How I Name My Characters

Hi all!

This week I'm going to blog about character names, and the different ways I come up with them. Some have more mundane origins than others, but I thought this would be fun to talk about!

Baby Name Websites.

The vast majority of character names, usually side characters, I will look on baby name websites for. This is usually for side or background characters. Such as Naomi from Elemental Dragons and Eularia from Street Rats. Although this can be quite boring, I will trawl through hundreds of names until I come across the name that I immediately associate the character with. Some I find completely by accident, thinking the character wouldn't suit that name, but then they do.

Letter-Based Names.

Sometimes I'll think that I want a name to begin with a specific letter, such as 'S' and I'll Google those names. From there I'll search through websites until I find a name that suits the character. This tends to be more for main characters and side characters. Examples include: Raya from Celestial Plague and Melia from Elemental Dragons. I've done this for my series books as I think it can get confusing to have loads of characters with names beginning with the same letter. It keeps a variety in my books and also helps readers identify the characters more quickly.

Sound-Based Names.

When I was writing Curse of Anubis, I wanted Darrus to have 'Russ' in his name. So I Googled names that contained the letters 'Russ' and searched through what came up until one fit. This is a less common way that I look for names, and so far I've only used it for Curse of Anubis. I'm not sure if I'll use this method too often in the future, though.

Names with a Special Meaning.

This one I've used more frequently as of late for main characters. I wanted a name meaning 'pure' so I searched that and found Tahira, for Curse of Anubis. Or Genesis in Damaged Goods, which means 'origin' or 'the beginning'. This one I use if I want the character's name to be a homage to their personality or their trials through the book.

Anadromes.

These ones I've only used for Parasitic Aliens so far, which are: Anne, Nola and Alli. The aliens in the books are called: Enna, Alon and Illa respectively. I did this because the characters in the books are the first ones to come into contact with these aliens, so they are named after them. I'm not sure if I will ever use this method again though, as there aren't many anadrome names out there, and I struggled to find ones to fit the characters.

Names I Come Across in Media.

Names like Hazel and Marco in Elemental Dragons I heard while watching films, and fell in love with them. A lot of the characters in Elemental Dragons were named this way, and the rest were Googled. I used this method a lot when I was younger, as I was more influenced by the films and books I liked at the time. I hardly ever do this now.

Characters Named After People I Know.

I have never done this, as I just don't think it's fair to people that I know. Only Normie, Rocky and Mishka have characters named after them, but I don't think they care too much as they're cats! I'd hate to name a characters after someone only for them not to like that character, or get offended that their name was used.

Names by Culture or Time Period.

In Damaged Goods, the first book is set in ancient Greece. So, I had to look up names that would suit that time period. Pyrrah, the main character, is the name I liked most for her. It means 'red' or 'flame-coloured'. In the future I want to write a series about Norse mythology, so I will be looking up names from the Viking Age to name the characters.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

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Creating Alien Planets

Hi all,

This week I'm going to be talking about alien planets. I recently created one for a short story but I now intend to use it for a short story collection! The collection will be about the Gods, Goddesses and Deities of this planet. The collection will probably take a while to complete, as this is a side project of sorts. I intend to get individual stories published elsewhere and then combine them all into one book.

Here's a quick profile of the planet:

Planet name: Vusuunah-RM89.

Colonised by: Humans. 

Type: Earth-like.

Technology: Minimal.

Trade Routes: None.

Alien Species: Many, most undocumented.

Alien Fauna: Many, most undocumented.

Human Settlements: 216.

Because of this, I wanted to make a post about how to create a believable alien planet. So, let's get started:

How far is it from other planets?

You need to keep this in mind if you are planning on having multiple planets and worlds. If your planet is out of the way, it's unlikely that it's going to have good access to trade and newer technology. This also means that your characters may not be able to visit it as often as other planets.

What is the climate of your planet?

Is it similar to Earth, with different areas? Or is it all the same no matter where you go? You can have areas that are extremely hot and areas that are terribly cold, you are not bound by rules stating it has to be a certain temperature. You can also make it a warm tundra, or a freezing desert. It's up to you.

Is it colonised by humans?

Not all planets have to be colonised by humans - you can have alien settlements as well. Depending on who has colonised it you need to think of the following factors: clean water, climate and oxygen. If your species doesn't rely on these three things as much as humans then you don't have anything to worry about. However, humans are extremely unlikely to attempt to live on a planet that has rare access to clean water and oxygen. Your planet has to be hospitable.

