R.M. Archer's Blog, page 52

D: Dark Queen Rising

This is the opening scene for a novel I’m planning temporarily called Dark Queen Rising. (While I love the title, it gives away spoilers. XP) Enjoy. :)

Roran paced the library, stiff black boots sinking into the maroon carpet with every step. He rubbed the back of his neck, focused on his steps and the speech he was muttering. He prayed the words wouldn’t escape him once he got out there.

When the door opened two minutes later, Roran jumped and his brown-eyed gaze shot to the newcomer. It was just a member of the guard, crisp uniform as polished as everything else in this place.

“It’s almost time,” the guard said. “Follow me.”

Roran did as he was told, trying hard not to pull at his collar. He momentarily wondered why he was even doing this, but quickly dismissed the thought. The people of this province needed a good leader. He wasn’t at all certain that he could be that leader, but he had to try.

The guard led Roran into a well-lit dining hall, where two others already stood, looking far more comfortable than he did. One was a tall woman in a sleek red dress and dramatic makeup, both in contrast with her pale skin and dark curls. She wore several rings on her fingers, all gold. The other was a man probably in his mid-twenties, only a few years older than Roran, with dark hair and blue eyes. He wore a starched black suit similar to Roran’s own.

“You must be Roran Brance,” the woman said, her lips curling upward. She walked over, sleek as a cat, and extended a hand. “I’m Clissa Hiara.”

Roran shook her hand, heart rate speeding up. This was one of the Hiaras? “Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m sure the pleasure is all mine.” Her smile widened, showing perfect white teeth in contrast with her dark lipstick.

The other walked over and extended a hand in turn. “Caiden Berkeley.” The man looked Roran over, sizing him up, as they shook hands. “You don’t look much like a politician.”

Roran chuckled, nerves getting the better of him.

Christian stepped back and looked out an open set of French doors to the terrace beyond. The current prime minister, Trell Paust, was in the midst of giving an introductory speech to the hundreds of people gathered outside his manor, and Roran turned his attention to Paust’s words.

“…People of the Trell Province, I do hope that you’ll reelect me and allow me the privilege of being your prime minister for two more years. Thank you.” He stepped away from the podium and turned toward those in the dining room with a broad smile.

Caiden leaned over and muttered to Clissa. “He shouldn’t have ended the speech with a request.”

Roran’s throat constricted. He’d been planning on ending with a request. Should he not?

“Now,” Paust said, “allow me to introduce the other three candidates in this election. First, Miss Clissa Hiara.”

There were cheers and applause as Clissa smiled and stepped gracefully onto the terrace, standing in front of a chair set up for her.

“Second, Caiden Berkely.” More applause as he moved to stand beside Clissa.

“And lastly, Roran Brance.”

There was deafening silence as Roran stepped onto the terrace to stand next to Caiden. He tried to smile, but his nerves were frayed and he knew he looked just as terrified as he felt. What a way to start a political campaign.

“The first to speak will be Clissa Hiara. Please give her your full attention.” Paust smiled again and took a seat across from Caiden and Roran.

As Clissa stepped up to the podium, Roran tried to focus on her.

“Good morning, dear people of the Trell Province. I am, as has been announced, Clissa Hiara. It is a great honor for me to stand before you now, running for prime minister. I have lived here in Trell since before that was its name, I have come to love the people and the places…”

Roran zoned out. Clissa’s words faded into the background as he looked around at the crowd. There were so many people, so many eyes that would soon all be focused on him. It was petrifying to think about. He turned his attention instead to those who weren’t paying attention. Men and women yawning, having only come out of a sense of duty, and children whose parents had brought them along either out of necessity or to acquaint their children with the political early. One little girl was looking right at him, and when he met her gaze she waved at him with a smile. He smiled back.

The remainder of Clissa’s speech and Caiden’s were a blur of fear for Roran. He couldn’t focus, which simply perpetuated his fear. I can’t do this. I can’t focus. I can’t speak…

Too soon, Trell Paust was announcing his name.

