Questions 3 and Looking Back at ‘Ritual of the Lost Lamb’

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

This book had so many title changes that it was ridiculous.  I don’t even know how I ended up on Ritual of the Lost Lamb.  The strangest part is that there wasn’t a ritual until after I wrote the title.  It was just a wandering hunt by the heroes who stayed together during one version and split up during another.  Needless to say, things were all over the place for a while.

Part of the reason for the craziness was that the previous volumes all changed enough that this book got altered.  I removed some areas and people who were going to be a part of it, but added new ones.  Some characters were set to be killed and lived while others were the opposite.  Even when writing this book, I found that concepts I came up with earlier simply didn’t work.  The biggest one was having an enemy defeated by a character while another one died, which put a sour taste in my mouth. I had to change things around, which required one of the few full rewrites of a section that I’ve ever done.  This is where I learned not to push through on an idea that feels wrong.

Ritual of the Lost Lamb also continues the trend of Luke Callindor needing rescuing, which wasn’t supposed to be a trend.  This was originally the only book that centered on the other heroes trying to figure out where Luke went after the last adventure.  They knew he was in trouble and were trying to find him before the final battle.  Not a spoiler, so I can say he spends nearly all of this book being brutally tortured by Baron Kernaghan.  I really messed Luke up here, which I still feel bad about.  Don’t think any of the other champions got worse than him.  Kira Grasdon and Alyssa Goldheart come in close seconds, especially after this book.  I really began questioning my habit of torturing my characters after this one.

This volume was also the start of the final battle arc.  I needed to get everyone in position for the ending.  This included villains, heroes, supporting cast, kingdoms, and all of the set pieces I knew I needed.  The champions needed to get knocked down several pegs as well to make sure they realized it wasn’t going to be a cake walk.  Pain was doled out even when they gained something new.  I can’t think of anything that a character got in Ritual of the Lost Lamb without them having to take a heavy loss.  It was hard killing off certain characters too, but it had to be done.

Would I change anything?  Part of me wants to reduce the torture on Luke, but I know that wouldn’t have set things up very well.  I think I would have liked to use a certain villain more often before their demise.  Then again, I was always having trouble with my supporting villains outside of Trinity, the Lich, Stephen Kernaghan, and Baron Kernaghan.  The others were definitely more flunky, which was a shame for the one I’m thinking about.  So, I guess I would probably do some cosmetic tweaks, which might not improve the story.  Maybe I shouldn’t even bother questioning if I should redo these books since there’s no point in it.

Actually, I almost forgot about one thing that I’m still scratching my head on: Walter.  I won’t go into details about this character, but he was one that had been wandering the background for a few books.  He was never really planned, but showed up in a few scenes and I kept him going.  Similar to Melanie and Raksha, who were a metal girl and demon cat that the Baron ended up gathering over the course of a few stories.  Guess those two were less planned than Walter because he filled a need at one point in this book since I needed a specialized enemy.  Poor kid never, and will never, get his own origin post too because of what he is.

Let’s enjoy some questions:

  1. How far would you go to save a friend in trouble?
  2. What would be a bittersweet victory for you?
  3. If your family was hurting your friends, which side would you choose and why?
Posted in Legends of Windemere, Questions 3, The Spirit Well | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Power of Friendship!

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

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I was thinking about emotional surges granting power and this phrase came to mind.  We are used to anger, despair, and even sadness causing characters to find inner strength.  All of the darker emotions get used for this story point.  Love came give strength in a pinch too, but usually combined with anger at the one you love being in danger.  So, what about friendship?

While this does fall into the same category as love, it isn’t as deep at times.  It’s also mocked by many because of how it gets used.  Some stories have had it that the power of friendship protects against deadly spells.  It has created powerful attacks with absolutely no warning or logic. It doesn’t get as much leeway as love because one can understand that since it is a considered a deeper, more solid emotion.  Friendship can be see as fluid and temporary by people, so it isn’t seen as a source of power. This makes its use laughable to many.  So, people who have run into this abrupt deus ex machina trope will turn off to the concept even when done well.

Doing it well is a big thing too.  Authors might think establishing characters as friends without making friendship a key theme will be enough.  In reality, a reader will think that the making of friends during an adventure is common and nothing special.  It happens all the time because heroes rarely battle alone to save the world.  A sudden explosion of strength will fail if the friendships grant normal aide, but no previous power boost or hint of such has been seen.  I’m not talking about a friend being killed and rage being the catalyst like Goku turning Super Saiyan after Krillin is killed.  I mean, a character suddenly declaring that the power of friendship gives them strength and pounding the bad guy into the dirt without any foreshadowing.

