Busy...

*Ring, ring, ring*

*beep*

Hey, you've reached Farjag's phone. I'm currently either busy, away, or dead, and am unable to pick up my phone at the current time, but I'll get back to you as soon as I am able, provided I am not dead. Please leave a detailed message if you'd like, unless you're trying to sell me something, in which case you should give as little information as possible. In fact, you can hang up right now. Have a nice day! 

*pause*

If you're still listening, chances are that you're not trying to sell me something, in which case you can leave me a message. Catch you later!

*beep*

Feel free to leave your 'message' in the comments! :)

Beautiful People- March

The time has come once again...
To unlock the mysteries of one man...
To reveal that which no one knew before...
To...


Ok, not really.


But it's Beautiful People time! As always, thanks to Miss Sky and Miss Penn for the questions!


But who, exactly, is the man of the hour? Well, seeing as I'm editing Freeborn and Freegiven, and he's my namesake, and he's one of my most favorite characters, it's Farjag! (No, not me. :) )


Quick bit of background; Farjag Tiger-claw is a freeborn who lives in hiding deep within the Tanglethorn, plying his trade as a blacksmith. 


1. If your character could be played by any actor, who would it be?
Wow, I'd never thought about that. *Goes into deep thought* ......... 


An hour later: Well, I based a lot of Farjag off my own personality and appearance, so I have a hard time imagining him as someone else. It's rather funny, because I could totally have given an actor for any other character, but I can't quite find someone for Farjag... because then I'd be finding someone to play me!

2. Does your character have a specific theme song?
Definitely. "Stand My Ground" by Within Temptation sums up his journey as a character in ways mere words could never do. 

3. What’s their worst childhood memory?
Well, I know next to nothing about his childhood. However, a few years before Freeborn begins he, his best friend  Dorben, and Dorben's sister, Nitiren, tried to infiltrate the shieldsfell outpost in Deepdale. But something went wrong and Dorben was killed. Nitiren blamed Farjag, and now hates him, while Farjag lives with the burden of something he didn't do.

4. If your character had a superpower, what would it be?
Oh, come on, isn't turning into a tiger at will enough? :) 

5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how would your character help the group survive?
Well, being an outlaw means surviving on your own skills as a hunter, cook, sewer, blacksmith, carpenter... in other words, Farjag can do a bit of everything. Which would make him a valuable asset on any desert isle.

6. Are they married? If not, do they someday wish to be?
Farjag is unmarried at the beginning of Freeborn, but sometime during the book he meets someone he already knew. Someone who he will propose to at the very end of the book. Someone I mentioned three questions above. :)

7. What is a cause they would die for?
Quartorlen's freedom. See, all four freeborn set out on their quest fully expecting to never return.

Then will five arise, hope and honor-driven

Four freeborn, and one freegiven 

Together they will seek out that which is hidden

 Together find that which was written

 The ancient power, savior to the lands 

Bane to the dark, and to the wielding hands 

The Darkstone, cold and hard 

Talisman against all that is evil and marred.

8. Would they rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home?
See, Farjag's answer to this changes from the beginning of the book to the end. At first, he'd like nothing better than to live out his days hiding in the woods, away from the grip of the shieldsfell, away from the agony of his people. At least, that's what he tells himself. But when he is literally forced onto this quest, he begins to realize that he's been hiding from more than shieldsfell soldiers. He's been hiding from himself. And so, by the end of the book, Farjag is ready to die fighting valiantly. 

9. If someone walked up to them and told them they were the child of the prophecy, would they believe them?
He'd give them the raised eyebrow, then tell them to go find his backup. :P

10. Do they prefer the country or the city?
Cities mean shieldsfell patrols, jails, stone walls, locked gates, reward posters for him... I should think the choice is obvious. 


Well, that's BP for this month! Hope you enjoy reading about Farjag as much as I have writing about him!

The Ghostreader Speaks

Way back when... well, in January at least, I decided to edit instead of rewrite Freeborn and Freegiven. And immediately proceeded to do nothing about it. Which is understandable, considering I was just starting a new semester of college and writing two other books. But now college has settled into a steady routine (Three cheers for only one class!), I've laid one of those books aside until I can do the proper research (Grudem's Systematic Theology, anyone?), and Feather and Fang's plot is sufficiently intertwined with that of Freeborn to enable me, nay, require me, to actually begin editing my first true novel.
Now, as most of you readers (who also happen to be writers) are probably keenly aware, editing is a lengthy process involving multiple rereads, countless mark-ups, and almost always several other editors who assist the author with a fresh set of eyes. And while I fall back on these tried and true methods soon, I think I've discovered a method that will allow me to edit mostly on my own.

The trick? Get someone to read it to me.

But, wait... you just said you were going to edit it alone...

I am! The reader I speak of is a ghost, or rather, a Ghostreader. This nifty program (for Macs only, I'm afraid), has some of the best computer voices I've ever heard. Basically, they doesn't sound like a computer. Period. Now, the actual program costs $40, but you can get a free demo for fifteen non-consecutive days (Which is a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me). But, enough of product placement, how exactly does this help me?

Well, first of all, having a British person read your own story back to you is simply awesome. And the best part is, she reads all the typos and doesn't read the words I forgot to put in! So now I can listen as I read, and catch all the mistakes my eyes gloss over or my brain fills in automatically. And second, I'm editing instead of reading, so things move a lot quicker. And not having to focus on picking out every single comma misplacement or missing word means I can pay attention to how the pacing flows, how dialogue moves, and any continuity errors.

For instance, I'm currently editing a scene where Farjag is captured by a shieldsfell Containment patrol. Originally, they just came barging in, surrounded him, and immediately set about Containing him. But what I realized is; if he's one of the last freeborn still uncontained, then the shieldsfell aren't going to suspect that he still has the ability to alter. Their commander keeps sending them out on these patrols, but none of them really believe there are really any more freeborn out there who haven't been contained. Also, they way I portray the shieldsfell during the rest of the book didn't really match with how I was drawing them here. So I drew out the scene a little bit, got some banter between Farjag and Patrollen Slarx, and in general reworked the shieldsfell into a little more of the shape they appear at the end.

And it's way better. What about you? What methods do you use to edit your writing?