Sunday, November 29, 2020

Re-engaging An Editor

Schism’s biggest failure is the lack of proper editing.  I had an editor for SalvationDay and Wrongful Death, but I skimped on that for Schism.  I know, I know…I’m a terrible author, I should be flogged, I didn’t give readers the best product…blah, blah, blah.  At least one reviewer even downgraded his review of my work from five stars to four as a result of a few editing mistakes that made it into the final version(which I’ll correct one day when I get the time).

However, I won’t make that mistake with Homecoming.  I have recently engaged an editor(more of a proofreader to make sure I can write the language correctly), and that should cut down on any speed bumps in reading.  It will cost me some money, but it’ll be worth it if folks can more smoothly read my work.  I should’ve done it with Schism, but money was an issue.  Thanks to those of you who’ve bought my previous work, I think I have that accounted for(for now).

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Time, Blogging, And Writing

I try to get this blog done about a month in advance.  I do that in order to not bump up against a hard date deadline and find myself either posting garbage, or not posting at all.  I’ve run into that a few times, and I always feel guilty about it(despite y’all not paying me anything for this blog).

Unfortunately, staying that far ahead also takes time away from my writing(or at least my novel writing).  As I get time, I find myself checking first to see if the blog is ready.  If it’s not, it creates a dilemma where I think the work(blog) should take precedence over fun(novel writing).

I think the only solution is to finish all of my monthly blog posts, while allowing exceptions based on current events or unusual circumstances, within the first week of the month.  That should free me up to write for the rest of the month…and I need to stick to that.  You see, I’m a sucker for getting ahead, and my temptation is to sometimes get even further ahead(it gives me a rush – I know…I’ve got issues).  I’ve got to make the disciplined decision to just “be done” with the blog and make a conscious effort to write no more posts unless one of those unusual circumstances comes up.  That way, I can enjoy writing(not that I don’t enjoy the blogging, but let’s be real – novel writing is much more fun).  Since this is the last post I’ll write in October for the month of November, even if I don’t know the exact date of the post, I’ll try to do little but write on my new novel until November 1st rears its ugly head.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Reminder On Blog Pictures

I did a post about eight years ago talking about finding original pictures for your blog.  I wanted to reiterate that today because I’ve come across more and more blogs that have funny, but not always approved by the photographer, pictures.

You see, there’s this little thing called copyright law out there, and it means that you usually require permission to use someone else’s photograph.  Yes, there are places like Shutterstock that provide pictures to use free of royalties, but most people want to be paid for their work.  And failure to do that, or get permission in advance(preferably in writing), means you can pay a lot more later.

Everyone has an iPhone(or some equivalent).  Use it to take pictures and then figure out which pics would be good to use for your most recent blog post.  Yes, it’s more work than it’d be to search “toothless rednecks with pythons” on the internet, but it’s less work than making more money if the photo’s owner finds you out and demands you pay him.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Forgetting To Post

I’ve been trying to get ahead on blog posts and have generally been successful.  Although I reserve the right to change what I post based on breaking news, I usually write my blog posts a few weeks in advance.  In October, I managed to get my blog posts written nearly three weeks ahead of schedule.  I like this because it lets me breath easy and not jump through my ass to write a bunch of nonsensical, rushed posts at the last minute.

 

However, this past month, I very nearly forgot to actually post the new blogs until the month was over.  You see, I write the post in word, and then I cut and paste into Blogger, editing a bit and adding the necessary links.  In October, I found myself the week before suddenly realizing I hadn’t posted what I wrote.  It’s one thing to not post because I got lazy; it’s another entirely to not post because I forgot to actually hit the post button.  Hopefully my scatterbrained mind won’t do that this month.  I guess we’ll find out if this day is empty.  :-P

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Allusion Versus Specificity

As I’ve started working on a new novel, my first in several years, I’m remembering a few challenges that writers always run in to.  First, how much description do you give versus how much do you leave to the reader’s imagination?  Second, how much do you reveal versus how much you elude to.