I should admit that I don’t really have a problem with the power of friendship turning up to give a reasonable boost.  It does get overused, but I think most people have friends and gain some type of strength from that.  We depend on them when we are in trouble even if it’s simply to talk and vent.  I’m talking about true friendships instead of the casual acquaintances here.  Those who you’ve made bonds with and will continue interacting with through thick and thin.  That is what this trope is most successful with and the author has to establish that these are the bonds.  Definitely requires ‘show, don’t tell’ and people know how much I hate using that phrase.  You can write an announcement of the power source, but you need to make it clear that the basis for it exists.

Perhaps another reason friendship has a harder time being believed as a power source is because people have different definitions for it.  For some, they consider every connection a friend while others are pickier.  The first group will find it easier to get behind the trope than the second.  Those are just extremes too.  I know I have a different sense of friendship than other friends or even my older self.  You get burnt enough by those you have cared about, you start to become jaded.  The same goes for being in love, but a person can understand that emotion between fictional characters more than friendship.  After all, love is considered a more potent emotion than friendship, so even someone who doesn’t believe in it will get the picture.  This makes it especially difficult for an author to use this because you’re bound to fail with some of your audience.

Is there a reason why people still use the power of friendship?  Maybe it’s because many of us grew up with it in our stories.  A call back to childhood in some fashion or even passing on the message to younger generations.  The idea that one can get power from friends is what helps kids come out of their shells.  Even one friend is considered a power source in some stories.  An author may do this to help others and give them hope that they will find at least one friend.  In this fashion, it’s the way the relationship begins and grows instead of the power surge.  That part is only to demonstrate why it could be important to create close connections beyond love.  Just a thought though.

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Tips for Writing a Multi-Author Series – Part III

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Greetings, Storytellers. Diana here today with Part III, the last, of our posts about creating a multi-author series. In Part I, we covered Concept, …

Tips for Writing a Multi-Author Series – Part III
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Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

The title says it all.  Happy Mothers Day!

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Goal Post: Covid . . . Third Time is NOT the Charm

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Yup . . . I had Covid this week.

So, the nasty weather last weekend was wrecking havoc with my sinuses.  Allergies joined the fray to mess with my nose and senses.  Smells weren’t gone completely, but they were definitely muffled like they usually are when I’m dealing with allergies.  At least, that’s what I thought as I did some editing and played some Pokemon Go during the good periods of the weekend.  Went to work on Monday and the sinus headache was steadily getting worse.  Had an appointment, got some Sudafed on the way home, put my son to bed, and crawled into bed myself.  Woke up Tuesday morning feeling worse and called in because I swore it had to be a sinus infection since that was the only thing that hurt.  It was not a sinus infection . . . Fucking Covid.

Seriously, this is the third time I’ve had sinus issues and it turns into Covid.  No fever, cough, or anything else that would make me think otherwise.  It wasn’t even the first time I had a sinus headache in the last 3 weeks.  I’ve usually home tested myself if it’s really bad and nothing came up.  So, I was stuck home resting for the rest of the week.  I went out for some walks to see if I could stave off the lingering exhaustion like I had from going hermit the last two times.  Might have done the trick, but I didn’t get anything else down because this typically wiped me out.

The most frustrating part was at the doctor’s office.  I was told that Covid is handled just like a bad cold nowadays.  No medication.  No isolation.  No fever then go to work with a mask if you want.  Use your better judgement, which I find dangerous consider how terrible your average person’s judgement is.  I mean, we all know those who go into work sick, sends their kids to school sick, or go to big events clearly ill.  There are too many out there who don’t care if they infect others or are in a position where they can’t afford to care about that.  I don’t expect a fucking lockdown like before, but at least give me an antiviral to help me out.  Instead, I’m told I can go to my son’s concert on Thursday night with a mask and sit in the back since it would be after the possible 5 day danger period.  I do feel better, but I really don’t understand if I’m a risk to people or not.  Technically, this would be a full week after I started showing symptoms, which apparently means I’m no longer contagious . . . I don’t fucking know any more.

Clearly I’m in a bad mood over this.  I had to miss out on helping with one of my students’ basketball games.  Missed teacher appreciation week treats just like when I caught Covid the second time last year.  I couldn’t go to my own tenure ceremony that time.  I’m glad my son was with his mom for most of the time I was contagious.  The little time he wasn’t with me had him busy and not near me for more than a few minutes.  Thankfully, we have a long outdoor thing doing on today and he goes to his mom for Mother’s Day tomorrow, which means he’ll be okay.

