Boggle Blog (Archive)
Boggle Blog (Archive)
Rachel's Holiday Blog (12-18-09)
Rachel and Santa Helper Raider here, hoping that everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I'm keeping warm and cozy by the fireplace with my computer and my kitties. We're ready to spread some good cheer to everyone in our Circle of Friends.
The Twelve Days of Avalon
On the first day of Avalon my bonded gave to me:
From everyone at Avalon Central,
we wish you and all your bondeds a magical season!
we wish you and all your bondeds a magical season!
Rachel's Thanksgiving Blog (11-16-09)
Ah, the smell of sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie are wafting through the crisp fall air - it must be time for Thanksgiving! The yummy food is an excellent reason to love this holiday, but there's a lot more to it than the menu. Sometimes it feels like we're going a million miles an hour to finish everything on our busy schedules. Thanksgiving reminds us to take a deep breath, step back, and spend a day thinking about all the great things in our lives. Big or small, there is always something to be thankful for. So this year, I decided to share a few things that make me happy every day:
Once you start thinking about what's awesome in your own life, you'll discover you've got quite a list! That's one of the secrets to making good magic, too. If you are open to possibility and search for good things, you'll find them all around you. And if you have a chance to help someone else feel thankful, there's no better way to celebrate Thanksgiving and keep the spirit of Avalon alive.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Your friend,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts Halloween Blog 2009 (10-20-09)
Happy Halloween - don't get scared, it's only my cat, Attila. Like many of you, this is one of our favorite holidays. The crisp fall weather, the bright colors of pumpkins and turning leaves, and the beginning of the holiday season are all great reasons to be excited about October 31st. And the rules for having an awesome Halloween are simple: be creative, use your imagination, and have fun with your friends. That also happens to be the perfect recipe for making magic!
Halloween shows what can happen when we open our minds and try to look at something in a different way. Plain pumpkins transform into glowing faces full of personality; sheets can turn you into a mummy, a ghost, or a fluttering fairy; familiar houses become magical landscapes in the shadows of twilight. Halloween is all about possibility, what can be seen if you take time to look beyond the surface. That's a big theme in Avalon, and something to keep in mind year round. Give it a try, and you'll discover magic in things that seemed perfectly ordinary at first glance.
So gather your friends, spread some good magic, and remember that on Halloween, anything is possible!
Your friend,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #11 (09-16-09) - Fall is here!
Hello, mages!
I hope you guys all had a twigtastic summer! I know I did, with camping, hiking, and lots of writing.
First off, a great big thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit with me at the Comic Con in San Diego. It was a great show, and I had a blast meeting so many amazing Avalon readers-you guys are definitely a creative crowd! Good thing I packed extra gel pens. :)
Special shout out to Serenity. Hoot hoot! Check out her awesome artwork.
But then it was time to get back to work, so I took a vacation. :)
To tackle all the cool stuff going on at Avalon HQ, I needed research and inspiration. So with a backpack full of pens, notebooks, and granola bars (thanks Ozzie!) I hit the trail in the giant redwood forests not too far from where I grew up. Look how ginormous this tree is!
Park Rangers explained that during the winter storms, trees fall across the path. Before trails reopen, they go to work, removing brush, rocks, and sometimes very large trees, making sure hikers can enjoy wild places without disturbing the animals that live there.
Exploring meadows, woods, streams, and waterfalls, I spotted all kinds of wildlife, from birds and bunnies to hawks and banana slugs. And I'm pretty sure I saw a few brimbees hopping into a bush, and a flobbin flipper splashing in a stream.
Feeling the earth beneath my feet, sensing the forests all around me, breathing in the cool, fresh air, I felt like a mistwolf exploring magical places. Surrounded by the beauty of nature, the ideas started flowing.
And now I'm back at my desk, Attila and Raider in writing positions (that means scrunched on the chair), and ready to rock!
Book 10, Heart of Avalon is in stores now. I'm sure Ozzie has more information about that plus all things Avalon on his blog. I had a lot of fun writing HoA and I'm so pleased Allison Strom drew the fantastic interior sketches.
I hope the new school year is off to a great start for everyone. Do good work and be kind to your friends - animal and human!
Your friend,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #10 (06-15-09) - Happy Summer!
Happy summer, everyone! The weather is great, school is out, and that means you've got a few months to chill out with friends.
