BOTB2

1/21 - I think I finally nailed the essence of who Jaxin is, which is good, since I've got an entire story arc about him. Now we get to see if he overcomes his moral dilemmas, or if he caves - don't look at me; I'm just the writer. It's entirely up to him, being non-sentient figment of my imagination and all.

Ok, I suppose it is up to me, but I like to leave it open to see where the story goes naturally. I want my characters to reflect real people as much as possible, and often times real people make illogical or foolish choices that bear consequences and regret. Sometimes they get the chance to make it right, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes their efforts to make it right actually make it worse.

The struggle for me as a writer is balance - how to create an enjoyable, relatable story without being predictable and stereotypical. For example, can the villain win and people still say "What a great book!" or does that concept simply turn people off, because at the end of the day, despite the eye rolls and "I saw that coming" criticism, people really do want a hero who saves the world and gets the girl?

Have you ever read a book that has a character whom you love to hate, mostly because he/she is written to be hated, and you just know they're gonna get theirs in the end, and when they do, you cheer? Yeah, but has a small part of you ever wanted to see that person get away with it, or the hero not get out of a tight spot at the last possible minute because, hey, sometimes that's life? That's where I'm at - totally conflicted because like everyone else, I want the happy ending reward of escapism, while at the same time being so jaded and cynical that escapism disappoints because "that would so never happen in real life". I probably need therapy.

In other news, the ball is now rolling regarding the cover art, and that's exciting - for me, at least. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Same artist as before, love his work!

I'm also seriously considering starting a facebook page for my world Cyfandir in order to drastically increase exposure for my books (mmm...plural). I've been hesitant due to my inherent insecurity and laziness. The former with regard to being "out there" for the world to see and scrutinize and dissect and bash, and the latter with regard to the idea of constantly updating and maintenance. I mean, let's be honest - I can barely get out a weekly blog post with any measure of consistency.

While "get over yourself" is accurately applicable advice (bonus points for triple alliteration!) despite it's complete lack of empathy, it's not that easily implemented. Nevertheless, I'll be striving to get over the challenging hurdle that is myself. Prayers are appreciated.

People say I exaggerate a ton; like all day long, every day, year-round, nonstop without pausing for air, about the most outrageous, unbelievable things.....I guess I just don't see it.