#kaltain erasde

[saunne]

Moodboard Monday - Favorite Colors

Share a moodboard inspired by your WIP in a new post ! This week's (11/27) optional theme is Character's Favorite Colors (og post here)

Tagging in my followers and moots @aalinaaaaaa, @axl-ul, @kanraandchrome and @shadow-of-tea-and-tea

Long post under the cut since I did all my main characters and I have ten of them lmao

[saunne]

Happy STS! Just stopping but with a writing question for today :) How do you conceptualize a scene? What do you start with when trying to craft a scene?

Hiiiiii, thanks for the ask ! (I'm fashionably late, like any good Frenchman)

I tend to daydream a lot and most of the things I imagine are born from these daydreams. Most of these daydreams are just fragments, little things that come to mind and that “stick” and around which I will then create my scenes.

To give some examples linked to Erasde, my project : Senna dancing on the waves, Kaltain sitting at a table peeling an orange, Osra running a finger along the books on a shelf… are just fragments, not scenes. Once I have these fragments, I work on developing them, as themselves. I work on the atmosphere, what the character feels at this precise moment, on the setting around them, what they can feel, hear, see, smell. It helps me get into the mood and into the skin of the character, even if this work is never entirely reflected in the final scene.

Then I extend the "view". For example, for the fragment "Kaltain sitting at a table peeling an orange", this extension of the view will make Toska appear, gardening not far away, because they are both in the greenhouse . Then this extension will move on to context : why are they in the greenhouse ? What are they doing ? They are talking and the greenhouse is a quiet place away from eavesdropping, so they can drop decorum and talk about "sensitive" subjects. What sensitive subjects ? Toska's marital prospects, Kaltain's latest murder during the Social Season, the last time they both slept together, and if there's anything they'd like to try next time. Why are these specific topics raised ? Because Toska is worried about catching up on her education and the time she has left with Kaltain to “enjoy” before being politically married.

Then, once I have all the “before,” I move on to the “after.” What happens next ? Is Kaltain trying to comfort Toska by feeding her an orange wedge while her hands are buried in the dirt ? Does Kaltain start peeling another orange because it's just a calming way for her to do something while they talk ? Are they interrupted by the arrival of another character, to whom Kaltain will offer the oranges? Did Kaltain foresee this interruption ? I tend to often have several ideas for "after", which I write down and keep on hand. Depending on how my idea of the story evolves and the other scenes I create appear, it is possible that I change my idea halfway through and switch from one idea to another.

I hope that answered your question ! Thanks again and happy STS to you too (although late lmao)

[saunne]

Happy Storyteller Saturday to you baby bro ♥

I've always wanted to ask what was your process to decide some of your characters traits (physical, state of mind, ...) and if some of them were instantaneous or if you had to think about it a lot !

It's not Saturday anymore - because I actually went to sleep at a respectable hour for once - but here I am, on this lovely sunny Sunday, to answer you. Glad to see you again in my asks Big Bro ! 😊

I actually explained my character creation process to someone once but I don't think I've ever told you, so it's going to be fun.

So, as you know, I'm a very active daydreamer. You could easily put my photo next to the phrase "having your head in the clouds" and no one who knows me would bat an eye.

In general, no character starts completely created. They all go through a stage I call "Shadow", where they linger at the edge of my consciousness and my imagination. In general, a Shadow has a few Things to them. An eye color, a random fact, a garment, a way of moving or speaking, a smell, a precise scene or an interaction with another Shadow / Character having acquired substance....

Some Shadows remain only Shadows, never acquiring the necessary substance to become Characters. Either because the few Things that animate them are not enough to trigger my inspiration to give them the means to acquire substance, or because they prefer to remain Shadows, often because they are waiting for a WIP idea that suits them better.

As for gaining substance and becoming Characters, to put it mildly : they haunt me. They make sure that I don't forget them, they make themselves known until the scene that gave birth to them lengthens, that their facial features are defined, and their personalities are woven with nuances and tastes. I can also speed up the process by intentionally focusing on a Shadow and using visual representation to give them substance. Like by using a character maker to find their physical appearance, making a moodboard on Pinterest or just taking a nap and letting them invade my dreams.

Also, I tend to hoard everything I come across that reminds me of a Shadow, whether it's music, quotes, images… so in general, it never takes too long for a Shadow to become a Character. The fastest was half an hour while the longest was 3 whole fucking months (Enid, I love you but also, fuck you).

But to take a concrete example : Kaltain, from my Erasde project. Kaltain's Shadow was born from the association of the smell of bitter almond with the fact that it was the smell of cyanide, a particularly striking phrase in a Naruto fic I was reading at the time and a vision of pink eyes. She also hung around Toska's Shadow a lot and when Toska started taking substance, she followed. Even now that she's a Character, I still get new info like the "she likes oranges" that I wrote because of a very vivid scene of her enjoying it while sitting at her table in Toska's greenhouse. It was a very vivid dream because I woke up with the taste in my mouth and the feeling of sticky juice on my fingers.

But now, you asked for an answer, you have a novel. I hope that answers your question 😊✨