J is for Juvenile Fiction

Hello all I am still chugging along and planning to catch up on Sunday. Hopefully nothing too exciting will happen this weekend.

Blogging 

From A to Z

I wrote this Juvenile Fiction for my son because we were having a problem exactly like this and the fable flash fiction seemed to help get the point across to him the other day. I printed up the fable and asked him to help illustrate it for me. He had to read it and think about what it meant to be able to create an appropriate picture. I hope you enjoy it.


“Mom may I use my own money to buy some LEGO?” asked Levi.

“I thought you were saving up for the new Pokemon game coming out next month,” his mother said as she put new sheets in the cart.

“I am, but I really need new LEGO for the city I’m building,” Levi said as he followed his mother to the next aisle. He was beginning to feel impatient as they moved closer to the toy section because his mother had almost scratched everything off her list.

His mother stopped, bent down and looked at him. “Well, if you need them and you are willing to spend your money, I suppose we'd better go look at them,” she said.

“Yay,” he said bouncing up and down while his mom grabbed the last few items on her list and headed to the toy section.

Levi sped up and his mom let him lead the way to the LEGO aisle. Levi knew exactly what set he wanted and ran right to it. “Mom, this is the one I need,” he said stressing the last word.

“I see,” said his mother. “How much does that one cost?”

“It is twenty-nine dollars,” Levi said beaming at his mother.

His mother took a small manilla envelope out of her purse that had LEVI written on the front and handed it to him. “How much is left in the Levi envelope?” she asked.

“Levi quickly opened the envelope and pulled out a ten and six ones. He took a moment to count twice and looked up sadly. “Mom, there are only sixteen dollars here. I got forty for my birthday and it’s only been five days, what happened to it?” He asked.

“How much did you spend on games at the fair Sunday?” She asked.

“I only spent ten. I should still have thirty and that’s enough to buy the set I need, right mom?”

“You’re correct it would be, but how much did you spend on your extra books that came with a minifigure when you and daddy went to the bookstore?”

Levi scrunched his face up and said, “They were each seven dollars, so fourteen.” He looked down at the LEGO set in his hand and said, “I think I spent most of my money. How will I get this set?”

“I am sorry Levi, you can’t afford that LEGO set,” his mother said bending down again and hugging him.

“But mom I have to have it, I need it,” he said pouting and feeling really upset he wouldn’t be able to finish his city this weekend.

His mother pulled back a bit to look at his face and asked, “Need? Do you need or want this toy?”

“I need it,” Levi answered quickly. “Without it my city will never be built.”

“What will happen if you don’t build your city?” His mother asked with a kind smile.

His eyes widened and he leaned forward, “A whole world will never exist,” he said shaking the LEGO slightly with every word.

“No matter how badly you want that LEGO set it is still a want, not a need. Needs are food, shelter, clothing, love,” she said as she gave Levi another hug. “Needs are things people can’t function well without. If you want this toy, or anything else, badly enough you can choose to save your money instead of buying something every time you go out. It takes a lot of practice and self-control, but I know you can do it if you choose to.”

Levi looked down at the LEGO set one last time and placed it back on the shelf. He turned to his mom and said, "I guess I will have to save for it. Can I wash the dog when we get home?"


There seems to be some disagreement as to what is considered Juvenile Fiction. Some places were lumping it in with Young Adult and some saying it is a synonym for Middle Grade. While others are saying it is 2nd through 6th grades. Much confusion was caused, but this was written for my son who is in 2nd grade. I think that leaves it about as clear as mud.

Levi's story turned into another moral of the story flash, but I think most of Juvenile Fiction has a moral at the end of the story anyway. I was originally going to go with Jiangshi Fiction, which is about a Chinese hopping vampire/zombie hybrid thing. Unfortunately, I am not really feeling the horror at the moment. Though the comedic value of a hopping zombie thing might have been worth tapping into. I already had a vampire in G’s Gothic Romance. Then V and Z are earmarked for vampires and zombies respectively. Making Jiangshi feel repetitive and redundant.

                

Which author of Juvenile Fiction should I be sure to check out with my son? We are always looking for new books to read. Let me know in the comments.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - So far so good, but I think I was a bit tardy last check-in.

Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I only hit 3, but I am not ready to reel the number back yet. I really want to see what you all are up to and love the supportive feel of the ROW80 community.

Write 667 words every day to keep up with my Camp NaNo goal - Sunday - 633 Monday - 873 Tuesday - 634 So I missed my goal more days than I hit it. Must work on that.

Post every day in April for ROW80, A to Z or both - Still a letter behind, but haven’t missed one since the last check-in. (PSA: Unless you are looking for photos of butts don't search behind on Pixabay. Late is a much better choice. Yes, go ahead and laugh that butt off.)

I can't find the Linky code this check-in again. Maybe she stopped making the code available. If you want to see what the other ROW80 Bloggers are up to check them out here.

Camp Nano Update

I am at 7,345 and should be at 8,666. My average words per day are going down which is making me feel a bit panicky. I guess I need to have a bit of a sprint. Camp NaNo is doing sprints on Twitter at @NaNoWordSprints I am following, but haven't sprinted yet. I am adding this to my catch up plan.

Photos by Pixabay.

Color Coded Prompts and A Contest

There was no ROW80 check-in this Wednesday because the round ended so I immediately didn’t post. I had an idea and had even finished most of the work, but I just didn’t get to it. I have been looking for cool story prompts because I am a master procrastinator. I have found quite a few, but then I was thinking I can do better than that. It could be ego or just a desire to try to make things, but I created a few writing prompts. Of course I ALWAYS over complicate things so there are categories and pictures to go with them. One day I will learn to...Oh look SHINY!

Prompt Type:

Situation Drop-in Prompt - Red
Still need a gimmick because my brain is tired - Orange
Write a Story About Idea Prompt - Yellow
Include These Things Challenge Prompt - Green
Dialogue Prompt - Blue
Place Prompt - Indigo
Character Prompt - Violet

Today I have 2 new prompts for you all and a contest. We’ll start with the contest. I need a hand coming up with some type of prompt to fill my orange spot because I can’t just leave it out. It needs to be something general enough that I have room to wiggle and play, but focused enough that they all seem connected. The winning suggestion will receive a $20 Amazon gift card.

How you enter:

Leave a suggestion on the orange type prompt contest Google form. 



Yes, you have to leave your email if you want to enter. How else will I contact you if you win? No, I am not keeping them after the contest and you are NOT signing up for any sort of continuous emails. I can not be held responsible for email addresses entered incorrectly. Email addresses entered incorrectly will disqualify the entrant's suggestion from the prize. There are also a few restrictions on your suggestions. No profanity, sexuality, religion or politics in the type suggestions. If they are deemed to be outside of these restrictions your suggestion will be disqualified. I will stop collecting suggestions at 11:45pm on March 31st.

How you WIN:

On Friday April 1st, when the April Madness starts, I will post a list of the suggestions on my blog. Everyone has a vote even if you didn’t enter. The orange prompt type with the most votes by 11:45pm April 4th will be our winner and the person who suggested it will receive the $20 Amazon gift card by email. I will announce the winner on April the 5th. Good luck and thanks for joining in to help me complete my colorful set. Roy G. Biv also sends his gratitude.

Now on to the shiny new toys. I am a little obsessed with prompts at the moment. Probably because I am having trouble coming up with story ideas. Of course I did just come up with these so it seems counter intuitive, but I am convinced it is a different part of my brain or something.

As you can see with the red prompts you will be dropped into a situation. I chose red for this type because I always feel like these are meant to be emergencies that your character has to deal with. So CODE RED it is. The plan is to reuse the same artwork that I found on Pixabay and adapted by adding a color overlay on Picmonkey. If you have never played with Picmonkey you should definitely give it a look. It's a great free web based photo editor.

The blue dialogue prompt isn't something I came up with all on my own. I was in the grocery store and a woman said the first line and the second part was my first thought. I am not sure the woman was interested in some sort of revolution, but that is the kind of scene that flashed in my mind. It was fun to make these and I hope they spark some interesting stories one day. I have a few more and am planning to make even more. I am excited to share them.

What do you think of my prompts?  Let me know in the comments.

Photos by Pixabay.

