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Tag Archives: Writing

Tips about writing, suggestions for better writing, how to write.

Did you ever dream a story? #MFRWhooks #SciFi

 

Did you ever dream a story?

I almost never dream.
My husband has vivid ones.
While I sometimes wish I could, there is
one dream I cannot forget.
Dream a story. Sounds fascinating.
But this one scared me.

When You Dream a Story...

I started writing the Bringer of Chaos series when I was seventeen years old. I was sound asleep at home, dreaming about walking the length of a vast receiving chamber, heading for a woman who sat on the throne at the end. The empress was the twin sister of a dangerous man who was not present. He was older than she but he wasn't the king. I didn't know why he wasn't at the time, but that fact worried me. Honestly, to dream a story was never something I thought I could do, but there it was.

I had to walk through rows of soldiers who stood at attention, facing forward. I could not see their faces. I was not afraid to approach the throne. The woman looked amused at how long it took me to reach her. I kept walking and walking but never seemed to get closer. I turned around to see how far I had come. That's when I saw the faces of the soldiers, and my breath caught.

Every one of them had the heads of gray cats.

I woke up and sat straight up in bed.

Why that image should have been so frightening, I don't know. No one was attacking me. No one glared at me. They just looked right at me, and that was enough. To this day, I can see that image.

From that dream was born most of the Tarthian Empire series. The woman on the throne became Empress Rheyn Destoiya. The cat-headed soldiers became the Praetorian Guard, peopled with the Kin, a feline-humanoid race. My Kin do not have cat-heads but they are quite catlike and have pointed ears higher up on their heads than a human's.

Her missing, older brother became Pietas, hero of the Bringer of Chaos series. Discovering Pietas has been a lifelong attempt. Below is an excerpt from the book for you to sample, and you can download the entire first three chapters here.

Excerpt from Forged in Fire

In this scene, Pietas discovers that his friend, Six, has been taken hostage.

"Are you looking for this?" His father's unmistakable voice came to him before the man's faint outline revealed itself in the dark.

Mahikos had captured Six and pressed a knife blade to the ghost's throat. At the point where the blade dug into him, blood oozed.

The blank passivity on his friend's face revealed what Pietas had feared. Six had been compelled into submission. He would stand there and let Mahikos kill him.

Rage propelled Pietas forward.

"That's far enough, Son." He dragged Six backward. "Unless you want your own hands covered in this human's blood."

Pietas ground his teeth. "I will end you, old man."

"Will you?" Mahikos dug the knife edge into Six's neck. "You dared bring this abomination into our camp after it threatened your mother--the woman I love--and you want to end me? This thing is going to die by my hands!"

Origin of Pietas
Panthers like belly rubs #SciFi #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

 

To save his people, a genetically enhanced warrior must do the one thing he detests... trust a human.
Origin of Pietas
https://books2read.com/u/4DovO7

 

An exiled, immortal king and his not-quite human friend join a ginormous panther "kitty" and the most dysfunctional family since forever.
Forged in Fire
https://books2read.com/u/bpW7Kg

Forged in Fire
Panthers like belly rubs #SciFi #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks


JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.

pietas-beta-courtroom

Pietas Before the Tribunal (Beta)

This blog tour is different from most. A writer is tagged for the position, and she or he then tags three others to take part as well. Each shares some aspect of the writing process. . I don’t often write about writing on this blog. I reserve it for story-oriented posts. But this was a chance to show a “behind the scenes” look at what I do, and I couldn’t resist it. My post will be on creating an immortal hero.

My sponsor for this leg of the tour was Denys? Bridger. You can find her at this spot. http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com

We’re supposed to answer these four questions about our writing processes.

1) What am I working on?

