My 6-year-blogiversary! Signed paperbacks, one-on-one Skype sessions, and more!

Today marks the 6 year anniversary of my blog launch! It just now hit me that I've been blogging for a little over a forth of the number of years that I've been alive. 

*sits back in chair* *counts on fingers* Yup. That's how that math works.  

Aaaanyway. That's a long time to be in the blogging game. I've blogged through surgeries, through six publications, through transferring to a four-year university. I've blogged through good things, through bad things, and through everything in between. It's been a wild six years, and I'm so glad to have you all along for the ride. 

As a thank you, I have many epic reveals planned. Put down anything you're holding, take a seat, and get ready to have your socks knocked off. 

Anniversary Song by Jay Fite

As you may or may not know, my younger brother is a rapper of incredible music that focuses on mental health awareness. If you haven't already, you should go check out his website. 

To celebrate my 6-year-blogiversary, I asked him if he would write and rap a funny song for me. He said yes. What he came up with somehow manages to be funny and touching while also being chock full of easter eggs specific to my blog. Behold:

 

If you like the song (I mean...c'mon. Who wouldn't?), be sure to pre-save his upcoming album: Chaos.

Blog Trivia 

How big of a Hannah Heath Blog fan are you? This trivia quiz will separate the strong from the weak. It's like the Hunger Games, except people won't die and nobody's freedom is on the line. 

Sooooo maybe nothing like the Hunger Games....? Let me start over: 

This trivia contains 12 questions that you should know the answer to if you've been following me and my blog for any amount of time. I mean....I'm not saying I'll be ashamed of you if you get certain questions wrong, but I am saying you run the risk of bringing dishonor upon your cow.

This little trivia jaunt is "open book," so yes, you can try to search for the answers via my blog search bar, my website, my Youtube channel, Google, a summoning charm, a palantír, etc. Do what you gotta do, bro.

What's the prize? I'm glad you asked. The prize is....*drum roll*...THIS:

One-on-One Skype Session Giveaway 

That's right! The top two winners of this trivia will be granted a one-on-one Skype session with yours truly. This session will be a 30-minute long chat where you can ask my any and all questions you have about being a writer, blogger, indie author, youtuber, podcast host, social media marketer, or just about any writing or reading related topic you can think of. All you need is a Skype account and access to wi-fi. 

Yes, it is entirely possible that more than two people will earn perfect scores on the above trivia game. If that happens, I will take all of the top scorers, scream "DIDJA PUT YER NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIYAH," then do a random drawing to select the two winners.

It's gonna be awesome. I'm looking forward to meeting my top two winners! May the odds be ever in your favor:

Take the quiz now.

This quiz closes on 07/07/2020 and the winners will be announced on 07/08/2020, so get in on it now!

Torn Universe Store!

I saved the best for last. 

You can now buy signed paperbacks of my stories directly from my website! *throws confetti shaped like tiny Batmans* 

You can also purchase stickers and original character art. And yeah, I do ship all of these items internationally. You're welcome.

Oh, and between now and September 1st, 2020, you can buy a digital gift card to my store. Go buy one now for the Torn Universe fans in your life! Or, you know...hoard them all for yourself. I don't judge. 

Epic Fantasy Tropes That Never Get Old

Let's talk about epic fantasy tropes that are THE BEST. From flashy magics to grand quests, we'll explore them all! 

Missed my video on epic fantasy tropes that are THE WORST? Watch that here! 

Listen to the audiobook for Skies of Dripping Gold, a YA Christian dystopian about a young man's climb to rescue his sister and save his own soul.

If you wanna read some awesome epic fantasy, check out my Terebinth Tree Chronicles series. You're welcome. 

Have any epic fantasy tropes that you absolutely love? Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear from you.

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Related articles: 

Epic Fantasy Tropes that Kinda Suck

9 Epic, Underused Mythical Animals for Your Fantasy Novel

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My Writing Process in 18 Gifs

Let's talk about my writing process. 

