Category Archives: Dragons

August 28, 2014 · 9:26 am

Infinite power equals infinite boredom

I attended a seminar on World Building this week offered by Lindsey Schopfer, local author and writing coach. One of my strengths is in that area, and I realized, as I listened to his talk, that it is because I use the same steps he does to make my world as real as is possible. I always know WHERE I am writing, WHO, and WHAT I am writing about.

I begin by drawing a sketchy map.This way I have an idea of where the towns are in relation to each other. Nothing on a map is ever finite, they are only approximations–artistic guesses.

Heart of Neveyah relief 3-4-2013 001As I write, my map evolves, becoming more complex as the topography becomes more clear to me. In Neveyah, I began with a pencil sketch, and that evolved into a relief map that gave me the opportunities for injecting tension into the tale that I needed. It also provided me with a detailed explanation of where the resources are, so that funding my country is not an issue.

I build their political and monetary structure, and the prevailing religion. I decide who has the power and privilege in that society, and who is the underclass.

As I create the power-structure and the maps, the opportunities for creating tension within the story also grow. I keep a list of those ideas so that when I run short on creativity I have a bit in the bank, so to speak.

Another thing Lindsey mentioned that I also do is to create a sort of personnel file. (I was an office-manager for years, so I think in those terms.) Is everyone human? If not, what are their species and how do they differ from humans? What are their origins and why are they all together on this world. This information will most likely not make it into the tale, but it is important for me to know.

personel file for Elena and LangleySome people draw their characters, but my artistic talents run to less realistic things. In some cases, I select an actor who best represents my character or who could play him/her well. I am a whiz at cartoons and maps, but not at drawing people or animals, so that’s why I resort to simpler methods to cement them in my head. Once I know who they are, that is where I stop. The reader will decide from the bare-bones descriptions I will give as to what they look like and that will be more intriguing than if I belabor their violet eyes and stunning cheekbones.

When I design a religion, I do it from the ground up.  I know who the gods are, what they require of their worshipers and the rituals that worship involves.  The same goes for the political system. Who is in charge of the country, and what is their power-base? What is their currency and how do they get it? Alternatively, how do they spend it? Are they despots or benevolent?

Then, there is the magic. Who has magic? What kind of magic–healing or offensive or both? What are the rules for using that magic and why do those rules exist? I despise books where there are no clearly defined rules for the magic, because infinite power instills infinite boredom in me as a reader.

http://www.hdwallpapers.in/

Ask yourself what sort of wild creatures will live in your world. What do they look like and how big are they? How do they survive, what do they eat? Are they hunted, or are they simply benign creatures that harm no one? What is their place in the ecosystem?

How are you going to name your people and beasts? Do your readers a favor and use spellings that look fairly simple and look good on paper. DO NOT USE THE CONVENIENT NAME GENERATOR websites that the internet is rife with. They provide you with hokey, ridiculous  names no barbarian worth his salt would claim.

How do they dress? Do they wear armor? How difficult is that armor to get on and off?

How do they travel? Horses or spaceships each have certain basic requirements–both require fuel of some sort and both frequently need maintenance, whether it is currying or cleaning the exhaust vents. Who does this?

In conclusion, assembling this background information is time-consuming, but once I have it all together, my work is so much easier. The hard work is mostly done at that point, so there is less stopping and starting. All I have to do is get my heroes off the sofa and out of the house to the final battle on time, so they can save the world.

 

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May 12, 2014 · 10:03 am

The road to perdition

I just attempted to read a book.  I say ‘attempted.’ It may have been based on an intriguing idea, and there might have been wonderful characters, but I wouldn’t know, because after three pages of reading, I had to set that travesty aside. Every sentence began with a GERUND.

Gerunds, © Connie J. Jasperson 2014

Now I know how this happens.  New authors who spend a lot of time in writing forums and writing groups, and who have had their work trashed by the group guru as being passive might see using gerunds as a way to generate action in their narrative.

dachshund.04But Mama, what’s a gerund?  Is it like a dachshund?

No dear, gerunds are not like dachshunds, although both are insidious minions of evil that manage to work their way into … where was I? Oh yes, gerunds.

ger·und

ˈjerənd

noun
  1. a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing, e.g., asking in do you mind my asking you

SO a gerund is a verb is a noun that acts like a verb that acts like a noun.

Now that I have cleared that up, what is it really?  A gerund is not like a normal noun because a gerund can take a direct object (just like a verb can).

Basically, they are ING words—DOING words that when you combine them with possessive words such as his, my, him and their, can become nouns.

