Character Painting

This is for you, Shepherds. 

Live... even if you're afraid, sad or suffering. What matter's is that you're alive to make a change.

click to enlarge photo

Naermyth Photo-shoot with RD Llarena

Check this out! Mr. RD Llarena was gracious enough to share shots from his Naermyth photo-shoot! Thanks RD! Can you guess who they are? (all photos belong to Mr. Llarena. View original post here)

How to Choose your Shepherd Alias Part I

While cleaning out my hard drive the other day, I stumbled across a quick draft about Shepherd aliases. Instead of uploading the text, I decided to illustrate it for you!
So here it is, folks. How to choose your Shepherd Alias removed from Chapter 2.

What to Expect: Tito Bing's Notebook

For the last few weeks, I've been dedicated to the prompt upload of the long awaited section of the website called "Tito Bing's Notebook". For those who are not familiar with it, Tito Bing's Notebook will be a collection of illustrations, paintings, and additional information about the Naermyth Universe told in the unique perspective of Professor Bernardo de Leon via his photo-album-like journal. Aside from Bing's humorous take on devastation, you can read more about Filipino Mythology through an encyclopedic cascade of creatures introduced in the Naermyth series. They will be accompanied by artistic renditions by yours truly - and because it's me - some of the artwork will be available for download as wallpapers and posters.

Tito Bing is a meticulous hoarder and biographer, so rest assured that a lot more than creature descriptions will sate your appetite for all things Naermyth. He will uproot stories of the Naermyth war, the characters and his friendship with Benevidez. The man has a lot to say - important things. It's muffled and shadowed by his waning sanity, but the nobody else can tell the story better than crazy Bing who's experienced everything at a distance, safe in his mountain and stubbornly refusing to join the crowd. The Notebook will offer readers an extension of the novel for those who want more. And other than a Naermyth resource, TBNB will be a continuing project, which means I'm promising regular monthly uploads!

I expect to have this section up no later than the first week of August. But don't mope just yet. Prior to the official launch of TBNB, I've got some surprises waiting for you at the Facebook Fanpage. I expect to dedicate most of my time to the fan page within the next few days, so stay tuned and watch out for what I've got up my sleeve!


Karen

How it all started

Hello Readers!

Belated Happy Easter by the way and I hope the long weekend did you some good. Since Easter is about new beginnings (an implication I adopted throughout my private school education), maybe it's time I shared the Naermyth origin story. Well... not THE Naermyth origin story, otherwise I'd be giving off most of book two if i discussed that here (book two: yey!), but the story of how my story of the story began. Take your time.

It all started with an old Linux Operating system. Very old. And I mean Gulf War, heavy duty laptop with the blue boot up screen, where the Prince of Persia was still a 2d pixelated character with a crooked pixelated dirk and moved like he was doing jumping jacks down the limited 16 bit game scenery. That old. But no, I didn't start writing Naermyth in 1995 (I think i was 9 then). My dad handed me the laptop to toggle with when I was in my senior year, college. He thought i could figure out how to get the system to recognize the floppy drive (Yes my friends. A FLOPPY DRIVE!). It was sort of "homework" from the father who wanted at least one of his daughters to speak Techi-nese.

At that time i was interning as a sort of paralegal in Makati. It was good, educational work but very routine. And i didn't think i was very adept at it so my mind wandered off in between finished and unfinished stacks of documents, searching for a mind mattress before I got back to work. Sometimes i took out the 20lbs laptop and tried to make my father proud. But i had to face it. Computers weren't my thing. Lucky enough, the OS had a very simple word processor and a modest memory i could make use of. So i started writing, "Dear ten year old laptop with a 500mb memory,". Lines of rants went on, from the summer heat to the hundreds of pages I had to read that day. I wanted to go home, or get the work to stop coming in... forever. Then the "what if's" started bubbling. What if I didn't have to be a lawyer? What if something got in the way? I looked at the nooks on the laptop before me. It reminded me of how old this thing was. It reminded me of a military grade processor. War.

What if there was a war? And i mean, a big one that would lead to the apocalypse. But it couldn't just be any apocalypse. It had to be different; twisted. It had to be more world changing than a fight over earth's depleting fossil fuels but unrealistic enough as not to mark me as the pessimistic warmonger. Then, my mind resolved to kill mankind with the dawn of mythical creatures.

The first scribbles of the story didn't start the way it did. It didn't even start in prose form. It more like this:

Page 1: Half page panel with ruined cities. Panels go by with different shots of dark alleys, clouded skies and blood stained fences. One or two speech boxes positioned in each panel. Last panel dark. Text only.

You guessed it. Naermyth was a comic! I mentioned it before in previous blogs, but in the spirit of Easter, i want to share some of it with you!

So here's the first page, reflecting the prologue from the book:

Why didn't i finish it? Because it was a lot of work! I was in law school then, and though it was heaps of fun (The drawing, and NOT law school), it ate into hours of study time. Eventually, the script was wasting in my hard drive, waiting for more panels to be drawn in. Panels that i would never have the time to do. I was going at the rate of one page a week! There was no way I could finish a comic version while studying.

