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What Lies on the Horizon

Tracey Dyck 35 Comments

This new year is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Not just in terms of goals and resolutions, but in terms of where my heart is and what lies on the horizon. And it’s finally time to catch some of those whirring, buzzing, humming fragments of thoughts. Time to string them together into something to share with you, because I’m a firm believer in the strength we can find in each other’s journeys. I wouldn’t blog if I didn’t think that somehow, some way, the tangling threads of our stories matter to each other.

Last January, I set some lofty goals, writing-wise. (You can see them in detail HERE, if you’re so inclined.) Another thing in which I am a believer is the value of looking forward to set goals, and looking back to see how far you’ve come. So before we look ahead, let’s pause and turn around for a moment.

2017 goals

Finish the first draft of The Prophet’s Key. Nope. Didn’t make it. But I added 17,000 words to the rewrite I’d started in 2016, bringing the total word count up to 100k. I ground to a halt there, realizing just how bloated and huge the story was becoming. A course correction was needed, but at that point, leadership college was ramping up like crazy and I decided to put the project aside.


Began expanding The Brightest Thread into a novel. Check!


Go to Realm Makers. Another check! That was an incredible dream come true, one I hope to see come true again this summer.


Write, edit, and submit a story for Rooglewood Press’s contest. Surprisingly, check again. Mirrors Never Lie is on some judge’s desk right now, I imagine.


Complete the first draft of The Brightest Thread and do a round or two of edits so that it’s poised to move forward (aka maybe get published) in 2018. First draft–check. A round or two-ish of edits earns another check. And is the novel “poised to move forward” now? I’d say it’s poised to move into another round of edits, that’s for sure, and then . . . well, we’ll get to that in a minute.


Finish The Creative Way writing course by Ted Dekker. Um . . . no. This kept getting pushed back due to one reason or another, and I still have a handful of lessons to complete.


Possibly begin querying agents for TBT. I dipped my toes in the water by pitching it at the Realm Makers conference, but subsequently sent it to beta readers, knowing the novel needed more work. So querying didn’t happen last year.

All in all, four out of seven, plus some progress on a couple of uncompleted goals, isn’t bad!
Here’s where I would turn my hopeful attention toward this year’s list of aspirations . . . But again, we’ll get to that soon.
The past two Januarys, I’ve set aggressive timelines for my writing goals. And there is a place for those kinds of plans. I don’t regret pushing myself past my limits. Yes, I danced on the edge of burnout some weeks, but I learned valuable lessons about pacing myself, working hard, writing when the inspiration is gone, working under deadlines, juggling responsibilities, and what healthy (and unhealthy) creative practices look like. It was great!
But this year, I’ve realized I need to recognize what season of life I’m in. I am a student. And I won’t be in school forever, so rather than resist the demanding schedule and the responsibilities, I want to thrive. That means balance. That means reframing school from a burden into a passion. That means taking care of myself by carving out pleasure reading and making sure I get enough sleep. That means soaking in time with family and saying yes to friends when I can (instead of no, sorry, I’m busy, come back when I graduate).
But the biggest dream I have for 2018, the one thing that I am finally allowing to overshadow everything else . . . is my friendship with God.
It’s a little crazy, how even a year of Bible/leadership college didn’t cause me to become more intentional about spending time with Him. I read my Bible every morning because we were given class time for it–which was so good, don’t get me wrong–but the habit somehow didn’t transfer to my home life. In fact, ever since leaving high school and wading into the big, wide world of adulthood, I feel like my devotion time has been irregular.
But busyness is a lousy excuse. (And please, before I go further, don’t take this as a guilt trip for yourself! I simply want to be honest with what’s been going through my head lately!) I am a quester, a pursuer, a dreamer, and a doer by nature. Give me a goal, and I will plot, list, track, and work my way toward it, for better or for worse. (This is not always a positive, guys.) But being a doer is little good if I’m not doing the right things in the right order. If I can devote myself to a novel I’m writing and show up day after day even if the well runs dry, can’t I put the same energy into flipping open my Bible every day?
Yet this is about more than doing–although I do want to redirect that trait–this is about a relationship.
This is about Jesus being the first name on my lips in the morning and the last thought before I fall asleep.
This is about a dialogue with my Creator, the Lover of my soul.
This is about looking for Him in the everyday moments.
This is about being aware that He is here, always, and even if emotions run their own course I am never cut off from His love.
This is about a single-minded, single-hearted pursuit.
This is about seeking one kingdom above all others, and yet–
I don’t know how to get there. I want to, badly, but it’s not something you work up on your own or even work towards at all. It’s less about my hands doing something, and more about my heart doing something. The only labor involved is that of laboring to “enter into that rest.”
What I know right now is that every time I have hungered for more of God and cried out for a deeper knowing of Him, He has responded. And every time, all it took was asking . . . and then putting one foot in front of the other with my eyes open for an answer. Another thing I know right now is that I miss digging into the Word.

