Katie Runyon

I figured I would let everyone into my thought process and see how I am working on ideas and so on. So here is what I have written in my notes so far for my second novel:

1. Past:
a. Kari’s grandmother.
b. Kari’s mother.
c. An Elementi from long ago.

3. Other:
a. A woman appears/wakes up not remembering anything.
b. A woman with a rocky history is thrust into the role of hero.
c. A girl who has been taught magic since she was a baby runs away to keep from shaming her family because she always falls short.

Those are some starting points at least. I have decided to delve into one of them a little deeper to see where it goes (3c). So the first thing I do is try for a name. I personally like to have my names mean something, so I use babynames.com to look up names and meanings to find the ones that fit what I am looking for. Some of my minor characters are chosen at random, but my main characters’ names usually have a lot of thought involved. Here are some names I have sifted out so far:

Nadia – “Hope” – Slavic
Nala – “Successful” – African
Nailah – “Successful” – Arabic
Nickan – “Victory” – American
Nika – “Bringing Victory” – Slavic
Bryna – “Strong One” – Celtic/Gaelic

The “N” names seemed to be popular with my choices tonight, but with all those “N” names I am leaning towards the one that isn’t.

I have started a bio of sort to try and get a feel for my character. Here is what I have so far. Much of this is subject to change.

17 years old. Dark brown hair past her shoulders. Brown eyes. Scar in her hairline on the left side of her forehead from a childhood mishap. Low self-esteem. Short and skinny, runt of the family. Youngest of three children. Older brother is 21 and member of the town council. Sister is 19 and married to a wealthy man in a neighboring town. Father is also part of the city council and mother is active in charities and teaches at the school. Family is one of the richest in the town of Abarow. Has weak magical abilities. Smart, but not strong or fast, etc.

That is only the beginning of this all, but maybe it gives you a hint of how I work. I don’t even know if this is the story for me, but I will work on it a little father and see how it goes. I should be getting to bed now. ‘Night.