I’m creating a science fiction book about the king of my immortals, the Sempervians. The full title is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. The character is known as the “bad boy king” and he is an anti-hero. While he is the protagonist of this story, he is not a good guy at all. I wanted the book to give background into his character, because in an upcoming book, Surrender Trust, I want readers to understand his motives. He will definitely be the villain in that story, but he is not all bad. I have a soft spot for him, much as I hate to admit it. No one is all bad, including Pietas.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It will be illustrated. This is not a comic book or manga, but a book with an image for each chapter. I’ve included a sample for you. The art is by my son, Jamin Allen. You can find his work at Nimajination Studios. What you see here is a beta version – a rough draft for me to approve placement of characters and design. It has a great deal more work to be done, but I am excited to share this much.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I’ve loved science fiction since I was a little girl. My parents always had these types of books and I would pick them up and read them. I remember the cover of one in particular. It showed people looking up at the sky, which had been peeled back to reveal the world was nothing more than a cage. The concept fascinated me. My books all have a hint that the world as we know it is not what we assume it to be. The Sempervians have molded human society to fit their needs. Because they never die, they manage to sway political power in the direction they want to go by using influence over long periods of time. They have made alliances with humans (the Chosen) who assist them, in return for protection, power, and wealth. In my Tales of the Chosen series, one Chosen — Wulf — discovers what it is that he is being protected from. The discovery shocks him — and he will have to decide in future books whether he wants to continue assisting the Sempervians, or whether he will take a stand against them. How do you stand against immortals who secretly run the government? That’s what Wulf will have to find out.

4) How does your writing process work?

Bringer of Chaos

Bringer of Chaos

I can get an idea for a scene or a book from anything. My imagination has never been lacking. I carry a notepad and pen with me everywhere. My computer has an ideas file that’s chock full of things. Once I have an idea, I work on jotting down notes and making it coherent. It must have a beginning, middle, and end. I don’t start writing until I have a synopsis. Otherwise, for me, it’s just writing, not producing. I prefer to write when I know where I’m going. I will jot down enough to understand what I wanted to say when I look at it later, but I learned long ago not to start writing as if it were a real book. Ideas are ideas. They are not books. It saved me a lot of time once I realized the difference. I keep extensive notes for my scifi series, so an idea for that goes in my system. Currently, I use a mixture of MS Word and Excel. However, I pin images to boards on Pinterest too.

Whatever I write, I try to keep my readers in mind. I want them to understand the aspects of the story, and to enjoy the characters.

For another take on this tour, check out Mona Karel.

No longer in available in eBook

eBook available exclusively on Ream

Print version

All available locations: https://books2read.com/guide-tec

 

Genre: Non-fiction, writer's guidebook

For #PietasFans & #LucRah lovers

The Companion is a World Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series.

Before writing the first book in the Tarthian Empire, I wrote ten thousand years of future history.

This book features that history, and spans Earth and its colonization of the galaxy, focusing on the big picture.

The Tarthian Empire Companion also provides advice and suggestions for creating a Science Fiction series and building worlds.

The companion provides organizational tips, links to marketing sites, groups supporting writers, science fiction groups, and more.

Illustrated in full color with original art created by Jamin Allen and Kayelle Allen.

What is a Story Bible?

A "story bible" is the book an author uses to keep all the details straight when writing a story or book. Different from a synopsis or outline, a story bible is a collection of details that bring a story to life. Is your hero left handed? What year did your king assume the throne? What is the name of your heroine's pet? What type of money does your character have in his pocket? All these details and more are kept in a story bible. This book includes my story bible -- and shows you how to create your own.

Qualified to Write a How-To

I have studied the craft and read classic Scifi since I was a child. In 2008 I won an honorary mention for the EPIC eBook Award for Fantasy, and in 2010 won the EPIC eBook Award for Science Fiction Romance. My books have won reviewer's awards and received multiple four- and five-star reviews. I have published numerous Science Fiction books, Science Fiction Romances, and have written within the genre since 2003.

Writing a History

Writers must understand the culture of the people about whom they write. What events drove their wars? Who won them? What made the peace so short, and the fighting so dire? The Tarthian Empire Companion suggests other questions to consider when writing a history for your world.

Where to buy the Tarthian Empire Companion

Universal book link - buy from your favorite store: https://books2read.com/guide-tec

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.


~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!


