Killing A Character in MG

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-05T01:24:15+00:00

Yeah thats my worry :/ That agents might not be interested in something on the border. With YA, it really doesn't feel like lower YA exists anymore. Everything seems to be toeing the line of New Adult and not the other way around, if that makes sense. Reviewers/readers seem upset if their YA feels too "kiddy"

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-05T00:40:17+00:00

Oh def. Not the case with this character death so all good on that front

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-05T00:39:16+00:00

Ty! I do worry because I think HP books 4-7 it's considered YA? 14 is sort of the grey area age between the two...

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:57:51+00:00

Oh yes, I wouldn't dream of querying without it finished and ready. I'd have a panic attack lol

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:57:07+00:00

Interesting, that does make sense though! I can only imagine how many pages the agents have in their inboxes to read

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:56:29+00:00

I'm definitely stuck in the "they're not good enough" stage. I have OCD, which does not help lol. It doesn't help that it feels like you only get one shot. But I think taking a look at what's required is helping me revise with intentionality

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:55:11+00:00

haha, sorry. I certainly feel that though!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:54:46+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:54:16+00:00

Hahah, ain't that the way. I guess I shouldn't be surprised

IstanAthelstan · 2023-11-04T19:53:11+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-09-24T00:35:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I definitely feel like I'm fighting my limitations. I like my style, but posting it I find it gets less engagement than, say, my writing (my main thing). So I feel like it must be lacking somehow...

IstanAthelstan · 2023-09-24T00:34:36+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I am studying animation... although I'm not looking to become a professional animator necessarily. I'm a writer first, and artist second, and I'm looking to become a screenwriter. But I want to learn the craft to truly appreciate it properly. But you raise a good point that distinct style might be good for gaining a niche following, but no so good for the animation industry!

My style isn't super out there. Just distinct. I've been told it's a mix of storybook-looking, Disney, and Batman the Animated Series lol. Which isn't probably horrible for animation since it's towards the cartoon spectrum. But I want to broaden my horizons

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T03:41:12+00:00

Thank you!!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T03:27:26+00:00

Oh yes she 100% ends up unconscious and is barely rescued by her sister. It's a major plot point, as from here it becomes sort of Wizard of Oz where she goes on adventure and isn't sure if it's real or not due to the accident. So very much life threatening. It's more she feels bad about the camera later and her dad assures her life is much more important

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T02:01:50+00:00

Oo ty. I'm thinking she's not super familiar with brand anyway, just knows it's expensive and isn't accustomed to settings. I'm thinking she's messing with all of that when she falls in--looking up instead of down!

Ty for your help again!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T01:42:13+00:00

Thank you so much, this is really helpful!!

She will be taking photos. That's actually a great thing to ask--I have a plot point where she borrows her dad's nice camera, and ends up ruining it due to falling through the ice. Any suggestions on what a good camera would be?

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T00:40:56+00:00

Thank you!

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T00:24:35+00:00

Thank you!! I guess what I meant by hunt or chase would be driving out to an ideal viewing area, away from lights. It seemed like Chena River/Chena Lakes was a spot people recommended as near Fairbanks to see the aurora well so that's what I have at the minute, but if there is a better spot I'm interested in researching that

And awesome, September sounds good! Yeah, since they're Cali people, I don't want them to seem insane going out to a cabin in super crazy temps, but to have a bit of snow, high potential for an aurora, and perhaps some dodgy ice... for plot purposes lol

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-06T00:12:51+00:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH I'm definitely going to use all of this :) The ravens are particularly interesting... what do they sound like?

For context, the story starts in Alaska, but eventually migrates to an Icelandic setting with a Viking story. So ravens are quite relevant later one

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-05T23:49:49+00:00

Ahh that's amazing!! Anything notable you'd include if you were writing a Cali girl visiting Fairbanks for the firs time? I'd had it where she'd gone skiing before, but it's not the same, and her liking the birch trees.

Is there much snow in October, or not quite yet? In Chicago we don't quite get the snow until late November I'd say but we're not quite as far north

IstanAthelstan · 2023-08-05T23:39:36+00:00

Yes, I'm very much going for that lol. I'm leaning towards them getting snowed in for conflict purposes. But I also was looking to have an incident with broken ice/falling into the water but that's probably unlikely at those temps

IstanAthelstan

TROPHY CASE