Regional Dialect

Regional dialect is basically writing what people speak. And, of course, people speak differently in different places. They have different customs and accents and idioms.

For example, I bring up the classic debate of "soda vs. pop". Where I'm from, it's soda. The idea of calling it "pop" makes me giggle. But in some other place in America, probably up North, calling it "soda" would make them giggle.

This doesn't just extend to vocabulary - think of the Southern tendency to drop the "g" off of some verbs: runnin', or hoppin', or jumpin'. Grammar and sayings are a large part of this. In America, we say we're just kidding, or we're messing with you. In Australia, they say they're just stirring with you. Also, don't forget brands - where we have Lays and Nestle, Australians have Shapes and Tim Tams. (I know this because my dad's family lives in Australia; my mother loves it when they send over Tim Tams.)

It's a bit much to comprehend, when you think about it. All those cultures out there... not to mention they change over time, so if your story takes place in the 1800s, you'll have to look up the dialect from that time period as well.

When making up your own regional dialect, for your Killonia or New Narnia, make sure it flows nicely. You don't explain it to your readers: just make it somewhat easy for them to follow. Like in American slang, "swag" is referred to when you're arrogant and cool and swaggering about the place like an idiot. *ahem* At least, that's what I've picked up on. No offense to any swaggers out there. (By which I mean, no offense to the swagger-type people who I might actually like.)

When you need for your world to be a personal, special, or realistic world, you have to write what the people say, how they say it. And you have to write it in a way that readers understand. When you do it right, your world becomes a better place for the readers glimpsing it.

So, that concludes my pretty short post. This isn't a terribly difficult topic to explain. It's only difficult when you're writing about a place you've never been, and as a writer of mysterious things, you should relish the challenge.

Enjoy the weekend, make good choices, and y'all have a blessed day!  

Interview: Annie from The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random

Today I have a special treat for you all. Meet Annie, a fellow blogger, avid reader, and fantastic writer. She's here (metaphorically) from her blog, The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random. Everyone give a warm welcome!


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Tell me a little about yourself. What's your current project? Favorite book? The name of your blog? 


I'm Annie, a teenage girl, aspiring author, introvert, certified band geek, dreamer, and general lover of books.  I have a blog titled The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random, where I review books, give writing advice, and other assorted things.  It's so hard to name just one book as a favorite, so I'll mention several.  I've always been a huge fan of Christopher Paolini's Inheritence series, as well as D. J. MacHale's Pendragon series, Alison Goodman's Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, and Patrick Carman's Thirteen Days to Midnight.  I've loved books and stories from a very young age, so I suppose that naturally led me to writing.  My current project is a young adult high fantasy novel titled Secrets of the Legend Chaser.  It's about a boy who steals dragon eggs while running from his past life, a lonely king, and an orphan whom everyone thinks is the king's missing son.  I'm currently in the revision stages, and as soon as it's polished and revised I plan to begin querying agents and pursuing publication, which has always been a dream of mine.


What was the first thing you ever wrote? If you can't remember a specific thing, what sorts of things did you start out with? (Poems, short story, start right out with a novel, etc.)


I wrote my first story when I was about five.  It was a short "book" about a dinosaur that gets captured and taken to a zoo (yeah, even my five-year-old self knew what a plot was, apparently), complete with marker illustrations and sequels.  All throughout elementary school and I wrote various short stories.  In middle school, I started writing poems (and I tried my hand at song lyrics) as well as stories.  I wrote in just about every genre--historical, fantasy, realistic, sci-fi, dystopian, paranormal, and more.  I've accumulated quite a collection of writing--I love to look back and see how much I've progressed.  During seventh and eighth grade I wrote two novellas (like novels, but not quite as long) featuring a four friends and their horses.  At the beginning of my freshman year of high school, I looked at one of the short stories I'd written, titled Emerald Spark.  I realized that the main character's story went far beyond what was in those four pages.  And so Secrets of the Legend Chaser came to be.  It's my first full-length novel, and the first very large piece of writing I've had to revise.  


You're farther along than most of us in our current novels, do you have any advice for those finishing up their stories and starting to revise?


