I love them too! The Arlington’s names are honestly what makes them come alive to me, haha… and I love Indi!.. and everyone else, now that I mention it.

Anyway, thank you, and I agree 🙂

Ooh, those questions are super helpful and thought-provoking! I’ve thought of some of them before, but I’ll definitely use them to keep the plot churning!

(And if you ever think of more, please don’t hesitate… the further I get this, the better!)

I’m not even writing this one until NaNo (for now I’m focusing on the above story and editing past ones), but I want to start getting comfortable with the idea and turning ideas around in my head. I want this to be a trilogy, and I don’t have enough story for that yet, so I’d love anything…[Read more]

Indium Grace Arlington lives a pretty normal life for a 10-year-old… except for her crazy family, whose escapades are generally the talk of the whole town. (Not that the town is that big, of course.)

Okay, so maybe her life isn’t all that normal.

I mean, they were kind of doomed from the…[Read more]

It’ll actually be for two separate projects. One is a middle-grade contemporary novel, and the other is a YA fantasy. If you’re up for helping me brainstorm, either (or both!) need work, so anyone who can, pretty much? I’ll give the tags here, and then put…[Read more]

WOAH.

THAT WAS INCREDIBLE.

Seriously, that was great writing. Now I wanna read more!

I’ve only skimmed what other people have said, but I do agree with them for the most part. If you feel like your character needs to be white, that’s totally fine. Don’t push anything on your characters that feels unnatural; trust me, I’ve tried it. Just go with the flow and what feels right for your story.

That being said,…[Read more]

Ooh, thanks for the encouragement and suggestions! *brain starts churning, then realizes that idea is WAY too similar to the last book she wrote, haha*

Yes!! If I can get picky readers (like me and, apparently, you) to go past the blurb on the back, I’d consider that a solid win! This idea is now officially on the list of ones I hope to…[Read more]

At least for me, even though I haven’t read a ton of stories with fake character deaths, I’ve read enough to know that it cheapens the plotline. I feel like killing MCs and resurrecting them is a common enough thing to do that when you do it, people don’t take you seriously. It takes away from the power of the MC’s death,…[Read more]

I’ll be praying! Keep us updated!

Oh, gotcha. Thanks for the comments, and I appreciate the encouragement! I’ve officially added it to my many ‘to-be-written’ WISemi-progress XD

And, just out of curiosity, why did my story idea remind you of ‘Mark of the Thief’?

@keilah-h

Haha, yeah, I get that. I’ve never written anything cliche on purpose, but I can totally see…[Read more]

The problem is, I don’t get out much. Honestly, I’m pretty picky about what I read, so modern secular works are very rarely added to the list, and I am pretty clueless about what’s actually on the shelves. I know I…[Read more]

That’s amazing! *brings out the confetti and chocolate*

I’m so excited for you! I’ve heard so much about this book… unfortunately, I’m not really investing in books of any kind right now…

*tears*

but I’m so happy for you and I can’t wait to see where God takes you!…[Read more]

1. I love mystery and unraveling secrets… ugh, so good.

2. And then when you add deceit in there, it becomes a winner. Anything suspenseful like that is the best.

3. And then when you have a clock ticking and they have to solve said mystery soon… *shivers with delicious anticipation*

But…

1. Circus world as in a planet…[Read more]

As you can see, that didn’t happen.

But thank you all so, so, so, SO, SOOOO much for the stories! I’m…[Read more]

*cues the high-pitched screams*

But my next project is a middle-grade novel featuring a 12-year-old MC who gets herself into all sorts of scrapes.

The problem is, I’m not naturally a humorous writer. It’s something I’m trying to work on in this story, true, but a very not funny writer…[Read more]

Whoop-whoop! That’s so exciting! Hopefully, if I do end up joining in August, I’ll see you there!

Help that guy up? Uh-uh! No way on earth!

2. Torin, my antagonist, and totally #1. That guy…

3. The worst… is actually Torin, come to mention it. Ugh, I hate that man. The things he does to Cade are just… yeah. I could rant. But from a story other than my own, I’d say maybe the Thenardiers (or however you…[Read more]

I’d have to say my Mom is the biggest influence on my writing. She’s a writer herself, and even just knowing that she was working on her story inspired me to do it.

