Dorothy Tinker's Blog: Balance of Seven, page 8

Oh the Joys of Writer’s Block

Writer’s Block Party

Daily Prompt:  When was the last time you experienced writer’s block? What do you think brought it about — and how did you dig your way out of it?

I’ve always considered writer’s block an issue for me.  Part of this issue comes from the fact that I’m still, at heart, a procrastinator, while the rest of it comes from my trouble with settling the details of a story.  Sure, I can come up with the history and general storyline, and definitely the ending, of a story, but, when I get down to the ‘who does what in what order and what do they all say?’, it can be like slogging through a bog.

The funny thing about this prompt is that it references the ‘last time’ I had writer’s block.  Gods, who can really say.  It happens to me so often, in such varying degrees, that I could say ‘last week’ with as much accuracy as ‘last month’ (not to mention, my memory in reference to real-world things is not always that great, so it all kind of blurs together somehow).

However, I can say, with some certainty, when my most memorable bout of writer’s block occurred.

Years 2009-2011.

Yes, I ‘blocked’ for at least two years.

Now, I admit, part of this was down to the intrusion of real life.  I graduated from university in May 2009 and spent the next couple of years job-searching and attempting to figure out where I was going in life and…

Well, I’m sure you get the drift.

However, the problem is that I’m pretty sure I began ‘blocking’ before then.  I was about halfway through the story of what is now Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir (a couple chapters into what will be republished as Gift of War by the end of this year) when I got to a point where I just had no clue about where I was going.

Funnily enough, I could open up one of my books right now and show you exactly which scene I was stuck on (thoroughly rewritten, of course).  In fact, I might post that excerpt just to show the final results, but that will be a later post.

By that point in the story, however, my characters had recently arrived in a new province and were meeting new characters, and I was drawing a full blank on just what they could possibly do here.  They’d just helped the unified Highwaymen in the previous forested province defeat the rogue highwaymen, and I felt low on ideas.  After all, what could they do in a huge desert where they stayed with nomads?

So, the story got put down for the moment.  Unfortunately, that moment grew to a week, then a month, then a year, and so on.  And, all the while, I was still claiming to people that I wanted to be a writer.

Now, small side note:  I majored in Mathematics.  Odd thing for someone who has wanted to be a fantasy writer since she was thirteen, but, at the time, I figured that I liked math in high school well enough that I could study it and get a job in it and use it to support myself while I cranked my books out.

Except I graduated and couldn’t get a job.  One little problem with math is that you either use it in research (didn’t want to), teaching (um, definitely not), or you build on it and become an accountant or actuary.  (If any of you reading this feel (read:  know) that it can be used for other things, remember that I am a procrastinator at heart, so I might not have researched all possibilities.)

So, I began to study to be, first, an actuary, then an accountant.

I hate to break it to you, but neither worked out.  Or rather, the studying took up so much time, on top of the retail job I was working to support myself, that I finally realized that my real dream was being abandoned.

And that, truly, is what killed my writer’s block.  The realization that if I continued trying to find a way to ‘support’ myself, I would never even begin to chase my real dream, let alone realize it.

So, I gave up on studying for things that I didn’t even want, settled myself into my full-time retail job (with a small part-time job to pay those extra small things), and forced myself back into my story.

Now, even willpower alone cannot defeat writer’s block completely.  You still need ideas.  And I was still stuck on that one particular scene, as well as most of what was going to happen in the desert province.  However, as I have claimed before, I can write endings (or something like that).

So, I skipped ahead to what became the last chapter of Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir (now to be the end of Gift of War).  Then, I believed it, and the two or three chapters I wrote afterwards, would be towards the end of that story, not actually the end of one, beginning of another, but things often work out in ways we don’t expect.

Work out in ways we don’t expect.

That’s pretty much my life, actually.  A life I am currently happy with, in which I am constantly reaching for my dream.

Gemini: Celestial Twins or Incarnated Goddess?

If you’ve read the summary of Peace of Evon, you understand that Gemini is the name of one of the series’ main characters.  In fact, out of the book’s five major players, the Peace of Evon storyline focuses most around Gemini Cosley:  daughter and only child of one of Evon’s five dukes, raised as his heir in a culture where women have few rights, most notorious rebel leader of the country…and physical incarnation of a demigoddess known as Peace.

