Cutest Thing EVER!

So Rebecca Enzor has an annual event that is so amazingly fun and cute that I can't...even!  This year's #PonyFest14 encourages authors to custom build a My Little Pony that depicts the character, place, or theme of their book.  

There are prizes and everything. The winner gets their pony made into a real one! I know, right?

So you go on this Pony Creator and you customize your very own book mascot.  Love it!

Pony Description: This is Charlie and she is a steampunk pony. She is beautiful and refined like the society lady she is, but with the tinkerer cutie mark because she is a mech-magician.

She would totally fit into the world built around The Tremblers, the YA Steampunk novel that I'm just finishing.

One sentence tag-line for book: Debutante or Dissenter...Charlotte holds the fate of a nation in her hands.

This is such a whimsical idea. I hope you vote for mine or any of the other adorable creations over at the #PonyFest14 site.

By +Raquel Byrnes 

How Thor Helped My Writing

SWOON!

I am a geek girl, through and through. I loved comics, computers, and chess as a high schooler...the three C's of social oblivion.

As a writer though, I KNOW that loving the epic struggles and sacrifices of my comic book *cough* graphic novel, heroes has served me well as an author.

Think of your favorite super hero and break down why you love them. Be it movie or magazine, the elements will inevitably be the same. And you can apply those points to your writing to construct riveting heroes your readers with love.

• There are always TWO types of struggle going on.  The external, public stakes type of struggle. Be it aliens or mad men, there is something on the outside of the hero causing conflict.  But there is always...ALWAYS, some sort of inner struggle that pulls the audience in. Betrayal by a brother, loss of family, the ache for vengeance, a secret shame...something makes the hero the way he or she is.

• There is a clear path for them. We know that the hero must defeat the villain. We know that all cannot be lost. We just don't quite know how he will get there, just that he HAS to for the good guys to win. Clear change. Definite Goal.

• It is their soul not their strength that inspires us. We may not have special powers or super speed, but we can have an unbreakable spirit and that is what a great hero makes us aspire to. Someone that never gives up, does the honorable thing despite the cost, and lives for something real and noble.

• Tension and conflict are integral to the story. They fight with people that love them, they are betrayed, they suffer crushing blows to their confidence and still keep going. Comics provide a great blue print for compelling stories. Good books are more than action scenes and bullet caliber descriptions. They are gripping because of the personal stakes.

• The struggle resonates. Great stories of adventure and thrills all have a human core that readers can identify with. Sure we may not all have billions of dollars and cool gadgets, but we've lost people we love and felt helpless. Not all of us have magic hardware, but we've all felt the pain of failing expectations and hurt from loved ones. Human emotions are the core of any good story.

Take a moment to think about your main character. Be it hero or heroine. Do you like them or are they falling a little flat? They may be missing an element that makes them human....even if they come to reader by way of Mars. 

Until next time...Go Write!

I Was Totally Impressed.

I just started to teach a creative writing class in which my students are all teenagers. The workshops I give are normally for adult writers, people seeking publications, those with a bit of, well, life experience. So when I took on the adolescent set, I was a little nervous about what to expect.

Let me just say...I am so impressed. Not only by their passion for writing which, lets face it, is rare, but also for their willingness to share it. I also love the angst.  You know, how everything and every moment could lead to disaster or life changing triumph?  Because, well, at that age its kinda true.

The late adolescence to early adulthood is a critical decade. Decisions you make now will most assuredly affect your future.  Maybe not what to wear, but certainly who you spend time with, and what you do with that time could be what sets the events in your life in motion.

To that end, I truly love reading the free writes of my students. They are at once, noir foreboding and bright eyed hopeful. Love and loss intermingle with possibility and the chance to get things right.  I am inspired by these writers.  Age-wise or not, it takes a strong person to delve into the emotional depths of story writing.

It makes me think back to when I would scribble out scenes in my black and white composition book instead of taking Biology notes like I should have been. I had so much I wanted to get onto the page, so many scenes, so many connections to explore.  

What do you remember about your early days of writing? What would you tell your past self about writing?

Photo by Spree 2010 Photograph by Calsidyrose