For my newest WIP, I’m actually taking the time to brainstorm and get into my character’s heads, which is pretty great. Unfortunately, I’ve run into the same problem that I have for…[Read more]

A point that the article mentioned is that every first draft is messy – and that’s okay. I think that’s really important here that you flesh out…[Read more]

1) Romance looks different in every book, so it can be a minor part of the overall story. I’ve read a…[Read more]

I don’t think you need to worry. It’s like doing a retelling of a fairytale, legend, or Greek myth, which tons of people have done in Western culture (and which I am doing at the moment in my WIP). I think people would only be offended, like Archer said, if it looks like plagiarism, or just failing to be…[Read more]

I think I came up with the concept of my Beast and was kind of fascinated by it… and then I realized that it was basically the story of Beauty and the Beast, which I also really like, and so I began to base my plot on it.

I think that’s a super cool explanation…[Read more]

@arindown Right now I’m working on a Beauty and the Beast retelling that’s a contemporary fantasy. How about you?

I think a pantser is someone who likes to write spontaneously and do little to no planning beforehand. The ‘plotter” on the other hand, usually likes to start with some sort of outline before writing their story. I don’t think…[Read more]

Like Chelsea said, I think it’s super cool that you’re self-evaluating and wanting to take the right steps forward!

This actually happened to me these past couple of years, where I had a historical-fantasy that was too large-scale for me to handle. I started it, revised the premise, and then started again way too many times.…[Read more]

Whoaa… this is so exciting. 😉

Personally, I feel like the first sentence could include a little bit of setting, like referencing the land that the story takes place in. Perhaps this could stand in place of “the world” which would help tie the reader’s mind down to a specific place. Also, it would keep the second “the world” from…[Read more]

Hobbiton feels very homey, and so I guess the picture + the quote also gives that kind of vibe.

Yeah, we have similar food, as well as Northern Chinese food (mainly steamed dumplings) and a lot of Japanese influence (ramen, sushi, and bento boxes).

And the…[Read more]

Apparently Tom Bombadil makes a few-second cameo in the films? But yeah, the books are huge so it’s really impossible to get every detail in, like the Scouring of the…[Read more]

I’m not sure there’s much for me to say, since I personally am pretty uninformed. But I think that in Christian fiction, mental disorders can come alongside spiritual issues, and perhaps a character struggles with both. I say this out of a struggle a few years ago when a period of irrational fears turned into a real soul-searching…[Read more]

*jaw drops* That’s a lot of languages. What fascinates you about making them? Because a lot of people admire Tolkien, but not everyone has the skills or… disposition, I guess, to imitate him in what he did.

A little introduction of myself: I’m seventeen, a Christian, and I live in Taiwan. I’m probably not going to pursue w…[Read more]

(Taiwan is another island region that regards itself as independent but is also officially part of China… but that is a story for another day).

As someone who hails from Taiwan, I’d say that we are independent, but not internationally recognized (because of pressure from China, a big world/economic power). So to kind of add to what y…[Read more]

Yes, that scene with Bilbo…so scary. Arguably, though, it actually magnifies the power of Sauron (or maybe the ring) by showing how much of a hold the ring can have on people’s hearts.

One example of a villain that scared me was the Joker in The Dark Knight — the way he was always on top of things and one step ahead of the good g…[Read more]

And your first one is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

And your quote is from The Tale of Two Cities — I didn’t understand most of it back when I read it, but it still was touching (particularly the ending!!). I should find some time to reread it.

This sounds fun! Here we go, one quote per book:

I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope that I have made them right. 

So really, children, mathematically, all of light is invisible. 

Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution. 

For you, a thousand times over. 

Can’t wait to see what happens!

Oooh, how was Realm Makers? Did you meet up with anyone from SE?

