Writing Style

Thanks to Christine @ Musings of an Elf, I am joining a fun-looking link-up this week (just squeaking in at the last minute, here) about the sorts of things I love to write about.The linkup is hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Ashley @ Ashley Aspires called A Novel Idea. This is a weekly linkup to help writers stay inspired and look deeper into their writing life. You can learn more about it here or here.Anyway, after an incredibly busy Spring of detoxing from the release of Yorien's Hand, working hard on that first round of edits for Minstrel's Call, and trying out some new marketing ideas (which were quite satisfactory in their successfulness), I am left feeling a bit burned out and tired. So, I decided to take June off and focus on a few things for the blog and finishing up the school year here at Arda Academy... and doing some much-needed relaxing and READING!However, here I am about 10 days into my "writing vacation" and I'm going a little nuts and feeling rather aimless. Then I saw Christine's post and thought, "That's exactly what I need to get the creative juices churning again!"So, as this week's hm, last week's, apparently, question was: tell us about your writing style/what you like to write. Here are but a few:

FANTASY

I mean, this isn't really a surprise, is it? Fantasy is kind of where I live when it comes to fiction. I love all types of fantasy - though my favorite is medieval/LOTR type fantasy - but I also enjoy space opera, steampunk, fairy tale retellings, and modern-day/portal fantasy.

MYSTERY

This one might seem a bit less obvious, but I really like adding in a good mystery of some kind. This doesn't mean the main plot has to be a mystery (though I do have a story in the works that is more mystery than anything else... oddly enough), but it does mean that I enjoy throwing in things that are mysterious or unclear and then leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for my readers to follow. (Kiernan Kane, anyone?)

HUMOR

All my favorite stories make me laugh somewhere along the way. And I do enjoy making people laugh. I'm not always very good at it, probably because I have a slightly odd sense of humor... but I try.

HAPPY ENDINGS

I'm going to steal this one from Christine, because it resonates with me. I despise sad endings. There are enough of them in real life, thank you very much, I don't want them in my fiction. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy a truly marvelous tragedy now and then (Shakespeare's tragedies are some of my favorites, and I wouldn't change them). Ky/Seamas in my own Minstrel's Song series is a tragic character of monstrous proportions... and I know some of my readers are none too happy with how he has been mistreated by his author... so a Happy Ending doesn't always mean that everything ends happily for everyone... but it does mean that on the whole, I lean far more towards a desire to create a happy or redemptive ending for most of my characters.

DRAGONS

Now that I've said that... the next two series have no hints of dragons in them at all. I feel that I attempted to tackle dragons when I was a bit too young of a writer... and while I love them, I also know I could have done a better job handling them. So, I'm taking a break and working on a couple of series that don't include dragons... but never fear! I love dragons and I am sure they will return to my writing someday!

GOOD VS. EVIL

This is a recurring theme in all of my stories. And although "evil" may not always be exactly what the characters thought it was (Stone Curse... for example) that never means I am justifying evil actions. It just means that sometimes there is room for exceptional, undeserved mercy when the climax occurs.

BETRAYAL and FORGIVENESS

These are just two of the themes I really tend to circle back to in almost everything I write. These themes are powerful and immense, and applicable and relatable.

TRUE HEROES

I know some people love the anti-hero or the flawed hero or the tragic hero best. And I love those types of characters, too. But my favorites are the True Heroes. That doesn't mean they are perfect, but it does tend to mean that they overcome their flaws, rather than being dragged down by them.

REDEMPTION STORIES/ANTI HEROES

I have always fallen for a good redemption story. This may seem odd, especially coming directly on the heels of my last point, but as much as I love a hero who is always a hero and overcomes all his or her flaws and always basically triumphs and acts in a heroic way... I also have a ridiculously large soft spot for the Han Solos and the Malcolm Reynolds and the Jack Sparrows, and the Wolverines... the characters who aren't necessarily villains, but aren't really heroes... until push comes to shove and they have to make a choice to care more about themselves and let the world burn... or become a hero and save the day.

So, that's me... I love writing lots of other things. My "voice" as I have come to understand it tends to be the kind that lends itself well to being read out loud (probably because I read a lot of my own writing out loud and change it when it doesn't flow correctly or turns into too much of a tongue-twister). I like long sentences and big words... but I also like for my stories to be understandable. There are lots of others... but I feel this has gone on long enough!

What are some things that show up over and over in YOUR writing? Or in the stories you love to READ? I'd love to hear from you, dear Reader!