Back on Track

In the midst of illness, child care arrangements, mini-vacations, and football games, I'm finally back on track.  For the past two weeks, I've been out of the swing of things, binge eating fast food, desserts, pizza, chips, and other forms of junk food.  I also haven't worked out at all.  But today is the last day.  Starting tomorrow, I'll be eating healthy and exercising once again. 

Though I've been a lazy bum, I have reveled in the fact that I've gotten the opportunity to write.  A great deal of time spent thinking through my story and revising certain facts.  For instance, if the reader is able to figure out what my main character is, then shouldn't the people traveling with him and spending all waking hours with him also figure it out within a reasonable time period.  On that note, the reason why he kills all the people that he does is because he's recognizable as a fire elemental when he's transformed.  If it's just the hair and eyes, it'd make more sense to have him wear a hat and some form of glasses or blindfold instead of killing a bunch of guys.  And if the guys know that he's an elemental, why would they try to fight him?  Instead, they run in terror!  Well, a short man with red-glazed hair and red eyes just isn't that scary.  Let's throw some creepy black markings on his skin (all the seals on him becoming visible) and make his skin glisten like polished bronze, and his eyes glow with a backlight of fire.  Now that, that makes him a bit more scary.  The glowing eyes bit started with Jebaliah and I decided to keep it as an elemental trait.  Since MaTisha's power is sealed, she doesn't have that trait until her power is released.


In addition to the deduction of my hero being a fire elemental, I asked myself "why wouldn't my characters take advantage of the Miasho art to hide from authorities?"  I decided that they would.  So MaTisha gets a new scarf to hide her identity, which doesn't work on Derek, of course, since he's a Miasho deity.  With the changes I've made, I've been rewriting several scenes to make them flow and adding a few scenes to try to add more life to one of my favorite characters, Alistair.  I want to make sure to do him justice on paper.  A highly intelligent, sociable assassin.  I liken him to some of the popular anti-heroes in television, like Spike from Buffy or Xellos from Slayers.  Hopefully it shows in print.