Transcript of the Show

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Episode 2

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Hello and welcome to episode 2 of the Finding Elara podcast,

Building worlds with words and sharing those words with the world.

A podcast for writers, worldbuilders and artists that would like to take a mindful look inside their creations. Wherever or whenever they are. My name is Dianna and Elara is the world I created for a fantasy novel series. Exploring the world around us we will get a clear picture of our creations and hopefully Find Elara.

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Intro:

It took me a long time to put together the first show and I am hoping that this one is a little easier now that I sort of know what I am doing. If this is your first time listening then Hi and if it is your second then welcome back. I am so glad you are all here.

This episode will be separated into my main topic, buffy night, linking to elara and the wrap up.

The topic this week is some tips that have helped me learn to fight the overwhelm by finding the right advice in the ocean of information that is out there.

In the buffy night section I am going to talk about my favourite classic Buffy episode and another book I have reviewed on goodreads, this time a fantasy novel.

In linking to Elara I will let you know how I plan to put all this information to good use.

If you have any questions you can find my show notes on my website dlnix.com, just click on the finding Elara tab at the top and select episode 002. You can also shoot me a question via my website dlnix.com and find me on Facebook as DL Nix and twitter @findingelara. Feel free to stop by and say Hi.

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Content:

Finding the right advice when there is so much information out there is hard. Everyone has their own opinion and they all seem to contradict each other. I have five tips that might make it a little easier to help conquer the overwhelm and find the information you want when you want it.

First off make sure that you have a clear view of what you are looking for before you start any search. If aren’t sure exactly why you opened your browser then it is so easy to get distracted and waste away your time following click bait. Try to be specific if you can, search engines are smart you don’t have to stick to one word request. If you were looking at how to make slime, for example add to that search natural or kid friendly to limit results. If you want a special flower that can heal any wound for a story then it would be a little harder so maybe look at interesting flowers with healing properties. Or interesting flowers that look look magical. If you search images and see something that you like click for more information. Compile and combine this information together until you have the results that you are looking for. It is easy to lose track if you don’t keep focused on the goal, I know I have fallen into that trap many times, oh look shiny.

Tip Two: Anyone can post things online, if the information you are looking for is something you would like to reference in your work try, make sure it is from someone with specialised knowledge in that area. It is even better when you have multiple sources of information. You can see how reputable a source is by reading reviews and searching for the person online to see what else they have out there. But try to stay focussed on the original goal. Just like posts though, anyone can also put up a review so don’t go off just 1 of anything.

Tip Three: If you are in a position to have a mentor to guide you along the way, then you are one step ahead of the rest. Just make sure that if you do have a mentor they are a few steps ahead of you, otherwise it is like the blind leading the blind. You want to have someone that will pull you forward and encourage you to work with the strengths you have and build on the rest, one muscle at a time. A mentor doesn’t make decisions for you rather encourages you to learn how to make the best decisions for yourself. You may be surprised who can fit the bill of being a mentor in your life and you likely already have mentors guiding you already. Your parents, elder siblings, teachers and coaches. Ask for the help if you need it, just remember that you always have the final say. You don’t have to listen to everyone.

Tip Four: Step outside your little box to expand on your choices. What I mean by that is, if you are looking for advice you don’t have to stick to specialists. If you are looking for writing advice for example sometimes you don’t have to just ask other writers, you can ask teachers, kids or readers. It is a good idea to step out of your comfort zone and expand your worldview. As a creator you should always try to keep learning. It is a big world out there and you are not expected to become an aficionado in all fields. Of course sometimes you do need to stick to the specialists, like don’t ask an electrician how best to replace your gutters, there is probably a reason why they didn’t become a plumber in the first place. 

Tip Five: Trust in the knowledge and experiences that you have so far. Sometimes you can search for hours about something that you already know the answer to but it was just your procrastination talking. At this point you just need to understand that whenever you are creating something people want to see your individual spark shine through. They want hear your unique perspective, so have a little trust that you are awesome in your own right.

