Behind the Scenes of Burning Rose

Today I am featuring special details about Hope Schmidt's new book on my blog :D Enjoy!

Burning Rose and How I Wrote a Novella in One Week

I wrote Song of the Sword in one week. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t insanely hard either.

Preparation

First, I made sure I had everything ready. I looked up names, planned out characters, and outlined the story. It wasn’t perfect; there was a character who appeared halfway through and I didn’t figure out the climax until the day before writing it. But at least I had something to write from. Then I cleared my schedule for that week. No extra writing. No extra reading. Just chores and writing. Finally, resolution. I was determined to get the novella done in a week and I prepared my mind accordingly. I wanted to do it and I would if I died trying. There was no room for backing off halfway through.

Progress

I had a final word count goal in the 20,000s so I set myself to write 5000 words a day. To do this, I had a few tools and tricks to help me.

The first item was headphones and music. The music helped keep me focused and blocked out noise from the rest of house—at least some of it.

Secondly, I only wrote in 500-word sections. 500 words was a natural break for me. I’d get 500 done before breakfast, then another 500 during cleanup and another later on. After each section, I’d look on social media sites or go walk around or read a chapter in a book; something to give my mind a break. I also had minor goals during the day, such as writing 2500 words before lunch.

Also, I kept in mind that it was a rough draft. Though I wrote as well as I could, I didn’t worry about going back and polishing up unless something important needed to be changed. And, at the end of each day, I rewarded myself, be it with chocolate or by simply relaxing and letting myself forget about all writing for the rest of the evening.

Though it was a week of hard work, it was well worth the effort, both in terms of having the novella finished and stretching my own abilities to see what I could accomplish. Since then, Song of the Sword has undergone some changes, but you can read the novella in Burning Rose.

A war, founded in ancient legends, changes the lives of those it touches forever.

Elissa, a villager from the northern mountains, attempts to save her brother and ends up trapped in a hidden valley with a strange host and a treacherous enemy.

Evrard, the Wingmaster of the Prince’s army, races against his own weakening powers to discover the location of his twin and save her from deadly mistbenders.

Haydn, a pardoned rebel from Tauscher’s army, confronts shadows of myth and former comrades in his struggle to keep his sister safe and find the stolen Stormestone.

Before the war, before the legends, before the Separation, there was a man who started it all. There was a curse, a promise, and a sacrifice. There was the Oathkeeper.

Fairy tales retold as you have never heard them before.

ROSE OF THE OATH: Beauty and the Beast

SONG OF THE SWORD: Rapunzel

SHADOWS OF THE HERSWEALD: Hansel and Gretel

and

ROSE OF THE NIGHT: a Rose of the Oath prequel

Order Burning Rose now!

Hope Ann is a Christian wordsmith, avid reader, and dedicated author. Her time is taken up with writing, reading, playing with inspirational photos, blogging, helping care for the house and eight younger siblings, and generally enjoying the adventures of life on a small farm at the crossroads of America. She is the author of Legends of Light is currently working on several projects including a fantasy novel and futuristic trilogy. You can find out more about her at authorhopeann.com

Hey, y'all, Keturah back :D 

Ok - so first off writing a novella in a week is a crazy idea. I think that's great Hope was able to do that! Especially as she has the amazing talent of being able to write long stories with complex plots.  Speaking of crazy, though... during NaNo this year I am hoping to write a whole novella series. Five novellas totaling about 100k words. I may be crazy, too ;) 

I had the honor of beta-reading most of these novellas. If you like political high fantasies these will be just for you as they are deeply set in that genre ;) Plus, as an added fun twist - they are all fairy tale retellings! Now if that isn't epic I don't know what is :D 

Have you read one of these stories already? Or wanted to? Or is this your first time hearing about these books? 

Let me know what's on your mind :)