R.M. Archer's Blog, page 24

NaNoWriMo Alternatives

I’ve been participating in National Novel Writing Month since 2014, and I think the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 months is a great tool to get people writing and foster community among writers and just overall encourage authors. Lately, however, the NaNoWriMo organization has been making a lot of decisions based on politics, and they’re decisions that I personally think are detrimental to the encouragement of community that is central to what NaNoWriMo has to offer. You’re welcome to agree or disagree with me on that, and through this post I do not mean to advocate for leaving the NaNoWriMo organization or suggest that it’s the best option—I haven’t even decided for myself yet whether I’m staying or leaving. This is simply intended to be a gathering of resources in case anyone has seen NaNoWriMo’s recent changes as deal-breakers, or to provide additional resources for those who are sticking around but maybe want additional tools.

Word count tracking: myWriteClub

myWriteClub is a site that allows you to track writing goals, not only in words but also in chapters, scenes, to-do items, pages, percentages, lines, and “other.” It also allows you to archive goals when you’re finished with them, and to un-archive them at will. It doesn’t have any fancy stats attached, so it won’t tell you how many words you average per day or what time of day you write most often or anything like that, but it functions to keep you on track with a writing goal.

It also allows you to follow other authors and comment on their goals to cheer them on, and vice versa. And there’s a word sprint tool which allows you to see real-time progress—both your own and that of those you’re writing against. You can either start your own sprint “room” or join the “global sprint.” The tool has a timer at the top set to the Pomodoro Technique, so it counts down 25 minutes in green and then 5 minutes in blue and then 25 in green, etc., but it doesn’t prevent you from writing during the intended breaks.

Overall, it’s a really handy tool.

Word count tracking: Svenja Gosen’s word tracking calendar

I’ve used these calendars for three years now, and they’re super cool. They’re Excel spreadsheets that are completely set up to calculate average words per day, average words per month, total per month, how many words left to reach a monthly goal, average time spent writing, etc. All you have to do is enter your word count and how long you spent writing. And the artwork is beautiful. So if you’re looking for something with more stats than myWriteClub, this might be a good fit. The calendars are sold according to a donation system, so you can shell in for them to keep them going or you can get them for free if you don’t have the money to donate.

Word count tracking: Pacemaker

I think I’ve used this once, but I then forgot about it and now I can’t remember my login. So obviously I can’t speak much to how it works. But Pacemaker looks like it could be a very handy tool. It’s set up not only to handle fiction projects but also academic projects, marketing… even training and saving or spending. It has tons of options and is super flexible, even allowing you to set your own method of reaching the goal—whether you want to write a steady amount each day, put most of the work in the middle, work up from small goals to larger goals… It also allows you to set whether you want weekends (or other specific days or dates) to be different from normal days.

Community: Kingdom Pen

Kingdom Pen is a Christian blog and community that’s been around for a while. It saw a year or two of down time in the middle, but it’s recently returned and seems to be thriving again. It’s primarily intended for teen writers, and it’s a really fun group of people.

Community: Story Embers

Story Embers is kind of like an all-ages version of Kingdom Pen. It’s also a Christian group, and it focuses more heavily on how best to glorify God through writing. This group is also fantastic, and there are a lot of great conversations on the forums, both deep and meaningful conversations and those that are more just-for-fun.

Community: Scribes & Archers Discord

I have a Discord channel for interacting with you all, my readers, and sharing what I’m working on and hearing about what y’all are working on. I’ll admit I’m not great at getting/keeping conversation going, which is definitely something I need to work on, but we’d love to have you join us and get to know you better!

(Joining the Discord channel also includes perks like access to the resource library and the first chapter of Calligraphy Guild.)

Wherever you stand on NaNoWriMo, I hope this list has been helpful to you. What tools do you use to track writing projects? Are you part of any public writing communities?

Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

PFW is releasing another anthology, so you know I jumped on it. I’m super thankful to have gotten another of their ARCs, and this one is quite possibly my favorite yet. It’s definitely their best anthology yet, and if they keep improving their quality at this rate I’m going to have to create a six-star rating or something. XD Anyway, into the actual review. (And here’s the necessary disclaimer that even though I got an ARC I wasn’t required to give a positive review and this is all my honest opinion.)