I know, I know. Self-centered, much? 

I'm writing this post because I occasionally have people ask about how I go about writing stories. I've never written a blog post on this topic because it is top secret information and...

Just kidding. I always felt that my process is very specific to me personally and thus wouldn't really help anyone. But then I remembered: 

Today is Thursday and I have zero blog post ideas. So. 

Let's do this thing! Behold. My writing process in 18 gifs. 

Step 1: Get pumped about a shiny new idea. 

My story ideas start out very basic. Usually my brain just thinks of random, cool-sounding concepts and screams them at me until I write them. For example: AZTEC VAMPIRES! ANGRY DESERT ELF BOI! 

I take a few days to be excited by this new, shiny thing, then get to work. 

Step 2: Generate a plot. 

Easier said than done? Absolutely. I have written an entire blog post on how I generate a full-on story idea, so I'd recommend reading that. It usually takes me under and hour and is fairly bare-bones, but it gives me a jumping-off point. It also gives me what I need for step 3...

Step 3: Perform a few writing rituals.  

Before writing each story, I create a list of words and phrases that sum up the emotions I'm hoping to convey in the story. I also find an image that reminds me of my main character, and this image I keep in my line of vision as I write. I also usually light a candle, do a small dance, then stand on my head for thirty seconds while singing the Happy Birthday backwards. 

Y'know. Normal stuff.

Step 4: Block out the scenes. 

I write a few sentences to describe each scene, AKA: Blocks. Each block mentions the plot point, as well as main emotions I want to convey. I piece them together like a puzzle until I have a very basic idea of major plot points. 

This allows me to identify gaping plot holes before I completely fall into them and die a terrible death. 

Step 5: Write the end-scene first. Or don't. 

I write the end-scene first about 60% of the time (read my post on that here). However, occasionally I write a story that I can see about three or four possible endings for. I scribble down their descriptions in 2-3 sentences so I don't forget them, but I don't write all of them out because that's a waste of energy and words. 

Step 6: Find the character's voice. 

Some people call this drafting. I do not. Drafting actually kind of stresses me out so my hope is that, by renaming the process, it will be easier on me. Does this work? Not at all. But we'll talk about that later. 

What it does do, however, is give me room to find my character's voice, discover their POV, learn their word usage, and just generally start to feel comfortable writing their story. 

Step 7: Panic. 

I usually get about 1/3rd of the way through a story before deciding that something is off. Really off. Sometimes it's the character motivation. Sometimes it's the plot. Sometimes it's the world-building. Sometimes it's all of these. Either way, it's a horrifying realization and always, always sends me into a panic. Despite the fact that I've been through this seven times at this point and know that panic not only doesn't help, but also is unnecessary because I always figure it out in the end. 

Yeah.

My brain sucks like that.

Step 8: Try (and fail) to fix it. 

I re-block the story to try to fix whatever hole I've found. It's like a massive, brain-addling puzzle. But the new version of the story is sooooooo much better now and --

Nope. It still sucks.

Step 9: Cry and/or swear.

A lot. 

Step 10: Rinse and repeat. 

I often get anywhere between one eighth to three quarters of the way through a new version of the story before ditching it because it sucks. When this happens, I go back  to re-blocking, swearing, and questioning my life choices. 

What? I never claimed to be an efficient writer. 

Step 11: Macro edit. 

Finally. Finally. The rough draft is done. And by rough, I mean rough. Sure, it's the shiniest and complete-est of the other six versions I abandoned before getting to this one. But still. The character voice is probably a bit (or a lot) inconsistent. Maybe I switched world-building halfway through the story and now need to go back and fix that. Perhaps there's some weird info-dumping or thematically inconsistent dialogue. 

I print the story out and go through with four different pen colors, each with a specific meaning. You can read about that here. 

This is my absolute favorite part of the writing process. It is here that I can finally start to see the intended story shining through the mess that is my rough draft. It's exciting and beautiful and I love it with all of my heart. 

Step 12: Micro edit. 

