All About Grammar in 700 Words--Yes, That Sounds Doable (Laura)

I have found that I'm a break-the-rules kind of person when it comes to my writing. Which is funny to me because I consider myself to be fairly structured with my work, and life in general, and tend to like preserving traditions that make sense as opposed to changing just to change. Not exactly a rattle-the-cages type. On the other hand, my organization style is a creative one, rather than stringent and carefully measured. A style that makes sense to me but perhaps not to others.

This is where rules come in. Rules in language, for example, help us communicate better and cross bridges.


My awareness of these rules started at a young age, while I watched NFL football with my dad--the way most people learn about grammar. My dad was an aircraft mechanic who used to tear apart sports commentators for using grammar incorrectly according to him. (Usually not John Madden or Al Michaels, though--he was cool with them.) In particular, my dad always hated the word snuck. In fact, I sometimes imagine him catching my teenage self disclosing to a friend over the phone how "I snuck out of the house last night." I imagine the anger, the cold accusing stare.


"You WHAT?" he would say, revealing himself listening from the shadows--in his rocking chair. (Just go with it. Dreams never make sense.)


Timidly, I would respond, "Um, I mean I sneaked out of the house last night?"


He would breathe a sigh of relief and return to his newspaper. Contented.


My dad is a very sweet-hearted person, and I don't mean to make him out to be anything less. He just believes grammar should remain what he was taught.


It didn't matter to him then that the rule has evolved to accommodate snuck and that it's acceptable to use with consistency. Both sneaked and snuck are published in books (sometimes inconsistently), but snuck seems to have actually become much more common in the United States.


My grammar professor in college was from Brazil and Argentina and spoke English as a third language. She also taught rhetoric and a topic she called "Englishes"--the idea that there is more than one English and that the language must constantly adapt because it is used by so many people throughout the world and across cultures. I learned from this professor about prescriptivism, the belief in strict adherence to traditional grammar rules, and descriptivism, which explores the reasons for changing the rules. Clearly, my dad was of the prescriptivist mindset, I realized during this time. And, though it may have been clear at various points throughout my life, I was also coming to the conclusion that I perhaps viewed rules a little differently.


Rules exist for a reason, right? (Unless we're talking i before e, except after c...or foreign...or ancient, etc. What is that about?) Someone who has been somewhere before us learned a thing or two and wanted to pass along the knowledge, or even just protect themselves from getting into an old sinking sailboat again. But not everything exists in a box. Not everything is the same. Rules are meant to help us, so I like to respect them, consider them, take into account my purpose in communicating as well as the person with whom (did you see what I did there?) I am communicating. Then make choices.


This could mean ending a sentence with a preposition--oy to the vey. Or it might mean I write a fragment or run-on sentence--the horror! And although I may make mistakes or even occasionally begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction for rhetorical purposes, hopefully--wait--I mean, I hope I never use the word snuck. For personal reasons, of course.


Like words, grammar is important. So is asking questions. Use your logic. Remember your humility. Learn all you can from others, and understand why something is important. Then make decisions. We're always learning. It's more fun to break the mold anyway, right?


So there you have it. Grammar in 700 words from a fiction writer's perspective. And you thought you were going to learn something.


Are you more of a rule follower or breaker in your writing?


Laura


Attribution
Punctuation cartoon: http://mysims.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Wii_maniac/Cyanide_%26_Happiness_Part_2

My Top 3 Favorite Characters from the Reluctant Warrior Chronicles (by special guest Amy Brock McNew!)

We are SO excited to welcome Amy Brock McNew to Lands Uncharted today as part of the blog tour for her upcoming new release, Reconciliation! And since it's Saturday, Amy put together a Top 3s post for us all about her series, the Reluctant Warrior Chronicles. You can find out more about Amy and her books below, but first...here's Amy!

Thanks so much for having me!

So let’s talk Reluctant Warrior Chronicles! I want to tell you about my 3 favorite characters. All authors have their favorite characters, whether they admit it or not. On my list, I’ve deliberately left off Liz, the heroine. Why? Well, since she’s based off of me and part of the story is from my life…yeah. Really didn’t want to be the person saying, “I love me the most!” But I think you’re gonna really like my choices.


3.) Kade

Yeah, he’s a demon. It’s not so much that I like him, it’s that he’s intriguing and probably one of the toughest characters I’ve written to date. He may be oh so pretty, but don’t let that fool you. This guy is evil to his core, desperate to make Heaven pay. He believes God drove him to follow Lucifer and fall, and he intends to do everything he can to separate himself from what he once was.

Getting inside his head was an adventure in insanity. He’s one of the most fully developed, three-dimensional characters I’ve ever written. I love trying to think completely differently about things, making choices and having reactions I can hardly imagine and would never, ever have myself. He is an enigma. A master at the evil he works. He takes the story to a whole other level. That’s why he made my list.


2.) Sidriel

Ah, Sid. (He hates that nickname, by the way.) There’s just something about him. You can’t not love him. He is my favorite of all the angels in TRWC. He’s a Seraphim, a warrior to the bone. But there’s more to him than just a fighter. For one, he loves his charge like a father would, as all the guardians do. With him and Nate though, there’s a special relationship. They’ve been through so much more together than most guardian/charge pairs endure. They’ve bonded on a level that is just beautiful to see.

The other thing I really love about Sidriel is his fascination with all things human, especially humor, food, and interpersonal relationships. Even though he doesn’t need to eat, he loves trying different foods, which works out since his charge is a wannabe chef. It’s fun to see what he likes and what he doesn’t, then wait to see what sort of off-the-wall or sarcastic comment he’s going to make. He’s always trying to lighten the mood, when appropriate, and keep morale up in their little circle. You get to see a lot more of him in Reconciliation. I know you’ll love him as much as I do!


1.) Ryland David Vaugn

Of course, Ry is my number one. How could he not be? I’ll confess, it’s got a lot to do with the fact he’s based on my hunky husband (though, Brian is blond). And the other reasons…where do I begin? He’s a fighter, he’s compassionate, he’s loyal, he’s understanding. He does the job no one else wants, the dirty work, risking his life to save others. Plus, let’s just be honest here, he’s hot. Seriously. Tall, dark, built like a Mack truck, and not so handsome he’s pretty but just enough, he’s got that rough edge to him that is just irresistible.

