Category Archives: From another Blog

#Buchmagie – Part 2

Another diversion from the Fairy Tale Summer with the second part of Blue Siren’s #Buchmagie (Bookmagic) tag. You can find part one here: #Buchmagie – Part 1.
And these questions are quite a bit trickier…

16. If you could send yourself into a bookworld, which one would you want to visit?

I’m hovering between post-war Hogwarts and the Pages of the World, maybe even the Inkworld…I don’t know. They sound incredible and I’d really like to be able to use the portrayed magic, even if that’s pretty unlikely.

17. Which gem would you choose? (German/English)

Seems like I’d have to choose the Kunzite…at least from the German meaning. o.O Star sign wise it’d be the Malachite. So I guess both?

18. Which magic-cliché do you consider ghastfully-dreadful?

The warts on witches or that evil witches are generally portrayed as ugly. Good looking people can be just as cruel…

19. Do you prefer reading about good or bad Sorcerer/Sorceresses?

I don’t like people because their bad or good, I like reading about people that are funny, snarky, different. If the character is great I’ll like them and if they happen to be a good or bad sorcerer/sorceress than that’s that. 😀

20. Healing, Fight-Magic or Summonings? What would you/your character use to protect the group in an adventure and why?

If I had magic I’d try to do bit of all, I don’t like being a burden and I’m really fond of helping others. My characters are different though, they use whatever they’re capable of. I told you about Mara and Andres from The Queen’s Wish in the previous part who can use healing and empathic magic, but are pretty useless when it comes to attacking someone, defence is a bit more likely. Emry on the other hand has offensive, shield and illusion spells.

21. Which witch brew do you prefer drinking the most while reading/writing (black bean juice, herb-infusion, spring water?)

If I drink anything at all I’m proud of myself. 😀 Usually it’s water though or whatever else is available EXCEPT coffee. I don’t drink coffee. And I shouldn’t I’m not doing well with the caffeine…

22. Which book has great ideas for modern/unique magic? Alternative: What new ideas does magic need in books?

The first thing that comes to mind is the new Strowlers universe by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. It’s a world where magic is real and where its users are persecuted and held down. It’s an open world where everyone can add their own thoughts and stories and if the creators like them, they might become canon.

Other than that do I really like the book magic from The Pages of the World.

23. Are there moments in your every day life, that can really enchant you?

Nature is generally enchanting to me. I can sit quiet and just stare at trees waving their leaves in the wind. I enjoy watching water in all kinds of variations (rain, river, lake, ocean, …, clouds 😉 ). Just as the flickering flames of a candle or bone fire can keep me entertained.

24. Did you ever read a book that dealt with witches/Wizards, but without any magic? (e.g. non-fiction, medieval novel in the times of the inquisition)

I read a few books about the witch hunts or taking place at the time of it. Like Elmar Bereuters „Hexenhammer“ (Hammer of the witches) and „Lichtfänger“ (Lightcatcher). In addition to that some non-fiction stuff and I still want to read the Maleus Maleficarum…

25. Which character poured a love potion into you and conquered your heart?

There have been a few characters I liked and whose traits I wouldn’t mind having in a real life partner, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they conquered my heart. If I gained a connection to a character I suffer with them – this is especially horrible when I’m the one writing their demises, but I don’t think there is one I’d defend at all cost, like I’d do for a real life person.

26. Show us a quote that’s so full of magic and wisdom that it might as well be a spell!

I’m horrible with quotes…Does this count?

“Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.”

– Rick Cook, Wizardry Compiled

Just realized: This is another book for Question 8.

27. Hands down! Do you believe Magic really exists? And if so in which form?

I do. There is magic in nature, in a smile and in the way we interact with each other; the emotions we share, the thoughts that drive us, the ideas running through peoples minds.

If there wasn’t any magic, how would we even think up something like magic and write incredible stories about it? 😉

28. Show us a magical book that unfortunately did not spark anything for you!

Mad Merlin by J. Robert King. It sounded like an interesting re-telling of the known Arthurian legend, but turned into something quite disappointing. Sure Merlin’s Madness was fun in the beginning and it felt like it could become a great book, but then it made a turn for the worst. Merlin turned out to be someone entirely different and the story started dragging on quite a bit. For a book with ~600 pages this was not fun to finish…

Another example is Tiger, Tiger by Melvin Burgess, where he uses a magical tigress as a protagonist, but it lost a lot of potential along the way…

29. Which magical book series should be read by everyone?

Have you heard of Harry Potter? No, I didn’t think so. Me neither, so I won’t tell you what you should have read. 😉

30. Which author (not-magical too) has enchanted your heart?

If this question refers to authors whose books I buy without second thought: That would be the brilliant Terry Pratchett. His ideas for the Discworld are just so…I don’t even have words for it. But everyone who likes his books probably knows what I mean. 😉

That’s it, folks!