Roran swallowed hard and stood, walking over to the podium, trepidation weighing on him like a yoke. He put his hands on the side of the podium and swallowed again, looking down at the blank wood of the stand and then out at the ocean of faces. His mouth was dry. His brain worked, but his mouth did nothing. He watched, feeling helpless, as people began to mutter to one another.

Finally his words came, squeaky though they were. “Dear-” He cut himself off to swallow again in an attempt to wet his mouth. “Dear p-p-p-people of Trell.” His brain stopped. He had nothing beyond that. His heart was racing. “I have live-lived here since I was born. I’ve gotten t-to know th-th-the people here.” He strained to pick out a familiar face in the crowd. His parents, perhaps, or his sister. “I know th-th-the struggles and t-t-t-trials you face.” He thought he heard people laughing in the audience and felt his words catch in his throat. “I’m a member of your community. I’ve been among you. I work on a farm with my p-p-par-parents. I know what it’s like t-t-to…” What was he even supposed to say? He’d had a whole speech prepared, but now? He swallowed past a lump in his throat.

Roran heard harsh whispers right before a little girl climbed through the terrace fence and took his hand. It was the same little girl who’d smiled at him earlier. He smiled down at her.

“You’re doing wonderful. Keep going.”

Roran looked back out at the crowd. “I… I don’t know how t-to do th-this. I just know I want to help. I had a sp-p-speech, but I… I don’t know what happened. I just want to help the people of T-trell. We don’t need another shady p-politician. We need someone real.” Roran stepped back from the podium, the girl keeping her grip on his hand. He looked down at her. “Why’d you do that?”

“You looked scared. Holding someone’s hand helps me when I’m scared and I wanted to help.”

As Paust stepped back up to the podium, there were a few scattered claps for Roran’s speech, but nothing consequential.

Roran smiled at the little girl. “Thank you. What’s your name?”

“Faith.”

“You should get back to your family, shouldn’t you?”

All the light drained from her face, but she nodded, released his hand, and headed back through the terrace fence into the crowd.

Character Interview: Coraline Seralen

Coraline is the main character of The King’s Paladin, book three of The Dark War Trilogy and the one I talk about least (because it’s the one I know the least…). She’s a terrified mess for a lot of the book, thrust into a job she doesn’t think she’s ready for, but she has the most tender heart ever and loves helping and healing people. Enjoy her interview. :)

Coraline: *comes in and sits across from the interviewer, fiddling with her linen skirt* Hello.

Interviewer: Hello. *smiles* How are you today?

Coraline: Fine, I suppose. *offers a timid smile, kaleidoscopic hazel eyes tumultuous*

Interviewer: Shall we begin?

Coraline: *nods, brushing chestnut hair behind her ear*

Interviewer: What is your name?

Coraline: Coraline Alessia Seralen.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Coraline: Seventeen.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Coraline: Not officially, but I grew up with five others around my age. Gabel Tyrell, Toril Valda, Wisterin Larn, Orlan Resdin, and Dorian Frallin.

Interviewer: Why were you raised together? What was that like?

Coraline: We were all born orphans one way or another, and Eliot Dashire took us all in to train us in the castle so one of us could become his apprentice. *swallows* Gabel and I were always his favorite, and I think the others resented us for it. I know Orlan did. We all trained together until I turned fifteen and he chose one of us to take over. We didn’t all have the best relationships, but we could only dislike each other but so much, living together and training together every day. We still all live in the castle, but now we barely interact, aside from Gabel and me.

Interviewer: Do you miss them?

Coraline: *shrugs* I think I miss the dynamic we had. Gabel and I were rather shunned by the other four, we never really fit in with them, but I miss training with them and the jokes they made even if they were usually at our expense. I didn’t like being insulted, of course, but it’s disappointing that I’ll never be that close to them again.

Interviewer: Do you have a job in the castle?

Coraline: I’m the healer’s assistant, mostly. I like helping people. *smiles softly*

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite food?

