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About Me Literature / Professional Premium Member ThrythlindMale/Japan Groups group avatar #Thrythlind-Stories
 
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Deviant for 6 Years
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Donation Box

Do you enjoy the art commissions I make? Do you enjoy my novels and RP write ups? Care to help out with my upcoming move to Japan?

If you wish, you can always help out and hopefully see more of these by donating to the effort.

Contact my paypal account at thrythlind@gmail.com.

Divine Blood



Series: Divine Blood
Volume 1
Title: Semester Start
Format: Novel - Three Acts
Genre: Sci-Fi - Paranatural
Contest Promotion E-Copy Price: $1
Print Price: $9.95

Amazon: [link]

DrivethruRPG: [link]



Series: Divine Blood
Volume 1
Title: Smoke over Grimsvotn
Format: Short Story
Genre: Sci-Fi - Paranatural
E-Book: Free

DrivethruRPG: [link]

Bystander


Series: Bystander
Volume 1
Title: Bystander
Format: Novel
Genre: Superhero - Urban Fantasy
Holiday Kindle Price: $3
Print Price: :new: $6.95 :new:

Link to purchase on Kindle: [link]
Link to purchase on DrivethruRPG: [link]

Zodiacs


Series: Zodiacs
Volume 1
Title: Siege at Berutuha
Format: Short Story Anthology
Genre: Heroic Fantasy
Holiday Kindle Price: $3
Print Price: $12.95

*Currently inactive*

Link to purchase on Kindle: [link]
Link to purchase on Lulu: [link]


Series: Zodiacs
Accessory
Title: Zodiacs Campaign Guide
Format: Systemless Campaign Guide
Genre: Heroic Fantasy
Holiday Kindle Price: $3
Print Price: :new: $5.99 :new:

Link to purchase on Kindle: [link]
Link to purchase on Lulu: [link]
Link to purchase on DrivethruRPG: [link]

Greenwater


Series: Greenwater
Volume 1
Title: Leaving Home
Format: Novel
Genre: High Fantasy
Holiday Kindle Price: $3
Print Price: $12.95

Link to purchase on Kindle: [link]
Link to purchase on Lulu: [link]


Series: Greenwater
Volume 2
Title: Setting the Board
Format: Novel
Genre: High Fantasy
Holiday Kindle Price: $3
Print Price: $12.95

Link to purchase on Kindle: [link]
Link to purchase on Lulu: [link]

Great Artists!

Great Artists 1: Infinite Silence and ROE-MESQUITAWell, since I'm currently in a position of not having funds to spend on art that I'd like to, I'm instead going to start promoting the artists I like to deal with.

Especially as the holiday seasons start and people are thinking about buying gift-art for someone they know.

And I think I'll start with the artists that I've used the most.

***************************

:iconInfiniteSilence: and :iconROE-MESQUITA:

I've commissioned these two loads of times

In fact, earlier when I flubbed my "Great Artists" box to the left side of my screen below my novels, I discovered that my gallery is literally loaded with art by these two.

First, they're
:iconroe-mesquita: and :iconinfinitesilence:
GA 2: John Becaro, Dark Vanessa & X0ni:iconJohnbecaro: :iconDarkVanessa: and :iconX0ni:

This is another set of artists that I've enjoyed working with.  X0ni did the character art for my Zodiacs books, Dark Vanessa has done a couple of pieces for me of various types and John Becaro has been doing occasional pieces for me when I have the money for a while now.

Actually, these three always seem to be busy, frequently with waiting lists in the double digits, so not sure they need MY help getting their name out.  In fact, I tend to ask for their help sharing out links to my novels so that their following can see my novels, but still...I'm doing this based on them being great artists
:iconjohnbecaro:, :iconx0ni: and :icondarkvanessa:
Great Artists 3: IDarkShadowI, Peipp and ArcosArtOkay, three more artists to cover.  :iconIDarkShadowI:, :iconPeipp: and :iconArcosArt:

:iconIDarkShadowI: I worked with a year ago when I was producing Bystander.  I commissioned him to do some character studies of some of the supporting cast and a fragment of a fight between Kali and Genevieve Robles.  :iconPeipp: and :iconArcosArt: only worked with recently, but it proved to be a very enjoyable experience.