Mistakes Were Made

Everything about this story is fantastic. The tone of finals week at a space-fantasy-style university, the characters and their snark and values and just… character, the folklore-inspired worldbuilding, the voice of the prose… Oh, and did I mention that this one starts a trend of diverse characters with struggles and strengths and whatnot that aren’t often portrayed in fiction? Because that’s one of my favorite things about this anthology, as a whole. I love getting to see different types of people represented, and Of Myth and Monster does a fantastic job of that. Guillerma is diabetic, which is not only a fact of her character but plays deeply into the story as such things should. Hannah does an excellent job of this throughout all of her stories, and Mistakes Were Made is no exception.

This story is funny, too. It had me legitimately laughing out loud multiple times, and it was just so much fun to read. But the humor doesn’t detract from its depth, as the relationship between the two main characters is explored and Mundo’s motivation, in particular, is revealed.

Anyway, just a fantastic story all around.

The Boy Who Listened

In an effort to avoid repeating “Everything about this story is fantastic” at the beginning of each review… I’m just going to say now that they’re all all-around fantastic and you should just mark the book’s release date (this Saturday) on your calendar now and buy it as soon as it comes out and enjoy it and then come tell me so I can say I told you so and we can freak out about it together.

Did you mark the date? Awesome. Back to the review.

Magic academies are awesome. Greek mythology is awesome. Neurodivergent rep is awesome. Sphinxes are awesome. So, naturally, this story is also awesome. It’s also written beautifully, as is pretty much always the case with Shultz’s work, it’s thoughtful, and the character voice is spot-on. And what I said about things like diabetes and neurodivergence being woven with the story, not just disconnected facts? That’s true of this story, as well (and the others in the anthology, too). These authors understand those issues, understand character, and understand storytelling, which leads to a skill in telling stories that are incredibly effective in their purposes.

H.E.R.O.

Urban fantasy. Anxiety rep. More Greek mythology. Oh! And a pet phoenix! The worldbuilding in this one was really interesting, putting creative twists on Greek mythology. I really enjoyed the blend of ancient mythology and a sci-fi urban world. I also especially loved the conclusion of this story.

The Gods of Troy

This one blends Greek mythology with space-based sci-fi, and I liked the worldbuilding of the Titans. The story stays very true to its source material, while still putting an interesting spin on it. I liked it a lot.

The Unicorn Tamer

Andorians are adorable, the writing of this story is hilarious, and grumpy characters are super fun to read about. Probably my favorite moment in the story has to do with fuzzy copyright laws. XD (Which is a pun, come to think of it…) There’s also a unicorn named Greg, another phoenix (because phoenixes are epic), and… an unexpected ending. Overall, thoroughly enjoyable.

Lamp of Silver

This story was an intriguing look at both a different kind of genie from most and a deep theme. Plus, pirates and others who live on the ocean are cool. I don’t have as much to say about this one specifically, but it was well-done.

The Staff of Callewhyr

This story centers around a monk, which is super cool because I feel like we don’t get enough scholars and religious folk as MCs in epic fantasy and I love reading about those aspects of a world. The Staff of Callewhyr did not disappoint. The world is fascinating, the characters in it both involved in it and deep in their own right, and the writing befitting of classic epic fantasy. I very much enjoyed reading this story, and I would love to read more about this world and these characters.

Aura

When I first read this story I described it as “sad and beautiful,” and I stand by that description. Philbrick seems to have a knack for those types of stories. The characters and their relationships form the core of this story, and they’re done extremely well. Philbrick does a good job of writing emotional stories, and that’s exemplified in Aura.

I think this isn’t my most coherent review, which is a side-effect of waiting too long to write it and my just getting over a mental health dip, but hopefully I’ve communicated that Of Myth and Monster is amazing and you should definitely check it out and support these fantastic authors and read some awesome stories. ;)

Add it on Goodreads here | Order on Amazon here

Preptober Prompts Announcement!

Two years ago I started an event called Preptober Prompts to get people excited and thinking about their NaNoWriMo novels for the month of October (also known, in writer circles, as Preptober). And we’re approaching that time of year again!

