Blasts from the Past: Editing

Some of us have backposts on editing. Just thought that I'd share.

Abigayle Claire:
The Alpha Beta Conundrum 

Kendra E. Ardnek:
Editing
Criticism
Changes

On the Other Blogs: Editing

There is so much information on editing out there that there was no way that I was going to fit it onto my blog. So I had our authors post about it on their own.

First of all, Sarah Holman has a video on how to find a good editor even if you, yourself, aren't good at editing.

Erika Mathews has a Line Edit Walkthrough.

Now, onto the blog posts.

Kelsey Bryant has a Copy Edit Walkthrough.

When Should You Edit? Rebekah A. Morris answers this question.

Do you Fear Rewriting? Claire M. Banschbach is here to help with that!

Hope Ann has an awesome post on the value of Beta Readers!

Character Encounters - March 2017

Would you like to know a fun way to sharpen your writing skills AND connect with other authors and writers? Participate in link-ups! Link-ups are writing challenges where people are given a theme, they write a blog post according to that theme, and then they put the link to that post into a collection receptacle (inlinkz seems to be popular).

Beautiful People is a popular link up, where Cait and Skye assign us ten questions a month to answer about our characters.
Skye also hosts Novel Idea. I'm not entirely sure what that is, but it sounds fun.
Rachel Heffington used to host Chatterbox, but I've not seen her post anything new in a while.
Miss Melody Muffin does Quote Quest, where she posts a quote, and we write a story about the quote.
Katie used to host Snippets of Story ... but she's no longer blogging. Unfortunately. Someone new needs to take up the Snippets Torch, because Snippets are awesome.

And, of course, we have my Character Encounters, where you encounter a character of your choice in a location of my choice. I've kinda fallen out of habit in posting them, but I have one here for you guys in honor of Indie e-Con. And where are we going to meet our characters?

At Indie e-Con

I know that this is an online writing convention (hence the e-), but pretend with me that it's real. That we have a huge building in the middle of Dallas and all of us authors are here, and we're all in awesome indie costumes, and it's fun.

And meet your character.

Then come back and post a link in the widget below.








In the comments - What Link-ups do you participate in? Do you know of any that you think I should do?

Character Encounters - December 2015

It seems as though I forgot to post a CE last month. Sorry, with NaNo and all, it completely slipped my mind - and I BARELY remembered this month, as evidenced by the fact that this post is a whole week late.

This character encounter will be a bit different, as I'm including it as part of the Rizkaland festivities.

But, before I get to that, and to heighten the suspense, a few words about the party.

I have updated the main party page. Also, a random decision that I made today: Any pin you pin on the Rizkaland Group board during this month will earn you two points for the giveaway. I've already found a notebook and started keeping track of tally points.

Now, on to the CE.

Where are we going? Well, feel free to guess for a few moments. I'm QUITE certain that you'll enjoy this lovely locale.

Think you've figured it out? Let's see if you're right.

*drumroll....*

Rizkaland!!!

How's that for exciting? And, yes, participation in this linkup will earn you points towards the giveaway. Five points, to be exact.

Just encounter any of your characters in my lovely world, and we'll be all set to go. And, so as to not limit any of my readers who aren't exactly writers in their own right, you can encounter any Rizkan character instead. (or, a Rizkan character AND one of your own. How's that for fun?)

Just one word of caution - Laura cannot count as your sole character if you choose to just do a Rizkan character. She's your ride over. Find an actual Rizkan character (even if they're originally from earth) to encounter.

Character Encounters - May 2015

And you guys just thought I'd changed my mind and decided not to do this after all ...

Actually, I just was having sticky internet issues, and couldn't get inlinkz to pull up so I could put together the link-up, and I also had to find the brain power and energy to do it, because works been sapping all of mine, and what little I have left has been given to the editing of Water Princess, Fire Prince. Speaking of which, I just posted the sign-up for the cover reveal, which will occur June 19th, just hop over here and fill it out.

My cousin Benjamin's doing the cover art - he's the son of the cousin who did the Bookanias, and helped with Kingdom's. He went to college for this sort of thing, and he's already sent me a mock. Let me tell you this: This is going to be my best cover yet.

