Writing the Pages: Character Designs

Raven by Sukizuki Izuna

For a long time, I had been thinking about writing my own book.  Well, I have decided to stop dreaming and actually begin working on writing it.

At first, I had really no idea where to start.  There were so many factors that worried me.  What genre it should it be?  What would be my target audience?  Where the setting should be?  Am I really good enough?  The list goes on.

Fortunately, I am not alone.  I have a lot of friends willing to help me.

For a long time, I have been collaborating with a friend of mine who is also an incredible and creative artist.  She goes by the name Sukizuki, and if you think her art is familiar you might have seen that she did the winning art piece for a small contest I had a while ago.

We worked so well together that I asked if she would like to collaborate on my writing project, and to my pleasure, she agreed!

We began with character designs

Character Designs 

Earlier sketches of Raven's character design

I am not ashamed to admit that I am still a novice at creating characters.  With Suki though, it became rather easy.  We started with a female lead and it was probably the most crucial since the story would revolve mostly around her.

Lets just say that we didn't get it right, the first, the second, or the third time.  She made several drafts of our main character before we found the right fit.  She tried cute, sexy, tall, and short. 

As you can see above, we finally found our girl.  Her name is Raven, and with her I was able to start working on the book.

Since this would be my baby and Suki's, we had to agree.

What did she want to draw?  What did I want to write about?     

Having similar tastes, it was easy enough to agree on the direction so far.  Both of us love fantasy, so that was the most obvious route to take.  We both like dream-like worlds and world-building.  There was no contest.  I knew what to do. 

Progress

Alistair Longden

We pretty much have the general idea of the story in place.

With the establishment of the world, its rules and the principal character in place, it was easier to build and introduce the other characters slowly.

Since this is still a draft though, everything is still subject to changes.

I am also seeking the help of experienced writers in similar genres and help with fact-checking concerning the setting.  While we were hoping to write a book for a younger audience, that might still change.  There are also chapters I still need to revisit to adjust pacing.

All this while creating new characters as well. 

In other words, nothing at all is still completely set in stone and we are still a long way to go.  When I first started this project, it really did seem easier in concept.  Who would have thought that so many people and steps need to be involved?

I am excited though.