Writer's... Block. Fix=Fantasy Prompt!

Something terrible has happened.
     Yes, I have writers block.
     Gasp! Horrible, isn't it? It's seriously annoying. It's like I can't motivate myself to write when I want/need to! I've just realized that it's been going on for a while. Gah. So dumb. Well, let's do a prompt on my favorite genre: fantasy! I'll try this one with you. Maybe it will help. Hopefully.
     Alright, prompt is this.
     Use this idea and any object in the picture: You sit up surrounded by running, screaming warriors, covered in dirt, dust and something else and holding something sharp. You can't remember how you got there. All you know is, you're in trouble.

    Put any spin on it you want, change the weapons however you want -- I have no idea if they're from a game or whatever, I just found them on Google, don't belong to me, obviously -- make those weapons have any powers you desire and make your story.
     Stumped? Don't be. Your character has amnesia, wakes up on a battle ground with a weapon and has to defend themselves. They're probably amateur at it, or maybe they remember their skills or their hands and body do. They could have flashbacks as they fight, making them clumsier, or they could go through the whole battle having no idea what they're fighting for and find out later, maybe almost kill a friend or two by accident -- thus making a point for the rest of the story. Who doesn't love a good amnesia story? Heck, at this point, you don't even know they're past! You come up with it as you go!
     Yep, I definitely like this one.
     Get writing and good luck!
-Anevay

Fountain pens

Gasp, you're right, there are pictures of fountain pens! Very perceptive. I was just paroozing Google and stumbled on fountain pens. I love fountain pens -- they write so beautiful it makes me jealous.
     I know what you're thinking: Anevay, you and your stupid vague prompts... but trust me, this one has ideas hidden in there, just like all my others.
    For example: who's pen is it? What is used to write? Something sinister, graceful, beautiful, hurtful, kind, thoughtful? Does it do anything special? Is the ink different? What's inside the pen? Does this pen have a particular history? How old is it? Where did it come from or WHO did it come from? (And there are plenty of fountain pens in the world -- just look on Google).
     There are endless possibilities in any picture. You just have to know where to look.
-Anevay

Analyzing another Writer's work

Alright, this is mostly because I'm obsessed, but hey, why not? As a writer, you should always examine other writers work too, correct? To better improve yourself and see what they do? Ah, that's just my excuse.
     In order from most favorite to least favorite (currently), here are my favorite series ever (and this was really hard to compose):

-Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
-The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
-Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
-The Beyonders by Brandon Mull

-Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
-Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan
-Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
-The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
-The 39 Clues (by multiple authors, started by Rick Riordan)
-The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
-Sammy Keyes by Wendelyn Vandraanan
    And I'm sure there are TONS of others, but these are my ABSOLUTE favorites of every series I've ever read. Currently, my biggest obsession is The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, but we'll start with John Flanagan, since he's right at the top of my favorite author's list along with J.K. Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull and Rick Riordan.

So, here are my words of praise for John: an incredible writer! Gives just enough detail without overdoing it. He has incredible character development, battle scene descriptions, and drama balanced with the cheese and intensity. He grabs you with both plot and characters, which I find extremely important. You've got to have a balance, and John definitely has it. He's realistic and dramatic without going overboard.

    And, since I admire her greatly, we'll talk next about J.K. Rowling; author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling has created a incredible world that all readers can enjoy. She eases you in to the story by easing Harry into it with you. Perhaps the most incredible thing about Rowling's writing are her connections. It's amazing! Everything in the books happens for a reason--there isn't one important detail, in all the times that I've read them, that hasn't come back in and connected perfectly into the story line. Each person dies for a specific reason, and each object/detail/plot expectations is brought it in at the right moments and in the right way. Nothing is wrong or rushed. She executes her plot beautifully, and I admire and envy her for it.

     Next on my list is Brandon Sanderson! Oh, Stormfather, you have no idea how much I'm obsessed with his writing. While his books are generally very long, he does character development incredibly. Each character has a background that you can see in their personality, that differs and makes them unique, and that he tells beautifully. His connects are flawless, too, as far as I can tell (I'm on my second way through The Way of Kings). His landscape descriptions bring the place into mind, which is important in a fantasy world where you create everything. Another prominent thing I've noticed about his writing is that he's very realistic: he doesn't over-dramatize things like a lot of writers do--storms, I do it too. It's an excellent acquired skill that has brought his books to life. He tells his world like it's real, and makes you believe it is too.