And those two things I know for sure? They’re interconnected.
So my planning/listing/doing side is happy to have discovered a really cool Bible reading plan in the back of my new copy of The Voice translation. It’s a plan that takes me slowly through the Bible in three years instead of one. That’s exactly what I need right now, just a quiet, thoughtful walk through Scripture. It’s not even chronological–in the past two weeks, I’ve dipped in and out of Genesis, Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. This plan takes up only 40 weeks a year, leaving time to investigate some suggested readings for Easter and Advent. So it’s not a high pressure thing, and so far I’m loving it.
I’m journaling as I go, just jotting down whatever means something to me today, rather than trying to encompass everything as if I’m writing a scholarly essay. I’m rediscovering glimpses of this great narrative God has been weaving throughout history, and I’m stumbling upon little bits of it that are woven into my own life today.
Am I a changed person? Am I on some spiritual mountain right now? No. But this is slowly, surely being built into a habit, and I hope that the more I do it, the more it will pervade my thoughts and attitudes throughout the day.
It’s a simple thing: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things–all these dreams and lists and goals–will be added to you. This year, I want to actually try that, and not just fool myself into thinking I’m already doing it.
If you’re anticipating some grandiose announcement of a hiatus, that’s not coming! I’m not scrapping anything entirely, just shifting some priorities around. Like I said, I need to give myself room to enjoy my school studies and get back into a regular daily time with God.
So for the next few months, writing is taking a backseat. It’s not out of the car entirely, but it’s not the driver right now. Here’s what I’m aiming for:
January-April: Slowly start organizing the beta feedback on The Brightest Thread. Possibly start working on a secret project I hinted at a couple months ago, which is still stewing in my mind. Possibly try my hand at some flash fiction to submit to magazines and whatnot. I’m giving myself the freedom to be sporadic and to take time off whenever needed. This is going to be playtime, not work time.
May-August: Edit The Brightest Thread. Assemble a list of literary agents and actually start querying. Attend Realm Makers in St. Louis (hopefully!!!) and pitch TBT again there. Finish The Creative Way course. Get that secret project off the ground for real. Maybe even make some tweaks to the blog to spiff it up and make it look more professional. It’ll be summer, which means there will be time to power through some goals!
September-December: Totally depends on how the previous goals are going. Likely, I’ll continue querying TBT, working on the secret project, and who knows? I might even be in a good spot to start casually planning my next novel. I’ll be back in school, so I may ease off a bit again, though.

that’s our heart-to-heart for today, friends.

I kind of hesitated to talk about the deep stuff, because I know things like prayer and devotions are highly personal (and I’ve been guilt-tripped by well-meaning writers and bloggers before, which I wanted to avoid here), and maybe you’re not into that to begin with . . . But I think it’s a good and healthy thing to be honest with each other. We’ve all been through dry spells, all struggled to form good habits in this area. And I couldn’t talk about my writing goals without talking about why my approach is different this year.

What are YOU aiming for and dreaming about for 2018? Big or small, deep or more superficial, I’d love to hear it!

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Subplots and Storylines – December 2017 // Year-End Recap

Tracey Dyck 29 Comments

Hello, my friends! December is winding to a close and 2018 is nearly upon us. It has certainly been quite the year, and there’s much to talk about today. I’ll try to keep the December subplots relatively short in order to save room for a look back on the year as a whole! (Does anybody else feel ridiculously self-centered when dedicating an entire post to themselves and their own life? No? Just me? Okay. Moving on.)

Storylines of Life

It was a simple equation this month. Exams + Christmas = December. But I’ll give you a bit more detail than that! My brother, Josiah (who also blogs!), had a birthday. And then I had a week of final exams, during which I buried myself in textbooks and sighed wistfully for Christmas and at last passed first term with very satisfying grades. That means I’m a quarter of the way to graduating, woohoo! I’ve been on break since then, but between work and family gatherings and a baby shower, it’s been a full month. Only in the last few days have I finally slowed down.