The first step is actually finishing the project.  I cannot stress enough how utterly important this is.  It may sound completely obvious, but this is a huge step that many writers can't get past.  It's so easy to not finish a project, to get distracted by a shinier idea and abandon your current work in progress.  If you ever want to be a sucessful published author, people are going to expect you to finish books.  Once a writer gets to the point where they can finish a full-length book, they have taken a very important leap.  Once they get there, though, they also need to learn to revise.  Revision is the key to producing publishable novels.  It makes the jumbled plot a smooth ride, it makes the awkward prose into a work of art, and it makes the cardboard-cutout character into a living, breathing person.  Before revising, though, you have to let the work sit for a few weeks.  It's hard to revise something that's still so fresh in your mind.  By distancing yourself from the novel, you enable yourself to look at it with fresh eyes.  And before you start revising, you need a plan.  Don't just dive in--figure out what needs to be changed, and how you'll change it.  A plan of action will go a long way towards making your revision sucessful.


What got you started on a blog? 


 I used to scan the writing help forum on Inkpop quite frequently, and I noticed that I was able to answer many of the writing-related questions that people had.  I also realized that I enjoyed this.  At that time I was getting more and more into following writing and book review blogs, so I thought I had nothing to lose by starting one myself.  And so The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random was born.  I figured that instead of just helping a few people at a time, I could type up an article on writing and let all my followers, and anyone else who stumbled across the blog, see it.  My blog also has another aspect to it--I also write book reviews.  This came about because I was already noting things I liked or disliked as I read books, and it really wasn't much more work to type these thoughts up after I finished the book.  In all honesty, the blog has been far more sucessful than I thought it would be.  It can be very rewarding at times, like when a reader leaves a comment saying how much an article of mine helped them out.  That makes me smile every time.   

Do you have any quick advice to share with the bloggers out there? 

Don't expect huge amounts of followers right away.  You don't gain followers without effort.  The way you get people to read your blog is to write posts that have content worthy of reading.  This seems obvious, but it really is the truth.  If you regularly churn out articles that are informative/entertaining/whatever the purpose of your blog is, there's a good chance you'll eventually gain a following.  Also, if you want lots of readers, get your name out there.  Guest blogging on someone else's blog, commenting on other blogs, and generally interacting with other bloggers are all ways to make people aware of your presence.  Don't worry so much about your blog's design--it doesn't have to be fancy as long as you have good content.  Also, use spellcheck, and read through your posts at least once before you hit "publish".  Please, please, please.  It doesn't take much effort, and it'll save you from embarrassing and unprofessional errors.  Write about things that have meaning for you, things you care about.  Just like with all forms of writing, if you don't care about what you're writing about, then your readers won't, either.

Why do you write? Or why do you keep writing? 

I write because that's who I am.  Writing, for me, is not a hobby, nor a pastime.  I need to put words on paper, just like a musician needs to have sound coming out of their instrument, or a painter needs to put paint on a canvas.  It's a part of who I am.  I love creating stories, and writing is the way I get them out of my head and into the world.  There are definitely things I don't like about writing, but for every aspect I don't enjoy, there are ten that I love.  I write for the exhilaration of typing those first few words, and the bittersweet satisfaction of "the end".  I write to walk that thin line between reality and imagination.  I write for the moments when my characters feel such emotion that I'm crying, too.  I write to create something out of nothing.  I write for that moment when someone reads what I wrote, looks up at me, and says "Wow."  I keep writing because of my passion for stories and imagination, and my tendency to daydream, and night-dream, and any dream in between.  I keep writing because my stories keep bouncing around in my head, and my characters keep nudging me to get their stories into the world.  Any writer can relate to the utter magic of writing, and in the end, I think we all write for the same reason--because if we didn't write, we couldn't go on. 


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Thank you Annie for visiting and we wish you luck with your blog and writing! You can talk to Annie at her blog, The Epic, the Awesome, and the Random. 


Have a happy Friday and keep writing, because if we didn't write, we couldn't go on. I couldn't have said it better myself, Annie!

6 Questions to Befuddle the Writing Mind #3

Yeah, there is no hope of ever fitting this into the blogging schedule, but rest assured I'll (most likely) write more. Anyways, back to World Building.

World Building Part Two

Yes, yes we know you're characters are ever so important, but have you ever given thought to the world they live in? Hopefully, because without a world to live on, most characters would not exist. Welcome back to 6 Questions on World Building. 

Since I know we'll all be writing in different types of places (reality or fantasy) just adapt the question to fit your story's needs. Have fun and happy writing!

1. Where does your character live? What planet, land, nation, country, city, address, room, house, etc.? Be as specific as you can. 

2. Let's talk about politics. (Our favorite subject, I know.) Who is in control in your world? And don't just say that everyone does as they please. No, it doesn't work that way. What governing power is in charge? How does the government work? 