I. hate. this. So much. I have a personal hatred for punctuation, spelling, and grammar rules, but I try to clean those issues up as much as possible so that I don't confuse my beta readers with dumb mistakes. However, I don't get too technical with things at this point.

That specific type of horror will come later. 

Step 13: Send to beta readers, then panic. 

In case you hadn't noticed, there is a lot of panic involved in my writing process. Don't judge me.

I have a very specific way that I go about getting feedback from beta readers, which is a process you can read about here. 

I send my story and the accompanying questions off to my betas, then sit back and wait. And panic. And panic some more. 

Step 14: Macro edit. Again. 

It never ends, people. It never ends. 

Using my beta-reader's feedback, I do yet another round of macro editing. And also maybe some more panicking.

Step 15: Send to editors. 

I know a few people who are very good at editing. Each of them have specific strong points that I entirely lack. For instance, they actually know where commas go, unlike me, who just puts them whereever I want readers to pause in a sentence, which I feel should be a valid usage but apparently is not? I am still very bitter about that, in case you can't tell. 

Step 16: Become sick of the sight of the story. 

By the time I get edits back, I am very, very tired of this story. I've read it through about 18 times, but it feels like 42 billion. And I am done. DONE. Even though the story is objectively excellent, I hate it and find it boring and just don't want to ever see it again. It's not personal. 

Or is it?

Step 17: Publish. 

Finally.

Step 18: Celebrate and be proud. 

I usually make myself something yummy to eat, watch a favorite movie, and squeal about this new publication to anyone who will listen. All the swearing? The crying? The I-don't-want-to-see-this-story-ever-again-ing? Those emotions are long gone. All I feel is pride and accomplishment and excitement. 

And maybe a little (or a lot) of fatigue, because dang. Writing is hard. 

And then I start the entire process all over again with a new story. Because I am apparently a masochist? 

So now I'm curious. Does my writing process match yours at all? Let's chat!

Related articles: 

5 Steps to Fighting Off Writer's Insecurity

Macro and Micro Editing: What They Are and How to Use Them to Fix Your Story

11 Pieces of Encouragement Writers Need to Hear

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Factoid Friday #6: About Jayel's Name

I've always really liked Jael from the book of Judges. A woman who is badass enough and collected enough to pull off killing the general of an army? Yes please.

I decided to name my Flames of Courage protagonist after Jael because they have similar traits: They're both smart, justice-oriented, and they're both brawlers.

Here's the thing about the name spelling: Jayel was a character I originally created a good ten years ago. At the time, I'd heard the story of Jael recounted in sermons or read aloud to me by my parents. As a twelve-year-old, I had never personally read the story with my own eyes, so I didn't realize that the name was spelled "Jael." I assumed the name was spelled like it sounds: "Jayel."

It wasn't until a few years later that I learned the correct spelling of the name, but by then it was too late. She was Jayel in my mind, not Jael.

Luckily, Jayel is a pretty cool looking name, so it all worked out in the end.

Related articles:
Factoid Friday #1: About Wanderer's Name

Factoid Friday #2: Jumping in Theme-First

Factoid Friday #4: About the Colors...

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6 Things in Harry Potter that make NO sense (Part 1)

Whether your love or hate Harry Potter, there's no denying that it is full of incredibly bizarre, nonsensical characters and world-building points. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I'm here to talk about my favorite (and least favorite) things in Harry Potter that make absolutely zero sense.

What are your favorite nonsensical Harry Potter facts? I'd love to hear about them!

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Nonlinear Character Arcs: What They Are, Why They're Epic, and How to Write Them

If you've been writing or reading for any amount of time, you've probably heard of the two main character arcs: the positive character arc and the negative character arc.

If you're not familiar with those terms, you're definitely familiar with the general idea. Positive character arcs describe a character who overcomes a problem and comes out the other side as a better person (think Bilbo Baggins...or pretty much any other protagonist of, well, anything. It's a very common arc).

