My work in progress, Jewel of the Sea, has romance, coming of age and friendship but one of the strongest themes is metamorphosis.
Mariah begins as a shy girl that hides behind her best friend but by the end she has matured and started to blossom into a young woman. In addition, she starts out unaware she is a mermaid. But, by the end she has mastered turning into a mermaid and controlling her emotions that trigger her weather manipulation powers.
Tell me about what theme is strongest in your story.
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This is my pic for day 15’ s prompt #womenwritingfiction #wwfchallenge2019
Image from #Unsplash by artist Karina Vorozheeva https://ift.tt/2HBNxQu
I use the Simple Note app for jotting down ideas as I always have my mobile phone with me.
I do have physical notebooks but tend to use them more for development. For example when I sit down to flesh out an idea. This could be for jotting down research or for when I outline my plot or character development like their backstory. I also jot down useful tips I’ve picked up from reading blog articles or watching videos by other authors.
How about you? Where do you keep you story ideas?
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I always feel that a well developed antagonist can be both good and bad. Most people have a reason for their actions. It depends of the perspective.
For example, Fallon is quite mean to Mariah. Some could accuse her of bullying. She keeps pushing Mariah until she triggers her weather manipulation powers.
However, in Kya’s story, Fallon is her best friend and she’s protecting her from the heart ache of seeing Jace and Mariah together. In Kya’s story she is more of a heroine.
Does your villain have a good side?
Here’s my pic for day 14’s prompt #womenwritingfiction #wwfchallenge2019
Collage made with images from Unsplash artists Becca Tapert, Riccardo Mion, Courtney Clayton, Kings Cichewicz.
This is a screen capture of my board ‘Story Inspiration’. It’s where I save stuff I’ve found on Pinterest that sparks story ideas.
I have loads of boards. I have boards for character development, cover designs, mood boards, etc. I save useful articles for tips on writing, blogging, vlogs, etc. I’ve got boards with useful crafts, recipes and hair tutorials. I have used it for my sons homework, party planning and decorating rooms.
It is quite clear that I love Pinterest and find it incredibly useful. I haven’t used it much for socialising although I hope to get better at that.
For this image, I used Unsplash to find an image of someone that looks like Kya. Mariah doesn’t really look up to anyone but she gets envious. Kya is someone she compares heself to and wishes she was more like.
My favourites
I really love how these challenges encourage me to share my writing with my instagram followers and on day 18 I got to post my favourite scene. Initially, I was going to share the underwater kiss as it is the scene that sparked the whole story. As I was looking for it, I decided to go with the moment before when Mariah’s life is changed forever.
Day 18 #FavouriteScene
March Challenge #WomenWritingFiction #WWFChallenge2019
This month I have decided to go with another Instagramers prompts. @Courtnimax has created the following Women Writing Fiction Daily Challenge for March 2019.
I hope you find these examples of the images I posted for February’s prompts interesting and inspiring. If you are a writer on Instagram please connect with me as I would love to see how you share your writing on the platform too.
This is the first time I have done a photo prompt challenge but I really enjoyed it. It got me posting everyday and gave me a range of ways to share my writing and passion through photos.
Here are the highlights:
Top three photos from the challenge
This pictures are the ones that recieved the highest engagement on Instagram.
I have never had a photo do so well. I thing it was boosted by the increased engagement due to the daily activity but I got over 300 likes in less than 24 hours. This is ten times more than what I would get on a popular photo.
I think my new writer following was able to relate to this photo as I regramed a photo from @gracethewriter8 that really resonated with my dream. It is that hope that one day I will make it that keeps me going.
I decided to focus on just Jace as he is the love interest in both the projects I am working on. It is a love triangle and I decided to write it from both girls sides as seperate stories.
I went for the villian that is the catalyst for the story. Even though she doesn’t feature in Jewel of the sea, her actions is what send the crows to go soul snatching on their doorstep.
Personally, I like my projects to have a title before I start writing, some people don’t feel this necessary. My debut novel, currently being queried, was originally called Drift.
Here is a collection of some of the covers I have created for it over the years (there are more).
You will also notice one is called Wipeout as originally there was two books but during a brutal edit, I cut loads , they became one.
I have recently changed the title of Drift to Jewel of the sea. Here is the current cover and can be read on Wattpad.
If you would like to learn more about creating a novel title please check out today’s featured post by Lorraine. She shares her simple and easy to use tips on how she develops her novel titles. Here is the link to her article: http://lorraineambers.com/2018/03/31/creating-a-catchy-novel-title/
Happily Ever Author is a group run by Pagan on Facebook. She posts prompts to get authors to socialise and share what they are working on and to set goals. She sometimes gives prizes (I got a YouTube guide) and sometimes she promotes her books and other group (Paperback Kingdom).
Paperback Kingdom is a Facebook group linked to services she offers such a course, 1:1 coaching, etc. I can’t tell you much more as I’ve not paid for the additional content.
About #NewYearNewNovel
Pagan set her Happily Ever Author group members a challenge in December to start doing the prep work for a new novel in 2019. This was supported with videos where she shared her tips and techniques for doing this, from how to come up with a story idea, outling, character development, etc. These were really useful and I would like to watch them again.
Although, all I have written is the opening to my story (Scarlet House), I do feel more prepared and clearer about what I will be writing. I can’t wait to finish my current editing project so I can start on a brand new novel for 2019.
Have you discovered any awesome writer groups online?
I took part in the Pitch Wars event on 6 December 2018.
This event takes place on Twitter on scheduled dates throughout the year and is for Unagented writers, editors and agents. Dates for 2019 are:
March 7, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
June 6, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
September 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
December 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EST)
Writers
The unagented writers must have completed, polished manuscripts. They can write up to three pitches per story. pitches must include the #PitMad tag. It should also have tags to show what genre the story is.
If their tweet is liked, they can submit to that editor or agent. Here are my pitches:
*****
The Little Mermaid crossed with XMen in a British high school.
Being a storm summoning mermaid gives a new meaning to ‘it’s complicated’. #YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid
This coming of age story has all the firsts as well as magic and shape shifting.
*****
She’s crushing on her BFF, rivalling with the swim team star and about to discover she’s a mermaid! With a magic meddling mum & an impending battle with the death crows, she must gain control of her storm summoning powers before she kills! #YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid
*****
DAWSON’S CREEK X THE SECRET CIRCLE
In this ‘fishy tail’, Mariah’s love life is just the ‘spark’ of her problems!
Her storm summoning powers are connected to her emotions & if she can’t control them then the death crows will come for her soul!
#YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid
*****
Editor/Agent
If they like a pitch, its a request. They should make their submission criteria clear. It is up to the writer whether they want to submit – they are under no obligation to do so.
Other Twitters
They can share or comment on your pitches to support you but must avoid temptation to like because.., see editor/agent above.
I didn’t get any requests which is a shame as that was my ultimate goal.
This time, I do feel better about my pitches but there is always room for improvement. I managed to spread my tweets out over the course of the event. I also enjoyed discovering lots of new Twitter writers to follow who write in the same genre as me.
Have you given #PitMad a go or are you thinking about it?
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