Cut it out

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Cry. Whimper. Whine.

But I don’t wanna delete that paragraph/chapter/section of the book. It took me so long to write. There are some great moments in there. The character development is amazing.

There are so many excuses as to why that piece of writing should stay in the book. I know since I’ve used them all. But there’s a reason that it has to go and that’s because you know it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be having the argument with yourself in the first place. 

So instead of thinking about all of the reasons why it should stay, remember why it needs to go. It doesn’t advance the plot. The writing is not your best. Your characters actions are forced. Whatever the reason, stop arguing with yourself and cut it out.

Can’t bring yourself to hit the delete button? I feel your pain. Instead of hitting delete, why not try cutting instead. I keep a separate file for all of my scenes that no longer work or that I wrote for another section of the story. That way at least all of my work doesn’t disappear in the blink of an eye, and there’s always the chance that in the future I’ll be able to fit in those bits.

Do you have a file for those deleted gems?

Review - Wide Awake Princess

Book Review

The Wide Awake Princess
By E. D. Baker 

Find this book at: Amazon | Indigo | You're local bookstore

I picked this book up on a whim based entirely on it's cover. Although part of me really wanted to hate the style of illustration, I was drawn to it and knew instantly it was a book that I'd enjoy. The back blurb helped confirm that feeling when I read that it's a new take on an old fairy tale and there was going to be just a little romance and a whole lot of humour in there amongst all the action.

The story is one that most everyone knows, a princess is cursed at birth to prick her finger and sleep for a hundred years until she's woken by true love's first kiss. What you might not know is that the princess has a little sister, Annie, who happens to be completely  immune to all forms of magic, good and bad. When the spell is cast and the entire castle is put to sleep, it's up to Annie to find the right prince to break the spell.

Non stop action fills each page as we're thrown from one fairy tale to another with ease, including elements from tales such as The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pea and many others.

There was so many things happening to Annie and her companion for her journey, Liam, that I occasionally wished for more time to breath within each stop in Annie's journey. As it was, we barely get a chance to imagine each setting of the story before we're pushed forward to the next location and fairy tale.

The characters were mostly well developed despite the sometimes overwhelmingly large cast, but they were all outshone by the main character who's clever wit was very appealing.

This was a very amusing and entertaining read that contained everything that it promised; action, humour, romance and a strong heroine.

4/5 stars

Nothing to fear here

Everyone has fears. For writing it’s one of the easiest ways to develop your character. Give them a fear or two, and *poof* they’re more rounded characters.

Ever since I started writing novels, I dutifully gave each character a random fear and maybe even have them deal with it at some point in the story. However, I never really understood the fact that it’s not just the fear itself that matters, but also how the character deals with that emotion.

I’m terrified of spiders and heights (I know, I’m so original) however; my reaction to encountering each fear is completely different. If I come across a spider, or accidently touch one, I can usually control that fear and calmly walk away. For heights, when the fear hits me, I panic and usually can’t do anything but fall down to my knees—lying down’s even better—and whimper.

Someone else might be equally afraid of the same thing and deal with their fears completely differently. That reaction, not the fear itself is what makes characters interesting.

Do you spend time giving your characters specific fears? How would they react when they’re forced to face those fears? How do you react when facing your own fears?