Labotomy of a Writer

Another edition of Fantastic Friday Writers. Today we are talking about languages. As a writer, you have many option on how to convey languages in your story. You can simply tell the reader the characters are speaking a different language, use a few sparing words throughout the dialogue, or create a brand new language entirely.

I'm going to talk about an important part dealing with the last two options. Any time you create a new word, phrase, or entire language, one thing you must consider is how you want your language to sound. Soft and smooth, or more rough and harsh?

Soft sounds include letters like d, s, l, m, b, while harsh sounds include k, t, g, p. So, when creating your new words or language, you can clue in on certain letters to make your language sound the way you want.

For example, when cretaing new words for the faerys in Burden of Prophecy I wanted their language to be very soft sounding. So I tried to avoid using k or t in the words, or if I did, I used them very sparingly. So, I came up with words like verlina (a flower that has addictive properties but most often used for healing purposes) and faena (woman).

So what about your characters in their own worlds? What languages do they speak and how do they sound?

Now, for a bit of fun, I like to doodle on paper to see what my new language would look like in text. For a soft sounding language, like the faery's in Burden of Prophecy, I decided to go with something with lots of curves, loops, and long tails to add to the softness and elegance I wanted to show for the language. I never actually made an official text of my faery's language or I'd show you a picture. However, it is still fun to figure things like that out, even just for a feel of how your characters would write a letter or a note.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers to see what they say about languages! Our group has more than doubled since the last post, so please make sure to stop and welcome our newest members! They are all great fantasy and sci-fi writers, and you can learn more about them here.

Hello everyone. Here is another installment of Fantastic Friday Writers. We are talking about magic this week.

How do you define magic in fantasy writing? Spells, powers, things that cannot be explained. All of the above?

The elves in my book Cleanse Fire having keen eye sight, hearing, and can heal rather quickly. While that is beyond normal abilities for humans it is the norm in my elves' world - so that's not magic. But the faery's in Burden of Prophecy are born with powers and they attend school to learn and master them. While it is the norm for them in their world, it's magic. I would say magic to me is something beyond normal human capabitilities, but that would include more than I wanted.

Now, when you have magic in your stories one must consider the rules. Rules?! I know, I hate rules too, but in order to make your magic seem realistic it must have some sort of restrictions. Ask yourself the following questions: 1) If my character uses their magic what happens to them? Do they get tired, weak? If they go too far can they die? 2) Where does their magic come from? Inside the character? From nature? Some other force? 3) What culture aspects come into play with my character magic? Meaning are there laws against using it? Perhaps religious consequences/rewards? 4) Who has magic and why? Only the first born? Only women or only men?

Once you have those questions figured out then y ou can begin to shape the magic in your world into something tangible. Then you can determine at what age does their magic show up and how do they learn to master it. Do their powers show at birth or closer to puberty? Do they attend school or do their parents simply teach them control of their powers? If you have spells in your story rather than powers, the same questions apply. At what age do they begin learning the spells and who teaches them?

Since magic is a huge part of writing fantasy and even sci-fi sometimes, you have to consider all the rules, restrictions, and other considerations of your characters magic. If a character can use their magic willy-nilly with no consequences and has the ability to do anything, it takes all of the suspense out of the story. After all, an all powerful character can fix and get out of anything right?

Don't forget to check with the rest of the Fantastic Friday writer team at their blogs and see what they say about magic.

JDBrown ~~~~ Elizabeth Mueller ~~~~ Deirdra Eden-Coppel ~~~~ Alex J. Cavanaugh

Another vlog to enjoy. Sorry for the glare on my glasses - recorded with the webcam instead of the digital camera but the lisp is gone!

I know I’ve been absent as of late and I apologize! I announced a while back that I was going to enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award so the editing has taken up all of my time outside of family and school.

BUT, I’m here now and that’s what counts right? This week, for Fantastic Friday writers, we are talking about how we find the time to write especially since many of us have jobs, kids, and school. Heck, some have a combination of all three!

I’ve talked about my crazy schedule on this blog before, but for the new readers, I’ll give a brief recap.

• I’m a stay at home mom – just me and the little man most of the day while hubby is at work.
• I am going to school to earn my bachelors degree in business.
• I have created two online businesses, one of which is open! (Check it out! Anastasia Creatives). The other is nearly there and will be open in by the end of February.
• I moderate writing workshops on Savvy Authors.
• I participate in 3 different blogs, including my own. (Okay, mine falls behind a bit a lot of the times but with everything else can you blame me!?)
• I belong to a solid critique group that I talk to every single day. (Okay, they’re my best friends, but seriously, they rock.)
• AND I write and edit and create cover art and build book trailers and make websites for my friends.

