# Mixing oil and water



## TheYellowMustang (May 24, 2013)

Hello! :hi: I'm a Norwegian girl, 21, I studied art for a year and I'm now finishing a year of psychology. Since neither studies suited me perfectly, I'm going to test Graphic Design after the summer. I'm very introverted, but not shy (don't make the mistake of confusing the two), creative from birth (it started with drawing), get completely lost and isolated from the rest of the world when I start new projects aaand... I'm a sucker for romance - but not with romantic characters. I need some pepper with the vanilla. 

Writing. Hm, well I guess I've always loved putting words on paper. I remember in 9th grade when my English teacher read a sentence of my novella over my shoulder and laughed out loud, it was the first time I thought to myself "Hm, maybe you should consider writing?"

Still, I put the thought on a shelf and continued drawing and painting next to my studies. I also like animation, but I'm not very good at it. I made one of my drawings in art school if anyone's interested in that sort of thing:

Kings of Leon - Closer (stop motion "music video") - YouTube

It was around the end of 13th grade that I tried writing my first novel. After that I continued writing every now and then when I found myself wondering how to spend the evening. I think I have about 7 first 4 chapters of different novels, and even though the ideas are okay, none of them were worth writing or reading, which is probably what lead me to give up on all of them. Still, the dream of printing out ONE hard-copy of a novel with my name written under the title remained in my subconscious. 

Then the day came when I decided to sit down and figure out what I was doing wrong, and what I was doing right. I read through the unfinished first drafts and the conclusion smiled up at me with its obviousness: the stories were all wrong, the narrators were wrong, but ONE character kept popping up in all of them. Sebastian. The cocky, sarcastic, elitist young man - he always found a way to sneak his way into the stories, no matter who or what they were about. Sebastian was the key. 

:champagne:

I tossed aside all of my ideas, but I kept him. I wrote a couple of pages from Sebastian's perspective - nothing interesting, just him waking up, brushing his teeth and going to school. Those pages were more interesting than anything else I'd written. Watching the world through his shallow and judgmental eyes was fascinating, and I suddenly found myself thinking about him when I went about my day - "What would Sebastian think of this person?", "What kind of music would he listen to on his way to school?" "Haha, Sebastian would'be said 'this and that'"

And when my next idea for a novel popped up I knew who my narrator would be. Before long I'd written several chapters and I knew exactly how the story would continue and end. 

When the first draft was finished I read through it and changed the whole thing. It was cheesy and the ideas were overdone, and so I rewrote. This happened two times, but it didn't concern me in the least. I was still floating on a sky of "holy crap I actually did it - I actually wrote a novel, no matter how unfinished it is."

The book is my attempt at mixing oil and water - it's a fantasy story, with witches and magic, but set in an elitist society and told by a narrator who has no business being the star of a fantasy-novel. He's cocky, shallow, rude, self-absorbed, sees everything black and white and he absolutely loathes feeling confused or challenged in any way. They party, drink, swallow white pills, mess around and toss insults back and forth... It's Mean Girls, Cruel Intentions and Harry Potter mixed in one strange soup of genres colliding. 

The book is still quite cringe-worthy and some paragraphs make me blush, as I did the mistake classing mistake of "write now, learn the rules later", but I'm not giving up on it. I'll learn the rules, rewrite it again and I'll get that one copy printed out to put on my shelf. Determination is my friend.

I can't wait to discuss and learn with all of your, I absolutely love forums and can't believe I haven't thought of joining before now!

- The Yellow Mustang


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## squidtender (May 24, 2013)

Wow, mustang! That was quite the tale . . . I'm proud of you for getting your novel done. Believe me, regardless of how "good" it is, that's a HUGE first step. Don't stop, my dear . . . I expect to see you on the best sellers list by the time you're 25 :icon_cheesygrin:


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## TheYellowMustang (May 24, 2013)

When I start typing, I never know how to stop, haha.. Thank you so much!


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## PiP (May 25, 2013)

Hi 'The Yellow Mustang' (love the name) and welcome to the forum.

I love the fact you're are determined to succeed. Good luck with the novel and keep at it!

PiP


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## Ariel (May 25, 2013)

Welcome to the forums, Mustang.


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## Cran (May 25, 2013)

The book sounds like a lot of fun. Welcome, TheYellowMustang.


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## Bloggsworth (May 25, 2013)

Welcome and how can anyone afford a beer in Norway?


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## TheYellowMustang (May 25, 2013)

Bloggsworth said:


> Welcome and how can anyone afford a beer in Norway?



Oh, we can't. That's why Oslo always tops the "rudest capital" lists. (seriously, we always do)


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## SarahStrange (May 25, 2013)

Welcome and good luck


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## Trilby (May 26, 2013)

Hi YellowMustang, welcome on board - love the user-name!


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## Houston (May 27, 2013)

TheYellowMustang said:


> I actually wrote a novel, no matter how unfinished it is."




Hahaha, unintentional comedy is the best.


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## TheYellowMustang (May 27, 2013)

Houston said:


> Hahaha, unintentional comedy is the best.



Hehe.. Contradictory?


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