Have any species been wiped out?

If your story focuses on humans, have they purposely or accidentally wiped out alien species? Across history humans have been known to hunt animals to the point of extinction, or destroy their habitat so much they die off. If humans colonise new planets, this behaviour is unlikely to stop. For example; an alien species relies on a certain habitat to survive. Humans think this is the perfect habitat to settle in, and start destroying it to make room for farmland and cities. With nowhere else to go, that species will die off.

Is anything toxic to humans?

Of course with alien planets almost anything you like can be toxic to humans. If that's the case, settlers are unlikely to live there.

Are there any enemies?

Is there a rival species that yours constantly battles with? Is their way of life different? You need a good reason for these species to constantly fight. It could be as simple as one burned down another's house. It doesn't have to be a deep rivalry that has spanned generations.

Are there different cultures?

When you think of earth, your mind doesn't go to one specific culture. On a different planet with separate settlements they'll each have their own cultures. Try to include a few in your writing, or at least allude to more if your focus is only on one.

Is anything worshipped?

My short stories focus on the origins of certain Gods, Goddesses and Deities. If humans move to a new planet, they are bound to find new things to worship. If your species has a religion, or multiple, think about how this effects their day-to-day life.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

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Designs of my Winged Characters

Hi all! 

This week I'm going to talk about something a bit different, winged characters. There's a great blog post about them already, detailing little quirks and what it would be like to live with them. Link here: Tumblr Post

However, in a lot of books winged characters are given the same generic design, white angel wings or black demon ones. I used to go with angel wings but then realised I could branch out, so I thought I'd share some of the designs of my winged characters. None of these books are published yet by the way, but there won't be any spoilers! 

Damayanti by @KanizoArt - dragons are the first winged characters that I started writing

Shannon Pennylove - Celestial Plague. 

In the Celestial Plague series winged characters are scrutinised for being clumsy and useless on the ground. Despite having wings, she's also afraid of heights so she is teased even more for this. I thought I'd give her hybrid wings that would make her stick out more. Her wings are: bat-shaped with cream and brown ombre feathers. She's a mix of her parents, one has bat wings and the other has bird-like wings. Instead of giving her one or the other, I thought I'd just mix them together. 

Eularia - Street Rats. 

Eularia lives in a parallel universe where technology is only used by the elite. I've given her a four wing design, two large ones and two smaller ones beneath them. They're shaped like pigeon wings, but the top ones are blue while the bottom ones are a mix of black and white and aren't useful for flying. This book is a long way off from being written so the wings are the only aspect of her design that I have so far. 

Unnamed characters - unnamed Sci-Fi. 

This book is in the very rough stages, I only came up with the idea from a dream I had a few weeks ago. Winged people live in the sky, but rely on a factory that generates all their electricity which they use to fly. I went a bit wilder with this design, as I thought that since electricity is such a large part of their lives that they would incorporate it into their wings. They're metallic, with a featherless membrane that is either neon blue, neon green or neon orange. The wings are implanted in their backs when they're young and grow with them. Without electricity they can't fly. 

In short, don't be afraid to go a bit out there when designing wings. Seeing something exciting and new is better than the same design over and over. 

Do you have any winged characters? Let me know in the comments! 

See you next week! 

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How to Write Bisexual Characters

Hi all! 

For pride month I thought I'd share a post about to write bisexual characters! Before you ask, yes, I am bisexual myself. I haven't really told many people so I guess this is me telling the world? 

Anyway, I've seen bisexual characters written effectively and some... Not so much. Like my blog post about writing characters with anxiety, I thought I'd share a few tips. 

I tried to take a picture of my bisexual pride shirt with Mishka, but she wanted to be the centre of attention!

It's not a 50/50 split. 

This means how much the person is attracted to each gender. When people think bisexual, they tend to think of it as a 50/50 split on attraction to gender. This is not true. While some might like both equally, some might prefer men, while others women. Decide how the attraction is split before you write them. For me it's 75/25, with a preference for men. 

Don't have them shamed for preferring one over the other. 

This just irks me. I've been told that I'm not actually bisexual because I prefer men, which is not the case. No matter what the split is, they are bisexual. 

