R.M. Archer's Blog, page 41

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

Preptober Prompts Catch-Up

This is super late (five days late, in the case of the first prompt), but I’m catching up on Preptober Prompts as I promised yesterday.

We’re starting with Leila’s final prompt: Use an adventure that happened to you in the fall as inspiration for an event in your story.

I don’t have adventures, so this should be interesting. My life is super boring most of the time. (I might have to go digging through old journals for this one.)



via GIPHY

Oh my gosh. Reading over my thoughts from two years ago is HILARIOUS. XD But it turns out that it was in November 2016 that Allegra and I plotted the end of the world on napkins and straw wrappers at Taco Bell. (I have a rather loose definition of “adventure.”)

We were in Taco Bell for dinner and talking about my plans to make Concordia post-apocalyptic Earth (it’s weird to me that that idea is that young), and we decided to brainstorm how that would work, so on napkins and straw wrappers we made tons of notes on what would happen if Yellowstone Caldera erupted and how it would affect the country and that kind of thing. (I still have those napkins and straw wrappers.) Overall I remember just having a lot of fun with it and jotting things down as quickly as her mom could look them up and kind of laughing that this was so representative of our friendship. I mean, we do wacky stuff like that all the time. I made a Facebook post afterward that said,

“You know you have a great best friend when you plot the end of the world on straw wrappers and napkins at Taco Bell.

“You also know you’re a writer when you think that having a great best friend is plotting the end of the world on straw wrappers and napkins together.”

As far as this inspiring an event in The King’s Paladin… The event makes me imagine a scene where a couple of characters are somewhere without much to write on, trying to work out how to defend against the invading armies. There would be less excitement and laughter and more franticness and worry.

If we want to go off the emotions more than the events, it would be a scene with Coraline and Gabel, probably in the stables or out on a horseback ride, just having fun and hanging out. They’d probably be laughing over memories of training and avoiding the other students’ antics.

What’s an adventure you had one fall?

Week 3 Responses

Leila:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Allegra:

Days 1-2

Days 3-6

Week 4

This week is flash fiction prompts, hosted by Allegra on Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins. (Definitely check out her blog. Her writing is gorgeous.) For those of you who don’t know what flash fiction is, it’s a really short story, generally

Coraline stepped into the coffee shop and ordered her customary green tea. She smiled at the barista briefly before her gaze skipped over the shop. A history book caught her eye, with only a bit of blond hair peeking over the top. She stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to see the face of whoever was studying, but she was still too short.

She heard the barista set her tea on the counter and offered another smile with her thanks as she took her cup. As she stepped out of line, she bit her lip. She loved history and part of her wanted to go say hello to whoever was so engrossed in it, but the other part of her said that would be a terrible idea.

The history book lowered to the desk and Coraline’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t be caught staring. She saw a young man about her age run a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh before she could force her gaze away. Maybe he wasn’t enjoying that history book as much as she’d thought. Out of the corner of her eye she thought he might have looked up in time to catch her looking, but told herself he hadn’t as she made her way to a seat in the front corner of the shop, where there was the most light.

Coraline heard footsteps coming toward her table as she took a sip of her tea, and her hands shook so badly she missed her mouth and scalded her lips as tea spilled down her front. She felt her face go hot as she grabbed a napkin to dry herself off.

“Um… is this a bad time?”

Coraline looked up into dark blue eyes, sure she looked like a deer in headlights. “Oh. No. I’m fine. I mean… the time is fine.” She looked down at her tea, biting her lip so hard it hurt, cheeks still burning.

“I saw you checking out my history book.”

“Oh. Um. Sorry about that.” Coraline chuckled and looked back up at the boy, realizing it was probably impolite to look like she was ignoring him.

“It’s fine.” He smiled. “I was just wondering if you’re any good at it? I can’t see the point of it for anything, and I’m terrible at remembering dates.”

