The Golden Bird

by The Brothers Grimm

This is one of my favorite of the less known Grimm Fairy Tales. A young man sets out on a journey of retrieval with the help of a cunning fox. It involves wicked brothers, gold creatures, a fair maiden and even the love between a brother and sister (which is one of my favorite parts).

My Nook and Notebook

My Nook - 

Cody gave me this card (middle) A couple of years ago, when I first wanted to write a story. He bought me a notebook paper and a folder as well. He is such a supportive husband and I am so thankful for him. :)

My awesome corner of the studio. It's like a real Pinterest Board! :) I love my little corner. I would love to get a vintage typewriter... Mom, whose getting yours? ;) I also love that it is a shared room with my husband and his art studio! We love hanging out in there together! 

My notebook. yes.... I painted the front. I wanted to try my hand at watercolor...if you can even tell that's watercolor. I really don't know what I am doing. And before you get away with yourself.... I totally copied another picture I found online. Also, the reason the people look like they have a burst coming from them is because I totally messed up the guys outline and I went back over it but the color was off so I just fudged it made them look like they are shining or something....

The original picture. I would source it but I really don't know who painted it. 

Anyways, within this notebook I keep any all information for my story. Characters names ages, places. Picture references including pictures from the time period and other pictures that I just find inspiring (all you can find on my Pinterest board). Also all my free-writes. Before you get too excited. I don't plan showing off those free-writes.... so don't ask! 

Clothing reference. Because it's cool. :) 

Home references.... More coolness. 

Another Shift....

Though not quite as dramatic. I am still in the basic development of my story so this could happen quite a bit.
I have changed the time period from 1811 to the 1840's. I was originally going to do the late 1840's to early 1850's because in England at this time was the great exhibition which I greatly wanted my character's to attend. I had also discovered one Janet Taylor a real female astronomer at that time who was actually at the Great Exhibition. I want my character to meet this real woman. As I started to develop the plot a little more I also had a vision of my heroine going to live in Ireland (since I have ancestors and a great love of Ireland) But I also wanted something to bring her back to England.... Just before the great Exhibition was the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid 40's to early 50's. I thought, including this devastating part of history in my book would prove not only a challenge but also a wonderful opportunity to study more about what brought my own ancestor James Patrick McGinnis to America.

So as part of the plot Nora (my heroine) is sent to live with family in Ireland but then her and her Aunt and Uncle are forced back to England because of the Famine (There is  reason they don't just go to America but you will have to wait to read the book to see why!) And I still intend to include Janet Taylor!

I also discovered this book

It is pretty expensive but Cody says he might be able to check it out through inter-library loan! I hope so, this would be so wonderful to read!




















Bouns!
If you listen to the song Make This Leap by The Hunts in my playlist there is a line that says.
"We were young, I used my paper telescope to show you the stars and then win your heart"
At first when I heard this line I wanted to include this imagery in the story and I initially wanted to make it a scene between Nora (my heroine) and Garrett (my Hero) but have since decided that I really want this to be a scene between her and her Astronomer Father.... a memory from when she was very small and first introduced to Astronomy by her father and eventually falls in love with the science.

So...

I have changed gears significantly. No longer following a fairy tale....as of yet. And it will be set in 1811 and subsequent years. And it will involve science...specifically Astronomy.

I have always loved Astronomy and Science in general, my father being a Science Teacher. I like to think I get it from him.
Also I was doing some research and discovered that in 1811 there was a great comet, visible to the naked eye, in the sky for 260 days! So cool. Also the fact that.... how many regency era novels have science in them? like...none. Usually they are romances.... which this will have in it of course. I am too much of a romantic not to have that in it. But it will be more of a juvenile fiction then anything....maybe Young Adult.???

I'm thinking my characters will consist of a young girl (14-15yrs with red hair) who we will see the story from her eyes, and young boy who is her friend (15-16yrs) The girl will have an older sister (17-18 yrs) and she will fall in love with a man. The girls only have a father, their mothers dying when they were young. The father is Irish and an astronomer. He eventually dies. The oldest girl seems to have no choice but to become a governess until said man marries her. The younger girl is whisked away to Ireland for several years. She will eventually return to England a Young Woman and reunite with her friend and yadda yadda sparks will fly! :) anywho that is the really quick summary version of what I have been thinking.



and I just might include this beauty!

Tales From Around the World

So. I checked out a whole stack of books from the library. All of them fairy tales from around the world. Turkish, Native American, African, Norwegian, German, ect. I am excited to sit down and read through them and discover which tale holds the core of my story. This will be interesting.....

The Beginning of Something

So. I have started this blog to chronicle my journey of pursuing a desire of writer. Also to barf up all my thoughts and ideas. I don't necessarily consider myself a great writer. But I feel like I can come up with some good stories. I have always been making up stories in my head since I was very young. A lot of them emerging from movies I had recently seen. I would lay awake at night thinking about stories and I would eventually fall asleep thinking about them. So I am starting a long journey to put on paper what I have been imagining in my head. No easy feat I am sure.
So the trick is to just start with one idea out of many and go from there.
Although I don't know exactly what is going to happen I do know a few things

• The Hero will have a limp
• It will be based off of a fairy tale but have no magic
• and it will be post-apocalyptic (more like Mad Max not Hunger Games or The Selection) Though not as bada** I just don't think I could pull that off. Mostly bada** in looks. :)
• Using Jared Diamonds awesome book "Collapse" as reference. (environmental Sciences rock)