FZAFSOAAWA ???

So, this post is actually super old. UL3 has turned into such a personal project for me lately that I've been abandoning my posting. It's not so much that UL is personal to me so much as I finally know where I'm going and  I just want to get it out. I just want to finish it for myself at this point.

Anyway, I'll share this post I wrote a while ago and then add in updates in purple TDOSH Style !  

I FINISHED MY OUTLINE FOR UL3 AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS A SNEAK PEAK:

(pretend there is a page break here)

How I Imagine You All Right Now 

 

I somehow have two outlines for UL3 and this screenshot is just showing chapter 16 to the end. The colors represent where chapters begin and end and...for some reason I kept writing on top of the outline so my latest chapter outline would be on top so it actually reads backwards. So, even if you can somehow read it, I doubt it will make sense.

 This outline feels so satisfying yet so scary. It's just so odd to think of UL3 being so sketched out and outlined beforehand  because the original UL was the pantsiest thing to ever pants.

Chapter 18
As I mentioned in a comment on a previous post, chapter 18 and chapter 19 were originally together, but I broke them up because it didn't flow...I guess I could have done a double chapter post.

I always knew I would work Juliana's past with Brad and Topix into the story. The adult video stuff was so implict in UL, but never explicitly stated and I just didn't have the context back then to dig into it like I do know.

When outlining I hadn't put much thought into who would be the one to post about her being on a porn site. Originally I think I wanted it to be Cortland, but then I re-read some of his parts and he really wouldn't have cared that much to try and ruin her life. Then it was going to be Brad's son Patrick, but then I remembered Hunter and it was a good fit.

Also, while writing chapter 18 I originally planned to go in more deep with the whole mental hospital stay and did a TON of research, but ended up leaving a lot of it out because this serial is already pretty long. I did kind of fudge on her being involuntarily committed--most people with anxiety who go to mental wards have to go voluntarily.

A THING ?
So, you guys I wrote about 300 words of  Formless Zombie Apocolypse Fantasy Space Opera Aliens Assassian Wizard of Oz -ish  Thing (FZAFSOAAWA ?) I mentioned in my last post for NaNoWriMo and it was just kind of silly, but now I have a few plot bunnies running around in my head.  This serial is still in the very, very, very, early stages but it could be something ? Maybe ?

If I do write it, it probably wont see the light of day for 9 months or so, but it's nice to know the muse machine is still working. 

Extra Detailed Recap

A year after Hurricane Katrina, Rhett graduates from the Rescue Swimmer School, he get stationed in New Orleans  and he and Juliana move into his paternal grandparents house and start a life together in Freeport.

Hunter Day, Cortland's younger bother anonymously posts Juliana's videos on a Freeport community website when he sees a story about them written by Rocket Olsen. Then Rhett's cousin West posts the comment on Facebook and quickly deletes it but it's too late. Juliana is humiliated in front of church and ends up spiraling into a catatonic state onset by her mood disorder.

Rhett calls her Dad and they make  her to go to a mental hospital in Connecticut since Rhett has to go to work for three days and can't be with her and he doesn't want to tell anyone how she abandoned Mason. At the mental hospital Juliana gets back into knitting, writes some very mean e-mails to Rhett, receives an indecent proposal via e-mail from a neighbor named Marty Enlign and finds out she is still part of Amber Cunningham's wedding to Rhett's cousin--the same cousin who posted about her on Facebook.

When Juliana's released from the mental hospital on a trial drug she has to stay in Connecticut for observation.The the first thing she does when she leaves is find Hunter Day (who is your basic proto-gamer gater) at Yale and gives him a piece of her mind.

When she gets back to her Dad's house she finds him reading through some of Juliana's letters from Rhett from when she was in jail. Her Dad tells her he found the letters because they were going through her things to figure out where she had gone. He Dad tells her it's time to destroy the letters because they represent an ugly past.

Whew ! 

Chapter 19
Playlist

-1- The Wild One by Joshusa Fletcher 
-2- Beach by Axel Flovent
-3- Guiding Light by Foy Vance and Ed Sheerhan

NaNoWriMo A Go Go

NaNo !

So, I've decided I'm going to attempt to do a NaNo. It's going to be an nontraditional NaNo though. I have three novellas in my head that I'd like to write, one is for UL3 and two are for Vice. I've already written 1K-2K for each of them previously, but I'm not going to count those pre-written words towards my goals.

I'm also going to be going back in and editing my Nanos since these are pretty short stories. I hope working on these as NaNos will give me time to stretch out the novellas more.

I mentioned in Lile's comments a while ago that I wanted to write a paranormal romance type thing...the only issue is I have 0 ideas. As I've been going back through some older posts I realized that I was working on HMLIS and Vice at the same time and then I was working on Vice 2 and UL3 at the same time. This is the first time that I don't have anything else brewing in my head and it's scary.

