Sarah Spradlin

That’s really neat. I’m not a wordsmith but I like tests like this. My result was ‘Your total vocabulary size is estimated to be: 26,500 words.’
Neato.
Congrats for your own topic. 😀

@Charisetter Definitely what everyone else said. *very knowing nod*

@Ethryndal Dat must be it.

@Sierra-R Hey, it’s okay, I adore that music too. Even if it’s associated with some silly lines. Not all their lines were sappy anyway…they got crazier as it went, but they weren’t all bad.

The Hobbit movies still have TONS of awesome stuff in them, even if they have a fair amount of unawesome stuff. Trust me, I…[Read more]

@Ethryndal four nights in row! 😮
Are you and @Dragon-Snapper both Kylo Ren freaks?

@Ethryndal four nights in row! :O
Are you and @Dragon-Snapper both Kylo Ren freaks?

@daeus Yeeahh…the thing is, I gave pretty much each of the MC’s, good and bad, a ‘theme’. So it might be a bit less than that, but thank goodness for this course. Without it there would be no theme whatsoever.

1. Rebellion
2. Good vs Evil
3. Man vs Self
4. Abuse of Power
5. Effects of the Past
6. Courage
7. Arrogance
I forgot one. 😛
@daeus

No! Not Rogue One yet…please, no one say anything, or I will melt them. No, I just saw the Force Awakens for the millionth time. @ethryndal

@ethryndal Excellent. *steeples fingers and chuckles* Soon your training will be complete. (sorry, I just watched Star Wars again) 😛

@northerner Same; I haven’t read the Eagle for years. Though I do want to read it again. And Henty can be very dry…Beric was the only one that I thoroughly enjoyed, and that’s mainly because of the arena scene.

@northerner Part of the change might come in profits. An author receives all of the money from the book if they self-publish. Also, they may want freedom to do what they want (I know I do.) I know that our culture in the US is very much supportive of independent folks, so that may be part of the self-publishing. Also, it seems as if much more…[Read more]

@northerner Part of the change might come in profits. An author receives all of the money from the book if they self-publish. Also, they may want freedom to do what they want (I know I do.) I know that our culture in the US is very much supportive of independent folks, so that may be part of the self-publishing. Also, it seems as if much more…[Read more]

To get a good publisher, generally you need to first get a good literary agent, which means learning how to write a great query letter, along with a great book. Generally-speaking, if you’re a skilled writer, publishers and literary agents will want to publish/represent you, but there is an element of luck to it. If you’re looking for good blogs…[Read more]

@daeus Wow…you single-handedly made me want to self-publish and never let a traditional publisher get a hold of my books. 😛

@Ethryndal oh boy, I hadn’t even thought of that angle. 😛 Thanks a lot. XD The LotR films had their share of problems and didn’t come anywhere close to the books, but I still loved them, and I’m still trying to figure out how the same man directed the Hobbit films. Maybe we should start a rant thread just for that. 😛

@Daeus ah, okay. Got it. *tries to remember where she got her information**fails*

My pleasure, @Dragon-Snapper! Glad it was helpful. 🙂

@kate-flournoy @daeus @aratrea Wowzers! Awesome advice, guys! I used the summary of K. M. Weiland’s three plot structure thingy and that actually deepened my theme. And Kate, I’m copying that down too. Thank you all!

@kate-flournoy Hey, I’ve read the Eagle of the Ninth! 😛
@charisetter The only thing that sounds familiar to me is the pet wolf…it was in some roman book I’ve read before (was it Eagle of the Ninth or was that Beric the Briton?)

I have not traditionally published yet, though I want to at some point. So I really don’t have experience with how hard it is, though I don’t think it is particularly easy. I do know one thing they look at now is an author’s platform. Even traditionally published authors are expected to market most of their own work, so the better platform you…[Read more]

@Charisetter what they said, but YOU’VE READ EAGLE OF THE NINTH!??? *high fives you* Nobody’s read that! Congratulations on your impeccable taste! 😀 Have you read the other two?

Also one tip for your original question— since this is fantasy, your worldbuilding and cultural development will go a long way to making your story unique. Not as…[Read more]