lisaharbin-blog

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Watch: This is exactly how it should be — especially her response to the guy she she slept with (Matt McGorry).

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Tribute to Disney Pixar’s INSIDE OUT - Journey to Malaysia

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I may not love her music, but this woman is awesome.

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SCIENCE HAS CONFIRMED THAT DOGS LOVE US BACK BECAUSE THEY GET THE SAME RUSH OF OXYTOCIN WHEN THEY LOOK AT US THAT WE GET WHEN WE LOOK AT THEM

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Write characters who are people. (insp.)

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I hope they put in a “hidden Dori”

That reminds me of

(gifs by ohmilkey)

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It occurs to me that failure to properly worldbuild an SFFnal story is - sometimes, though not always - less reflective of a writer’s creative ability than it is a consequence of their real-world privilege. The concept of culture as something with multiple...

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Neat Resource!

DBT Self-Help Resources: Emotions List

Using an Emotions List to help Label an Emotion

Some people are more adept at labelling their emotions than others. Some people just can’t seem to name what they are currently feeling. They might say that they felt bad or upset, but pinning down what that actually means for them is more challenging. Many people walk around in this kind of emotional fog.

Unfortunately, if you don’t know what you are feeling, you can’t do much to change it. People who can name their emotions are more capable of managing them, so it is important to become more familiar with your emotions and learn to identify them.

Once you are more capable of naming your emotions, you’ll have more choices in terms of what to do with an emotion if it makes you feel uncomfortable and you would prefer to at least reduce its intensity. Many people with emotion dysregulation grow up without learning this important information, so for some people it takes a lot of time to get the hang of naming their emotions. Be patient. If you get frustrated, reframe this process as if you are learning a new language. In fact, that’s exactly what is happening: you are learning the language of emotion.

Anytime you are unable to identify the emotion you are experiencing refer to the Emotions List. Reading through it, you should be able to find a word that closely describes the emotion that you are experiencing.

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Unlikely Partners

It wasn’t Jael’s finest hour. She was supposed to be out in the flight yard, but instead she was late, and it was all because of the stupid hunk of falcon in front of her.

Jael was a scruffy, ten-year old, short for her age and with a chubby face. Her golden hair was curly and was only tamed by the long braid down her back. Her wide green eyes were narrowed, and she crossed her arms as she assessed the creature in front of her.

Althea was big enough to eat Jael, if she were so inclined, and had no patience for temper-tantrums. She was a large falcon, bred in the labs before the Great War and built with the size and strength to carry humans. Althea was unique among her kind, with white feathers, barely speckled with black. Her intelligent, dark eyes were glaring at Jael with disapproval.

“We are late now!” the girl shouted, throwing her arms up and down for emphasis. All it did was jingle the leather and steel harness she was holding in her hands.

The bird was unimpressed.

“You are not a princess to me,” Althea hissed. “Put it on the right way or I am not wearing it. I may be new to this, but even I know that the human should be strapped to my chest, not my back.”

“I’ve ridden on Grawl this way,” Jael protested. She wasn’t used to not getting her way, and she really didn’t like it. Althea was a stupid, stubborn, feather-brained chicken.

“Grawl has been flying for twenty-years. It’s not as safe.” Althea flapped her wings, sending a haze of dirt to settle on Jael’s shiny new boots. “Put it on right and we can catch up to them.”

Grumbling about idiotic partners, Jael started to put the loops over Althea’s head and around her wings. It was hard, even if the falcon lowered herself down to make it easier. Jael finally managed to get the harness on, but wrinkled her nose at the leather cocoon that she was supposed to strap herself into. It was made for a girl of her size, but it was humiliating. None of the real foragers used them unless it was a long flight. Her dad never rode in one.

“I’m going to look like a baby,” she muttered, sliding in and securing the straps around her legs and middle. At least her mom hadn’t forbidden it. At least Jael had been assigned to a falcon at all… even if it was a lame excuse of a bird.

“No one will look at you,” Althea mocked, hopping towards the door to the hanger. “I am too gorgeous.”

“And full of yourself.”

“I guess we make a good match then.”

Althea hopped into the yard, only to find it empty of the four students and Skye, the instructor that was supposed to be teaching them how to work and fly as a team. Jael groaned, and she felt Althea huff against her back.

“How am I supposed to learn how to take off with a human strapped to my chest?” Althea demanded, seeming insulted that no one waited.

