NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon Of The Day - December 1st: Time To Rest & Recoup

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 17: Main Characters Take Charge!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that characters in stories are prone to take on lives of their own. We are well into week three of NaNo and this is often the moment when your characters stop waiting for you to come up with a story and start insisting on steering the wheel themselves!

Day 17: Main Characters Take Charge!

What shenanigans have your characters gotten up to that you hadn't planned out? Any new characters who walked onto the page and insisted on being part of your story? Resistance against the ideas you had for them and blazing a path of their own devising? How have your story and your characters surprised you?

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Eating is an activity we do multiple times a day (I hope!). It's part of our everyday lives. When is the last time you carefully crafted a meal, sat down with friends and focused on what you were eating? Feel the crunch of fresh vegetables in your mouth, be comforted by the warmth of a cup of tea and smelled freshly baked bread? Creativity thrives on careful attention and nourishment: a focused attention of the mundane & finding the extraordinary within it.

Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Have your characters made marshmallows on a fire? Sat down together and actually fed themselves? Enjoyed meal in a fancy restaurant or made a home-made meal for loved ones? Eating is part of our every day lives - how much is it part of theirs in your story? Enjoy! Let's keep writing and find the joy in the moment.

NaNoWriMo – My Cartoon of the Day – Day 23: Just Keep Writing

We are approaching our final week! Are you flying yet with your story well advanced? Or does it feel you are slowly crawling your way up a mountain? Regardless of where you are: we can keep writing and even crawling is progress. If you need to rest for a bit to lick your scrabbed knees: enjoy the view and remember the view from the summit will be even sweeter. An empty page cannot be edited and having gotten this far: we can make it to the final stretch. One more week to go till we can enjoy the satisfaction of having made it to the finish line.

Day 23: Just Keep Writing

Remember to take a breath and look around at this glorious experience. When the sweat drips from your brow, your legs hurt and your shoulders chafe from the backpack: there is pleasure to be had in facing the experience head-on and living life to the fullest. Likewise with our stories: there can be hardship in committing those words to paper, but the experience of having done so will stay with you. Stand up straight. Stretch your body. Drink a sip of water. And Just Keep Writing! We can do this.

The Timeless story The Assassin's Holiday by @secretnerdprincess had me giggling from the moment I first read its premise:

Garcia Flynn and Jiya Mara are highly trained assassins who own the elite MurderVision Inc.. With the help of Rufus Carlin, they take care of messy problems for those with the money to afford their solutions. They've just got one last job to finish up before Christmas. When they accepted the contract for Dr. Lucy Preston, they never expected one simple historian could cause so much trouble. In the end, this Christmas holiday might change all their lives.

There's highly entertaining banter between Garcia Flynn & Jiya. A very capable Dr Lucy Preston who cleverly improvises her way to thwarting Flynn's attempts to murder her and yet is still her usual clumsy self. There's theatre, a multi-day cross country trainride, a movie-esc escape & helicopter rescue. There's a fascinating little twist on the journal & how Lucy's life changed.

Overall, this is a story to read when you're in the mood for some hilarious adventure & laughter.

This story is part of the @garcysecretsanta exchange that has been spoiling me with a whole bunch of new Timeless stories to read. The collection can be found here on AO3. Thanks to all the writers & contributors! It is simply marvelous.

The Timeless story Nisam sam by @thealocksly has a kind of visceral sadness to it. (link to her Tumblr post).

It offers glimpses and mentions as to what Lucy went through during her captivity by Rittenhouse. It has a realness to it - a matching of Lucy's stillness & silence on it all on the show. (Even if I think she's a bit more broken in this story than on the show itself).

The way Lucy shrinks in on herself versus the way Flynn respects and cares for her by the act of holding space is wonderful. Flynn's realization that he needs to look at the woman in front of him, rather than the woman he knows from the journal is wonderfully done.

There's a softness to this story. A quiet respect & caring & prelude to healing on her own terms.

Sometimes, I come across stories that are particularly clever, original & imaginative. The Timeless WIP story Parallel Lines by AndreaChristoph (@x-voyevoda) is one example.