Having free time is the perfect opportunity to focus on all the things you love to do. Whether it's singing, dancing, playing sports, drawing, making crafts, or photography, there are so many ways to explore your imagination and make your summer lots of fun. It's also a great time to try something different- learn a few words in a foreign language, listen to a type of music you've never heard before, start keeping a journal, write a poem, ask a friend to teach you about their favorite hobby, learn everything there is to know about your favorite wild animal. Once you start thinking about all there is to do, you'll be amazed at how many adventures are out there waiting for you.
Here's my list of things I want to do this summer:
· Go hiking
· Learn a new song on the guitar
· Make white peach cobbler (Is once a week too much? Ozzie doesn't think so.)
· Have picnics at my favorite park with friends
· Stargaze with my astronomy guidebook and learn new constellations
· Go to the library and check out books I've been meaning to read
· Try new popsicle flavors
Oh yeah, and I'll also be busy writing! I'm putting the finishing touches on Book 10, Heart of Avalon. It's the big Emily story all you healers out there have been waiting for. And it's chock full of Allison Strom's amazing art - the awesome cover will be in The Books section pretty soon so you can all check it out! I'm sure Ozzie will fill you in on more details in his next blog. :)
And thanks for all the terrific emails on Avalon: The Warlock Diaries. Volume 2 looks fantastic and I can't wait for you all to see it. Everyone at Avalon Central is also getting ready for Book 11, Dark Mage, and Book 12, Full Circle, the final two books in the Web of Magic series. I know there are a lot of readers out there who have been waiting a long time for these never-before-published titles. Thank you so much for your excitement and your patience - I give you the writer-mage pledge of honor that you won't be disappointed! The Avalon books have been a wonderful journey of discovery for me. But don't worry, it's not over. Plans are underway for the Avalon: Shadow Warrior trilogy.
So now that you're up to date on my summer plans, start making your own list, and use all that free time to explore old favorites, discover new things, and be creative in your own way!Have fun!
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #9 (04-09-09) - Rachel's Writing Tips: Part 3
Greetings mages! If you've been following the last two blogs about writing, you've read some suggestions about how to get ideas and how to organize them into an outline. Now it's finally time to write - woot!
Just start writing
Sometimes it feels scary to look at a blank screen or piece of paper. You want everything to be perfect, but the most important thing is to get your ideas and feelings onto the page, no matter what they look like on the first try. The goal is to create the building blocks of your story, one step at a time.
You have an outline with chapters, so expand on those, filling them out with descriptions and dialogue. Start with one chapter at a time, and soon you'll have a first draft! As you go, try printing each chapter and scribbling notes all over it with a good red pen. You'll end up crossing out what you don't need, rearranging some things and coming up with new ideas. Once you input these notes back into your document, you've got a second draft that is looking more polished and one step closer to being done. Repeat the print-scribble-input process until you're satisfied that you have your final draft. Remember, working on a story is half writing and half editing - even this blog went through several drafts! - so just write, knowing that you're building your story piece by piece and will smooth out the rough edges with each draft.
Research
Nothing takes a reader out of a story faster than feeling like the writer doesn't know what they're talking about. So if you decide that your character is going to ride a train, but you, the author, have never ridden a train, you don't know how a train feels and smells and sounds, so your description is not going to be authentic. Go to the library, talk to someone who has experienced what you're writing about, or, if possible, get on that train yourself.
Research is especially important when writing fantasy. That might sound weird - how are you supposed to research things you're making up? But fantasy is where research meets imagination. You need good, solid details to make your creatures and magical places feel authentic, no matter how fantastical they are. Creating a magical creature like a mistwolf definitely takes imagination, but without researching how wolves look, move, hunt, and communicate, Stormbringer, Dreamer and the rest of the pack wouldn't have the details that make them feel like real creatures.
How do you make your story unique?
Stay true to what you love. When you write from the heart, your descriptions and characters feel authentic, and your story will reflect your unique point of view. Whatever fascinates you- whether it's magic jewels or three toed sloths or spaceships - your excitement will shine through your writing and get readers interested and excited, too. Trust your instincts. If you think something's funny, odds are that your readers will laugh also.
