Killer Blogfest - Antagonists

Yesterday was tough for me, but today I do have a clear winner  for my favorite antagonist and his name is... Erik from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera.
Erik has been painted in so many different roles. Some of them have been incredibly spooky and some have been sincere and sweet, but in the original, you can't help but love him for all that he is and all that he's not. Controlling, caring, conniving; in a word, complex. It's a great combination (and alliteration!)

This Killer Blogfest is brought to you by E.R. King and Deana. Thank you for hosting!

Killer Blogfest - Protagonists

For the Killer Blogfest, I wanted to take my favorite killer characters and tell you why I love them. That's when I realized that What's killer about this blogfest is deciding who my favorite anything is. Especially when it comes to protagonists.

Someone pass me an envelope with the answer in it, please. Anyone? Anyone? Okay, fine.

The award for best female protagonists (You didn't think I'd actually just choose one did you?) goes to... Oh, we have a tie!  Azalia from Entwined and Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. Katmiss and Christine Daaé were close seconds though.

The male protag also was too close to call. Jean Valjean from Les Miserable and Wesley from the Princess Bride took it, in the end.

What do all these brilliant characters have in common? Soul. Strength. Weakness. They care about others and their love touches our hearts.

This Killer Blogfest is brought to you by E.R. King and Deana. Thank you for hosting!

Ten-Word Tuesday

Anything can happen Halloween Night. Watch out for bone-chilling inspiration!

Killer Blogfest - Supports

For the Killer Blogfest, I wanted to take my favorite killer characters and tell you why I love them. That's when I realized that what's killer about this blogfest is deciding who my favorite anything is.

The winner of best supporting character goes to... Leo from the Hourglass Door Series.

Why? How many people do you know who would suffer for centuries just to redeem his friends? That's killer support, baby! He's totally red carpet material in my book.

This Killer Blogfest is brought to you by E.R. King and Deana. Thank you for hosting!

When to Say No

We all have our two cents to throw into the mix. Do you remember ever playing that game where you had to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar and whoever came closest won a prize? I wonder what we would win if we threw all the proverbial two-centers in a jar and guessed how many everyone had tossed in willy-nilly. Yep, I digress.

The point of this post is not to actually discuss two cents, but MY two cents. On critiques. I must admit to being a pushover at times. I used to accept every comment that came my way a little too openly because I figured everyone knew more than I did. Well, that part's still true, but I came to realize something. Everyone knows more about their stories, about their writing processes, about their genres than I do. Not necessarily mine.  

Let me back up. There was a point while I was mulling over critiques that I realized how off one of them was for me. If I followed the advice, my story wouldn't be the story I wanted to tell anymore. It would be a completely different, very cool story in its own right, but it wouldn't be the one that has been screaming at me for the last couple of years.

I have received (why do I still want to spell received with the i first?) the best advice from those who have critiqued me and I am forever grateful for all they've taught me and the inspiration they've shared. Now I also realize that sometimes it really is okay to say no, too.

Fancy that. I hope y'all are quicker than I am. It will save you a lot of hours worrying!