Ah, here we are with Brandon Mull! I'm in love with his writing,too. He is so talented. He too has an amazing world of fantasy that captures you. His writing has a great flow to it. Nothing feels out of place. And look, he also has awesome character development. I'm always finding myself in love with the characters he creates. He can make characters you love and characters you hate, along with an amazing story line and creative, one of a king fantasy world. Not only that, but he has a beautiful grasp on reality. He writes realistically with emotions, differing his characters and making them stand out. I also love his writing style!

Last but not least, I'll touch on Rick Riordan. I love the way he has taken the loved series Percy Jackson, with it's Greek mythology based story line. He has the basics of the gods and the mythology, but he brings in his own details and gives the gods personalities. He makes Percy likeable, and has each character stand out. He, like J.K. Rowling, eases you into another world as he eases Percy in with you, making it feel better to read. And in the end, holy Zeus, you love Percy! You even love some of the bad guys. I also love the idea he has with his main series: Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles--they're all based on a certain type of mythology. Greek and then Egyptian, two that are completely different, and yet he also has them connect. I love it. He's a great writer.

     So, if you'll notice from the descriptions above, they all involve character development and descriptions, flowing writing, balance, realistic, likeable, intense. There are many aspects to writing, and those authors mentioned above, I feel, have mastered many of those techniques. Many of which I someday hope to master as well and join them on that list.
     Examining and analyzing another writers work always helps, even if you don't think they're very good. Sometimes that helps you realize what you're doing good. And so, I salute those writer's above and say huzzah to them and their work.

Aw, and there's me! YES, YES, YES!

-Anevay

Trees, trees, and more trees...

Yes, there are a lot of pictures of trees. I bet you know what today's prompt is about, don't you?
     I know what you're thinking: WHY a TREE?
     Yeah, well, what happened around that tree? What memories were made there? Did someone get hurt there? Is there a specific person remembered by that tree? What's IN the tree? What is it made of? What does it look like? Who was the first one to find that tree? WHERE is the tree? What's around the tree? What secrets does it have, if any? Why, exactly, are you writing about that specific tree?
     There are so many possibilities with this prompt. I was amazed at how many possibilities there are. The characters that tree helped shape, the memories it made, the people and things it's seen, the years... there are endless possibilities! That's why I posted several pictures, just to give you some ideas.
     That's about all I've got today. Now, it's time to separate the fanfiction portion of my writing brain from the MY writing brain... now I've got a block. Lovely. Well, here we go again...
     Good luck!
-Anevay

Dialogue

Dialogue, dialogue... some struggle with it, some excel with it. So this week, see what you can do with dialogue. Try writing a story that has nothing but dialogue to explain the situation. It's good practice to get you thinking of what people would say. Make it realistic and fun, or whatever you would like.
     So how about a quick lesson on dialogue? When some one is speaking put "quotations" or 'single apostraphies' on either side of what they are saying (depending on your country, region, blah, blah, etc). Include an exclamation mark (!), a question mark (?), or period (.) inside of them, not outside--I would think this was obvious for writers. If you're a writer, you're most likely a reader and therefore should study the books you read and the way they write.
     Anyway, that's all I've got today. So have some fun with dialogue, don't be a hypocrite, and read!
Here's a powerpoint I used to teach a Creative Writing class of 7th and 8th graders. Good fun.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Qc3J6gXjwu6bHRqqQ_WoTZSQUIvMtQX132xVIw3taoA/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

-Anevay

Fanfiction

New topic: Fanfiction.
     Fanfiction is great. It gives you a chance to take other people's characters and play around with them. What that does is helps you stick to a character's personality--it tests your ability to stay in character and not be OOC (out of character), which is a big part of writing.
     If you can take someone else's character and use them like your own, that helps you keep your own characters doing what they would really do.
     So, Fanfiction does three things: 1) give you ready-made characters to play with, 2) tests your ability to stay in character and 3) teaches you to realize that you've got to make things realistic. Some things just wouldn't happen to certain characters because of the way they are.
    Well, that's about it. Have fun with it!
-Anevay

A Book of Dreams

(Under dreams on Google :)

What would you put in a book of dreams? Fantasies, love, desires, hope, family, friends, humor, stories--the possibilities are endless. What would your character, would would you, put in a book of dreams?
What stories would be inside? What people? What experiences, what laughter, what desires and hopes would be written there?
Princes, Kings, real life, fairy tails, perfection, a better world, a better anything, really.
How would you describe a book of dreams? How would you write it? A book of dreams defines your characters hopes and hates--dreams, thoughts--define everything about a character.
What would be in theirs? What would be in yours?

