Inspiration:
The inspiration for A New Friend is actually really cute; I have a small black cat named Shada who is eleven years old. She is an absolute sweetheart who has been there for most of my life, and she has helped me quite a lot. Her purring can help to ground me, while her endearing presence never fails to make me feel better.
(EDIT: May Shada rest in peace, she had to be put down on July 8th, 2019 when her health began rapidly declining, but she lived 12 happy years at my side, and she will be deeply missed.)
I knew I wanted Virgil to find the black kitten and fall in love with it, then in doing so experience the many things I have run into as a pet owner. First of all, his method of training the kitten (Amaya) is a very similar method to what I use. People say you can't train a cat, and that is a lie, actually when I snap my fingers, Shada will stop and look up at me, just like Amaya does in the story. She associates the sound with things she shouldn't be doing such as jumping up on tables or entering rooms she's not allowed in.
Now, one of the qualities I gave to Amaya is that she will nibble on people's ears, and while my cat doesn't do that, she does try to groom me. Most times when sit down on the couch, she will lie down on the back and try to lick my hair, which is both annoying and endearing. Overall though, Shada is a gentle cat, and I love her, and even though she isn't a rescue, she has helped me through a lot, and that's what I wanted Amaya to do for Virgil.
Overall Thoughts On A New Friend:
A New Friend holds a bittersweet place in my heart seeing as it was the story I wrote after enduring the horrors of writing Sleep-Walking. The reason I say it is bittersweet is due to the fact that I don't feel like it is one of my better stories; because, I had a hard time forcing myself to sit down and write again. I do like it however; because, it is the story that helped me to rediscover my passion for writing, and helped to remind me why I started writing in the first place.
Over all I think the story is good, though not great; but, it did help me to achieve something that I feared I had lost forever. That being said, A New Friend does hold a special place in my heart, partially because it makes me think of my own cat, and because it helped me to pick writing back up when I was almost certain I never would again.
Writing Tips Based On A New Friend:
-I know I have said this in a previous chapter, but I can't stress this enough, especially after what I went through. Whether you are just starting out or you're at J.K. Rowling or J.R.R Tolkien levels of experience KEEP WRITING!!!
· You are going to run into complications and conflicts while writing, but it is important to power through them and keep going. If you do, you will come out of the situation a better author. Some stories won't be up to your expectations, but in the end that is okay, because you can learn from your mistakes and know how to avoid them in the next story you write.
-Listen to Film Scores / Movie Soundtracks while you write.
· Now, there are many types of music you can listen to when writing, but the best form is instrumental. That being said, you still want something that isn't going to distract you, and that is what film scores are made for. They play beneath the dialogue and action of a movie without drawing attention to themselves. Overall they make for great background noise and a calming sound to hear while writing, and their mood / feeling can help to inspire you as well. (I will leave a link for the YouTube playlist I use on shuffle.)
· https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSPyE5xeotfrK9eJxtA6ngfxhItjRTHNN
A Funny Story Concerning A New Friend:
There is a funny story to how I found the name Amaya. It is Basque, meaning it originates from both the French and Spanish languages, and it means Night Rain. What I never stated in the story however, was that my favorite band Approaching Nirvana has an album called Cinematic Soundscapes Vol. 2, and on that album there is a song called Amaya's Tomb. I had actually fallen in love with the name Amaya after listening to that track, but what I didn't realize until writing this story is that the continuous mix of the album is called Night Rain.
If you find from my previous writing tip that you enjoy film scores, you will love Cinematic Soundscapes Vol. 1 and 2. If you don't like those however, Approaching Nirvana has plently of albums that are more electronic and still instrumental. As they are my favorite band I am a bit biased, but I highly suggest looking them up!