Let me tackle the first one first since it’s the easiest to put into words.

There are certain elements that are concrete when we read a story, but how much of that is from description, and how much of that is from what we as readers fill in?  When I envision a starship, for example, I have a specific picture of what it looks like, and that image stays intact in my mind unless the writer gives a specific description of his or her own.  The same goes for all kinds of stuff, from rumpled old professors to plasma rifles.  That said, imagining everything can be exhausting.  I want to fill in gaps rather than start from scratch(otherwise, why am I getting the story from the writer instead of just creating my own?).  Striking this balance is a lot harder than I remembered, and it leads to several drafts before I’m satisfied.  Above all, it requires patience, which isn’t one of my strong suits.

The second question is a bit more stark – how specifically do you reference the rules of the world in which the story is set?  In my newest novel, a sci-fi/fantasy mashup, magic is governed by a definite set of rules.  I could make the story so much easier by just laying them out, perhaps on a piece of parchment tacked to the wall of a wizard or something.  However, letting the reader discover them during the story, more through what is and what isn’t done, has greater potential.  It grants tension to the story, and it leaves open the possibility of adding or adjusting, in accordance with consistency, as things unfold.  It also requires me as the writer to trust my readers to figure them out.

The problem with laying them out straightaway is that it removes the mystery and lets trolls nit-pick about following them.  But the temptation to not doing so leaves open the garden of rules and allows for the potential to grow wild and out of control.  I think I’m going to stick with alluding to them, but, as above, that’s going to require patience, which I’m almost never good at.  I have those rules written, and I find myself wondering if the story will allow all of them to come out, and if not, is that good thing or a bad thing?

Enough of my rambling.  Basically, this stream-of-consciousness is about the dilemmas writers face when telling a story, and I’m working through it as I type.  Maybe it makes sense to you; maybe it doesn’t.  I guess I’ll let the story decide.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Useless Criticism

I don’t mind criticism.  Honestly, I really don’t.  Reading tastes are subjective, and not everyone will like my work.

That said, if you’re going to criticize my writing, do it constructively.  I recently ran into someone who simply said, “I really didn’t like your book.”  When I pressed them on why, they didn’t have more of an answer beyond they didn’t like it.  That’s not criticism I can use to improve or figure out if I have a deficiency of some kind.  Telling me the plot developed too quickly or none of the characters were sympathetic are things I can use.  Disdain by itself isn’t.  There is little more frustrating than someone not giving out why they disliked what you wrote.  It’s like a kid saying they don’t want to eat deviled eggs because “They’re yucky.”  Do I need more mayonnaise?  Less?  Add cayenne or paprika?

People will criticize.  It’s what we do as humans.  But geez, people, tell us why so we can get better.  Less than that comes off as contrarianism.  Even if that’s a fact of life, that doesn’t make it less annoying.

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Engagement

In the Army, there was a concept called strategic messaging.  It was designed to use themes and messages in order to elicit a desired response.  Basically, it was designed to affect attitudes and behaviors towards what the organization wanted.  Business uses the same concept(think corporate public affairs or advertising).

So, why did I bring this up?  Because I’m trying to figure out how to best engage on community writing boards.  No, I’m not trying to be straight up Machiavellian; instead, I’m hoping to use common interests among writers to showcase my own talents and (hopefully) get some more traffic to both my website and my novels.

So how does one engage a bunch of writers?  We’re an eclectic bunch whose interests can be very broad or incredibly narrow depending on our mood.  So I think the way to do it is manifold.  First, one has to establish a relationship with those on the board and show you’re not just a craven manipulator who wants to use others to advance one’s own work.  You have to get to know people and take interest in them and their work(this should always be reciprocal).  Second, don’t get specific at first; engage broad interests and ideas in order to get people to engage with you.  When people think they’re involved, it allows them to buy in emotionally.  Then, once you have established relationships and wetted their appetite with your concepts, then you can get a little more specific with what you’re looking to do(release dates, character arcs, etc).