Update: Okay, so...I started randomly writing this weird, formless fantasy space opera about aliens, a trained killer and the zombie apocalypse...that may or may not be based on The Wizard of Oz. If I ever actually wrote it it would need a lot of work so I think it will  be in the vault for a while.

Anyway, you can find me here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/shawnaharrison

When I signed up for my account I completely forgot  that I already had a NaNo account. In 2012, Vice was my NaNo and I only got about 700 words logged before I forgot to keep updating...I kind of want to see how many words Vice is now.

For now I'm calling my novellas Little Revolutions because that's kind of what I wanted to change the name of UL3 to. I'm also calling it that because one of the Vice novellas takes place in the future and is sort of about how the same things keep happening over and over again.




House Tour
So, a few of you have been asking about Rhett/Juliana's house and it's really hard for me to find picspirations because the kind of house they live in isn't one people have picspirations for...so I went on to Redfin and looked in the Louisiana area to see if I could find some houses that were close. #procrastination. It's funny sifting through photos online I realize I'd imagined their house more specifically than I thought.

So, this house is close except imagine it without that paths to the front door and the shrubs. I imagine them as having just  plain green shrubs. Also, imagine the neighboring houses a farther away.

As for the inside for the house, it's older and it has wood paneling so it looks something like this, except with new carpet

Chapter 18
Recap 

Life has been going well for Rhett and Juliana a year after Hurricane Katrina; they've moved into his grandparents empty house, he works at the New Orleans base and she's joined the church and becoming friends with Amber Cunningham--Rhett's ex-girlfriend who is marrying Rhett's cousin, West.

Then a user on Topix name AnonymousBitchslap posted a link to Brad's porn site where Juliana was the star and Rhett's cousin West posts it on Facebook so most of the town sees it too. Juliana is humiliated at a story time in church when she is asked to leave because of the videos and she breaks down and neglects Mason for two days. When Rhett finds out he is furious with her, while also trying to make all of this go away.

When Juliana won't get out of bed Rhett calls her Dad to take her  since he has to go back to work. When Juliana realizes Mason isn't going to CT with her she gets upset and they have forcefully remove her from the house. She also drops the bombshell that their marriage license got denied because of her previous marriage.

Now Mason is with Rhett's aunt while Rhett goes back to work and Juliana has been taken to Connecticut and she is not super happy about it....

Trigger Warning: LiLe there is a mention of something you may find triggering 

PLAYLIST
CHAPTER 18
-1- Sweet Child by Take by Trees
-2- Blackbird
-3- We Are Young

A lot of pictures of Sterling Knight

Chapter 16
I don't really have much to say about Chapter 16, it was really more of a transition chapter and a recovery chapter to tie up the ends left by Rocket's chapter. Chapter 16 and the next few chapters are going to be Part III. I know it all seems random and pants-y now, but trust me I'm getting somewhere.

Also, I have to say it's really, really hard to write dialogue for a toddler. They do a lot of random babbling and pronounce words wrong so, a lot of what Mason says is just how it sounds to Juliana ears because she understands what he is saying because...you, know mom super powers.

Picspiration
Not that she is going to show up in this chapter or anything, but Rocket's picspiration and general aesthetic is Carrie Brownstein:





I also have a picspiration for West Sullivan, Rhett's cousin who is marrying Savannah. I imagine him as the 23 year old version of Sterling Knight, who was the love interest in Sunny with A Chance

Also, those lines around his mouth when he smiles  ? I totally imagined Rhett with those, but I could never think of how to describe them.

Also he apparently looks like this now:

And the internet is not pleased....

You guys, I'm not sure how this blog post devolved into talk about an late oughts teen hearthrob.
 
Chapter 17
Recap
Rhett has graduated from A-School and is working on the New Orleans base as a rescue swimmer doing three day shifts. Juliana is going to cosmetology school and back on her medication. Things seem to be going well, but when Rhett is getting ready to go home he gets an alert from Deacon about the following comment comment left on an article about Rhett and Juliana's photo that Rocket Olsen took:

AnonymousBitchSlap

Lol, that blonde bitch is totally a porn star. Check out this link.

CHAPTER 17

PLAYLIST

-1- Catalog and Classify by Mark Robinson

-2-  Smother by Daughter

-3- It's Alright by The Fractures

 

Is the RLA Better in AG-VCTE or AG-V or the AG-VCTE AU ?

Literally Me:

I've been doing a lot of writing/editing/re-writing

Chapter 15
I can't believe I posted that chapter, I'd been working with it for so long. It was pretty much the culmination of all of my Katrina research I've been doing off and on for the past two years.

