R.M. Archer's Blog, page 39

Farewell to December

This wrap-up should be interesting, since I have no notation whatsoever to go off of. (My bullet journaling fell apart in October so I haven’t kept track of word count, and my regular journaling fell apart sometime in November.) But I’m going to try to wrap up my December anyway.

December’s Writing

I wrote somewhere around 6.5k this month. I wrote a short story for a Secret Santa swap, began another short story also for the Secret Santa swap (but stopped and went back to the first one after a) #2 didn’t work and b) #2 didn’t use prompts I was supposed to use), and also began a new apocalyptic novel. Both short stories are set in Kersir (my desert fantasy world), and it was really cool to get out of my worldbuilding and into the world, if that makes any sense. XD I’m not quite ready to start writing any of the novellas I have planned for Kersir, but we’re getting there. ;)

December’s Reading

The only book I’ve finished this month is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, which I gave four stars on Goodreads. I’m also in the midst of Dracula by Bram Stoker (thank you to whoever left a stack of books in my dad’s office at work for me to explore in my down time between tasks. XD) and I’m reading Retrieve by Sarah Addison-Fox to review on Thursday, so keep an eye out!

I’ve acquired so many books this month, however, that they no longer all fit on my bookcase. The books I got this month include:

The Dressmaker’s Secret by Kellyn Roth
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnely
Firewing by Kenneth Oppal
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend by Cheryl Carpinello
Lunadar by Donna L. Martin (most of the books I got this month were thanks to her Twelve Weeks of Lunadar giveaway)
Race to the End of the World by A.L. Tait
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (this is the first book we’ve gotten to that was a Christmas present)
A Sending of Dragons by Jane Yolen
Project Canvas by Caroline Meek (I was super excited to get this paperback for Christmas!)

There were a couple more, too, that aren’t listed here. I also ordered The Traveler by E.B. Dawson and The Raventree Society: Season One by J.E. Purrazzi while they were on sale a few days ago, and they’re set to arrive today. I’m super excited for those, and they’re part of my reading challenge for the year to read 23 PFW books! The Raventree Society will also be my first foray into horror, so I’m looking forward to that as well. ^-^

AND I ordered my friend Melody Jackson’s Dragons’ Bane trilogy book box, which I’m excited to get! It’ll have all three books in the trilogy (which have beautiful covers, and since they’re paperback my excitement should transfer over into actually reading them unlike with ebooks) as well as awesome dragon-y goodies. ^-^ If that sounds AWESOME (which it is), you can get one of your own here!

December’s Life

This month was surprisingly calm as far as family visits go, so the most hectic part of the month was the first two weeks with a bunch of choir concerts. Nothing especially interesting has happened this month at all, actually, that I can remember. I went to work with my dad two days this month, which was a lot of fun. “Going to work was fun?” Well, one of those days was just for a Christmas dinner, and the other I had mostly physical busywork (which I actually enjoy) and downtime (in which I read Dracula), and I really enjoy hanging out with the people my dad works with. But mostly this month has been quiet and I’ve enjoyed time hanging out with my immediate family. :)

How was your December? Was it hectic? Laid-back? A mix? What books did you get for Christmas? I’d love to chat with you down in the comments!

2018 Wrap-Up and 2019 Goals

Another year has come and gone, and it’s time to look back and reflect on the year past while we plan for the year to come. (Don’t ask why I’m being weirdly poetic. It’s probably because I’m starting this post at 1:30am and I already know it’s going to be lengthy.) Let’s start with that reflection part.

2018: An overview

2018 has had its ups and downs, and it feels like it’s mostly had downs. I’m easily stressed anyway, but I feel like this year I was more stressed that usual. This is partially due to the friendship that fell apart over the course of the year. Long story. It was sad. I got over it. Mostly.

The two words I’d most use to describe what I’ve been like this year are rather depressing: cynical and isolated. The latter is not by conscious choice, but it’s starting to feel unavoidable. (I promise this post isn’t going to be entirely depressing.)

On the bright side, though, I published my first short story collection this year! (It already feels like ages ago.) I also got my first reviews, and all of them have been primarily positive so far. I even found out someone listed me as their favorite author! Which almost makes up for the fact that the publication of Slander & Steel has been postponed again due to lack of funds. I’m not giving up yet, though! I will publish this book eventually, and hopefully within the next year!