Christmas itself was wonderful. I had four days off in a row to spend with family. We went to our church service on Christmas Eve and then opened stockings and swapped ticket gifts. My middle sister Chloe (who is also a fellow blogger!) gave each of us a piece of original artwork. What she drew for me was Hadrian and Luci, the two main characters of my novel The Brightest Thread. I’ve never received fanart before, so this made my day!

Aren’t they the cutest?! (Sorry about the bothersome watermark–I just wanted
to keep her artwork protected.)

On Christmas Day, I slept in and then we gathered around for homemade apple scones and a reading of the Christmas story, followed by our leisurely way of unwrapping gifts–one at a time, captured on video. It was slow and relaxing and so much fun.

Aaaand like the good little bookdragon I am, I’m sharing my bookhaul! My brother gave me The Tournament at Gorlan (hooray for Ranger’s Apprentice prequels!). My parents gave me the first three Lunar Chronicles books (been eyeing them at the bookstore for months), Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World (not pictured because it’s still in the mail–phooey on Amazon), and Steal Like an Artist (which looks utterly inspiring and is sure to kickstart my new year of writing). I also threw my new Leuchtturm into the picture because it’s going to be my 2018 bullet journal! And my first two Funko Pops ever: Frodo Baggins and Captain America. Oh, and one other nerdy gift I received that is also not pictured was a S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt–I now feel like I’m part of Team Flash, and that’s awesome.

Subplots on the Screen

As far as TV shows go, I picked up Avatar: The Last Airbender with my sisters again and watched two more episodes. I also saw more of season 3 of The Flash (it’s getting extremely feelsy, you guys, and I might not survive). I rewatched more of Once Upon a Time season 3 and started season 6 at last!

Wonder Woman


A rewatch with a friend from school, because we needed to give our exam-addled brains a break. Just as amazing as the first time!



Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides


Lo and behold, this PotC movie miiiight be my new favorite! I found the plots of the first three excessively complicated in some regards–maybe I just need to rewatch them–but this one was more straightforward. No less chaotic, however; it’s Jack Sparrow, after all! I really liked the new character Philip (which has nothing to do with Finnick from the Hunger Games, nope, not at all . . .) even if he was a bit sappy in regards to Syrena. It seems rare for a missionary character like Philip to be painted in a positive light, so I appreciated that!



Cars 3

The Cars franchise has had some ups and downs lately, but I found this one to be a truly solid sequel! It had just the right balance of nostalgic nods to the first movie and new direction to breathe some fresh air into the story. Cruze was a cute addition, and I quite liked the mentor relationship between her and Lightning. One scene in the middle, which I won’t spoil for you, had me laughing out loud like a kid.

Storylines on the Page

Hollow City // Ransom Riggs

I read the first book almost exactly a year ago, so I was a bit fuzzy on things going into this sequel. Thankfully there was a character guide at the front, or else it would’ve taken me even longer to get the eight main peculiar children straight in my head! Once I did, however, the book was pretty interesting.

I liked the new flavor of this one, with a much broader setting, and a very clear and definite goal for the characters. What can I say? Quests are one of my favorite things! Each of the children got to have an important moment in which they helped the group in some way with their abilities, which helped keep this large cast necessary and active. (Ahem, my writer side is showing.) Time loops, gypsies, bombed London, wights, trains, chase scenes . . . it was certainly a unique read, and I look forward to the finale! 4 stars.

The Phantom Tollbooth // Norton Juster (5)

I already gushed over this book in a recent post, but it’s officially a 5 star book! Philosophical without being overpowering, equal parts delightful and wise, and simply a joy read. This is a new favorite!

Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King // William Joyce

I loved the movie Rise of the Guardians, and have been wanting to try the Middle-Grade book series for quite some time, so Christmas seemed like the ideal season to start. This book is wildly imaginative, and I do mean wild! There’s a lot going on. Ancient spaceships, wizards, the magical haven of Santoff Klaussen, Pitch’s nightmare creatures, a robotic djinni, Russian bandits, Santa’s origin story, Yetis . . . But that’s precisely what would’ve captured my attention as a kid!

What I loved now as an adult were the fun characters, especially North himself and dear little Katherine. The two make an unlikely and adorable pair. 4 stars.