Basically, most of what Rocket says in the last chapter is true. I think we forget that back in 2005 the name Mike Brown was associated with FEMA's terrible efforts. When I started reading about how The Admiral of Coast Guard literally took over FEMA (incidentally enough, a few years later this guy was in charge of the oil spill too) it all came together. The Coast Guard Oral History project is real and I really wanted to work that in. I did read some of the Oral History Project (and some nonbiased news reports to make sure I wasn't get biased info) to put together what the work would have looked like for the Coast Guard during those days.

 The only information I fudge is some of the timelines...because we have to get back to the prologue....I did not think that one through. Honestly, my timelines are giving me the most stress right now so I may just stop worrying about them.

APR
The APR bit was obviously inspired by QC. Rocket was always going to be a character, but I was having trouble fitting her perspective in and then I read QC and a light went on.  I also liked the format change because it allowed me to move time quickly. It was really fun to do, but I don't think I could do it in any serious way ever again.

Although, If I am ever hard up for content I may do the Adventures of An Alternate Universe Time Jumping Public Radio Show Host....

Comment Comment Corner
So, I ended up re-reading some of my TDOSH's because I was looking for when I mention who created the trenches...you know, for prosperity since Lile and I were talking about it in the comments. I couldn't find the reference but I did find some comments that I wanted to comment on and this may become a regular segment.

These comments were left on the En Moritas post--which came after Vice was finished. If you don't remember En Moritas was something I wrote after Veritas that showed how I thought Haley, Minnow and Alan died.

I chose this comment because I I just kind of loled at all the convoluted acronyming. That said I do have a soft spot for the NA AU, QC.

This comment really got me. This is from when I posted a novella called The Truth About Bridges where Blythe visits Abigail at rehab. I mean seriously, when did 2016 stop being the future ? I think I actually ended up doing this fluff in 2015 but if only I could go back and warn this Shawna of the year that would be 2016.

Chapter 16
Let's do a recap:
Hurricane Katrina hits and Rhett and Juliana loos etheir apartment and Rocket Olsen, a Coast Guardsmen Public Affairs Officer turned journalist begins following them around for an APR story based on a photo she took of them in the storm aftermath. Juliana and Mason move in with Joceyln and Juliana and Mason are both baptised. Rhett is stuck working round the clock shifts before going back to A-School. Because of his work schedule he hasn't gotten to spend much time with his family.

Now, It's been a little over a year since Katrina, Rhett has just graduated from A-school and they are making plans to move into his paternal grandparents abandoned house to start  their lives over and finally be together.

Also, when Rhett goes to work in the Katrina aftermath he gives Juliana his wedding ring for safekeeping. This isn't important, but it comes up in this chapter.

Rocket Olsens' radio story ends a few minutes after the graduation ceremony where she sees them joking and being affectionate. We are going to pick up a few hours after that:

CHAPTER 16
PLAYLIST
-1- Let Me Love You by Mario (This is a popular song title...)
-2- Walking on Sunshine by  Katrina and The Waves
-3- Maybelle by Ida

This is Going To Be Different.....

Welcome to Part II 

To Lile and The Old Days
I have to admit, I was jonesing so much for a QC update that  I pounced on the new chapter and  didn't really take in what Lile had written in her blog post about writer's block. Seeing as I invented the trenches I am in no place to give advice on writer's block, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I had hit a wall myself right around this chapter and so the best advice I can give is to break your own rules, try something crazy, let some parts go and also to just put in whatever you want. I started this chapter 3 times before I figured it out.

I've also been thinking about The Good Old Days (which...is crazy we have those, right). I too canont imagine going back to writing chapter by chapter even though I'm sure it would probably be a good experiment. I'm writing chapter 22 right now and I feel  if I let the gap between chapters close I'd be a nervous wreck.

But I do think one thing that made S&A so immersive was how Lile gradually came into the world and brought us in. A few novellas, a few one-shots, a few AUs and then finally something longer. It wasn't traditional, but it worked. I honestly say we should just keep building AUs on top of AUs

But also Lile, keep in mind you are kinda my muse. With each thing you do you push me farther and as you will see in a few mouse clicks, I wouldn't have this chapter without you.



Chapter 15
This chapter is going to be a little...different so I just want to get into it. There is going to be a heavy dose of Shawna Is Unoriginal in this chapter.

Just to get us on the same page I want to recap what happened in Part I.

After the trial in United Light 2 Juliana goes to jail for 3 years. When she gets out she reconnects with Rhett, they get married and have a baby but it's not exactly an HEA. Juliana has severe anxiety and a hard time finding work because of her felony record.Rhett moves to North Carolina to become a rescue swimmer, leaving her in Freeport, LA. Not to mention her Dad doesn't support their marriage.