3. What sorts of religions or faiths are in your world? Do they believe in spirits, gods, goddesses, etc.? 

4. Name three superstitions that people in the area of your MC have. How did each come about? Are these superstitions reasonable? If not, what can be done to stop people from believing in them? 

5. How are the young treated? How are the old? How are the teenagers? Is different work assigned to each? Are the young raised by only their parents or the entire community? Are the elders thrown out at some point?

6. Are the people living in your MC's area happy about where an how they live? Name three things they generally want changed. (I know there will be one or two people who are exceptions, but we're just going with the general views at the moment.) Please do not tell me they are completely happy with it, nothing is perfect, even in fantasy. They will want something changed.

Thank you again for reading and keep writing!

6 Questions to Befuddle the Writing Mind #2

Hey, did you guys know there is a little button reading "Publish" that you have to press in order for a post to be published? Well, I apparently don't. I had this post typed up for Monday and I quit out before posting. Whoops. Well, I hope you can forgive me....

Anyways.

Here are the next six questions to help you develop your story and characters and whatever else we are targeting on that day. Answer them, blog them, comment your answers, save them in a word doc, whatever you deem worthy to do!

World Building Part 1

I know last week was some character building but this week we'll start at the beginning. World-building. We've had posts on why this is important before, but the bottom line is that you have to know where your story is happening. A story in Antarctica is not going to turn out the same way as a story in the Sahara. 

Since I know we'll all be writing in different types of places (reality or fantasy) just adapt the question to fit your story's needs. Have fun and happy writing!

1. Opening Scene. Where is these place? What does it look like? In the very first paragraph of your story, what is the setting? Describe it. Names of places, of plants surrounding them, what sorts of things do they see? 

2. Quick, make a list of all of the different places that are visited in your book. And I mean all of them. You can be as vague (New York City) or as specific (the bed in Camille's bedroom) as you want, but make sure you get all of them.

3. Using the list from the previous question, attach a word or phrase to each setting that best describes it. It can be something about the way it looks, the way it feels, what happened there, or whatever else you want. It just needs to be what you feel is the most important thing to remember about that place. 

4. What is the most meaningful setting in your story? Why is it the most meaningful? What happens there that makes it so? Write a quick description of it. 

5. Explain four ways that your setting has affected your story. Notice I started with "explain". 

6. Why is your story happening where it is? Why not the Alps or Dreamland? What makes this place so important that you are basing your story there? 

Keep Pushing Through

I'm on Spring Break with nothing to do, so I'm posting on a random writing topic.

How To Keep Pushing Through:

I know, it's hard to keep writing. You've passed the happy, new-idea phase and you're into the oh-my-goodness-where-am-I-taking-this? phase. If you're anything like me, you've got the very basic plot down, but you're unsure of the actual details and problems that fit in between. I've hit this problem in my own writing, so I figured I'd improvise this and then follow my own advice.

To start off, DON'T LEAVE YOUR WRITING BECAUSE YOU'RE FRUSTRATED. Even after just a few days, you'll look at what you wrote and think, "what the freak was I thinking? This is rubbish." Then you'll put it in the recycle bin and start over. You'll get to the same point, do the same thing, and you'll think all over again that your writing isn't worth the brain cells you put into it. This is a very nasty circle-spiral of useless writing time. Stay true to your writing and improvise a temporary scene to get you through the rough patch, and change it to suit your needs during editing. Of course, your temporary scene has to be similar to what you want there, because your story is delicate. If you put that Mary Sue wants to fight an evil king, and you've hit a rough patch when she's meeting him the 1st time, you cannot make this meeting end with King Evil giving her a bunny and her promising a rainbow. Don't forget your action-reaction idea.

Another point is DON'T GO BACK AND EDIT. If you go back and edit what you've already written, then you'll end up finding so many mistakes, you'll be tempted to trash it. And you know where that'll end up. So just push through that stubborn scene and resist the temptation to edit. You have plenty of time for editing when it's all said and done.

Third point: SEEK INSPIRATION. Grab it by its bunny-rabbit ears and don't let go. Listen to new music, convince your parents to take you to the park (or drive there, if you have your license. I don't happen to have mine yet, so I have to find other transportation). Do some research on topics you enjoy: look up religion on Google, go to your library and find books on ancient civilizations. Just pick something and read up on it. Or watch documentaries, which I personally love to do. I once watched a very informative show on the history of playing cards. Just... do something worth doing.

Try a RANDOM GENERATOR. Like http://nine.frenchboys.net/housing.php or tp://seventhsanctum.com/. These are fun and can spark an idea. You won't use all of the suggestions they give you - some are so blatantly against your story that you'll have to find something else. But they're pretty reliable.

