R.M. Archer's Blog, page 40

The Shared WIP Tag – Week 3: Antagonist Questions

This post was supposed to go up on Friday, but my site has been down since last Tuesday so I wasn’t able to post it. But it’s here now, so let’s get into it. :)

Introduce the main antagonist of your book!

Meet Orlan Resdin, captain of the Mandorian guard. He’s not nearly as nice as the actor looks in this picture. He grew up with Coraline and Gabel and the other three kids who trained to become the next Paladin, and his gift is super-strength. He has a hot temper, holds a grudge like nobody’s business, and has a distinct lack of self-control.

What do you (the writer) have in common with the antagonist? What do you not have in common?

We both snap very easily. I get very easily frustrated with my siblings, he gets very easily frustrated with… almost everybody. Fortunately, I don’t usually lash out physically and I couldn’t break someone’s bones punching them.

What does your antagonist do when he/she is mad? Do they have a soft spot?

He lashes out, verbally and/or physically. His only soft spot is for the soldiers under him. He feels a responsibility for them and wants to see them succeed, actually, which you wouldn’t guess from seeing him with anyone else.

Who is your antagonist’s worst enemy? What is their greatest fear?

His worst enemy is *static takes over* “We apologize for the inconvenience, but this is privileged information under the file SPOILERS. Thank you for your understanding.” *static fades*

*cough* Well. I can’t really tell you his greatest fear, either, because… also spoilers.

What is your antagonist’s weapon of choice?

His fists, usually.

How would your antagonist surprise your reader?

With his softness toward his men (except I already told you that), and… spoilers.

What is one thing your villain would never do?

Kill someone on his side. He may get into brawls and lash out, but he always pulls back before he kills someone unless they’re an enemy.

What lie does your antagonist believe about the MC?

That she’s weak and she only inherited the Legacy because Eliot liked her best. Which is actually partially true, but mostly false.

What is your favorite thing about your antagonist?

…His soft side, I guess? And stuff I can’t tell you because of spoilers.

If your antagonist was your MC, what would your book look like?

There’d be a lot more violence. Other than that… spoilers.

Author Interview: R.M. Archer

Last week I got to interview my friend Allie (yeah, I know, you hear about her a lot. That’s not likely to change.) on her blog, Of Rainy Days & Stardust Veins, and this week it’s her turn to interview me. I have a past interview up on the blog with my sister as the interviewer, but it ended up kind of stilted and awkward, so I’m hoping with this one it’ll be a bit looser and more comfortable. Let’s get started. :)

Allie: Thanks for having me Autumn. Wow, I’m pretty sure this my my first official time here on your blog!

Archer: I think it is. XD But I’ve mentioned you several times, even before you had your own blog.

Allie: Oh, look. :D I’m famous! ;) Yay! Anyway, first question: what story(ies) are you working on for NaNoWriMo?

Archer: Officially I’m working on The King’s Paladin, book three in the Dark War Trilogy, but I haven’t managed to get myself motivated (or disciplined enough to just sit and write), so I haven’t done a whole lot. I’m at about 15.5k and today’s target is 33k, so… yeah. XD I’ve also been counting worldbuilding I do on Kersir, which is more fun but has less material on a given day. I may pick a day to spend just focusing on writing and trying to catch up in the next week or two.

Allie: Neat! I can’t wait to read that, honestly. XD Anywayyy, I’ve heard you’ve got a new novella that you’re trying to raise money for: Slander & Steel. What was it like writing that and developing Catessa’s backstory?

Archer: Um… Well, I started Slander & Steel about a year and a half ago in April 2017, so I don’t remember a whole lot about how it got started. I do remember it came about when I was doing my Deep Worldbuilding Project series here on the blog. I started a whole new world for that series (I’d kind of like to do a reboot of that series, because I’ve learned so much about worldbuilding since then), and the world was obviously my focus. I don’t remember why Catessa was the character that ended up coming out of that. I know Cordain–the second MC–came out of my interest in the elves I’d created in Shae-Nir, since they’re very different from any elves I’d seen before. Catessa lives in the main part of Kaloris, though, where it’s just boring ol’ humans, so I don’t remember why she became my MC.

Writing it went pretty well. I wrote a lot of it that April for Camp NaNoWriMo and then through May and June until, somewhere along the way, I got really stumped with where to go next because my plot had changed a lot from my initial outline and I wasn’t a fan of Adrelia, which was where the MCs needed to go next (Adrelia is the least developed of the countries), so I stopped for a while. It was that July that I decided I was going to stop beating my head against a wall with that book and start The Last Assassin, because I wanted to know what happened to Catessa after the end of Slander & Steel, and thus I began the writing of the Dark War Trilogy.

It wasn’t until April 2018 that I got back to work on Slander & Steel (or, as it was called for a very long time, The Heart of the Baenor), editing it instead of writing on. My writing had grown a lot, so I wanted to get the writing up to snuff before I wrote the last section. When I got back to that last section I talked to my dad about the thing that had been bugging me and he solved in ten minutes a problem I’d been poring over for at least six months. So then I finished the book and moved on from there to editing and whatnot. But I’ll stop there, ‘cause this is already a really long answer. XD

Check out my Kickstarter campaign for Slander & Steel, or help share it.