The Commas Create the Drama

     I'm posting now to give advice. I got the idea as I was editing my little sister's story for her Creative Writing class.
     Punctuation is probably one of the most important aspects of writing. Take this, for example:
     Commas create drama!
     That's right--it's underlined and bolded! (And there's an exclamation point--that marks importance too)  That means it's important. Depending on where you put a comma, it can tell the reader where to pause, where things end, where it gets harder for the character to continue or breathe or anything. Commas, punctuation, periods, are where things start to become real.
     If you don't know your punctuation, then I hope you learn to. You can really get creative with punctuation. It's half the writing! That and spelling, of course--along with grammar and word choice... but those are topics for another time!
     Happy writing!
-Anevay

New prompt? I'm thinking YES.

Snagging this one from my Writing Club... thanks, Stephanie... and here we are! My prompt on this was a very depressing, very well-written story about one of my favorite characters I have created. I know, kind of contradictory, but the pessimistic characters are always my favorite! Here we are.
     It's a character development story. Pick two or more of these questions, choose a character already created or make a new one, and answer the chosen questions in your story. And the questions are:
1. What do they fear?
2. What do they remember with guilt?
3. What is their happiest memory?
4. How do they feel about love? Have they been in love before?
5. How much torture would it take for them to give up their mother?

I know, I know: bit random. It just caught my attention on Google.

6. What is one thing they would change about themselves?
7. What is one secret they would never tell anyone?
8. What is their ideal life?
9. Given the choice, would they rather kill themselves or kill a stranger?
10. What do they dream when they sleep?

     Trust me, these are important questions that open the body and soul of a character. It reveals the way they not only see themselves, but others, as well as their family--and life. I was surprised how well this worked.
     See what you can come up with!
-Anevay

Journalism

Journalism, let's see...
     This will be a fairly short post. Journalism, or any newspaper article for that matter, I believe requires a sense of realism, conviction and tone.
     The realism has to be done by they way you describe things in detail, and how well you describe their detail. It's about telling people about what they didn't know and not only making them know it, but even want to know it. You have to seize what you want and pin people's attention down with your words.
     Your conviction is what makes people believe it. It's what makes them want to know it, because you're writing on it. You've got to convince them it matters.
     Tone, however, is particularly important... the way you write about it is the way they view it, or vise versa. One way or the other.
    If you write journalism for a living, I salute you. For though I am a writer, I'm only developing my journalism and news article skills. Good luck and happy writing.
-Anevay

When is enough?

Advice for the day...
     You know, not every writer can please every reader out there. Some readers like fantasy, some sci-fi, romance, fiction. There are the anti-magic readers out there. The realists and techno-geeks, the romantics and action-adrenalin freaks. And though there are tons of different readers in the world, there are books to please every one of them.
     The point, you ask? Well, my advice for you writers out there is this: if you want to become popular, write what you want, but write it well and write it appropriate. Play with the audience. Tease them, torture them, push them to the edge, make them cry and make them laugh but know when it's too much and when it's too little. Readers like just the right amount. I would know--I'm a reading fanatic myself.
     Writers should understand that people don't like to feel uncomfortable while reading--you have to play to your audience. Play the tune they want and play it good.
     A writer should understand a person's motives. That said, it is also essential for a writer to be realistic to some extent, even writing fantasy.
     Your challenge from today's post: practice writing in just enough detail to spike a reader's passion, but not too much that they become tired of reading it.
     Your next question now might be, 'How do I do that?' And here's my answer.
     To have just enough you need to have detail. Follow the character. Don't put everything about the character into one paragraph or even one chapter--siphon it out slowly so that the character grows on the reader.
     Don't put descriptions of something into one paragraph, either, or, if the case calls, even in the same chapter or page. Ease it out as the character sees it. Describe it as the character would; in their words and in their ideas of things.
     A writer has to train themselves to see when to stop and when to keep going. Soon enough it will become instinct.
-Anevay