Today is the day!
Look at how many people have signed up! I'm thrilled, I tell you, THRILLED! And THANK YOU ALEX for volunteering to co-host without my even asking! You are da bomb... no wait, the Ninja!
The rules were simple. All you had to do was sign up in the linky thingy, grab the banner, and make a list. I suggested keeping your list to between 5 and 25 items long. The only restriction is no adult content.
All right, lets get to it!
I had to really think about what to list. So many possibilities! In the end I decided to return to some of my earliest writings and share names of characters and places that, until right now, have never been seen by anyone except myself.
These characters and places have been hidden in the dark drawers of my file cabinet and/or between the covers of my three-ring binder for more years than I care to recall. They are from a time when I really liked to make up words and thought myself a fantasy writer.
Though their stories will never be completed, they still live inside my head. It's time to acknowledge them for what they are, the corner stone of my writing, the first baby steps taken by this wandering mind. I was so into it I drew maps, scenes, and sketched characters.
Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to:
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| Orland and Alanda meeting for the first time. |
Orland: the Green Wizard, keeper of the Emerald Stone. He lived in Indramar.
Illand: Head Wizard of Indramar, keeper of the White Stone
Alanda: Orland's love
From WARMOCK, an unfinished trilogy:
Kassaya Kyshmalane: Queen of Lyanore
Warmock: Reluctant warrior/protector of Kassaya
Thrund: A river in Lyanore
Cariter: A race of winged horses
Fyming: The name of a winged horse
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| The crystal canyons of Xariah |
From THE LAWS OF LIMLITHMAS, a short story:
Arzahanthia: A butterfly
Limlithma: A lizard
From KARAK, a short story:
Karak: The last living Martian
From XARIAH, an unfinished novel:
Xariah: A land of canyons made of shimmering crystal
Quastar: A mountain range in Xariah
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| Map of the Elsalon archipelago |
From THE FRASIANS OF TELLANORA
Elsalon: An island archipelago
Loksing Olybon: A wise man and mentor
Mizpar: A mysterious stranger
***
Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful for ALL OF YOU! for participating in this hop. Without you it would never have been. Here's a big splashy THANK YOU bouquet.
***
Did you have fun? Would you participate again if I make it an annual event?
Great choice of subject for your list! I love seeing where people's writing come from. :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like some interesting characters I'd like to learn more about. Too bad you didn't write all those stories.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Bish1 You should get moving on some of these stories. :)
ReplyDeleteThose are really cool, especially since you had drawings. Hang on to those stories - they might blossom to be something more one day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me co-host today!
Congrats on eight years, Bish! Interesting characters and title names!
ReplyDeleteI would participate if this was a yearly event. It was quick and easy to come up with a fun list. Those drawings are amazing, and the names creative. (I'd never be able to keep up with the first set though, with all the "land" names). I remember my first book. In the first draft nearly every single character's name started with J. Ah, the good old days . . .
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your characters, and seeing the illustrations. So cool!
ReplyDeleteLoved your list. Congrats on 8 years of blogging and this cool bloghop idea.
ReplyDeleteJuneta Writer's Gambit
I'd loved to read about Xariah! I loved your illustrations as well.
ReplyDeleteXariah and its crystals reminds me of McCaffrey's Crystal Singer books.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 8 years!
I did indeed have fun with this hop :) Thanks for stopping by, and for the big thank you flower bouqet! The charachters from Lithlimas sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteSuch in-depth work into place, characters, and world building. I have a feeling some of these will become more familiar in due time. I don't think they want you to keep them in that drawer! Thanks for the bouquet! This was a fun hop, and yes, do it again next year - I'm sure I'll have someone else to get rid off. :)
ReplyDeleteNot gone or forgotten but fodder for the future perhaps. Maybe you can put every character and place in one big epic novel!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the fest. Since I already had a guest scheduled for today I chose to link to a list that I'd done earlier in hopes that more readers would see it.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Great drawings indeed. Was a fun hop to join at my feed, would do it yearly indeed.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on surviving eight years of blogging Bish, no easy feat being so creative all the time! Today is your day! I've altered a "Gornflakes" post which is now republished in your honor. Great bloghop, thanks for making it fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you all! I'm amazed by the variety of lists and the wonderful participation!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool list! Thanks for starting this hop and huge congratulations on 8 years. Yay!!!
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for hosting this! It's a fun blog hop. And congrats on 8 years blogging!
ReplyDeleteI had fun creating my list. I may even revisit my list with a follow-up.
ReplyDeleteSo the question I have. Why are the novels unfinished? And if you had all the time you needed, which one would you love to finish?
Lots of cool sounding names and characters.
Jeffrey, The novels are unfinished because... I young and didn't know what I was doing, they were all written by hand in spiral binders, I didn't plot, plan, or outline. I got bogged down not knowing where to go or how to get there. I think if I had the inclination, desire, or the time, I'd want to finish the trilogy, Warmock. It was filled with symbolism and obscure references.
DeleteWow! What a great list and I love the fact that you've given readers a chance to peak inside your head. Thanks for hosting and including me. <3
ReplyDeleteLove how you have art to go with your creative ideas.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would participate again!