Wish I could say I took advantage of the time home to do more editing.  I couldn’t get any of that done.  The one time I tried left me mentally frazzled and exhausted after 5 minutes of trying to focus on the hand edits.  The brain fog was really bad this time, so I used the few bouts of functionality to work on summer blog posts.  Got the poetry ones and most of the Tuesday Promos for July and August done.  Not happy that I couldn’t get further with editing, but I’ll get a chapter or 2 done tomorrow then wrap it up by next weekend.  I can start in on Darwin & the Avenging Elf by the end of the month.  Fingers crossed that I can motor through all of that by the end of June since there will be a lot of half-days with school.

This coming week isn’t going to be majorly exciting due to Covid aftermath.  My son has his big concert though, which will be a lot of fun.  Got a basketball game on Monday and possibly Thursday.  I’ll be happy to be back with my students and getting back into the swing of things.  Two field trips are going to add to me being exhausted by the end of every day.  Wish I had more exciting plans, but we’re in the final charge to the end of the school year.  It’s always zany and tiring at this point in the year, so I don’t want to promise myself writing time and lose it.  June should be easier.

Actually, I did accomplish one thing when resting up.  I binged a show on Netflix called ‘Dead Boy Detectives’.  It’s based on comics written by Neil Gaiman, so you know it’s going to weird with great characters and a fun story.  It’s about two boys who are ghosts and solve supernatural crimes alongside a psychic they befriend.  Kind of enjoyed how they’re named Charles and Edwin considering I’m Charles Edward Yallowitz.  Yeah, Edwin and Edward aren’t the same, but it was close enough for me.  Overall, I really enjoyed this series and hope they do another.

Goals of the week:

  1. Recover more from Covid.
  2. Complete more summer posts.
  3. Enter more edits to Darwin & the Halfling Hunt.
  4. Son’s concert.
  5. Basketball game support.
  6. Finish watching ‘Great Teacher Onizuka’.
  7. Play more Pokemon Go to get exercise and fresh air.
  8. Rest up.
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The Chaotic Henchmen and Minions

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Zim and Gir

I can’t touch on ‘Invader Zim’ without writing a post about GIR.  That’s the robot eating tacos up above and Zim’s henchman.  A being of pure comedic chaos who is completely unpredictable.  Except you can predict that a character like this will be unpredictable.  I think this is a great example of a minion taking the role of comic relief, which allows the villain protagonist to stay serious.

Of course, there are a few challenges with this type of character.  First, you have to be careful on overdoing the chaotic nature.  If they are so comedic that they are completely useless all of the time, you hurt the story.  So, you need to have them be chaotic and funny while still getting some stuff done.  Even if they screw up at the perfect moment, they need to be viable during the earlier stages.  If not, readers will start wondering why they are kept around at all and may turn against them.  It also ruins all attempts at having a serious scene or anything beyond laughs.  All comedies need a break from the funny to avoid oversaturation, so these characters need some periods of ‘normalcy’.

Another possible challenge is that the crazy henchman may overshadow the more serious villain.  Even if you make the villain a source of comedy too, the henchman will be a bigger comic relief.  That is part of their purpose.  So, you can have people care more about the minion, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It can turn bad if they do this and start to not care about the villain at all.  It’s similar to a villain being more popular than the hero, but I feel it’s a harder balancing act.  Instead of the two parties being at odds, they’re partners and there needs to be a hierarchy between them.  A way that I think you can get around this is by having the villain and henchman be different types of comedy.  For example, Zim is an accident-prone, over-the-top drama comedy while Gir is chaotic comedy.  Best way to explain them, but the point is that they are different flavors of funny.

A final challenge with these characters is having them grow.  If they are part of a long series, you want them to evolve in some fashion.  Yet, their chaotic and comical nature almost traps them at their starting point.  If they grow more mature, they could lose the comic relief status they were built for.  You have to be careful with how you make them grow and carefully choose what they develop.  It can be just as crazy as their general personality too.  Maybe a love of flowers that they take too far or they show a talent for economics even though they’re still drinking from the lair’s alligator pit.  A single, serious trait that appears from time to time can go much further than a massive shift.

As a reader or viewer, I love the crazy henchmen.  They make me laugh and appreciate the villain more.  I really like it when the villain acts like their crazy henchman is completely normal and doesn’t treat them like a burden.  It helps both characters by creating a bond that one can get behind.  The crazy ones being accepted so much shows a kindness and humanity even if the villain is terrible. Named henchmen are kind of like the only friends of the villains even if it’s a working relationship.