Writing – He is writing.  (it’s a verb)  I like his writing. (it’s a noun)

Running – The dogs were running. (verb)   The child’s running through the house aggravated me. (noun)

BUT wait—gerunds can also be participles?–oh, those cross-dressing fiends!

Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence without resorting to that most heinous of writing-group crimes, the dreaded ‘ly’ words ( Satan, get thee away from me):

The child running across the lawn hopes you have brought him a present.

Running across the lawn modifies the noun child.

I could get really technical here and talk infinitives and prepositions–but we just want to get to the writing do-and-don’t part.  Do use them when they are necessary, and  don’t use too many. Remember it’s all about balance. Your narrative is like a ship and words are ballast–get too much on one side and suddenly your ship is at the bottom of Lake Erie.

Gerund phrases and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an ing word. The difference is that a gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present participle phrase describes another word in the sentence.

SO how are ING words properly used when writing narrative? In my opinion, they should only rarely be used to begin phrases. Confusion abounds when we are too free with them, as they ruin the flow of the narrative for the casual reader.

When you are writing the first draft, none of this matters, because all that matters at that point is getting the story out of your head and onto the paper. HOWEVER, when you are working on the second draft of your manuscript, keep this in mind:

  • Adding excessive words to your narrative will result in a passive narrative. Using gerunds to begin your phrases will not turn a passive voice into an active voice. Instead, you must trim out the unnecessary words, because using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps them from becoming too complicated or wordy.

Relying on gerunds to create active phrases and avoid accusations of the dreaded passive writing is taking the road to perdition my friends, because just like any other grammatical crutch,  gerunds are the devil when used improperly.

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 And on a different note–Last Monday I posted on My Writing Process — and today, Stephen Swartz and Shaun Allan have posted their blogs detailing their own writing processes:

Stephen Swartz can be found at Deconstruction of the Sekuatean Empire

Shaun Allan can be found at Flip and Catch

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March 31, 2014 · 5:35 am

HUW the BARD Launch

HTB New Front Cover with gold frameToday is the official launch of HUW THE BARD, a novel set in the alternate medieval world of Waldeyn.

I am doing something quite unique, for me–I am hosting a Virtual Launch Party via Facebook, complete with virtual canapes, champagne, and caviar. The link for this event is here: Huw The Bard Launch Party. Any and all are welcome to stop by and share in the revelry.

This is the hard part of going the indie route–I wrote, had it edited, got it published, and now I have to sell it. There is an art to this, I ‘m sure! Some people with moderately good books are quite successful, and others with truly great books, not so much.  Even Charles Dickens had trouble selling his work, back in the early days of publishing. In fact, most of the early authors of books we now consider classics were unheard of in their own time, except by a few intrepid readers.

So now, in this modern era of social media, I am trying to let the world know I wrote a book. I want folks who might be interested in it to be able to find it.

But I want to do this in such a way that I am not spamming my Facebook friends — because they get enough of that already without me adding to it. Hence, my launch party, open to the public and of course, my friends. How this will go, I don’t know, but I have been looking at other avenues of exposure, and now begins the (tasteful) twitter campaign. Also, many of my friends are supporting me by posting reviews, excerpts and cover reveals on their blogs, which is a huge help.

Carlie M.A. Cullen posted a lovely review.

Maria V.A. Johnson also posted a great review.

Fresh Pot of Tea, Alison DeLuca hosted the cover reveal, and posted an excerpt of the book.

So if you are available, feel free to stop on by  the Launch Party, have a virtual canape and swap a joke or two with me and my friends. I will be posting medieval music that I have come across on YouTube, and of course, we will talk about the book.

HUW THE BARD on Amazon.com

YouTube video book trailer featuring the music of Tom Cusack

 

Lute onBlack Background

 

 

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March 28, 2014 · 6:04 am

HUW the BARD cover reveal

 

HTB New Front Cover with gold frame

 

HTB back cover for create space

Excerpt from ‘HUW THE BARD’ 

Copyright 2014 by Connie J. Jasperson, All Rights Reserved

Desperately Huw continued fighting despite the intense pain in his now useless left hand. Somewhere along the way, Huw noticed it was just he, Derik and Bil still fighting.

After what felt like hours, Bil got in a lucky swing and had the creature hamstrung. It lay thrashing on its side, but still the men could rarely get close enough to the beast to do any more damage. Huw stumbled across a sword, and without thinking he picked it up and threw it, hoping to hit an eye. He heaved it just as the creature opened its mouth to snap at Bil.