The new strains on their marriage causes fights, but that is all put on hold when Katrina hits. They loose their home and   Juliana and Mason have moved in with Rhett's Mom while  Rhett has been called into to work with the relief effort.

Also they meet a woman from the Coast Guard Public Affairs Office  named Olsen...

CHAPTER 15
PLAYLIST

-1- Metamorphosis by Aleck Karis
-2- Shatter by Liz Fair
-3- Oceans by Bethel Musi
-4- Still Dre by Dr. Dre
-5- One Call Away by Piana-pella
-6- The Chase by Portastic 
-7- Begin Again by The Piano Guys
-8- Ole Man Trouble by Otis Redding

Thinking About Sequels

For October S.

So, you're comment of that dog doing a handstand made me think of this:

Picspirations
I found a picspiration for Bethany Whitlow, not that she shows up that much. This is Kate Mara, but Whitlow's hair is probably a little bit shorter.

 















Also, have I shared this GIF ? This is Dane Dehaan looking almost exactly how I imagine Cody.



New Music
I don't know how I did any of this music stuff pre- Spotify or Pandora. It's probably why it was all terrible. I just noticed that Spotify had this new feature where with one click of a button you can create a similar playlist passed on another playlist. So my UL playlist has ~150 songs and now I have another playlist that has the same amount of songs.

Update: Hmmm, this feature isn't great. It picked a lot of really weird songs. But I've found a new favorite playlist that I'll share in a few chapters.

Sequel Bait
So reading QC has got me thinking about Vice again and I have an idea for two sequel novellas but I really have more ideas for characters than for plots. For some reason the only plots I can think of involve solving a murder...although I feel like I could make it work for one of them.
Cyberpunk Noir ? I know it sounds bizzare, but I really picture Maxwell and Haley solving a crime.

Chapter 14 (another BIG ONE)
The honeymoon stage is over as Rhett and Juliana start picking fights with each other. They go to Connecticut where Rhett comes to blows with her Dad (again), but Rhett is still there to bring her home when she needs him. Rhett goes back to A-school where he is training to be a rescue swimmer (and getting close to Bethany Whitlow, a 29-year-old cohort). But this day of training starts of differently because they've been called into duty as a Category 5 storm heads into the Gulf Cost.

And when Rhett tries to call Juliana to warn her the line is dead.

CHAPTER 14
Playlist

- 1- Stay Alive by Jose Gonzalez (when in doubt go Jose Gonzalez)
-2-  All Eyes on You by Alice Boman
-3-  Captain by Hillsong United
-4- 4:35 AM by Gemma Hayes 
-5- Hurt Me by Lapsley
-6- What is Love by V. Bozeman (I've been wanting to use this song in something since Empire premiered)

S&A Send Up ?

You: Shawna, this serial is almost at 20 chapters, do you know when it will end ?

Me:

I have been having the weirdest time with this serial. I have a "ten thousand foot view" outline that I've been using so far.  I'll be writing a chapter, going with the outline  and then suddenly I'll see something else I could write about and then I'll find something in my research and it's just like:

 

When I think about a chapter in UL3 (and pretty much all my serials)  I have this great, grand plan for what I want the chapter to be and it's almost never plays out as awesome as it sounds in my head

So, as I'm working on the next few chapters I'm finding myself between deleting and retooling and just saying :

Or just kind of sitting on it

( I love how Jonah Hill is checking on Leo in the Gif to make sure he's alright)

Anyway (and I 100% mean this) I'm not sharing this to fish for compliments or anything. I just wanted to open up with what is going on with me. This shouldn't surprise you all, because as you know the trenches were developed because of UL. Seriously, Lile and I need out own Wiki.

Hi Tomas and Sofia !

So, I was re-reading Nightmare on Lile's website (no reason)serials, and I typically like to also re-read by going blog post by blog post. I was reading along, blog post by blog post when I was suddenly (rudely (;) interrupted by Lile posting ABWG.

So, I clicked on it and I realized that in some ways UL3 is a send up to S&A.  It's nowhere near as angsty and all of the angst in here is fun angst...it will make sense later...I hope.

Update
So, I wrote all of that about a month ago and I am currently on Chapter 21 of this serial and I see an ending in the distance. I will say the serial will seem like it's getting out of hand, but I ( at least I think ) I know where I'm going.

Also, my outlines are so crazy right now. I have two outlines that are about 16 pages each. 

Chapter 12
So, this chapter was one that got cut up and reused in another chapter so it's a little shorter than I originally had it.

Recap
Rhett is accepted into A-School and goes away to Elizabeth City, North Carolina to train to become a Coast Guard Rescue swimmer leaving Juliana in Freeport where she gives birth to their son Mason ! When Rhett comes to visit his son for the first time they get all fluffy and then decide to go out. While at a restaurant Juliana discovers Rhett has basically hooked up with all of his female friends.

