Write What You Know

NaNo is coming.

People say write what you know. I say write what you want.

 Does this mean every story that breaks out of the confines of your mind will become an acclaimed and published piece of fiction? Of course not.

 Writing is not science. One recipe might not spell success. What is right for one person may not work for another. On the other hand, there are some helpful guidelines or suggestions that can help a writer grow in tremendous ways.

 Write what you know, or don't. If we only wrote what we know there would be no soaring fantasies or speculative historical digging out the details of people from the past. Every story would be a modern tale with limited paths. Writing what you know can be awesome. I want to write stories in the theatrical landscape because I am an actress as well as a writer.

 Write what you know. If something happens that inspires you, use it. Of one small moment gives you the idea for the most insignificant detail of your story, use it.

You are a writer. You get to choose if your story will be filled with minivans or  brave knights. You are a world creator, whether that world is a mirror of your own or a deeply detailed kingdom.

 You've got this. Use what you know to your advantage and if you don't know something research it until you do. How do you write what you know? By writing. Write and you will learn. Write all the stories spilling out of you and love them.

 Write them all, whether you know them or not. Step up, introduce yourself. You've got this.

 ~ a rambling author

PS When I use the words write what you know, I am using them in the context of today's world. While you may have plenty of knowledge about a subject, you wouldn't be able to do some of the things you write, if that makes sense.

Wednesdays of Writing are Back...

...I hope! I've been thinking. My life is still crazy, but it has calmed down a bit, and I think I need to blog more. I'm going to try my best to blog every Wednesday and keep you guys informed on my writing pursuits. Tomorrow, I hope to have a book review up because I would love to bring Bookish Thursdays back as well (and then maybe Theatre Tuesdays). But baby steps. Baby steps!

 Next month is National Novel Writing Month. While last year's novel didn't get finished, I hope to have a bit more time for writing pursuits this year. To combat writer's block, I've decided to plot my new story this entire month! I've started already, but there is still a lot to be done and I hope I am ready by November 1.

 My story is entitled 0. That's it. It's a working title. I don't know if it will be the final product or not, but I didn't want to stick to my original working title, The Z Papers. I don't have an official synopsis yet, but 0 is the story of a college drop-out and conspiracy theorist named Elizabeth who finds out that the thesis she bombed during her failed master's degree could be more true than she thought. When she's offered an incredible internship with a large health organization in exchange for her research, she learns more about the increasingly violent outbreak that turns humans into monsters. During her internship, she meets Patient 0, the first victim of the disease who shifts between a mysterious young man and a vicious monster. As things grow more complicated, Elizabeth must make a choice between one man and the world.

 That's a terrible description. If I can I will keep you informed of the storyline and characters as I add them. Right now my main characters are Elizabeth, a Korean-American girl and 0, a man who won't say his name and is infected, though his human side comes out between violent outbursts.

 I'm excited about this story because I enjoy twisting things from the usual. I never thought I'd write anything zombie-related, but I'm attempting to make a virus similar to a zombie-virus appear to be a realistic possibility. Instead of the dead rising, this zombie virus only infects the brain of humans, deteriorating it in a way that makes them fall to basic instincts. (I promise this isn't a typical gory zombie story!) There are some scary diseases out there now that are developing and that was one of the things that inspired this story. The story also deals with the importance of life, terrorism, and finding purpose in life.

 I'm excited! Now to get to plotting... If you want to see some of the images I've found to go along with my story, check out my Pinterest board.

What do you think?

~ a rambling author

Precious Moments 5-Minute Bedtime Treasury: A Review

 Today I'm reviewing a children's storybook. True, that's a bit abnormal, but if you have children or nieces and nephews you may understand as I picked to review this because I am a proud aunt and I thought my niece and nephew would enjoy it. The book is Precious Moments 5-Minute Bedtime Treasury. I received this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

Description:

Create a Bedtime Tradition in Just 5 Minutes

Delight your little ones with these sweet Precious Moments® characters as you share beloved Bible stories and comforting bedtime scriptures with them.

The five-minute format helps parents create a meaningful bedtime. With paraphrased stories from the International Children’s Bible®, you’ll nurture a love for God’s Word.

Take five minutes before bed to create a special connection with your precious child.

 I love Precious Moments designs. I always have. I guess it goes back to my Grandma first loving them and passing that down. The little characters look so sweet and innocent, how can you not think it's cute? And that makes it perfect for kids. 

 My sis agreed to do a miniature photoshoot with my adorable niece. I believe the nephew was taking a nap, so he missed out this time, but there will be more reviews in the future, I'm sure. This is Rachel. She's four. She loves girly things and playing and I think she's already gaining a love of books (I hope!). 

 This book is a great addition to the bedtime story collection. As a Christian parent, I know my sis wants to incorporate the Bible into the lives of her children, even when they're little.  This book allows that seamlessly with large, bright illustrations and simplified stories that still hold to the Biblical original. 

The book is a hardback cover with a soft cushion around it so it isn't easy to tear apart, very helpful when it comes to children.                                   

 Rachel hasn't quite learned to read yet, but from the concentration in the image to right, I think she's trying to pick out some letters. 

The kids really like this book. My sis describes it as "well-loved" and that makes me happy since as soon as I saw it I liked it. 

Charity (my sis), also says that the kids love the illustrations, so I guess they will be carrying on the tradition of being Precious Moments fans. 

