10 (Not as Well Known) Fantasy Books To Add To Your TBR

Yes, it is Saturday and not Monday. BUT DON’T WORRY. I haven’t completely lost my mind. (Though I usually am doing good if I even know what day of the week it is…) I’m purposely posting my weekly post a couple of days early. Becaaaause… Today is the 63rd birthday of the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring! To celebrate and to end The Silmarillion Awards you may have seen sweeping the blogosphere this month, Jenelle Schimdt and many others are throwing a big fantasy celebration today in which we can rave about Tolkien and/or fantasy on our blogs or anywhere on social media! Thus the Saturday-instead-of-Monday post.

Last year I did a post on what Tolkien means to me, and around the same time also posted about how fantasy is infinite and why I love to write it. I didn’t want to repeat myself, sooo I decided to go in an entirely different direction this year.

Instead, I’m going to pile up everyone's TBRs (“to-be-read piles” if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about) with delightful fantasy books. Because it’s not like your piles are already so large they’re probably going to crush you any day now. Nooo. You need even more books.

YOU’RE WELCOME.

I’ve purposely chosen to not list the over popular books, because, well, you all already know about Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Peter Pan, etc. (Though if you haven’t read those then WHY ARE YOU READING MY BLOG??? GO READ THOSE BOOKS INSTEAD.) Annnd I would list Howl’s Moving Castle but I’m pretty sure I manage to squeeze my utter unhealthy love for that book in every post I write, so… I’ll try to stick to some I may not have mentioned here before.

There are so many amazing books in the world, and as hard as we try, we don’t always know about all of them. Thus I’ve chosen some not quiiite as well-known and/or pretty obscure books to share. Because some books just deserve more love than they get! I’m also making this a variety of different types of stories so there will (hopefully) be something for everyone.

(And because I’m nice, all titles link to their GoodRead’s pages.)

. . .

 

THE BEAST OF TALESEND
By Kyle Robert Shultz

I just read this a few weeks ago and OH MY GRACIOUS, GUYS. THIS BOOK.

Imagine a 1920s detective story set in another world where fairytales is the world’s history instead of boring politics. Then add a grumpy detective who is determined that fairytales aren’t actually real, a mad girl who happens to have magic, and the grumpy detective’s happy-go-lucky brother all working together to stop a crime lord from ruining the world. And there you have this story! I KNOW, RIGHT?

It was seriously one of the most unique and FUN settings I’ve ever read. AND THE HUMOR. This book is chock full of hilarious mishaps. But it’s also just fascinating! I loooove 1920s detective settings. I always have. So add that in a fantasy world and you make A VERY HAPPY CHRISTINE.

Oh, and did I mention this was a BEAUTY AND THE BEAST RETELLING???? Because YES. It’s probably my favorite B&B retelling to date!

Just…just read this story.

 

BEAUTY
By Robin McKinley

This probably isn’t all that obscure, but I never really see anyone talk about it? SO HERE I AM TALKING ABOUT IT.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t read this in…probably a decade or so? o.O BUT. I do remember absolutely loving it.

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling as well (I’m obsessed, okay?). But what’s kind of neat about it is…it’s not exactly a retelling but more a novelization of the very short original Beauty and the Beast story. It’s like the actual story but lengthened and elaborated into a full novel. Which I thought was fantastic! Because I, for one, always wish fairytales were longer than like…3 pages. Not to mention wish they were sooometimes a bit more logical. Heh. So with Beauty, you get just that! The Beauty and the Beast story in a lengthened, logical format. Not to mention it has this slightly dark, chilling feel which I love. Especially for fairytales.

If you’re a fan of the Beauty and the Beast story or just dark fairytales in general, I’d definitely recommend this one!

 

BONES OF FAERIE
By Janni Lee Simner

I had never heard of this, but one day my best friend and I were secondhand bookstore shopping (like we do) when she found it and thought it looked intriguing. She read it right away and then proceeded to yell at me to read it as well (like good bookworm friends do). So I did. And then I understood why she demanded I read it.

This book was fascinating. I read the whole thing in one day (something I sadly can’t do much anymore these days, but I could not put it down!).

What absolutely made this book shine was the worldbuilding. The gist is, faerie folk came into the world and there was this huge war between humans and faeries, and it devastated both sides. So now people are living without much technology and lots of the world is taken over by faeries. (Such as trees that come alive and try to eat people, and all sorts of fun.) The world just had SO. MUCH. EPICNESS. I was blown away by the worldbuilding.

Honestly, the story itself was almost too simple for the huge, fascinating world it was set in. It’s mainly a story of a girl going on a little quest to save her village. And it’s good. But, it also was so simplistic. I wanted this humongous, epic series to go with this world. (Though it is a trilogy and I haven’t read the other two books yet, but I think they stick with the simple storyline as far as I can tell.)

Still, the story was fun, the writing beautiful, and the world so dangerous and creepy and intriguing. Fair warning though, it is quite a dark book. It’s not exactly the feel-good book of the year. There’s a smidge of domestic abuse, and, if I remember right, a guy isn’t dressed in one scene. But otherwise it was clean and fine.

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who loves evil, creepy fae and chillingly dark and unique stories.

 

A DRAGON’S GUIDE TO THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HUMANS
By Laurence Yep & Joanne Ryder

This one is a bit different because it’s intended for a much younger audience. BUT THAT’S NEVER STOPPED ME FROM READING A BOOK BEFORE. #NeverGrowUp And, come on, look at that title! Do you seriously think I’d pass up a book with that title? I THINK NOT.

The story follows Miss Drake, a rather disgruntled but perfectly ladylike dragon, and her new "pet", the clever but reckless Winnie. It’s set in our world but where dragons and all sorts of magical creatures and things exist. Just no one knows it because the magical creatures are good at disguising themselves. Such as Miss Drake can shapeshift into a human. (GIMME A SHAPESHIFTING DRAGON ANY DAY.)

Since this is juvenile fiction, the storyline was pretty straightforward, but really, it added to the charm of the story. And, unlike a lot of books meant for a young audience, this one did not skimp on character development. Miss Drake and Winnie’s relationship grows throughout the story. And there was even some emotional depth as they both had to deal with losses in their lives.

The whole thing was absolutely precious and fun. AND THE ENDING. The ending was PERFECTION.

If I had children, I’d totally be reading this out loud to them. But hey, even in my 20s I adored it. I think everyone occasionally needs a cozy, juvenile read now and again. This one is perfect for that.

 

DRAGON SLIPPERS
By Jessica Day George

I read this book years ago and it became an instant fave. It’s just FUN. It takes a ton of fairytale cliches and flips them over. Such as the damsel in distress refusing help from the knight in shining armor and leaving the dragon’s den herself. XD

Our main character, Creel, is not a force to be reckoned with. BUT she is not a warrior. Instead, she escapes mayhem using her wits, and she’s a seamstress. That’s her thing, she loves to sew, and makes gorgeous dresses and things. I loved how we had a heroine who was both strong and yet still feminine.

The whole story itself is such a fun ride. We go from dragon dens to quaint dress shops to castles and everything in between. And the spin on the dragons themselves was my FAVE. Instead of hoarding gold and jewels like everyone expects, these dragons each hoard something different. One collects slippers, another collects dogs…like, live dogs. Yes. A dragon with a brood of dogs, it’s the BEST. Each dragon has their own interest! There’s just so much fun stuff going on!