I hope you had fun reading the answers.

See ya.

PoiSonPaiNter

Blogparade: #Geheimtipp

I’m aware that this has nothing to do with Fairy Tales, but I want to share my „insider tips“ (Geheimtipps) with you and Aleshanee’s Blogparade is the fitting wrap for it.

Aleshanee asks:

Present up to 5 book insider tips, that excited you and where you think they didn’t get noticed in the masses of hypes and new releases.

First of all: I will tell you why the books are great, you can read what they are about through clicking on the covers which will lead you to their Goodreads pages.
Also: None of the books I want to introduce you to was published this year. The „youngest“ is from 2016, the oldest from 1986 as I just realized. 😀
We’ll then let’s start with that one:

The Hyde Effect

I’m fairly certain this was one of my very first Werwolf novels, both in regards to reading and buying. I was so excited when I first saw it in the catalogue of the EMP and wanted to have it right away, even if it might have been an age 16 novel and I might have not been that age. Luckily it was just as great as I expected it to be. I’m still fascinated by the cover and the story itself is – from what I remember after reading it about ten years ago – pretty amazing. It has action, great and fun characters, thrilling life-and-death situations and is just a not so cuddly Werwolf story. The sequel Shapes did unfortunately not keep up with that and was rather disappointing. 🙁

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

on the other hand consists mostly of the cuddly wolf kind. 😀 It’s an anthology by and with Sookie Stackhouse authoress Charlaine Harris. It has many different kinds of stories about Werwolves around Christmas time (including a Sookie special). Though the two things I remember most are the rogue Santa’s hunting Werwolves and of course the Wer-Coral. That is just such a weird idea that I keep telling people about it whenever the topic of wer-creature comes around. Which is surprisingly often. 😀
Speaking of weird stories, ever heard of

Fledermausland? (Bat Country)

Named after a certain scene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas this German novel is one of the strangest and most hilarious I’ve ever come across. Dierssen uses ordinary every day things and turns them into something strange and unexpected. Back in the day when The Forum was still fresh and new we read this alongside the author, but unfortunately those topics don’t exist any more, so I can’t check what I wrote. What I do know is that everyone who liked the novel got a free PDF of an additional story about one of the characters. He has created several of them, but that’s the only one I’ve read (so far?).
Speaking of series:

PWNED

As part of The Gamers universe this is a different perspective into the way those stories work. Where the webseries switches between Pen&Paper players and characters, this does the same with video game characters and their players. I already talked about this while reading it, so have a small excerpt here:

It’s a bit strange to read the switch between gamer and character, but it’s well done and you still know when the perspective is no longer the one looking at it from the outside. As in all of his (their) work you really know that it’s done by a gamer who loves what he’s doing. It reflects in the chosen words, the descriptions, the little things added to the story (like tips for new gamers at the start of every chapter). It’s just great to have something like this, combined with great characters.

How can I now lead over to the last one? It’s both a series and it has great characters; it’s more or less old (2003/2005) and just sounded interesting. Ah to hell with it:

Sam Linnifer: Waywalkers (Lucifer) & Timekeepers (Satan)

When I first saw this book in my local library I was intrigued. Lucifer being the good guy, saving the day? It is as strange as it sounds, but at the same time absolutely fascinating and great. Webb weaves the world of Myths & Legends and Ancient Gods & Goddesses like they are just normal characters, yet you still know that it’s not a trivial challenge they face. I really need to re-read these two. I’ve been putting it off for quite some time now and I think it might be especially interesting now that I’ve read Good Omens, but maybe I should wait until after I read American Gods …
Anyway, these are the five I was allowed to introduce you to (Number five is no cheating, you have to read both to fully understand the story 😉 ).

Still as a Bonus I want to give you this one because it’s not the genre I usually read, but it still impressed me:

Why Angels never play Harmonica

I’m really not the kind of person who reads books like this, which already seem like love stories, but when I read the blurb after Tintenfleck mentioned it after Karin’s story during the #Projekt24 I was simply curious about it. The whole thing just sounded hilarious and fun and that’s what it was in the end. Sure it had a few passages where it was obvious what would happen in the end, but the way there was incredibly hilarious. It’s just a great and fluffy story that I really wanted to recommend you, after all those not so fluffy ones above. 😀
Anything you can recommend? Do any of mine sound interesting to you?

