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Subplots and Storylines – December 2016 // Year-End Recap

Tracey Dyck 16 Comments



O December, how paradoxical art thou

Long as the White Witch’s winter
Short as a bearded dwarf
Crowded on one end
Tranquil at the other
Thirty-one wonderful, taxing, joyous, exhausting, brimming days
Farewell 2016.*

*Starting out with free verse was not my intention, especially considering my sleepy brain is still trying to figure out where to take this post. But there it is, random Narnia reference included.

This really was an all-over-the-place month. My brother’s birthday . . . long, long, LONG volunteer days . . . family gatherings . . . more Christmas parties than I’ve ever attended . . . big projects . . . Needless to say, by the time I reached Christmas break, I was rejoicing!

Near the beginning of December, an honest to goodness snow day kept my brother and I home from school, and then the following day we had to battle slick roads, iced up windshields, and poor visibility. Fun, fun.

Upon request (thanks, Savannah!), here is
the tree ornament I received this Christ-
mas: an angel made entirely out of paper.
Besides presenting my second speech in my public speaking class, I also had the opportunity to speak (preach?) in two high school chapel sessions this month: one about standing up against familiarity, the other about three ways to improve family relationships, particularly over the holiday season. I received excellent feedback and constructive criticism, leading to visible growth in this area. It’s stretching me, but I love it! Honestly, after delivering the first chapel and realizing I could actually do it, I was on top of the world.
As a college class, our biggest project this month was running the Christmas hampers. My brother was put in charge, and I was one of two “assistant managers,” so to speak. Most of the work was placed in our hands–acquiring and wrapping boxes, making grocery and toy lists, overseeing the shopping and organization, and forming delivery teams. Though it was a lot of work, it was also so rewarding to see the joy on the recipients’ faces!
A second blizzard hit at the tail end of Christmas Day, and this one actually was fun. (Minus the fact that my car got stuck at the end of my driveway two days later. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors.)
Christmas itself was cozy and quiet, just the six of us at home. Nowhere to go, no one to see. Exactly what I needed. My family is an incredible blessing. Wherever they are is my favorite place to be.

movies



A wee bit of Once Upon a Time Season 1 with my parents and sisters, and a wee bit more of the same with my brother, since we finally roped him into the show. Season 5 showed up under the Christmas tree (!!!), so I watched one episode with my sisters too.



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Princess Protection Program — Re-watched with my sisters. It was very . . . Disney-ish. Crazy to see Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez so young and innocent, though. This time around I recognized Jamie Chung, who also plays Mulan in OUAT.



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Finding Dory — OH MY JELLYFISH, THIS MOVIE. It had the perfect balance of Finding Nemo nostalgia and new story freshness. Baby Dory was the most adorable animated creature to ever grace the screen. Watching her story play out was both hilarious and heartwarming. (My favorite scene is still when Hank the septipus–aka the seven-armed octopus–drives the truck.)



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The Star of Bethlehem — This is more of a documentary of sorts that I first watched in class, and then showed my family on Boxing Day. It uses historical timelines, Biblical text, and the math behind the universe to pinpoint what exactly the Star was. Utterly fascinating! The symbolism is incredible, and I was touched by the way God set everything in motion with a perfect, precise plan to announce our Savior’s birth.



[source]

Civil War — Finally. I have been waiting and waiting since this hit theaters, and let me tell you, it was worth it! Y’all probably know by now that Captain America is my favorite superhero. This third movie does not disappoint. My incoherent reaction pretty much consists of: ALL THE FEELS EVERYONE’S FIGHTING LOOKIT THE ALLIANCES AND CHARACTER INTERACTIONS AND MORAL DILEMMAS AND EPIC ACTION AND FRUSTRATIONS AND SADNESS AND BUCKYYYYY.

books



Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children // Ransom Riggs
This pretty book was a birthday present, not like you were wondering. I found it to be less creepy, overall, than I had expected. The language was unfortunate, especially considering the protagonist’s young age. (I tend to think the protag’s age is a reflection on the intended audience. A 15-year-old should not be using those words, okay?) But the settings and characters were super fascinating, and I loved all the strange old photographs. Definitely a unique formatting style! I also would’ve liked a bit more explanation about certain things, but maybe the next two books will clear it up. Four stars.