This story is for all those who enjoy light, fun, and unexpected fairytales. (Also I remember liking the sequel Dragon Flight just as much. I haven’t read the third book yet BUT I NEED TO.)

 

ENTWINED
By Heather Dixon

All right, so I kinda think everyone has heard of this book. I don’t think it’s obscure at all. But I had to add it to the list juuuust in case someone out there hasn’t read it. BECAUSE EVERYONE MUST READ THIS BOOK.

This is a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling (which is my 2nd favorite fairytale after Beauty and the Beast #FunFact), and probably my favorite fairytale retelling I’ve ever read. THAT’S HOW GOOD IT IS.

The thing about a lot of 12DP stories is it can get overwhelming because there are essentially 12 main characters. But this book magically balanced every single princess perfectly while still giving them each their own personality, and not even confusing the reader on who was who!

The world was fantastic, the magic system was one of my favorites, and the VILLAIN. Ooooh, the villain. Literally one of my top favorite villains of ever. He was CREEPY. But…just…AGH. THAT VILLAIN.

The whole story was just gorgeous and so vivid. I could see everything. Sometimes I’d forget I was even reading. It all felt so real. Each and every character was lovable in their own way, the storyline kept me glued to the page, and the writing made me jealous of its pure gorgeousness. It had a slight dark feel which, as we’ve established, is my favorite for fairytales. And yet, at the same time, it had a ton of light and downright hilarious moments. It was the perfect balance! I honestly don’t think I had a single complaint with this story. And, let me tell you, that does not happen often! This is literally one of my most favorite stories in existence.

BUT. As I mentioned, the villain is soooo creepy. There’s a couple of very chilling scenes and use of dark magic from the villain. I’d recommend this for a slightly older audience (I’d say 15 or 16+) because of that.

 

THE PECULIAR
By Stefan Bachmann

For all you steampunk lovers, this one’s for you!

One day someone brought this to the secondhand bookstore I work at and it looked so intriguing—a steampunk world with fairies? YES PLEASE—I just had to buy it. (Perks of working at a bookstore—first dibs.) I was not disappointed in my purchase!

This one actually sorta kinda reminded me of Bones of Faerie in that there’s a constant feud between humans and faeries (apparently I’m totally in love with the fairies vs. humans storyline???), the worldbuilding is some of the best I’ve ever seen, buuut the storyline seemed a smidge too simple for the epic world. BUT STILL. The plot was still EPIC, even though I feel like it could have been even bigger. (But I’m super picky in that I want a huge, epic, complex storyline so…this is probably just a Christine problem.)

The feel of this story is what really drew me in. It’s so very steampunkish but with all manner of weird fairy folk (TWO OF MY FAVORITE THINGS), and it just felt so…British! I don’t know, something about the style had this witty, snarky British tone which I absolutely adored. And it also had a slightly creepy but intriguing odd feel to it. To me, it so felt like a Tim Burton movie. Dark and weird but fascinating all rolled into one. (Seriously, Tim Burton needs to pick this one up!)

The characters were all odd and lovable and unique, the setting was just so bizarrely fun, and the strange mystery of it all kept me reading and reading. This book was amazing, guys! BUT, make sure you have the sequel, The Whatnot (which is just as good), on hand because THAT CLIFFHANGER ENDING. *collapses*

 

PETER PAN IN SCARLET
By Geraldine McCaughrean

I think I’m an uneducated porcupine, because I had no idea there was an official sequel to Peter Pan until my bookfairy Celti told me about it. But GUYS. THERE’S AN OFFICIAL SEQUEL TO PETER PAN. Apparently there was some big contest for someone to write the official sequel and Geraldine McCaughrean’s story won. AND WITH GOOD REASON.

At first I was suuuuper dubious about this story. I’m a Peter Pan purist and was not sure about someone other than J.M. Barrie himself writing something canon for Peter Pan. Peter Pan was my CHILDHOOD. What if this book somehow ruined it for me???? I’m not a fan of classics being turned into something new. But I thought I’d at least give this book a try. AND I’M SO GLAD I DID.

Geraldine McCaughrean did an AMAZING job capturing the magic of Peter Pan. Honestly, it felt like J.M. Barrie penned this tale, it really did. It perfectly captured his style, humor, and wonder. And the characters were PERFECTION. Wendy especially was precisely the Wendy I know and love. It didn’t try to change anything, it kept true to the characters (most remakes or sequels of classics destroy the original characters, ugh), and felt respectful toward the original story (again, most remakes/sequels/what-have-you so disrespect the original authors). Honestly, I loved every little thing about it. It was a delight, and I happily accept it as canon to the original Peter Pan story.

So if you’re a rabid Peter Pan fan like me, YOU NEED THIS STORY.

 

SENTINEL
By Jamie Foley

This series is a new obsession of mine because OOOOOH MY GOODNESS. IT’S SO GOOD.

Now, this isn’t exactly heavily fantasy in any way. It’s set in a different world where there are specific mental powers, but otherwise it very much feels like our world—cars, cell phones, and the like reign. BUT IT’S STILL SO GOOD.

How do I even describe this book? It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s like an apocalyptic setting with mind powers and government conspiracies and military intrigue and immense amounts of action and suspense and snarky characters for daaaaays. IT’S SO UNIQUE.

Not only is it packed full of action (seriously, get ready for nail-biting, heart-pounding scenes), it’s got humor as well and the CHARACTERS. The characters make the story. Namely our main character Darien, whose constant confusion on what was going on made me crack up. And JET. JETTTT. He’s officially now one of my top, TOP favorite characters in existence. Basically the opposite of Darien in that he’s always in control, deadly, and serious, but will certainly sass you to death if the need arises. HE WAS THE BEST. And then you team them up and SKDJLFSJLJDF. HILARIOUSNESS.

And did I mention there’s mind powers? BECAUSE MIND POWERS. Mind powers are amaziiiing! Some people could control your emotions, others could make invisible walls appear, others could hurl a striking force. Just…MIND POWERS.

Something about this book actually reminded me of the Final Fantasy video games. I have no idea if any of you play those games, but if you do, I think you’ll like these books! Just the setting and style reminded me of the unique setting those games have. (And I loooove the Final Fantasy games, so that was a huge plus for me!)

But anyway, if you like apocalyptic worlds with mind powers and action galore, GIVE THIS BOOK A TRY. And the sequel, Arbiter, is just as good (and has even more fantasy-type things in it)! Maybe even better. I don’t knoooow! THEY’RE BOTH AMAZING. And I’m desperate for the third book but it’s not out yet. *writhes on the floor moaning*

 

VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS TRILOGY
By Donita. K. Paul

(Yes, I’m cheating and putting a whole trilogy. Shhhh.)

Okay, so I’m pretty sure most of you have read or heard of The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul (and if not, IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES GO READ IT.) But I hardly see anyone talk about the spinoff trilogy, Valley of the Dragons. I’d actually highly recommend reading The DragonKeeper Chronicles first. This trilogy kind of felt like it was intended more for people who were already familiar with the complex world, even though this is actually a prequel to The DragonKeeper Chronicles. It just didn’t have quite as much in the way of details and explanations of how the world works (Mrs. Paul’s worldbuilding is #Goals). But anyways. THIS TRILOGY WAS STILL AMAZING. If I’m being honest, I almost enjoyed it just as much as The DragonKeeper Chronicles. Which is saying a LOT.