Unfortunately, my time has been squeezed recently, so I haven’t been able to engage on these boards as much as I wanted to.  That means I’m going to have to a) essentially start over, and b) make a more concentrated effort to engage so I’m not having to continually start over.  Despite the COVID pandemic, I haven’t gotten onto the boards in more than two months because working from home doesn’t necessarily mean that I have more time(in most cases, I have less because my bosses assume I’m more available).

So I’m going to go back on and try to restart my introduction.  If I can keep that consistent and demonstrate I’m interested in authors as people, then maybe I can get some interest in my ideas.  But first, I have to begin…again.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Input Controversy

I like to get input from beta-readers.  Seeing how someone else reads my story is usually fun, and it provides insights as to whether or not the audience is reading something the way I intended.  I always remember that this is my story, and thus under my control(ie, readers don’t get to dictate changes), but I’m never too big a deal to recognize a potentially useful point, or to see if a trend emerges from the beta-readers.

Recently, though, I asked for input on my “Rules of Magic” for a new novel I’ve been working on.  I wanted to see what I’ve overlooked, or if the rules worked.  What I got instead was a bevy of controversy.

Since magical stories are an imbedded part of our world, everyone has an opinion about how magic should be employed(or how it shouldn’t be employed).  Some folks thought magic should be ubiquitous, varying not in the slightest for each race of creatures.  Others said that my rules were stupid because magic is magic, and so can do anything with no real limiting principle.  And as I brought up reasons why the rules were the way they were, the vociferous nature of the responses was surprising.  In fact, you’d have thought I stepped on a puppy or used ketchup on steak.  I was unprepared for the passion of those giving input.

Of course, me being me, I had to remind them that they were free to write their own story.  I wanted to gage if the rules would work, and, unfortunately, got no trends in how folks would modify the rules.  To me, a lack of trends means that folks simply have a mishmash of opinions.  Trends show me that there may be reader expectations; a smorgasbord of stuff just says that people are passionate readers.

I want to continue to ask for feedback, but perhaps I should limit it to the story rather than the boundaries around it.  Few readers get to see inside the foundations a writer lays before writing the story, and maybe there’s a reason for that.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Magical Revelations

It’s no secret I think that Salvation Day is my best novel.  One of the things that makes it my favorite is that there are very few instances of what I call “info dump.”  Most of the narrative is revealed slowly, through the actions of the characters.  Off the top of my head, I can think of only two info dumps in the story – where Lucifer reveals the nature of Hell and Creation to the main character, and the main character’s conversation with God.

So why the long, rambling tour through a previous book of mine?  Well, because I’m trying to figure out how to handle things in my new book.  As mentioned previously, my new novel is a sci-fi/fantasy mashup, and I’ve already found myself trying to cull info dumps on why the people of Earth are exploring the galaxy in the first place.  However, now that they’ve run into a planet full of magic, I have to figure out how to handle that introduction as well.

The magic in my world has rules.  There aren’t many, but these rules still dictate what magic can and can’t do(for example, magic is always stronger when used in conjunction with another caster of magic).  I’m trying to figure out how to introduce these rules in the course of the story.  Of course it’d be easier for some wizened old wizard pouring over dusty spell books to either tell the audience what the rules are, or for him to have a piece of parchment tacked to the wall of his tower, but I don’t think that’d be as much fun for the audience.

Therefore, I’ve got to figure out how to reveal these rules through the course of the story without contradicting myself.  I think I can do that through two means, the characters’ actions and their interactions.  What I mean by that, is that maybe after magic becomes known to the group of non-magic people from Earth, they start asking questions when they see a bit of magic performed.  Rather than give an info dump, the magic casters they talk to simply act as if the answer to the question is obvious(because to them, it is).  It could be akin to the way someone might explain not running out into traffic to a particularly slow child.

I haven’t completely figured out the dynamics yet, but the challenge should be fun.

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Two Genres At Once

Although Homecoming is currently my last planned publication unless I start being able to make money at this venture, that doesn’t mean I’m no longer writing.  Homecoming was written several years ago, so it’s not like it’s something new.  But as a writer, I want to write.  Therefore, I’ve finally started to write once again.