Another thing I love about Ry? He handles Liz in a way that isn’t overbearing or heavy handed. He gets his point across and protects her, while respecting that she is intelligent, capable, and a tough fighter in her own right. Just like my husband is with me. Both Liz and I can be, well, a little much to handle sometimes!

Ryland is not perfect, though. And that’s another thing to love. He may seem like he has it all together and has faith that could move mountains, but he has doubts and fears just like everyone else. Also, he’s not afraid to share those with Liz. He is an open book, literally (You’ll get that if you’ve read Rebirth!), never hiding anything from Liz, and he expects the same from her. Which doesn’t always work out so well.


There you have it. My favorite characters. Though I love all my imaginary people, these are the top of the list. Thanks again for having me. If you want to read about these awesome characters and find out more about TRWC, you can find my books, and me, at the links below. Love and hugs, y’all!


May I just note, there seem to be a lot of good-looking guys in this series...  :)  

Reconciliation, the second book in the Reluctant Warrior Chronicles (find out all about the first book, Rebirth, here) just released on January 24th, and can be purchased here. Stop by www.pennymindingmom.com tomorrow for the next stop on the blog tour!


Here's the back-cover blurb for Reconciliation:

Some ghosts from the past refuse to stay dead.

Finally. Finally everything is coming together for Liz Brantley. She’s marrying Ryland Vaughn, the man of her dreams. She’s embraced her calling and battles the minions of hell bent on her destruction. And she’s left her dark past far behind her. Or so she thought.

A secret she holds close, stuffed down deep, surfaces at the wrong time for everyone in Liz’s life, leaving a trail of devastation. Left reeling, Liz wonders if she made a mistake, putting her trust in God, her guardian Arie, and Ryland. And the demon Kade capitalizes on her shaken faith. With a vengeance.

Torn between her tortured past and the future she craves, Liz is desperate to defeat every demon that stands in her way. Before all hell breaks loose and swallows her whole.


Sounds intense, right? Believe me, it is! This book takes the amazing romance, demon-fighting, and emotional roller-coaster of Rebirth and kicks it up a notch (possibly two or three...). But I would only recommend Reconciliation for older teens and adults, as it definitely surpasses the usual PG-13 or below rating of most of the books we discuss at Lands Uncharted - younger teens, give it a few years and you'll love this series!

 
Here's some more information about the author:

Amy Brock McNew doesn’t just write speculative fiction, she lives and breathes it. Exploring the strange, the supernatural, and the wonderfully weird, Amy pours her guts onto the pages she writes, honestly and brutally revealing herself in the process. Nothing is off-limits. Her favorite question is “what if?” and she believes fiction can be truer than our sheltered and controlled realities. Visit AmyBrockMcNew.com to learn more about this intriguing author.

You can also connect with Amy on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or Pinterest.








Thank you so much for visiting and sharing more about your books, Amy! Congratulations on your new release!

Biomes Part 2: Available Resources (Hannah)

Have you ever seen or played the game Minecraft? If you haven’t, it is a game that is based around the idea that you, the player, can take the materials that make up the world and either rearrange them or repurpose them in order to build things. I brought Reni into Minecraft for her first out-of-story adventure so far. I’ll let her share her experiences with you.

Reni: Hooray! You didn’t wait until the end to let me talk!

A Visit to Two Cities

The first city I visited was called Aula.



One of my favorite buildings there was this church, which Hannah built out of stone bricks and nether bricks. 

This university had a bit of a different style since it was made out of white stained clay, spruce wood, and dark oak wood. 

Aula is situated high above much of the surrounding landscape in a biome called “extreme hills.” (Why they didn’t just call it “mountains” I don’t understand…) Anyway, the extreme hills biome is made up of a grassy, hill-covered expanse with few trees but a large supply of stone under the dirt. Most buildings in Aula were made of stone and clay and had wooden roofs.  There was a lot of clay close by in a deep river. Wood could be found in a nearby forest, but it wasn’t as easy to get as it would have been if the city had been in a forest biome.



The other city I visited was called Khatira. It’s not finished yet, but as you can see, it is in a desert.

 

Big difference, huh? Instead of stone, clay, and wood, nearly everything is made of sandstone. The little acacia wood Hannah used was hauled in from a distant savannah using a donkey caravan. She raises cows and sheep there because in the desert, there isn’t dirt for raising crops. Since it is a coastal city, fishing is the main source of food. 

See? A whole lot of sand, sandstone, cactus, and not much else. 

Thankfully for Khatira, it isn’t completely isolated. It is a port city, and here is a ship in the harbor that is made of jungle wood. It is importing cocoa beans, jungle wood, vines, and other goods that you can’t find in either extreme hills or the desert.

Hannah: Thank you, Reni. I’ll take it from here.

Reni: What? But I just started!

Hannah: I know, but like I said last time, I’m easing you in.

Reni: That’s dirty! Just you wait, one of these days, you won’t be able to get rid of me so easily…

Hannah: Anyway, back to the post.

The purpose of this was to illustrate how something as simple as a building can change dramatically when the available resources are different. When you start to think about the economy, things get even trickier: coal is very expensive in my desert city, but it is dirt cheap in the one on the hill. How does this change the way the city functions when coal is an essential resource for smelting metal, providing light, and cooking food?

That is why, in Minecraft, it is important to choose carefully where you are going to build. What resources are essential, and how are you going to ensure you can access them? Anything can be imported, but is it worth spending the half hour it requires to travel to a faraway forest, chop the trees there, and haul it all back? Or would you rather have that forest in your backyard? What about stone, water, food, or high ground? Do you want to build next to a natural village so you can trade with the people there, or would you rather look for one of the dangerous, abandoned ruins that yield large amounts of treasure? There are many factors involved in choosing a location. While some people will simply build wherever they are, it is important to consider the effects the landscape will have on your lifestyle.

Stories are the same way. You could “write what you know” or write what seems interesting, but if you want your world to be well developed and consistent, it would be a good idea to consider some of the questions I listed above. Minecraft is a simplified version. You can grow trees in the desert if you move dirt there. You can raise animals with no water, or live in perpetual snow with no heat source. Real life doesn’t work that way.