A negative character arc is when a character comes up against a problem and, rather than overcoming it, is crushed by it and ends up as a somehow worse person than when they started (think Harvey Dent).

But what about nonlinear character arcs? Arcs that show a character becoming better, then worse, but then better again (yay!), but then backsliding (noooo!). Rinse and repeat over and over and over.

Let's talk about how to write that type of character arc.

Why write a nonlinear character arc? 

Nonlinear character arcs are far more realistic to what your average everyday person experiences. 

Most of us have a high moments and low moments and, as much as we'd like to think that we learn from them, we often end up repeating the same or similar mistakes. Rather than having a clear, smooth, linear trajectory that represent our personality development, our "arcs" tend to be very messy. Life is full of switchbacks and ups and downs and sideways movements. 

Because of this, readers are able to personally relate to nonlinear character arcs in a way that they may not be able to with others. Sure, positive character arcs are amazing because you get to cheer a character on and be inspired by their progress. And negative character arcs a really interesting too, because they're full of emotional impact. 

But nonlinear character arcs? They meets us where we are at. We get to see characters who act very similar to us (or people we know). This has great emotional impact because we are able to see that people make mistakes, and that's okay. We get to see that, no matter how many backslides we may experience in our lives, it's always possible to pick ourselves back up and move forward.

It also keeps readers engaged because we're never quiiiiiiite sure how a character will behave, whereas with a negative or positive character arc, we generally know what choice a character will make.

How do you write a nonlinear character arc? 

1. Let your characters make bad choices. This can be difficult for some writers because they are afraid of writing a character that is so flawed that they become upsetting to the reader. But you know what? You can't let other people dictate your storytelling process. Rosa knows:

Just kidding.

But seriously. The good thing about nonlinear character arcs is that readers know that, even if the character does make bad choices, they will end up making better ones at some point in the future. Rather than being off-putting, this can make readers want to stick it out and hope to see the character triumph, even if it is temporary. 

It's relatable, so don't feel the need to sugarcoat it. 

2. Model your characters after real human behavior. Often times, riders will fashion their characters after other heroes in books or movies that they like. It's why we have so many common archetypes: The Reluctant King (Aragorn), The Chosen One (Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter), The Rebel (Katniss Everdeen, Jyn Erso), The Comic Relief (Pippin). 

But the truth is that people's personalities and choices in real life are not that clear-cut. People are full of inconsistencies, inspiring bravery, and heart wrenching cowardice. We humans are hard to nail down. Even the most likable people can sometimes disappoint, and even the most frustrating people can have moments of surprising goodness. Think about the people in your life, then consider modeling your characters after the behaviors that you see around you. It will lead to a rich, layered, complicated character that your readers would love to engage with. 

4. Set the stage. You want to be sure to establish from a fairly early point that your character is not going to have the traditional arcs that readers have come to expect. This is important because you don't want to disappoint your readers. If you don't lay the groundwork, they may label your character as inconsistent rather than complex. They'll be irritated, you'll be upset, and I'll be disappointed because I gave you the tools to avoid this problem, but did you listen? Noooooo.

Walking this line can be tricky, but if you are very intentional it should work out. For example, my vampire character from Vengeance Hunter has a nonlinear arc. I set the stage for this right off the bat by showing her inconsistencies within the first few pages: 

The opening scene shows her hunting down and killing somebody for their blood. This is obviously not a great thing to be doing. She almost seems to enjoy the hunt, but also appears to be vaguely disgusted by herself and her fellow hunters. Immediately afterwards, I show her giving this blood to other people in her society who are hungry and need it to survive. She seems to do this of her own accord, indicating a certain goodness within her, but this is undercut by the fact that she seems to be turning a blind eye to the fact that her activities are clearly immoral. All of this signals to the reader that this character is not a traditional hero, nor is she a villain. She's confused, hurting, and is consistently making contradictory choices. 

Be sure to set the precedence for your character's nonlinear nature within the first few pages of the story. Not only does the complexity and mystery of it draw readers in, but it will also make sure that they know what they're getting into.

