Creating your book heroes (Building a fantasy series, part three)

July 24, 2018July 24, 2018 by Beth

The characters for Spectrum Blade were actually one of the first things I came up with. I spent a long time stewing over rough concepts for each of the heroes that would join the party, in addition to rounding out some villains. But while the characters themselves came together pretty… Read the rest...

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How long should epic fantasy be?

July 17, 2018July 2, 2018 by Beth

As part of outlining a novel, I always have to plan how long it needs to be. Sometimes they make it. Sometimes they fall well short. One thing I don’t do is try to pad up my word count with unnecessary scenes. Sometimes a book needs fleshed out a little… Read the rest...

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Resources for BJD book props

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018 by Beth

I puzzled over the best way to share these resources to go with my new video for a while, then decided the best option was probably making them available in a post on my site. I don’t post about doll things here too often, but it’s still the best way… Read the rest...

Artwork

Making a fantasy world map (Building a fantasy series, part two)

July 10, 2018June 28, 2018 by Beth

I’ve been fascinated by fantasy world maps since I was a kid. I always told myself that when I eventually published my own fantasy books, I’d make sure they had maps. Preferably ones I drew myself, since I’m a control freak like that. Having done map making the “right” way… Read the rest...

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Building a fantasy series, part one: Creating the world

July 3, 2018June 27, 2018 by Beth

I ran across a great article from NowNovel that came with an infographic laying out some things to address when creating a fantasy world. For convenience, I’ve included it here. To get things started, I’ll share a quick breakdown of the answers for a few of these, as well as… Read the rest...

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Building a series from the ground up

June 26, 2018June 11, 2018 by Beth

Before I even started the book, I decided I was going to put paranormal stories aside after I finished Her Midnight Hunter. Right now, I’m hoping to be done with it in August, so that I can tackle a new project in the fall. My first instinct when returning to… Read the rest...

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Audience of one

June 19, 2018June 10, 2018 by Beth

Trying to become a full-time author is fraught with bad advice. Over time, you get better at absorbing the good advice and abandoning what doesn’t work for you. After all, no two people will ever use the same methods, no matter how similar their work may be. Despite this, there’s… Read the rest...

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A week of 2k a day: Afterthoughts

June 12, 2018June 9, 2018 by Beth

Last week was my challenge week. The goal: Write 2,000 words every day, Monday through Friday. The plan was to end the week with 10,000 words of new material written for Her Midnight Hunter, the next book in my current paranormal trilogy. HMH needs to be done before I move… Read the rest...

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2,000 words a day

June 5, 2018May 31, 2018 by Beth

This week’s a special one. The munchkin is attending VBS for the first time, and while part of me feels like I probably should have volunteered as a program assistant, the week has an important purpose for me: teaching me what it’ll be like to be alone during the day.… Read the rest...

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Story afterthoughts

June 1, 2018May 30, 2018 by Beth

I’ve had a bit of time to simmer on things now, shortly after finishing the five-chapter mini-adventure I decided to write just for the heck of it. I planned for it to do a few things, and when I thought about it, I figured it was worth taking a second… Read the rest...