Here’s how the event works. The prompts are centered around a theme (“change,” this year), and each week features a different category of prompts: worldbuilding prompts, character prompts, plot prompts, and flash fiction prompts. In addition, each week is hosted by a different blogger. I’m super happy to announce this year’s co-hosts!

Hosting character prompts for the second week of October, Evelyn of The Rain-Drenched Writer.
Hosting plot prompts for the third week of October, Emma of Bleeding Ink.
Hosting flash fiction prompts for the fourth week of October, Maple of Maple Quill Penning Magic.

All of these ladies are great bloggers and lovely people, so definitely go check out their blogs, subscribe, follow them, all that jazz. I’m super excited to be working with all of them on this event. ^-^

Every day of October (except Sundays) will have a prompt. Each prompt will be posted by its week’s respective host, along with their response to the prompt for their own NaNoWriMo project. (The three days at the beginning that aren’t part of a full week will be pre-chosen prompts from one of my writing communities.)

How does Preptober Prompts work for you, if you’d like to be a participant? You can interact through social media by sharing the day’s prompt graphic (I’ll release a folder of the graphics closer to October) and your response, tagging me (@rysaarcher on Twitter and Instagram, R.M. Archer on Facebook), and using the #PreptoberPrompts hashtag; or through the host blogs by putting your response in the comments of the day’s prompt post.

I’m super excited for this year’s event, and I hope y’all have a lot of fun with it and it helps you prep for November! :)

August 2020 Wrap-Up

We’ve survived another month of 2020 and we’re one month closer to the monster year being over. So let’s look back on it, shall we?

Writing

August 22nd marked the completion of my Calligraphy Guild rewrite! I finally finished the structural fixes and ended up with a 64.5k draft to build off of. I started on my character and worldbuilding edits almost immediately, but so far I’ve only gotten through chapter three (of eighteen). I’m hoping that I’ll be able to pick up the pace some in the coming month.

I also started a short story this month, based on a random idea I had that I thought for sure was just a random fun scene that would never go anywhere. XD I haven’t done a whole lot with it yet, but you’ll probably hear about it again sometime in the future.

Reading

Where Do I Start? An Overview of Indie Publishing by Molly Evangeline
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers
From Scratch by Tembi Locke
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye
The American Spirit by David McCullough
Ships, Secrets, and Survivors by Sarah Rodecker and Helena George
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I read a decent amount in August, though only a handful of the books I read were really fantastic.

Of Myth and Monster was amazing, and I’m super excited to share my review of that one next week.

The Two Towers and Fahrenheit 451 (both rereads) were great.

Where Do I Start? was a little bit outdated, being written before CreateSpace and KDP merged, but does provide a good overview of what goes into good indie publishing.

Sword and Verse had amazing worldbuilding… but a romantic thread centered around one character cheating on a betrothal ruined it for me.

Plans for next month

If I’m able to recharge and improve my mental health, next month is going to be pretty busy, since I have some big projects planned. If I can’t get my mental health up, I’ll just have to drop a project or two. But ideally…

I’ll be working on finalizing Preptober Prompts. The official announcement, including who’s co-hosting this year, will be going up on Friday, and I’m really excited for this year.

I’ll be editing Calligraphy Guild. If I keep up a consistent pace, I can probably be done with the third draft within the month, which will be super cool.

I’ll be starting independent classes. I’m kind of “unschooling” my own school year, even though I’ve graduated, and taking this year to study a variety of subjects I’m interested in. A lot of my classes will be done through Coursera, but then there are others (such as the Early American History & Civics subject I swapped in last-minute) that are mostly composed of books from around our house or from the library.

I’ll finally be testing for my driver’s license! I have an appointment with the DMV on the 26th, and I can’t. wait. My driver’s license has been pushed back so many times, and I’m so glad to be finally coming up on the freedom to leave the house when I’ve had too much of my siblings and just need to breathe somewhere quiet and peaceful. (I love my siblings, but having them around 24/7 for months on end has been a little much.) And to do grocery runs when my parents can’t, and to get together with friends, and to explore, and… I’m just very excited to finally be able to legally drive on my own.

September TBR:

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Women of Kern, Book Two by Maris McKay
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Cloak of Night by Evelyn Skye
A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
Whatever else I’m in the mood to read

How was your August? What are your plans for September? What projects have you been working on lately?