PoiSonPaiNter

#Buchmagie – Part 1

Fairy Tales have magic, so I decided, it was okay to participate in the #Buchmagie (Bookmagic) tag alongside my Fairy Tale Summer. 🙂

You can obviously participate as well using my translated or the original questions. Though, just to be clear: This doesn’t count towards the Fairy Tale Summer Challenge. 😉

The tag was created by Blue Siren over at Babsi taucht ab and is about different magical topics regarding books – be it about witches/wizards or just magical experiences while reading. She put together thirty questions that you can answer on any social media channel you like. I decided to answer them in two parts on here. Today you’ll get the first fifteen questions. 🙂

1. What is your Hogwarts House? Alternatively: Would you want to attend a Wizardry School or rather learn to use Magic by yourself?

I was sorted into Slytherin on the Beta-Version of Pottermore, which let me to an quite fascinating experiment. As I had anticipated from the first try, the new version then put me in Ravenclaw. By now I had accepted being a Slytherin and will always remain one at heart. 😉 (In Ilvermorny, the American school, I’d be a Pudwudgie, you know, those creatures that generally don’t like people. 😉 )

As for learning magic: I think a school would be the better idea for me, as I otherwise might be too lazy…

2. Who is your favourite witch/sorceress from a book and why? (For Authors: Introduce a sorceress from your book!)

That would be Hermione from the Harry Potter series. She’s smart, funny and manages to excel in this new world, she had never heard of before. I didn’t really mind studying in school, so through her I learned it was okay to know stuff.
Though, it was, and still is, hard for me to add the „o“ to her name, for me she’ll always only be Hermine. 😉 (Took me quite a while to realize it was NOT a spelling mistake, but the original spelling…)

As for my own characters: Meet Mara from The Queen’s Wish. 🙂

Mara is another apprentice of Emry’s master and a really good Healer. She’s rather shy, but that doesn’t keep her from helping out whenever and however she can. With compassion and empathy and a vast knowledge of Healing Spells and Herbology, she makes her patients feel better in no time.

3. Your favourite three magical books (one per series 😉 )

I would say….

The Prisoner of Azkaban is definitely on this list, though I haven’t read it in a while. But back in the day I really liked this one.

If book-magic counts, then I’d say: Die Seiten der Welt by Kai Meyer, though I’m not sure which one I’d choose they’re all pretty great… As I said in the review: The world and the way their „magic“, their bibliomancy works is just so fascinating.

As for the last one…maybe the first part (The Wizard of Earthsea) of the Earthsee Trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin? I like the description of the school and the idea that names are a very powerful thing.

4. What is your favourite Mythical Creature?

Who doesn’t like Dragons? I mean they are pretty awesome. Fire breathing, flying and stuff 😉 By now I also got a liking for Griffins, but that’s basically because it’s in our town’s/state’s coat of arms.

And of course there is this weird relationship I have with Unicorns…

5. Spells, Wands or inner Power? Which form of Magic do you like most?

I kind of like inner power the most. Doing something with just a thought/look/hand gesture feels way more epic than waving around a wand. Though spells are nice too, they seem to focus all the above a bit better.

6. Your favourite Sorcerer/Mage from a book and why? (For Authors: Introduce a sorcerer from your book!)

I have to go with Harry Potter again: Remus Lupin. He just seems like such an incredible teacher and person…

Another one from The Queen’s Wish: Meet Andres

Also an apprentice of the aforementioned master who excels in sensory Magic. He can sense Magic and its purpose from far away and figure out what charms were used on people and things. He is fiercely loyal to his friends, but still somewhat of a loner. Not willing to settle down, he is always on the move across the land, but that doesn’t mean he won’t come running when he is needed.

7. Which magical discipline would you like to master and what would you do with it? (e.g. Alchemy, Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Herbology, Flying, mastering elements?)

I’d go with teleportation. It would make travelling SO MUCH easier….I’d just have to master it enough to take things and people with me. 😉

8. Which books about Magic would you like to read/are still amongst your unread books?

Well, Cursed Child is still on my reading list, but so far I just haven’t felt like reading a play again.

Other than that am I more or less interested in reading a bit more about Arthurian legends and through that more about Merlin, but that’s a rather low priority.

9. Which Rune would you choose? (z.B. Runen (German) – e.g. Runes (English))

I decided to choose Isa. It just fits well for several things going on right now, or rather not going…

10. Your favourite EVIL wizard/witch in a book?

Puh…I usually have quite a liking for the darker characters, but I can’t remember any good EVIL wizards I rooted for…(and no, I didn’t even do that for Snape).

The only bad guy I can think of right now is one of the antagonists from The Queen’s Wish, but I won’t tell you about him yet… 😉

11. What would be your Familiar or Accompanying Creature and why? (e.g. Raven, black Cat, Toad)

Maybe a Raven? It could scout ahead and let me know what’s going on, but I don’t have to take care of it that much? I really don’t know…

12. Which children’s book has fired your fondness for magical things?

If you count them as children’s books then definitely the Harry Potter series, it’s the series that shaped me the most after all. 😉

13. Which Tarot card would you choose? (Tarotkarten – Tarot cards)

As I’m too lazy to look through all of them I decided to go by looks and names to read through a few.
What I came up with is The Moon, though the English description I found sounds quite different from the German one… It has to do with imagination and inner stuff and it has a wolf and the moon on it. No idea why that sounds familiar. 😀

14. Which Covers are just magical?

Hmm…the only one I could think of right now would be The Hunter’s Moon by O.R. Melling.

