Cassandra Chandler

Category: Thoughts

  • A Past Beyond the Page

    A Past Beyond the Page

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    Last week, we talked about fleshing out characters by thinking of how they’d react in everyday situations that might not come up in the story. Another important factor in building characters that resonate with readers is working through their back story. Where did the character go to school? Did they have lots of friends? Or…

  • Cold Moon Goals

    Cold Moon Goals

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    The new moon this month has come and gone, and I’ve been busily working toward many goals. One of them, ironically, was to start blogging on each new moon about my focus for that month. Oops! Better late than never 🙂 Many cultures believe that each full moon carries with it an energy. As the…

  • Writing Three Dimensional Characters

    Writing Three Dimensional Characters

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    We’re delving deeper into characters this week with a look at…delving deeper into characters 🙂 No matter how many sympathetic choices you show a character making, readers can’t really connect to a character if there’s nothing of substance to connect with. As readers, we say that characters are sometimes flat or shallow. Usually, in those…

  • Writing Sympathetic Characters

    Writing Sympathetic Characters

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    Part of my plan for 2019 is to write a series of blog posts that pull back the curtain on some of my thoughts and methods for writing. So many readers I talk to are curious about what goes on behind the scenes in the creation of their favorite books. I’ve also been approached by…

  • Joyous Solstice!

    Joyous Solstice!

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    It’s the first day of Winter and we’re heading into the longest night of the year. We get a full moon tomorrow (the “Long Night’s Moon”), to boot! I celebrate the darkness on this day as well as the return of the light. When I talk to the little ones in my life about darkness,…

  • Next Steps

    Next Steps

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    Now that the second Blades book is out in the world, it’s time for me to think about what’s next! I have to admit, I spent a few days wandering around, singing, “Where do we go from here?” in my head. So many directions. So many possibilities. I need to carve a path, to make…

  • An Awesome Launch for Progenitor!

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    Thank you all for making the launch week for Progenitor so awesome!

  • Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

    Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

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    Cassandra Chandler
    in

    However you mark the turning of the wheel of the year, I hope you’re all enjoying a bit of down time, lovely food, and nourishing company. Holiday season can mean full schedules and empty energy wells. Around the holidays, it’s even more important to me to minimize time with people and activities that draw from…

  • Happy Halloween!

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    Johnny Goblin and his crew wish you a very Happy Halloween. May your buckets be full of paper-wrapped candy and your pumpkin-heads never rot.  

  • Twists and Turns

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    Cassandra Chandler
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    I love being surprised by books. Even more, I love surprising my readers with my stories. The very best surprises are the ones you can look back at and think you should have seen coming. For that to work, the writer needs to leave a trail of bread crumbs. The results can be incredibly rewarding,…