404 Catchy Blog Title Not Found

Working on getting posts ready for Blogging from A to Z has taken most of my writing time. Which is fine because I can't actually write the flash fiction stories until April 1st when Camp NaNo begins. I am still using my phone to Swype things out and it is getting old. I need to get my freaking laptop fixed and very soon. I have been Googling and reading so I have a plan of action, but it makes me nervous because I don't really know what I am doing.

I decided to leave the beautiful Native American man with the new name alone for the time being and proceed with The Genre Flash Project. I have been scouring Pinterest and any other sources I can to try to find some prompts that will help spark my brain for some of the genres. Of course this led me to Seventh Sanctum where I proceeded to spend several hours generating all sorts of things, most of which were not helpful for my current goals. Then from there I found Chaotic Shiny and let me tell you this site LIVES UP TO IT'S NAME. I spent so long playing with the generator toys there I stayed up until 4 in the morning. Again, I didn't accomplish much I can use for these stories, but my D&D geek inside who adores playing with generators was immensely pleased. It's all about priorities.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - This is the last check-in for my truncated round, but I am proud to be back to writing after so long away.
Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I visited all 5 of the fellow ROW80 bloggers I was aiming for and even left some comments.
Write 500 words every day -
Thursday - 623 words on A to Z posts.
Friday - Made it to 537 words.
Saturday - An unexpected invite to come hang out with my sister and her BFF took priority over my writing goals. Of course our crazy friend Jose Cuervo kept us busy all night.
Sunday - Only 291 words on A to Z, but this post as well so probably there.


Pics from Pixabay.

A Wrench in My Flashing Plans

I'm so excited about April. I've been working on my Camp NaNo/Blogging from A to Z combo project in all my stolen moments. I have been writing the posts that will go around the flash fiction so that part will be handled. I'm still looking for ideas for a few letters (I'm looking at you Q, X and Z.), but I'm making progress. I'm thinking I may have to expand my concept to find styles that fit the letters. Someone suggested writing a flash fiction in quatrains. I don't think that's a genre, but it starts with Q and would most definitely be entertaining.

Martin Sensmeier with this look is very close to what I envisioned.

I was full steam ahead with The Genre Flash Project when I received an email today I have been anxiously waiting for that has thrown a bit of a wrench in my plans. There's this character I know I've mentioned him before. He sprang into my brain really detailed and came with a female love interest as well as her best friend, but he didn't have a plot or a name. He is a Native American so I went looking for a fitting name, but didn't like what was available in the translation sites and baby name books. Then I stumbled across the Native Languages of the Americas site. They are having a fundraiser to help preserve Native American languages. For a small $10 donation they will give you 3 names that match your criteria as best as possible and how it would sound using English phonetics. They stress it isn't a spirit name and it is intended for a pet, boat, fictitious character, etc. Well, that is perfect for me and this dude who is freaking bugging me. I gave them a lot of things I knew about the character and in a little over 2 weeks they sent me the most perfect name. It fits this character and I'm in love with it.

So the wrench is now I kinda want to play with him, but he still has no plot. The naming actually turned up an interesting subplot, but nothing strong enough to build around. So there's a romance and a family drama in this guy's POV, but what the heck is he really doing? Are there romance novels from the guys POV? Do they switch? I have never read just a romance. I have loved books where there is a strong secondary romance plot, but haven't gotten into romance as the reason for the storytelling alone.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - Later than I would have liked, but I'm still standing.
Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I visited 3 fellow ROW80 bloggers. Not a reached goal, but at least I got around. You can just take that however you want.
Write 500 words every day -
Monday - On Monday I caught the plague and thought I was going to die. My son got better just before I got sick so I knew it was short lived, but I had no idea how bad my poor baby was feeling.
Tuesday - I was better so continued writing on my phone. I made 582 words and most of them were the ones I intended. It was kind of frustrating because Swype can be such a birch.
Wednesday - Short moments in a waiting room and while I was waiting on dinner to get done equaled this post and a bit more work on Genre Flash. So over 600.

What about a project really gets you excited? Have you come across any awesome resources like request a Native American name? Please share in the comments. We could all use more amazing resources.

Photos by Pixabay.