So, what do other people think about chaotic henchmen?

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Creating Characters, Part 1 of 3

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

By Stephen Geez Creating Well-developed Characters Quality story-writing requires finesse when conceiving, developing, and portraying the souls who …

Creating Characters, Part 1 of 3
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Poetry Day: In Memory of Clear Nonsense

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

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(This is a weird one.  Back in college, I took poetry courses and wrote a poem called ‘Clear Nonsense’.  I aimed to write a poem that incorporated gibberish and still made sense.  Got praise on it too.  Sadly, the saved copy was lost to a computer crash, the disc it was one got corrupted, and the paper copy was lost during a move.  So, this is in memory of that.)

My masterpiece
Written
By pure accident
Birthed
By frustration
And a hint
Of warm tequila

 

I went wild
Possessed
By a Jabberwockyian spirit
Creating words
That made no sense
And every sense

 

I finished
I presented
I was stunned
Applause
And praise
I was a god!

 

Over years
Disaster struck
Computer crash
Spilled soda
Mysterious disappearances
Wiped my poem out

 

Attempts to rebuild
Making a shadow
Of the former art
A crippled soul
Forced
Into existence

 

So I sit
Maintaining the style
That birthed it
Hoping to regain
My Clear Nonsense

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7 Tips to Writing Villain Protagonists

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Zim!

This is harder than I thought it would be.  Mostly because I’m trying to predict what people will say.  There’s always a wide variety of passionate opinions about villains, so tips can fall flat on the wrong ears.  Some people feel they should never be sympathetic and others think they always should.  Some people think you can’t write a book from their perspective and others think you can.  The issues go on for every detail . . . So, here we go.

  1. Unless pure evil, a villain doesn’t realize they are the bad guy.  They think they’re the hero, which has to be shown on some level.  This way, the audience can kind of get behind them in some fashion.  Not so much to win, but to continue reading the story to see what happens.  Get them invested in seeing how the villain fails and maybe surprise them with a victory.
  2. Villains tend to get away with being over-the-top when they’re in the antagonist role, which results in the hero being more grounded.  Authors may think they have to switch this when the roles are reversed.  You don’t necessarily have to.  The villains can still be dramatic and over-the-top since that’s what they do.  Again, they do this stuff when they think they’re the hero, so they would do it when they are the ‘hero’ of the story.  A good example is ‘Megamind’ when he is in the villain role or even Zim from above.
  3. Confidence for a villain doesn’t mean they are stupid.  They might firmly believe in what they are doing and doubt they can fail.  This doesn’t mean they will always miss obvious problems or fail to learn from mistakes.  Like any protagonist, you need them to grow throughout a story and be aware.  If they are always falling for ridiculous tricks and making stupid mistakes, people will lose interest.
  4. A comedic story doesn’t have to put the villain protagonist in the comic relief role.  They have minions for that.  There can be some moments of silliness, but an option to keep them ‘strong’ is to have them be the straight-man within the chaos.  It could be that they don’t even notice or recognize the craziness because that’s just the world they live in.
  5. Part of the reversal is that the villain may end up reacting to the heroes.  Usually, the heroes are responding to what the villain does and this pushes the story.  Now, you have the opposite.  The villain protagonist could be proactive with going through with their plan, but they can make adjustments as the heroes act.  This can explain the times a bad guy shows up and is mysteriously stronger or prepared for at least part of the hero’s plan.  Now, the villain is no longer living in ignorance.
  6. A challenge here might be setting and supporting cast.  Villains don’t typically walk around in public unless they are committing a crime.  So, an author might keep them in their lair and only surround them with minions.  Maybe they’ll interact with other villains, but there is an urge to not have them show any signs of normalcy.  This doesn’t have to be the case.  Villains can have alter-egos as well in order to enter society and do any normal stuff that interests them.  I mean, they might want to visit a zoo, museum, do food shopping, catch a play, etc.  Sounds silly, but villains that aren’t pure evil have these interests too.
  7. Show a little depth that wouldn’t normally be seen.  Do they actually care about any of their minions?  Is there any respect towards the heroes?  Any doubt that counters the usual confidence?  This is an opportunity to demonstrate that a villain can be multi-faceted in the same way as a hero.
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what fiction writers can learn from reading and writing poetry part 1

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Hi everyone, its Robbie with you today and I am focusing on the benefits of reading and writing poetry for fiction writers. There are four main …

what fiction writers can learn from reading and writing poetry part 1
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