But that's not what you came here to hear about (though we can all agree that it's great news), you came to learn where you'll be encountering your characters.

Sooooo ... I guess I'll tell you. This month, you get to meet your character at the ...

Playground

as suggested by Jenelle Schmidt. This is a location that'd been rolling around in the back of my head, but I'd never thought about it when the time came to actually posting. And, yes, I'm deviating from the theme I set before us at the beginning of the year. It was just too difficult to write fanfiction and a Character at the same time. I chose it because it works well with the character I'm planning to encounter (yes, yes, I know, technically cheating, but I'm the one who designs these, not you - start your own link-up.)

So meet your character at a playground, be it a large, complicated one that takes up a full acre, or a the small swing-set and slide thing in your church's backyard. (Or your backyard, if you're scraping for ideas, though I'd prefer it if you're at a more public place.)

Also, for bonus points (though what the points are for, I can't pretend to say), I was kinda leaning towards the train suggestion, so if there's a train involved in your encounter, I'll be very amused. Just sayin'

Oh, and it came to my attention last month that (a) most of the participants are new to the whole encountering business and (b) I haven't been as on the ball as I was originally, when I would post my encounter the day of, or at least within a few days of posting the link-up, and therefore (c) you don't know that there is a certain way that I like to see the links entered. (Not that this is a set in stone rule, but I'm slightly OCD about this sort of thing.) Basically, the format for the "Name" blank on the link up is as follows: Your name - Your character's name. That's because I want to see what character you encountered. So, go forth and encounter!

Character Encounters - October 2014

It's hard to believe that I've been hosting these Character Encounters for two years now, but I have. Since it's October, it's time to change the theme. The first year, all locations were from around the town. The second year, I did places from around the house. (There were exceptions on both, but I apologize)

So what's the theme this year?

I think ya'll are going to like it.

This year, you will be encountering your characters in fictional locations. I'll try to pick well-known worlds, of course, and I think we'll have some fun.

First stop?

Narnia

That's right, folks! You get to encounter your beloved character in Narnia itself. I thought it a fitting location, since it is the world got me serious about writing, and because I picked up an all-in-one edition at my library's for-sale rack yesterday for a dollar.

You can place your encounter at any point in Narnian history, and in any location, including the other countries surrounding Narnia. Your character can be a visitor like yourself, or you can challenge yourself by working your character into the scenery. Or you can work yourself into the scenery and just have the character visiting.

Basically, have fun, and maybe you'll learn a thing or three about your character.

Kendra the Bookworm

Cait and Mime, over at the Notebook Sisters, are hosting a linkup about reading and writing, things that both of them are interested in. And know what? So am I! I'm definitely taking part.

Today, I'm answering the reading questions, since I still need to hunt down some snippets for the writing one. I'll try to have it up within a few days though!

1. What was your overall favourite book this year? (Yes. Pick one.)
I'm staring at all of the books I gave five stars on goodreads and I have to say that, out of all of them, no, not that one. Eep - that one was good ... oh, that one, too!

Eh, I think I'll go with Everburn. That was a really good book. Started slow, and I took forever to get into it, and there were rough spots, but in the end, it was such a beautiful story, and I loved all of the characters.


2. Favourite debut(s)? (Author must have been first published in 2013.)
The Foundlings, by J. Mark Miller. (I think he had a few short stories before that, but they seem to have disappeared from his amazon list)
The Princess and the Sage, by Anne-Girl.
Can I count Haphazardly Implausible, by Miss Jack and Annabeth's War, by Jessica Greyson? I know they were 2012, but it was November and December, so it was almost 2013.

3. Which books did you reread this year?
I don't reread books. I did pull the Lord of the Rings off my shelf and skim through it a few times, however. Oh, and I just picked up a free kindle version of The Nutcracker, and while I've read it before, I full intend to read it again somewhere over the hecticness of the holidays. It's not an intense book, and I love the story so much. (And I'm planning on writing some form of a sequel to it, so I need to brush up on the plot)

4. Favourite cover(s) this year!
Um ... All of them? Okay, Okay, I'll show you a few.


Delicious looking, aren't they? Actually, I love almost every cover of every book I've read. This is just a few.

