Insecure Writer's Support Group

I've been away from my blog for more time than usual as I finish up the last few chapters of my final novel in my Dragon Stone Trilogy and I re-write and edit a short story for a book. I apologize to my readers, since it is you who are left hanging.

I've been at a loss for what to post the last couple of weeks. My mind has been wavering on wondering why I should continue to post and what is it I could possibly have to say. Today I will tell you I'm feeling overwhelmed by edits and re-writes that make me wonder if my work is up to par. Perhaps all writers go through this stage while trying to get a manuscript published, and I shouldn't get too worried about it.

Whatever the reason, I can't wait to come up for air so I can take a breather. I'm swamped with chopping adverbs and re-arranging sentences to make the best presentation. Now, even when I'm writing a single paragraph of a letter, I find myself doing re-writes.

Do I feel insecure today? Absolutely! But the famous saying, this too shall pass, is hanging on my lips as I struggle onward.

Coming soon: Dragon's Fury (Dragon Stone Trilogy, Book 3)
 
Darius, the seventh son of the King’s new acolyte, is wanted by the King. Escaping arrest, he’s given a dragon stone and a dragon egg to guard until the egg hatches. Taking the egg to the desert, where the Zandir place him under their protection, the dragon hatches and becomes a loyal friend and fierce protector. The Great One, Zandir’s voice of the gods, gives them a mission to save the kingdom of Mar and reveals the well-kept secret that there is one left alive of the true King’s line. The Queen of Mar has been in hiding with the Zandir. But the false King refuses to go quietly and is exposed as an evil sorcerer that has been traveling through the timelines, taking what he will.

Congratulations

I'm giving myself a big pat on the back! I wrote a short story, Damian of the Gods, and it has been selected as the 3rd prize winner in a short story contest. It will be published in the Dragon Knight Chronicles, an online publication.

When I wrote this story, I had no idea that it would actually become selected from all their entries. In fact, recently, I've been feeling a little perplexed about my place in the scheme of things. Does my writing measure up? Is it actually giving my readers what they want?

Dragon Knight Chronicles called my story exciting. I had to go back and re-read Damian of the Gods to discover what it was about. It was about a young man discovering his place in the world and whether he was ruled by the gods or if he ruled himself. I sometimes ask that same question. You know, the chicken or the egg? Anyway, it was good to get some recognition. I think we all need that once in a while.

Have you written any short stories lately? Have you entered them in any contests? It takes guts to enter your stories, doesn't it? It steels the nerves, even when most of the time you don't win.

Aspiring Writers

As an aspiring writer, I got a kick out of this diagram. So many times I sit down to write and wonder why I decided to do this. I'm on the last part of my new novel, Dragon's Fury, and I've been writing and re-writing the same passages for the last week and a half. The ending is the worst part for me. It has to be just right. I'm sure you've had a little of these feelings, haven't you?

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month and the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post about our feelings and what ever comes to mind. To go to the main web page click HERE.

I had a backlash from the A to Z Challenge, deciding that I wouldn't post again until my brain recouped from posting every day for the month of April. I enjoyed the challenge of posting every day, but to do it all the time would cause me to become a little neurotic. So, I'll be bringing you posts 2-3 times a week, or whenever something exciting rolls around.

Today I'd like to give you a sneak peek at my book cover for Dragon's Fury (Dragon Stone Trilogy, Book 3). My artist, Natisha Reid, just sent this to me and I wanted to get your feedback.

Dragon's Fury is the final chapter in the story of the dragon's war against evil. I hope to have to out in August for your reading enjoyment. It all depends on the editing time.

Zenith

Today is the last day of the A to Z April Challenge. Hurrah! I've had a lot of fun learning about new things and I hope you did too. I have to commend Susan Gourley/Kelley for visiting me almost every day since the beginning (maybe it was every day) and thanks to the rest of you for your support. If you want to go to the main web page to  visit other participants, click HERE.