“I’m in a different timeline entirely from you,” she finally starts, speaking slower as she sorts out what she wants to say in her mind. “A timeline that used to be separate, until people started punching holes in reality. We’re both Jiya Marri, and we’re both alive in our respective timelines.”

It's a multiverse world where Jiya's visions extent & transcend. Where Amy is rescued (or at least: pulled into a world in which Lucy exists). Where Rufus is the only left and connects with Jiya in dreams. Where Jiya is (understandably) angry at the world and given no time to grief or process. Where Stanley Fisher is intriguing & supportive of Jiya. Where Wyatt & Jessica both die early as of yet (though in this multiverse that does not necessarily mean they'll never be back).

There are ethical implications, there is intrigue, philosophy, and no time to process. I'm curious for more of the story: what happens on the Titanic? What does timeline zero Jiya know & what's the threat she warns our Jiya about? What did our Jiya go through in Chinatown? How will Amy cope? How will the relationship between the sisters develop? How did Emma follow Wyatt in that first chapter? How has the journal changed? What does that imply? Can Rufus be reached? What makes a person? Tipping points & memories are different - what makes a person who they are?

I like stories that make me think.

Jiya & Rufus take a grieving & self-loathing Flynn under their wing in the most accepting, warm & graceful way in this Timeless story To Find A Home by @misscrazyfangirl321

It's got a lot of sweet moments and cameos for Lucy, Wyatt, Jessica & Denise but the core of the story focuses on Flynn's friendship with Jiya & Rufus.

I like the glimpses of the healthy and loving relationship between Jiya & Rufus, as well as the slow acceptance on Flynn's side that he's allowed their comfort & warmth & community. Redemption is both internal & external. It's sweet & lovely.

The Timeless story A Shot of Remembrance by @doctorliamsr explores a conversation between Flynn & Karl during season 1. It is rich, interesting & well-worth reading.

The light banter between friends with hints of their deep & shared friendship the way it happens between old friends combined with Karl calling Flynn out on his crush on Preston is nice. The way Karl grieves Lorena & Iris himself and not on behalf of Flynn is real. The conversation flows naturally.

There are so few stories that feature Flynn's crew on their own: Karl, Stiv and even Anthony had their own reasons for throwing their lots in with Flynn and I'd love to see that explored a lot more.

The Hanukkah gift, the implications of it for Castle Varlar - the ethical dilemma that that episode posts ("You think I sleep at night?" - it never truly gets resolved in canon those choices made in the early season 1 episodes), and the honoring & acknowledgment that it represents here is wonderful.

Well worth reading & if anyone knows more stories like this that explore the relationships and conversations between Flynn, Karl, Stiv or Anthony - send them my way please!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

NaNo is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. To keep the stamina to last us through the entire month: it is important to take care of ourselves and relax when we need it. Get yourself that nice cup of tea, sit down in the fresh autumn air for a moment and take in the moment. Breathe! Take a moment and gather fresh energies.

Day 09: Take a Moment to Relax When You Need It

Keep writing your story. One word and one day at the time. These storms will pass and the way out is through!

The Scholomance story Beside the Golden Door by Stellarete details Chloe growing up in the New York Enclave.

The Scholomance books Deadly Education, The Last Graduate & the pending: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik detail El's story in the magical school the Scholomance.

Chloe is a fascinating character who has learnt growing up to be blind to the intensity of the privilege she grew up with and yet learns to open her eyes throughout the series and to become a genuine friend.

The enclave's teachings are so similar to all the messaging in more privileged societies. I am a university educated European and know rationally that I hold an immense amount of privilege even if there are still a lot of hardships and intense challenges in life. Chloe doesn't ignore her privilege, but does learn that her value and existence are not intrinsically tied to it. She works to be a better friend and person.

This story highlights Chloe's character growing up and the subtlety of the messaging and teaching. It's not even maliciously done: survival is paramount and these parent do lovingly want their children to live come what may.

The Scholomance by Naomi Novik is an intriguing and wonderful story and I am very curious for the conclusion that'll be published in September.

While we wait, this fanfic story is a lovely glimpse into this universe and character.