Cress // Marissa Meyer
One word: awesome. And a few more words: amusing, intense, heart-wrenching. I’d definitely say Cress rivals Cinder for favorite Lunar Chronicles instalment thus far. Cress herself is adorably naïve, yet brilliant. Pairing her with cocky Carswell Thorne was a stroke of romantic genius: the two make a hilarious couple! Following the rest of the Rampion crew was way too much fun as well. Cinder and Kai continued to be precious, Scarlet and Wolf were better than in their own book, and Iko made me ridiculously happy.

I almost considered reading Winter immediately afterward, but decided not to on the singular basis that I probably couldn’t finish it before the end of the year, and then it would have to count toward 2017’s Goodreads challenge. (Yes, I am particular like that.)

(sorry for the fuzzy picture quality; this is the only
one I could find of my cover)



Treasures of the Snow // Patricia St. John
Rereading this childhood favorite right after Christmas was like sipping hot chocolate whilst bundled up in a cozy quilt. I had forgotten portions of it, but the general direction and feel of the book was very familiar. The themes were more overt than I tend to enjoy, but this book is a classic to me, and so for nostalgia’s sake I forgive it all. It really does have some profound things to say about forgiveness and pride. Five stars.



Paper Crowns // Mirriam Neal
I was surprised to find this little gem wrapped under the Christmas tree this year! I’ve been meaning to get it ever since my lovely blogger friend Mirriam announced it was being published. I’m not quite to the end–though I hope to finish tonight–but so far it’s been a light, fluffy, adorable book! I adore Hal. And Azrael. And Salazar. And basically everyone but Maven. I know I’ll be giving this four or five stars.

I was blessed by an EPIC Christmas book haul: Paper Crowns, Quiet (a nonfiction book about introverts), The Calling,
Reapers, Five Magic Spindles, and Golden Daughter. ^_^

writing

11,734 words in The Prophet’s Quest this month! Most of that, as you can imagine, was done in the latter half of the month. I have for sure crested the halfway point. It’s a relief to bring all the characters back to Demetria at last. I’m hoping the return to a purely fantasy setting will help the words flow better in the future.
I had plans to hit 80k before Christmas holidays, and then use my break to reach 100k. I’m behind schedule, since I didn’t hit 80k in time, but I still want to write as much as I can while I have time. Without running myself ragged, that is. I do need to rest during this break as well.

This recap will cover only life-y stuffens and writerly stuffens. (That is my own invented word, if you were scratching your head and wondering what sort of typos this supposed ‘writer’ just made. It’s more fun to say than stuff, don’t you agree?) I almost decided to list bloggy stuffens, too, but decided those highlights would be better saved for the next blogoversary celebration. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Books of 2016 post, though!
 
For now, prepare for lists! Because lists are life. And lists are easy to write, easy to read. Lists keep overweight blog posts from becoming positively obese.
 

2016 life

  • was a bridesmaid at a best friend’s wedding
  • watched Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time
  • went on a young adult/youth retreat in the spring
  • bought my first car
  • got promoted at my job
  • went to a Piano Guys concert
  • started college, which included . . .
  • another retreat (much more intense than the other one)
  • public speaking
  • projects (like chapels and hampers)
  • volunteering
  • youth ministry
 

2016 writing

Things I Did:
  • finished some minor edits in The Prophet’s Quest
  • researched some literary agents and some book stuff (like psychology, delusions, airplanes, and exotic locations)
  • discovered my novella, The Brightest Thread, was a top ten finalist in the Five Magic Spindles contest
  • bought and started Ted Dekker’s The Creative Way writing course
  • revamped my publishing plans
Things I Actually Penned:

It’s been quite the year! Don’t let me give the false impression that 2016 was one glorious highlight after another, though. Monotony, weariness, and blandness made their mark on a number of days in between.

And yet the storyline weaving through the last twelve months was undeniably one of growth. The fast, painful, stretching kind . . . and the slow, gradual, imperceptible kind. The sandpaper days are smoothing a few of my rough edges, and yet the more I learn, the more rough edges I discover.

I’ve become a more confident person.

I’ve become a better writer, largely through the sheer keep-on-keepin’-on element of my writing life lately.

I’ve become a better public speaker, even though I’m still working on inflection and talking more slowly.

I’ve invested into myself.

I’ve been learning how to work hard, and how to keep working hard when I think I’m too tired to go on.

I’ve been learning how to rest, and not feel guilty for resting.

I’ve been learning that excellence is doing the best I can with what I have, and that there’s no reason to beat myself up when I can’t do more.