Don't turn them gay or straight depending on who they're with. 

Just because I'm in a heterosexual relationship, it doesn't mean that I'm magically straight. I'm still attracted to women and men and always will be, no matter who I'm with. The character's sexuality shouldn't change depending on who they're dating. You can write a character as bicurious, but that's a different thing all together. 

Have them suddenly decide they're not bisexual anymore. 

Finding a good partner doesn't mean that they'll immediately 'decide' to be gay or straight. Just no. 

Don't write stereotypes. 

Bisexual people are not promiscuous, despite many people thinking so. A lot of people seem to equate bisexuality with threesomes or cheating, but that's not the case at all. 

Don't make other characters tease them about having to decide. 

Just no. I've heard this enough times and it's stupid. I don't have to 'decide' anything, I'm bisexual and that's not changing. 

Don't make them date everyone they see. 

Bisexual people have standards and types too. Just because we like both sexes doesn't mean we'll date every single person from either. 

Make them ashamed of themselves for their sexuality. 

I like to read about confident LGBTQ+ characters, and write about them too! I'd like to see more books with bisexual characters being confident and happy with their sexuality. Writing characters that aren't comfortable with liking both or the opposite sex is overdone and not a good representation of the LGBTQ+ community. By all means write about their journey to accepting themselves, but don't end the book with them hating who they are and deciding to not be bisexual.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed reading and have found my tips helpful. See you next week. 

Ps, like book bundles? Check these out! 

Escape into Fantasy this June

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Also check out these books that are free to download when you sign up to the author’s mailing list!

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Rough Word Counts for Books

Hi all! 

I've seen a lot of blog posts about this already but I thought I would weigh in on the subject. So many authors are unsure of their book length, whether it's too long or too short. I like to say that it should be as long as it needs to be, but many agents do require debut authors to be within a certain word count. This is because a book that is too long of too short is usually a lot harder for them to sell. 

Disclaimer: these are rough guidelines. Make sure to do more research of books in your genre to see what words counts they fall in. Some agents may want longer books while others want shorter, so make sure to look into each one and their guidelines carefully.

First off, I thought I'd go with writing lengths:

Flash - 0-500 words. 

Short Story - 500-5,000 words. 

Novelette - 5,000-20,000 words. 

Novella - 20,000-50,000 words. 

Novel - 50,000-120,000 words. 

Epic - 120,000+ words. 

These are usually rough guidelines, some agents are usually a bit more relaxed. 

Now for genres. Again, these are quite rough guidelines but are what a lot of agents follow:

Fantasy - 80,000-120,000 words. 

Science Fiction - 80,000-120,000 words. 

Horror - 70,000-90,000 words. 

Crime - 70,000-90,000 words.

Thriller - 70,000-90,000 words.

Mystery - 70,000-90,000 words.

Romance - 50,000-90,000 words. 

Historical - 80,000-100,000 words. 

Dystopian - 80,000-100,000 words. 

Literary - 80,000-100,000 words.

All books in the Elemental Dragons series stay within the 79,000-85,000 mark

Now, for age ranges:

Picture Book - 100-1,000 words.

Middle Grade - 40,000-50,000 words. 

Young Adult - 60,000-80,000 words. 

New Adult - 70,000-100,000 words.

Adult - 80,000+ words.

When querying it's best to stay within their guidelines if you can. Although most of the time it doesn't matter if you're a little bit over or under. If you find that you are way over the word count for your genre, go back through your work and see what you can take out. If there are any subplots, characters etc. that your novel doesn't need then don't be afraid to cut it out. If you're writing a series, you can add some of that into the next book if you don't want to get rid of it completely.

If you're writing in two genres, for example; Young Adult Fantasy, it's best to stay within the age range just in case. 

I hope this can help those querying, see you next week! 

How Writing has Improved my Mental Health

Hi all, 

It's been a while since I made a blog post about mental health, so I thought I would talk about how writing has greatly improved my mental health and hopefully it can help anyone suffering too. 

I suffer from depression and anxiety, though I am nowhere near as bad as I used to be. Now that I'm medicated and out of school I'm much happier mentally. A change of scenery can do wonders for mental health. I used to have frequent panic attacks and depressive episodes, but that has decreased a lot. I feel much more human than I used to be. 

It's an outlet. 