To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

What's a Story Molecule? Trailing Kaiwulf by Kayelle Allen #MFRWauthor #Scifi @MelissaSnarkLike me, my friend Melissa Snark likes the TV Tropes website. What are tropes? They’re devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not cliches. The word cliched means “stereotyped and trite.” In other words, dull and uninteresting. The TV Tropes site isn’t about that. It’s about the creative use of these mega-themes.

The Periodic Table of Storytelling is a site that makes good use of these themes. By putting together all the basic tropes and assigning them a range of colors and letters, it’s possible to create a “story molecule” using the themes of the story.

What's a Story Molecule? Trailing Kaiwulf by Kayelle Allen #MFRWauthor #ScifiMelissa had an idea. Why not take the TV Tropes website and figure out how to apply its amazing concepts to her own story? She hit upon an even better idea. Why not invite other authors to do the same thing? Adding icing to the cake, she contacted the TV Tropes site and asked if they’d like to take a look. They did, she did, and a group of us got together to share the idea of creating a story molecule.

Mine is the last one in the series, so I’m doing my best to make it awesome. I hope you’ll check it out. The book I’m featuring is Trailing Kaiwulf. Why not head over there and take a look? It’s amazing what she put together. Click here: http://is.gd/kaiwulf_molecule

Find an invisible man in another dimension? All in a day’s work at TRAIL.

Travel to a godforsaken planet on the outskirts of space. Check. Hold intrusive military types at bay. Check. Find an invisible man in a different dimension. Check. Finish out the vacation TRAIL yanked you back from to do it? Easier said than done.

Trailing Kaiwulf

Trailing Kaiwulf

Yanked back from their first vacation in ages, Jee and Dane get handed a top priority mission. The pay is better than any they’ve earned before as agents for the Trace, Rescue, and Identification League. With this much money, they might not need jobs. They’re the best there is, and the item, person, or secret hasn’t been invented that these two can’t recover. Until now.

Locating this quarry might be a bit past even their considerable skills. After all, how do you find an invisible man in another dimension? And who, exactly, is footing a bill this steep? Certainly not the archaeologist in charge. The military wants to get involved, but they have no monetary stake either. So who — or what — is behind the request to trail Kaiwulf?

Excerpt https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfAmazon https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfThis is a Trace, Rescue, and Identification League story.
Download the official TRAIL Facebook cover and other goodies: https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulf
Learn more about the Periodic Table of Storytelling
http://designthroughstorytelling.net/periodic/

 

 

Remember reading a series?

When you picked up the first book, it held such promise. There would be more to learn, more to see, more worlds for you to explore. When you finished it, you had a kind of “book hangover.” You were still so tied up in that book’s world that you weren’t sure you could handle another one. But the promise of seeing what happened to your new favorite characters was too strong. You succumbed and started reading the next book. And just like that — you were lost in the characters’ world again.

I am a series addict

You can recapture the world you read about in Surrender Love, and Wulf. The Empire you explored in Alitus, Jawk, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, and For Women Only is waiting to be found in the new Tarthian Empire Companion, an illustrated World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series.

If you loved the universe in which those original stories were set, then you’ll be glad to know the Tarthian Empire is alive and well. This new book features all the characters, places, and things that made the other stories unique.

Before writing the first book in my Tarthian Empire science fiction romance series, I wrote 10,000 years of future history. The Tarthian Empire Companion features that history, plus Earth and its colonization of the galaxy. The companion focuses on the big picture. What events drove the wars? Who won them? What made the peace so short, and the centuries of fighting so dire? Did the immortal Sempervians evolve or were they created? What do they want from mankind? What characters, places, and incidents shape the Tarthian Empire today?

Tarthian Empire Companion - create believable aliens

The Tarthian Empire Companion contains a full list of every character in every book, and peeks at books to come. This is the book I use to keep all the details straight. It’s written for readers as well as writers. If you write Scifi Romance and want to know how to keep a huge story world organized, this book is for you. I share all my details in this illustrated volume. If you love reading SF and loved my books, you’ll be able to look up details, go through the character lists, and learn inside secrets about the people and places. Always wondered what Peril, the game of the immortals, was all about? It’s in there.

