R.M. Archer's Blog, page 35

Character Interview: Rynn Aryon

Rynn is the main character of the novel I’ll be writing for Camp NaNoWriMo next month: The Masked Captain. She’s headstrong, rebellious, witty, and more than willing to break the rules for a good cause. I hope you enjoy her interview. :)

Rynn: *comes in and takes a seat* Hello.

Interviewer: Hello. How are you?

Rynn: I’m doing well. How are you?

Interviewer: Also doing well. Are you ready to get started?

Rynn: *nods*

Interviewer: What’s your name?

Rynn: Rynn Gisele Aryon.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Rynn: Seventeen.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Rynn: I have an older brother, Rhylan.

Interviewer: Are you two close?

Rynn: *nods and smiles* He’s a great brother. I get on his nerves rather often, but he’s patient and actually values my opinion, unlike some people.

Interviewer: Who do you have problems with?

Rynn: Mostly my father. He doesn’t want to listen to me, even though I’m right, just because he’s my father and he’s the king. He says I’m disrespectful.

Interviewer: Other than that of princess, do you have a job?

Rynn: Is this interview being written publicly?

Interviewer: No.

Rynn: *hesitates a moment* I’m a military captain. I go by Aelgan Revine, but a lot of people simply call me The Masked Captain.

Interviewer: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Rynn: Introvert.

Interviewer: What’s your favorite food?

Rynn: Issabelle Eckard’s apple pie. Or really any of her pies. She’s an excellent cook.

Interviewer: Who is she?

Rynn: She’s Lady of Peren, and the mother of one of my best friends, Halder.

Interviewer: How did you and Halder become friends?

Rynn: I’m sure we met at some official function, being Princess and Lord-Dependent, but we really started getting to know each other when the Eckards invited my family for dinner when I was about six. His family is extremely welcoming, so Rhylan and I quickly became like a part of the family.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite color?

Rynn: Dark red. Which means I’m in luck, since it’s Scythia’s national color.

Interviewer: Any particular reason?

Rynn: *shakes her head* I just think it’s pretty.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite book?

Rynn: *eyes light up as she grins* Are you kidding? I have dozens of favorite books! The castle library is one of my favorite places. And I like spoken stories just as well, so I like to join the Eckards for their evening storytellings.

Interviewer: What is your favorite animal?

Rynn: I don’t have one type of animal that’s a favorite, but I do have a handful of favorite specific animals. Rhylan’s pet falcon, Aura; my horse, Legacy; and the Eckards’ dog, Finn.

Interviewer: What breed is Finn?

Rynn: A chocolate Golden Retriever. And Legacy’s a red dun stallion.

Interviewer: What are your hobbies, besides reading?

Rynn: Riding, running, sparring, that kind of thing. I do best with activities that require hand-eye coordination.

Interviewer: Which of these is most important to you: kindness, intelligence, or bravery?

Rynn: Bravery.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Rynn: Honesty.

Interviewer: Last question: What’s something you can’t leave home without?

Rynn: A book.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. *smiles*

Rynn: *returns the smile* Of course. Thank you for your interest. *inclines her head before leaving*

Discovering Your World: Religion

Religion–or even lack of religion–is something that will deeply affect the way people live in your world, both individually and as collective cultures, so let’s get into the basics of building a religion.

Who Is God/Who Are the Gods?

Is the religion monotheistic or polytheistic? If there are multiple gods, what are their domains? If there’s only one, is he all-powerful? What are their personalities like? Are the gods really gods, or are they people (maybe superhumans) who have been raised to god status and worshiped? How do the people who follow this religion (or those who don’t) feel about this? Are they invisible or visible? Do they meet with their followers? Has this changed over the ages? Do they seek personal relationships with their followers or are they impersonal and distant?

How Do People Feel About Religion?

Do people who follow a certain religion accept people from other religions, or do they avoid them like the plague? Do they think the other religion is a blight on religion? Do they believe their religion will be the only religion someday? Or even that a different religion will someday be the only one? Do they really have faith in their god(s) or do they simply follow because of their family, or their culture, or because they have nothing better to believe in? Are there people who don’t subscribe to any religion? Why? What happens to people who convert from one religion to another?

How Is God Worshiped/How Are the Gods Worshiped?

Do they require sacrifices? Festivals and feasts? Are they prayed to? Sung to? Do they have religious texts to be studied? Do they expect people to meet with them personally?

How Does Religion Influence Everyday Life?

