I have a friend who says we healers aren't making donuts, I say we're making and selling bagels. Either way the road that we are taking by writing myths, metaphysical fantasy, visionary fantasy, and even paranormal fantasy is not an easy one. Plain and simple we are guiding a group of people who most likely are sleep walking through life and our pieces of entertainment is the closest they will get to swallowing medicine for awakening the spirit.
Demystifying the mystery. Making the effable plain to any one- even a teenager. These are the things that we must do out of duty to the collective whole and greatest good. But we must not get on soap boxes out of self-righteousness, we must be aware of the motive behind every word we speak; no preaching or judgmental accusations allowed. Instead, we are duty bond as vow takers (with conscious memory of our taking the oath or subconscious drive and motivation) to walk the walk while we talk the talk. We should be walking our own journeys and that means that we will eventually come to an impasse. When such deadlock appears in our way we need do anything that we wouldn't ask another to do. Blockades are good for the journey to Self; especially when we as writers/guides are taking the initial run through. This is the time when we should be sitting down and reflecting on what it is that we are trying to communicate to our fellow reflection. The original reason for engaging in such a task as being a healer/writer will be examined and we will see if we have what it takes to guide others through our personal darkness. Because our "individual" journey, I say adventure, is the collective journey, truthfully. Lastly, this is a time to go within to our Source and Supporter, our Guide and Companion, to review the map of our life. Reviewing these three will afford us the rest due for reaching the end in whatever condition we're in. Impasses aren't to be cursed. That's what I'm going to my grave saying, because my adventure has always changed directions and allocated time for resting, regrouping, redirecting, and rebuilding or repairing what's being accomplished. Here's to good rest, reflection, and redesigning at each and every one of your impasses. Thanks for Listening! Sabrina Louise Andielle
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Sometime our effort to avoid hurting another's feelings can cause greater damage to the one we're trying not to hurt.
The longer I deal with being a member of the community of authors, the more I realize that we need to hold each other to the fire; especially when we have the water nearby. True some things are best learnt by experience. After all, we are a living experience having multiple experiences. But, when it comes to the art of fantasy storytelling there need to be elders, masters, and leaders who can demonstrate the way to masterpieces. The biggest issue, and foundation of the problem, is learning to slow down so you can receive, plan, and organize your story before you start to put it in manuscript form. We authors are healers, way-showers, shamans, and teachers. What we do cannot be produced in an instance nor will the results appear within the hour. If you think that you can, or that they will then you'll become more disillusioned than the very people you're working toward helping. This is not a glamour game. With all that said, I need to check myself because there are only so many teachers who can teach for the sake of the art. As in all things classic and novel, there is a misunderstanding that what the professionals do can be duplicated with ease and with little to no training. Writing is no different. So, let me share 3 things that I've learned over my twenty years apprenticeship. 1) You need boundaries and a mission statement. Without knowing what you stand for, you will be all over the place. There will be no proper beginning which makes it hard for resolution since you don't even know what it is that is trying to be accomplished. As for the middle, what middle? There will be none since you don't know where you're going or where you're coming from. 2) You need to sit on the curb and let Spirit do what Spirit does. We are channelers. Face it, accept it, live it. If you are good at what you do as a myth maker, you will be pulling from the collective unconscious constantly. Think I'm wrong? We humans use only 10% of our mental capacity therefore there is no way we can function on this reality and pull stories based in other realities with little to no transition in awareness without help from an invisible Source. This means that there must be time to connect, to receive, to process, to manifest, and to package what we get. Patience is a virtue, especially for authors of novels. 3) You need an elder, colleagues, and Beta readers to just discover who you are. In other healing fields you have the an elder or elders to prepare you for the challenge you're about to partake in, we authors have had to scrape together information (until more recently) this is a waste of the little time that we have for writing and learning by trial and error. This has got to change but only we authors can change it. Colleagues are for more than cheerleading and co-authoring. We are students together and can see and misunderstand things together. Together we can tackle and if need be change tricks of the trade. Fellow students are watching and hopefully helping you expecting you to see what they see even if you don't do what they do. Beta readers can make better resources than editors when you are still striving to become published. Need I say more about your fellow canaries in the mine? If we handle these three, we will be able to produce stronger medicine with tasty sugar that is invisible to the eye, especially our eye. Thanks for Listening Sabrina Louise Andielle I've been told until the manuscript is completed, there is no way to write the synopsis. When I first heard this piece of advice I was bull-headed. There was no way to know what was going to happen and if you've got things happening without the dreaded three or five pages of review. This, the synopsis, was way to knowing if you had an idea or a story, if you had conflict, but most of all if you had the three cores [beginning, middle, and ending.]