So, the script was there - mostly done. I knew i couldn't do it as a comic and i still needed my creative outlet. So i wrote it out. Since i couldn't draw, I described everything in detail. Instead of bubbles, i had quotation marks. The dialogue prospered in novel form, actually - i didn't have to worry about how much space they'd take in a panel!

Here's page 2, chapter 1 starts:

A lot from the beginning is unchanged, no? Well actually, i used to change the comic text while i edited the book. Just in case i decided to go with this instead. heeeee

Here was another wall i had to face with the comic: i couldn't draw the same face over and over again. I like drawing people, but if i have to draw the same person over and over, I've got a problem. I think i needed more practice in that department, and i felt that my art wasn't polished enough to be out there. (but I'm still showing you readers because i labs you!) Notice how Athena's face changes each time:

I think the inconsistency is because i don't have a concrete idea of how Athena should look like. I don't want to. I don't want to force my idea of Athena on readers either. I want you guys to use your imagination. Who is she to you? a friend? a sister? An enemy? I dont want to destroy the character image in your mind.... like castings for movie adaptations of books. It's a bummer. 

So. Do i plan to make a graphic novel of Naermyth, you ask? Maybe. It's still out there and it's only a matter of how much extra time I have to dedicate to it. That, and if anybody's going to read it! Maybe i'll make a webcomic that takes place in the same universe (*wink).  Am I going to show you more pages of this comic? Not now.Should you expect something more in the line of Naermyth illustration from me? Of course! I'm always ready to take a step away from the real world and do something for Naermyth. But right now, the real world is broken and i have to fix it. If you bug me enough I can drop the real world and get working on Naermyth!

I hope you enjoyed my little Easter treat followers! Maybe next time i post, I'll have something juicier.

Till next time, friends.

:D-K

Freakish Commitment

And Hello Naermyth Readers,

It's been quite a while since I posted anything, so I want to redeem myself and make it up to you brave, gracious souls who drop by now and again, hoping for some wild nonsense from me. Let me begin by sharing what I've been up to (and let this serve as an excuse slip for my inadequate online presence). Of course, there's work. Being a graphics designer is great fun, a hoopla of experience-hoarding but draws the commitment out of you with all Dementor-like fury. Nevertheless, it's a fulfilling job - especially since I finally set myself into a profession I wouldn't curse at every hour of the day. Then there's an independent project I've been working on with a writer friend; a comic we're hoping to set out sometime soon. I'll be responsible for the art this time, sicking my aesthetic tunnel vision into the world. Finally, there's this recent and constant bout with food poisoning. For the past few weeks, I've raised my head out of the toilet, mortified to see the day's meal bubbling in the bowl; so gruesome that I let out more of that expensive turkey sandwich i purchased at a pretty high-end cafe. Oh, but it wasn't the turkey sandwich that did it. It all started a few weeks ago with bad meat. Since then, my stomach's revolted against anything greasy or processed. I could blame it on the strict fresh-food diet I'm accustomed to. I could blame it on fast food altogether. (the turkey wasn't fast food, so my pocket felt a lot better knowing that the breakdown I had at ****** with a large fries and soda did the trick). In any case, I know better than to binge on comfort food, having paid for it many times with dehydration and a truckload of anti-acids.
But back to the point here, it's about time I step into the etherial limelight and be known to the online community. A "freakish commitment" is required of me, something stamped with that it's-on-the-web no return policy. So here it is:

Many of you have been asking if there was a sequel to Naermyth. My answer has always been in the affirmative, but I never gave anything concrete to go by, have I? I haven't decided with the title yet but, as far as completion goes, I made an outline for all of you to enjoy.

I don't know if you'll enjoy it much. I downsized it so much that none of it could be made out (insert evil laugh here). But  I posted this so all you readers know that I'm working at my best to finish the draft. This here the COMPLETE outline of the second book, subject to some changes here and there. Now, I don't know if you could see it, but this is a piece of oslo paper i ripped out of my sketchpad. I started out thinking I'd get through the outline with legible blocking and enumeration. but i ended up with lots of arrows, drawings and footnotes written along the margins. A lot of pretty cool ideas sprouted out while making this outline. Some of them include a new technique called Mutual Imparting. Then there's a jaw dropping trip to Fort Santiago. Somewhere in there, we meet a new human character, whom i enjoy writing.  This is why i salivated over outlines as a prelude to all my literary pieces. It's order in chaos in order. Like the Taal Volcano! It's a volcano in a lake in a volcano! Some wouldn't recommend outlines. I wouldn't either since it may be too prudent (or some would say, stick up the ass) to confine one's story in pre-fated scribble. but it works for me and i could always make another outline if things don't work out.

Another point of order: Bing's Notebook. This project is still on the go. This was supposed to be up last month, but because of so many design changes, it's been delayed at an inconsiderate rate. I apologize to those who have been looking forward to this section in the website. I hope it's some consolation to know that the delays were for your benefit. I'm not much of a perfectionist, but I certainly don't like releasing anything that's not ready. So please, be patient with me.

