@FencerforJesus: WOW, FencerforJesus! I can’t Thank You enough!
I was having so much trouble trying to figure out the right words to use, I feel so much better, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!
And Thanks for taking the time to write it all out!
I’ll definitely PM you when I get to the sword fights in my story.
It’s so nice to know that there is someone who has experience that I can ask advice from!

Ok I have a question. As a reader would you find it distracting if you saw a name like Odysseus or Andromache in a different book being used as the name of a place?

There are people who write the ending scene first. Many times, what gets an author going on a story is one particular image. For example: the movie Chicken Run. There is one shot in the final escape that was the basis for the entire movie, or should I say one line. "Egads, we've got a Klingon." That one line started the entire movie. So there are times where an author will have that image in the finale that they seek, and write the story backwards from there. But this doesn't work for the 'on-the-edge-of-your-seat' writer who makes up the story as you go. Personally, I sometimes find myself mixing between the two, depending on the situation.

As for names like Odysseus, Perseus, Frodo, Aslan, or any other VERY well known names from classic stories, it is important to know this. Any reference to that well known source automatically sets the reader's mind to think about that. So if you use that name and change the context, it will really throw the reader off, or even turn the reader against you. For example, if you name a character Aslan, who is a naughty brat, the reader will see the name Aslan, think of the noble lion, see the opposite, at it will just at best cause confusion and pull the reader out of the story. The last thing a writer wants to do us have the reader pull out of the story and think 'it's just a story'. You want the reader to be in the story and 'escape' into an 'alternate world' in the words of your story. So be very careful with using very well known names, especially not in the context that they are known for. Percy Jackson could get away with it, because Percy, based off the name Perseus, is also a demi-god and the story's hero. Does that make sense?

And quick comment on my terminology, I was intentionally not going technical because each weapon has thier own terms for specific action, but the ones I gave are general and applicable to the weapon. It won't make you automatically respected as an author who knows battle, but one who has at least done a little research. It will give you credibility to your readers who don't really know about it, and at least some respect from the readers who do. I can always tell when an author did research on their battle scenes or not, so if I can pass on my knowledge to others it will only help.

I am writing a story about a lady who wants to enjoy life. I used the setting of the old centuries like the century of Jane Austen, because it really matches my taste on that setting, with different characters where she will be interacting with in the story which helps her enjoy her life more and more. I do hope to read some tips for getting a fantastic and incredible ending, so, thanks for those who will do!

Well, this just gets interesting. Last night, I really got started on editing the stuff I mentioned about couple pages back. I was notified that some of my stuff is very closely reminiscent of other works, even though the vast majority of it was unintentional and done independently. I have been made aware of what it is, and I have figured out how to fix it. I just got started on that last night. Then this morning, I hear from a fifth publisher: Lighthouse Christian Publishing.

LCP is a royalty-based publisher (ie traditional) whose focus is a wide variety of genres that bring a positive message about Christ or something like that. From what I saw, thier website wasn't too clear on how marketing works, but it does appear I would need to so some myself. However in all honesty, it would not be any different than Marcher Lord Press. So first off, I need to finish the editing I need to do. Getting it done in a month or two would be tight but realistic, especially with moving to my college apartment and starting school next week. I need to find out more details about how they work, especially on the publishing process and marketing side of thing. But they only want a single manuscript, with as much editing already done as possible and won't accept a revision after a submission. So I have to finish the editing I need to do before I do that anyway.

Pray for me for wisdom and discernment as I edit my novel in preparation for this and as I decide what to do with Lighthouse Christian Publishing.

I was reading a story about modern day fairies and one of the human characters was named Galadriel, but her friends called her Elf so thats the name that kept coming up. It made me think of Lord of the Rings, but it gave me a little laugh when I learned she was called Elf. I guess you could use a literature popular name, but I don't think you should overdo it.

sandyentersnarnia, that sounds like an interesting plot. I unsuccessfully try to write in the kind of Victorian Era, but I always end up only finishing a little part. I hate reseasrching and to me to have a good, realistic story in that era, I need good research. I would need to study how they spoke to eachother, the fashion and just overall how they acted. BUT I don't research and when I read the little page or two I wrote, it sucks. So what I've managed now is to create my own little world, where I can make up anything I want. For all I know my characters could have hair the color of rainbows.

Good luck, Fencer! I hope your editing goes well and you are able to make the right decision. I'll be praying!

I'm taking your advice and editing in stages. Rather than spending too much time perfecting every little detail, I'm fleshing out scenes so I'll have something to work with when I come back later. Hopefully I'll be more productive than I have been recently.

@FencerforJesus: I will definitely be praying for you!

When I look for names to write with I try to find a name that has a meaning behind it that I like, so when I first found the names Odysseus and Andromache I liked their meanings and used their names for two places in my world.
I didn’t know who Odysseus and Andromache were until I started learning my Greek Mythology and realized how recognizable their names could be.
So is it distracting for a place to be named after a known name? Just as the name of a place not a person.

