Dust it Off Bloghop - What I Learned

Day 1 - Pitch
Day 2 - Excerpt


Dust it Off Bloghop Day 3 - Post what you learned from this WIP. We become stronger, more rounded writers with each project we take on, and we want to know what you learned from writing Ol' Shelvy!!

What did I learn from the writing The Guardians? I learned that writing a novel is a lot more involved and takes a lot more time and energy than I could have imagined. I learned that I have a tendency to "vacuum" my setting, leaving my characters standing on a dark stage with a spotlight illuminating only them, giving my readers little to no clue where the action is taking place. I learned that I need to write more description. I learned that I am good at creating characters.

I am a poet, and therefore I put as much meaning as possible into as few words as possible. Writing a novel is a completely different animal. I'm not sure I can write a traditional NaNoWriMo of 50,000 words; maybe I am meant to write short stories and novellas. I'm never going to stop writing though.

I leave you with a poem I wrote for The Guardians:
"When Darkness and Death come against us
One who is two shall save us
Eyes as the day and hair as the night
No evil shall escape his might
He bears the mark of one and two
Left and right upon his back
Darkness shall fall but Death will take all
'Til but one shall remain of the two."

Dust it Off Bloghop - Excerpt

Dust it Off Bloghop Day 2: Post your favorite excerpt from Ol' Shelvy. 300-350 word limit.


For day 1, click here.


This excerpt is only 221 words. I've always loved this scene; it's the second scene of Chapter 1. Here, Shua finds out who he really is and that he's not fully human.


~*~
A figure stood in the middle of the room. His hair was long and black and he wore a robe so white it glowed. Shua couldn't have guessed his age, although he was definitely not a child. He seemed old and young at the same time. "Shua," he said again. "Shua, my son."

"Who are you?" Shua whispered.

"My name is Arcanin."

Shua's eyes widened and he fell to his knees. "My Lord!"

Arcanin smiled and lifted the young man to his feet. "You know who I am." He sounded pleased.

"Of course! Merofin taught me of you and your Brothers. But I never thought I'd meet you!"

"This is not our first meeting, Shua," Arcanin said.

"What?"

"You were very young and cannot remember." Arcanin's blue eyes took on a faraway look and he smiled fondly. "I remember you were a very curious child, always exploring." He focused on the young man's face. "Shua, what do you remember of your childhood?"

"Very little," he admitted. "There was a woman who smelled like flowers - but I don't remember what she looked like."

"Your mother, Sha'Nya," Arcanin said quietly. "She was beautiful."

Shua was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "And my father? I remember nothing of him."

The Guardian put his hand on Shua's shoulder. "I am your father."

Dust It Off Bloghop - Pitch

Dust it Off Bloghop Day 1: Post a 1-2 sentence pitch as to what Ol' Shelvy was about.
My working title is The Guardians. I started writing this story years ago, and haven't worked on it in awhile.

When Jess discovers that all he ever believed is false, and Shua learns that he is more than human, they must find a way to work together to save their people from the dark magic of the necromancer Saybol and his invading army. Then, they learn they are brothers though raised apart, and the price they must pay is greater than they could have imagined, as only one of them can survive this battle.