Do you know what biome your characters inhabit? It’s an important choice. If they lack a critical resource, they are going to have to find a way to acquire it or learn to cope without it.

For example, in my current story, the main characters live underground. Obviously, this is not a real world biome, but it does exist in my story. I have run into many problems: where do they get food? Plants don’t survive without sunlight, so my characters have virtually no crops of any sort. Speaking of plants, they don’t have trees either. They build buildings out of stone, but what about doors? Stone would make a heavy door. Metal has to suffice instead. No large mammalian creatures live underground, and cotton is a plant. What do they wear? How do they get around if they have to dig tunnels everywhere? Since they can dig tunnels up and down, they obviously don’t have to live in two dimensions anymore. What happens when two nations go to war? If they have to fight in tunnels, how does that change what armor and weapons they use?

Reni: Hannah, not everyone has a biome as strange as yours.

Hannah: True, that’s true.

What should you look out for, then?

Resources that are important to most or all earth civilizations: 

• Drinking water 
• Food – usually farming, hunting, fishing, or animal husbandry 
• Wood 
• Materials for building shelter 
• Materials for weapons – stone, bone, wood, bronze, iron, explosives, etc. 
• Clothing materials – cotton, leather, fur, linen, etc. 
• Fuel source – wood, coal, gas, anything to sustain fire for heat and light 

Your civilization is most likely going to need all of these things. However, as Reni showed with her Minecraft examples above, different cultures meet these basic needs in many different ways. This is why biome is important.

Food

In Japan, only 12% of the country is suitable for growing crops. However, seafood is abundant. In contrast, the Midwestern United States has a large supply of grains – wheat, corn, soybeans, and wild rice – and also beef and pork. Seafood is rare there because it is completely landlocked.

This is where research will benefit you a lot. If your climate is similar to a particular place on earth, it would be quite beneficial to see what sort of plants and animals live there. An ecosystem is “a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.” This is exactly what you need to create. Thankfully, it is not difficult to research a biome similar to yours in order to figure out what kinds of wildlife would be available. Once you have that information, you will have a good idea what your characters will be eating.

Of course, the globalization of the food market has helped standardize the foods available. Nevertheless, even if your story is set in modern or future times, there is a good chance the cultural and regional food tastes were set long before they had access to foreign cuisine.

Here are some food-related questions to consider.

• Where do your characters get fresh drinking water? 
• What plants can they eat? 
• Do they have berries, nuts, fruits, or vegetables? Which ones? 
• What about grains or beans? 
• What plants can’t be eaten by people but might be harvested for animals? 
• Which of these plants are grown as crops? 
• Are some easier or cheaper to grow than others? 
• What fish and animals are native to the region? 
• Which ones are suitable for food? 
• Which of these animals could be domesticated or raised, and which must be hunted? 
• What spices and seasonings are available, if any? 
• What foods are rare and considered delicacies? 
• How is food brought from its raw form to the dinner table? 
• Do they cook it, boil it, fry it, grill it, or something else? 
• Do they eat it all together, like in a stew or stir fry, or are foods kept separate? 
• What methods are available to preserve or store food so that it can be eaten later? 

Note: If food is not very important to your story, you most certainly do not have to go into all this detail. I haven’t yet. Still, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go over the main ideas.

Shelter

Food isn’t the only cultural element affected by the choice of location. The available building materials dictate what can be used to build shelter, and the climate determines what types of shelter will be necessary. For example, when the Vikings settled in Iceland, only 30% of the island was forested – and this was mainly birch. Oak was the preferred wood, but the Vikings used what they had. The front and back walls of the buildings would be made of wood, but the roofs would extend all the way to the ground and were covered in turf. This way, the Vikings made use of an abundant resource – turf – and took advantage of the extra insulation it provided. If you look at architecture all across the world, it shouldn’t be difficult to see how the biome directly influenced the buildings.

• What building resources are available? 
• At the most basic level, buildings are shelter. What do your people need shelter from? (Rain, snow, wind, heat, cold, predatory animals, enemies, natural disasters, or something else?) 
• What features of your buildings protect your people from these things? (For example, the turf houses I mentioned earlier use earth to insulate from the cold) 
• What terrain is preferred for the buildings your people will construct? 

Note: There are many other elements that will affect buildings. For example, which buildings are the most important to a society? How are they distinguished? What features are stylish at the time? Etc. However, for now I am specifically focusing on biome-related considerations.

Clothing

Like food and shelter, clothing is an important part of culture. Many people associate silk with China or grass skirts and leis with Hawaii. Clothing can be just as distinctive as food or a building, and it too is largely dictated by available resources. Common materials include but are not limited to wool, cotton, fur, leather, linen, silk, polyester, and more.

Also, like buildings, clothing must be appropriate to the temperature. Fur was widely used in Canada and northern Europe because the indigenous animals had warm fur to protect them from the bitter cold. The people would hunt these animals specifically to benefit from the same protective furs. In contrast, people in Greece and Rome, in the warm Mediterranean climate, wore thin, loose linen garments so they didn’t get too hot.

Clothing is also protective. Knights in Medieval times wore armor into battle, my dad wears a windproof jacket when he rides his motorcycle, and construction workers wear hard hats. Firemen wear fire-resistant jackets, divers wear scuba gear, and I wear rubber boots when I have to work outside and the ground is flooded. No matter what you are doing, chances are you will probably wear something that will keep you comfortable and safe. Over time, people will find ways to make it easier to interact with their environment, so it would be a good idea to consider what technology your civilization may have developed to deal with some unwanted elements of their biome.

• What materials are available for making clothes? 
• Just like buildings, clothes provide shelter. What do your people need shelter from? (Rain, snow, wind, heat, cold, predatory animals, enemies, or something else?) 
• What type of clothes would suit the environment? 
• What is the most common material that would serve the needs of most people? 
• Are there any specialized clothes that would only be used under certain circumstances? (Most people don’t wear rain gear every day, but it is quite beneficial during the rainy season.) 
• What armor or protective gear do soldiers or warriors wear? 

