Karina Sanchez

Hm… dare I suppose you are thinking specifically of Archie Kennedy?
I think a good way to throw off the reader and not have them guess is to strongly foreshadow that the character is going to die. Then the reader is expecting it when it happens, and is maybe not quite so shocked and devastated, but it will be a very real, heavy, and right…[Read more]

I’ll be on the lookout for references, and explain them to the unenlightened in the audience so you don’t have to. 😀 It’s never good to have to explain your own jokes, is it? 😀 😛
Yes, I can definitely see how your name could be either English or Welsh. Pardon me for pointing it out— I have a fascination with names and their origins that…[Read more]

Yes, I think we can all agree to disagree on the points upon which we do not see perfectly eye to eye. It was a great discussion. Thanks for starting it, Daniel!

No one else is answering… so I guess it falls to me to make sure this topic does not fall into oblivion. Oh what a noble quest.
I’m not really a composer, but I do enjoy music a great deal. I also play the piano, the harp, the violin (kind of) and sing. I would love to be able to write music, and though frankly I don’t know how I’m ever going…[Read more]

Hello Rosey! Lemme just say really quick that I really like your last name. It sounds… like Dickens or something.
I have watched the A&E Horatio Hornblower, and yes, I love it! Actually, the movie (don’t read the books, they’re nothing special) has a special place in my heart for more than itself. The first time I watched that with my parents,…[Read more]

Oh. My. Goodness. Your bio could almost be mine, Dani! Only I was born in Texas and still consider myself a native of that state… so I must have evolved from longhorns. Or fire ants. Or scorpions. Or rattlesnakes. Something like that.
But I sing, woodburn, do calligraphy, love Tolkien (though I’m a little unsure about Lewis) and knit. Welcome to…[Read more]

Wow, if you let a topic go for half a day it completely gets away from you! Let me start at the very beginning. Reagan, all the way up there somewhere— the misunderstanding is entirely my fault. I tend to overstate my positions to make a point, then forget to go back and clarify them later. Also, at the start of this topic I thought we were…[Read more]

Sometimes (quite often) romance in stories is just pointless, but does that mean we should throw it out? I don’t think so. I generally don’t like it when it is the main theme, but let’s be honest. How many real life characters in history have fallen (or if they were the more rational type) stepped into love? 95%? Sounds about right. It is just…[Read more]

Hey, you have some really good points there.
Okay, just for the record, I write fantasy. I definitely write about dragons and elves (at least my own version of elves) and other such magical creatures. But I think we need to be extremely careful about using creatures that are very closely associated with darkness and evil such as vampires and…[Read more]

All of you guys made very good points. I think I know what you mean, Dani, about Tolkien, and I agree now that I’ve thought it through, and it probably wasn’t a good idea to do it that way. Tolkien didn’t take it as far as Lewis and make it essential to the story, and therefore I would venture to say that he was a little wiser, a little more wary,…[Read more]

Oh, never mind. I get it.

I just can’t help myself. Every time I turn the plot I have in my head into words, I think of five great subplots, and so it goes down the line. Don’t expect me to finish it anytime soon.

Excellent question. Hannah got my answer before me, basically, but I want to answer a point you brought up specifically. First, I am a complete and utter, totally obsessed, diehard Tolkien fanatic. I think Tolkien did it the right way (created his own world) because he made very definite distinctions between Middle-earth and our world. I am aware…[Read more]

Seeing as you have used it more than once, what do you mean by intelecjewel?

Oh yes, allusions. Similar words can be consternating, but let’s look at it from the bright side. They are great for playing with, “playing with words”. I like to play.

Actually, I am seriously considering going ahead with that plot. It will have to be short though, since I am already working on a novel which is probably going to end up with…[Read more]

Hi Hope,

They are about even, but (of course) it depends. The strategy of the swordsman must be to get past the pointy ends (where he can get cut) to the pole of the spear (where he can’t get cut). His opponent can respond in three ways. One, he might be able to pull back his spear and retreat fast enough that he can get the pointy ends in front…[Read more]

Hi 10642,

Do you mean to say you are publishing your poetry in a book? That sounds great. I love poetry. By the way, if you happen to be an expert on writing with meter, I could use some help (see thread, “writing with meter”).

Glad you joined the discussion.

Many last names are based upon things like landscape features, animals, or occupations. Think of smith, lamb, king, etc. You may not have heard of the names dell, prince, or butcher, but they probably exist, or at least they sound like they might, and that is all you need.

Let me throw in something here. While I would not write of zombies or vampires no matter what side they were on, simply because I find them utterly disgusting, I would probably write a witch if she were very obviously on the evil side. Writing a witch is simply like writing a mage gone wrong or a wizard turned sorcerer. (See general writing…[Read more]