Teeny Tiny Excerpt for Dragon Blade Chapter 7

Keep in mind, this is raw. But I decided to tease you with a teeny tiny snippet of what's to come.

Remember, this is when Leiv escapes Talen by putting him to sleep with the powder. She has just defeated the guards who were on their way back to guard Talen's door, and now, a voice has pulled her back into the abandoned house she was hiding in earlier.

It wasn’t the creepiness in their voice, but the desperation in those two words that forced Leiv to turn and walk back into the dark house. “Hello?” She said slowly, her voice drifting off towards the corner shadows.

A stick-thin man emerged from the inner depths of the building, moving with the fragility of a scared animal. There was a pause in every step, a limp holding him back. He approached with forced courage, attempting to meet her eyes, but failing miserably. There was a slight slump to his posture, his body seemed almost unable to carry his own weight, as if it could give out at any time.

When his dark walnut eyes looked her way, she saw the fear in them, the storm brewing in their depths. It wasn’t until those eyes came into full view did Leiv see the pain hidden behind each one.

This man was, without a doubt, a slave. Red chaff marks ran around his wrists, the flesh peeling around that area. Bruised skin stretched over sharp protruding bones, his emaciated body dangerously deteriorating from years of servitude. Leiv couldn’t quite tell his age. His frail form made him seem closer to 40, but there was something about the man’s face, especially around the eyes, that made him seem younger.

“Who are you?” she asked.

Crossroads

Growth. A little word. 6 letters. One syllable.

How could such a small thing, that takes less than an inch in the dictionary mean so much?

At some point in our lives we all have to learn to grow up. Some, have no problem making this sacrifice. I say 'sacrifice' only because in order to grow, you are required to give up a part of yourself in order to make room for something new, something more mature. Think of us like jigsaw puzzles. We are made up of many pieces that are scattered in this box called life, and eventually, to make this picture whole you have to find the pieces that fit. Sometimes, you grab a piece, and no matter how hard you think it will fit, and how many times you hope it's the correct one, it's not. But, why do we try so hard with one piece when there are lots of others scattered next to it?

Why this one?

It's because that's what we thought would fit. It's what we wanted it to be. We become stuck in our ways and believe there are no other pieces left when in fact theres still hundreds. That's where I'm at. I've recently removed a piece in my life and replaced with a new one. A new path. A new choice.

I made a personal decision in regards to Dragon Heir that I know will get both positive and negative feedback. Due to my horrible time restrictions and busy schedule, I've decided to halt the publication of Dragon Heir. This also means it won't be edited, and will be left as is. But no fear! Dragon Heir will be remain on Wattpad. The good news is, I will be continuing Dragon Blade. It feels wrong to leave Leiv in the middle of her journey. I know it's been a long while, but I'm hoping to continue with it soon. Dragon Heir had always been a sort of 'fun project' for me. To see if I could really write a story. Turns out I can write one, but my grammar was atrocious, as was my punctuation and sentence structures. The first pages of Dragon Blade will be most likely stay the same, so expect a shift of writing style in the next chapters.

As you may or may not know I am currently also working on another story 'The King's Empath', which is also available on my Wattpad. I'm honestly not sure how i'll be writing both of these stories simultaneously, but i'll sure as hell try. Seeing as I haven't read DB in months, I'll have to read and reacquaint myself with it before I begin writing it again.

I can't promise fast updates, but I can promise that I will certainly be finishing both stories over time. Be patient with me as I go down this new path. Along with my budding new business, classes, writing, and about a million other side jobs, I'm hoping for your consideration and support while slowly writing both stories. You've all been so amazing, and I thank you for every ounce of love you've shown my stories.

Read on!

Tiny excerpt from Empath

One of the things I love about female characters is their attitude. It's fun to add dialogue when you have a character as strong as Thea say these kind of things in your head.

Excerpt from The King's Empath, chapter 4.

“Why is a lovely thing like you sitting here all alone?”

 Thea didn’t answer.

 “Well,” he took her silence as permission to sit, “how about I keep you company?”

 “I’m fine. You can leave.”

 The man’s looks reminded her of a fish. With puckered lips and eyes too big for his flat face, it was no wonder he had to pay for a woman’s touch.

