Vel's Word Garden @velsworldgarden - Tumblr Blog

Why Palace of Dragons?

There are several projects on my flash drive that I could have focused on, and for a time, did. My original focus had been RockStar (a now discontinued project as I rework it into a 10 book series). I’ll get more into RockStar at another time. I want to share why I went with PoD and not another project.

PoD would have originally been one book, but I changed my mind and made it a trilogy in a much larger series. Only PoD is it’s an alternate timeline froma series I’ve been wanting to work on for the longest (even down to having some starts for those projects. I started PoD and posted it to Inkitt on a whim. Just to have something that I was consistently working on that wasn’t a fanfic.

Inkitt ended up hosting a Fantasy contest, which gave me the motivation to work on it a little bit more. I even worked on the cover for all three books while still doing school (mostly because my school gave me access to Photoshop and other Adobe programs as well as an Adobe course). I have quite a few versions of the cover and eventually made one I really like.

I chose PoD because it wasn’t a project that would mentally and emotionally drain me as RockStar tends to do.

Here’s the thing about RockStar, it focuses heavily on trauma and how one feels dealing with the mental health issues caused by that trauma. It’s from my own experiences as well as that of those around me, so the characters do have the qualities of people I know. However, the project needs work. By the time the contests I put Bonds in came around, I had decided that RockStar would be 10 books. However, my brain had been running on ideas for PoD so I chose that as my go-to project.

My reasoning for this is I enjoy writing fantasy and that’s what at least one of the contests focused on. So it helped, plus I have been more excited for this timeline than the original one. It was also the one project where my focus was solely on two characters and not almost 10 of them (side eyes RockStar).

The thing is I enjoy working on Palace of Dragons. I enjoy the world it’s in and I’m excited for the way it’s going.. my goal has always been to provide quality writing for others. And this is one such project where I can do that and not worry that I’ve trauma dumped too much on the characters.

To be fair PoD was not the only project placed in a contest. Those contests also included Shifted Worlds and some others that never got finished I just lost interest in.

I hope you guys enjoy the PoD trilogy as much as I enjoy writing about Lynzær and Sēris. I am working on Book 2 and a few of the chapters are up already.. All you have to do is click the link in my bio and see for yourself.

This one is a bit of a doozy. For planners, one project can be overwhelming. Never mind multiple projects. Which is a thing I struggled with for so long. All the ideas fill in at the same time and want to be worked on simultaneously. I learned the hardway that this can actually lead to burnout.

As a creative, burnout is never the goal. Especially, when some of us find it harder to get back into our craft after being away for so long. Like when work takes up more and more of your time until you no longer find joy in creating for a while.

To better stay on track and keep burnout away for as long as possible, I realized two things. I can work on multiple projects. All I have to do is make one a priority.

A priority project is the one that will get the most attention. Background projects are more for when you feel burnout settling in, or are stuck. This is how I finished Palace of Dragons: Bonds. That was my priority project. Meanwhile, I had fanfictions, and other originals I worked on to keep the flow going whenever I felt stuck or like I was reaching that point where I no longer wanted to write.

Having a priority project ensures that I know what my goal is. This means that anything for that project comes before anythign for another project. Right now, my priority project is Draconian Blades. This means going back over Bonds as well as organizing my thoughts into notes that are understandable to me to provide a quality sequel.

If you’re someone who posts everything you write after a few chapters this means that your Wattpad/Inkitt/Royal Road/etc. account might have quite a few unfinished projects. That’s not a bad thing. Keep your readers updated on what’s happening with those projects. Schedule more time for your priority project and let whimsy take over for your side ones. It’s also good to note that sometimes the side project helps one to better understand the focus project.

I’m still learning the ups and downs of having a Primary project and side projects. And still get overwhelmed occasionally. Usually because there’s so much I want to do with the project. That brings me to the other part of this. Sometimes managing multiple projects means knowing what you want to make time for. Everyone’s writing methods are different. Sometimes that secondary project looks more enticing than the primary one. And that’s perfectly fine.

Never ever feel guilty for working on a project that brings you joy.. after all sometimes, getting out of your system is a lot better than letting it build up to the point that you may hate your primary project because by then it feels more like a burden than a project you want to work on.