The companion book is illustrated with original art and a few stock photos. My son, Jamin Allen, helped me create many of the images in this book. He’s a digital artist and began assisting me when he was in college at the Art Institute of Atlanta. In fact, he taught me how to use Photoshop. The work I’m able to do today is because of him.

Slang

I’m not a fan of changing basic terms for the sake of making them sound alien. For example, we “inch” along, not “millimeter” along, so I apply the same principle in my books. Diamonds are diamonds. Water is water.

Language, however, is malleable. Considering how far in the future my own stories are, there would be few (if any) words in English that we’d recognize. Being the practical sort, I kept many current terms.

What better way to describe rock music than to call it rock? Why call a flashlight a “mobile light source” or some other phrase for the sake of sounding different? It comes across silly and pretentious instead.

People shorthand words and phrases to things like OMG, LOL, BFF, deets, and probably one of the most famous shortcuts of all — the abbreviation for “more of the same” — “etc.” I prefer to use natural, understandable language whenever possible.

If you create a language, write down the words you use and keep a definition handy. This will keep you from later misspelling or contradicting yourself. You should also create a phonogram chart (list of sounds). This will help you create a richer language.

What terms do your characters use for slang? Define these and list them so you have a ready reference for future books. List how and why the words became slang. This not only helps you maintain consistency in creation, it also helps you with creating future slang you might need.

Here is a list of Kelthian Street Slang. It’s used in limited places, and there is far more listed here than I used in my actual books. However, I wanted a big list from which to choose a term.

Kelthian Street Slang

Cobber is Kelthian street cant (characteristic language) used on Kelthia by slaves and gangs. The slang was used by Senth and Khyff in the books At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, and For Women Only. The characters Trink and Yvan (who own Batchelors) sometimes use it too.

Boastin’; mess with, put on a front, tease, etc.
Clinkers; great, fine, no worries
Going all Kin; becoming feral, unruly, wild
Hawkin’; watching from the sidelines
Junk me; pay no attention to me
Leave me sly; forgive me, let me off
Lipped; said, explained, told
No new coins; same stuff different day, nothing new
Notta boasted you clean; shouldn’t have messed with you, or shouldn’t have put on a front with you, teased you, etc.
Ride my pocket; Follow me, stay on my tail
Right clinkers; perfectly fine, totally great
Royal; excellent, top notch
Scam-butt; cheater, scam artist
Scat these taggers; get out of these clothes, undress
Screech, the; sickness of any type
Seein’ you slip; noticing you’re not doing well
Smacked; happy, pleased
Smackers; general swear word with unspecified meaning. Dang, damn, hell, etc.
Sotted; drunk
Spacin’ me; In my space, close to me
Space me; give me some room, move away
Street freak or freaks; homeless person or people
Street; the street in general. Culture of the street.
Tawkin’; looking for action
What’s down; what’s up or what’s new
You skinnin’; you’re skin and bones
Shake out those taggers; what’s under those clothes
Taggers; clothes

Tarthian Empire Companion, an illustrated World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series by Kayelle Allen. Illustrated by Jamin Allen and Kayelle Allen.

All my books are being re-released in new formats. Surrender Love and its long-awaited sequel, Surrender Trust will come out at the same time. At the Mercy of Her Pleasure and For Women Only will be re-released with their sequel, Crystal Clear Truth, and will introduce a third Antonello brother, Darq. In the meantime, I’m sharing all the details of my world with fans.

If you not only read but also write science fiction romance, this book will guide you to build believable worlds, track details of your story, organize your writing, and lay out your story bible. My website has over 90 pages of material for my world.

Writer or reader, you’ll get a glimpse of the world building and complexity that is the Tarthian Empire.

Have questions about a character, or about writing? Leave me a comment and I’ll be glad to answer. Please sign up for my newsletter while you’re here.

Available now on Smashwords, and Amazon.