I have had to search some crazy topics while worldbuilding and I wouldn’t have been able to find the information that I needed if I didn’t look out of the box. There are so many different avenues to find the information as well. People you know already, books, google, you tube, podcasts movies and tv.

So to sum up. Have a clear view, Check your sources and you don’t have to listen to everyone, Be open to finding a mentor if you need help, try to step out of your box and trust yourself.

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Buffy Night:

I have had buffy night every Monday night in my house since my kids were really young, This section is where I talk about what I have been watching and reading that has inspired me this week. A small disclaimer, I haven’t any affiliate links in this show at this stage, these are just my opinions.

Watching: I thought that I would go for a classic buffy this episode. My favourite Buffy episode, Once more with feeling. Yep, Buffy the musical. In general I love it when shows have a reason to be musical and the cast of Buffy went above and beyond. I don’t think that a spoiler warning is really needed for Buffy, If you haven’t watched it then you probably aren’t likely to.

In regards to what inspired me about the ep it was how the music helped push all the characters forward in leaps, Buffy finally revealed her big secret. Both Zander and Anya, Willow and Tara admitted that their relationships weren’t all that they were trying to portray to the world. Dawn, well, poor troubled and tormented dawn was caught out. Spike opened and closed with a ballad that drew him closer to accepting what he really wanted in this world. And that is only a sample. I think best of all, it wasn’t just a musical for the sake of it, there was a legitimate reason for everyone to break out in song and dance. I was engaged from start to finish and often return to watch it again and again.

Buffy is an awesome show and I am really excited about the reboot. I like to stay open minded about these things.

Reading: The Awakenning by Bevan McGuinness

I went to Supanova earlier this year and I actually met Bevan near the QBD shop. I was fairly confident that I would be interested in the books from the covers, they screamed epic fantasy by their design. Then when I spoke to Bevan I was sold. It only took me a couple of days to read the book, which is saying something in itself because I am a fairly slow reader.

The book is told in third person from multiple perspectives in the world. Which I really like when it comes to larger novels. It surprised me the changes in some of the characters. One of the main protagonists, Shanek, when he first entered the story I was convinced that he was going to be the big bad, but you will have to read it to see.

My Review on goodreads - I could not put this book down. Ever felt like the winds are calling you to look deeper into yourself. The characters in this novel are forced to stare inside their hidden depths and find all that has been lost to the world.

And so ends my buffy night segment for another week. Since I enjoy saying it so much… Grr aargh.

 

Linking to Elara:

The section where I let you know how I am going to put this to use in my elaran world. I would love to find a reason to have all my character burst out in song, but I really can’t find a legitimatre reason to do so. It isn’t in the lore that I have created.

Have a clear view, Check your sources and you don’t have to listen to everyone, Be open to finding a mentor if you need help, try to step out of your box and trust yourself.

I think that when I am working on my story at times I do get stuck in the trap of clickbait. I am not really sure what I am looking for, I am just searching for the sake of searching and I know that I procrastinate more than I should. But that is normally because I am procrastinating about editing. Or there is a scene that I need to change and I am not really sure how best to do it. If I just get out of my own way and get it done then it is normally over relatively quickly.

I am a bit of a master procrastinator though. It is one of my many mad skills. I have had to limit my Netflix and stan viewing time and use them as a reward for completing my work. I like to be rewarded for things and I will have to take some of my own advice and see how I go with it.

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Close:

That is all that I have for you today. I downloaded the music for this show royalty free  from www.bensound.com again not an affiliate link but it is a handy site for music if you ever need it.

Next episode I will have my first Guest the amazing Joel Evans. Joel is a writer, avid listener of audiobook and most importantly, one of the most patient and understanding people that I know.

If you liked the show, please subscribe so you can hear about any more content that I put out into the world. If you have any questions you can find me on my website dlnix.com on Facebook as DL Nix or on twitter @findingelara.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Finding Elara podcast, Until next time keep up the search.