But in general I’d say covers that are playful and show scenery and maybe characters.

15. Whom would you wish to have as your Magic teacher?

If it counts: BBC Merlin, he just seems like the lessons would be fun . 😀 If not: Definitely Lupin, see Question 6.

To be continued…

PoiSonPaiNter

#LoveWritingChallenge – Everything about Writing

And with this, week four, we already reached the end of the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. Scary how a month flies by without anything getting done…
(For more information see the introduction post.)

Week 4

This weeks theme is Everything about Writing and as I wouldn’t have that much to say about the different topics, I’ve decided to put them all into one post again.

For stuff about Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Plotted-Pantsed driven Worldbuilding

From the Inspiration week I do believe one can figure that I’m a pantser. I have an idea and then just sit down and write. Everything else then comes when I start to edit (or lengthen) it and think about what things actually make sense.

Though that doesn’t mean plot isn’t involved. I usually have a few markers that I want to reach, but what I write to get there or for them is then pantsed or dictated by the characters involved. Usually these markers are rough ideas/scenes that I want to see in a chapter or part of the story, so I make notes about them and fill them out when I’ve got time to pantse it. 😉

This graphic from Tumblr, even if it is for Fanfiction, still describes my process quite well:

Other than that are there only a few occasions where I think about the world beforehand. Usually this is done, when I actually write a Fanfic, as I always try my best to have the story fit into the given narrative. When it’s my own world it’s mostly in the editing phase that I think about things in the grander scheme.
E.g. for The Queen’s Wish, which is the story I’m writing for Projekt Myra, I had to adjust the idea I had for the layout of the land, so it would fit onto an island in the Myra world, (though I’m still not sure, whether it will really work for them, but that’s just my insecurity talking again…).

Selfpublishing vs Publishing House

I’m a no-name. That’s a fact. So for me to even try my luck at a publishing house I’d have to write extremely well or so mainstream that the bigger ones would like it. I don’t do either. That leaves the smaller ones, which either are busy with their own brilliant authors or turn out to be DKZ (Druckkostenzuschuss – Print Cost Grant) publishers and so on.
Plus, I’m really insecure when it comes to my writings, so I will either one day try my luck with selfpublishing or stick to just putting stuff on my Blog, because I think no one would want to read it anyway. 😉

Weird Research

There certainly was strange research I had do make over the years, but I don’t really remember what it was. I only remember that one of the last „weird“ things I had to google was: Is it possible to kill a bear with a knife? Those who thoroughly read my Advent Calendar last year, know why I had to research that. 😉

Interestingly: I only do research when I’m in the editing process to check if what I thought up (pantsing, remember?) does even make sense. While just writing down stuff I find research to be far too distracting and counter productive…

My very first Story

was written, in second grade (together with a classmate, but I did most of the work, I think), at least I have no memory of other stories. It was filled with spelling mistakes and handwritten on small (A7 maybe?), glued together pages with little scribbles of the characters. It also has an incredible twist [/sarcasm], because somehow, as a seven year old, I thought it very plausible that people from Australia talked backwards because they lived on the other side of the planet…
I still have it somewhere, so I could photograph it, but for now, have this German transcript of „How Horse and Kangaroo [became] friends“ (Warning: Please keep tissues at hand, you might cry):

Wie Pferd und Kängeruh Freunde [wurden]
Es war einmal vor langer, langer Zeit. Im fernen Lande Australien dort wonte ein kleines Kängeruh. Eines Tages wurde das kleine Kängeruh nach Deutschland verfrachtet.

In Deutschland angekommen blieb es erst einmal in einem Reiterhof. Im Reiterhof gab es ser viele Pferde so ca 40 stück, zwischen disen 40 war auch das schwarze Pferd Robert.

Er war nicht nur das einzigste schwarze Pferd sondern auch das schnellste Pferd im Hof. Die anderen 39 fragten Robert: „Wie machst du das du so schnell bist?“ „Ich teile meine kraft ein“. Es wuselte nur so durch den Stall. Alle dachten leise: kraft einteilen, kraft einteilen, dachten sie die ganze Nacht.