********************************************************************

:iconArcosArt: is a highly professional artist who put out a wonderful piece of cover art in a rather short space of time and was very patient with all my requests an
:iconidarkshadowi:, :iconpeipp: and :iconarcosart:
Great Artists 4: DKStudios05, Freyals and Shadaan:iconDKstudios05:, :iconFreyals: and :iconShadaan: are three more artists I've used in the past.

:iconFreyals: is one of the first artists I commissioned off of DeviantArt and she's generally done pretty good work for me.  In the first case, I let her choose a character and surprise me with who she ended up choosing, she chose a character I have in city of heroes, Satyr Dae.  In the second I asked her to do a version of a character I've tried to get into a Changeling roleplaying game.

:thumb77129611: :thumb179764834:

*********************************************************

:iconDKStudios05: has done a lot of fan-art stuff for me, I haven
:iconfreyals:, :icondkstudios05: and :iconshadaan:
Great Artists 5: Taclobanon and Magion02These are both artists I've had the occasional chance to work with.

:iconTaclobanon: did some mock covers for some of my fanfics and, due to delays on his part, also for free provided me with the first concept drawing of Bystander's resident badass: Genevive Robles.

:thumb164535671: :thumb161448329: :thumb157379663: :thumb167495588:

***************************

:iconMagion02: produced what is so far the most popular piece of art in all my gallery, the picture of Chun Li and Morrigan after Chun Li had become a succubus and she also gave me the cover art for the to-be-written sequel of Bystander...Haunted Bystander.

:thumb175651831: :thumb2
:icontaclobanon: and :iconmagion02:

Character Profiles

Character Profile entries:

Character Profile: Lucretia:thumb87737868: :thumb215235590: :thumb196650895: :thumb67365163: :thumb67360786: :thumb67359941:

:thumb87737868:

World Setting: Bystander

Status: Published: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

Birth Name: Unknown

Aliases: Lu (friends), Bystander (Kali), Kimono (Jason)

Age: Unknown, the law puts her at 25, other estimates put her 2-3 years younger

Height: 5'2"

Weight: Between 96 and 125 ilbs

Hair: Silver

Eyes: Blue

Complexion: Pale

Ethnicity: Presumed French-Canadian/Japanese

Nationality: American

Home: Seattle, Washington

Occupation: Librarian

Languages: English, Japanese, French, Thai, Arabic, Latin.....many others

Quotes:
Lucretia
Character Profile: Eija Semezou:thumb271205316: :thumb271206678: :thumb263268199: :thumb261866890:

:thumb245845270:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16

Height: 5'2"

Weight: 106 lbs

Hair: Black

Eyes: Red

Complexion: Pale

Ethnicity: Greek-Japanese

Nationality: Australian (by descent)

Home: Vollstahl

Languages: Greek, Japanese, English

Quotes:

"I like herbology and painting, actually.
Eija Semezou
Character Profile: SightseerWorld Setting: Bystander
:thumb199531010:

:thumb272099784:

Status: Published: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

Birth Name: Eldon Dwyer

Aliases: Sightseer

Age: 38

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 192 ilbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Nationality: American

Home: Seattle, Washington

Occupation:

Languages: English,

Quotes:

"Too young, she had to be a minor when she went in.  There had to be a better option."

"I can't take him out, Sergeant.  He's not in the missions specs you gave us."

