Title: Tainted
Author(s): Alexandra Moody
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5
Meet Elle Winters, an ordinary teen who turns out to be extraordinary. A terrified girl compelled by love to tremendous acts of boldness. A loner who lives her life for others. And the bearer of an orphaned heart that just might open to family and to her true identity.
Hello SP friends!
As we learn just how to tweak things for your optimal viewing pleasure, occasionally you, our loyal community, get to experience the natural growing pains with us! All that to say: sorry for the influx of emails – specifically our old book reviews. Going forward we’ll regularly post book reviews on the main page.
If you are interested in contributing a book review, you can send your review to us via thespinningpen@gmail.com, as well as your website (if you have one) so we can link our readers to your corner of the ‘net.
Looking forward to seeing your suggestions for our reading lists!
Title: King’s Folly
Author(s): Jill Williamson
Publisher: Bethany House
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Jill Williamson’s newest epic fantasy does not disappoint! The settings are descriptive, the plot clips along at a good pace, and the numerous individual Point-of-View character voices are racially and culturally diverse, unique, and interesting.
The Five Realms are on the edge of total destruction, Continue reading
We often talk about creating characters, but what about those stories that feature animals as the heroes? There are several great books (and series) with animals manning the cast, while other stories include animals playing side (yet still important) roles. Whether your animals speak, your human character happens to have the ability to speak to them, or you’re writing a story with fantasy creatures, the depth and breadth of possibilities with non-human characters are endless.
For today, we’ll tackle two kinds of characters:
You’ve sat down, know your characters, have a plan for writing, the plot is nailed down, and you’re itching to get started.
The first sentence comes out and…. sounds like a preschooler wrote it.
You try again, delete your second attempt, and then switch to paper and pen. That will help! Several crumpled papers later, your waste bin is starting to fill but not the pages. How do you get that perfect intro sentence? How do you set the mood, capture beauty, or develop your style?
The bench was deceivingly inconspicuous. So plain was the chipped white paint and creaky wood, it practically promised that if you sat on it you could enjoy your brown paper bag lunch, watch pigeons in the park, without any life altering events…
Finish this prompt in 500 words or less. Send us yours at thespinningpen@gmail.com . We will select our favorite to be shared with our readers.
Think back to high school (maybe you’re still in high school, and it’s not a far stretch of the imagination). Think about that girl who’s pretty, popular, kind, smart, and to top it off, the boy you have a crush on likes her. Or think about that handsome guy: the star of his chosen sports team, who coaches and teachers alike look the other way for him, has the newest car (or an awesome restoration), and has his pick of girlfriends.
No matter how nice or kind they are, you’re sort of annoyed by them, right? Even if you happened to be their best friend and they treated you well, you’d have days where you’re just jealous and resentful of how easy life seems to be for them.
Now take that seemingly perfect human, and translate that into a character. Ugh.
How do you end up deciding this important choice? Is it from personal experience of the story you’re writing? Is it how the character presented him or herself to you? Is it how the story needs its main character to be perceived? Weak, strong, overbearing, shy… these all create ideas of gender for us, no matter which side the descriptor causes you to fall on. But how do you shake up those old pre-conceived notions without going on a crusade? (Only those who agree with you are going to read that, and will they really be reading to experience your story, or to be validated by it?)
Pen Friends ~ Thanks to Vanessa Weight (our selected prompt winner) and Noah Dingman, our SP teen contributor for replying to the prompt. Due to changes on our blog, we were a bit late in posting. Sorry! Please enjoy their creativity!
Prompt #1 Vanessa Weight, age 16, Washington
A thirsty cry startled me from a sweaty sleep. The sound– high-pitched and screechy– rang in my ears. I licked my dry lips and cracked a smile. I knew that sound. Among the tents of my father I heard it all the time –camels. Today it was much more. It was the sound of salvation. I was close. It had been three days since I entered the desert… , but yet I felt as though my journey had just begun.
As the comforting sound of the camels slowly drifted away, I came to realize that I wasn’t safe to rest, not here in the open. I couldn’t afford to make myself more vulnerable than I already was. I quickly started packing my supplies–including my dagger and my revolver–into my bag as I prepared to keep moving. I figured there’d be enough food and water for at least another week, as long as it was used sparingly. I had to find shelter, and fast. As the break of dawn began to rise, I would be spotted far too easily. If I had any chance of finding the artifact, I had to get there soon.
Hindsight is twenty twenty they say. Before I ambitiously embarked upon the adventure of a lifetime, I had no clue what to expect. Sure, I’d read many novels and books and blog posts on how to write them.
What I quickly found out was reading about writing, and actually writing, are totally different. It’s like thinking you’re a good singer because you watch America’s got Talent and belting out off key tunes at a karaoke bar. Time for a reality check.
A thirsty cry startled me from a sweaty sleep. The sound–high-pitched and screechy– rang in my ears. I licked my dry lips and cracked a smile. I knew that sound. Among the tents of my father I heard it all the time –camels. Today it was much more. It was the sound of salvation. I was close. It had been three days since I entered the desert…
Finish this prompt in 500 words or less. Send us yours at thespinningpen@gmail.com . We will select our favorite to be shared with our readers.
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