These books have the most lovable characters and hilarious mishaps and epic plots and the world is amazing. I LOVE THESE BOOKS. I honestly can’t even tell you much about them because the plots are all so crazy and unique and fantastic.

Also DRAGONS. Dragonssss. DRAGONS!!!!!!!! Big dragons and adorable kitten-sized dragons (I’m serious) and just DRAGONS. Mrs. Paul is not shy about dragon-usage with her stories. SO. MANY. DRAGONS.

If you like rollicking fun fantasy stories with hilarious and precious characters, GET THESE BOOKS. They’re clean reads and great for young and old readers alike.

. . .

THERE YA HAVE IT. Some fairytales, some steampunk, some mind powers, some dark fiction, juvenile fiction, DRAGONS. And all fantasy! I hope I’ve succeeded in connecting you to some books you may have not heard about (and made your TBR uncontrollable *cackles*).

And don’t forget we’re celebrating the Fellowship of the Ring’s anniversary today! So if you have something Tolkien and/or fantasy related you want to share via your blog or any other social media outlet, GO FOR IT. And you can use the hashtag #SilmAwards2017. Let’s show our dear fantasy some love!

 

TALK WITH ME. Have you heard of/read any of these books? (Because if so I want to flail with you!!!) Did I list any that piqued your interest? And, IMPORTANT HERE, what are some lesser known fantasy reads you love??? (Because I obviously need even more books out of my hundreds that I don’t have time to read. Eheheheheheh…heh heh…heh. *collapses*)

Beautiful People - All About ME!!! *cue scary music* {July 2017}

Well, guys, for once I’m going to do a Beautiful People post not using one of my characters from Burning Thorns. I KNOW, RIGHT??? IT’S BEEN AGES. So who am I going to feature today?

*pause for dramatic effect*

MEEEEE!!!!!!!

Now before you think I’ve turned into a complete narcissist, I’m only doing this because the Beautiful People questions for this month are centered around the author. So see? It’s not even my choice.

(But really now, over half this blog is me talking about my writing. Oops?)

 

Visit Sky @ Further Up and Further In or Cait @ Paperfury to join the BP linkup!

 

. . . THE AUTHOR . . .

1.) How do you decide which project to work on?

I pretty much force myself to have only one project at a time and make sure I finish whatever draft of that project I’m on at the time before starting another. It’s the only way I ever do actually finish things. And when I get a new shiny plot bunny I’m dyyyying to write, it gives me drive to finish my current project quickly so I can write that shiny new story idea. Alllll this to say, I work on whichever single project I have at the time.

Now, how do I decide which new project to begin is a whole ‘nother thing. Usually it’s just whatever I’m most excited about at the time, or whatever I feel like needs doing the most. Like right now I plan for my Next Big Project to be more edits on Burning Thorns because I want to start pursuing publishing with it.

Long answer short (but you guys know by now I’m incapable of short answers): I start stories that I’m feeling the most excited about, and don’t begin anything new until the first drafts are done. (I’m reeeally bad about writing a gazillion first drafts and never editing, but I’m working on breaking that habit!)

 

2.) How long does it usually take you to finish a project?

If it’s during NaNoWriMo, I do my best to finish within the month. (My record of finishing a book is 22 days.) But that’s only during NaNo. Any other time of the year it takes multiple months. Anywhere from 3 to 6 months I’d say. And to be clear, I’m talkin’ first drafts! If this means finish finish a project—first draft to fully edited—well…I’ve yet to have a full manuscript completely finished. (I seriously have a first draft addiction, guys! IT’S BAD.)

 

3.) Do you have any routines to put you in the writing mood?

Get a beverage of some kind, sit in chair, put on novel’s playlist, open word document, put hands on keyboard, and— OH. My phone dinged. *rushes to check email* *somehow finds self on twitter* Oh, oh! I should check to see if there’s any new blog posts on my dashboard. *scrolls through blogs* Wait, wait, I was writing. *puts on serious face* *stares at word document for 0.7 seconds* You know what, I need inspiration. *goes to novel’s storyboard on Pinterest*

*3 hours later*

How did I end up looking at funny Doctor Who memes? I just came on Pinterest to get some inspiration! Wait, it’s nighttime? It was daytime last I looked up from the computer screen! Okay, I’m writing. FOR REAL THIS TIME.

*writes 100 words*

Welp, it’s late. Better go to bed.

Oooookay, that’s a slight exaggeration. Maybe? Really, if I have a goal set in mind for how much I want to write that day or how soon I want to get the novel done, I do actually get busy writing and do my best to avoid distractions. Buuuut, distractions and procrastinating does happen. Heh. The main way I get in the writing mood is to have my novel’s playlist going. Nothing makes me want to write more than music that fits my book. It’s so inspirational!

 

4.) What time of day do you write best?

I write my best at night with all the lights out and everyone else in bed. I can fully immerse in my story then. But I actually don’t write at night very much, to be honest. That’s usually when I just want to chill and read or whatever. Most of my writing happens anywhere between 2 and 5 in the afternoon. Really, those are my main “work” hours. Whether it be writing, blogging, emailing, etc.

 

5.) Are there any authors you think you have a similar style to?

I…have…no…idea. o.o I aspire to write as gorgeously as Anne Elisabeth Stengl but HAHAHAHAHA. No. No way on this earth I can capture the enchanting beauty with words she does.

I honestly can’t think of a single author whose style has reminded me of my own. What do you guys think, for any who has read my stories? Does my style remind you of anyone? I’d love to know!

 

6.) Why did you start writing, and why do you keep writing?

I started because I loved stories and thought it’d be fun to write my own. I was right.

Why does one keep breathing? Because they have to. It’s the same with writing for me. I have this insatiable urge to create stories. Stories are 96% if what goes on inside my head. It controls my life, the way I see the world, everything about me. Writing is my oxygen and I can never stop.

 

7.) What’s the hardest thing you’ve written?

Are we talkin’ which novel was the hardest or what scene?

For the novel, I’d say More Purple than Amethysts, the 3rd book in my Colors of a Dragon Scale series. I had some life stress going on during that NaNo and just wasn’t getting into my story as much as usual. Though I still had some golden moments and look back on that story and time with it with fondness. But I’d definitely say it was my least favorite novel to write. It’s really the only novel I’ve written that doesn’t make me all nostalgic and happy-ful thinking about my time with it. Yes, during the writing process I can get stressed and overwhelmed and exhausted. But, overall, writing a novel is the most magical thing to me and memories of writing each story brings a smile to my face.

As far as scenes…well, I’ve always hated writing fight scenes. Which brings the questions whyyyyy do I always include a gadrillion in my stories? I guess I like torturing myself???? I DON’T KNOW. Just…trying to write a play-by-play of a swordfight hurts my brain.

 

8.) Is there a project you want to tackle someday but you don’t feel ready yet?

There are quite a few vague ideas rolling through my head that don’t feel quite ready to tackle. But there’s one in particular.

