Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

 

Sometimes you need to expand your horizons because sometimes we all fall into a rut.  I mean, I like High Fantasy, it’s my favorite and I like the idea I can add anything I want without having to deal with science and physics.  I mean, I still have to take into account a dagger is not going to do enough damage to hurt a dragon, but I don’t have to know the diameter in kilometers of how big the nuclear blast zone will need to be.

So, I encourage you to try something new.  If you are into fantasy, write a short sci-fi story.  If you like mystery, maybe a romance. It doesn’t have to be the genre you write in forever, but it will help you strengthen your writing skills by getting out of your comfort zone.  It doesn’t have to be in-depth or even long, just something to get your creative juices flowing.

My own example is I’m working on an end of the world story.  There is a lot of tech, science and rules of modern day living that I have to stay within.  Luckily, I have a science degree, so that helps, but it pushes me to think differently then when I’m writing fantasy.

 

So, my writing prompt for this week is to write two pages about a character being chased by the bad guy of your choice.  Write the short chase scene but use the surroundings, terminology and character descriptions that would fit with this different genre.

Writing Prompts

 Sometimes we need a little kick in the butt to get us to start writing.  To do something to get those writing juices just flowing.  So here are a few idea. 

    1) Make a group who takes turns coming up with the writing prompt.  The group can make up the rules as they go or set it up ahead of time.

      2) Google, (or your search engine of choice), writing prompts.  Be careful what you put in.  Some topics may not be what you think they are or should be.  There are a lot that are meant for school age kids, but that doesn’t mean they can’t work.  Sometimes those teachers have some great ideas to start with.

    3) Make your own list!  Take a few days, or weeks, and just write a list of ideas that might be good or not good.  Then take one a day, a week, a month to get you going. Who knows? Maybe it will turn into something grand!

         4) This can also work for campaigns for roleplaying.  If you write down a list of ideas then take one a day or a week and try and flush it out, it may help you with campaign ideas.  Obviously, not every one is going to work, but it will get you thinking.

To help you on your way my idea for the week is the end of the world.  Now I know this is overdone, but it doesn’t have to be zombies or nuclear war, but your own twist.  Just something to get you writing!

 

Happy Writing.

New Ideas and Butt in Chair Time

 New ideas are always a good idea.  As is refining old ideas.  I decided, since my main series was done and just awaiting the cover artist, that I would go back and fix the god-awful stories I had started about characters that make cameos or are mentioned in my main series in passing.

One such idea was the story of Noshi and Sebastion and how they became entangled with each other’s fates.  I wrote this story in college, or slightly after, and then let is molder on a back shelf.  I mean it was fun to write at the time, but on to the next story.

So now, as I have been trying to do, I take one, (or more) pages and go through and fix or completely overhaul each day.  Maybe someday I will have it, and maybe the series I have thought on for the two, ready for publication, but at the very least I’m sitting in the seat and writing for a few minutes a day.

Happy writing!

Feeling Guilty

 My last post was July and now it's October.  As I have pointed out in the past, sometimes it's hard to keep to a schedule.  This summer has definitely been one of those times.  Let's just say anything that can go wrong has, but we have plowed through it and now we are all trying to get back on track.

As I wait for my cover artist to finish my second book's cover, (I forgive her since she's in college right now), I try to get back into the writing mode.  And I suppose mood, as well.  I realized that writing is my way of escaping the everyday worries that everyone has and I haven't been doing it enough.

I'm currently working on a prequel book to my stories I'm still trying to get out, (My fist book is the High King's Sword by Heather Woodhurst on Amazon, if you are interested 😊 ), but that is going slow.  I feel as if as I get older that I subconsciously think that I don't have time for my "hobby".  But I love my hobby. It gives me freedom that you can not get anywhere else.

So my point to this is keep writing!  Don't give up on your "hobby" even if it's just to make an awesome gaming night for your friends.  Someone, somewhere will enjoy sharing your hobby with you!

Happy Writing.

The Art of Rewriting

 So, you have your ideas all sketched out or even a "manuscript" all done.  Now comes the fun part, (sarcasm intended) the editing.  Here are some things I do to make this task less tedious and maybe even a little fun.

1) Take it in chunks.  Do a chapter, a section, even a scene at a time.  If you try to digest the whole book at once you are going to miss those subtle tweaks you need to do.  Sometimes I just do a page a day, (on several different stories), so I can catch grammar errors as well as plot and flow.

2) Instead of editing purely, line by line, take a chunk you don't like and rewrite it separately.  Sometimes you have to look at things out of context to make it flow better.

