Milestone

October 2015 is the 5 year anniversary of when I posted my first Wicked fanfiction online.

Now, although I was posting fanfiction for other fandoms before, and have done occasionally since, Wicked was really where I found my niche, I guess.

Plus, 5 years on I can say it's the most supportive fandom I've posted in. I feel this is where my writing has grown the most, where I've pushed and challenged myself, and where I've met awesome people.

So, I wanted to do something for the occasion. 5 years is an impressive milestone, I think!

I'm hoping to be able to start posting my next fic Long Time Coming on that day, but whilst it could be argued that it is for you, that's mostly for me. People actually reading and reviewing is just a perk.

So, I wanted to do something for the people who are actually reading my work- whether they've been there since Ever Ever After, or found me through the 50+ subsequent stories since then, or who will just stumble across Long Time Coming when it goes up.

I have this notebook that I use when I'm going on trips and I'll have time to write, but I don't particularly want to lug my laptop with me.

In this notebook are first, handwritten, original drafts of different sections of The Ghost of Kiamo Ko, The Right Thing To Do, and The Most Convenient Definitions and a few other notes for stuff not worth mentioning.

What I'm proposing (potentially) is some sort of competition where either 1 winner would get the notebook; or 3 winners would get part of the notebook (1 for each fic).

What do you guys think? Is this lame? Is anyone interested? Does anyone want my scribbles and sometimes hardly legible notes?

UPDATE:
It doesn't look as though I'll be able to start posting Long Time Coming just yet unfortunately.

At this stage, I'm thinking the prize would be the notebook as a whole, but I'd like to do a 2nd and 3rd prize; and I'm after suggestions what you guys would like. To be an OC/create an OC in a fic? Someone suggested a Skype call?

The competition is not official yet, but I'm thinking some kind of question, you send in answers of say 100 words or less; and I have an impartial judge (ie. a friend of mine who knows I write FF but doesn't read it) pick the winner/s.

Family

My younger sister got engaged tonight!

Now, this is a good thing. A really good thing. (Hence the exclamation point). And I am genuinely super happy for her. She's my sister, naturally, and her fiancé (!!) is a great guy.

We're all really happy he's [officially] going to be part of our family, and hey, I finally kinda get the big brother I always wanted!

But I do admit to feeling a little upset.

Not that she's getting married before me- they've been together for 3 years in December, so we all knew this was coming at some point, and unless a few miracles occurred, I knew it was going to happen this way. (Although I am dreading any relatives who will feel the need to point out that she's getting married before me, as though I'm unaware of this fact. And I know my relatives. Some will feel the need to point this out.)

But I'm a little upset about the way I found out. I just got home for the weekend, walked in to say hello to my mum and she was on the phone talking to them.

Mum herself found out because my sister put it on Facebook, she rang her and then my sister rang back.

But it would have been nice to get even just a text message.

And this is just the way my sister is, I know, and it's not personal. But she's my sister and she's getting married. Mum told me tonight not to be upset if I'm not involved in the wedding. Honestly, if I was asked to be in the wedding, I'd be surprised. My sister has a lot of really close friends.

The other thing that bugs me is my paternal grandparents' reaction. She's the first grandchild on this side of the family that will be married. And the only reaction the news got was "Oh, that's nice."

For reasons unknown, they don't like my sister's fiancé, who has been nothing but pleasant and polite to them since they met. And I'm sure after their less-than-enthusiastic response to the news, they're going to tell all their friends about it as though they're thrilled.

And that really bugs me on my sister's behalf.

 When mum confirmed the news (after I heard "send me a picture of the ring" I pretty much had it figured out, but confirmation is always good) I was actually a little surprised that I wasn't upset that she was getting married before me.

But honestly, I've had a long time to accept that fact, and when I move around for work so much, and the very thought of someone showing romantic interest in me literally sends me into an anxiety attack (I have friends who can attest to this. I'm not exaggerating. This is fact), like I said, it would take a few miracles for me to get married first.

Anyway, I don't want to go on about this. Just had to vent a little so I can focus on the positives- my sister is getting married to someone we genuinely all like and who loves her and treats her well. That's all I can ask for really.

Writing Processes

Recently I was asked on Twitter how I organise my fics and my ideas, and instead of trying to explain in 140 characters, I thought visual aids might help.

I'm posting this here, in case anyone else is interested.

IDEAS

The way I organise my plans and notes has evolved over the 5 years I've been posting fanfiction. For about a year now, I've been using the OneNote program- it's easy to file and group notes and separate everything. 

I have 3 main notebooks for fanfiction related stuff:

1. Fanfiction Plans.

This is where I plan and outline every fic I'm going to write. As you can see in the picture below, each fic has it's own section.

Each section has 4 pages- Summary, Character List, Plot Outline and Notes. You can also add subpages if you want (and sub-sub pages). The screenshot below is for the fic I'm currently working on.

2. Fanfic Ideas

This is just where I keep a list of every little idea I have, or title idea, or a quote I think of. Sometimes I can piece several ideas together to form a story, sometimes one will fit into a plan I already have. 

 3. Carlie's Guide to Oz

This is where I keep all my notes on Oz in general. Some are canon from the musical or book, some are from the Wizard of Oz, some are from things I've established in previous fics that I liked, and some are just headcanons.
Whilst I'm not a huge fan of the Wicked book, because the musical doesn't have the room to get to in-depth on world building, sometimes I will use elements from the book. Or at least as a basis, and then I might put my own spin on it.