Religion influences people’s decisions, and culture’s decisions. Does the culture that serves a god of growing things have an abundance of gardens? People who seek to nurture everything they see? Does this carry over to children, leading to large families? Are non-gardeners looked down on? Do the followers of this god disdain those who follow the god of destruction and war, viewing them as uncultured fools? How would these followers’ views change if the god were personal vs. impersonal?

Fictional religions are a worldview issue for the author, as well as for the world. What you believe in will affect what sorts of religions you’re comfortable developing, and your worldview will end up woven into the final product. Keep that in mind as you develop your world’s religion(s).

Project Inspire

I’ve been meaning to do this “tag” since it first came up in January, but I never managed to schedule it in. Today I’m very privileged to be participating in Project Inspire, a non-tag specifically created to encourage and inspire fellow writers, which is something I love being able to do. So without further ado… the rules. :)

1. Thank and link back to whose blog you first saw the tag on; link back to the creator of the tag.

That would be Jenna Terese, for both. I saw Project Inspire as soon as it was created. :) Jenna is a fabulous author and blogger, and her posts are so encouraging and uplifting. Definitely check out her blog if you haven’t yet. Thank you, Jenna, for putting Project Inspire together, and for your blog in general. ^-^

2. Answer the questions given (when you mention a person in your answers, link to their blog/website if they have one)

3. Include 5 of the biggest things you’ve learned about writing, and how they’ve changed you.

3. Don’t tag anybody.

Character Interview: Catessa Regan

For those of you who don’t know, Catessa is the main character of both Slander & Steel and The Last Assassin. (And I just interviewed her and a friend of hers from TLA last week, if you’d like to see them interact with each other.) She’s a thief and assassin who’s fiercely loyal to her makeshift family, hates reading, and has always been more comfortable near the sea than further inland. I’ll be interviewing her around the time of TLA, but I might have to dance around some things to avoid S&S spoilers. Enjoy!

Catessa: *enters and takes a seat* Hello. *smiles*

Interviewer: Hello. How are you today?

Catessa: I’m doing all right. How are you?

Interviewer: Doing well. Are you ready to get started?

Catessa: *nods*

Interviewer: What’s your name?

Catessa: Catessa Regan Devlen.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Catessa: Twenty-one.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Catessa: Two half-siblings. And Tigress, who’s like a sister to me.

Interviewer: Are you close with your half-siblings?

Catessa: Not especially.

Interviewer: Do you have a job?

Catessa: I’m the king’s bodyguard.

Interviewer: How did that come about?

Catessa: *raises an eyebrow* What, you have a problem with it?

Interviewer: Not at all. I was just wondering.

Catessa: *doesn’t volunteer an answer*

Interviewer: All right, well… Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Catessa: An extrovert, usually.

Interviewer: What is your favorite food?

Catessa: Beef jerky.

Interviewer: Favorite color?

Catessa: Dark brown.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite book?

Catessa: The only book I’ve actually enjoyed: Xandolar’s Journals.

Interviewer: Is it fiction or historical?

Catessa: Historical.

Interviewer: What is your favorite animal?

Catessa: I like hawks.

Interviewer: What are your hobbies?

Catessa: Playing cards, dancing, sparring, exercising, that kind of thing.

Interviewer: Which of these is most important to you: kindness, intelligence, or bravery?

Catessa: Bravery.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Catessa: Honesty.

Interviewer: What’s something you can’t leave home without?

Catessa: At least one dagger.

Interviewer: That was the last question. Thank you for your time. *smiles*

Catessa: Thank you. *returns the smile and heads out*

Discovering Your World: Technology and Magic

You have a world, you have people to inhabit your world, and you know how the world affects the people. Now you get to find out what capabilities those people have through technology and/or magic in their day-to-day lives.

Technology
What Purpose Does it Serve?

You can either create a piece of technology and then answer this question, or you can build technology to serve the needs people would have. For instance, you could create a cool spinny device with propellers and recording abilities and decide it’s used for communication, or you can ask “What do these people use to communicate?” and develop the idea of a propelled recording device.

You’ll also want to think about how many different ways something can be used, either on its own or as part of something larger. Maybe the propelled communication device isn’t only used to relay information from one person to another, but it’s also embedded in fans and used as a surveillance tool, or used to eliminate the need for door-to-door survey people. Just get a propelled recording device to collect the answers instead! Technology is rarely used in only one way.

Who Uses It?

Is a propelled recording device so expensive only members of the upper class can buy it? Is it hard to make, so it’s rented out instead of being privately owned, so fewer are needed? Is it made of a material that a certain race can’t interact with, so only other races can use it? Is it considered taboo by certain cultures because they think it’s too big of a privacy risk?

