FANTASY AUTHOR KATHRYN FOGLEMAN
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3 Keys To Focus Your Story

7/18/2022

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Many writers focus only on the plot of their story. They have a fantastic idea, but the story wanders and stagnates. Why? Was it because they were a pantser? Or did a plotter go stale? Neither. Usually, the author simply did not ask their story the right questions.

Story is about someone solving a problem. It’s best to know exactly what that problem is before you hit the publish button, or even begin to write. If you can concisely sum up what your story is about, it will be far easier to write, and have a much better chance of getting attention.

How do you sum up a complex story?

Try summing up your story by explaining what your theme, conflict, and plot are, and how they work together to solve the story problem.

  • Theme. What are you saying about human nature? What is your main character's biggest flaw that readers will relate to? Theme is the central idea of any story, and the universal truth that the story teller is exploring. Often it is directly tied to the main character's biggest flaws.
  • Conflict. What flaws, things, or people must the protagonist overcome to achieve their goal? The conflict, internal and external, is the heart of the issue to be solved or overcome. This is what the reader is constantly thinking about as they read.
  • Plot. What are the external events that force the protagonist to deal with their inner issues? What big thing (and I mean BIG) happens that forces the main character into action? Remember that escalating progression of external cause-and-effect events force humans to face and deal with their issues. If it weren't for things getting out of hand, we would never change anything in our lives. Same goes for the main character.

Once you are able to explain what your theme, conflict, and plot are, you will find it much easier to sum up your story in a short paragraph (and even put it together in a gripping synopsis!). Once you can sum up your story, you can keep it focused, keep it strong, and it will make editing SO much easier for you.
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Book Recommendations (with Amazon Affiliate Links)

If you’d like to check out a well written book synopsis that outlines the 3 keys of their story, I recommend you read the synopsis of these well written books. 
(BTW, these are Amazon Affiliate links. If you buy these books, you help their author, and you help me as well):
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Where are you in your writing journey?

Is this overwhelming? Does the idea of writing a pager turner sound impossible? Do you want to be the author of the next best seller, but fear you won't meet your goals and expectations? 
I'm hear to help.
You can subscribe HERE (or below) and receive access to several free PDF books that will walk you through the steps of writing a compelling story with dynamic characters, PLUS get early access to exciting writing career boosting opportunities! 
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Emotion = Investment!

7/9/2022

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Great writers always clue us into what the characters are thinking and feeling, because that’s where the story lives. But, that's easier said than done. How do you learn to get your reader to feel and put your book on the "All The Feels" list on Goodreads?

Well, my first suggestion is to read more books! Find some books known for giving you the feels, and read them. Dissect them. Watch how the author does it. I will list a couple I recommend below in an affiliate link!

Next, ask yourself these questions:


  1. Is the reader aware of the protagonist’s specific expectations? Can the reader tell whether those expectations are being met or not? Writers often forget this, and forget to get into the right specifics.
  2. Does each scene affect your protagonist emotionally in the moment? The reader must know what emotion the protagonist is feeling, especially when it’s the opposite of what the protagonist is saying they are feeling.
  3. Does the protagonist react to everything that happens? Physically, thinking, or feeling? How does what happens affect your protagonist? To keep your readers invested, your protagonist must react to everything that happens to them or around them. Remember to keep everything that happens pertinent to the story!
  4. Can the reader see the causal link between what happened and why your protagonist reacted the way they did? This links back to Number 1. If the reader understands Number 1, then they will likely understand this.
  5. Does everything reflect the protagonist’s point of view? Remember: First Person especially is never neutral. Everything in the story relates to HIM or HER.

​Help the reader feel what the protagonist feels. Let the reader into their feelings at every turn. Give them what they need to be invested in the story. Don't bog them down with cool world crafting and spell mechanics and backstory. Just let them get in your character's head and heart, so they can celebrate, or cringe, or cry with your character.​

Book recommendations (with Amazon Affiliate Links)

Just click the book image, and it will take you straight to Amazon! If you purchase something, it will give me a tiny little commission that will probably be used to buy kids vitamins, dog treats, or more books.
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​Mockingjay is the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you really won't understand all of the emotions in it without the other two books. The other two books build up to this book, so it is RAW EMOTION. Yet, the author's writing style never changes between the books. You, as the reader, have just taken a wild journey with the character, and know what she loves, expects, and hopes for. So, before you know it, your emotions are wrapped up in her success and failure as well.

