Ben Dykes

*waltzes into the discussion* Ah!!! A new KeePer!!!

Hello, hello, and well-met, @godlyfantasy12! You can call me Elizabeth, if you like. Would you care for some tea? Green tea with honey and lemon is my personal favorite for this time of day. And yay, another fantasy author! *high fives* There seems to be quite a few us of around here, so you…[Read more]

@gh24682468999 Hi! I don’t believe we’ve met yet. *extends hand solemnly*

I…don’t know yet if I’m doing NaNo. My school’s finals week is in November (technically anyway), so I’m a bit…crunched for time at the moment. BUT I know I’ll definitely keep writing during November, even if I don’t hit the 50k. 😛 Best of luck with your novel-ing…[Read more]

@gracie-j  Eyy, happy early bookiversary! (I continue to insist that “bookiversary” is a word, even though both Microsoft Word and Google Docs vehemently disagree with me.)

First off, tell me more about Scarlette! (Is…is that a reference to Gone With the Wind I sense? :P) How did she become to be Rina’s “ward”? Or shall I just have to read th…[Read more]

@r-m-archer Ahh, I understand–’tis a struggle to strike the balance the story needs. I also get the multiple-POVs-in-which-some-are-easier-to-write-than-others struggle–my WIP has three narrators, and I’m just now starting to understand my girl MC’s voice. (I put “just now” in italics because I created this poor woman in 2013, so you’d think…[Read more]

@e-k-seaver Ahhhh, I had a suspicion that might the case. Not to make assumptions, of course–I just remember being in the same boat when I was in 11th/12th grade. If it helps, I can promise it gets tremendously easier. High school’s pretty rough, especially if you’re trying to create in the midst of it. But it does get better. Do you know what…[Read more]

@gracie-j Yeah, I’ve come to that conclusion too. It’s hard to find a creative person who doesn’t struggle with perfectionism in some form or fashion, it seems. Mine’s gotten significantly less crippling lately (massive shoutout to my husband for helping me through the worst of it :P), but you’re right–it kind of sticks with you.

Ooh, that’s a…[Read more]

I’m going to jump in in response to @gracie-j; do pardon the interruption–I’m still a bit uncertain as to how this works. 😛

“I knew how to respond to a love letter, but not a 25-page essay on the Fall of Rome.”

@anyone who wants to join:

*waltzes into the discussion late, tea in hand, which is generally how I make my grand entrance into most topics*

@kathleenramm Wow, that’s…such a relatable struggle. I know the feeling quite well–there’s almost an infinite amount of ways a story could go that it can be difficult to just…pick something. It’s also hard when you come up with…[Read more]

@leon-fleming Give me a moment (read: a day or two) to blow the dust off my decrepit old laptop and I’ll do it.

@r-m-archer Whoa!! The Enneagram is much more complex than I was led to believe–I love it! Thank you for the book recommendation, and for sharing your knowledge–I had no idea tri-types were a thing. (Well, I think I’d heard of them, but didn’t really understand how it worked.) How do you go about figuring out one’s tri-type? Other than reading…[Read more]

@kathleen What an interesting topic! Now I’m going to have to revisit some of my characters and add some quirks, because reading about everyone’s characters has been so delightfully interesting. 😀

– One of my MCs always keeps her hair in an excruciatingly tight braid. Pretty sure she sleeps with her hair braided too. Meanwhile, her sister deals…[Read more]

*waltzes in several days late, tea in hand* Oh goodness, this has turned into such a lively discussion while I was away. It does my heart good.

@r-m-archer Hey, we have the same enneagram number! *fistbump for fellow nineishness* What got you into the enneagram? I’d love to hear some of your knowledge of the subject–I’m afraid my understanding…[Read more]

Okay, I have some Brief Thoughts™ (I’d love to go more in depth with them ((and perhaps will at a later date)) but alas, I have a violin lesson in an hour and a presentation to finish. *weeps quietly*)

1. You seem to have a really good grasp on writing from a guy’s POV. I don’t think he’s too emotional whatsoever–poor Keaton’s evidently Been…[Read more]

@kathleenramm Well, the last scene I started was one I began one yesterday in class wherein one of my villains shows up with a sawed-off shotgun and starts making snide remarks at one of my protagonists. It’s working well in the conflict arena, but perhaps not so well in the “why do characters in my fantasy novel have guns” arena. *shrug*

The…[Read more]

@seekjustice Heh, thanks! I’m pretty happy with it myself. And yes, poor Arvi suffers quite a bit. Though he spends most of the novel complaining about everyone and everything around him, so I can’t say he doesn’t deserve at least a little bit of it. 😛

And thank you for your kind words about ABGTV! I’ve also met many a student who would do such…[Read more]

@gracie-j Heh, it’s honestly been so long that I frankly can’t remember how I ever came up with the idea. Though if I had to guess, it’s probably a result of me watching Megamind and absolutely loving it.

I’d love to be on the list of potential betas for TMNL! And props to you for writing a mystery–do you know how it ends yet, or are you still i…[Read more]

Wow, that’s so cool and exciting!! I’ll definitely be praying 😀

@jenwriter17 Thank you for sharing the link to your blog! I particularly enjoyed reading the synopsis for Ignite. Your settings all sound so unique and interesting, plus I love how you’re dealing with themes of identity–it’s quite a relatable one for writers, I think. *nod* Plus the covers are beautiful 😀 What drew you to writing sc…[Read more]

@seekjustice Thank you so much for starting this topic! I love hearing about everyone’s WIPs so much. Yours sound so intriguing! I absolutely love the concept of a pirate botanist. Is this going to be a fantasy or “real life” novel? I’m getting steampunk vibes, but that’s probably just me reading too much between the lines XD And a fantasy…[Read more]