 “Come on sweetheart, don’t be like that. I can make this a night you could only dream of. Just say yes and we’ll have a great time.”

 “No, you may leave now.”

 His cheeks reddened, but he kept himself calm. “Darling—“

 “Don’t call me that.”

 “Honey—“

 “That either.”

Alternative covers for Empath

Before I even started writing The King's Empath, I was working on the cover to the story. For some reason, I can't write a book without a cover being made for it. I know, It's an an odd trait. These covers were all drafts, and all had their own reasons for not making it as the cover. Enjoy and try not to cringe too much.

This is the first picture I found that looked closely to how Thea looked like, but unfortunately
the artist did not give me permission to use it. On top of that, I couldn't size
it right to even fit a cover.

The one I really wanted Thea to have on the cover was a cloak.
She wears one throughout the entire story. This artwork is made
by the same artist who put together Dragon Heir and Dragon Blade's cover.
She really is an amazing artist.

I actually used this as one of the pictures in Dragon Heir, for those
of you who remember. This was actually nice(even before I edited it to
make the woman look younger), but unfortunately it just looked like
a cheesy move poster for an indie film.

When I saw this picture, I had this feeling inside that this COULD be
the picture I was looking for. This is the original and the next series
of photos are what I did to manipulate the photo to turn it into a cover.


I tried this version, but it didn't sit well with me. I didn't like how it was just this side shot of her face.


I was so cure that this would have been it, but sadly it was not.
There are so many things wrong, that everyone said it wouldn't be
a good option. Firstly, the lashes under her eyes are like
chewbacca's hair, her face is too wide, and eye color is wrong.



A bit more feminine once I added the change of eye color, added some to the lips.

With the wonderful help of Mish, aka Prisim, she made Thea a nose!

Though, now, she looks almost too kind, without enough attitude. I gave up. 

I found THIS lovely photo and thought, this might be it! I got the permission

to use it, and I started editing it.

Until I produced THIS amazing photo. This is the final product.

Finally Updated! The King's Empath has been posted!

After months of nothing new on my Wattpad page, I've finally uploaded the long awaited first chapter of The King's Empath. It can be read here.

Here is the excerpt for it:

After the death of her parents to the Red Fever, her uncle, the king, adopts Thea at the age of five. She is an empath. People born with the rare ability to sense and manipulate the emotions of those around them. She is now 20 years old and her powers have grown. Her uncle uses her abilities for his own gain, at times pushing her to the very limits of her sanity.
 The king’s negligence causes their once beautiful city to slowly turn into a pile of ruins as the Red Fever has not only spread throughout the entire kingdom of Lyria, but passes their borders. An Emissary is sent to them to them from their neighboring kingdom to deal with the sickness, but he is no ordinary low-level official. He is Baelen, crown prince to the Kingdom of Hadrian.
 The king is suspicious and doubts his motives, ordering Thea to follow the prince closely. When trying to sense the prince’s emotions, her powers are stunted. It is rare when Thea cannot sense someone. The only other time she has ever experienced such a problem was when the other person experienced the one thing she has never felt herself —love. In order to feel Baelan’s feelings for her, she must open her heart to the possibility of it before he slips through her grasps.
 But when the truth of Baelan surfaces, Thea is caught between helping the one she loves commit a terrible crime against the one person she calls family. Will Thea finally open her eyes to the possibility of a new future for both herself and the kingdom, or will her own fear once again triumph over what is right.

It's been a hectic time for me and I'm trying hard to go through and finish Dragon Heir, but my schedule is so extremely packed and crazy that's it's difficult to find the time to do anything. I'm hoping I'll get more done tomorrow and Saturday before I leave for my little mini-vacation with my mother for her birthday. Hopefully, I'll get things done, in the meantime, enjoy Empath!

Comment of the day: Dylan

"Dear Gem, you are one of the most brilliant writers I've ever seen, I am totally absorbed in Dragon's Heir. It's a beautiful masterpiece created with such passion, creativity and character, you seem to create a different side to the bad characters in the story and make readers slightly hesitant to judge the character. You seem to make everyone fall in love with your beautiful world, only talented writers are able to weave such a beautiful web and catch each and everyone of us deeper and deeper into your story. I admire you very much and your beautiful creations have inspired me, you are my role model. Good luck on your future stories and I'm pretty sure that they'll be just as magnificent! 