5. Worst cover(s)?
As I said above, I've loved almost every cover I've read. But If I have to go with a worst cover, I'll go with The Soldier's Cross by Abigail Hartman. Not that it's a bad cover, but something about it strikes me as unprofessional, and it's a traditional publisher, so I can afford to be a bit less forgiving. (Though maybe if I were to see a physical copy, this opinion might change) This doesn't mean I didn't love the book, though! Once I got into it, I devoured it!


6. What self-published books did you read this year?
Um ... you really want a list? At least half of the books I read are self-published (me being a self-published author myself, I like to support my peers). And frankly, I can't, off the top of my head, say which ones were self-published, and which ones weren't. And just looking at the covers isn't any help. You see the great covers I have above? Eight of them I know for a fact to be self-published.

But since you want me to, I'll make a list ...

Destiny of a Few, and Destiny of a Galaxy, by Sarah Holman
Everburn by Robert Bunch (I think ... it looks and feels like a self published)
Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen
The Heart of Acrea and The Fate of Acrea by Nancy Sager
Duty, Wren, and Exchange by Rachel Rossano (that's three books there)
The Foundlings by J. Mark Miller
Annabeth's War by Jessica Greyson
Haphazardly Implausible, its short story collection and Abolished Impracticality, by Miss Jack Lewis Baillot
The Princess and the Sage by Anneliese Blackeney 
Champion in the Darkness by Tyrean Martinson
Firmament: Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington
Supervillain of the Day by Katie Lynn Daniels
Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman by Lilly Fang
The Storykeepers by Mir Foote
No Ordinary Hero by Joyce A. Scott
A School for Villians by Ardyth DeBruyn
Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James
Coralina by Anita Valle
King's Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Shortcuts by Stewart J.W. Reynolds
Living with Ogres by Mitt Ray
Egg Hunt by Pamela Daniels
Isabel by Karen Rosario

A few others are possible self published, but I think that's all of them!

7. Which book(s) gave you a massive hangover?
The Foundlings. (See above). I usually recover quickly, even from cliff-hangers, but this one had a cliff that was just plain evil. There was no warning at all, just a character being captured, two secrets being revealed (both of which I had been partially suspecting for a while) and no explanations. And yes, if a sequel is ever published.... I will be reading it. I hate the fact that it didn't have a proper climax, but I do want to know what happens next.

8. Best standalone you read?
Most of the books I read were series, but I really enjoyed What Came from the Stars, by Gary D. Schmidt. It was an interesting blend of Fantasy and Sci-fi, and the writing was almost poetical. I had to refer often to the index at the back at the book, but for the most part, it flowed well.


9. Biggest book(s) you've read this year?
I honestly have no idea. I read mostly on my kindle, so I don't always get a real feel for how long they are. I know Everburn was pretty thick, as was Eye of the Oracle, and I read Dune, by Frank Herbert. 

10. Book(s) you followed the hype for and then loved!
I don't really follow hype, but I did keep half an eye on Mark of Athena, and quite enjoyed it when it got out.

11. Most disappointing book(s) you read this year?
Spirit Fighter, by Jerel Law. I found it on the shelf at the library, and from the description on the back, thought it might be a Christian version of Percy Jackson. And that's basically what it was. But without the snappy writing, great plot, and Percy's amazing voice. And I didn't quite like the theology, so it didn't sit well with me.


12. Favourite leading-female character?
Ela, the titular character from Prophet by R. J. Larson. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I only just finished reading the book, but she was so well done. She was the first woman prophet in her world, but despite breaking gender roles, it didn't come off as feministic. She was so sweet and humble, and a lovely character to spend time with.

13. Favourite leading-male character?
Prince Moss from No Ordinary Hero. Yes, he was a frog, and yes he did more than his fair share of complaining. But he grew up so much, in the figurative sense. And he had an interesting sense of humor.

