Third Draft Finished and More

It's been a while, but I've still been writing. Well, until recently, that is. In my last post in February earlier this year, I was just starting the second draft of my Skrikare WIP. The second draft has been long finished by this point, but that's not all.

I also completed the third draft! It involved a few new scenes, as well as the deletion of a scene or two, along with the usual editing delights: tightening up sentences, word choice, fixing inconsistencies, adding detail, and so on. It was a fun ride.

But what's happening now? Beta readers, that's what. Two of them. They're good friends of mine, and yes, I do trust them to be honest with me despite that. I've never finished a third draft before, let alone had beta readers, so this is going to be interesting, to say the least.

So I'm not writing or editing at the moment, which is an interesting feeling, but this break is very much needed. And I'm keeping busy with other things, like reading (Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is my current read and it's excellent), and working on both this blog and The Fantasy Narrative, a website/blog project I started recently that focuses on all things fantasy (11/29/19 post update: I have since joined the blogs into one). Twitter and Instagram are also good time sucks, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that.

All of that is keeping me entertained enough, but I'm definitely looking forward to draft four when that time comes. In the meantime, reading and side projects will have to do.

How are your projects, writing or otherwise, coming along? Let me know in the comments; I'd love to hear from you! :)

10 Books with Vampires

1. Vampire Academy

series by Richelle Mead

2. House of Night

series by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

3. The Morganville Vampires

series by Rachel Caine

4. Interview with the Vampire

by Anne Rice

5. The Vampire Diaries

series by L. J. Smith

6. Dracula

by Bram Stoker

7. Twilight

series by Stephenie Meyer

8. Salem's Lot

by Stephen King

9. Sookie Stackhouse

series by Charlaine Harris

10. Night Huntress

series by Jeaniene Frost

Have you read any of these vampire books? Which are your favorites and least favorites? Let me know in the comments!

Why is Fantasy Important?

"We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay."
Lynda Barry

We hear it all the time, whenever we bury ourselves in a book of fantasy, whether someone else wrote it or we're writing one of our own. There you go again, escaping reality in a fantasy world.

And maybe part of that's true, but I don't think it's the whole story. Yes, sometimes we do turn to books with magic in them when we're having a hard time of it in the so-called real world. But they can also help us understand that real world better. All good fantasy books have elements of reality woven throughout. Even the most out-there, bizarre, there's no way that could happen books teach us things, make us feel, make us think. But perhaps most importantly, they let us have fun along the way.

A lot of us take our lives way too seriously these days. I know I'm one of those people. But when I read or write fantasy, I'm forced to throw away that serious outlook, and for a time I believe in vampires and elemental abilities and an assortment of things we don't see or hear of in reality. And what's not fun about that? Even if the vampire is ripping out a human's throat, I'm enjoying myself because it channels my imagination and creativity, which I firmly believe is the blood, the water of life that makes this world worth living in.

But the best works of fantasy blend fun and imagination with cold reality. Works of fantasy touch on discrimination, on revenge, on a multitude of real world problems, but at the same time, there's a girl who can fly, a boy who's discovering for the first time that he can make ice out of nothing. This makes the not so fun aspects seem more tolerable, gives us a break from the harsh, the devastating. Those fairies and dragons and magical artifacts and alternate dimensions make everything else worth it.

To discuss real world problems while still having fun along the way is just one major reason why fantasy is important, of course, so I ask you: Why do you love fantasy? What makes you cling to it as I do?

Welcome to The Fantasy Narrative!

11/29/19 Post Update: This is an introduction to the second half of this blog, because originally I kept my writing stuff separate from my specifically fantasy stuff. Now they are all the same, but the purposes outlined here remain similar.

Hey, glad you found the blog section of the site! I'm Tanya, the founder of The Fantasy Narrative, and I'll be the main one writing blog posts. Bee, on the other hand, our co-founder, is the main one in charge of the Creature List. She is our mythical creature aficionado, and a lovely person to boot.

But let me introduce myself. As a lifelong fan of books, I once wrote in a third grade class journal that I wanted to be an author in response to the age old question, What do you want to be when you grow up? That has never changed, though as I got older, it took me a while to accept it. I went to college wanting to be a web designer, and I pursued that for a time, but ultimately I realized my heart wasn't in it. The creative writing courses called to me, and I listened to their call; in the end, I graduated with a degree in English and a certificate in Creative Writing.

The grand majority of books I read are in the fantasy genre, and that's also what I write - hence The Fantasy Narrative. I created this website to immerse myself even more in the realm of fantasy, to learn and read as much as I can about it and share what I learn and discover with you. My hope is to form a community here at The Fantasy Narrative, a safe place where we can share and discuss our favorite fantasy stories, creatures, and random tidbits of lore together, in all its glory and weirdness - in all our glory and weirdness.

The purpose of this blog is to explore the world of fantasy, and not just creature lore (that's the purpose of the Creature List). Here we'll discuss books, movies, TV shows, why fantasy is important, differences in creature origin stories, and so on. There will also be posts about writing fantasy for those of you like me, who can't get enough of fantasy by just reading the genre.

In short, The Fantasy Narrative is an adventure, and I hope you'll join us on this journey. :) If you want to keep track of us and join in the discussion, go ahead and give us a follow, shoot a comment down below and say hi, whatever floats your fancy. Let's just have fun with this, and learn more about fantasy along the way!