Moltiarna, Alzair. Ligarkan District Hardik was hard at work in his small apothecary shop just behind his home. The Zheta family, acquaintances through Hardik’s wife, had sent someone with a rather large order. He didn’t really know what the medicines were for, though the Zheta’s servant had been inclined to posit theories. Tilde, his wife, … More Home Front
I’m not afraid of social media. A lot of people my age seemed to be neck-deep in Instagram, Snapchat, and whatever other outlets allow them to connect to their friends in whatever way possible. I’m not like that; I have a small internet presence, and for right now, that suits me just fine. But I’m … More “Here Are Some Pins You May Like” and Other Concerns
First, to note. I’m going to be talking about Laini Taylor’s series, both Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Strange the Dreamer. If you haven’t read either series in full, proceed at your own risk. Spoilers also for Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series. I managed to devour Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, … More January Reading Reflections
Here’s the thing about novel writing. It’s a massive underaking. If you don’t know that, you must be new. It can be easy to get overwhelmed, or to lose faith. The reason, I think, that most people give up in the end is that they don’t know what it is about novel writing that they … More Four Trends I’ve Noticed in Certain Authors’ Novels
Location: Taerik, Garizal. Merchant district. Ferizan held his son’s hand tightly as they wove through the crowds of the merchant district. The food vendors were the worst. He knew young Woiren was hungry, eying the breads and stews offered with fervor. Unfortunately, his wife hadn’t given him enough coin to buy anything besides what she’d … More Daughters and Sons
I have a confession to make. Thursday, November 29, 2018 marked my last class of my second-to-last semester. All I have left are six months before I graduate and can consider myself a fully-fledged adult. Strange how I keep finding excuses to push my entrance into “adulthood” further into the future. How do we know … More Not Writing Related. Just Me Being Human.
I’m a hypocrite, okay? I fully acknowledge that. I, a dedicated writer, am not participating in NaNoWriMo2018 and yet I still have the gall to write about how to get unstuck when knee-deep in first-draft Plot. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo before. This is not exactly new territory for me. … More Plot: 4 Ways to Get Unstuck in NaNoWriMo
I’m very passionate about mythology. Beyond the fascinating cleverness that goes into each myth at its conception, mythology as its own brand of story-telling has always been an awe-inspiring way to bring magic into the mundane. So, whether your novel’s world has real magic in it or not, and whether your character has access to … More World-Building: 5 Things an Author Should Know About Myths
The poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view.” This holds true even for novel writing… perhaps especially for novel writing. It’s not just the character who tells the story, but also in what way the character tells the story that can … More Shifting the Meaning
Character voice is a subtle art. Certainly, it a bit of a chaotic one. You have to know enough about them to know what they might say in a particular situation, and if you think that’s not terribly hard, then bring to mind a person you know very well. A sister, a parent, a best … More Giving Characters their Voice
