Misty Mountains

The second part of my speed-painting series is called 'Misty Mountains'. Again I used acrylic on a 40 x 40 canvas.
See how I highlighted the mountains and swept the shore line? I wanted to try out certain techniques there.

Keep Time

Between the life that you lead and your free time you might wonder: when is the right time to write my stories?


The answer is simple. Always.


Whether you're sitting in a bus or train on your way to or from work, whether you're having a lunch break or loungeing on your sofa zapping through the channels - it doesn't matter. Ideas come and go at all times; you just have to grasp them.
Certainly none expects you to write a whole story in a few minutes. But at least take a short note, so you can come back to that project later and turn it into a concept. Sooner or later it then develops into a full story and from then on it takes on a life of ist own.


Stories want to be written; so do them the favour.


Sometimes even adding only one sentence to your WIPs can help unfurl them further.


It doesn't matter where or how you write; be it your computer at home, your tablet or laptop, your smartphone, a notepad or the napkin for your lunch. Writing can happen anywhere anytime.


I often copy WIP files from my computer onto my smartphone and use the 'docs to go' app to write and edit my works en route. Then I update the file on my computer when I get back and continue there, and vice versa. So I always know where I left off and can keep on writing whenever.
Besides, it's good to have copies in several places in case something happens and you lose data. Imagine the desaster if months of dedicated work is suddenly gone!


Therefore have enough up to date copies on several devices, and have more than one WIP with you.
You're not always in the mood for the same story, so have a few in your pocket. Then you can continue which ever you fancy.


Make writing part of your daily routine and it will enhance your life; because one brilliant idea from that beautiful mind of yours can make your day!

Traces in the Snow

For this painting I used acrylic on a 40 x 40 cm² canvas. It is part of a speed-painting series where I have exactly one hour to complete each picture.

'Traces in the Snow' is the first one, but you'll get to see the others, too...soon. ;)

Language, please!

You know by now that I'm still working on the second volume of 'The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe'.


However, people keep asking me: "Why don't you write in your mother tongue?"
Up until now my answer was that I wanted people all over the world to be able to read what I write.


But it got me thinking anyways. And I realised that I wouldn't reach too many people in my home country if my works weren't translated. So I sat down and revisited my book in order to translate it. Because I'm the author and I should know better than any translator what I wanted to say, shouldn't I? :o


Translating is serious business, though.
And I sometimes find there are things that can't be translated. They just can't. Unless you lose essential linguistic jokes or double entendres or plays on words. While both languages are rich and beautiful for different aspects, there sometimes aren't equivalents there.
And it sadens me, it frustrates me even. :(
Because I don't want to change my stories or force something that doesn't fit; because I want to convey everything as it was meant.


For a fitting translation is also an important aspect that makes a book or breaks it.
So if you ever consider publishing your works in different languages, you'll want to make sure the translation fits.


The best solution probably is to do it yourself. Because you know what you want to say and it doesn't cost you anything but time and effort. But in order to do that you have to be fluent enough. In my case that's not the problem; but even as a native speaker I reach my limits.
Therefore at some point you would have to rely on professionals. That's an easy option, but costly.


Anyhow, I'm more of a DIY type; I'll stubbornly keep translating to the best of my abilities until it's done. So there may be a German edition of 'The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe' soon. Yay. :D

Writing Exercise 007

So there is a new writing exercise already. :D
This time I wrote a double-drabble (exactly 200 words) about the picture 'Homeless' by Boban-Savic-Geto. You can view it here.
And without any further ado here is my solution:

2016/01/25 – Write a double-drabble about the picture 'Homeless' by Boban-Savic-Geto

It was a silent night; a night of cold and falling snow.

Snuggling up in his sleep he dreamt, dreamt of the cold and the snow. How the icy winds breezed past him, how he rushed and grinned against the odds. It was a dream of another lifetime. When he was young and ambitious, when everyone knew his face and his capabilities, when he wasn't old and forgotten. The cold and the snow had been his friends then; the whole world had been his friends. Seemingly.

He curled into a crouch; ready, set, go.

The slope cascaded beneath his skis as he was on his downhill run, faster and faster. The faint rustling of his newspaper-blanket turned into the swooshing sound of skis gliding over ice-coated grounds.

Yet it was but the wind, chilly and frosty and friendly no more. He was nearing the finish line. The cluttering of half-emptied wine bottles chimed like the cheering audience through his dream; their contents spilled beneath the park bench, soaked through the bundle, that was his belongings, and froze over while death gently puffed its frosty breath to his neck. Reaching the finish line was the last thing this homeless guy did.

You Eat with Your Eyes!