3) Don't get frustrated.  I know, easier said then done.  Look something over, and if you have to, walk away for a bit.  Let the ideas and the scene ruminate in your brain away from the computer.  Sometimes that is all you need.

Happy writing!

Characters, Characters, Characters

 No story is complete without characters.  You may have a few or hundreds, or somewhere in between.  But sometimes, as you write, you may forget a character name.  Here are some ideas so to make it easier to remember or at least find if you can't remember.

1) First off, just make a list.  It seems simple enough, but when you are writing, you may forget to do things like this.  The inspiration comes and you just write.  I like an excel sheet, myself, but a word processor sheet, such as Word or Google docs works just as well.

2) Add in where they appear in the book.  Just by putting a page number where they appear is a great idea.  At the very least, you might be able to find a description or how they are important to the story.

3) Relationships in the story.  I don't mean just wife/husband relationship, but are they protagonist, a wizard, a mage, a warrior for some great nation, even how they are important to your main character.  This would be important when you are dealing with interactions between characters if you are using a character very infrequently.

4)Descriptions.  I like having these at a glance.  Did they have blond hair or brown, blue eyes or green?  If you just have to look in one place instead of flipping through drafts of your story, it makes that writing streak keep going.

Happy Writing!

My Projects and Your Lists

 Happy New Year!

Like many of you, I had made resolutions to write more and give myself more time to work on the hobby I love, but I have failed, miserably. So lets start the year off now!

I have made quite the list of projects I want to do this year, the most important is actually get the 3 books in my series published.  Just have to coordinate with my cover artist.  Maybe if I help her pay the rent while she goes to school... But I thought I would share my proposed projects and maybe it will inspire you to make a project list of your own.

1) Publish my 3 books.  As I stated, the reason I haven't is my cover artist.  But do you really want to interrupt a Pre-Vet student when you know down the road you get a free Veterinarian?  But if your story is done and ready to go at the very least self-publish on Amazon.  Or if you are feeling ambitious hawk your novel to a publishing house.  At worst, they will just say no, but at least you tried.

2) Outline all my existing and future story ideas.  I have several "stories" that I started while in college and when the kiddos were first born but never really took them any where.  I figured if I outlined them, one, I would see if they were viable, but, two, get my thinking on them again.  You might have those odd story ideas hanging out why not go through them to see what you can do with them.

3) Take one of my outlines and finish one book this year.  This is a big, lofty goal.  With all that is going on with life I may not get finished, but I'd like to make a good start.  Look at it this way, if you want the same goal: Some progress is better then no progress.  And it will get you doing what you obviously like to do, write!

Happy Writing!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 And Happy Solstice and Chanukah and so on and so forth.  I hope what ever holiday is important to you and your family is wonderful and safe.  I hope all your memories you make are wonderful and that you remember those who have gone before with happiness, (though tinged with sadness they are not there).

And don't forget to write!

Happy New Year!

The Holiday Season and Writing

 It is the holiday season, keeping us all busy and seeing friends and family we haven't seen in months, maybe all year.  It is a happy time, but our writing suffers.

This last month has been horrible for myself for writing, between being super sick and the holidays my writing is suffering.  I can't remember the last time I had "butt in chair" time, other then right now.  So here are some things I plan to do for the rest of the year and all of next year.

1) After I check my email in the  morning, I will give myself 15 minutes to write.  Either its to pound out some word count or editing some standing stuff I have.  Maybe it's an outline, maybe its just organizing, but I will give myself time.

2) Don't be too mad with yourself if that time doesn't happen.  I'd like to see myself writing every day, but life happens.  But don't use that as an excuse.  

3) Do what you say  you are going to do.  Today, I plan on doing some organization.  I better well do it. :)

Wishing you a happy holiday season and see you next year!

Happy writing.

The Problems of Story

 We love to write.  The creative juices start flowing and a world comes a live.  Characters become more then words, you can see yourself in the places they are, the situations they find themselves in.  You want to follow the story and see what happens.  It's all a wonderful feeling.  The problem with this is that once you head down a path, you are kinda stuck if you publish one book at a time.  So here are a few ideas I might suggest.

1) Before you publish that first book you know is going to be a series, at least have an outline of the whole series.  Better yet, finish them all then publish one at a time.  Either way, you  have exactly where you want to go and not where the book leads you.

2) By  having at least an outline you can weave stuff in.  I dislike when books or tv shows try to say person A really did love person B without any back ground to back that up.  Or where did that bad guy come from and do they really have a reason to be the bad guy.  As I wrote my following three books, I had to go back and weave in some details because I came up with some good ideas as I went.  That isn't bad, just you have to make sure it works.