14. Best romance(s)?
I do not, as a rule like romances in my books, but either I've softened to the genre, or I've been running across some pretty good ones!
For instance, Brielle and Tomas in Duty were amazing. Theirs was a politically arranged marriage, but they made it work, and it was beautiful. I also loved Wren and her love interest (whose name I forgot) in Wren. It wasn't an arranged marriage, but I liked the way it played out.
And I loved Maria and her love interest (who, for spoiler reasons, will remain nameless) in the Destiny Trilogy. Very sweet, and while it may have disappointed a few readers, I was perfectly content with it.
And then there was Annabeth and Ransom in Annabeth's War. Again, very sweet.
Oh, and Renny and the main character (whose name I have also forgotten) in Heart of Acrea. Their "proposal" seen was epic. (Best way to sell me on a romance is to have an epic proposal, preferably in an unexpected setting such as a battle.)
Lord McDougal and Lady Mercy in Loresmen. Very sweet, and definitely not the most important part of the series, but definitely a crowing glory.
Billy and Bonnie, Ashley and Walter, Sapphira and Elam, and several others in Bryan Davis's series.
Oh, and there's a pair that I ship in the Haphazardly Implausible series ... but I'm not quite on speaking terms with them at the moment for ... reasons.
And there are others, but I can't call them off the top of my head.

15. What book(s) hit the DNF list? (Did not finish.)
There's quite a list of those ... but with most, I do intend to, at some point, get back to them. They were just too intense for my tired brain at the moment.

16. What book(s) did you read out of your comfort-zone?
I read a whole slew of sci-fi's in October, which, if you had told me that I would be reading them two years ago, I would have asked you to get your head checked. I didn't like it, you see, being a hard-core Fantasy and Historical Fiction fan. But I was introduced to non-alien sci-fi through the Destiny Trilogy and Red Rain. And my sister has become a Trekkie in the last two years, so I've slowly come over. I still love Fantasy more, but I can admit that I like it about as much as HiFi. (And truthfully, I don't mind aliens, since one of my favorite all-time series is Lewis's Space Trilogy)

I've also been slowly reading a Christian Contemporary Ninja novel ... It's an intriguing book, my only complaint is that the characterization and description such is a bit choppy.

17. Which author did you read the most from?
It's a tie between Bryan Davis and Suzanne Collins, from whom I've read five books each. Of these two authors, Bryan Davis is my favorite.

18. Top 5 books you'd recommend from all the books you've read this year?
Can I cheat and do series? Please?
I'm going to pretend that I can.

1. Acrean Conquest by Nicole Sager. I haven't read the last book yet, but the first two are breathtaking.
2. Destiny Trilogy by Sarah Holman. An king story in space.
3. Dragons in our Midst by Bryan Davis. Amazing spin on dragons. Also, it's sequel series, Oracles of Fire.
4. Annabeth's War by Jessica Greyson
5. The Princess and the Sage

19. How many books did you read this year all up?
My Outread Aubrey shelf on Goodreads says 75 books, but I happen to know of two or three more that I couldn't find on goodreads or just didn't want people to know I read. 

20. What's a book you're hugely excited for coming out in 2014?!
Oh ... grr ... what is a book I'm looking forward to ...
How about a sequel to The Foundlings? I don't know that it'd be coming out in 2014, but I'd like it to. I'm dying to know if the girl gets rescued! And how she can possibly be that certain person's granddaughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Character Encounter - December 2013

Christmas. Oh, it's my favorite time of year. Nutcrackers ... candy canes ... hot chocolate ...

Oh, and Christmas Trees. I don't know if I've ever said this on my blog, but apart from having an excuse to watch all of my nutcracker ballets, movies, and on-ices, putting up a Christmas tree is my favorite part of Christmas.

Which brings me to where you need to have your character encounter today.

Christmas Tree

Whether you're in the process of putting it up, or just relaxing under the twinkling bows, meet your character wherever you have your Christmas Tree.

Oh, and for added fun, and since Christmas is a time of love and giving, I have two conditions for the character. First, it can't be a character from your NaNo (seriously, you're burnt out on that novel, focus on something else for a change) and second, it has to be a villain.

So, good luck!

Character Encounter - November 2013

And it is NaNo time! I've been busy tapping away at Just Another Sci-Fi ... but I can't let Character Encounters go forgotten.