Allie: XD It’s okay. It’s interesting! I can’t wait for you to work more on The Last Assassin. *cough cough* ;)

Archer: Neither can I, actually. It’s been my favorite to work on, as well as the easiest because the MC is the least difficult for me to write. Nissa, from The Shadow Raven, is pretty dark and makes a lot of mistakes and she’s really emotionally draining to write, as is her relationship with Detren, which reminds me of a couple of real-life relationships of mine in some places.

I’m finding Coraline difficult to write, as well, because she’s so different from me as far as her attitude toward people and events and that kind of thing. She’s very passive (which I can be) and she’s very compassionate and sensitive (which I’m, unfortunately, usually not). She’s very rarely sarcastic (doesn’t even roll her eyes very often), but that’s what I’m used to writing so every several paragraphs I have to back off the sarcasm and remind myself it doesn’t work for her character. Even when she’s dealing with insufferable side characters. XD

Unfortunately, I can’t continue writing The Last Assassin until The Shadow Raven has caught up with it as far as the timeline is concerned. Which is taking foreverrrrrr. I’ve reached a point in The Last Assassin where the stories start to overlap, so I need to know what the characters of TSR have been through at that point and where their relationships stand and that kind of thing so that from there on I can write the two at the same time and keep things working smoothly. The King’s Paladin doesn’t need to be caught up yet, but I decided to write it this month so I could take a step back from TSR while still furthering the trilogy.

Allie: Ah. Well. Not much you can do, unfortunately.

Are there any authors that inspire you as a writer?

Archer: There are quite a few, actually, and they inspire me in different ways. Nadine Brandes and Hannah Heath are both brilliant on their author platforms. They’re super genuine and quirky, they obviously care about their audiences, they’re just wonderful people and I’d love to meet them both someday. I would love to be that genuine and caring of my readers as an author, and I don’t think I’ve gotten there yet.

Hannah Heath is also wonderful at worldbuilding and descriptive writing. Her most recent short story, Vengeance Hunter, from the Phoenix Fiction Writers anthology Antiheroes is a brilliant example of this. The culture she creates and the motifs she uses are amazing and the whole thing was great. (That whole anthology was great. You should absolutely check it out.)

Miranda Marie writes wonderful, engaging characters, and her writing in the Whispers of White duology is gorgeous. I don’t think I’ll ever write as beautifully as she does, my usual writing style doesn’t really allow for it, but I hope my characters are as engaging and fleshed-out as hers.

And also, in a different way, all of the mainstream YA authors out there who showed me a distinct lack of uplifting fantasy that doesn’t have a whole bunch of language and sex in it. They’re the reason I have as specific a goal as I do with The Dark War Trilogy, to write without vulgar language and to show that the abusive and/or unthoughtful relationships in YA books today are not healthy or romantic. They’re harmful and they have consequences.

Allie: Or, you could go ahead and answer my next question. LOL. Anyway, yeah, Miranda Marie is amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever reach her level of awesome. XD

What is your goal as a writer? (I know that you kinda answered this already.)

Archer: Basically to fill the hole that I found in YA books. There are a lot of things I love about the YA genre, but if you’re a Christian reader, or even a secular reader who just is not interested in reading all the junk they put in YA, good luck finding anything on your library shelves. We go to the YA section because we want the deep stories and fleshed-out characters of the adult section without all the content, but with the majority of mainstream YA you might as well go to the adult section.

I also just want to provide more uplifting speculative fiction in general, and stories that deal with real-world problems in a realistic way but show that there’s still hope to overcome them. I don’t see a lot of realistic problems and realistic struggles in speculative fiction, and I want to change that.

Allie: *nods* That’s such a good goal. ^-^

Who is your favourite character to write? And are they your favourite overall?

Archer: Oh dear. I have so many! My favorite to write is probably Solem Anders from my Mirror-Hunter Chronicles short story series. He has the most distinct voice out of any of my characters, inspired by Lemony Snicket, so he’s a lot of fun.

My overall favorite character is a lot harder. I think I tend to have a few favorite character templates, if you will, that I really like. There’s the witty, flirtatious, usually blond, usually tall guy who’s just a totally lovable dork. Characters like Jeevan from The Shades and the Elect or Jak from Queen of Feanor. For some famous published counterparts: Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles, Jest from Heartless, Nathan from The Fire Rain Chronicles.

There’s then the compassionate, thoughtful, super sweet, usually musical, slightly shorter guy like Braedyn from The Shades and the Elect or Detren from The Shadow Raven. Natan from Echoes and Tristan from The Girl Who Could See are pretty good published examples of this one (particularly Natan).

I also kind of like the brooding, quiet type as long as they’re done well and not total jerks who are romanticized anyway. Parr from The King’s Paladin and Kallum from The Masked Captain are good examples from my own work. Published examples would be folks like Halt from The Ranger’s Apprentice.

