writing

About that Book… (plus a new title, and other cool stuff)

by Sarah Baran

SO.

You may remember a post I did back in September, when I announced that I was taking an official leave-of-absence from my book, The Silvershaw of Glenborn, to explore other stories and hopefully get the pain to subside in my neck.

(Boy, that was a run-on sentence.)

Well.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t get the Silvershaw out of my head. It’s like all my characters somehow became Force ghosts, with the express purpose of haunting me until I give them a happily ever after. I’m so tired of hearing Lotch go, “Blarmey, is that snot in your hair?” that at this point, I’m willing to do anything to make her shut up.

And so, The Silvershaw of Glenborn is back in the works.

It feels kind of good, actually. Like reacquainting oneself with an old friend, or putting on your favorite jacket after summer is gone. And as much as I hate my children, I’m still glad to see them again. Liriel’s as dense and emotionally clueless as ever, Emolas is still desperately trying to make people listen to him (he’s failing miserably), and Lotch…

Well, Lotch is Lotch, which is great.

Fact is… I’ve missed my children. And now that I’m back, I’m determined that this time, they’ll finally get the ending they deserve.

And thus, change is in the air. In order to bring my story up to a level that’s at least half-decent—though I’ll probably never be completely satisfied with it, because that’s the way I roll—I have to up my game. That means…

OUTLINING! *pathetic wailing*

SYNOPSIS!! *hides under the bed*

WORLD BUILDING!!!

*dies*

But that’s not the only thing I’ve been working on lately. I’ve come to the conclusion that no character deserves to live her life stuck in a book with a stupid title like ‘The Sivershaw of Glenborn’. That was the title of my youth, the last vestige of the book this used to be. That book is gone, long since departed with my fourteen year old soul. It’s time to move on, to discard that last remnant of who I was and what my writing began as. It’s time for a new title.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage…

 

Aeterna

 

Yes, this is a fake cover I whipped up in five minutes because it was fun. Don’t judge me.

Dad suggested that I be patriotic to my Polish heritage and call it “Aeterna-ski”.

I politely declined.

Aeterna means ‘eternal’, or ‘immortal’, in Latin (imagine that), and TECHNICALLY, it was my mom who suggested it. Technically. And I dismissed it with, “My dear mother, please leave the book writing to me, as you obviously don’t have a clue what you’re doing.”

It was about an hour later when I realized that Aeterna actually wasn’t half bad.

In my defense, only moments earlier, she was suggesting I call it Amaranthanine (like, how many ‘A‘s are in that?), Immortalatem, and Bucket Head.

Yeah. Now you know why I never listen to her writing suggestions.

 

Aeterna1

Aaaaand there’s a collage thingy, otherwise known as the book version of a movie poster.

Now, I’ve been working on a synopsis for several months (‘working’ = bashing my head into the wall), but I’ll be honest, I was waffling on whether or not I wanted the world to see it yet. (‘The world’, as in, the five people who read this blog…) Especially considering I only finished it this morning. BUT my mother told me to stop being squirly and just do it, so… I suppose I will.

Please keep in mind that as the stupid book isn’t even finished yet, things may drastically change and I will have to redo the synopsis. This is just the brief overview so you know what I’m talking about whenever I happen to casually reference it.

*sweeps curtain aside* Behold:

 

When a monster from the ancient world breaks a centuries-old estrangement between two races, threatening to annihilate both, Liriel Willowtree is chosen as a symbol of the all-powerful and immortal Aeterna and sent to protect the lower races of humanity. But when the power of her people fails her and she is forced to rely on the resourcefulness of a scrappy human waif, she comes face to face with fallacies in a doctrine she believed infallible. With a weapon that could change the future in her hands and the fate of races at stake, Liriel must choose between two worlds in order to save both: To abandon her people and claim allegiance with the well-meaning but often dishonorable Mortalus, or to forgive the ominous truth of her people’s past and accept the sovereign paths of the Aeterna.