2018: Goals in review

1. Prepare The Dark War Trilogy for publication

*laughs hysterically* Not. even. close. The Last Assassin is at a word count of 74.5k and it’s just starting to get into open war. The Shadow Raven is at 95k (O-O) and still a month of story time away from open war. The King’s Paladin is only 15k-ish total. So… there’s still a looooooooong way to go before these books will be ready to publish. Particularly due to how slowly I’m able to write TSR and TKP.

2. Publish House of Mages

Another thing that feels like ages ago. The original plan as of the beginning of 2018 was to publish House of Mages on May 10th (the 2-year anniversary of the idea that started it). I think it was in February, after hiring an editor and going through much deliberation, that I decided not to publish it after all. The story was very much not ready to be published, with holes everywhere, a meandering plot, flat characters, incredibly little description… It was a mess, and I’m very thankful for the friend who helped me go through with the decision to stop my plans with it.

I wrote a post in April about the lessons I learned from this process.

3. Read a novel per week

Whether or not I achieved this goal is dependent on how you’re defining it. On the one hand, I didn’t read close to a novel a week for most of the year. On the other hand, I read close to 52 books total throughout the year. So I’m calling this one a win.

4. Study the Bible/pray for half an hour each day

I didn’t come close to achieving this goal, unfortunately. However, in the second half of the year I got better at reading my Bible consistently (a good section of it per day), and last month or the month before I started a prayer journal, which helped me keep consistent with prayer for a while. (Unfortunately, I haven’t prayed as much over the past few weeks.) I’m still not where I’d like to be, obviously, but I’m making progress.

5. Publish The Heart of the Baenor

Now known as Slander & Steel! No, it’s not published yet. But it’s provided some helpful practice in marketing, and I’m still working toward publishing it in 2019. I’m in the midst of the fourth draft, and after that we’ll see what I can do to move forward.

6. Get started on The Historian

Oh yeah. I actually forgot about this entirely. The Historian is a novella I was going to write as a prequel to the Dark War Trilogy, except I was going to write it in November after finishing all three full novels. *crickets* Yeah, that didn’t go so well.

7. Win all three NaNoWriMo events

April Camp NaNo: Win (72/72 “pages”)

July Camp NaNo: Win (32k/30k)

NaNoWriMo: Loss (20k/50k)

8. Write 2k every day

Nope.

9. Do some Kersir worldbuilding every day

Also nope, but I have done some significant worldbuilding over the course of the year, and I even wrote a short story set in the Kersir world this month for a Secret Santa short story swap! (If you’d like to read it, you should sign up to my new reader newsletter. The story is in this Saturday’s newsletter. ;) )

10. Focus on one drawing technique each month

Most of my drawing this year has been in my fashion design sketchbook. I’m really happy with some of it, but drawing isn’t something I focused on this year (and I’m mostly okay with that).

11. Start making an income

Unless two instances of babysitting and $0.30 royalties count (which they don’t), this hasn’t happened either. I tried getting an editing business up and running, but that didn’t work very well on a marketing front or a workload front. :P

2019: Concrete goals
Spiritual

1. Prayer journal daily

2. Do a devotion/read the Bible daily

3. Go to church regularly (after I get my driver’s license)

Emotional

1. Read daily

2. Get out of the house once a week (once I get my driver’s license)

3. Take a day away from electronics once a week

Physical

1. Dance every morning

2. Drink 3 glasses of water daily

3. Take vitamins daily

4. Get to bed at 10 and get up at 6 daily

Relational

1. Participate in conversation at every social event (choir, youth group, etc.)

Vocational

1. Publish Slander & Steel

2. Edit and publish The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles

3. Write one “easy” novel (so I have something to work on that’s not as time-consuming or emotionally draining as The Dark War Trilogy)

4. Win all three NaNoWriMo events

5. Write 2k every day

6. Find an accountability partner (anyone want to exchange word counts and writing with me?)

7. Outline Unstoppable with Allie (assuming that she has the time/interest)

8. Post once a month on Our Mind Palace

9. Write a short story each month

10. Finish and publish Short Story Collection Vol. 2

11. Finish and publish Memories & Photographs

12. Read the 23 books by the Phoenix Fiction Writers that I haven’t read and can get in paperback

2019: General hopes

2018 has been very stress-filled and tense for me. I’ve grown cynical of some big things. I’ve experienced heartbreak and I’ve felt really isolated. This year I want to change that. I want to find joy in Christ again and be more invested in my relationship with Him. I want to get out of my comfort zone and work at talking to people. I want to be a light to people and an encouragement and a good example to my siblings and the kids in the younger choir. When I was younger, I looked up to the girls in the older choir and I thought they were the coolest people ever; recently I’ve realized now I’m one of those girls in the older choir, and I want to be an encouragement to the choristers younger than me.