Abilities:

Projection: Sightseer is a stronger projector than the average person, but has not developed that ta
Sightseer
Character Profile: Naiki Semezou:thumb271206054: :thumb260973565:

:thumb245847917:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 186 lbs

Hair: Green

Eyes: Green

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Greek-Japanese

Nationality: Australian (by Descent)

Home: Vollstahl, Australia

Languages: Greek, English, Japanese

Quotes:

"Okay, do I pack the glasses with the..." *crash* "Uhh
Naiki Semezou
Character Profile: Yoon-Ji Jeon:thumb271205316: :thumb263187377: :thumb252325665:

:thumb245843916:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 112 lbs

Hair: Black (Fake Color) - Royal Purple (True Color)

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Korean-European(unknown ethnicity)

Nationality: Korean

Home: Vollstahl, Australia

Languages: Korean and English

Quotes:

Yoon-Ji "Yooji" Jeon
Character Profile: The Woman With No Name:thumb157140631:

World Setting: Zodiacs

Status: Published:

Link to purchase on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Zodiacs-Campaign-Thrythlind-Campaigns-ebook/dp/B0040JHT06

Link to purchase on Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/zodiacs-campaign-guide/11254818

Link to purchase on DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97453
Age: 16

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 112 lbs

Hair: Black, Yellow and Red

Eyes: Green

Complexion: Pale

Race: Zodiac - Snake

Nationality: Star Republic

Home: None

Languages: Republican, Horder, Bharitan, Ryouiki

Quotes:

"Time to go."

"Humans deserve to face their own butchery."

The Woman With No Name
Character Profile: Damir Milos:thumb271207150: :thumb271205316:

:thumb245842586:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:

Series: Divine Blood
Volume 1
Title: Semester Start
Format: Novel - Three Acts
Genre: Sci-Fi - Paranatural
Holiday Kindle Price: $1
Print Price: $16.95

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 189 lbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Average

Ethnicity: Croatian

Nationality: None
Damir Milos
Character Profile: Dobrek:thumb67361870:

World Setting: Greenwater

Status: Published:

Amazon Part 1: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040JHT1U

Amazon Part 2: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040JHT0Q

Age: 37

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 169 lbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Dark

Ethnicity: Drenon Ffolk

Nationality: Confederacy

Home: None

Languages: Ffolk, possibly others

Quotes:

"Excuse me, sir, I do believe that was an insult.  Perhaps you think in my current situation, that an armed fellow like yourself could handle me quite easily."

"There is war here, and where there is war, there is opportunity."

"Indeed, I can imagine it would require a certain state of min
Dobrek
Character Profile: Lady Adrasteia:thumb180860209:

World Setting: Zodiacs

Status: Published:

Title: Siege at Berutuha

Link to purchase on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Zodiacs-Siege-at-Berutuha-ebook/dp/B0040JHT1K
Link to purchase on Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/zodiacs-siege-of-berutuha/10969347

Title: Zodiacs Campaign Guide

Link to purchase on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Zodiacs-Campaign-Thrythlind-Campaigns-ebook/dp/B0040JHT06
Link to purchase on Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/zodiacs-campaign-guide/11254818
Link to purchase on DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97453

Name: Adrasteia of House Apo
Lady Adrasteia
Character Profile: Deimosu Semezou:thumb263268636: :thumb263385368:

:thumb245850603:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16

Height: 6'

Weight: 215 lbs

Hair: Blond

Eyes: Blue

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Greek-Japanese

Nationality: Australian (by descent)

Home: Vollstahl, Australia

Languages: English, Greek, Japanese

Quotes:

"Well, this is off to a wonderful start."

"Without respec
Deimosu Semezou
Character Profiles: The Harem:thumb276539914: There is no art for these characters yet, if you want to please make them.
:thumb245850603: (they show up in Deimosu's chapter)

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 16 (all three)

Height:
Hannah: 5'6"
Wen: 5'3"
Maria: 5'7"

Weight:
Hannah: 128 lbs
Wen: 106 lbs
Maria: 145 lbs

Hair:
Hannah: Red
Wen: Black
Maria: Brown

Eyes:
Hannah: Gr
The Harem
Character Profile: Sgt Genevive Robles:thumb196650895: :thumb167495588: :thumb194378072: :thumb185912222:

:thumb272095582:

World Setting: Bystander

Status: Published: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97450 (print $6.99, Kindle $1)

Birth Name: Eldon Dwyer

Aliases: Sightseer

Age: 34

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 132 ilbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Hispanic

Nationality: American

Home: Seattle, Washington

Occupation: Mercenary, Former Intelligence Operative

Languages: English, Spanish

Quotes:

