Brooke Lorren

LEGEND X D&D The elven Duchess Lila is betrothed to the king; she wants out. When a human outlaw lands in her dungeon, she learns of his innocence and hires him. They battle assassins, the corrupt elven patriarchy, and their growing love for each other. #YA #F #PitMad

@CordialWords Just got out of church with my Momz (mother in law) so I would have missed it.

Sorry no #StoryCrafter today. It’s Mother’s Day and my mom’s B-Day so we’re doing a lot to celebrate obviously. Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate and see you all next week.

@CordialWords See ya! I'll be on vacation but next Sunday I'll be at Momz's house so I'll probably be able to make it.

Thanks for being here #StoryCrafter chat. Sorry I got into making my sister’s lunch. She’s on a double so I’m making her a bag to get her through. Have a lovely week and see you next Sunday.

@CordialWords A7: Can't think of any? But things that I've read do sometimes. #StoryCrafter

Q7. Has something you’ve written ever changed you? Or made you examine your own philosophies? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A6: You have to do something to the character that they can't ignore. For example, it starts snowing in the summer (and won't stop) or a family member is kidnapped. If you ignored those things and the character just went "woe is me" it'd be an awful story. #StoryCrafter

Q6. What are some of your favorite ways to motivate a character to change? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A5: I'm not sure how often, but in my current book, the MC, while accepted as a mage for her talent, will not be allowed to use her talents to fight and will be given a support job instead. Later the army will completely lose a battle & her friend will go missing. #StoryCrafter

Q5. Failure is a strong motivator for change. How often do you use failure as a way to push your character forward? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A4: No. I put that in the plans, but that's not what I typically plan a story around. #StoryCrafter

Q4. Have you ever written a story purely to talk about some type of growth or change? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A3: Most of the time. It's almost an innate thing, although I think the book I just started is the first one that started with the story beats (and I also have a query blurb draft done) before I started writing. #StoryCrafter

Q3. The Hero’s Journey is the classic narrative structure for the basics of building up a hero. Have you ever used it as a guide? How often does it fit your stories? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A2: Aren't they all about growth and change? If we were going to limit it to short stories, I would say Veronica Roth's short story "Inertia." Which for years I couldn't remember the title of but I think I'm starting to be able to remember it. #StoryCrafter

Q2. What are some of your favorite stories about growth or change? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords Haven't had a lot of time but I have the story beats done, a cat joke written, and a brief biography of a couple of the main characters. #StoryCrafter

@Brookelorren Welcome Brooke! Nice and I hope the planning is going well. #StoryCrafter

Hello and welcome to #StoryCrafter chat! This week we’re talking about character growth and change. Which is a favorite subject of mine and just important for any good writer to consider when writing. First off, introduce yourself and tell us what you're working on right now?

@CordialWords A1: I think all characters change in a story. Well, most of them. Some are made to be static characters. Couldn't tell you who changed the most though. #StoryCrafter

Q1. Have you had a character change or grow a lot in a story? What character changed the most over the course of their story? #StoryCrafter

@GretelHamburger @Raindropsmedia1 To be fair, I don’t know what that sentence is trying to convey. I can define every word in the sentence, but I still can’t picture what they’re trying to say as a whole. If I was beta readers a book with that sentence in it I would have edited the crap out of it.

@Raindropsmedia1 Who wrote that word-salad sentence?

Reading ability (proficiency and literacy skills) among youth has declined in recent years, especially in the US, with scores hitting historic lows on national assessments. 👀📚

@CordialWords A7: I don't think so? I do reread books though. #StoryCrafter

Q7. When you’re feeling nostalgic, do you seek out older media? What era of your life do you return to? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A6: In books? I did reference Finding Nemo in one of my fanfics. The name of the enemies in my new book, Kitains, comes from the Kitans, who were a steppe people. I was taking a class that referenced them, and I kept thinking about how un-scary they sounded. #StoryCrafter

Q6. Do you ever find yourself referencing old stories you loved? Or otherwise riffing on them? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords Nonfiction is cool though. I read a lot of history. But I have a lot of time at work to read audiobooks. #StoryCrafter

A5. I still mostly read mystery but older ones. I don’t read as much as I used to thought. I also find myself reading a lot more nonfiction and a lot of science stuff. Like studies and articles on new technologies. #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A5: Legend by Marie Lu (the whole series). I read a lot of fantasy but I read in other genres as well. #StoryCrafter

Q5. As an adult, what is your favorite story if you have one? How about genre? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A4: I remember reading the Anne of Green Gables series, but I don't think I had a favorite genre. I read all sorts of books. #StoryCrafter

Q4. How about from teenage years? How about favorite genre back then? Or were you a comics person? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A3: I can't remember any. I did like the Care Bears but I don't remember the show, just the toys. #StoryCrafter

Q3. Do you have a favorite show from your childhood? Or a movie you watched on repeat? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A2: Maybe Little House on the Prairie (the series)? I haven't read it for years but I'd read it again. #StoryCrafter

Q2. What was your favorite childhood story? Are you still fond of it? #StoryCrafter

@CordialWords A1: I'm not sure, but I remember Are You My Mother? and The Spooky Old Tree. #StoryCrafter

Q1. What is the earliest book or other media you can remember? #StoryCrafter