For probably 3 or so years now I’ve had this Arthurian legend story in my head. (Because, really, I never run out of Arthurian legend stories. I’m a total King Arthur fangirl and there’s sooooo much you can do with those legends.) It takes place in both modern times and King Arthur’s day and involves immortality and Arthur’s returning and running from the authorities on motorcycles and all sorts of weird stuff. But it’ll take place in modern day London as well as King Arthur’s time and, for once, I don’t want it to be a fantasy version of those days. I want to make everything as accurate as possible, including London’s layout, which will require immense amounts of research. Like visiting London and writing the novel while I’m there. But seriously, that’s the dream. And just…stuff. I think it’s a deep book, maybe even a thriller, and I just…don’t foresee myself writing it for a long, looong time. It’ll be completely different from my usual stuff. But one day I really want to. It’s already become special to me, and is pretty vivid in my mind. One of those types of stories where I get snippets of scenes in my head quite often, ya know? It just won’t let me go. So…one day. But for now it’s not ready.

I do have a fairly long ramble of it in my writing journal for safe keeping when it does feel ready though. Juuust in case my useless memory decides to discard it one day…

 

9.) What writing goals did you make for 2017 and how are they going?

*scratches head awkwardly*

*crickets chirping*

Eheheheheh.

Okay so…I had big plans for 2017. BIG PLANS. Like get Burning Thorns super edited and have a query letter ready and find some literary agents to send it to and be super active on my blog/instagram/twitter and basically DO ALL THE THINGS. This was going to be the year I actually worked toward being a published author.

………….

I wrote one short story back in February and that’s basically the extent of my writing ALL YEAR. I’ve barely touched Burning Thorns, I took two month long blogging hiatuses (something I haven’t done in 4 YEARS). I’ve just barely even been a writer this year!

But you know what? It’s okay. Because, yes, I wrote an elaborate list of 2017 writing goals, but then God said, “Nope, not this year”. And it’s been good. Great. I’ve had lots of changes going on and exciting things happening, all of which I’ve been able to focus on and soak up instead of being cooped up in my room writing. And, not only that, but I haven’t had a writing break this long for, sheesh, 7 years? o.o It’s really helped me gain perspective on things and grow as a person. And, most importantly of all, it’s made me realize something: I love writing. Yes, not writing has made me realize I love writing.

See, for a while there I was really stressed, even to the point that I wondered if I really wanted to be a writer for the rest of my life. But this break has caused me to see that I can’t survive without writing. The longer I don’t write, the more I want to, the more I miss it, the more stories plague me, begging to be written. As I said before, writing is my oxygen. I needed this break to realize that.

So it’s been good. And I really do plan on returning to writing soon. I’m at the point where I’m about to erupt from lack of story making. But that’s so much better than the stressed out, exhausted mess I was at the beginning of the year.

Moral of the story: Let God interrupt your plans. You’ll thank Him later.

Also, never be ashamed of taking writing breaks. They’re a necessity for writers.

(And wow…that got deep and rambly just for a simple question. SOWWY.)

 

10.) Describe your writing process in 3 words or a gif!

 

 

. . .

 

Well, there you have it. A peek into my writing life. (Though I suspect you all already knew most of these answers since we’ve already established the fact that I talk about my writing life on this blog way too much.) Do we share any similar writing traits? And have you joined the Beautiful People linkup this month??? (Because, ya know, YOU SHOULD.)

7 Book Character Types I Will Never Tire Of

It happens to all of us. We pickup a new book, begin reading, and then BAM! a new character pops up on the pages and you’re just like “WELL HELLOOO THERE.”

Normally I’d say instalove is nonsense. Buuut let’s be honest here. With some characters, it takes us rabid readers 0.2 seconds to fall in love with them and call them our baby and send threatening letters to the authors that our Baby must never, ever, ever be harmed even whilst we’re reading about them being tortured and probably dying because the best characters always die.

BEING A BOOKWORM IS HARD OKAY.

But we just keep reading anyway because, ya know, BOOKS. Books bring us precious characters to love and adore and fangirl/boy over and cry about and YES. CHARACTERS. 100% my favorite part about reading and writing and just being a fangirl all around. (Even when character deaths leave a permanent scar in my heart.)

For all of us, I believe we have specific types of characters we tend to gravitate toward. The kind that, no matter what, you’re going to love them and their book. ALWAYS. Who cares if the plot is dumb and all the other characters make watching paint dry an exciting activity??? This book has THIS TYPE of character in it so NATURALLY YOU LOVE IT.

I have lots of types of characters I love and adore (really, it’s probably getting unhealthy). But today I’m going to list 7 types that make my fangirl heart putter and give me an uncontrollable urge to hug the book and yell at everyone in the universe to read it.

 

. . . THE ANTIHEROES . . .

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING. I’m not exactly quiet about my undying love for antiheroes. *cough* BUT THEY’RE SO INTERESTING.

Antiheroes are those characters who aren’t exactly bad, but definitely not good either. They’re usually out for their own gain, and don’t care how they get it. Sometimes they’ll work for the bad guys, sometimes they’ll help the good ones out, but they’re nooot exactly in the business of saving the world.

So why do I love them so much? Well, for one thing, they’re such an intriguing (and sometimes scary) picture of the human race. Usually, at some point, the antihero has to make a choice: To fight for good or join the dark side. And isn’t that how it is for all of us? We can’t all live in the “in between” forever. We’re either for God for against Him.

I’m also head over heels for any type of big character arc, and antiheroes pretty much always have one. My faaaaaavorite kind are the antiheroes who start out mostly bad but end up joining the heroes in the end. SO MUCH SQUEALING. SO MUCH HAPPINESS. Though the characters who at first are sorta good but then slowly spiral into villiany also greatly intrigue me. (Just not if it’s like a protagonist or something. Don’t get me wrong, I do not condone villainy for our heroes. Pleeease give me heroes that are good and wholesome, people!)

Examples:

Thorne (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
Thorne is kiiiinda an antihero. (And I’m pretty sure you’re all aware of my utter and unashamed love for him. <3)

Damien (Chasing Shadows and Defying Shadows by Ashley Townsend)
He definitely had some antihero-ness going on annnd, again, I loved him so much.

(I want to say Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender but that’s a TV show and I was trying to stick to book characters… BUT ZUKO IS LIKE MY FAVORITE OF EVER SO YES.)

There’s probably one billion others but antiheroes always = spoilers for some reason so I’m trying to be careful here… (Also most of my favorites are from TV shows for some reason??? Come on, books, gimme more antiheroes!)

 

. . . THE QUIET, SWEET
SPIRITED BABIES . . .

You know those precious babies who may not be found on the front lines of battle carrying a sword larger than their bodies, but they will slay their enemies with their pure GOODNESS. I LOVE THEM. The healers, the encouragers. The ones who choose to sit in the background, but whose love and support strengthens everyone. They may not have a lot to say, but when they do speak, it’s always a kind word to lift one up. At first appearances, they seem weak, cowardly, but they’re truly the strongest of anyone. Not through brute force, but from the peace and kindness they hold inside.

Side note: These are often the characters who cause antiheroes to turn to the good side. Give me a dark, broody, broken antihero guy and pure and gentle precious gal and I WILL SHIP IT SO HARD.