I’ve seen how very patient my Father God is with me. How faithful His love is, even when I am not. How deep His grace is, how perfect His plan is.

2016 was not an easy year by any means. But looking back over my shoulder, I can see that it was good. It was sandpaper to raw wood, fire to a forge, and in between, it was breath to oxygen-starved lungs. 2017, you will be even better.

How was your December? And your entire year? Highlights, lowlights? In-between-lights? Life is hard sometimes, so let’s find empathy and encouragement in each other’s company!

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Beautiful Books – The Prophet’s Key

Tracey Dyck 23 Comments

I haven’t participated in Beautiful People for a while, have I? And even though this month’s questions were written with Nano in mind–which I’m sadly not participating in this year because I want to keep my sanity, thank you very much–they were a great tool to get to know my current WIP better. The Prophet’s Key has been trickier to write than I expected, so the more help I find, the better!

Link-up hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In.

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

I’d have to look back at my old notes to see when I first got the idea, but it struck when I sat down on the old wooden swinging bench on my back porch as a young teen and started brainstorming ideas for The Prophet’s Quest (untitled at the time). The Prophet itself needed some exploration, and somehow the idea of there being a key to unlock all its mysteries struck me. I pursued that trail further, and the winding paths of brainstorming led to the five Shifters too.

Funny thing: The Prophet’s Quest was initially going to be called The Prophet’s Key, until I actually wrote the thing and realized all those ideas about the key didn’t fit, and thus were moved into the sequel.

2. Describe what your novel is about!

I don’t have an official synopsis yet. The inner journeys of the two MCs are still a bit foggy to me, so that will have to wait. But here’s the general idea:

Aileen and Josiah are searching Earth for five hidden elementals called Shifters. These powerful individuals may be Demetria’s only chance in the battle hovering at the nation’s doorstep. All the while, the two teens struggle to reconcile their chosen status to their old lives and find a way to succeed without the advantages of dragon form.

3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!

I don’t have a lot of photos gathered right now, beyond some boring maps. But it’s set mostly on Earth this time, and yet the realism is infused with the fantastical: elementals, espionage, an ancient evil, and other (rather spoilery) stuff.

4. Introduce us to each of your characters!

We’d be here a long time if I trotted out every single person in this book’s large cast of characters! So I’ll just say a short blurb on all the main ones.

Aileen McKay: Sixteen years old. Brown hair, brown eyes. Introverted, intense personality, makes thoughtful decisions. Was once a white dragon with ice breath.

Josiah Williams: Sixteen years old. Blond-ish hair, grey eyes. Bold, self-assured, makes snap decisions. Was once a red dragon with fiery breath.


Mr. Hawkins: White hair, steely eyes. Guardian of the Prophet and all-around epic person. Skilled in geography.


Diver: Talking otter considered the leader of all Demetrian otters. Wears a smooth grey stone on a cord around his neck to indicate status. Spunky, adventurous, and afraid of heights.


Wimwhile: Wind Shifter. Long white beard. Always wears a long, shabby coat. Cranky, arrogant, but noble at heart.


Skaes: Water Shifter. Auburn hair. Scottish accent. Soft-hearted and fluid. Read more HERE.


Cauxle: Plant Shifter. Dark hair, mismatched eyes. Has a piratical air to him. Excellent in hand-to-hand combat.


Nisi: Light Shifter. Pale blonde hair. Cold, brusque personality concealing inner pain.


Brollier: Fire Shifter. Brown beard, eyes perpetually crinkled in a smile. Warm and jovial and courageous.


Mr. Spencer: Leader of the Sagire (a group of my main villain, Criffel’s, men employed as hunters on Earth). Middle-aged. Looks harmless, but is actually secretive and deadly.

5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?)

Back in the summer of 2015, I wrote a new and improved outline. (TPK was actually written four years ago, but that draft is so outdated I have to start from scratch.) At the beginning of 2016, I started researching my various settings. Much howling has been involved in this first draft. Heh. I also try to remember to pray before I write, which helps.

6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

Finishing the first draft! Ha, no, I’m actually looking forward to the climax. The crew will finally be together, some of the villains’ advantages will be revealed, and everything will come to a head. It’s gonna be good!

7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.

Well, there are lots of exotic Earth locations . . . The crags of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling Highlands of Scotland, the verdant Daintree Rainforest in Australia, the urban sprawl of Moscow, and the rugged landscape of Iceland. (That’s more than three. Guess I’m a rebel.)

