Hi everyone,
Not sure if this is the norm for Royal Road - but I thought I'd share some "behind the scenes" planning and ideas as part of my novel writing :)
I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart, obviously. Truth be told, this is the first novel I'm working on and I'd love some feedback. Not only is this direct access to readers who can directly tell me what they like, and don't. There's also some great writers here as well.
So why let that opportunity slip, I thought. And here we are ;)
Faffy's Personality and Behavior
I took a lot of references from Faff's behavior from my boyhood fascination with dinosaurs, and well - Jurassic Park, believe it or not. Essentially, I find the thought that dragons, like dinosaurs are probably giant birds with scales! Which is why you may have noticed I try to use rather bird-like behavior or adjectives here and there when describing Faffy.
As for the core of her personality - she is loosely based on my beloved eating-machine, Suki, my cocker spaniel. She's a four legged glutton who'll eat anything she manages to get her paws on. Who only manages to summon an inkling of courage when it comes to stealing food from her pet humans.
So if you find Faffy adorable, chances are you'll love Suki too!
How does Faffy Look?
One of the things I've been doing, so I can better imagine Faff as a character is look for visual references of how she looks. Here are a couple of images I've found in my research (created and owned by some very talented artists who I've put links to) as below:
Baby Dragon by TsaoShin: https://www.deviantart.com/tsaoshin/art/Baby-Dragon-849156626
This one's super adorable - and slightly chubby which I think fits Faffy pretty well!
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d125df43-37f9-4450-a601-50d3aa7fa501/de1kdg2-f35093a6-7e05-453e-8918-7b7abd9384de.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZDEyNWRmNDMtMzdmOS00NDUwLWE2MDEtNTBkM2FhN2ZhNTAxXC9kZTFrZGcyLWYzNTA5M2E2LTdlMDUtNDUzZS04OTE4LTdiN2FiZDkzODRkZS5wbmcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.uxXhOhfOqOFDpA7eQ1nkb_a9foE6o56fVIsDFiJOpsU]
Tiny Dragon by Shawn Lin: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/6aP8mV
I really do love how adorable Shawn Lin has drawn these babies. And I do like the look of the baby dragon on the right as well - perhaps this is how Trident could look?
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
[https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/017/939/648/large/shawn-lin-post-3-2.jpg?1557945435]
BABY dragon by Ksenija Strnad Kralj: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zAXk2w
I do like the amazing details this artist has put in, while still making the baby dragon still look so cute. Something for me to ponder though - realistic or "cartoonish"?
[https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/016/095/968/large/ksenija-strnx-kralj-baby-dragon.jpg?1550866194]
Mortimer and his cookie by Nikki Elise: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oOLl1w
I like the colours for this one - but some how feel the design might be a better fit for Trident instead of Faffy though
[https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/025/163/187/large/nikki-elise-mortimercookielr.jpg?1584862143]
Cute Dragon by Janz Tnđ: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RBwvO
I really like how this dragon seems lowkey mischievous, and perhaps borderline derpy. A bit on the fence for this design / look for Faffy. Perhaps it's something to consider.
[https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/005/013/822/large/janz-tnd-bpr-render.jpg?1487868850]
Baby Night / Light Furies by Three Leaves: https://www.deviantart.com/threeleaves/art/Baby-Night-Light-Furies-784568466
Yes - I know this is from that movie. Perhaps a little too "pristine" and "pretty" for Faffy.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/8fd3924d-6abf-4791-b198-550b99c4d508/dcz40wi-da29db81-6d12-4f5f-8414-96d15b4a5bf0.jpg/v1/fill/w_1196,h_668,q_70,strp/baby_night_light_furies_by_threeleaves_dcz40wi-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD04OTQiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC84ZmQzOTI0ZC02YWJmLTQ3OTEtYjE5OC01NTBiOTljNGQ1MDhcL2RjejQwd2ktZGEyOWRiODEtNmQxMi00ZjVmLTg0MTQtOTZkMTViNGE1YmYwLmpwZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xNjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.qLg6uH7kG_MmPiLcttGqTUPpzNoYMmJVcslkiGEy7w0]
Light Fury by Sailorsprout https://www.deviantart.com/sailorsprouts/art/The-Light-Fury-749127936[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a47cbbe7-ad8d-4c81-a12f-4956a98ac383/dce0etc-06dcc0a5-00a3-4bd2-a158-a5e47b51a5ed.png/v1/fill/w_894,h_894,q_70,strp/the_light_fury_by_sailorsprouts_dce0etc-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0yMDAwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYTQ3Y2JiZTctYWQ4ZC00YzgxLWExMmYtNDk1NmE5OGFjMzgzXC9kY2UwZXRjLTA2ZGNjMGE1LTAwYTMtNGJkMi1hMTU4LWE1ZTQ3YjUxYTVlZC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MjAwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.yc3JCB5pfQyaoZgMye295vDk2P_DQk2WjbVMLvWFGrM]
Anyway, I'm wondering which one you guys like best? Or imagine Faffy looking like? Do let me know in the comments, guys.
The symbol on Faff's chest
This might give away a thing or two, but if you guys are wondering what it looks like this is a rough sketch I found. It'll definitely be more polished and intricate than this.
[https://thumbnail.imgbin.com/10/13/20/imgbin-meliodas-the-seven-deadly-sins-beautiful-woman-victor-others-S81UgxpA1u7ipSzqGfSh9a7gk_t.jpg]
It'll play a pretty big role in this novel - anyone care to hazard a guess or dozen in the comments?
Well that's it for now guys. Hope to hear from you and thanks in advance.