First Draft Finished!

I have finally finished the first draft of my first novel! It is true that I was revising everything as I went along, but I will still be doing more proofreading (especially for consistency of unique capital words). There are a few bits of extra details I know I'll be adding.

This book has been a joy to write. It had some challenges, especially when dealing with a lot of characters. The number of characters ended up a lot larger than I expected, just like the length of the story. It is not that hard having a lot of characters, but it is when a lot of them appear in the same scene at the same time. The ending was pretty intense for me. We will see how this goes!

It is almost that time of the year...

A ghost, a witch, a Cat and a Pumpkin! (Note the irregular capital letters)

These are decorations for Halloween at my house, but they also largely remind me of characters from my upcoming book. These Halloween archetypes have representations as characters, but not in the way you might expect.

The ghost character in my book looks nothing like a cartoon ghost and more like a translucent person (a la Obi Wan Kenobi). The witch does not wear a costume like that or have a pointed hat. The Cat looks similar but more like an Egyptian Mau breed. The Pumpkin looks similar but has arms and legs, more rounded eyes and a more subtle nose.

I am eleven chapters finished so far! (With the first draft.)

Four Fruits of Magic

A green apple, a pear, a strawberry and blueberries!

What do these four fruits have in common?

Find out after I finish my upcoming book!

Once Upon a Time Returns in Less than a Week!

[SPOILER ALERT]
As you know, earlier I made a post back in June
about some unanswered questions that are still held
over since Season 3 ended. Let's see how many of the 20 questions are answered next season!

Last season dealt with an Oz theme (although Oz only actually appeared in 2 episodes) and focused on the Wicked Witch of the West and the mystery of the gap year. Rumple apparently destroyed her but will she return (at least in flashbacks)??

Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West

One thing I did not include was what happened to Jefferson and who is Grace's mother and how was she lost? This of course is because unfortunately Sebastian Stan, who plays Jefferson, like Jamie Dornan, has been busy with many film projects. We all know what happened to Sheriff Graham/The Huntsman, but what Jefferson is doing is quite a mystery.

Jefferson, The Mad Hatter

The Huntsman (Sheriff Graham) 

Of the 20 questions I placed, we all that number 20 will definitely be a main issue when the season begins!

We will also see a return of Sidney Glass/ The Magic Mirror, who as we know, was also a Genie of Agrabah. But was he Aladdin's genie? (Making the presumption that Aladdin exists in the OUAT universe). In the Wonderland spin-off there were several different genies, so I wonder if any of them are connected with Aladdin or if Jafar had any connection to an Aladdin character or perhaps connected to any other OUAT character (such as Cora, Regina, Rumple, etc.) It would be amazing to see him return!

Sidney Glass/The Magic Mirror/Genie of Agrabah 

Jafar 

Speaking of the Wonderland spin-off, Will Scarlet/ The Knave of Hearts (the first one) will be appearing as a character this season on the regular Once Upon a Time. We know he had a history with Robin Hood and the merry men. I wonder who else!

Robin Hood with Will Scarlet, The Knave of Hearts

I also wonder what happened to some of the other Oz characters.

Glinda, The Witch of the South

Walsh, The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Gale

And then there are other characters we haven't seen much lately, whom I'd love to see return (at least in flashbacks)

Mulan

Aurora

Prince Philip 

Maleficent 

Rapunzel

Cinderella (Ashley) 

Tinker Bell

Lancelot

Cora, the Queen of Hearts

Another interesting point is when we have cases where characters have been specifically mentioned (not necessarily by name but mentioning them beyond simple implication) but haven't yet appeared (as far as we know)

* The Black Fairy
* King George's Late Wife
* The mother of Grace/Paige (Jefferson's daughter)
* Merlin
* Emma's foster family (families)
* And Probably more to come and others I've forgotten!

Back!

It's been a while but I'm going to try to write more on here. So far I haven't finished my main book yet, but one update it will be a full-length novel, instead of just a novelette as intended before. I'm not sure whether or not it should go in the category of 'middle grade' yet. I currently have about two chapters left of the first draft! I am close to 40,000 words now (on a word processor in standard font that is about 130 pages!) I definitely do not want to be rushed although I hope to finish the FIRST Draft before the month is over. Si se puede?

Also Once Upon a Time returns for its 4th season soon! (One of my favourite shows!) My next post will talk a little more of that!

Questions on Once Upon A Time

(Spoiler Warning if you are not yet caught up to episode 3x22)

1. What happened to Jonathan / Zelena’s Father?

2. Did Jefferson ever meet Zelena?

3. For that matter, did Zelena ever go to Wonderland or ever meet her mother, Cora? (Also there is about a 40 year gap between Zelena meeting Dorothy and going to the Enchanted Forest to take revenge on Regina. Was the Land of Oz frozen in time during the curse?) 

4. How did King George get defeated? (a question since Season 1) 

5. How did Cora and Prince Henry lose their royal status?

6. How exactly did Tinker Bell end up in Neverland? 

7. How exactly did Hook and Baelfire leave Neverland? 

8. How did Walsh / The Wizard end up going to the Land without Magic months before the New Curse?

9. What happened to Rapunzel?

10. How did Prince Phillip get saved from the Wraith? (And what are his stories with Aurora and Mulan?)

11. What happened to Mulan? 

12. What happened to King Midas (He has never been seen out of the Enchanted Forest)

13. How did Regina’s father, Henry, end up a prisoner in Wonderland? (Is he “The King of Hearts”?) 

14. How did Will / Knave end up in Storybrooke during the curse? (Before the events of the Wonderland spin-off) Does he have any history with Regina or Rumplestiltskin? 

