Gifts

Something I've been thinking about lately...

I play a number of instruments, and most of them are completely by ear (I can't read music that well, and couldn't read it at all until until recently). Since I don't compete anymore or play in an orchestra or whatever, I don't mind. I make music purely for my own enjoyment and stress-relief.

A few months ago I was at a friend's house, playing on her piano. Now my friend is an amazingly gifted piano player. Like, her playing is just beautiful to listen to. She plays lots of gospel songs and hymns, and has stacks and stacks of sheet music. To play a song, she just picks one, flips a book open to that page...and just...just plays. It's beautiful.

So there I am, a little self-conscious, playing one of my songs, on her piano - while she's watching. (I believe it was the cover of "Song of Durin" by Clamavi de Profundis.)

Anyways, my friend is impressed, and says something like, "That's so cool that you can memorize that and don't need your music! I have to play with the sheets in front of me."

So there I was, envying how you can drop a new piece of music in front of her, and she just starts playing...while she was envying how I didn't need to look at music to play something.

Which set me to thinking...we all have our own gifts, and we are all different and it's absolutely amazing and beautiful.

I have a friend who plays the guitar by ear. He'd never played a banjo before, but after a minute or two, was able to play mine and join in a jam session.

Another friend plays only one instrument, but man does she play it well.

Another friend plays only by ear, and can improvise so well that you'd never know she was playing a new (to her) song. 

Another friend plays with sheet music, and can play something new all the way through just by reading the dots and lines and stuff.

Another friend was not naturally gifted, but through perseverance and hard work now plays her instrument splendidly.

Another friend just sings (but has an amazing voice).

Another doesn't play at all but loves listening.

One friend can tune an instrument by ear.

Another can tell when something is out of tune, but needs a tuner to help fix things.

We are all different. And we're all growing and learning. We can't compare ourselves to someone else. Some of us (or maybe our parents) paid for lessons. Others learned on our own. Some of us were born with some natural talent, others were born with determination.

I know we all say "stop comparing yourselves to others" and there are lots of motivational posts out there.

Today, I want to ask you: what little talent do you have? What can you do that you are you proud of? Comment below!

Writer's OTP Challenge

So I stole this from MK who stole this from The Splendor Falls On Castle Walls. I have no shame, apparently.

Here are the guidelines: You can fill this out with any of your WIPs, published books, or ideas-to-be-written.

I will be using characters from The Red War, Char ne Rayft, and Heritage of Kings. I will not say which books the characters are from in hopes that that will keep spoilers to a lower rate. :)

The first OTP you wrote

Shahima and Lars. First book I ever finished (they had different names then). Shahima was trained to be an Evonian Knight, and is fierce and independent and headstrong. Lars, a Forester, is just as stubborn and ready-to-fight, only he has a sense of humor. Together they help...well...spoilers...but basically, they didn't fall in love at first sight, but became friends simply when the war threw them together and they had to save the missing king.

Your cliché OTP from an early work that you still love

HAHAHA. Drew and Georgie. Second book I wrote. Drew was 100% based off Anakin Skywalker - hot temper, impatient, long wavy red hair, even had the scar. Georgie was the typical "girls can do everything better than boys and don't even give me a hand up I can get up myself thank you very much" kinda gal. They hated each other. Then tolerated each other. Then fell in love. I'm honestly surprised my beginning-writer-self managed to tie in their love story fairly neatly and realistically.

A hate-to-love OTP you’ve written. (Or your favorite, if you’ve written several)

Rashida and Coden. They were betrothed by their parents. Rashida hated Coden from the start, he tried his best to tolerate her though she frankly annoyed him to no end. Throw in some adventures (like scryrens, mysterious runes, and the end of the world) and they soon learned how to get along.

Your OTP with the craziest relationship

Gerim and Vanyar. Like, wow. Vanyar speaks several languages, has no social skills or filter, claims to be an historian, and has an extremely good sense of smell. Gerim is a wood right by trade, doesn't know what danger is, and is 100% down for any insane plan anyone has. I'm surprised they are both still alive.

Your best dressed OTP

Probably Cade and Jewel. She's super artsy and also makes a lot of their clothes herself, so she always makes sure their clothes are looking nice. Especially as they're both royalty (though middle children, so not in line for any thrones).

Star-crossed love: your forbidden love OTP

Hmmm. Actually don't really have one? Rashida was in love with another guy when she was betrothed to Coden, but I didn't ship her with that person. I also believe Georgie's parents weren't too thrilled about her getting engaged to a Kalt (Drew), but once they met him, they were fine with it.

Your funniest OTP

Joshi and Vop. Technically Joshi is a little teen boy and Vop is a strudel (though anything passed on as edible in the Shep Kingdom is liable to be suspect), but they were inseparable for an entire book, so I'm counting them as a funny OTP.

Your OTP with the healthiest relationship

Probably Rhun and Rabe. They have the most brain cells out of anyone in the entire series. He's a born leader, and she is sweet, and they just work together really well. They know how to put up with each other.