3. Read up (or binge) nonlinear characters. Study their patterns. You'll start to notice that these characters have a sort of predictable unpredictability about them. Don't make a series of decent choices, only to make a few terrible ones. Or they'll make a lot of terrible choices, and then one massively excellent one. They continue in this pattern for the entire story and there ending arc generally is fairly open. It's not clear whether they will manage to get their lives fully together, but there's just enough of a hint of hope to keep the readers happy. 

My personal favorite examples of nonlinear character arcs? Here are a few. Yes, most of them are from the TV show The 100. Those writers know how to do a nonlinear arc like nobody else. 

1. Octavia Blake from The 100. It's no secret that she makes a lot of terrible, damaging, violent life choices. But she also occasionally does some amazing things, and often is operating out of a desire to keep her loved ones safe. 

2. Severus Snape from Harry Potter. This guy's arc is all over the place, but in a good way. He simultaneously makes some great choices, but also lots of bad ones. One moment he's risking his life to save others, the other moment he's terrorizing small children.

3. Han Solo from Star Wars. One moment he's a scruffy-looking nerf herder with a heart of gold who risks his life to go stuff his friend into a dead Tauntaun. But fast forward a few decades and he's let his not-super-stable friend give his son a glowy-death-sword and then abandons his wife when that inevitably goes south. Sheesh. Tighten up, dude. 

Other examples include: Tony Stark (Marvel), Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter), Abby Griffin (The 100), Red Hood (DC), and Loki (Marvel). Not to mention a whole plethora of my own characters: Ishtaka from Vengeance Hunter and other ones I can't mention because *spoilers.* 

(Please note the lack of female characters with nontraditional characters arcs. Now go forth and populate the earth with them. Thank you) 

And that's it! Your Nonlinear Character Starter Pack. You're welcome. 

Do you like nonlinear character arcs? Who are some of your favorite examples?

Related articles:
Writing a Compelling Hero: 7 Tips With Examples

Unreliable Narrators: What They Are and How to Write Them

Anti-Heroes: What They Are and How to Write Them

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Skies of Dripping Gold Audiobook Coming Soon!

Yes, you read this blog post title right. Skies of Dripping Gold will be coming soon to Audible!

Yep. Skies of Dripping Gold, my first ever publication. The first installment in the Torn Universe. The YA Christian dystopian that is guaranteed to make you cry or Feel Things.

Behold:

Narrator Brian Hathaway is an incredible voice actor who has brought Gabriel's story to life in a way I hadn't even realized was possible. Because Skies of Dripping was my debut publication (and because the story is highly personal), it was important to me that I find an actor who could convey the full range of emotions contained in this short story. I can say with 100% certainty that I found that in Hathaway's narration. You're going to love him. Lemme tell you a bit about his work:

Hathaway is an award winning stage actor in the Dallas/Fort Worth region. His favorite credits include The Producers (Leo Bloom), The Drowsy Chaperone (Aldolpho), and A Year With Frog and Toad (Toad). He is also a contributing voice actor for Funimation Entertainment where he has been heard in anime series such as One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Fairy Tail.

See? Like I said. He's awesome. You're gonna love his voicing of the characters.

I am thrilled to finally bring this story alive via audiobook. After all, the main character of the story has a severe form of dyslexia and therefore struggles with reading, so it only seems right to release this story in an accessible format. Gotta make Gabriel proud.

Now I know you all probably have a lot of questions, so I'm going to go ahead and try to answer as many of them as possible upfront.

When is the audiobook release date? 

Yeah. About that....

The audiobook is still currently in production, so I am not going to commit to a firm deadline yet. That being said, it will be released mid or late May, so you're going to want to keep your eyes peeled. I would recommend subscribing to my newsletter and joining my Torn Universe Facebook group so that you aren't the last poor sucker on earth to learn of it's release.

How long will this audiobook be? 

The total run time will be around 40 minutes long. A short run time for a short story. But don't let the length fool you: the story will still blow you away.