The Maze Runner // James Dashner


My youngest sister (yes, she ALSO is a blogger–I’m just linking to all my sibs today!) was very eager for me to read this book. I’m actually in the middle of it right now, but I aim to finish it before New Year’s! At first, I didn’t fully connect with the writing style, but now things are getting exciting, so I’m able to look past it. And I want more Newt, please! Also Minho! (I’m estimating that this will be a 4 star read for me–we’ll see!)

Subplots on My Writing Desk

I edited Mirrors Never Lie through two or three drafts this month, and submitted it to Rooglewood Press at last! Hooray! That moment before hitting send is always a little nerve-wracking. I know the story is not 100% perfect . . . but I also know that I did the best I could given the time constraints.

Now that it’s officially off my plate, I am free of writing deadlines for a little while! More on that in a future post, probably. I have some thoughts percolating in regards to 2018 and goals and writing and whatnot.

That was December! It was a good month, especially the second half. So much for keeping this post short, though, because here comes the recap . . .

Later on I’ll be dedicating a whole post to the books I read in 2017, so for now we’ll chat just about the highlights of life and writing and such.

life in 2017

I could look back on 2017 and consider it to have been a busy year, and that would be true. But I kind of hate that word–so instead I choose to see it as a full year. 365 days of adventure, in every risky, messy, exciting, monotonous, challenging, stretching sense of the word. Here’s the highlight reel.

I ran a spring break day camp with my classmates at leadership college. That experience was the most stressful and the most rewarding part of college, and it taught me countless lessons about being a leader. Stuff comes out of you under pressure–some of it good, some of it surprising. After three months of preparation, we threw ourselves into that week, and made lasting memories with the kids.

I went to Calgary and Banff, also with my classmates. Beautiful places, fond memories, good food, and a breath of fresh air for my soul.

I graduated leadership college and said goodbye to nine incredible months.

I went to the Realm Makers conference in Reno, Nevada. So many firsts! First time flying, first time traveling internationally by myself, first writing conference, first time meeting some lovely internet friends, first time pitching to agents . . .

I took a vacation with my fam jam at a cozy cabin in the northern U.S. After a whirlwind of activity, that was a much-needed time of relaxation and fun.

I saw the band Skillet in concert. And my ears were ringing for the next twenty-four hours, but it was worth it.

I turned 22.

I completed my first term of business classes at college. I learned some really practical things–and some things I’ll never use again–but it will be a steppingstone toward what I want for the future.

writing in 2017

I wrote 17,000 words in a rewrite of The Prophet’s Key, book 2 in my multi-world fantasy series. That was all in January, before I put it aside to focus on another project.

I expanded the novella of The Brightest Thread, my reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, into a novel of almost 70,000 words. I edited it a couple of times, pitched it at Realm Makers, and when I came home I sent it out to a group of AMAZING beta readers.

I wrote and edited Mirrors Never Lie for Rooglewood Press’s Five Poisoned Apples contest. (Final wordcount was 19,962 for anyone who cares about such stats.) This novella is a loose retelling of Snow White, involving a Nordic fantasy setting, seven huntsmen, and a mirror laced with unkindly magic.

I also wrote two poems–maybe three if you count the post hey dreamer. Definitely didn’t do as many writing prompts or poems as last year, due to an intense focus on TBT.

And here on Adventure Awaits, I published 56 posts. One blogging highlight was co-hosting the second annual Silmarillion Awards, which was just as epic as the previous year’s. As a whole, I feel like I haven’t been able to give you, my followers, the dedication I wanted to this year, but I thank you for understanding the fullness of my season of life. Stick around–there are fun things in store!

(If you made it to the end of this monstrously long post, good on ya, mate.)

2017, you were a year that pushed me past my limits. You were groundbreaking–not in the sensational sense of the word, but in the sense of calloused hands tilling the earth. Breaking new ground. Every time I reached the end of myself and thought I surely couldn’t go further, God proved me wrong and provided the strength for just one more step.

A chance to attend Realm Makers was an answer to prayer; so was getting into college this fall, after being told they had no room for me. Sometimes in the daily grind, it’s easy to feel like dreams aren’t anywhere close to being fulfilled . . . but when I look back, I can see there was never anything to fear.

2018, let’s see what you have in store! Dear readers, how was your year?