Robert konnte diese Nacht gut schlaffen.
Bei dem nesten Renen war es wie verhekst. Ein Kopf an Kopf Renen. Aber Robert gewonn trotzdem. Die Anderen Pferde wahren total neidisch auf Robert.
Der ausrit aus dem Stall war eine woltat für Röbert.
Die Reiter sprachen wun einem Kängeruh. Ein Kängeruh im Stall dachte Robert.

Er wuste was ein Kängeruh ist. Als sie wieder im Stall waren machte Robert sich auf die suche nach dem Kängeruh. Robert suchte hir und suchte da, aber er fand es nicht. Aber im lestem gang fand er es. Das Kängeruh sang immer wieder „Kleine Maus komm aus dem Haus. Sonst holt dich di Katze raus und dann ist es aus.“ Sang es immer wider.
Das hörte Robert und ging sofort hin. Er sag es und fragte wie er heiße. Das Kängeruh antwortete „Hci eßieh Lrak“, Robert verhstand nicht was er sagte. Johannes das war sein Johkej. Er hörte Roberts gejammer und rannte sofort hin. Johannes fragte Robert: „Was ist los?“ Robert Antwortete: „Dieses Kängeruh hat eine undäutliche ausschbrache.“ Was hat es den gesagt.“ „Ich habe in gefragt wie er heist. Und er hat gesagt: „Hci eßieh Lrak.“ „Also du verschtestin nicht, aber ich.“ „Was hat er gesagt Johannes?“ „Er hat gesagt „Ich heiße Karl.“ „In Australien spricht mann so. Das ist rückwertz.“

I really hope you didn’t forget the tissue, I always have tears in my eyes when I read this. :’D
It’s just so…I don’t even have words for it.
(The song was from my classmate I think, no idea why that wasn’t in „Australian“…)

At least I can proudly say: I’ve come a loooong way since then or so I think. 😀

My stories in five words

For this I focused on the three stories I told you about in the Character-week.
I’m not entirely satisfies with the words, but well, it’s all I could think of.

The Unnamed One: Werwolf, Vampire, Family, Prejudices, Life

The Queen’s Wish: Intrigues, Magic, Family, Change, Compassion

Neubrandenwolf: Werwolf, Change, Full Moon*, Life, Running

Well, this concludes the challenge.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my different projects, I certainly enjoyed writing about them.

See you around

PoiSonPaiNter

* I know I cheated with this, but Full Moon in German is Vollmond and that’s one word. 😉

#LoveWritingChallenge – Themes

And week three of the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. For more information see the introduction post.

Week 3

This weeks theme is Themes and as I would just be repeating myself with the sub-themes, I’ve decided to put them all into one post again.

For stuff about Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Loving and losing your family and friends

For some reason do I always end up creating families in my longer projects. I can’t figure out why that is. Part of me thinks it’s far too cheesy to give everyone a more or less happy end or at least someone that cares deeply for them, but another feels like it’s important for those characters, that it fits for them and their story to have someone in their lives. They just wouldn’t be the same without their families. I mean, Andrew would barely survive on his own…
Though that doesn’t mean all my families are the same. As I have mentioned in the character-week posts does not everyone of my characters fall into the usual sexual spectrum, so their love-lives are equally different from the norm. It feels like I have several kinds of couples on various levels, even if the majority is still the „traditional“ female/male relationship. Apart from that, does, even if they have kids, barely anyone get married in my stories…
There is one couple from The Unnamed One that’s had an on-and-off relationship for over twenty years, including kids and different partners in the meantime, before they finally tie the knot (twice if you count human and wolf wedding 😉 ).
Another couple has a very unhealthy, kind of co-dependant, relationship that’s mostly based on lust and the thrill of being with something that is able to kill you and of course the outdated thought of having to make it work with the father of your child/ren.
But love isn’t only between couples, it’s between parent and child, siblings and friends. It’s about caring for one another, about being with someone if they need you and about kicking their butts if they’re being stupid. In short terms. 😉
With friends and families comes tragedies and the more I think about it, the more I’m certain my subconscious wanted to prepare me for losing my own Mum. There is no other reason I could use to explain why so many of my characters have lost their mothers (at a young age). Though, I could blame Disney…
Just like in real life, do I try to keep the reactions realistic and differing from character to character. As I said does, e.g., Andrew not deal well with loss. He sinks into a very deep hole that he can’t get out of by himself. Others have it a bit easier to move on.
Dying isn’t the only way you can lose someone, so obviously I also have a few characters just drifting apart, breaking up or just losing sight of each other.
Describing this part of the human condition is fun for me, but I’m never sure if it’s too much, too detailed or just enough to get invested in the characters…
Curiously: In my short stories the characters rarely talk about their families and only occasionally have friends (mentioned). 😀