 Overall, this book is well-made with large,gorgeous illustrations to captivate young readers (and listeners) to hear some important Bible stories and lessons. I'm glad to have had the chance to review it. To end, here are some more photos of those pictures. If you are interested in purchasing, it is available online, for one!

To fill out church records!

Family tree page.

As you can see, this book has many hidden treasures including a page for a family tree and church events. This book could be a well-loved memory for your grown child one day. 

 Thanks for reading!

~ a rambling author

The Golden Braid: A Book Review

Today I am reviewing The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson.

About: The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel in turn rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to this knight than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery is about to be revealed after seventeen years of lies. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

*****

 I'm a big fan of retellings. I've even written some myself. I'm also a huge fan of medieval settings, don't ask me why. Many of my story ideas live in medieval fantasy world. I read my first Melanie Dickerson book back around 2012 when I used money I won in a writing contest to buy some books I'd grown interested in. Since then I have had the pleasure of reading several of her written works, each seeming better than the one before (though I will always have a special place in my heart for The Captive Maiden.) As one of her releases this past year, The Golden Braid does not disappoint. 

 Rapunzel isn't the most common story you see retold. In fact, I never saw another version of it until the Disney film came out. After that, I did find one story based off of it. Dickerson does something unique with her retellings by placing them in historical medieval settings, making you wonder if they actually could have happened. This makes for a very interesting Rapunzel retelling as Rapunzel is not a story you would think of happening in real life. Dickerson writes it easily, seamlessly connecting it to other stories in her writing collection in a way that will make you want to read the predecessors if you haven't yet. 

 As far as characters go, I found them interesting and I admire the character development. Many of Dickerson's male leads have had a certain gruffness about them and I found Gerek to somewhat fit this category, but he was also a developed character struggling with some mighty heavy things. Rapunzel is a sweet and kind maiden, but she also faces her own problems including fear of men. As I mentioned in the first sentence, I really enjoyed the way Dickerson developed these characters from their initial traits of fear or even selfishness into something new and beautiful. 

 The plot was exciting and made me wonder just what might come next. I guessed a few things about it, partially due to another reader's excitement, but it did not ruin the story for me or the way my eyes teared up in a tender moment. Just when you think the characters are going to relax and take a break, a chapter or two goes by and something else exciting happens. I believe this story coincides with The Princess Spy, a story I haven't read yet, (sadly--its on my reading list!) so I would recommend reading that book first as there are some plot  points in The Golden Braid that might spoil it for you. 

 Overall, I enjoyed this story and am happy to add it to my Melanie Dickerson and fairytale retelling collection. 

Have you read anything by Melanie Dickerson?

~ a rambling author

Paper Crowns: Book Spotlight

 My friend Mirriam Neal has a new book out, Paper Crowns. Here is some more information on this fascinating sounding story.

Synopsis:

 Ginger has lived in seclusion, with only her aunt Malgarel and her blue cat, Halcyon, to keep her company. Her sheltered, idyllic life is turned upside-down when her home is attacked by messengers from the world of fae. Accompanied by Halcyon (who may or may not be more than just a cat), an irascible wysling named Azrael, and a loyal fire elemental named Salazar, Ginger ventures into the world of fae to bring a ruthless Queen to justice.

Sounds compelling, right? If you'd like to check it further, take a look at some of these links. Maybe you'll find your new favorite author.

Goodreads

Publisher's page

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

And to finish off, here is a bit about the amazing Mirriam herself. 

                                                                             

  Mirriam Neal is a twenty-two-year-old Northwestern hipster living in Atlanta. She writes hard-to-describe books in hard-to-describe genres, and illustrates things whenever she finds the time.  She aspires to live as faithfully and creatively as she can and she hopes you do, too.

Blog: https://mirriamneal.com/

Email: the-shieldmaiden@hotmail.com

I hope you enjoyed this book spotlight and will take a look into the further career of this talented author. 

The Heir War: Book Review

  Hey, everyone! Thanks to an atrocious school semester I've been M.I.A for a bit. Now I've returned so expect to see many posts and reviews this summer! We're going to start with the second part of King's Folly...The Heir War. This is written by the talented Jill Williamson and I was able to read the story in exchange for my review. 

 Now, The Heir War is being released exclusively as an ebook to be followed by The End of All Things, however, King's Folly contains all three parts into one print tome which I will be reviewing later.              

Synopsis: With Prince Wilek still searching Armania for a murderer, his brother Prince Trevn finds himself pulled deeper into the dangerous politics of who will be Heir. Trevn, though, is far more interested in his studies with a local priest and the attentions of a young honor maiden.

The book that he has been copying during his lessons is not the book that teaches of the god of the soil. Instead, it teaches of a one true God. If accurate, then it means there is no soil god to satiate. There is nothing they can do to save their world, and all of King Echad's sacrifices have been futile.                               

I love the detail Williamson puts into her world.  The Five Realms of this story are so unique and interesting. At one point, a prophecy is used by several different groups all relating to the same thing. That is only one example. The Heir War takes us even further into the realms and into new places. We are introduced more to Inolah and the kingdom of Rurikar where she is the misused queen.  We also meet Qoatch, a eunuch, and several other important players.

 Many plot points are opened and expounded upon in this second part. To me, the second part is often my favorite and I find that to be somewhat true in this case as well. The story continues to grow and the characters learn and change. Trevn is still one of my favorites and his character change has started more noticeably. I still love several of the characters.

 Overall, this second installment is pretty wonderful and you should check it out! I will be reviewing the third installment and the entire book very soon.

A rambling author