They get into a fight and leave the night early. Juliana tells him she wants her Dad to meet the baby.

PLAYLIST
-1- Cool Kids Instrumental by Steve Petrunak
-2- Maybe, Maybe by Cam Nacson 
-3- So Cold by Ben Cocks

PLAYLIST
CHAPTER 13

Hey, I was watching that !

*pay no attention to the slaves and rape culture behind the pretty quotes*

I know Gone With The Wind wins the Literary Your Fave is Problematic Award, but I really like the name Rhett and we need to bring it back. I think it's one of the few American male names that is all hard sounds.



HDU Hulu
Some of you have asked about me writing more about Rhett's life on the job. I did a lot of research about The Coast Guard for OHG and one of my favorite resources was this show on the Weather Channel called Coast Guard Alaska that I would watch for the brave, cute men inspiration. It followed a CG base in Alaska and  there were about 5 spinoffs about different bases and they were all on Hulu but I went to look at it recently and they're all gone !  Now I've been doing a lot of forum lurking...it's not as fun so if I do write a Rhett at work scene I'll be making a lot of stuff up.

Deleted Scene
As I was outlining I originally had Rhett's bachelor party go to a strip club but I took it out because it just felt off. Here is a bit of that scene. In this version the party is just Deacon, Cody and Rhett.

“So, this is a bachelor party?,” Uncle Deacon laughed and signaled for another round for the table.

It was still strange being in Rooster's, the glamour of it was gone.

“I guess so,” I say. I didn't care either way.

“Nah it ain’t,” Deacon laughed

Deacon paid for the drinks and we got in the truck, He started driving but, not towards our house.

He finally pulled into a strip mall with only one tenant. A place called Lipstixx

“No,” I told him when I realized where we were.. “What if people see me in there ?,”

“So ?,” Deacon said 

We walked in and the women were surprisingly attractive. There was a buffet set up against the wall

"No liqour ?,” I ask as Deacon start putting sweet and sour meatballs on a paper plate.

“Can’t have it here,” he said and then I noticed the women were topless.

We sit around the stage, picking at the food, watching a woman in her 30's shaking her boobs at us. It was awkward and I have a feeling it's only going to get worse.

I think I just wanted to write about a buffet at a strip club.

Chapter 12 aka The One With All The Songs
So, here is the big poppa chapter. I thought it was 10K, but it's actually just barely 9K. I have no idea how I ever broke a 10k chapter ! Either way, it's a long one so pace yourselves.

Rhett goes to Christmas in Connecticut and when things get heated he gets kicked out by his father-in-law. Rhett wants to go to the Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technican (AST)rescue swimmer  training camp for two weeks and maybe eventually go to AST school, but it would mean being away from his future baby.

 Juliana doesn't like the idea of being left in Freeport but right now she's struggling with how to balance her Dad and Rhett who leave her in the middle.

CHAPTER 12
PLAYLIST


- 1- The Rules for Lovers by Richard Walters (I love this song)
-2- Receiver by Pietra Brown (love this one too)
-3- So in Love With You by Jake Etheridge
-4- Making Love On The Mountain by the Woodlands
-5- How Will I Know by Sons of Serendipity
-6- From the ground up Dan + Shay
-7- It Girl by Jason Derulo
-8- All of the stars Ed Sheeran

Welcome to Freeport

This is so random, but I saw this and it made me think of Alan's evolution in  Vice

 


When I started writing UL3 I really had to build out Freeport and Rhett's family and... I may have gone overboard. It's hard when you are writing an extended family not to keep adding people and adding people. Anyway, here is a run down with more info. Last chapter I wanted to show the two sides of Rhett's family so that's how I'll separate them. Also, a lot of these picspirations are as close as I could get.

The Sullivans (Southaven, Mississippi)

Mrs. Sullivan, 77 - Jocelyn's Mom and Rhett's very religious, old fashioned and super doting widowed grandmother.

Lover her outfit !

Macy Sullivan, 37 - I accidentally had her age as 27 in my last post. She's Jocelyn's younger sister. She's a born again Christian and when she became born again her upper middle class husband left her. She has three kids under the age of 8.

Ramsey Sullivan, 50 - Jocelyn's brother, he's a well educated, escaped his poor upbringing and is now a  "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" Republican type. He does not show up that much in this.

West Sullivan, 20 - Ramsey's son and Rhett's sheltered, religious, cousin who is kind of the grandson Rhett was supposed to be since Rhett's the oldest grandchild.  He doesn't show up that much either.

The Clark Family
They all live in Freeport, LA. They're the "I love Jesus But I Cuss A Lot / Only God Can Judge Me" type. They're wilder and a little poorer than the Sullivans.