8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?

Their goal is to find all five Shifters before the Sagire do. Not only do the Sagire (with all their prowess and resources) stand in their way, but so does the mystery of each Shifter’s location. All Aileen and Josiah have is a journal full of riddles and unlabelled maps to guide them.

I’d have to say another thing standing in their way is themselves: their own fear, their inadequacies, and their self-doubt. Which flows seamlessly into the next question . . .

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Both of them lose faith in themselves throughout the novel, but by the end, they will have (at least partially) resolved that. They both learn to lead. Josiah begins to come to grips with his father’s rejection. Aileen learns to hold both her home and Alewar in her heart without being completely torn apart. As you can see, neither of them are anywhere close to truly grasping these lessons, but they are slowly transforming. The issues they face in this book will only escalate as the series goes on! Poor charries.

10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

Facing failure and fear, confidence in yourself, faith, perseverance–all are present in this novel. I want readers to walk away realizing they’re not alone in these things, and that fear can be beaten.

***

Now would be the time I wrap this up, but a new thought just struck me. Fear can be beaten. The moment I typed those words, I realized how impactful they are for me. In life, of course, but also as the writer of this story. I’ve been afraid to write this book. Afraid of handling a large cast and a sprawling, real-life setting. Afraid of failing to keep the pace going. Afraid to disappoint future readers by featuring less of Demetria than in the first book.

But really, there’s no need to fear any of that. How many times have I talked about giving yourself permission to write garbage in the first draft? It’s about time I take my own advice. Cast and setting and pace can be smoothed out during editing. And I actually have an idea or two to up the “other world content” in this book–again, during editing. IT’S TIME TO JUST HAVE FUN WRITING.

Let that be a lesson to all of you, questerlings. 😉

Oh, before I go, one more thing. Make that two.

First: I’m sorry I’ve had a couple of late posts, and that I’ve been slower in replying to comments. I’m trying to fit blogging in on meal breaks at college.

Second: writer friends of mine told me about a really sweet giveaway, so I thought I’d keep spreading the news. You can win up to $3000 of cover design, editing, proofreading, and content editing! How sweet would that be? And, as a little extra sweetness, if you enter through THIS LINK, I get extra entries. Which is not an entirely self-serving request, because by entering you get your own shareable link that can get you extra entries as well. It’s a lovely snowballing method.

That’s it, now. Promise. Till next week!

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100-for-100 Challenge Report (aka i’ve fallen and i can’t get up)

Tracey Dyck 39 Comments
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Thursday, September 8th was the final day of the 100-for-100 Challenge hosted by Go Teen Writers. In case you’re unfamiliar with that, it’s a challenge to write at least 100 words daily for 100 days.
So. Since the beginning of the summer (June 1st), I have written every day.* Um, wow. And I don’t mean wow, look at me, I’m such a fabulous superhuman writer. Because I’m not. (More on that in a minute.) I mean, wow, did I actually manage to follow through and beat the challenge? I honestly thought I would fail.

*Minus the twelve grace days I took. Participants were allowed one grace day a week, and one grace week throughout the duration of the challenge. I saved my grace week for family holidays, but we never took any, so I just kept writing.

In a way, the challenge seemed to drag on and on. Around the half to three-quarters mark, it felt like it would never end. But then I think I just fell into a daze of writing exhaustion and typed with numb fingers until, oh look, it’s over. And in a way, it passed quite quickly, and it doesn’t feel terribly long ago that I started out.
A hundred days is a long time to sustain something. So I thought I’d recap the challenge by sharing with y’all what I did to stay on track (in hopes of bolstering your own writing habits and figuring out how the pumpernickel I did it myself . . . because if I don’t write it down, I won’t internalize it). And I’ll also share the pros and cons of writing daily. I sense lists coming up! Because lists are life, am I right, my questing quizzle-birds?*
*What those are, I have no idea. Somebody make up some facts and add them to Wikipedia, quick!