Amazon http://bit.ly/companion-az
Smashwords http://bit.ly/companion-sm
Coming soon to Barnes and Noble and CreateSpace

Tarthian Empire Companion - create believable aliens

Tarthian Empire Companion – create believable aliens

About 18 months ago, I joined a local writer’s group. I was looking for a critique group, but figured any writer’s group would lead me to one. At the time, it was a weekly meeting and the emphasis of the group was strictly to do writing prompts. Members met at Starbucks, had coffee, and shared a new word they’d learned. The moderator then gave a topic and we spent 20 minutes writing. Afterward, we shared what we’d written and others in the group commented. About four months later, someone asked if we could meet on an additional, different day to critique already-written work. Several of us jumped at the chance. Within another three months, the original moderator left the group, and we began doing a critique at all meetings. In addition, or instead of, members can write to prompts and bring those. In any case, we all share critiques. The atmosphere is positive, friendly, and open.

Critique Groups Get Results

Mallow Mayhem by Lisa Haman

Mallow Mayhem by Lisa Haman

The group meets regularly, Tuesday for lunch at a different restaurant, and Saturday for coffee, and we do critiques of work we’re readying to publish. It’s produced some wonderful books, including Lisa Haman’s brilliant humorous noir, Mallow Mayhem. Imagine a world where marshmallow peeps rule. When a pink bunny goes missing, it’s up to yellow chick Philippa Marlowmellow to investigate. Lisa wrote this book with a nod to all the various kinds of peeps, without ever mentioning the candy or using its trademarked names. Click her cover to read a sample.

Last year, I published A Romance for Christmas, which the group critiqued, and also Human Perfect. This month, I released The Tarthian Empire Companion, a non-fiction book the group helped me polish.

Tarthian Empire Companion, an illustrated World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series by Kayelle Allen. Illustrated by Jamin Allen and Kayelle Allen.

Tarthian Empire Companion, an illustrated World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series by Kayelle Allen. Illustrated by Jamin Allen and Kayelle Allen.

For the writer of science fiction, and the writer who wants to create a science fiction series, this volume teaches you how to build believable worlds, track details of your story, organize your writing, and lay out your story bible. Novice or experienced, you will pick up tricks and tips here. The Companion reveals the worldbuilding magic that makes the Tarthian Empire tick. I share 10k years of future history, offer peeks at scene and character creation, lay out a quick tour of the Empire, and dish up a surfeit of secrets for fans, all in one illustrated volume. The companion provides organizational tips, links to marketing sites, groups supporting writers, science fiction groups, and more. Material from my 90+ page website is included. Original art by Jamin Allen (and some by me).

It’s a good idea to have any book looked at by others before publishing it. When people put a checkmark next to a line because they like it, or tell you they got lost on a line, it helps. Better to have friends who tell you the truth about a scene and guide you to make it better, than to have reviewers tell you how badly you write. Once that book is out there, it’s out there.

A Location Critique

Is Starbucks an ideal location? On the plus side, most people drink coffee, and the site offers tea and water, plus other flavored drinks. There are healthy and not-so-healthy snacks, all made on site. Best yet, no one drops by the table to interrupt or ask if you want anything else. You can work without a hassle. [pq]Starbucks offers plugins for computers or phones, and wifi is free.[/pq] On the down side, it can be noisy when they grind beans, or the place is full. We’ve learned that when the grinder starts, it’s best just to wait a minute. We meet at different spots, and one swears the room temperature is set by corporate. We don’t really buy that story, but what can you do? Overall, we find Starbucks a good place to meet, and they are environmentally conscious.

Grab Some Coffee and a Critique

So grab yourself some coffee, pop up a note on Meetup or Facebook, and get ready to sit down and talk writing. It could be the best cup of coffee you drink (and two hours of time you spend) all week.

Where to find the Tarthian Empire Companion

Amazon http://bit.ly/companion-az
Smashwords http://bit.ly/companion-sm
Find this book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25134488-tarthian-empire-companion-an-illustrated-world-building-bible-and-guide
Coming soon to print