Fictitious Musings

Welcome to the Breaking Point Blog Tour! We’re excited to have Kristen Simmons, author of Article 5 series is visiting with us today as part of the Breaking Point blog tour. I’m a HUGE fan of Article 5 and I’m eager to see where Kristen will take this enthralling tale.

Welcome to Fictitious Musings, Kristen!

Is there such a thing as a formula for storytelling?

If there is, let me know. Haha.

            I have heard people talk about “dark moments” and “psychological need” and the correct ways to open a story, but honestly, I don’t feel really comfortable with those terms. They make me feel like I should try to fit my ideas into specific boxes, and that stresses me out. A lot of great, really successful writers use a formula – obviously romantic comedy movies aren’t going anywhere and they follow a very similar structure – but personally, I struggle with it.

            Don’t get me wrong. I think a story needs a beginning and an end – if only just for the author. Ember and Chase’s story began long before I started recording it, and will (hopefully) continue long after I write the final “The End” of the trilogy. I think each story needs conflict. I think characters need to be tested and to overcome adversity if they’re going to learn anything about themselves. But these are the same issues we face every day. Dealing with a bully at school or work. Losing your home. Saying goodbye to someone you love.

            I think of it this way: life doesn’t follow a formula, and I’m writing about life. My characters do things that are unexpected (even to me sometimes), that don’t always progress them in terms of moral development. They backslide. They hurt themselves and each other, and when they make mistakes, they don’t always learn from them. Often they do. Almost always I would like them to. But what I would like isn’t always on their agenda.

            To me, using a formula is inserting too much Kristen into a world I was just invited to observe. I’m there to write what I see, what I hear, what they tell me. But I’m not a puppet master, and I can’t force them to behave how I want. Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s ugly.

The second installment in Kristen Simmons’s fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.

After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

 

Make sure you hop around to all of the amazing blogs hosting the Breaking Point tour, you can find the complete list here. 

Giveaway Time

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About the Author

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Kristen Simmons has a master’s degree in social work and is an advocate for mental health. She lives with her husband Jason and their precious greyhound Rudy in Tampa, Florida

    

Tags:Article 5, Article 5 Series, Breaking Point, Breaking Point Blog Tour, Giveaway, Kristen Simmon, Young Adult Dystopian, Young Adult fiction