A little while ago I watched a show on Netflix called “How to become a Tyrant”. It chronicled the rise of 6 famous dictators in history including Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and of course, Hitler. In a tongue-in-cheek fashion, it gave the steps (whether intentional or not) that these men took to be called a tyrant and receive their notoriety. I was so compelled by this series. I think I watched all the episodes in just a couple of days. Have ya seen it?
Well, it got me thinking about Elmyra, the Warwicks, and Camilla’s world. She’s on the other side of an oppressive rule trying to find freedom for herself and her country in the form of a grassroots rebellion. If Netflix can outline the steps on how to be a tyrant why can’t I explain “How to start a rebellion”? At least according to Camilla…
So, how do you start a political rebellion?
*Spoiler alert* The following step-by-step list includes spoilers from all currently published books in the Camilla Crim series. If you haven’t read them all yet, then like, what are waiting for? 🤔
Find something worth fighting for. In any oppressed society, the people have been stepped on so much that they grow complaisant and used to their day-to-day life. That is the state of Camilla in the opening chapters of The Sacrifice of One. She’s content to work at the national farm every day and give over her pittance wage to her drunken father. But when she finds out that her brother, Tuor, is in trouble and the country’s leaders might be behind it, Camilla gets to work to save her brother and her home territory.
Recruit some rebels. You can’t fight an oppressive government on your own. You need friends! Throughout The Sacrifice of One, Camilla picks up a few likeminded teammates almost by accident. She uses the knowledge and expertise of Mirabelle and Knox who were a part of the original rebellion 13 year prior, and even recruits the roguishly handsome Johnny to help. But it’s not until The Bear Gap Rebels, that Camilla gets outside of her comfort zone and convinces men and women from the surrounding villages to join her cause.
Cut off the head. Meetings and missions are only going to get you so far in a rebellion. Eventually you have to rally enough help and resources to bring down leader of it all. In The Dark Ruler, we see Camilla travel to the capital of LilyAye and put together the final plan. Camilla and her small gang of rebels manage to literally cut off the head of the Warwick reign.
Bam! 😮 Just like that you’ve successfully executed a rebellion (pun intended)! But a question still lingers… Have Camilla’s efforts dissolved the tyrannical reign of the Warwicks and brought freedom to Elmyra? Eh, not really. The next chapter in that story will continue in The Crimson Witch. But in the meantime, maybe you shouldn’t take rebellion advice from me… or Camilla.
Speaking of The Crimson Witch, I owe you a bit of an update. I keep threatening to start the next draft but I’m still presently working on my outline. I have made a lot of great breakthroughs and have been writing more easily these days.
In preparation for this next draft, I have motivated myself by creating a word count chain! This is something I have wanted to do with probably every single book I’ve written, but I never got around to it. So this time I created a 120 link paper chain.
Each link represents 1,000 words. So every time I complete 1,000 words, I’ll cut off a link in the chain. (Make sure you’re following me on my socials below to see updates!) I even chose colors that match with The Crimson Witch vibe- blue, purple, and red. This book is very fire🔥 and ice🧊.
It has been great catching up with you. Go out there and start a rebellion! At your own risk of course. And I will chat with you next time!
Emily
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