P is for Partners

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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My original plan was to do P is for Plot, but recent events made me decided to talk about critique partners instead.


Let me tell you how awesome my two crit partners are. I sent them my MS on Saturday -- Got one back on Sunday from Charlene A. Wilson and the other on Monday from J.D. Brown! They stayed up late and did none of their own writing to crit my book. And not just my book either! But the synopsis and query letter too!


I couldn't ask for two better friends and partners in this crazy writing industry. While I've never met either of them in person, they are my best friends and I would bend over backwards to help them when they need it.


It is hard to have my friends also be my crit partners. The best part is, since they want me to succeed, they don't sugar coat the crits or blow smoke up my butt. If anything, they are harder on me than other people would be. Seriously! Also, since we talk to each other everyday, I get a chance to ask them about their crit, clarify a few things, AND they are more than happy to listen to my ideas on how to fix a scene or a paragraph.


I recommend to anyone to find at least one crit partner that you can work with. It's a great experience. I have been in crit groups before, and while I think they are great, it's nothing like working with just one or two people on a personal basis. I know their stories and they know mine inside and out. It's great to say a random scene without much detail and they know the one I'm talking about!


So, finding a good crit partner. That's hard to talk about. I found mine by accident really. I met both ladies at a writing site a while ago and we sort of just talked in the chat room there. Now it seems we are inseperable! LOL


First, I say you should have good chemistry with the person outside of writing. I don't mean you need to be best friends with them or anything like that, but ya know, just you get a good vibe or good feelings when around them.


I would recoomend if you are shopping for a crit partner is to find someone that writes, or at least loves, the same genre you do. Even if you have great chemistry with a person, if they happen to not like the genre you write, having them as your crit partner won't work very well in my opinion. My crit partners and I happen to all write fantasy - different types of fantasy, yes, but all fantasy none the less. And we all love fantasy too. So at least find someone who loves the genre you write, even if they happen to write another one.


Another thing is to see if their writing skills are about the same as yours. I know this sounds harsh but think about it. If someone isn't up to where you are in skills with plot, character development, and even grammer, how fair is it to you? Their crit would fall flat pretty much and you'd be no better. Find a person or people that can teach YOU something too! The best crit partners are the ones that help you improve - not just read your work.


Make sure you make time to crit their work too. I know that sounds obvious but I have to say it. So many times do hear about someone critted one persons work and then never heard from them again. If you want to KEEP your crit partners, then you have to "pay them back" for critting your work too. Now, I know some that do an exact tit-for-tat type of trade when it comes to crits. Jen, Charlene, and I are close enough that I will automatically crit their work because I know that when I need a crit later, they'll be there without hesitation. It all depends on what type of relationship you have with the person. Either way, just make sure you return the favor and help them too!


What do you think? What other qualities should a crit partner have? Do you like crit groups or do you prefer just one or two people as partners?


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O is for Organization

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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For N, I talked about Notes and how I organized those. So for today's post I'm going to talk about organizing your life -- or in a sense schedules. I'm a firm beliver in schedules even though I can never follow them! LOL


So since I can't follow a schedule even though I try really hard to do so, how do I keep up with everything in my life? (Kid, Hubby, Writing, Two Businesses, School, and MORE!)


I have a HUGE to do list. Seriously, I use the windows in my office as dry erase boards. The to do list takes up four windows.


One of the windows is a regular calender where I keep track of my husbands work schedule, doctors appointments (since we go two to three times a week since the car accident), when my homework for school is due, and when some of my blog posts are due.


Another window is split into two sections, one for each business where I highlight things to be done. This is sort of like a real numbered to do LIST for each business on what I need to accomplish. Some have due dates some are "when I get to it" types of things. Either way, they are on the list so I don't forget.


A third window has a list of workshops I moderate for Savvy Authors. Pretty self explanitory there, just helps me remember when one is coming up. I don't mod as much as I would like to anymore, but I still have a list that spans the entire year.