Also think about how this might change over time. For instance, when computers were first invented they were only used by big companies, and they were way too big to fit in a private home. Now we have smartphones with almost all the same functionalities as a desktop computer, and almost everyone has one!

Magic

I know magic is something some Christian authors and readers are wary of, so here’s my (brief) personal take on it. To me, a fantasy world isn’t the real world, so the source of magic doesn’t need to be the same as in the real world. A lot of the magic in my own books is more like science that doesn’t exist on earth, or in-born like superpowers. In my opinion, these are totally fine. Fantasy worlds don’t have the same natural laws as Earth. It’s only when things get too similar to demonic real-world magic that I think things need to be handled more carefully and shown in a negative light, or avoided altogether.

With that out of the way, let’s get into it.

What Purpose Does It Serve?

What can magic do? Does it allow the bearer to influence others, like mind control? Does it allow them to talk to animals, or run at super speed, or see things others can’t?

As with technology, people are likely to try to find as many uses as possible for one type of magic. You can talk to animals? Cool! Go use your gifts as a tracker, or a bounty hunter, or a zookeeper, or even a meteorologist. You have super speed? Be a mailman, or a soldier, or a travel photographer. Just don’t try to join an Olympic race or you’ll be immediately disqualified.

If you have more fantasy-science-style magic, is that glowing fungus used to help you live longer? To give you more acute hearing? To make your brain work to a fuller capacity so you can ace that next test?

Who Uses It?

Are people born with magic? Can they learn it? Can it be transferred from one person to another?

Who can find that glowing fungus of longevity? How expensive is it? Is it only found in the heights of the mountains, giving rise to a myth that the mountain men are immortal?

How Is It Treated?

Are people with magic embraced in society, or shunned? Is there a mix? Are people with powers worshiped like gods, and if so, how do they feel about it? Is this practice discouraged or encouraged? If magic-users are shunned, are they completely exiled, or simply ignored?

Do people think the longevity fungus is a great way to spend more time with the grandkids, or an unnatural and unnecessary life-drug?

What Is the Price?

Do people with super speed tire more quickly? Are mind-controllers more susceptible to being manipulated themselves? Do people who can talk to animals often have a parade of wildlife following them everywhere? Does that longevity fungus give you an awful stomachache?

Magic loses its credibility if it gives your character too much power without a setback. You don’t want to end up using your world’s magic as a deux ex machina somewhere down the line.

What Is Its Base?

Is your magic system powered by the four elements? The five senses? The phases of the moon? Or is there only one variety of power, cut and dry? If there are different varieties, what are they and why? Do people with a power based on smell simply have a heightened sense of smell? Can they smell emotions? Can they identify people based on smell? Are they just really good at identifying people from only a picture of their nose?

How Is It Integrated with Technology?

Have cobblers started making heavy-duty, heat-resistant shoes for people with super speed? Are there hats that block the influence of mind-controllers? Can you diffuse the oil of the longevity fungus and get the benefits without the taste? Do animal-whisperers have bracelets that keep animals from incessantly trailing them?

Are there any varieties of magic that enhance technology, instead of technologies that enhance or block magic?

Hopefully this has given you some ideas for your own technology and magic systems. Let me know down below whether you prefer more tech or more magic in your books, and what your favorite fictional piece of technology or magic system is. :)

The Nameless Book Tag

I snagged this tag from Catherine at . Thanks for turning a blind eye while I stole it. ;)

This tag doesn’t actually appear to have any rules, so let’s get into it!

1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?

In total? Of my unread books? Of books I have read but not since I acquired them?

I think I’ve probably had Eragon the longest, but that’s totally a guesstimation. I really have no idea.

2. What are your current read, your last read, and your book to read next?

Last read: The Coronation by Livy Jarmusch (4 stars)

Current read: Masques by Patricia Briggs (4.5 stars)

Book to read next: Probably Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne (guess rating: 4-5 stars)

3. What book did everyone like but you hated?

The Collective by R.S. Williams… oh my. I’ve read glowing reviews of this book on Goodreads and it makes me just go “??????” because that’s the first book I ever was okay marking up… and I marked it up significantly. (The above link is to my review.)

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read but probably won’t?

All the books waiting to be read on my Kindle. And the majority of the books on my official Goodreads TBR list.

5. What books are you saving for retirement?

Consciously, none. Practically… a lot of them. (‘Cause my TBR is absolutely going to stretch into retirement. XD)

6. Last page: read it first or wait until the end?

WAIT UNTIL THE END.

