This is just a quick post to let all my wonderful followers know that Chapter Four is up this very period on CC if you want to see what is happening in the world of Aundes Aura at the moment, or even if you'd like to drop me a critique!

I apologise again for a slow-down in posts. The later days of school really limit your opportunities in other areas, but I'm trying my best to keep the blog active.

That was the tower in my dream.

I pull myself up the ladder just like last time. People fall past me on both sides. It’s a shame. But I know they’ll wake up once they hit the ground. I remember the moment of utter fear I’d felt as I’d tumbled through the air.

And I know I’m dreaming, but I can’t stop climbing. And what will happen when I reach the top? Will I fall and colour the ground?

Perhaps.

But those few seconds of fear will be worth it just to wake up. Because I am tired of climbing. I’m tired of the itch in my hands caused by the dirt left behind from others’ shoes, and knowing I can’t stop to scratch.

Because if I do I will fall.

But why must this tower be so tall? There couldn’t be such a thing as an eternal ladder.

As the people fall by I sense their regrets.

The last thing he said to his wife.

The crush who never knew her.

And here I am without regret, for whatever I have done wrong I have paid back with a thousand rights. Another rung, another step. Another challenge to face. And each one I had faced head on, and thus here am I, climbing a ladder to the heavens.

Even hurled stones cannot stop me, for what stone can break the mould of destiny? The top of this ladder is where my future lies. There lies the future of all. Come stones, I challenge you. Empower me to strive further, for without hindrance there is no challenge, and without challenge there is no reward.

Reward without challenge is the devil’s friend, and those who practise the cheat’s way shall fall from the tower to meet their other destiny.

The people falling by try to latch onto me and bring me down with them. They can’t touch me. I’ve done nothing wrong.

The ladder is not eternal. I can see the top. My destiny awaits. I reach up and pull myself another step closer. As soon as I had started climbing, it seems, I pull myself over the ladder and stand on the top of a thin spire, room enough for only one foot. I dare to look down, one foot hanging over the edge. I don’t fall. I am perfectly balanced, and I am unafraid.

Here a light comes, from everywhere around. My destiny has been found. I am blinded by white. And there is nothing.

I sit up. I see a tower with a great ladder.

That was the tower in my dream.

Tonight I passed 20,000 words! I am so, so close to passing the word count at which I stopped writing my previous concept of the novel. It seems like I've got a decent amount of plot and depth left in this to make it the whole way. I just have to keep going.

I may take a break sometimes, but I can't let this one pass me by like every other long story I have ever attempted. I strongly believe that this one is just that good. And, I absolutely adore it and I want to see it completed, and then improved, and then published.

And I am not naive at all as far as the publishing world at all. I already have a plan. But I can't go to step three without having first reached step two.

So my aim is to finish step one. And whether that happens by the end of next year, or the one after, I WILL do it.

Upcoming post: A Milestone Celebration: Every Thousand Words

I wonder how many of you noticed I posted a 2,500 word challenge the other day, which is now gone, deleted. That's because my failure was too much for me to bear. I have some interesting goals for August that would help me immensely with my life in general.

1. Reach 5,000 words for this month.

2. Write every day.

3. Make some effort to put my homework/writing/leisure schedule to actual use.

If I were to follow this diligently, it would sort out everything, from my late nights to my uncompleted homework, to my failure to reach the goals I set for myself.

It's quite sad, I think, all the disappointment I face when I find I'm not reaching my goals, or I have to tell two or three teachers a day that, no, I haven't done the homework.

On top of that it's a subconscious knock to the confidence I have in myself, and to my sense of freedom. At least if I did the homework my complaints about having so much would actually be warranted.

All of these societies and factions relate directly to my plot, so it was natural that they would occur to me. But why not add societies that flesh out the world from the start? What I feel is important here is that the groups add a more dynamic feel to the world, that they all interact in some way, with their own goals in mind. Almost like characters in their own right.
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I began with only the countries' societies.

Duthonne: Moderately religious. Strongly oppose heretics. They believe that four of the gods are good and that the other three are evil.

Meira: Moderately religious. Lightly oppose heretics. They believe the opposite to Duthonne about the gods, and the two countries war over this.

Arlea (island): Strongly religious. Believe that all gods are good. They have traditional beliefs and are the constant where the other two countries have developed their beliefs.

Then I began to wonder: Who is in control of these countries? Not all societies are the same in this respect.

