Down the Rabbit Hole

I've been thinking a lot about characters lately if only because of the fact that my characters are being... difficult or maybe I'm just kind of blocked. But I've been asking myself this question: what makes a good protagonist? A good hero or heroine? And how can I develop my characters so that I know them inside out? I compiled a list of what makes a good protagonist. Of course there are always exceptions and rules can always be broken. Especially when it come to us rule breakin' writers who love to shake things up. But here's what I came up with: Strengths: Everyone has their strengths and to tell the truth I sometimes have trouble figuring out the strengths of my characters because I can see strengths as weaknesses. Love can be a weakness if it fits the character. Curiosity can very easily become a weakness if that character is too curious. Curiosity did kill the cat after all. But characters always need at least one strength and they have to show that streng...

William Cloud was nice enough to share his thoughts on what the Superhero genre is. You can find his blog at:   William Cloud's Blog   Okay, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say “superhero”? Probably Captain America, or Superman. According to Merriam-Webster, a superhero is “a fictional character who has amazing powers, or a very heroic person.” So, while Clark Kent and Steve Rogers (whoops, did I just spill someone’s secret identity?) fit that, they ought not determine an author’s idea of a superhero. Today, I am going to talk to you about how to write superheroes. How to create the character, how to have them work within a world, and how their character can develop. I’ll start with creating a character. So, you basically have three things to deal with when you make a superhero: powers, costume, and identity. Now, what sort of powers are we talking about here? This is such a vague term, and can go anywhere from extra-sensory perception to fli...

First I would like to say that I am sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. Sunday we got back from a long weekend trip and then I had to get boring college stuff done before the end of the day so I didn't get much time to get a post ready. But here is a verse that I found on my Bible app that I frequently read because I always have my phone on me. A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2 Everyone in this world at some point in their life thinks that they are right. I am guilty of this. Everyone is guilty of this because we are all sinners. We may sometimes get big heads and think we know everything but we need to humble ourselves. The Lord weighs the heart. He knows what is in your heart, mind, and soul. When you think your way is right God may not and He will turn you in a different direction. The best thing to do is to let Him guide you instead of letting yourself guide you in life because God knows your heart even better th...

There are tons of authors who love writing those sweet middle grade books full of twelve year old protagonists growing up. Some Middle Grade books I've read: The Companion Quartet by Julia Golding The Jack Blank series by Matt Myklutch Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley The Princess for Hire trilogy by Lindsey Leavitt The Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd As you can see I am a big fan of middle grade books. I can't get enough of them as long as their crafted and written well. What's a well crafted middle grade book? Like all good books they have great plots and wonderful characters. In almost all of the middle grade books I've read the main characters have started off rather innocent and naïve, unsure of the world and where they belong but as the story goes on they discover so much about themsel...

And if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:4-6 All you have to do is pray for wisdom and God will grant it. Now not the kind of wisdom for tests. If you pray and ask him to give you wisdom to pass the test when you haven't studied at all what will likely happen is that you won't pass. But He will give you true wisdom. Wisdom to make good choices in a hard situation, the wisdom to know where He is leading you, or even wisdom to know what and who to pray for. That kind of wisdom He will grant if it is His will.     What do you think of this verse?

This week's genre post is by Victoria Howell. And here it is what she has to say about the Steampunk genre:  Steampunk is quite an unusual genre and a relatively new one as opposed to genres such as fantasy which have been around for centuries. This one surfaced during the 1950s, but didn’t start gaining popularity until 1987. It is a subgenre of fantasy and science fiction. In the steampunk genre electricity hasn’t been discovered or if it is around it’s very rudimentary, meaning no computers or television. It circles around the Victorian era or the American Wild West and the rise of the Industrial Revolution.   Some popular media of the steampunk genre are Riese: Kingdom Falling , Castle in the Sky , and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . It is even incorporated in some episodes of Doctor Who ! When writing it, think technology invented back in the 1800s and early 1900s that was discovered far before it should be such as time machines and robots. Unlike most hig...

So, awhile back I was really bored so I turned on some music and started writing down random lyrics. Now that I think of it I probably should have written down what song they were from but I didn't but I do know which bands they are from. Anyways I thought I would share some encouraging and beautiful lyrics from some Christian bands with you guys. Group 1 Crew: There's a beauty and a beast fighting inside of me. The one that really stood out to me the most is the beauty and the beast quote because it is so true! We have a beauty (the Holy Spirit) and a beast (sin and temptation) fighting inside of each of us. The only way to over come the beast is to let the Holy Spirit guide you and let him defeat the beast. Anthem Lights: Follow your heart. You have my heart. The first lyric isn't saying to follow your heart but God's heart. They are saying that they will follow His heart because our hearts are full of sin. His heart is the only one that is truly pu...

  This post is by my critique partner and friend, Catherine who is also the writer of the blog Writer Redeemed . Make sure to check it out. Here is what she has to say on Christian Superhero books: The Christian Superhero Genre       Who doesn’t love superheroes? They’re strong, they’re awesome, they fight for what’s right, and they have amazing powers! Admit it, who hasn’t once wished that they had a superpower?      So just what is the Christian Superhero genre? Simple. It’s basically a story that has superheroes and God. There are comic books, graphic novels, and then there are plain word novels.     What makes Christian Superhero fiction different than ordinary Superhero fiction? Well, for one, obviously the former has God in it and it teaches a Christian theme. Secondly, Christian Superhero stories almost always end on a note of hope—without corniness, of course.   ...

God's power is made perfect in our weakness. He is working on our worst days. When nothing is going right God's power is sufficient and He is always with you.  Have a great week!