7. Acknowledgement: waste of ink or interesting aside?

Interesting aside. I mean, I don’t always read the acknowledgements, but when I do I tend to enjoy or at least appreciate them. I understand how many people go into making a book possible, and I think it’s a nice way for an author to show humility, I guess, and give credit where credit is due.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

*references bookshelf* Hope from The Coronation, or Kaylie Keaton from Dreamtreaders. I’m gonna stop at the top shelf, ’cause I’m sure I could go on. XD Except, y’know, a bunch of characters end up in mortal peril…

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (place, person, time)?

Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker. It reminds me of a former friend of mine, and the time around him leaving for college. I related a lot to that book, when all that was going on, so now that’s a permanent association.

10. Name a book you acquired in an interesting way

I don’t especially acquire books in interesting ways? But I guess Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy, which I won in a Goodreads giveaway (the first Goodreads giveaway I ever won), then realized has a bunch of LGBTQ+ themes I’m not going to be a fan of, then realized is an Advanced Review Copy. Or, I guess, The Winds of Cumberland by Bodie and Brock Theone, which I got after helping a couple friends help their family-friend clean up their house to sell it, I think? And there was a box of books they were going to get rid of, so I went through it and grabbed that one. That was probably years ago, and I still haven’t read it because I realized when I got it home that it’s book three in a series.

11. Have you ever given a special book away to a special person for a special reason?

There’s never been a super dramatically special thing like that, no. But I bought A Thousand Perfect Notes for one of my best friends for her birthday in August and read it in two sittings (dinner’s the only reason it wasn’t one) before giving it to her, because 1) I’d been super excited to read it and 2) I wanted to make sure it was good before giving it to her, lol. It was definitely good. It’s one of my favorites now and I really want to get my own copy. XD

12. Which book has been with you the most places?

I don’t really take books places. 1) I tend to be going places I’ll be doing other things and 2) I try to keep my books pristine. So probably Dracula, because I started reading it at work, took it to choir with me for waiting times, and then finished it at work. Yep, two places is tops for me. XD

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school but wasn’t so bad later?

I’ve avoided any of the required reading I hated. I hated it, so why would I go back to it?

14. Used or brand new books?

I prefer brand new because I like my books to be more pristine, but I have several used books on my shelf and I don’t like them any less. Plus it can be a fun challenge to see if I can make a book look better than it did when I got it. (I tend to challenge myself to that any time I borrow a book from my best friend, who takes her books places and thus doesn’t keep quite so pristine. XD)

15. Have you read a Dan Brown book?

No.

16. Have you seen a movie that you liked better than the book?

The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Fault in Our Stars. (The Fault in Our Stars book was AMAZING, and I felt like the movie just emphasized that instead of detracting from the source material. The Scorch Trials and Death Cure books were just bad and I was able to enjoy the movies, so definitely an improvement, even though I thought they could easily have changed the ending which was stupid in both versions.)

17. Have you read a book that makes you hungry, including cookbooks?

Not that I can think of.

18. Who is the person whose book advice you will always take?

My best friend’s. Our tastes do differ, in that she tends to prefer sci-fi and I tend to prefer fantasy (there is some overlap), but we appreciate the same quality of writing and we’re uncomfortable with the same sort of content and that kind of thing, so if she recommends a book I know it’s good.

19. Is there a book out of your comfort zone or reading genre that you ended up loving?

Several of them, actually. The Secret of the Rose series by Michael Phillips, which is historical fiction, which I ordinarily really dislike. I don’t like the second, third, or fourth books as well, but I love the first book.

Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker, which is also historical fiction. For some reason this one read more like a contemporary to me, so I didn’t mind it as much.

Fallen Leaves, The Fault In Our Stars, and A Thousand Perfect Notes. These are the reason I’ve removed contemporary from my mental “genres I don’t like” list. Every time I read a contemporary, I end up thinking “Why do I always think I don’t like contemporary?” XD

I’m not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you’d like to do this tag and you haven’t yet, feel free to steal it. Let me know if you do, so I can read your answers! :)

Bonus question: How many books have you read this year, so far? Let me know in the comments!

Character Interview: Catessa Regan & Tiberius Alister

I’ve interviewed Tiberius before, but apparently not Catessa. That’s interesting. I’ll have to fix that soon. But anyway, today I’m going to interview the two of them together, as a couple. I really enjoyed diving back into The Last Assassin, and their relationship. They’re so much fun together and they’re so close to #relationshipgoals for me. XD I hope you enjoy their interview as much as I did!