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Subplots and Storylines – November 2017

Tracey Dyck 27 Comments
Wait–November disappeared? I left it right there, turned around for one second, and when I looked back, it was gone!
I suspect many of us are feeling that way, especially all of you who participated in NaNoWriMo! I could use a really long nap right about now. But before I crawl into hibernation, I suppose you’re expecting some witty summaries of how November shaped up in my corner of the world, right?
Well, the month opened up with my 22nd birthday.
Po Po Po
And what with blueberry bran muffins for breakfast and a rousing game of bingo in the evening, it’s been confirmed that I am now an old lady. It was a lovely day, despite school taking up half of it, and a few days later I received a surprise birthday package in the mail from a dear friend (you know who you are!). Later on I also went out for coffee with another good friend whom I hadn’t really chatted with in–oops–close to a year, so that was fun too. (You know who you are as well!)
Let’s see, what else . . .
My little sis had a birthday too! The end of the year is when half the family’s birthdays snowball into Christmas, so there’s always lots of shopping involved. Speaking of which, I started Christmas shopping in November too, but still have a ways to go. That, plus putting up the Christmas tree and seeing the glittering hoarfrost all over the trees on my way to work this morning, means the festive feels are rolling in.
I bought a painting from another friend of mine who was selling her artwork at a local craft faire, and the green-and-blue colors match my room quite nicely.
I finally moved a two-foot stack of books–all acquired last summer–off my desk! Had to clear a shelf to make room for them, but at least now they have a home. Any other book dragons out there struggling to fit your hoard into your existing shelves? It’s tough.
So basically lots of little happenings this month, because school was intense. All the assignment due dates, quizzes, and studying kind of fell into November, plus the deadline for a group project was (and still is) looming, so much of my spare time was funneled into textbooks. Unfortunately. This is why I’m heading off to hibernate!

P.S. Marvel’s Infinity War trailer dropped and I am F R E A K I N G  O U T.

Subplots on the Screen

Yes, yes, I watched more of Once Upon a Time season 3 and The Flash season 3, both of which are still great! And is it just me, or have I been stuck on these seasons for months?!
Wonder Woman
(I actually watched this in October, but somehow forgot to include it in that month’s S&S post.) Back when I first heard they were making a Wonder Woman movie, I’ll admit I rolled my eyes, expecting two hours of overly-feministic claptrap. The character’s appearance in Batman v. Superman didn’t impress me much–she seemed like just another beautiful, kick-butt heroine with little personality.
Buuuut then I started hearing great reviews from friends who were watching Wonder Woman, and when I finally saw it myself–well, I realized they were right! It wasn’t a perfect movie (and it did bear some amusing resemblances to Captain America: The First Avenger), but it was one of the best DC films I’ve seen. Diana’s strong moral compass and pure view of the world rang true for me. (“But the war is that way!”) Seeing her charge into battle, inspiring dozens of men to follow her into the fray, almost brought me to tears. Plus, it was super fun to see an Amazonian women at odds with American WWI society.
The Dark Tower
The preview gave me chills! I’ve never watched nor read anything by Stephen King, but this one had enough of a fantasy vibe (and less of a horror vibe) to interest me. Unfortunately, the plot lacked the depth I was hoping for, and the boy, Jake, could have had a lot more personality. I did enjoy it, though! Matthew McConaughy was the BEST as the Man in Black. He saved the movie for me. So did Idris Elba as the Gunslinger–both were really cool characters. The score was fantastic too.
Not sure if this is true, but apparently the movie was based off a whole series of books by Stephen King, so maybe that’s why it felt like it was missing something. Anyway, I don’t regret watching it.
Priceless
Soooo good! This is a movie about human trafficking, so it wasn’t an easy watch, but the filmmakers did a good job of conveying the worst parts in a subtle, implied way. Even so, there was lots of emotion, and some characters I wanted to smack really hard–disgustingly hard.
Did you know that Joel Smallbone from For King & Country played the lead role? He did a stellar job. Actually, the whole movie was surprisingly good quality. Sorry, but you never know if a Christian film is going to feel low-budget. Terribly unfortunate, and I have many thoughts on that topic, but that’s for another day. This movie was great, though, even if it wrapped up a bit quickly!
Due to the subject matter, I would caution younger viewers to use discernment when deciding whether to see it themselves.

