Rizkaland: A Writing Journey

I've been working on Rizkaland in some form or fashion for nearly ten years now. That's longer than any of my other worlds, with the exception of the Rowa, which isn't nearly as developed. Though, to be honest, the Rowa is part of the Rizkaland mulitverse.

In other words, I've been working on Rizkaland for a very long time, and it pretty much represents most of my writing journey.

So, looking back, some things that this world has taught me about writing:

1. How to stick with a story.
Previously, the longest thing I wrote was maybe a thousand words long, and usually unfinished. Working on the play that became book two not only taught me to finish a draft, but to come back and rewrite it, make it better.

2. How to write when I'm not sure what to say next.
I was just reading through the one unfinished draft of Lady Dragon, Tela Du that I still have, and ran across this line.
A. Jane: You may call me Aunt Jane, even though my name is Sarah.
Now, apart from banging my head against the wall from the sheer idiocy of this statement (because I never mentioned it again, or explained why she wanted to be called Jane), I have to admire this line, because, to be honest, I wasn't sure what to write next, so I just wrote something. And sometimes, a writer just has do do that.

3. How to write weird stuff and then edit it back out.
Have I mentioned Nerissa? Well, basically, she was a doll that I gave Clara in lieu of the sword she has now. Nerissa was a magic doll. Clara could, um, basically use her as a second body and eyes and go and spy on people. It was weird, though I wouldn't say it was the worst idea I ever had, just not one well suited to Rizkaland. But I didn't know this until I tried it, and now Nerissa is gone. I may resurrect her into a completely different book someday, I don't know.

4. How to write a guy.
I am not a guy. I have very few guys in my life. (At least, not since I graduated from AWANA's Truth and Training, which was about the time I started writing). I find a guy's brain to be a very foreign place. However, when I sat down to write Water Princess, Fire Prince, I was determined to write the best guy I could. And, with the help of a lot of reading (books by male authors - oh, and marriage counselling books.), I finally figured it out.

5. How to steal like an artist.
And how to blend all the little bits I collect until it's something all my own.

6. How to write romance.
Have I told you about the first proposal scene I ever wrote? Basically, I lined up the young men on one side, young ladies on the other, had the boys each ask one of the girls, got their answer, and once they were all paired up, called it good. I'm serious! In fact, I had multiple scenes like that all throughout the Rizkaland series.
But then I got to Clara and Andrew. and I knew I had to do them different. They were the only two pulled through from our world in their book, and it allowed me to focus on them more. And it allowed me to build them a relationship.

7. And last but not least, how to write an allegory.
How to filter God's Truths through fiction, so to speak. I don't pretend to write anything near the perfection of Jesus' parables, but I'm learning.



And so we conclude the final day of the official tour! Thank you so much to everyone who participated! You do have until Sunday night to finish entering all the giveaways, by the way, so hurry along and do that. I'll be posting the winners on Monday!

Interviews:
Dolls, Books, and Things that Matter - Abraham
Dreams and Dragons - Me
writinganyone - Me
Reviews:
Lianne Taimenlore
Flights from Aerie - Dual Review with the Blogger's Younger Brother!
Elvish Pens, Fantastical Writings.



Free Books! Currently, the following books are free:

The Ankulen: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EZAXWYM/

CinderEddy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZNW2TO

Saffron’s Big Plan: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HYS9W2/

Giveaways! I have two. The first is a rafflecopter giveaway with the prize being a signed physical copy of Water Princess, Fire Prince and a bottle of Citrus Bliss, which is a essential oil blend of about seven citruses and vanilla extract - and as readers of Water Princess, Fire Prince know, that's the smell of warm bathwater in Rizkaland.

The other prize is for the person who leaves the MOST comments during this tour, be they here on my blog, on my posts for the tour - including the countdown posts I was doing last week - or on the interviews and reviews and such on other blogs. (And yes, you can comment multiple times on the same post, but there must be someone else commenting between your comments, or you must be replying. And constructive comments, please. Don't be commenting just to be commenting, or I won't count it.) I'm not entirely certain what this giveaway's prize will be, but I'm kinda leaning towards a chance to Alpha read book two. If so, if there's a tie, then I'll award the prize to both people who tie.

a Rafflecopter giveaway