Recommended Reads

After being disgusted by a review yesterday that celebrated a YA book synopsis “teas[ing] a dark eroticism so often lacking in YA,” I decided to put together a list of books (and authors) that need more attention for their cleanliness and/or positive values. So here we are. (A handful of these are actually found in the adult section, but I’d be comfortable handing them to a teenager and I read them as a teenager myself. Others are technically middle-grade but are of a quality that they can be enjoyed by people of all ages.)

Clean Books

The Door Within trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson

The Dreamtreaders trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson

The Isle Chronicles by Wayne Thomas Batson

The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

The Truth series by Dawn Cook

Atlantis Rising by T.A. Barron

The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

The Terebinth Tree Chronicles by Hannah Heath

The Stealthmaster’s Shadow by Hope Ann

The Beaumont and Beasley series by Kyle Robert Shultz

The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles by R.M. Archer

Short Story Collection vol. 1 by R.M. Archer

Child of the Kaites by Beth Wangler

Steward Stories by Beth Wangler

The 100 Cupboards trilogy by N.D. Wilson

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson

The Secret of the Rose series by Michael Philips

Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker

The Traveler by E.B. Dawson

The Fire Rain Chronicles by Miranda Marie

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Fallen Leaves by Tessa Emily Hall

The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson

The Whispers of White duology by Miranda Marie

Strange Waters by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Positive Books

The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan (mild language, drug use painted in a negative light in a later book)

Women of Kern by Maris McKay (the first story gets a little graphic on the romance toward the end, but that’s the only uncomfortable content I recall and the book promotes many different types of strength)

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (includes a handful of sexual references, if I recall correctly)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (mild language throughout)

A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes (semi-graphic violence at times)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (language throughout and a brief sexual scene, but a good look at the issues it addresses)

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews (addresses abuse)

100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons (mild language)

Antiheroes by The Phoenix Fiction Writers (heavy violence in places and maybe light language)

Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers (mild language)

Authors to Follow

Andrew Peterson

Hannah Heath

Nadine Brandes

Kyle Robert Shultz

E.B. Dawson

Beth Wangler

Miranda Marie

Kara Swanson

Abbie Emmons

I want to say thank you to all the authors writing clean, high-quality books, or books that portray real issues through a conservative/Christian lens. Keep doing what you’re doing. Your work is important.

And to all of you readers, promote clean and positive books. Spread the word. Recommend them to people. Buy them as gifts. Support the authors. Let’s create a community of readers and authors that produces and spreads quality work that’s truly intended for teen readers, both clean options and options that aren’t afraid to tackle issues that teens are worried about but from a Christian perspective. (And I’ll talk in a few weeks about the importance of both flavors of Christian fiction.)

Do you have any recommendations that didn’t make it onto my list? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Book Review: Ships, Secrets, and Survivors by Helena George and Sarah Rodecker

Blurb

An assassin trainee fleeing his profession. 

A princess risking her reputation.

A talking ship with a mad captain.

Ravin should be dead. No one forsakes the assassin profession and lives. Attempting to evade capture and certain death, Ravin hides on a ship as part of the crew. Then his name is announced on Selection Day for the annual Scaera Dumeda, despite him never taking the entry test, declaring to the entire world—and the assassins hunting him for revenge—that he is alive. 

Princess Adima Radi Kashinda dreams of more than someday ruling Antovan. She desires to make a true difference for her people. When her name is called on Selection Day, she throws away her title, despite the uncertain future ahead. This may be the opportunity she hoped for.

When some of the other selectees are murdered, Ravin and Adi are among the suspects. With the help of Ravin’s captain and crew, they sail away to hunt down the killer and clear their names. Can they catch the murderer when he always seems to be at least one step ahead?

Review

Ships, Secrets, and Survivors is a pretty classic seafaring fantasy novel, with a couple of fun twists. The most notable twist being ships that talk. The Red Wind is one such ship, and it’s her and her crew that we follow. Honestly, Red Wind herself was one of my favorite characters. She cares for her crew, she’s steadfast, and she likes music; what’s not to love?