Since I know all of you are chomping at the bits to get back to your books, I'll make this short ... but then again ... you might be hiding ... In which case, maybe I should make this longer so you can have a good excuse.

Ah ... choices, choices. Maybe I should go back to determining the answer to life, the world, and everything in it.

Grandma's House

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go ...

November is not only home to NaNo, but Thanksgiving, and most people go go Grandma's House to carve their turkey. It is at this event that I wish you to encounter your character. However, if you don't gobble down your stuffing there, set your CE wherever you do. Have fun!

Oh, wait, before I go, I'd just like to say that there is one stipulation for your character. It can't just be any character. It has to be one in your NaNo novel.

I haven't decided which of my cast of twelve I shall use, but probably John, since I've already revealed his name and the fact that he's in this book. Jen says she's going to do one this month as well, with Mynna. I'm eager to read it!

Character Encounter - October 2013

It seems only yesterday that I was contemplating doing up a link-up to help other authors develop their characters and (cough, cough) attract readers to my blog. Yes folks, shameless advertisement! I finally decided on Character Encounters, but kept forgetting to set up my first post. 

At last, on the second of October, I wrote up a post, found a linky, and posted it, telling everyone to meet their character at the library. Besides myself, three people joined. I was quite pleased with the results, so I did it again the next month. Only one other person took part, but I was competing with NaNo, so I guessed that it was too much to hope for to get anyone else to participate. I had a good turnout in December and so on and so forth.

And now it's October again! A month away from NaNo. I know what I'm writing - do you?

Anyways ... 

Where shall we encounter our lovely (and not so lovely) characters this month?

The Kitchen

To my knowledge all of you live in houses with kitchens ... if you don't, well maybe you're at a friend's or your parent's house. 

So, just be in a kitchen, either cooking or being awkward - maybe fetching something forgotten ... whatever. Just have fun.

Of Books, Bucket Lists, and Dinner Parties.

  

Over at The Book Chewers, they're holding weekly book-themed linkups.  Now I wasn't able to get last week's done last week, but I asked nicely, and they told me that I could do it this week instead. And I'm also doing this week's because it looks fun, too.

The theme of last week's was the impossible bucket list. Basically, a list of literary-themed things that you would like to do, but probably never will. (Please note, I read a lot of obscure books, so if you have questions pertaining to the origins of some of these, do ask and I will tell you where they came from)

1. Find Narnia at the back of my closet. (It will likely be the one where I keep my scarf collection, since my other closet isn't walk-in-able.)