I’ve had many people ask me how in the world I find the time to do all these things and the answer is quite simple.

I JUST DO IT.

I don’t have a set schedule, (like I could follow one anyway), I don’t have a nanny or a babysitter, or a maid and my son isn’t old enough to be in school yet. I just do it. Because I love to do it, because I have to do it, because I want to do it.

Sure, I do go a few nights without sleep but I’m willing to sacrifice a little sleep to follow my dreams.

So, if I was to give any advice to my fellow writers out there, here is a bit of wisdom I learned from AA of all places.

If you want it badly enough then you’ll make it happen. (In AA we add, “Remember the lengths you would go to get a drink and apply that same energy to something positive.)

And one last note - Don’t make excuses! JUST DO IT!

Hey everyone! I know I said I would get this announced earlier in the week, but school started back and it's been a bit crazy here.

But! Now that the first week insanity is over, I'll get back on schedule here.

First thing, the results of the vote were 7 to 2 for having posts every other day, so that's how things will go from now on - at least as much as I can! Sometimes I might still have some posts a few days in a row, but only for important or funny things, I promise.

And, without further ado - the winner of the blogiversary giveaway!! I'm not going to beat around the bush here so, the winner is -------


Congratulations Annie!! Send me an email at harleydpalmer[at]gmail.com and I'll send you your prizes!!

Thanks to everyone for participating! I'm going to try and get some more prizes together for a 200 follower giveaway, so come back for that for another chance to win some awesome stuff!

It's almost a new year, can you believe it? I feel like 2010 just flew by! I dug around my old blog posts and found a list of my 2010 goals/resolutions. Let's see how much I accomplished shall we?

1. Quit Smoking
--I didn't even attempt this.

2. Gain a substantial income from writing.
--Tried it and failed. The money just wasn't enough to make the research and time worth it.

3. Let my husband live
--Yes, he is still alive.

4. Get my teeth fixed
--Didn't get this one either. But hubby assures me it'll be this year. We'll see.

5. Learn to write legibly with my left hand. (I'm ambidextrous but if writing with my left hand, it looks like a 5 year old)
--I totally forgot this goal was on the list, so I didn't make this one either.

6. Finish my 3 part novel series "The Faery's Tale"
--Well, this morphed into a 4 part novel series and I did get book 1 and half of book 2 done - so to speak.

7. Learn to wake up before my son does. (This means waking up at like 6 or 7 in the morning by the way.)
--HAHAH! You guys didn't really think I could do this one could you? Come on.

8. Start my own business. (Doubt it'll really be this year, but I put it here to make myself get the ball rolling at least.)
--I did get the ball rolling and started a second business too!

9. Find some really cool layouts for this blog!
--I totally got this one!

10. Write an Epic Poem. (For those that don't now, epic poems are ones like Beowulf - a huge epic thing that tells a story. Always wanted to write one of those.)
--Well, I didn't get this one really either - partially, my NaNo poem rocked and did tell a story, but since it was themed after another poem, I don't really count it.

So that leaves what? NOTHING accomplished!? Well, I did let hubby live and I did try to write freelance for money. Just didn't work out on that one. And there are a few that I sort of accomplished if I bend the rules a little.

I still feel like I accomplished a lot this year though! I blogged pretty regularly - at least more than I thought. Started TWO businesses, made some new friends, started school, joined the National Guard (but obviously that didn't pan out...)

So, now on to the real point of this post for Fantastic Friday Writers - our resolutions or goals for 2011. I'm going to make mine more realistic this year for sure! At least, I hope so.

1. Submit "Burden of Prophecy: The Faery's Tale Saga". (More than once!)

2. Get "Cleanse Fire: The Kinir Elite Chronicles" ready for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Deadline: Feb. 6.

3. If "Cleanse Fire" doesn't win the contest, submit it!

4. Finish writing "Tutelage of Mortality: The Faery's Tale Saga".

5. Start writing "Death Air: The Kinir Elite Chronicles".

6. Finish setting up my business - Inwell University Writing Workshop.

7. Join my buddy Shawn in writing a novella anthology. (aka Write, Edit, and Submit my half of the collection - 1 Novella)

8. Learn to write with my left hand. (We'll give this one a go again, because I bet it'll be fun.)

9. Get my teeth fixed. (Hubby assures me this year is the year....)

10. Write an Epic Poem. (Still really want to give this a go!)

So there it is! I'll repost this list this time next year to see how much I accomplished! I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Day and I send many blessings your way for 2011.

Make sure you check out the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers to see what they are doing for 2011.