Also,…[Read more]

I like what we have so far! But like many other people said, I’m way out of my league here, so Imma sit back and watch y’all do your thing, and then come back during editing time 🙂

To summarize what’s been going on so far: Our MC has amnesia (TGA) and it is this fact that makes the audience initially believe that it was him that…[Read more]

Oooh, YWW!! I get emails about it, but haven’t signed up because of the time commitment. Do you find it time-consuming? How do you feel about it versus Story Embers (or Kingdom Pen, if applicable)? 🙂

I was super encouraged by your story! It’s sincere and uplifting, a good reminder in the midst of a pretty twisted culture.

For me, it’s set to “view only”, so I just went ahead and listed places where I found grammar and punctuation errors. Corrections/issues are in italics:

“Clearly my older sister thought we were part of  a s…[Read more]

*looks at her WIP, which has been around for 3 1/2 years and hasn’t even gotten past the first plot point yet*

And as for Crysti… her personality is sort of like mine  xD (For some reason, I can clearly define characters in my stories except for my…[Read more]

My writing mostly stays within realistic fiction or adventure (like medieval worlds). Common themes I write about have been friendship and relating rightly to the people around us, and of…[Read more]

I’m Grace, and as for how I’m doing… life is pretty busy, especially in the summer when I have a lot of volunteering/camps to be involved in. I thought I would have more time to write, but I’m afraid not.

What kind of things do you write?

Tagging people: @daeus-lamb @kate @ethryndal…[Read more]

I pretty much agree with what people have said — the novelty might wear off, and it isn’t anything new.

Echoing Sarah, my personal reason for not being on is that my online activities here at SE generally correlate with how much time I’m actually spending writing… which, if taken up by school and summer homework, isn’t a lot :/…[Read more]

@shadowwriter161 The first book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series is The Ruins of Gorlan. He (John Flanagan) also has a Brotherband Chronicles Series which starts with The Outcasts. 

Some other suggestions include: The Lord of the Rings trilogy/Silmarillion (which are loooong but totally worth it), The S…[Read more]

I’d guess the big thing here for me is structure. You’ve written it with a fairly slow beginning, with a lot of description and internal monologue. It really…[Read more]

@kate @cassandra If we’re not sure who’s drafting, we have had two people do separate drafts, just to get started. I don’t have a laptop at the moment, so I’m mostly going to be around…[Read more]

@kate @sesi

Maybe he risks being entangled if he tries to surface in the kelp (we’d have to do research maybe) but then he gets irritated at that little fish. And then he chooses…[Read more]

Ideas for a dramatic scene: People (friends, family) fighting, battlefield, chase sequence, fighting sequence, a race/competition/tournament of sorts.

And about the prompt itself… I’m guessing that to do this right, we’re going to have to succeed at both the dramatic and the ordinary parts of the…[Read more]

@germaine-han I know! The video game one was surprisingly engaging.

@daeus-lamb It’s literally Monday night, but here’s the final draft: The Favor: Final Draft

I did rewrite the beginning to be a little slower, and I accepted most of Kate and Archer’s suggestions, so if you wanted to give it a second/final readthrough before Monday night to catch any last minute details?

@r-m-archer @germaine-han @daeus-lamb

It’s just thrown together and not terribly long, but I’m hoping this gives us more time and space to really polish that second person voice. Edit away!

@daeus-lamb @piperbee @gabriellepollack @ethryndal @corissa @raemarie @bama-rose @kate @r-m-archer @j-parkhurst @gabbyj @cassandraia @chalice…[Read more]

If I can get something basic out in the next couple of days, we can do a quick editing phase? I’ll try  to keep it short.

Also,…[Read more]

A basic premise could be that the reader walks with a woman when they see two soldiers dying at the edge of a battlefield. The reader’s powers are alluded to and he appears to be a supernatural being when he can perceive the two soldier’s dying thoughts and their pasts regarding a woman they loved. The reader hesitates, then…[Read more]

I kind of found a better understanding from…[Read more]

Also, I kind of want to do fantasy, but that’s just my preference. 🙂

I like the idea of beta-reading without a computer, actually. But in some cases, that could mean a lot of paper…

Since then, I’ve made a change that helps me to get the overall conflict…[Read more]