It's been longer than intended, but we're back! Happy New Year, and happy Monday! This song is another brilliant transformation by Postmodern Jukebox. I can't stand the original, but this is wonderful.
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We're taking a holiday break, so please enjoy The Wishing Star! See you in 2019! The Wishing Star: Part OnePart TwoPart ThreeWe're taking a little Christmas break, so there are no tips today except to enjoy yourself with the people you love! There won't be a new Wednesday Word tomorrow, just links to the Wishing Star if you wish to read it again! Merry Christmas to all!   Gina had packed up a good amount of food and water for Janet’s next journey, up the mountain to the witch’s house. She’d also provided her portal stone with water, and now, all it needed was some catalyst magic.
Janet went up the mountain feeling lonely but hopeful. Every now and then she’d stop to rest, to eat, and sometimes, even to practice with her sword. Animals occasionally crossed the path, or stared at her from beyond the trees, but never threatened or bothered her. Janet thought about what she might need to do if Gina hadn’t provided her with food, but the idea of killing one of those animals was nauseating. How could she kill a full grown human person? Even if she was evil, Janet didn’t think she had it in her. While she didn’t feel like she was in any danger, these woods weren’t as pretty and welcoming as the enchanted forest near the fairies Water Circle. They were thicker and darker, and it grew colder the closer she got to the top. She was thankful for her new winter clothes. Not only was it colder, but there were fewer and fewer animals about, and no song of birds. Janet knew instinctively that no wildlife was out to hurt her, the only danger she might face lay at the top of the mountain, at the house of the evil witch. At last, it was in sight. A large log cabin with smoke coming out of it’s chimney, and strange plants growing all around. She scanned the house for entrances. The front door was probably locked. She might be able to crawl in through a window, but they all seemed too small. Then she heard a door swinging open and closed, and a cat ran outside. The back door was open! But where was the witch? The day was growing darker, and she decided it might be best to wait for nightfall, and after the witch had gone to bed. She hoped witches did go to bed. What if they ran on magic only, and didn’t need to sleep? Well, then she would just have to be brave, like the heroes in her story. She watched for the witch inside the house while waiting for darkness to fall completely. She didn’t see her, but there was no turning back. With the night as her cover, she quietly slipped inside through the back door. The house was a mess. There were books and papers scattered everywhere, spells, Janet thought. There were also bottles of potions, most of them stacked on shelves or tables, but plenty on the floor as well, some of them broken. It would be awfully difficult not to make any noise here. She kept her hand on the handle of her sword, hoping the threat of it would be enough to scare the witch away if she saw her. All she had to do was get to that fire… “Who’s sneaking around in my home?” Janet jumped at the voice behind her, drawing her sword. Before she could move any further, a force knocked her backward, into the opposite wall. The witch had a magic wand, and her sword was no match for it. She pulled herself up again. “I just need fire and I’ll leave, I promise!” she said, “I can trade for it, too, I wouldn’t steal!” “But you would break in, and you would bring a weapon? No, no, no, no, no… You’re a magic thief if I ever saw one, girl!” Janet ran at her, jumping out of the way of the next blast of magic from that awful wand. They both toppled to the floor, crashing into tables and shelves, crushing more bottles, releasing potions that made strange hissing sounds as they emptied. The witch tried to knock away her sword as Janet was trying to knock away her wand. Though she wrestled her with all her strength, Janet didn’t strike with her sword. Instead, she fought to keep her weapon away from the witch’s prying hands, while struggling to free the wand. It didn’t take long for Janet to realize the witch was afraid of her sword, perhaps even afraid of her. There was something strange in her dark eyes, something Janet thought was only fear. Maybe the threat would be enough. She knocked the witch hard to the floor, and pointed her sword at her hand, motioning like she was going to cut it off unless she released the wand. To her surprise, the witch did so. She dropped the wand and lay motionless, completely at Janet’s mercy. Unless it was a trick. Janet didn’t dare turn her back, even though she only wished to light the portal stone in the witch’s magic fire and get home. She was sure she could do all of that quickly, but this old witch might be playing with her, pretending to be helpless. She pointed her sword at the woman’s chest, threatening to strike. “They told you to kill the evil witch, didn’t they? Go on then. Do it.” Janet’s hands were sweating. Her whole body was shaking. “I just want your magic fire. Then I’ll be gone, poof, I swear. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” “You want more than that, girl. What did you wish for?” “What? How did you—?” “Be a hero, Janet. Kill me.” Janet was speechless. Not only did she know her wish, she knew her name. “I’m not falling for your tricks,” she whispered. Something in those eyes was trying to speak to her, she just didn’t understand. Is this what heroes are all about? She didn’t feel heroic at all, pointing that sword at that old woman. And that’s all she looked like right then, a poor, crazy old woman. Janet could barely move. She couldn’t kill her, couldn’t even hurt her, and especially not on Christmas. Janet’s heart was beating so hard she felt something banging on her chest with every beat. “What are you waiting for, girl? Go ahead. Be a hero.” Those eyes… Could it be? Gina’s voice echoed in her mind. “Remember her face.” Something hitting against her chest… The vile! The fairy dust! “Stay where you are!” Janet said, “I’ll show you what heroes do!” “So be it,” the witch muttered, and closed her eyes. Janet grasped the tiny bottle of fairy dust, and popped the cork over her. A cloud of glittering dust enveloped the old woman, and she shrank before Janet’s eyes. When she sat up, her face was different. Younger. Still a grown-up, and maybe still a witch, but… No, just a confused, harmless woman. “What’s happening?” she whispered, looking around as the dust slowly cleared. Janet knelt down beside her. “Sierra?” “How do you know my name?” Janet pulled out the picture Gina had given her. “This is you, isn’t it?” Sierra’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, it… it was.” “I… I came here the same way you did,” Janet said. “I think… I think you were cursed.” She sat up slowly. “You wished on a star?” “Yeah,” Janet said, holding it out to her. “I remember now!” she cried. “I found this, I wished for magic, I…” “You’re from my world?” “Yes! I came here as a little girl! The fairies said they’d try to make me a portal stone, but I waited for years without seeing any progress. I was desperate, so I… I started gathering magic on my own. All the magic I could get my hands on… I didn’t realize it was so dangerous. I didn’t know how to use it. It was all too much, put together in so many different ways… I didn’t know. It’s been so many years…” “It’s okay!” Janet said. “They finished the portal stone for me! Well, it’s almost finished, all we need is some of that fire to complete it, and we can both go home!” She shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid a portal stone will only work for one person. You should go. It’s too late for me anyway, any life I had in your world is over. At least now, I’m free from all this mixed up magic.” “But the portal stone will return you to the time you left, and you won’t have aged! I think… I think you should take it.” Janet let the words fall out of her mouth without thought, just feeling. She missed her home so terribly. Her parents, the stories… She so badly longed for a cozy Christmas morning, waking up to a house smelling like pancakes and bacon, and digging through a full stoking of gifts… But they always said Christmas was about more than gifts, and this was a chance to give Sierra something she couldn’t get in a box. “Please, take it,” Janet said. Tears were streaming down Sierra’s face. She reached for the stone with a trembling hand. “Are you sure?” “Completely. Go home.” Sierra embraced her. “T-thank you, child… Oh, thank you…” Janet just nodded as Sierra pulled away, lit the fire, and watched the stone begin to glow. A window opened in the wall, and Janet saw a room not unlike her own. A little girl’s bedroom. She watched Sierra the woman, formerly the evil witch, step inside. Years melted away from her body until she was Janet’s age. She watched her face light up like Christmas as two figures entered the room to greet her, and she ran into their arms. The window slowly closed, leaving the image of the child Sierra, reunited with her family at last, burned into Janet’s memory. Then she was gone, and so was the portal stone. Janet sat down in the wrecked room, held her wishing star, and started to cry. “I did what heroes do, I think,” she said. “I just wish I could go home now…” Her tears fell on the tiny wooden star. How did something so small and ordinary teleport her here, and why wouldn’t it work again? And why was it suddenly… glowing? “I wish I could go home!” she said again, picturing her bedroom, her parents, Christmas morning… Light enveloped her, powerful blinding light, and she remembered one more important thing she had to do… “Go to Gina next, little Wishing Star,” she whispered. The star vanished from her hand as the light grew brighter than ever, and she squeezed her eyes shut as her body lifted off the ground, or maybe the ground was falling away beneath her… Then, everything was quiet. The first thing she was aware of was a warm, familiar scent. Pancakes! She opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom. She heard Mom and Dad’s voices from the kitchen, chatting quietly. “Yes!” she shouted, and sprang out of bed. “Mom! Dad!” They smiled at her. “Merry Christmas, baby.” Janet pulled them both close. “Merry Christmas!” One of the hardest things for writers is starting. Breaking the intimidating stare of the blank page. Beating “writer’s block,” whether or not the story is started (let me remind you writer’s block is not real).