2. Build a spaceship and fly to the Mushroom Planet

3. Fly with air-pirates over the Deepwoods.

4. Visit Castle Roogna

5. Understand the Starlight Barking.

6. Ride a dragon with Billy and Bonnie.

7. Read one of the books that Willow wrote

8. Fall into Underland and ride a giant bat

9. Discover my Savvy.

10. Get past the Good Magician Humphrey's challenges and ask him a question. 

11. Help Druet discover the Heart of Acrea.

12. Shoot Susan's bow.

13. Be adopted by Banderbears

14. Listen to Saaski play the bagpipes.

15. Discover the crown jewels with Maria

16. Dance with the fauns in Narnia

17. Talk with Ents. (They'll probably think me hasty, but ... oh, well.)

18. Watch a pfifltriggi work with metals on Malacandria

19. Be given the ability to speak with unicorns in Luster.

20. Travel with the Dragon and dwarf to unenchant the frog prince. 

21. Be caught by a Fairy Tale in the Wild.

22. Travel on a giant peach.

23. Find the Castle in the Attic

24. Visit Elimar with Makilien

25. Live with wolves with Julie.

26. Tour Paris with Madeline

27. Wash windows with the giraffe, the pelican and the monkey. 

28. Listen to the Oompa-loompa sing.

29. Watch Charlotte weave her web.

30. Conquer my fears in Chanticleer.

31. Debate with MacPhee

32. Fly on the Back of the Northwind.

33. Listen to the cricket sing

34. Fly to Neverland and visit Pixie Hollow

35. Attend the Princess School

36. Charm ogres with Ella and Charm.

37. Try to pass the Princess Test

38. Survive the fire swamp with Wesley and Buttercup

39. Travel with Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

40. Confuse Trolls with Bilbo

41. Make wishes with the Tsamiad (It's mispelled ... )

42. Fly on the magic carpet with the Phoenix

43. Travel with the Magic Tollbooth

44. Purify the Cove with Destiny and Jake.

45. Visit Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Upsidedown House.

46. Defy gravity with Claidi

47. Travel in the Glass Elevator

48. Read the Neverending Story.

49. Have a fairy touch me and become visible. (And watch her change her clothing!)

50. Call Captain Hook a codfish. Not very nice, I know, but he deserves it.

51. Ride in Captain Hogan's Submarine

52. Protect Prince Lachlan

53. Ride in the Magic Tree House

54. Go on an adventure with the Sage.

55. Wield a sword of Xiagaria

56. Save the world with logic.

57. Solve crime with Sherlock

58. Trick the Gnome King

59. Climb the mountain with Rowan of Rin.

60. Argue with Quint

61. Watch William Tell shoot his Arrow.

62. See the Everburn.

63. Solve mysteries with the Boxcar Children

64. Visit the paradise of Perelandra

And ... I could go on, I really could, but I shall stop there and to on to do this week's challenge. The Dinner party!

1. What are we eating?

Pancakes (From Nate the Great)

2. Who's cooking?

Nate's mother.

3. Who's funding this dinner party?!

Pippi Longstockings!

4. Invite a villain. (Be careful.)

Count Rosencross from the Peleg Chronicles

5. Who's likely to make a scene if the food is late?

The Lost Boys, led by Peter Pan. Let's just say, once they get bored, no one else will be.

6. Party feels a bit tense. Who's the comedic relief?

Walter from Dragons in our Midst. He'll come up with some sort of joke, probably having to do with Dragons and/or Excalibur. 

7. Someone's monopolising the conversation. Who's the hero at this dinner party?

The Sage from The Princess and the Sage. He's talking around everyone's heads and confusing everyone. 

8. Who wishes they weren't there?

The Princess from the above.

9. Who's the couple more interested in each other's gorgeous eyes then the food?

Caspian and Ramadu's daughter from Narnia.

10. Aw, someone's pet is eating food off the guests' plates. What's the creature and who's the owner?

That would be Andromeda's cat, Pickles, from Andromeda's Moon.

Characters in Costume - Lillillil

I'm joining in on a link-up thing called Characters in Costume. Basically, you dress up like a character (if your an author, make it one of you own) and tell your readers about said character.

Since I couldn't fine any working picture of Lillillil online for my monthly character encounter, I decided to dress up like her. Actually, I'm not 100% sure that I have the correct clothing ... but then again, I don't think she has a status quo when when it comes to her clothing.

(Oh, and her name is pronounced Lil-lil-lil.)

Lillillil is a Silion Princess from my work-in-planning Silivock. Silivock is the name of their world/planet, and it's part of my sister's SciFi/Fantasy world. According to V, it's in the Andromeda Galaxy. Silivock is inhabited by three very different people groups, the Silions, the Alivocks and the Ridlers.  

Silions are the ones who don't like to do anything that make sense. They're Range Empaths (they can project and read emotions) and touch Telepaths. Alivocks are pretty much their complete opposites. They don't do anything unless it makes 100% sense, and even then, they must make double sure. They're Range Telepaths and Touch Empaths.

Ridlers are the lowlife of society. They're similar to humans when it comes to how much they like to make sense ... but telepathic and empathetic communication is poison to them. Since they live in a world where almost everyone is tele/empathetic, they don't often live very long lives.

As Silivock opens, the Alivocks and Silions have not been on speaking terms for about a thousand years. In fact, both are convinced that the other group has ceased to exist.

Lillillil is the fourth daughter of the Silion King, and when the Silions capture an Alivock teacher/explorer, she's the one who begs his life to be spared, claiming that she has fallen in love with him. He is then made her tutor.