Coraline: Freshly-baked bread.

Interviewer: A favorite color?

Coraline: Pale blue, like a clear winter sky.

Interviewer: What’s your favorite book?

Coraline: Anything Gabel and I read together. We learned to read together, and ever since we could we’ve read a book together every year. *smiles, eyes sparkling*

Interviewer: So is Gabel like an… older brother?

Coraline: *nods slowly* In a way. He’s a year older than me and we’re as close as siblings.

Interviewer: What is your favorite animal?

Coraline: Horses. They’re beautiful, graceful, powerful… I almost wish I could be one myself. *chuckles*

Interviewer: What are your hobbies?

Coraline: Reading, running, horseback riding, and working in the apothecary.

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

Coraline: Kindness.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Coraline: Selflessness.

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

Coraline: A book and my herb kit.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. *smiles*

Coraline: You’re welcome. *returns the smile and leaves*

C: Critique Etiquette

Another letter without a book title (and another I was fairly surprised at). Since I talked last month about whether or not to share first drafts and how to do so effectively, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the other side of the coin and give some tips on how best to help someone who has asked you to look at their work.

Do What They Asked For

If they just asked you to read their story as a reader and give your thoughts on the story, don’t comment heavily on their grammar. If they asked you to be critical of the grammar and didn’t ask for story feedback, don’t comment heavily on the story. If they have a lot of issues with something they didn’t ask you to help with, politely suggest that they find someone to work on those areas, but don’t go crazy commenting on individual errors. It could be that they already have someone else working on those things, or maybe they didn’t know it was a problem and you pointing it out will be helpful. Either way, the best way to act in that situation is to give a polite suggestion that they look into the trouble area.

Be Honest, Not Harsh

Critique is a balancing act. You want to point out their flaws, but in such a way that it’s helpful instead of harmful. When you give critique, it’s ideal to point out the good at the beginning and end of your comment and the bad in between. If that’s not possible (I’ve read some really bad books that I couldn’t find one good thing to say about), just try to be as gentle as possible about your feedback without keeping back something that it would be helpful for the author to know.

Throughout your critique, try to point out both the good and the bad (this doesn’t apply so much for line-/copy-editing). There’s a scene or line or character you just adore? Comment on it so the author knows. (I’m actually really bad at this, not because I don’t see things that I like but because when I edit I’m in a critical mindset and don’t think to point out what I really like. It’s something I’m working on.)

When you point out an error or something that could be improved, don’t just comment “This is wrong!” Let the author know what’s wrong with it and suggest possible ways to fix it. They’re not guaranteed to use your exact fix – it’s their story, after all, not yours – but they’ll appreciate the help.

Remember Who’s In Charge

This is another piece of the balancing act. You want to help them identify the problems and give them guidance on how to fix it… But remember it’s their story. Critiquing requires humility. Your idea is not necessarily the best and ultimately it’s their decision whether or not the thing is even changed, much less if they use your exact method to change it.

If there’s something you feel strongly is an error and the author doesn’t want to fix it, try talking civilly about it with the author. Define why you think they’re in error and let them explain why they didn’t change it. Try to understand it from the author’s point of view and see the story through their eyes. You may be able to show them what you see or you may not, they may change it or they may not. Be respectful and defer to their expertise on the story through the process.

The Benefits of Fanfiction

When I just hear the word “fanfiction,” I think of smutty romances and fan theories that make no sense. That’s really sad (and I sincerely apologize to any fanfiction writers here). However, when I’m thinking about fanfiction, and thinking about writing fanfiction, I remember I started with fanfiction. I think instead of creativity and development and inexperienced (but still admirable) writing.

