Sorry I haven’t been much involved (working full time 🙁  ). This was amazing!

Yay!!

@Evelyn that is an amazing idea! I think something along that line will be what he has.

@catherine roche Also an amazing idea! Hmm I wonder if they could go together…

Thank you so much!

I’m working on a fantasy mystery. I’m going to have a detective who uses magic to solve crimes, but I am unsure of what kind of magic to give him.

I’d like it to be something that he could use to solve the crime (not fight the baddies), so it would likely be something cerebral, but I don’t want its use to be to obvious, like being able to tell…[Read more]

I agree that it should have stakes (beyond the obvious stake inherent in conversion). I’m not sure life and death should be it though. I worry that it will be too easy to make it cliche if we go that route.

What is another way we could raise the stakes? Would it be cliche if the character was on the verge of doing something awful? Or what if it…[Read more]

I subscribed.

This is really important to note.

I would say, however, that some authors take it too far and make their main character so flawed that they aren’t really a good guy any more to make it realistic. Some stories do really well, but I just think their are too many of them.

So don’t be afraid if your main character’s flaws do not make your character…[Read more]

Clem wants to prove his cousin’s innocence. He wants to do this because he feels guilty for having helped get him caught in the first place (more like complacent, but that is just as bad to him). He is also  doing it because now he is under these claims of murder, and he needs to free both of them and find out what is actually going on. Deeper…[Read more]

I agree that characters belong if they drive the plot forward. But I would add a piece: they need to impact the main character. Whether that is inspiring them, pushing them, standing against them, or with them, puzzling them, or frustrating them.

Good to know! I hope you have a good time away!

@Ara

I use the gouache with my watercolors where I want a dark, opaque mark. It blends in well wih the watercolor.

I have been drawing a very long time, since I was pretty little, so I would go with about 15 years now. My favorite part of fashion design is designing things and then being able to turn them into actual garments which I can wear.

@theclumsy_lamplighter

Welcome!

@the-fledgling-artist

There is something vaguely amusing about a cat named mouse. 🙂

@the-fledgling-artist

His name is Aneirin. He is named after a medieval bard. What is your dog’s name?

Feminism is an interesting topic in fiction. I personally did not find Rey to all that bad, she fit in with the male star wars peeps in character (I dislike the movies all around, but for different storytelling issues). I don’t think it is a complete trend (the books I’m currently reading all have good female POVs). And having recently seen some…[Read more]

@evelyn

Nice! Those are some great role models 🙂

I have great respect for people who can write rhyming poetry, as whenever I try it always ends up pretty cheesy.

I haven’t really found a good way. I’m pretty new to writing, though, so hopefully I will someday!

@the-fledgling-artist

I have no dogs or cats, but I do have a pet snake. I love snakes.

@christieaton

Sounds cool!

Birds are awesome, @the-fledgling-artist!

Do you have dogs and cats?

@christieaton

Ooh copic markers! I’ve never had the opportunity to use them but I’ve heard they are nice.

Do you do portraits of people you know or characters?

@christieaton

Depends on the kind of art. I view fashion as art, and that is what I am going to college for, so I am very serious about that.

I get paid to teach art (and fashion, but I’m talking about painting drawing type right now), so that is a kind of serious.

I would say mostly serious, though I do not intend to make a living selling…[Read more]