Your sweetest, most adorable OTP

Marra and Nato. Like, she's a princess with anger issues who was exiled from her home for many years, and Nato? Umm....his brother is someone important, and Nato just kind of went along on the trip for some excitement, and next thing you know he's been captured by slavers along with the sister of the Wolf Lord and the pirates for some reason think they're married and that the random orphan that was hanging around is apparently their son??

The OTP who snuck up on you, the one you didn't expect to love

Um...Riley and Lianna. She technically isn't in the series, but I wanted to find how what happened to Riley after the books ended, and wrote my own little fanfic novella thing, and Lianna showed up and at first she thought he was weird and he was kind of a little wary of her but wow they continued being awkward but it's all cool.

Your moodiest OTP

Rodian. The moody third-wheel (because I'm running out of OTPs and don't want to double-up). He gets to stand around and be grumpy while everyone else is spending time with their true love. Thinks he knows better than everyone, and would probably rather live in the woods by himself but he happens to like his friends (though he may not admit that to their face).

A class-crossed OTP you’ve written

Cadren and Tanneran. He's one of the Dreman Mountain Kings, and she was born a slave. And also tried to kill him a few times. They're both super awkward and shy and sweet, I love them to bits.

An OTP you wrote that most people don’t ship

So not many people have read my books, oddly enough...but I originally wrote Marywyn's ending in a way that she married a guy named Nahale. In the meantime, I totally shipped her with Duren. And finally Sarah looked at me and said "You're the author, you can change that." So I did.

Your very favorite OTP you'll love for the rest of your days

Marywyn and Duren. After all they've been through, it's only fair to let them continue looking out for each other. She comforts him and he encourages her. And I could ramble on and on about them but I won't. :)

Feel free to steal this tag, y'all! Let's share our favorite OTPs!!

Tips for Beta Authors

This is kind of in response to MK's awesome post about how to be a good beta reader. If you haven't read it, by all means, go check it out.

But I found it amusing that she posted that right when I was having my own book out to the betas (and MK was beta reading it for me, haha). And so I got to thinking...what about the author's side of the beta read?

Rule One - Do Not Take ANY Critiques Personally!

Before I did the beta read, I read the book aloud to Evan. For some reason, I found myself defending every comment given. Like...

Evan: "Wait, so why are they leaving the town?"
Me: *annoyed* "Because the guards are chasing them, but don't worry, we'll fix that in the next draft, but just know that the guards are chasing them."

Every time, folks, every time. Kudos to Evan for sticking through with me...

I should have been simply saying "oh, okay, thanks" and then making a note that I needed to clarify that everyone was being chased by the guards.

View each critique, each comment, as a suggestion to make your story better.


I assume you would have screened your beta readers, right? These aren't your worst enemies. They aren't determined to ruin your story. They're just pointing things out -- typos, plot holes -- that catch their attention.

Rule Two - You Make the Final Call

Remember what I said earlier about viewing the comments as suggestions?

Yes, view them as such. Wise suggestions, maybe. Good suggestions. But you do not have to comply.

You make the final call on this draft. However, please stop and consider the comments before disregarding. 

The beta readers may have valid points. Perhaps that scene is boring. Perhaps the plot is too predictable. Perhaps that one character does need to be cut. Maybe that one word should be replaced with a different one.

Perhaps that "boring" scene foreshadows something in a future book. Perhaps you believe your plot will still entertain. That boring character is important later. You really would like to keep that word you used.

Make your call, writer. In the end, this is your story.


Rule Three - Follow Along, or Sit Back

Right now, I have betas going through Ships, Secrets, and Survivors (the book that Sarah Rodecker and I are writing together). I have been reading every single comment that gets posted in the Google draft. I love seeing every "this doesn't make sense" comment, every "do you mean this word" comment, and every "oh, this is cool" comment.

Sarah, however, is not opening the doc. She's going about her normal life, not sweating this beta thing. She's not going to stress about what is going on in the doc. (Granted, I may have passed on a comment or two that I thought she would be interested to know about.) Her plan is to wait until everyone is through, and then join me as we start on the next draft. Then she'll treat every comment as a suggestion -- to be reviewed and responded to accordingly.

But if reading every new comment as soon as it's made will only make you stress over your writing, don't read along! 

Rule Four - Give Clear Instructions

If you don't want to receive a lot of "typo" comments, let your beta readers know before they begin! If you want them to only focus on the plot, or the characters, or the worldbuilding, let them know!

I like to put my instructions at the beginning of the doc, outlining what I want them to be on the lookout for while they are reading.

Rule Five - Thank Your Beta Readers!

They are devoting their spare time to reading your story! And not only are they reading it, but they're taking even more time to leave comments.

They are awesome, and make sure they know it!!

Anything else I should add? Anyone else had their story torn apart and fangirled over by beta readers?

One vs More

So some of y'all may already know this...but I currently only have one horse.