However, gemini isn’t just the name of the story’s main character.  It’s a concept that’s seen throughout my stories, though not necessarily referred to by that name.

Astrologically, I’m a gemini, and, while I’m also an only child, the concepts of twins, dualities, and the balance between them has always interested me.  It is this Balance, as well as the Chaos that I see opposing it, on which I base the religion and scale of morality in the Peace of Evon series.

All of the gods that represent something ‘good’ (creation, life, love, hope, peace) have balancing deities that represent something ‘bad’ (destruction, death, hate, fear, war).  It is only when the Balance between them is overwhelmed by Chaos that the realm is threatened.  (Incidentally, this kind of imbalance is the reason behind the decades-long war of which Evon is a part at the beginning of the series.)

Gemini is also used in one other way in this world: it is the name of the twin moons that circle the planet.  The decision behind this was originally to provide a source for the main character’s name without referencing Earth-based constellations.  However, the Gemini moons have become a physical representation of the importance of balance throughout the entire planet.

It is Official!

I am republishing my epic fantasy novel, Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir, in two volumes:  Peace of Evon and Gift of War.  Both novels will be classified as young adult fantasy and are the first two volumes of the Peace of Evon quartet.

The expected publication date for Peace of Evon is September 30, 2014, while I hope to publish Gift of War towards the end of November.

I know that those who have already read Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir are chomping at the bit for the sequel, Lost King.  I promise:  I am working on it.  I am hoping to publish this third book around February or March of 2015, maybe even a little sooner.

For those who are interested in checking out a new fantasy series, I am offering 24 copies of Peace of Evon in a free giveaway on Goodreads.  Or, if you’re interested in reading the story and don’t want to wait until September 30 to buy it, Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir is still available on Amazon.

God's Not Dead

I’m not usually one to promote movies, especially in such a public forum, and I’m not a Christian (I fall more under the category of “spiritual but not religious”), but I truly believe that the movie, God’s Not Dead, is one at which everyone should at least take a gander.

Quick synopsis for those who haven’t heard of the movie. Basic storyline involves a young Christian just entering university who takes Intro to Philosophy in his first semester. The professor of this course is a professed Atheist who insists that, in order to save everyone time and trouble, each student writes on a piece of paper that ‘God is dead’, sign it, and turn it in. The young Christian refuses, claiming that he can’t write and sign something that he does not believe. In return, the professor forces him to attempt to prove the opposite, that God is not dead.

If you were to take this movie and change out Christianity with any other religion, I believe it would still fit. Although the movie promotes Christianity, I believe the true messages behind it are purer than choosing one religion over another. It is about having the opportunity to choose to believe what you truly believe and to act on those beliefs if you so desire. It is about finding hope in something larger than ourselves, whether that be the Christian God or the higher power of any other religion. And it is about fighting against the oppression of our beliefs and our own beings that is so much a part of society these days.

I truly believe that these messages fit everyone. Admittedly, most Atheists would probably find the movie off-putting since it is about proving that a higher power exists, but I believe that even Atheists have the right to believe in what they truly believe. And I’m certain that true Atheists (ones that don’t simply call themselves Atheists because they hate God, but actually believe there is no such thing) have something in which they can find hope, themselves as individuals or science, if nothing else.

To me, what a person’s beliefs are doesn’t matter. To me, what matters is that every person is given the choice to believe and to practice their beliefs. Friendly debate and the trading of information is all well and good, but all too often we try to force our beliefs onto others or oppress those that don’t conform to our beliefs, even when our beliefs call for acceptance and kindness towards our fellow man.

We are all human. We all believe in something, religion or otherwise. As long as those beliefs provide us with hope and don’t lead to crimes and pain, what is the reason for interfering?

Peace. Balance. Coexist. Unity.

God’s Not Dead

I’m not usually one to promote movies, especially in such a public forum, and I’m not a Christian (I fall more under the category of “spiritual but not religious”), but I truly believe that the movie, God’s Not Dead, is one at which everyone should at least take a gander.

Quick synopsis for those who haven’t heard of the movie.  Basic storyline involves a young Christian just entering university who takes Intro to Philosophy in his first semester.  The professor of this course is a professed Atheist who insists that, in order to save everyone time and trouble, each student writes on a piece of paper that ‘God is dead’, sign it, and turn it in.  The young Christian refuses, claiming that he can’t write and sign something that he does not believe.  In return, the professor forces him to attempt to prove the opposite, that God is not dead.

