I saw mention of the Magic Mirror from Snow White and started thinking of other ways this common object shows up in stories. It’s amazing how much symbolism and usage is behind a piece of glass. Not only recently, but throughout history. So, what are some ways mirrors are used?
Greetings, Storytellers! Diana here for Part II of punctuation. Last month, I had you on the edge of your seats as we reviewed the impactful colon.…
Punctuation Part II: The Semicolon
These animals are found on six island of the Channel Islands of California, which is important because each island has it’s own subspecies. They can interbreed, but there are genotype and phenotype differences, which allows them to stand apart. Island foxes are fairly mellow and have no fear of humans, which makes it possible to tame them. The indigenous people used to keep them as pets. They also have a bunch of challenges to overcome, which is why they are endangered.
The Channel Islands are controlled by the federal government, Catalina Island Conservancy, or Nature Conservancy. This means the foxes are able to get the best level of protection and attention to make a full recovery.
So, what do island foxes look like?
Winter can go away now. It has made it’s point that it is the worst and most miserable of the months. I’d rather deal with allergies and the heat than these messed up arctic winds, which drop the temp by double digits. Shoving my car a bit as I drive wasn’t appreciated either. Needless to say, I wasn’t doing much outdoor stuff.
That isn’t to say I stayed in the house. I mean, I was able to finish watching the new episodes ‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘Resident Alien’. Got through a season of ‘Warehouse 13’ as well before my son was dropped off Wednesday night. Prior to that, I managed to get a good mix of editing, Pokemon catching, and errands/chores done. Not a thrilling week, but a productive one since I really needed an eye exam and to get my car an oil change. So much fun being an adult with such responsibilities.
Surprisingly, I did manage to edit 5 chapters of Darwin & the Beast Collector. I wasn’t able to squeeze in any more time when my son was home, but getting a chapter done per day is a good victory. I probably won’t be able to touch it again for another 2 weeks, but I’ll try to tinker. My doubts and worries with the story are still driving me nuts. It’s good, but it’s filled with more mysteries and no clear villain beyond a blatant jackass. The original villain actually came out respectful and nice, so I had to make this revolve around the situation being overcome. The story involves this guy creating an island filled with monsters that the elite can visit. He has Darwin to keep the beasts in check and Rayne (from ‘Quest of the Brokenhearted) to attract them to the island. We all know where this is going since it’s definitely influenced by ‘Jurassic Park’. The reason for the failure is something else and there’s no question that it’s going to fall apart.
I guess my main issue is trying to hint at the mysteries and throw in enough clues as well as false paths to keep it interesting. I can’t tell how it’s going since I know where the story is going. Darwin is also really contained here, so he can’t cause the same level of story-pushing chaos that he usually does. It’s a slow build to the final act from what I can tell with the heroes investigating some strangeness for the most part. It could be that I’m so used to be an action-oriented author that only having 4 major action scenes in the span of 7 chapters feels wrong. Guess it’s more than 4 if I break down the big action chapter into its pieces. We’ll see how it all goes.
Next week is going to be crazy busy from Monday through Sunday. It begins a 7 week stretch without a day off, which is brutal in education. The kids start losing interest and getting twitchy, which can cause some difficulties. I’m always amazed how this stretch wears me down in education when I did bigger stints when I worked in retail, food, and office stuff. I think part of it is because there’s a greater emotional toil since you’re working with kids. You don’t just teach them, but you have to be there for them as they get worn down. So, it eats at you as well.
Add in the fact that I go through the parent side of things with my son too. Gives me a double-helping of the stress and workload as we push for the end of the school year. Yes, I know it’s over in June, but most people accept that students are already thinking of summer after they get back from spring break. So, these 7 weeks are when you have to do the biggest push for information. May still gets a bunch of stuff crammed into it, but we get days off there.
Not going to lie and say that’s it for next week. It’s the last week of the current Pokemon Go season, which is always full of events. This time, they have an event every weeknight from 6-7 where you can try to catch what are called ‘Legendary Pokemon’. These are the strong, rare ones that you need to team up with other players to get. So, that takes my evenings, which I don’t mind since it’s just one week. I can do a little editing if I get home and have time on the nights I don’t have my son. Next weekend is definitely out because each day has the big event running from 10-6. Bunch of legendary Pokemon that you need to beat 9-12 times along with various challenges, increased chance of finding rare Pokemon walking around, rotating biomes every hour, and just general socializing with people. I took a look at an app that shows announcements for meetups and it looks like everyone is descending on the park, so it should be fun.