"The prison was the only public place set up to handle peak offenders.  Do y
Genevive Robles
Character Profile: Mao Semezou:thumb294566325:

:thumb245838663:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 35

Height: 5'

Weight: 102 lbs

Hair: Red

Eyes: Purple

Complexion: Healthy tan

Ethnicity: Japanese

Nationality: Australian (by birth)

Home: Vollstahl, Australia

Languages: English, Greek, Japanese, French, Italian, Russian, German, Polish, Turkish, Egyptian

Quotes:

"This looks like a safe
Mao Semezou
Character Profile: Sgt Major Eowyn Desai:thumb295865887:

World Setting: Divine Blood

Status: Published:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ESG092

DrivethruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97332

Lulu-Print: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/divine-blood-semester-start/18709886?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_1090523_

Age: 26

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 171 lbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Dusky

Ethnicity: Indian

Nationality: American(by birth)

Home: Vollstahl, Australia

Languages: English, Japanese, Mandarin, Italian

Quotes:

"The official name of the optical cloak is not 'predaflage'.  Official reminder of not official na
Eowyn Desai

Writing Skills

Three Paragraphs of Fiction - Part 1 - DescriptionIn writing fiction there are, essentially, three separate types of paragraph: description, action and dialogue.  The proper use of these paragraphs is one of several essential basics required to write a successful story.

Description is often one of the first things you will do when starting a new story.  Granted action and dialogue can be equally strong openings, but description is the most common way to begin a story.  Even if it is not used for the opening, it will appear at least near the beginning of every new scene as description is used to set the scene and introduce new characters.

The rhythm of a description paragraph is dependent o
Three Paragraphs - Description
Three Paragraphs of Fiction - Part 2 - ActionAction is the second sort of paragraph necessary to writing fiction.  Unlike description, the moment you start writing action sequences, time is passing in a story.  Action usually comes in after description and shows the changes of status and position of a character.  The reader uses the previously established description and takes that avatar, to use a computer gaming term, through the manipulations described in your paragraph in order to picture the action of the story.

A majority of your paragraphs are likely to be action of some sort or another.

This does not mean the movie-goer's definition of action.  If a character walks across the
Three Paragraphs - Action
The Three Paragraphs of Fiction - Third: DialogueThe third sort of paragraph necessary to writing fiction is dialogue.

Dialogue is a strange and fragile thing.  Except in a few instances, it can't quite stand on its own.  There needs to be a little bit of action or dsecription in order to at the very least identify who is speaking.  However, too much of either will bury the voice of the character under the voice of the narrator.

Human speech in reality is a cluttered, impromptu and often imprecise.  We speak in half-sentences.  We walk over each other's words and complete each other's thoughts, sometimes incorrectly.

Compare the dialogue in a TV drama with the dialogue on something akin
Three Paragraphs - Dialogue
Writing Skills: Characters have many namesIn the course of a story you are going to refer to each character several times, however, you do not want to be repeated "Luke said" or "Luke wrote" or "Luke did whatever" over and over again.  The repetition of the name would get grating on the reader and it has the character of an inexpert speaker.

Think about how people talk in real life.  When we encounter someone that simply repeats the name over and over again when labeling who is doing what, we get irritated at hearing "Luke", or whatever name is being used, incessantly.   It becomes like a drum beat where we can mark the time by the use of that name.

Some times you want to give that
Characters Have Many Names
WS: Follow the Rules Until You Make ThemWriting is one of those things where there are numerous rules put out by a variety of different people.  Some of the rules sound very specific, others are very broad.  Depending on which authors or editors whose advice you read, they can even be contradictory.  When you start out, you don't know any of these rules except some basic ideas of sequencing and he said/she said.  As you progress, you learn more and more rules to follow.

Follow those rules until you can make them.

That sounds rather strange, and I'm aware of that, but it really is the case and the reasoning is very simple.  It is very analogous to the instructions to little kids t
Follow the Rules until You Make Them
Writing Skills: Archetypes and StereotypesMost people take a dim view of stereotypes and assume that it is a bad thing to design a character to fit a stereotype or archetype.  The assumption is that making use of a stereotype means making cookie-cutter, low dimensional characters or, worse, that you are giving in to unfair perceptions of different groups.

