#thewriteflame

thank youuuu

smile | share a funny snippet or a fun fact about your world?

okay 1) I think this is funny so I'm sorry if it's not lol and 2) for context, this bit I'm sharing is taken from Thala's reenactment of somewhat that had happened to her and Astri that day when they were in the capitol that day (this is something that I was wanting to establish with this draft—Thala's proclivity for story-telling. It's laying the groundwork for later on when she needs it for plot reasons)

“Alright, so—“ I started off as Astri took her place behind me, adopting the same playful lilt that Pa used to whenever he began to tell one of his tall tales. “There we were coming up to the bridge to head further into…”  ”Ateolis!” Astri supplied excitedly, then shrank back with a giggle at my quelling look.  “Yes, Ateolis.” I said with a heavy sigh and she giggled again, and I struggled not to grin as I pressed on. “And this cart driver—a man, of course—“ Solera said it along with me, and I lost the struggle with my smile, but only for a second. “He didn’t stop. Astri, be the driver.”  “Wha…” I gestured over to the door. “Oh, right.”  She darted over, and I pressed up against the imaginary banister behind me as Astri, who was holding her arms stiffly out at her sides, making herself bigger as she tottered toward me. “And then this gentleman over here,” I said, straining my voice as if I were a much older person, which I quickly dropped to add, “Wait, I’ll just show you.”  I motioned for Astri to keep coming towards me, and when she did, I lightly smacked her shoulder, then balled my hand into a fist and shook it at her, putting on the older man’s voice again as I said, “Your head is stuffed so full with chum and piss that I can’t believe it’s not spilling out your fucking ears!” Solera burst out laughing—a delighted, high-pitched cackle—Olena almost choked on the sip of tea she was drinking, and Zoi grinned as if she were taking notes to use it for another occasion. Several of the other girls behind me laughed as well, interspersed with scandalized gasps at the strong language.  But I wasn’t done.  As Astri turned back to me, mimicking the rude gesture the cart driver had made and starting another round of surprised laughter, I continued. “I pray the gods smite you just for breathing, you wretched little shit!” I finished the curse with spitting force, then looked back at Solera and Olena, doing a double-take just like the man had when he noticed us across the bridge. I let my eyes widen in his horrified surprise.  His apologies tripped over themselves on their way out of my mouth, becoming increasingly more dramatic as Solera clutched at her stomach, her head thrown back as she leaned against the table for support, lost as she was in the throes of mirth. Olena and Zoi were doubled over, too, and Astri, breathless and rosy-cheeked from laughing, sank back into her place on the bench beside Olena.  “That’s basically what happened,” I said, my voice returning to normal as I grinned at them. My attention settled on Solera, who was wiping tears from her eyes with a clipped but happy sigh.

flute | can any of your OCs dance? how would they fare in a dance-off?

yes! dancing is something that happens fairly frequently in this story/Grean culture! so basically everyone can dance to some degree, and Thala really enjoys it. The last time she danced was at her birthday party, but she'll be doing some more soon in the first part of TUS

wildcard | share anything that's on your mind regarding your OCs/writing?

something that I was thinking about today when I was at work was how pleased I am with how Thalera's relationship is showing up on the page. Which, I know, is something I've mentioned sorta often during this rewrite, but it's just really nice to see their connection come to life on the page. I know I'm very biased here lol but I think they're a really good team, and their bond is so sweet to write, especially in a story like this. I'm really looking forward to how things continue to progress, because it just keeps getting better with each new scene that they're together

thanks! gonna put it under the cut because you know how i get lol

From this ask game

I'll do Lug for this one!

2. What’s on their lock screen?

Something that makes him smile! Sometimes it's a cute animal, or a pretty sunset, or song lyrics he likes. But it's usually a group picture of all the War Machines together. Or it's a sneaky picture of one of them - it's of Sharpe, more often than not, who gets all hissy and snarly about Lug being a creep (Sharpe doesn't really mean it).