Storylines on the Page

Prodigy Prince // Natasha Sapienza
The author was so sweet and gave me a free e-book copy in exchange for review! (All opinions are my own.) This was a high fantasy novel that kind of toed the line between MG and YA, and the action starts right off the bat with Prince Nuelle’s older brother leaving him in the role of Supreme Prince. It was a really creative story, exceedingly colorful in all senses of the word, with things like magenta grass and blue hair and elemental-ish superpowers. My favorite powers are spoilery, however, so I can’t talk about them!
A slew of fantasy creatures and battles kept the pace running at high-speed; the Savage Shifters in particular were nifty because they were actually limited in their shapeshifting powers (hallelujah for realistic limits!).
I’m a big sucker for training sequences and heroes banding together in an Avengers-like style, so that was another plus for me. My favorite scene, however, took place in an infirmary, where a certain character with healing powers literally absorbed the wounded people’s pain.
My main quibble was that the pace didn’t allow me to delve as deeply into the mind of the protagonist or the nuances of the storyworld as much as I wanted to. I posted a longer review on Goodreads HERE. (Just an FYI, I believe Natasha is making some changes to the story before she fully releases it, but if you’re interested, definitely add it to your to-read list on GR!) Three stars!
The Tomb of the Sea Witch // Kyle Robert Schultz
Eeep, I loved this one! The Beast of Talesend was really fun, don’t get me wrong, but somehow the sequel was just BETTER. I laughed out loud numerous times while the characters went undercover at the Warrengate Academy of Advanced Magic and dealt with threats from the sea (sirens! mermaids! artefacts! oh my!). Full of twists and turns that honestly surprised me, humor on nearly every page, lots of snark, and deliciously fun spins on several different fairy tales at once, this little book was like fluffy chocolate cake. No, make that Black Forest Cake, because the surprises and jokes are like . . . cherries? No? Analogy’s not working? Okay, fine. It was a great book, and I’m so glad I bought it straight from the author at Realm Makers last summer!
I caught a few unfortunate typos, but am still giving it five stars!
A Time to Die // Nadine Brandes

Another book I bought at Realm Makers, yay! And OH. MY. GOODNESS. This trilogy gets a lot of hype, at least in my reader circles, and I was desperately hoping it would live up to all those glowing reviews. IT DID. Bless Nadine’s heart, it did.
This is one of the most unusual dystopian novels I’ve read, because it’s infused with a lot more faith and hard questions and almost urban fantasy-ish settings than others. One setting in particular almost felt out of place, but I found it so fascinating that I didn’t care.
But let’s get back to the beginning. PARVIN. She is gold. I related to her so stinking much. In a society where everyone has a Clock counting down the time until they die, she has a year left and yearns to find her purpose, some way to make her last days count. She swings from apathy to passion a few times throughout the course of the novel, which was uncomfortably realistic (but in a good way). And she’s something of a writer–well, technically an autobiographer–so that was neat.
Some quickie thoughts on other characters:
  • Parvin’s mom was hard to like at first, but that was on purpose, and I felt their somewhat rocky relationship was done really well.
  • Parvin’s twin brother was lovable, except for a few times when he was annoyingly secretive.
  • A certain man with a fedora was verrrrry hateable.
  • Jude–I have conflicting feelings about this guy even now. At times I hated him too, at other times I adored him. He was flawed, temperamental, but he had his reasons. So my undecided opinion is not a bad thing! Just an observation!
  • Hawke–okay, him I like. He had some moments that made me unsure as well, but in other ways he reminded me of the beloved Remko from Rachelle Dekker’s Seer trilogy, minus the stutter. I want more Hawke in the next two instalments!
  • Willow was precious.
  • One minor character had a strong Ecclesiastes (“everything is useless!”) vibe going on, which was intriguing.
  • The Albinos were despicable and strange and yet some of them had redeeming qualities.
I don’t even know how to sum up my thoughts on this book! I’ve been thinking about it for weeks since finishing it. It brought me close to tears. It resonated with me powerfully. The emotions were palpable, the writing was excellent, and the worldbuilding was fleshed out wonderfully. Low cities and high cities, a humongous wall, tightropes, wilderness, a train, the Dregs, emotigraphs, super cool suits: all of it shone through the pages brilliantly. Nadine writes with truckloads of heart, and consequently, mine was broken in a beautiful way.
Can’t wait to read the next two! Five stars!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream // Shakespeare
GASP, what is this? Tracey read a classic? A Shakespeare play, no less? Why yes, I’m not a completely uncultured bookdragon. Sometimes the classic bug bites me, and I’m in the mood for old books. That happened this month, so I picked up this wee little play and enjoyed it immensely. All I knew about it going in was that Puck was in it. And I wanted to read about Puck. And I was not disappointed. He was one of my favorite parts–a mischievous imp who, together with Oberon, mess everything up for the play’s main characters. This was a comedy of errors indeed. Very amusing.
And essentially we have a love square going on. (Thanks, Shakespeare, for inspiring 98% of all modern YA romances–although it looks like you were really just poking fun at the melodrama.) It’s all rather over-the-top and hilarious, but there are also gorgeous descriptions woven throughout, along with musings on the nature of art, love’s blindness, and imagination.
“The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact . . .”
Also, Nick Bottom and the other peasant actors are officially the second-best thing ever. Puck is still the best! Another five stars.
In other book news . . .
I won a discount on a PageHabit book box in October, caved in, and subscribed. My box arrived early November, containing two new hardcover YA books–both annotated by the authors–and a small collection of bookish goodies. Quite fun! But it’s an American-based company, and so it’s not exactly cheap for a Canadian . . . so my plan was to unsubscribe after my first box, at least for now while I’m a student paying tuition fees. Except I forgot to unsubscribe in time, and now my second box is in the mail. Oops! Oh well, it means a couple more new books.