With each project I've done after learning about synopsis, premise, theme, and message, I've made certain to attempt to iron-out these required pre-writing tools for my project. But as I would finish, I felt uncertainty with what I had. This uncertainty would manifest into an nonpunishable manuscript; although these jewels were lessons, they were lessons that were slowly cut from stone. My frustrations couldn't subside because I knew that those formerly mentioned pre-writing tools were part of a writer's stable of tools which enables the writer to go about writing sketches and organizing the mammoth that is a novel of an idea. Finally after no longer pretending that I could complete these tools pre-written manuscript, in Hour of Change I was able to go from synopsis to the writing of the 1st draft with the shifting ease of an automatic transmission. The writing gods and goddesses were kind upon me; but, more than that, I was the one who made the decision that I would go back and forward with the pieces until I had something that resembled an outline and 1st draft manuscript. These two birth the synopsis and polished first 50 pages. Which is the purpose of this blog post. You will need a good, hardy, consistent, outline. Nothing too deep but something that will take you to your destination with little sight-seeing that many novelist include in the completion of the manuscript. Many writers, such as myself, believe that we can't begin without a synopsis but whatever synopsis that is written will need to be constantly updated until the novel is finished, i.e. placing the details that will not/ could not come out until the actual writing. Making it more liken to an outline. An outline that I prefer. The synopsis which is required for submission to an agent or a publisher will not look like the ones written when the story is first coming to you. As they should. This means one of the biggest headaches can now be let go of. Just drop the rope. The secret, I learned, nail the synopsis through re-writing until you can start writing sketches, defining setting, and fleshing out characters. Then put that darn synopsis in the brainstorming file which you should have squeezed all life out this file contents. Start the manuscript writing process. Finish it. Then write the synopsis draft for solicitation. Compare it to what you've actually have in your manuscript then adjust as needed: either on the synopsis end or the manuscript's. Repeat this process until what you intended to say when you first wrote the synopsis is what you're saying in the manuscript, but more importantly in the synopsis. First advertisement, this highly glorified book review/report could actually determine the rate of speed that your project get published or sat in a drawer until skill match dream. Thanks for Listening Sabrina Louise Andielle This will be short. This will be quick. I have completed the final draft outline of Hour of Change a The Chronicles of Mow Yen novel. It's looking like this baby will be 34 chapters and 67 scenes long as of yet.
I have that important set up which takes the protagonist, Mow Yen, from living as the incarnated Queen of London in the year 2027, Elizabeth IX, to dying from slipping on ice, which enable her to regain her soul's personality- Mow Yen. Upon meeting her newly assigned guardian angel, she is then informed that she will be relocated from the 3rd dimension to the Welnikov dimension per directive of the Creator-Thinker-Host. Welnikov is where gods such, as Zeus and Odin, and goddesses such as Hecate and Hel currently live. Mow must gather 3 teams of 5 in order to return to the 3rd dimension and divinely intervene in the evolution of Humanity (humanity is on a cusp and can go either way without some help.) But first she has to deal with the upcoming Ritual of Death in which the masculine essence of Gaia will die only to be replaced by some male that lacks the understanding of the feminine essence of Gaia if someone doesn't help. I have the middle which is filled with action and introspection. Mow is sent to the Netherworld, she meet an old friend, herself, a daughter of the moon, then come face to face with her personal evil. There is also a military combat engagement between the military of Hecate and Po's (Mow Yen's masculine equal; her twin flame.) All seems lost as Mow's side quest kills her. But I mustn't give too much away. I have the resolution in which Mow completes the side quest, reorganize Welnikov's foundation structure, and begins to accomplish her original task of gathering help for the humans. This is the 2nd novel in The Chronicles of Mow Yen series; and it will be healthy and screaming once it is born. I've been working on this since July 2018. Thanks for Listening! Sabrina Louise Andielle I wanted to take a brief moment. A moment to sit back and think over the decade long uphill climb I've been making as an writer who focus has been on growing as a novelist. Well, to be honest, I want to shout out this new available option, and share that I've returned to the traditional publishing route.
I never had an elusive literary agent before, but they're out there; and I'm currently on the hunt for one. I've decided that this is the best (if slowest) route to learning how to handle being in the book/publishing industry from story creation to bookstore sales. I know I haven't shared this outside of my small circle, but I want my own publishing house. I still have a lot of learning to do, yet I'm now secure enough in my desire that I can put this dream in the universe. The first of my current two projects are just about ready for professional packaging. I think I've talked about that. With all that said, I've started my agent search- Yay me. The first thing I did was pull out an old 2008 copy of Writers Digest's Guide to Literary Agents. That was the pebble that caused the far reaching ripple in the pond. After the second internet search for/check-up on an agency listed, I discovered that now they have free online databases of Literary Agents. Needlessly, I got lost in the sauce and went ham. But, it's not all fun and indulgence. I still have to put my best foot forward; not because of the competition but because I need someone who will be willing to invest in me and my overreaching career. This shift of focus from how to who has made me more intrigued in the industry. Things aren't the same as when I first started! Praises Be! Now that I've shared a short ramble, let me return to my writing and developing or planning and editing. Thanks for Listening Sabrina Louise Andielle |
AuthorOne of those writer folk telling stories, reviewing the writer's adventure, and presenting the hero's journey. All wrapped in Spirit, the Kingdom of God, the Sanatana Dharma, the Tao, the Way, or the Absolute. Archives
February 2020
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