Before we get into the actual benefits, I’m going to tell you a story. My “first good novel,” The Half-Elves (if you’ve been here a while there’s no way you haven’t heard of this before), started out as a fanfiction of The Legend of Zelda, or more accurately its spin-off game Link’s Crossbow Training. With Link’s Crossbow Training you don’t see any of the characters except Link, you just see the world. The world is really interesting, so seven-year-old me decided it would be cool to write a story set there. Link, of course, played a crucial role, and I looked up who Zelda was to see how she’d fit in as well. Anyway, a 17k novella (which I thought was a novel, at the time) was born. Every one of the characters was original aside from Link and Zelda until I finally got Twilight Princess for my birthday one year and ended up inserting other game characters, and the world was vague enough (I stink at description) and the characters were different enough that it became easy – once I realized that you can’t, in fact, publish fanfiction like a normal novel – to simply change names and make it original fiction. Even before that, I’d been writing “novels” (younger me really did not grasp the concept of a novel; my earliest “novels” were something like five pages long each, with big handwriting) heavily based on the Magic Kingdom of Landover books by Terry Brooks. Now, nine years later, I’m rebuilding that whole universe so that I can make it even better, rewrite those novels (so that they’re actually novels this time), and eventually publish them. Fanfiction can become much more.

Okay, long-winded story finished. Now let’s get into actual concrete benefits.

An Established World Lets You Practice Character Development

Characters are my favorite thing to work on, and I wonder now if that’s thanks in part to having used established worlds for so much of my early career. When you’re working in an established world, you can turn your attention to the characters (and plot, but since I have trouble writing about plot I’m not going to cover that) and make deep, well-rounded characters. I’m not saying you’ll become an expert on your first try (the majority of my characters when I was writing fanfiction were little more than names and faces), but if you practice with characters you’ll get better at characters, and it’s easier to focus on one aspect of writing when others are already taken care of and you don’t have to divide your attention.

Copying the Greats Helps You Learn What Works

When you write in someone else’s world or about someone else’s characters it’s like borrowing their expertise. You borrow what they know about writing deep worlds and well-rounded characters by writing about those they’ve already created and developed. You learn how details and flaws and everything works in practical terms and affects the story and whatnot, even if you don’t know that’s what you’re doing.

If You Decide You Want to Do Something More With It, It Poses a Fun Challenge

If you decide you want to publish the fanfiction you’ve written, but you want to make it original instead of fanfiction, you’re given an intriguing challenge to make everything your own. When I was eleven and wanted to make The Half-Elves original, all I did was change the names (I still haven’t settled on a new name I like for Link); now as I try to make it even better and use all I’ve learned in my nine years of writing to make the world deeper and the characters more intricate, I’m rebuilding an entire universe from bare bones. Two planets, nine countries, quite a few stories… all of these will need to be rewritten. Some shifts require more work than others, but it’s a really fun (if tedious) challenge.

Have you ever written fanfiction? Was it writing practice or just for fun? Have you ever considered turning it into something new? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. :)

B: 5 Best Writing Exercises

I don’t have any stories whose titles begin with B (which was kind of surprising to me), so today we have a writing tip instead, and since it’s the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo I thought writing exercises would be a good choice.

1. Find a Writing Prompt

Obviously this one’s pretty simple, but there are a couple of different ways it can be used. The first would be to simply freewrite based on a prompt and see what comes of it; the other would be to find a way to make it tie in with the story you’re writing. Both of these have their benefits. With freewriting, it gives you a chance to just write whatever comes to mind and get the words flowing, and it has the potential to give you a new plot bunny (just make sure you put that plot bunny in the cage of waiting plot bunnies instead of letting it lead you away from your current project). If you try to tie it in with your current project, this challenges you to think outside the box and think differently about your project than maybe you did before.

(Need some prompts? Check out my writing prompts board on Pinterest!)

2. Use Music

I adore music. I don’t know what I’d do without music. And music can also be helpful for writing. (I’ve actually written two different posts correlating the two, one on music and writing and one on music in writing.) While you can listen to it while writing or use it in your writing, you can also use it to inspire writing. For instance, take the song that was last playing in your head and use the lyrics or the title as a writing prompt (see option #1). Or start up a Spotify playlist and change tone with the music (This would probably work best with things like movie and game soundtracks. I have a playlist like this here).