It's all in the details
Small details make a big difference. Know the details about your character and your settings, from what kind of stuffed animals are on your heroine's bed to what kinds of trees are growing in your magical forest. You don't need pages and pages of description, just a few key details to make the people and places in your story feel real. Your story will also have certain rules, from how a portal works to the layout of your main character's house. Once you establish these rules, you've got to be consistent. If your unicorn is blue in one scene and green in another, that's going to confuse your readers and take them out of the story. Try keeping a list of important details and drawing maps of your locations so you'll always know what your world looks like and what rules you've got to follow.
Choosing the perfect word
The perfect word can turn an okay description into a wow-I-feel-like-I'm-actually-there description. It's also important not to repeat yourself and use the same words over and over. Writing Avalon, it's challenging to come up with different ways to say twinkly - there's so much magic flying around, and well, it's twinkly. If you get stuck, grab a thesaurus and start searching. And if you still can't find the perfect word, don't let that stop you in your tracks. Use a placeholder - whatever fits best at the moment - and you'll try again on the next draft.
As with any creative project, writing takes time, work, and discipline. Stories don't just pop onto the page looking perfect, and I hope these blogs have given you some tools to get from your first idea to your final draft. And remember, as you go through each step of the writing process, have fun!
Your fellow writer mage,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #8 (03-09-09) - Rachel's Writing Tips: Part 2
Greetings, inspired writer mages! In the last blog, I shared some methods for coming up with story ideas. Every story, no matter how long, needs a beginning, a middle and an end. But how do you figure out what's in between? To answer that question, it's time to move on to the next step and write an outline.
Why do I need an outline?
Before embarking on a journey, every traveler needs a map to avoid getting lost. An outline is a story map that makes sure you've really thought about everything that's going to happen. That way, when your leave your hero dangling off a cliff and about to be eaten by a monster, you won't be scratching your head thinking "Now what"? If you lose your way, consult your outline, and then your characters can get on with the story.
Don't plan on writing an epic
You've got big ideas and feel like you could write hundreds of pages! But it's better to plan on something manageable that you know you'll be able to finish. Each Avalon book is approximately 20 chapters, and that keeps the story moving along at a good, quick pace, even if there are a lot of things going on. It doesn't matter if your story is two pages or two hundred - just be sure you set a reasonable goal that keeps your story focused.
Chapters
If you read the last blog, you might have written a paragraph that summarizes your story. That's great! Now it's time to break that summary into chapters. (If you're writing a story that's going to be a few pages, think of each scene as a chapter.) Don't worry if you can't think of something for every chapter right away. The important thing is to write down every story element in the right order. What you want are short paragraphs that explain what's important about each chapter. What does it do to move the story along, and what does it say about your characters? Here's an example from Cry of the Wolf:
Chapter 1
Storm and Adriane test the limits of their magic as they run through the forests of Ravenswood. Reinforce the bond of friendship between Adriane and Storm - they are a team, best friends, and can't imagine working magic without each other.
Chapter 2
The Ravenswood portal opens and new mistwolves appear. Storm realizes she is not the only mistwolf - there is a whole pack living on Aldenmor. The pack leader commands Storm to join the pack. Knowing Storm must reconnect with her lost packmates, Adriane says goodbye.
Chapter 3
Adriane is sad and worried about Storm. She gets Emily and Kara to help her open the portal so she can try to contact Storm. Something grabs onto Adriane's magic and she is pulled into the portal and vanishes.
Does my story work?
Think of your story as a giant puzzle. If you feel like the pieces of your story don't fit together like they should, try writing each chapter summary on an index card. Now that everything is laid out in front of you, try moving the index cards around. Would your story be more powerful if a character appeared earlier? Would it be more suspenseful if a daring rescue happened later?
Filling out the chapters
Now it's time to start expanding. Review the ideas you've been jotting down and put everything you want to use in the right chapter. If a great line of dialogue or a cool description pops into your head, put that in your outline too. This is where ideas really start flowing, where you add details to move your story along, develop your characters, and create suspense so your readers can't wait to turn the page.
Making an outline does take time and effort, but it's an important foundation that makes the writing flow much more smoothly. Whoa - did I just mention the actual writing of your story? Yup, and that's what I'll talk about next time. :)
Your fellow writer mage,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #7 (02-09-09) - Rachel's Writing Tips: Part 1
Since so many of you have asked for tips to create your own stories, Attila, Raider, and I thought we'd share some writing secrets! Whether you're a writer starting with a blank page, a painter staring at a canvass or a sculptor shaping a lump of clay, creating is a process. It takes time, practice, and patience to bring your vision to life. Creativity can be hard work but it's always worth the effort. The important thing is to have fun!