Finally, remember to take healthy breaks in between. Nothing is more painful than forcng yourself to do something you don’t wnat to. Finishing a writing project you hate is more painful than not finishing at all. Take your time. IT’s what I do. Everyone who said not to write when inspiration strikes doesn’t realize that that is not a solution for everyone. I will swear by having back up side projects and a focus project, but this may not work for everyone the same way it works for me.

velsworldgarden

Dialogue Tags and Why I Don’t Use Them

his is a pre-emptive post. A lot of my writing doesn’t use dialogue tags and therefore many have found it a little hard to tell my characters apart. I’m still working on making them less alike than they tend to be when I start out on a project. Normally this is because the project is not fully planned and I’m running with what’s in my head. However, there is a very large reason for how this developed into being over time.

I love dialogue first and foremost, I however loathe dialogue tags. Yes, I originally started out with them, but as my writing progressed and I learned newer things I realized I did not like seeing dialogue tags. Dialogue tags, for me, pull away from the story. As someone who found safety and security in books, this wasn’t an ideal feeling to have. To me stories are the one place where we’re not judged, because it’s happening in our head. It comes from our imagination. The inner workings of a mind trying to keep at the darker parts of life. Even if it's for a short period of time.

In an effort to provide this same feeling not just for myself, but for others I began omitting dialogue tags.

“Well how do you know which character is speaking?”

Simple. All of my dialogue tag details go on a separate line. Or a separate paragraph. As noted above. That includes intonation, which character is speaking, and everything else that goes behind what’s spoken by one character or another. Now, If I’m handwriting, that’s a different story. When I handwrite, every character gets their own pen color. (I’ve a fairly large collection of Pilot G2 pens thanks to this). When handwriting I don’t worry too much about the who or the how for dialogue. That either gets added in in draft 2 or I’ve done a good enough job of clarifying who has spoken.

Probably not the most effective way to work on a project, but it’s helped me at the least. It’s also easier to make sure I’m covering all the little miniscule things for these particular sections. Would using dialogue tags properly help my writing? Maybe, but this isn’t something I intend to give up. That would also mean I’d have to find some obscure use for the over 40 or so pens I have in my possession. And I've taken up enough hobbies to last me a lifetime if I’m honest.

I don’t want the fact that I won’t use them to deter you from reading my work. And while I’m used to getting complaints from people about not using them, please do not contact me to complain that you didn’t like what I wrote because I choose to not use dialogue tags. I’m not going to care and it would be a genuine waste of your time. I don’t mean this to be rude, but with a fore warning, and maybe a first chapter if this is not how you’re being introduced to me and my work, It’s kind of your own fault. However, I will clear up anything if it’s pointed out. I’m still growing as a writer. And instead of telling me you hated what I wrote because of this, it’d be a lot easier to just tell me “Hey, this part confused me”. This tells me that there are things I still need to work on.

At the end of the day, I want you to be able to read what I wrote and not have to worry that something isn’t clarified or concise. Bashing me isn’t going to do that. Nor will it make me stop writing. If anything, I'll probably make a note to avoid you in all facets of life. With that said, I apologize in advance if this really made reading unenjoyable for you.

velsworldgarden

Thank you @vectrathebean and everyone who got me to 5 reblogs!

#5 reblogs #tumblr milestone #thank you

Dialogue Tags and Why I Don’t Use Them

his is a pre-emptive post. A lot of my writing doesn’t use dialogue tags and therefore many have found it a little hard to tell my characters apart. I’m still working on making them less alike than they tend to be when I start out on a project. Normally this is because the project is not fully planned and I’m running with what’s in my head. However, there is a very large reason for how this developed into being over time.

I love dialogue first and foremost, I however loathe dialogue tags. Yes, I originally started out with them, but as my writing progressed and I learned newer things I realized I did not like seeing dialogue tags. Dialogue tags, for me, pull away from the story. As someone who found safety and security in books, this wasn’t an ideal feeling to have. To me stories are the one place where we’re not judged, because it’s happening in our head. It comes from our imagination. The inner workings of a mind trying to keep at the darker parts of life. Even if it's for a short period of time.