Since I’ll be getting my driver’s license in March (hopefully. if I can get in the hours) I want to get out more. I want to spend less time cooped up in the house scrolling aimlessly through Facebook and spend more time out in the sunshine, getting exercise, being social. I want to foster the relationships I have with in-person communication, and make new relationships. I want to find a way to get out of my shell and be a light to people, and instead of feeling hampered by the fact that everyone thinks I’m an introvert (I’ve realized over the past two years that I get energy from people, not solitude) I want to prove that I’m not.

Overall, I want to live more in 2019.

How has 2018 been for you? What are your goals for 2019? Are there any big changes you want to make?

Character Interview: Casabree Selene

Casabree is a stablehand in the castle, working under Gabel’s supervision, and the daughter of the capital’s empath healer, Era Selene. She’s a friend of Coraline’s, and she’s rather a tease when it comes to Coraline’s relationships with guys. Enjoy her interview!

Casabree: *comes in and takes a seat across from the interviewer with a bright smile* Hello!

Interviewer: Hello. How are you?

Casabree: I’m doing very well! How are you?

Interviewer: I’m not doing too poorly myself. Are you ready to get started?

Casabree: *nods*

Interviewer: What is your name?

Casabree: Casabree Lin Selene.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Casabree: Twelve.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Casabree: None that I know of. I was adopted, so it’s possible, but I don’t have any siblings I live with.

Interviewer: I hear you have a job.

Casabree: *nods and grins* Yes! I work with Master Gabel in the castle stables. I get to help take care of all the royal horses.

Interviewer: What’s your favorite part of the job?

Casabree: *takes a deep breath, smiling* Well, I love the horses. But I think my favorite thing is that I get to work with Gabel and Coraline. They’re wonderful. *grins*

Interviewer: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Casabree: *wrinkles brow* What does that mean?

Interviewer: Do you prefer being around people or spending time alone.

Casabree: Being around people, definitely! I like quiet time, I guess, but I much prefer getting to know people. *smiles*

Interviewer: What’s your favorite food?

Casabree: Carrots. Gabel teases they’re what gave me all my freckles. *rolls eyes* We both know better.

Interviewer: *chuckles* Do you have a favorite color?

Casabree: Blue, like the ocean. The castle stands right on the edge of Mandoria, and on the western side there’s a drop off into the ocean. It’s beautiful, especially during a storm. *her eyes sparkle with fascination*

Interviewer: That does sound beautiful. Is that your favorite spot at the castle?

Casabree: *nods* I go there almost anytime I have a free moment.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite place in the city?

Casabree: The marketplace. Particularly the jeweler’s stall. The jeweler has twins a year older than me, Preya and Eisley, and we have a lot of fun together. *grins*

Interviewer: Do you like to read?

Casabree: Sometimes, but most of the time I’m too busy.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite book?

Casabree: *shakes her head*

Interviewer: Do you have any particular hobbies?

Casabree: Sometimes I like to sew, but I have to be in a very specific mood for it otherwise I get bored and anxious. Mostly just spending time with people, either around the castle or in town. *shrugs*

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

Casabree: Intelligence.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Casabree: Honesty.

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

Casabree: *raises her wrist to show a woven bronze bracelet decorated with metallic leaves* Preya and Eisley gave this to me for my birthday two years ago. They made it themselves, and I’ve put it on first thing every morning ever since.

Interviewer: It’s beautiful.

Casabree: *smiles* Thank you.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. *smiles* Have a good day.

Casabree: *stands up and offers a hand to the interviewer* You too. It was great to meet you.

Interviewer: *shakes her hand* It was wonderful to meet you, too.

Casabree: *smiles and leaves*

Character Profiles – Help or Waste?

When creating characters, you’re often told to use a character profile. But do they really help you flesh out your characters or are they just laundry lists of useless facts you’ll never use? I think they usually tend to be a combination, and it depends on the profile. There are some profiles with more hard-hitting questions and there are some with more shallow questions, and how much you get out of a profile depends somewhat on what the balance is.

Profiles are also more or less helpful for each writer, since every writer is different. I tend to like them because they give me things to think about regarding the character that I won’t necessarily think of on my own, and then a place to write them down, but others just find them time-consuming and would rather learn about their characters through writing. Neither of these is wrong, and I’ve used both methods in the past.

So what should you look for or put on a character profile?