The fourth window is my "Mommy" to do list. While many of you might think I don't need such a thing, I do. This list helps me remember to do things like the dishes or mop the floors or start the laundry. I will seriously forget it I don't. (Note: I haven't kept up with this list in about a month so...need to do that...yea)


Now, in addition to my awesome window/erase boards, I also have two tack boards hanging up next to my desk. Phone numbers, blog post topics, and website codes on notecards or post its are all scattered up there, but I can find the info when I need it really easily. The other board is used for random notes and ideas I have about my books. It keeps my desk from becoming a pile of notes and scribbles.


Then of course there is the shelf with all my writing books, novel notebooks, and office supplies. And last, my computer itself.


SO - pretty crazy huh?


It might seem a bit overwhelming to someone just looking at it but it's the only way I do anything. I know I miss stuff every once in a while, but it would be SO much worse if I didn't have these things at all.


How do you organize your office/busy life? Do you have a strict schedule or just a "To Do List"?
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N is for Notes

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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This post is going to be another short one for you. How do you keep your story notes organized or your reserach notes? I'm a huge fan of folders and binders (with awesome labels!).


My series are kept in a three ring binder. I have dividers labeled "Characters", "Setting", "Language", and "Misc". Then I have a section for each book where I keep copies of the query letter, synopsis, outline, and other plot things I look at often.


The Characters section contains all the character sketches I make. It also has the timelines I make for each character. If I can, I'll include pictures I find that look like the characters or print out the avatars I sometimes create.


The Setting section includes all the setting sketches - for the different countires, notes about the cities, descriptions of the specific buildings the characters might visit. I also include any notes about the history of the country.


The Language section is where I keep any notes and translations for the languages I make up for my characters. (My L post from a few days ago can tell you more about what goes into this section.


The Misc section is where I keep stuff that doesn't go anywhere else. Perhaps a poem, random pictures that make me think of the story, songs that inspire me, etc.


As the series progresses, all of these sections get pretty thick with all the notes and sketches I make. I like keeping all of it in one place lik this, rather than having each book in it's own notebook. (It also prevents me from having multiple copies of things as the same characters and locations sometimes appear throughout the series).


Now, for research notes, those are all in their own notebook. Since most all my stories are set in times similar to the medieval ages, I keep all of that information in one place. Again to keep myself from reprinting the same information over and over again.


The research notebook has the following sections: General, Ranks/Titles, Weapons/Warfare, Slang/Talk, Lifestyles, Sea/Sailing, Clothing, Living/Houses. I will surely add more as time goes along and I write more books, but this works for now. It's jam packed with information and pictures that I use (and reuse) throughout my books. I would die without this notebook!


What about you? How do you keep your story notes and research notes organized? Do you even print them out or keep them just on your computer? (I have the notebooks I described above and also have the same set up in files on my computer).
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M is for Maps

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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I hope everyone recovered from my post yesterday! :) Today we are talking about maps. I promise this one is really short today.

When I create any world for my stories, I always draw a map. I have to - otherwise my characters start heading south when they should be going north!

I use a free program called AutoREALM in combination with Paint.Net (which is also free). Here is the most recent version of the world map for The Kinir Elite Chronicles

This one I made it black and white then added the fancy little border there so it can look nice in the front of the books. But AutoREALM allows you to make them in color if you like. The program comes with great little icons and markers so you can make your map as detailed as you want to. I made this one pretty general, leaving out rivers and such as I only have one book done so far. As the series contiues and the characters travel around their world more, the map will no doubt be added to to show the new locations.


Do you make maps for your worlds? I know some people draw them by hand! Crazy. I much prefer using programs with fancy icons and such to help me. Besides, it's much easier to edit on my computer than it is by hand (especially if I decide a city needs to change location).

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L is for Language (Making your own!)

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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Okay, I know I've posted about this a few times but today I'm going to tell you what I've learned about making up your own brand new language! (This post might be longer than my other A to Z challenge posts, but I still have had to leave out a lot of info. In the future, I'll put together a more details post or series of posts about it.)