Where will I be able to buy it? 

This audiobook will be available on Audible and iTunes. You're welcome.

Is a portion of the sales still going towards charity? 

Yes. Like everything that you ever purchase from me (books, merch, etc), 10% of all earnings will go to Joni and Friends and Latisha's House. You can read more about why I chose those two specific organizations by checking out this post on my website. Thank you for helping me support the disabled community as well as victims of human trafficking!

Will you be doing audiobooks for your other stories? 

You betcha! I will be doing audiobooks for The Terebinth Tree Chronicles as well as for So I Accidentally Killed the Chosen One. I recognize that audiobooks are innately more accessible to many people, and I am very excited to finally be financially in a place where I can integrate audiobooks into my platform.

That being said, the Terebinth Tree Chronicles audiobook will not being released until all five of the short stories are published. Yeah, that means you're gonna have to wait a year or two. It's fine, though. You can handle the wait. I believe in you. In the meantime, I did a live reading of Colors of Fear on YouTube, so if you want a read-aloud version of that, check it out. You are aloud to laugh at my questionable reading skills.

Aaaand I think I got them all. Have any other questions? Ask me below and I shall do my best to answer! 

Who else here is super stoked about this audiobook? Fangirl with me in the comment section!

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Factoid Friday #5: Why I First Started Writing YA

Note: I forgot to send out last week's blog notification, so here we go: Youtube video! Epic fantasy tropes! Go watch. 

I remember getting to about 12 years of age and just kind of...running out of stuff to read. I wanted fantasy adventures with swords and horses. I wanted friendships and family relationships. I wanted cool worldbuilding and thought provoking stakes.

Instead, I got some of those things, but also with a large heaping of love triangles and creeper romance.

I was not happy, Bob. Not. Happy.

So I decided to take things into my own hands.

And thus was born my propensity for writing YA fiction with all the sci-fi-and-fantasy bells and whistles, minus the romance. I've been pleased to find that there are tons of readers out there who are searching for that exact thing. 

What about you? What age do you tend to write for and why? I'd love to hear your story! 

Related articles: 

Factoid Friday #3: My Weird Writer Quirk

Factoid Friday #1: About Wanderer's Name

Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday! Or, in this case: Saturday. Thank you for bearing with me.

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How to Come Up with a Story Idea

PSA: Today is the last day to grab your free ebook copy of Colors of Fear! Do it now.

This blog post is going to be a little bit different.

I was going to simply tell you how to come up with a story idea, but we all know the saying.

"Show, don't tell."

So, sure, I will explain the story generating process to you. However, I will also show you how I personally would go about coming up with a story idea from scratch.

Yes, this means that I'm going to build a full-on story idea while writing this post. You're about to get a behind-the-scenes look at how my brain works, so grab some popcorn and strap in.

1. Start with the one thing you have. Chances are, you have one single, not-super-helpful concept rolling around your brain. When I was beginning to write Vengeance Hunter, it was "Vampires." A more recent project (This Pain Inside) began with me just really, really wanting to write an underwater sci-fi.

Take that concept that won't stop bugging you and write it down. You'll need it later. It absolutely, 100% does not need to be fleshed out in any way. It can be bizarre, random, something that you look at and think, "That is not a story idea."

You're right: It is not a story idea. But it will be. Have patience, my young padawan learner.

My idea is in blue:

Starting with: A monster that steals everybody's left shoe

2. Pinpoint what story element is particularly important to you as an author. Do you focus on character-driven plots? Are themes a driving factor in your writing? Maybe you like twisting tropes? Most writers have a specific focus in their writing. The thing that shines in every single one of their stories because they like writing it and can't help but insert it into their stories.

For me, it's theme. Theme is very important to me, so I usually pick a theme I want to explore at the very beginning of any brainstorming phase. I know other authors who pick a world-building element ("what if a ring had the power to rule them all?") or a character type ("traumatized chosen one boi").

Why so sirius, Harry?