3) Have someone else check to make sure it all makes sense.  This really goes with some one editing your book, but if you just have a friend read through it you can ask them to be brutally honest on if it flows.  It might hurt to hear some of their critiques, but it will help you be a better writer.

Happy Writing.

Story Pathways

 If you write, which I'm guessing you do, sometimes your thoughts wander from where you planned.  In this case, it's story ideas.  As I was writing my High King's Sword, (I'm hoping my cover artist can stop being a pre-vet student for a few minutes and whip me a couple covers out so I can publish the last 3 soon!), I would get ideas for side stories or full blown series.  My biggest side trek was taking a story I'd made about Noshi into a better story and a series, but I wanted to finish my High King's Sword first.  So here is an idea to not lose that spark.

1) Notebooks.  Okay, spirals, google docs, Word, what ever works for you, but write down your thoughts before they wonder away.  There has been times I will be traveling to my mother and mother-in-law's and think of great ideas, but I often forget them by the time I get there.  If I don't forget, I have a spiral to jot down my idea to add to my growing idea list.

2) Feel free to take a break from your main story.  Sometimes you get stuck and need a change of venue. There were a few times I just couldn't figure out where to go with the Sword or I couldn't edit anymore and I needed to do something new.  A little writing isn't bad on a different project.  It might even get your creative juices flowing again.

3) Feel free to scrap the idea.  I know I've jotted down a lot of ideas that will never go anywhere, but getting them out or down helps clear your mind to get on to the projects you really want to do.

4) This works for roleplaying campaigns, as well. Say you have a main campaign going on, but you think of a side adventure or even a new campaign idea.  Write them down.  Even a good, long term campaign might need a break now and again. And you might be able to work the ideas into your main campaign.

Happy Writing.

Rules for the Roleplaying Table

 I thought I'd take a short off the path delve into roleplaying.  Not much to do with my story, but I thought I would share some ideas.

1) Everyone pitches in for dinner, (or lunch, or what ever).  Maybe this is in the form of a side dish or snacks or drinks.  We found that you, as a group, don't feel so upset at someone for eating all the food if they did contribute.  Roleplaying with a group of young men made me realize they eat a lot, so making sure it wasn't just one person bringing the food was a good idea.

2) No politics.  Or what ever you know is going to set someone off.  Our college group of roleplayers had some very different politics and though, unlike today, we could have a civilized conversation and agree to disagree on stuff the roleplaying table is not the place to bring this stuff up.  Stick to the game.  Yes, you can tangent to horrible professors, homework due, work assignment deadlines, or even the commute if you  have one, but stay off the sticky topics if you want to have a fun night.

3) Make sure as the GM you have everything ready to go and extra stuff for your players.  Our newer group of roleplayers didn't have dice and the like, but we knew that going in, so we made sure they had some dice to role and we had crisp new character sheets printed so they could make up their first ever characters.  It makes it so much smoother to have everything prepped, sorta like real life :)

4) Establish rules on rolling, take backs, and what a character knows.  This is much better to figure out before you sit down.  They don't have to be perfectly specific, but some guide lines are good.  Like everyone, except the GM, rolls out in the open and don't help a player if your character isn't in the room.  (This is tempting as a player all the time.)

Happy Gaming!

I Want a Campaign They Love

 Many of you may just write stories and have no idea about being a Game Master for a roleplaying game.  In this day and age of roleplaying online games, why do you need to do paper and pencils.  Personally, yes, it takes a long time to go through one battle with paper and pencil and dice, but it's the time with friends that really makes it worth the time and effort.  But unlike video games you want a good plot when you do the paper and pencil version.  Here are some ideas I hope help you find that good story:

1) So is this a one off or a campaign?  It does make a difference.  Long term you want to work in the plot line early along with any bad guys or friends.  One time game, just find a goal for the night, (rescue the prince, storm the castle, clean out the dungeon, etc.).

2) For a long term campaign, just like a story plot outline what you want to do with the characters or would like them to do, (players don't always go along with what you want them to do, trust me).  For me, originally my High King's Sword was a roleplaying game and I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, so I had a sorta outline of what I'd like them to do.  Problem was, the players went and took my flavor text and ran with that instead of my plots sometimes.  So don't be married to your outline. Be flexible, but do try to keep the players on the main path.  How they get there isn't as important as the goal as long as they are having fun. 