In Conclusion…

Next time, I will look at the broader social and economic effects of resources – Which ones are the most rare and valuable? What happens when one country relies on another to provide a critical resource? How do population centers grow around a large supply of an important resource? – But for now, consider how the environment dictates culture on an everyday scale.

If you are interested in more information, check out Day 8: Economy and Politics from 30 Days of Worldbuilding.

Thanks for reading! As always, questions, comments, opinions, and ideas are always welcome in the comments. Have you ever thought about how much a society is built around the resources available? What are some of the most interesting real-world cultures to you?

Pleasures and Peeves (Jill)

I've had a tough few weeks, reading-wise. Some of the books I picked up at my local library, ones I'd been looking forward to reading, were duds.  The experience led me to thinking about why readers connect (or don't) to the books they purchase or borrow.

Pleasures are simply the reasons why we fall in love with the stories. Sometimes it's the setting. For me, anything set in the Outer Banks, NC will cause me to at least check out the back cover blurb.  Or maybe it's the events taking place -- a wedding, a dance, a favorite holiday like Christmas. For me, it's usually the characters. I fall in love with these people, and root for them, and want them to live Happily Ever After.

Peeves are the reasons we throw the book across the room. Well, maybe not. But it's the reason we put the book down and have trouble picking it up again. Or find other things to do. I don't like unhappy endings. Really. Don't kill off the main characters I've grown to love, no matter whether there was a good reason for it or not. (Yes, I'm talking to you, Veronica Roth). I also won't read books with a lot of swearing in it. Carl Hiaasen has a few juvenile books (Hoot, Scat, Flush, Chomp) that were phenomenal, but his adult stories can be rough. If you don't like swearing, don't pick them up.

So now that you know my pleasures and peeves, what are yours? What makes you pick a book up? What makes you conveniently "lose" it among the dust bunnies under the couch?

Prepping for My First Conference (Personal Notes)

Most of you are probably veterans of the Writing Conference scene, but I have to confess, this is new for me. In a little over two weeks, I will bundle up on a (potentially) cold day, pack up my completed manuscript, my WIP, a notebook and some (hopefully) new pens, and head out my door.

I am terrified.

Don't get me wrong--the workshops sound right up my alley. They cover topics such as writing for young adults, writing speculative fiction, writing query letters, and talking to agents. So why am I worried, you ask?

One of the workshops asks me to submit my first page of my manuscript anonymously and listen to the presenters give feedback. Now, there are other workshops scheduled for the same time slot, but none of them remotely interest me. And it would be great to get some professional feedback on my novel opening. BUT. . .

What if my face turns red when they start reading my page?

What if they say terrible things and I cry? It could happen. I cried at end of The Lego Movie.

What if they say nice things and I regret not signing up for one of the $30 pitch sessions? (Not as likely, but you never know.)

And, assuming I live through the session, what am I going to do with my hour-and-a-half lunch break?

What if people talk to me? I'm an introvert, so that could be awkward. Just leave me with my coffee and a book, and I am good. . .

. . .but, what if no one talks to me? Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I don't like people.

I love listening to lectures and taking notes. It is just the rest of conference that terrifies me.

Have any of you been to a conference? What advice do you have for those of us who have never been to one? Leave your tips here, and many thanks!

Attributions:
https://pixabay.com/en/startup-meeting-brainstorming-594090/
https://pixabay.com/en/morning-coffee-coffee-cup-cafe-1035090/

Top 3 Ways to Combat a Creative Block (Elizabeth)

Today, I'm going to continue on Jill's wonderful Top 3 post on Combatting a Creative Block by adding some of the things I've learned from my 8 Tips for Curing Writer's Block post.

1. Journal
With my mom's Air Force history, she tells us that if we sweat more in practice, we'll bleed less in war. That's a gung-ho way of saying prevention is the best cure. Oftentimes, I get amazing ideas... when I don't need them or can't use them. I'll be in the middle of a tough edit for my current story, and I'll find a dozen story ideas clamoring at the gates of my mind. Or I'll be in the middle of a debate round and come up with an idea for a great case.
Keep a journal with you (or a running list on your phone) of ideas and things that inspire you. These can be writing prompts, quotes, pictures, stories, or character sketches. Pinterest can also be a useful tool, if you don't spend too much time on it.
By keeping a list of creative ideas flowing when you have them, you might be able to stop the block before it starts.

2. Talk It Out
When I'm stuck or trying to brainstorm, I find that having another human brain around comes in handy. Not that I'm recommending you keep organs around your house in jars or anything. I find human brains are most helpful when they're still within the person's skull. Anyway...
Grab a patient friend or family member, someone who is personally invested in you and, consequently, your story. Ask when they'll be free, because if you try to drag their attention away from another project, you're fighting a losing battle. You want their minds to be solely focused on the problem you're facing. Explain it to them and hear what they have to say. Their ideas might be completely useless, but those ideas might create a domino effect, inspiring you to create more of your own ideas.

3. Let Go and Let GodStrangely enough, I’ve found that at the source of my stress is a lack of faith. I’m preparing for my next speech and debate tournament, trying to keep up with my personal blog and this blog, trying to edit my manuscript, trying to get scholarships to go to an expensive college, and trying to get a driver’s license. Several times, I’ve wished that there were more than 24 hours in a day. Then I might have a teeny tiny chance of getting everything done. But God made 24 hours in a day for a reason. He knows what I can and can't do in 24 hours, and His plan doesn't require anymore of me than what I have.
If God wants you to write this manuscript, He has a plan for it--from that pesky scene that doesn't have the right pacing to the agent who's going to represent it. Trust that by pursuing God's calling for your life, He'll take care of the details.

What's the biggest problem that stops up your creativity? How do you deal with creative blocks to your writing?

Thanks for reading!
-Elizabeth Newsom

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy, by Karen Foxlee (Laura)

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy is a mesmerizing story about perseverance, courage, and following your heart. A logical young girl named Ophelia, who recently lost her mother, moves with her father and sister during Christmastime to a new city, where her father takes a job in a museum. Not just any museum, this one has exhibits featuring teaspoons, clocks, mirrors, and mysterious paintings of bored girls--it also has a secret, hidden room with a boy locked inside. As Ophelia begins to hear the boy's remarkable tale, she learns she must find the key to release him as well as locate his magical sword and the One Other in order to defeat the evil Snow Queen and save the world. All before the Wintertide Clock chimes in the next three days. She's just not sure if she believes in all that magic.

