Updates

This month, we held our annual book club on the server! People read from many genres from the popular adult book, The House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas, to the historical graphic novel Maus by Art Speigelman. We discussed the storytelling elements we enjoyed and overall plot that we wanted to rant about.

Additionally, a new icon has been chosen by the Discord community as our official 2024 U.A. Storytellers logo! More information below

Books in our community updated this month:

The Class That Cried Werewolf - B3r1itz

The Beauty and The Beast-A Kiribaku Story - aki_mikarai

Art Showcase

The wonderful artists in our community never fail to impress. Whether it's canon characters, their own OCs, or fan art for others, they always put their all into their work, and it's nothing short of amazing!

The first is a wonderful sketch by our recently returned friend, FallingStars118. We absolutely love her drawing of Mina! The style is so dynamic, and we know the upcoming colored version will bring it even more to life!

This next piece is a doodle by a1readygone of his adorable OC, Hato! We love how sweet he looks in his Eraserhead merch!

And finally is a set of art from our lovely aBitGrim of various Spidersonas they were commissioned for! These include an image for an irl friend, as well as FoxyPuff's Koto and tocoloco004's Ale and Sarada! Here is what Grim had to say about their work:

"Spidersonas have to be some of my favorite things to draw! Getting to practice dynamic poses while also putting characters into my favorite franchise has never not been a blast. I got to work with some amazing writers and artists who commissioned me, and I couldn't be more proud with how their Spidersonas turned out! You can see the original versions on my Instagram, @jazzluvs2draw!"

Character Spotlight

The Storytellers have spoken, and the OC of the month is...tocoloco004's OC, Ale! We talked with Toco about his wonderful and fiery character!

Name: Alejandro Solis (Nicknames: Ale; Hero Name: Solis)

Pronouns: he/him

Birthday: March 22

Quirk: Fire Bender: His quirk allows him to produce fire from his hands/feet/ and breathe it out. However, he has to be careful handling the fire because he isn't fireproof and he can/has burn/burned himself

Class/Occupation: Hero Course 1-B

Featured Books: A Delicate Art, Things Worth Fighting For by The U.A. Storytellers, & Iced Magic chapter 4 in The Storybook Cafe by JunieWeathers

Life Goals: To be happy. He wants to become someone his parents would be proud of.

Here is what the author had to say about his character:

"I'm gonna try my best to explain without spoilers, but I wanted an OC that for one, was Latino, as I believe representation is important. Being Latino myself, a lot of his characteristics and mannerisms are based off myself and events I have experienced.

Ale was also created because I wanted a character who doesn't necessarily care for the rules and brings lots of chaos to the story. He is usually the one coming up with bad ideas to the group or pushing his friends to make bad decisions to "live a little" 😅 and even when times when he tries to help or have fun, he sometimes trends to do the opposite 😅

Because one thing the readers will realize is that his motivation, dreams, and moral compass are a bit different compared to the rest of his friends.

He will also be one of the OCs who will develop a little differently due to his cultural background (he's Mexican) and due to events that will occur in A Delicate Art and later stories, which I am super excited to share with everyone and am trying very hard to finish so I can finally post them!"

Slice of Life Advice

This month, we have decided to start a series of advice columns designed to help you create characters and plot your book from scratch. This first column will focus on what seems like the most basic part, yet the part a lot of people get stuck on: choosing character names.

Authors often face pressure when it comes to naming their characters. One can often feel like a name will define that character. Especially when it comes to making sure it's memorable for the readers. After all, in a book with a bunch of characters, it's important for readers to remember who is who.

Our members had quite a bit to say on the subject of names. Here is what they had to say about their experiences choosing names:

FoxyPuff says "I typically go to baby name websites and look for something that has a good meaning. I usually focus on how a character's parents would decide to name them. So I sorta have to decide on a backstory first and how they were raised."

sd1229 says "I usually make their name relate to aspects of their appearance, personalities, or Quirks. But sometimes (like in Mori and Kita's case) a name just sounds right for them and I go with that."

-butterfly--effect- a great question. I'm going to be so honest right now, I create characters around names...if a nice name comes to mind, welp, new OC alert."

aBitGrim says "I keep a list of names in a Pinterest board, saving them whenever I find a new list. That's usually how I look for name inspiration if one doesn't just come to me naturally"

As you can see, there are many different techniques the writers in our group use. And each is just as valid as the next. There's no one way to pick a name, and you can always rely on what feels best to you.

Here is some advice to keep in mind as well as some suggestions for effective naming choices:

FoxyPuff says "I would say to go with a gut feeling. It doesn't have to have specific meanings. If it feels right to you, I say just run with it. I would recommend making a list of names that you like and just going through it when you're creating a character until you see one that you think fits."

sd1229 says "Search up a video on Google or YouTube of the name being pronounced before you decide on it."