If you were to take this movie and change out Christianity with any other religion, I believe it would still fit.  Although the movie promotes Christianity, I believe the true messages behind it are purer than choosing one religion over another.  It is about having the opportunity to choose to believe what you truly believe and to act on those beliefs if you so desire.  It is about finding hope in something larger than ourselves, whether that be the Christian God or the higher power of any other religion.  And it is about fighting against the oppression of our beliefs and our own beings that is so much a part of society these days.

I truly believe that these messages fit everyone.  Admittedly, most Atheists would probably find the movie off-putting since it is about proving that a higher power exists, but I believe that even Atheists have the right to believe in what they truly believe.  And I’m certain that true Atheists (ones that don’t simply call themselves Atheists because they hate God, but actually believe there is no such thing) have something in which they can find hope, themselves as individuals or science, if nothing else.

To me, what a person’s beliefs are doesn’t matter.  To me, what matters is that every person is given the choice to believe and to practice their beliefs.  Friendly debate and the trading of information is all well and good, but all too often we try to force our beliefs onto others or oppress those that don’t conform to our beliefs, even when our beliefs call for acceptance and kindness towards our fellow man.

We are all human.  We all believe in something, religion or otherwise.  As long as those beliefs provide us with hope and don’t lead to crimes and pain, what is the reason for interfering?

Peace.  Balance.  Coexist.  Unity.

Meaning Behind the Name

Names are important to us. They are how we identify something or someone and differentiate it in our words from others. They are just as important in literature as in real life as we are often given a name before any kind of description or background.

In literature, names can have an impact on how readers react to the owners of the names. The feeling of the name, its origin, meaning, and the connotations associated with it can all affect a reader’s connection with the character just as much as how the character is written.

For example, would so many readers have been willing to follow Katniss through the Hunger Games if her name had been simpler or traditional? Would so many people have fallen in love with Harry Potter if his name had been aristocratic or complicated?

Now, different authors use different methods for choosing the names they feel are best for their characters. Some might even have different methods for different books, or even within the same one. Some choose by meaning, others by feeling. Some find names in baby naming books, in the phone book, or in the sender field of spam emails, while still others, especially in the fantasy genre, simply make up names, possibly creating origin and meaning as they go.

I used to be one of those authors who would randomly create names, or, more accurately, pull them out of thin air. I had characters named Shylan and Suntia (two different worlds) and other names that I can’t remember without looking through old notes. And if I can’t remember them, albeit 8 years later, how can I expect my readers to?

Unfortunately, once some names are created and used, changing them later just doesn’t feel right. For that reason, my old habit of random creation is still visible in parts of my fantasy novel, Peace of Evon: Missing Heir.

For example, the names of Evon’s five dukes, Seyan Lefas, Kawn Parshen, Peln Sageo, Jem Cosley, and Tern Chanser, all hail from this time. Only Jem’s first name, of all of them, had a specific origin. The king, Ferez Katani, also has a first name that was randomly created, though his last name has a meaning that will be revealed in later books.

My habit of random name creation was “cured” when I took a break from writing Peace of Evon to work on a story called Gates to Calonai. This is a story I plan to publish once I have finished what should be the Peace of Evon trilogy.

In Gates to Calonai, True Names have power, enough that someone can control or change a being if one know that being’s True Name. For this reason, no one uses their True Name, or the name their mother gives them. When I decided to use this concept, I knew I had to find a consistent way for people to choose their (or other people’s) “nicknames”.

This is how I came to reference other languages for names.

Almost every name I use in Gates to Calonai comes from Latin, which is referred to as the Ancient Tongue in the world of Calonai. The only exceptions to this rule are the few friends on Earth the main character nicknames before she learns the Ancient Tongue.

When I switched back over to Peace of Evon, I found myself craving a way to give purpose to the names I gave my characters. At the same time, I decided to define the separate cultures and countries within and around Evon with different languages.

So were born the Fayralese (based on English), Zhulanese (based on German), and Pecalini (based on Spanish) languages.

This, combined with a wonderful Character Naming Book published by Writers Digest, cinched my new technique for naming characters. Now, every character I create in Evon, no matter how small, bears a name that fits both the character (meaning) and that character’s culture (origin).