This story drew me in from the first pages and didn't stop. The themes, told with striking yet simple detail and emotion, gave the story rich depth. The air of mystery as well as the friendship between Ophelia and the boy made it light and fun. There were certain questions that were not made very mysterious for the reader, like the identity of the Snow Queen, but it was believable that Ophelia didn't solve them until she needed to. And the museum was an adventure on its own--with its magical, frightening creatures; its stairways that lead up and down and appear behind doorways in rooms filled with sewing baskets; and its rooms that change or disappear or contain forests with whispering ghosts in them. The ghost girls were hauntingly real with specific, personal details asking "Who are they really?" that made them heartbreaking. So many elements of the museum and the story had just the right touch of spookiness without being over the top.


The themes around combatting death, frozenness, and all that the Snow Queen represents came across most powerfully to me in passages like this one, as told by the Marvelous Boy:

          "All these sufferings...were recorded in ink on white paper. All the great tragedies and all the small tragedies, in
           columns neatly and exactly measured, town after town, city after city, hour after hour, day after day, year after year.
           They were cross-referenced. Cataloged. Filed away. Kept.
           And they are the Queen's proof that the world is terrible, and they are her proof that all her arguments are right. That
           everything should remain frozen and that death should reign supreme. Each day she walks in her library and touches
           these memories, and they make her stronger."


Ophelia, of course having suffered her own loss, faces fears and doubts as she comes up against this darkness. Through all her bravery and intelligence, it is her turmoil and profound pain that heighten her character, expressed in simple statements, such as:

          "She cried because she had no handkerchief. She cried because she didn't know what to do. If her mother had been
           there, she would have known what to do. And she would have had a handkerchief."


Her combined vulnerability, grief, and innocence against the Queen's wickedness poses a compelling journey as Ophelia learns to use her own intuition to not only listen to her heart but follow it. Another interesting note is that the beautiful pieces of artwork featured in this book and on the cover were done by Yoko Tanaka, the same illustrator for Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant. Another beautiful book about finding faith through darkness.


We've talked about several fairy tale adaptations on this site (see these posts from Elizabeth and Laurie). What are some adaptations you've read that really take on their own life and become their own distinguishable, classic story?


Laura


Attribution
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ophelia-and-the-marvelous-boy-Karen-foxlee/1115292746

Writing Characters: Backstory, Personality, Appearance (Elizabeth)

Today, we're going to take some time and explore the characters within your story by first asking questions to reveal backstory, before deciding on their personality and appearance.

Backstory
First of all, you have to find out who your character is and who she was. What does she most want? What is her opposite desire? Can your character want both at times? And why does she want it? Humans have conflicting desires all of the time, and so should your character. For example, last night I wanted a brownie, but I also wanted to be healthy and avoid sugar. What conflicting desires does your character have and why? Which desire wins in the end and why? What is driving this behavior?
Writing is often an exploration of finding the answers to the "whys" behind everything.

Concerning backstory, consider creating a Ghost or Black Moment somewhere in your protagonist's past. What's something tragic or dramatic that explains your character's flaw? How can you hint at this story to create mystery and make the reader ask questions about what happened?

Personality
By answering some of the above questions, you should know a bit about the character's personality. See if you can find their MBTI type. One of the easiest ways I've found is to go down into the personality functions. If you know of a character whose personality is similar to your character's, see if you can find their MBTI type on mbtifiction.com.
To get you started, here are a few questions: Is you character introvert or extroverted? Is she more focused on the physical or the abstract? Is she more present or past focused? Does she like to share her feelings or keep them to herself? Does she do her best thinking aloud or quietly and alone? Answering these questions will help guide you through the test as you discover her personality.

Appearance
Now that you've scooped the ice cream and topped it with whipped cream, you get to add sprinkles! There are a variety of sprinkles, but they have little impact on the taste of the sundae. Of course, they're still fun to add.
First of all, are there any certain aspects of appearance your character must have for this plot or story? Do the people of her race have a certain color of eyes? Does she have some unique feature that marks her as an outcast?
For the less significant things, try out whatever appeals to you.
Use Azalea's Dolls to figure out how your character would look. (Make sure to try the Lord of the Rings, Sci-Fi Warrior, and Snow Queen creators too)
Skim How to Write Descriptions of Hair and Skin and How to Write Descriptions of Eyes and Faces by Val Kovalin  for ideas and descriptions of types/colors of hair and eyes, along with other physical attributes.
If you want ideas for describing eyes and hair along with many other things, check out descriptionari.com. 

Now share the characters you've created! What's your character's Black Moment? Their personality? How would you describe their appearance?

Thanks for reading!
-Elizabeth Newsom

Top 3 Ways to Combat A Creative Block (Jill)

Everybody has experienced a creative block, even people who consider themselves to be "non-creatives." Anybody who creates something, whether it's a piece of art or a solution to a problem, can encounter it. The well dries up, the muse takes a vacation, and you're left struggling.

 It's happened to me. Both of my pregnancies robbed my creativity and "the voices" went silent. Below, I've listed a few ideas that helped me "unstick." The next time you're immobilized in that gray land where the ideas don't come, try one of these tips to get your creativity flowing again.
 

1. Take a break. Go for a drive, take a shower, grab a nap, exercise. The solution to your problem could be hidden in a different part of your brain. Whether it's a plot hole, or that difficult conversation you have to have with your supervisor, give your mind some time to figure out a solution. Some of my best ideas were born in the shower or while driving.

2. Look for the weird. If you go beyond simply observing and search for the unusual, it's amazing what you'll find. Newspapers, blog posts, and other books can offer a small nugget that answers your current problem. My local newspaper has a section on Sundays titled "News of the Weird." It's a good "what-if?" exercise.