The rest of the characters were something of a mixed bag. I liked Ravin and Adi, even if I was a little disappointed with how the latter’s arc ended, and I appreciated seeing the story through their eyes. Ravin’s assassin etiquette was interesting, and I enjoyed seeing his skills, knowledge, and connections employed throughout the story. Arrow and Josiah were also fun characters, though I wish they’d been fleshed out more. The rest of the characters mostly felt underdeveloped, so I was never really able to connect with them. Shade was the only character I can think of that I really didn’t like; he didn’t get a lot of time “on screen,” and his character development felt rushed and inconsistent. I also wish we’d learned more about Bonnie, because she mostly left me confused.

The worldbuilding was primarily your standard fantasy fare, but I enjoyed the talking ships and the Scaera Dumeda; I wish there had been more time to focus on the Scaera Dumeda and see it fleshed out more. I also enjoyed the snippets of Jay’s thoughts surrounding Red Wind and her legends at the beginning of each chapter, giving insight into the larger world’s thoughts on the ship.

Overall, Ships, Secrets, and Survivors was an enjoyable read that I’d give about 3.5 stars.

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

Giveaway

US Giveaway:

1 Annotated Copy of Ships, Secrets, and Survivors

1 Mug

Tea

3 Bookmarks

1 Sea Dragon Sticker

A Map of the Red Wind

And a Book Sleeve

International Giveaway:

An ebook copy of Ships, Secrets, and Survivors

A PDF of Fearless, a Pirate Hunter Chronicles short story

And a phone wall paper

Enter the US giveaway!
Enter the international giveaway!
About the Authors

Sarah Rodecker and Helena George have done countless crazy things together since they first met in 2005. One such thing was write Ships, Secrets, and Survivors on a dare. It went so well, they decided to expand it into a series and publish it together.

The Liebster Award #8 and Sunshine Blogger Award #5

It’s time for another pair of tags! This time, thanks are due to Felicity at The Wondrous World Around Us!

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you. (Thanks, Felicity!)
Display your award.
Answer the questions you were asked.
Nominate 5 bloggers.
Ask 6 new questions.
Let your nominees know they were nominated.

Questions:

1. What was the most interesting quirk that you ever gave to a character you created?

Oh wow. Quirks tend to be one of my weak spots, lol. Let’s see… Maybe the character whose bionic eye twitched all the time? It was kind of a cheap bionic eye that constantly needed to be recalibrated. ;P

2. What’s your favorite character from any fandom, book, or movie? Why is that your favorite character?

Eeek! So many amazing choices! As I’ve reread The Lord of the Rings, I’ve fallen in love with Sam Gamgee all over again. He’s loyal, compassionate, loves his garden, he pushes through even though he’d rather be back home, he always has hope… He’s just an amazing character. Also, he lobbed an apple at the head of someone who’d been spying on the hobbits in Bree, so…

3. Which musician, band, or group would you go spend an entire paycheck on to go see in concert?

THE FAMILY SOWELL. *cough* I mean… The Family Sowell. I’m perfectly calm.

They’re a bluegrass family band, and I love their performance style, their personalities, how much they clearly love each other and their music, their love for people… They’re just amazing. Plus their music is also good. ;D

4. What process do you go through as you’re trying to develop and figure out a character’s brain/thoughts/inner voice?

It depends on the character and the story. A lot of times, I figure out a handful of traits and details about them and then write them to flesh them out more. Sometimes that means RPing with them, sometimes it means just diving into their story… But sometimes they require some more work, and I’ll fill out a bigger character sheet or I’ll write an unrelated snippet to try to learn more about them or something like that. It depends.

5. What’s your character more likely to do: Help flip bugs over when they’re stuck upside down, but kill someone without a bat of an eye? Or help people, but squish a bug without mercy?

Which one? XD I’ll go with Duyên Lai, since she’s the MC of my current project. She’d help both, lol. But she’d be more likely to help people but squish a bug without mercy. Especially if it was a spider or other particularly creepy crawly.

6. Have you ever started reading a book and then couldn’t bring yourself to finish it? If so, what book was it, and why couldn’t you finish it?

I have a very short list of DNF books. The most recent was The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter, which… I could have finished if I’d really wanted to? It was fairly interesting. But it was super long, and the overall tone of it wasn’t one I really wanted to steep myself in for 500 or 600 pages, so I let it go at about 15% of the way through.