There Be Genre Choices Ahead

Someone asked me the other day what genre I write and I immediately responded with fantasy. They followed up by asking my why. All that came to me was, "I have trouble with reality." We both laughed, but it got me thinking why do I write/read mostly fantasy? Of course there is my love for Renaissance Faires, Lord of the Rings and D&D that fuels my desire to spend as much time in a Medieval Stasis type situation as possible, but it's the magic. Yep, always the magic that gets me. I was reading my old flash posts and backed up files. They are all a quick romance flash, traditional or contemporary fantasy. Which I actually thought was urban fantasy, but I lack the grit required to be in that category. Then I was wondering how many categories are there? I found list upon list of categories and subcategories many of which I honestly never knew were a thing or the proper name for. It was a bit confusing until I found this genre map. It looks cool and is interactive.

I've been having trouble with inspiration probably because I need structure and guidelines. If my options are wide open I freeze and nothing gets done. So I was thinking about seeing how many different genres I can work in. Some of them would obviously require a bit of research, but it seemed exciting and excitement is something that has been lacking from my writing attempts as of late. I think steampunk is where I am going to start because it has been on my mind. With gears, steam, fantastic machines and victorian fashion I think I wouldn't miss my elfs, gnomes and dragons as much.

Oh, almost forgot that the first flash I have shared in a long time was posted yesterday at the Lake Writers blog. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - Running late again, but still plugging along.
Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I visited 5 ROW80 friends posts, but still couldn't get my phone to cooperate and allow me to comment. I spent 7 hours Googling (There may be gremlins in my phone.) to figure out how to fix the problem. I don't think I found the correct solution, but a I reached a good enough that allowed me to be me instead of my my daughter on my phone. It would have been easier to just sit at my husband's computer, but I took a fall and sitting up was hurting so badly I couldn't bear it.
Write 500 words every day -
Monday - I started a steampunk flash. I got to just under 600 words, but it still needs work.
Tuesday - Took the fall Monday night so getting through the day was the most I could manage.
Wednesday - Went to the Dr and added just over 200 words to the steampunk flash, but then got to attend the Lake Writers meeting. We visited more than anything else and I had a really good time.

What genre do you write in most? What about reading, the same or different? What keeps you coming back to the same or skipping around? Let me know in the comments.

Photos by Pixabay.

Prompt Glut and Still Slacking

I was looking for a writing prompt for a flash fiction the other day and I spent like 2 (OK, maybe it was more like 5) hours on Pinterest reading and pinning the awesome ideas that abound. It was a secret board, but I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you all. Maybe you can find some inspiration there like I have.

I'm still working on flash fiction exclusively because there is less commitment and it makes me feel like I can pick it up when I have time. I have also found that for the most part I'm not spending so many distracted moments thinking about a story. I guess that's both good and bad. That isn't to say the orphan characters aren't still lurking about, but it is not as distracting.

ROW80 Rundown

Make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays - Doing good or at least I will be when done here and hit the publish button. 
**EDIT** I couldn't get it done before the stroke of midnight. Sadly, I have turned into a pumpkin.

Visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in - I visited 5 ROW80 friends posts, but couldn't get my phone to cooperate well enough to comment on any. It made me very sad because the best part is getting comments and I love leaving them. I have to figure out what is going on with my phone because I don't have a laptop at the moment so it is my computer.

Write 500 words every day -

Thursday - Working on another flash, but this time I want to share it here 562 words, but I didn't like the ending. It felt too abrupt even for flash fiction.

Friday - Only a little over 200, but not exactly sure how many because the backspace and I went on several killing sprees.

Saturday - The word of the day is slacker. Actually I didn't rest at all, but I also did no writing or editing.

Sunday - I didn't get anything more than this post done today. I had the opportunity to spend time with one of my best friends from middle/high school and her son. It was a good time talking and hanging out while the kids played at the park.

Where do you like to look for prompts when you need them? Can you recommend a good story idea generator? Please leave me a comment to say hello. Don't forget to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

Photos by Pixabay.