Clark Grandparents
I haven't really thought about them, but I'll say that as far as the serial goes they aren't an ongoing concern...

Deacon Clark, 41 - He loves his family and is watchful of Rhett...but is also a heroin addict, alcoholic and his influence is the reason Rhett Clark is an Asshole exists

Charlie Clark would be 47 and is Rhett's deceased father


Morris Clark, 49 - Deacon and Charlie's older brother. Who has been in prison for 16 years  for killing his wife and selling bad heroin. He will likely never come up and they don't keep in touch.

Aubrey Giroux, 33 (nee Clark) - She is Rhett's only cousin on the Clark side. She's mentioned in an earlier chapter, but is introduced in the last chapter.  I think a lot of you confused her with Amber which I get.  I originally had her name as Aubree, but I changed it at the last minute because it didn't fit her age. Her Dad killed her mom,  she lives in the middle of the swamp, works at the salon with Jocelyn and likes to throw parties. She shows up mostly in family/salon scenes.

Wil Giroux, 34 - Aubrey's husband of 14 years. In my head they met at a rock concert, got married the next day and have been together ever since. They have three kids and honestly they don't show up that much. Also Wil has a sister named McKayla who may/ may not show up again. Also, yes I wasted 12 hours looking through the photo gallery on a Charlie Hunam fansite

The Friends
 
Amber Cunningham, 22
She's the Jesus-loving-pageant queen-former cheerleader-sorority girl who Rhett was supposed to take to prom before he joined UL. She's basically the high school ex-girlfriend. I mostly picked this picture because I imagine Amber with these bangs.

Brooke, 22
Works at Jocelyn's salon, Rhett's high school friend, Amber's BFF and she has a 5-year-old son. She shows up in the occasional salon scene.

There is another girl named Carleigh who is in this trio, but she doesn't really show up again. I honestly just needed another girl name for a scene and I think I picked it out of the comments.
Cody Grady,  23
Rhett's best friend / neighbor, abuses methaphetamine and has a learning disorder. His Dad is the highly revered high school football coach but Cody doesn't play the sport. He also has a crush on Amber that is all subtext.  Rhett knows he can't force Cody to change so they just kind of accept each other. He and Rhett are currently on the outs.


So, it was basically Zane, Cody and Rhett who would hang out with Brooke, Amber and Carleigh when they were in high school

Also, Athens, 29
He is Rhett's co-worker. He may or may not show up again.

Got it ? Great, because NONE Of these characters are in the next chapter because Rhett is going to Connecticut for Christmas.

Chapter 11
6 months pregnant, Juliana went to CT to reconnect with her Dad (and talk about his settlement money) and she  finds that he has moved into a bigger townhouse and put all her things from the commune into her very own bedroom. 

Rhett's boss tells him he should consider going to a training camp to train to become an Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He wants to do it, but doesn't think it would be responsible with his new baby on the way.

Feeling fustrated by the constant sameness of living with both sides of his family, Rhett decides to go see Juliana and spend Christmas with the Reeses. Mr. Reese wouldn't even come to their wedding, so this should be interesting...

Chapter 11
Playlist
-1- All I Want For Christmas by Anthem Lights
-2- Up All Night by Jussie Smolett
-3- Blue Christmas by She and Him
-4- Do You Want To Build A Snowman by Jasmine Thompson

Surprise, Surprise

So.... this has been me the past few days

and some of this

 

Tuesdays with LiLe
I think LiLe must be my new muse because (and don't think too much into it, guys) her Eli Cohen bit inspired me to do something with UL3 and from there I reworked the serial format a little and in the past few days I've been able to outline all the way to the end of Part I. 

Because of this, the serial may feel a little uneven, but I hope you guys will stick with me.

Chapter 9  / OHG4
So, the scene where Juliana sees Hallie's school play was lifted from one of the last pieces of OHG I ever wrote. I got to this part in OHG and I realized I was in a corner. Now I'm going to share that corner I wrote myself into.

Basically in OHG-verse Rhett works in Alaska and Juliana is tired of waiting for him so she goes back to Connecticut because she is thinking of leaving him. So, she's not pregnant or anything. Also in UL2 it's established that Juliana knows sign language, which is something that I now realize never comes up in UL3. Anyway after Hallie's play about how snow is formed, Juliana takes Hallie home to give her Dad and Tessa time for a date and then this happens:

“My, my you and Hallie look so much alike,” Mrs. Hardwick,the music teacher, said as she handed me a copy of the program.

“Thank you,” I said, I normally would have ignored it but, the southern hospitality had gotten to me.

I took the program and Hallie and I headed back to the house.