The Church: They are the seat of power in Duthonne. Seven hundred years ago the King died and their was no heir to replace him. The Church were given power and have held dominance to this day. They believe very strongly, and are far too narrow-minded as far as teaching children about the gods. Their teachings have fuelled the wars, making many people fully believe that the people of Meira are as evil as the gods they worship, and ought to be wiped out.

Those who oppose the Church are punished, the punishment being equatable to the crime. Punishments can go as far as torture and execution.

The Queen of Meira: Elegant and powerful, she loves her people and treasures their lives. She is strong in her beliefs, but she doesn't go as far as the Church when it comes to punishment. She is willing to collaborate with various groups in order to help her country.

So what else is there? I was reading a book when the next came to me, and I had to stop reading to go and take note of it.

The Order: A faction devoted to the gods. All seven of them. Each member of the Order fights with the weapon of their choice. They know when the world is in grave danger and know a number of rituals in order to prevent it from happening. These are good guys, but their means might not be in line with what other people want.

And this last group came to me the other night when I couldn't sleep.

The Underground: A faction of thieves and pickpockets in Emareus, the capital city of Meira. They know ways into the castle that even the guards don't know about. The "Thief-King" has the supreme Aura -- that of Elcalades, the Giving Father. The group is made up of men and boys, mostly poor and orphaned. The group offers them a home as children, and they grow up in the environment and learn to survive in the streets.
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All these groups affect each other. They all have a purpose in mind. Teach, rule, serve, survive. The way they interact can create a very dynamic feeling, and when unlikely collaborations occur, they become all the more intriguing.

What could possibly bring the Thief-King to work with the Queen?

Why do the characters seem to think the Order is bad when it is actually good?

Who can bring down the Church, or find someone in the King's bloodline to take over the throne?

While we're journeying with our characters, things are happening on the other side of the world. Know what's going on, and you will know your world all the better.

Terreur, je n'ai eu pas des amis que j'adore comme j'adorais mes amis il y a trois ans.

Terreur, I have never had any friends that I love as much as those I had three years ago, before I left. At recess and lunch I stand with a group of people of whom some accept me while many of them don't, and only go to the movies in their tight-knit group.

But what's really sad? My long-term memory. The fact that I can't even remember the inside part of "The Parliament". I miss having true friends, save for the few I have gained and kept.

I wished I could have reacted bigger when I drove past you today, but when I drive, I grip the wheel very tight and my hands go white.

I stuck with you for a year and a half because I loved you, no matter what.

And now there is nothing, and I live on the hill, writing day after day and trying to maintain a blog so I can help other writers and entertain people and market my novel. And to feel that people actually like me because of who I am, what I know and what I do.

I haven't heard from Mykaelah since, but I know Brod well enough. One day Clinky asked if we could go to Fountain Gate. I said "sounds cool, I'll see when I'm available". And I never spoke to her about it again.

I got a text from Sarah once. It said she "liked" me. I probably responded with something like "okay", and never spoke of it again. Because I loved you, and I was with you, and she was your friend and I didn't want to hurt you.

Isn't it funny how the past seems to have disintegrated? Like it's so long ago that it never existed. It feels like a dream to me. It feels like a dream I had this morning, and a dream that I would have for the future. Wouldn't it be a dream to be around people you love and who love you back?

I had my dream three years ago, and now it's gone.

So I'm looking at a new dream. Not the dream of this morning, but the dream I'll have tonight. To be with someone who loves me for who I am, what I know and what I do. To do what I love, what I know, and what makes me who I am.

I might not make a living out of writing.

But writing will make a living out of me.

Because writing is my life.

The intention with this post is to answer all the questions using only titles from my bookshelf.
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Are you male or female: Mister Monday

Describe yourself: The Prisoner of Azkaban

How do you feel: Magician

Where do you live: City of Bones

Where would you like to go: Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia)

What is your favourite form of transportation: The Silver Horse

Your best friend is: The Lord of the Rings

You and your best friends are: The Merlin Conspiracy

What's the weather like: Drowned Wednesday

Favourite time of day: On Writing

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Writing Magic

What is life to you: The Silver Road

Your relationship: The Fire Within

Your fear: A Series of Unfortunate Events

What is the best advice you have to give: Make A Scene

Thought for the Day: The Wide Window

How would you like to die: Making Shapely Fiction

Your soul's present condition: Grim Tuesday

Your motto: So You Think You Know Harry Potter

I have just passed 16,000 words and this puts me more than 20% into Aundes Aura.

I'm constantly trying to determine whether the novel will be long enough at the end to make room for revisions and be marketable to agents and publishers. 80,000 words would do, I think.