15. Did Jafar have any relationship with Regina or Cora (it would be interesting)

16. What happened to Dorothy and the Silver Shoes? (Are she and Walsh from our Kansas or Fictional Kansas?) 

17. What happened to Glinda? 

18. What is the full back story to Maleficent and her relationship with Aurora and Phillip?

19. How was Ariel’s relationship with her family under the sea?

20. How will Elsa/ The Snow Queen fit into OUAT?!!!

Stories represented in "Once Upon a Time" (as of 3x19)

1. Snow White
2. Pinocchio
3. Little Red Riding Hood
4. Rumpelstiltskin
5. Sleeping Beauty
6. The Three Billy Goats Gruff  (trolls under bridge 1x03)
7. Cinderella
8. King Midas
9. The Prince and the Pauper (loosely in 1x06)
10. Hansel and Gretel
11. Aladdin / Arabian Nights
12. Beauty and the Beast
13. Peter and the Wolf
14. Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass
15. Mulan
16. Lancelot /Arthurian Legend
17. Peter Pan
18. Frankenstein
19. Jack and the Beanstalk
20. The Pied Piper of Hamelin
21. The Little Mermaid
22. Robin Hood
23. Medusa / Greek Myths
24. The Wizard of Oz
25. Rapunzel
26. Blackbeard

Film and Television

I've already written about my interests in books. I'm also really into fantasy films, which shouldn't be too big of a surprise. I love Disney films as well as other film versions of the same genre as the books I love.

TV series that I watch include Once Upon a Time, Doctor Who, Star Trek and Game of Thrones.

Escapism and Fantasy in Oz

I often read fiction novels that take me into different worlds and have been called by friends an escapist. I love the fantasy genre of books such as The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Chronicles of Prydain and anything written by Roald Dahl. As a child I was always intrigued with fairy tales and anything fantasy and I don't think that ever escaped me. 

Probably the most influential book however was reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum, as well as its many sequels and spin-offs. Before reading the book I had previously seen the delightful 1939 film, which inspired me to read the book, which took me on an imaginative journey unlike anything I could experience from just watching a movie. This then encouraged me to read more and later I would read all of Baum's thirteen sequels such as The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz and The Scarecrow of Oz as well as many of Baum's non-Oz books like The Sea Fairies, Sky Island and John Dough and the Cherub. The world of Oz is probably more known in film and stage than the original books, for example the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, Return to Oz, the musicals The Wiz and Wicked, the mini-series Tinman and the film Oz: The Great and Powerful.

I really admired the comraderie seen during the different journeys as well as the diversity of characters such as The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman, The Cowardly Lion, The Good Witch Glinda, Jack Pumpkinhead and Tik-Tok the Clockwork Man (considered the first "robot" of literature, before the term was coined). There was always a great sense of fantastic escapism where magical adventures occur within such an idealistic utopian society, where all the animals can talk (as well as many "objects") and such a diverse group of people can live in harmonious friendship.

 It were these books that strongly inspired me to be a writer of fantasy fiction. I have already placed ideas of stories of my own, such as The Flying Giraffe, Jack and the Gryphon and Oliver and the Emperor of Wolves. I'm also very strongly inspired to one day be involved with film (especially animation) but that costs more money, so I will probably start with writing. If I do manage to make films, I am definitely interested in the fantasy genre and definitely interested in adapting my own stories, but also from the works previously mentioned by L. Frank Baum, most of which have been forgotten in the last 100 years. From what I have heard many of these books in the Oz series were very popular at the beginning of the 20th century, having a similar intrigue to the Harry Potter books of today. This puts these books in the category of books that one reads for fun, however its idealist fantasyland, as described earlier, does hold implications and thoughts of how one views their own world and the people within.

*Note, that this was taken from a writing paper I did in a Media and Society class in 2012. Since then the titles Jack and the Gryphon and Oliver and the Emperor of Wolves, are no longer current writing goals at this time, however I do still have strong intentions for The Flying Giraffe project. I just decided to put this up for its obvious relevance to this blog. 

World of Fantasy - Benny Rotondi Smith

Hello Readers! My name is Benny and I love using my imagination. There is something about the escapism that comes with the fantasy genre, not only is there wonder and excitement but also hope and creativity in creating worlds that are different. I love the idea of what can be thought beyond just what we see with our eyes (i.e. "The Real World")

I have started this blog to expand and keep track of my work as an author of fantasy books. I also have a goal in possibly working for film/television (but one step at a time... =) 

I am currently working on a middle-grade novelette that is loosely based on a short story I wrote in the third grade. I won't reveal too much, but it is basically a Halloween version of Pinocchio, but with an anthropomorphized pumpkin, created by a witch, who at first believes it to be an error in a magic spell to communicate with a ghost who was the witch's friend and magic partner before he was poisoned by someone. The Pumpkin, who is the only one who can communicate with the Ghost, will deal with identity/purpose of life issues while helping free the bat who was framed for the crime of poisoning. I'm still on the 2nd chapter with an intention of writing 6 chapters, and I also need to proofread and revise it, but I'm really excited about it!

My second project will be finally publishing a collection of short stories I have written in the past 10 years or so. Some of these stories are retellings of fairy tales and fables (which I have always loved!)  and others are original stories I created, plus I'm planning to write a few more. I'm starting off as mostly middle-grade but also open to more mature writing as I progress. 

Some of the books that I've loved reading include the Oz books by L.Frank Baum (the next post will deal a lot with that series), Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, The Adventures of Pinocchio/Le Avventure di Pinocchio (Bilingual version English & Italian! I also love foreign languages!), Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Chronicles of Prydain, Roald Dahl books, Animorphs and Everworld. 

*Photo credit to Martin Gonzales of the One Word Project at University of the Pacific.