Odds & Ends

Reading

Honestly, I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, which I’m trying to combat by rereading a bunch of old favorites, starting with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Pure comedy GOLD, I tell you. I think the best are the first three (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, and The Last Straw), but any of them are hilarious and guaranteed to put you in a good mood.

Researching

One of my current WIPs is about pirates (as in, the much more romantic idea of pirates, but still) so I've had to force myself to do some research. She Captains by Joan Druett has been my favorite resource so far—it’s chock full of fascinating details and fun reading to boot.

Getting Outside

I’m one of the biggest couch potatoes ever, so this more of a goal than something I'm doing a lot of…I live in the suburbs, which aren't exactly conductive to long nature walks. Still, I’d rather not grow into my desk chair.

Music

Mumford & Sons, Bob Dylan, Imagine Dragons, and Johnny Cash. In other words, no wonder I’m in a slump.

How has May been treating you?

Story Ideas & Color Palettes

   So, today I was talking to my sister, who also writes, and we discovered that we both like to think of color palettes for our stories. We’re both really visual (the hardest part of writing is actually putting the story into words), so figuring out the color scheme helps a TON with moods and settings.

Exhibit A:

   WIP #1 will (hopefully) be a sci-fi/space opera-type adventure. I borrowed a lot of the colors from the movies Treasure Planet and Peter Pan—deep, rich, storybook colors. Lots of oranges, dark blues, and purples.

Exhibit B:

   My sister’s story, which is basically Mary Poppins meets traditional fairy lore, is set in the pseudo-Edwardian countryside during spring and early summer. The colors are natural, with plenty of greens, yellows, pinks, and oranges. There’s a bit of red and some brighter colors, but nothing too loud or artificial.

Exhibit C:

   WIP #2 is about pirates—the good old-fashioned, jolly roger-flying, incredibly romanticized kind. So I've got blues, greens, blacks, reds, yellows, and browns. Anything bold or bright works.

   I’d really love to know if you guys use color palettes or something similar for your projects. They’re very helpful when it comes to pinning down the exact mood of your story. 

All pictures via Pinterest

Publication News: "The Girl Who Fell to Earth"

   

 
    Just a quick note to say that one of my short stories,"The Girl Who Fell to Earth", has been published in 308 Words!
    
   308 Words is a collection of flash fiction stories (308 words long, minus the title) published on Tumblr by 308 Press. You can find more about it here and here; it's an incredibly cool new press and I couldn't be happier to see my story up there. 

   "The Girl Who Fell to Earth" is a flash fiction fairy tale with a bit of magical realism thrown in. I carried the basic idea around for a long time before pounding it out in one afternoon--less because I was hit with some huge surge of creativity and more because I felt like I'd go crazy if I didn't write something. It's a pinch of astronomy mixed with a bunch of weirdness, and I hope you'll enjoy it.