Subplots on My Writing Desk

Hey, remember last month when I told y’all that I was going to edit my Snow White retelling for the Rooglewood contest before the end of November so that I could have a month off writing?
That didn’t happen. Instead, school happened.
I think I had exactly four editing sessions the entire month, and the first two were spent reading over the novella and making notes.
But as of now, I did my first pass through chapters 1-4 (out of 9 in total). So . . . I can still finish before the deadline on December 31st. And on the plus side, it’s not as much of a mess as I originally thought? So yay? I don’t know, I guess I’ve been dealing with some writer’s doubt on this one. But it’s starting to shape up a bit–progress!
Oh, guess what! I also have a title AT LAST! No longer must I refer to it as Epically Confused and Possibly Schizophrenic Snow White Retelling (or ECaPSSWR). No, now it is called Mirrors Never Lie. Having something to call it is a relief!

[image via Pinterest; graphic my own]

Hello, final month of 2017!

November was a packed month, so I can’t wait to get final exams done and over with so that I can take Christmas break! How did all of you fare this month? Did you survive NaNo? Has it snowed yet wherever you live? Whatcha think of the new novella title? Pour yourself a hot chocolate and let’s chat!

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Strangest Browser Searches Tag

Tracey Dyck 35 Comments

Way back in the days of cave paintings and sabre-toothed tigers (ahem, last July) Madeline J. Rose tagged me with a thingamajig of her own creation, the Strangest Browser Searches tag! It’s so fun when blogger friends make up their own tags, isn’t it? And this particular tag is pretty entertaining too.

The rules:

  • Get access to your browser history, and look through it
  • Pick at least 5 of the strangest searches you’ve had to look up as a writer
  • List them below with a short explanation as to why exactly you had to look them up
  • Tag 2-5 other bloggers

I apologize in advance–due to my slow writing lately, most of my Google searches were boring things like “how to calculate equal payments” (for math class) and “what is a contra account” (for accounting class) and “who retains rights in traditional publishing” (for a paper I wrote in business communication class). I dug through THREE MONTHS of history for these, guys, and most of them aren’t even that spectacular.

If you don’t have anything better to do with the next three minutes of your life, read on!

Note: they’re almost all related to my Snow White retelling, so perhaps you’ll glean some interesting tidbits of previously undisclosed knowledge. Or just random trivia, but pffft, what’s the difference?

snow white original version

I looked this up because it’s been a long time since I read the real thing, and I always go back to the source material before writing a retelling.

list of cold words

Snow. Frost. Shiver. Ice. Blizzard. Wow, what a great list. I must’ve been in a writing slump if I needed synonyms for cold.

norse mythical creatures

I found me a fearsome lindwyrm, thanks to this search!

how big is a hamlet

I don’t remember the answer, but Skadi’s home (in my inconsistent first draft of Snow White) goes back and forth between a hamlet and a village, so . . . methinks the research wasn’t very effective.

how to skin a rabbit

I found some kind of hunting website and actually scrolled through bloody pictures of every step in the rabbit-skinning process. Be very proud of me.

scandinavian sailing medieval times / medieval animal skin canoes

Skadi paddles around a fjord while thinking gloomy thoughts, so I wanted to be able to visualize her vessel.

mbti and guilt

Because Skadi wrestles with more than her fair share of guilt, and I wanted to see how her personality type deals with it. (What is her personality type again? I forgot.)

how long should a chapter be in a ya novel

Short answer: nobody knows! Suggestion: 2500-5000 words.

how serious is a wound to the side

Because what would a fantasy novella be without a stabbing?!