I tend to get the most use out of questions that talk about a character’s nature, past, and relationships. I also like those spots for physical attributes in case I don’t remember (which I usually do because I usually have a pretty clear picture of that in my head, but I wouldn’t want to give a character brown hair in one scene and blonde in another, for instance, so it’s good to have just in case), and other things that will recur in the book. A tendency to run a hand through their hair, always wearing their sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a certain thing they do that makes another character laugh, etc. (Although you could say these tie in with the nature-related questions, which would also be acceptable.)

You can do a lot of character development by connecting the past and present, even coincidentally. For instance, in “worst childhood memories” for my character Cordain, I found out that his sister Braia was bitten by a spider when they were little and he’d been terrified she was going to die. As it turned out, I’d already put down “spiders” as a fear of his, and now I knew why. You can also do this intentionally, by looking at something about them (a fear, a goal, a scar, a mannerism, just about anything) and figuring out why they’re scared of that, what happened to lead to that goal, how they got that scar, etc.

But what questions should actually go on the profile?

Basic physical appearance. I usually leave weight off of this because I don’t tend to find it useful, but something like body type makes a good alternative for me because it’s easier for me to picture at a glance. What you do is up to you. I also like to have a face claim of a celebrity (Pinterest or faceclaim directories – which you can just google to pull up a few – are really helpful for this) so that I have an even clearer image of that character. And don’t worry if the faceclaim doesn’t fit your character 100%, because that’s just not possible. Pick someone that’s as close as you can get.

Personality type. I usually have their MBTI type, what Divergent faction they’re in, what Hogwarts house they’re in, and sometimes what their alignment is (neutral good, chaotic evil, etc.). You may just consider this super nerdy, but it actually tells me a lot about their character to know these things, because these are preconceived boxes with assigned traits. All of these might not fit your character, but it gives you a framework. And on Pinterest you can find oodles of posts about each MBTI personality type, which can be super helpful for getting to know your character. I actually have a whole post on personality typing your characters.

Name meaning. Maybe this is just me, but I find name meanings fascinating and I tend to enjoy using them as plot ideas for those characters. And some of them fit perfectly right off the bat (I once named a queen character Rhianna and then later looked it up and found out it means “great queen”), some are wonderfully ironic (my cruel, evil pirate’s name means “grace”), and some are just funny (I have a set of brothers named Sulien and Ciaran. Sulien means “sun born” and Ciaran means “little dark one.” On top of which, Ciaran is very pale with platinum blond hair and much more pleasant to be around than Sulien.)

How they treat people above and below them. This tells a lot about their character and how they’re likely to respond to characters who are above or below them. My character Nissa from The Shadow Raven treats nobles with the respect due, but she mixes it with a hint of mockery. Meanwhile, in those below her (and there are few below her) she sees herself and wants to help them. At least at the beginning of the book.

Best and worst childhood memory. These could come up in the book or could not, but they’re good to know anyway. They can lead to a lot of present-day things like goals, fears, scars, behaviors, etc.

Moments that changed them/significant moments. These are two separate things, but they almost always overlap. If it changed you, it’s a significant moment. These can be job changes, family changes (new siblings, death of a parent, adoption, etc.), home changes, whatever.

Odd things in their childhood. For instance, being raised by a thief/assassin is fairly odd, as is killing your parents at the age of twelve or so. Yes, those are descriptions of three of my characters. The latter is a psychopath, so… He’s fun. (Actually he is a lot of fun to write, but anyway.) Anything particularly odd about their childhood, and try to base it on their society, too. For instance, it would be odd in Shae-Nir (where Cordain lives) for a child to be raised by a single parent or live in a big mansion or not participate in the harvest festival. In Vanore (where Nissa lives), it’s pretty unusual to be orphaned, to not live in a house, or to steal from the palace. Pay attention to what things would be odd in your character’s society, not just yours.

Goals based on their past. I love this one, because it embodies what I was saying about the past and present being interconnected. For instance, Nissa’s profile says that when she was a child she wanted to be a teacher, and then in this section it says “The want to become a teacher was based on the help, hope, and encouragement that her own teachers gave her, but that dream mostly died.” Her current goal (“instilling fear in people’s hearts”) is based on never wanting to be abandoned again due to {spoilers} and never wanting to depend on anyone again (due to the same spoilers).

How they respond to a threat/fight, and what their weakness is in fighting. These are helpful to know, and fighting weakness is one I need to remember is there and look up when my characters are fighting (or even just sparring), because I tend to forget about weaknesses in that area. Also, keep in mind that fighting could refer to physical fighting or verbal fights.

Choice of weapon. Obviously this ties in with the above.