Tempting Courage and Fear

Temptation in the meaning of forbidden love is something I certainly use as a theme in variations (age-/status-gap, existing relationships, species), even if I don’t like the term. Love isn’t something a law can dictate it just happens, even if it’s sometimes creepy and/or weird – or biologically questionable/unhealthy, if you want to go down that road.
Besides with werwolves and vampires there is a different kind of temptation at play. 😉
But there is also the temptation of power that a few characters have to face (I wrote a short story a couple of years ago about the Tree of Knowledge that I feel I should link here: Knowledge is Power (German), be warned: It’s old!). My antagonists usually succumb to this, but at least one main character dips into it pretty badly until he realizes what he’d become.
I couldn’t say if any of them is particularly brave or frightened in a situation, but there are of course different ways to be either. It’s part of a person to succumb to/overcome fear, but overcoming fear isn’t necessarily courage, just as not being brave doesn’t mean you’re afraid. It’s a thin line between all these things and I think it’s interesting to play with it and „throw“ the characters into uncomfortable situations. 😉
Though there are short stories where I intentionally played with fear, which was fun:

Just to name a few.
Courage on the other hand doesn’t seem to be one of the themes I focus on. The Christmas Light is pretty much the only thing I can think of, where a character displays some kind of courage (the moving on-kind).

My own theme

In short stories a reoccurring theme is running (away) or flying from something. In the longer ones it’s „life“ and what troubles it and the setting in general throws your way. Other than that is I think „being different“ one of the main topics in my writings.
Sometimes I include stuff to discuss it or work through it myself (like a death-scene in the 2015 Advent Calendar), at other times I just write something without much thought behind it and someone else interprets it completely different and pretty deeply (happened with Blind Date (German), though Evanesca has yet to tell me about all the layers she discovered. 😀 Though I can’t find where we talked about it… =/).
Well, it’s not much and I didn’t really go into that much detail, but I’ve already covered some of it in the first week and other things would give too much away, soo….let’s just say: I try to keep an open mind to how my characters would react in a given theme, even if I have to push it onto them at times. 😉
See you with the next theme next week (or hopefully on Sunday with the update of Neubrandenwolf)!
PoiSonPaiNter

#LoveWritingChallenge – Inspiration

I’m participating in the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. For more information see the introduction post.

Week 2

This weeks theme is Inspiration and as I wont be able to write proper length posts about the different sub-themes I’ve decided to put them all into one post.

For stuff about Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Inspiration

Inspiration for me is a tricky thing. I might not be too dependent on a muse any more, meaning I can sit down and write, when I’m up for it, but that doesn’t mean I’m always up for it. And even if I’m up for it, it doesn’t mean I’m working on the stuff that I need to be doing and instead write something entirely different. I have so many unfinished projects and ideas floating around it’s annoying. I know this would be easy to change, but there is also the whole thing with the writing mood. 😉
I’m fairly certain that most of the time the thing that gets me to write is a deadline. 😀 Due to this I try to set them for myself and with the Advent Calendars or writing contests it works, more or less(, with a regular posting schedule it doesn’t…). Still, that doesn’t mean my head isn’t constantly working on something. I’m just too lazy to write it down…and of course there is this thing, that I talked about in my Update on Writing:

[M]otivation plays a rather huge part in my process and when the voice in the back of my head tells me something is not worth doing, then I have the tendency to listen to it, which is awful and counterproductive and absolutely annoying.

Regardless of all that do I technically only need to let my mind wander to find a new idea for a story. Different media help here as well. As I’ve mentioned on the Blog before, did I go to an organ concert a couple of years ago and during the concert I simply closed my eyes and let my imagination show me scenes that fit the music. The Queen’s Wish, whose characters I talked about last week, was one of those ideas/scenes. Though it turned out different from what I originally expected…
When I want to focus my writing I mostly listen to the same (more or less fitting) song(s) over and over again until I’m done with the scene. I primarily do this for my different Fanfiction projects, but Winter Moon, and the re-work I made for it, got the same treatment. Recently I also tried instrumental playlists for TQW, but that felt more like background music instead of focus. The music helps me to imagine (visual writer, remember?) the scenes a bit more clearly. I can just concentrate on watching the scene unfold without any distractions and then write it down, even if it will never be 100% the same.
Watching movies and tv shows makes me think about how my characters would react to certain situations, but more often than it makes me think about creating crossovers for different tv shows with the same actors instead… >_ < (recently happened again during my Buffy-re-watch…). The same goes for other authors. Just as I do with my spoken language, where I sometimes pick up other peoples way of speaking, do I pick up similar stuff from other stories (ideas, format, expressions, …). I don’t set out to copy anyone, but I guess it is possible to see their influence in my writings, even if I myself couldn’t put a finger on it. I might not have read as many books as others, but I do know what I want and especially what I don’t want in a book/story, so I know what I want to/wont add to my own stuff.