Trying Not to Die is Hard Work

So I am surprised to find myself here again. Not the part where I am trying to figure out what happened to months on end, but the part where I am trying to write again. I don't think I officially said what the conclusion to the fun week long hospital stay in early April 2015 was, but the diagnosis is Multiple Sclerosis. I have been working hard on taking care of myself and for the most part am doing significantly better. There is still a long way to go and it is a forever battle with no cure, but I am managing much more efficiently than I was before the diagnosis. However, as the title stated trying not to die has been a lot of hard work. I hope you all have been well since I last checked on you and I am looking forward to connecting with you again and finding out what you are up to.

I am going well enough now that I am missing writing again. Sadly, my laptop is out of commision at the moment and I no longer have a geek to help me. I know after the million times (OK, like 2, but still.) I have posted about backing up all the things all the time I would have a recent backup, but no. Insert something about if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it, shed a tear and move on. A long while back I realized I had based the antagonist of Most Magical Place on a combination of Alan Rickman's performance of Colonel Brandon and Severus Snape as far as mannerisms and looks. With his death I am sad everytime I look at my printed outline so I am thinking that it is time to work on something else for a bit.

Conveniently enough I have a character that is basically poking my brain with a freaking 6 foot sharpened stick pretty much constantly. I have him largely fleshed out (because he showed up that way) on Hiveword, but I have no idea what to do with him. I have 2 scenes in my head, but where they are going to or what lead to them I have no idea. There's a girl and her best friend that came barreling along shortly after him, but still no idea what they are planning. Yes, I have been told that they aren't real and I am the one planning, but it really does feel like I am watching these people and they are doing whatever the heck they please. I would think something like wouldn't it be nice if she stopped to talk to him. Then she would stop in her tracks as she is walking away, look at me and say, "Whatever, I am busy storming away right now and if he gets in my way I'm going to run him down." What is that about?

I am hopping on the ROW80 bandwagon again. It is a great place to find support and help as well as people to cheer when you have successes. I am only starting with 3 goals and planning to stay with them for the rest of this round. My goals are:

1. To make the check-ins on Sundays and Wednesdays
2. To visit 5 fellow ROW80 bloggers each check-in
3. To write 500 words every day 

What do you do when you have a character or several, but no story to put them in? Where are the best places you have found prompts to help jump start a story idea? Please leave me a comment to say hello. Don't forget to let me know where you are visiting from so I can follow you back and see what you're up to.

Photos by Pixabay.
photo credit: Distaste for Photography via photopin (license)

Reading And Partying Not Writing

So if I'm reading and partying I probably don't need to tell you that very little writing has been done. On the long drive to my sister's house I was reading Rock Your Plot: A Simple System for Plotting Your Novel. I am only on the second chapter because it is very hard to read as the kids fight in the back seat. I think I read the same paragraph about 8 times before I shut it down and stopped trying, but I am enjoying it and look forward to getting back to it tonight. I don't see much of a difference so far between Rock Your Plot and Larry Brooks' Story Structure Series over at StoryFix2.0. However, it still has nice tidbits and you never know when something said in a slightly different way will create an aha moment. I am sure I can use as many aha moments as I can get at this point.

ROW80 August & September Goals Rundown

1. Write 2 Poms every day.
I was able to write on Wednesday and Thursday night, but Friday and Saturday were a no go. I had to edit a paper for my daughter on Friday night and it took me a long time. Then on Saturday I was at my nephews' birthday party. It was nice to hang out with family and have fun, but I missed my imaginary friends.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
This one is later shorter than I like, but still here.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
I have been visiting my ROW80 friends. You guys are so busy and really hitting your goals. It makes me happy for you, but sad that I am not achieving everything I planned to. Instead of getting down I am using your inspiration to get myself going again.

4. Post to Twitter on ROW80 days.
So far I am still getting this done. Yay, done!

Photos by Pixabay.

