A Fantasy Life
April 27, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
Debra Young, who some of you know and who has been my critique partner for years, went to the last OCC meeting with me to hear Blake Snyder. He was an interesting and entertaining speaker with a great deal of information. Because I couldn’t go home after the meeting – the Orange Oil Termite people were there and I’m allergic to oranges – Debra and I went out after the meeting. While eating banana splits and making ourselves sick, we talked about Snyder’s points.
Debra and I meet the third Saturday of every month, so I decided that we should take one of his suggestions to heart and make a headline and a movie poster for our current projects. Of course, since neither of us have the ability to actually draw or put a movie poster together, we were suppose to come up with just the idea.
Our meeting came and Debra had forgotten what I said to do and I hadn’t had time. My online classes had kept me very busy that week. So as we ate fajitas, we came up with headlines and movie poster concepts. It really makes a person think about what it is her story is about. It does clarify the concept so that it can be explained to someone else.
My current project is Sam, the never-ending-story. (After I finish him, it is onto an urban fantasy and slaying monsters.) For Freedom’s Treasure, we came up with – When love is at stake, freedom is the ultimate sacrifice.
Figuring what type of movie poster would attract attention and make someone interested in your story is a bit more complicated. It is like designing a cover for the book. I am terrible at that. I never know what I want on the front of my book. However, we did come up with something. Now I wish I knew how to make it so I could post it on my website. Sam is standing in the foreground, in chains, protecting Jubilee. In the background are fields with crops growing. Up on the left, smaller, are the slave hunters looking for Sam and Jubilee.
We decide on the chains because the first time Sam was introduced in The River’s Treasure, he was in chains. Although he isn’t literally in chains anymore, figuratively he is.
Debra and I did go over the bullet points that Snyder came up with. Me, I’m still stuck on the one that says theme. I used to be a high school English teacher and I still can’t do theme. Debra wasn’t any help on the point. I think I’ll just skip that one and keep going.
A Fantasy Life
March 28, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category Columns tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
Linda McLaughlin and I went to EPICon at the beginning of March. It was at
Linda and I went to a workshop on
One of the speakers, Marilyn Meredith, talked about the world she had built for the mysteries she had written. It has heavy Native American tones to it. Her detective lives between that world and the outer world.
That made me think about the fact that we build worlds for all of our stories. The world doesn’t have to have any magical elements to it. We create worlds in which our characters live. In Betrayals, I created the town of
Usually when writing a non-fantasy story, I don’t think about the fact that I am building a world to surround my characters, but I am. The Irish Countess needed a convent and a large farm. The Kilted Governess needed several sheep farms, a village, and an abandoned hut. So, all of those things just appeared.
It is usually called setting, but it is also world building. We have to put our characters into a world that is believable so our readers are anchored in the story.
Of course building worlds with magic and monsters is so much more fun. I bought a journal so I can start building my world for my urban fantasy. I can’t write on paper, but I like to be able to set my notes next to me while I do write. Journals are just so handy for all of that.
I can’t really start on the urban fantasy until Sam gets to where he needs to be. He is off hunting the slave hunters. He, Cooper and Arnou are angry, armed and dangerous. At least he’s moving again.
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February 28, 2009 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow, Archives tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
Meet Kisho and Kaisha. Loki, my son’s girlfriend, drew them. They are teenage, twin snow leopards. Their mother, the ruler of their land, has sent them to
Kaisha has magical powers. Kisho has some, but not as strong as his sister. With them are some servants, of other animals species, who have some type of magical ability. The twins are alone in
Loki came to me a month or so ago and wanted to know if I want to write a graphic novel with her. She’ll do the graphic part and I’ll do the writing part. She has part of the world developed, but really not sure of what the story should be.
Writing a graphic novel has to be sort of like writing a screen play. As a writer, I do not have to do all that description, which I tend to leave out if I can get away with it anyway. Who cares if the characters change clothes during the book. Also, I do not have to explain the action. That is shown in the drawings. I mostly have to write the dialogue and then explain what they should be doing, but I can do that in notes or talking to her.
Of course, every good story needs a love interest. Kisho has one with a fox. Kaisha doesn’t as of yet.
Manga seems to be very popular with the younger generation, so it seems like a worthwhile project. We still have to come up with names for the countries and a reason why the land where Kisho and Kaisha come from doesn’t have the technology that
If you are interested in seeing a Manga romance, ask Maureen Child. She had one of her romances come out as a Manga. It was interesting. I really liked the sex scenes. They are just up my alley.
In the meantime, I have to finish Sam’s story while we build a new world. He’s out of bed, but now he is in the yard arguing with Jubilee. I don’t think he’ll be happy staying there for long.
Art work by Loki – http://loki-rei.deviantart.com
A Fantasy Life
December 27, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday. I am so far, being on vacation from my two day jobs. My sister made the wreath for me for Christmas. I started it five years ago and set it aside to make a Christmas stocking for my daughter-in-law. I stuck the wreath away and forgot I even had it. My sister reminded me before Thanksgiving and offered to finish it for me. She thought I’d gotten a bit more of it done – it was only about a quarter finished. I didn’t expect to see it until next year, but she brought it over yesterday. She had been working really hard on it and I was thrilled.
This is the time of year to look back and take stock of what was accomplished last year and then make goals for the coming year. Last Saturday, Debra Young, my critique partner, and I went to lunch and went over the goals we had set for last year, marking off those that we had accomplished. I was surprised at how much I actually had accomplished. Some of the items on the list were things that came up as the year went by. Writing can be that way sometimes. Some on the list will move forward to next year, though there are a couple I’m not sure I will accomplish, but if I take them off the list they may disappear forever and I do want to do them some day.
Goals are not so much about getting them all done, but framing your mindset for the next year so that you do your best to be successful at whatever you try. Sometimes what seems important in January is not as important come July. I like to have extra goals just in case I get in the middle of a story and have no idea where it is going or I get tired of it. Then I have other goals I can switch to. But the first goal for the coming year is to finish Sam’s story. I am sure he’ll appreciate that.
So I am wishing everyone a wonderful New Year filled with lots of energy to attack those goals. And may the muse never abandon us.
A Fantasy Life
November 27, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope all of you are enjoying the day with family and/or friends. This year my household is up to seven. My sister, my daughter-in-law and my youngest son’s girlfriend will be joining my sons and I. I get to cook the turkey. The two youngest cook most of the rest. I have been having holidays at my house forever and do not see someone else taking over, ever.
The picture is from my Augeas short story series. This one is titled “Berry Cake†and is part of Whiskey Shots Vol. 19 from Whiskey Creek Press. I have a new artist, so the pictures are a little different. In this picture, Lord Culain is asking the mouse for berry cake. As with all artists, she took some liberties because there wasn’t a mouse in the story, but Lord Culain did ask often for berry cake.
There has been no fantasy in my life lately. I suffered burnout judging the EPPIEs. It all seemed too much to do in such a short time with everything else in life. I laid on the couch weekend after weekend until I didn’t think I could read another word. In fact, I have hardly read anything since I finished the seven books.
After Thanksgiving is over, I will have to force myself back into the chair and into the writing. Poor Sam is still in bed with Jubilee, though I haven’t heard any complaints from them.
Art work by Loki – http://loki-rei.deviantart.com
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