I’ve written a few Tuesday Tips on having space to experiment, and “Josephina’s Guide to Magic for Kids” as well as “The Wishing Star” have been that space for me. "Josephina’s Guide" was inspired by a nightmare. I woke up in the middle of the night unable to stop thinking about the dark town, the shadowy people chasing me, and yeah, there was a train that chased us down the streets and all the cars broke off. While I was writing it I realized it might come across extremely ridiculous. This is a story without rules. Well, “dream rules.” As for "The Wishing Star," I found it cute, but very flawed. It’s full of borrowed fairytale rules and clichés. But I think that while we work on our main stories, we can get so caught up in how important they are to us, and making them 100% perfect, our creativity can get restricted. We don’t always have to be so rigid, especially in early drafts. I found myself afraid to experiment with metaphors and fun descriptions, because they sounded just a little silly. Perfectionism is also a top cause of "writer's block." Let it go, just for now. Conquer the blank page first. You can always edit. That’s why this experimenting space is so important. And I’ll be honest. While I wasn’t sure about either of my short stories at first, I can now honestly say I absolutely love both "Josephina’s Guide" and "The Wishing Star." I’m not even afraid to share them, because they’re so much fun. I do plan on editing it and posting the finished version of “Josephina’s Guide” next year, just as “The Wishing Star” is being polished and re-posted for Christmas. I think these will be growing stories. That might be a fun thing to try, too. Write a short story at a certain time of the year, then revisit it the following year to update it. See how much you’ve grown as a writer. Well, I’ll be off next week for Christmas. Happy writing, and see you in 2019! (Well, I'll still post the last chapter of "The Wishing Star" tomorrow). I'm so excited to be going to Hawaii soon! This is probably my number one favorite Christmas song this year.
 Janet traveled on with the guidance of the fairies, out of the forest, over a hill, and down a path into the human village. A lake glittered nearby. Huts and gardens lay in neat rows, and people milled about, working and chatting. Heads turned toward her as she entered the village, with questioning looks, and several people turned to whisper. Janet heard Sierra’s name mentioned more than once. A woman gestured to her to come over. Janet went to her, hoping for guidance in the next step of her journey. “Welcome, child,” the woman said. “I’m Gina. Did you happen to come here in any unusual way?” “Oh yes,” Janet said. “Did the fairies tell you?” “No, but you’re not the only odd wanderer I’ve come across. Please, come in. I have something important to show you.” Janet followed, wondering what else she could do. She didn’t feel any sense of danger, just Mom’s voice nagging at the back of her mind not to talk to strangers. But perhaps real-world rules didn’t apply in a fairyland where she knew no one. Asking for help was her only way to get back home, and this might all just be a dream anyway. “Back here,” Gina said, “This was Sierra’s room.” Janet’s mouth dropped open. “You knew Sierra?” “Not just Sierra, but she was the last person to stay here.” Janet wandered into the bedroom. It didn’t have many personal touches, but there were a few framed pictures. One of them was Gina standing hand in hand with a familiar man. “That’s Gabe!” Janet exclaimed, pointing. “He really did come here! You’re the woman of his dreams?” Gina froze, and her mouth dropped open. “You—you know Gabe? You’re from the same world?” “Yeah, he’s my friend!” Gina swept up the picture, brushing it free of a layer of dust. “Oh, my, I’d never thought I’d hear… Is he alright? Does he… He said I’m the woman of his dreams? He still cares about me?” “Of course he does! He wished to find true love on Christmas Day! You’re his true love!” “Then why did he disappear?” “He accidentally limited the star’s wish. ‘Christmas Day.’ He only got one day here.” Gina rolled her eyes, but still had a smile on her face. Janet didn’t know if she was happy or sad. “What an idiot,” Gina laughed. Was she mad? She didn’t look mad. “I always hoped that someday our paths would lead us back to each other. Unfortunately, he couldn’t wish on the same star twice.” “But the portal stone could get you home! Why don’t you—?” “Because of the witch! No one can cross the boundary while she lives—unless you have one of those, of course,” she indicated Janet’s Wishing Star. “Then you should have it,” Janet said. “It’s not finished with you yet. You’ll know when it is, and you can dedicate it to whoever you desire.” “Dedicate it?” “Yes, Gabe must have sent it to you when it was done with him. Now…” She returned the picture to the bedside