This is her jumping off of a cliff. She's "testing" Rikkard (the Alivock) to see if he "loves her." Supposedly, if he doesn't love her, he'd let her fall to her death. Since he catches her, she claims that means that he does.

Yes, she's a typical Silion.

And this is her begging Rikkard to "teach her to be sensible." And, no, I still haven't figured out what she means by that.

The hair style is the important part of the costume, for all of the Alisili (the general name for the inhabitants of Silivock) girls wear their hair in braids. Ridler wear one braid straight down the back. Alivocks and Silions get a bit more complicated. Alivocks have two or more braids spouting from the same ponytail, and Silions take their braids and loop them up so that the tails form a bit of a fountain.

Here's a bit better of a picture.

Lillillil fancies herself an inventor. She's trying to invent the computer, and she convinces Rikkard to help her.

Here she is trying to install the computer into a tree ...

I asked her why, and she replied that it was because popcorn grows on trees.

And I have no idea what she's trying to do in this picture.

So, that's Lillillil. I'm looking forward to writing about her when I get around to it.

Get your Novel Critiqued in June!

I'm just stopping by to tell you about two really good novel critique swaps in the month of June!

1. NaNoCritMo

NaNoCritMo is a trial run of something that will be, hopefully, something bigger in September. It is run by Lily J. an aspiring author who reviewed Sew a few months ago. The sign-up list is pretty thorough and simple to navigate. You can have up to four people critique your novel through this. (However, the flip side is that you'll have to critique a book for every critique that is made of yours) The deadline for sign-up is the 7th.

2. The June Crusade

From what I've heard, last year the June Crusade was basically NaNo in June, this year, she had decided to think a bit outside of the box. It is run by Anne-girl, and the sign-up is shooting her an email with the proper information in it. You'll only get one critique here, but she will require that you comment on other people's blogs, and guest post twice on the blog of the person you critique. (The flip side is that you get more comments and two guest posts on your blog.) The sign-up deadline is the 20th.

So, think it over, and join in if you can. I've signed up for both, and will receive three critiques for The Ankulen. Since I so far only have about 29,000 words typed up, I'll be having a personal NaNoTyMo until then. (And it's proving to be a 70,000+ word book. Wish me - and my fingers - good luck. And watch for my CE tomorrow - I have good news to share. Oh, and a very silly hairstyle ...)

Character Encounters - January 2013

I'm so sorry this is late! Between my computer being out of commission and the hecticness of Christmas, I completely forgot about this until the second when I suddenly looked up and realized I didn't have the Encounter done! 

And since I already had posts set up for the next two days, you had to wait for today.

So, anyways, now that Christmas is over, you're ready to get back into the swing of writing, right? So this CE is just what the doctor ordered.

Never forget to ooh and ahh over Kiri Liz's lovely button.

And this month's local is ....

A Fast Food Restaurant

I don't care which one, whether Wendy's or Burger King, just pick one. However, this may not be a buffet or a dine-in. I plan to make them a post later. If you don't usually go to a fast food ... well, be creative ... maybe you were at Walmart by the built-in Fast Food place or something.

Just make sure you have fun and that you provide a link to here so that your readers may enjoy it and that you put your link into the linky below.

Oh, and as an added bonus, a joke I made up!

Q: What do you call the son of the Burger King and the Dairy Queen?
A: Prince Cheeseburger.

 Loading InLinkz ...

Character Encounters - December 2012

It's that time again!!!

Time for CHARACTER ENCOUNTERS!!!

And we all take time to ooh and ahhh over the lovely
button Kiri Liz made me ..

BTW, Character Encounters now has its own page - look for the above button on the sidebar of my blog.

Anyways, I've come to a decision. I'm going to do a yearly theme, which will restart in October (because I began in October). This year is Places around Town. I know that last month's didn't quite fit, but I'll make up for it next Nov.

Anyways, you want your locale, don'tcha?

This month .... (drumrolll .....)

You meet your character while 

Christmas Shopping!

Via Pinterest

Wherever you normally do your Christmas shopping, whenever in the Christmas season you like (Starting today all the way to Midnight Christmas Eve). If you are a crafter (such as myself) you may run into them at the craft store.

Make sure you link back here, of course.

