During the last few months, I’ve partecipated in a few challenges on Twitter, all focused on my WIPs. It was fun and since I’m working on all this stories (one way or another) I though I’d share.
#StoryWarriors was the first. Hosted by Mollie E. Reeder, it invites authors to speak about two characters in a WIP.
I chose Grete and Ingeborg, from The Frozen Maze. And I noticed something: Grete’s parts seems to be more interesting. Which is good for her, but not for Ingeborg, who’s the MC. So I suppose I have to give some more attition to Ingeborg.
I must ask a favour off you. Twitter isn’t the best writing platform. I wrote some of these tweets on the go, in between tasks, sometimes on the phone on the train to work. This to say… there are a few mistakes sprinkled over them… errr…
Just pretend they are not there.
#StoryWarriors Day 1
– Name’s Sarah
– I’m Italian but I’ve been writing in English for some 15 years
– I’m a lover of fantasy (been Tolkien fan for most of my life)
– I write fantasy stories set in the 1920s
– Working on a trilogy set in Chicago and a serial set in Berlin https://t.co/45cTv0fLCK— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 1 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 2 – Introduce Character A Grete is the MC’s stepmother. She’s a sophisticated businesswoman in Weimar Berlin, quite an avant-gurad position. Very goal-focused, her personality has a great influence on the MC. She’s afraid of the ancient magic #amwritingfantasy pic.twitter.com/0BXfj4f7Fs
— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 2 febbraio 2018
#storywarriors Day 3 – Introduce character B
Ingeborg in the MC. She left Schneezwerg, the family estate, with Grete right after WWI, after learning her father fell. Only a girl then, she grew up in Berlin as a modern woman. But the magic of her land is still inside her, calling pic.twitter.com/W7EEfsAfsL— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 3 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 4 – On Grete’s desk
There’s a modern telephone, an antique brass writing set but also a couple fountainpens (one in bakelite, the other silver), a leatherbound notebook, a crystal ashtray with a cigarette case and a Venetian lamp that costed her a fortune. pic.twitter.com/oOQYca0pAh— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 4 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 5 – Ingeborg’s favourite transport
Although Grete insists on her getting a car, Ingeborg prefers using Berlin public transport, which can bring her wherever she wants or needs. And besides, she likes watching people on the tram, she finds it fascinating pic.twitter.com/biEw1HNyza— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 5 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 6 – Grete’s least favourite dish
Meatballs with blue krauts used to be Julian’s (Grete’s husband) favourite dish. That is what she had the day she recived the news Julian was disintegrated by a shell in the trenches. She vomited all out. Never had it again pic.twitter.com/kt51NHRRAs— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 6 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 7 – What music does Ingeborg like?
As many young university students living in Berlin, Ingeborg loves jazz and dancing to jazz. It’s a foreign music and still it fits like a glove on Berlin’s life. Liminal, strange and familiar at the same time. Her language. pic.twitter.com/9knmn7Rfzk— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 7 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 8 How does Grete dress?
Like a movie star. A business woman in the new cosmetics industry, Ingeborg always says she’s the best advertisement for her business. Always perfectly groomed, elegangly and fashinably dressed, Grete thinks the looks is everything pic.twitter.com/34XosicCKZ— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 8 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 9 What Ingeborg has in her bad
She uses avery small bag. A compact and a lipstic inside. Changes (she doesn’t use a purse) and in place of her girld friends cigaret and portable ashtrey, she carries pens and papers for taking down notes for her studies pic.twitter.com/P0gg2Mi7p9— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 9 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 10 – Grete’s bed
Grete’s bed is always neatly done. She uses her large Berlin apartment as a business premises, where people come and go all the time. So her bedroom is like a maid’s one-room apartment, her truly private space. Very few enter there. pic.twitter.com/nJyKl4FuVl— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 10 febbraio 2018
#storywarriors Day 11
If Ingeborg’s change had been shorted, but it’s a small amunt, she wouldn’t say anything. If the amount is higher she would ask, “Sorry, how much did you say it is?”, so to have the clerck count again. She wouldn’t just point out the mistake.— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 12 febbraio 2018
#storywarriors Day 12
If Grete found a stray pet, she would feed it and give it a shelter, then look for a new family for it. She wouldn’t keep it. She’s already very busy with customers, she doesn’t need any more pets.— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 12 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 13 – Ingeborg can’t sleep. What does she do?
Normally she doesn’t have problems sleeping. If she does, it’s because something bothersome is on her mind. Instead of becoming obsessive, she’ll get up and get some study. There’s no such thing as studying too much pic.twitter.com/xzLnclJCRt— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 13 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 14
Grete speaks a little French and English as well as her native German. That’s normally enough to go by in any situation in Berlin. But if it doesn’t, she would try to gauge the conversation by tone of voice and body language and respond in the same manner pic.twitter.com/vc22h0WlAk— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 14 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 15 Grete asks for money to Ingeborg
Taht would be very strange. Grete is the money earner, Ingeborg is just a student. But Grete would ask for change in everyday life and Ingeborg would just give it. They share everything. pic.twitter.com/b4N84i6jvw— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 15 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 16 – Breakups
If it’s a personal matter, there is no other way than breaking up face-to-face. Grete would consider any other behaviour as cowardly.