Both: *come in and sit*

Interviewer: Welcome! How are you two today?

Tiberius: Doing well. *smiles*

Catessa: *nods* I’m good.

Interviewer: Are y’all ready to get started?

Both: *nod*

Interviewer: What are your names?

Tiberius: Tiberius Alister.

Catessa: Catessa Devlen.

Tiberius: *glances at her, surprised she chose to use that particular surname*

Interviewer: How long have you two known each other?

Tiberius: Two months, I think? Roughly?

Catessa: You’ve been keeping track?

Tiberius: *chuckles* Only a little.

Interviewer: How did you meet?

Catessa: *smirks* He called be beautiful and got my dagger pressed against his throat.

Tiberius: *grins* I did. And then she matched me strike-for-strike in a knife-throwing contest.

Catessa: *her smile spreads into a grin* So I did. And then, unfortunately, our fun was cut short as I had some business to attend to.

Interviewer: I suppose you’ve mostly answered my next question, then. Did you like each other when you first met?

Tiberius: Definitely. She was intriguing, beautiful, skilled… *catches a playful look from Catessa* And still is.

Catessa: *chuckles* He was bold, mildly arrogant, unwisely flirtatious, and surprisingly graceful.

Interviewer: What are your favorite things about each other?

Catessa: He’s fun and audacious, but also encouraging and serious when he needs to be.

Tiberius: She’s… thoughtful, I suppose. And real. She’s skilled, but she knows there’s room for improvement, and she generally doesn’t esteem herself too highly or too low.

Interviewer: What is your favorite thing to do together?

Both: Duel.

Catessa: Throwing in some chocolate muffins doesn’t hurt anything, either. *grins*

Tiberius: No it doesn’t.

Interviewer: How would each of you describe your relationship?

Tiberius: *turns to Catessa* Ladies first.

Catessa: *chuckles* Well… Fun. Challenging. Uplifting, I guess, for lack of a better word.

Tiberius: *smiles* Like she said, fun and challenging. It’s a relationship that encourages growth, in both of us, I think.

Catessa: *nods* Definitely. That’s mostly what I was going for with “uplifting.”

Interviewer: What are your love languages, and how do you show affection to each other?

Catessa: I’m pretty sure my love language must be teasing. *laughs* That’s mostly how Tiberius and I show affection to each other. We tease each other to no end. *grins at Tiberius*

Tiberius: *nods, grinning* We tease each other, we challenge each other, we encourage each other. I’m not sure what my love language is, but I’d guess it’s spending time with someone.

Interviewer: What’s your favorite memory together?

Tiberius: Well, we already mentioned the chocolate muffins… *chuckles* She bought us chocolate muffins one time and wouldn’t give me one until I beat her in a game of cards, except she’s better than me at cards. Or maybe just better at cheating. *glances at her with a grin*

Catessa: *eyes twinkle*

Tiberius: Anyway, she won, of course, and I had to snatch the muffin on my own.

Catessa: You picked the boring one to share. *crosses her arms and rolls her eyes away from him, smirking* But both of them are great memories.

Interviewer: What’s the most embarrassing story you two have together?

Tiberius: Does the fact that when we got muffins that time and came back to my ship, it was after I’d told one of my crew members I wasn’t going to see Catessa? *chuckles* In my defense, I really hadn’t been planning on it.

Catessa: I’m not sure I buy that. You were the one who started talking to me, not the other way around.

Tiberius: Well once I saw you I decided I might as well hang out with you again. But that wasn’t my goal when I first left for the square.

Catessa: *snorts* Suuuuure.

Tiberius: *rolls his eyes with a chuckle*

Interviewer: If you could each do one thing for the other, what would you do?

Catessa: I’d help him polish up his Pleside. His footwork is a bit clumsy. *smirks*

Tiberius: *shrugs* Anytime. I’m sure my men would enjoy watching us dance again. *chuckles* *his expression becomes more serious* I’d help you clean up the mess you made so you can forgive yourself. *smiles softly*

Catessa: *smiles back* Thanks.

Interviewer: What are some of your shared hobbies?

Catessa: *gestures to Tiberius* You want to say?

Tiberius: Sure. Cards, dancing, swordplay, knife-throwing… Those are the main things.

Catessa: *nods*

Interviewer: Where is your favorite place to go, hang out, or explore together?

Catessa: The Speed Demon. His ship. *turns to Tiberius* Right?

Tiberius: *nods* That’s what I’d say.

Interviewer: Who was your first girlfriend or boyfriend, for each of you?

Catessa: My guildmate, Roth. He and I were together for a long time.

