The Slowest Month of the Year: Get the Cupcake

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but January is the slowest month of the year. Post lots of vacation time, post family fun, post presents and yummy food, all that remains is the unending darkness of January. I love the snow, I love the rain, but I also miss the sun.

Despite January being the slowest month of the year, it is also (as it turns out) the one that has the potential to be the most productive for me. Painfully productive, perhaps, but still productive nonetheless.

I think being motivated is a struggle for anyone. When a project is new and fresh and exciting, motivation is easy, but once it gets into the second mile, it becomes drudgerous. Menial. Dull.  

I have a few strategies that I use to keep myself moving forward, but there is one concept that I play on repeat in my brain: 

It might sound lame, but I have dozens of variations to keep myself engaged: 

• Just keep trudging
• One step at a time
• One thing at a time
• Every thing you did is one thing you don't have to do now; every thing you do now is one thing you don't have to do later
• One foot in front of the other
• and the ever polite, KEEP GOING YOU LAZY GOOD-FOR-NOTHING BUM

I also sometimes use sticker charts, or guilt myself into working, or starve myself into working. Calendars with blocks of time designed for writing or marketing help. I listen to the songs my brother writes, I read work by someone who inspires me, I even sometimes read the pieces I've written that I love. At my worst I recruit my friends and family to help. "Refuse to talk to me until I finish X. Can I have a treat if I do Y? Please berate me until I start working again."  

When I'm feeling like being kind to myself, I give myself the quiet reminder that I actually like the work I am procrastinating on, and the fact that I don't want to do it is silly and wrong. This works surprisingly often.

And it seems, that despite January being a dark, lonely, depressing month (with exciting moments filled with beautiful snow and interesting weather), I manage to get the cupcake. 

I don't actually know if that is a cupcake or not, but it looks like one so I'm going to go with it. At very least, it's a Corgi Cupcake, right?

Let me know in the comments if you have any other strategies for getting the cupcake, moving forward, and not giving up! I'm always looking to add to my sleeve of tricks.

Building Characters With Red Pandas

A lot of authors write about how their characters have a mind of their own, always choosing their own path and making a mess of the story the writer was trying to write. Most advise allowing the characters to carve out their own way, under the assumption that these characters (aka your subconscious) probably know what they're doing. I think most would also agree, however, that sometimes you need to whip your characters into shape.

I find that my characters, while still in my head, are a lot like red pandas. Adorable, spunky, and not entirely sure what's going on. I also think that red pandas can teach us a lot about building great characters, so here are some of my strategies for building characters with red pandas.

1. If you surprise your characters, sometimes they do funny things.

Red pandas are masters of the art of escape. They are great at climbing and swimming, and are energetic and curious. It's called personality.

Surprising your character can mean anything from introducing or killing off another character, throwing them into an unexpected situation, or telling them something about themselves that they didn't already know (I AM YOUR FATHER). When you do this you give yourself opportunities for more character development, and also learn something about them along the way.

2. Every character needs a challenge.

Red pandas do well in captivity, but in the wild, their survival is threatened by poaching, habitat degradation, and deforestation.

Even minor characters need a challenge, whether it's something as simple as figuring out how to open a door, or something as complicated as being in a relationship. Challenges are what make us who we are as humans, and challenges provide depth for even the most minor characters.

3. Give each character a thing.

Fun fact: red pandas aren't pandas. They actually have their own family, which is part of the superfamily that includes raccoons and weasels. 

Give each character a thing. This thing might be a tic of some sort, a weird piece of clothing that they wear, a turn of phrase that they frequently use, a common hand gesture, an unusual facial feature, or any other thing. This thing will help ground your character, both for you and the reader. Remember, your readers don't know your characters as well as you do, so having a thing can help them keep your characters from blurring together, particularly at the beginning of a piece. It can also give you something to ground yourself as you move forward with developing the character.

4. Where did they come from? Who did they used to be?

Red pandas live at an altitude between 7,200 and 15,700 feet. They like a mix of conifer and deciduous trees, and prefer temperatures between 50 and 75 degrees F. Don't we all. 

I have a history. You have a history. The only people who don't have a history are people in witness protection and/or criminals that have managed to erase their identities. And even then, they still have a history, it's just a secret. History can equal a variety of things: people you've known, things you've done, education, family, friends, old apartments, jobs, etc. Your character has one of these too. Now, you may not need to know every detail of a character's life, but you should have a general idea of who they are and what they've been through. These details come through in dialogue, actions, and decisions, no matter how small.