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​If you like classics, my mom recommends Charles Dickens for drawing in reader emotion. Specifically, she recommended The Old Curiosity Shop.
Published in 1841, The Old Curiosity Shop was an instant bestseller that, even while it was criticized for its sentimentality, captured the hearts of the nation with its portrayal of little Nell Trent, who is thrown into a terrifying world when her beloved grandfather is unable to pay his debts to the loathsome Quilp.

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​The Book of Form and Emptiness finds a mother and son grappling with the profound loss of the father of the family. While the mother’s anguish expresses itself in a hoarding problem, her son hears inanimate objects talking to him, and these voices eventually overwhelm in a cacophony that drowns out his own. Did I mention the book itself is also a character?

Are you wanting to learn more about writing?

Is this overwhelming? Does the idea of writing a pager turner sound impossible? Do you want to be the author of the next best seller, but fear you won't meet your goals and expectations? 
I'm hear to help.
You can subscribe HERE and receive access to several free PDF books that will walk you through the steps of writing a compelling story with dynamic characters, PLUS get early access to book coaching opportunities and sales!
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Story Is Internal

5/24/2022

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Story is internal, not external.
If the reader is not feeling what the protagonist feels, the reader won’t keep reading.
Everything that happens in a story NEEDS to affect the protagonist. If it doesn’t affect the protagonist, it doesn’t trigger emotion, and so remains neutral to your reader.
The reader’s understanding is important as we share the protagonist’s thoughts when their expectations are being met or not being met. If your reader doesn't understand, they have no emotional investment.

Perspective
  • First-person thoughts and expectations must be woven into everything. The protagonist draws conclusions about everything they mention, down to the smallest detail. Everything they mention inherently pertains to the story they are telling and to the point they're making. They never, NEVER mention something “just because”, or objectively describe things.
  • Second-person narration a rarely used technique in which the action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as "you". The reader is immersed into the narrative as a character involved in the story. The narrator describes what "you" do and lets you into your own thoughts and background. Again, nothing is ever mentioned without purpose, or objectively described. Everything brought to "your" attention is important and causes some reaction from "you".
  • Third-person, the narrator shares reactions, avoids dialogue tags, and doesn’t need to use quotation marks and italics to convey the thoughts and conclusions of the protagonist. The trick is to seamlessly slip out of the neutral narrator’s voice and into the character's very subjective point of view . If done well, it’s invisible.

Recommended Book

Here is an Amazon Affiliate Link, my friend. This book is filled with finished short stories (no cliff hangers) from different perspectives and points of view. They all do a great job of keeping the readers hooked by keeping them emotionally invested in the character's success or failure. There's suspense and romance, action and humor, and loads of character growth in a tiny package. I highly recommend you click the image and check it out and dissect the stories.
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One Minute You're Single & The Next...

1/28/2022

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It's been a long time since I did any blogging or vlogging, and unless you've been keeping up with me on Facebook or Instagram, you have NO idea that I - the person who swore she was incapable of staying in a long-term romantic relationship and would never get married and was totes okay with that - got married to my best friend in 2019, and inherited some bonus kids! And then I - the person who was led to assume she would likely not be able to get pregnant or give birth easily - to my own surprise, popped out my very own baby a year later (she's the only DIY project I've ever finished)! I also started growing my hair out again (yikes), and have moved from the country into town (don't get too excited - the pop is roughly 1500, there are chickens right next door, and cows across the street).
It's been a whirlwind of craziness in my life the last couple of years.
However, I am slowly reentering the blogging/vlogging/bookish world again, and let me just say that it is pretty terrifying and I'm scared I'm gonna drown... again... BUT! Here I am, giving it another go.

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OH! Not to be forgotten: I still have Pilot. He's gotten old and chonky, but is still the most goodest boy ever to wag a tail. He loves his new baby that I made for him.

If you are interested in free books, writing tips, and learning how to become a Master Storyteller, please subscribe to my helpful emails here:
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Dracula by Bram Stoker

8/5/2019

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I read my first Gothic Horror novel: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker.