Yours truly, Dylan" Dylan's Wattpad Page 

Dragon Blade Temporarily On Hold

Yes...you're reading that right. Dragon Blade is temporarily on hold. It's a sad thing, but at the end of the day I'm doing this not only for me, but for all of you as well. Most who know me and/or read comments on my books/message board know that I am extremely busy. I mean REALLY busy. It has taken me two days on and off to write this small post due to time constraints.

Since DH got picked up a few months ago by a publisher, I've finally begun the process of editing the story and foolishly thought I could continue writing DB while editing DH, but after a LONG talk with my publishers it just seemed absolutely redundant.

When going through the entire book and writing down story points I realized something. I barely had a plot. All I had was a series of events that led...nowhere. It was an absolute mess. Everything I thought I knew about my story just flew out the window and basically had to comb through it with a fresh set of eyes. I hadn't realized how mushy and jumbled up Dragon Heir actually was.

Don't get me wrong, I knew that more than half of the book was poorly written (I blame that on my newness at writing a novel at the time) but I didn't think it would be this messy once I went back and actually edited. What's done is done and my job now is to make the story the best it can be.

I'm going through the story and changing a significant part of it, so when it does finally reach the point of publication it will hopefully feel like you're going on a new adventure with Leiv.

Though DB will be on hold, I WILL be starting a brand new story entitled "The King's Empath". Here is a look at the book cover. It's made by the amazing artist Yolanda Blazquez, check her out here. This is not the original image, it has been altered to fit the story. To see the original image, click the earlier link and browse her gallery. Thank you to Yolanda for allowing me usage of such a beautiful piece of work.

FAQ: How do I get more reads?

This one is probably the most overused question on Wattpad. It's something almost every known writer on the site has seen at least once. In the spirit of "Telling the truth" as i've stated in a previous blog post, I'll tell you exactly how i feel when I read these things. Also keep in mind most of the people that have asked me this question have only been on the site less than 3 months and/or they have only recently uploaded a story. I'm here to break the news to all of you...writing is hard work. One of the most important traits you should learn throughout your writing journey is patience.

Patience to write the perfect scene, to pace a story the right way, have your characters develop perfectly and most importantly to have a coherent plot. This definitely isn't something that will magically come. Whether you are a prodigy or merely write on the side, this craft does not come without its challenges, so be prepared for them.

During the start of my adventure on Wattpad I had absolutely no reads. YES, you read that right...no reads. I posted the first chapter to Dragon Heir and even after a few days...nada. I felt absolutely horrible. I was thinking to myself "Does no one like it? I kept looking at the 'popular' writers on the site and continued asking myself how?

What are these people doing that I'm not? As I moved onto my second chapter, I received a slow trickle of readers that actually took the time to comment on my first chapter. I was so excited that even my eyes were smiling. By the time I wrote my third chapter I began not thinking about becoming 'popular'. I began just doing what I first intended to do, write. No longer did I let the constraints of 'how' stop me from writing this story. I had a few fans that continued to read the story, but Dragon Heir didn't actually grow until it reached about chapter 14 where all of a sudden it boomed.

Suddenly 1,000 reads

turned into 100,000! It was absolutely mind boggling how such a simple story made its way onto the "What's hot" list.

Now Dragon Heir is over a million reads and is even close to 2 million. It has also been #1 in both Adventure and Fantasy not only once, but twice and even stayed first on adventure for quite some time.

All this of this took work. I didn't get 'popular' overnight, nor did I make that my goal. The point of staring at my computer screen and creating this world filled with my characters for hours on end was not to watch the numbers grow, but instead to see my story flourish.

At this point I thought to myself, "I did it."

But how? Easy, I just wrote. I didn't do anything but write a compelling story that readers soaked up. Not only did I write this story, but I also interacted with my readers. Every time there was a new comment, I would immediately reply with an answer or a personal thank you. To this day I have commented on every single comment (Save a few I accidentally look over) on every chapter since the beginning of Dragon Heir up until my where I am now on my second book as well as my short story.

Before, when I got merely a fans a week, I would go on their profiles and thank them(comment) for becoming a fan. As much as possible I immersed myself into having personal connections with each and every single comment, fan and/or vote. I would remember the readers who would comment on every chapter and thank them for their support. It makes a reader feel involved in more than your story when you do this. They feel like you are not just this figure on the site, but are also a friend. You have to remember that no matter how 'popular' you get, these you were once these new writers.

All this may seem unorthodox, but I assure you it was exactly what I did...or rather didn't do that placed my story where it is now. I was also not the only person on the site that has done the exact same thing.  Paragor, who you may know from popular books such as 'Psych Investigations' and 'Questing Sucks' has recently told me, "I didn't advertise. Literally all I did was write."

Not all authors have the same approach, but most have similar tactics. To read how DistantDreamer, SallySlater, MeganLockhart and Prisim were able to acquire 6 figure reads and how Tetras, an upcoming writer on the site was able to reach over 20k reads:

CLICK HERE.

So, in the end, no matter how popular or unnoticed your story is just do what you wanted to do in the first place, WRITE.

30 Words for Small Amounts

Words that refer to small amounts or objects are frequently associated with specific idioms or a certain connotation. Here are many of those words included in sample phrasings that suggest the sense in which they are often used.

1. Bit: “a bit of a problem”
2. Crumb: “a crumb of self-respect”
3. Dab: “a dab of whipped cream”
4. Dash: “a dash of pepper”
5. Fleck: “a fleck of dirt”
6. Glimmer: “a glimmer of hope”
7. Hint: “a hint of cinnamon”
8. Iota: “an iota of sense”
9. Jot: “a jot of truth”
10. Lick: “a lick of sense”
11. Modicum: “a modicum of talent”
12. Morsel: “a morsel of cheese”
13. Nugget: “a nugget of wisdom”
14. Pinch: “a pinch of salt”
15. Scrap: “a scrap of food”
16. Scruple: “a scruple of suspicion”
17. Shadow: “a shadow of a doubt”
18. Shred: “a shred of evidence”
19. Sliver: “a sliver of sunlight”
20. Smatter(ing): “a smattering of laughter”
21. Smidgen (or smidge): “a smidgen of salt”
22. Snippet: “a snippet of the conversation”
23. Spot: “a spot of rain”
24. Sprinkling: “a sprinkling of action”
25. Strain: “a strain of weakness”
26. Streak: “a streak of cruelty”
27. Tidbit: “a tidbit of information”
28. Touch: “a touch of humor”
29. Trace: “a trace of incense”
30. Whisper: “a whisper of autumn”

Some synonyms are seen only in negative connotations, such as “not worth a continental” (referring to the nearly worthless currency of the fledgling US government during the Revolutionary War) or “not worth peanuts.”

Similar expressions include “I don’t care a whit” or “I don’t give a rap” (or “fig” or “hoot” or any of several other words) or “diddly-squat” or “I don’t know bupkes.” (Each of the latter two usages has several variant spellings.)

Source: Daily Writing Tips

Completely exhausted

I'm writing this on my phone, so excuse typos (if any).

I feel horrible for not finishing chapter 6 any sooner, but these past few months have been a crazy ride of scheduling. I try my hardest to stay up and do all my work, but even I need sleep. I've been staring at the computer screen so long, it feels like I'm melting into it.

Two important things:
1. I've finished chapter 6, but here's hoping I find time to re-look at the things I've written.
2. I'm planning a new story (I've got my heroines name all picked out). Hopefully all this brainstorming will come to an end and I'll have a blurb to share with you all!
I'll leave you with a quote, which can be considered a Easter egg for the new story:

"I can see the truth behind your fog of deception. There is no need for such silly games. Speak the truth or the only thing coming out of your mouth will be blood."

Excerpt from Chapter 6 of Dragon Blade

Notice: Before you read this, please note that this is rough, unedited and hasn't even been gazed over for structure. Please be forgiving for this, but I just wanted to share with you a part of chapter 6.

Okay....I guess you can read now.

“Should we resume our duties at the prince’s door?” A young soldier asked.

“Aye, it’s been long enough. He only requested we be gone for a few hours,” a deeper voice replied, the senior officer between the two most likely. “Maybe you can finally get a glimpse of the lass. What are the men calling her now? The—“

“The dragon whisperer,” the young soldier replied. “I heard it from one of the men that were in the main battle. They said she’d been able to control the silver-winged beast. Are there any truths to this gossip? Is she really strong enough to tame these monsters?”

The older man snorted. “I don’t doubt it. You’re new Jerd. You’ve only transferred, what, a few days before we departed the kingdom?”

There was no answer, the young soldier probably nodding.

“Then you haven’t seen the young lady fight. She uses daggers, lad. Those small knives she carries are more dangerous than a top-ranked knight with two swords. Three even!”

The older soldier’s voice returned to its regular tone. “Good man.” He patted the boy on the back, the metal armor rattling. “Now, let us get out of this cold and back to our station.

Leiv could feel her heart beating faster. If the two soldiers went to check on Talen they would find his unconscious body and immediately alert the rest of the others of her disappearance. She needed to stop them before they reached their post.

Another whisper reached her from the dark depths of the abandoned house; the same one that directed her to hide there. “Use the vial sticking out of your pocket,” it said in hushed whisper.

Looking out into the shadows, she spotted no one. “Who’s there?”

No answer.

Had her mind been playing tricks on her? Remembering the task at hand, she watched as the men walked back to her prison. There was no time to waste. Leiv left the safety of her hiding place and came out into the open.

“Hey!” She yelled towards the men.

Both turned swiftly at the sound of her voice and unsheathed their swords. The two soldiers eyed her with curiosity and caution. Scrutinizing every inch of her from afar, the men dared to close the space between them. She didn’t move, allowing them the courtesy to see whom they were truly dealing with.

Leiv recognized the senior officer from her time at the castle. Bramor they called him, for he was always picking fruits from the bramored tree in the gardens. His head held a bed of white hair with streaks of black peppering the edges. His height didn’t rival her father’s, but came awfully close. What he seemed to lack with bulk he made up with intelligence, automatically deciphering who she was.

“Apprentice,” he said, slowly, unsure of what her reaction might be at the name she’d been so often called within the king’s city.

She narrowed her eyes. “Am I still an apprentice to you, Bramor?” Her hands rested on her dagger, allowing the cool metal sheathe to calm her nerves. “I heard from the guards I’ve been branded a traitor.”

Jerd fumbled with his words. “You’re—the warrior all the men have spoken about.”

Her attention left Bramor’s and flitted to the younger soldier. “Well now, I do hope my abilities are still being spoken about with great revere.” She crossed her arms. The young man squirmed under the scrutiny, unable to stop shuffling his feet. “Do I make you nervous, Jerd.” Leiv allowed each letter of his name to slide languidly off her tongue, as if there was all the time in the world. She watched his features change from nervous to astonished at the sound of his name passing through her lips.

It wasn’t an uncommon sight for Leiv to see a man quiver when coming face to face with her, but this one was so terribly young. Since when did they allow such younglings into the king’s army?  He looked to be 15 at most. His medium-length blonde hair barely reached his shoulders. The boy had a small build, his armor looking far heavier than his entire frame. He was shorter than she, reaching to about her shoulders. The lad should have been at home, tending his family’s farm or working as an apprentice to one of the shopkeepers. Instead, he was out in the battlefield fighting for the mad king.

The king’s army was made of several factions of society, making it the most diverse group in the kingdom. Most times guards at the castle would enlist for a larger stipend, but usually their soldiers were peasants who trained for a year in the kingdom of Lyria, which specialized in battle training.

How could the king be so blinded by his ambition that he would put the needs of his greed over the welfare of his people? That question always plagued her, the answering never fully emerging. Farmlands were being destroyed, people were dying and children were being sent into war callously with blatant disregard for their inexperience.

Bramor broke the silence between them. “You know we can’t allow you to leave, apprentice.” He tightened his grip on the sword, taking one step after another.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Bramor,” she said, taking a small step back, “but I will do what I must to ensure the safety of my companions.”

“Then arm yourself, my lady, for I will not hold back.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” 

FAQ: How did you get the names for your characters?

Along with my "Comment of the Day" posts from Wattpad, I'm going to go ahead and start doing a FAQ segment. At times I'll be doing multiple questions, and other times I'll be answering one. It all depends on the quantity of questions flying/crawling in.

How did you get the names for your characters?

In Dragon Heir almost all the characters names were made from smushing the names of my friends together. How original right? *scoffs*. Let me show you a few off my list.

            - Leiv Devereux (Main Character) – IVy LE

            - Kenji (Leiv’s Close friend) Mix between Kim + bENJI

            - Rin (Leiv’s Dragon) Roxy + fIN (Haha, these are my dogs)

            - Deklan Bexton (Missing Prince)– DyLAN pEpKa

            - Talen Bexton (Oldest King’s son)  - Tyler LANE

            - Hana  (Seer)– tatiANA Hmun

Inspirational Words by Paulo Coelho

A Brazilian lyricist and novelist by the name of Paulo Coelho wrote a series of comments to aspiring authors, which were then collected by a Filipino blogger, Jerome. I have probably read this list quite a few times and it never seems to get old. The words resonate something in me that I cannot express. This list should serve as sort of the 8 commandments of writing--no joke. 

On Confidence:You cannot sell your next book by underrating your book that was just published. Be proud of what you have

On Trust: Trust your reader, don’t try to describe things. Give a hint and they will fulfill this hint with their own imagination

On Expertise: You cannot take something out of nothing. When you write a book, use your experience.

On Critics: Writers want to please their peers, they want to be recognized. Forget about this. Who cares? You should care to share your soul and not to please other writers.

On Notetaking: If you want to capture ideas, you are lost. You are going to be detached from emotions and forget to live your life. You will be an observer and not a human being living his or her life. Forget taking notes, what important remains what is not important goes away.

On Research: If you overload your book with a lot of research, you are going to be very boring to yourself and to your reader. Books are not there to show how intelligent you are. Books are there to show your soul.

On Writing: I write the book that wants to be written. Behind the first sentence is a thread that takes you to the last.

On Style: Don’t try to innovate storytelling, tell a good story and it is magical. I see people trying to work so much in style, finding different ways to tell the same thing. It’s like fashion. Style is the dress, but the dress does not dictate what is inside the dress

After reading this I urge you to read the 2-paragraph biography of his life on wikipedia: Click Here.
Paul's wattpad can be found HERE.

OCE

Finding the right blog can tremendously difficult. I'm extremely picky when it comes to customization and I will take days to create the right look. When playing Skyrim for the first time on PS3 I took about 30-40 minutes picking my characters looks, it was ridiculous, but in the end I was satisfied.

The same goes for this blog. I was shuffling through the pre made layouts here on the site and nothing screamed "PICK ME". I decided to search for others on the internet, but just when I thought it was the one, the preview proved differently.

After searching for two whole days, I finally decided to start from scratch. I chose the colors, font, background and extra widgets. Everything finally came together. Thought it isn't the greatest template, it's mine.

Comment of the Day

"Hi, I don't know if you remember me, but something happened, and I could not read your new chapter until today. I loved it! So much detail, and its absolutely exhilarating! I can't wait until more people find out about you. I will buy all your books, and when I become an adult, and start a family, I will pass them down. Every moment reading your work is full of excitement, and it makes me crave more. Keep writing the way you do."

Comment from wattpad. By THESOULLESSONE

Veriloquent

Veriloquent: speaking truthfully; truthful

That's exactly how I want to write this blog. I won't hold back, nor will I sugar-coat anything for anyone's sake. These are my ramblings and my thoughts. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's move on.

To be honest I should have typed this out yesterday when my headache was at its prime. Words can't describe how hard my head was pounding, and I could only imagine what my publisher, MT, was going through. We plucked at my manuscript chapter by chapter, picking scenes that moved the story forward and stayed on the phone for roughly 2 hours working on each major plot point of Dragon Heir.

Now, at this point I realize something rather disturbing...I felt like I knew so little about my story.MY OWN STORY. It was a rather sad and disappointing thing for me at that moment. How could the book's own author barely know the what, where, when and why? Though in my defense, it had been months since I had looked over what I had written and to be quite honest even I'm appalled at the structure, grammar and dialogue of my first book. The more MT asked about my story, the more unsure I felt about it. He helped me quite a bit in these two hours and made me realize how much work this story needed. 

When I first wrote it, I never intended for it to be published or even become remotely popular online. It was meant to help me pass the time since my leg was broken. Throughout the years i've always started stories, but would never make it past the 3rd chapter. There was something different about this one. It felt like i was supposed to write it. Though, I admit I'm kicking myself now for not outlining this story--for not creating a synopsis before actually writing it. 

So, if you're reading this post and are thinking of starting a story, do the following:

1. Write a synopsis. It doesn't have to be great, but outline what plot points will be moving your story forward. Write only what's important. The synopsis shouldn't have suspense. It also doesn't need the smaller details like character descriptions.
2. If you're writing a world filled with magic, set the rules. What is allowed? Are there consequences for using too much? How do you acquire magical energy?
3. In addition to the synopsis, think what the main conflict in your story will be--what is the reason the character does what she/he needs to do?

Since I didn't do any of the above, I'm paying for it now. Using the word "Editing" would be too simple, more like "Revising" or "Re-writing". There's something else i've realized while going through the publication process. When going through these chapters and explaining what happens as well as why to someone else, I learned, is a tad embarrassing. When MT asks me questions about Dragon Heir, I actually feel my cheeks reddening at having to explain my magical world. It's just odd to hear it said aloud to another.

This journey won't be easy, but I know it will be worth it. I just have to keep my head up and i'll get through it with flying colors.

Silence of the Synopsis

First blog post on this. Apparently my publisher thinks it's best if I have one, so better get on that (my publisher can be pushy, but it's his job).  Wonder if I should jump up in the air or begrudgingly type this. I think i'll go for something in the middle. Now, let's talk about something freakishly evil, that no author ever wants to do because it is downright annoying. What is it? A SYNOPSIS.

syn·op·sis  /səˈnäpsis/
Noun

1. A brief summary or general survey of something.
2. An outline of the plot of a play, film, or book.

They define it so simply and user-friendly on the internet. Unfortunately, every author that has ever been or want to be apart of the publishing world has written one or will write one at some point.

It's inevitable and it's going happen. 

Let's go through the checklist:
1.) Will it be fun? NO.
2.) It is easy? NO.
3.) Does involve lots of chocolate? HECK NO.

So why do publishers make us do it? There are a number of reasons. One of them is to check for plot holes in your story. Are there inconsistencies that need to be remedied? They ask questions like: Why does your character do this? How does the first part connect with the last? How does this particular scene aide in moving the plot forward? Whatever the reason they throw at you, they're not messing around. It may seem intrusive, or even downright blunt at times, but these are your publishers and they are here to help make your story the best it can be. Intrusiveness aside, they are both your best friend and worst enemy. 

So, it's 12pm and i'm sitting in my room, harmlessly typing a chapter for DB. I've been procrastinating the synopsis for a long time (Yes, MT, I was procrastinating all this time). MT is my publisher, btw. Finally got to the point where it was just time for me to wo-MAN up and do it. But before that, let's rewind to our checklist. It wasn't going to be fun, easy, or get me any closer to free chocolate, but I had to do it. 

It was time to write the synopsis!

I stared at the blinking line on my word document, wondering how I should start writing it. I had no idea. How do I fit 112,000 words onto two pages? Was it even possible? The first words I began writing was "There was a girl." How cliche was that? Completely unoriginal, but i said to myself Gem, just start writing! So I did. I just started typing the first paragraph and before I knew it I was on the second. After half a day wasted typing a few paragraphs and seamlessly jumping back and forth on internet tabs I had finished an entire first page. SUCCESS. I had finally hit a milestone in this writing journey. I had successfully completed the first page of my first synopsis. I felt like I was on top of the world. I stood up from the position I had been in for 5 hours and stretched. 

Few seconds later I got a message from my publisher "Almost done?" 

That's when I immediately jumped back onto the computer and furiously typed away at the second page. At 12:00am I finished typing my 2-page synopsis. It was done. I was done. It went over 1 paragraph, but at that point I didn't care because the nightmare was over. To be honest it feels like I exaggerated a bit on how excruciating I thought writing it was, but it certainly felt that way at the time. After you've written an entire book, every detail seems important and needs to be written into the synopsis, but it doesn't. Am I happy at how my first one turned out? No. What I am is satisfied, and that's all fine and good with me.

I'll probably--no, I WILL have to write one again eventually, but for now i'm proud, happy and a little fried that my first one is over with. Thanks for the push MT, I definitely needed it.

Till next time!