Let Me Handle This…
Posted on December 28, 2023 by ashley.t92

Dragonrider’s Dance Video Trailer Project

Posted on July 14, 2020 by ashley.t92

Are you enjoying Dragonrider’s Dance?

A lot of you have told me great and wonderful things about it! And that means a lot because this is really my beloved project that has been decades in the making!

So, thank you so much.

Thank you for being wonderful.

Did you know Dragonrider’s Dance has a Patreon?

We do!

I’m currently working on a video trailer for Dragonrider’s Dance. I was very much inspired by Game of Throne’s Lore and Histories videos with the still-image motion style. Here’s an example below:

For this first one, I’ve written the snippet, hired an Italian voice actress to do the voiceover (words I never DREAMED in a million years that I’d be saying!) and while I’m waiting for her to send it to me, then I’m going to put her work on my Patreon page, I’m going to do a story board. This will probably take a few months, and I intend to spend a minimum of 30 minutes every day working on it. That way, it makes progress without burning myself out. 

The video itself will be simple, it won’t be colored, it will be more like this beige, sketch style:

So yeah! I’m really excited about this! And you can DEFINITELY help out by donating to the Patreon, buying merch and Redbubble and Teespring! I’m also going to be hiring musicians to create a score for it. Now, this is happening no matter what! But any contribution, even if it’s just $1, it will go towards creating the video faster!

I intend on doing all the storyboarding, drawing, and video editing myself, but with enough funds, I could hire people to help and get the video out faster!

Fledgling Patrons will also be able to see its progress as it’s coming along! That means, you will be the first to hear the beautiful voiceover, see the storyboard, and the entire process until it comes to fruition!

When this video is made, it will be put at the top of the Dragonrider’s Dance website and all social media accounts that will allow it!

As an added bonus, all who donate, buy merch, or financially support this project in any way will be credited at the end of the video!

So! What do you say? Who’s with me??? Let’s make this happen!!!

Writing Romantic Chemistry (The 5 Love Languages)

Posted on June 19, 2020 by ashley.t92

You’ve heard time and time again when writing love stories: don’t glamorize abuse, don’t write instant romances, make sure love interest is a character too, and not beautiful and nothing else.

Okay, so that’s how NOT to write romantic chemistry? But how does one write romantic chemistry?

Years ago, I read the book, The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. A book which to this day has really helped my own marriage.

Turns out, the Love Languages also a great way to write believable character chemistry!

The 5 Love Languages

  • Words of Encouragement – Does one of your characters like being told comforting and encouraging things? Are they the sort of hero that after being beaten down by the villain, all it takes is their lover or friends cheering them on so they can get back up and keep fighting?
  • Quality Time – This character would love nothing more than a grand adventure with their lover by their side. Spending time together, having conversations, and anything that involves being in eachother’s company.
  • Receiving Gifts – We’re not talking about a militaristic princess here (though if you have a such a character, go for it!), this is a character who loves recieving mementos from their lover. When they defeat a villain together and partake in the spoils, they might feel treasured when their lover finds a bauble among the trove and gives it to said character.
  • Acts of Service – The first thing that comes to mind is the princess who falls deeply in love with the knight who does grand gestures.
  • Physical Touch – This character loves tickles, cuddles, touches, hand holding, anything relating to touch. To this character, physical closeness and emotional closeness go hand in hand.

Turns out using the 5 Love Languages as a writing tool had a lot of (amazing) unintended consequences.

Whenever I got stumped on writing my romantic subplot, I would always defer to the love languages. How do you show the characters are falling in love for the first time? Well, what’s their love language, and how does their soon-to-be lover express it?

There, I solved insta-romance forever!

What about dramatic tension in the relationship? Well, does the lover STOP expressing their love in your characters love language? How do they learn to reconnect? How do they overcome these obstacles in their relationship?

When I used the 5 love languages as inspiration for my own story, it not only helped me write romantic chemistry, but it helped with character development, and to a lesser extent, lore-building.

Example of How This Advice Made my Story Awesome

Worldbuilding For example, in my comic, Dragonrider’s Dance, the dragon’s Love Language is receiving gifts. She especially values drawings given to her by her lover (this is where I got the idea to make him good at drawing). This put me on a bit of a world-building rabbit hole and helped me answer some questions as to why dragons value treasure so much. This is where I had the idea to give dragons the ability to know the history of an object by touching it (for example, they know the journeys of knights who’ve all owned the same sword).