You can also add things that are world- or story-specific. What affiliations they have with key organizations in their city, who they work for if it’s pertinent to the story, etc.

Want to see what else I put on my character profiles? Sign up to my newsletter and get access to the full template for free!

Giveaway Winners!

Okie doke. So, I ran a giveaway a few weeks ago for a copy of Slander & Steel and two pairs of bookmarks (3 winners total), and almost all of the entry options were sharing my Kickstarter giveaway, because I don’t currently have the money I need to get Slander & Steel professionally edited and get the cover art and all that jazz. My Kickstarter was still unsuccessful, despite y’all’s sharing, but I still appreciate your help.

Unfortunately, an unsuccessful Kickstarter means still no book, and I have to form a new plan which will almost certainly push the release date back, so I’m not sure when you winners are going to get your prizes. I’m absolutely not backing out or anything, you will get your prizes, but I can’t promise when. :P I’m still working to push forward, and the plan is still to publish in 2019 if at all possible, so I’m not giving up on any of this yet.

Now, with that caveat out of the way, let’s announce the winners!

The winner of the grand prize is… Marissa Baker! You will be getting a copy of Slander & Steel a month before its release.

The two winners of the bookmark prizes are… Mary Bliese and Leah Tutton! As soon as I have the official cover art I can put together y’all’s bookmarks and send them.

Thank you for your help promoting the Kickstarter campaign. I hope I’m able to get your prizes to you in a semi-timely manner.

I’d like to thank the rest of you for your support, as well. I’m excited to share Slander & Steel with you all, and I really hope you enjoy it when it comes out. ^-^

Character Interview: Parr Renate

Parr is a character who popped up uninvited in chapter 4 of The King’s Paladin and immediately caught my attention, partially because he sprung into existence with a full character arc, backstory, and relationship arc with Coraline (i.e. he’s the most fully-formed character to ever just show up). He’s the son of two Mandorian advisors and captain of King Shordin’s private guard. Enjoy his interview!

Parr: *comes in and takes a seat across from the interviewer* Hello.

Interviewer: Hi! How are you today?

Parr: I’m all right. How are you?

Interviewer: I’m doing just fine. Are you ready to get started?

Parr: *nods*

Interviewer: Excellent. What is your name?

Parr: Parr Alexander Renate.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Parr: Twenty.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Parr: *shakes his head*

Interviewer: Do you have a job?

Parr: I’m captain of King Shordin’s personal guard. *lifts his chin, but sounds almost resigned*

Interviewer: Are you an introvert or extrovert?

Parr: Introvert.

Interviewer: What is your favorite food?

Parr: Meat pastries.

Interviewer: Favorite color?

Parr: I’m almost always in sky blue. *lifts an arm to bring attention to his sky blue uniform jacket*

Interviewer: But that’s assigned. Is it your favorite?

Parr: *shrugs* I don’t have a particular preference.

Interviewer: Do you enjoy reading?

Parr: It depends on the book.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite?

Parr: I tend to enjoy history books, or books set in deserts.

Interviewer: Why deserts?

Parr: There are no deserts on Themar, so it’s interesting to read of them.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite thing about deserts?

Parr: The color. I imagine it’s a very beautiful mix of reds and golds and oranges.

Interviewer: *smiles* I imagine so, too. What is your favorite animal?

Parr: Eagles.

Interviewer: Any particular reason?

Parr: Not particularly.

Interviewer: What are your hobbies?

Parr: I don’t have any.

Interviewer: I imagine guarding the king would keep you rather busy.

Parr: *nods*

Interviewer: What’s it like being captain of his personal guard? What are some of your duties?

Parr: I mostly serve as an escort, with the rest of the personal guard. If there’s a threat, I neutralize it.

Interviewer: Surely you’re not with him 24/7.

Parr: No. I’m captain for the day shift. Rin Marrow takes over for the night shift. *a smile plays at his lips briefly before he hides it*

Interviewer: Is that a man or a woman?

Parr: A woman. One of few who was able to earn a place among the guard.

Interviewer: I take it you admire her.

Parr: *nods* I do. She’s a capable captain.

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

Parr: Intelligence. Bravery is worth nothing without it.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Parr: Selflessness.

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

Parr: My sword.

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

Parr: *nods and leaves*

Farewell to November

November’s Writing

I participated in NaNoWriMo this month, but I stopped prioritizing it about halfway through the month. I learned that The Dark War Trilogy doesn’t work well for NaNoWriMo–it’s too long and emotionally draining (in the case of The King’s Paladin, the MC is difficult to write because she thinks so differently from me)–so in the future I need to focus on a shorter, easier piece that I can get really excited for beforehand. This year I was more hyped for NaNoWriMo itself than for the story I was writing.