 

Yeet. The process of writing that thing gave me gray hairs.

Anyway.

Finally, we come to the last thing I have to share with you: Aesthetics. Yes, as all authors eventually come to realize, your book means nothing if you don’t make collages for it. Sorry, guys, but that’s just the way our world works. And since I, obviously, have my priorities straight, I spent a week or so making these things.

Let’s meet the characters, shall we?

 

Liriel

This my protagonist, Liriel. She’s kind of emotionally stunted. I *cough* can’t imagine WHERE *cough cough* she gets that from. *choke*

Certainly not me.

 

Lotch
I got a headache making this one. So much yellow.

Lotch is a nine-year-old street waif who happens to be my sister’s favorite. (Probably because they both trip down stairs and do the whole emotions thing… I don’t get it.)

 

Emolas22

The Golden Boy himself. He’s cool. Used to be my favorite until suddenly he wasn’t. Chew on that for a while.

 

Sley(1(1)

Aaaaand this dude. I don’t even know what to think of him. He growls at anyone who even dares to glance at him, but also has some sort of deep-rooted affinity and gentleness for children. Can some psychology junkie please explain to me how that works?

 

Noyarc2
Yes, I totally stole that quote from a t-shirt. I’m not even sorry.

Noyarc is… annoying.

Yeah, there went my non-partisan stance on characters. Oh well.

 

Indril(1)

And finally, ze villain. This doesn’t fit him very well (mainly because I don’t know him very well), but eh, who cares. It looks cool.

Priorities, guys, priorities.

So anyway, there you have it. A whole bunch of pretty things for characters you know nothing about. A synopsis that I literally finished editing this morning. A fake cover. An updated writing tab. My book is back, my self-appointed deadline is April (that’ll never happen, trust me), and I’ve got all sorts of new stuff in the works—not to mention a bunch of writing tags I’ll be posting on Monday, so STAY TUNED FOR THAT.

Go away now.

~Sarah

 

60 thoughts on “About that Book… (plus a new title, and other cool stuff)”

  1. I was wondering when you were going to bring that back again. Cool title, and awesome synopsis! I don’t even know how to write a synopsis *facepalm* which I probably should get around to at some point.
    Ugh, characters stuck in your head…I totally know how that is. If I stopped writing, then my head would explode with these people who are inside and desperately want to get out.
    I bet writing “Aeterna” will be easier after the break you took. Good luck!

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    1. There’s an awesome article about synopsis writing on KP, just so you know. I practically memorized it while I was writing mine.

      And YES, the break was amazing. All the plot threads and characters feel new again, and writing them is actually—get this—is actually FUN. *faints*

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      1. *revives you so you can finish writing* thanks for the article recommendation! I will definitely check it out when I get back on KP.

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  2. Why is it a fake book cover? It looks mostly real to me.
    Anyways, I liked the synopsis, and am not not quite so confused. That at least, was a success. However, I agree about the yellow. Not being a yellow girl myself, that hurt my eyes. Don’t do that again, if you can help it.
    Sley and Emolas are my favorites judging by their collages. I am a green/blue (not mixed together though) kind of girl, and I am intrigued by gruff men who actually like children. Don’t ask me why. I’m sure I don’t know.
    I have no clue why Noryarc would be annoying, though. Is he just too bubbly and colorful?
    I wait with anticipation to upcoming writing posts, so listen to MOP and Anna (at least some of the time) and don’t be squirrely. I shoot squirrels.
    JUST KIDDING!
    ~Akir

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    1. Fake as in I stole the picture off google, so someone will probably sue me eventually. 😉

      Nah, I can handle bubbly characters. I’ve got more than a few of them. But Noyarc is just… so… annoying. Yeah. I dunno. He’s sort of childish, and I don’t appreciate that in a human being.

