it does! thank you so much!

Hi Joshua, thank you! So what is the Forum signature?

What’s your WIP about?  Do you have any favorite books?  What are some of your favorite crafts?
That’s really cool that you’re learning to knit!  I never learned to knit, but it does seem fun (and practical.)

I think that SE is…unfortunately rather inactive at the moment.  I think that…[Read more]

Sorry for the months-long disappearance. 😅

That’s a really neat (and thorough) history! Thank you for sharing!

LOL

Nice! I love seeing plots inextricably linked to/derived from the worlds they live in; it makes the whole thing feel much more purposeful.

Cool!

Nah, you’re fine. Worldbuilding rambles are fun, whether you’re…[Read more]

Hey y’all, I’m going to be stepping back from Story Embers for awhile/potentially taking a permanent hiatus. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you guys, but school is going to be picking up, and I want to make sure I am focusing as much as I can on the classes for my degree. I also feel like I nee…[Read more]

Oh that’s a cool name too! So what changed him from Sylvie’s father’s rival to his close friend? What happened to his wife and girls? 😥 That’s really sweet that he gets to raise the princess and her siblings – I can see those scenes being so gripping and also tender.

I have 2 little kids planned out for a future…[Read more]

I got your reply notification in my email but when I go to respond here on SE it’s GONE. *reply vanishes into thin air* No clue why!! Ummm maybe if you could edit it and re-tag me? *sorry*

👍🏻👍🏻 One of my new favorite verses 🙂

YES!! *bounces up and down* *regains composure* Oh yes, THANK YOU!!

Wait, you were the one who came up with that name? Did I read that right? Well BRAVO!! (yeah, I blame Tolkien for the fact that Medieval fantasy is all I write XD) Aaww little kids are so CUTE!! I want to hug them…[Read more]

Yes!! I LOVE IT TOO! I found it in Psalm 111:7 “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.” and I loved it!!

You’re so welcome! Honestly you gave me chills too…. Is most of your climate/world winter/tundra? Seriously, all this detail is just 😲😊🤩🤗!!! *still working on getting my brain to think…[Read more]

Thank you! I feel like in this day and age everyone is so mixed up when it comes to defining truth. (“What’s true for you may not be true for me” kind of thing) But only God defines truth!!!

I also decided to name my MC “Verity” because that means truth which is the main theme of the book. She’s a redheaded spitfire who is…[Read more]

Hmmm I never thought of doing that before! That’s a really good idea! Writing a battle form the perspective of the aftermath, on the other hand, seems like it would be my way to go! 🙂

I need to go buy it now! XD

Okay well, when you said different religions, I could see this story where everyone is forced by the leaders into…[Read more]

👍🏻👍🏻 All the best on your writing!!

Best kind of thrill!! Or one of the best 🙂 I do better with smaller groups of people as opposed to large-scale battles. Mostly by that I mean two people fighting each other. I think I get kinda intimidated by the larger stuff. I am clueless when it comes to battle techniques….my poor…[Read more]

Oh wow!! That is so cool! Where are you in the process? (What book?)

You’re very welcome!

WOW. !!!! 😲🤩🤗

*blinks at screen and rereads*

That sounds sooo cool! Battles are my *ahem* weakness in writing, and yours sounds amazing. How does the design on her crown look?

Again. WOW. It sounds you put a ton of time and thought…[Read more]

Not to cancel the bartering concept, ’cause that’s neat, but why couldn’t intelligent creatures wear some sort of satchel or belt (belt would probably work better since it could be kept closer to the body and not get in the way of moving legs) with a money bag attached?

How would tickets/tokens not have the same carrying needs as…[Read more]

Hello, Josh!

Yes it is! (Except for when it spills 😂) Some of my favorites are the Chai Wallah chai and Twinings honeybush-mandarin-orange.

That WIP sounds really cool. It’s like a mashup of all my brother’s favorite things!

Yes, I believe music is important in stories. People are musical, so it makes things so much deeper and more…[Read more]

@devastate-lasting

Ey, nice job! It’s good to set a goal for yourself. Right now I’ve been trying to write three pages a day, and it’s pretty much all trash, but I’m glad it’s getting done. Well, it was. Until finals happened 😭.

Thanks! Yes, goals are quite helpful and a thousand a day isn’t too overwhelm…[Read more]

Yeah, one of my favorite Missionary autobiographies is Evidence Not Seen, but it’s been years since I read it. We moved my dad had to get rid of a lot of his books and I think that was one of them because I was supposed to grab anything I wanted and there were so many! I’ve gotta order a copy of it for myself sometime, but I remember…[Read more]

Great to be here and thank you so much!!!

Oh wow! Your book sounds super cool!!! My sisters and I write together and the genre-mixing we do can get pretty intense, so I feel ya! I totally look forward to reading that!

Oh, hard one! I will read just about any genre as long as the book is Christian of clean, except I won’t read…[Read more]

Hi Josh! Thank you so much for the welcome!
My favorite genres to read are historic fiction, biography, and non-fiction (like devotionals and personal development books). To write would definitely be historic and Christian fiction. I’m currently beginning to work on a historic fiction (possibly a trilogy). It doesn’t quite have a tit…[Read more]

OH HI YOU!!!! I’m Cashton’s older (wiser, better looking, funnier, stronger, cooler more talented, etc. etc.) cousin!! I am also your sister’s sister.

I need you to tell me. Has she actually told you guys about me?? She swears she has, but I believe her about as much as I believe your real name is Ragnarok.

