Sage Barlowe

Blog

  • The Chaos of being a Pantser

    I wouldn’t really choose to not be a panster when it comes to writing, but it does have its downside.

    When I write a character, I like not knowing what they are going to do, say, even how they act. It gives me a surprise and lets them grow organically. Character templates don’t work for me, I don’t know that much about them immediately. Sometimes, perhaps, it depends on how much a character talks to you.

    I have had a character tell me everything all at once. Another told me nothing but their name. Sometimes, they don’t even have names immediately, just a look and personality. Each of them are different.

    However, when it comes to roleplay, this sometimes makes me wonder if my characters in multiple stories sound too much alike or if they are different. It’s a worry I’ve always had so I talk to my partner and usually they’d tell me how the character is coming off.

    That is less of a worry in solo writing.

    The downside of being a pantser is finding it difficult to figure out where things will end. I don’t know the story, I don’t know where it will go. Even if I have a plan or idea, it changes with a decision a character makes and that can throw me off.

    I am someone who should have structure. I need it. Yet I cannot make one for myself, which in turn also makes it difficult to plot. It feels constricting when it comes to writing.

    As chaotic as it is to be a panster, I wouldn’t trade it. The unknown is the thrill, keeping the characters and the world unknown keeps my curiosity throughout. I don’t always know when and where it will end, but that is really the point. Writing, for me, is discovery.

    I’m always curious how others handle this. Do you have a strict outline? Or are you someone who lets the moment take them? If you’ve found a blanace between the two processes, I’d love to hear how you make it work.

  • Frozen Minds, Thawing Hearts

    Overwhelming Flood of Ideas: Writing When the Frost Thaws

    There are an immense amount of ideas that run through my mind constantly. My focus is already horrendous, I’m in and out of daydreaming to the point where sometimes I can’t find the motivation to get up and do what I need to in the house or… life in general. There is a lot more that goes into it, but the point is, a lot of ideas all at once.

    I do, however, have the start of a story that I am working to expand into a novel. There was an ice spirit character that had been floating about for a long while, in and out of different worlds and scenarios until one finally worked for what he wanted to be.

    I would be considered a ‘pantser’ when it comes to writing. Plotting never really works for me, but I also never write anything down? I tend to let the daydreams just go and work from that. This means, however, that I let my characters dictate their life. What they do, the decisions the make, their reactions are all theirs. I always say: my character just tells me what to write.

    When a character presents itself, sometimes I don’t even know why or what they want, but I can feel them. Sometimes they surprise me with decisions I wouldn’t have thought about, other times I have to facepalm because—seriously? But that is the beauty of being a panster, never knowing what is going to happen.

    This, however, sometimes may be a problem. There are excerpts of scenes that I would never show anyone. Maybe a few, those who know what ‘whump’ is would understand. (For those who don’t, let’s just say I enjoy when a character is tormented.a)

    The Story: When the Frost Thaws

    For the current story I am working on, the working title as of now is: When the Frost Thaws.

    Five hundred years after the War of the Elements ended with the enslavement of spiritkind, a rebel fire spirit discovers the key to awakening Rune—the last ice spirit king. But as ancient powers stir, the human rulers who built their empires on chains will stop at nothing to keep the world frozen in tyranny.

    Rune is broken, betrayed by someone he had grown close to, the loss of his people and brothers. This journey will follow him and a few others as they navigate through enslavement, loss, power imbalance, and acceptance.

    The World

    Worldbuilding works the same way as my characters; all on a whim. Each element in this world had an Ancient Spirit, who then oversaw spirits of the same element. The ones who come and go with time but help the land heal after a disaster, flourish as the seasons change. They shape the world and they care for it.

    Humans weren’t around until thousands of years later, but the moment they came, they made their mark. While the Ancients were weary, other spirits had mingled with the humans, building friendships and discovering what hate and love both were. Spirits don’t feel in the same way the human’s do, which is where Rune becomes a problem he wasn’t even aware of.

    For a spirit, let alone an Ancient one to bond, it buries soul-deep, irrevocable. They feel with every ounce of themselves; love, hate, sorrow, anger. I wish I knew where this would go, but that is the fun part of being a ‘pantser’ kind of writer.

    What is the craziest character decision you ever had to work with?

    As a treat, here’s an excerpt from When the Frost Thaws:

    ***

    “Rune!”

    He was lost in his own mind, replaying every moment since the day he had met the humans.  Since the day he met Valen.  The notice he received from the fire ancient had confused him.  How could humans bind spirits to them? Where did they find this magic? Even worse, finding the true name of a spirit was both difficult and easy.

    “Rune!” His name came again, but he was still searching.  The ancient’s names were difficult to find, buried long ago before their own kin had started to form.

    “Rune!”

    “What?” Rune snapped, turning to look at the young spirit.

