Saturday, December 21, 2013

15: Spirit (Stallion of the Cimarron?)

Just posted the newest chapter, and also realized that I was dumb and answered some reviews early, leaving only Lynxeye's to be responded too. What a dolt, right? That's what happens when I procrastinate with the blog, I s'pose. xD

@Lynxeye: Great to see you, as always. I guess you're on winter break now, right? I'm off for like a whole month, it's amazing. Anyway, it's fantastic that you're all caught up! Koulder's rise is probably one of my favorite twists as well (although there are plenty to come, of course). He's a bit like Lion, in that he's likable (at first, at least) and pitiable and really deserves some nice cuddling, but circumstances have forced him into an awful position, and made him a bit of a sketchy character in the process. I'm excited to continue on with his character arc. Riven's chapters are honestly some of the most fun to write, if only because he's such a colossal twat. Really, I'm sympathetic to most of my characters, but I have been waiting for him to get smacked down since Day One (even in this little scrap thing I did before I ever started writing the actual story). It's been just as satisfying as I had hoped!

Good note on the length of the timeskips increasing. It's difficult to say exactly where we are in the story - I always have the beginning and endings firmly mapped out when I start something, but the middle is a bit in the air sometimes, although I obviously know the basic form every character's arc will take - so pinning down a definite length is difficult (honestly, that's something that really bothers me about my style; I can never map things out ahead of time without getting bored, so the middle's always a convoluted mess ripe for revision). I can say that the beginning, ending, and this point in the middle - wherein the stakes are raised for each character, as their behaviors have been shown to shift and they are starting to become who they will be in adulthood, provided they make it that far - is very important too. Every one of them has a decision to make, and the results of their decisions will not only lead to them crashing together, but also sen them tumbling on their way towards whatever their endgames are. Exciting stuff!

(That is probably not at all a good reply, sorry! It's the best I can do at 2am. xD).

Anyway, I think that's all - again, sorry for replying to some of the reviews early, haha. See you next Sunday! Hope you all have splendid Christmases as well. :)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

12 & 13 & 14

Whoops! It's been awhile. Sorry for not doing blog updates for awhile; just haven't thought about it much, since there haven't been too many reviews or anything. Anyway, I posted 14: Resentment earlier, so here we go!

Since it's pretty much the same people reviewing each chapter, I'll just lump the responses together. :P

@Bookworm: Riven's a bit hard to feel sorry for, yeah. He's had this coming for awhile. And yes, Holly's a sweet pea. :)

@Pain: Yep! Koulder's moment of triumph, so to speak. The turning point in his character. Exciting stuff! Certainly can't blame him, after all he's been through - although Sprite's handling of the situation probably wasn't the best. As for Holly (and any other character in the story, haha) paranoia is probably wise. ;)

@Swyfte: Ouch, that's cold. What about Toma? He's a nice guy. Grint's pretty affable. We've hardly seen anything of Skadder, Cettel, or Iole. And what about poor lil Mote? As for pronunciation, my word isn't really law (I have a habit of pronouncing names weirdly) but I say Reyes like rays. Waire is kinda weird; it's like wares and wire mixed together. Kinda has a drawl to it, I guess. And yup, like I said, "feo" is "ugly" in Spanish. Not intentional, haha, but funny. And yes, Holly/Trick friendship! Lord knows Trick could use a positive influence in her eyes. Nice use of "craven," also. Fable is a pretty cool name, I agree. It seemed fitting for someone who would name their daughter "Sprite," though, doncha think? And it pairs nicely with someone else's name, so that's always good. c: Musk vs Sage would be muy excellente (I think that's Spanish, who knows?). If they're connected at all, we'll certainly find out. Yeah, I kinda felt that way (the Hunger Games relation, that is) awhile after I decided it, but they do need some way of signaling that someone's died, to make sure they don't kill too many out there. Just the right number of poor dead foxes. :P

@Guest (It sounds like Pain, but I dunno 4 sho so I'll stick this review separately): I think it's good to commend Faun for standing up to Riven - like Toma said, there's nothing wrong with that at all. But kicking him while he's down - so to speak - isn't cool. That's Toma's main problem with the Skulk, actually; they're so hellbent on proving themselves and their strength that they put violence over any semblance of honor/loyalty, which means that the trainees are constantly against one another to the point where they'll hoping the others will die so they will be spared. It's rather problematic, since they're supposed to just play nice and pretend like they're all buddy-buddy once their on their way home. Not really a good system for creating a close-knit community - but what can he do about it, really?

That's all for now! Seeya next Sunday (or Monday, if I mess up again :P)!