Not that I really have to worry because I have a backup "Part Two" if it isn't long enough. It's not milking it, it's just stuff that could go unsaid and allow for the readers to speculate, but some interesting things would happen if I were to write it. I may just write a short Part Two regardless. This would allow me to almost "start again"with the tension, a miniature "book two", so I don't have to try to keep raising the tension. This way I can have two different climaxes.

Anyway, logically I have a ratio of 2:3 finished and unfinished novel. If I go through the outline in my head, I could have three more parts the size of one part to finish the novel at my target word count.

Are you the kind of person who would worry about something like this? Do you think it's unwise to mix logic with creativity?

The Elements

So burns fire, like the tongue of the devil

Its biting flame searing like a hot blade

An enigma on many a level

But simple it can be easily made

For water trickles like tears down a stream

Only to reach a fall, where it will then

Flow like a stitch, like a runaway seam

Reaching the end where it will only grow

The earth, the ground, whatever it be called

Let us see what it will seed from rich soil

The stone will allow cities to be walled

And allow for men to endure less toil

Air, ultimate of elemental four

Lets us know why the rest we do adore

The Fourth W'll

This is the first time I h’ve ever written ‘nything like this, wrote Ry’n. This is ‘ piece in which I will bre’k the fourth w’ll. Unfortun’tely, the [‘] on my keybo’rd h’s ce’sed to work, ‘nd thus ‘ll letters being the first letter of the ‘lph’bet will be repl’ced with ‘ [’]. But let this hinder us not. Without ‘ny further ‘do, we sh’ll st’rt the story.

J’ck is ‘ simple m’n. He lives in ‘ simple home, with simple neighbours, ‘nd he works ‘ simple job. Unfortun’tely, this simple job does not p’y p’rticul’rly well. But th’t isn’t why he is going to rob ‘ petrol st’tion in ‘bout h’lf ‘n hour.
He rushes out of the house. He knows even though his job doesn’t p’y p’rticul’rly well, he needs wh’tever money he c’n get. He stops ‘bruptly ‘nd looks to epic’lly into the sky.
“Who s’id th’t?” he ‘sks. Little does he know th’t authors do not live in the sky, but they ‘re ‘ll ‘round, w’tching ‘ll the time, ‘ bit like th’t God guy, or Big Brother from the book Nineteen-Eighty-Four.
“Nineteen-Eighty-Four? Wh’t in the world ‘re you t’lking ‘bout?”
What? You’ve never he’rd of Nineteen-Eighty-Four? It’s ‘ dystopia. ‘ bit like I’m trying to m’ke this story but you’re ruining it by m’king sm’ll t’lk. Now, stop this ‘nd re’ct to my boring, long-winded n’rr’tion.
“No! This is not norm’l. I dem’nd ‘n expl’n’tion!”
J’ck doesn’t re’lise th’t I’m ‘ctu’lly ignoring him.
He hurries up ‘nd gets in his c’r.
Oh, come now, J’ck. You’re boring my incredibly e’ger re’ders. He obeys ‘nd hurries up ‘nd gets in his c’r. Oh, wh’t ‘ sh’me. His petrol is ne’rly out. Th’t’s out first conflict. I suppose he’ll h’ve to go to the petrol st’tion.
“Ye’h, I know wh’t to do with ‘ low petrol gu’ge. Th’nks.”
I w’sn’t t’lking to you. Now, r’ther th’n bore you with tedious n’rr’tion while he drives there, I’ll tell you ‘ little story.

Once, ‘ long, long time ‘go, ‘ mother duck w’s feeling low. The mother duck h’d l’id her eggs, but h’lf of them looked just like kegs! One d’y the eggs beg’n to h’tch. They cr’cked ‘nd cr’cked, ‘nd ‘ll ten m’tched.
One h’dn’t h’tched ‘nd it w’s big, ‘nd looked different. Like ‘ fig. The mother thought, “Oh me! Oh my! I guess this duck will never fly!”