Ummm... ADD SOMETHING NEW. If you don't consider this part of inspiration. Write a dragon into your scene! Have your MC join a pirate gang! Let your MC's sister get kidnapped! Just add something worthwhile or odd into your scene and change your plot to accomadate it. If you hate it, you can come back to it in editing.

That's all I've got. I'm sorry, I feel this kind of advice has been parroted out to writers by pretty much everyone. "Don't give up!" "Find inspiration!" It is good advice, though. And all the labrynth of my mind can come up with at the moment. 

Have a blessed day and keep writing! <3

6 Questions to Befuddle the Writing Mind #1

Here are six questions to help you develop your story and characters and whatever else we are targeting on that day. I don't care what you do with them: just answer them, blog them, comment your answers, etc. They're here to help you with your writing and your story.

1. What is the name of your main character? I mean the full name and the various nicknames. All of the names that characters has, is and will go by.

2. What is the age of your main character? The physical age, the mental age, if age has been affected in any way. 

3. If your MC could change one aspect of the way they looked, what would it be and why? And I don't mean "her hair because its ugly". What led her/him to dislike it so much? 

4. If your MC could change one thing about the way they thought, what would it be and why? What led them to dislike it so much? (New hobby, less of an emotion, etc.)

5. What are three words that state exactly what your MC is? Think about this. Don't just write the first three words that come to mind. 

6. What is special about your MC? These aren't just magical powers and wealth. What sets them apart from others? What made them so unique that you wrote their story instead of a billion different others?

I'd love to see what you have to say. If you want to post your questions or a link to the blogpost, that'd be great! Check back Monday for the next six questions!

Good luck and keep writing!

Definition: Mary Sue-ism

I would like to say that yes, a very good example of this is Twilight. In case you were wondering.

Mary Sue-ism is when your main character, or any other character, is portrayed as "perfect" or that, against all odds, everyone is completely in love with that character. No matter how horribly flawed, idiotic, unintelligent, clumsy, unaware, oblivious, and downright ridiculous that character may seem. *coughBellacough* 

(You know what, I think I might have to have a post that is dedicated to all the things wrong with Bella that Meyer did not intend. I really should.)

The short and sweet definition from Wikipedia goes as following...

A fictional character, usually female and especially in fanfic, whose implausible talents and likeableness weaken the story.

I know when you hear the words "Mary Sue" you immediately think of the main love interest of our very own Spiderman, right? Or at least that's what I think of. The term "Mary Sue" actually originated not from the popular Spiderman comics and movies, but of a Star Trek fan-fic.

The Urban Dictionary describes a Mary Sue as the following....

A female character who is so perfect that she is annoying. The name originated in a very short Star Trek story that mocked the sort of female characters who showed up in fanfiction. It usually refers to original female characters put into fanfiction, but can refer to any character. Mary-Sues are characters who are usually extraordinarily gorgeous, amazingly talented, unusually powerful, and exceedingly attractive to whoever the author has a crush on. They often possess ridiculously fancy and pretentious first names -- Angel, Raven, Jewel, Lorelei Bianca Julia Marizza Snape -- and are very, very annoying.

 I love the urban dictionary sometimes, I really do. Especially times like now when I can't think of a better way to put it.

The obvious example is Bella from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Just another reason I would not recommend that book to anyone. No matter what this girl does, everyone loves her. She has guys drooling (sometimes quite literally) after her every step. No one gets mad at her. She's literally "perfect"!

Before I go off on that soapbox, let's rein in the topic. Bella's only flaw *ahem* make that the only flaw given to her on purpose would be clumsiness. I know we did a big circle here, but my point is that Bella Swan is a Mary Sue. Points against her: everyone loves her, she's some sort of freak of nature (in more ways than one, of course, but I mean with the vampire-y powers), everyone loves her, she gets good grades, makes friends easy (?), and even smells good!?


Mary Sues sever any really connections that could offer between themselves and the readers. The only thing they can give is an idea of "perfection" that the readers will never achieve, and that bond is fragile. It's like having friends just to get a hold of their money. First off, it's not nice. Secondly, it's not real friendship and it won't last.

The point is don't write these "perfect" people into your story. They drag the story down. Here's a great resource on Mary Sue's http://www.fictionpress.com/s/1440163/1/The_Official_Mary_Sue_Manual. It is mainly related to Mary Sues in fan-fiction, but it can relate to novel writing too. There's some great advice there on how to avoid writing them.

Hope I cleared some things up. Have a nice spring and keep writing!

