Month: November 2018

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Write to Market

I like to bake. Well, preparing food in general is fun for me. I enjoy seeing people enjoying the food I make, but I also like to eat that which I make. My best dishes are usually the ones I really savor, so I know just exactly what to add to raise it to the next level.

Downside with this is that sometimes my favorite dishes are not the ones my family enjoys. When that happens, I have to eat all of it, if I do not want it to go to waste. Also, cooking and baking just for myself just is not as much fun.

How does this relate to writing?

If I (or you) only write what I love to read, I may make a great story that can only be enjoyed by one consumer. Me. That is not my intention as a writer. Part of the fun is seeing or hearing of the reactions from my readers. If I do not consider what people want to read, or what tropes are necessary for my genre, then I might not have the readers to  share this complex world and get to know the characters I love.

I don’t like to eat fish, so I really can’t cook it well. How can I tell if it needs more or less seasoning, or if it is overcooked? It still tastes like fish! I know many other people love fish, and I do wish I could, too. It looks delicious. It is just not for me. There are a few limited dishes from the sea I can eat, but this is an exception, not the rule.

I cannot write in genres I do not enjoy reading. Romance is one of those. I have no problem with a love story, but the HEA (Happily Ever After) just does not work for me, usually. Real life is messier than that. I know many, many people enjoy these, but I know my limits. If I tried to force myself to write a romance, it just would not be as much fun to create, and I am sure a reader would see through my half-hearted effort.

Still, one must always consider whom is the target audience in order to craft the best story and characters for that group of people. Hopefully I hit the market correctly. If not, I shall forever languish in the bin of obscurity.

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If you want to read my published work, check out the first episode of the serial: Betrayer Awakened, Season 1 Episode 1″Escape”.)

“Thoughts & Musings: Write to Market”copyright © 2018 by Richelle Sepulveda

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Thoughts & Musings: Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

I am still working on working ahead. These daily postings would be best if completed earlier by at least one day, maybe more. That has not yet happened.

November is an odd month for me. It is the kick off of Nanowrimo, the great novel writing challenge, as well as the start of the Holiday Season in the US. It also is when the sun moves south, leaving our days shorter. My day job is also in its busy season. And now, this year, everyone has medical appointments, including the dog!

Thanksgiving is basically our harvest festival, even if most do not ever grow food themselves. It is an excuse for me to prepare a large meal for the extended family, which I do not get to do that often, now that the kids are leaving the nest. But this feast must be prepped, and in my small kitchen all the details must be perfectly planned and the supplies gathered. Planning takes time.

Adding to the household drama is the number of appointments. Even I have physical therapy twice a week now, which means more difficulties in scheduling writing time. Not only does it limit the availability, the muscles in my arm do not function as well after each appointment. Resting must be planned.

To reach even part of my Nanowrimo goals, I need to have my clear time each day to get words down on the page. I cannot handwrite when away from my desk because of the nerve issues in my arm, limiting it even more. Throw in the sleepiness from the lack of bright light, and the motivation is harder to find.

Still, I push through. I cannot power through, due to my arm, but I can keep adding little bits every day to my goals. This is part of why I set the plan to blog every day. It gives me a smaller goal to be attained, and still know I am heading towards the larger goal of increased word counts. Even if I do not finish all my writing goals for the month, it is time well spent. I will not berate myself for not reaching the goal, but instead congratulate myself on how far I have come.

I heard of a person lamenting on how she was too old to go back to school, saying she would be almost forty when she would graduate with her bachelor’s degree. The person she was speaking with told her, “You are going to be forty anyways. Wouldn’t you rather have the degree, too?” That has stuck with me over the years when I start to look at what I have not done, instead of focusing on where I want to go. Life is a journey, so many say, but it is easy to be bogged down thinking of how far the destination is rather than to focus on each step every day to bring you closer.

My goal is to be a full-time writer. To get there I have made a plan, and when life slows me down I look at what needs to be done next, not how I far away I still am. At least I try to. Sometimes I do still berate myself, but with each new dawn I tell myself to take at least one step. Eventually I will get there.

Click here to sign up for my monthly newsletter!

If you want to read my published work, check out the first episode of the serial: Betrayer Awakened, Season 1 Episode 1″Escape”.)

“Thoughts & Musings: Sometimes Life Gets in the Way”copyright © 2018 by Richelle Sepulveda

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World-building Wednesday: Fate, Chance & the Phoenix

How do you tell the story of the birth of a god?

World-building is more than just the physical geography, itis also the myths and legends of a people, culture, or place. These stories framethe foundation of the world being created and help to define how and why eventsunfold the way they do. For this week’s World-building Wednesday, I will betelling the story that is the backbone of the world I am creating. It is theentire reason for the events that unfold in the primary plot and all thesecondary characters.

Fate, Chance, and the Phoenix

As the Creator began to form all things, he could not decide if he should have all events perfectly planned or if he should allow everything to be determined only by random actions. In previous iterations of the universe he had used both designs. To debate with himself, he made two other entities, one the part of him that wanted randomness, and the other the one who wanted the perfect plan. These two were his first children, his son and daughter, and he named them Chance and Fate.

The siblings argued with each other, and still no determination could be made as which form would be better. The Creator wanted to test both, so he set a competition for his children. He designed a creature that would seek out life, use its energy, and then launch itself into the nearest star with a piece of the Creator in order to be reborn in a fiery cataclysm that would wipe out all life and substance nearby.

He built the universe out of himself, so that all matter, everything that surrounds us is part of him. We are part of him. He placed his power in the life stones, which became known as the Stones of Creation. Each world that held one of these stones would grow and support all manner of life, especially humans. The Phoenix would be drawn to these worlds, feed off of the life energy of humans as it searched for the Stone of Creation, and once it had enough strength, it would launch itself into the sun, to become reborn through destruction once again before seeking out the next.

The Creator promised that whoever defeated the Phoenix would be given the full status of deity of this universe, then did not speak to his children again. They would need to solve this on their own. The two squabbled over supremacy, often destroying each other’s works. As they fought, the Phoenix grew stronger, gobbling up worlds and Stones of Creation, and quickly the siblings realized he was stronger than they. They could fail, and if the Phoenix destroyed them, would this destroy their father as well?

They could no longer work alone. They began to plan together, Fate setting strategies and allowing Chance to interact with his chaos and randomness. Over and over they worked, each time refining and correcting that which had failed. The Phoenix grew stronger.

In their plans, they created creatures that also fed on humans, seeking them out and using them. One type of these creatures grew so strong they were able to seek out new worlds where humans could one day grow, and sow them much like a farmer with livestock. They recognized the danger and the effect of the Phoenix, and put other predatory monsters on the worlds in order to keep the human population low, to limit the speed which the Phoenix could grow. Using their magic, they devised a plan to trap the creature on one world, so they could continue to feed without the risk of destruction.

The plan was perfect, but Chance intervened. Or was it Fate?The creatures underestimated the strength of human love. Their sorcery did notwork as expected, and now the fate of all creation lay in the simple hands of man. Who will reign supreme? Chance? Fate? The Phoenix? Or does the Creator himself have a plan involving someone else entirely?

(If you want to read what happens to disrupt their plans, check out the first episode of the serial: Betrayer Awakened, Season 1 Episode 1″Escape”.)

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“World-Building Wednesday: Fate, Chance, & the Phoenix” copyright © 2018 by Richelle Sepulveda