This view operates under the perception that a character can only fit one particular stereotype at a time.

Stereotypes exist because, for one reason or another, at one point in time, they were true.  These are an example of inferential thinking.  Inference, as adverse deduction, takes into account similar situations or individuals
Archetypes and Stereotypes
Writing Skills: Understand RepetitionRepetition is an important tool for writing of any sort.  The more often a point is repeated, the more important it seems to the reader.

In narration, for the most part, you want to avoid repeating things word for word.  You want to repeat a reference to a situation or event, but not a word for word repetition.  Some people have a higher or lower tolerance to this.  For example, I got irritated at seeing the phrase "like a puppet with its strings cut" twice within fifty pages in one book.  Someone else might not notice that at all.

Finding unique ways to describe things each time will usually improve the enjoyment of the story.

There are t
Understand Repetition
WS: Try to be Predictable and SurprisingPredictability, very much like stereotypes, has a bad reputation amongst readers and writers alike.  To most people, predictable is the same thing as boring.  They want, or say they want, unpredictable stories that end in ways that they did not expect whatsoever.

"I did not see that coming."

That is one of the phrases that most people connect with a story that is well-written and surprising.

It is something of a misdirection.

Stories are not truly unpredictable.  The closest sorts of stories that can be called unpredictable are things like Looney Toons, Monty Python and Alice In Wonderland.  However, even in this case, the apparent random
Try to be Predictable and Surprising
Writing Skills: Check Reality Before You Reject ItA lot of fiction can be called larger than life.  The Rule of Cool is repetively invoked in all manner of stories.  This is why the star-fighters in Star Wars make strange whining sounds and action heroes can outrun explosions.  This is why characters in movies and TV shows seem like they're experts in just about everything.  This is why the characters in romance movies can so flawlessly express themselves.  Fiction, even realistic fiction that says it sticks firmly within what is possible in real life, still seems to stick strongly to the mantra "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

However, you should not simply reject reality whe
Check Reality Before You Reject It
Writing Skills: Maintain ConsistencyConsistency is a big part of any story, if you are not consistent then people are going to quickly get fed up with your story as it becomes harder and harder to relate things.

A lot of people might point to George Lucas when thinking of examples of inconsistancy.  However, George's arbitrary decision to change some things in the Star Wars universe is not really a very major example of this situation.

A much better example is Heroes, the TV show that everybody loved on the first season and which got progressively less buyable from the second season onward.  It became quickly apparent that they were tacking on consequences and ramifications t
Maintain Consistency
WS: Have Fun and Don't Worry About MessageOkay, you will see me wax philosophic and start to delve into deep and meaningful stuff here and there all over my blog in places.  I might even start delving into what I consider to be the big philosophical meanings and metaphors of my various works. Said discussions might get fairly complex, deep and insightful.

Most of them are things I come up with after the fact of writing the story and are more ways for me to analyze myself than to analyze my work.

I am a huge fan of JRR Tolkien and in particular, I am a firm believer in his concept of applicability.  I had come to pretty much the same conclusion before I'd ever heard the term before.
Have Fun and Don't Worry About Message
WS: Impossible Fine, Improbable BadThe title here is a quote from Aristotle and should probably be one of the first things any author of fiction considers when deciding on plot direction and events.

The quote has been restated to me in the past in the following way:

"You can have the possible.   You can have the impossible.  But it has to be probable."

What this means is that the audience has to find the story believable within the framework of the world setting chosen.

There is a tricky distinction between impossible and improbable.  This is because we so often include the improbable with the impossible.

Imagine a story where a dangerous animal is smuggled onto a plane a
Probable Impossibilities are Preferred to Improbable Possibilities
Writing Skills: Don't Explain the HammerchloriansThere are two maybe three parts to this piece of advice.  And the first of these is quite well explained by the large, pear shaped individual that arrogantly spews his opinions of science-fiction and fantasy in the comic shop that's part of El Goonish Shive's world setting.