“I’m here.”
Ugh. Well I c’n’t end the story there! I’ll just h’ve to sum it up for you. B’sic’lly, he goes on ‘ big ‘dventure, ‘nd ‘t the end he wonders if he is ‘ sw’n like the ones in the pond with which he felt ‘ speci’l bond. Turns out he’s ‘ll out of luck ‘nd he’s just ‘n ugly duck! I re’lly love th’t story. It’s got everything you w’nt. Tension, emotion, ‘n eng’ging plot (‘s opposed to this story), and--
“Hey, I’ve been sitting here for ‘ges. Can you direct me ‘lready?”
Jack gets out of the car and enters the petrol station.
“I thought you couldn’t use [a]s because the key is inoperable,” Jack points out.
I c’n’t. J’ck p’ys for his petrol.
“I h’ven’t even filled my c’r yet!”
J’ck shuts his mouth ‘nd p’ys for his petrol. He pulls ‘ gun.
“I don’t h’ve ‘ --”
-- Yes you do. He pulls ‘ gun.
The st’tion keeper g’sps. “Wh’t the -- I c’n’t swear in this story c’n I?”
No. It’s going up on ‘ school intr’net.
“Oh, ok’y. Wh’t the ****?!”
“Wh’t now?” ‘sks J’ck.
I don’t know.
“Wh’t do you me’n? You’re writing this story, ‘ren’t you?”
Yes, but I don’t know wh’t to write next. Wh’t’s th’t excuse writers use when they don’t feel like writing? Oh ye’h, writer’s block. I h’ve writer’s block.
J’ck shoots himself and f’lls to the ground.
Hey! You c’n’t do th’t! I’m writing this story!
“I’m writing it now,” s’ys J’ck.

But do you live or die?

J’ck?

A Magical World: Sam's Life!

Part II: Next Year

I was on my way to school, when I remembered about the old magic Castle. As soon as I remembered, I dissapeared as fast as I could, down a path, up a hill, East, North, West. I walked across a long path for about Seven days and a night. Then I saw it, the huge Castle. I walked up to the door (without going straight for the handle) and politely knocked on the door.

The doors received the knock and opened. I said the password for the portrait and walked through. The old man came up to me.

"I see you have practiced how to control yourself about pressing buttons." [Interjection: I love this line!]

"Yes, I have," I started, "And a bloody whole lot too. So this had better be worth it."

"It will, It will," He replied, "but don't go pressing any more buttons." So I didn't, but I got foolish and wanted to see what would happen if I ripped off my button and pushed it into the wall. The wall pushed right forward abd across.

I walked through and came to a band and read: FIRE TABLETS, WARNING: MAY BURN THROAT AND CAUSE TO BREATH FIRE. -->

I looked t the right and saw the FIRE TABLETS. I tranceported over to the basket. [Interjection: I adore the use of the word transport in this context.] It I took Two tablets missing sight of a sighn read: I TABLET EACH. >

My throat was burning like hell. It repeated as I struggled to find water or something. I couldn't find a single drop. Of course I wanted a plural drop. I breathed as hard as I could and instead of breath I got three fireballs about the size of a bowling ball.

I think I'd better keep my breath to myeself.

RING! RING! RING!

The bell went.

MOVING OBJECTS, I read on a door and walked through. A teacher named Professor Levana was in there. "Ah, your all here. Welcome to MOVING OBJECTS class."
"We will start with LEVITATING."
"Excuse me, but could you please repeat that?" asked a boy named Peter.
"LEVITATING! She repeated in an angry voice. "Now, to LEVITATE fist all your fingers exept your pink-"
"EXCUSE ME, I DON'T LIKE THE SOUND OF PINK!"
"-y," she added, "aim at the OBJECT you want to LEVITATE. It will float in mid-air. For it to follow you, step backwards, to push it, step forwards, to pull right, step right, so, of course, to pull left, step left, and at last to drop, unfist your hand.
RING! RING! RING! "Class DISMISSED!"
I walked outside the door. Two people came up to me. "HI, I'm Peter and this is Ashley, want to practice Levitation with us?"
"Yeah, ok, but only if I get to show you some thing first."
"Ok, we'll follow you."
"My name's Sam by the way," I said on the journey.
I went back to the spot where I pushed my button into and did the same. Peter and Ashley were right behind me. I showed them why they should take the Fire Tablets. But to my suprise, Ashley didn't take any, but then again, Peter took Four.

I told him to breath, and he was really suprised when he saw what happened.

Ryan Sullivan: Good afternoon, Sir Lorne.

Lorne: It is not such a good afternoon.

R.S.: Why not?

Lorne: I've been working my darned backside off, that's why!

R.S.: I did hear about some commotion earlier. What happened?
Lorne: Oh, it started out a fine day. But then when I was in the middle of afternoon tea, the captain rushed in and screamed at everyone that there was something going on at the Arena. I had to abandon my food and go there with all the other guards, running like a right madman, and then when we got there the only thing that was going on was a rattled crowd.

R.S.: That was the commotion? You got called over there for that?