I like charts almost as much as lists, so before we get to those, here’s my word counts for the challenge, if you’re interested:

How I Survived

  • I set a timer on my phone to go off at 8 pm daily. I’m often busy earlier in the day, so if I hadn’t written anything by the evening, I had that automatic reminder to get cracking. Most days when my alarm started tinkling sweet music, I had not written a single word. I wasn’t always able to put in my daily words right when the alarm went off, either, but having it ring near the end of the day kept that goal hovering at the forefront of my mind the rest of the evening. Some nights, I sat in my PJ’s on my bedroom floor to throw out a hundred words before bed. There were even a few nights where I’d already turned off the lights before I remembered, shoot, I haven’t written yet! Let’s just say there were a couple bleary-eyed, my-brain-is-dead writing sessions this summer.
  • That’s basically it.
  • But a one-item list is lame, so let me think about this harder.
  • . . .
  • . . .
  • Little is okay. Only two days did I break into a four-digit wordcount. Only twice! And only twenty-two days saw me crest 500 words. To say it another way, the only way I could manage to keep this up all summer was to be okay with producing small bits at a time. I just didn’t have the stamina to come up with a ton of story every day. But even a couple paragraphs moves the book forward. It’s that forward movement, that momentum, that’s important.
  • I let myself write junk. On busy days where my creative juices were low and the words just clunked together like tin cans in a dryer, I refused to freeze up. I wrote down those ugly tin can words because they were words. When I sensed the pacing doing weird things, or plot holes forming, I left myself notes and plowed onwards. To keep my momentum, I didn’t have time or energy to go back and fix things. Besides, this is a first draft. It’s not supposed to be pretty.
  • I slacked on research. You guys know this book (The Prophet’s Key) involves globetrotting and consequently, research. I had some stuff done beforehand, but once the challenge began, I very quickly realized that my schedule didn’t have time for in-depth research AND daily writing. So there are plenty of places where my description is nonexistent, where I made up placeholder names and directions, and where the timelines are simply not discussed because I have no idea how many days the characters have been traveling. It was about getting the story down, not about getting all my facts right. That’s for editing.

The Pros of Writing Daily

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  • Momentum. If you push yourself to add something to the story each day, you keep yourself from getting stuck. With that self-imposed challenge hanging over your head, you force yourself to push through, even if the result is messy. This makes it easier to pick up again the next day. The work is fresh in your mind, so moving your characters one step further doesn’t take so much forethought.
  • Productivity. I wrote 32,768 words this summer. It’s not as much as I expected, but it’s probably more than I would’ve written had I not participated in the challenge.
  • You realize how valuable a few minutes are. It doesn’t take long to write 100 words. I’m not the fastest writer, and I usually did it in five to ten minutes. Some days I wrote two or three times the minimum in that timeframe. You don’t need three hours of free time to get writing done! Yes, those long stretches can be great, but writing is sustainable even when you’re busy. A few minutes before you go to work or school, a bit of time snatched over a meal break, a quarter hour in the evening . . . It’s doable.
  • You form a habit. Eventually, it became more natural to sit down to write every day. I don’t think I’ll keep writing each and every day like this (which I’ll explain in the con list), but now I know I can write little bits more often.

The Cons of Writing Daily

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” -Alfred from Larryboy and the Fib from Outer Space
  • Some of your work is going to be horrible. Like I mentioned earlier, some days I just wrote filler. I’m not real happy about that, but there it is. Yes, first drafts are messy, but at the same time, I feel like I just made more work for myself later on.
  • Burn-out. To be honest, I’m relieved the challenge is over, because I’m feeling kind of dry. I am so ready to take a break now, which college is forcing me to do. Having to come up with another piece of the story on a daily basis sometimes stretched my creativity and even my desire to be writing.
  • If you’re not careful, you can get wrapped up in hitting your wordcount goal instead of enjoying the process. I’m a goals person to begin with, so it was easy to fall into the trap of focusing on numbers rather than immersing myself in the experience of creating something from nothing. Parts of this draft probably suffered for it. But at least it’s written. You can’t edit what’s not there, right?
  • You may train yourself to write in spurts, so when it comes time for a long haul, you’re not strong enough. It’s like sprinting every day instead of training for a marathon. Since the challenge ended, I haven’t yet tried to write for a couple hours at a time, but it may be a stretch when I do. I’m not sure if my brain will, after writing a couple hundred words, say, “Okay, I’ve done my due diligence, goodbye.” (Though this might be remedied by writing several spurts in one day? And decreasing the intervals between spurts day by day?)

My conclusion is . . .

I’m glad I participated in the challenge! It feels good to have beaten it, and I’m over 30k words further in my story than I was at the start of summer. But am I going to keep writing every single day? Probably not. I’ve come to appreciate the value of breaks. A good balance for me personally would be writing four to five days a week, if I was a full-time author. As it is, present circumstances may allow only one or two days a week.