3) Have a notebook with you at each game.  Sometimes they ask the name of a barkeep or innkeeper.  Keep that for later.  You might be able to use it later.  Maybe you add in something you hadn't planned, but will now be important.  It also helps to have some names, descriptions and random encounters already rolled up.  You never know when your players are going to go off the path, trust me.

4) For the one offs, don't get too specific, unless you know every direction your players are going to go, but have a general idea and pre-rolled bad guys.  Just because they don't go to the bandit camp, doesn't mean you can't have an ambush of bandits on the road to where ever they are going.

5)Ask your players what they are looking for.  Do they want dungeon crawls or an in-depth murder mystery?  It will make a difference.

Happy Roleplaying!

Off the Topic Writing

 We love to write, otherwise we'd never come up with these wonderful worlds and characters.  We like the thrill of telling stories.  But eventually, the story comes to an end and you need something new to work on.

In my case, I've finished, edited and formatted my three additional books in my series.  They are just waiting for my cover artist to finish. (Can't ask a pre-vet student to drop everything for mom... I really want my free veterinarian lol).  So in the mean time, I need to scratch that itch of writing.  Here are a few ideas of how to keep your mind going.

1) Think of side stories, prequels and sequels to your work.  What happened before your heroes changed the world?  What brought them to that point.

2) Maybe expand on the backgrounds of some of your characters.  This may fall into side stories, but as you wait for something to move on your "finished" story, you might find something that will add flavor to your story.

3) Maybe pick up an entirely new story line.  I've been working on a story with "end of the world" sorta vibes, based in my lovely childhood home.  It will probably go no where, but it gives me a creative outlet.

4)This also works for roleplaying games.  Maybe you are a pause for your campaign because of real life, (darn that).  Maybe fleshing out places, people or even plots will help you make an even more vibrant campaign.

Happy writing.

How Did You Reach Where You are?

 Everyone's story world has an origin.  You saw a play that inspired you, watched kids playing in the park, was sick of the story you were reading.  Me, I was home sick.  That sounds like a silly way to start, but it is the truth.

I, by nature, am a very introverted person.  I would spend all my time on my farm and away from people if I could.  When I was younger, it was the national forest my father worked in.  Nothing is as aspiring as running around in old and second growth trees and pretending to be elves or magical beings or heroes of some sort. I was free in a way most people never will know, stuck in their concrete cities and stuffed in like sardines.  But I had a great imagination to go along with my setting.

When I went to college for my biology degree I was now stuck in a city, (Okay, most people might call it a small town, but for me it was huge) and eight hours from my beloved forests.  Sure, my future husband was there with me, before we were a thing, and I had awesome friends.  But I felt trapped.  So I wrote.  My father had gifted me with loving fantasy writing and I used it to relieve the stress of being trapped with so many people.  At first it was just for my own intake.  I wasn't willing to share, but one of our friends was very persuasive and snagged my notebook.  He read, smiled, and asked when I got famous would he sign his copy.  I laughed, not thinking about ever publishing my writing, but I did keep writing, even after we graduated.

I still don't know if I will ever publish my first go, even if I fix it up, but I'm certainly enjoying the new round of stories to go with my new path in life.

So, my point is, no matter how your story comes into being, remember it fondly when you do publish.  It will always be a fun story to tell at those book tours. 

The Importance of Character Description

 Description of a character may or may not be important to the reader, but they should be important to the writer.  I don't mean just the color of the eyes or the cut of their clothes, but personality as well.  Here are some examples of what I mean.

1) Yes, typical description.  The reader needs to have a general idea of how the character looks.  I want to know if they are 5 foot tall or NBA star tall.  Are they thin and lithe or burly?  Is their skin dark or pale? (And this is not racist, it's just a detail like the color of hair.)  Are they wearing fancy clothes or rags?  All of these details gives your reader an idea of what the character looks like.

2) Mannerisms.  This is also an important detail because it gives an idea of how the person responds to situations and how they are feeling.  When Krom is feeling nervous or angry his ears go back, like dogs and horses tend to do.  When he is listening they go forward, like a cat's would. It gives a feel of how the character is feeling or what is about to happen.

3) Speaking habits.  Guthlaf has a bit of Cockney in his speech, (though not even completely close).  Elly speaks of Kenna as her "little dragon" because of Kenna's habit of looking for knowledge.  Duncan calls all those with him as "young".  These little things will give your characters more personality and make it easier to figure out who is talking.

Happy writing!

Notes of Importance

 If you are like me, whether for a novel or a roleplaying campaign, you have word files, notebooks and scraps of paper sitting around with ideas and additions to your universe.  Here are some ideas to not lose your important ideas.