“Wait, you’ve never flown with anyone?” Jael squeaked, suddenly nervous.

“Of course not,” Althea said, offended. “You are the only human I will ever fly with. Don’t you know anything?”

“Grawl flies with me! How should I know?”

“Grawl flies with your father, not with you. Be quiet, I have to figure this out. How else will we catch them?”

Jael fell silent. She was worried that Althea would fail and would smoosh her, but she wanted to catch the class. Staying after wouldn’t be fun and the last thing she wanted was homework.

Althea stretched her wings and hopped around the yard, gaining altitude as she went. There was a scary moment when she jumped on the fence and the extra weight in her front tipped her forward. Jael closed her eyes, expecting any moment to be crushed into the dirt, but Althea flapped her wings and managed to take off.

It wasn’t the most graceful of flights, but they didn’t crash into any of the surrounding buildings or the walls of the cavern. Jael had flown before, but this was different. She was in control and her father wasn’t protecting her. With Althea, the world was her oyster.

They didn’t see the class circling the cavern, so Althea flew towards the tunnel that led above ground. When they broke through the earth, the bright sun blinded Jael. She squinted her eyes, not used to the brilliance of the world outside of Jyato.

As much as she liked flying, being in the open air was scary. The world was so huge.

They could see the rest of their class in the distance. It looked like they were practicing hovering, a useful technique when scoping an area for artifacts. Jael thought Althea would go in their direction, but instead she turned away from them.

“Where are you going?” Jael shouted, frustrated. How could she be a forager if her falcon was so unhelpful?

“I know how to hover,” Althea bragged. “We are going to explore.”

“I don’t have any weapons,” Jael snapped, knowing that it could be dangerous in the upper world.

“Nothing is going to attack a falcon,” Althea scoffed.

Not wanting to argue anymore, Jael sighed. I guess I’m not in control at all, she thought, wondering how any forager managed to get anything done if all their mounts had ideas of their own.

They were gaining altitude. The wind was getting cold, and Jael was grateful for her jacket and gloves. Her nose was starting to get cold, and she wished she had a scarf.

Just as Jael was starting to forget about her worries of missing class, Althea dived. Jael screamed at the unfamiliar rush of pressure and felt slightly ill when the falcon pulled up from her dive. Althea wobbled a little, the extra weight throwing off her ability to glide, but she soon balanced herself out. She started climbing again, trying to go higher.

“Don’t throw up,” Althea warned, and then rolled, her stomach to the sky for a spit moment.

Jael clamped her teeth shut, thinking a string of curses that her mother wouldn’t approve of. On the second roll, Jael screamed as a dark shape blocked out the sun.

Althea twisted, and the black falcon swooping in just barely clipped her. The creature’s sharp talons cut away one of the straps of the harness. Althea’s evasive rolled freed her of the other, and Jael screamed again as gravity pulled her downward.

She fought irrationally, twisting all the way out of the harness. Free falling wasn’t covered until lesson eight! She had no idea what to do, so she flailed her arms and screamed as the ground got ever closer. There was a shadow behind her, so she turned to see, hoping it was Althea, but all she saw was the black falcon diving for her, sharp talons outstretched. Terror filled her. If the bird grabbed her with those, he could easily kill her. Death was what waited below, and she felt her hope of rescue die.

A flash of white streaked past the black falcon, the wind of her passing pushing him off course. Althea was close enough for Jael to touch. Jael reached out and grabbed handfuls of white feathers as she wrapped her arms against the falcon’s neck. Althea slipped completely underneath the girl, and she pulled out of her dive with several powerful wing strokes. The black falcon dived past them, missing the two of them by inches.

Jael clung to her partner for dear life, not quite believing that she cheated death.

The black bird approached again, this time flying to hover in front of them. Jael recognized the bird from Jyato. His rider was William, her father’s best friend. Had he really just tried to kill her?

Jael’s instructor, a hard-face man, flew up between the pair. His falcon was red and her furious scream made Jael shudder.

“You will leave her alone!” Skye shouted, sounding angry.

“And if I don’t?” William demanded, his voice suddenly sinister to Jael.

This mad had always been kind to her. He had given her his hat when she had called it fancy, and he had helped name her little brother, Dar.  She couldn’t remember the word, but trying to kill her was a crime against Jyato.

“Then I will kill you,” came the silky voice from behind Jael.