And coming from a girl who loved having 5-7 horses on the property...from a girl who dreams about owning allllllll kinds of different horses...from a girl who has been caring for ~4 horses for a few years now...it's weird to say this, but...

It's kind of nice only having one horse.

For one thing, my vet/farrier/feed costs have gone waaaaaaaaaay down.

Chores take less time.

And, ultimately, I have more time to spend with Pepper.

I no longer have to juggle which horses I need to ride, or beg friends/family to help me get them all ridden. I just...hop on Pepper and go.

It's nice. Less stressful. But at the back of my mind, I miss having all those horses in the pasture. I think of all the horses I could have, and wish I had tons of money to buy and care for them all.

I need to remember...having more horses will not make me happier. Having more horses will not make me a better horsewoman. Having more horses doesn't even make me more "cool" of a person.

What makes me happy is finishing a quick 4 mile ride with Pepper and realizing he was perfectly behaved for the whole trip. What makes me a better horsewoman is seeing how Pepper wasn't so well behaved when I purchased him, and he's only this way after years of me working with him. What makes me "cool" is that I have a well behaved horse that I trained myself.

I feel like this can be applied to writing.

We pride ourselves on all our stories. Our multi-book series WIPs that we are editing. The new idea that just we started fleshing out. That 200,000+ word draft we just completed. We love thinking about and talking about and fangirling about alllllll our stories.

But I think we all could benefit from taking a step back and thinking about something.

I have a friend who half a year ago, owned 9 horses/ponies. She was always begging me to come over and help ride them. She was paying tons of money for shoes and feed and was only riding each horse maybe once or twice on each new set of shoes/hoof trims. And her horses could be a handful because they weren't getting out a lot.

I have another friend who owns one horse. She rides him once or twice a week, and he is super calm and well behaved and is in pretty good shape.

Now think about all your WIPs.

Do you have a ton of them that are begging for your attention? Are you chipping away at all of them, working on each one a page at a time? Maybe some edits on this book here...some drafting another book there...now worldbuilding a third book for a little bit...all the while telling yourself someday these will all be published and it will be awesome!

My friend knew all her horses were good horses...but she just didn't have the time to devote riding all of them.

Currently she has her numbers down to 6, and is probably going to get them down to 4 by the end of spring, leaving her with 2 good horses and 2 good ponies for her kids.

It wasn't easy for her. But she's already happier and less stressed, knowing she can spend more time riding the few she has.

Are you the one ricocheting between all your WIPs, while another person has published one book and is starting on another new story? Are you tired of never reaching the end and having so many projects halfway finished?

I think we can all benefit from sitting back and saying...I will get all of these done someday, but I need to do it one at a time.

I love all my WIPs. My plan is to have them all published someday. But I picked my favorite and I'm pushing it with all I've got. That will soon be finished, and finished completely. Then I can pick back up with the next thing.

I miss 2018, when I had 4 horses. But I am also looking forward to spending all my evenings and Saturdays riding Pepper, or even helping friends get all their horses ridden. It wasn't easy...but I think it's for the best.

I miss the days when I was working on alllll the stories...but I am looking forward to completely wrapping up The Red War Trilogy this year and having that under my belt so I can begin the next adventure.

What about y'all? Do you need to sit back and decide...it may not be easy, but it might be time to put down everything but one story...and begin the long and slow march to finish one book at a time.

Writing only one book at a time does not make you less of a writer. It helps you to be a more focused writer. And it may be the faster path to you being a published writer.

I don't tell people about the 15 unfinished drafts I have. I tell them "I have one published piece of flash fiction, and a fantasy trilogy that is currently out with a few publishing houses."

And that's what I'm working on.

What about y'all? If I asked the dreaded oh, you're a writer? What are you working on? question...what kind of an answer would I get? Drop it below in the comments!

March Wrap-Up

First things first, yes, I'm still alive. COVID-19 isn't changing my life much (though grocery store trips are less frequent). Still working. Still going about my daily life as much as possible.

I've mostly been doing farm chores and working with Sarah Rodecker to get Ships, Secrets, and Survivors ready for the beta readers.

Lots of things outdoors, since it's finally warming up.

Sold another horse early in the month (Spirit, the Tennessee Walker).

Louie photobombing Ragnar's picture.

Going out for a ride with Pepper. I think most of our time was spent getting him clean, lol.

Found the first lizard of the year while cleaning the barn.

Burning old wood and hay and branches after cleaning the barn and pastures out.

Farm picnic - supper on the flatbed!

To keep Max from getting underfoot while collecting branches, simply insert the puppers into a bucket in the back of the truck.

Max is growing!! <3 He's been coming out with me on farm work days and keeping me company.

Puppy selfie in the truck.

Pepper is finally shedding his winter coat!

Reading at the creek with Ragnar.

Hope y'all have been doing well. Is anyone else doing Camp NaNo in April? Has anyone broken out their shorts and flip-flops yet? (I have.) Any exciting plans while folks are in QT?