Other than that, the only rule is you can't use a character from your NaNo last month. Hey, your brain has had enough of a headache coming from that book. Give it a break and think about something else. Besides, your readers may want to hear about something else.

Technical Issues

Hey, I'm just popping in to ask a quick question. (Editing and Writing have be bogged down to do anything more than quick.)

You see, the other day my aunt asked about a post on the O.Scarlett! Blog ... and so I pulled up my blog (since that's the link I have memorized), clicked the O.Scarlett tab on the top ...

And nothing happened. When I tried the Clara's Classics tab and my Official Site tabs ... they got nothing too ...

So, my quick questions (It's turned into two questions as I type):

1. Do you go anywhere when you click those three tabs?
2. Have any of my fellow bloggers noticed this on any of their blogs?

Sigh. If this persists, I'll ... figure something out to put the links somewhere else ... Sidebar buttons, maybe.

Character Encounters - November 2012

Much hearty thanks to Kiri Liz for this lovely button.
Feel free to put it on your post somewhere, if
you'd like.

'Tis November, time for Character Encounters. October's was, for me at least, a success, with a total of three entrants (beyond myself ...)

And no, that wasn't sarcasm you heard. I'm really quite pleased that three people were willing to put up with my insanity and play along.

Anyways, hopefully more people will deign to take part this month, despite it being NaNo and they're having to type at breakneck speed just to cough up 50,000 somewhat-coherent words. Unlike me, none of you can prewrite your post because you know what you're posting about. *cough, cough*

But anyways, speaking of NaNo, I'm going to make a stipulation for anyone participating in NaNo this year. (If you're one of the balers, you can disregard this). You must use a character from your NaNo novel. There, not so bad, right?

So, what are you waiting for? Go forth and write your post so that you waist not another moment of precious NaNoing time.

Oh, you're waiting for me to tell you where you need to run into your character? You need that little detail.

Oh, fine, I'll tell you.

Today ....

(drumroll please ...)

you meet your character in ....

Your Bedroom

Via Pinterest

You've had a hard, hard day of writing. You've at last decided to call it a day and sink into your welcoming pillows and blankets ... but such is not to be.

Your character is waiting for you ... and they're not content with you abandoning the story in such a crutial point!

Dun, dun .... DUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!

Sorry, just couldn't resist the sound effects.

Just make sure you provide a link back to here so that others can join it the fun!

My Sister's New Blog!!

Hi! I'm Sarafina! 

And I'm Mariposa! 

And our author says that we can come and tell you all about her sister's new blog!!!!

Ummmm .... Girls, back up here .... I'm not your author, Kathie is.

Kathie's our baby sister.

Ummm ... no, V, then. V's your author. You're going to tell about her new blog.

I thought you were our author, Kendra ...

No ... V is. True, I did come up with you two, and I have written about you ... but V's officially your author.

We like you better Kendra. You understand us.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but V's your author, and you're just going to have to live with the fact. Anyways, readers, I'd like to introduce ya'll to Elsie and Elise, a pair of twins that I came up with for my sister's sci-fi series. They think they're mine, but they're insane.

We're not insane. We're SILLIONS!!!

And sillions are the definition of insane. I'm well aware of that fact. Anyways, Elsie's the one talking in purple, while Elise is fuchsia. And, girls, weren't you here for a reason ...

We were?

Oh! Yes! That's right! We were going to tell all of your readers about our baby sister's new blog!

Ummmm ... oh, never mind.

It's called I'm Singin' my own song, and it's LOTS and LOTS of fun.

And we like fun.

So come over and check it out, and follow it and give her a nice big kiss and tell her how much you love her.

ELSIE!!! You know V doesn't like kisses. I think I'll take over from here. My sister, V. Kathie Ardnek has decided to start a new blog for her writing. She has a school/Spiritual walk blog, but has recently decided that she needs a blog to talk about her writing.

And to tell all of you all about us!!!

I thought I told you two to be quiet. Anyways, come on over and hit the follow button. She has dyslexia, though, so sometimes what she says doesn't quite make sense, but she has a lively imagination, and loves to make things up ...

I'm Singin' My Own Song