No matter what mood I'm in, I can rely on my writing as a way to get my feelings down. I can use my life experiences in my writing and how I wanted to deal with them or how I dealt with them. For example when I was at school I was ignored most of the time, but then I could write about characters who were great friends and it would cheer me up. I could write anything I wanted. 

Your writing won't judge you. 

You are the creator of the story, you decide what happens. Your writing and your characters won't judge you. You can write freely without fear of being taunted by others. 

You can be anything. 

All authors write a little bit of themselves in their stories. This means when you're down you can write yourself as anything. A dragon rider, a cat or the leader of a faction of survivors. You can be anything you want and you can do anything you want. 

It's an escape. 

I read and write to escape from reality. I still believe that fiction is better to take my mind off things rather than talking to someone about it. 

A hobby makes you feel better. 

Getting up and doing something gives you something else to think about. When I'm writing I find that I'm thinking less about how anxious or depressed I am when I go through bad spots. 

It combats loneliness. 

Writing your characters can help with loneliness, which I used to suffer from a lot when I was at school. You can write how your characters interact and who is friends with who. They can't ignore you as they are in your head. 

You can help others. 

I write for all the depressed and anxious teenagers out there that need an escape from their lives. Your writing can not only help you, but it can help others too. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have books to read. 

That's it for this week, see you next week! 

Why Authors Need a Media Kit

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about something important that some authors may never have heard of. I'd never even heard of it until a few months ago when there was a Twitter thread about it, and I decided to create one myself.

I'm talking about an author media kit.

First off, what is a media kit?

A media kit is a collection of documents that you can send off when inquiring about interviews, TV appearances and other things. This can also be downloaded from your website directly if anyone happens to stumble across you.

What an author media kit contains:

- Bio.

- Author headshot.

- Website link.

- Social media links.

- Book info.

- Book blurb.

- Book cover.

- Book links.

- Extract from a review (by a reader).

- Mock interview questions and answers.

- Any awards you've won.

- Contact details.

I'm still putting mine together (and figuring out how to upload it to my website) but I've managed to do quite a bit already as you can see from the screenshot below:

Now onto the big question, why do authors need one?

It keeps everything in one place and organised.

Having it available in one document or a folder makes it easy for you to find and send to anyone you want. It also saves searching and time for anyone who would like to get hold of you.

It makes it easier for people to contact you.

If they want to invite you for some sort of interview or appearance then they can download everything they need in one place. They can then contact you easily instead of trawling to find what they need on your website or social media.

You can easily update it.

Once you have the template for one done, you can copy it over for another book. You can also just go in there and alter anything that is out of date.

It filters out spam.

Anyone can contact you through your website contact form, but only those that are really interested in getting to know you and invite you into things will download your media kit first. Then you can see who actually did their research and who didn't.

You can easily send it off.

Instead of having to write long emails to fight for a spot on radio or in a newspaper, you can attach your media kit and write an introductory email. It saves a lot of time.

In conclusion, a media kit is a necessity for any author, regardless of how you publish. I made one and it wasn't too difficult, just a bit time consuming. But now I have my template set up so I can just copy it for my other books.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week!

My Writing Toolbox

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about my 'writing toolbox', the resources and websites I use to help me with my writing, editing and publishing. Before I start, I just want to point out that I'm merely discussing these resources, I'm not being sponsored to write about them.

Writing.

Lenovo Laptop.

I write and edit all my books on my laptop, which is currently a Lenovo. Although I now write more often on my phone, I still use it for short stories and editing.

Huawei Phone.

Because I can take this everywhere with me it's what I use to do most of my writing and jot down ideas. I also use it to put all my writing events in my calendar so I can keep track.

Microsoft Word.

All of my books are in Microsoft Word. This is an industry standard for most agents which I why I started using it in the first place. For me it's easy enough to use and it isn't much hassle.

Evernote.

I've downloaded this on my phone and kindle to jot down ideas on the go. Eventually I started using it to write for NaNoWriMo which gave me enough flexibility to write on my lunch break and while on my commute.

Storage.

OneDrive.

All of my books and resources are stored on my OneDrive. It's easy for me to link everything up and I can download it onto my kindle. I have everything separated into neat little folders which keeps everything organised.

Editing.

Findaproofreader.com.

This website was recommended to me by a fellow writer on Twitter. I used it to post an ad asking for an editor for my book and got plenty of replies. I eventually went with my editor, Nicola.