This saying is so very true.
So you might want to make your stories more appealing to the eye. But how to do that?


When I drafted 'The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe' at first I made illustrations for every short story I wrote. Which means I now have 18 stories with 18 related and colorated pictures; half of them are already published in the first volume while the second one is still in the making.
This is more than what a lot of authors do.


But to me that was not enough. I want people to see what 'Neverbeen Universe' is like. I'm not a film maker, though. So I was thinking.
What should I do? What could I do?
And then it hit me: a computer game would be awesome! :D
So I used RPGMakerVXAce to turn some of my stories into visual novels (which turned out harder to do than I thought); they aren't games in the common sense but they just animate the story.


Since I can't upload the game files here, I recorded a playthrough of one of these visual novels I made. So you can enjoy the story game style. Or you can read it traditionally on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5130770


Anyhow, have fun watching! :D

Writing Exercise 006

It's time for my weekly writing exercise again. :D
This time I had to rewrite one of my favourite scenes, and I chose the series Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, because in my opinion one of the main characters deserved a different ending.

2016/01/20 – Rewrite your favourite scene from books/movies/TV/video games (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Ep 12 runtime 16:22 min)

Read my rewrite/fanfiction 'Finally There's Love' on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5794066

Welcome to Neverbeen Universe

Today I want to try vlogging. :D
Since this is the first one I figured I should tell you a bit about my short story collection
"The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe" and especially how it came to be.

So this is me. ^///^
I was pretty nervous during the recording. Firsts are always so exciting. :o
Anyhow, if this short vlog made you interested in my works I suggest you have a look at
A Link to Link.

Writing Exercise 005

This writing exercise was to write an interaction between a human character and a non-human character.

And since I was planning a new WIP (work in progress) I used the opportunity of this exercise to write an opening scene for said WIP. The current working title of it is 'At the Gates of Hell - A Tale from Neverbeen Universe' and it is set in the same world as my already published short story collection 'The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe'.

By now I'm ~4k into this story, and I considered withholding the very first scene and publishing it only when everything is finished. But that somehow felt like cheating. :/

So I decided to post this writing exercise after all. Hope you like it! :D

2016/01/10 – Interaction between a non-human character and a human (Hades & Jack)

Quietly, oh, so quietly he lurked and stared. Green eyes of a beast of prey focussed on their target as he concentrated and willed things to happen. His ears twitched; they picked up the faintest rustling of fabric against fabric. And yet there wasn't even the slightest stir. But he was patient, he had to be. He had been waiting for a good half hour by now. The tip of his tail silently swished back and forth, betrayed his inner agitation while he otherwise sat perfectly still; his gaze was so intense as if he wanted to shoot lasers off of them. Not that he knew what lasers were. But his intention was clear.

'Come on,' he stubbornly thought, 'Come on!'

Then finally a noise, a sigh. He cautiously slunk closer; his hopes were high, sensed the time was nigh. But when he perched again he saw his target was still in the same place, the same position, the same unguarded state. He tried to communicate his thoughts anew, channelled his will and sent it. However his efforts were ineffective. Inwardly he bristled, affronted to be ignored. In another life, or so it seemed, he once was a terrifying and mighty creature, who was still proud and dignified by what he had accomplished. But now here he was sitting on the soft cushion of the bed his food donor was crowding and was being ignored.

He was finally fed up, drew up and headbutted the insolent creature in the nose. 'Wake up!'

Satisfaction rose inside of him as he heard the human groan and come to senses. So his telepathic skills had worked at last. He even received a scratch behind his ears. “Alright, alright. I'm up,“ the human named Jack murmured and sluggishly turned out. He jumped off the bed and expectantly looked at the blonde author. 'About time, isn't it? Follow me,' he demanded and strutted out of the bedroom and down the stairs into Trébol's shop. He stopped then and there to observe if Jack followed his orders, heard him pitter-pattering barefootedly and saw him round the corner, still clad in his pajamas. The human yawned and waved at him tiredly. “Lead the way,“ Jack murmured and he inwardly grinned.

So he stalked through the aisles of the curiosity shop and round the counter into the kitchen, where he made a standing jump onto the table and looked over his shoulder at the oncoming human. “Alright, your highness. I get it. It's already lunch time,“ Jack smiled gently, scratched he behind his ears and turned to the fridge. “Give me a sec.“

He contentedly sat and observed. 'Good boy,' he thought and licked his paw while he waited. 'I want venison in cranberry-mushroom sauce with red cabbage and spaetzle,' he ordered. But Jack opened a can of tuna and poured a cup full of cream. “Here you go. Enjoy your meal.“

Inwardly he sighed in resignation. But he none the less ate in silence. Being stripped off his magnificent powers and titles made life more complicated. But then again he had an unknowing human and an oblivious fallen angel to do his bidding. If it wasn't for the constant disturbances in communication life as a black cat would be sweet.

