Science Fiction & Fantasy author
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| line in the road of my personal space |
I posted this prompt at least a year ago on Twitter as I was posting writing prompts there. But I decided that there were plenty of other groups and individuals doing the same so I quit. However, I really liked this prompt, so I am posting it here.
He leaned in to me, past the line I draw that says, “You’re too close.”
Holt’s The Spirit Child is the first installment of a series of books that twist Native American spirit guides with feudal manors, strong female characters and realms in degrees of spiritual growth and power. The storyline includes the involvement of actual walking, talking, and occasionally sarcastic guides in the form of owls, wolves, panthers, badgers, etc., working to maneuver the few spiritually awake humans to safety and teach them to negotiate an increasingly dangerous world due to a darker group of powerful animal spirits.
That sounds a bit like a mishmash of ideas, but it’s a mix that had it an aroma would be described as delicious. Bree Makena, Duchess of Danforth, is the main character, and she is ripe for change. Heartbroken and determined to be alone and disconnected from society, she is ready to do battle with the first annoying individual she meets, but she is unwilling to watch a girl child be sold into slavery and certainly raped if no one steps in. Makena steps in, and life changes from that moment on. The child turns out to be capable of seeing any spirit guide, not just her own, but she is as flawed and broken as Makena. The two travel more than just the rough territory of the lands they call home (or want to call home) as they deal with the fear and denial which keeps them from recognizing their guides and learning how to become part of society in ways they have yet to find appealing or even safe.
Makena and the child Kaiti have to not only figure out how to belong to each other but also how to belong to their spirit guides who are not in the least bit uncertain about how things should be going if only those stubborn humans would stop fighting their destinies. Other characters also carry the story well, from long time friends, healer Becca and bathhouse owner Maura, to tribal leaders and royal families. There are strong male characters as well and tribal elders who bring depth and meaning to much of the difficulties Makena and Kaiti face. Timur, Makena’s dead husband, as the story progresses, is easy to accept as a person Makena might find impossible to face life without. It is inevitable that one will get attached to several of the individuals Holt breathes into life in her writing as the reader steps smoothly in and out of the thoughts and concerns of a variety of supporting characters as well as the two main characters.
Arriving at the end of this book is a lot like it is in real life: few things are wrapped up in tidy bunches; much is left that needs to play out, and the trouble that was on the horizon is still lurking out there. The difference is Makena has grown out of some of her troubles which is good because there are several more difficulties building up she is going to have to face if she wants to maintain life’s new vision and new hope.
I enjoyed this book and view it as one I will probably reread, especially while I wait for the next book in the series to come out. My main rule is if I anticipate reading a book again, its worth five stars.
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| MASK, mask |
Often people have a persona that covers their true self. Take that idea of a mask and apply it to a character. Design them with a strong personality, but beneath it have a second sense of self that is kept hidden. As you design these two sides (interior true self and exterior mask), try to have a few aspects cross between the two. Both prefer to listen rather than speak first or both like the color blue. The interior escapes from inside when it fits the exterior persona.
So the tough guy that throws knives so well is crazy about practicing darts before bed.
Back on 10/10/12, I wrote about a redraft I was working on for In Times Passed. I had set up two parallel plots, one linear and one non-linear. I felt pretty good about the changes, but I was uncertain about if the reader would be able to follow the non-linear plot line. I had chosen the non-linear scenes to match to the linear flow based on common links in dialogue, which seemed a reasonable approach to connecting the two plot lines.
You know that part of you that syncs together what you write, that manages the pull of imagery, purpose, characterization, depth of character, release of the gathering of facts? The inner coil that tightens as you develop plot and bothers you when things are not working. Well that place, that wellspring of creativity was giving me muffled bursts of dismay at that non-linear flow, unflow. Last week, just to check, I moved the pieces about and straightened out the sister plot so they both ran chronologically in line but not in the same time frame (one is set in the future). That muffled burst of dismay settled down with a contented sigh. There was no mistaking it.
I am letting it rest as I line edit and watch out for any more muffled bursts. My advice, if something in you is protesting, check it out. Make the changes called for and see if you find creative peace. You can always revert back to the original draft.
Start with something enormous and begin describing by taking your description from the general to the specific, the large to the tiny. For example, from a mountain to the bobbing wild flower gone to seed.
What some might call a mild form of the infamous writer’s block. I have never suffered from the extreme form. I do have times when a scene I have in mind isn’t working, but I don’t call that writer’s block. It is more a case of not having worked out the details or I am expecting something from my character that really isn’t what he or she would do, or maybe not how that character would do it.
On Goodreads recently a writer was looking for advice on how to overcome her writer’s block. I made some suggestions but they were based on my practices to improve my effort when I felt I was failing to produce something worthwhile. It has never been a case of not being able to put words on the page, which does sound awful, something I do not want to face.
So these are the things I do when my writing is not up to snuff.