    She hesitated, the glowing trail of tears highlighting her snow white face.  Ice spirits were difficult to upset, they liked to play and enjoy life.  Anger was rarely something anyone could provoke out of any of them, least of all, their King.  Something had changed in him, the usual ice blue of his eyes had darkened and a shadow was creeping within his aura.

    “Rune, they are entering the Vale.”

    His eyes narrowed, releasing a heavy sigh through his nose.  He’d been told it was Valen leading the expeditions.  It was his human who was enslaving their people.  Rune refused to believe it.  When the fire ancient had accused him of falling in love with a human during the argument, Rune only froze.  Could they even love? This was a word they hadn’t known until the humans were born.

    Without a word Rune left his throne.  Every ice spirit was watching him, careful to move out of his way as he walked through the vale.  Behind him was a shadow version, walking closely to be mistaken as a true shadow, but they knew better.  Gossip ignited immediately among his kin about the darkness seeping into his heart but he ignored what he heard.

    “Look who it is, the Ice King.” The one leading the Spirit-binder’s yelled out immediately with a smug grin.  “Come to surrender?”

    Rune stood between them within the canyon connecting to the Vale, and his kin behind him, protected.  He searched first for Valen, hoping what he had been told wasn’t true.  They bonded, learned from one another.  They’d laughed and cried and argued, but they were friends.  When he couldn’t find Valen, it gave him some semblance of hope that his brother was wrong.

    “There will be no enslaving my kin.” Rune called out, an otherwise soft spoken spirit’s voice echoing for every person within the Vale to hear him.

    The man laughed, his people echoing.  “We’re not here to negotiate.” He started, stepping forward, sword at the ready.  “You spirits come and go as you please.  Don’t listen or follow the rules.  You don’t deserve the power you wield.  We can help you.”

    Every word made Rune more irate, but he refused to speak on the matter.  It was clear the humans did not, could not, see their own error.  The humans attack each other for being a different skin color.  What do you think they’ll do to us? The only ancient’s left were him and the fire spirit and for the first time, Rune wished he had listened to his kin.  “I only wanted…”

    Rune held his chin high.  “Turn back or become part of my land.”

    Every mage laughed in unison, echoing between the walls of snow on either side of them.

    “We can’t do that.” The leader spoke, gesturing for the fire spirits they enslaved to step forward.  “We have help.”

    “Do you forget who I am?”

    The temperature within all of the vale started to drop rapidly.  The fire spirits were the first to feel it, the flames surrounding them steadily losing power until they became nothing but piles of cinder’s on the ground.  Yelling had erupted from the Mage’s, each one scrambling to either save their fire spirits or to use their power to warm up.  Slowly, one by one, each of them began to freeze to the ground, feeling the bitter ice crawl up their bodies like hands pulling them into an abyss.

    ***

    I hope that gives you a glimpse into what’s to come. I can’t wait to see where this journey goes.

  • Rising from the Ashes

    I had always wanted to write a blog. For years I attempted and every single time I failed. At first it was mom blogging that I wanted to do… thought I wanted to do. But I’m not that kind of mother. I also had no idea what my niche is.

    Finding your niche is difficult when you are unsure of yourself. I spent my adulthood working through depression, discovering things about myself that were both good and bad, and raising my child. Despite feeling like I had been drowning for so long, there were two things that were always something I went back to: reading and writing.

    They were the one thing I could find solace in. Even while I spent a lot of time playing MMO’s, I was still writing. Roleplay is still writing. It’s one of my favorite hobbies and I have some amazing stories I’m writing with my partners.

    This past September I was laid off from my job. A place I had thought I’d be at… well, forever. I was just about to hit 8 years when I got the notice that myself, and many many others, were being laid off. It came as a shock. It was the most surreal moment I had in a long time. What was I supposed to do? I can’t not have a job!

    Because I had been there so long, the rest of the year was still stable because of my severance. It forced me to start taking care of myself; physically, mentally, and emotionally. It also made me think more about what I wanted to do.

    See, the field I was working in was replaced by AI at my former workplace. There were positions of the same open elsewhere and it became very competitive but then, if one job can lay me off to use AI, another one can too, right? Why stay in a field where I can lost my position again at some point?

    My son is a year from being a legal adult and still has two more years until graduation. If there’s any time in my life to choose the path I want to take in life, now was it. That is what brings me here now. I love to write. I love to read. I want to explore, expand, grow as a writer into an author and more.

    There will be plenty of challenges. I am an introverted person who, while not shy, does not care to leave my house. Working from home for six years didn’t exactly help that any, honestly, but I have to start somewhere.

    Welcome to my little part of the internet. Where I continue working on my writing craft and start exploring the world beyond my own imagination. I’ll blog, post short stories, update on a novel I have started writing. I am looking forward to doing this. Any advice is always welcome and I look forward to meeting other writers.

    Next week, I hope I can show you a short story I am working on!