3. Write (or press on) anyway. If you're stuck on a current problem, try what I call a snowflake map. (List your main idea in the center of a piece of paper with related ideas and possible solutions recorded on the spokes.) If you're truly lost, attempt work on another project. For writers, that could mean editing, creating a new plot or characters, or drawing a map of your world. It might help you move forward. Sometimes when I'm stuck on a single idea, I push forward and write anyway. It might be garbage, but I can edit garbage. I can't edit a blank page.


If none of these ideas work, you might have to wait it out. I've found that to be the toughest tactic of all. But if you're patient, eventually your brain will untangle your problem and your creativity will return.

Biomes Part 1: The Natural World (Hannah)

Note: In this post, I am assuming you are not simply using a location that already exists, and are therefore (to some degree) creating your own world. This may also apply to historical settings if there is not enough available information to base your story completely on fact.

“Biome” seems like a simple topic, and really, it is. You can say “desert,” “tundra,” or “tropical island” and in an instant, everyone around you is flooded with related images, feelings, and ideas. This can be a benefit when explaining your story to others. But as a writer, you will quickly find that saying your story is set in “a rainforest,” for example, is nowhere near good enough.

For some people, like me, the setting is determined by the plot. If my main characters didn’t live underground, a lot of the story would be very different. For other people, the biome can be added after the story without changing it much. Whichever category you fall into, choosing your biome (or several) is one of the first steps in setting up your world.

So what is a biome, and why is it so important? A biome is defined as “a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.” Choosing your biome means choosing the weather conditions, what resources will be available to your characters, and what daily life will look like.

In an overall sense, there are two types of biomes: biomes that exist in real life, and biomes that are created specifically for a particular story. Real biomes are definitely the easiest because there is a lot of factual information available, and often thousands of years of real civilizations that have figured out how to thrive in that setting. At that point, it is mostly a matter of doing your research. If you are creating a setting that is only loosely based on one that exists, you will have to do more work, but will have the benefit of a good starting foundation. Creating an entirely new biome is the most difficult as it requires a lot of critical thinking, planning, and brainstorming.

Climate and General Landscape

Despite the definition I gave above, a biome is generally defined by its climate. There are far too many for me to list, but this site gives a large amount of basic information on many different biomes.  It has pages for aquatic biomes, deserts, forests, grasslands, and tundra, and it covers many sub-types in those pages. These are very helpful if you just want to get an idea of what different ecosystems are like, and what wildlife is likely to be found there.

The first day of 30 Days of Worldbuilding has a related short exercise that fits in very well with this section. Try it out: Day 1: Climate and Variety.

If you are creating your own climate that is somewhat similar to earth, here are some things to consider:

• How hot or cold is it? 
• It is very wet, or mostly dry? 
• Are there mountains, hills, valleys, cliffs, or is it mostly flat? 
• In general, are there lots of trees, are they sparse, or are there no trees at all? 
• Is there lush green grass, wide prairie expanses, dirt, sand, or clay? 
• How large is your biome? How long would it take to travel across it? 
• In general, what are the surrounding areas like? 
• Is your biome landlocked, or does it border an ocean or sea? 
• What are some of the neighboring biomes? (This will come in handy later.) 

Keep in mind that if your story takes place across more than one biome (like mine does), you will have to answer separately for each distinct region.

Weather and Natural Disasters

Have you ever lived in a place that has no weather? Such a place does not exist on earth. If your setting is even mildly earthlike, chances are it will have weather of some sort. Of course, perhaps it would be interesting to consider a world without weather… But in most cases, unless explicitly stated otherwise, you will have to consider weather.

Weather can be tricky, since it is an intricate subject that not even meteorologists understand (which is why weather predictions are often wrong). The easiest way to handle it is to do some research on a similar region on earth. It doesn’t have to be perfectly scientific; all you need is a general idea.

For example, in central Florida, during the summer it rains for a couple of hours every afternoon, and then at the beginning of fall is hurricane season. It is mostly dry during the winter with mild temperatures in the high 60 to low 80-degree range, but summers reach over 100 degrees with limited breezes unless you are on the coast.

A simple summary like this is probably all you need. Unless you are writing hard science fiction, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just consistent. Besides, knowing the general weather pattern will help tremendously in rounding out your world and making it feel more realistic and developed.

Everyday weather isn’t the only thing to consider, though. You may have noticed that I mentioned hurricanes as regular yearly occurrences. Nearly every area has some sort of natural disaster that is common. In the U.S., states bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico get hit frequently by violent hurricanes. Tornadoes are common in the Midwestern states. Hawaii has the world’s largest active volcano. Countries like Japan, Indonesia, and Australia suffer from many earthquakes, and tsunamis plague most countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Sandstorms in the desert can be deadly, and droughts can devastate a nation. Floods, hail, and unexpectedly heavy snow can be brutal as well. Don’t forget to consider the worst-case scenario possibilities for your setting.

Weather questions to consider:

• How often does it rain? 
• Does it get cold enough to snow, and how long is the snowy season? 
• Are there mild breezes or violent winds? 
• When are the rainy and dry seasons? 
• What natural disasters, if any, are common? 

The related 30 Days of Worldbuilding day is Day 2: Physical Planet.

Reni: Hannah, I’m pretty sure this violates the terms of our contract. You are two-thirds of the way through this post and I haven’t even said anything yet!

Hannah: I’m easing you in. After all, you may be a world traveler, but you aren’t a writer – not yet anyway. Nevertheless, I will let you take the next section.

Reni: Perfect. This one’s my favorite…

An Unnatural World

What if your biome is radically different from anything humans have ever attempted? Earth-like places are overrated, after all. The world is at your fingertips! Your characters might be living underground, in the depths of the sea, in the vacuum of space, on the surface of the sun, in a world sustained in impossible ways because of magic, or in some other fantasy scenario. This is where the real fun begins!

Hannah: Reni, your bias is showing.

Reni: Of course it is! Why shouldn’t it?

Hannah: If you are writing an informative post like this, you should be careful not to choose one subjective opinion over the other. State the facts and let the readers decide their opinions for themselves.

Reni: That’s ridiculous. Why write if I can’t share my opinion?

Hannah: That’s not how it’s supposed to be done…

Reni: Too bad! As long as I am contributing my knowledge, I will also be contributing my opinions. Anyway, back to the post…

If you are taking the hard route, you have a lot more to consider since you will likely have to make it all up for yourself. Hannah will come back to this again, but for now, try to use any of the elements in the first two sections that would be applicable.