WAIT! Don't write - yet
You have to prepare first. Make some decisions about what kind of story you want to tell - action, adventure, fantasy, mystery - and who your characters are. But where do you get ideas?
You need input to get output
To get your imagination flowing, start by doing something you like. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to music, walk in the forest - any experience that makes you feel inspired and ready to create.
Be open to ideas
As a writer, part of your job to observe. Ideas- big and small- will come if you pay attention to the world around you. Maybe your cat did something so amazing that it gives you an idea for a magical creature, or your BFF had an interesting comment that made you think, or a ray of sunlight shining through a maple tree looked like a cloud of golden fairy dust. The more you study the real world, the truer and realer your own world and characters will feel.
Be ready to catch ideas
If you don't grab that idea when it pops into your mind it, it might get lost. Carry a notebook so you're always prepared to jot things down. Soon you'll have a lot of cool stuff to help create your story. Some ideas you'll love and others you won't, but that's okay. You never know what will help build your story. Plus, when you feel stuck during writing, you can always go back and find ideas to get you moving again.
The Big Idea
You've immersed yourself in great stories, you have a collection of cool ideas, you're inspired, excited - now what? Here's what I do:
1. Write A Story Summary
A story summary helps you answer the question, "Hey, what's your story about?" This will help you keep the big picture in mind as you start designing the beginning, middle, and end to your story. For examples, check out The Books section of this website for summaries.
2. Create Character Bios
Write a short bio for each of your lead characters, including stats like age, hair color, eyes, height, likes and dislikes. Don't worry about selecting names. I always use placeholders (any name I can think of) until the perfect name comes to me.
3. Build Your World
Write a short description of the places in your story. Is it a fantasy world? Is it a zoo? Is it a mall? An old, spooky house? Know your environments to make your world feel real.
Keep your notes handy because as you start to write your story, you might want to update, expand or change these 3 things.
Okay, now that you have the basics, the next step is creating an outline. More on that next time!
Your fellow writer mage,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #6 (12-15-08)
A big holiday hello to all Avalon readers! My mistwolf friend, Ensign, and I hope everyone is enjoying this festive season as much as we are. :) We've got some hot apple cider on the stove, a few cookies in the oven, and my tree up and decorated - although my cats, Raider and Attila, seem to think the ornaments look better on the floor than on the branches. As long as they don't unwrap the presents again everything will be okay!
This time of year always gives me extra writing inspiration because it's so easy to find magic everywhere you look. Even though it's fun to get presents, everyone is really focused on making other people happy. From making gifts for friends, visiting relatives, or doing something for those who could use a helping hand, this time of year is all about doing nice things for others, and that's powerful magic. However you celebrate this holiday season, take some of the good magic you've made and spread it around. Keep the 'Spirit of Avalon' shining bright. Tell a friend - furry or human - how special they are, grab a mug of hot chocolate, and start thinking about how you can make every season magical.
Best wishes for the holidays and the New Year!
Your friend,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #5 (11-27-08)
Hey everyone,
I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Ozzie says Thanksgiving reminds him of the Apple Crab festival in Farthingdale. Did you know he won the largest turnip contest three years in a row? Who knew he was such a good farmer!
I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Especially for all the wonderful new friends I've made through this website. Thank you all for your kind words and support of the Avalon book series. Adriane, Emily, Kara, Ozzie and the entire gang are very special to me. As an author, you learn a lot about yourself by living with such diverse, intelligent, and fun characters. As they learn to make their way in their world, we do so in ours, and together through friendship, we will learn to do the right thing. Love is the greatest lesson we learn in our time.
Hope your holiday is full of great friends (human and animal), great family, and great food!
Much love,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #4 (10-24-08)
Happy Halloween, hobgoblins!
Every season has something special to offer, but Halloween is definitely my favorite time of the year. I've got pumpkins all over my house, which my cats are very happily investigating. :)
What I love about Halloween is that it proves magic is a very important part of our lives. Most of the time we've all got busy schedules that keep us constantly moving from schoolwork to chores to practice, and sometimes it can wear you out. But then Halloween rolls around, and suddenly the ordinary is the last thing on everyone's mind. Everyone gets excited about being creative and trying something new.
