I spoke to a friend on the phone, earlier this afternoon. We've got some things in common - like me, she's Dutch, lives in Portugal and she's writing her first book at the moment.
We talked about many things and she gave me some advice on my writing.I keep repeating that I want to finish a book this year but do I really need to? I keep being distracted by the form of my book, while I should just focus on the writing itself.
The story of my life...
When I brought up Mrs. Porcupine, the latest character that I added to the world / life of Hypersensitivosaurus, it was clear that my friend liked that idea and it lead to her advising me to keep focusing on the characters and their interactoins. The book will write itself eventually.
This struck a chord, as it feels like my way of working. She understands me. It also strengthened my believe that I'm going in the right direction. Not that I doubted that, but there's always these unhelpful voices in our heads, the devilish version of Jiminy Cricket. These li'l devils feeding on self doubt - need to be balanced out by the polar opposite and, for that to happen, we often need other people.
Now let's jump right into my writing...
I started this story yesterday, but the focus wasn't really there and I didn't finish it. It's worth sharing though as you'll find out soon enough.
The big bad wolf and Hypersensitivosaurus were battling it out. It was a matter of life and death, pride, Ego and so much more, and neither one of them wanted to give in.
Just when it seemed like one of them was winning, the other managed to come up with an *unexcepted move, a great escape. It was a game of comebacks.
One of them had to win though...
Who were they really kidding.
Big bad wolf was actually called Mildly Mannered Wolf and his bigness was mainly due to too many months of isolation and lack of exercise.
His brain was still working pretty well though, if he was able to focus.
The above was inspired by a chess game that I played yesterday ( and I believe the day before ) with @inuke , over time zones, long distance ( Portugal - India ), sometimes with many hours, or even a night in between one move and the next.
Nukesh and I have been playing chess since the lockdown ( I guess we started in March or April? ) and one thing's for sure, it has kept our brains pretty sharp, while our bodies often craved for more exercise. It's also pretty fun, most of the time and it adds to a feeling of connectedness in a world where many seem to disconnect due to isolation , quarantine and fear.
In chess - as in life - it's easy to lose focus, make a mistake, forget your strategy ( if you had any to begin with ), if there's so much time and other tasks in between moves.
In the morning, I tend to wake up, grab my phone, see if it's my turn to make a move and make one without thinking too much.
This often isn't the best time for a chess move ( when I'm still waking up ) and if you've ever played chess, you'll know that one mistake can be fatal in a game, especially if the other has all the time he needs to think about their next move.
Then again, like in our last game, one person can appear to be in front but then - all of a sudden - the other can come up with amazing defense, manage to turn the game around and suddenly be in a winning position.
Talking about winning, this is how I won. Or, actually, where Mildly Mannered Wolf, I mean Nukesh, gave up the fight - with just a king left against my armada of pieces:
And what follows is the little text chat Nukesh and I had during the game. As you can see, I was already thinking of basing a character on this guy / writing a story about chess and this was the final push or bit of info that I needed:
In case you can't see the pictures attached to this post, this was our chat:
Me:
I might write a post based on this game. If I'm a dino, what animal would you be?
Nukesh:
that's easy, the Wolf
mild mannered wolf
Me:
Interesting. Why a wolf?
Your way of eating
Inuke:
I am a dog person
Me:
I see. Thanks for the backstory
Still having fun? ( when I was slaughtering the poor guy )
Nukesh:
Nah it('s) painful, even for me...
😂
It seems like 'Mild mannered Wolf' will be added to the likes of Mrs. Porcupine, Otter, Old Krok and the Fear Hare.
Let's see whether this big - but not so bad - wolf will be a returning character to the story, or one that Hypersensitivosaurus chooses not to spend too much time with - perhaps just a long distance friend ;<)
Feel free to give him your vote of confidence in the comment section. It might help.
P.S. Mild mannered wolf just informed me of the following ( as if he could read my mind )
I started my day with exercise. 30 Push ups nonstop.
Seems like the guy is working on his fitness. Pretty important if he wants to keep feeding himself. Wolves need to chase their food, at least the meat eating ones.
Or has this dino spent too much time under a rock / inside of his cave lately?
Do even wolves go for food delivery these days?
*I wrote this story fragment in a flow, no rewriting. I even left in a spelling mistake. This one ( spelling mistake ) is for you, mom ;<)
P.S. Art isn't always pretty, as the sketch above this post demonstrates. I will make a cuter, more polished and more wolf life version of this fellow later on but for now this will do the trick.
Awesome drawings! Funny looking wolf! @tipu curate 2
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 7/21)
Cheers! You're quicker than my shadow. Did you read the story too? :<)
I like the mild mannered wolf :-)
I think it's great that you write so often, I heard that it's really important to just do your art as often as possible, to bring it forward.
Very excited about your book!
Nice to see you pop up in my comment section :<)
Let's say that I have a lot of time on my hands and that life inspires me. The writing itself is mainly a matter of focus ( much room for growth in this area ) and letting it flow.
Nice to hear that you like this character. Note taken.
I appreciate your kind words.
🤗
Oh you are good in chess too. Awesome, you are a man of many skills Vincent!
Good might be an exaggeration ( I probably played not much more than 100 games in my life and 50 of them in the last months ) but I am decent at it, for a guy who sucked at Maths ;<)
Thank you for the compliment. I am aware of having a long history of underestimating myself. This is nice to hear.
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At least you actually made him a wolf unlike some people who shall remain nameless ^_^;
I love character-driven stories, that's what all of mine are. If you're anything like me you may find you have to pay really close attention to the characters for the story to work. There were many times where I wanted things to happen but that's not what happened and me trying to write them anyway always resulted in epic failure. Everything just ran when I did what they wanted though XD
Had to reread this but I get the point now. It's okay :<)
After reading this post, yesterday, I got into writing down a little backstory / peculiarities of the different characters that I've got so far. It sure helps although not everybody writes huge backstories like you.
That is very valuable information of yours. Apparently, it's not how I usually write, as I'm not much of a planner, but it sure adds an extra dimension and might make the writing flow even more.
Thank you! 🤗
I like the drawing. :) Sometimes quick drawings are the best!
Hi there. Nice to see you're still around :<)
I actually was about to post a black and white version but then decided to add some color, at least.
Ok I got it! 🦁