Examples:

Bonnie (The Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis)
Literally her sweet and kind spirit causes like EVERYONE IN THE SERIES to be better people and just asdkjf;lksjd;lfjksdf. She is #Goals.

Sapphira (also The Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis)
Only my FAVORITE character from those books. She’s gentle and kind but also probably the strongest character I know. Period. She suffered so much but kept her sweet spirit throughout it all. I LOVE HER.

 

. . . THE FUN-LOVING ONES . . .

These are the characters who make you laugh and smile even while the world is spiraling into doom and despair. The joke-crackers, the lighthearted ones. BUT they’re not just there for comedy relief. (I can’t stand empty characters who purely exist to make you laugh. Give me some depth, people! Actually Victoria @ Wanderer's Pen did a post recently on how comic relief characters should and should not be written. Everyone should read it! It was my thoughts EXACTLY.)

Usually these characters are loyal to a fault, and can find joy and hope where it seems like no joy exists. They’re also great at making really cheesy puns even while the world is ending.

Examples:

Walter (The Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis)
(These books have a lot of amazing characters, okay???) Walter is the protagonist’s best friend and has all these traits I named—hope, joy, loyalty. But he also is always there to crack a super lame joke when you need one the most. And we love him for it.

Blaze (Twinepathy by C.B. Cook)
THIS BOY. GAH. He’s fun, sweet, and will make hilarious comments while saving your life. Everyone should have a Blaze!

Kaylee (The Angel Eyes trilogy by Shannon Dittemore)
Kaylee is Brielle’s (the protagonist) best friend, and her lightheartedness and witty jokes balance out Brielle’s more serious persona perfectly. Kaylee was one of my favorite parts of these books. She was hilarious!

I’m realizing this type of character tends to always be the best friend to the protagonist. But that makes sense. When you’re saving the world and nearly dying like every three pages, you need a best friend to crack a joke now and again, am I right? I’m alllll for the fun-loving best friends!

 

. . . COCKY DUDES WITH
HEARTS OF GOLD . . .

Wit. Sarcasm. Constantly praising their own skills and good looks. But, deep down, will sacrifice everything to save their loved ones. YOU KNOW THE CHARACTERS. These are like my top, TOP favorite characters in existence. Like excuse me while I go put on a wedding dress ‘cause we’re gettin’ married. Annnd they just happen to be antiheroes quite a lot, soooo… *wriggles eyebrows* (I have a problem, I know.)

BUT SERIOUSLY. I LOVE THEM. These guys usually always have some sort of witty sarcastic remark to throw around at every corner. And sometimes they seem like the most selfish beings alive. But, next thing you know, they’re cuddling a kitten or leaping into battle to save your life even though it musses up their perfect hair. What’s there not to love??? I’m 99.9% likely to adore a book if it has this type of character.

Examples:

Eanrin (The Tales of Goldstone Wood books by Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
Who doesn’t love this silver-tongued, snarky, full of himself hero? I mean, really! He’s heroic, makes music, and still leaves plenty of time in his busy schedule for an hourly sarcastic comment or so. Perfection.

Thorne (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
YES I KNOW I ALREADY LISTED HIM BUT THOOOORNE. He’s like the epitome of this type of character.

Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones)
LITERALLY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. Period. Howl has it all. Good looks, wit, sarcasm for daaaays. And, at first, you think he’s the most selfish, exasperating jerk to exist. But deep down just… LDSJFLJSL:JDLKJFD. HOWL.

(Those are three of my most favoritest character to exist. I told you I love this type of character.)

 

. . . NICE BUT TAKE-NO-NONSENSE GALS . . .

Jut like the cocky-but-heart-of-gold characters are my favorite fictional guys, these types are probably my favorite fictional girls.

Now I’m not talkin’ the cold-shoulder, super tough girls that seem to be the only type of protagonists we get in YA books these days. (*rolls eyes* Don’t even get me started.) No. These are the girls who are actually very kind and good-hearted, but if you’re acting out they ain’t going to lie down and take it. They can gently care for your wound and sass you at the same time. #Skills They are often prone to having a temper, but their anger is usually righteous anger, because their heart is in the right place. Think Ellie May from The Andy Griffith Show. She was one of the sweetest characters on the show, but she could chew Andy out like nobody’s business. She was great. XD (Yes, I know I said I was just going to list book character. Shhhh.)

Sweet. Spunky. Sassy. These are the types of females I love to find in my books.

Examples:

Imraldera (The Tales of Goldstone Wood books by Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
This amazing woman manages to be both soft-spirited and spunky at the same time. She has a loving, kind nature, but can totally put Eanrin in his place when he needs it.

Cimorene (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede)
If anybody is spunky and temperamental, it’s Cimorene. She’s not someone you want as your enemy, but if she’s your friend, you’re set for life.

Sophie (Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones)
(Like you’re even surprised both Howl and Sophie made it into a post about my favorite character types.) SOPHIE THOUGH. Sophie is certainly kind and wants to help people, but DO NOT make her angry. Calling Sophie spunky is putting it mildly. She’s the perfect match for Howl. *grins*

Annabeth (The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan)
Who doesn’t love Annabeth’s wit and temper? She’s a sweet gal, but brace yourself for the sarcasm that comes with her.

I’m realizing this is a very common type of female character because I keep thinking of examples. And I’m 1000% okay with that. Give me ALL the sweet, spunky girls!

 

. . . SUPER SHY & AWKWARD CINNAMON ROLLS . . .

Remember how I said the last two types were my favorites of all time? I LIED. Okay, that’s not true. (Yes, I just lied about lying. #Lie-ception) My heart is big enough for MULTIPLE FAVORITES, okay???

BUT THE SHY, AWKWARD CHARRIES. *all the heart-eyes*

Where everyone else is off throwing out battle cries and snarking each other to death, these precious babies are just trying to not trip over their shoelaces. They’re the ones wondering why oh why there must be so many adventures in the world. Can’t we all just get along by staying home reading books and politely ignoring each other?

Every time I come across these characters I want to hug and squeeze them and call them George. THEY’RE JUST TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD. Or…whatever world their books happen to be set in.

Examples:

Peeta (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
PEETA DECORATES CAKES. He doesn’t want to be sent off to murder teenagers. Just give him a blank cake, a tube of icing, and a quiet setting and he’s happy. HE IS PRECIOUS. Can we all just give this baby a hug please? (Although technically Peeta is neither shy nor awkward since his whole thing was being a good speaker but…he still somehow fits this category????)

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
Cress is nearly tied with Sophie as my favorite female character. THAT IS HOW MUCH I LOVE HER. She’s nerdy and adorable and jumps at her own shadow and makes awkward squeaking noises whenever her crush is around. TOO. MUCH. PRECIOUS.

Fun fact: This also happens to be my TOP favorite character type to write. Iavin from my Colors of a Dragon Scales series has this type of personality and he’s my favorite POV to write to date.

 

. . . WHIMSICALLY
CHAOTIC BEANS . . .

There are some characters that defy all categories, which, in turn, creates a category all on its own. YES IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. (Please just smile and nod and give me the illusion I’m make sense all the time even though I never am.) These little beans can be described by one word: Nonsense. They’re whimsical and strange and sometimes cause confusion and disasters wherever they go, but you’re drawn to them anyway. They’re the types that make you think, “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE DOING BUT I LOVE IT.”

