Kayla Joy

That does sound helpful.

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What is MBTI?

@writefury – Sorry about the delay. What is HaYovel?

@bluejay and @Anna-Brie Oops, I meant besides you. Sorry. 🙂 Thanks for the list. It seems I’ve heard of Jackie French somewhere, but not the others. I’ll look for them.

@overcomer– I grew up in Virginia! It’s one of my favorite states.

@Anna-Brie Liberal is your Conservative party? In America, the liberals are the opposite of the conservatives, and the Democrats have decidedly unChristian values. I had no idea that the same word could be used so differently in different countries. 🙂

@writefury – YOU HAVE? It is one of my life dreams to go to Israel. Hopefully I’ll go as a reporter and cover current events; that would be so cool. (Although I’m learning that being a reporter can be very frustrating.) I’m so tired of the anti-Israel media, aren’t you? What did you do in Israel?

@bluejay – I’ve never heard of any Australian…[Read more]

You know, Tessa, that would make a cute children’s book if you put an illustration for every two stanzas or so. And “mad” sounds fine if your audience is younger children.

@bluejay – Wow, you know more about Arizona than I do. 🙂 We’ve driven by Tombstone, but we didn’t see the rose bush. Australia has some of the coolest wildlife, I think. Frilled lizards are better than rattlesnakes. Have you ever been to the Great Barrier Reef?
And, if you haven’t noticed, Ted Cruz is the BEST presidential candidate.

@writefury…[Read more]

5000 words a day! Ouch. I know I couldn’t do that. Good for you!

Hi Tessa! I live in Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert. We have tarantulas, scorpions, and sandstorms here, and it gets quite hot. The springtime, when the cactus flowers bloom, is very beautiful. However, the mountains here are brown. I like green mountains better.
Facts about America:
The east coast is very beautiful, especially when the leaves turn…[Read more]

@Daeus – Maybe e-publishing site is the wrong word for it. I like it because it has a manuscript editor that you can write your book in, as well as create an outline and format chapters, etc. And it’s free (I think). Is there a better option?

@dbhgodreigns – Thanks for the advice.

Definitely. Research is actually one of my favorite things about writing. 🙂

What if you changed “human” to “mankind” in stanza two?

@Daeus – That’s a good point. In real life, a person’s thoughts usually influence their actions. The same should be true of our characters.

Ohhh, I see. It’s not one big decision; it’s many little realizations and choices that slowly lead up to her making the big decision. Thank you for clarifying that.

Don’t give us long scenes with nothing but the character sitting and pondering all this

That’s what I was dreading when I made the “annoying and unrealistic” comment. Action s…[Read more]

Thanks for explaining all that to me! I finally understand character arcs. 🙂
Uh-oh, it looks like I have more rewriting to do. My major theme is self-sacrifice, being willing do die for what is right. But all 4 of my MCs are already on the right side at the beginning of the story. I don’t want to wreck them all and then slowly piece them back…[Read more]

Thanks, @Daeus! You’re right; ignoring them would be worse than accidentally misrepresenting them. I hadn’t thought about it that way. And adding a historical note to clear up those mistakes is a great idea.

Thanks, Kate and Daeus! I do need to spend more time visualizing my characters.
I think I see what my problem is. I’ve been thinking of my character as a bunch of puzzle pieces (flaws, traits, worldview etc.) to be fitted together, instead of as a person. No wonder they are such a mess! Thank you for helping me see that.

I was wondering how to…[Read more]