Something that gets me writing quite easily are pictures. Back in The Forum there was a challenge where you had to write a story for a picture and I was always fascinated by it, but never dared to participate. Then back in 2014 I decided to give it a try and the idea for my first Advent Calendar was born. In the end it consisted of 24 stories I wrote for pictures friends and others sent me. We later picked up that idea for Your Picture – A Story on DF.PP Entertainment. I don’t know what it is about pictures that makes it easy for me to think something up, even if not right away for every picture, but it’s always a fun way to try out new short stories. Titles or topics or prompts/quotes or clues aren’t as easy for me though. Sometimes it clicks and I just know what I want to write about, sometimes there is nothing. [The titles-story is another first person narrator that I wasn’t sure about but forgot to check, but it still kind of falls into the same category as the other two…]
As for inspiration from everyday Real Life and stuff: I wouldn’t have started writing the Neubrandenwolf if watching the full moon wouldn’t have inspired me. 😉
By the way: A new chapter will hopefully be published on Sunday!
See you next week for the next theme!
PoiSonPaiNter

Reading Together #19

As I told you on Twitter will my entry for this weeks #LoveWritingChallenge be published on Thursday. It’s just easier for me to do it that way…
Instead I give you this post, as I want to talk about my newest read. 😉
You can obviously participate in these questions by either using my translated or the original German version.

What is Reading Together?

“Gemeinsam Lesen” as it is originally called, is a project by German book bloggers Schlunzenbuecher. Each Tuesday you have to answer four questions regarding your current read.
For more information and my old participations take a look at this page: Reading Together.
Without any further ado, let’s take a look at today’s, obviously translated, questions:

1. Which Book are you currently reading and which page are you on?

As I saw the package on Sunday I knew I had to put away Irving’s essay collection and start with this: PWNED by Matt Vancil.
PWNED is part of the Gamers universe by Dead Gentlemen Productions (DGP) and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE) and Matt Vancil is one of the masterminds behind it and JourneyQuest (and more). It tells the story of a young man that tries to win back his girlfriend from the clutches of the MMORPG Fatherall Online by entering the world himself. But as one knows from The Gamers: Nothing is as it seems.
As it’s hard to put down and easy to read am I already on page: 105

2. What is the first sentence on your current page?

English:

TIP: Grouping with other players is a great way to earn experience points!

German:

TIP: Sich mit anderen Spielern zu verbinden, ist ein guter Weg Erfahrungspunkte zu sammeln!

3. What do you desperately need to tell about your current book? (Thoughts, Feelings, a Quote, whatever you want!)

For those that don’t want to read the Gamers post a short summary:

The respective stories [of the three Gamers movies] follow[s] a group of table top gamers (one in the first one, one for part two and three) and their campaigns, but instead of just talking the audience through what the characters are doing, the actors also take up the roles of their characters and show what is happening during the game, sometimes narrating or commenting it with gaming terms (Attack names, “Critical Hit”, etc.).

PWNED tells a Gamers story that never made it on screen. It takes place alongside the third movie, but before the upcoming series. The characters from the „2nd generation“ (Lodge, Cass and Leo) are the side characters in this one. When I saw it amongst the add-ons after the Orcish Dictionary campaign I just thought it sounded interesting to read this story rather than seeing it.
The more you get into the Gamers universe, the larger it becomes and with the upcoming Hopjockey-novels (also by Vancil) it’ll be clear HOW MUCH, everything DGP and ZOE created over the years is connected. I’m quite excited for this, but for now I’m thoroughly enjoying this one.
It’s a bit strange to read the switch between gamer and character, but it’s well done and you still know when the perspective is no longer the one looking at it from the outside. As in all of his (their) work you really know that it’s done by a gamer who loves what he’s doing. It reflects in the chosen words, the descriptions, the little things added to the story (like tips for new gamers at the start of every chapter). It’s just great to have something like this, combined with great characters.
I’m really curious how this story will play into the overall story arc and if there will be a connection to The Shadow! The Shadow? The Shadow… 😉

4. Is it important for you to inspire other people (e.g. your children, friends, colleagues, family, etc.) to read?

Uhm….good question…I think it is. At least it always feels great when someone reads something I enjoyed and even better if they enjoy it as well. But I wouldn’t push others into reading. When I gush about something and they decide to check it out, well, that’s definitely a win. 😉

Additional thoughts

As it’s sunny today I went to get some ice cream after work, but they also served waffles, which made for the more appropriate dish for continued reading. 😀
As far as I know is this story only available in English and it is pretty much a gaming-genre read, but maybe there is someone out there who hasn’t heard of it yet and thinks it sounds interesting enough to check out?
By the way: If you like stuff by DGP (& ZOE): They have a Kickstarter running for a new series of Demon Hunter’s.
PoiSonPaiNter
© For the cover, the quote and the banner belong to their rightful owners.