I got approximately 20k written this month, some of which was on The King’s Paladin, some of which was Kersir worldbuilding, some of which was blogging, and some of which was the beginning of a new apocalyptic novel I want to write (which is determined to annoy me, but is still an amazing idea).

I also worked on promoting my Slander & Steel Kickstarter campaign, which went a lot better than last time around. There’s $625 to go in the next six days, so I’d really appreciate contributions (of any size), shares, and prayers. (Don’t forget that you can enter a giveaway for a free copy of the published book by sharing!)

November’s Reading

I read four books this month:

Hoffmann’s Assistant by Renee Lauter
Project Canvas by Caroline Meek
Antiheroes by the Phoenix Fiction Writers
and King’s Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

I still have six books on my “fall reading list,” and I’d like to read them all and review most of them before the year is out, so hopefully you’ll get several reviews next month.

December Plans

Like I said above, I’m planning to read the last six books from my fall reading list and review them. I’m also planning on reevaluating my writing projects and figuring out what I need to work on when and what sort of pace to set. Tomorrow I’m doing a Q&A livestream on my Kickstarter campaign at 4pm EST, which I’m kind of nervous about since I’ve never livestreamed with readers before, only fellow writers/editors. I’ll also be working on editing Slander & Steel throughout the month.

I’d like to get into a healthy sleeping pattern, ’cause my sleep is all out of whack currently, and I’d like to consistently play a Wii dance game in the morning for exercise.

I’ll also be putting together my goals for 2019, and I’ll get a bullet journal for the new year and plan out how to decorate it. (I plan to get more artsy with my bullet journal this coming year, which I’m excited about. ^-^)

How did your November go? If you did NaNoWriMo, what was your final word count? What did you learn from the experience? What are your plans for December? Do you have any goals for the new year yet, or will you be planning sometime next month? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. :)

 

 

 

The Shared WIP Tag – Week 5: Bonus Party!

This week’s theme is… anything! One of the suggestions was a playlist, which I thought would be fun, but my trilogy playlist is 10 1/2 hours long. So I pulled out the songs that fit The King’s Paladin, specifically, to share with you. The shortened playlist is still 3 hours, but a lot of that is instrumental, and I’ll only be sharing the lyrical songs here, along with brief descriptions of how I think they fit. Without further ado, the music!

We Own the Night by Selena Gomez

Coraline would really like to escape from her responsibility as Paladin, and this is basically the mood she goes into when she cracks under the stress and just needs to get away for a bit and hang out with Gabel.

Waiting on the Night to Fall by Casting Crowns

Antagonist song. *dun dun dunnnnn*

Legends Never Die by League of Legends

This one pretty much defines the tone of the trilogy as a whole, so it’s included here. And Coraline is the most classically legendary, as Paladin.

Troubled by Elephante

This is Coraline’s view on life in general.

Get it Right by Diplo

This song fits both Coraline and Parr. They feel like they have to play parts they’re either not equipped or don’t want to play, but they’re determined to make other people happy by doing it anyway.

Stranger Things by Kygo

(These lyrics are incorrect, btw.) This one is more from Gabel’s POV, “mourning,” as it were, the fact that responsibility has driven a lot of the easy wonder from Coraline.

Pieces of Me by Ashlee Simpson

This is basically how Coraline feels about Gabel, but less romantically.

Until We Go Down by Ruelle

I’m pretty sure this has incorrect lyrics, too (“Erased, I missed till the break of dawn” makes no sense). This is a song for Orlan, particularly due to the first few lines.

Warriors by Imagine Dragons

All the Paladin kids relate to this one.

Battlefield by Svrcina

This one fits both Coraline and Ammadeus, not necessarily together. (Maybe together. I don’t know yet.) They both take their responsibility toward the kingdom very seriously.

We’ll Be the Stars by Sabrina Carpenter

Another Gabel and Coraline song.

Save the World/Don’t Worry Child by Pentatonix

There’s Coraline, trying to go save everyone again.

Stand Up by The Cab

This one is basically Orlan’s advice to his men.

Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons

This one fits Gabel and Coraline, specifically for each other, and Ammadeus in general.

Ceasefire by for KING & COUNTRY

Coraline’s ideal ending.

Live Like Legends by Ruelle

This one fits Orlan pretty well.

Class of 2018 Medley by Anthem Lights

This one’s a good wrap-up song for this book and for the trilogy as a whole.