I loooove whimsically nonsensical characters. LOVE. They may be my favorites of all. (I’m aware I’ve claimed every single one of these as my top favorites. I HAVE INDECISION PROBLEMS ALL RIGHT.)

If you still have noooo idea what type of character I’m talking about, perhaps my examples will make all things clear…

Examples:

Peter Pan (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)
You really can’t get more chaotically whimsical than Peter Pan. He’s the boy who never grows up. The one who spends all his days playing games and forgets everything and hangs out with fairies and causes trouble everywhere he goes. And we love him.

The Mad Hatter (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
Do I even need to explain this one???? I adore every version of the Mad Hatter in existence. Always.

Kale (The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul)
Kale is sliiightly more lowkey but I’d still say she has some whimsical chaos going. She’s very free-spirited. She comes from some pretty…off the wall parents (i.e. her mother tells her to wear pink in battle because it’ll catch the enemy off guard <---My hero right there), so she really can’t help but have some odd genes.

Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones)
Did you really think I’d only list Howl once? HA. But seriously now. Howl is such a strange person. Good luck trying to predict anything he’ll do or say next. And saying he causes chaos wherever he goes is an understatement. (Let’s not forget the time he covered his entire house in green slime…from a temper-tantrum.)

(Honorable mention goes to the Doctor from Doctor Who even though I keep telling myself to stick to book characters and failing miserable so here we are. But, come on, he’s the DOCTOR. He should make a cameo in everything in existence!)

. . .

As you can see, I’m very fond of a looooot of types of characters. If I hear tell there’s one of these characters in a book I’m all TAKE MY MONEY. I MUST HAVE IT. And this is not by any means an exhaustive list. AT ALL. If I listed all the types of characters I love we’d be here until the end of the century. I’m already thinking of types I can’t believe I didn’t add, but this post is getting as long as the yellow brick road. Sooo…perhaps there will be a part two someday???? ‘Cause you guys know I can talk about fictional characters ‘til the end of time. IT’S MY FAVORITE SUBJECT.

But I’m stopping now, I am!

 

YOUR TURN. Tell me one (or 12 billion) of your types of favorite characters to find in books. Do we share any? Or, on the flipside, did I list any you particularly dislike??? (I promise you won’t hurt my feelings! Who knows, I may even do a post on character types I don’t like sometime…?) Let us discuss our favorite fictional babies!!!

The Job of “Writer”: There is No Clocking Out

Remember those dreams of grandeur during your first happy days as a writer? Those imaginings that your life would be full of lounging in a quaint coffee shop and clacking contentedly on your keyboard whenever you felt like it? The realization that you’d be paid to merely daydream and create? Talk about a life!

After all, the writer’s life is the easiest gig, right? Our job description is quite literally “make stuff up”. The majority of the time our work outfit is our pajamas, and our work space is the comfiest chair in the house. We make our own hours. Get to be at home. Drink all the coffee our heart desires. What a spoiled life we writers get to live! Such ease, such pleasure. Not a care in  the world. Right? Riiiiight?

……………..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!!!!!

I think in our early days we did live under this illusion. And I know for a fact many non-writers believe this. It’s often thought that being a writer isn’t a “real” job. It’s not like we do anything or work very hard.

Heh.

Being a writer is one of the most time-consuming, demanding jobs on the earth. Yes, there are definitely harder jobs out there. But here’s the thing about being a writer: You can’t just “clock out” when the work day is over. Most jobs involve clocking in and clocking out. And once you’ve punched that time clock and turned the lights out at the office, you’re free. No more obligations until the next day.

It doesn’t work like that as a writer.

The thing about writers is we always have something we could/should be doing. ALWAYS. Novel writing isn’t just, well, novel writing. Oh no. Honestly, for me, the whole actually writing a book is the easy part. (Okay, sometimes the easy part…sorta…ish. Let me live under my delusions!) There is so much more to the writer’s life.

To make my point, let me give you guys a list of the many, many things we writers must do. Because lists makes everything more fun.

 

. . . WRITE . . .

Yes, yes, I know I literally just said novel writing isn’t just novel writing. BUT. It’s kiiiinda the most important part of the job. One can’t exactly be a novel writer if  one doesn’t write novels. CRAZY, RIGHT?

But seriously, if your goal is to be published, you have to have something to actually publish. And I say novels, but you may be a poetry writer, or do non-fiction, or short stories. Whatever your field is, you have to WRITE IT. And let me tell you guys, writing is no quick feat. Unless it’s during NaNoWriMo, it takes me a few months to get a novel done. And within those few months I’m spending hours and hours of the day purely writing. Then, when the novel is finally done…another idea decides to attack me and I start allllll over again.

I have over a dozen written stories under my belt. So…let’s just not even think about the amount of hours I’ve spent of my 25 years writing. o.O But merely writing is only the beginning of the writer’s life.

 

. . . EDIT . . .

Okay, so we’ve written a novel. Great! It’s done now, right?

HA!

Being a writer is anything but just writing and being done. We then have to turn right back around and completely tear apart our precious manuscript we just spent the last 4 months poring over. *faints* We have to actually fix that plot hole the size of Texas and turn that flat character into something more interesting than a lima bean and change every. single. sentence. into something actually worth reading. And thennnn DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. Yaaaay!

Because editing isn’t just editing once. OH NO. You’ll go over that single book so many times—editing, proofreading, perfected—you’ll be able to recite it word by word.

 

. . . RESEARCH . . .

Ah, researching. My least favorite part of the writing life (and one I probably should work harder on *cough*). Yes, even us fantasy writers have to research. (Swordfights I’ve written: Approximately 239834. Swordfights I’ve actually done in real life: 0. Yeah, we gotta research!)

The sad thing about researching is that we may spend 3 hours researching something just for…one paragraph in our novel. Yepppp. Researching consumes a lot of time.

 

. . . BUILD A PLATFORM/KEEP UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA . . .

Odd as it may seem, we writers have to spend a huge chunk of time not working on our novels.

In this day and age of technology, publishers put a lot of stock in a writer’s platform (a.k.a how many readers they’ve accumulated, usually via social media). Books need to sell, and the only way a book can sell is if it’s in the public eye and people actually know about it. Thus, it’s pretty essential these days for writers to be on social media and constantly bringing in new followers. But not just that, I firmly believe writers need other writers in their lives, not just readers. Building a following is important, but joining a writing community and having a circle of fellow writers is how we writers thrive.

Aside from the actually writing/editing a book, I’d say this takes up most of a writer’s life.

A spend an immense amount of time working on my blog, writing blog posts, taking pictures for said posts, replying to comments, reading other blog posts and commenting on those, etc., etc. And that’s just with blogging! Then there’s twitter, Instragram, Facebook, Google+, on and on and on.

For me, I’m most active on blogger (though even then I often think I need to be more active). I sometimes do twitter (I’ve been trying to be more active, though totally failing…). I have my Instagram account but I…hardly ever use it. I want to though. I hope to one day be much more involved in the bookstagram community, I just haven’t settled into it yet. One day hopefully! My Google+ account…never gets use. Blogger is nice and automatically posts each of my blog posts on there but that’s all the activity it gets. Annnd I don’t even have a Facebook account. Yeeeah. Probably something I need one day if I ever get published. An author without an FB is unheard of. Or…a human without an FB. Heh.