After her play, Tess introduced me to Hallie’s teachers  and one thing led to another and they offered me freelance work through my agency. I would be interpreting the 5^thgrade recital. I was surprised I got as much work as I did but, I was wiling to work weekends and sit through a 3 hours string concert.

Hallie was a good child, she put her coat, scarf and mittens on and we headed outside at full speed. 

We made it to the apartment complex and I noticed a familiar face in the front lawn. I half walked half ran up to him.

“Cortland.” I said once I was close to him.

He didn’t respond and I retreated, then he turned to me. Without recognition.

“I-,”

“It’s me Juliana,”

A light went on and he smiled

“We have to stop running into each other like this,” he said.

I smiled

“Last time I saw you--,”

“Forget about that, please. I said.” I was in a bad place. --,”

“And now ?,” he asked

I rifled through my pockets and handed the keys to Hallie.

“Why don’t you go inside,” I said. “Lock the doors,” 

She took the keys and went back outside leaving Cortland and I standing as the snow began to fall.

I just didn't know what to do with Cortland, I didn't know what they'd talk about and I felt like I  hadn't explored the R/J relationship and I hit a wall.

I also have a few more scenes from UL3 from Rhett's bachelor party I took out that  I may share...

United Light 3
In Lile's last post I made a comment about how serials allow  us some flexibility and that comment may have been more for me than for Lile. I may or may not be changing the name of UL3, so you'll see me mostly referring to it as UL3. The name just isn't fitting with what the serial is turning into. I kind of have an idea in mind but I'm letting it simmer.

Chapter 10
This chapter is kind of a long one and more character/world-buildy. It's a meanwhile of chapter 9.

After being in a car with Cody when he gets arrested for possession Juliana has to quit her job at HolidayHam! and Rhett and Cody get in a fight. She's finding it hard to find a job with a criminal record and Rhett tells her that her Dad received half a million dollars for selling the commune land and Juliana decides to go visit her Dad in CT to  ask him about the money and repair their relationship. Meanwhile Rhett is....

Chapter 10
Playlist
-1- Dreamers by Isbell (Yes, I'm reusing songs already)
-2- Long Time by LanCO
-3- The House That Built Me by Miranda  Lambert
-4- To Make Fire Burn Again by Dawn Landes (If it were up to me this song would just play the whole serial)

Chapter 8 !

Adventures in Country Music
I have been listening to a lot of country music playlists while putting together some scenes of UL3 and country music is so interesting. The top tracks are oddly male dominated and they're either of the bro-country variety about trucks, girls and partying or the more older school kind about...girls, family and 'mureica.

There are a lot of gems, but I have to share this one because I can't really work it into the serial. It's just so on the nose of that cloyingly sweet, family, patriarchal sense of some country music. I honestly don't know if I hate or love this song for being what it is but I thought I'd share it as sort of background music for this post:





 

Never Make Plans
So, I've kind of fallen off a cliff with my writing. I surpassed my outline and I'm just kind of free falling into the next couple of chapters that I'm writing. That said, these chapters are getting in the 5-8K length. I'm still trying to keep to my outline but it's getting tricky....


I Did A Thing
I've kind of run out of things to blog about for this last chapter so I guess I'll reveal that I did a thing a while ago. I was listening to my Discover Weekly playlist and I heard a song I liked so I put it in it's own playlist call...V3. I don't know what is means or what it will lead to but I do have something kind of scratched out. That is to day if there are things you want to see leave them in the comments and I'll think about it.

Raleigh Cameron
I'm not saying he is going to show up, but here is Raleigh's picspiration...except all bald.

 
Chapter 8
Rhett is back from Hawaii and he and Juliana settle into a life together, but Rhett is starting to feel claustorphobic about returning to a life in Freeport.

CHAPTER 8
PLAYLIST

-1- Dirt of Your Shoulder by Jay-Z
-2- Sound of Silence by Kinna Granis (I am in love with her voice)
-3-  Gravity by AJ Rafael and Gardiner Sisters 
-4- Half of Me by Rihanna

I Have A Confession...

You: Wow, Shawna it's been a while

Me: Yeah, I kind of have writer's block and lost my way and just can't finish a chapter--

You, shoving breadsticks into your purse: No chapters ? Okay, well sorry, but I gotta go--

Me: I mean I'm struggling with  chapter 14 &15 and we're only on chapter 9

You, slowly putting breadsticks back in basket: Um...Is there a new chapter today ?

Me: Of course there is !

You: So, how many chapters is in this thing anyway ? And why are you creating new playlists on your Spotify ? And how has Lile done basically two serials in the time it takes you to do one ?

Me, shoving cheddar bay biscuits into my purse: Sorry, I gotta go--

You: Wait, did you bring cheddar bay biscuits to an Olive Garden ?