9. What are their most frequently used emojis?

😻👍😸💞💪🎶

okay this is a bit on the longer side and not from Seafoam but instead from my oldest wip, Visions from the Pool (this is one of the scenes that I've revamped so far) it's the introduction of two of the POV characters who will have my favorite het romance that i will ever write i guarantee it and the way they meet is just funny to me lol

Clouds gathered, swelled, and greyed as a wind tore over the plains. Blades of tall grasses obstructed Zurri’s vision from where she lay sprawled on the floor of the moors. They danced merrily in the breeze as it picked up. She breathed in, letting the petrichor fill her before she breathed it out in a sigh. Smiling, she closed her eyes, listening to the rasp of the grasses. 

The distant chirp of the birds flitting around in the trees and the wind. 

The gurgle of the stream she had crossed. 

The approach of heavy footfalls. 

Her eyes flew open, but she did not move. The man—for only a man would make that much noise without worry—drew near behind her. From the forest, it sounded like. Twigs snapped beneath his boots as he walked, then he stopped with two sudden splashes that gave her a start. He sighed, too, but it was not filled with the same happiness that hers had been. 

Slowly, she sat up. Not enough to peek over the grasses, of course. Her braids crept off her shoulder one by one as she leaned toward him, peering through the gaps between the grasses. Zurri’s eyes widened. 

What a strange man.

She had seen pale-skinned folk before—Giselle, namely...well, only. Her hair was golden like the sunlight on the Scaith. But his? A burst of flame, both on his head and his cheeks and chin, and almost as curled as Rhandu’s, though perhaps a bit more loosely. She blinked slowly, pulling herself closer to the edge of the stream so she could see him properly. 

He grumbled under his breath as he pulled off his boots, then his socks, so quietly that Zurri couldn’t make a word of it out. Finally, she reached the bank of the creek, then froze again as she watched the man massage his feet in the water. Had he been the one to happen upon her last night? Or was there someone else in the woods? 

The man reached for his shoe, but his hands were still slick, so it slipped away from him, bobbing in the creek. He slipped too as he stood, uttering a curse as he fell half into the creek. Without thinking, Zurri poked out of grass, catching the boot before it floated past her, and the man met her gaze, eyes blown wide. 

“Hullo?” He said something else right after, but his accent was so strange and thick that she couldn’t focus on it.

“Sorry, what?” He sputtered to a stop, looking at her as if she had grown a second head. “I don’t understand you.” 

“Oh.” A small smile split his scruffy beard, and he pushed himself up and out of the creek, the water dripping off his trousers as he started for her. “I’m sorry,” he said, slowly this time. “My name is Konan.”

Konan held out his hand, though he looked slightly confused when she handed his sopping boot back to him, then stood on her own, her eye line almost level with his. “Zurri.”

thanks!

Beer Cheese Soup | A scene from your wip that made you laugh

hmm this is hard, because the laughs have been few and far between for this wip lol there are some funny moments but I've been working on some of the darker moments lately so I can't really remember when I last laughed while writing a scene? but I may have during this snippet, because this is my dog's cameo in this book lol

An enthusiastic black and white farm dog greeted us not with barks, but the wag of an overly swishy tail, as we turned off the lane to the last farm on the outskirts of Grokolis. He lapped at our hands as we bent to pet him, his fur sun-warmed and soft. Solera hurried off, leaving the pair of us to follow her, when she noticed the farmer’s wife peeking out of the house. The dog bounded inside without a care, but I stopped beside Solera to listen to our instructions for the day. 

We were to tend to the farm animals and the garden, as she had more than enough on her hands with a gaggle of young children and a sick husband to care for to add farm work to her list of things to do. So, we set off, gathering eggs and milking goats. The dog joined us, scattering the chickens and stressing the goats out enough that they refused to stand still long enough to be milked. So, I offered to take him with me to the gardens while Solera finished up with the animals. 

He kept very close, nagging me for the occasional belly rub as he lounged beside me in the dirt, his head lolling in my lap, no matter how often I had to move. I picked the weeds, gathered the ripe tomatoes and peppers, and when Solera joined me, she started picking some of the citrus from the trees casting precious little shade over us in the increasingly warm day.