“Um, I’m okay at it I guess.” Coraline realized her hands were still shaking and pulled them off the table into her lap. “I mean, I really enjoy it and I tend to have an okay memory…”

“Would you be willing to help me out?”

“I… I guess?” She’d only ever really studied with Gabel. How was she going to help a stranger with it? She had no idea how he best remembered things or—

He was holding out his hand. “I’m Jay.”

Coraline shook his hand. “Coraline.”

“Nice to meet you. Um, let me go grab my book.” Jay smiled and headed back to his table, returning in a moment with the history book. “I’m especially having trouble with the Civil War. I don’t get the impression it was really about what they said it was.”

Coraline chuckled. “That’s a really long story.”

Jay shrugged. “I have time.”

Read Allegra’s Day 1 piece here.

Coraline squealed as she caught sight of the sale sign. “Candy corn: buy 1, get 2 free.” A deal that cheap meant they wanted to get rid of it because no one liked it, but who cared. Coraline snatched six bags off the shelf and Wisterin recoiled.

“Ew. Why are you buying that awful stuff? It tastes like wax.”

“Exactly! It’s the perfect fall gift for Eliot, always reading by candlelight.” Coraline grinned. “With enough left over for the guys.”

“Oh. Here I thought you were with Gabel actually liking the stuff.”

“Nope. We’ll have to keep it away from him, though, or he’ll eat it all before we can get it to the others.” Coraline laughed.

“Well,” Wisterin grinned, “let’s get this stuff home, shall we?”

*****

Coraline stepped into the library, immediately hit with the smell of old books and fir-scented candles.

“I have a present for you.” Coraline smiled, handing Eliot a wrapped bag of candy corn.

“Oh?” Eliot’s brow was furrowed as he took the ‘gift.’ He unwrapped it and rolled his eyes. “Goodness. Every time.”

Coraline busted up laughing. “Well you fall for it every time.”

“It’s so odd to give someone a gift out of the blue that it catches me off-guard.”

“Mhm. I’m sure that’s it.” Coraline grinned. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a few more gifts to deliver.” She lifted her stack of wrapped candy corn and skipped out of the library toward the garden.

As she’d predicted, Toril and Dorian were playing chess by the garden wall. Wisterin was perched on top of the wall to watch.

“Gentlemen.”

Toril looked up, while Dorian remained intent on the chessboard.

“Coraline,” Toril replied.

“I have something for you.”

Dorian looked up, then, looking confused.

Coraline stifled a grin as she handed each of them a bag of candy.

When the packages came open, Dorian rolled his eyes. “I swear, if this goes on another year…”

“Then what?” Wisterin asked. Coraline grinned.

“I’ll pour it all over your mattress and then whatever’s left I’ll throw at you, one piece at a time.”

Coraline and Wisterin both laughed.

“I’d like to see that,” Wisterin said.

“Thank you,” Toril said as he tucked the candy under his chair. He hated the stuff just as much as the rest of them, but he was always more diplomatic about it.

Coraline looked up at Wisterin. “Would you like to do the final honors?”

“You know I would.”

Coraline tossed the third bag up to Wisterin, who caught it before jumping off the wall.

Wisterin grinned. “Let’s do this.”

*****

The smell of sweat hit Coraline first, then the erupting sound of loud laughter. The barracks were a place Coraline generally tried to avoid, but she hadn’t pranked Orlan with candy corn before and she was looking forward to seeing his reaction. And dreading it, hence sending Wisterin instead.

Wisterin had no qualms about the setting, just strode up to Orlan where he was sitting, shirtless, joking with his men. Coraline tried to keep her eyes on his face.

“Orlan,” Wisterin said, “I have something for you.”

Orlan raised an eyebrow, and his men laughed and whistled. I grimaced.

Wisterin rolled her eyes. “Nothing that interesting.” She handed Orlan the package.

He opened it up and frowned. “What is this?”

“Candy corn. Can’t you tell?”