I personally am not into vampires. I don’t like them; they have gone from creepy and disgusting to just plain annoying in today’s world! So, when my mother suggested I read the old classic “Dracula” I was naturally leery. However, Dracula is now on my “Favorites” shelf and I think that it throws any other vampire stories I have read so far “into the mud”. I also think it was one of the most Christian books I have ever read, next to anything written by Frank Peretti. It surprised me that Bram Stoker actually depicted the vampires as demons, with no heart or mercy or pure thought, inhabiting a human’s body. Try to find that in today’s vampire stories!

However, before I would recommend Dracula for reading I would give a warning: it is a horror genre novel. It has some very gruesome, morbid parts and it does suggest some very mild sensuality in some parts that would be somewhat disturbing to a few readers that I know. But, if you can handle watching the news on TV or if you have read any of Frank Peretti’s books, I can guarantee you will be able to handle Dracula.
So now that I have that said and done, shall we move on?

It took about three chapters of for the story to really get rolling, but I must give the author some leeway because “Dracula” was written in the late 1800’s and does not follow the guidelines of today’s modern fiction: begin with a KAPOW that grips your readers on the very first page! Dracula actually eases mysteriously into the story, which was a nice change from today’s fiction.

Once I got past the first couple of pages, the story became very intriguing. I was amazed at how well the author tinged the story with deep mystery, really arousing my curiosity in the plot. This kept me turning the pages through the first part of the book.

The book is written completely in first person, being a collection of diaries and memoirs from each character involved in the story. I was certain that the first person narrative was going to drive me crazy, as it did in Mobey Dick, but it flowed smoothly in this book and made the characters VERY realistic. Again I was amazed at the author’s skill as he was able to craft each of the characters with such different personalities! I generally pride myself in staying detached from fictional characters in a story, but Bram Stoker’s skill in the first person narrative made it impossible for me to remain indifferent to these characters. In other words, I became attached to the characters of the story very quickly.

One of my favorite characters was Abraham Van Helsing. Caring, gentle, intelligent, crafty, and humorous, Van Helsing has a right to be one of the main heroes in “Dracula”. He is a brilliant Dutch doctor who is in England, trying to help his friends smoke out and destroy Count Dracula. Because he is a Dutchman in England this causes some humor throughout the book as his English is sometimes a little shaky and he gets things a little mixed up.

Midway through the story it became practically impossible to set the book down! The plot grew intense as the characters started making discoveries and finding out their foe, and the story started to roll very quickly as Count Dracula tried to destroy them and they quickly learned how to fight the demon back.

The ending seemed a bit rushed to me, but it ended better than I thought it would. I expected everyone to die and the bad guy to live on, as in many horror novels, but it was not the case and all the mystery and puzzles presented throughout the book were wrapped up very well in the end.

All in all, it was a very good book that I would recommend to most people, and I like it much, much better than any other vampire literature I have come across. Thumbs up for Bram Stoker’s Dracula!

​“I saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over him. He was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well.”
​- Mina Harker - Dracula
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Dragons In Our Midst by Bryan Davis

6/20/2018

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"...a contemporary fantasy story that inspires young people to dig deep within to find their God-given strengths and use them to overcome any obstacle. It’s a perfect blend of fantasy and science fiction with a Christian message."
The DRAGONS IN OUR MIDST series is by far on the top of my favorites list. Each book gets 5 stars from me! Bryan Davis, the author, awes me with his talent in making a labyrinth out of his plots, creating relatable characters that you fall in love with, and inputting a deep spiritual message throughout the story. Plus, there's dragons!
<---- That is an Amazon Affiliate Link. If you buy the books, you are supporting the author, and I will get a small commission to buy kids vitamins and cat food!
There are four books in the series: Raising Dragons, The Candlestone, Circles of Seven, and Tears of a Dragon.  In paperback, kindle, or audiobook, they are excellent books. Just pick one and get involved! Believe me, once you get started, you won't want to set this series down.
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Building Your Dog's Self Esteem

1/8/2018

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Do dogs really have self-esteem?
I might not have been able to answer this question a few years ago. Since I've had Pilot, though, I can confidently say YES. Dogs do have self-esteem.

Most of the dogs I have owned in my life have had no lack of self-esteem. They were confident in themselves and their abilities, and they were assured that their owner felt the same way. They were not afraid to try new things, and if they failed at something, they got right back up and tried it again and again until they succeeded.
Because of this, I never questioned whether dogs had self-esteem.
And then I met Pilot.