Your species may not need water to survive, so rain or water may not be an issue. Your terrain might be made of stone, space dust, a coral reef, or any other material imaginable. There may or may not be plants of any sort, or plants might be the basis of the entire planet. Since there is so much variability, try to see what sort of landscape features in your world might function in a similar way to other features in earth. Unfortunately, even if you are bravely stepping away from the established world you live in, it is easiest if you can relate it back to the familiar. That will at least give you a framework to start asking questions.

Weather is similarly difficult. Underwater, there will be no rain or wind. However, currents may be comparable to wind, and a particularly violent one might be a natural disaster that affects your characters. Underground in the Vania Peninsula (an unfriendly territory in Ruavaen), there is virtually no weather of any sort. The temperature is consistent year-round, there is no rain or wind, and it is very isolated. However, earthquakes still cause damage, underwater rivers and springs can be accidentally freed leading to flooding, or a particular area may be extremely hot due to a nearby volcano.

One idea is to find a community campfire with other travelers you don’t know, tell them interesting stories to charm them into being talkative, and then interrogate them for their contributions.

Hannah: That’s not as easy on earth as it is in the Ruavaen wilderness.

Reni: See? This is why you create a world that isn’t related to earth at all. That way you can include great ideas like this.

Ok, we’ll try it the earth way. Gather a bunch of your friends who don’t think like you and brainstorm some different ideas and angles to help you get an idea of your world. But remember that stranger-campfire plan. I think it’s a winner.

• What is the landscape made out of?
• Is the terrain flat or dynamic?
• What are the nearby biomes like? 
• What bodies of water/life-giving liquid are nearby? 
• What natural shelter is there – caves, trees, outcroppings, or something else? 
• Does the temperature stay the same or does it fluctuate? 
• Does it have a regular pattern, like seasons? 
• How long is each season? 
• What is the range of temperatures? 
• Is there weather of any sort? 
• Is there anything comparable to weather that might serve the same purpose? (For example: currents, meteor showers, magnetic field disruptions, solar flares, radiation storms, ect.) 
• What natural disasters might disrupt daily life or cause significant damage? 

Hannah: Ok… Thanks, Reni. I’ll take it from here.

Reni: Aww…

In Conclusion

Landscape, climate, and weather play a huge part in the development of a civilization. They affect everything from the available resources (and therefore economy) to what buildings are important to what food your people eat and what clothes they wear… This is the foundation of your civilization. Over the next two weeks, take some time to consider the biome or biomes that are important to your characters, because next time I will get into how you figure out what resources your biome offers, and how those affect your economy and culture.

Thanks for reading! As always, questions, comments, opinions, and ideas are always welcome in the comments. And now I’m curious: what biome or biomes have you chosen?

Which Genres Do You Read? (Laurie)

Me again! The New Year has started with a bang for many of us here at Lands Uncharted, so I'm filling in :)

And since it's a Your Turn day, I'd like to know: which genres do you read? Do you tend to stay in one genre or sub-set of genres, or do you read a wide variety?

Here are some options to choose from, but feel free to add ones I've missed! Do you like to read:

A. Fantasy
B. Science Fiction/Dystopian/Steampunk
C. Historical Fiction
D. Contemporary
E. Romance
F. Mystery
G. Horror
H. Non-Fiction

I lean towards fantasy (no surprise there!), but I enjoy dystopian and historical romance as well, and I used to read a lot of mysteries. I can't wait to find out what all of you prefer to read!


See you next time!
Laurie

Finding Joy (Laurie)

So apparently it's become a thing at the end of December for people to choose a certain word to reflect their hopes or anticipation for the coming year. For example, I read blog posts this week where one writer chose the word "expect" and another chose "refocus." I like the concept of being inspired by a certain word for the New Year, but nothing really stood out to me, so I set it aside as a blogging trend that would pass me by.

But ever since January 1st , I've been reading a daily devotional from one of the books I mentioned in my New Year's Resolutions post. Nearly every day, the word "joy" has stood out to me, but I passed it off as one of the author's favorite messages. Then I went to my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group on Friday, where we discussed the importance of not just loving our children, but enjoying them. Sense a theme yet? Next came Sunday, where the sermon centered around the wisemen rejoicing when they saw the star that would lead them to Jesus, and how Christmas should fill us with that same overwhelming joy.

It appears God had a word in store for me this year after all: joy. And I'm already beginning to see why. Instead of slowing down after the holidays, life has just gotten busier. New, exciting opportunities have arisen that I can't wait to explore in the coming months, but they've given my days a hectic, anxious feel.

It's okay to be busy, and I think I'm exactly where I'm meant to be as the chaos builds around me. But I also need to remember to experience joy in the midst of it.

Joy in parenting, so I don't miss the many moments each day where my sons make me laugh, do a kind gesture of their own accord, or say something that reminds me how remarkable their unique minds are. Joy in my marriage, so my husband stays my best friend instead of a roommate who helps me keep the house in order. Joy in writing, so I can appreciate the amazing gift of using words to create stories and characters that may strike a chord with a reader someday. Joy in being an aspiring author, so I can truly value the connections I make with others as I try to broaden my reach, instead of seeing them as means to an end.

The coming year will be busy, but it can also be joyful - if I let it. If I remember to pause to enjoy the exact moment I'm in rather than regretting a past mistake or looking ahead to times where I may feel more fulfilled or more successful. Joy can be experienced today, no matter what trials or obligations the day may hold. I just need to make sure to seek it out.


How about you? Do you have a certain word in mind to guide you in 2017? Have you ever felt like God was trying to get a message across using numerous aspects of your life?


I pray each one of us can find many, many reasons to be joyful in the year ahead!