100th Post Celebration

I can't believe this is my 100th post! I started this blog way back on Halloween of 2012. My first post read like I was all hopped up on candy, which I may very well have been, and overly excited. For anyone who is keeping score that is the day RIGHT before NaNoWriMo and I did participate that year. I lost a lot of steam in 2013 only posting 26 times even though I was participating in ROW80 and should have made like 90. Best, or rather worst to the point of being entertaining, post from that year. Then I fell off the face of the blogging world in 2014. Times were super hard and I completely stopped writing. However, in 2015 I found my way back to writing and ROW80 remembering what an amazing community of people hang out there. I wish I could run some awesome contest to celebrate, but I am truly strapped for cash to buy prizes and I didn't even realize it was coming up until a few days ago. So instead I will just say thank you very much for stopping by and reading. Enough about things a long time past, on to what's been going on the last few days.

I was calling a character by the wrong name. I did it 28 times. When I went to talk about the character who's name I had been using and I wrote "I'm sure you miss Evelyn very much," said Evelyn it hit me. Now the hero's mother is talking about her self in 3rd person. She's not Napoleon and I don't want her to have that big of an ego. I know you aren't supposed to edit until Camp NaNo is over, but this bugged me SO much I had to fix it. Of course with the find feature and control V it was done in no time, but REALLY.

Today's Mascot: Rampaging Dinosaur

A few people asked if I had any proof that I had to deal with a rampaging dinosaur. The truth is yes, yes I do! I edited the photo to remove the name of the school in an online photo editor, but the rest was done on NUKE 8 which is an awesome rendering program that is node based. Or at least that is what the instructor said several times. Who am I to argue or interpret? As for the odd expression on my face. She didn't tell us what the pictures we took on the green screen were for or that she was taking a second shot of me when everyone else just got one. This was the best one and that makes me sad. Also, apparently I just make faces all the time. Incidentally I was the only person who didn't look as much like they were in a line up and I made up a backstory. The rays of light around my head are divine powers (They are not a result of my failure to follow instructions and desire to push ALL the buttons.) that have been granted to me to help me defeat the rampaging dinosaur. The look is my and you think you're tough do you look. In the next frame I will shoot some sort of ray out of my palms to destroy it or at least give it an all mighty sun burn.

ROW80 July Goals Rundown

1. Write at least 800 words per day on my Camp NaNo novel The Most Magical Place.
I have hit this goal every day since last Saturday, but I am not sure if I will make it today. I wasn't able to focus on writing once the kids went to bed because I had to find some paperwork and for some reason I put on a book shelf instead of the dedicated file in the filing cabinet. Luckily I found it, but it took me about 5 hours. The moral of the story is always take the extra few minutes to put things back where they go. You will probably not remember to come back to them later and when you need them you won't be able to find them.

2. Post for every ROW80 check-in.
I'm here and so happy to share this 100th post with you all.

3. Spend 1 Pom per day visiting ROW80 friends.
I over did this a little, but you all had such interesting titles and I wanted to see what was gong on with you.

4. Post to Twitter every day.
Oh, darn. I was dong well at this, but just realized that I forgot to post Tuesday.

Photos by Pixabay.

O is for Opening

The first page is a powerful tool and should be used to tell readers what kind of world they've just landed in.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.-JRR Tolkien from The Hobbit

One of my favorite openings. Already you know you've landed in a magical story with non-human creatures and that there are comforts to be had. The opening section of your book has a few objectives. To hook your readers, introduce your hero, establish stakes, foreshadow future events and then to get the show on the road.

First stop your hook. Larry Brooks over at Storyfix teaches that you need a hook within the first 20 pages of your book. What exactly is a hook? It's something to get your readers attention and pull them into your story. It can be blatant or subtle as long as it packs an emotional punch. The best way to get someone's attention is to make them feel. Immerse your reader in what is happening now. Until you have your hooks in them the time is not right for backstory.

Another opening task is to introduce your hero. Don't tell your readers her whole story, but do let them get to know her. If she spends a lot of your story angry let her throw a tantrum now to set the stage. Show her character flaws, we all have them and so should your characters. Also, let the readers see what your hero's life is like. Is she a rock star who only eats green M&Ms? Is she a humanitarian working to feed and cloth children in a poorer neighborhood? What has she been doing and what are her goals?

Now please tell me why I should care. What does the hero have at stake? Her family, career, love or even the fate of the world could all rest on her shoulders. Show don't tell when it comes to, well everything in your story. It is important to show the readers what will be in jeopardy for the rest of the story. Of course you can and should up the stakes later, but there must be a compelling reason for your hero to jump into the meat of the story.