Tiberius: Until Catessa, I actually never had a girlfriend. There was one girl I thought I might build a relationship with, but then I became a pirate and by the time I visited home the first time she was married, so… that clearly didn’t work out.

Catessa: *turns to him* Really? I would have expected all the girls would be dying to be with you. *there’s only a hint of teasing in her voice*

Tiberius: *chuckles* When I left home I was still a gawky seventeen-year-old. I guess a few girls have probably had interest in me since then, but I wasn’t really looking for anyone. *shrugs*

Interviewer: Well, that was it. *grins* Thank you so much for your time.

Tiberius: *stands and shakes the interviewer’s hand* Absolutely. Thank you.

Interviewer: Oh, it was my pleasure. *grins*

Catessa: *shakes the interviewer’s hand with a smile before she and Tiberius leave*

Discovering Your World: Developing Fantasy Races

When you think “fantasy races,” chances are you think elves and dwarves, but they’ve been done so much. (Says the author who has elves in almost every one of her fantasy worlds… *cough*) How do we break away from these generic races? How do we come up with something unique and original? That’s what we’re going to explore today.

Twist the Cliches

I have nothing against elves and dwarves, it’s just that they’re so often cut and pasted from Tolkien and there’s nothing to set them apart from any other elves or dwarves. The easiest way to create a new fantasy race would be to simply adapt one of the mainstream fantasy races (elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, etc.) and put your own unique spin on them. This could be through their physique, their culture, or both. Maybe dwarves average 9 feet tall and their mines and caverns are vast to accommodate this, or maybe the elves have a society of far-seers for those with the rare ability to predict calamity. Maybe goblins are actually quite fond of baking and home decorating and take great offense at the assumptions of their malevolent nature that have carried over from long-past generations.

Start with a Central Idea

Of course, you may want to start with something totally different from the mainstream. Maybe you want a race of swamp-dwellers, or the forest-side townsfolk need a basis for their myths of tree spirits. These are a couple examples of central ideas you can build off of. Once you have a central idea, or a purpose for your race to serve, you can use that as a basis for their development. If you have a swamp-dwelling race, do they dwell in the swamp or on the swamp? Can they breathe underwater? Can they survive in saltwater, too, or only in freshwater? Do they give birth to live young like humans or lay eggs like most water-dwelling creatures? Do they have natural camouflage, like moss-colored skin? Do they camouflage themselves consciously? Do they really not care?

Once you have a central idea, just start asking questions and you’ll be well on your way.

Start with a Purpose

Similar to the central idea, you could start by knowing the race’s purpose, whether to your story or to the world as a whole. Let’s take the example of tree spirits from before. I knew I wanted the people of one of my villages to believe the forest was inhabited by dangerous tree spirits, based on mysterious disappearances, and sightings of glowing green eyes in the woods. But I also knew these weren’t really spirits, so I started thinking about what would lead the humans to believe they were. What I came up with was a race of forest-dwellers who live in underground tunnels and have super-speed, so they can disappear quickly into the ground. What causes their eyes to glow? How do they lure people into the forest? Why do they dislike humans? I haven’t answered all of these questions yet, but this sort of question-asking is how my development process tends to work.

Develop Their Culture

Does your race have their own culture, or do they share culture with the other races they dwell around? How was their culture developed? How do their differences from other races affect their culture? That’s just the beginning of everything there is to explore with culture. I’ll be tackling a few specifics of culture in future weeks.

Develop Their Relationships

What are the race’s relationships with other races? Does one race or the other view the other as lesser? What’s led to the relationships being what they are?

Need somewhere to store your race’s information, or want some concrete categories to fill in? If you want something you can print out, or you use a doc to keep track of your worldbuilding, you can check out the race development worksheet in the resource library. Otherwise, World Anvil has an awesome race template. Personally, I used my template first (for my swamp race, at least) and then transferred the info to World Anvil, adding some headings to tweak the template to my purposes. You can check out my races and see the World Anvil pages in action below.

Mocvara (swamp species)

Lenorae (tree “spirits”)

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Favorite genres

Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Dystopian


Which are you?

Reader
Writer

The 20 Book Questions Game

So usually I post tags on Fridays… but I didn’t want to wait that long, so I’m posting today instead. Today’s tag is about BOOKS! Thanks to Julia, at Lit Aflame, for the tag!

Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you.

Tag your post with #awesomebloggeraward.

Answer the questions you were asked.

Nominate at least 5 bloggers and inform them of their nominations.

Give them 10 new questions to answer.