Therefore, a stubborn Zhulanese man might bear the name Stein (German for “rock”), a female Pecalini Mage Healer could be named Corteza (Spanish for “bark (of a tree)”), and a male Animal Mage from Evon (where the first language is Fayralese) might go by Starbuck.

Other rules that apply to my current technique for Evon include the ideas that mages are often given names referencing their magic and the names of some deities change with the culture. Also, the magical creatures, who do not view separation of the land the way the humans do, will often choose their names from the language that currently holds power, from a language that is old yet still respected, or even from the Fae language (a language I have based on Celtic and that a certain race of elves have attempted to claim as theirs alone).

Yet, even as I expound on character naming, I’d like to acknowledge that characters aren’t the only things in literature affected by the quality of their name. In Peace of Evon, as in many fantasy books, I mention a few things that don’t exist in the real world. For these, I prefer simple, descriptive names: fire willow, desert cat, Twin Moon Blades.

The last is actually a Fayralese name for Zhulanese weapons called Scharfmonde, literally meaning Sharp Moons. The weapons are single blades that curve from a straight handle up over the knuckles, providing an image of crescent moons. The Fayralese name is also a reference both to the fact that they are often used as a pair, one in each hand, and to the Gemini moons, a pair of moons that circle the world to which Evon belongs.

Finally, place names are just as important as everything else. Amusingly enough though, my decisions on place names run the gamut of most of the techniques I use. Several names, especially those of the countries, hail from my time of random name creation. Most city names, especially throughout Kensy, find their origin in the languages of their area.

Yet, still others, like the named places on the Spiritual Plane, bear simple descriptors: Carith’s Workshop (where souls are created), Land of Free Souls (where mortal souls spend eternity after they’ve been removed from the Cycle of Incarnation), and the Tapestry Room (where the Fates weave the Tapestry of Mortal Life).

Now, I don’t know if names are as important to other authors as I feel they are (or even if others find them more important), but I think most understand, whether intuitively or by learning, that, sometimes, you just need a good fit, or the story won’t work out quite the way you want it to.

Meaning Behind the Name

Names are important to us.  They are how we identify something or someone and differentiate it in our words from others.  They are just as important in literature as in real life as we are often given a name before any kind of description or background.

In literature, names can have an impact on how readers react to the owners of the names.  The feeling of the name, its origin, meaning, and the connotations associated with it can all affect a reader’s connection with the character just as much as how the character is written.

For example, would so many readers have been willing to follow Katniss through the Hunger Games if her name had been simpler or traditional?  Would so many people have fallen in love with Harry Potter if his name had been aristocratic or complicated?

Now, different authors use different methods for choosing the names they feel are best for their characters.  Some might even have different methods for different books, or even within the same one.  Some choose by meaning, others by feeling.  Some find names in baby naming books, in the phone book, or in the sender field of spam emails, while still others, especially in the fantasy genre, simply make up names, possibly creating origin and meaning as they go.

I used to be one of those authors who would randomly create names, or, more accurately, pull them out of thin air.  I had characters named Shylan and Suntia (two different worlds) and other names that I can’t remember without looking through old notes.  And if I can’t remember them, albeit 8 years later, how can I expect my readers to?

Unfortunately, once some names are created and used, changing them later just doesn’t feel right.  For that reason, my old habit of random creation is still visible in parts of my fantasy novel, Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir.

For example, the names of Evon’s five dukes, Seyan Lefas, Kawn Parshen, Peln Sageo, Jem Cosley, and Tern Chanser, all hail from this time.  Only Jem’s first name, of all of them, had a specific origin.  The king, Ferez Katani, also has a first name that was randomly created, though his last name has a meaning that will be revealed in later books.

My habit of random name creation was “cured” when I took a break from writing Peace of Evon to work on a story called Gates to Calonai.  This is a story I plan to publish once I have finished what should be the Peace of Evon trilogy.

In Gates to Calonai, True Names have power, enough that someone can control or change a being if one know that being’s True Name.  For this reason, no one uses their True Name, or the name their mother gives them.  When I decided to use this concept, I knew I had to find a consistent way for people to choose their (or other people’s) “nicknames”.

This is how I came to reference other languages for names.

Almost every name I use in Gates to Calonai comes from Latin, which is referred to as the Ancient Tongue in the world of Calonai.  The only exceptions to this rule are the few friends on Earth the main character nicknames before she learns the Ancient Tongue.

