Layers to Your World

 I know a lot of mainstream novels don't take time to build their worlds.  Most just stick them into the current world or variations of the same fantasy world.  Yes, as a fantasy writer, you will have a lot of overlap with other worlds. Monsters, magic and odd features are the bread and butter of the fantasy world.  But you can definitely add your own lore and twists to make your story world unique.

Take time to point out features that are different.  Many fantasy worlds allow teleportation with ease.  That's an easy out for bad guys.  I know I do use it several time, but it definitely has costs.  That's my point.  I make my teleportation take huge magical structures or cost much to the person who is casting it so that teleportation doesn't happen often.

How about those monsters?  You will always have your goblins, orcs and ogres.  Tolkien kinda made them mandatory.  But you don't have to make them standard.  Add your own twists to those creatures that are "standard" fantasy creatures.  My dragons can shape change, and though that occurs in several major fantasy world, it isn't a standard operating procedure for all fantasy.

Magic can manifest in many forms.  You don't have to make it the standard wave of the hand and chanting.  Though I do use that, I also use magic that only takes a thought and concertation.  An innate magic, if you would have it.  And I like to add visuals.  Magic can be just as spectacular to describe as sword fights.

Pantheons.  Some people like them stoic, some like no pantheon at all.  I like my pantheon to feel "human".  They have just as many problems as their mortals, just on a larger scale.  I take the time to make them feel like characters vital to the story, not just some supernatural power over seeing things.

Happy Writing!

Spin-offs, Shorts and Never to Be Seen

 The hope of all authors is to see their stories in print.  But once that happens, what do you do next?  As an avid reader I love to learn about side characters, lore and before the quest.  So why don't you write about your world! 

I have all sorts of notes on what I'd like to write on and someday, (I keep telling myself), I will sit down and do it.  Here are some of my ideas which I hope might help you think of some of your own.

1) The story of the Chosen.  This is really what started my whole writing in Martapa, but it was when I was young and not a polished writer.  I have the bones of a trilogy, but some of the plot holes I see now make me cringe.  I'll have a lot of work to fix them up for public consumption.

2) Lore is always fun to do. I'd love to write a guide to my world, which I've mentioned before, so when my grandkids look at my dusty old books then can see what grandma was thinking.  This is a huge undertaking.  Not only do you have to consolidate your random thoughts and make them flow, but you have to  make sure your lore actually matches.  That last is a lot harder then you think.  I've spent hours trying to find the name of some random character I wrote on a scrap of paper just so everything matches.

3) Short stories.  Wouldn't it be neat to know how Tres and the Flaming Shield came together?  Wouldn't it be interesting to know how Flash met Duncan for the first time?  Or how did Sebastion become a Mercenary Lord? My problem is I can't write short stories.  If I try they end up being around a hundred pages plus.  Some day I mean to work on that, though.

4) Spin offs.  I have in the wings stories about Noshi, Sebastion, and Miyaca, a trilogy, really. Also a one off on how Ukiah and Dyani, Amber Blackwolf's parents, came together and how Ukiah ended up using the Gods as they used him.  My list is very extensive and I know I don't have time to write them all.  Especially if I don't write.

So keep writing and have fun!

Ideas to Help You Get Writing Again

 Sometimes you just hit a wall.  You have a brain freeze.  Writer's block just won't let go.  We've all been there.  Life gets in the way or the inspiration just flitters away for some unknown reason.  Don't give up on that idea you've lovingly nurtured, try some different approaches instead.

1) Think of where you are most creative.  For me it's out of doors.  If I'm stuck I take out my notebook and head for the barn to lay in the hay and watch the critters do their things.  At the very least it gets me to relax, which sometimes is all you need to think creatively again.

2) Listen to music.  If you are trying to do a light hearted moment, listen to classical.  If you are trying to write an action scene, movie music always help.  A scene where the characters are spilling their hearts to their love, a little love music helps.  It doesn't work for everyone but I find it helps my mind focus more on those types of activities.  It's like a movie in your head, you have to have a musical score.

3) Read.  This seems odd, but sometimes you are just in need of a reset.  Sometimes reading your favorite author will once again inspire you.  At the very least you get to read a good story.

4) Walk away from your current project for a bit.  I don't mean abandon it, just walk away and give it a break.  Work on a different project. Maybe just do some writing exercises just to get your writing juices going again.

Happy Writing!

Keeping Track of Story Ideas

 I'm a very organized person, or try to be.  So, I like to organize my story ideas, and the stories I work on.  I have a feeling most of you would love to be organized, as well.  Here are a few things I do.

1) Keep separate folders on my computer for each story and their ideas. When I write a chapter or format a document for Kindle Direct I make sure to label it for what it is.  I didn't for a while and only labeled "Chapter One" or "notes".  That was a headache.  Now I label "The High King's Sword Chapter 1" so I know what I'm looking at.  That does make it hard if I haven't named the story, but you get the gist of the idea.

2) Keep printed copies of your stories.  Computers are awesome, but sometimes they burp.  Hard copies, short of animal intervention or fire, will be there.  It might seem to be wasteful, but you spend a lot of time on these works.  You don't want to lose them forever!

3) Save on a portable hard drive/flashdrive/google drive.  If you like the electronic, then this is another option.  I suggest instead of copying over what you had on the drive, save as a different folder.  That way you have your stages.

4) Have a master list of stories. I like to organize this in order of "importance" to myself.  Right now, clearly, my High King's Sword series is priority, but I have ideas in the wings.  I'd love to get my stories down so that my grandkids might see how silly their grandmother was. :)

Happy Writing!