#LoveWritingChallenge – Favourite Characters

I’m participating in the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. For more information see the introduction post.

This weeks theme are Characters and today is all about Favourite Characters.
To make things easier for myself I will focus on the characters in three of my longer stories:

Though I might add more from other stories.
For stuff about our characters from Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Favouritism

Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like picking favourites? No? Then let it be known now… Alas, I need to pick favourites her, so let’s take a look at them…
Top on this list should probably be Michael and Andrew from TUO. I just like exploring their characters and their stories. I really like their interaction with each other and the other characters and stuff… A close second this this would be „their“ mum (Andrew’s biological, Michael’s adopted mother). Haven’t talked about her, but I throw a lot of crap her way(, just as I do with her boys), but she gets out on top anyway. Sometimes thanks to them, sometimes thanks to her own strength. Besides: She was one of my first OCs …

For some reason did Emry not just weasel his way into TQW(, where he was only supposed to be a passing mention), but also became quite dear to me very fast. I have no idea why … It might be his compassion, his humour, his loyalty or of course his magic, but really, why would anyone like that combination? 😀

Same with Rasha and Nina, but this might be due to their real life counterparts. 😉

Other than that do I enjoy writing pretty much all my characters and they’re all special in their own way, but that’s probably the same for every author …

Do you have a favourite character from one of my stories?

Anyway, see you next week when I’ll talk about inspiration … that’ll be hard …

PoiSonPaiNter

#LoveWritingChallenge – Fun Facts

I’m participating in the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. For more information see the introduction post.

This weeks theme are Characters and today is all about Fun Facts.
To make things easier for myself I will focus on the ladies (and characters) in three of my longer stories:

Though I might add more from other stories.
For stuff about our characters from Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Jokes on you…

All right, fun facts about my projects…let’s see…

I already told you that I had characters that wanted their names changed and that Nina’s and Rasha’s names are based on real people…hmm…

Is it a fun fact that I prefer writing my stories by hand, but haven’t written a single line on paper for TQW?
Well, unless you count corrections made on a print out…

Is it a fun fact that a story tells me which language it wants to be written in? That’s why NBWolf is originally English and TQW was German to begin with.

Is it a fun fact that I’m a visual writer? That I imagine the conversations, the way characters interact/move/etc. and then try to write down what I saw?

Probably not, as neither of those have to do with my characters…Let’s think again…

Hmm…how about this:

I only noticed that Emry was left handed, because he kept doing stuff with that hand.

Just as it only occurred to me that Amir was a biologist when I envisioned a scene of him and Thomas walking around a lake and talking about it.

This is a pretty common occurrence when I write, as I put the characters in scenes and then see what happens. Sometimes the direction it goes sounds interesting, but then I rethink it and realize that it doesn’t fit and I either cut out/not write the scene completely or rearrange it to fit better.

As we’re already talking about funny things:
Another thing that is pretty common amongst my characters is that they share my humour. It’s hard for me to tell jokes I wouldn’t laugh about or wouldn’t make myself – regardless of how bad they are, so I add those to lighten the mood at times. Well, because of that I wouldn’t be surprised if some characters from different stories would get along well and just have a pun-tastic time. 😀

See you tomorrow, when I talk about my favourite characters…

PoiSonPaiNter

#LoveWritingChallenge – POVs

I’m participating in the #LoveWritingChallenge by Katie Kling. For more information see the introduction post.

This weeks theme are Characters and today is all about Point of Views.
To make things easier for myself I will focus on the characters in three of my longer stories:

Though I might add more from other stories.
For stuff about our characters from Warlords feel free to check out our Facebook Page.

Look at it from a different perspective…

From all my stories I believe, I have only two in the first person narration (both German): The secret Life of an Enter-Button and The adventurous Life of Stan the Desert Cactus. Is it telling that both are inanimate „objects“ I lend my voice to? 😀
Usually I write third person narrations with a hint of character thoughts and knowledge. It’s kind of easier that way and I prefer reading books/stories written like that as well. Not sure why I don’t like first person narrations…I just don’t.
POVs are a good way to explore things from different sides as not all characters are there at all times.
As TQW is the story with the most progress I can only talk about that one. Here I chose a couple of characters to tell the story.
With Kurth I can take a look at what’s happening with the lower ranks. With Lihsa I have a look into what the maids are up to. Emry gives me a chance to explore magic and preparation for different events. And so on…
I’m still not entirely sure how I will actually portray the change in POV in the final version, but it sure feels like copying if I do it similar to GRR Martin…
As I’m not entirely sure what else I could write here, I’ll simply ask:
What’s your favourite POV?
See you tomorrow, when I tell you a couple of Fun Facts. 🙂
PoiSonPaiNter