FICS

As for the fics themselves, they're all written on Microsoft Word. I have a folder (titled "Neds" for 2 reasons- 1. if someone is looking at my computer (because this folder is on my desktop for easy access) I don't have to answer awkward questions; and 2. Private joke between a friend and I.

The "Stories in Progress" folder has another folder in it, just for Wicked fics so I can keep them separate. This is the list currently:


I try to work on only one fic at a time, and I'm usually inspired to work on one in particular when I go looking for my next project.

If I'm not feeling inspired to settle on one in particular, I might jump around and draft the beginning of a couple until one grabs me- and that's why the word count in the above picture is all over the place.

Once a fic grabs me and I get into a flow for that story, I'll stay with it until I'm finished (although at times I might stop and write a one-shot if I'm having writer's block or it's a special occasion or request of some kind).

I hope this helps!

Life's Epochs Cover

I know it's been awhile since I posted on this blog (oops) but I wanted to say something about the cover for this fic. I’m not very artistic, so I’m super proud of how this turned out. 

The three non-circled ads in this picture are real governess ads from the early 1900s (thank you Google), I just Ozified them a bit. 

I wrote the circled one for this fic, found and downloaded an old-time newspaper font to type them all up, and added the circle with Paint. 

I stylised the cover using canva and here we are!

Link to my new Wicked fanfiction, Life’s Epochs (and my first non-Fiyeraba multichapter fic) is here

My 24th Year in Review

It's that time of year again! 2 days before my birthday, where I look back and think about what the previous year of my life has brought me in terms of experiences- good and bad.

Shows/Musicals/Concerts:

• Wicked (14 shows, in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane)
• Les Mis 
• Tim Campbell High School Disco
• Picture Perfect (song cycle with David Harris and Amity Dry amongst others)
• Anthony Warlow and Faith Prince in concert
• Lion King
• The Dream (Bell Shakespeare)
• Cal Wilson, Undercurrents
• Peter Pan (school production)
• Into the Woods

Trips:

• Melbourne
• Sydney
• Brisbane
• Adelaide

Celebrities I Met (for the first time):

• Tim Campbell (finally)
• Amity Dry
• Jennifer Morrison
• Cast of Les Mis 
• Cal Wilson (I said "hi", that counts right?) 

Fanfics Published: 
NB. There was a lot of one-shots this year! Sorry about that!

• The Party 
• The Most Convenient Definitions  
• Waiting Room 
• A House Is Not A Home 
• The Perils of Dating A Commotion 
• The Lurlinemas Tree 
• The Right Thing To Do  
• Blackout 
• Sins of the Father  

Experiences Had (AKA Things I did or that happened to me):

• Got my P's
• Got a car
• Got diagnosed with anxiety (That one wasn't so much fun)
• Went in my first ambulance (would have been more fun if I could breathe)

World Book Day

Today is World Book Day!

What is World Book Day?

World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Day) is observed on April 23, 2015. The annually celebrated day is organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. It was first celebrated in 1995. [Source]

As a bibliophile, writer and English teacher, I couldn't not post about it. So, a colleague and I made up this little survey for you! 

1. Top 5 Favourite Authors?

2. Top 5 Favourite Book Series?

3. Top 5 Favourite Fiction Books (NOT part of a series)?

4. Least Favourite Book?

5. Favourite Genre/s?

6. Least Favourite Genre/s?

7. Favourite Childhood Book?

8. Top 5 Female Characters From Books?

9. Top 5 Male Characters From Books?

10. Book City/Country/World you’d like to visit/live?

11. Action Of A Fictional Character You Still Can’t Forgive?

12. “Classic” Book You Think Is Overrated?

13. Your Favourite Book To Film/Mini-Series Adaptation?

14. Guilty Pleasure Book/Author?

15. Favourite Non-Fiction Book/s?

16. First Fictional Character You Had A Crush On?

17. The Fictional Character You Most Hate?

18. Death In A Book You Will Never Be Over?

19. Book I Am Now Reading:

20. Book You Recommend Everyone Should Read:

My Answers:

1. JK Rowling- Jodi Picoult- Rainbow Rowell- Cecelia Ahern- Nicholas Sparks
2. Harry Potter- Anne of Green Gables- Lord of the Rings- Trixie Belden- Percy Jackson
3. The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak)- Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)- Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)- Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell)- PS I Love You (Cecelia Ahern) 
4. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
5. Romance, Drama, Historical
6. Science Fiction
7. First one I remember hearing about is Cinderella. According to my mum, I could find it in the dark. 
8. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter), Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables), Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice), Jo March (Little Women), Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter)
9. Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables), Harry Potter (Harry Potter), Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility), Sirius Black (Harry Potter)
10. The Wizarding World in Harry Potter. (This won over Avonlea. And Middle Earth. It was close though).
11. In Little Women when Amy burned Jo's manuscript. 
12. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I've never been able to finish it.
13. Anne of Green Gables movies in 1985 and 1987 (you can't really count the third because it doesn't follow the books). And Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca in 1940. 
14. Danielle Steel. 
15. The Diary of Anne Frank. 
16. Gilbert Blythe, Anne of Green Gables. 
17. Dolores Umbridge, Harry Potter. 
18. Sirius Black, Harry Potter. 
19. Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen 
20. Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell. 

[PERSONAL NOTE: For those who know me, no- Elphaba, Fiyero and Wicked is NOT on the list. Because whilst it started as a book, I prefer the characters in their musicalverse forms. I made myself stick to book forms/characters only.]

The Party: Pictures

Nessa and Galinda's Bridesmaid Dress:

Elphaba's Wedding Dress

The Petal Path and The Gazebo (Pretty much what I was picturing):

The Tent (although probably with more pink):









The Garden: