How I Started Elemental Dragons

Hi all,

Last week I ran a poll on Twitter to see what you wanted to read next, and most people voted for a blog post on how I started Elemental Dragons. I hope you enjoy.

Although I've been writing since I was very young, as soon as my exams hit I didn't have the time to do much because of revising and homework. Unfortunately my writing went on the back burner until I had more time.

After finishing my AS Levels at seventeen, I decided to start writing again. The most I'd ever written for one project was 25,000 words, so I wasn't expecting to write a novel. I thought I would just write until I got bored of the story as I normally did. I had loads of unfinished stories on my laptop that I just couldn't bring myself to work on.

I'd written many short stories, but a novel seemed like too big a project for me.

Once I started writing however, I didn't stop.

I had a vague idea of the story, but I had no idea where it would end up. I was just making it up as I went along. Once I hit 15,000 words I realised I'd have to change my strategy.

So, I spent hours searching for the perfect character names and settings. Once I hit 45,000 words I started researching traditional publishing. I had a gut feeling that I was going to finish this story and I wanted to get it out there. I read so many blog posts on word counts, query letters, formatting and literary agents to make sure the book was publishable. I would write for an hour, and then research for an hour. I was so scared of doing something wrong that would make it so I could never be published. My anxiety was through the roof.

Three months later, I had written 89,000 words and finished the book. I never thought that I could do it.

It was untitled at the time, as I couldn't think of a fitting name for it. I left it for a month before I started editing it.

I spent ages reading editing tips and tricks to make sure I did it right. I managed to cut it down to 81,000 words.

But then exams came round again, and I couldn't focus on it anymore. A few months later I finished my exams and turned my attention back on my book once more.

I was still intent on getting it traditionally published, as I had very little knowledge on self publishing.

For two years I did nothing but edit the book again and again as I was scared of sending it out. I didn't want to get rejected.

When I hit twenty one, I decided to send it out to agents and publishing houses. I sent out eighty queries, and each one rejected me. It was a tough process, but I'm glad I went through it. There was always a niggle at the back of my mind that I should self publish, and I eventually followed that gut feeling.

I don't know where that gut feeling will take me, but I hope it was the right decision.

I want to get my story out there, and keeping all control over my work is what I want to do. I don't want to be given a cover I hate, or edits that don't fit with the characters.

I want to do this on my own, I did everything else on my own, and I want to make it my achievement. I don't want other people taking credit for all the hard work I put into Blood and Water.

That's the story of Elemental Dragons, see you next week!

Why Animal Characters Need Different Personalities

Hi all,

As promised, this week's blog post is going to talk about animal characters. I will be using excerpts of Blood and Water in this post, but it will be spoiler free and not mention the main story.

Like people, no two animals are alike. So, they need to have differing personalities and traits that make them stand out. I've read a lot of books with animal characters that fail to do this, so all the characters are just different versions of the same character. It's disappointing.

Animals are different too.

For example, my cats are very different to each other. 

Rocky is lazy, and loves nothing more than to snuggle up on the sofa. However, when he goes outside he gets very protective of me and will follow me around the street to make sure I'm okay.

Mishka on the other hand, is nuts. She doesn't think before she acts, which often means that she ends up banging into something or timing a jump incorrectly. She hates to be picked up and cuddled, but will happily play for hours before falling asleep.

Two different cats, two different personalities. You can easily show the difference between animals in writing, such as this piece from Blood and Water:

Normie, the cat, is brash and confident until threatened. Aqueous tried to warn him of the situation by pulling his tail, being the voice of reason to his friend. Unfortunately Normie was too confident and got scared by Sadie. This showcases both ways of thinking and how they interact with each other.

Another way to showcase their personalities is through how other characters talk about them and their actions. For example:

This shows that Cerberus is a playful character, as Rocky doesn't say this with any malice. Instead he shakes his head, as if he's used to her doing stuff like this all the time.

Making animal characters alike is boring, they need their separate personalities. You want the audience to connect with them like any other character. People don't want to read about three animals that are the same personality as each other. It's boring. Treat animal characters like human ones, make them likeable and unique to other characters in the book.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed!

See you next week!

The Many Titles of Elemental Dragons

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about something I struggle with when it comes to writing: book titles.

I'm not very good at coming up with names for books. Most of the time the title I end up using is the third or fourth one I've come up with. When I started writing Blood and Water, it was nameless until the second edit.

First, let me start with the series name. Elemental Dragons is actually the fourth one I came up with. I had my reasons for switching the title around so much but I'm so glad I did.

Elementals.

I liked this one until I looked it up on Amazon and found it was already taken. I didn't want my work to be confused for someone else's so it was back to the drawing board.

Modern Elementals.

This one didn't stick for very long. I thought it would be too confusing as readers might think that this is a sequel series and try looking for the first.

Dragonian Elementals.

This one stuck for about a year. I wanted to let the reader know that there were dragons in my story, and I thought this was the best way. When I entered it into a competition, the judges loved my writing but said the name was too clunky. One suggested 'Dragons and Elementals', so I was inspired by this to call it Elemental Dragons instead.

Now, the books themselves. Although Blood and Water has had the most name changes, the others have been through quite a few as well.

Marine.

This was the original title for Blood and Water. It's named after a character in the books, but I thought it would be a bit confusing to name the entire book after someone who only appears a handful of times. I also wasn't sure how to name the others so they tied in with the title.

The Black Dragon.

This one is named after Aqueous, but it didn't quite fit so it only lasted a day or two. As with Marine, I couldn't come up with anything good to name the other books that matched it.

Avian.

This one stuck the longest, about eighteen months. It's named after one of the four species of dragon. The other three books would have been named Serpentine, Reptilian and Primordial after the other species.

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie.

I never liked this name. It didn't really fit, I just came up with so the book wouldn't be nameless. It has no ties to the story itself and is too long when combined with the series name. The second would have been called The Sleeping Dragon Awakens and the third would have been The Sleeping Dragon's War. The fourth wasn't named in this way. After a lot of thinking, I came up with Blood and Water for the first, as it tied in with Hazel's element and the fights in the book.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed it. Next week I'm going to talk about animal characters and how to write them.

See you next week!

Writing Characters with Anxiety

Hi all,

This week I'm taking a break from blogging about Elemental Dragons to talk about writing characters with anxiety. As I suffer from anxiety and depression myself, I want to see these characters portrayed correctly so people who may be suffering can recognise the signs.

When I wrote Blood and Water I was seventeen and I had no diagnosis. So I thought it was normal to worry about everything and second guess your decisions so I wrote Hazel the same way. It was only when I entered an early version of Blood and Water in a contest two years later did I realise that this behaviour wasn't normal. The judges loved how I portrayed Hazel's anxiety, and how real it felt. It all clicked on my mind that I had unknowingly given my main character anxiety. 

So, I want to share with you all how to portray anxiety as realistically as possible.

Have them second guess every decision they make.

Anxiety will make your character worry about every decision they make. They are terrified of making the wrong one, even if they eventually make the right decision. If you are writing in first person, you can have them talk to themselves about the decisions they make. You can also use this as a way of the character trying to motivate themselves to make a certain decision.

There's a difference between being shy and being anxious.

Just because your character is shy and quiet it doesn't make them anxious. Although people who suffer from anxiety in some cases can be naturally quiet and shy, like me, it doesn't mean that it's a sure sign. Characters can be quiet and shy around others but loud and excitable around their friendship group or family. Quiet doesn't equal anxiety.

Trust.

With my anxiety, I find it hard to trust others. I'm extremely conscious of the fact that they could break that trust any second, as many people have in the past. Especially when it comes to working in groups. I constantly worry that people won't do their part and mess everything up. Not everyone with anxiety struggles with trust though.

Appetite.

Some people with anxiety find it hard to eat at certain times due to feeling too anxious. Despite being twenty two, I still can't eat before ten o'clock in the morning because I get so nauseous. Unfortunately years of schoolwork and exam stress have left me with a weak stomach in the mornings. When writing anxious characters with appetite problems, don't make it cliche. Some anxious people struggle to eat around a certain meal time, such as breakfast. Don't have them never eat due to being anxious because some people overeat to combat their anxiety.

Treatment by other characters.

Not everyone is understanding about anxiety. It's only when I entered the workplace did I start to get treated like anyone else despite my mental health. Although some characters can be sympathetic to anxious characters and offer help wherever they can, be mindful that some won't. The following is a list of reasons why other characters may not help characters with anxiety:

- Feeling like they're just seeking attention.

- Finding them weak.

- Trying to 'help' by being tough on them.

- Bullying them for being different. 

- Not knowing enough about mental health.

Try to create a diverse group of characters. Some who will help, and some who won't. 

Self conscious.

So many people with anxiety struggle with being self conscious. You feel like people are watching you no matter what you do, and it can be choking. Be mindful that in some situations your anxious character might struggle due to feeling self conscious about how they look or how they're doing something.

Panic attacks.

Not everyone with anxiety suffers from panic attacks. If you are unsure how to write a panic attack, don't. They can be really hard to get right as not all panic attacks are the same. Not everyone rocks back and forth in a panicked state. Some other types of panic attacks are:

- Hyperventilating.

- Cursing.

- Self harm.

- Angry outburst.

- Violence.

- Running away.

Use either one or a mix of panic attack types to make them realistic.

Example of Hazel's anxiety in Blood and Water

This list is by no means the complete spectrum of anxiety, I just picked a few that I think are most important when writing anxiety. I hope this helps anyone who is considering writing a character with mental health issues.

Let me know if you enjoyed, and if you want me to do a 'part two' of sorts about characters with depression.

See you next week!

Listening to Music While Writing

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about the pros and cons of listening to music while writing. I've seen a lot of authors ask on Twitter about whether listening to music helps others write.

Pros:

It can help you concentrate.

Some authors need some background noise while they're writing, as it can help them concentrate. Instrumental or video game music is especially good for concentration as it isn't too overpowering.

It can help with fight scenes.

I know I'm not the only one who imagines cool fight scenes while listening to music. Certain songs could help you envision how the characters move and react.

Creating a soundtrack can engage readers.

If you create a soundtrack for your book and tell your readers, they will feel more engaged with you. You are sharing a part of your writing routine that may help them feel closer to you and your book.

It will help with editing.

Editing is boring enough already. Having some background noise will improve your concentration and you might edit for longer than usual.

Cons:

It can be distracting.

Depending on what you listen to, you can get distracted easily. 

You'll spend ages looking for the perfect songs.

Any time spent doing this means that you'll spend less time writing. Even creating a list before you start has taken precious writing time away.

You might accidentally write song lyrics down.

When editing, you might find a sentence that randomly contains a song lyric. Listening to music will make it harder for your brain to focus on your ideas.

Coming up with ideas may be harder.

It can be hard to come with new ideas with someone singing in your ear, so you might find yourself turning the music off so you can think.

Personally I need silence in order to write. I've tried listening to music in the past but I always end up writing less than I wanted.

The biggest problem that I had when listening to music while writing is that I daydream too much. Although music can help some writers, it didn't help with me. Make sure you give yourself time to discover if it's right for you. Don't give up after one song because you haven't written anything good.

That's it for this week! Next Sunday I'm going to write about the pros and cons of writing your own blurb versus getting someone else to do it for you.

How My Cats Have Influenced My Writing

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about my cats, and how each of them has influenced my writing. While pets can be cuddly and fun to play with, they can inspire us in so many ways!

Normie.

Me and Normie, one of the few pictures of us together

Unfortunately I don't remember Normie that much because he ran away when I was little. Luckily my Mum managed to take a few pictures of us together when I was a baby. Although I don't remember him that much, I still wanted to honour him in Blood and Water. He is Hazel and Wes' pet, a tiny Siamese kitten who can communicate with the dragons. Because I don't remember him that well I've made him a new personality, in Blood and Water he is confident and loves attention. Despite not being with me for very long, I still love him dearly.

Rocky.

A rare picture of Rocky awake

After years of begging to get a cat my Mum finally relented when I was eleven. Rocky was only twelve weeks old at the time, and was a bit of a scaredy cat for the first few days. However he soon came out of his shell and we bonded quite quickly. For many years he was my main source of inspiration, every story had him as the main character. In one he was a cat spy, in another he could suddenly speak and he even lived in a forest in one story. 

Despite all the adventures I wrote about him partaking in, he's the opposite in real life. He's lazy, loves nothing more than to sleep and eat tuna. But, he's also very protective. Whenever I went outside he would follow me around the street, and wouldn't stop until I went back inside. For Blood and Water I took his protective aspect and made him Hazel's overprotective brother. He's a main character in the Elemental Dragons series, and I'm glad that I've finally found a story that he shines in.

Mishka.

Mishka, playing in her favourite cat tree

If you follow me on Twitter I quite often post pictures of the youngest member of my cat family. She's lved with us for just over a year, after we got her at eight weeks old. Unlike Rocky, she's loud, playful and doesn't think things through. She can be a pain sometimes, but I do love her dearly. My boyfriend and I did a cat IQ test for her, and she scored twenty points below the average for her age. So we quite often joke that her head is just like a wind tunnel.

I haven't quite managed to fit her into a story yet, I'm still trying to find the right one for her. However, she is the main influence for how the dragons behave in Blood and Water. To how they eat, play and interact with each other. Her silliness helps me figure out how dragons would behave if they were paired with humans.

Next week I'm going to make a blog post about an anthology I'm in, out on the 16th March, so keep your eyes peeled!

How I Write While Working Full Time

Hi all!

Although writing full time is the dream, most of us aren't in that position. We need day jobs to pay for bills, food and other expenses. I work full time as an administrator Monday to Friday, so I know how hard it is to fit writing around work. But there are little changes you can make throughout the day to improve your writing.

After working all day I know how tiring it is to go home and write, but it can be done, even if it's only 100 words a day. But there's also other things you can do while you're at work to plot, edit and write your manuscript.

Just to clarify, I do these things during my breaks, I do not work on anything to do with writing during work time.

I do the following before, during and after the work day:

Plot ideas on my commute to work.

I know not everyone can do this because of transportation, but if you can it does help. I get the bus to and from work which takes about half an hour each time, so that gives me an hour to jot ideas down or come up with character names.

Plot during breaks.

I write a lot in my lunch break, which keeps my mind whirring and enables me to plot more extensively as I'm putting time aside to do it. I've plotted all my books on my lunch break, and I'm constantly swapping between notes on my phone to change plot points. The last three Elemental Dragons books were all plotted on my phone in great detail, down to character descriptions and dragon markings.

Write query and synopsis.

Before I decided on self publishing I actually wrote the first draft of my query letter on my phone, it went through several revisions, of course, but it was nice to be able to get my ideas down while they were still fresh in my mind. I also recently wrote the synopsis for Venom and Earth on my lunch break, which meant when I got home I could focus on editing the manuscript itself.

Research.

I researched on the bus and during my breaks. Mostly character names and settings. I do the bulk of the research for books at home, for example: Egyptian Gods and pyramids.

Character designs.

This is the easiest part for me to do on my break, as I've already envisioned the characters a certain way. I make sure to write down their descriptions for reference just in case they have a sudden makeover halfway through the first draft!

Small edits.

I don't do any major editing, just a few passages here and there. A lunch break isn't really enough time to edit an entire manuscript.

Write blog posts.

A lot of my post ideas come to me during the week, so I list them on my phone and write a rough draft. I then use my laptop for the editing.

Doodle.

Visualising dragon markings helped me describe them better in Elemental Dragons, as I had the designs right in front of me. I'm doing the same for Bitten as well, working on designs for the antagonists. For me, seeing something drawn on paper helps me while writing.

Write short stories.

My short story, Circles, was written during a few lunch breaks on my phone. Once I was happy enough with it, I transferred it to my laptop for editing and started sending it out. I was over the moon when From Whispers To Roars published it in their first issue. I've also written two other short stories during breaks, Hesitation and Purpose, which I hope to offer to anyone who wants to sign up to my future mailing list (I'm working on it, don't worry!).

I just want to show people that even the smallest things throughout the day can contribute towards your writing, and you shouldn't feel bad if you're too exhausted to write much after work. It's normal. The last thing that I want to do when I get home is write, but those little things throughout the day propel me to do it. It shows I've never really stopped working on my books, so I have more time to actually write.

Next week I'm going to post profiles about the dragon characters in Elemental Dragons. I will probably do the human characters in the future, but I love so many of the dragons that I want to share some of their quirks and personalities with you all.

See you next week!

Tips For Hiring a Cover Designer

Hi all!

This week I'll be talking about cover designers. Whether you are self publishing or traditional publishing, you will work with a cover designer for your book. Although traditional authors won't have as much say in the process like self publishing authors do.

Unless you are a great artist or master of Photoshop, I would highly recommend hiring someone to do your cover instead of doing it yourself. It may be costly, but you've got to remember: your cover is the first thing potential readers see. As much as we like to think people don't judge books on their covers, they do. So you want to make this first impression as a good as possible to convince them to buy.

Research covers in your genre.

Make sure your book cover fits in with your genre. Don't stick a topless man on the cover if you're writing historical fiction, it doesn't really work.

Specify your colour scheme.

If you want specific colours on the cover, tell your designer. If they think the colours won't work or don't fit, they'll suggest others to use.

Don't have your name bigger than the title.

Unless you're an award winning multi-million selling author, don't have your name be the biggest text on the cover. That should be reserved for your title.

Pick a font people can read.

Although fancy swirly fonts look nice, they're a pain to try to decipher. Pick a readable font with a nice flair.

Specify the dimensions of your cover.

If you're having your book available in print this is very important, as there are different sizes depending on book size and length.

If you want an art cover, research carefully.

There are loads of artists out there to hire who can draw specific scenes, landmarks and creatures from your book. Just make sure you look around, look through their previous work and reviews and check their prices.

Specify what you don't like as well as what you do like.

This will help the designer know what to not add to your cover.

Book in advance.

Covers can be a lengthy process, make sure you book one with plenty of time before your launch date. If you have a series of books that need covers, book them all at the same time to be done on different dates.

Don't share any of the designers work before the final cover.

Unless you have their permission, it is for your eyes only. Don't post any sketches or designs before the final design has been sent.

Send them a synopsis.

Let them know what your book is about, the characters and their goals. It will help them understand what needs to go on the cover.

Listen to your designer.

Nine times out of ten they will know what's best for your cover. Don't immediately ignore them if you don't agree with their vision of your cover.

Research carefully.

There are so many cover designers out there. Shop around before picking one or ask published authors for recommendations.

That's it for this post! See you next week!

My Reading Quirks

Hi all!

This week I thought I'd talk about something different: reading.

As writers we all need to make sure we read a lot, especially in the genres we write in. Reading can improve your writing as you read different styles, characters and plots. 

Starting the book:

Most people read from the first to the last chapter.

I always read the last few pages before starting a book.

It's a habit I developed when I was younger and reading the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. I was so excited to read the ending that I would just read it first. I still do it now, I don't mind spoilers at all. Most of the time you don't really understand the ending until you've read the full book anyway, so it doesn't hinder my reading experience at all. It's just a habit to flick straight to the back and then start the book.

Bookmarks:

I also use scrappy bits of paper as bookmarks, such as receipts or random pieces of card. I've had proper bookmarks, but I've just never used them. To me it's easier to find my page with a receipt rather than a thick bookmark.

Book jackets:

I think book jackets are pretty, but I usually remove them when reading as it makes it easier. It also means I don't accidentally damage it.

Book spines:

I know I'm not alone on this one, but I hate bending the spines of books. I like them to remain in pristine condition for as long as possible!

Fussy:

Admittedly, I'm quite fussy with what I read. More often than not I've started a book, put it down halfway through and never picked it up again. I find it hard to find books that I can connect with. Luckily I didn't have any problems connecting with Blood and Water while writing it. I suppose I just need to find the right story.

Warriors was the best book series to me growing up, and I took a lot of inspiration from Erin Hunter. I wanted to create a universe that thousands of people love. It also has my favourite animal as the characters: cats. These books made me want to write for teenagers as they brought so many people together in the Warriors forums. I want people to love and be inspired by my writing like they are with Erin Hunter.

Finally, I'm going to leave some tips for readers:

Don't be ashamed of what you read! 

Always review the books you liked!

Tell the author if you loved their book!

Don't pirate the book, authors need an income to write more books!

That's it for this week, next week I'm going to talk about the importance of cover designers.

See you next week!

Tips for Twitter Pitch Parties

Hi all!

Since a lot of pitch parties are coming up on Twitter, I thought I'd share some tips with you all!

I have participated in a few pitch parties, and they're really fun! Not only can you pitch your book using hashtags that agents and publishers are looking through, but you can see everyone else's pitches too. The big thing to remember is that even if you don't get any interest from agents or publishers, that doesn't mean you can't query them anyway. They may not have seen your pitch, or didn't like the way you pitched your book. Either way, don't let that stop you from querying them if you want to.

Do:

Read the rules.

Make sure your book fits the genre and age group listed if there are any. Don't rule yourself out before you've even started.

Use the correct hashtags.

Make sure your hashtags are correct and fit your genre, other wise the agents you're looking for will struggle to find you.

Have four or five different pitches.

Twitter will delete duplicate tweets, so make sure you switch up the wording and hashtags in each tweet. Also, don't post the same pitch over and over. Mix it up!

Schedule your tweets.

When I participated in the parties I wasn't able to post the pitches all day because I was at work. So I used TweetDeck to write my pitches and choose a time of day for them to come out. Make sure you use a test tweet beforehand!

Retweet others pitches.

If you see a pitch you like, retweet it! That author will be grateful and may even retweet yours. If more people retweet your pitch then you're more likely to get noticed by agents.

Explain the main plot of your book.

I know it's hard to squeeze it into so little characters, but you can do it. Don't pick a subplot or minor character to focus on when your MC is off doing something else.

Research before you query.

Unfortunately, vanity publishers and fake agents love these events. Make sure you research carefully before sending anyone anything. There have been cases of fake accounts being set up to pose as agents and reject every author who queries them. Check their page, is it new? Does it have many followers? How many tweets are there?

Have fun!

Don't get disappointed if you don't get any likes from agents. Out off all the parties I participated in, I only got two likes. One was a vanity publisher and the other was a dodgy agency. Just enjoy yourself.

Don't:

Like others pitches.

It's in the rules, just don't do it.

Get angry if people like your pitch.

Not everyone knows the rules, just ignore it and move on. Don't call them out in a mean way, they just liked your tweet.

Bash anyone else's pitch.

It's rude, and it won't get you noticed.

Post duplicate tweets.

As I said before, Twitter will delete them. Switch up the words and hashtags every so often so your tweets stay up.

Schedule tweets to post exactly on the hour.

That's when most people post, go for a more obscure time like 13:21. It means that your tweet won't get lost immediately in the influx of posts on the hour. The less posts there are at that time, the more likely you are going to get noticed.

Use pictures.

Most pitch parties don't allow them as it's a way to sneak more words in. Check the rules to see if you can post pictures.

Participate in every pitch party.

There are so many, and some will not fit your book. If you're writing erotica, there's no point in doing #SFFpit. If you're writing fantasy, don't participate in #KissPitch. Make sure you participate in the correct ones.

That's it for this week! Hope you found it useful, and good luck to anyone participating in upcoming pitch parties!

See you next week.