7. What are your three favorite words?

Snickerdoodle. It’s such a fun word, and snickerdoodles are amazing.

I actually have a whole list of fun words, but I can’t access it at the moment. The only others I’m thinking of off the top of my head are phrases rather than words. “Je suis avec toi,” for instance, which is French for “I’m with you.” It has so many potential meanings behind it, and it sounds so beautiful in French, and I just love it. And “I miss you,” which just… means a lot to me; I wrote an entire… free-verse poem, I guess? about it once.

8. What are your three least favorite words?

I don’t really have a lot of words I dislike? Besides curse words. ;P

I guess “pus” would be a least favorite. That word is just always gross, lol.

“Squelch” is coming to mind for some reason, but I actually love the onomatopoeia of that word.

I don’t know. I like most words for some reason or another.

9. What’s your least favorite character trait? (In real life or otherwise)

Arrogance, in real life. I can appreciate it in fiction, but in real life it’s just frustrating and off-putting.

10. What’s your favorite character trait? (In real life or otherwise)

A sense of humor. And firm belief in something. I greatly admire people and character who will stand up for what they believe in and won’t back down.

11. What’s your FAVORITE character trope of all time, that gets you excited when you see it used in stories?

The boyfriend/love interest who’s kind of a joker but who’s also super compassionate and deep when the situation calls for it. Does that count? Is that a trope? XD I don’t know, but I adore those characters.

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. Thanks again, Felicity!
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Questions:

1. What’s your favorite beverage flavor you’ve ever had and why?

Does cream soda count? It’s just delicious. Sort of vanilla-ish and creamy. It has kind of a warm flavor.

2. You’ve just created a small shop that sells drinks and small eats. What would your shop sell, and what’s your shop’s aesthetic?

Fun fact, Allie and I once had the thought to start a café themed around the song “My Favorite Things,” and each item would have been themed after an item in the song. So you’d have something like… a cream soda float for “cream colored ponies,” and white-iced shortbread cookies wrapped with blue ribbons for “girls in white dresses”… It was one of our restaurant conversations, like when we plotted the end of the world in Taco Bell. ;)

At this point… I think I’d have a sort of… I don’t feel like “rustic” is the right word? A sort of raw, dark wood, lots of windows, houseplants everywhere, cozy sort of aesthetic? It would be constantly filled with the scent of coffee (which is amazing, even though I hate the taste, lol), with hints of caramel and sugar. I think the menu would be book-themed, with items hosting book-related names. I’m not sure of any specifics, though, lol. But yeah. It would be really cozy and calm. ^-^

3. Have you learned to play an instrument? If so, what is it? If not, what instrument would you like to learn, and why?

I don’t currently play any instruments. I’ve never had the discipline to learn one. ;P As far as what I’d like to learn… There’s a list. XD

I’d kind of like to learn to play violin, because it’s one of my favorite instruments overall (following the saxophone) and it was one of the first I ever wanted to learn.

I’d kind of like to learn the piano, just because it’s pretty basic (for starters) and I feel like everyone in my choir can play piano except me. XD

I’d kind of like to learn the ocarina, because I have access to one and I find it pretty easy to hold and play and whatnot. I’m naturally not terrible at it, lol.

And finally, I’d kind of like to learn to play the drums, because I enjoy rhythms and I feel like I could pick up on the drums pretty quickly. There are no notes involved, just sounds, so I feel like it would be easier for me to wrap my head around. (Despite 12 years in choir, I can’t really read music. :P)

4. The city, suburbs, or countryside?

Countryside. Hands down. The suburbs are fairly boring (I’ve lived in the suburbs almost my whole life), and I’ve just… never really clicked with the whole neighborhood idea? And the city would be way too busy and crowded for me. The countryside allows for space to run, space to garden and spread out, space to have some peace and quiet… But I also don’t want to live too far from civilization, because I love people and want my country house to also have space for lots of guests. XD

5. What was your dream job growing up? Where would small 5- or 10-year-old you dream of working?

When I was 5, I think I wanted to be… a ballerina, probably? Maybe a waitress. I don’t remember for sure. I might have already been thinking toward being a librarian, but I don’t think so. When I was ten, though, I wanted so badly to be a private detective. XD I would have bombed at being a private detective, so it’s a good thing I decided a couple years later to pursue writing instead. XD