She would just ignore the person in any other situation. Personal matters are very rare and precious.— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 16 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 17
With what Berlin winter looks like, you’re bound to get a cold sooner or later. Ingeborg knows she will get it when the first snow comes. Always happens. And what she does is get along with her life and wait for it to go away. It always does.— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 19 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Grete, what animal would you be?
“I know what people say. That I’d be a peacock. Which in a way it’s true, I’d love to be a beautiful white peacock.
But the true it’s I’d be a pigeon. They couple for life, you know? Sometimes, one cannot live without the other.” pic.twitter.com/QTy8JR8ZBP— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 19 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 19 Ingeborg, what’s your best talent?
“Listen. When I was a kid, I liked sitting with people and listen to what they said. With their words, but with their body too. That’s why I love working with storytellers. They say so much more than they think they are.” pic.twitter.com/QzSJFniSJt— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 19 febbraio 2018
#storywarriors Day 20 Grete, Tell us a secret (we won’t shere)
“Secret? If you think I’ll tell any secret of mine or of anyone important to me to anyone who asks, you are majorly mistaken.”— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 20 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 21 Ingeborg’s earliest memory
“I’m in my mum’s lap and she’s smiling. Dad is close to her, with his arms around her shoulders. That photo is still on dad’s desk, although they are both gone now. I don’t have many other memories of mum.” pic.twitter.com/NqyMLD3ClC— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 21 febbraio 2018
#storywarriors Day 22 Grete, what is frastrating you right now?
“I never thought Inge would refuse to take down the maze. I thought it was in her past. Her new life is in Berlin. Why does she cling to it? It’s an evil place. I know. I know better than anyone.” pic.twitter.com/8kROQNIied— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 22 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 23 Ingeborg, how do you feel about Grete?
“We are so different in so many ways. But dad loved her and she loves him. She never says, but I know she misses dad as much as I do. Our love for dad is our strongers bond.”— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 26 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 24 A story that means somethign to you
Grete: “The ugly duckling fairy tales. I loved fairy tales as a kid, and strangely this one has staied with me to these days. Not that I believe it reflects life in any way. Ugly ducklings will ramain ugly. But still…”— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 26 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 25
Hi fellow writers! I’d like to ask advice about serialising a story. Possibly on my blog. I’ve always wanted to write a serial, but it seems more tricky that one may think. Any good tip on how to go about it?— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 26 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 26
I’m a reader of fantasy stories and I love the 1920s. Very much into mystery too. Any good rec? 😄— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 26 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 27 Grete, what’s on your mind?
“There’s no point in looking into the past. The future is what we should keep our eyes on. Especially because when I look into the past I see so many important things that I’ve lost forever. I don’t like how I feel, then.” pic.twitter.com/sQTQ0PX3ux— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 28 febbraio 2018
#StoryWarriors Day 28 Ingeborg, what’s on your mind?
“I’m lucky to live in this new world after the many horrible things of WWI. I have a chance at making my dreams come true. But sometimes I wonder, where do the roots of my dream sink to? Is it the past? Should I remember?”— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 28 febbraio 2018
During the month someone came up with the idea to share our first line and then our last line. It’s always fun to share these, and since these are so important in the economy of a story, if you’d commented on them it woudl be of great help for me.
Of course, belonging toa first draft, they are unlikely to stay untuched in the final version. One more reason the hear what you think abotu them!
Share your #firstline. Tag 3 others.
“Ingeborg jumped down from the cart and the packed dirt of the road felt hard and cold under her feet.”
From WIP The Frozen MazeNoting spectacular, I know. #StoryWarriors @Jason_H_Abbott @SaraL_Writer @LillianCsernica
— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 9 febbraio 2018
Well, if we are enjoying the first lines, why not the last lines? 😁
“Together, the three women crossed the meadow toward the maze.”
— JazzFeathers (@JazzFeathers) 9 febbraio 2018
6 Comments
Margot Kinberg
This is really interesting, Sarah! I love the way you show what your characters are like, just based on their backstories and the things they have and so on. What a fascinating meme!
jazzfeathers
It was really fun. And it was useful.
There are always meme of this kind on Twitter, the hard part is finding them. I usually stumble upon them by mere chance 😉
Birgit
This is very interesting with the setting from the A to Z Challenge you did. I love the pics you chose and know them well.
jazzfeathers
I took part to this meme before I wrote the challenge and I have to say the challenge really helped me to pin down a few plotpoint and characters’ development.
Roland R Clarke
Looking at your characters in this way has to help develop and deepen them – and your novel. I use a similar approach, although I’m not so brave to share at an early stage.
jazzfeathers
LOL! I may share ideas about my stories and character.
Now, first drafts… those are completely different beasts, which are better kept locked up 😉