The Princess in the Tower

    It's been a really long time since I've done random prompt writing. It's been a while since I've done real creative writing. I spent a lot of time writing a short summary of the idea I had for my Cinderella retelling that doesn't at all fit in with any part of Rose. It sucks because it's a really good idea, but to be fair, my other idea wasn't that bad. It's Sleeping Beauty and Snow White that I'm having trouble coming up with story ideas for.

    Anyway, I finished reading for the contest I'm judging, and it did give me a bit of creative energy. Unfortunately, I need to get the words flowing again before I can go back to working on Powerful. So I picked out a prompt. 

    Just your ordinary fantasy story, right? Well, hopefully not. I need to get into the princess-y fantasy mood, but I'm hoping that I can write something entertaining and unique enough so it's worthy to post here.  Here goes nothing.

Quick Inspiration

    This week has been a bit of a struggle for me. I haven't written anything in a little while, and I keep choosing TV over writing. I haven't had much energy, which is why I keep choosing to watch TV over writing. I was hoping to get another chapter of Powerful written, but I've been super lame.
    And now I get to spend a lot of my time reading contest entries. One of my writer friends invited me to judge a contest of super hero short stories, and since the contest ended today, I get to start reading and judging entries. Which means I won't be writing.
     Hopefully, reading all these short stories will refill some of my creative energy which has been drained for some reason. I need a boost of creative energy badly. 

    Last week Husband of Mine took me to see Cinderella in the theaters, and it got my mind rolling on a way to do my Cinderella rewrite that I've been thinking of since I started working on Rose. I got some really cool ideas spinning around in my head, but it also started a bit of a controversy since it's nothing like it was originally supposed to be. It's not set in modern day France, but it's full of magic, lost shoes, and political intrigue. It could be pretty exciting, but it's not what I originally intended, which spells trouble for my other ideas. Trying to sort through these thoughts has completely drained my creative energy leaving me unable to write anything for Powerful.

What I Wish I Knew

    As I was going through my notes from LTUE again, I discovered another one of my favorite panels. It was titled, "What I Wish I Knew When I Started - Common Mistakes Made By New Writers". Kasie West, Jacob Gowans, Joe Vasicek, Karen C. Evans, and Bree Despain sat on the panel.

    This was one of those panels that was pretty much a Q & A session without much of a direction, so this post might seem kind of random as I convert my notes into a semi-coherent blog post. Basically the answer to every question was "There's not one way to do it." Honestly, I could just leave that one sentence as my summary of the panel. But I really enjoyed hearing how these authors write, so while their advice can be summed up in a sentence, it's good to hear how published writers handle things in different situations.

Breaking Through Blockages - Advice from Sandra Tayler

    One of the very helpful panels I attended at LTUE was titled "Breaking Through Blockages". Sandra Tayler was the speaker. I've been wanting to share her ideas for a while, but as I've been busy putting them to use, I haven't had a chance.

    The very first thing she said was, "When you have trouble finding the time to write, time is very rarely the problem." The reason you "don't have time" is because you're not prioritizing your time. How many things do you have to do in a day? Make a list of those things in order of importance. How important is watching Netflix or playing Angry Birds? (Actually, I think she said Plants vs. Zombies, but that's not the point.)
    In 5 years when you look back at how you spent your time, what will make you proud? That you worked on your book (or whatever project you're working on) or that you binge watched a season of Psych (in case you were wondering about how I spend my time). People make time for what's important to them. Is writing (or whatever project) toward the top of your important list?

Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon

    Back in October, I wrote a post about my friend, H. L. Burke.  Since October, she's been working on another book. It's different from what she usually writes, but she had a lot of fun with it. It's called Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon.

    She typically writes YA fantasy novels, but followed through with an idea she had for a Middle Grade story following Thaddeus Whiskers, the enchanted kitten of a princess.  I read through this book on Scribophile, and it was so full of personality.  I've never read something that so perfectly captures the attitude of a kitten or a dragon. It was such a fun read, and it was impossible to be in a bad mood after exploring with Thaddeus and Grandious.
    Available from Amazon-

Plotting

    Once again, I apologize for my lack of blog posts. At least this time I have an excuse. I have been plotting. Cue the evil laugh. No, I'm kidding. It's been the good kind of plotting. Mostly. 
    So for this post I'm going to talk about different ways to plot, and how I plot. As I learned from LTUE, there's no one right way to do something. Some people don't even like to plot. They're called Pantsers because they fly by the seat of their pants. The way I plot may not be a good way for someone else to plot, hence the variety of ways to plot I will share in this post.
    The first thing you'll need is a plot idea. I know, shocking. If you don't have a plot idea, then you can't plot. I like to have a really well thought out idea, main characters, beginning, climax, and ending before I even think about following through on a plot. I like to know where I'm going, so I will do character sketches and a brief summary of the novel (like the blurb on the back of a book) before really digging into the details of the plot. 
    How do you get a plot? Get your character, and find out what they want. Them getting (or not getting) what they want is basically your plot. Not always, but it's a good way to start. Go Teen Writers has a whole big thing about figuring out about your character and the plot here. I found it very helpful if you're trying to figure out the basics of your plot.
    I think the next step can be easily summarized in a picture.

I'm Tired...

    I've had a crazy busy week and I haven't been sleeping well. Hence, the lack of blog posts.  Even now, I'm having a hard time writing anything for this post so instead I'll do pictures, quotes, and writer jokes.
    Who am I kidding?  They're all jokes.