6. What do you do when you get stuck in a writer’s or artist’s block?

Usually just procrastinate and feel guilty… Not the best option. I don’t recommend that method. XD Other times I’ll take a purposeful break and think through the problem. Or there are other times I just push through it and write anyway because it’s not really writer’s block, it’s just lack of motivation and I need to get over it. XD

New Questions:

I’m just going to pass on the Sunshine award this time and drop the Liebster Award, so here are 11 questions:

What’s your favorite character trope?
What’s your least favorite character trope?
What’s your favorite thing about the writing community?
What was the last indie book you read, and what did you think of it?
What’s the last song you listened to?
How do you outline your stories, or do you figure out your story as you go?
What are some of your favorite writing blogs? (Share links!)
Are there any elements you find make their way into most/all of your stories? What are they?
What’s your favorite non-fiction book?
What are a few of your favorite quotes?
Houseplants: yea or nay?

Nominees:

Chalice at Lionhearted Art
Noah at Noah Litle Writes
Evelyn at The Rain-Drenched Writer
Eden at The Happy Hedgehog
Alabama at Alabama Rose
Grace at Literature for the Light
Sarah at The Sarcastic Elf
Allie at Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins
Dawn at Rosy Dawns and Radiant Musings
Lavender at Always Write the Good Write
You!

A Prayer for the Christian Writing Community

Today’s post is a little out-of-the-ordinary, and I was anxious to get it up, hence a Friday post. Story Embers is running a challenge to encourage support and interaction in the writing community, and one of the prompts last week was to pray for the writing community. I’ve done a really bad job of keeping up with the prompts, but I did write up a prayer for the Christian writing community a few days ago, and I wanted to share it to hopefully encourage those of you in that community. So without further ado…

I pray for the Christian writing community, that You’d place in us a blazing passion to tell stories that point toward You and glorify You.

I pray You’d push us to strengthen our craft so that we can be skillful in our work and reflect Your nature through striving toward excellence. Strengthen us to work as unto You rather than unto men. And provide editors—good, skillful editors—to serve the community and help further that goal.

I pray that we would produce high-caliber work in all genres, stories that reflect Your truth and Your light in natural ways.

I pray that we would be honest in our portrayal of darkness, with tact, and equally as honest about the power of the light.

I pray that we would include all sorts of people in our stories, and that we would be thoughtful and considerate and honest in our portrayals.

I pray that we wouldn’t shy away from the hard things or uncomfortable because they’re hard or uncomfortable, and that each of us would include issues that we’re passionate about, our God-given passions, to produce a well-rounded selection of Christian fiction.

I pray that we would be aware of the power of words and seek to use that power wisely; that we would look to You for that wisdom and seek Your guidance in all our works. I pray our words would not be empty, but that they would bring grace to those who read them.

5 Tips for Writing a Great Montage

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine asked for advice on how to write a montage and I, having no tips off the top of my head but being aware that I’d really admired the montage in 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons, decided to study said montage for some pointers to pass on. So this post is thanks to Maple for the question and thanks to Abbie Emmons for writing a montage well-worth studying. ;)

1. Envision it as a movie first

Montages are a pretty visual storytelling element, so try playing out your ideal montage in your head as if it were a movie before you start. See what the key elements are that you want to show off; see where the key “beats” are, so to speak. If there’s a training montage, for instance, figure out where the character’s main points of growth are so you can focus on them. If there’s a relationship montage, think about where the characters would naturally connect most or have the most meaningful interactions. Think about what scenes you’d see if you were watching your book as a movie and use that as a tool to help your written montage flow naturally.

2. Think about the transition

In movies, there’s often a moment where we’re zoomed in on the character, their expression changes, and you know something’s about to change. There’s an “I’ve got this” smirk, or a determined expression… Or, alternately, it could be the character about to tell a story and the movie shifts into showing the events directly instead of using the character’s spoken story. Whatever the case, this is what cues the transition into a montage. What is your transition moment? What is the moment that your character realizes he can, or wants to, overcome his weakness, for example? Or when you cut from the characters starting their plot to their preparations? Or from the moment a character realizes they’re attracted to someone to a montage of their relationship developing? Or whatever it is you’re showing in your montage. What cues your transition? Is it one of those expressions? Is it when a character begins telling a story? Is it a character’s thought that they’re falling in love?

