Saved By My Paper Blizzard
by M.K. Theodoratus
Paper makes it possible for me to be a writer. I’m so old I
can remember when gurus promised the world that computers would rid it of
paper. They made the pronouncements without considering my addiction to
sticky-notes.
Yeah, I’d be lost without those little squares of paper with
the gluey-stuff down one edge. They’re my idea-saver. Without them, I could
never be a writer.
Losing ideas is a common gripe among the writers I know. My
critique partners often complained about the “idea that got away”. They’d give
up on something that wouldn’t work, thinking the idea or solution would come
back when they’re doing something else. The missing piece would, eventually,
pop into their heads at the most inconvenient times. After a firm resolve to
remember the idea, they’d lose it before they got the idea into the manuscript.
I’m no different. For years, great ideas would flash between
my ears only to get lost in the ether. Since I wrote fiction mainly to amuse
myself, it didn’t matter. I just jotted down whatever popped into my head,
wondering what would happen next. Maybe it’s just as well most of those sheets
of paper are lost.
Then, I got more serious about writing fiction. I started
working with critique groups that expected me to write something coherent. My
sense of duty got in the way of my laziness. I felt obligated not to waste my
partners’ time.
First, I jotted new insights or plot developments down on
any handy piece of paper, only to lose most of them. Worse, there usually was
never a piece of paper or a pen in sight when I needed them. Of course, I never
remembered the idea beyond a couple nano-seconds. Fortunately, 3M came to the
rescue with their Post-Its.
3M didn’t solve my problem, though. The sticky pads sit at
my elbow at the kitchen table. Lay in the clutter by my comfy chair in front of
the TV. Are buried under the clutter around my computer. Lurk in my wallet and
car. The ideas get written down, but the sticky notes don’t do any good unless
they’re organized.
I solved that problem two ways:
- I classify them at the top, like the book and character they pertain to.
- I enter them into my computer…eventually. Each of my projects gets a folder on my desktop. Ideas get written in a document and filed. If I’m not getting any new ideas about a project, I file the folder in another folder called “Inactive”.
It may not be neat and tidy, but it helps me keep things
organized and accessible.
One good thing about
the pile of sticky notes, they tend not to go anywhere. They stick together in
a clump.
I know there must be some neater way of salvaging those lost
inspirations, but I haven’t found it. Doubt if I’ll ever discover it. So, I
make do with a salvage system that that works for me.
About the Author
Fantasy
has always been part of M. K. Theodoratus’ life, starting when she starting
playing with an imaginary friend when she was three. Comics, books, TV, and
movies followed throughout her life. A northern California girl, many of her Andor
alternative-world stories are firmly rooted there. Today, she lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and two
lap-cats, and writes when she’s not wasting time on social media.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
About the Book:
Title:
THERE BE DEMONS
Author: M.K. Theodoratus
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 360
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal
BOOK
BLURB:
Heroes come in all shapes.
The war for Andor has lasted a century.
Humans and their allies, the Angeli, fight demons from another plane who need a
warmer planet to hatch and raise their young. Trebridge becomes Ground zero
when Abraxas, a minion of the demon Prince Vetis, opens a secret portal into
the city. The demons’ goal is to build an army to subjugate the city before the
humans realize they are under attack.
Standing in the demons’ way are two
disparate groups: the humans of Andor and their Angeli allies who command
gargoyle warriors.
Leading the four gargoyles guarding Trebridge is Gillen, a proven
war hero who uses magic to fight demons. But Gillen is an outcast, mocked for
his tuft of hair that normal gargoyles lack. It’s up to him to prove once and
for all that he’s worthy of his command, in spite of dissention in his ranks.
When Gillen asks the Angeli Commanders for reinforcements to fight the growing
demon menace in Trebridge, headquarters send four human teens from the
projects.
The leader of the humans is Britt, a
14-year-old half-Hispanic girl who is one of the four magic-possessing Chosen. But Britt was never trained in the art
of magic, and like most girls her age, spends her days preoccupied with school
and romance. Like Gillen, she must rise above her station in life--if she is to
save the ones she loves.
But Gillen and Britt are facing formidable demon foes, Abraxas: a
chicken-headed demon who possesses several humans as part of his plan to build
the demons’ base in Trebridge and power-hungry Prince Vetis who is his
commander. Neither will let the deaths of expendable humans get in their way of
the conquest.
In There Be Demons, author M.K.
Theodoratus spins a brilliant tale of good versus evil. In this thrilling Young
Adult fantasy novel, unlikely heroes rise to challenge a relentless enemy. Join
them as they risk everything to save their city.
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