Coraline bit her lip. This was not going to go well. She should have just continued leaving Orlan out of the tradition…

“I can tell. Why would you give me this?”

“It was Coraline’s idea.”

Great. Throw me under the bus, why don’t you?

“I do it to everyone…” Coraline stammered. “Eliot, Dorian, Toril, usually Wisterin…”

Orlan glared at her. And now he hates me even more. Great. “Don’t ever do this again.” He threw the bag at her and she caught it just before it would have hit her in the face.

“I won’t.” Coraline turned and hurried out of the barracks.

*****

Coraline took the remaining two bags and the one Orlan had thrown back to the stables and found Gabel brushing Maris, the roan mare she often rode. His touch was gentle and tender, as it always was with the horses, and he wore the same contented smile he always had when he was working. Coraline couldn’t help the smile that spread across her own face as she watched.

When Gabel finished and moved to put the brush away, he spotted Coraline and she hastily removed the smile from her face.

“Hello, Coraline.” Gabel smiled. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.” She shrugged. “I brought you something.” Coraline held out the candy and he took it with a grin.

“Thanks. How’d the pranks go?”

“I got them all, as usual. Except Wisterin, who was in on it this year.”

Gabel nodded and set the candy on a stack of saddles. “That explains the extra bag.”

“Actually… we tried to prank Orlan this year.”

Gabel frowned. “I take it that didn’t go well.”

Coraline shook her head.

“Well, I appreciate the candy.” He smiled and held out his arms for a hug.

Coraline wrapped her arms around him, inhaling the scent of leather, hay, and cinnamon. It was a smell deeply reminiscent of the season, and she felt safe and content in his arms. Orlan would get over the prank. Hopefully.

Read Allegra’s Day 2 piece here.

Today was day 3, but I’m going to double up tomorrow because this post is already really long and I need some more time on the prompt.

Do you have a favorite prompt so far? Don’t forget to submit your own prompts for the last partial week this month! We need three prompts before the end of this week, and if we get more than that I’ll put up a vote for top three. Submit a prompt (or multiple prompts) below!

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My NaNoWriMo Toolbox

I’m sorry I’ve fallen off the rails with Preptober Prompts the past several days. I’ve been kind of in a funk lately and trying to figure out how to get out of it, starting with getting this blog post up. I’ll be back to Preptober Prompts tomorrow, since this is already my second post of the day, and include a round-up of last week’s prompt answers.

NaNoWriMo is nearly upon us (I’m feeling very under-prepared), so I figured I’d share a list of the tools I use to survive this crazy event. (All logos belong to their respective companies.)

Scrivener

Scrivener is $50, but it’s well worth the investment. It’s a one-time payment, and you’re allowed to use the same license on multiple computers which you own and are the primary user of, as well as the computers of family members who live with you.

The main thing I appreciate about Scrivener is that it keeps all of your documents (story, character profiles, setting descriptions, research, etc.) in one file so that you can easily access them all from the same interface. I’ve also found its two-pane view feature really helpful, which allows you to see two documents side-by-side. This has been helpful for me in rewriting, because I can see the original as I’m writing the new one so I know what I want to keep and what I want to change as I’m writing.

There are also features like the distraction-free mode, easy export to a word document, and the ability to design templates so that—for instance—all of your character profiles look the same.

Fighter’s Block

This is a free online word sprinting app set up like an RPG game battle. You set a word goal, and that’s the monster’s HP (health points, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term). As you write, the monster’s HP decreases and yours replenishes. The monster attacks you whenever you’re not writing, and you can customize how quickly and how much he hurts you. It’s great for getting your writing speed up.

Story Binder

How this works exactly depends on the person using it, but my story binder has character profiles, world information, and the first 49-ish pages of The Last Assassin. I like it because it’s something I can reference while I’m writing without switching programs or minimizing my story or anything (something you can also do with Scrivener using their two-pane view option). I also like the feel of a physical reference, and I enjoy decorating it.