Pilot was easy to worry. He was clingy. He was hard to teach and train. If someone spoke one loud word he would drop to the ground like he was being punished. If he did something wrong and I said "no", he would do the same thing. Sometimes he would shut down completely and not do anything at all.
He wasn't as troubled as some dogs I've met. He was still a happy, playful pooch, ready to please me, but he just wasn't... well... I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but he was missing something.
Then, the day came when he learned to "Roll Over" on command. The first time he did it, I threw a party and he acted surprised. The second time he did it, I threw another party and I saw a light come on in his head.

After that, Pilot became a whole new dog. He became more receptive and started learning more tricks. He would try new things, instead of shutting down. He started wandering short distances away from me on hikes, rather than sticking to me like glue. He grew more calm and confident in public. His self-esteem tripled just from learning that one trick, then it continued to grow with each new trick he learned, with every public place we visited, and with every new thing we tried.

Pilot showed me that dogs DO have self-esteem, and it can be weak or strong, just like ours.

How do you build a dog's self-esteem? Have patience, try new things with them, and set them up for success. Every time they succeed, they become a little more confident in their abilities. It can be a very long process, especially for those dogs who need their self-esteem built from the ground up. But it is very rewarding to see them gain that confidence bit by bit, and having a proud, confident dog is the goal of every dog owner, isn't it?

Here are 10 of the best ways to build up your dog's confidence:
  1. For dogs with extreme self-esteem issues, take baby steps. Reward them for the simplest things. Warm them up to a clicker and give them lots of treats and praise, even if its just for looking at you.
  2. Ignore unwanted behavior and never get angry. Dogs with low self-esteem take anger very hard, and one angry response from you can ruin everything. Ignore them when they shut down, get clingy, or don't do what you ask.
  3. Rewards & praise galore - This is so important. Every reward they get, every bit of praise they receive for doing something right feeds their self-esteem and bolsters their confidence.
  4. Teach them their basic manners (if they don't know them yet)
  5. Start teaching them tricks
  6. Take a different walking route occasionally
  7. Take them for short drives
  8. Go shopping or visit the park
  9. Take them to visit a friend
  10. Go to doggy classes to meet other confident dogs and owners, and try other new and different things

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My First Co-Authored Book!

9/14/2017

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"Wait, you're a CO-AUTHOR?"
​
Yes. Yes I am. I know I haven't been keeping folks updated (for many reasons of my own), but it is true. I have spent the last year or so co-writing a book with a fellow author and close friend, F.P. Spirit, and now it is FINALLY PUBLISHED! And I am so excited!!

The book is titled "Princess of Lanfor" and it is available on Amazon as an ebook, and will be in paperback as well later this month!

For more information about this awesome book (and F.P. Spirit), please watch this YouTube video I put together to announce the book, explain a bit about it, and featuring me, myself, and I reading an excerpt from it!
When you are finished watching, don't forget to share it with your friends! Get the news out, because I think the world needs to see this book!
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3 Commands That Could Save Your Dog's Life

9/9/2017

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Have you ever witnessed a dog get hit by a vehicle? Or trampled by a horse? Have you ever been in a situation where you found yourself thinking "If my dog just understood what I was saying, I could save him."?
I know I have been in all three situations, plus some. None of them ended well. That is why I have made a big deal about drilling my dog, Pilot, on three simple commands: Come, Whoa (stop), & Down.
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Suppose Pilot is hiking with me off leash (as he often does) and he unknowingly strays toward the den of a wild animal. I can say "COME" and he will obey me right away, leaving the territorial wild animal with big teeth and innumerable horrific deceases alone. This works the same way if he is out of the yard and the UPS truck pulls into our drive unexpectedly.
The "Whoa" command works in a similar way.
There have been times when we are walking down an old dirt road and Pilot and I are on opposite sides. If a vehicle comes down the road toward us, I can tell Pilot "Whoa" and he'll stop, sit down and not move until I give him the okay to do so. This allows the vehicle to pass us both safely.
Down is another important one, where I live. Sometimes, the places we hike have horses or cattle. Most cattle, especially those with babies, do not like dogs. If the cows grow concerned with Pilot's presence, I can simply tell him "Down". As soon as his head disappears beneath the grasses, the cows settle down and eventually move away to greener pastures. This works for horses and stray dogs as well, and keeps fights at bay.
One other command I am trying to teach Pilot is "RUN AWAY". Sometimes, that's about all one can do when faced with an angry cow, horse, or certain kinds of wildlife. The thing is, though, I want him to run AWAY FROM ME. He tends to run to me and hide between my legs when things get heated. That causes.... *cough*.... problems. Especially when we are both running for our lives.