Root-and-branch-editing.com.

This is the website of my editor, Nicola. She's helped me out a lot and cares about my story. I hope to work with her again in the future.

Cover Design.

Derangeddoctordesign.com.

I discovered DDD through another author's blog and booked them right away. I have booked them to do all the covers in the Elemental Dragons series, the two I've got back so far have been gorgeous.

Fiverr.

I've used Fiverr to find someone to write a blurb, create posters for my books and design the cover for the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection. The people I've worked with so far have been lovely and I would love to work with them again!

Cover Animation.

@byMorganWright.

I recently asked Morgan to animate the cover for Blood and Water and the result is gorgeous! I'll be posting them more often on my Twitter.

Formatting.

Reedsy BookEditor.

I found this online tool while looking up ways to format my book. The best part is that it's completely free! The interface is easy to use and it takes no time at all to upload my books.

Website.

SquareSpace.

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, my website is created using SquareSpace. Despite not knowing what I was doing I managed to create my website quite easily, though I'm still learning and adding new features!

Mailing List.

MailerLite.

I use MailerLite to send emails and build my mailing list. I find it quite easy to design emails and create templates, which saves time when sending my newsletter out every month. You can sign up here: 

https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

Why Authors Should Read Writing Magazines

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about writing magazines and why authors should read them.

There are thousands of magazines out there geared towards writers, filled with publication opportunities, author interviews and book trends. Some you have to pay for, while some are free. I'm subscribed to a few writing magazines and have even had a short story published in one. That's why I want to talk about why writers should read at least one.

Publication.

Writing magazines often hold a lot of competitions which gives readers a chance to have their work published. Depending on who you submit to, you could also get paid! The first time that I was ever published was in a writing magazine, and it's a good way to get you work out there and add to your writing portfolio.

Writing Tips.

Most magazines will contain writing tips from other authors. Although not all will work for everyone, you can try a few out and see if any techniques will work for you.

New Reads.

By reading a writing magazine you might find your next favourite book! There are hundreds of books featured in magazines every year that you might never have heard of.

Marketing Tips.

As well as writing tips you can also discover new marketing tips. There might also be opportunities to advertise your book within the magazine if you have the budget.

Some are free.

You don't have to pay to subscribe to some magazines, you can sign up to mailing lists or just read the online versions.

Writing Events.

Magazines are a great way to find out about writing events. You can find out about events close to you and see which authors are attending.

Book Trends.

You can see which genres are up and coming and what hasn't sold well so far. This can also help you see what agents are looking for and who you can submit to.

New Agents/Publishing Houses.

A lot of writing magazines will advertise new agents or publishing houses. Since they have only just started up they'll be looking for plenty of submissions and you could submit your manuscript if they fit your genre.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed.

See you next week!

NaNoWriMo - November 2019

Hi all!

As promised, this week I will talk about how I got on with NaNoWriMo this year. This is the second time I've participated, but I had heard of it previously.

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. You are given a month to write 50,000 words. You can track your progress on their website and fill in your daily word count and when you are projected to finish. There are also forums to connect with other writers, who you can add as buddies.

My progress each day according to the tracker

This year I participated with the second book of the Celestial Plague series: Heaven. I had finished the first draft of Nirvana the month prior and wanted to write Heaven for NaNoWriMo. Before November 1st I'd already written 20K of my first draft, so I hoped that I could complete the entire first draft by November 30th.

By the end of the month I had written 61,908 words, bringing my overall total to nearly 83,000!

My overall word count

Last year I did an entire first draft in 30 days, which was tough. This year I decided to just write what I could.

My method:

- Goal: 2,000 words a day. (60,000 words by the end of the month).

- Write on my phone during my commute to work (bus): usually write between 600-1000 words.

- Write during my half an hour lunch break: usually write between 700-900 words.

- Write during my commute home (bus): usually write between 300-600 words.

- Anything left over I write at home.

My average word count

I found a method that works for me and also means that I don't have to cram words in when I get home from a long day at work. This way when I get home I can relax. Although the whole process is difficult, I still love participating. I love having a goal in front of me and a chart to tell me how I’m doing. I’ll definitely participate again next year, as well as Camp NaNoWriMo.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? Did you hit the 50K target? Let me know in the comments!

See you next week!