Comic in question: http://egscomics.com/?date=2010-04-26

People are going to be accepting of a lot of impossible things without needing much explanation for them to take things as fact for that world setting.  In a sci-fi world, it is rather easy to simply accept cybernetic enhancement, you don't have to explain the nuts and bolts of how cybernetics work.  Likewise, ther
Don't Explain The Hammerchlorians
Writing Skills: Things Never Go SmoothOne of the problems with the stories that are popular, things are always going wrong.  There's always some amount of unnecessary pain and fear and trouble in the world.  It's stuff that could probably have been avoided if it weren't for a handful of mistakes that the story makes painfully obvious.

The crisis can be personal, such as saying the wrong thing to a girlfriend and trying to spend the rest of the story apologizing, or it can be local, such as dealing with a bank robbery.  It goes on and on, with the mistakes being more obvious and seemingly extreme as you go further up the line.

But the matter is the same.

Mistakes were made and
Things Never Go Smooth
If Things are going Smooth, Don't tell the readerOne of the best examples of this comes from the Dennis Quaid movie Undercover Blues.  Obviously this is something of a spoiler, so be aware.

Throughout the whole movie, the Blues portray themselves as in control of the immediate situation but still trying to figure out the larger picture.  Meanwhile they pepper the conversation with things like "(Morty) could be useful" which later turns out to be true.  You don't learn that they've been manipulating the larger picture all along until the end of the movie.

Likewise, Ocean's 12 has the same sort of situation where the gang is getting progressively caught more and more and thrown in jail whil
If Things are Going Smooth, Don't Tell the Reader
Writing Skills: ContrivanceThere is a common complaint about fiction that you hear when someone has decided that a particular story is poorly explained, managed or otherwise unbelievable.

"It's contrived."

The thing about this statement.

It's true.

When talking about fiction, it is always going to be true.

A work of fiction is, by definition, contrived.  It is a made up story with made up circumstances and made up people.  Everything about any piece of fiction is contrived to some degree.

So it will always be contrived.  Now, however, you have to figure out what is wrong with your story that someone would be using that statement.

This is basically the equivalent
Contrivance
Writing: Stories Will Stop Surprising YouThere's a piece of advice I heard somewhere once, long ago.

"Don't read a story about something you're an expert in."

This extends to watching TV shows and movies and probably video games and the like.

The basic concept here is that if you are an expert in, say, mortars you might find yourself driven into a frothing at the mouth nitpickers rage when a roleplaying game book vastly underrates this weapon of which you know much.  Likewise, if you know a lot about a particular skill or subject matter, then you will find yourself nitpicking any fiction involving the subject to death.

Now.

Think about this for a moment.

If you're interested i
Stories Will Stop Surprising You
Writing Skills: Candy and DistractionWhat is candy?

Candy is when you give the reader something that they want and it doesn't really have anything pertinent to add to either character development or moving the plot forward.  There's a couple of reasons to add candy.

One is to give the reader a breather patch where there isn't anything really much to process and they can just enjoy the next scene or two as things carry on.

A second is to summarize the plot as its developed so far or else to showcase some point of character development.

The last is to pad space in your story and make it longer than it otherwise would be.

Any sort of scene can be candy as long as it: a) is pri
Candy and Distraction

Divine Blood Art Contest - No Entries Still :(

Journal Entry: Mon Apr 16, 2012, 1:31 AM


There's still 10, maybe 11 days left for the contest, but if I don't have any entries, then I'll relaunch it at the end of the cycle of current contests.

That would mean that if we have no contest entries for Divine Blood the contest will next launch on December 15th of this year.

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The first two weeks have passed without entrants.  But I have heard some interest.

We might even have a cosplay entry from the sounds of one comment!

Hurry up and get your entries in so I can start tormenting myself with choosing the best of the bunch.

--------------------------------------------

I've been planning to put out several short stories based around the characters of Divine Blood this year and I'm proud to say that the first one is out!