Bouillabaisse | Which character was hardest to name?

probably Solera and her younger brother, Aziri (who will be coming up later) 

their father is a native to Scinra, the nation/island she grew up on, and her mother is the daughter of immigrants from Betii, so she has a mixed culture home, so I wanted her (and Aziri’s) name to represent that. Scinra is inspired by Spain, and Betii by Ethiopia, so I was looking at the different languages to make a combination of words into their names. 

Sol is taking from the Spanish side, which means “sun” and -era is taken from the Amharic (romanicized) word yaberali, which means “shine” so Solera means “sunshine”

Aziri has a similar name construction. In Dracrie, there are two moons. One is silver in color, and the other a sort of turquoise-y blue. So Az is taken from the Spanish word azul--”blue”--and -iri is taken from the Amharic (again, romanicized) word biri--”silver”

it was fun figuring this all out but it took me a while to decide exactly what I wanted and what would fit them both alsdkjfalj

(also, the family’s last name is Aurado which is a combo of the Latin word aureum and the Spanish word dorado, both of which means “golden”)

((also, just for the record: Thala is taken from the (romanicized) Greek word thalassa which means “sea” and Galanis is a Greek surname that means “blue”))

Bread Soup | A character that developed into way more than intended

I’d probably say Cilia Rimal. I don’t think I’ve posted much about her, as she does have a smaller role (currently), but she’ll definitely be showing up again in the second half of the book. She is the Elder Sorma, aka the woman who is in charge of looking after the Stoli of Katania. She’s a lot more...lenient with the Stoli than the Diamo (Geros) is aware of, especially given that she makes a potion to protect them before they’re taken away on merchant ships for months at a time. Which is....highly illegal so to be doing something like that under Geros’ nose is quite brave and telling for her character, and this aspect of her will be developed further in the second half when she gets posed with the question of “who will you choose: the Stoli? or Geros?” 

lol it's okay those are My Girls I love them and i'm always willing to talk about them ^^

2 | tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or other?

Thala - the one she can have at any time of day is tea! her favorite is one that Mitapi has made for her since forever, floral and herbaceous. She takes it without anything enhancing it, she likes it as is 

Solera - tea as well, and it’s ironically the same tea that Mitapi would make for Thala, except her Ma (Samra) would add cinnamon to it. It caused a tiny bit of contention (read: flirting) they day they met Thala admitted that she liked it better with the cinnamon but shh don’t tell Mitapi

Mitapi - her favorite would technically be “other”, but it’s the Grean version of coffee. it’s called kappe, and it’s a rich, dark brew, and the beans are roasted and ground with whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. It’s a very warming drink. She has it black usually, while Thala prefers to sweeten it with a few azallo leaves when she does have a cup of it in the morning

28 | If your character was in today’s world, what social media platforms would they avoid? Or be prominent on?

Thala - she’d probably have a tumblr, but just for the memes lol instagram for the aesthetic. twitter is dead to her 

Solera - pinterest is her favorite one, and she has an account on tumblr and insta to post her artwork

Mitapi - not to stereotype but she’s a mom so ofc she’d have facebook and pinterest, nothing else lol

31 | Your character has been invited to a masquerade ball. What mask do they wear?

Thala

Solera

Mitapi

thank you~

rock | how do you deal with writer's block?

by procrastinating alksdjflasdj my house is at it's cleanest when i'm blocked lol more practically, though, reading books and/or listening to audio books is helpful, because it's nice to see the author's turn of phrase and word choices. It can be really helpful to get the creative juices flowing again. With audio books, I like to listen to them when I'm talking a walk, and usually by the time I get home, I'm itching to write again

spirit | what's the best compliment you've ever received on your writing?

I've gotten this one a few times and it makes me immeasurably happy every single time, but whenever my prose gets called cinematic T_T it's just nice knowing that my very specific vision came through, because I see the scenes like a movie in my head, so for that to be able to be translated to whoever is reading is absolute top tier

Thanks!!

notebook | how many notebooks do you have? do you write in them?

Oh dear god uhhhhhhh i’m not home rn or else i’d count them but i’d say i have…10 at least lmao they’re scattered all over and some of them are written in, yes. I like to have a notebook per story if i can, and i’ll usually world-build and outline and jot down snippets of scenes in them so they’re all in one place for future reference

computer | what is your writing software of choice?