Yes! It can be done. The first thing to decide is if you are going to make up a few words to sprinkle through your MS or create an entire, fully functional language. The following steps can help you do both...just repeat them as often as you need to depending on what you choose to do.


First thing, no matter what, that I recommend as a fantasy writer is to have your world built first. I know many other authors who write the language first, but for me it just works easier to have the world (culture, religion, etc) established first. This way I can make the language fit the culture, rather than the culture fit the language. That's me. You can do it however you like of course, but for this post, we're going with the idea that the rest of the world is already there.


Step One: The Alphabet and Sounds

On a sheet of paper, list all the letters of the alphabet. Now, look at it and decide if there are any letters you can take out (or even add). Think about sounds here too. Like how T and H together make it's own unique sound. Or how certain vowels repeat or join to change the way a word it said. (Realistically, this is more like 2 or 3 steps, but for this blog post, I'm putting it all together here). Take out and add what is needed.


Germanic runes (which is actually only a written language) has specific symbols for the "th" "ng" and "ei" sounds but it doesn't have the letters Q or X in the alphabet at all. So, consider what sounds and letters/symbols to add or take out.


Step Two: Making Words

Okay, again, in a real lesson this step would really be about another 3 steps, but I'm trying to keep this brief for the blog post here! I promise to make more detailed posts about this in the coming months.


So, now that you have a working alphabet and a few sounds figured out, it's time to make a couple of words. Keep them all in present tense and singular for now. We'll figure out plural and past tense verbs in the next step.


Begin creating a few words. I usually begin with very common things like hello, yes, no, thank you, please, etc. I can say "yes" in like 8 languages so keep in mind those common words that people just know in any language. Now, depending on what you did with your alphabet and sounds will depend on how you put this together. You can create a brand new word entirely - as in putting random letters together that could make a coherent word...or if you changed your alphabet enough, you can simple rewrite "y-e-s" with your new letters. I prefer the first way as it just makes sense to me to do so.


The hard part (or the fun part depending on how you look at it) for this step is deciding how compact your going to make the language. In English we have a ton of different words to say basically the same thing. Beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, hot, fine, bodacious, etc. When you create your own language you can simply have one word (and only one) to mean all of those things together. This really helps in the long run, as you don't have to create a HUGE vocabulary for your characters to use.


Also keep in mind ideas - like love, honor, etc. Again we have many different words to say the same thing and it is up to you how you want to convey those ideas and emotions in your language.


Step Three: Adding to your Words

Remember I said to keep your new words at present tense (for verbs) and sinuglar (for nouns)? In this step we'll figure out how you get the words to be past or future tense or plural.


In English to make a noun be "more than one" we add an "s" or "es" at the end of the word. (Yes there are twenty exceptions to this rule..but just go with me on this one.) What about in your language? What suffix or word ending will you tack on to the end of the word to mean more than one? OR You can make up a brand new word to add to a sentence that literally means "more than one".


With past tense verbs, we add "ed" to the end. Same thing with your new language - how will you show this? A new suffix like "ed" or a brand new word that in literal translation would mean "in the past"? Future tense verbs, the same thing.


Don't forget those adverbs and adjectives too!


Step Four: Syntax and Sentence Structure

Okay, going to give you a short English lesson here. Syntax in English (or sentence structure) is subject - verb- object. In German (if my memory serves) it goes subject-object-verb. So how does your language work?


For this step, I'll just give an example.


English: I walked to the store.

Made Up Language: E al tora ort-em mea.

Literall Translation: To the store walked I.


So the made up langauge line I made up on the spot, but hey, it still shows you what I'm talking about here.


Step Five: The Script

Now, what fun would it be if you made a language and had no idea what it looked like if your characters happen to write it down?