There are several more with lyrics, but I’m gonna judge by the fact that I’m getting tired of finding YouTube videos for all of these that this post is getting long and I should stop. XD You can find the full playlist here:

I’m gonna leave you with a few character aesthetics and then wrap things up. Which of the songs was your favorite? Which Shared WIP Tag post was your favorite? Comment down below and let me know, and tell me which King’s Paladin character you’d like to interview next! (I need to get back into consistent character interviews.)

Dorian
Gabel
Orlan
Toril
Wisterin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: King’s Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

I love indie-publishing and indie-published authors. I love the support of the community, and I love supporting and helping fellow indie-authors. Unfortunately, when I read poorly edited indie novels I really want to go to the author and say “This was good, but it could be better” and help them polish it, and I usually can’t. This is one of those poorly edited novels.

The potential is all there. The characters are good, the plot is interesting, there are a lot of connections between things. Unfortunately, I wasn’t emotionally invested, and there are a few reasons for this. First of all, we’re never in one character’s POV for more than three paragraphs at a time (and that’s the high end of the spectrum). It’s really hard to form an emotional connection with a character you don’t get more than five second meetings with. It also removes the emotional oomph of character relationships–and particularly conflicts–when you don’t get to share in a character’s frustration or confusion or whatever the case may be because you’re immediately seeing both sides of an issue. I want to experience things with the character, and that doesn’t get to happen when you’re seeing everyone’s POV in a given scene and each one only lasts one or two paragraphs.

In a similar vein, there was too much information shared, and it wasn’t done so in an artistic way. We’re told almost everything. Emotions, backstory, worldbuilding… whether it’s through character dialogue or narration, we’re always told things and never shown. Done well, backstory and worldbuilding can really add to a story and give it more depth. Done poorly, it only detracts from the story and draws the reader out of the action. And you want to be intentional about what you include or when, otherwise the reader feels like they know everything and there’s no mystery or intrigue anymore.

One way we were given too much information goes back to POV choice (or lack thereof). Almost every character has a POV at some point. Even a random Dark Warrior in a battle who’s there for all of three paragraphs to almost make you pull for him before he dies. There’s no information given in those three paragraphs that’s useful to the rest of the story, it doesn’t create any emotional depth because it doesn’t affect the good guy on the other side in the least, and the character has no importance anywhere else in the story. But that guy aside, we see into the POV of the antagonist, at least one of the antagonist’s lackeys if not two (who give away different aspects of the plot so it’s not a mystery anymore), every meaningful protagonist, and several less-meaningful protagonists. It removes any sense of mystery if we’re seeing every single angle of the story, we don’t get to wonder about any one character’s backstory as much as we’d like (*cough*Brant*cough*), and overall there’s just a lot less tension and interest.

As a result of the lack of showing anything and the POV choice, the characters ended up less engaging than they could have been. Their basic personalities managed to shine through, but were squandered by the lack of emotional depth to the writing. I also thought their dialogue all sounded the same, which was disappointing. And almost none of them spoke in contractions; I think even the 12-year-old often spoke without contractions.

The characters’ emotional reactions to things (particularly when it came to knowing or not knowing or realizing things) was often over-dramatized. Dylanna’s surprise anytime Brant revealed some part of his backstory she hadn’t been aware of (how did she not know about him if she’s ancient and has been around the castle for ages he was {spoilers}, anyway?), Oraeyn’s surprise at the sword (dude. that was obvious from the very beginning because we knew everything about the sword’s history from the get-go. if he didn’t, why did we? and if he did, how did he not put two and two together?), etc. And are we really supposed to believe that those four sisters never kept in touch given their abilities and thus were totally lost as far as who they were familiar with? (Again, BRANT.)

The book also needed a proofreader/line-editor for the grammatical issues (particularly surrounding dialogue), which seems to be pretty common even with indie books that are well-written otherwise. (Which kind of makes me sad. Come let me fix your grammar and make your book even prettier. I want it to be the most beautiful it can be! D:)

I mostly enjoyed the ending (the very final scene painted a beautiful picture), and I thought that things were wrapped up nicely for the most part. (Although King Arnaud didn’t really know Oraeyn, so that particular choice seems a bit odd to me, considering he’s also pretty young.) It had the same problems with emotional depth as the rest of the book, except for that final scene, which clearly stands out to me.

Overall, this book has a lot of potential, but it needs a clearer focus and less excessive information.

Why Writing Isn’t a Solo Activity

People always talk about writing being an introverted profession. We sit at our desks for hours on end, silently producing words and sharing them with few people, until we finish it and have to share it with an editor and then the world. But writing shouldn’t be an isolated activity. We need help now and then (from actual people, not just Google), and we need support. So let’s get into a few ways people can be a great help with our writing.