3. Write a Bonus Scene

This can be a bonus scene that could plausibly happen in the story (I have several bonus scenes planned for The Dark War Trilogy that involve certain characters meeting each other, and I’ve placed the majority of them on a plausible timeline), or just putting your character into a strange scenario that would never happen canonically. For instance, describe what would happen if your character got an untrained puppy and had to train it not to claw up the furniture. If they’re a character who would never get a dog, or would make sure the dog was trained first, you have the added challenge of figuring out how they got into that situation in the first place.

4. Go Out

Out to your backyard, out to a coffee shop, out to the park… Go out. This can be great for getting your creative juices flowing whether it’s just because you’re in a new place and your brain shifts or because you decide to use the setting as inspiration. You could write about what you see, hear, feel, smell, taste; you could take the experience and save it for future reference (I did a lot of this when I went to the beach in November); you could find character inspiration from the people around you; there are a vast number of ways to get inspired by just getting out.

5. Write Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Write something different than what you usually do. If you write fantasy, write a scene of historical fiction. If you write novels, try your hand at a poem. If you generally write from a female POV, try a male MC. Do something different and point your brain in a different direction for a little while.

I’d love to hear which of these worked or didn’t for you, so feel free to leave a comment and let me know what was helpful to you. :)

Farewell to March

March’s Writing

I’ve only written a total of 19,891 this month, which is a lot less than I’d like. Things haven’t gone well this month with The Shadow Raven; I thought I finally had it sorted out about halfway through the month and was able to write another chapter, but then I got stuck again and now I’m not sure where I want it to go.

The smoothest writing I was able to do was a couple thousand on The Masked Captain over the course of a couple days. It was nice to just let the words flow. Unfortunately, I don’t know the world of that one well enough to comfortably continue writing. It’s on standby along with so many others.

March’s Reading

I did barely any reading last month. I read and reviewed Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes and read Skies of Dripping Gold by Hannah Heath and five chapters of Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne (which I’m rereading), but I didn’t read nearly as much as I would have liked and all of that was in the beginning of the month. I’m hoping to read more next month, but we’ll see how that goes.

Goals for April

My goals in writing for April are to finish and do the first round of edits on The Heart of the Baenor for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’d also like to work on The Shadow Raven here and there if I can, but I don’t know that that’ll happen.

As for reading, I’d like to read the books I planned to read this month (the last thirteen chapters of The Hobbit, the remainder of Midnight Thief, and all of Randoms by David Liss and The Dragon Within by Melody Jackson) and review two of them as I’d planned.

I’m also participating in a blog challenge this month, both here on Scribes & Archers and also on a group blog I’m part of called Our Mind Palace. I’ll be posting one post each day (except Sundays) for the remainder of April, each post for a letter of the alphabet. On here I’ll be posting excerpts from novels and on Our Mind Palace I’ll be posting on a little bit of everything including music, history, movies, and baking. (And also writing, because I can’t not write about writing if I try.) Tuesday’s writing tips and Wednesday’s character interviews will continue as scheduled, so you’ll be getting two posts on each of those days.

Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo? What project will you be working on?

A: The Alchemist

This is my first post for the alphabet blogging challenge: a scene from my novel The Alchemist. For each of these excerpts I’ll be picking a scene from the novel and writing or rewriting it to share with you. I wish I had an excerpt for every day, but unfortunately I don’t have novels with titles for every letter of the alphabet. (Someday.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the scene. :)

Kellaena stepped into the ballroom, smoothing down her green silk skirt. The room was full of strangers and she cast her gaze around to find a familiar face. There was Claudia, talking with a group of nobles. The king and queen, occupied with foreign nobles. Her gaze froze. And Timothy, coming straight toward her.

She turned around and immediately bumped into someone. She backed up, jabbering apologies, and looked up at who she’d hit. She recognized him immediately. “Oh. Jason. Hi.” She chuckled and looked at the floor, smoothing her skirt again.

“Hi.” He glanced past her a moment, then back at her. “Running from someone.”

