One Song For Every OC Tag

One Song for Every OC Tag

Thank you @rickie-the-storyteller for tagging me!

Rules; Assign a song that fits the vibe of your OC.

A few of my OC’s originated from music I was listening to at the time, so this should be very fun.

Lord Valthoraxe - Once Upon A Time… A Monster (King Stephen)

Valthoraxe is a broken creature, who has gone through more pain and trauma than any of us could even fathom imagining going through. He’s mentally snapped several times, and has become a monster the world bows before in fear. This song portrays everything I could connect with him, with a perfect title to match. My book is his story, the story of how a great person descended into madness, rose to tyranny, and eventually fell. In the land of Alterra, there was Once Upon A Time… A Monster.

Sir James Honorborn - Sicilian Defense (Rok Nardin)

James is a very mysterious person, who seems like just another goofball side character, but is actually a terrifyingly powerful and immortal master of the arcane, with several spells that have taken him several centuries to write. This song has the same otherworldly charm I imagine him to have, while eventually rising to an energetic and powerful level.

DiamondMan - Selenica (King Stephen)

Diamond is one of the heads of NOVA, specifically NVO, and is a main character of the book. Diamond is actually based on another character from a very close friend of mine who is working with me on the sci-fi aspects of the story, so this song was chosen by him. In his own words, “It fits my character perfectly.”

The Heads of the NOVA Corporation - Virtual Armageddon (Kings & Creatures, Brandon Lau)

NOVA is the primary Sci-fi faction in my world, with 9 people leading it. NOVA is a problem solving company, be it inter-galactic travel through the complex NOVA-Gate Network of wormholes, to the hired extermination of hostile lifeforms. While being a neutral entity that’s held very highly in the public eye, it is also a machine of war that is ruthlessly efficient. This song captures the power and threat brought by it’s autonomous forces run by a nigh-sentient AI.

Melody - Absolute Territory (Ken Ashcorp)

Melody is just a fun little character I thought up, while listening to music and thinking, that will never appear in the final book. I went into more detail about her in a previous post, but in short; She is a half-elf shunned by her race and ends up making a deal with the tyrant, Lord Valthoraxe, for a set of magically enhanced clothing. The outfit vastly amplifies her magical abilities by syncing it up with whatever song she’s currently listening to. Naturally, she prefers to be listening to energetic and powerful songs that pop out, and this one in particular matches her new found self-confidence.

I’d love to write down more characters, but I currently only have the one wip, and these are the only fully fleshed out characters I have so far.

This was a lot of fun, I’ll be tagging these wonderful people to play along as well;

@orionsworldbuilding, @hayatheauthor, @author-a-holmes, @shiversdownyourspleen, and @raventsurara

I’m going to be honest, this is why I haven’t finished draft 1 of my novel yet…

The fuck when you started with a 2,000 word one-shot thrown together and published at 2 am. And now you're staring down the barrel of a 10,000 word chapter of a multi-chapter fic with three spin-off fics, a crossover and a prequel in the works 💀 💀 💀

You are a 512 year immortal in a bar, angry because you can’t order a beer. It’s not your fault you took the immortality potion at 12 and have looked the same ever since!

For the random questions ask: What’s one trope you wouldn’t write, except for money? - 🍀 (@enchanted-lightning-aes)

Easy, Love Triangles.

I’m not a big fan of most romantic tropes, but love triangles make me audibly sigh. I also wouldn’t write anything I don’t want to write, even if I’m being paid. I am very passionate about what I write, because I’d otherwise quickly lose any will to finish writing. My attention span isn’t great, but I try to focus what little attention I have on quality over quantity.

If I were to have to write something I’m against, I’d write a parody of it, and probably somehow include it in the worldbuilding of Alterra. I might have a problem, because every time I try to think of a new story, I accidentally think of a way to have it take place on Alterra. This world I’ve created has taken over my life.

P.S. I need to acknowledge this somewhere, but a random reblog on one of @hayatheauthor ‘s posts (the one about writing injuries) has just exploded in popularity, and I don’t know why. When I woke up yesterday, I was greeted to 142 notifications on that one reblog. The post itself has about 1200 notes, but my reblog specifically has a little over 300 of those. I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to turn off notifications, but at the same time I can’t keep getting 50 random notes daily. Do check out hayatheauthor’s blog, their stuff is great!

HEY, YOU! WRITEBLR USER! PLEASE RECOMMEND ME SOME WRITERS AND BLOGS TO FOLLOW, AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO INCLUDE YOUR OWN!

Thanks! This is really helpful, I’ve been worrying about what I’m going to do for my cover. Do you have any good suggestions on how to actually get your book printed?

novlr.org

How to Source Publisher-Quality Book Cover Design as a Self-Published Author - Novlr

I spoke with art commissioners from Faber and Bloomsbury to get their top tips on how to source great art for your book cover design.

The post is full of great insights, but here are some of the top tips to give you a sneak peek:

Top tips to making sure you’ll get quality book cover design

To give you the best chance of finding quality illustrators and artists for your cover art, these are the top tips from the publishers I spoke with:

Find artists who have worked on commission before. Make sure they show evidence of problem-solving, and that their portfolio gives a clean and clear idea of their style.

When in discussion with an artist or illustrator, make sure you can describe what you’re looking for in 5-10 words. This gives your designer a clear idea of what you want for your book cover design and ensures they’ll be working to a clear brief. If you can describe your work succinctly, then they’ll be able to design a memorable cover that reflects exactly that, and nothing else.

Look for illustrators who suit your themes. You might really love an artist’s work, but if they specialise in subdued, soft lines and specialise in fantasy art, they’re probably not the right designer for your romance or horror cover.

Do not ask for custom samples without being willing to pay a fee. Never ask an artist to work for free. You can get a sense of their style from a portfolio, but if you want to see tailored work samples, you must be willing to pay them – you will attract better-quality designers.

Always work with a contract. This is essential for both parties to ensure you both know what is expected from the other. It alleviates the likelihood any nasty surprises and keeps both parties protected from things like intellectual property theft or copyright infringement. Besides, if an illustrator isn’t willing to work with a contract, that’s usually a red flag that they’re someone you don’t want to work with. It’s worth it for that reason alone.