1) I'd like to say I'm good at this, but keep a word/document file with just a list of ideas.  When you have an idea, jot it down on the list so you can come back to it later.  Even just things you want to look for when you are editing! I also recommend you print it once a month or every month, depending on how often you get to your list.

2) Keep a notebook at hand.  This could include the notepad on your phone, but have something you can jot down that idea that just jumps into your  head.  I find myself thinking on story ideas and fixes as I'm driving to get my mother-in-law or kids to take to what ever.  A couple hours in a car gives me plenty of time to think.  So when I reach my destination I'm reaching for my note book to get my thoughts down quick.

3) Review your random thoughts on occasion. Sometimes that is just enough to get the creative juices flowing.  You might find yourself saying, "hey, I forgot about that aspect".  My recent example as I'm editing my 3rd novel is the fact I never have Kenna and her mom physically reunited in the story line, even though I literally have half a chapter in there about Kenna's mom bullying Captain Reed to let her come along to find Kenna.  That was a big drop on my part.  So now I have a note posted on my desk to remember to get that in the next book.

Happy Writing!

Researching Reality

 Now we are all fantasy writers and readers, but even we need things to work right.  They have to make sense.  Magic is an exception, of course, along with creatures such as minotaurs or dragons.  But there are some things you have to keep true or it drags the reader away from the actual story.

1) If you don't know anything about something, research.  I know just enough about armor to be dangerous, so when I have to describe stuff, off to Google or the giant arms book my sister left me.  I want things to make sense.

2) There is an author that we love that we just stopped reading because of some major real life type stuff that wasn't right, so don't lose readers this way.  My example here is gas.  There is some major disaster in this book and for 20 years the place has been in a downward spiral with no modern conveniences.  But one of our heroes finds an ATV with gas in it and it started right up. For those who do not know, gas goes bad and lines clog if they sit too long.  That's why your mower sounds so horrible after it sits all winter if you didn't drain the gas.  It was hard to finish the book, especially with all the missteps with food that had come before.  The stuff the author was messing up with could have been researched and explained, but they didn't explain it, which drew away from the story.

3) If something doesn't "work" in the "real world" explain how it works.  So with the healing magic in my story a reader would wonder why healers just don't go around the world healing and saving everyone in my world.  But I explain that away with the fact it takes something from the healer, so there is only so much they can do per day or for a dying person before killing themselves.

My suggestion is just make sure things work and make sense or you could pull someone from your story.

Happy Writing!

Tidbits About Martapa

 I've talked about the bits and pieces of Martapa before, but I feel with the book out now, I'd bring up a few things.

1) The calendar for Martapa is 365 days long, because of the Tayke civilization.  Before their calendar was widely used it was a calendar of 28 day months, to match the moon phases.  Weeks are 5 days long, or a five day.  Each month has 6 five days.  The 5 Holy Days make up the remainders of the days and are never included in a month.

2) The money standard is gold.  Platinum is the highest value, followed by steel, then gold, then silver, then copper then half pennies.  2 half pennies make a copper, and 5 coppers makes a silver, 5 silver make a gold, 5 gold make a steel and 10 steel make a platinum.

Happy Writing!

Houses of Martapa: A Little Lore

 The foundation of my stories is the Houses of Martapa.  It is what I started with, then expanded from there as I wrote more.  But here are a few random facts I found in my notes, that even I had forgotten about. (Good reason to write down all your random ideas, no matter how random.)

1) Vandez, the first person to pledge to Peter, was Peter's protector and rock.  He wasn't the fastest or most brilliant man, but he was devoted to Peter.

2) Olaf Cole, the founder of House Cole, was called "The Cunning".  He was a man who liked strategy and craved it.  It was because of him that Peter and his rag-tag army took out so many ogres with so few numbers.

3) Tresh Bloodhelm could never keep blood off him, even when they weren't in battle.  Peter often wondered if he would feel comfortable with out some bit of blood on him at all times.

4) Gandalf Merryweather was a farmer before the ogres attacked his village. But when he joined Peter's army it was like the sun rising for the first time. They called him "The Stag", not for his abilities with the ladies, (though that was also rumored), but his ability to disappear into the underbrush once he had loosed a surprise attack.

5) Jade Tayke was the only woman in the bunch, (which one would think is weird since I'm a woman, but I liked it that way).  She was often called "The Dragon" in battle, a term she wore with pride.  In Peter's world a dragon was fierce and unyielding.  In Jade's culture, (which turns out to be Janesh), the dragon denoted wisdom.

Happy writing!