do big five publishers accept christian manuscripts

I don’t think I dug deep enough to find the answer, but I think I was contemplating the great big world of publishing that day, and simply looked this up out of curiosity.

tips for fast signature

You should see the margins of some of my notebooks, or the scrap paper I used for math equations back in high school–I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve practiced my signature for future book signings. Still not happy with it, and still wondering if I should change the style of it so that it’s different from what I use to sign important documents. o_O But on another note, HOW do authors manage to sign hundreds of books in an hour?

lies characters believe

I remembered reading a couple of blog posts on the subject, but didn’t know where they were, so I searched them down again to help develop Skadi’s inner conflict.

meaning of Skadi / Wilhelmina name origin

Meaningful names are important to me! I love hiding symbolism in my stories–it’s just another secret that only I know. That is, until I blog about it or until sharp-eyed readers pick up on it. But half of the fun of these secrets is divulging them, so I don’t mind. Anyway, Skadi is my Snow White character, and her name belongs to a Norse goddess of winter and archery! Wilhelmina is a German name meaning willing to protect; it fits pretty well with a secondary character who’s come up in two of my stories, yet has never been “on screen.”

aurora winter bird lyrics

I’m pretty sure it was Katie Grace who introduced me to AURORA, a young Norwegian singer with an ethereal voice and songs that inspire my writer brain. This particular song, Winter Bird, reminds me of my Snow White story!

sinew bowstrings

Skadi is an archer (and no, I shan’t apologize for using that cliché), so I took some time to research more primitive forms of bows and arrows. I also needed to know what kind of bowstring she’d likely have access to . . . and what kind of bowstring might snap under extreme heat. *insert malicious smile*

why don’t i like my protagonist

You’ve heard me grouse about that issue more than once here, so I won’t go over it again! Since reading over my novella, I think much of my problem was imagined/the result of less-than-ideal writing circumstances, so hopefully whatever small issues are left can be corrected when I edit.

other odd things I’ve researched in times gone by:

This was YEARS ago, but one time I spent an afternoon performing mathematical equations for my dragon novel, The Prophet’s Quest. Two characters are given special seeds they’re instructed to plant in a long, continuous line across one corner of the country, and it occurred to me about five million drafts later that I’d never actually figured out how many seeds they would need. So I:

  • guesstimated the size of said fantasy country by comparing it to real life Britain or something like that
  • decided how long dragon’s tails are (because the dragons are told to plant the seeds one dragon tail-length apart)
  • calculated how many dragon tails it would take to stretch across the section of land I’d drawn out . . .
  • . . . which equals how many seeds are needed
  • then I figured that the seeds were about the size of kidney beans
  • so I went to the kitchen and counted out how many kidney beans fill one measuring cup
  • converted cups to gallons
  • estimated how many gallons of seeds each dragon could carry
  • realized they needed A LOT OF HELP to transport all these seeds
  • and so I invented a species of birds called seolfor that could each carry a gallon’s worth of seeds, and threw a whole flock of them into the story to solve the problem
  • WHEW.

And of course I’ve researched other, more typical writerly things like:

  • gunshot wounds
  • types of guns
  • types of swords
  • infection
  • injuries
  • facial burn scars
  • healing herbs
  • how far a human can walk in a day
  • how far a horse can run in a day
  • how long a person can survive without food/water
  • how far a league is (because there’s no better way to jerk a reader out of your epic high fantasy story than to have the king say, “I shall travel thirteen miles to thy secret abode of magical trees,” so leagues it is)
  • old cars from the 90’s most likely to have engine trouble
  • blood types
  • what happens when you get a blood transfusion of the wrong type (bad stuff, okay)
  • how long it takes to fly to _____
  • how far a Beaver plane can fly on one tank of fuel
  • how many people can a dragon carry if they’re about four or five times the size of a horse
  • how would a psychologist diagnose a kid who says he was a hero and fought battles on another bacon-flipping WORLD (answer: he’s schizophrenic or has delusions of grandeur)
  • ETC.

In short, the life of a writer involves many questions. Sometimes Google has the answers, sometimes not. I used to think that writing fantasy was a good way to avoid research, but HA, I’ve never been more wrong! At least I get to research pretty cool stuff this way.

(Sorry, I’ve run out of time to tag anyone today, since I have to run off to work, but if you like this tag, by all means snatch it!)

What’s the weirdest thing YOU have ever researched, in the name of writing or not?

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