Writing Advice

Well, this is a very broad topic. I'm going to make this pretty general.

A list of things you SHOULD/MUST do:

1. Never give up. This is big - if you can't finish it, move on or change it, but don't give up on your writing unless you've been brainwashed by zombies to hate writing.
2. Keep your characters interesting and real. I (and 98% of the rest of humanity) can't stand flat, boring characters.
3. Include a background to your story; not just setting, but why things are as they are. Include who, what, when, where, why, and how. You can't just put what, when, and where.
4. Love your work. Have fun. Find beauty in the words. Even in writer's block, look at the simple beauty of language and writing, and smile.
5. Let your dreams be just as real as your writing. Let your emotions be just as real as your characters. Let your family and friends be just as real as your imagination.


A list of things you SHOULD NOT do if you value your life and/or self-esteem:

1. Don't be obviously cliche. It's like a crutch: it's okay in the first draft, but eventually your writing has to stand up on its own without looking cliche.
2. Don't let zombies brainwash you into hating writing. That's a tragedy worse than anything Shakespeare could have come up with.
3. Never plagorize. That's very uncreative, and people will catch you and tie you to a stake and leave you for the wild beasties of the night. *Ahem* Or at least thunk you over the head with your book.
4. Don't be normal, and don't let your character be, either. I went to a church event back in January, called Acquire the Fire - the entire theme was "Normal is Not Enough!" Live by those words.
5. Never, for the sake of all that's good and pure, put the almost right word. There's a big difference between skinny and emaciated. Between indigo and dark blue. Between strolling and sprinting.

In other words, be creative and fun. Love your writing and never let it go. Don't be unfun, uncreative, and a work-stealer.

Another few things:

Read a lot. And don't stick to just one genre; love general fiction, fantasy, science-fiction, romance, paranormal, adventure, dystopian, YA novels, children's books, adult series. Love nonfiction and facts and research. Love the sounds the words make. Love it all, until you feel like it'll drown you if you don't write/type them into a whole new existence.

Experiment with your writing. I admit, I have trouble on this one - but playing it safe leads to a boring book. If you add something new, it interests you and the reader. Add a crazy character! Change your plot drastically! Turn your MC into a unicorn! Make it take place in space instead of New York! Change it from first person to third person! Make it in future tense!

Put yourself in your character's shoes. Unless they need them, of course. And I'm not asking you to go kill a dragon or fall in love with a vampire (unless he actually drinks human blood and doesn't sparkle). I just want you to imagine doing them, and how you'd feel. We will know you ignored this advice if your character is happy and laughing in a hostage negotiation (unless they're hyped up on drugs).

Push through to the end of the book. I know I said earlier you can move on, but that's kind of relative. I mean, if you change the plot enough because your original idea didn't work, didn't you already move on and create a whole new book? The content of your story is a delicate balance; when you make a major change, you've already made a major change to the ending. You've made a major change to that entire world.

This is pretty good for improvisation. (I really should think more before I post these posts.) Anyways, have a blessed week and happy writing! <3

New Things to Come

We're coming back into our routine. You didn't give up on us have you? :D

Now that we're back, we're bringing some new events, new people, and of course, more writing! What to look for in the coming weeks:

Blogfests - Yes, I've always wanted to host one and here we are!

More Published Authors - More authors to aspire to and more writing advice to keep you going along.

New Design - Change can be good, and so we're changing our blog design. I know we'll miss the coffee

New Writing - Guest writers, interviews, guest posts, stories, and so much more!

Thank you guys so much for your support and keep writing!

Well, It's been Forever.

It's been a long, long time since anyone posted, so I've taken it upon myself. And since I haven't planned anything, I'll give you a few resources for when you're stuck.

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

A bunch of random generators, for naming, setting, magical needs. :D

http://dictionary.reference.com/

Because dictionaries are useful. I'm pretty sure you don't need this one, though.

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/

This person has an entire collection of entries on emotions, settings, weather, color, etc. Very useful.

http://thestairwaytojannah.blogspot.com/

Almost Out of Ink - an awesome artist. You can get inspiration for your writing from sharpie drawings.

I used to this other, awesome website (I think it was on blogspot, but I really don't know) on burns and other injuries. Another place you can try is

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/214

but I can't tell you which of those links are helpful, because I haven't checked some of them out yet. The obvious ones (i.e. google, wikipedia) are good, of course, but a few I've never heard of.

So, I hope you find this useful. I don't really have anything else to say, so I'll just leave you with a random quote:
"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!"
-Friedrich Nietzsche