Yvonne
These names are fantastic, Bish... Loved Loksing Olybon... I can imagine him as legendary as Obi Wan :) Great list! Yep, it sounded easy—"make a list"—but once I got down to it I was stumped, haha. So many possibilities! In the end I went with a list of my favorite advice on writing... And still had a hard time keeping it to the original 10 items I wanted (I ended up with fifteen). Lots of fun, though. I'd totally join again... And would love to see it grow!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Bish. And congratulations on 8 years of blogging! That's quite the landmark :)
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
Very creative names indeed! Now you just need to finish those WIPS!
ReplyDeleteLoved this blog hop. Yes, I'd do it again. There are loads of possibilities for lists. I did horror films because it's Halloween, but you could do Love during Valentine's, or something else for Easter, etc. Great!
Shah X
Bish, first up thanks for hosting The Listing Hop fun. I hope it's a huge success. Second, off it's so nice to meet you or meet you again. I promise I can't keep up sometimes with whom I've crossed paths with over the years, but I'm pretty sure we've met before now. And, third what creativity you have ~ writing and sketching your ideas into life. That truly wows me! It's always marveled me to see this sort of talent, as it reminds me of the incredible J.R.R. Tolkien. I never read his work, but I saw the firs three LOTR movies. Our youngest daughter is a HUGE fan of his work and knows it intimately inside and out. Nice list!
ReplyDeleteHappy blogging anniversary and thanks for creating the blog hop! It's great that you've kept all of those characters--maybe you'll get to go back and use them someday!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun hop! Thanks for hosting it! Hopefully you have many wonderful blogging anniversaries yet to come!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm having fun and YES I'd do it again next year!!! Great idea--you have no idea how much this helped me--thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteAs usual I'm amazed by your creativity. AND, yes, Yes, YES I'm having fun. This is the most fun Hop I've participated in, in years, and I'm only just getting started visiting the other participants. You bet I would participate again.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to honor those "first baby steps" you refer to in the creative process and see how far we've come. I think you should host this fun blogfest again. =)
ReplyDeleteI would love to read about the "Last Living Martian." Love the ideas and the drawings. Yes, I would participate again; this is lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read about the "Last Living Martian." Love the ideas and the drawings. Yes, I would participate again; this is lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteWow! Everyone, thank you for all the feedback and the wonderful comments. I take no credit for this idea as it "came" to me from Ray Bradbury and his book, Zen in the Art of Writing. In it he talks about the importance of making lists to get the creative juices flowing. And see, for some of you it worked, and for that I'm thrilled to be a catalyst. Because so many of you have enjoyed this hop and would like to do it again, I'd be more than willing to make this an annual October anniversary event!
ReplyDeleteALSO! I've been totally blown away by the variety of lists, from humorous to serious to helpful to fact filled. From frightening to enlightening. What a treat!
DeleteThanks Bish! Loving the blog hop. I'd definitely be up for a yearly event! Any excuse to polish up my bucket list on travel, lol. Love your drawings. Did any jump out at you and demand closure?
ReplyDeleteThanks Bish! The Listing Hop was fun.
ReplyDeleteI only NOW realized I forgot to grab the logo/banner.
Some days/weeks/years are really tough. Ha!
Oooo. You're list had pictures to go along with it. =D
ReplyDeleteWow, you are quite an artist! This would be a fun annual blog hop.
ReplyDeleteLove the names and pictures! I can imagine they had very fun stories to go with them, too! And I'd definitely participate in this hop again :)
ReplyDeleteThose are some interesting character names and nice drawings :) I used to imagine all sorts of characters and stories when I was a kid, I often wonder where that creative fantasy went, it would be useful now, lol.Thank you for hosting this blog hop, I would gladly participate again!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome list! Any chance you'll delve back into them?
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun blog hop. Thanks for hosting!!!
BISH ~
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the Bloghop (and have many, many more sites to visit in the coming days).
Thanks for putting this together. And, yes, I would definitely participate if you do it again next year.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Congrats on your eighth year of blogging, Bish. I've only been blogging for half that time, but it already feels like a lifetime. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to see so many people participating – congratulations to you!
ReplyDeleteI’m thankful for the privilege of reading your blog, I’m also thankful for the beautiful flowers – thank you!
Congrats on your 8th Blogaversary!!! And yes, it was fun. Thank you for hosting this!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your blogoversary. The hop is fun even though I'm only just getting started on visiting the others.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 8 years of blogging and thanks for hosting this hop. Sorry I'm so late, life happens; I'm just glad I actually posted on time. I think this would make a cool annual event and would totally participate.
ReplyDeleteHi, Bish! I saw your List-Hop all over my Feedly reading list today and decided to stop by and say hello.
ReplyDeleteI think I love your list most out of all the ones I've seen today. There's something special about those characters who stand out in their uniqueness, even if their stories didn't have enough substance to survive. You made me recall a few special (but abandoned) characters of my own.
Congrats on your anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThanks for creating such a fun HOP!
Nice to meet all your characters!
Heather
Yay! I've had so much fun hopping around an seeing everyone's answers.
ReplyDeleteI would totally participate again! I like your maps :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to check back next year (unless my memory fails me).
ReplyDelete