HOW DO YOU TEACH THESE COMMANDS?
There are tons - TONS - of videos on YouTube on how to teach your dog the "down" and "come" commands. So I won't even try to explain those to you.


Whoa, or stop, is a little more complicated.
The first time I needed such a command was when I'd just brought Pilot home. He was playing in the farm yard one day, saw me, and started running toward me like a crazy happy dog. Sitting right between him and I was an angry hen with a bunch of tiny baby chicks. In an effort to stop a catastrophe from happening, I ran forward, put my hand out like Iron Man, and screamed "WHOA DOG!"
He stopped instantly and looked at me like "Oh no! What did I do?", and the flustered hen was able to shuffle her chicks to a safer part of the farm yard.
From then on, I started actively teaching the "Whoa" command to Pilot. I started out by calling him toward me. When he was just a few feet away, I jumped toward him with my hand out and said a loud, firm "Whoa!". When he stopped, I'd wait a second before calling him to me. Then I would throw a super big party for him with lots of treats and praise until he came to realize that "whoa" was not a harsh, mean word. As he got better, I started stopping him further and further away from me, and making him wait longer and longer for the release. Now, he's pretty much a pro.

Now, I will say that I haven't tried to actively teach this to any other dogs yet. I guess this technique would work with just about any dog, though, since it is a natural reaction to freeze if someone jumps and yells at you. 
If the dog was a small or very gentle mannered dog, though, I'd take a softer approach to teaching the "whoa" command. Otherwise, it might scare them away, not make them freeze.

Here is a very short 
YouTube video of Pilot demonstrating his "Life Saving" commands. Enjoy!

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My New Dragon Book Has Arrived!

2/15/2017

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​I cannot tell you how happy I am that the second installment of Tales of the Wovlen is FINALLY DONE and PUBLISHED! Can you believe that it's been 3 years since I published the first book??

I have been so frustrated with this book, because it took forever to get it written, edited, and formatted. And I know you've been frustrated because "What the heck is taking that author so long to get the next book done?!" and "She keeps setting a date, then pushes it back. What's up with her?"
But, the frustration is finally over. At long last, the book is published!

You can buy the paperback at CreateSpace (which gives more of the royalties back to the author).
Or you can Pre-order the Kindle ebook on Amazon.
Unfortunately, it will be a while before I can offer signed copies for sale.

If you would like to preview the story before you buy the book, that's not a problem! 
You can read the prologue (chapter before the first chapter) here: Thank You For Loving Me
You can also read a snippet of chapter 9: Annaka & Arden

Please, please, PLEASE leave a review of the book on Amazon after you've finished reading it. Just a simple, honest review will be fine. Even bad reviews are helpful! Every review I get boosts my book's stats, regardless of how many stars they are.
So please, help this poor author get her belated book noticed by reviewing it on Amazon, blogging about it, making a video review, and sharing it with your friends via social media or in real life!
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As a bonus, if you are a proud book worm, like to make book suggestions to others, really want to review my book specifically, and have a blog or Youtube account to share that review on, I will send you a FREE ebook of The Dragon's Due for you to review! Just send me a message on my Facebook page, and we'll iron out the details there.

You can also help out by sharing the image above! It can be pinned to Pinterest and I will be sharing it to my Twitter and Facebook pages, so please pop over to one (or all) of those and click LIKE and SHARE (or retweet... or pin it... whatever the case may be).

Thank you guys for all your help, patience, and support thus far, and please enjoy the continued adventures of Keegan and Pharrgon the dragon!

The next #Dragon #Book is finally here! - https://t.co/f8EomJy9kc - #TalesoftheWovlen #fantasy pic.twitter.com/z1p5xOmn54

— Kathryn Fogleman (@KJFogleman) February 22, 2017
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    The beasts of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls. - Isaiah 43:20

    The Author

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    Kathryn White

    Self-published author of the fantasy series, Tales of the Wovlen, Kathryn spends a great deal of time in the world of her imagination, having tea with fire breathing dragons, writing books on flying space ships, and practicing her mad scientist laugh with gusto. However, on occasion, she returns to this world just to play with her dog, blog about her fun, and coach people through writing self-doubt.


    The First Book

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