So Your Character is From Brunei ... Featuring Iween @ Wendystrucked

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's  So Your Character is from Vietnam ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.

(None of the Images are Mine)

Robots 101

Robots! They're one of the best elements of sci-fi! There is such a variety of robots used throughout fiction. Many have become some of the most memorable characters. However, keep in mind that you're not limited to sci-fi to have them. In Greek mythology, the god Hephaestus invented automatons to help him get around after Hera injured him during infancy. The first robot was actually invented by Leonardo DaVinci and it was a wooden lion with complete automation that released doves and flowers.

The word "robot" comes from the Czech word robota meaning "compulsory labor", and subsequently robotník which means someone who owes that sort of labor. This phrase was first coined by Karel Čapek in 1920 as opposed to "automaton" which has Latin and Greek origins dating back to the 1600s. Android was actually first used in the early 1700s. This is good to keep in mind when you're deciding what you're characters call these machines. Anyway enough history! Let's get to designing a robot!

The Mystery Blogger Award & The Sunshine Blogger Tag

Time to get to more tags that have built up after many months. XD I'm actually almost caught up on them. Look at me go! :D

So Your Character Is From Vietnam ... Featuring Liliana @ Liliana N Bookish Blog

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's  So Your Character is from Singapore ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.

(None of the Images are Mine)

Writing Lessons from Video Games: King's Quest VI Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow: Creating Settings with Character

King's Quest VI is my favorite game of the King's Quest series. It has top notch voice actors, an intense plot, and my favorite setting of the games: The Land of the Green Isles. This setting is explored again in King's Quest IX: The Silver Lining as well! It's a realm that features five islands with five distinct personalities: The Isle of the Crown (where the Royal Family and most of the populace live), The Isle of the Beast (an island where a terrifying beast and his castle live), The Isle of the Sacred Mountain (an island where the mysterious Winged Ones live guarding the Oracle), the Isle of Wonder (a quirky island ruled by chess pieces), and the Isle of Mists (an island occupied by druids). I believe this setting has a lot to teach us about making an unique and engaging place for our characters to have their adventures!

A Book Review of The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson

Buy from Amazon!

All her life Fern has been told she is blind to reality—but, what if she is the only one who can truly see?

Fern Johnson is crazy. At least, that's what the doctors have claimed since her childhood. Now nineteen, and one step away from a psych ward, Fern struggles to survive in bustling Los Angeles. Desperate to appear normal, she represses the young man flickering at the edge of her awareness—a blond warrior only she can see.

Tristan was Fern's childhood imaginary hero, saving her from monsters under her bed and outside her walls. As she grew up and his secret world continued to bleed into hers, however, it only caused catastrophe. But, when the city is rocked by the unexplainable, Fern is forced to consider the possibility that this young man is not a hallucination after all—and that the creature who decimated his world may be coming for hers.

So Your Character is From Singapore ... Featuring Camillia @ Twenty Three Pages and Jia @ Film & Nuance

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's  So Your Character is from Bangladesh ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.

(None of the Images are Mine)

Necrologies & Debacles: King's Quest Edition

Villains meet their demises in so many different ways. For some this means death, for others this means an unfortunate incapacitating situation. Writers put a lot of thought into how their antagonist finally fails, but which way is best for your villain? That all depends on so many different circumstances, including audience and genre. This is what inspired my series "Villain Necrologies & Debacles." Over time, I'll be analyzing different animation studios, franchises, and more. These posts are meant to show you what sort of defeats have been done whether common or uncommon, perhaps inspire some villain defeats of your own, or you can just enjoy the morbid humor. Check out last month's Necrologies and Debacles: Avatar: The Last Airbender & The Legend of Korra Edition!

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time then you know that I'm a King's Quest fan. King's Quest is a game series that released its first episode King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown in 1983. Since then the developer Sierra On-Line has released seven subsequent games following the adventures of King Graham and his family and a tanner named Connor. The first three games have been remade by fans with better graphics and full voice acting since during the original release computers didn't have the capability to add human voices to video games. The game has such a big cult following that a group of fans has made a conclusion game to wrap up the story and the last episode is finally releasing this year! So. Hyped.

I played these games when I was a kid and I have so many fond memories figuring out the puzzles and enjoying interacting with my favorite fairy tale and mythological characters. I've also written a post about what these games can teach you about deep point of view, but today I'm focusing on the games' many dastardly villains!

Warning: Spoilers

Beautiful Books 2017 ~ How's the Writing Going? - Silhouette

Time for an update on my NaNoWriMo process and Beautiful Books is the perfect thing to do that with! If you missed the first part of this three-part meme, you can check it out here and if you'd like to join the meme, you can do so on PaperFury or Further Up and Further In!

So Your Character is From Bangladesh ... Featuring Shouni @ Through the Book Portal

It's time for this week's So Your Character is ... Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I'm hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven't checked out last week's  So Your Character is from Romania ... be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!

Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.

(None of the Images are Mine)

Monthly Summary: October 2017

October was a busy month for me. Between two out of town trips for work and NaNo prep I definitely haven't been bored.

A Book Review of the Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Buy from Amazon!

Jason has a problem. He doesn't remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she's his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they're all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for "bad kids." What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea-except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he's in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn't recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on? 

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What's troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper's gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all-including Leo-related to a god.