Maybe you personally really like playing with plot-driven stories. Awesome! Write it down.

Story element: plot-driven

3. Pick a mood. Do you want this story to be funny? Sad? Intense? Dark (yes, please!)? Romantic (you lost me)? Pick a mood. It can be random if you like, though hopefully you can match it with your starting point.

For instance, my above starting point (a monster that steals everybody's left shoe) has the potential to be funny. However, it could also be tragic or scary, depending on why the monster is stealing only the left shoe. Do your best to match the mood with the starting point. But also be sure to choose a mood that you are personally drawn to, because why write something you aren't interested in? For instance, I'm in a bit of a what's-that-in-the-shadows mood, so I'm going with...

Mood: Scary

4. Pick your genre. You probably already have a genre you're prone to writing. Do you feel like writing that genre again? Or do you want to try something different?

Make sure that this genre fits the elements you already have. For instance, I currently have a left-shoe-stealing monster, a scary vibe, and a focus on plot. This doesn't really lend itself to romance or historical fiction. It maybe lends itself to sci-fi or fantasy or, if we get real creative, a thriller. It definitely lends itself to horror and supernatural fiction.

Genre: Horror 

5. Start putting the pieces together. Let's see what we have so far. We have a scary, plot-driven horror story that will somehow incorporate a monster that is stealing everybody's left shoe.

Get out a pen and paper and start seeing how many different ways that story can go. Here are mine:

Villagers that rely on trading animal furs find the severed left foot of a strange, unknown creature in one of their traps. A few days later, the villagers' left shoes start to disappear in the night. And then their left socks. And then their actual left feet. [insert scream here] The village must rally and hunt down the beast before it continues to exacts its revenge.  

A bit goofy? Yeah. But give it the right twist (a mysterious, fairytale kind of vibe, perhaps?) and it could be something. Besides, I could even ditch the "everybody's left shoe" part of my idea and just go for this: 

Villagers that rely on trading animal furs find the severed left foot of a strange, unknown creature in one of their traps. The next night, a trader tries to leave the village to sell goods at the nearest city only to be caught in a horrifying booby trap that robs her of her left foot. The villagers soon find that their village is surrounded by traps. To leave is to risk maiming or death, but to stay is starvation. And with each night the monster grows bolder in its quest for revenge. 

Okay, not bad. But let's try an entirely new route, just for funsies. 

There is a monster outside Character's house, and it wants to kill him. He's seen it staring at him outside his window, heard its vicious howl. The neighbors say he's imagining things, but he doesn't think he is. If he just stays inside with all entrances locked, he'll be safe. 

But then one of his left shoes disappears. Then another. And another. Each missing shoe is replaced with something unsettling: a dead bird, a painting of a woman with her eyes scratched out. The creature is inside his house, taunting him. Character must find a way to escape from the monster before it kills him or drives him insane.

I personally like this idea, so I'll stop here. However, note that I could keep going if none of the above three ideas struck my fancy. I could also go back to my very first idea and keep tweaking it. Or I could swap the genre to, say, dark fantasy and see if that sparks any new ideas.

Keep playing with it until you find something you like.

6. Keep building out. You may have a basic story idea, but it's not ready yet. There will probably be some fairly large holes. Make a list of questions you have about your story and try to fit the answer with your current concept.

What is the world-building in this story? Well, the monster could be anything. Maybe it's real. Maybe it's imagined because Character is a little bit bonkers. Maybe Character is part of a cruel science experiment to see how the human brain deals with perceived supernatural events. The possibilities are endless. I personally like plot-twist type stories, so I'm going with the science experiment one. 

What is Character's backstory? I'm a sucker for broken, underdog character types, so let's say Character has always been a bit jumpy. He isn't the most stable person. He use to have delusions of seeing this monster in his closet all the way up until the age of seventeen, but he's been making great strides since then. He's now in his 30s, has a job, leads a normal (if not somewhat unhappy) life, and hasn't seen the monster again. Up until the beginning of my story, that is. 