      And just so you are aware, missy, I am an elf, not a squirrel, and if you shoot me, you’ll NEVER get more writing posts. *crazed cackling* HA! So there. 🙂

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  3. *beams beneficently upon all the things*
    Whaaa…? Emolas isn’t your favorite anymore? What happened???

    Also I love Indril’s. And Sley’s actually hit me pretty hard. *puts on psychology glasses* A lot of times, if people have been rejected from the ‘normal’ circles of society or are looked down upon as weird, undesirable, or out of place, they look for places and people they do fit in with to fill that gap. Children are very accepting and open-minded, making them a perfect refuge for someone without anywhere else to go.

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    1. Well, okay, I take that back. He’s still my favorite, but I also came to the startling conclusion that I’d accidentally made him perfect. That is not pleasant, and thus it is that I’m terribly annoyed with him. I’ll get over it.

      *gapes at the Sley psychology* I knew I could count on you. That’s… incredibly interesting. *tugs on lip* Hmm.

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  6. What fantastic collages! How did you make those? I have been thinking of doing a few for my characters in my in-the-works-book. Is there some website or what?

    I am eager to meet your villain, as I have begun recruiting people to help me rule the world.

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  7. Woah, Sarah, you actually have a heart. I’m surprised. But that cover and character thingies are surprisingly super aesthetic-y, so hooray for that

    I don’t understand half the words in your synopsis. Fallacies? Estrangement?? help me I’m too simple minded 😦

    Ooh, I agree with MOP, Bucket Head would be a great title. Maybe it wouldn’t describe the book well, but it would certainly make me curious.

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    1. Yeah, my heart made it’s annual five-minute appearance. Don’t get used to it—it won’t be back for another year.

      *haughty sniff* Go read Charles Dickens. That’ll teach you all the words you never wanted to know.

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    1. WHY DOES EVERYONE LIKE SLEY? Seriously, people, the ONE character I tried to get away with less development on, and you all just HAD to go pick him as your favorite??? WHY. Now I HAVE to make him good… *pathetic wailing*

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  9. Oh, I love this. And I think Liriel and I actually have something in common. (And not the dense part!) Sley looks awesome. Characters like him are my favorites. I’ve got a messed-up(quite possibly in the head, but don’t tell him that) half-blood elf in my current WIP who’s got some….quirks. It doesn’t help that he was an assassin, either. Or that elves are considered evil and killed. (I sound really wierd, don’t I? Oh well, as you say, less agile minds may find this toxic.)
    We should serious have our characters meet someday. I feel it would be very… entertaining. My dense main character Kirin can get together with Liriel, then my princess-warrior-horrible-cook Vyrn can go see Emolas and chat. And Sley can converse(aka bet who can throw knives the best) with Jax(my half-elf).
    ~The other Sarah, also known as Supreme Ruler of All Evil Book Villains, and Dragon.

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    1. According to my friend, Liriel’s an INTP, and you’re what, and INTJ? So yeah, that totally makes sense. I kind of patterned her emotional processes off myself, an INTJ as well.

      Elves are considered evil and killed, you say? I would not survive very long in your world… 😂 I often consider what it would be like for characters from different books to meet… I think it would be hilarious good fun, apart from everyone probably getting into fist fights within the first half hour… (Besides Emolas—he would stand on the sidelines and make pathetic but valiant attempts to stop everyone, and probably wind up with a black eye by the end of it.)

      But seriously. I need to see Sley bonding with your character over who can throw knives better. That is just… THAT IS JUST THE BEST.

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      1. I also based Jax halfway off myself and halfway off a bunch of my favorite book and movie characters… Plus, he’s an INTJ as well. Great minds think alike.
        Yes, their is mutual hating between both races in my world. Which just makes Jax’s life a whole lot harder, because he’s a half-blood. And everybody hates half-bloods. *sighs* I torture my poor characters to much sometimes. Jax is rather traumatized by now.
        I would love to see all my favorite characters together…and all my favorite villains. Maybe I can organize a villain convention? Perhaps they’ll let us take interviews for book research.
        Yes, I think Jax and Sley would bond nicely. Perhaps I ought to invite them both over sometime…. though I’m not sure I want both of them in MY house. They’d probably destroy it in an epic game of “hide and seek”. Emolas and Kirin would both freak out and try and put everything back the way it was, and then Vyrn would start yelling at the boys and hauling them around by their ears. *sighs* I really ought to write that in somewhere….
        ~The other Sarah, aka dragon.