But I don’t regret participating, and I may even join in again one day! It was a good motivator to keep plowing through a difficult, stubborn first draft.

Did any of you participate in 100-for-100? Have you ever? Would you ever consider it? What do you think about developing a daily writing habit?

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Subplots and Storylines – August 2016

Tracey Dyck 32 Comments

August passed along much like the rest of this summer: ebbing and flowing with garden work/housework/real work and periods of rest . . . of ice cream and thunderstorms and hanging out doing nothing. I had almost a week off at the beginning of the month, which was great for catching up on things that had piled up (like my inbox. which is piling up again. such is life.) and enjoying a more relaxed pace of life.

My sisters and I had a “sleepover” together like we used to do, squeezing an extra mattress onto the floor, spending exclusive time together, giggling, and watching YouTube videos.

I went swimming twice (summer goals!) and came home the first time with a brilliant red sunburn. It took a week for the sting to fade, after which time I peeled like a banana. Ick. But worth it!

I filmed my first vlog and had a blast doing it. Once the technical difficulties were dealt with, I mean. You got to hear my Canadian accent (apparently I say ‘tag’ differently?), and we all got to feel like we were having a lovely conversation.

My cousin got married at an outdoor wedding with the most perfect weather.

I’ve been missing my car half this month, because it’s in the shop getting a rusty fender replaced. So it’s been back to the old vehicle shuffle lately, in order to get four people to work with one less car.

My sisters went to camp for a week and had a blast, thank you for asking, though the house was so quiet in their absence. To fill the time, we powered through a ton of gardening tasks. Apples. Salsa sauce. Beans. Corn.

There was also some spontaneous friend things–long walks and tea and playing Carcassone for the first time (which I lost). I discovered the yumminess that is Spice Dragon Red Chai. It has a cinnamon-y flavor and an awesome name, so it’s a win-win.

Watching

I watched more of The Flash (season 1) and Once Upon a Time (season 4). Both are excellent, and both have had very exciting developments lately.

Mockingjay Part 2 – I watched it twice, first with my dad and later with my brother. So good! It’s not a happy movie at all, but it provided a satisfying conclusion to the series, and it ripped my heart out once or twice along the way. If you’ve watched it, you’ll know exactly which scenes I’m talking about! Also, I’m continually impressed with how Jennifer Lawrence brings Katniss to the screen. She manages to convey so much depth and inner conflict and pain. The first time I watched this final movie, the pacing of the ending felt a bit off to me. But the second go-round, it was perfect.

Kung Fu Panda 3 – Probably the best of the three so far. I was tired when I watched it, so in a way it was still kind of “meh,” but the music was great and I do have to admit the movie improved over its predecessors. There were some funny moments too. (But seriously, how epic is THIS theme?)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Okay, confession: this was my very first Star Wars film. Ever. My brother had to pause it several times to explain things to me. I do know some Star Wars background–it’s kind of hard not to pick up on a few things–but stuff about the different sides and who was fighting for whom took a little brain work. All that aside, I quite enjoyed it! Han Solo and Chewie are hilarious together, and I loved Rey and Finn. Rey in particular manages to pull off that overly-hyped “strong female protagonist” thing while still retaining a feminine side.

Reading



34 beta chapters – I finished Christine Smith’s Burning Thorns (ahhhh, so gorgeous and heartrending!) and reached the halfway point of Emily’s The City and the Trees (poetic writing and a main character who shares part of a brain with me!).

The Realms Thereunder // Ross Lawhead
I was excited to read this because a) I own the sequel and it looks good, and b) the author is Stephen R. Lawhead’s son. Unfortunately, the book didn’t deliver quite what I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, the concept was awesome–two young adults who discovered an underground kingdom as children, and are now dealing with life, either fighting monsters or trying to forget that ever happened. I just struggled to connect to the story on an emotional level, which kind of detracted from the plot.

There are two main storylines going on: Daniel and Freya as children in the underground city called Nidergeard, and Daniel and Freya as adults. A subplot deals with a mysterious guy tracking monsters and such in rural Scotland. I liked the grown up side (some elements reminded me of my own WIP), but then Freya’s parts grew dry and confusing. It was for a good reason, I found out later on, but while it was happening I skimmed a bit. Daniel’s parts were cool as he fell into Elfland and learned the peculiar rules of a magical forest . . . but then he randomly spends days and days with this coal-maker and not much happens until Daniel makes another move toward his goal of getting back home.

