Quick update on various things:
I have a Wattpad account now! My username is Jes-wyvern. So far I only have Brightheart and The Faithful Ones (second draft!) getting uploaded there. I’m updating The Faithful Ones on Wednesdays and Brightheart on Sundays.
NaNoWriMo 2019 is over. I was typing up The Faithful Ones to a very ambitious word goal that I shrank several times to something a bit more reasonable, but it was stressful nevertheless.
The year is almost over — where’d it go?
Anyway, I’ve been re-reading the ‘Chronicles of Obernewtyn’ by Isobelle Carmody over the year, and being a writer-in-practice I have an eye for good world-building and character creation. Obernewtyn is a story about a girl, Elspeth, with mind-powers who must save the world from a second cataclysm. It’s sort of post-apocalyptic fantasy, and it’s set in an alternate reality/timeline where our time (‘the Beforetime’, which is more advanced than we are) has been destroyed by a nuclear holocaust.
You can really see the characters grow, and the world is built extremely well. Even simple things like using specific words in specific settings to distinguish them and show differences between the two ages. One time when I was reading on the bus I looked out the window for a moment and honestly felt like I’d been talking to a really good friend, despite the fact that I was only reading a book and not talking to Elspeth personally. You really get to see her traits and thought processes throughout the books, drawing you in to care about her and connect with her.
The story is very well written and very enjoyable.
Have a good day!