It was the same for me. My first draft of my spiritual warfare novel had the name Perseus as the main villain. Little did I know that name refers to a Greek hero. People would have gotten the idea eventually, but I would prefer for them not to have to sort that out. So in my re-write I took it out. And my story is better in the long run.

I made huge progress in the editing I needed to do today. I really just started last night and I am already 1/4 through my novel. I'm not needing to re-write whole scenes at this point. A lot of it is changing up names and fixing some scenes to fit descriptions. The similarities that we noted had little to do with the plot, but more how I described my baddies and some of the ranks I gave my goodies. So I came up with an entirely different system that I liken to replacing a foundation to a house without demolishing it and starting over. It's not nearly as difficult as I initially thought and now that I've gotten going, the rest should go pretty smooth. As long as I can get as much of it done as possible in this next week before school starts. Then I will make my submission and see what happens from there.

I'm just curious...do you guys like listening to music while you write? If so, what kind?

Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I don't. My problem with music is how distracting it can be. If I listen to rock or pop, I'll often stop writing and pay too much attention to the lyrics. Usually I'll listen to songs I know by heart so the lyrics fade to the back of my mind. Celtic Woman is a good example of this. I also like instrumental songs (Celtic songs) and soundtrack music such as LotR and Narnia. Why do I like Celtic so much? It reminds me of my story.

Hi, everyone! I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who gave me their advice when I was starting my story awhile back. if it weren't for you, I would have never started! Thanks a lot!

I'm having a little trouble again...is it alright to ask for some more help? I don't want to make it sound like I'm asking all these questions and not doing any work myself...I really am doing my best, but I'm only starting to write, and since there are no experienced writers anywhere near where I live, this is the only place I can get answers to my questions answered.

Ok, so I got past the first chapter, which beginss with a hunt in the woods, where we meet the main character, the prince, and are introduced to his graciousness and courage as he helps a girl and her father who have been attacked by bandits. Taking the little girl back to the castle, further investigation proves that the attack was not by bandits, but the Royal Council cannot decipher who commited the crime. They decide to send investigators to the forest to try and untagle the mystery. the scene then switches to the forest, where we meet the "bandits" who are in fact servants to a banished Lord who has returned after 20 years to get revenge. We also meet the 2nd main character--his 20-year-old daughter. It appears that the banished lord is preparing an attack on the castle. The chapter ends with a scene in the castle between the prince and the king discussing the dead Queen, who was murdered by a treachorous Lord who was subsequently banished...(the same lord in the woods)

Well, i wrote that, and now I'm a little stuck. The first chapter goes very fast, with very little background, and it just doesn't seem right to just pick up and keep on going with the mystery and limited background...but at the same time I feel like adding a whole history that early will ruin the story. Is there anyone who has had the same problem? I'll be thankful for any advice, since this is really the only place I can get it! Thank you so much!

Don't worry about asking questions. This is how writer's get going. I was actually giving similar advice to another friend who actually wrote his story well before I even started writing 3 1/2 years ago. His first chapter has a huge section where he goes off and explains the history of the realm and roles that the various characters have. It appears you have a similar problem.

First off, how long is your first chapter? It seems you have a lot in there to open things up. It seems very fast paced. Slow it down. Spread things out. When you introduce your prince, he wouldn't be wearing royal garb since he is on a hunt and such clothes would be cumbersome and easy target for someone with ill intentions. So you could identify him as a prince through dialogue, rather than just telling us.

Having the prince rescue the girl is perfect to open up the setting and take her back to the castle. There, describe the castle. Is it big or small? How many people live there? What do people do there? Give a feel for the culture of the castle and kingdom. Start the second chapter with the investigation and when they return with more questions than answers, you can have your villian and the daughter show up.

You don't need to reveal the whole background story, but give little pieces of it at a time through actions and dialogue. Does the prince have any memories of his mother (I assume her murder was 20 years prior to the opening scene)? Have you figured out how she was murdered? If the prince was old enough to remember her, give him some reason to keep her memory intact. Perhaps the evil lord killed her on a hunt, making it appear like an accident, and the prince being too young to fully understand, thinks that. I could see a father not wanting his young son knowing how his mother died, even if he was the king. And maybe the hunt is the only way he remembers her. This gives the prince a tie to the background history but the real fact isn't revealed until later. This can give you filler material to flesh out the characters and help you set up what happens next. It also gives the prince a reason to pursue the investigation to where her may finally confront the evil lord.

These are just ideas. Feel free to take them as you please or brush them aside. But as far as continuing, are you a 'make-up-the-story-as-you-go' writer or do you want to have a good idea of where the story is suppossed to go writer? Another thing to ask is how long do you expect the story to be? Short story? Novella? Novel? It seems you have the makings of at least a novella, so you need to find a way to make the prince understand the plight and give him a reason to do what you are going to have him do besides just protect the kingdom. He needs a personal reason to do it, and perhaps my suggestions above could help with that.