table, and picked up another one. “We need to figure out how to get you home. If you’ve encountered the fairies, I’m sure they’ve told you about Sierra. She was a sweet little girl who only wanted to get back home to her family. We tried to help her find the right magic for her portal stone, but the witch got to her before we came close. Ever since then… Well, I’ve only wished I could have saved her somehow, but there’s no going back in time. I suppose the next best thing would be to help the next lost little girl get back home. Did the fairies give you their portal stone?” “Yes,” Janet said, presenting it. “They said it needs water from the human village. Can I just go get some from the lake?” Gina stared at her for a long moment, and back at the picture in her hands. “Sierra stayed with us for some time before the witch stole her away. Probably used her for some terrible magic until she had nothing more to give. You can have water for your portal stone, girl, but you have to promise something in return.” “I’ll dedicate the star to you!” Janet said. Gina shook her head. “I can’t dictate where you decide to send the star next, and I certainly can’t bargain with you for it. Impure magic is dangerous. It has to be your own choice. Or, if you don’t dedicate it, it’ll pick someone of it’s own accord, which might be the smartest idea. Sierra couldn’t dedicate it before she died, and it found Gabe next, I believe. No, I have something else in mind for you.” Gina ducked under Sierra’s old bed, and rummaged around for a moment. When she emerged again, she presented a small, but very real, sword. “Slay the evil witch. Avenge Sierra, for all of us.” Janet stared at the blade. It was her size, yet the thought of simply holding it was paralyzing. There was no way she could slay anyone. “But… But I’m just a little girl! I don’t know how to use a sword!” “The fairies gave you their blessing. You can do this.” She placed the handle into Janet’s small hand. Janet gasped, staring wide-eyed at the blade. It was light, and felt easy enough to use, like it was made for her. “Listen, girl…” “My names Ja—” “Don’t tell me. Please. I can’t know another child like I knew and loved Sierra only to lose her. I want to believe you’ll succeed, but I also know how dangerous it is. So I’m not letting you any further without some way to defend yourself. I’ll get your water and provisions for the rest of your journey. I owe you that much for bringing me news of Gabe. If you don’t want to kill the evil witch, and you can get what you need without killing her, that’s your choice in the end. But take this, too.” She carefully removed the photo she’d been carrying from it’s frame, and handed it to Janet. A girl of about her same age stared back at her. She had dark curls, bright brown eyes, and she was smiling big for the camera. “Is this her?” “Yes. Remember her face.” The Wishing Star will Conclude Next Wednesday!Don’t Quit Now
Remember why you started that book you haven’t yet finished. You don't have to open it again right now, or even tomorrow. But let's make a promise not to forget about it. Set a date to start again. You're an author, and the world needs your story. No Conflict vs Unnecessary Conflict: How to spice things up Ask yourself what your characters really care about. Who do they want to become at the end of the book, and what will help them get there? Add some tests for your character, and let them have some failures. Check in on your characters and make sure they’re not always saying and doing the right thing. People make mistakes all the time. Let them. No Conflict vs Unnecessary Conflict: How to prevent the unnecessary If the conflict has an easy solution that readers will be able to predict, cut it or change it. Perfection is Boring No one can relate to the girl in a YA book whose biggest problem is being “too beautiful,” or the girl in a fantasy book with “too much” magical power. And in a plot with no stakes of any kind, what are “perfect” moments even worth? Less perfection means more struggles, emotion, development, and growth. How Many Rounds of Editing Does Your Book Need? So many times you lose count. Check different aspects on different rounds. Read silently and out loud. Read on your computer and in print. Always give it one more round of edits. Save everything… EVERYTHING. It’s easy to toss out old material because it’s embarrassing. But keep your old notebooks, because not only will you enjoy reading them someday for nostalgia purposes, but there might be the seeds of brilliance in there somewhere. Also, it’s the perfect base to return to whenever you feel stuck. Always remember your Three Golden Rules: Read a lot, write a lot, and be persistent! This was always a favorite of mine, but it's even more so this year, because I get to go to Hawaii for Christmas!
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