Writing is a Gift!

It's still January, but maybe you might be wondering about Valentine's already? :D

Perhaps you are thinking about chocolates and heart-shaped cards and flowers and stuff.

But if you're already considering a card, with little more effort you can achieve an even greater effect: gift them a story.

Sounds Stange? It really isn't. Stories make great gifts, especially if you are a writer. Just think about what they might like, think about what you want to tell them. Make it personal. So your story outshines any generic present.

I'm pretty used to writing stories for special people. I like to observe their reaktions when they read, to see their appreciation for the work and thought I put into creating something just for them. And by now they even expect me to. Not just for Valentine's, but for birthdays or Christmas, too.

 

Last year I wrote two stories for my dear friend, who writes pen & paper RPGs with me. I chose characters from those RPGs she likes and wrote about them. So she knows it's a little Special something that belongs to her only.

The year before I was prompted to write a couple of stories on certain topics, and I did; on another occasion I did some artwork.

You see, dropping a few lines - even if it's just a Drabble - can make your loved ones smile. And if you even start a series they will have something to look forward to next time.

So spread the joy of reading, and make your loved ones feel special. Because their happiness may make you happy, too. ;)

Self Portrait

I recently experimented with SAI, and this is what I did with it. Not too bad for a first try, isn't it? ;)





Writing Exercise 004

This writing exercise was to write a fanfiction for a fandom I've never written for before. So I chose Prince of Tennis, because I still like the series although it's old.

2016/01/04 – fanfiction for a fandom never written for before (Prince of Tennis, Tezuka x Kaidou/Seigaku Buchou Pair)

Read my fanfiction 'What It's All For' on AO3:  http://archiveofourown.org/works/5647222

 

Writing Exercise 003

Over the Holidays I slacked off a bit. :(
But after New Year's I wrote a Tanka (a Japanese Poem) as my weekly writing exercise. See what I made of it:

2016/01/03 – Tanka (Japanese poem, 5-7-5-7-7 syllables)

Splendidly sparkling

Flowers in the sky alight

Paint the night with stars

Awe-struck eyes and hearts of hope

New Year's fireworks shine bright.

Writing Exercise 002

The second writing exercise is about using ten words I've never used before in a story. I challenged myself to use them in a drabble also. So count to 100 and see how I did! :D

2015/12/14 – Use 10 words personally never used before (Drabble)

To say Kara Ruhbilim was a man scintillating with prevision would be about as true as the moon turning green. Anything short of calling him a nitwit was but glozing over; so the lanky darkelven sniper was lucky to have such a compassionate Naga as a lover or else he wouldn't have survived the manifold adventures. Shura wasn't the wisest creature either; during his mating season the two idiots were untrammeled. Soon the camber of Shura's belly showed; when finally reality infixed into Kara's challenged brain the Naga's doldrums lifted. Hopefully their baby wouldn't be some frump mocked by Evolution.

 By the way, the characters are taken from my short story collection 'The Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe'. If this drabble makes you curious about them, have a look at A Link to Link.

Writing Exercise 001

I started doing weekly writing exercises last year to make writing a habit.
The first Task was to write a drabble (an exactly 100 words long story) on the Topic of fear. Here is what I made of it:

2015/12/05 - Drabble: Fear

Took one step too far; slipped and slid down into the cold abyss. The fall was hard; your head hurts, probably bruised. The coppery taste of blood, an ankle twisted or even broken. Never go onto the glacier alone, they warned. Too late. The crack is small and deep, the way up too far and too steep. Coldness seeps in as the light fades. Icy darkness. You can hear the glacier move; it's cracking and crunching rocks in its wake. The walls are closing in. But you can't see. You only hear your own scream. Yet nobody hears you.

First Things First

Hey there!

The year is still new, so I'm starting something fresh. This is my very first blog post, and I'm so excited about this whole venture. :D

As I'm still trying to find out how this works I'll tell you a bit about what's going to happen in this blog. Mostly I will be talking about writing in general and my own experience as a freshly published author. (I'm still riding the high of signing my first autograph. Wohoo! :D)
I'm planning a section where I'm going to upload my weekly writing exercises, so you can read some of my works. You will also be able to have a look at my artwork, find out more about me, my history of writing and my WIPs. And once I find out how to do it there might be vlogs.

I'd be happy to hang out with you, so feel free to chat with me anytime! :3