Thanks for reading!
Laurie

Top 3 Wintertime Movies (Laura)

Believe it or not, winter is one of my favorite seasons, and funnily enough, it is perhaps the season I dread most. Why? Winter is hard. The anticipation of it oftentimes even puts a slight damper on fall for me, but once winter comes, my Christmas plans are in place, and I've successfully made it through the first snowstorms and bitter cold weather for the year, I relax. Even in these early weeks of winter, a part of me is already looking forward to the spring, my favorite. There is hope in winter, the coldest and darkest of days. December 21 is the shortest day of the year, after which they only get longer. By that point, I am lucky enough to enjoy deeply treasured time with family and indoor activities I love, like writing and reading and singing in the kitchen while I bake Christmas cookies.


Some years I leave Christmas decorations up longer than others, but I always leave them at least through the twelve days of Christmas, as I reflect. Then there comes the moment when I feel that forward tug of the fresh new year. I'm ready to get serious about my resolutions, which usually revolve informally around writing projects and trying new activities. I put away the decorations, get out my Valentine's Day placemats early, and start watching some of my favorite movies that go with my fresh new-year feelings. I'm ready to move on from my bittersweet, nostalgic Christmas thoughts and memories and, during this invigoratingly early and chilly time of year, embrace possibility. These movies, even in small ways, match my excitement for spring, new beginnings, and what's to come.


3. New in Town

Akin to Snow Dogs with Cuba Gooding Jr., which I also love, New in Town is the story of a bitter, big-city, business lady from Florida who ends up in small-town Minnesota on an errand from her company. She arrives in town in the evening ahead of dinner time, during what looks like the black of midnight, and immediately the locals pull her into their lives, homes, and idiosyncrasies to equally comic and heartwarming effect. But she has orders to get rid of their jobs. How she deals with this position and unintentionally finds a place among the very people she has insulted and deceived is touching and funny. The way she handles the cold and conditions is hilarious and also rings true a bit for me. The music in the movie is lively, at times poignant, and comes in at the perfect moments. And who doesn't like Harry Connick Jr. in movies? Especially as the "sorry-[fill in the blank] truck guy" raising a daughter on his own while trying to save the plant workers' jobs and avoid falling in love with the person representing the company that wants to take those jobs away. A great movie about finding light, warmth, people, and even yourself during a dark, cold, bitter night.

2. Spanglish

I never thought that an Adam Sandler movie would make my list of memorable love stories. In this film, a single mother from Mexico takes a job working in a white, LA household. There, she develops special relationships with each of the family members. In particular, she faces a language barrier as well as challenges in gaining the full respect and understanding of the mother of the house, all of which forces her to assimilate against her original wishes in order to break the silence on her own. She must do this while she continues to work hard to honor her roots and set an example for her own young daughter. The film demonstrates how easily people can be silenced and even changed by well-intentioned society, and also features the people who listen when it is the hard thing to do. I especially like to watch Spanglish at this time of year because the settings, the bright characters, and their relationships put hope in my heart and make me laugh. I enjoy the ways they communicate beyond language and the moments when certain characters struggle to connect then finally do--and how those connections impact their lives.


1. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
(Spoilers!)
When I lived in Arizona, I used to watch this movie as I was taking down my Christmas tree during

the few weeks each year when you can open the windows and air out your living space. That may be part of the reason this particular movie leaves me with a fresh feeling. The first time I saw it was in the theater with my mom, and when we went outside afterward, it was pouring rain--something rare in the desert. Later that night as I went to bed, the clouds cleared and a full moon came shining down on my balcony. It reminded me of the romantic scene in which Lena leaves her grandmother's house to visit Kostas by his boat, and the image still leaves me feeling hopeful and excited. The characters' stories fill me with the sense that so much life is out there in the world and not to be feared. Each of the girls must discover themselves, their futures, and even their histories apart from each other, and yet they return to one another in the end--on the beautiful island of Santorini, no less. In the DVD special features, the actresses explain how the scene in which they jump from a cliff into the water was originally unscripted and transpired after a neat turn of events. It reminds me things work out for the best on their own, even when you think you've planned everything carefully. This one, too, has some great, artful musical touches. Overall, a very fun movie about friendship, individuality, life, love, and "how to becomes ourselves without losing each other."


Do you enjoy some of these aspects of winter and looking forward to spring as much as I do? What are some of your favorite movies to watch during the wintertime as the new year begins?


Laura


Attributions
New in Town: https://www.amazon.com/New-Town-Widescreen-Ren%C3%A9e-Zellweger/dp/B001WAKPBG
Spanglish: https://www.amazon.com/Spanglish-Paz-Vega/dp/B0007OCG56
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: https://www.amazon.com/Sisterhood-Traveling-Pants-Amber-Tamblyn/dp/B001LGXDMO

Black and Red (The Circle Series) by Ted Dekker (Elizabeth)

Black is an exploration of the Fall, God’s nature, and the Great Romance–“to love at any cost.”

Red is about sacrifice, love, and the role Jesus played in saving us.

In Black by Ted Dekker, Thomas is part of two worlds. One where he’s running from a gang he’s indebted to while trying to save the world from the next World War III–modern earth–and one where he lives in an Edenic paradise, so long as he doesn’t cross the bridge to the black forest, where red-eyed, flesh-eating bats live, the Shataiki.
Both worlds are fascinating, each with its own unique plot that’s connected to the other. In the Edenic paradise world, supposedly the far future, he learns about a disease that’s going to wipe out most of modern earth’s population. Because he knows things he has no business knowing on modern earth, he’s hunted down by an assassin.
The world building is fascinating, and I love the sensory description. It makes you wonder how Eden actually looked and how complete union with God actually felt. It makes you realize how much humanity is missing because of the Fall.
This book had plenty of action, with martial arts, chases down alleys, kidnappings, and of course, the creepy bats, and it was interspersed with a few humorous scenes that made me laugh.
The beginning was intriguing, but the best part of the book is when you’re deep into the plot, so if you do happen to pick up this book, make sure to stick with it.

In Red by Ted Dekker,  what really hooked me about this book was the new life it breathed on the Bible and its message. The plots in both worlds were intriguing and suspenseful, but the new perspective this book has given me is so much more memorable.

I'd give you more of a review, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything from the first book ;)

We've finally reached a new year, so what have you learned about God’s nature in 2016? How has your understanding of Him changed in the past year?

Any suggestions for fantasy books or book you'd like to see reviewed? Feel free to tell me about them in the comments!

-Elizabeth Newsom