As far as female characters, I like the sassy, snarky, reckless type, like Nissa from The Shadow Raven, Rynn from The Masked Captain, or Kaitlyn from The Shades and the Elect. You can find a ton of these in published books so I won’t even bother listing a few.

I also like the teasing matchmaker/fangirl type like Madi from The Shades and the Elect or Casabree from The King’s Paladin (she’s a new character who came out of nowhere and I think I’m gonna like her a lot). Like Iko from The Lunar Chronicles.

I love way too many of my characters to pick just a handful. But I really enjoy the characters from The Dark War Trilogy and from The Shades and the Elect.

Allie: Don’t we all. *laughs* I have too many favourites to count.

Do you have any weird writing habits? Like, always having to have a certain blanket, or randomly drink tons of water on long writing hauls?

Archer: Not really. I do think I tend to drink more water than usual when I’m writing, but I don’t have any particular weird habits. Or even habits at all, lol.

Allie: Huh. I know you love music, do you have any artists that inspire you?

Archer: Ah, music! Somehow I didn’t even think of that. XD What I listen to/what inspires me really depends on what story I’m writing and what mood I’m in. There are artists that inspire me as far as life goes, rather than writing-specifically, like Lexi Walker and Peter Hollens, but when it comes to writing I don’t have a set artist or two. I listen to a fair amount of Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Audiomachine… there’s a lot of Ruelle on my Dark War Trilogy playlist. But it really depends.

Allie: Huh. For some reason I had no idea you liked those bands. *shrugs* The more you know.

What’s your favorite thing about music?

Archer: I’m not sure. I think probably its ability to tell a story and affect emotions.

Allie: You like to sing too, I know that. XD What’s your favourite song to sing? (I also know you just did The Marvelous Music Tag, so I won’t ask too many more questions down this vein)

Archer: Agggggh. So many! D: Touch the Sky is a lot of fun just because I always sing it with an Irish accent. XD I guess I’ll go with that one so we don’t end up with another mammoth answer to this one. ;D

Allie: Lol. ;D Indeed. I never have gotten up the courage to sing that one. At all. Nevertheless with an accent. XD On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love fuzzy blankets?

Archer: Probably around eight.

Allie: Good number. XD

This is cheesy and cliche, but what are you passionate about? What do you want to do with your life here on this earth? (Are they intertwined? Are they separate?)

Archer: I’m passionate about providing uplifting YA fiction, obviously, and about helping other authors grow and learn in their craft. I’m also passionate about music, about the power of youth, and about youth doing great work in the church and youth programs in the church being effective to embolden and train the next generation of the church. I know I want to be an author long-term, and I want to continue to help other writers grow, but I also wouldn’t mind working in the youth ministry in a church somewhere, maybe as a praise and worship leader for the youth.

Allie: If you could describe yourself in a sentence, what would it be?

Archer: I’m a speculative fiction author and singer who’s passionate about encouraging youth through books, music, and the church.

Allie: Better than I did! XD What about one word?

Archer: This is a lot harder. “Creative,” I think.

Allie: Good one. :) Anyway, that’s all I got. Thanks for letting me grill you. XD

Archer: Absolutely! It’s been fun. :) Thank you for grilling me. ;D

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit more about me. I know a lot of those answers were really long, so kudos if you read through that whole thing. XD

Now a question for you to answer in the comments: what’s your favorite mythical animal and why?

 

Related Posts:

 

 

 

 

Finding Your Why

The Dark War Trilogy is really hard to write. Well, at least the last two books. I’ve been working on The Shadow Raven since before last NaNoWriMo, and since NaNoWriMo I’ve made very little progress on it. I’ve totally stalled out multiple times and been weighed down by the guilt of not writing, and even guilt for not loving my writing. I mean, this trilogy was my passion project, wasn’t it? Why is it so difficult?

In times like these, when writing is just hard—sometimes emotionally draining—when the words just aren’t coming… These are the times we need to remember why we’re writing this story rather than one of the other billion ideas out there. Why did we decide on this story?

I know, a lot of people out there will tell you to figure out why you write, but that’s generally a broad-scope thing. “Why did you start writing?” “Why do you love writing?” When you’re struggling with a specific story, you need something more specific than that. “Why are you writing this story, even when it gets tough?” “What keeps you coming back to this story?”

There’s a broad range of reasons we write the stories we do. Maybe it provides a release for pent-up emotions. Maybe you just really enjoy this particular creative outlet. Maybe there’s a specific message you want to provide readers through this story.

Recently I was having a discussion with a friend of mine and I talked about how difficult it’s been to write The Shadow Raven and The King’s Paladin and how emotionally draining it is for me, and she posed this question to me. “Then why do you write it?” It’s not really something I’d sat down and thought about before. I hadn’t really processed why I kept writing this trilogy despite the pain and the difficulty and the long months of beating myself up for not writing. (I don’t recommend beating yourself up for not writing, by the way. It’s more than okay to take breaks when you need them.)