I expected to love the childhood half of the story because, come on, discovering another world beneath our own? Monsters? A quest? Unfortunately, I felt somewhat distanced from the characters, so it fell a little flat and seemed to wander.

The Scotland subplot was great, and I think it’ll feature more in book 2. The appearance of a dragon made me happy!

Overall, I’m just not sure what to think of this book. I really like the concept, but it was executed in a way that didn’t click with me. It could very well be a “it’s not me, it’s you” kind of thing. 3 1/2 stars? I’ll definitely still read the sequel.

The Runaway King // Jennifer A. Nielsen
It’s been a year since I read the first book, so it took me several chapters to remember things and get re-immersed in the events of the story, but once I did, this was a really fun book. Not quite as unpredictable as the first book (which was one of The False Prince‘s greatest strengths), but still twisty and cool. I really can’t say much about the plot because that would spoil the first novel, but there are pirates involved. And moral dilemmas. And cleverness. By the end, I was very much rooting for the main character! Five stars.

Peter Pan // J.M. Barrie

Such a delightful little book! I wish I had read it during my childhood, so that I would have lots of fond memories attached to it. Just as whimsical and funny and heartfelt as I expected, this book told a great story on the surface, but also had some profound observations on childhood to share.
When my sisters asked who my favorite character was, and if it changed at all during the course of the book, my answer was “Peter Pan” the whole time. He’s so charming and fickle and full of himself! He makes things up, he forgets everything, he’s vicious, he’s clever, and deep down he really does love Wendy and the Lost Boys (of which Tootles is my favorite).
And the writing style was such fun to read. It reminded me so much of my own childhood make-believe. Five stars!
Started reading Five Enchanted Roses
I’ve read the first four novellas so far, and have just started the fifth. I’m tempted to talk about all the stories now, but I’ll wait for the next S&S post. Actually, I just may post a book review sometime this month . . . For now, I’ll say that this is a beautiful collection!

Writing

I did session 10 of The Creative Way. This one was on device, which covered setting, storyworld, and genre all at once, describing it as the candy of the story. Very entertaining and informative. I also re-listened to session 1 with my mom and brother whilst cutting up peppers for salsa. It was cool to hear the intro again now that I’m partway through the course.

As for actual writing, my word count was down a bit this month: 8,025 words added to The Prophet’s Key. The end of the 100 for 100 challenge looms near, and I’m feeling a tad burnt out, to be honest. The last full week of August was my lowest weekly word count yet for this summer. I’m not too worried about that. Once the challenge is over and I’m in college, I’ll be writing less, which may mean that when I do write, I’ll be more inspired. Hopefully. Whatever the case, a break will be good. And sometimes you just have to keep marching on even when the words are bland. (Which is crazy because I’m currently writing an epic chase scene.)

Random writing observation . . . I think I’ve fooled myself about my writing style. In The Brightest Thread, I let myself be lyrical and imaginative–very fairytale-esque. But when I returned to my Journeys books, I felt that the style of that series was less pretty, more functional. And so as I’ve been drafting TPK, I haven’t done much in the way of imaginative description, and I think that may be one reason I’ve been having a harder time with this draft. I’ve been restricting myself.

Looking back on book 1, The Prophet’s Quest, I recently realized that I actually did write it with color and verve. Not in the same way as TBT, and not to the same extent, but it was still there. So perhaps I need to unlock that side of myself next time I sit down to work on TPK.

*random rabbit trail is over*

Oh yes, and I did some serious thinking over the last month or so in regards to publishing plans!

Farewell to August, bring on September!

It’s funny to think of August as the calm before the storm of college, because it certainly was busy in its own right. But September promises to be a whole new flavor of busy. I’m looking forward to the change of pace, to the beginning of a year of personal growth and new opportunities. Next time you hear from me, I’ll have three college days under my belt! I may re-evaluate my blogging schedule this month, depending on how it goes, but I do hope to keep posting here every week.

How was your August? Isn’t it sad that summer is coming to a close? Are you headed back to school of some sort? Any 100-for-100 writers out there–how goes the war? Pull up a log and sit ’round the fire, folks. Pass around the hot dogs and roasting sticks. (Having a bonfire seems like an end-of-summer thing to do, right? Now I’m making myself hungry . . .)

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