Questions:

1. Buy or borrow?

It depends. Usually I prefer to buy books, but if a friend or family member has the book I’d like to read I’ll borrow it. If I like it enough, I’ll likely buy it for myself later. Or just put it on my wishlist to sit for months/years. XD

2. Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction. There are a handful of non-fiction books I’ve enjoyed/learned from, but generally choose fiction.

3. Can you listen to music and read at the same time?

Nope. At least not if the music has lyrics. TOO MANY WORDS IN THE BRAINNNN. (But for some reason I can tune out lyrics when I’m writing? Not sure how that works.)

4. When do you do the most reading?

In bed in the evening, or–lately–in the first half of the workday that I don’t have any assignments to work on. (I have a new volunteer position at my dad’s workplace, so I go for 8 hours but there’s only 4 hours worth of work for me to do.)

5. How do you find new books?

Most often through Goodreads and what my friends are reading.

6. What is your favorite book?

Why do you have to ask me this question? *sighhhhhhhhs* I suppose probably Echoes by Miranda Marie. (By the way, the sequel–Mirage*–is out as of just a day or two ago! :D)

7. What is the last book someone recommended to you?

Does Mirage count? Since I know the author and she was super excited about its release? No? Then I guess Healer’s Bane by Hope Ann also doesn’t count. Um… Oh! Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher.

8. Watch the movie as well, or just read the book?

It depends. If I watch the movie first, I try to always read the book as well. (And if a trailer for a book-based movie catches my eye, I’ll try to read the book first.) If I’ve read the book, whether or not I watch the movie depends on how much I think they’re going to butcher it. Whether that influences my decision toward watching it or not watching it… depends. Sometimes I want to see how laughable it is.

9. Read it all in one sitting, or over a few days?

Most of the time I prefer to read a book over a few days (and it usually only takes a few days), but there are some that I’d rather read in one sitting, whether it’s because they’re awesome, they’re short, or I’m on a deadline.

10. E-book or paperback?

PAPERBACK. But I’ve gotten used to also reading e-books if I need to, whether I’m reading a review copy or just a book I don’t have the money to get in paperback. My problem is I tend to forget about e-books if I’m not highly invested in them for one reason or another.

*This is an Amazon affiliate link, meaning if you buy through it I get a portion of the earnings at no extra cost to you

I’m not sure why this is called the 20 Book Questions Tag, if there are only 10 questions… *shrugs* Oh well.

10 new questions for my nominees:

What’s your favorite book by your favorite author?
What’s a book you couldn’t finish?
Do you have any books you associate with songs, or vice versa?
What new release are you most excited for this year?
What was the last book someone recommended to you?
Buy or borrow?
E-book or audiobook?
Paperback or hardback?
What’s your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?
What book-to-movie adaptation could you rant about for hours?

Nominees:

Allie at Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins
Acacia at Acacia’s Story Corner
Julian at A Saver of Memories
Susannah at A Tea With Tumnus
Gray Marie at Sunshine and Joy

The Liebster Blog Award #3

I first did this tag in October 2017, then again in August 2018, and now I’ve been nominated a third time. (Since the questions are always different, I’m totally okay doing this tag/award multiple times. XD) Thanks, Odelia, for the nomination! :)

The Rules:

Acknowledge the blogger that gave it to you and display the award.

Answer 11 questions that the blogger gave you.

Give 11 random thoughts about yourself.

Nominate 11 other bloggers and notify them of their nominations.

Ask your nominees 11 questions.

Odelia’s Questions:

1. What’s your morning routine?

Ideally, I get up, read my Bible, pray, play Just Dance, and after all that get on with my tasks for the day. In reality… I tend to get up and go straight to the computer and go through all of my notifications and new email before moving on to the day’s tasks. :P

2. What’s your favorite book of the Bible and why?

I really like Philippians. There are so many good verses and good reminders in there, and it’s such an encouraging and uplifting book. My favorite verse is found in Philippians:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

3. Describe your dream home

Brace yourselves. This could get long.

One of the main things I want in my future home is a lot of natural light–lots of wide open windows and that kind of thing. I want it to be a warm, inviting place, and sunshine contributes to that. The dining room would be big enough to comfortably seat a good amount of company (like, 6-10 guests?), painted light brown, with dark hardwood floors and one of those light fixtures that’s bronze with cream frosted glass. (Ridiculously specific, I know…)

Similarly, the living room is spacious and welcoming. Soft cream carpets, light brown/tan walls like the dining room, cushy seating, maybe a nice fireplace, plenty of floor space for competing at Wii games. XD

I’d like an office, with sea-foam-green/aqua/turquoise walls and white accents. I want it to have a light, airy, beachy feel. White carpet, again, and a white desk with plenty of space for the notebooks/binders/etc. I want to make easy-to-reach. Also bookshelves. Lots of bookshelves.