When I thought through it, I realized that I write this series because I want to provide encouragement to people who are struggling. I want to show them that deep-seated issues and fears are hard to overcome, but it is possible to overcome them. I want to kick out the false teaching in YA literature that abusive guys are romantic and wonderful and nothing bad will come of them, and that getting too close to someone romantically before marriage has no consequences. I want to show that bad choices—of all kinds—have consequences instead of brushing them off like so much YA literature does today. I want to show truth and shine a light into the YA genre, to encourage teenagers who are going through the myriad issues of adolescence and show them there is hope. No, it’s not easy, but I believe it’s important.

Your reason for writing this story may not be so deep and profound. Writing as an emotional release or writing for the enjoyment of writing are just as valid as writing with a specific message in mind or writing to instruct others. There is no wrong answer to “Why are you writing your story?” except maybe “To get rich and famous” (sorry, that’s just not likely to happen).

Finding the “why” behind your writing has a myriad of benefits. First, it gives you a passion for the story that will shine through your writing. Second, it gives you something to remember when the going gets tough; sort of a light at the end of the tunnel. Third, it just makes writing more rewarding when you know why you’re doing it. Fourth, if anyone ever asks why you decided to write this book, you have a ready answer.

Something else I want to mention, inspired by Audrey Caylin’s recent post, is that not all of your “why”s need to lead to publication. People laud it as the ultimate sign of success as a writer, but it doesn’t have to be. You should define what writing success means to you. Maybe that means publishing one book and keeping the others private or only sharing them with family and close friends; maybe that means writing and publishing for the rest of your life; maybe that just means writing consistently to get your thoughts out at the end of the day. Release yourself of the pressure to publish just because it’s the thing to do. If you publish, it should be because it’s the best thing for you and your book and you want to share a work you’re proud of.

And even if your goal is, like mine, to make a career of writing and publish a lot of books, you don’t need to publish every book you write. In fact, I don’t think you should publish every book you write. Some ideas are rubbish and just need to stay in the ancient folders of story beginnings to collect proverbial dust and show how far you’ve come as a writer. Sometimes that is the “why” of a story: to show progress. The “why” of each particular story should help dictate whether or not you publish, and you should never rush publishing. (I’ve learned that the hard way.)

I hope this post was helpful and that you’re able to find your story’s “why.” If you’d like, leave your findings in the comments below and let me know what drives you to write your current project.

Have a wonderful day.

Slander & Steel Giveaway!

As I’m prepping to write this post, I’m realizing I haven’t kept y’all here on the blog updated on Slander & Steel‘s progress. Slander & Steel is the new title for The Heart of the Baenor, if y’all remember that. It’s a book I’ve been working on editing over the past several months. (You can read more about it here.) I ran a Kickstarter campaign in August while it was with beta-readers and I did a bad job of it–both the setup of the campaign and the promotion of it–and my editing stalled out in September, BUT now I’m coming back to it and relaunching my Kickstarter campaign with a lot of improvements and an actual plan for promotion that’s not just posting on social media saying “PLEASE GIVE ME MONEYYYYY! D:”

You can see the Kickstarter campaign here and read even more about the project and the rewards backers get and all that jazz.

What’s the Kickstarter for? Well, editing and cover art is expensive and I’m a broke teenager, so I’m asking those of you who would like to support me and help me get this book published to contribute to those costs, even as little as $1. But I also know that a lot of my audience is composed of broke teenagers, so I have something y’all can help with, too, if you want to help but don’t have money to do so. I need help sharing my Kickstarter campaign so it can get more exposure!

As a bit of incentive, I’ll be giving away a copy of Slander & Steel in exchange for sharing my campaign. The more you share about my Kickstarter campaign, the more entries you get for the giveaway. By completing the various tasks for the giveaway, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Slander & Steel, which will be shipped to you a month before the book’s official release. There will be one grand prize winner, and two additional winners will each get a pair of bookmarks designed from the book’s official cover art. Sound cool? You can start earning entries right here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I appreciate all your support, through shares or monetary contributions or just words of encouragement, and I can’t wait to share Slander & Steel with you when it releases! ^-^

Book Review: Project Canvas

COMING NOVEMBER 15TH, 2018

An international writing community.

61 authors

11 countries

6 continents

Are you looking for advice on how to create the perfect villain? Do you need the courage to put your story down on paper?  Find this and more in Project Canvas, a writing resource written completely by teen and young adult writers and compiled by Caroline Meek and Olivia Rogers.

 

Project Canvas includes:

71 short chapters, each written by a different author
bonus interviews with authors such as Tessa Emily Hall and Q. Gibson
world building and character development worksheets
and other helpful resources!

 

“This is a writing teacher’s dream – not a how-to book, but more of a literary testimony and homage to the process of writing.  A sweet balance between the practical and the spiritual, Project Canvas is concise enough for daily meditation, yet robust enough to move the writer’s soul beyond the temporary.” –Brian Dolezal, professional development and spoken word coach at Sumner Academy of Arts and Science.

I’ve been following the Project Canvas blog for a while and I’ve really appreciated all the tips the contributors have shared. There are so many writers who are a part of Project Canvas, and it’s really cool to see so many people come together to celebrate art and help one another learn and grow in their craft. So obviously, when I had the opportunity to be part of a blog tour for the official book I jumped on it. Supporting fellow authors is something I’m really passionate about—which is part of the reason I’m so drawn to Project Canvas—so I always do my best to promote other authors, and self-published authors in particular.