She nodded. “Timothy.”

“Mm. Would you like to dance?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

Jason offered her his hand and led her onto the dance floor, starting into a waltz. Kellaena looked around, making sure Timothy wasn’t still in pursuit, dancing on autopilot. Timothy was standing at the edge of the room, scowling right at her. She quickly looked away, focusing instead on her feet moving in time with Jason’s.

After several minutes Auberon and Teresa stepped to the front of the room and the music ceased. Everyone in the room turned toward them, some talking softly to one another.

“Good evening, ladies and lords,” Auberon said. Mutterings fell silent. “As you all know, this ball is to commemorate the birth of our great former king, Laik Alary. He brought this country up from ruin with Queen Zelda at his side, and together they broke apart the divisions between man, elf, and faerie. Now we commemorate his birth, and his life.” Auberon raised a glass of white wine. “To King Laik!”

Everyone present echoed the cheer.

“Now, we have some guests that we’d like to introduce, if you don’t mind, visiting from Remera.” Auberon gestured for a small group to come forward, all wearing the maroon and brown of Remera and standing out from the green-garbed Hylanders like a sore thumb. “Please welcome Malindroe, Tierney, and Clarisse Arun.”

Kellaena knew of the Aruns, of course – the royal family of Remera was related by marriage to the royal family of The Hylands – and thus easily recognized the prince and princess and their daughter. There was someone else in the crowd, however, wearing Remeran garb. Kellaena glanced over at the tall man, probably in his mid-twenties. He returned the look with dark green eyes, smiling at her momentarily before turning his attention back to the nobles at the front of the room.

After the Aruns had said hello to everyone and activity had resumed, Kellaena headed to a couch at the edge of the room and sat down. The other green-eyed Remeran walked over and smiled when Kellaena looked up at him.

“Is this seat taken?” He gestured to the seat next to her.

“No.” Kellaena slid over to allow him a bit more room and swept her skirt closer to her.

He sat down and offered her a hand. “Dorian Greycastle.”

Kellaena placed her palm on top of his in the customary Hylander greeting. “Kellaena Ravenwall.”

Worldbuilding Resource Round-Up

Today I have the resource round-up for you guys that I’d intended to post last month and ended up replacing with a post on infodumping. Hopefully these resources are helpful. :)

General Worldbuilding

10 Points to Think About When Worldbuilding by Hannah Heath at Hannah Heath

The Art of Worldbuilding by Rhianne at Little Novelist

How to Use Multiple Tiers to Worldbuild Effectively by Hope Ann at Kingdom Pen

Worldbuilding Bible Template by Ellen at Ellen Brock

5 Details that Will Bring Your Fantasy World to Life by Melissa at Project Canvas

Questions to Ask When Worldbuilding by Annmarie at Project Canvas

5 Common Worldbuilding Mistakes and How to Correct Them by Naomi at Kingdom Pen

The Outlining Process: A Bullet Worldbuilding Checklist for Your Novel by Evie at Evie Driver

5 Ways to Worldbuild by Vicki at NaNoWriMo

Creating and Characterizing Fantasy Races by Kaylie (guest poster) at Write for the King

Worldweaving (this is a whole website that has information on several aspects of worldbuilding)

20 Questions for Worldbuilding by Alyssa at Alyssa Hollingsworth

Creating Science Fiction Worlds – 10 Important Questions (It says sci-fi, but the questions can apply to any kind of worldbuilding. I also dion’t know for certain who wrote it, so I’m going to leave that blank.)

Creating Science Fiction Worlds Part II – 10 More Questions (See above.)

Questions to Ask When You’re Worldbuilding by Jennifer at Jennifer Ellision

Worldbuilding: Animals (And Monsters) by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin

Worldbuilding: Government by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin

9 Tips to Start World-Building by Thorn at Creative Writing Guild

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions by Patricia at Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America

Worldbuilding 101 by Ruthanne at The Write Practice

The 5 Keys to Seamless Worldbuilding by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin

7 Worldbuilding Tropes Science Fiction and Fantasy Need to Stop Using by James at Gizmodo

3 Steps for Creating Realistic Fantasy Races and Creatures by Kaitlin at Ink and Quills

An Introduction to Worldbuilding by Kristen at Well-Storied

Developing Fantasy Cultures by Hannah at Dan Koboldt (This whole site is a great worldbuilding resource, so you should have a look around.)

