Sonja Denise's Notebook

Idle Spirits is up and running!

I'm keeping it simple this time around. Also, this is the first time in about five years I used a WYSIWYG editor to build a website. I used a free program, KompoZer, but after using DreamWeaver in one of my classes, I'm so tempted to actually buy it.

Er, tangent! XD

NaNoWriMo starts at midnight! If I lose this year, I'm just an asshole, because the planets have aligned perfectly - NaNoWriMo begins on a Saturday, I have a three-day weekend, and one of those days has 25 hours. I'll be talking about my NaNo novel on my other journal, since it's fanfic.

Idle Spirits is coming this Friday! Yes, on Halloween! At long last! How many exclamation points can I use!?

( Some rambling about inking, and pretty pictures. )

It's Friday, October 31st instead.

Shock and awe, I'm behind schedule. That's what I get for not taking commuting to school and homework into consideration. I are smart.

(Oh, and it's my birthday. I am 19. WTF.)

LOL, I was trying to find a replacement for Corel Photo-Paint, but then I realized Preview does everything I need (crop, resize, resample). So I can get back to posting new Kindred Spirits pages. Still need a new scanner, though. (And printer - turns out the 3-in-1 I have doesn't have drivers that work with OS X. Huh.)

But I suppose I should start talking more about the main story, Idle Spirits. As soon as I get a new scanner, I'll post something on the site besides "coming soon."

In the world of Idle Spirits exists a group of people known as "spirit guides," who, essentially, guide spirits to the afterlife, and also have some special abilities. This is a duty that passes from mother to child. 18 year-old Derica Zo learns in the first chapter from Shiri and Karmina Lerato that her mother, Adelle, was a spirit guide - and thus she herself. That explains everything except why she saw Shiri in her dreams before even knowing she existed...

Idle Spirits is an embarrassingly long story that I've broken up into eight series. Series 1 happens to be 16 chapters long. (But Series 5 is only 6 chapters, for example.) I'm not sure if it will show, but I was particularly inspired by Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Nana, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Torchwood, and television in general while developing the series from scattered notes over the last year.

So, spoilers?

( List of characters and descriptions of characters in Series 1 )

I have to say, writing Idle Spirits so far has been incredible. I never put so much thought into themes, and plot points are dovetailing effortlessly. I adore all of the characters and all their wonderful flaws. I hope I'm able to complete the entire story eventually, because I love the ending.

Yeah, baby. Look at this quality scan! 600dpi, black and white. Never had a jagged lines like this before, and they don't go away when I resize. I'm going to have to mess with the scanner this weekend, but I think it might be time to get another one. Um, yay? I'll have to use my mom's until then, and rescan the pages of Kindred Spirits posted so far.

Kindred Spirits is now up! Check back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for updates all summer.

Idle Spirits, the main story, goes up in September. Hopefully there will be some interesting stuff on the main site before then.