Take costumes, for instance. Every year you get to dress up - a pirate, a poodle, a pixie, or a pickle - anything you can imagine is possible. Then you get to spend a whole day being a character straight from your imagination.
And it's not just people! Front yards transform into autumn landscapes with scarecrows and pumpkins, or spooky places filled with cobwebs, ghosts, and ghouls. And as everyone knows, the more you believe that what you're seeing is real, the more fun and exciting your Halloween will be! Everyone is truly using their imagination and, for the entire day, magic comes alive!
So be sure to wear something spookily special!
Happy Halloween!
Rachel
P.S. Adriane says baby Drake is doing great and he's growing bigger every day!
Rachel Roberts' Blog #3 (10-09-08)
Hi, everyone! October is here! What a great month, fall colors, cool weather, and, of course, Halloween. Busy times for me. Book wise I'm finishing up the latest version of Song of the Unicorns which comes out in January. If you like unicorns, like I do, there's about 30 of them in this book! And we're planning January to be National Unicorn Month with a few magical surprises.
The Avalon manga is coming along great and we'll be putting up a lot of preview pages soon. Who knew Ozzie was such a ham?
Fortunately, Attila has started sitting on my lap and putting his paws on my keyboard, so lately I have a furry writing assistant. Now if only I could get Raider to make me lunch...
Meet Cleo!
My friend found her last week all alone and hungry and scared. After a few trips to the vet for shots and check-ups, good kitty food, and lots and lots of hugs, she's doing great in her new home. Her name is Cleo (short for Cleopatra), and she purrs like a motorboat - LOL! She's got about five thousand new toys and is one happy kitten.
She will grow into those ears.
Some of you guys have had trouble downloading the Be*Tween songs on the Spellsinger page. Now there's a separate page with two programs that you can choose for downloading, so hopefully everyone will be able to rock out. Woo hoo!
Thanks to everyone for sending me emails! But please double check to make sure you put in the right email address. Several of my replies got bounced back and I don't know where to send them. :(
Talk to you soon!
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #2 (09-24-08)
Hello, mages, friends, and ferrets!
Oh yeah - and horses! This is my friend Happy. And he certainly will be after he chows down on all that hay. :)
Hope everyone is doing great! I just finished putting a few final polishes on Book 6, Trial By Fire, and it's at the printer now. It's a story about how the power of friendship can inspire true heroic deeds. The mages will have to use everything they've learned about magic if they want to save Aldenmor. For a sneak peek at the awesome cover and artwork, go to The Books section of the website.
Speaking of art, I thought I'd share some of the cool artwork in my Avalon collection. Here's the Ravenswood Library - mage central where Ozzie handles all the e-mails and orders essential supplies, like liver snaps and oatmeal cookies.
You might recognize this "purple bear" from the Fairy Realms. He's busy right now spreading magic seeds. Better check your backyard.
Thanks for all the great e-mails. I'll be back soon with some more art and all the latest news.
Your friend,
Rachel
Rachel Roberts' Blog #1 (09-08-08)
Thanks for coming to check out my very first blog on the brand new World of Avalon website! First of all, I have to say a big, huge, ginormous THANK YOU to all Avalon readers. So many of you have taken the time and effort to write to me, and I love getting your letters, artwork, and fantastically decorated envelopes! This blog will be my chance to talk to you guys and update you on everything happening with me and Avalon.
Since animal friends are such an important part of making magic, I have to share pictures of my two cats. That's Raider over there lying on his back, which he does all the time! LOL! He would prefer for me to pet his big furry belly rather than write. :) Attila is sitting atop my couch, looking down at me and wondering when I'm going to feed him dinner. How cute are his little white paws and chest? They're brothers and they LOVE playing with each other. I know it's time to get up and write when they race across my pillow in the morning!
Here's a picture of me signing books at the Comic-Con in San Diego a few weeks ago! Woot! I got to meet tons of great people, from new readers to long time fans. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. It was so crowded that my glittery gel pen ran out halfway through signing - gak! Fortunately I always carry backups. :)
The website is just getting started. Be sure to check back for brand new additions, including my blogs, guest blogs, fan art galleries and contests with lots of special prizes.
Until next time, thanks for looking at the new site, and remember, the magic is with you!
Your friend,
Rachel