Drink of Choice

Ordinarily I prefer hot chocolate or water, but I’ll also occasionally get sour cherry juice. A lot of writers like coffee or tea, but I don’t particularly care for tea (unless it’s sweet iced tea) and I really don’t like coffee. (I love sitting on the sidelines of the coffee vs. tea debate with my hot chocolate. ;) )

The Official NaNoWriMo Site

There are a few things I appreciate about the official NaNo site.

1. The community. I’m only really active in one forum—the Christian Teens Together! thread—but the people in it are fabulous. I love writing and brainstorming alongside them and chatting year-round.

2. The word-count tracker. Being able to see your word-count climb throughout the month is super motivating.

3. Setting up your project. This sounds super silly, but just having a place to put a cover and synopsis for your book together like it’s an official book (even if the pieces are temporary) makes the project seem real and important.

 

Go Teen Writers Book Cover Reveal

Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson are releasing an updated version of How To Turn a First Draft Into a Published Book – now titled Go Teen Writers: Edit Your Novel – on November 2, and today is the new cover reveal! :D

Drumroll please…

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TADA! I love the corkboard design. ^-^

The new book has the same great information on editing that the old one did, but also includes new chapters on historical fiction and self-publishing (yay!). For more details and to download the first three chapters, visit goteenwriters.com/edityournovel.

Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 5

Mm, weather affecting the plot. This is something I stink at thinking about. XD I guess mostly the changing temperature would be a factor, and I’d have to remember to show that through the characters’ wardrobe and responses to being outdoors and that kind of thing. As far as the main plot… I’m not sure it does affect it that much. The plot is pretty independent of seasons (at least unless/until we get into winter), so I don’t think it really affects the main happenings of the story.

Check out Leila’s original post here!

Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 4

There are no current fall superstitions in Mandoria, but when the faeries were around they would have a week around the autumn equinox where they went totally crazy and often wreaked havoc on human settlements for that week. After the faeries were defeated in the Lornean War and vanished into their own parallel dimension, the Mandorians were still terrified that they’d return on the autumn equinox and make messes like they had for centuries prior. It was an ongoing fear for a whole generation after the faeries’ defeat, and it was a legend that they’d still come back to Mandoria in the night and subtly alter things (rearranging bookshelves, flipping things upside down, etc.). People would have new doorknobs and window latches made of iron to keep out the faeries, and this lasted beyond the legitimate fear of faeries returning as a silly tradition and a bedtime story for children.

See Leila’s original post here!

Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 3

This image brings me a feeling of wonder and awe. God is such an artist, isn’t he? ^-^

I’m thinking a good place to incorporate wonder and awe would be in a scene where Coraline is finally understanding and controlling her power, and she realizes what a capacity it has for helping people. Where she starts to think maybe she’s capable of handling this responsibility after all. I don’t know exactly what power she finds that results in the same kind of wonder that I get from this picture, since I don’t have a solid handle on Coraline’s powers yet, but I think that’s how it’s going to figure in. :)

Check out Leila’s original post here!

Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 2

My favorite things about fall are the colors and the crisp weather that’s not quite too cold yet. There’s such a… wonder about fall. That kind you get from Hallmark movies set in the country, the kind that makes you wish you could leave the city and spend time in the wide open spaces of the world, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. I love that about fall.

Upon consulting my story timeline, I’ve found that the Dark War Trilogy does extend into autumn, so it will no doubt include a scene where Coraline and her “siblings” go to the apple grove. (I promise I’m not trying to be repetitive!) There will be a somber tone to the scene, since it’s the first trip to the orchard since Eliot’s death, but there will also be that element of quiet wonder, the admiring of changing leaves, and the refreshing crisp air. It’ll be a little pocket of peace and good memories amidst the chaos that’s happening in the story at that point.

Make sure to check out Leila’s original prompt post. Her scene sounds really interesting. ^-^