Alyssa Pennini's Blog, page 6

Writer Series: Initial Research

My idea for The Legend of Valtera came to me on Christmas day 2013. It came out of nowhere, didn’t make much sense, but I felt it was something that I had to do. It started with pretty much a vague one sentence idea: something happens and a young woman is forced to go on a quest for something like the sorcerer’s stone. Not much, but it was enough of a creative spark to get the fire burning.

Bored and not too happy with the selection of books out there, I basically decided to write something that I, myself, would want to read. When I decided that I was going to move forward with this project, I began researching the competition. I didn’t have a specific genre in mind, so I looked into books that I had read and enjoyed. I spent a lot of time on Amazon, reading the 1 and 2 star reviews of these books to see what the most common problems were. The things that most people didn’t like were centered around the characters: unlikeable, perfect Mary-sue, love triangles and one dimensionality. In terms of story and plot, the biggest problems were predictability, lack of character development, plot holes, pacing and decisions or story lines not making sense.

Moving forward, I tried to keep all of those things in mind when crafting my story and characters. I thought that it was better to understand these concerns at the beginning so that major rewrites were necessary. But I felt like I had a good understanding of what my potential readers were looking for and how my writing would be received before I had any of the story down on paper. 

If Only

By: Alyssa Pennini

If only I had wings to fly away

And leave this land anytime of day

To escape my own life and reality

And see the big picture, what the world can be

Tree of Life

By: Alyssa Pennini

Roots spread strong and deep

Within the ground where water seeps

To feed them as they grow so tall

The light of the sun greening them all

Branches entwine and shoot towards the sky

Allowing birds to perch as they fly

Connecting all, bridging earth to afterlife

Is Yggdrasil, the tree of life

Writer Series: How It All Began

I never thought of being a writer. It wasn’t something I dreamed about, worked at or thought of much at all, to be honest. In high school, English was my least favorite subject. Papers were a nightmare and I couldn’t write a poem to save my life. It didn’t help that my teachers were vicious; every paper was drenched in bloody red pen, highlighting all of my brilliant mistakes. It felt like more than constructive criticism and did nothing to inspire further efforts in writing anything more than necessity.

College courses were no better. I performed much better, though the elective courses I enjoyed and excelled more. Apparently my high school teachers were much more ruthless in terms of grading. Or maybe it was just because I went to a business school and creative writing wasn’t really a high priority. Although now that I think about it, I don’t think I did any writing other than research papers. Though my grades were better, I still didn’t like writing. It wasn’t something that I looked forward to, but more like a chore.

The last few years of college were tough, emotionally. Then graduation happened and I hadn’t found a job, the search taking months where I was left sitting at home alone with my dog. A few trips to therapy, some suggestions on expressing emotions and I found myself directed journaling using tarot cards to pick a subject for an entry. It started as an occasional thing, here and there, but then it grew becoming more and more frequent to the point where I wrote an entry or two every night before bed.

Somewhere along the way I found myself drawn to words. And the more I wrote, the more I wanted and had to write, if that makes any sense. That desire had me branching out, writing poems and stories, and spurred the beginnings of a semi-forgotten memoir of my high school and college years. No longer limited to the tarot deck, I kept writing, kept thinking, kept brainstorming all the ideas, metaphors and analogies that popped into my head.

Suddenly, in the midst of it all, an idea came to me for a story about a girl going on a quest for some sort of mythical object. Though it was kind of vague, I couldn’t let it go, compelled to write it down and make sure that I never forgot it. And that was when my real journey began.

Weather the Storm

By: Alyssa Pennini

Sitting by my window, I think

And watch the rain fall down

A steady stream of water

Forming puddles on the ground

It’s a sign from the universe

That though you feel alone

Sadness is only temporary

And nothing is set in stone

The wind blows in all directions

Emotions will come and go

Happiness is around the corner

That is something you should know

Today the clouds block out the sun

But tomorrow it will rise anew

Bringing the dawn of another day

And the possibility of change holds true

Direction

By: Alyssa Pennini

My world is filled with trees

And they are all I see

The sky is hidden up above

With no one else to speak of

Alone, I run and flee

Forever onward so it seems

The world spins and I am lost

No other paths have I crossed

Whether north, east, south or west

There is no direction on this quest

Valtera Coupon

My book The Legend of Valtera is now available in other ebook formats on Smashwords.com. Right now you can get it for 50% ($1.50) off with coupon code HA43K. This coupon expires August 31st.

Sunset

By: Alyssa Pennini

The summer sun moves to flee

Sinking lower behind the trees

Painting the world in shades of gold

A sunset of colors bright and bold

 

The Archer

By: Alyssa Pennini

Stand still and tall, bow in hand

A quiet strength, yours to command

Weight of the quiver, strapped to your back

A target is chosen, something to track

Eyes close to focus on the sounds

Nature’s music is all around

Raise your bow, take your stance

Anchor the arrow without a glance

Feel the air while peace is sought

Pull the bowstring til it’s taut

See the target in your mind’s eye

Take a deep breath and let it fly

Lightning and Thunder

By: Alyssa Pennini

Shaking ground, rumbling sound

The eye of the storm has been found

A crack of light brightens the night

Illuminating the world, everything in sight

With one comes the other, sister and brother

A pairing of the sky is lightning and thunder