I chose Fantasy as my theme, but I couldn't find what I wanted, so I'll talk about Zenith, because it might be incorporated in a fantasy story.

The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, ie, the direction in which gravity pulls, is toward the nadir.

Zenith may be used as a name which means success and power.

The term zenith is sometimes used to refer to the highest point reached by a celestial body during its apparent orbit around a given point of observation. This sense of the word is often used to describe the location of the Sun (The sun reached its zenith...), but to an astronomer the sun does not have its own zenith, and is at the zenith only if it is directly overhead.

In a scientific context, the zenith is the direction of reference for measuring the zenith angle between a direction of interest (e.g., a star) and the local zenith.

In astronomy, the attitude in the horizontal coordinate system and the zenith angle are complementary angles, with the horizon perpendicular to the zenith. The astronomical meridian is also determined by the zenith, and is defined as a circle on the celestial sphere that passes through the zenith, nadir, and the celestial poles.

Now that you have all that scientific jargon in your head, jot down the beginning of a story. I decided on one about a girl who loves space travel and can travel long distances by jumping when the sun is on its zenith with her point. Have I got it? In fantasy you can bend the rules, but it helps to have the facts so your readers stay grounded. How about you?

Yemanja

Today is the 25th day of the A to Z April Challenge, with one more day to go! Phew! Almost there, guys. If you've been following this challenge, you know that the participants of this blog hop post on the alphabet every day except Sunday. If you want to go to the main web page to visit other players, click HERE.

I chose Fantasy as my theme, but today I'm posting about the deity Yemanja.

Yemanja is an orisha (a spirit or deity), originally of the Yoruba religion, who has become prominent in many Afro-American religions. Yoruba people, from what is now called Yorubaland, brought Yemaya/Yemoja and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them when they were brought to the shores of the Americas as captives. She is the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a fierce protector of children.

 Because the Afro-American religions were transmitted as part of a long oral tradition, there many regional variations on the goddess's name. She is represented with Our lady of Regla and Stella Maris.

• Africa: Yemoja, Ymoja, Yemowo, Mami Wata
• Brazil: Lemanja, Janaina
• Cuba: Yemaya, Yemayah, lemanya, Madre Agua
• Haiti: La Sirene, LaSiren
• USA: Yemalla, Yemana, Yemoja
• Uruguay: lemanja
• Suriname: Watra Mama
• Dominican Republic: Yemalla or La Diosa del mar (sea goddess)

Yemaja is said to be the mother of all orisha. She is also the spirit of water, and her favorite number is 7.

In Yoruba mythology, Yemoja is a mother goddess, patron deity of women especially pregnant women, and the Ogun river. Her parents are Oduduwa and Obatala. There are many stories as to how she became the mother of all saints. She was married to Aganju  and had one son, Orungan, and fifteen Orishas came forth from her. They include Ogun, Olokun, Shopona and Shango. Other stories would say that Yemaya was always there in the beginning and all life came from her, including all of the orishas.

In world building, it's good to know about deities and beliefs so as we write we can make our own deities if we so choose. Many times it's up to the author to establish a belief system for the characters in their story. Have you built a belief system in your stories?

Xanadu

Today is the 24th day of the A to Z April Challenge. Participants in this blog hop post on a letter of the alphabet every day except Sunday. To go to the main web page to visit other players, click HERE.

I chose Fantasy as my theme and today I chose the word Xanadu. Because there is little known about this it will be a short post. Sorry.

Xanadu is a Mandarin word that is pronounced Shandu. It was the summer capital of Kublai Kahn's Yaun empire. It is also associated with fictitious places.

Other words associated with Xanadu are: Arcadia, dreamland, dreamworld, Eden, heaven, land of milk and honey, paradise, promised land, never-never land, Shangri-La, wonderland.

I want to build a story in Xanadu. A paradise land where fairies are real and magic abounds. Have you ever written about a land such as Xanadu? Maybe it has a different name, but has the same amount of wonder in it? It would be a nice place to visit when you want to relax and imagine things with you muse.