This new book is different than anything I’ve done before.  The biggest difference is that I’m trying to mash up two genres at once – science fiction and fantasy.  It starts out in sci-fi, with a group of starships departing Earth on humanity’s first real colonization effort outside of the solar system, so it goes into what a wormhole looks like, how an advanced society has used gravity tractors to move Earth beyond the reach of an expanding sun(as well as move several other planets into zones to make them habitable), and why the need for licenses to have babies has motivated people to go on this journey.  In other words, pretty standard sci-fi stuff.

However, the second chapter will start in the fantasy world where dragons, elves, and magic exist, so I have to switch gears, and it’s a challenging switch.  Do I change the writing style?  How do I separate the worlds at first, and at what point do I mix them?  More than that, once the characters and adventures from the different worlds start to mix, how do I handle that, and how will the audience react?

I’ve never written fantasy before, although I’ve enjoyed it immensely.  I played D&D as a child, and my love of magic and the worlds created by such giants as JRR Tolkien and George RR Martin is enormous.  Still, it’s a new style for me, although each writer has his or her own style and handles each story differently.  The question becomes how do I alter each entry, if at all.

And I’ll try not to go crazy in the process…

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Politics And Clapter

I don’t think it’s too much of a revelation that most of the most politically vocal writers(or actors, or directors, or screenwriters…) come from the Left side of the aisle.  That’s not to say that there aren’t middle of the road or conservative writers, but the loudest voices almost always seem to be liberal(with notable exceptions).

That doesn’t make those voices less divisive.  The impression created by those who can yell the loudest gives a false image of prevalence.  But more than that, it divides the audience and isn’t as “brave” as some seem to think, especially when it is more about clapter than insight.

What’s clapter?  Clapter is a tendency among a large set of folks either online or in stand up shows to say something that isn’t funny or insightful, but with which the majority of the audience agrees, thus eliciting a round of applause.  It doesn’t persuade those who don’t already agree with it.  I’ve always found clapter to be petty and boring.  Think about it – when you say something about which everyone already agrees, sometimes enthusiastically, what are you really risking?  I mean, if I tell everyone that bacon tastes good, what stand have I taken that brings people over?  Almost everyone agrees that bacon is indeed quite tasty, so I shouldn’t expect vigorous disagreement.  In fact, most who despise bacon a) aren’t already part of my audience, and b) aren’t the target of my message, unless the purpose of my message is to feel righteous in poo-pooing those who dislike that tasty meat.

So why do so many engage in it?  I think it comes down to two things.  First, everyone wants to be liked.  No matter how much folks say they don’t care, most really do, and being liked for a popular stance feels good.  Second, people want to feel righteous, and grand agreement provides that.  It validates our position, which is why so many react with bewilderment and anger when someone has the temerity to disagree.  Far too many hold their political positions as a reflection of their character, so anyone who disagrees is taking issue with their character(and must be a bad person).  That’s a conceited and insecure way to look at things, and it divides further an already polarized society.

Get off your soapbox and tell a good story.  After all, isn’t that why the reader sought us out in the first place?

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Praise For Schism!

Some great reviews have been coming in for Schism!  In addition to its 4.0 star average on Amazon, it is also averaging 4.3 stars on Goodreads.  Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review it.






Sunday, November 1, 2020

Modest Sales Success

I pulled out my business’ bank statement a few days ago(Rushamra Publishing LLC) and was gratified to see that Schism has enjoyed a little bit of sales success.  In fact, it has sold better than any book I’ve yet published(not like that’s a lot, but it’s something).  It’s not like I’m sitting pretty and planning to buy that villa on the southern coast of France, but it’s nice that I’ve been able to pull in something.

What does that mean?  Basically it means that I can continue to publish(for the moment).  I’ve made almost enough to cover the cost of Homecoming, and I think I can start the process of bringing that to market maybe a little quicker than originally planned.  Look for it now around the beginning of March – a more detailed release date to come soon!