This book is basically the Project Canvas blog in book form. By that I don’t mean “Oh, you could have found all this information on the Project Canvas blog.” That’s far from what I mean to say. What I mean by that is that it’s a book of amazing writing advice from a huge, group of authors from all over the world who have come together to help and encourage and teach other young writers.

Also, have I mentioned they’re all young adults? I love to see young people succeed and make a difference despite society’s low expectations for them, so this is another thing I love about Project Canvas.

The articles in this book cover a broad variety of writing topics, anywhere from characters to worldbuilding to plotting to getting through writer’s block to remembering why you write in the first place. I gained insight from almost every piece in this collection, and it’s the kind of resource you refer to again and again and again when you’re struggling with your writing.

There were a lot of copy-editing oversights, which made this a bit more difficult to read, and there were some articles that I didn’t quite love just due to my views differing from those of the authors, but they didn’t take away from the overall value of the book.

Also, there are resources in the back! I haven’t had a chance to use them yet, but there are character and worldbuilding worksheets that look super cool, there are lists of suggested books to read, and the blog addresses of all the contributors (who have blogs) are listed. (I’m super excited to follow a lot of them.)

I can’t wait to get this book in print and add it to my writing reference shelf. I highly recommend it to any author looking for a good reference.

Project Canvas will be available for purchase through Amazon on November 15.

Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42446616-project-canvas

Website: https://projectcanvasbook.weebly.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectcanvas_

Blog: https://projectcanvasblog.blogspot.com/

About the Founders

Caroline and Olivia have been friends ever since kindergarten, when they met in a homeschooling group.  Their writing journey was a slow evolution over the course of many sleepovers, games of pretend, writing stories together, and finally publishing some of them.

Caroline Meek is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Project Canvas. She’s originally from Kansas City, Kansas, where she co-authored The Drawing in of Breath and attended Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences. Caroline has a passion for bringing writers together and is currently studying English & Creative Writing on the Publishing track at the University of Iowa. She’s been published in The Kansas City Star, Ink Lit Mag, Wordsmith, and blogs at Of Stars and Ink-Stained Things.

Olivia Rogers is the co-founder of Project Canvas. She’s originally from the great state of Kansas, where she showed sheep, competitively debated, and also became involved in politics. Olivia believes that writing is the gateway to change. She’s currently studying Political Science and Philosophy at Kansas State University, with the goal of becoming a lawyer and continuing to advocate for others.

Giveaway

Project Canvas is running a Rafflecopter giveaway from November 1-15th! Go here for a chance to win free copies of Project Canvas and more.

Don’t forget to stop by the other blogs on this tour! For a complete tour schedule, see the Project Canvas blog (projectcanvasblog.blogspot.com).

The Shared WIP Tag – Week 2: Protagonist Questions

It’s time for the second week’s Shared WIP Tag questions, and they’re all about the protagonist. (I’m super excited to read everyone else’s answers. ^-^) Most of y’all know Coraline from Preptober Prompts, but if you don’t… you’re about to learn about her. On to the questions!

Introduce your MC a little (name, maybe a description or picture, etc,) and tell us something quirky about them.
From Pinterest

Coraline Seralen is a compassionate Paladin who has a passion for helping people and would love to be a healer. She’s most comfortable somewhere full of sunshine or nature, and she adores apples. As far as a quirk… she stinks at making eye contact. She’s really shy and eye contact feels invasive, to her, like you’re looking into someone’s soul.

What does your MC value the most?

As far as ideas are concerned, life and healing. As far as physical… entities (if you ever need a word that applies to inanimate and animate objects: entities works great. XD), she values her best friend Gabel a lot.

What is your MC’s wildest dream? What is their greatest fear?

She probably has a desire to start an apothecary somewhere out-of-the-way and nature-filled, like a forest or something (just not the forest near the castle). She’s terrified she’ll misuse her powers as Paladin and hurt someone.

What is your MC’s favorite food? Can they cook?

Apples. She can almost certainly cook, and she probably most enjoys baking.

What do you (the writer) have in common with the MC? What do you not have in common?

Um… We both like baking. We both value life and healing, but she’s far more passionate about it than I am. Or maybe just in different ways. Something she has that I don’t is crippling fear. I’ve always been pretty confident in myself, and she’s always thought she’s the weakest of the group. She’s terrified of the responsibility and power that comes of being Paladin.

What lie does your MC believe about herself/the world?

That she can’t handle the Legacy, as Paladin, and she’s doomed to hurt someone with it.

Who is their best friend and why?
From Pinterest

Gabel Tyrell. The two of them trained together to become Paladin–along with four other kids–and while the other four were competing and vying for a chance to be the final choice, Gabel and Coraline were just sticking to their studies and doing their best. They both really enjoy reading, and they would often read together while the other four were fighting, and they’ve remained friends to this day.

What song best describes them in this book?

*scrolls through 10+ hour trilogy playlist for the songs that fit her* Carry You by Ruelle and Fleurie.