@storysmith

Hey, cool…[Read more]

I like the hares and Sunflash the Badger! OH, THE HAREMAID IS A CHARACTER ALONG WITH GONFF THE THEIF! 😃

I don’t really mind how long chapters are and I would be willing to communicate through Google docs.

That’s where I do most of my work too.

Yeah, I agree, national parks are so much greater than state parks. (Not that state parks are bad or anything). I’ve never been to the Badlands! But yes, Yellowstone is definitely the best so far.

Yellowstone is the best!!! That’s funny, the only National Parks I’ve been to so far are Yellowstone and Arches xD. Well, and Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes right here in Michigan, but does that really count?

Yeah, it’s so huge! Did either of you try the zip-line at the Ark?

Oh wow, the Hoh Rainforest sounds really cool; have you visited Yosemite National Park, or seen the giant redwoods?

Well, that’s cool! I get that, it’s probably hard to travel with a job. The Northwest especially I think it’s fun to travel to! I used to live in Washington state before my family started traveling, and it was pretty cool. I also love all the National Parks over in that area.

That’s cool! Do you travel a lot? I agree, the Ark was very amazing.

I think a lot of the history in the Old Testament is a good example. Many, many stories in the Bible are descriptive – what happened, not prescriptive – what is good. And we can confuse the two very easily. For instance, the…[Read more]

A few drops = paralysis and infection leading to slow death

Small doses = death

Medium doses = death and reanimation into feral, mindless creatures – but not Kragvora.

Large doses = death and reanimation into a full-blown Kragvora.

I’ve seen zombie movies do this…[Read more]

sounds reasonable to me, and adds flavor and options to your writing style.

Yeah, we did visit The Ark Encounter! We didn’t go to the Creation Museum, but I’ve heard that it’s really cool. I loved the Ark Encounter though! It is definitely my favorite museum.

@r-m-archer

Ohhh, that changes things. 🙂 Yes, he does get better as the series goes on.

@storysmith

Okay, that’s good to know! I might try…[Read more]

Are the other characters (non-Kragvora) human?  I would think the lethality of the venom would increase with the dosage.  If a small dosage is lethal, then the victim would be dead before the venom had a chance to permeate its circulatory system or infect tissues.  There are a variety of factors as far as effects that wo…[Read more]

Tink certainly did have a great personality. 🙂 I guess I didn’t like him that much because he was too reckless, but I still think Andrew Peterson did a great job on his character. Yep, I’m the oldest in my family too!

@noah-cochran

Thank you very much! I work very hard on my blog, and I love to hear that people enjoy it.

Identity…[Read more]

There is a great deal of wisdom in your words.

Too often people who fear for the future are imagining dreadful scenarios where God is not present.

Amen, my brother!  I look forward to hearing more about the story as you develop it.

Perhaps I just noticed the parallels because of the biblical study I have been doing.  I do know that the primary purpose of prophecy is not so much that God merely is wanting us to know the future, but especially that He wants us to know that He holds the future and has full knowledge of it so that we can trust Him as…[Read more]

Wow, Joshua!

I love this. It does seem to have some real-world parallels, using a very creative fantasy palate.  I have read of some real-world psychopathic scientists that are actively involved in chimeric genetic abominations aimed at “redesigning” the human genome to “enhance humanity” into their psychotic view of the next stage…[Read more]

Hi Joshua,

So the Kragvora are both humanoid and…

Are they part insect as well with a carapace or is the formation of some other substance like a tortoiseshell or some reptilian spine/scales.

Where does their mental collective reside?  At they Borg-like and assimilate their knowledge in some remote collective brain that they…[Read more]

These are very intriguing sets of creatures.

I have others in my WIP, but the Moonsprite/Gorgon/Jengu is the most bizarre one, I have imagined.

I have three dragons in my story as well: A Dust Dragon, which tunnels underground and avoids daylight.   A Leviathan that takes its description from Job 41, Isaiah 27:1.  AN…[Read more]

It’s a joke.

I’m kidding.

Mostly. 😉

Anyways, to the point. Character voice makes everything from dialogue to normal scenery descriptions pop off the page, but, for me at least, it is a very difficult…[Read more]

That’s ingenious! Very cool. At first, your description reminded me of the Ra’zac in the Eragon series, but your Kragvora are certainly original. I like how you combined the concept of vampirism with its other aspects.

Rose has some great ideas!

Make sure that your title connects with your story in a meaningful way.
Look through the story and listen for a turn of phrase or a particular part that you feel might encapsulate your story’s essence.  I think the upcoming seminar on Theme might give you some good ideas.  If you can, connect y…[Read more]

Well, a good place to start is that your title doesn’t have to be perfect 🙂 The only thing your title has to do is fit your genre and the general idea of your story. It isn’t part of the story, it doesn’t necessarily have to make a big thematic statement or show some other layer to the story. It just has to sound good, be (somewhat)…[Read more]

Replacements for look: I’m not referring to the context ‘he looked at the barn,’ I’m referring to the phrase ‘he gave her a flat look.’ Any replacement for that come to mind? I feel like a use it a l…[Read more]

How’s it going fellow Josh? You are correct. We absolutely need to stick together lol.

That’s awesome that you applied for the Pinterest Manager position. Let me know if you get it!

Your work sounds super intriguing, especially since you have the combination of genres all mixed together. How far along are you in the work?

J.R.R.…[Read more]

1) Name: Something with a D. I’m guessing. Maybe a V?

2) Age: Ancient!

3) Career/Role in Story: Villian.

4) Personality: is a killing machine.

5) Would you be friends with that character?: Sorry, but yes. Even if they’re a villain, they are still human. Oh, wait, it isn’t. Um, well, it probably still has somet…[Read more]