She turned, still holding onto Althea for dear life as the falcon beat her wings to stay level.

It was Grawl, her father’s gray falcon. And there was her father, Luxas, looking like an avenging angel. His golden hair framed his face in a wild halo of curls and his green eyes were piercing.

The color drained from William’s face and his falcon seemed to lose altitude.

“We—we were just playing, old friend,” William stuttered, his voice panicked.

“Jael is the Princess of Jyato. Your actions just now warrant your death. Because of the love I bore for you, I sentence you instead to exile. Begone from this place!” Luxas said vehemently.

Betrayl, Jael thought, shivering. That is the word.

While her father stared William down, Skye turned to her and Althea.

“Go back to the yard, now.”

“Yes, sir,” Jael whispered, but Althea didn’t wait. She turned to leave immediately. Jael looked back once, wondering what being exiled meant, and wondered if she would ever see William’s bright orange hair again.

When they landed back in the underground yard, Jael slid off Althea. Her legs were wobbly, and the falcon lowered her head against Jael’s chest to steady her.

The girl leaned on her new friend, her forehead touching the silky-soft feathers.

“Thank you for saving my life,” Jael breathed.

“I got us into a lot of trouble,” Althea replied, her voice sounding dejected.

“No,” Jael said, her voice stronger this time. She stood up to meet Althea’s gaze. “We are partners. We are in this together. You saved my life.”

“I guess that was some pretty awesome flying,” Althea admitted.

“Thank you,” Jael said, hugging the bird’s neck.

Althea wrapped a wing around Jael’s back, leaning in to the embrace.

“You’re welcome… Partner.”

What now?

Well, hello there! Thank you so much for reading my short story. If you want to know more about Althea and Jael, then you are in luck. They are actually featured in an entire book, called The Artifact.

It is for sale on amazon.com, and you can click >>>here<<< to buy it yourself.

If you want to learn more about me, the author (wow, aren’t you sweet!), you can check out my website, blog, or facebook page. You can also e-mail me if you have any questions at l.harbin.writes@gmail.com

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So, just in case anyone wants to know... my book will be on a free promotion from 1/30/15 to 2/3/15. If you haven't gotten it yet, this is a good time to do so!

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I don't like all these extra comments about I "have" to reblog this. I'm reblogging this because I think it's important. Nothing should have happened to this poor girl, and all this hate for no reason is just disgusting. Makes me thing tumblr shouldn't allow people to post things anonymously anymore!

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THIS IS NOT AN EASY BUSINESS. THERE IS NO SHORTCUT. TO WRITE NOVELS FOR A LIVING YOU MUST BE HARDCORE.

Shannon Hale; Advice to a New Novelist (via mryddinwilt)

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I love elephants.

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BASICS:

Genres:

Alternate World: A setting that is not our world, but may be similar. This includes “portal fantasies” in which characters find an alternative world through their own. An example would be The Chronicles of Narnia.

Arabian: Fantasy that is based on the Middle East and North Africa.

Arthurian: Set in Camelot and deals with Arthurian mythology and legends.

Bangsian: Set in the afterlife or deals heavily with the afterlife. It most often deals with famous and historical people as characters. An example could be The Lovely Bones.

Celtic: Fantasy that is based on the Celtic people, most often the Irish.

Christian: This genre has Christian themes and elements.

Classical: Based on Roman and Greek myths.

Contemporary: This genre takes place in modern society in which paranormal and magical creatures live among us. An example would be the Harry Potter series.

Dark: This genre combines fantasy and horror elements. The tone or feel of dark fantasy is often gloomy, bleak, and gothic.

Epic: This genre is long and, as the name says, epic. Epic is similar to high fantasy, but has more importance, meaning, or depth. Epic fantasy is most often in a medieval setting.

Gaslamp: Also known as gaslight, this genre has a Victorian or Edwardian setting.

Gunpowder: Gunpowder crosses epic or high fantasy with “rifles and railroads”, but the technology remains realistic unlike the similar genre of steampunk.

Heroic: Centers on one or more heroes who start out as humble, unlikely heroes thrown into a plot that challenges them.

High: This is considered the “classic” fantasy genre. High fantasy contains the general fantasy elements and is set in a fictional world.

Historical: The setting in this genre is any time period within our world that has fantasy elements added.

Medieval: Set between ancient times and the industrial era. Often set in Europe and involves knights. (medieval references)

Mythic: Fantasy involving or based on myths, folklore, and fairy tales.