What is their personality type?

INFJ, Hufflepuff, Amity, lawful good.

Why should your readers care about this person?

She goes through real struggles with feelings of inadequacy and responsibility. She’s caring herself, and caring people tend to make people care more. She doesn’t have any harsh edges or sharp tongue to break her softness or make you want to stuff her foot in her mouth. Her mistakes are realistic to the average person; she doesn’t kill people or steal things constantly, she runs from responsibility. She provides a balance for the sharper protagonists with fantasy problems from the first two books, I think.

Check out the other participants’ blogs to learn more about their NaNoWriMo protagonists! (I think they’re all going to be super cool. I can’t wait to read about them. ^-^)

Jules @ Saver of Memories

Nicole @ Legend of a Writer

Ceci @ Ceci Creates

Lisa @ Inkwell

Gray @ Writing is Life

Julia @ Lit Aflame

Jem @ Jem Jones, Writer

Melissa @ Quill Pen Writer

Brooklyne @ Showers of Blessings

Ariel @ Scribes and Archers

Keturah @ Keturah’s Korner

Sarah @ Pen of a Ready Writer

The Marvelous Music Tag

Guys, I’m starting a tag. Allie should also get credit, because a lot of the questions are hers and she was the one who gave me the idea to make this a tag, so it’s actually more her tag and I’m just getting it started. It’s a music tag, because music is amazing and we love music. Now to the rules… which I suppose I get to make up.

Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their blog
Share the tag graphic (I’ll leave a vertical version at the bottom of this post in case you prefer it to square)
Link to the original blogs (i.e. Scribes & Archers and Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins )
Answer the questions (links to the songs are optional)
Tag 5 bloggers and give them 10 questions to answer (or just pass on the questions you got)

1. What is your favorite song?

I listen to soooo much music. This is almost an impossible question to answer, but… I’m going to say Tiny Voice by Lexi Walker.

2. What song defines you as a person?

This is super difficult. Um… I relate a lot to The Altar and the Door by Casting Crowns and Waving Through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen.

3. What song defines who you want to be as a person?

There are soooooo many. Whatever and Live Out Loud by Steven Curtis Chapman (among others), Show Jesus, You Lead, and God Girl by Jamie Grace, Angel By Your Side and Hands of God by Francesca Battistelli… etc.

4. What song takes your breath away?

When I’m singing it? Time to Say Goodbye by Celtic Woman, most of the time. When listening… I can’t think of one.

5. What is your favorite song from a musical?

Waving Through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen, A Million Dreams, Come Alive, and The Other Side from The Greatest Showman, and Memory from Cats. (Seriously, I love music too much to answer more than a couple of these with only one song.)

6. What is song that you can’t help but love?

House Wren and Montana by Owl City.

7. What’s one song you can’t help but dance to?

Dancing Queen by ABBA or Footloose by Kenny Loggins.

8. What’s a song you can’t help but sing to?

All of them.

9. What is a song that reminds you of a book/series you love?

Cornerstone by Hillsong Worship has this one line–“My anchor holds within the veil”– that always makes me think of Dreamtreaders by Wayne Thomas Batson.

10. What is a song that makes you cry?

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman and The Father’s Lullaby by a friend of mine. Christmas Shoes by Newsong also comes close a lot of times.

Nominees:

Allie at Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins
Leila at Wildflowers and Cosmic Tea
Gray at Writing Is Life
Ruby at The Sea Calls Us Home
Anna at Conscious Dreamers

I hope y’all enjoy this tag. I look forward to reading your answers! (Obviously if you don’t want to do the tag, it’s not an obligation.) What are a few of your favorite songs?

The Shared WIP Tag – Week 1: General Questions

So y’all, I totally intended to finish Preptober Prompts, but I just could not get all of the flash fictions done in time. Still, if you participated in Preptober Prompts I’d love to hear what you thought of it! Is it worth bringing back next year?

This month I’ll be participating in Julian Daventry’s Shared WIP Tag, which is all about NaNoWriMo projects. Each Friday I’ll get to answer a bunch of questions about my NaNoWriMo project, and I’ll link to the other participants’ posts at the end. :)

Introduce the story: blurb, maybe a cover, or anything else!

Is magic a blessing or a curse?

Seventeen-year-old Coraline Seralen is in line to become the next King’s Paladin, the guardian of the King of Mandoria blessed with the magic powers of all the paladins and kings before her. At least that’s the idea.

When her mentor dies and leaves her the Legacy, she’s overwhelmed and terrified of her power. But she can’t afford to be terrified with her country thrust into a war. And how will she do her duty as protector of the throne when the king dies and his daughter bans her from the castle?

Maybe if the kingdom can win the war by themselves she won’t have to use her powers ever again…

***

I don’t have a mock cover for The King’s Paladin, unfortunately, but I do have what I think is a super cool aesthetic for it.

All pictures from Pinterest
Where did you get the idea for your story? What came to you first: your theme, character, premise, setting, etc?

This story started out with a random poem-ish thing that led to Coraline’s character. (It’s kind of rough.)