But the best advice overall is to keep thinking and keep writing. Think about what your characters would do in that given situation and perhaps the thing to do is to just write out the possible scenarios. Please note that you are not going to get it perfect on the first draft, especially if you are brand new to writing. Trust me on this. On my first draft of my novel that is about to get published, I only had a few scenes that were any good and even then I had to do some hefty tweaking. And that's ok. The key is to write and write some more. Don't give up on it.

First of all, I love your idea. Sometimes coming up with the idea for a story is the hardest part, and it's even harder to put that idea into writing. But you've already cleared that hurdle. You're off to a great start!

I agree with Fencer though. It sounds like you might be trying to cram too much into the first chapter. Slow down, add in some details, and give readers a chance to better know your characters through their actions. Introduce the backstory a little at a time so as to not overwhelm the reader.

Don't worry - I had the same problem with "information dumps". I asked author Gail Carson Levine for advice, and she was nice enough to answer my question in a blog post, which can be found here. She gives excellent suggestions on how to introduce the fantasy setting. I hope you'll find it helpful.

And please don't be shy about asking questions - I love talking about writing! I don't pretend to be an expert, but if you (or anyone else here) ever wants to discuss, get some feedback, or anything like that, feel free to PM me and I'll try my best to help.

I only listen to music when I find a song that matches the mood. For example I've used Stay With Me by Danity Kane to write the part of my story where a character dies or something heartbreaking happens. And I listen to King of Spain by Moxy Fruvous to write a silly scene.

oh me too, Narnia_Archer! I finally finished the first chapter, but I can't seem to find the right start to the second chapter. I've toyed with at least two possibilities and I've written two different ways to go but it just doesn't seem right. And then last night I came up with another possibility, wrote something and I think I'm going to use it, but I'm kind of like not really sure where to go. I know where I want to end the chapter but I'm not sure how to start it.

Haha and also Narnia_Archer, I almost had a panic attack when I read what your story is about because mine also starts in the woods with a prince. Then as I read more it turned out nothing to be like my story so what a relief lol. Mine starts with my prince running away as a fugitive. His father has "died" and his mother set him up so that it seems like he did it. So he's running and running and he meets a seer. In my world a seer can manipulate a certain element (fire, water, earth, wind) haha I know sounds like Avatar: The Last Airbender but my seer can only control one thing. They also have the ability to heal to a certain extent based on their element and can see the past and future of a person by simply touching them. So my prince meets the seer, some stuff happens and the prince gets knocked out. So thats practically the first chapter. And now I'm debating on what to do next. I feel like Gollum/Smeagol-"Where do we leads them now precious? Do they gets to go home? No, precious the fat one must die!"

@Silver the Wanderer: I like listening to music when I write! I can’t really listen to music with words though because it distracts me.
But I love to listen to Movie Trailer music (it’s the music you hear in movie trailers) I LOVE IT! It really helps me write sometimes.
I even made a whole playlist of music for my story and renamed the songs to make my own story soundtrack.

Here is are a few of my favorite songs:

Fides En Lucius Dei:

Blade Blade:

Blaze of Glory:

And I also occasionally listen to movie soundtracks.

I’ve been re-motivated to start writing again, I’m so glad I can come here for advice, it helps me so much and it is so encouraging!
And I Love to see all the different stories that others have come up with!

Thanks so much, FencerforJesus for all your advice! I took a look at my first chapter today, after reading what you wrote, and now I can see that it is very crammed, and even I got sort of lost with everything I packed into there. I'm going to rewrite it, using some of the ideas you listed. Yes, the murder took place 20 years ago, when the prince was two years old...too early for memories, I think. I originally planned for the queen to have been poisoned at a feast, but I like your idea, and I'm very seriously considering it.
I guess I'm a have-a-good-idea-of-where-the-story-is-going-to-be writer, in that I have the whole story already in my head, and I'm just writing it down. Of course, as it goes I change or rearrange certain things, but like that I have the basic plot already in my head. I also think I'll shoot for a novella--I think it's a pretty realistic goal. Thanks again for your help!

And thank you, too, Silver the Wanderer!!! Yes, I do agree, coming up with an idea for the story is often the hardest part of all! I really did cram too much into my first chapter, trying to hurry up and get past all the "boring stuff" and into the "real" action. Now I realise my mistake and am retracing my steps, and realizing the "boring stuff" isn't all that boring, (ha!) and just how bare a story is without it, or with too litle of it! Oh, and thank you so so so so much for the blog post! I read it, and it really helped me get some things straight. If it's ok with you, I'd like to send you and FencerforJesus my first chapter once I'm through rewriting it, for criticism. I'd be very grateful.
I never thought of listening to music while I'm writing...but I have to admit that listening to movie music, like from Lord of the Rings and especially Narnia, really moves me to write. And I agree with 7chronicles, movie trailer music really does something to you when you're writing or about to write.

wow, sillygoose, so glad I'm not alone!! Yeah, I have that same Gollum Smeagol feeling sometimes! hmm...funny how in my story it's the mom that's dead, and in yours it's the dad! I love your story plot, and I'd love to read it!