Starting the Divine Blood: Extracurriculars off with magic, monsters and a smidgen of Immortal politics in Iceland.

Pick up Smoke over Grimsvotn for free to learn just why Lilitu was in such poor health during the novel and keep an eye out for more stories.



Pick it up from DrivethruRPG: [link]

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:new::new::new:To coincide with the contest, the Divine Blood novel is currently on sale.:new::new::new:

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The Thrythlind-Stories group should now be accepting all members!.

This is the first of my four art contests this year and it is centered on the world of the Divine Blood novel.

Note, some of the rules have changed from earlier announcements.

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What do I need to do?

Post a deviation based on Divine Blood to your gallery and submit it to the Thrythlind-Stories group in the Divine Blood Informal Contest or Divine Blood Canon Contest as appropriate.

A link to the group is here: [link]

If it is working, go ahead and submit it yourself or send me a note and have me do it.  I'm fine either way.  (though remain irritated at the system)

There are two folders one for portraits and the other for scenes.

The group seems to be having trouble still.

There are two contests, the Informal and the Canon.

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What are the rules?

For the informal pictures, you can draw any character from the novels that you want.  You can dress them however you want.  You can even have them interacting with your own OCs or characters from established series such as Marvel, Dresden Files, Naruto, City of Heroes and so on.  

For the Canon pictures, you need to draw a scene out of the book, but it can be any scene you want to draw.

No limit on size, number of characters, complexity or color vs black and white.  You may also submit as many as two deviations to each category of the contest, meaning each participant may submit a total of four pictures maximum.  If you desire to do more than that, awesome, but choose which four (two each) you want to apply to the contest.

Again:

Informal Contest maximum entries per person: Two
Canon Contest maximum entries per person: Two

Do not submit anything with sexual content.  The clothing damage incident one of the evil characters suffers should be the limit of that.

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When does this end?

11:59 June 1st, Japanese time

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How will the winners be chosen?

On June 1st, the contest will come to an end and I will spend the next week speaking about the entries with selected friends.  The final decision will lie with me, it will not be up to an outside vote.  I will choose based on the following criteria.

Creativity - how clever you are with portraying the characters and situations

Characterization - how well you keep my characters in, well, character

Technique - flat out artistic skill

These criteria fit both the Informal and Canon contests.

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What are the prizes?

For each Category:

First Prize: 4,000 deviant art points, a signed copy of the book

Second Prize: 3,000 deviant art points

Third Prize: 1,000 deviant art points

One of the First Prize winners will also receive the Grand Prize which is as follows:

Your choice between a $100 Amazon Gift Card or a commission from an artist of your choice up to $100 in value

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What is Divine Blood?

Divine Blood is a novel that features elements of science fiction, fantasy and even a trace of horror.  It is set in an alternate version of our own world.  A world where nonhuman beings live among humans everyday secret societies and organizations fight for the fate of the world, hidden realms of ancient power struggle with the idea of coming to a truce and war is on the horizon everywhere though no one seems to notice.

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What elements exist in Divine Blood?

Mecha - small mecha ranging from 12 to 15 feet tall exist as fast assault vehicles.  Traditional tanks still carry more firepower and armor on average.  Humanoid mecha are referred to as "uprights".

Supernatural Powers - magic, psychic powers and supernatural martial arts are all considered part of the Divine Blood universe

Nonhuman species - most modern day nonhumans have evolved to fit in among humans either through appearing almost the same, shapechanging or not entering their true form until puberty.  Most nonhumans live normal lives.

Intrigue - there are numerous secret organizations, some good, some bad and most not communicating well between each other.

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What if I don't have the book?

Public chapters are available through my gallery or in the group linked above.  Also, you can purchase the full novel in kindle format for $3 from both amazon.com and driverthrurpg.com.

Also, I will offer a free kindle copy to the first twenty people that retweet my add for this contest on twitter.  This will come through drivethrurpg.com.



Series: Divine Blood
Volume 1
Title: Semester Start
Format: Novel
Genre: Sci-Fi - Paranatural
Kindle Price: $3
Print Price:  $9.95


Sale Prices: Kindle and PDF E-book: $1
Print copy: $8

Amazon: [link]

DrivethruRPG: [link]

---------------------------------------------

What if I don't have a kindle?

