AURIA CORTES

Emotionally I was fine with the writing I completed last week. Not overly enthusiastic but content. Saturday came along and everything changed. I worked on a scene that turned out to be too technical. Of course, instead of moving on I obsessed about it into Sunday. 

I’ve mentioned several times that I like to write simply. No hard words readers need to figure out. No overly explained descriptions of settings. No analogies or metaphors. Just plain old language…that’s what I want to capture. 

I now realize that is the reason my MC took on a southern twang. Books where the characters are from the South are written in a virgin-like voice (I just made that term up). I like that.  I also believe this is the reason my MC is young. Children are straightforward and from time to time make insightful comments.  

Most of the writing I’ve produced is 10% my voice and 90% what I think others expect to read. Trusting my voice 100% will require that I break from conventional writing. Not a little but a lot. It will affect the overall tone of the book and the structure. That isn’t necessarily a negative, but I wonder whether I’m a skilled enough writer to pull it off.  

There’s only one way to find out. This week I’ll write my way without concerning myself with the expectations of others.  

Total word count for the week: 3863     Click HERE to read previous posts regarding The Devil’s Playground

25462 / 90000 words. 28% done!

Last Monday I didn’t post my word count for The Devil’s Playground. Not because I didn’t reach my word count, I did. But because I took the day off my blogging. In the past two weeks I wrote 12,148 words. I purposely wrote more than my goal to make up for the week I lagged behind. I’m still behind my overall goal by over 2,000 words.  

One thing that I have noticed during the past two weeks is that my MC has taken on a southern twang. She is using words such as “fretting” and “minding.” I’m not sure why she has decided to do this, but I’m not going to fight her on it. I’ll let her be. I’m curious to see how she will evolve.

This year I went to Paris. While there, I visited the Pablo Picasso Museum. His work is extraordinary – from his paintings to his sculptures. My favorite quote from him is, “My mother wanted me to become a doctor. Instead, I became Picasso.”                       

Picasso was born in Spain. As a result, his name has twenty one words - Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso.  Puerto Ricans and Spaniards share the tradition of giving their children the surname of both parents. This custom preserves the mothers surname in future generations. 

As I develop characters, one will be known by his full name (twenty one names in honor of Picasso). That’s all I know about this particular character. I’m curious to see how he will come alive based on this one and only fun fact.  

One of the characters in The Devil’s Playground is a psychic. Part of the character development research is understanding astrology. While searching the internet, I found a site that delves into the meaning of horoscope signs. Below are snippets of my sign that I thought were the most accurate.  

Geminis are expressive folk, and this may manifest beyond mere speech. Often gifted with their hands, it seems whatever they touch does turn to gold. Their love of communication may also express itself as an affinity for languages, which they tend to pick up quite easily. Known for being great story tellers, Geminis have a knack of making life a little more interesting for the rest of us. Morality is not an issue, and values are situational.

Gemini’s are usually affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, thoughtful, and superficial. They are attractive (hey it’s me, yeah I’ll admit it…I’m attractive <smile>) and interesting people who instinctively know how to meet their own needs and will do whatever it takes to do so. Although self interest is always the primary motivator in a Gemini person, they are also known to be honest, straightforward and without guile. They are what they are, and usually have no problem admitting their failings. Whatever they choose as a course of action is done out in the open without a measure of deviousness. 

Interested in reading your sign? Click here. 

The protagonist in my book is nicknamed Mija. I purposely gave her a nickname because I was never given one (Disclosure: after many years of complaining, my family gave me one. It’s Pinda. My brother-in-law says it stands for Pain In Da Ass. Can you feel the love?).

 My older sister’s nickname is Bobbi. My younger sisters nicknames are Tata, Tater Tot, Potato Chip, Small Fry, Potato and a few others that slip my mind. My brother’s is Manolo.  

For those of you who have middle child syndrome, you will know what I’m talking about when I say that the lack of a nickname is evidence that I’m loved less than the rest of the siblings. What other reason is there?Exactly. There is no other reason.

 As part of my character research, I decided to look into how birth order affects personalities. I came across the following theory about middle children:  

= The middle or second born child or children often have the sense of not belonging. That is very true. I often feel out of place. Not just in my own family but in this world. I find that most people don’t think like I do. I’m often told by others that they find me “interesting.” That used to bother me, but not any more. I have realized over time that most people are boring. 

= They fight to receive attention from parents and others because they feel many times they are being ignored or dubbed off as being the same as another sibling.
Hmmm…I don’t know how to answer this one. As an adult I never fight for my parents attention, but as a child I certainly did. So I’ll give this one a conditional yes. 

= Being in the middle a child can feel insecure.
I find that people are insecure and don’t believe my insecurities are any more damaging than the general population.  

= The middle child often lacks drive and looks for direction from the first born child. Sometimes a middle child feels out of place because they are not over achievers and like to go with the flow of things.
My family would agree that out of all the children, I am the one with the most drive.  

= Being a middle child would mean they are loners. They really don’t like to latch on to a person in a relationship, there fore (sic) they have trouble keeping one due to lack of interest.
Oh so true.  

= They are…very artistic and creative.
I believe this to be true.  

= If forced to use abilities they will work well, but do not work well under pressure. I’m not sure how I feel about this statement.
I’ll give it a conditional yes.  

= They often start several projects but rarely keep focused long enough to finish a project.
Not true.  

= The best career move for a middle child would be along the lines of using their creative. Going into a writing or journalism career, and into a career that they could freely express themselves would be good. Anything that would have hours that are flexible, and projects that frequently changed would be good for a middle born child.
I dedicated my twenties to ensure that I have flexible hours (I’m a business owner) and my career involves a lot of writing.  

Take the test yourself. Let me know what the results are.