But ANYWAYS. The point is, being active on social media and building a readership and making other writer friends takes SO. MUCH. TIME. Most of my days are filled with keeping up with blogs and emailing and beta-reading friends’ books, and so on and so forth. And yet, there is sooooo many other things I should be doing on top of all that.

To get published, it’s good to basically build your own resume. Such as having a large following on social media. But also having experience. I’d love to write for some magazines sometime because that’s a great thing to put on one’s “resume” a.k.a. your query letter. Or join a writers association like ACFW. Or enter writing contests. The list goes on and on and on.

The amount you can do to make writing friends and build a platform and have experience to make good query letters is literally infinite. And it’s all important for the writing life.

 

. . . LEARN THE CRAFT . . .

Writers never, ever stop learning. With some jobs, you may have a two week learning phase and then you’ve got it down. With writing, you keep learning until you’re in the grave. (And at that point you’re doing some great research on how all the characters you killed off feel, so even more learning!)

There is no “getting there” with writing. No highest peak to reach. Because you can always improve. There are always more things to learn, more things to discover, other methods to try, new genres to explore.

We writers spend monstrous amounts of time studying the craft—reading writing articles, following writing blogs, listening to writing podcasts, studying writing books, taking writing classes.

With writing, you’re always going to be learning something new with each novel you write. Learning the craft never ends. Our life is basically an endless writing class.

 

. . . TAME THE PLOT BUNNIES . . .

Let’s be real. We writers spend 101% of our time trying to control the plague of plot bunnies. We’re writing one book, under the delusion we’re happy spending our time with it, when BAM! another story idea— a plot bunny—leaps up, all shiny and exciting, and we want to write that novel instead. But wait, there’s another plot bunny over there. And there! AND THERE. And ooooh, that one is fun. But that one is shiny. But that one has PIRATES.

Okay. The plot bunnies can’t be tamed. All our efforts are futile. Forget all the other stuff I listed. Most of the writing life is caving to the cute, fluffy plague of plot bunnies and next thing we know we’re working on 23 projects at once and wondering what we’re doing with our lives.

. . . . . . . . . . .

As you can see, the writing life takes a LOT of time and a LOT of work. So many hours spent staring at a computer screen to the point that your eyes begin to melt out of their sockets and your fingers wither away from all the typing. And my list doesn’t even cover half of it! I didn’t even get into the time spent plotting and marketing and searching for agents and crying and writing synopses. It’s infinite!

I will repeat: We writers don’t clock out. While most people with normal day jobs are sleeping at 4a.m., we’re putting the finishing touches to that blog post we started at midnight because, whoops, it’s supposed to be published in the morning. While home is the place to relax and watch a movie for the average human, it’s our office. If we’re home, we probably should be working. (At least…that’s my mentality. *cough*) Outside of the home is when I leave the “office” and relax. When we’re not writing, we feel guilty because we should be writing. When we are writing, we wonder if we should be doing the one billion other things on our to-do list. Like answering one of those 2399834 emails in our inbox.

But I’m not here to overwhelm you guys! (Because I know this monstrous post about how much work we writers have to do has done suuuuch a good job of that. Ehehehehe. *COUGH*) I just want to debunk the mentality that being a writer is all ease and comfort and isn’t a “real job”. Or if you’re looking for a quick way to fame and fortune, prove that writing is not it. Short of being J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, there’s no fame with the job, and the term “starving artist” encompasses writers as well. Heh. Plus, there’s nothing quick about getting published.

So that brings the real question here. Why do we do it? Why do I spend so much of my life pursuing publishing? Why do I put all this pressure and stress on myself? Why DO we choose to write???

The answer is simple:

Because we love it.

I’ve always believed you can’t choose the writing life, it chooses you. If you have a passion to create stories, then you have to, no matter what.

I’ve been on a pretty long writing hiatus because my life has been crazy lately, but I’m chomping at the bit to get to writing again. I can’t not write. I have stories going through my head 100% of the time. Without writing, I’d feel like an empty shell.

Yes, I get overwhelmed and stressed all. the. time. And on the really hard days, I wonder if it’s worth it. But then a story idea grasps a hold of me and won’t let go, and I get lost in a new world and characters and the dance of words, and I know, without a doubt, no matter the amount of stress and work and late nights, it is always, always worth it. I love creating new stories and I love blogging and I love connecting with readers and fellow writers. I absolutely love everything about this crazy life of a writer.

That’s why we do it. If God puts a passion in your heart for writing, then you write. It’s as simple as that.

BUT—and this is important here—even though writing involves endless work and has no time clock to punch out, you should create your own time clock. Yes, we can write and be on social media and work 24/7, but we shouldn’t! It’s very, very important we learn to take time out. To LIVE. The job of a writer is unlike any other, because essentially we’re our own boss. Which means we have to provide ourselves with specific work hours and vacations when we need it. This post is by no means implying that you should spend every waking second working! DON’T. That’s unhealthy! (I would know. *cough*) Figure out your two favorite social media platforms and stick with them and don’t worry about the rest. Set out two hours of the day to write and clock out afterwards. Take up your friend’s offer to have lunch, because your book will still be there when you get back.

Live, write, find your own pace.

(And don’t do like me where you go a while only working and then a while not doing ANYTHING, because I’m totally the worst at that whole balance thing. Ahem.)

Being a writer is not the easiest life. But you know what? Sometimes it totally is lounging at home in your pajamas drinking all the coffee your heart desires. I mean, one of the biggest ways to learn the craft is by reading novels and watching movies! And published authors do quite literally get paid to make stuff up.

The life of a writer is hard and insane and weird and overwhelming and stressful and absurd. And if you love it, it’s absolutely amazing.

 

Tell me, dear writers, what struggles do you face as a writer? Does it sometimes overwhelm you all the hats we writers must wear? And I REALLY want to know, how do you balance it all??? What habits have you developed that have helped? Because I NEED TIPS AND TRICKS. So share away!

The Life Pattern vs. God’s Pattern

2017 is HALFWAY OVER, GUYS. HALFWAY. *faints* And next thing you know, August is going to be here.

With August, for many, comes Big Life Decisions. Maybe May for you was a flurry of graduation excitement. Some finished high school, others college. While many of you are getting prepped to return to school.

I had multiple graduations to attend in May, and I know many people who are stepping out to do many new, exciting, and maybe even scary things. And others are trying to decide what they want to spend the rest of their life doing.

With this transition of summer quickly slipping toward August, for a lot of people, the doubts start coming in. The questions. The fears. What do you want to do with your life? Are you making the right life decisions? What if you make the Wrong Decision? What if you mess up? What if you change your mind? What will everyone think? Or maybe you’re not headed to a change. Maybe you’re already settled into a life, but unsure if it’s the right one. And those same doubts and fears creep in. Are you wasting your life? Should you make a change? What does everyone expect from you?

If this sounds familiar, I have some advice for you…

STOP.

Okay, okay. Obviously we all have to make decisions in life, and that’s GOOD (even if it doesn’t seem like it). It’s gotta be done. As lovely as it’d be, we can’t really spend our entire life watching Netflix. (Just some of it.) So what am I getting at here? Well, let me tell you a story…

From the moment I started kindergarten, I was homeschooled. I was a homeschooler throughout my entire schooling years. And then I *GASP* chose not to go to college. I went for years without ever having a job, and only now have a little part time one. I’m not married, never even have had a boyfriend before, and still live with my parents. In the world’s eyes, I’m a complete failure.