*Me, shoving breadsticks into purse too and fleeing into the night*




CHAPTER 8
I had kind of mentioned that parts of Chapter 8 were from OHG and I was going to post some pieces of it, but it's actually not that interesting. This next chapter also has some parts from OHG, and I think those would be more interesting to post.

I think in the comments a lot of you were speculating about the health of Juliana and Rhett's relationship and I just wanted to clear a couple of things up.

1. Juliana is mentally ill and has been since UL2 and Rhett knows this so he is a little more protective of her, but more importantly....

2. Spoiler Alert: Rhett Clark is an asshole.  I noticed this while re-reading all of Rhett's POV in UL and UL2. Rhett was never really romantic lead material in the UL-verse, I think some of that romanticism of him may have just been from comments or something.  He cares about Juliana and isn't like MRA level of asshole, but he's...learning. Which is why he does things like get in a fight with his best friend. We will defintely explore some of this.

CHAPTER 9
Rhett secretly meets with Raleigh Cameron to see why Juliana didn't get any money from the UL settlement. He discovers Mr. Reese got 6,000 in settlement and  500,000 from selling his land, but never gave any to Juliana.

Juliana's Dad still refuses to visit or accept her marriage and she hasn't seen him in 6 months. She also hasn't told him she's pregnant. Now, she's headed to Hartford for a few days to repair their relationship and hopefully understand why her Dad has been hiding money from her.

Chapter 9
Playlist

-1-  Watch Me by Paul McDonald and Nikki Reed
-2- Sweater Weather by Kina Granis
-3- Happy by VSQ
-4- Rosary by Troy

Courthouse Wedding Asthetic

Long Time No See
You guys I was having a TIME untangling chapter 12 and that's why I haven't been posting as much. I feel like I have more direction now and now I'm untangling the next chapter.





Courthouse Weddings
So, in the last chapter Juliana and Rhett get married in a courthouse because Rhett takes an assignment in Hawaii. Eric and I both come from fairly religions families, but I really wish we didn't because courthouse weddings look really cute !

By the way the bride in this last photo is a wedding planner and their wedding looked so trendy, they must be a lot of fun.

Wedding Dress Inspy

 Sweater Inspiration (but white w/ glitter)

And shoes

 













(This section was written a while ago but is still mostly true) 
In the Trenches with Chapter 12
So, I know these chapters have been kind of short, most of them are between 3,000-4,000 words, but I am currently slogging through chapter 12 right now and it is going to be atleast 6,000 - 8,000 words and I think 13 might be too. As the official Lile stan (come at me bro) I know how awesome long chapters can be !

Chapter 7 
Juliana moves to Freeport with Rhett and they began to plan a wedding. But when Rhett takes an assignment in Hawaii they have a quicky wedding in a courthouse ...*fadetoblack, fadetoblack, fadetoblack* two weeks later Juliana is pregnant and Rhett is off to Hawaii.

Chapter 7
Playlist
-1- Anchor by Novo Amor
-2- Right by You by Jason Nozuka
-3- Shine by Benjamin Francis Leftwitch
-4- Bumpin' The Night by Florida Georgia Line

Gold Stars !

 So, as I'm doing some re-reading of UL and UL2 for this serial it's been fun to kind of go back and see where Lile and I started doing our little inside jokes and gags. Like for instance the first mention of paradox line (the actual line itself) was in 2009!

Same Name Game
When I put away OHG I was convinced I would never pick it up again and I put it out of mind. Lo and behold I did such a good job of that I didn't realize I'd been re-using names. Here are the ones so far.

Zane / Zayn
In OHG/UL3 there is Marine Zane Brooks and in HMLIS there is Zayn, Corinne's roommates' boyfriend.

Hallie/Haley
So in OHG/UL3 it's pronounced Hal-e where as in V3 it's pronounced Hey-lee

Daniel
So Daniel is the name of Juliana's dad and Haley's brother-in-law

GOLD STARS
I had a lot of fun giving out gold stars so I am going to be giving out gold stars to any comments that catch on to something that is more subtext than text or if you get at some twist (not that there are any big twists). I'm not trying to gamify the comments, but it was so fun to do last post. I also may need to work on a cute gold star image....

Recap
41 days after the Memorial's Day cookout Rhett comes to Conneticut and asks Juliana to marry him. She says yes and moves to Louisiana to plan the wedding and help his mom open her salon. It's all going well until Rhett gets a two  month assignment in Hawaii. Afraid something may happen to him while he is away they decide to get married at the courthouse.  Now Juliana just needs to tell her Dad...

CHAPTER 6
Chapter 6
Playlist
-1- I Will Let You Go by Daniel Ahern
-2- Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns N Roses
-3- Yours by Ella Henderson
-4- Turn Me On by Nora Jones