to fruition.