Foreshadowing future events is subtlety or blatantly hinting to your readers about a plot point or issue of characterization. The purpose of foreshadowing is to prepare your readers for something important that is coming. If readers aren't prepared when a big event occurs it can leave them feeling jarred or worse lied to and cheated.  Most of the first quarter of your story should be a huge beautiful tapestry of these hints woven together. If it's supposed to be an obvious hint give it emotion. If it's supposed to be subtle it's a little trickier and you can let it pass without much notice. Subtle is usually better because you don't really want to give away your plot twists. Once you planted the hint make sure you give them the yield. Not bringing the hints to fruition will leave your readers just as confused as a big event without foreshadowing.

Now if we've done our job all that's left is to get the show on the road. The inciting incident, also known as the first plot point, brings the opening of your story to a close. It launches your hero into a different world where their goals and dreams have just been rearranged by the antagonistic force.

What do you find as the hardest part of the opening to write? What is the easiest? Please leave a comment and don't forget to let me know where you came from so I can follow you back.

Photos by Pixabay.

M is for Magic

I'm trying to figure out exactly how the magic in my story works. I know it's biased in the elements and each group is working with a different element, but that's about as far as I've gotten.

I found this WikiHow about building your own magical system that was helpful. I need to decide why the magic in my storyverse works. It suggests the magic should be capable of a lot more than is shown in the story and there should be mystery about the magic as far as the characters are concerned.

Next it recommends deciding who can use magic. If everyone can do it then magic would be common place. Since necessity is the mother of invention it is possible many technologies would not have developed if people already had magic to made their labors easier. Which won't work for my story. That leaves me with a select few who can wield magic. I already know that the magic is passed down from parent to child. Other options include the magic decides, like the force. You have to read and prepare from a book, often this type forgets the spell after it's been used. Then of course you could go with a divine source of magic. These priests can be paragons of good or an archetype of evil depending on where in the spectrum the god they follow falls. I am sure you can think of many other ways magic use could be decided, but I'm out of ideas.

How is magic used? Does it require a wand like in the Harry Potter series? Are the practitioners using material components that will be consumed to cast spells? Is the process more of an internal thing that you really can't see except for the raised hand or concentrating eye? Is there an object that the power is channeled through? Are there objects or talismans that are used to increase power? There are so many things to consider. I think I am going to use a combination of internal process with no focus object, though I can see the characters using some spell components to augment their magic. So maybe I am not good at making decisions.

The trouble with writing fiction is that it has to make sense, whereas real life doesn't.”
-Iain M. Banks

The Wiki goes on to say that you should create a personal guide of how and why everything works even if you don't share it all in the story. I think that is a good idea, but they lost me at their insistence that the magical system has to be logical. I have always felt that authors are hemmed in by something life never has to follow. If there were logic behind everything that happens good people wouldn't suffer and criminals wouldn't get away, but this may not be the place for this discussion. I do think it will be easier for readers if you don't break your own rules. 

It will take a while perfect, but getting it all down will be helpful when you are writing your story. Have you ever created a magical system? Do you have any tips that could help me? I was supposed to to a ROW80 midweek check-in, but the whole production seems unnecessary because I missed all my goals except for posting my A to Z. Though they are getting later and later in the day which is upsetting to me, but what can you do when real life attacks? Hey, I guess technically I just did a check-in. Sometimes it's the little things. Please leave a comment and don't forget to let me know where you came from so I can follow you back.

Check out other ROW80 bloggers here!

Photos from Pixabay.

L is for Luxury, Living, Learning and Leisure

I wonder what my characters do for a living? How can they afford to do all the awesome things they need to get done?

It would be easy to make them independently wealthy. Of course it leaves me to figure out how they came by that money and how it has effected them. Maybe that isn't so easy.

When you meet a new person they often ask what do you do. I can say from experience they don't mean when you're at leisure or the community service your family participates in. They are looking to categorize you by your working life or lack there of. The same is true for our characters. The readers want to know them and knowing their work history is a helpful clue to where, in our societies fabric, characters fit. Even if the characters are not at work during the story I think it's important to know where and how they work. It doesn't have to be super in depth, but the more I know about my characters the easier it is for me to write them.