When I switched back over to Peace of Evon, I found myself craving a way to give purpose to the names I gave my characters.  At the same time, I decided to define the separate cultures and countries within and around Evon with different languages.

So were born the Fayralese (based on English), Zhulanese (based on German), and Pecalini (based on Spanish) languages.

This, combined with a wonderful Character Naming Book published by Writers Digest, cinched my new technique for naming characters.  Now, every character I create in Evon, no matter how small, bears a name that fits both the character (meaning) and that character’s culture (origin).

Therefore, a stubborn Zhulanese man might bear the name Stein (German for “rock”), a female Pecalini Mage Healer could be named Corteza (Spanish for “bark (of a tree)”), and a male Animal Mage from Evon (where the first language is Fayralese) might go by Starbuck.

Other rules that apply to my current technique for Evon include the ideas that mages are often given names referencing their magic and the names of some deities change with the culture.  Also, the magical creatures, who do not view separation of the land the way the humans do, will often choose their names from the language that currently holds power, from a language that is old yet still respected, or even from the Fae language (a language I have based on Celtic and that a certain race of elves have attempted to claim as theirs alone).

Yet, even as I expound on character naming, I’d like to acknowledge that characters aren’t the only things in literature affected by the quality of their name.  In Peace of Evon, as in many fantasy books, I mention a few things that don’t exist in the real world.  For these, I prefer simple, descriptive names:  fire willow, desert cat, Twin Moon Blades.

The last is actually a Fayralese name for Zhulanese weapons called Scharfmonde, literally meaning Sharp Moons.  The weapons are single blades that curve from a straight handle up over the knuckles, providing an image of crescent moons.  The Fayralese name is also a reference both to the fact that they are often used as a pair, one in each hand, and to the Gemini moons, a pair of moons that circle the world to which Evon belongs.

Finally, place names are just as important as everything else.  Amusingly enough though, my decisions on place names run the gamut of most of the techniques I use.  Several names, especially those of the countries, hail from my time of random name creation.  Most city names, especially throughout Kensy, find their origin in the languages of their area.

Yet, still others, like the named places on the Spiritual Plane, bear simple descriptors:  Carith’s Workshop (where souls are created), Land of Free Souls (where mortal souls spend eternity after they’ve been removed from the Cycle of Incarnation), and the Tapestry Room (where the Fates weave the Tapestry of Mortal Life).

Now, I don’t know if names are as important to other authors as I feel they are (or even if others find them more important), but I think most understand, whether intuitively or by learning, that, sometimes, you just need a good fit, or the story won’t work out quite the way you want it to.

Preparing for ConDFW

The countdown to ConDFW, a scifi/fantasy convention in the DFW area, has begun as I frantically pull together everything I need to promote my book. Some of it has been successful, some...not so much.

This last weekend, I attended Sherwood Renaissance Festival to buy the last few pieces for the outfit I'll be wearing (Gemini Cosley/James Caffers, the main character of Peace of Evon).

I successfully found a black tunic and brown trousers that work well (billowy enough to hide what a girl pretending to be a boy doesn't want anyone to see). Together with the black leather boots, black leather belt, long black wig, and purple contacts I already had, I've managed a fairly good outfit for the character.

I did hope to find one other thing at Sherwood: a dagger to keep in my right boot. As Gemini Cosley is talented with so many types of blades, I have already acquired representations of her Fayralese longsword, Cautzelian cutlass, and the dagger she's had since childhood, which she keeps in her left boot (all the better to complement her right-handed use of the longsword).

I did manage to find a blade at Angel Swords Armoury to represent her Baylinese dagger. I even obtained a history for the blade by conversing with Angel Sword's master smith. However, while the blade already exists, it requires customization, so I won't receive it until the beginning of March. This means that I'll be down a blade for the convention.

As for promotional materials, I still have some printing to do before I'm completely finished with that. One thing I won't have that I had hoped to: a flag of Evon.

I will be making an actual flag to use in promoting my book at conventions. The flag consists of the rearing winged horse and the downward pointing sword that are shown on the book's cover, all on a solid purple background.

Unfortunately, life gets in the way at times, and I have been unable to find the time to work on this project. I do hope to have it ready in time for Anime Matsuri, an anime convention in Houston during March.

Hopefully, I haven't forgotten anything in my scramble to get everything ready for my first convention. If I have, I'll be certain to correct the mistake for my next event.