I really want a spacious yard. Some trees and maybe a creek would be nice, but the primary thing is that there’s a lot of space to run around, get away from the house if things get stressful without really leaving, that kind of thing. If it’s flat and good for running laps, bonus points.

Um… That’s all the important stuff, so I’ll stop here, lol.

4. Would you describe yourself as extroverted or introverted?

Well… I am an extrovert–I definitely get my energy from people–but I usually act like an introvert. I tend to be quiet and more observant than interactive. I stink at initializing conversation, which is something I’d like to get better at but I’m really struggling with. :P I love people, I love interacting with them and getting to know them and all that, I’m just really stinkin’ bad at it. XD

5. What’s your favorite pick-me-up?

MUSIC. Specifically, Owl City. More specifically, House Wren, Montana, and Hot Air Balloon. OH! And the Oreo Wonder-Filled Song. Steven Curtis Chapman is another artist I go to when I need a mood boost.

6. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

I feel like I’ve mentioned this before, for some reason, but there’s this one story that always comes to mind. My friend was hosting a movie night and I was the first to arrive, and his dad asked what drink I’d like, before he’d told me what the options were. I don’t like to answer questions before I know the options, but I mentioned liking cream soda and his dad said the closest thing they had was root beer. So my friend proposed that we mix root beer with milk and see if it came out tasting like cream soda. (It kinda tasted like an extra milk-tasting root beer float.) And then the friend took it a step further and added SUGAR to his, and it fizzed up SO. MUCH. XD

(I really haven’t done a lot of crazy things.)

7. Would you rather drink coffee or tea?

TEA. I can’t stand the taste of coffee. The smell is a different story, but I can’t stand the taste. :P

8. What’s your favorite animal and why?

A dolphin, I think? They’re really pretty, and powerful, and fast, and they’re water-related which makes them extra cool for some reason.

9. What is your dream job?

So… I actually have multiple dream jobs that I’d like to do side-by-side. First off, I want to be an author, consistently publishing books and impacting people with story and that kind of thing, and in conjunction with that I’d like to continue to encourage young writers as best I can. Secondly, I want to be a youth praise band leader. The church, music, and youth are all super important to me, as are mixes of the three, and I’d like to take that passion somewhere it can do some good.

10. What is your God-given vocation or calling?

*points to above answer*

11. What is your middle name, and what does it mean?

M’Kaela, which means “Who is like God.” My first and middle names together mean “Lion of God who is like God.”

11 Random Facts:

I can never remember if the K in my middle name is capitalized or not.
I have a second blog on the topics of church, music, and youth, but I ran out of concrete content early on so it’s no longer active–at least for the moment. It’s called Within the Static.
My favorite ice cream flavor is no longer chocolate chip (which is what I said in August). It’s probably black cherry.
Another thing that’s changed since August: I cut my hair! It’s now a little past shoulder-length.
I also dyed my hair maroon. (With temporary dye.)
I’ve read 11 books this year. (Don’t ask how. I have no clue.)
My goal is to read close to 66 or 70.
Hannah Heath is my favorite author.
My favorite MCU superhero is Spider-Man (And no, it’s not just because he’s cute.) (Captain America is a close second choice.)
My favorite DCU superhero is Wonder Woman, no contest.
I’m actively working on four writing projects. I think. Two are novels, two are short story collections.

11 Nominees:

Allie at Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins
Acacia at Acacia’s Story Corner
Edna at Bleeding Ink
Zoe at A Weirdo Who Writes
Alabama at Alabama
Evelyn at The Rain-Drenched Writer
Jenna at Jenna Terese
Rayne at Grape Arbors and Wildflowers
Leila at Wildflowers and Cosmic Tea
Bella at The Pen and the Pages
Frances at Of Enchantment and Escape

11 Questions for Nominees:

What’s your favorite color to wear?
If you were a color, what color would you be and why?
What’s your favorite thing about your current project? (Writing project, art project, music project, school project, etc.)
What’s the story behind your blog name?
If you were to dye your hair, what color would you dye it?
What book are you most excited to read this year and why?
What’s your favorite thing about your blog?
What’s your favorite book of the Bible and why?
What’s your favorite Bible verse and why?
What’s your favorite thing to write? (Fiction or non-fiction.)
Skittles or M&Ms?