Portal: Involves a portal, doorway, or other entryway that leads the protagonist from the “normal world” to the “magical world”.

Quest: As the name suggests, the protagonist in this genre sets out on a quest. The protagonist most frequently searches for an object of importance and returns home with it.

Sword and Sorcery: Pseudomedieval settings in which the characters use swords and engage in action-packed plots. Magic is also an element, as is romance.

Urban: Has a modern or urban setting in which magic and paranormal creatures exist, often in secret.

Wuxia: A genre in which the protagonist learns a martial art and follows a code. This genre is popular in Chinese speaking areas.

Word Counts:

Word counts for fantasy are longer than other genres because of the need for world building. Even in fantasy that takes place in our world, there is a need for the introduction of the fantasy aspect.

Word counts for established authors with a fan base can run higher because publishers are willing to take a higher chance on those authors. First-time authors (who have little to no fan base) will most likely not publish a longer book through traditional publishing. Established authors may also have better luck with publishing a novel far shorter than that genre’s expected or desired word count, though first-time authors may achieve this as well.

A general rule of thumb for first-time authors is to stay under 100k and probably under 110k for fantasy.

Other exceptions to word count guidelines would be for short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories, etc.) and that one great author who shows up every few years with a perfect 200k manuscript.

But why are there word count guidelines? For young readers, it’s pretty obvious why books should be shorter. For other age groups, it comes down to the editor’s preference, shelf space in book stores, and the cost of publishing a book. The bigger the book, the more expensive it is to publish.

General Fantasy: 75k - 110k

Epic Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Contemporary Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Urban Fantasy: 80k - 100k

Middle Grade: 45k - 70k

YA: 75k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

Adult: 80k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

WORLD BUILDING:

A pseudo-European medieval setting is fine, but it’s overdone. And it’s always full of white men and white women in disguise as white men because around 85% (ignore my guess/exaggeration, I only put it there for emphasis) of fantasy writers seem to have trouble letting go of patriarchal societies. 

Guys. It’s fantasy. You can do whatever you want. You can write a fantasy that takes place in a jungle. Or in a desert. Or in a prairie. The people can be extremely diverse in one region and less diverse in another. The cultures should differ. Different voices should be heard. Queer people exist. People of color exist. Not everyone has two arms or two legs or the ability to hear.

As for the fantasy elements, you also make up the rules. Don’t go searching around about how a certain magic spell is done, just make it up. Magic can be whatever color you want. It can be no color at all. You can use as much or as little magic as you want.

Keep track of what you put into your world and stick to the rules. There should be limits, laws, cultures, climates, disputes, and everything else that exists in our world. However, you don’t have to go over every subject when writing your story.

World Building:

Fantasy World Building Questionnaire

Magical World Builder’s Guide

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Creating Religions

Quick and Dirty World Building

World Building Links

Fantasy World Building Questions

The Seed of Government (2)

Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Fantasy Worlds and Race

Water Geography

Alternate Medieval Fantasy Story

Writing Magic

Types of Magic

When Magic Goes Wrong

Magic-Like Psychic Abilities

Science and Magic

Creative Uses of Magic

Thoughts on Creating Magic Systems

Defining the Sources, Effects, and Costs of Magic

World Building Basics

Mythology Master Post

Fantasy Religions

Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World

Making Histories

Matching Your Money to Your World

Building a Better Beast

A Man in Beast’s Clothing

Creating and Using Fictional Languages

Creating a Language

Creating Fictional Holidays

Creating Holidays

Weather and World Building 101

Describing Fantastic Creatures

Medieval Technology

Music For Your Fantasy World

A heterogeneous World

Articles on World Building

Cliches:

Grand List of Fantasy Cliches (most of this can be debated)

Fantasy Cliches Discussion

Ten Fantasy Cliches That Should Be Put to Rest

Seven Fantasy Cliches That Need to Disappear

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches 101

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliche Meter: The Bad Guys

Fantasy Novelist’s Exam

Mary Sue Race Test

Note: Species (like elves and dwarves) are not cliches. The way they are executed are cliches.

CHARACTERS

Read More

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I agree with Celesse! It was all just awww, until Peter Pan and his wiggly nose!

most amazing thing i’ve ever seen

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I am reblogging this for the Harry Potter one. I couldn't stop laughing at the look on his face when he finds out he is an otter!