According to the world, this is the set Life Pattern: Go to school, directly go to college (taking a year or two break after graduating high school is just dumb and lazy. How dare you take a break after being at school for 12 years, and not immediately decide what you’re going to do for the rest of your life at the age of 18. Psssh.), find a fulltime job you must stick with forever, get married the second you graduate college, have only two kids and maybe one dog, raise your two children to be a doctor and lawyer respectively, move into a retirement home, die. The End.

Ooookay, maybe that’s a smidgeon dramatic. But, ya know, from my own experience sometimes it feels like that’s exactly what’s expected of everyone. And if you break away from the Life Pattern you’re a failure. You’re lazy and no good and what even are you doing with your life?

Obviously, I’m the biggest Failure of them all. Not only was I one of those Weird Homeschoolers, I didn’t go to college. I don’t have a fulltime job. I don’t even have a boyfriend. I’m 25! I should have a career by now. Or be married with 5 children. Sheesh, I’m practically old maid status. I should at least have my own apartment and not be living with my parents. Right? Right???

I’m gonna be honest with you guys. Sometimes I do believe these things. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time…) I listen to the voices of doubt, let them make me think I’m a lazy, no good failure who’s wasting her life. Sometimes I wonder if I should be making changes. If I should have done things differently. And then God gets a hold of me and reminds me: I’m exactly where He wants me to be.

Because here’s the thing about the Life Pattern. It’s not GOD’S PATTERN.

God does not call us to follow the “social norm”. He does not have a set copycat lifestyle for every human on the planet. He has an amazing and unique plan for each and every one of us. And yes, sometimes His plans seem positively ridiculous.

I think everyone thought Noah was a total loon when he set out to build a ginormous boat in a place with no water. I have no doubt the people of Jericho shook their heads at the complete and utter insanity of Joshua when he marched his army around the Jericho walls every single day for a week.

God doesn’t take common sense into account. He often calls us to live in the most strange of ways. And you know what? It’s absolutely wonderful.

Oswald Chambers said it best:

“If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense.

By the test of common sense, Jesus Christ’s statements may seem mad, but when you test them by the trial of faith, your findings will fill your spirit with the awesome fact that they are the very words of God. Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it.

Living God’s way is so, so much better than conforming to what society expects of you.

Now, it’s not going to be easy. Like I said, I often let the voices of doubt into my head. And I have dealt with raised eyebrows and judgmental looks from people my entire life. I’m sure all my fellow homeschoolers are quite familiar with that raised eyebrow one receives when one must answer The Question: “Where do you go to school?” But I only thought that was bad. It only got worse when I graduated. Now the question is, “Where do you go to college?” or “What are you studying to be?” When I answer with, “I didn’t go to college,” I’ve feared some people were about to lose their eyebrows completely they went so far up their heads. I’ve literally had a couple of people just kind of stop talking to me and move on to one of the more “successful” people around me. Because apparently I’m just too uneducated and weird to bother having a conversation with.

Disclaimer: I’m going to pause here to quickly say, I am not against college. We need doctors and lawyers and a billion other things. College is important! I know I probably sound like I’m totally anti-college with all this ranting. I’m not! I’m just anti-you-must-go-to-college-or-you’re-a-complete-failure thing that seems to be the world’s viewpoint. I feel like these days people see it as a sin to not go to college! College is a choice, not a have-to. Yes, we need to go through school. Obviously. Gotta learn how to do math and read. But afterwards, it’s up to you what to do, and you shouldn’t be shamed by that. Isn’t the world all about freewill right now? So why are we still shaming each other for not going to college? (But I’ve got to stop, because this post isn’t about college, despite appearances. Ahem.)

Every person has a reason why they do or do not do something.

I suffer with health problems. Mentally, I’d love to go out and do things and see people every single day. I’d probably love having a fulltime career, and maybe even really enjoy college. But physically, I can’t always be out and about every single day of my life. I have to live a pretty quiet life because of health problems. I actually was planning on going to college, the idea excited me, but God very clearly led me not to. And now I understand why. Health-wise, I just couldn’t handle it. And what I want to do with my life has no need for college. I want to be a fulltime writer. And yes, a lot of people take classes for that, which is fantastic (and wonderful for query letters, I believe), but for writing, you can also totally educate yourself. I’ve been “colleging” myself ever since I finished high school. Because it was then that I really got serious about writing and studying the craft and taking the time to do it. And having the time to do it. If I was in college, I’d probably be too busy and tired to even bother with writing. I only have so much energy. I tire easily, I get really bad headaches, and writing is a lot of work. If I had classes all the time or a full job to go to every single day, I’d probably have to give up the very thing God gave me a passion for. For me personally, I can pursue my career better by having just a part-time job and not going to college.

Since I can’t be physically active all the time, but love people, I took up blogging and have the most spectacular circle of people in the world. Blogging and writing and socializing with my many blogging/writing/reading peeps brings me indescribable joy every single day.

Homeschooling was a huge blessing with my health problems as well. Not to mention just amazing! I made my very bestest friends via my homeschool group. (Because yes, we do actually *gasp* socialize.)

I still live at home because this is where I’m supposed to be right now. And where I want to be. I love my family. We’re all a support system for each other. Why would I leave the place I’m supposed to be because it’s “shameful” for a 25 year old to still be living with their parents?

In the world’s eyes, I do nothing but use most of my time sitting around on the computer. But being a writer is a fulltime job. (Which is a whole topic of its own and one I hope to write a post on very soon, so I won’t go into that…yet. *grins*) Like I said, I’m colleging myself (and, yes, we’re totally pretending “colleging” is a word, shhh). I am working toward a career.

Each person is different. We can’t follow a certain Life Pattern. And why would we even want to?

Go to college, don’t go to college. Get married young, get married later in life. Don’t get married at all. Have one kid, have twelve. Have a career, stay at home. Go out and be a missionary in a foreign country or reach people via a blog.

God has a specific and wonderful and amazing and adventurous and totally spectacular plan for YOU.

As you make those dreaded Life Decisions, shut out the world’s judgmental eyebrow raising and expectations of following a Pattern. Don’t make a permanent decision that you don’t even want to do just because the world pressured you into it. Seek out God’s expectations, His plans for you. However crazy they may seem.

Because it’s much better to hear God say “Well done, my good and faithful servant” and receive all the raised eyebrows in the world, than bending to the world’s expectations and having our Savior disappointed in us.

 

Whew! Okay, I know that was long and ranty. Buuut, this post was bound to show up eventually. It’s a rant my patient family has to hear at least weekly. I knew it’d appear on the blog sooner or later. (Really, I’ve kind of wanted to write this post since I started blogging… I don’t know why it took me so long.) But now I want to hear your thoughts! (Goodness knows you’ve had enough of mine.) Do you relate to this? Do we share any of the same struggles? Are you at a point where you’re making those Big Life Decisions? Or perhaps questioning your decisions because of the world’s judgy eyes? I would love to talk with you or pray for you if you need it. So share away in the comments!