In honor of fall, I participated in the 2017 Fall Writing Contest hosted by The Write Practice and Short Fiction Break. What this means for you is that I have another short story to share with you!
My story “Lady Iseldis” is a medieval tale of a Lady scheming for power and a traitor trying to save his people from oppression. What makes them cross paths other than being enemies? Love. If you haven’t yet, you can read “Lady Iseldis” on Short Fiction Break!
Since you now know the story, today I will be sharing my inspiration for it and the creative process I used for writing “Lady Iseldis.” I am incredibly thrilled to share with you what took place behind the scenes, so let’s get started!
Idea
The theme of the contest was “Let’s Fall in Love,” which meant I could write anything I wanted as long as it involved Fall+Love.
I wanted to write something bold and challenging for myself. My goal was to apply feedback I had received from previous writing contests and take another step forward in learning my craft.
To do this, I would have to come up with a terrific story idea.
I had been rewatching the BBC TV show Merlin (a great show, by the way!), so my mind was in medeival/fantasy England. I decided to go with a medeival time period and a strong female lead character inspired by the Merlin character Morgause portrayed by Emilia Fox.
Beginning
Next I put on some mood music from Youtube and outlined whatever came to my mind for the story. I listened to “1 Hour of Dark Winter Music & Medieval Fantasy Music” by Derek & Brandon Fiechter. (I know it’s winter music, but it worked for my purposes!)
From the outline I had a rough idea of my characters and settings. I developed them further with some character and setting sketches. Once that was done I jumped into the rough draft.
Middle
The rough draft seems like it would be the hardest part of a writing project, but the real challenge is editing.
The rough draft is just that—rough. It’s everything in your head that has been dumped onto the page, and now you have to shape it into something presentable. Editing took the longest time for “Lady Iseldis.” Thankfully, I had some help.
As part of the contest I got to be in a community with other participants where we shared our stories. With every time I shared my story I critiqued three other stories, and in return the community gave me some invaluable feedback for mine.
When you spend so much time with your project, it is hard to have an objective view on the piece. What is obvious to you isn’t obvious to others, and fine-tuning a piece is hard when you are in the middle and can’t see the whole picture.
Getting feedback from my fellow contestants was essential in strengthening my story. I am so thankful for them!
I lost track of how many drafts I did, but it was probably about several. Editing took the longest amount of time, but I could eventually see the light at the end.
End
After the sweat and tears (or brainpower and heart) I put into this story, the time came to push the big ’SUBMIT’ button. Eek!
It is hard to let go of the doubts and grammar obsessions driving you crazy and let your baby go out into the world! You know the piece isn’t perfect, but you have pride in what you have accomplished.
Overview
This story came from my imagination and, therefore, is a piece of myself. Fall is my favorite season, and the power of love is a blessing to us all. The themes for this piece are great, and I hope “Lady Iseldis” will bring you a little magic for the minutes you read and after.
If you have yet to read “Lady Iseldis,” you can here on Short Fiction Break.
I thank The Write Practice for this contest opportunity, Short Fiction Break for publishing “Lady Iseldis,” and my fellow contestants for critiquing my story.
And finally, thank you for reading “Lady Iseldis” and this behind the scenes post!
I appreciate your support in my writing journey so much!
Did you like this behind the scenes look? Share in the comments your thoughts on “Lady Iseldis,” and let me know of anything else you would like to know about my projects for future behind the scenes blogposts.
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S.J. Siedenburg is a thriller & fantasy novelist, an editor, and a bibliophile with a passion for stories and helping writers finish their novels. She’s the author of the guidebooks Character Presentation, Before the First Draft, and the How to Write a Novel online course. Six of her short stories have been published through writing contests. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5