Questions to Ask When Creating a Fantasy Religion by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer

 

Culture

Creating Culture in Fiction: 15 Things to Consider by Clara at The Invisible Author

Questions to Ask When Creating Fictional Ethnicities by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer

Worldbuilding: Festivals & Holidays by Yours Truly

Tips for Building a Fictional Society (a #StorySocial recap) by Kristen at Well-Storied

World Building: Having a Cultural Focus by Gabrielle at Write for the King

World Building: Using a Base Culture by Gabrielle at Write for the King

The 5-Minute Shortcut to Creating Cultures by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin

Creating a Fantasy Culture by Athelas at Red Lettering

 

Magic

Creating a Fantasy Magic System by Jason at Write Good Books

Questions to Ask When Creating Magical Worlds by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer

Storyworld Building: Types of Magic by Jill at Go Teen Writers

Know How Your Magic Works by Jessica at Mythcreants

Worldbuilding: Magic at The Writersaurus

How to Create a Believable Magic System by Atsiko at Atsiko’s Chimney

Designing Realistic Magic Academies by Hannah at Dan Koboldt

How to Create a Rational Magic System by Chris at Mythcreants

 

Maps

Practical Steps to a Rewarding Fantasy Map by Tineke at One Year Adventure Novel

Worldbuilding Tips: Mapmaking by Gabrielle at Write For the King

Worldbuilding By Map by Jonathan at Fantastic Maps

Worldbuilding Considerations: Maps at Reference for Writers

Map-Making 201: Naming Things by Jill at Go Teen Writers

To Create a World: Part 1: The Map by Hannah at Ink Blots and Coffee Stains

 

My “Deep Worldbuild Project”

(I’ve learned a lot since last year and have tentative plans to do another series like this based on my more recent worldbuilding endeavors, but there’s still some good info in here.)

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 1: Map Outlines

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 2: Landscape and How it Affects Culture

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 3: Wildlife

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 4: Technology and Magic

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 5: Religion

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 6: History

Deep Worldbuild Project Part 7: Culture

 

Additional Resources

In addition to blog posts, there are some other things I’d like to mention.

Storyworld First* by Jill Williamson of Go Teen Writers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a super helpful book; my copy has sticky notes on multiple pages in almost every chapter. A couple of the posts I linked to above from Go Teen Writers are drawn from this book, so if you like those you should consider getting the book. (*The above link is an Amazon affiliate link, which means I get a percentage of the price at no extra cost to you.)

Aeon Timeline

This is helpful if you want a timeline of your world’s history, and later you can expand it to include your main story timeline. It’s a really useful tool.

Scrivener

This is helpful for organizing your world’s information and solves the problem of having to jump between a dozen files by keeping all of your story documents in one handy “binder.” You can jump between them via an interface on the left, and there’s even an option to view two files side-by-side. (Handy if you’re editing or, in this case, if you’re in the middle of a scene and have to look up what that animal is called that they just ran across; have the scene in one panel and keep your place while opening your fauna info in the second.)

You can find even more worldbuilding posts on my Writing Tips: Worldbuilding board on Pinterest (there were a lot on there that I thought were too specific to include in this collection, but they’re on there if you want to see them) and map-drawing references on my Maps board, and stay tuned for a couple of worldbuilding posts next month.

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Snippet Sunday – Meeting Elashor (from The Shadow Raven)

I actually wrote some of The Shadow Raven this week! Hooray! For a couple of days I even thought I was unstuck. (Spoiler alert: I was not entirely unstuck. I was only unstuck enough to write one chapter, and now I’m stuck again and don’t like how things are going.) Whether or not I’m unstuck now, you finally get a TSR excerpt today. Enjoy. :)

Nissa flew over the city as fast as her wings would take her. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she needed to get away. Away from Detren, away from the castle, away from her new life.

