Ben Dykes

@abigail-m

THANK YOU so much!! 😀 I’m very happy that you read them and left so many comments (it made me smile thiiiiiiiis big reading all of them:) Aw, thank you, Abigail!! And yay, thank you for saying that!! I was beginning to second-guess and hope that it was good enough, but that’s a huge reassurance:) Just a thousand thank yous for everythi…[Read more]

@abigail-m

*sniffles* *pulls out a wad of tissues* Well. . . I have a feeling it’ll be Alana, unfortunately. I know she’s one of the sweetest characters in the story as well as Caira’s best friend, but I think she ends up sacrificing herself for the group (especially Caira). The details about Alana’s death are still pretty fuzzy in my head, but…[Read more]

@abigail-m

Yes, I’m so nervous/excited about starting tomorrow!! 😀 We can do it, for sure! *pumps fist in the air* Yeah, even older drafts of Fortitude are pretty cringeworthy XD I mean, there’s so many things that changed along the way that I forget about. Hey, that’s great you’ve been getting ideas!! I wish you the best of writerly wishes 😉 Y…[Read more]

@abigail-m

Yay, that makes me so happy to hear!!! 😀 And I looked on your NaNo profile and saw it, so thank you!!:) Oh, of course!! Trust me when I say that I’m more excited about TSW than the published books that I’m currently haven’t picked up in forever reading, so yes, I absolutely LOVE it so much!! Which I why I wanted to make fan art of it!…[Read more]

@kathleenramm I don’t have much to add at the moment (though I’m sure I’ll be back 😉 ), but I just wanted to say that reading your post was super encouraging and helpful–I’m going to definitely try your approach next time I’m feeling discouraged. 😀

Also, @ everyone:

How do y’all go about coming up with ideas for new stories? Like, I feel like I have a fairly alright grasp on the “development” thing, but actually coming up with the ideas? That’s a different matter altogether.

@joy-caroline Oh this is such an interesting topic!! I’ve loved getting to read about everyone’s processes. 😀

For me, I usually have to talk my ideas out. Sometimes that takes the form of rambling on and on in a parenthetical aside in the midst of my Google Doc/Scrivener document, other times it takes the form of me trying to explain something…[Read more]

@abigail-m

Aww, I’m glad you like it!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 I was hoping you wouldn’t mind, and I didn’t want to mess it up or anything! YAY, thanks for saying that!!! I was trying out landscapes and I thought, “Hey, what if I made Birch Woods?!” and immediately I went to work! I mean, Birch Woods just sounds so amazing, so I wanted to try my hand at…[Read more]

@abigail-m

Your post didn’t show up here, but I got it in my notifications, and let me just say that made me smile harder than I thought humanly possible!!! A HUNDRED THOUSAND THANK YOUS, Abigail!!!!!! I mean, I can’t even put into words how much it means to me to read through all of your comments and hear your thoughts on my two chapters!!! It’s…[Read more]

@abigail-m

YES! I know, it’s such a temptation that I’ve given up trying to restrain myself XD So excuse me if I put one thousand exclamation points everywhere… And *trying not to scream* I’m so ready for NaNo!! I mean, I’m sure my enthusiasm will probably burn out as I go along, but for now, I’m looking forward to it, and I’m pretty sure my…[Read more]

@abigail-m

Thank you, I really appreciate it!! I have to confess, I’ve brought myself to tears thinking about it, too. But that’s a great compliment! Although, I do admit that I know one or two of my main characters will end up dying, unfortunately… Yeah, it wouldn’t be the same (and it’s adorable to think of Deek becoming an uncle when Caira…[Read more]

@gracie-j

Thank you so much!! 🙂 I’ve been trying to create Deek… *dramatic sigh* I just can’t get it perfect 🙁 I’m a little scared to try Newton XD Maybe I’ll just work on my villains for the time being… And yes! I’d love to see what you come up with! 🙂

@hallie-jean

Of course!! And thank you!! 😀 That means the world to hear you say!! Aww, yay, thank you!!:) Hmm… I guess that you could, but just know that some things won’t make sense (mainly because of one specific scene in chapter two), and, unfortunately, you’d need to read chapter two before reading chapter five (because of a character…[Read more]

@nova21

*sniffles* YES! I confess, I was going to kill Deek in the early drafts of the story, but it wasn’t going to be until the final arc of the last book. And he was going to sacrifice himself for Caira, so that makes it even more heartbreaking🙁 Haha, I’m glad I changed my mind too. Aw, thanks for wanting to read them, and I definitely un…[Read more]

@hallie-jean

Oh, it’s okay, girl!!! I really appreciate that you want to read them–it means so much to me that people want to read my chapters!! 🙂 Unfortunately, yes, you’d need to read the second chapter to understand what’s going on. But don’t feel obligated to read it! I understand that you’ve been busy, so it’s no problem. Take your time!…[Read more]

@abigail-m

I’m not sure if this belongs in the ‘book aesthetics’ category, but I’ve been trying my hand at using Artbreeder lately and wanted to create Birch Woods for you!! Unfortunately, Artbreeder didn’t have any birch trees, but I just thought I’d try creating a winter forest (I hope you don’t mind! If you don’t like it, please tell me.) If…[Read more]

And here’s Evie, who is another one of Caira’s friend as well as her mentor. She looks a bit older than I usually picture her, but *shrug* oh well. Maybe I’ll redo her.

Is it all right if I post a couple of my own? 🙂

The first one is Alana Hargreaves, a shepherdess/Caira’s best friend/Deek’s love interest at one time/another main character. It’s about 79% accurate to how she looks.

@gracie-j

I know!! But it’s okay–I’m very thankful that you’re helping me out with this!! Fortitude is forever in your debt *bows* Aww, thank you!! You have no idea how much that means, especially to a girl writing her first novel! I admire all of you on here and it makes me feel all warm inside that you guys like my writing! Thank you a m…[Read more]