Amazon offers a free program which allows you to read kindle books on your desktop or laptop.

[link]

Also, Drivethrurpg.com offers the book in PDF format

DrivethruRPG: [link]

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Journal Entries by CategorySince my previous index freaked out.  Here's another one...will iron it out in a bit here.

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CSS by JennyLeigh at [link]

  • Listening to: nothing
  • Reading: Nothing
  • Watching: Monk
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Generic Corn Flakes
  • Drinking: Fanta Grape

Are you planning to enter my contest? [link] 

100%
10 deviants said No, sorry
0%
No deviants said Yes, at least one entry
0%
No deviants said Yes, I'd like to enter once to each category
0%
No deviants said Yes, I'd like to get at least three entries in
0%
No deviants said Yes, I'm going for the maximum number of 4, two to each category

deviantID

Thrythlind's Profile Picture
*Thrythlind
Luke Green
Artist | Professional | Literature
Japan
Current Residence: San Antonio, Tx
Favourite genre of music: Whatever
Favourite style of art: Manga
Favourite cartoon character: Tie: Brianna Diggers or Lydia McKracken
Personal Quote: "I'm five in every crowd."
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Shoutbox

~gotgass:icongotgass:
I'm wondering if you will continue any of the ranma fics form ff.net?
Thu Jan 12, 2012, 8:52 PM
~Wolfpackersson09:iconWolfpackersson09:
Yo, I'm a reader of House of Aensland on FF, and am wondering if you'll update it. I also enjoyed the Succubus Blues thread, but would like to see it as a proper story.
Thu Nov 24, 2011, 8:18 AM
~hr45:iconhr45:
the chapter based on your charaters is iut
Wed Mar 30, 2011, 10:20 PM
~LOH-CHAN:iconLOH-CHAN:
eu num entendi o video...
Sat Jan 15, 2011, 3:35 PM
~Mellissandria:iconMellissandria:
Oddly enough, I'm reading one of the fics right now...
Sat Mar 27, 2010, 12:45 PM
*Thrythlind:iconThrythlind:
a few fics, mostly on ff.net right now though
Sat Apr 18, 2009, 12:43 PM
~varelman:iconvarelman:
like your pics got any more fics
Wed Apr 8, 2009, 12:38 PM
*Thrythlind:iconThrythlind:
I wonder how many people will actually come by here
Thu Mar 26, 2009, 2:49 PM
Nobody

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Comments


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:iconbryan181108:
Thank you for the favorite friend. :D
Reply
:iconthrythlind:
*Thrythlind 10 hours ago  Professional Writer
np and thanks!

--
Divine Blood

On kindle: [link]

$1 through January
Reply
:iconsasha-fantom:
Many thanks for the :iconfav3dplz:! :)
Reply
:iconthrythlind:
*Thrythlind 10 hours ago  Professional Writer
np and thanks!

--
Divine Blood

On kindle: [link]

$1 through January
Reply
:iconkissofcrimson:
Hi, Luke. Thank you so much for the :+fav:s, I really appreciate them. :aww: I hope you have a nice night.

--
Fantasize, you're less likely to be disappointed.
Reply
:iconthrythlind:
*Thrythlind 10 hours ago  Professional Writer
np and thanks!

--
Divine Blood

On kindle: [link]

$1 through January
Reply
:iconkumorininja08:
Thanks so much for the :+fav:^^

--
~When one doesn't know who, where, or why they are, they must close their eyes and see not with their mind but with their heart.~
Reply
:iconthrythlind:
*Thrythlind 3 days ago  Professional Writer
np

--
Divine Blood

On kindle: [link]

$1 through January
Reply
:iconths-los:
~Ths-los 5 days ago  Hobbyist General Artist
Thank you for faving my deviation! :)
Reply
:iconthrythlind:
*Thrythlind 4 days ago  Professional Writer
np

--
Divine Blood

On kindle: [link]

$1 through January
Reply
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