5. Something in the way you move.........*

Red pandas have shorter front legs. This gives them a waddling gait, which is absolutely adorable.

Every individual has a distinctive style of movement. This is something I am working on incorporating into my characters. Non-verbal communication is as important as dialogue. For example, a person that is defensive might cross their arms and hunch forward. But a person trying to make himself look bigger or more intimidating might also cross his arms, but he would lift his head and push his shoulders back. What unique patterns of movement do your characters have that differentiate them from each other and from characters in other books?

We all know that the characters in our books aren't real... but what if they are? This is one of my favourite thought experiments. What if every book I write, every story, every idea, creates a pocket universe where my characters live and breathe and exist? What if I'm creating a window to a parallel universe? What if the voices in my head are real? 

Then it is my responsibility to treat them as people. Give them voices. Don't sell them short. Give them the best representation of who they are that I can. After all, characters are people, too.

*From the Beatles

All images are from Giphy.

Writing in Winter

It's winter, and at least where I live, it's cooooold. And with the cold comes an onslaught of complaining about snow and cold and ice and dark, and general overall grumpiness. We all do it sometimes.

In fact, I am one of the few people I know that admits to liking winter, even when I'm wearing my gloves and coat at my desk. I love snow, for starters. It's so beautiful and deadly and mysterious. And I love any excuse to not take out the trash (it's snowing) or to stay in bed longer (it's too cold). There's a sort of coziness to being trapped in the house with the wind howling outside and water frozen into peculiar shapes raining down from the sky.

But the most notable thing about winter, is that although cold and dark, it offers something that other seasons do not: time. And as a writer, time is something I often do not make enough of.

This is me, Ariele the writer, grateful for an excuse to not go outside.

What shall I do instead, then? I ask myself.

Get something to drink?

Listen to some music?

Have some dinner?

But, once I've run out of excuses to procrastinate...

...I suddenly realize I have time to write. There is no reason to leave, no reason to go outside, no excuse to ignore the characters yelling at me inside my head.

During other seasons, I would have procrastinated and then run out of time due to the variety of extra activities I generally engage in - going to the beach, walking, gardening, etc. But in the winter (particularly January and February) there is nothing going on. So all I am left with is time to write.

That's not all winter offers though. When I stare out the window at the stark, cold, white and grey landscape, there is an emptiness just begging to be filled. There is a romance hiding among the snowflakes. There is inspiration, waiting to be had.

I guess that's what words are for.

Blog Tour Wrap-Up

Over the last few months I have been engaged in a blog tour to promote the launch of my most recent book, The Wounded World. During this time I have been hosted by a number of wonderful authors, and in return I would like to send a shout-out to each of them. Please check out their work, buy their books, and find them on social media. Buying an author's book might be the best gift you can give them this holiday season!

1. Zoe Cannon hosted the first blog on my tour, an excerpt of The Wounded World. Her YA dystopian Internal Series is interesting, intense, and dark. Check out her books if you like intrigue!
2. The second stop on my blog tour was to H.S. Stone's site, where he hosted a post about what would happen if my main characters had iPhones.  H.S. Stone is a young adult speculative fiction author with 5 novels out and several short stories.
3. Amy Rachiele's blog was my next stop! She hosted a post wherein my main character, Quin, goes on a date. Rachiele's mobster, alpha male romances are exciting, steamy, and fun.
4. Next up: J. Zachary Pike hosted a few fun facts about my universe! If you're looking for a light, humorous, science fiction read - go no further. Zack's Orconomics will have you chuckling all the way through.
5. K.W. Keith is another romance author, and she hosted a post about some of the technology I played with in my novels, including Doors and the eco-friendly house. Steamy and filled with intrigue, her books are sure to delight any romance fan.
6. Urban fantasy and zombies is how I would describe R.T. Donlon, author of Walls. He graciously hosted my post about why my main planet is shaped like a donut.
7. Being in love with words the way I am, my next post was about exactly that. I was hosted by contemporary romance and women's fiction author Susan Ann Wall during NH Writer's week.
8. A post identifying movie actors to play my characters was up next! Thanks to Sarah Dalton, YA speculative fiction author from South Yorkshire. Fun fact: neither of us drinks coffee!
9. Can't have too much back story, and so you'll find some of mine on author Jamie Campbell's blog. Jamie writes across several genres, including ghost stories, teenage love stories, and murder mysteries.
10. Finally, meet Katie French, who hosted my post on building planets. Check out her YA dystopian series The Breeders for a little post-Christmas fun (or not fun).