I am regal, poised, and elegant, like all the kings that ever were.

I am a criminal, like those unjust kings who ruled for a time.

I am a sojourner, like those kings who strove to find their place.

I am unknown, for those kings unrecognized as such were yet still kings.

I am a vagabond, for those kings usurped and rejected yet still ruled.

I am the preserver of the heritage of Mandoria and all its kings.

I am Coraline Seralen.

I am the Paladin of Kings.

***

I don’t remember if Mandoria existed before I wrote this thing up or if it came about because of this, too, but the rest of the world (Kaloris, Roenor, and Adrelia) already existed so I just plugged it in there. At some point this story ended up entwined with The Last Assassin and The Shadow Raven, and thus The Dark War Trilogy was born.

What have you done to get experience for your story (like watching knitting YouTube videos)? What did you put into the book because it’s something you know about (like if you’re a martial artist, and put that in)?

I haven’t experienced anything for this story. I don’t often experience things for stories, although there was one time I played out a fight scene with my sister to make sure the move I was envisioning would work, and I’ve smelled my mom’s essential oils to get a scent fresh in my mind for description. But not for this story.

There’s not a whole lot I already knew about for this story firsthand, either, but Coraline struggles with some things that are similar to the struggles of a friend of mine, so I’m very familiar with those things on a secondhand basis.

What made you decide to write this particular book for NaNoWriMo?

I wanted to keep working on The Dark War Trilogy, but I can’t work on The Last Assassin until The Shadow Raven (at least) is caught up, and The Shadow Raven has been giving me issues for months. Plus I wanted to get started on this one anyway, because I felt like it deserved a turn, lol.

I actually considered focusing on Kersir worldbuilding or doing short stories all month instead, because I was having trouble getting excited about The King’s Paladin, but I decided I’d been leading up to it too much to suddenly switch to something else. Writing has actually gone a lot better than I anticipated, and I think I made the right decision. :)

Do you research before, after, or during your first draft writing process? Have you done any research for this particular book? How do you usually research?

Usually during. Since I write fantasy, I do less real-world research and I end up coming across things I need to figure out as I’m writing. (Like what would happen if someone sliced my MC’s knee and how long she’d be disabled, or what poison you can give someone slowly to make it look like an illness.) I haven’t done any research for this book yet, but I need to look up a couple things about lavender (basically: is there a certain reason that one character smells like lavender given their character?). Google is my best friend, as far as how I research.

Do you plot or plan your book in any way before you start writing? What methods do you usually use and what did you do this time?

Hm. This is a tricky question to answer, because my plotting method really depends on the story. There are some stories I just can’t outline because if I do it’ll suck all the life out of the story or I’ll get stuck or something. There are others that I can plot down to the scene and have no problem with. Even within this trilogy the method has differed a lot.

I started out with the main plot points of the series, the things that can’t move and have to happen, and put them on a timeline so I could make sure not to run other events over them. With The Last Assassin, that was all I needed and I could develop the rest as I went. With The Shadow Raven, I’ve had to stop multiple times to reevaluate where I am and where I’m going. With The King’s Paladin, I knew I had to plot ahead because Coraline is a much less active part of the series and I don’t want her to fall flat. I wrote out any scenes/sequences of events I knew I wanted in various places throughout the book, and that’s what I’m working off of. I’m hoping that’s all I need, but I may end up needing to stop and reevaluate later on.

Do you hand write or type your first draft?

Type. I’m way too slow handwriting, but I can write probably 60 wpm if I work at it, and I have a pretty fast typing speed even when I’m not trying, so I can get a LOT more written if I’m typing.

Do you have a brainstorming buddy and if you do, who was it this time and how did they help?

I have a few brainstorming buddies that I go to very periodically. (I’m not the greatest at asking for help. :P) I have my best friend, my little sister, and–if I get really stumped–my dad.

How did you come up with your characters’ names?

They just… came? I actually can’t think of any in this particular novel that gave me trouble. Most of them just popped into my head. (Which doesn’t always happen. You should see the whole notebook page of names I went through before I figured out Catessa’s name…) Except for when random side characters popped up and I sat on Nameberry’s home page watching the names scroll across the top until I came across one I liked.

Do you know what your story’s theme is? If you do, how did you find it, and if you don’t, how do you plan to find it?

Purpose. For Coraline that means overcoming her fear to accept her purpose. It means different things for different characters, but I think that’s the one that will most extend to side characters. Overcoming fear is a big part of things for Coraline, too. I pinpointed the purpose thing after I went hunting for images to use for Orlan’s character aesthetic and realized he has more depth than I gave him credit for and figured out what his struggle was.

So yeah, there’s a little more info on The King’s Paladin! Next week’s questions will be all about the MC.

Be sure to check out the other participants’ posts! (I’ll do my best to update these links as the posts go up.)

Julian

Nicole

Ceci

Lisa

Gray

Julia

Jem

Melissa

Brooklyne

Keturah

Sarah

Book Review: Fallen Leaves by Tessa Emily Hall

Selena Taylor thought her only worry this fall was starting her junior year at a new arts school in North Carolina, miles away from home. But when she finds out her mom could graduate from rehab sooner than expected—even worse, she could work for her former nothing-but-trouble boss—Selena’s determined to create a new life for them. Back in her childhood Kentucky hometown.