In an effort to provide this same feeling not just for myself, but for others I began omitting dialogue tags.

“Well how do you know which character is speaking?”

Simple. All of my dialogue tag details go on a separate line. Or a separate paragraph. As noted above. That includes intonation, which character is speaking, and everything else that goes behind what’s spoken by one character or another. Now, If I’m handwriting, that’s a different story. When I handwrite, every character gets their own pen color. (I’ve a fairly large collection of Pilot G2 pens thanks to this). When handwriting I don’t worry too much about the who or the how for dialogue. That either gets added in in draft 2 or I’ve done a good enough job of clarifying who has spoken.

Probably not the most effective way to work on a project, but it’s helped me at the least. It’s also easier to make sure I’m covering all the little miniscule things for these particular sections. Would using dialogue tags properly help my writing? Maybe, but this isn’t something I intend to give up. That would also mean I’d have to find some obscure use for the over 40 or so pens I have in my possession. And I've taken up enough hobbies to last me a lifetime if I’m honest.

I don’t want the fact that I won’t use them to deter you from reading my work. And while I’m used to getting complaints from people about not using them, please do not contact me to complain that you didn’t like what I wrote because I choose to not use dialogue tags. I’m not going to care and it would be a genuine waste of your time. I don’t mean this to be rude, but with a fore warning, and maybe a first chapter if this is not how you’re being introduced to me and my work, It’s kind of your own fault. However, I will clear up anything if it’s pointed out. I’m still growing as a writer. And instead of telling me you hated what I wrote because of this, it’d be a lot easier to just tell me “Hey, this part confused me”. This tells me that there are things I still need to work on.

At the end of the day, I want you to be able to read what I wrote and not have to worry that something isn’t clarified or concise. Bashing me isn’t going to do that. Nor will it make me stop writing. If anything, I'll probably make a note to avoid you in all facets of life. With that said, I apologize in advance if this really made reading unenjoyable for you.

How I Started Writing

I was an avid reader before I began writing. By avid, I mean by the time I was in 5th grade I was on a 12th grade reading level. And I know some of y'all might remember the whole reading challenge where you had to read a book based in a certain section of the library that corresponded with your reading level.

It didn't work so well for me, which meant I was generally reading something I was interested in because no elementary school had the books required for me to read "on my level". That means I was reading HP and Animorphs and anything that typically piqued my interest.

I also spent time watching anime. So, shows like FMA (before brotherhood dropped), Inuyasha, Naruto, Rave Master, etc. By fifth grade I was getting in trouble for reading because we'd come in from recess and I'd gotten absorbed into whatever book I had on me.

What really gave me the push was a friend of mine suggesting that I write fanfic. I'd already kind of been into writing before this, but nothing I wrote ever felt like it had substance and we did a lot of role-playing in our neighborhood. Let's just stay my first collab writing project was with my friend and her brother. I still have this project and often cringe at it, but it's where I officially started writing.

By the time I hit 8th grade I knew what I wanted to do. Well, sort of. Quizilla was still a thing then so I kept writing, but I was never consistent enough to pick up too much traction with my work. In high school my librarian introduced me to Wattpad. I'd go on to make more than one account because of lost emails and lost passwords. Chaotic, I know. When Quizilla shut down I moved to Wattpad fully and started using Quotev (this one looks like it's going the way of Quizilla and it wasn't bought by Nick Canon so that's crazy).

I took up Horticulture in high school, but knew my freshman year I wanted to be a writer. It was not an ideal choice for my adoptive parents. Still I stuck by it. It's taken me years to get to where I am now in my writing career. "But you're not published!"

True, I'm not. Not in the traditional sense that you can buy my books from a bookstore or something similar enough. However, I now post solely on Inkitt. I write in my spare time when I'm not burnt out from it. I buy notebooks to write by hand still. I've bought both the Mac and Windows version of Scrivener. I've finally found a writing strategy that works for me.

I'm learning to plan my books in a way that I can understand. This I'll get into in another post. I no longer edit as I write as often as I used to and I'm picking up on the little things I miss when I go back through and read my work to myself. And all of this is possible because one person believed in my ability to write and create good stories and now so do quite a few others. My journey is far from over, but I'm getting there and that little push is really all it took.