Karissa Chmil

@whalekeeper Oooh, I love this topic – thanks so much for starting it!

Honestly, I resonate a lot with what @trailblazer said about writing because you’re a storyteller. I’m the kind of person who’s been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember. I don’t think I ever sat down and went “I’m going to write a story because xyz” – I tell…[Read more]

Re-typing; let’s hope this works. XD

@rae To be fair, I’m a big fan of protective characters, so I may be a wee bit biased. But I don’t think it’s the end of the world, for a few main reasons:

• It provides a subtle yet cohesive theme. Just having all of these characters with these motivations that drive them will add an extra layer of theme.

…

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Oooh, this is a fascinating topic – thanks for starting it, @esther-c!

I honestly feel like story (at least for me) reflects redemption best when it dives deep into one aspect instead of trying to tell everything.

The gospel is the most beautiful story out there, but it has a lot of elements – a wicked people, a perfect king, redemption,…[Read more]

@savannah_grace2009 Ooooh, I 100% second @euodia-vision‘s recommendation to try out Crazy Writing Week (I haven’t heard the dates yet, but it should be sometime in January). And hey, I would absolutely love to see you inside the program. 😀 *bribes with cookies*

@overcomer This is gorgeous. <3 It pulled me in so much, and the atmosphere you set up is stunning.

My only real comment is that your transition about a fourth of the way through from longer to shorter lines felt a little bit awkward? You came out of it very well at the end, but going into it and shifting the cadence of the poem felt a bit…[Read more]

@whalekeeper Thanks so much for starting this thread – these are amazing. xD I don’t have anything to add at the moment, so I’ll just lurk around taking notes. xP

@autumnlily I’m sliding in a few days late, but I think that generally, at least from what I’ve seen, middle grade is the best genre for chapter titles nowadays. (There are certainly exceptions – think The Book Thief – but as a rule of thumb, that’s what I’ve seen.) And when it comes to that, I honestly think the best chapter titles are the ones…[Read more]

@whalekeeper Oy. . . quite the interesting predicament. 😂*sends your favorite writing snacks for motivations* The only suggestion I can think of is to maybe look at where your characters aren’t challenged – where does your main cast already agree on, and can you add a side character who doesn’t? Or maybe you already have characters from a range of…[Read more]

Eyy, this is so exciting, @godlyfantasy12! *throws confetti* Congrats on jumping into this! (Editors are amazing. 😁)

I’m currently finishing up line edits on a novella called Buried Stars, and chapter six is throwing me a bit. If you have time, I’d love it if you could look at some of the phrasing!

I’ll drop the link below, but relevant…[Read more]

@acancello

‘Nuff said.

Just kidding. . . but also not. xP The first draft is just the starting point – there’s a quote that says “you can’t edit a blank page”. There will be endless revisions and chances to tighten things up further down the road, but the story needs to exist to be made better. All you have to do right now is get it on the…[Read more]

Tint (eleven-year old cousin of dystopian MC)

1. Drinks hot chocolate in all temperatures.

2. Has been captured thrice (and escaped with snarky comments each time).

3. Once convinced his own side that a raid was happening in the middle of the night and thought it was hilarious.

@whalekeeper This sounds fantastic. xD I’ll put my character in a minute later, but for Calvin, erm. . . three? The one with the colors?

@godlyfantasy12 The siren, maybe?

@zemira (Awesome name, by the way.) Ermmmmm, fork, maybe? Edit: Wait, you already revealed it. xD Whoops.

@acancello Yesss, it’s so saddddd. I have indeed read the Little Women books, and I’ve started Rebecca once but never really got into it. 😅 Is it worth trying again?

*casually comments because this will be helpful later xD*

Honestly, besides Abbie Emmons and StoryEmbers, the thing that’s been the most helpful in plotting is a whiteboard. XD At our current house we have a huge whiteboard on the wall, and being able to fill it with all the plot points and character arc beats and random notes is spectacular. *happy sigh*

@janellebelovedpig Oooh, this premise sounds fascinating. I’d be super interested in reading this one day.

I don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, so behold, a rambling list of points about failure:

• If you remember failure, that remembrance is going to be called something. But there’s a difference between guilt and regret – guilt is…

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@acancello Ooooh, I love A Rose in Bloom! The way Alcott developped the characters from Eight Cousins and kept them realistic was incredibly intriguing. Charlie absolutely broke my heart. *fp* But Mac is amazing, and Archie is still the best. XD And Jamie is always the sweetest.

@janellebelovedpig I never really looked at your profile picture that closely, but that Queen Esther doll is amazingggg. (And yes, Sight and Sound all the way. XD)

@whalekeeper Mm, that’s such a blessing. Strong community around you is so beautiful. <3