7. Find your ending. Story ideas aren't particularly useful if they don't come with endings. Write down the first endings that come to your mind and see which one strikes your fancy. 

Character has a full breakdown, ends up stumbling across the scientists who have been putting him through all of this stress, mistakes them for the real monster, kills them, ends up in jail. 

A bit dark and pointless for me, so I'll pass on that ending. 

Character ends up almost losing his mind, but holds himself together through sheer will. The head of the science department finds out about this unauthorized experiment and shuts it down. However, it turns out that the monster is real because the scientists were stupid enough to get their experimental design from an old folk tale they believed to be false. The monster follows the scientists home and begins to torture them with similar mind games. The head of the science department goes to Character for help. Character must face his fears and find a way to stop the monster once and for all. 

Yup. I like that one. It's weird, it's interesting, it's scary. It has all of the elements I had originally wanted, and it only took me an hour to generate (30 minutes, actually, if we subtract the time it took me to explain the process while also coming up with the idea). 

Pretty awesome, right? 

There are a lot of ways to come up with a story idea, but this is the one that I've found to be the most effective. 

Want to give it a whirl? Leave a comment below and tell me what you come up with! 

And don't forget to stop by for my first live reading of Colors of Fear this Sunday!

Related articles: 

7 Tips for Re-Writing Your Story

Controlling Your Plot Bunnies: How to Write A Novel From Start to Finish Without Getting Distracted

8 Tips for Developing a Strong Theme for Your Novel

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Stay-At-Home Book Events: Free Ebook, Live Readings, and More!

The Virus That Must Not Be Named is going around (heretofore known as TVTMNBN). Maybe you, like me, are living under a mandatory stay at home law. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you're anxious. Maybe you're grieving. Maybe you just really need toilet paper.

I've got your back.

(except for the toilet paper part. Sorry)

I know these are difficult, stressful times for many, so I've decided to release a whole slew of fun events over the next month. A lot of these events are unprecedented, never-seen-before goings-on that I can guarantee will put a smile on your face.

Wanna know what they are?

Behold. My beautiful schedule:

It's a lot, so lemme break the awesomeness down for you. 

March 23rd - 27th: the Colors of Fear ebook is free! Head on over and grab your copy!

*throws confetti* If you've been following me for a while, you know that I never give my work away for free. I'm doing it this week because I know people are going through a rough time. There's a lot of fear circulating, so I hope that reading about Wanderer's fight against his own fears brings you strength. 

March 29th and April 1st: Live readings of Colors of Fear!

I'll read a scene from Colors of Fear on Youtube, then we'll have have a book club discussion. You can ask me questions, throw out fan theories, laugh and chat with fellow readers, and more. It's going to be a lot of fun. Invite your friends! Who says social distancing has to be tackled alone? 

Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel and opt-in to get alerts when I go live. 

April 1st: 

Now here's the big one. The very-few-people-even-knew-I-was-working-on-this-novel one.

On April 1st, I will be releasing chapter 1 of So I Accidentally Killed the Chosen One to Wattpad.

So I Accidentally Killed the Chosen One is a a Mexican-inspired comedic Space Opera WIP that I've been working on for the last several months. It's about a happy-go-lucky mischief maker on the run from the law who accidentally kills her galaxy's Chosen One. But plot twist! This Chosen One is also her doppelgänger, so she does what an illogical, adventure-loving person would do: She decides to impersonate the Chosen One.

It's a mixture of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and dark comedy, but with tortillas and brujas.

You're going to love it. Go follow my Wattpad account so you can read it when it releases.

Now this is just Phase 1 of my Stay-At-Home book events. Stay tuned to learn about more fun events that I'll be rolling out over the next few months.

Do you have any questions? Requests for bookish events? I'd love to hear about them!

Remember to join my Torn Universe or subscribe to my newsletter if you want to be among the first people to hear about these kinds of events.

Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every Friday!

Some links are Amazon Affiliate. Thank you for your support!