Step one? Track down her dad and brother that she hasn’t seen in eight years. Her anxiety is put to the test, though, when she unveils a truth that could threaten her dreams. Add to that an art competition that pushes her outside of her comfort zone and a girl who seems determined to come between Selena and her hopeful boyfriend.

Soon Selena must decide whether or not to continue her search for her dad and brother. But is there any hope that the ruins of her broken family could be resurrected? And how could God possibly have a purpose in the midst of these changing seasons?

I don’t read a whole lot of contemporary fiction, but almost every time I do I wonder why I don’t. One of my favorite things about books is that they transport you to a different place, and with contemporary fiction that place is often somewhere you feel like you could actually have a chance of going, particularly when that place is written well. Lake Lure was definitely written well. Tessa did a wonderful job of capturing the inviting atmosphere of Brewer’s coffee shop, the mixture of fun and nervousness in Mr. Lovett’s class, the almost-emptiness of the Huitt home. But what really brought these settings to life wasn’t the settings themselves or the descriptions Tessa used. What brought these settings to life was the characters that inhabited them.

I tend to have no particular love for main characters–I’m not sure why. I think it’s just a quirk of mine–but Selena was engaging to me. I felt like her anxiety could have been explored a bit more deeply, and the feelings that related to her past issues, but overall I was able to enjoy her character and see what made her tick. Plus, there were times I related to her in really specific ways, which happens very rarely.

Austin was wonderful. He was written very well, and I loved how Tessa brought out his personality and his values through the way he treated the other characters. (That birthday scene near the end… I just loved him all the more after that.) He’s almost exactly what I look for in a guy in real life.

Madaleigh was also great. I loved her personality, her passion for art and for Christ, her view on brokenness… She was possibly my favorite character. (I’m slightly bummed she wasn’t a bigger part of the last few chapters of the book.) Her friendship with Selena was one of my favorite things about the book.

I’ll stop there with the characters, since I could comment on almost every one of them, and just say that all of the characters were wonderfully done. They were all incredibly distinct and engaging and sharp, and I even enjoyed reading the less likable characters because they were still so well-written. (Except Richard. No amount of good writing could make me enjoy reading about him.)

The plot and theme were also well-done. (Almost no part of this book wasn’t well-done.) The theme was woven throughout the whole story beautifully, and the conclusion was mostly satisfying. I wish the bulk of the book had included more references to Christ and finding peace in Him, I felt like it was a little light-handed for a lot of the book, but the pieces nearer the end struck a good balance for me. (Again, the birthday scene. I loved that scene so much.) I felt like the beginning of the book had a lot of references to how Selena’s life had changed the summer before and not so much showing that change. I also feel like Selena had too easy a time finding peace in God near the end (I say this as a Christian who struggles with trusting God and finding peace in Him); I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a real-life Christian find it so easy to place things in God’s hands, so I feel like that transition was a little too smooth. But that could be a character difference between me and Selena.

Overall, I think Fallen Leaves is definitely worthy of five stars. It’s a beautiful book, inside and out, and very well-written.

Buy on Amazon | Add on Goodreads

Book Review: Women of Kern by Maris McKay

Ever since starting to develop Kersir (a desert-based fantasy world that my Dark War Trilogy characters kept referencing in character interviews) I’ve kept an eye out for other desert-based fantasy. The first I was able to get my hands on was Rebel of the Sands, which was rather underwhelming, but I recently won Maris McKay’s Women of Kern in a giveaway and it was fabulous.

Women of Kern is a collection of novellas and short stories set in the deeply thought-out world of Kern. Each story follows the story of a strong female character (legitimately, diversely strong, not the kind of “strong female character” you get in most YA fiction) and shows a vivid part of Kern through that character’s story.

Kern isn’t your generic, euro-centric, same-across-the-board-like-a-Star-Wars-planet fantasy world. It’s diverse in its landscape and cultures, it’s deep and immersive, and it’s really fascinating to read about. There’s inspiration from everywhere in the real world.

The characters pale in comparison to the world, and a few of them did seem somewhat lackluster, but in general the characters were well thought-through as well. I generally preferred the side characters to the main characters (Zaelet is one of my favorites), but that’s true of many stories for me and I don’t think that’s a fault of the author.

Several of the stories are romance (but several of them are not), and I enjoyed most of them. I tend to be picky about my romance, but only a couple of these annoyed me. Still, I think taken as a group I preferred the stories without romance to those with it. (Except for Lelihatha’s, which was possibly my favorite story of the bunch.)

Maris’s writing is really vivid and immersive. This allowed me to really explore the world through the characters’ eyes, but also made some of the romance uncomfortable for me because I have an overactive/vivid imagination. Nothing in this is what I’d consider too graphic (for an older audience), but it did get more descriptive than I was especially comfortable with.

As a whole, I loved this book and I can’t wait to read more about Kern and the characters in it.

Buy Women of Kern – Add it on Goodreads