I wrote a lot of early stories for my aunt, uncle, and two cousins; they are absolutely the most encouraging people you’ll ever meet (especially my aunt), and I wrote…[Read more]

Weeeeelllll… I don’t have a social media platform of any kind, let alone 300+ followers. But sheesh, that sounds interesting! Tag me when you release it!

Yeah, I did. Well, my full name is Faith Elizabeth Quelle, and I go by both Faith Elizabeth and Faith Quelle (Faith Elizabeth is my writing name), and I’ve broadcasted that enough that anyone wanting to find it out would, so there are no security reasons involved. But when I was younger, I thought I’d write under the name Vierra F.…[Read more]

To give you a bit of background information, my main character (Emeric Dertok) has recently come back into society after eight years of living the life of a hermit. He’s working for the King (Jornan), who charged him with the task of tracking down spies trying to sabotage the government. But as enters…[Read more]

I honestly can’t think of any examples; I’ve always been particular with my books. As in really particular. When I was 9-ish I stopped reading a book because it used the word stupid twice, something we’re not allowed to say in our house. I’m almost certain my 9-year-old self thought it was as bad as a cuss word.

I do that with…[Read more]

Neat premise! I think it entirely depends on a ton of factors you haven’t told us. First, how old is Torrent? Nobody’s going to give a 12-16-year-old kid a bunch of backup for a rescue mission. (No offense to anyone in that age range; I’m 16 myself. I’m just sayin’ that you can’t put that in a book.) 17-18 is pushing it. On the other…[Read more]

Hi! I’m Faith, pen name Faith Elizabeth and real name Faith Quelle. I like to keep things simple 😛 Sorry I’m so late… but better late than never, right?

I write fantasy, too! But then again, I also write contemporary, historical, non-fiction and poetry books on the side, so that’s not saying much… Believe it or not, I’ve never…[Read more]

*quickly skims all 50-60 story ideas* *looks up sheepishly* *decides not to tell Kathleen that most of her story ideas come from dreams or other books she’s read ’cause that’s too boring*

Oh, yeah, most of my story ideas come from real experiences. Like last week, when I fought a dragon in the backyard. You know. That sort of thing.

Oh, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding! I should have been more clear about that. I totally agree with you; some of the best historical/biblical fiction I’ve read has been in a series (The Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson comes to mind). What I meant to say was that I don’t know if it would be the best idea to put what…[Read more]

Basically what @elfwing said: do what you can comfortably do. If everything fits in a book, great! If it doesn’t, you can add another one, but be careful. Many sequels simply continue the plotline, but all books need to have a beginning, a middle, a climax, and a conclusion. There has to be a sense of satisfaction at the end of one…[Read more]

Yes, I totally agree with you on Motel of the Mysteries; it was hysterical! I haven’t read all the way through it yet, but I plan on it someday.

@kathleenramm,

I think that honor would have to go to What We Found In The Sofa and How It Saved The World by Henry Clark. I have only one word to describe that book: bizarre. Like,…[Read more]

What was her YouTube name? (Yeah, I know, I’m supposed to be writing right now… oh well. Fifteen minutes late never hurt anyone :P)

I agree; information is the best! Especially if it’s random, interesting information. At that point, I’m hooked.

And here you got me…[Read more]

I’d love to beta read for you! I’d have to be a very casual beta reader ’cause I’ve got a ton on my plate right now, but even if I only get through the first chapter or something, I’m guessing that’ll still help somewhat. In other words, there’s no promising I’ll get anywhere with it, but I’d be happy to help you as much as I can. I…[Read more]

Uhhh…. tough question to answer ’cause I’m pantsing it all the way through. But since I have a vague idea of where the story’s gonna go next, I’d have to say

1. If they don’t win the war Kismena is crushed. Dead. Annihilated. Oh, and did I mention they’re in trouble? And if the kingdom falls, so do it’s inhabitants….

2.…[Read more]

Thank you guys so much! I’ll be sure to look into it 🙂

Isn’t it awful when that happens? Sorry it happened to you! Anyway, thank you so much! That’s really good advice… I guess I’ll have to think more about my world. *huffs* Thanks. So much for a peaceful, uninterrupted daydream of plot and dialogue. So much for avoiding the nitty-gritty. So much for my pantsing life.

@joy-caroline,

So honestly, I don’t have a ton of advice to give you; my WIP deals with a single character and I don’t have a ton of experience otherwise… but the new character sounds absolutely fascinating! I just found your blog and…[Read more]