My main character is in school and working. Her job doesn't pay well and she probably doesn't even get 40 hours. Her school and choice of major are other clues to help feel her out. Since this is an urban fantasy I have planned on using an actual school. I am going to contact the school admissions and find information about courses offered and when a student would usually take certain classes. I was thinking about scheduling a tour, but since none of the scenes will actually take place at the campus that would probably be a waste of time. What is your opinion on using a real school or business for that matter? My main characters goal is to be a dancer so I know that a lot of her time would normally be eaten up practicing and such. Maybe it would behoove me to talk to someone who dances for a living.

The things we put our free time into also tells a lot about us. Someone who fixes cars for their hobby is usually good with their hands and able to figure out how things work. A few of my characters hobbies will be revealed in The Most Magical Place, but I want to focus on something that will further the plot or help the characters in the final confrontation. I found this huge list of hobbies. Do you have any hobbies that you might want to give a character? Have you ever used a characters hobby as an excuse to learn something new?

How important do you think it is to know where a characters money is coming from and their time is going? Please leave a comment and don't forget to let me know where you came from so I can follow you back.

Photos from Pixabay.

I is for Inspiration

Or perhaps a lack there of. I have no inspiration for my 'I' post. There are a million recommendations of what to do, but I find myself balking at all of them tonight even the ones that have been useful in the past. Let's go through a list of the things I have tried or at least tried to try.

First I tried turning to Google. I often Google my topics especially when I already have one in mind and just need some help fleshing out out. There were a lot of suggestions, but not much I hadn't already come across in the course of life.

 Then I tried meditation. Well mostly relaxing and calming, but that required too much concentration. I was quickly irritated and lost interest quickly. It always seems that I could benefit most from calming meditation when I am not able to get there.

So I attempted to listen to music. It is a tried and true way to get my brain flowing. Of course I tend to listen to rock a little too loud for the late night hours in a typical home. In a reversal of rolls my 14 year old daughter came out and asked me to please keep it down. We were unsuccessful in finding my ear buds and the music had to go.

Next up was free writing. I usually do this on One Word. They give you one word and you write for 60 seconds without editing or stopping to think. Then you can read other people's and post yours. Tonight I was just trying to associate the word 'inspiration'. Let me tell you it is a bunch of gook that I don't even feel comfortable sharing to be silly.

A change of scenery is often helpful. Though the difference between the livingroom and the bedroom isn't all that inspiring. Some other people recommended that you could even change your desktop to reflect another local if you can't really get away.

Writing with pen and paper is one of my favorite things to try. Shortly after I felt like a teenager all curled up and anxty. Maybe I'm doing this one wrong. I should have taken a stab at this one before the change of scenery and lack of a table.

Concentrate on something different for a while. I took a break to watch one of my favorite shows, Charmed and that was refreshing and I felt less stress when I went back again. Unfortunately I didn't find anything other than distraction.

Make your muse jealous. After trying all the things that appeal to you here or where ever you find other ideas. If still nothing is working, just start. It will probably not be your best work, but your muse will wonder what you could possibly be up to without her. After a while she will start to push you toward more inspired work and before you know it the project will be done.


Stuff I haven't tried tonight:

Going for a walk out in nature. So many people recommend this no matter what you are trying to do. It is said to lower stress and we can all use that. I don't do this often, maybe I should consider it.

An idea book is another great tool. I used to have one that I cherished. It was lost in a move and I can still remember how sad I was the day I realized it was gone. I have started replacing it in Evernote, but the file is thin and doesn't have the same magic as a handwritten notebook.

Playing or spending time with kids. They don't even have to be yours. Some of the most creative and entertaining things I have ever heard came from my children or their friends. Of course they're all in bed while I try to write this.

Get some sleep. I mean really how often are writers sleep deprived. If you are having trouble and the things that usually get you going aren't helping,  maybe your brain is begging you for a little break and rejuvenation.

Where do you turn when your wellspring of inspiration is running dry? What tips can you offer a crazed writer? Please leave a comment and don't forget to let me know where you came from so I can follow you back.