There you have it: all ten in a row. I am extremely grateful to each of these authors for kindly hosting me on their blog. Check out and buy their books, find them on social media, and tell them I sent you.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

How to Apologize for your Series not Being a Trilogy

Today I am proud to host Katie French, author of the series, The Breeders. 

Katie French imagined herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher. It was about birds and frankly, it wasn't very good, but it sparked a love of literature.  In middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first young adult novel. This thoroughly solidifying her status as a class-A nerd. She currently works as a high school English teacher, a job that she loves even when it exhausts her. In her free time she writes, reads great books, and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children.  She is represented by Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary. Her young adult best selling series, The Breeders, is available now on Amazon. 

I’ll admit it here before God and everybody: I broke a cardinal rule of the dystopian series. I did not write a trilogy. Now, once the audible gasp of horror settles down, I want to take a moment to defend myself. My series, The Breeders, will not be ending after my latest installment releases. The reasons for this are legion, but I will give you my favorite. I love a long series. The two best series in my book are The Dark Tower by Stephen King and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. If you haven’t read them, crawl out of your nuclear bomb shelter and head to your local library. If you have read them, you know what a long series can do to a person. Reading these books changed me, for good or ill, only my husband can be the judge. But a long series give the reader time to form some serious bonds with the characters. I wanted that for my readers.

However, I know that some readers will be disappointed when they get to the end of book three and see there is no neat, red-ribbon ending. So, I’ve compiled a list of things I will say to them to excuse my egregious disdain for modern dystopianism.

Tactic 1 – Denial: “What do you mean the series didn’t end with book three? I can’t believe they’d mess up like that. Well, that’s what you get when you rely on Amazon. You know those money-hungry fools are always trying to gouge the little man.”

Tactic 2 – Distraction: “What? Oh, my series? It didn’t end? Speaking of series, did you hear that on the next season of Orange is the New Black that Crazy Eyes and Piper get married? No, really it’s true. I heard it on Access Hollywood.”

Tactic 3 – The “Justin Beiber”: “Yeah, so my series isn’t a trilogy. Who cares? I’ve got good hair and chicks dig me. If I call you baby with my eyes half-lidded, you’ll forget your last name.”

Tactic 4 – Saying Sorry: “I’m sorry that you’ll have to read more heart-pounding, page-turning books. Imagine all the levels of Candy Crush you’ll miss reading more of my stuff.”

Tactic 5 – Honesty:  “I want to give you more in Riley’s world. Stick around. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.”

All jokes aside, I hope you like book three enough to read book four. And really, if we love books and the characters that inhabit them, don’t we wish for more? What I wouldn’t give for another Harry Potter book or another ride with Roland toward the Dark Tower. I hope that someday someone feels the same way about my books. I hope I don’t let them down. 

Learn more about Katie and The Breeders by visiting any of these links: 

Check out her Blog / Find her on Facebook / Holla at her on Twitter / Find her books on Amazon / Find her on GoodReads

The third book in the award-winning, best-selling dystopian series, The Breeders.

 They’ve escaped the Breeders.

 They’ve  broken out of the Citadel.

Now, after all they’ve been through, Riley, Clay, and Ethan know one thing for sure: nothing tastes sweeter than freedom. And no one can rest easy with Auntie Bell in bondage. The group journeys home to rescue her and liberate Clay’s town from the cruel Warden. But when an ally betrays them, they must face the very enemy they’ve been trying to avoid.

 Captured and separated, Riley is sold to a slave-owner who uses human beings for sport, while Clay and Ethan become the latest in a series of lab rats to be poked and prodded. As a slave, Riley conceals her identity to survive among the other benders, but it’s only a matter of time before a dangerous job takes her life. Clay and Ethan find themselves a war zone between a madwoman and marauders. And the odd don’t look good. 

Reviews: 

"Thrilling, chilling, and creepy in all the right ways, The Benders will more than satiate French's fans!" --S.K. Falls, bestselling dystopian author of World of Shell and Bone

 “A full throttle race to the finish, The Benders is electrifying. The third book in The Breeders Series only made me hungrier for the next.” --Kimberly Shursen, author of thrillers HUSH, Lottery and Itsy Bitsy Spider

 "Once again, the characters you know and love are in peril. Don’t pick up The Benders if you have an appointment to make or a train to catch." --Amy R. Biddle, author of The Atheist's Prayer