A.M. Hodgson's Blog, page 6

Breathing Room

There’s a really weird period of time (it doesn’t last long, because I’m a masochist) where I actually don’t have a ton of things to do. Normally, I fill the gap with my two day-jobs (because I live the glamorous life). But since I royally biffed it the other day, one of my jobs I’ve had a hiatus from since it’s kind of physical. (I’ll just let you all speculate on that one)

As a result, I’m in this awkward position where I suddenly have this weird thing I forgot about: time.

With Sonata off to my ARC people and with the next book in the quartet a comfortable year away from release, I actually have a bit of time to do things.

I’m still writing. I’m always writing. But the next release is Tryst in the summertime, and then I’ll still have a comfy amount of time to fiddle with Caprice before I release it.

So I’m starting to shift gears towards promotion, because I am really, really terrible at that. Want to help? If you’ve read Prelude, or if you read Sonata and enjoyed it, tell your friends to check it out. Leave a review. Both of them mean the world to me.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on my own set of promos as well as getting some well needed R&R. I plan on reading a ton of things that have been on my own back-log for what feels like forever.

I can’t wait…

"When I was learning how to critique other writers’ stories, one of my biggest lessons was this:..."

“When I was learning how to critique other writers’ stories, one of my biggest lessons was this: Critique the story they wrote, not the story you wish they’d written.”

- Jodi Meadows (via tristinawright)

So excited about this… Sonata will be released in just a...

So excited about this… Sonata will be released in just a couple weeks! 4/15/15!

Which famous writer's style is most like your own?

Which famous writer's style is most like your own?:

amandaonwriting:

Paste your writing, and discover which famous writer shares your writing style.

Well, depending on the chapter I get wildly different results, including: Asimov, Douglas Adams, and HP Lovecraft. Apparently, I write like me.

The Importance of Diversity

One of the main things I wanted to accomplish when writing Prelude was to create a world that was rich and full. More importantly, I wanted it to feel authentic. Unfortunately, while it’s an exciting task it’s also daunting. Representing multiple cultures— especially POC— isn’t easy. And I’m sure I’ve made mistakes.

When I began to outline my characters— and especially my council members and races— I wanted to be certain that each race had their own cultures and even subcultures. Some are more homogenized than others (the sirens, as you will find out in later books, had a very defined society, but the dragons are a race that spans the globe and have many subcultures).

Since I’m obviously only my own race, traipsing on additional cultures leaves me feeling a little strange. I agonized over the centaurs in Prelude. I worried that because I described Aristos as having dark skin, having him be so aggressive might be considered tacky at best or racist at worst. But as I continued on, I realized that he isn’t my only representation of POC, nor is he my only representation of centaurs in the series.

The centaurs have a strong culture that is very clearly defined in my mind, but just like the real world, there are extreme personalities within it that go off into several directions.

So after a time, I guess I started to look at it the same way I looked at my female characters: don’t box them in. Expect that the characters will be complex, multi-faceted, and not one trope. Lyra is a strong character, but she’s flawed. She falls all over boys, but she isn’t defined by them. She is heroic, but she misses the obvious.

I think, when it comes down to it, all I can do is write people. And if I screw up on the way, I can only ask for forgiveness and try to do better next time.

divawithanunspoiledagenda:plumbones:destiny919:greenhoused:which way does a cyclops wing...

divawithanunspoiledagenda:

plumbones:

destiny919:

greenhoused:

which way does a cyclops wing their eyeliner

tumblr user greenhoused is asking the real questions

It doesn’t matter, because Nobody is going to criticize their makeup.

WAS THAT A MOTHER FRACKING ODYSSEY PUN

thepaperplaneofexistence:describing eye colors isn’t actually v helpful as a description??? talk...

thepaperplaneofexistence:

describing eye colors isn’t actually v helpful as a description??? talk about the makeup smeared on the left side, the lines under their eyes, the sloppily cut hair obscuring their eyes from view, how bloodshot or sunken they seem in the face, how wide they go at the slightest sound, how glassy and unblinking they seem, how they’re always darting away

all of that tells me a bit more about the character than whatever shade of gemstone they most resemble, seriously

AHAHAHAHAHA!

Normally, I’d agree.

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Who Said What: The Pope Vs. Lord Voldemort

Who Said What: The Pope Vs. Lord Voldemort:

I got 10/10 right. What am I doing with my life?

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