Princesses, Dragons, and Battles Oh My!

Photo by 

Janet Beasley

It's a brand new day - stand strong and face life's
obstacles head on with courage!

Hello everyone! So great to see you here.

Regular blog posts are still appearing on Mondays - but with a little bit of a twist. 

If you haven't gotten your copy yet, 

the paperback and ebooks are available on

Amazon, and are also featured in the Kindle Lending Library! 

Due to the enormous success we have had with Maycly - I need to get busy on the next 5 novels...you read right...5 more novels! For this reason, every Monday we're going to head to the archives and the postings will be some of the coolest and most helpful blog posts I made throughout 2011 and early 2012. This will allow me the much time needed to let my creativity run wild and write, and write, and write. ;-)

Not to worry, I'm not abandoning my fans - I'll still be at your fingertips through comments here on the blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, and other social media. 

So, without any further ado - welcome to the past!

Original Post Date
3 / 14 / 12


WEEK 3 - Which One Do You Like Best?
Welcome back to those of you who have become a regular visitor, and welcome to those of you who are new this week. I encourage you to check out WEEKs 1 and 2 videos for a more in-depth look at the blog and its contents.

This week it's all about...
Dragons, and Princesses, and Battles...oh my!

WEEK 3 VIDEO

WEEK 3 TOPIC POST:

     There are so many interesting things to find in fantasy stories. My novel, "Maycly," is no different: There's a princess, a cameo appearance of dragons, and two epic battles which are (of course) between Good and Evil. But, there's also a lot more that escaped from my creative brain to fill the world of "Maycly."

     When it comes to writing fantasy, you have to be certain you include the basics to make it fantasy. Basics usually being magic, elves, creepy unearthly bad guys, seemingly impossible quests, and tons of conflict. 

     In my novel the reader will discover each of these, but may find them to be titled something different. For instance, you'll find that my elfish characters are known as: "chukkons." Chukkons resemble elf-like characters, but have been created with many different personalities, habits, and characteristics. 

     I also used Sprites in both minor and major roles who fill in as servants of Good. And impressive etherealians, (pronounced eth - reel`- ee - ans), who are much larger than Sprites and are immortal messengers and assistants to all on Maycly and Earth.  

     Being an animal lover, I included critters, both wild and domestic, we're all familiar with, plus I created several new ones; big and small - flyers, runners and swimmers - some good and some evil...all of which, none of us even knew existed before Maycly came along.

     Now I love an exciting, action packed, "on the edge of your seat," epic battle scene just as much as the next person - but let me tell you something I've discovered - the difference between reading a great battle scene and writing a great battle scene, is unbelievable! To say I've gained a whole new respect for successful battle scene authors is an understatement.

     Putting in, on the average, 60 hours per week on my novel "Maycly," I thought I was really getting somewhere. But when I got to the first battle on Maycly, I choked as I began to realize how involved this chapter would be.

     That first battle chapter took me approximately 4-5 months, at my steady average of 60 hours per week, just to get the initial battle down on paper. From there it was another 2-3 months, spending the same kind of hours, getting it nailed down and begin filling in everything I had missed. From there - I let it lay for a few weeks so I could come back and read it with a freshness and make even more adjustments.

     It wasn't until this past Christmas of 2010, when my sister and I were together, that I was able, with her help, to lay out the battle's sequence on post-it notes: paragraph by paragraph. This allowed me to rearrange the order of events so they would make sense. I cut, copied, and pasted until I was blue in the face then I left it lay another couple of weeks.

     January 2011 arrived on the calendar. I sucked it up and went back to the battle chapter - kicking and screaming all the way! But with much self-discipline, I made a few more adjustments - tweaking, adding, taking away, etc.

     And as of this post - I am still working on the battle chapter, honing and perfecting, and making the final corrections to be proofread for any last grammatical, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. It will be then, and only then, when those few final corrections are made, that I will have won my first epic battle...but remember there are two in the novel!

     All I can say is...I hope you like them! :)    

WEEK 3 

Pic n' Thought 

by Janet:

If you don't recognize it,

don't eat it!

LINK OF THE WEEK:

     On Maycly there are tones of places to go and enjoy the day. One of my most liked places is Gertie's Marsh; an area in the far northwestern region.

     Gertie's Marsh is a secluded everglade filled with small creeks, streams and rivers that are fed by by the flowing waters from the Creature Peaks mountain range. 

     Fishing the rivers and streams is a little different on Maycly; it's a combination of a game for the fish and a sport for the fisherman. It's similar to "catch and release," except for the fish jump (at will) onto a skidder at the end of the fish-line that's deep in the water and ride as the fisherman reels in his or her line. Once the fish is pulled from the water, the fisherman gives the fish a treat and returns it to the water. It's not uncommon for a fisherman to catch the same fish 4 or 5 times in an outing...especially if the fish takes a liking to a particular treat. 

     Here on earth, though, we love to fish and often times bring home some mighty tasty dinner! Whether you fish for sport, food, or just to relax, here's a cool link for you fishing fans! Learn how to fish, find boat ramps, zero in on fishing spots specific to certain fish, and more! You can check it out by clicking on the link below.

Take Me Fishing

Find JLB Creatives Around the Web:

www.HiddenEarthSeries.com
@JLBCreatives on Twitter
www.Facebook.com/JLBCreatives 


Buy Maycly on Amazon

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Thanks!

WEEK 3 SUMMARY:

This week we talked about which one is your favorite: dragons, princesses, or battles? 

1) If you like dragons type the word "Whistle" and tell us about your favorite kind of dragon...and if you have a pet dragon, what is its name?

2) If princesses are your favorite, type the word "Clap" so we may all applaud your royal taste. Then, tell us what you think is the best quality a princess should have.

3) And finally - if you love to read stories of Good vs. Evil where the battles are of epic proportions, type the word "Stomp." Why the word "Stomp?" It's simple - because all good epic battles are made up of large, massive troops stomping across the battlefield, each side confident they will be the winning team!

4) Can't make up your mind? That's OK - just type all of the words "Whistle - Clap - Stomp" or fill us in with your very own favorite thing in a fantasy story.

HOW TO LEAVE A COMMENT:

     We love getting your comments! We can't tell you how much we truly appreciate the fun and feedback. Just to reiterate if you'd like to leave a comment here on the blog, simply go to the bottom of this week's post and you'll see a number next to the word comment. Just click on the word comment and a box will drop down below the previous comments for you to type away! If this doesn't work for you, go back to WEEK 2 and you'll find more detailed instructions.

~   ~   ~

Thanks again for stopping by JLB Creatives blog. Remember to invite your friends and family if you think they'd like to join in the fun and follow along with me on my journeys of creativity, scenic nature photography and my epic fantasy novel, "Maycly."

Have a great week!

Your writin' fool - 

~Janet~