Lorne: Hold your horses, matey! I'm not done. Apparently there was some explosion of white light come from a girl. Nothin' I ain't ever heard of. But that's why the guards were called. But how were we supposed to pick her out of a whole Arena crowd? We're guards, not eagles. But then I noticed the crowd was all lookin' in one direction, and I looked where they were lookin' and I saw her. She was right near the top of the stands, cornered in with a couple o' body guards. So me and the guards, we went up the Arena steps an' into the stands, but then when we made it to the second level she wasn't there. I looked at the whole Arena and I couldn't see her anywhere. It was like she disappeared. She left a right mess behind, though. Bodies layin' all round the place, even on the steps. Tell you what, the council's not gonna be havin' any fun after this.

R.S.: What did you do then?

Lorne: Well, naturally I went back to the guards' barracks. After that I heard stories. Like, a group went out to the stables in case the girl tried to get away. When I got back I heard they were all dead. Then, even later, the wall and tower guards came in and told the captain the girl got away, but they wounded one of her bodyguards with an arrow. You know, I heard the other one protecting her was the one fighting in the Arena just before the explosion thing. Funny. Everyone always thought he was such an honorable representation of our country. Now he's protecting the descendant of an evil goddess.

Ryan Sullivan: [Laughs] Yes, it is curious how people's perspectives can change so quickly. Thank you for your time, and I hope the coming days are more pleasant for you.

• Beginning: The main character carries out life as normal. [In "Until They Unite", Marco is inducted into a prestigious group called the Shadow Faction.]

• Plot Point 1: Something happens that changes everything. This forces them to do something they'd rather not. [Marco is suddenly expected to embark on a mission of great urgency, and he's been with the Faction for barely a week.]

Act 2:

• Middle: The character's emotional and physical journey. The character should endure and overcome many challenges throughout this act. [Marco has to face and tame a dragon, and he and rest of the faction have to fight and tame many a beast in all areas of the continent of Xakei. He has to accept the deaths of two of the group.]

• Plot Point 2: This comes at the end of Act 2, and turns the story in a new direction again. The hero seems beaten but something happens to turn things his way. [Marco and the faction are in the Temple of Air, where they can find the final Elemental Piece. But the gigantic raven is powerful, and when they pluck the Circlet of Air from its pedestal, the Temple begins to fall in ruins, and they are still inside. They manage to escape by the skin of their teeth, a protective forcefield from the Circlet having protected them.]

Act 3:

• Lead-up to the end: The third act shows how the character succeeds or becomes a better person.
• Resolution: Ties together the loose ends and shows the result of actions taken throughout the story.
• Denouement: A comedown after the intense final points of the story. Show how the characters have changed or developed after their experience.

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A note on tension:

From the beginning of the story, the tension should become progressively higher until the climax of the story. Readers need a break, though, so after each crisis, allow some drop in tension before raising it again. Otherwise the reader could get fizzled out from the constant action.

These sections after a crisis are also a fantastic point to develop the characters and reveal tidbits about the backstory or describe the landscape to give the reader some sense of the world.

True story. I counted the days on my calendar since I last wrote anything on Aundes Aura and it has been 17 days. That's funny, because it was the 17th of May last time I wrote.

But O, the pleasure of finally writing past that darned paragraph that I read over at least twenty times wondering how I would possibly continue from here. The pleasure of continuing something that has been stuck in limbo for an eternity. The freedom of doing something other than school, or homework, or study, or watching TV, or surfing the internet. The incredible joy of doing something creative! Something familiar! Something that I'm proud of, and that I want to complete. And to the point that I have developed my idea, it would be O such a terrible shame if I didn't complete the project.

And suddenly I wasn't in my body anymore, but by the river with Eoin and Saera, ready to discover what they were going to say. What would I discover about how Saera was feeling? And I did. And despite their circumstances, they are hopeful again. They have a goal again.

My goal is to keep to my goal. My goal is to write on average at least 5,000 words a month over the next year. So far I'm keeping up. Over April and May, I wrote on average just under 6,000 words. If I can keep this up...

...I could have a full-length novel by this time next year. I've never completed such a task.

Rebecca Hamilton (Rhamilton) is holding another exciting contest over at her blog!

The Prize is:
- A critique by Rebecca of your first 5 pages.

- A review of the first chapter and the premise.

- An interview and a spot on the upcoming Authors page — Lots of promo for you and your book!

You MUST complete the following to Qualify:

1) Blog or Twitter about the contest.

2) Post the first page of your novel in the comments section with a link to your blog or Twitter so she can see you have linked the contest.

Note: A first page will be about 250-350 words. A first page is double spaced, with a standard 12 inch font.

To enter the contest, go here: http://rebecca-hamilton.com/?p=266