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  10. Oooh, resurrecting old book ideas and giving them an upgrade is a blast! It also helps you sleep better at night, without those characters begging for you to write their story 😉

    I love the collages, too!

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      1. You are evil. What do you mean never? I let you read my book. *pouts* 😉

        The aspirations of a writer, eh?

        Anyway, I really like how did collages and book cover and what people are like in your WIP page over yonder… I was wondering if you would mind if I did something like that for my own blog — with that format? Because my WIP page is awful. Would you mind?

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        1. Yes. Yes I am evil. I don’t call myself a heartless villain for nothing. 😎 Look, you can read it when it’s done. I promise. Now don’t melt my chair.

          No Snapper, I would hate it terribly and probably sue you for property theft. *chokes* GO RIGHT AHEAD, HONEY LAMB. I don’t mind a bit. In fact, I can’t wait until you do. *cackles* I’ll even know most of everyone, which will be incredibly fun… *gleefully rubs hands together*

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  12. Bucket Head is like something which would take a really long time to explain, so it does bring up associations in my mind, just not ones that go with this story. (How’s that for being vague?) Amaranthanine looks like something you’d find listed in the ingredients on cold medicine. Immortalatem is actually kind of cool but could easily be too typical-YA-ish. I like Aeterna. Latin titles are always good.

    And the synopsis? If your story lives up to even half its promise (warning: by the end of rewrites you will find the story you ended up telling is nothing like the synopsis, so you’ll start a new story to try to fit it), I want it!! That is all.

    Oh, and nice collages. I like the looks of collages but only have one for one of my books, and none of the others have any yet, because it’s my sister who’s handy with graphic design and her priorities do not include spending so much time on other people’s stories. Not that I’m cranky or anything.

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    1. Bucket Head seems to be the unanimous favorite. At this point, I’m going to have to give it to a character or SOMETHING…

      Aw, thank you! That is very encouraging. Considering I’m actually IN the middle of rewrites, I don’t fancy the story changing MUCH more… Hopefully…

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  13. I love the collages… Where do you get your pictures?
    Oh, and I LOVE the name Liriel. SO pretty
    …
    *tries to think of something witty to say other than compliments*
    *fails*

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    1. Eh, I find them all over the place. And thanks—Liriel is the one moment of true naming brilliance I’ve ever had. 🙂

      (Hey, I ain’t judging you. Thinking of stuff to comment is HARD. Anyone who says otherwise can… go do something else. :D)

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  15. Ack those aesthetics are AMAZING, WOW. This story sounds so awesome!!! I love the text in your villain’s aesthetic, haha. “How abominably clever of me.” XD I must use that phrase sometime.

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    1. Yeep, thank you! This story has been a problematic child, but I’m finally getting it to a place that I feel good about. Which is nice. 😏
      I’m terribly proud of that quote. Best piece of quoting genius I’ve ever had.

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  19. The synopsis was awesome, and my favorite aesthetics were the villains! 😃 (That sentence doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know what’s wrong with it. 😂)

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  20. MY LADY SARAH!

    I just realized that NOYARC backwards is CRAYON. As in, the waxen medium used for ridiculously colorful art.
    This had to have been intentional….please let it be so!

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    1. *slow claps*

      You, my friend, are officially the first person who has ever figured that I out. Well done.

      (Truth be told, I did that so long ago that I… kinda actually forgot for at least six months now that’s where his name came from. 😂 Thank you for reminding me.)

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