As a final note, it's summer. The forecast has been a slightly cooler summer than the previous, so I won't be as sluggish to get things done. So kids, thank you for your fidelity and support these past couple of months. Naermyth has been on the shelf since December of 2010 and I'm surprised how much exposure it's getting after only four months. I very much intend to return your loyalty be keeping you updated.

Till next time,
stay out of the shadows.

- K

p.s. I've just heard they casted Katniss from the Hunger Games trilogy! It's Jennifer Lawrence from the Oscar nominated movie, Winter's Bone. Now, i know what you're all thinking. She's too blond, too old, too tall. BUT she's a great actress. I loved her performance in Winter's Bone so i'm looking forward to whatever she could dish out as the bow wielding heroine.

Writer's Block

Somebody posted about writer's block on the Naermyth Facebook page this week and it kind of reminded me of my occasional rut when Naermyth was in production. Some lasted for weeks and one was so bad I filled a whole chapter with NaBuCAT ordinances and protocol procedures (snore-fest) just so I could still keep my mind in Athena's. What's terrible about writer's block - especially for a story where it's written in first person - is that I tend to lose the character's voice, sometimes coming back with Athena sounding like a Disney princess on PMS. I wrote Naermyth while I was in law school, so naturally it was hard to find the time. Then again, writing was my escape from memorizing, oral recitations and a bombardment of legal text, and a sort of reminder that no matter how bad my recit went, there's a girl out there dealing with mythical creatures running amok. I guess it was easy for me then because writing was my heroine. I needed the fix after a long stressful day.  But most imporantly, what helped my writing on such a busy schedule was -well, just that: the schedule. I had to work my writing in like one of my law subjects. An hour a day, at the least. And of course, as a general rule, I keep a notebook in handy for thoughts or sudden sparks of inspiration in my bag. Always finding a reason not to study, I'd whip out the notebook a few minutes between classes and write something. (or the back of on of my handout's where I'd write paragraphs of dialogue horizontally, vertically and diagonally. One time in a circle on a credit card receipt where i couldn't write over the amount due.)

Then came the times when I just couldn't dish anything out. I'd scower the internet "how to get through writer's block", and by God, there's no ONE way. The most commonly suggested was to step away from your work. That would work for me for a while, but then I lose interest all together and the story's just sitting there accumulating dust. Others say to just keep writing. Write another part. Write something exciting so you'll have the motivation to go back to the boring parts.

okay, side note: one of the rules I go by when writing is: if it's boring for you, it will be boring for the reader. Honestly, who wants to hear about NaBuCAT's legal jargon and detailed hierarchy of penalties? NOBODY... so here's the rule again: when against a dull point where -perhaps- lots of whatnot are involved - write out what's necessary for the story and move on.

But one method that's always worked for me was research. I'd go online or visit the library for inspiration. I let my curiosity lead me through it, reading for pleasure rather than constructing a list of related literature. And, if something from a book sparks my interest, I read more on that, take down notes and see how and if it helps the story.

alright, another rule of mine... it's best if you don't write something so you can incorporate an interesting fact you've read, but you should search for something that best suits the story. I spent weeks figuring out how I could get Einstein's theory of Relativity into the novel because I thought it was cool! (if you're wondering what the hell Einstein has to do with Naermyth, then you might want to know that his Theory of relativity incorporated, or rather modified, the Newtonian notion of Aether :D ). What a train wreck that would have been!



Another method was to draw to get out of writer's block. I work best when visuals are involved. I get to see the scene with my own eyes and, if I had enough chocolate that day, the characters would take on a life of their own and move for me, telling what to do next, where they should go, what kind of swagger they'd take with them to the next paragraph. 

Trivia: Naermyth started out as a comic :D  

Sometimes, my writer's block got so out of hand that I'd draw on the walls, embellishing sketches of River or Dorian and filling in bubble quotes all around their heads with washable crayon.  Other times I'd coax a conversation I'm having with my sister to sound like a conversation Athena would have with Dorian and see how that would turn out. (When Dorian and Athena would fight over saving each others' lives, my sister and I would fight over the last piece if dark chocolate. I gave it to her, because it was my way of saying "I'll save your life even if i have to fight a hundred Naermyth!" You see people... I love choco.)

So it all comes down to one thing: writer's block is INTERNAL. Whatever is blocking your creativity is a problem you have to solve. You have to find your own way. My ridiculous methods might work for you (or they'll send you cursing a box of crayons like it was the devil's writing tool). Otherwise, try something else. Go out. Eat. Watch a movie. Shut yourself in your room until you get something. Whatever works for you, find it. Because if you want to be a serious writer, you have to be prepared for creative shutdown. The pen is not the writer's only weapon, guys. Sometimes it takes another weapon of your choice. Who knows, it could be washable crayon. 


words from the unwise....


:D -K