That’s really it for me. The rest of this weekend is to relax with my son and have fun without freezing our butts off. Weather is supposed to be warmer during the week, but getting cold against by Saturday. Joy. Definitely done with this winter, which is definitely more bitter and brutal than those of the past.
Goal list:
With this talk of character development rolling backwards for tension, another question comes to mind. That is: When should one end a story?
I know people will say when the characters achieve their goals or the author feels like they’ve done all they can. We know those answers, but those things aren’t always identifiable in the moment. All authors can push a story too far because they are enamored with the adventure and characters. There are ways to prolong a finale as well, which many have utilized when they don’t want to stop.
The first example that I can think of is the anime ‘Inuyasha’. This is about a girl who goes back to feudal Japan where demons exist and has to team up with a half-demon named Inuyasha. Their goal is to get all of the shards of this magic jewel she accidentally broke a few episodes in. The main enemy is another demon named Naraku and this is where things start to get a little iffy. Several of the storylines involve Inuyasha developing a new attack that is sure to destroy Naraku. He does it and they fight, but Naraku either escapes barely alive or is already immune to the attack. Wash, rinse, and repeat. This can and usually does get tedious.
This also stunts character development. If the protagonists have already matured as far as they can go without settling down, they need to be pushed back to continue. A fight over a misunderstanding can do this for a storyline. Maybe magic causes them to turn into children or lose their memory. The author, who wishes to keep going, may come up with some of the most ridiculous ways to rollback a character and then redevelop them. It might work once, but readers will pick up on the stalling tactic fairly easily.
In this regards, I feel that the time to end a story would be when the characters have matured as far as they can go. You can have them continue adventuring to complete the story, but they will become stagnant in the eyes of the reader if they take too long to reach their endings. Loading up more abilities, tools, and skills won’t help because they could become overpowered. This means the villain needs to be made stronger as well, which can result in a final battle between two beings that come off as being unbeatable. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can become fairly burdensome to write when you have to remember a long list of moves, spells, abilities, weapons, etc.
Now, should character development always dictate the end of a story? No, but it is a good sign that of your progress. This should be one of the things an author pays attention to and distances themselves from. Becoming blind to the progress of your protagonists to stop the fun from happening can sour the whole project. This is where beta readers can come in handy because they won’t be as emotionally attached. Do people still use beta readers?
Anyway, what do you think is a clear sign that a story should come to an end?
On the blog with me today is the wonderful Sandra Nickel. She’s here to talk about Seven, A Most Remarkable Pigeon, her latest picture book. It will …
Check This Out: Seven, A Most Remarkable Pigeon
Greetings, SE’ers. This is the second post in my new series about how different colors can enhance our work. Today, I’m exploring Yellow. The first …
Colors and How They Can Enhance our settings and characters #2 – Yellow
(Years ago, I had a friend who was a great guy and big into music. He was really good at it and had a great energy to run parties. We stayed in touch after I moved to Florida and hung out during one of my few times back to New York. Then . . . He took his own life due to a situation I won’t get into. I was only communicating with him through Facebook and AOL Instant Messenger, so I saw no signs. Only stumbled onto the information too because he was still logged on his AIM account. Was that way for a while. Took a few years of processing for me to write this poem.)
I sit here staring
Seeing you logged on
Knowing
You will remain forever silent
It is only a machine
Never switched to off
I wish we had more time
Even a single night
Like our olden times
Of greasy pizza
And foamy beer
Before midnight tolled me home
I never thought
That you would go
We always had the time
For you to meet my son
Who will only know of you
From the stories that I tell
I wish I knew
The how and why
That took you from us all
Creating a void
Where music once played
With your perfect techno beat
Images: BookBrush Greetings! Liz Gauffreau with you today. I don’t know about other readers, but at times a novel will strain my credulity when I …
Using Character Occupations to Their Full Advantage: Part 1 of 2
Legends of Windemere 