In 100 Days of Sunlight, the montage starts after the MC’s brother gives him an idea, and it begins with him taping pieces of a comic book on his wall as a sort of vision board.

3. Consider the obstacles within the montage

Generally, a montage is a series of scenes leading up to a goal being accomplished—whether that goal is a point of character growth, a skill acquired, or a relationship strengthened to a certain point—and any well-constructed goal will have obstacles in the way. What do the characters have to acquire to accomplish their goal? Are there skeptics mocking them or saying something’s impossible? Does one character flub up and communicate something wrong to another? Show these moments in your montage, as well as how they’re resolved.

4. Narrow your focus

Make sure you’re emphasizing the points you want to emphasize, and then emphasize them for all they’re worth. Really make them pop. Sensory details are super important to this point. If the character is going through a physical struggle, make the reader feel that alongside them. If you’re building up a sweet relationship, focus on the character’s warm fuzzies and all the details they notice to heighten those feelings. If you’re doing something like a heist planning montage (which are some of my personal favorites), where some details can be omitted for intrigue purposes rather than solely to conserve time and space, be careful to show and emphasize only what you want the reader to know prior to the big event and then reveal the rest once the event actually takes place.

5. Make it a staircase

Every scene in your montage should serve a specific purpose and contribute to its conclusion (much like your story’s overall structure). Show the growth steps of whatever your montage focuses on (a character’s training, a relationship, a mission, whatever). Show it coming together. Choose the scenes that are going to most effectively act like a staircase from one level of goal completion to the next. Make each scene a notable step toward the final goal, and then conclude when that goal is near completion and transition back into the primary story as you’re ready to show the goal’s accomplishment.

Have you ever included a montage in a story? What are some of your favorite montages (either from books or film)?

The Mystery Blogger Award

I was tagged for this… three months ago, and it managed to fall through the cracks and never get done. Because I’m an excellent blogger… But we’re here now! So let’s get into the tag. :)

Rules:

Put the award logo/image on your blog. (see above ^)
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog. (Thank you, Miranda, for tagging me!)
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well. (This was created by Okoto Enigmas)
Answer the five questions you were asked.
Nominate ten – twenty people.
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs/linking to their most recent posts.
Ask your nominees any five questions of your choice with one weird or funny question.
Share a link to your best post(s).

Questions:
1. What book do you think held the best mystery? (doesn’t have to be a mystery book, but it has to be one that you have read)

Hm… The False Prince had the best plot twist, but it wasn’t really an ongoing mystery… Maybe the Incarceron duology by Catherine Fisher?
2. What is your favourite genre to read in the most?
Fantasy. Contemporary can be really fun, too, but I have to be really careful about contemporary to find the good (clean) ones. So I definitely end up reading more fantasy, and I love the creativity of the genre.
3. How do you feel about rain?
I love it. Unless it’s cold. But then the rain isn’t really the problem; it’s just the temperature.
4. What movie was really inspiring?
For life? For writing? Um… *every movie I’ve ever watched disappears from my brain* Instant Family, maybe. That was a good one.
5. What would you do if you woke up as a vampire?
Starve? XD I’d probably be very confused, and then I’d probably starve because I’d have no idea where to find blood, aside from the people around me.

Best Post:

I’m not sure if it’s still my top favorite, but I’m still quite partial to my post about YA romances.

New Questions:

What’s one genre you’d really like to try but haven’t yet? (Reading or writing)
What’s your favorite breakfast food?
What’s the most random thing you’ve ever studied?
Would you rather have a lime green octopus with pink stripes or a bright yellow octopus with blue polka dots?
What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

Nominees:

Leila at Wildflowers & Cosmic Tea
Allie at Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins
Syberyah at atTAGirl
G.H. Mitchell at Stardust and Wanderlust
Maple at Maple Quill Penning Magic
Edna at Bleeding Ink
Lavender at Always Write the Good Write
Adria at The Works of Adria Avalon
Kitty at Minds Unknown
Winter at Waiting for Spring
Mattie at The Blossoming Writer
SJ at When Ice Sings and Stars Fall