We need support

First of all, we can’t do this writing thing alone. It’s hard. It can be draining. It’s easy to prioritize it over simple things like eating and sleeping. We need other people as moral support and to remind us to take care of ourselves. We need people to encourage us to keep writing when it’s slow going and remind us that we’re still making progress, even if it feels like we’re barely moving. We need people to remind us that our writing isn’t as terrible as we think when we’re on our fifth draft and we feel like burning our manuscripts.

But we also know honest friends, who will tell us it’s time to step back from the draft before we grab the blowtorch, who will tell us when the projects we’re focusing on aren’t really worth continuing with, who will give us constructive criticism. That’s support, too, painful as it sometimes is.

We need additional eyes and outside perspectives

When we’re on that fifth draft and we feel like all our writing is awful, or when we’re on the third draft and we know there are issues in a scene but we’re so numb from rereading it a billion times that we can’t figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it, we need outside eyes. We need help from people who haven’t read the thing a billion times, who will come at it from a fresh perspective and catch things we can’t because we wrote it and we know it inside and out. We need people who will look at our work objectively and from the perspective of a reader who knows close to nothing about the story, who will catch all those things we overlooked because we knew them and took them for granted.

I’m thankful for my Slander & Steel beta-readers, who helped me pick out issues in my second draft: Gabi, Andrew, True, Frances, Anna, and Emma. I’m also thankful for Allie’s help with my current fourth draft, as she helps me identify and fix the problems I’m too numb to to see clearly.

It’s also super helpful to have friends you can go to and bounce ideas off of when you’re stuck with a plot hole. Sometimes just working it out aloud to someone who will listen is enough to get it figured out, which is awesome. Sometimes you’re really stumped and you need an outside perspective to help shake things up. There was a plot point in Slander & Steel about two thirds of the way through that stumped me so bad I dropped the book for six months. When I came back and still couldn’t figure it out, I took it to my dad and he sorted it out in ten minutes.

We need people excited about our work

This kind of ties in with the “support” section, but we need people who will get excited about our stories who can keep us going when we’re tempted to stop writing, or shove our books at people on the street when they’re published, or promote them in blog tours if they want to be less drastic about it

Writing is great, but what’s its purpose if it’s not getting read? And how do we find people to read it? Well, once you have this handful of people excited about your work, they’re going to help you find more readers and your book is going to be more widely enjoyed thanks to them spreading the word about it.

These people aren’t just our minions for world domination through books, they’re also our readers. And, for me at least, often favorite readers because they’re the people who are going to engage and they’re the people you’re going to get to know through blog post comments and reviews and fanmail. (I have not actually gotten fanmail, but my experience with blog post comments and reviews has been amazing.)

I’m thankful for all of my frequent commenters, readers who share my promotional posts, and all the authors I’ve gotten to know online because we’re excited about each others’ work. (And all the rest of you, whether you’re openly excited or totally bored about my projects.)

We need people willing to buy our books

This is what we do, so it’s obviously helpful to have people who are willing to buy the books we poured months or years of work into, and who will be willing to support us… monetarily.

Things I hate: asking people for money. Things I don’t have: money. Things I need to self-publish a book: money. Hence my Kickstarter campaign, which hit halfway yesterday! I’m super thankful for all the people who contributed, and I’m amazed that there’s only one book box left. I’ve been thanking God for the success, and praying that He would guide the project to completion. I’m super hopeful that I’d be able to get the rest, even though there are only nine days left, and that I’d be able to publish this book for God’s glory next summer.

(If you’d like to help, you can contribute to my Kickstarter, share the campaign, or just pray that God would guide the campaign to the right people and that He’d help it to succeed.)

A lot of us authors need these people who will put their faith in us and help us complete our projects when we hit the stage of paying for editors or cover art: grandparents, parents, friends, people we only know from online… It might surprise you how many people are willing to contribute toward getting your book published, or buy it when it comes out.

I’m incredibly blessed to have such a wide group of supporters, of all kinds: beta-readers, people who encourage me to keep writing, people who’ve helped contribute to my Kickstarter, people who’ve let me bounce ideas off of them, people who read my blog, people who’ve left reviews on my short stories. I sincerely hope that all of you authors out there have a wonderful support group, whether it’s a couple dozen people or only a small handful. It takes a village to write a book.

Thank you for being a part of my “village,” and I hope that I’m able to be part of yours. :)