-butterfly--effect- says "So, on the rare occasion that I create an OC before a name comes to mind, I usually just turn to Google and sort around a bit before I find something that feels fitting. Sometimes, there won't be anything, and that's fine. Just play around with beginnings and ends, create nicknames and potential full names from those nicknames, and see what works!"

aBitGrim says "Try to be different but still practical. I find that nicknames help your reader or audience remember names better, and they can be a fun alternative to a typical name"

It is also important to consider what you would like your story brand to look like with your naming conventions. Whether your world's culture uses flower names or just a friend group uses nicknames, some authors just like to have a pattern in their work.

Here are some trends our members notice in their own writing:

FoxyPuff says "I tend to like names with repeating vowel sounds like Koto, Takara, Araya, etc. I've also found that I have a wild amount of names starting with K or M. Something about those names just make me happy"

sd1229 says "I mean I have a couple of S names and a couple of R names but they're all pretty different."

-butterfly--effect- says "Funny thing, actually. I've noticed that most of my OCs have names starting with M or A. Mafuyu, Makoto, Mina, Miku, Mashiro, Mio, Maeve, Machi/Aoi, Arwyn, Aera, Aya, Akane, Akira, Akari, Ayame, Akihiko, Akito, Asia, Anastasia...the list goes on, but I really can't remember any more right now. Recently, I've found that I like names that END with A as well."

aBitGrim says "I definitely tend to give my characters fun, short nicknames then a long full name like Tallulah "Rose" Rosemary, Mordecai "Rocket" Rockefeller, Suki "Snake" Zuka, Washiro "Double" Tuu, Dainichi "Dani" Dako-- those are all my main OCs and they all have a nickname 😅 I used to do it just for fun but now I almost consider it part of my brand"

We hope that this can provide valuable insight on choosing names for your characters. Find your method of naming and run with it! Nobody names characters the same way, so have confidence in your own method!

Check back here next month for our advice on how to write the beginning of a story!

Ask the Pro Hero

Our Pro Heroes of the server; aBitGrim, FoxyPuff, and tocoloco004; would like to open up the space to ask them questions. If you have a question for them, feel free to ask and they will provide their best answers!

Q: What's your favorite snack?

Grim: probably Pringles, my favorite is the original flavor

Foxy: I LOVE jalapeño chips! They have to be Kettle brand though, those are the best!

Toco: I love love LOVE movie theater popcorn

Q: If you could visit any country and money wasn't an issue, where would you go and why?

Grim: I'd love to visit Guatemala to see where my family grew up or Japan because I bet the food would be amazing!

Foxy: I would love to go to Greece! I'm not much on historical sites, but I absolutely am when it comes to Greek history and culture! Plus, I love the food, so I would be all about that!

Toco: Two countries: England & the Philippines. England cuz my favorite football (soccer) team is in London and I would love to watch them play at their home stadium! And the Philippines is so pretty and has so much nature it would be amazing to see !

Q: What 2024 movie are you looking forward to?

Grim: I'm so excited for Deadpool 3 and the new Ghostbusters movie coming out!

Foxy: I know it already came out (but I haven't seen it yet lol) but I'm really excited for The Beautiful Game! It's a movie about soccer (or football) that features Kit Young, an actor that I love! I saw so much on his Instagram about it and his camaraderie with his castmates, so I'm super excited for it!

Toco: Apparently there's a new Lord of the Rings movie coming out? I'm excited for that one !!

Book Recommendations

Our community is full of creative perspectives, whether it be writing, art, or reading! Lots of our members are avid readers who would like to share their recommendations with you.

Wattpad books:

Kita's Legacy Extras by sd1229

"It's a great collection of short stories, spinoffs, and crossovers from KL! Shelby also has snippets of her newest YA spinoff for her book that are well worth the read!"

~aBitGrim

Plus Minus One by Juni_Penguin_

"This book is a wonder for many reasons. Jun puts so much attention into every detail about this book, from the description to her characters to the plot and foreshadowing, there's so much thought put into each aspect of the story. It keeps you thinking every step of the way, and has relatable and interesting characters. I would highly recommend Plus Minus One to any Wattpad user."

~StupidHufflepuff

Off-Site Books:

House of Earth and Blood (physical book) by Sarah J. Maas

"I love reading anything written by Sarah J Maas. These big books have everything from action to drama to romance to mystery. The world building and character development is insane! This series blends fantasy aspects like magic, werewolves, demons, fae, angels with a modern setting flawlessly. The mix of high fantasy with aspects of modern technology and social culture is insane. If you love magic, action, romance, suspense, amazing world building, magical creatures, badass women, a diverse cast, and incredible character growth then you'll love this book. "

~sd1229

Future Events

This April, we will be dedicating some time on the server to an upcoming crossover that you should absolutely keep an eye out for! Additionally, we will have our fourth annual Sports Festival this summer, so registration will be opening in the next few months!

Icon Contest

Congratulations to Kaz (a1readygone) who has won our icon contest this year! His awesome icon of Aizawa using his quirk in such a dynamic pose brings a sense of intensity and determination that we're hoping is foreshadowing the energy of the Sports Festival this year! Congrats again, Kaz!

Review Book

If you are interested in having your book reviewed by the members of the server, check out our review book for sample reviews and submit a form for your own story!

Farewell

We hope you have a wonderful month! And remember to always go PLUS ULTRA!