But I'm not going to get into that. It just means that I have a lot of free time at home while everyone else is out earning a living.
Aside from mind-numbing tasks like filling out online applications (which always have you fill out a TON of sections and then asks for you to submit a resume too--like why can't I just submit the resume I already made??), I've been trying to stay somewhat productive.
My biggest side project is preparation for this year's NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month). I did it last year successfully, and...that was the last time I wrote anything for Snow Glider. Since last November it has remained unfinished, because I'm rethinking the plot and just haven't had the motivation to go back and rewrite the whole thing.
I still don't quite know where the plot is gonna go, but most of the fun of writing 1500 words a day for NaNoWriMo is that it sets your mind free and the plot just kind of forms itself sometimes. I still want to have a really great outline before NaNoWriMo begins, but until then I'm doing other things to prepare.
For example, yesterday I spent about three hours making mini profiles for every single arctic animal I could think of. Snow Glider is set in the arctic, so for authenticity and inspiration I'm researching every aspect of arctic life I can find. Animals naturally were my first choice of research topic, and boy did I find a lot of them. I was surprised by how many creatures live in polar deserts, and I haven't even gotten to the marine life yet. I'm glad I didn't choose a rainforest setting.
Anyways, this morning I decided to take a break from researching and instead I decided to establish my characters' appearances. I want to make them all so distinct and memorable that my readers will never experience what I did with Michael Vey ("Wait...who's Benedikt again?" "I think he might be one of the MC's brothers...?" "Eh, whatevs.").
It got me to doodling, because that really helps me to fixate an image of my characters in my own head.
I started with Nara, my MC (Main Character). And then I randomly felt like drawing my other MC, Aralin, even though her story is completely unrelated to Nara's and her novel isn't my project this year. The two of them technically live in the same world, but at completely opposite ends of it (Nara in a polar desert and Aralin in a desert desert), and I think I'm gonna put them in completely different eras, too. Whatever. I just thought how weird (and fun!) it would be if the two of them ever met up, and this happened:
Sorry it's blurry. I don't have a scanner.
I just realized that Aralin kind of looks like I based her off of Korra. A) She's usually wearing that coat around her waist, and her hair is usually down. This is her when she's doing something physically demanding that makes her sweaty. B) I designed Aralin's character YEARS before Korra ever happened. Just saying. :)
Also, to keep my mind in NaNoWriMo mode, I drew this and hung it in my room:
I stole the design from this one I found via Pinterest, so don't credit me or ask me to reproduce it.
As much as I want an income again, it's pretty fun being able to focus so much of my time and my thoughts on literature and characters and doodles. This is making me want more than ever to actually make a living on writing so that my work and my play can be one and the same. :)
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