Her wings tired as she flew a mile out to sea, and she turned back. When she arrived back at the harbor, she set down at the opening to the castle tunnel and shifted, panting and leaning back against the wall of an old abandoned tavern. Her hair was a mess, as if she’d flown as a human and the wind had tossed it.

“Were you running?”

Nissa looked up at the unfamiliar voice and brushed her hair out of her face with a shaking hand. A dark-haired man with a scar across his neck looked at her from curious black-brown eyes. “I don’t see what it matters to you.”

He shrugged. “I have an interest in runners.” He extended a hand and the edge of a tattoo peeked from below his sleeve. “Elashor Theberos.”

Nissa shook it, though her mind told her not to trust him. Someone who could survive an attempted murder, as his scar attested, wasn’t someone to trust. “Nissa Quail.”

Something flashed in Elashor’s eyes, but Nissa wasn’t quick enough to identify it before it was gone. “Nice to meet you. If you’re worn out like that, you must be hungry. Can I buy you lunch?”

“What do you want with me?”

Elashor laughed. “A girl who doesn’t trust too easily, eh? Who says I want anything with you? Maybe I just want to help out a girl who needs a meal and doesn’t appear to be carrying any money.”

“You don’t seem like the type to help someone without an agenda.”

“Just have lunch with me.”

“I’m not really a fan of pushy people.” Nissa moved to step around Elashor, but he moved into her way.

“I’m interested in hiring you.”

Nissa looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “For what?”

“We can discuss it over lunch.”

Nissa rolled her eyes. “Insistent, aren’t we?”

Elashor’s response was a slight smirk.

“Lunch it is,” Nissa said.

Elashor turned and led her through the streets to a small, yet still elegant, restaurant near The Silent Sail Tavern. They were taken to a small table near the middle of the dining room and given their menus. Nissa scanned hers quickly, deciding on her meal and spending the rest of her time trying to figure out Elashor as he took far longer than was normal to select his own order. The tattoo on his arm intrigued her, but she couldn’t see nearly enough of it to ascertain what it was, and she didn’t think he’d just answer her if she asked.

Character Interview: Alastair Caverly

At the beginning of The Shadow Raven, Alastair is Nissa‘s boss. I’m trying to make him the main antagonist of that particular book, but so far I’m having trouble figuring out how to figure him into Nissa’s new life, so… we’ll see how that ends up working whenever I figure it out. I hope you enjoy his interview.

Alastair: *comes in and sits across from the interviewer*

Interviewer: Hello. How are you today?

Alastair: As fine as can be expected.

Interviewer: Shall we get started?

Alastair: Please.

Interviewer: What is your name?

Alastair: Alastair Caverly.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Alastair: Thirty-seven.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Alastair: No.

Interviewer: Do you have a job?

Alastair: Not one that most people would approve of.

Interviewer: Would you care to expand on that?

Alastair: No.

Interviewer: Right. Then… Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Alastair: *arches an eyebrow*

Interviewer: Of course. Do you have a favorite food?

Alastair: Beef.

Interviewer: Favorite color?

Alastair: Black.

Interviewer: Favorite book?

Alastair: I don’t have the time or the interest to read.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite animal?

Alastair: Anything but a raven, a cat, or a dog.

Interviewer: That’s oddly specific.

Alastair: Cats shed everywhere, dogs are too dependent, and ravens are… unreliable.

Interviewer: Interesting… Do you have any hobbies?

Alastair: Only sparring.

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

Alastair: Intelligence.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Alastair: Neither. Honesty gets you killed and selflessness gets you killed faster.

Interviewer: One more question? Um… What can you never leave the house without?

Alastair: A long knife.

Interviewer: I’m, uh, glad we had this talk.

Alastair: *gets up and leaves without a word*