This is a pretty fun part of the language building process (at least to me). Sit down with a scratch paper and make some lines and curves. See what pops out at you. Also think about how your language sounds. Soft (curvy text) or more harsh (angles and points). Decide how each letter would look when written by them selves. Then decide how it would look in a sentence. Puncuation marks? Spacing? To they write it left to right or right to left? Top to bottom even?


So there it is. A general (very general) post about creating your own languages. I promise to expand and give lots of more detail about this later (remind me if I forget!).


Do you think you could create your own langauge?
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K is for Kissing

Author: Anastasia V. Pergakis // Category: ,
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Raise your hand if you don't like kissing! (If your hand is up right now you are either a liar or never kissed before.)


Now, since I blog about writing here, let's talk about when your characters kiss and how to write the scene in a good way. First, I'll admit, I don't think I have any real talent with this type of scene - but I do know how it's SUPPOSED to go. LOL


Do you know that part in the movies when the characters look at each other, and the music plays and you think "They're going to kiss."? You just know it! In writing it's pretty much the same. Everything in the scene is set up to give the reader the tingling feeling of "OMG! They're going to kiss!"


First thing to do, before you get to the scene, is build up the tension. Specifically, the sexual tension. Make it so that when the reader gets that tingling feeling, it's exciting! Build up the tension throughout the story up to that point with heated looks, touches, and maybe even those teasing almost kisses. That way, when you get to the scene, the reader (and the characters) breathe a sigh of relief and think "Finally!"


The actual scene can very depending on your characters, the plot, and location. In Cleanse Fire, the first real kiss happens in a brothel!!! (What better place right?! *laugh*) In another book of mine, titled (for now) The Adventures of Ryn and Cyime, the first real kiss happens in the middle of the woods. It all depends on your plot and the characters. Remember to have it make sense though! I hate reading stories where the characters kiss randomly at the wrong time and place (and I don't mean like those quick "I'll see you later" kisses - but the real passionate, steamy kisses). So make sure it's the right time for it to happen.


Erotica writers can have the "kiss" happen earlier if they like as the tension can continue up to the big steamy sex scene. But for writers like me where the romance is sort of the side-side story, the kiss usually happens later in the story. Of course, that's me. You, your plot, and your characters might say oh no, this needs to be earlier. Like I said, make sure it's the right time and place based on the story.


All right, so you have the tension, the right time, the right place - now what? Well, make the characters kiss each other duh! Okay, there is more to it than that. The same kiss can feel totally different depending on whose POV you're in. My male characters usually tend to focus on what her lips feel like, what his and her hands are doing rather than what emotions he's feeling at the time. While my female characters focus more on the effect of the kiss and the emotions she feels while it's going on. So, with that in mind then you can write the scene effectively, depending on whose mind the reader is in for the scene.


I love kissing scenes so much, I decided to share the scene from Cleanse Fire to end this post - okay, no, it's not the brothel scene. Sorry, you'll have to read the book for that one! But I'll share the almost kissing scene with you at least. :)



Derac held his arms out to her and she stepped into his warm embrace. She breathed deep, inhaling the scent of ginger on his body.

“I always feel safe in your arms,” she mumbled into his chest. She snorted. “Gods, that sounded stupid.”

His chuckle vibrated against her cheek. “No, it doesn’t. I like holding you too.”

She titled her head back to gaze up to his face. His emerald pools entranced her and she couldn’t look away. A sliver of moon light shine on his face and made his eyes glow.

His hand rested on her cheek, his thumb tracing small circles. Kie’s lips parted of their own volition. Her breath hitched as he leaned closer. His mouth hovered just above hers.


A small whimper escaped her throat. His lips brushed across hers in a feather light touch. Her chest ached from holding her breath. She pressed against the hard planes of his chest, urging him to keep going.

A twig snapped. Derac’s body stiffened. He gripped her waist and threw her over his head into the tree. She choked down a scream and grabbed the nearest branch. Her leg wrapped around it and she settled on her stomach.
(Yes, I'm well aware that I am evil to my characters.)
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