Tag Archives: writing

When Creativity is a Struggle

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This past year has not been a very productive one for me, as far as producing books goes. At this time last year, I’d hoped to have the second book in The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala trilogy published, or at the very least in the final stages of editing and formatting. As it stands now, I’m still wading through the first draft. 

Book writing, and creativity in general, has been a challenge for me this year. The day after Christmas last year, my family moved my elderly father into a nursing home. His Alzheimer’s made it unsafe – for him and my mom – to care for him at home. While dealing with that transition, several other members of my family had various unrelated health challenges during the first part of the year. Then in the summer I put my house up for sale. Autumn brought more changes as my father passed away and I moved into a new place that, while safe and comfortable, wasn’t quite move-in ready and thus required some time-consuming work. Other smaller things also happened this year that were surprising drains on mental energy. 

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Giving Thanks for Books

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While it’s good to practice thankfulness all the time, every day, during the month of November many people think of gratitude in a special way. It’s great to take time to focus on specific things you’re thankful for.

I have a lot to be thankful for. And in particular I’m very thankful for books.

Thankful for Books

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World-Building Tips: Creating a Magic System – Part 2

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In my previous blog post, I went over some simple world-building tips for anyone writing fantasy who is creating a magic system for their world. No matter how unique you want to make your fictional world, things within the story should follow the rules of the world you’ve built. This creates consistency and helps build trust with the reader; this makes your story more believable, no matter how fantastical some elements may be. 

There are a few more basic concepts that I think can help writers to build the structure of magic within their fantasy world. Answering these questions can help you think more deeply about how you want magic to work in your story. 

Societal View of Magic 

How does the society of your world view magic? Is it just an everyday thing, or reserved for special people or special occasions? Is it viewed positively or negatively, or kept a secret? A society that casts spells with the same casualness and frequency that we check our smart phones would be very different from a society that hunts down magic users and puts them in prison. The cultural ideals regarding magic should be a huge element in your worldbuilding. 

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World Building Tips: Creating a Magic System – Part 1

Posted in Writings about Writing by

For the next couple of posts, I’m going to discuss some simple world-building tips for anyone writing fantasy who is creating a magic system for their world. No matter how unique you want to make your fictional world, things within the story should follow the rules of the world you’ve built. This creates consistency and helps build trust with the reader; this makes your story more believable, no matter how fantastical some elements may be.

There are a few basic concepts that I think can help writers to build the structure of magic within their fantasy world. Answering these questions can help you think more deeply about how you want magic to work in your story.

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Grace, the Blue-Haired Writer Girl: A Quick Introduction

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I’ve written the occasional “here’s a little info about me” blog posts over the years, for people who want to know more about my quirks or my favorite books. But it’s been a while since I’ve written a post about myself, and I have a number of new followers on this blog and social media. So it’s time for a re-introduction.

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