The sword entered the gaping maw and sank to the hilt, impaling the soft tissue in the creature’s throat. The firedrake writhed in the dirt, gagging, struggling vainly to dislodge it with his little arms. The high-pitched keening shredded the hearing of everyone in its range. At last they were able to swarm the creature, the three of them hacking at it until they succeeded in finally cutting the great head off, ending the battle.

The silence was deafening, and Huw reeled. “I don’t know about you lads, but someone else is going to have to bury this thing. I’m knackered.” The pain of his injuries rushed in, causing him to drop his sword. Huw fell to his knees, puking his guts up. The last thing he saw was the clearing slowly spinning, as he fell forward into a soft pool of darkness.

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Off and on all day other excerpts from ‘Huw the Bard’  will be appearing on these lovely blogs:

www.carliemacullen.com

www.deborahjayauthor.com

http://alisondeluca.blogspot.com/

www.mariavajohnson.com.

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HUW the BARD trailer on YouTube

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But this is not the only wonderful thing happening this week!  My novella of short stories, Tales From the Dreamtime has been made into an audiobook, and is now available at Amazon and also through iTunes. The wonderful narration was done by Craig Allen, a voice-actor of extraordinary ability. His reading brings the words to life, and working with Craig was a joy.

I have discovered audiobooks, and find them to be wonderful companions on road trips, or even to listen to as I work around my house.

This has definitely been a busy week, and Monday will be even more so, with the launch of Huw the Bard, and the ensuing madness of promoting my work.  Promotion is my weak spot–but I must get better at it. Promotion is part of the indie author’s daily routine, and I must not be lazy!

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February 26, 2014 · 9:25 am

Fantasy–It’s a Mystery

MSClipArt MP900390083.JPG RF PDMy favorite books to read are, of course, fantasy. But I love mysteries too, and guess what? The best fantasy books involve a deep mystery.

In the best fantasy tales, at the outset quests are undertaken to achieve a goal against terrible odds, and the basis of that goal could be an object with a mysterious history, or it could be to kill a despot with immense power, the source of which is–a mystery.

And then, once the heroes are made aware of the whereabouts of the object (or person) they seek, the mystery deepens. Obstructions appear in their path, things that both block and enlighten them as they overcome them. With each small victory they learn something new, some random thing that might ultimately be the final clue to removing the source of power from the evil dude’s grasp, thus ending his reign of terror.

480px-Schmalz_galahadDuring the process of this, the heroes grow as people. Where they were comfortable in their secure, middle-class existence, or naive but worldly street-urchins, the experience of solving the mystery and enduring the hardships to arrive at the final scene changes them, some for the better, and some–maybe not.

This also happens in a great murder mystery, or a gripping political thriller.  In writing classes and groups this is called the story arc, but in my opinion, it’s just the basis of good story.  For authors just starting out, StoryStarter.com has a great page.

Along the way, the questers may encounter things that don’t appear in the real world we currently live in, and for me that’s part of the fun.

I grew up in a very rural area, surrounded by deep woods. We left Seattle and moved there when I was nine. Beyond the perimeter of our property lay terrifying things–bears, wildcats–things a nine-year old city-girl has no idea of how to deal with.

Dragon_rearing_up_to_reach_medieval_knight_on_ledgeDaily, my sister and I walked up a 1/4 mile long dirt driveway through the forest to the school bus. A large hill was in the center, and for the first year I lived there, I hated the place more than anything. I hated the school, I hated the bus, I hated my parents for destroying my life.

Sometimes our father would have to drive us to school, if bears were in the horse pasture that bordered our property. We would drive past, and he would point out the wonders and explain that with a mother bear and her cub in the horse pasture, we had to be very careful that morning. “They’re rare, and we’re fortunate to be able to see them once in a while. It’s just the mother will see you as a danger to her cub, so no bus for you today.”

All I knew was the woods were full of danger, and my parents apparently didn’t care, because they made me walk through them daily. I did walk through them and gradually, as summer vacation loomed, I began to see the possibilities of living in a lake-house, where there was no restriction on how many days you swam.

That first summer I discovered waterskiing, and my whole point of view about living all year round in a vacation-house was changed. Over the first few months I learned to love the deep woods around us, and to know and recognize the birds and animals who grudgingly endured our noisy, selfish presence.

This personal journey from ignorance to understanding the characters go through while solving the underlying mystery is one of the most important elements of a story. It is hard to know how a character will react to a given situation, and that is the best part of writing them.

DR 3 Prism Ross M KitsonRoss Kitson’s epic Darkness Rising series is one of my favorites, because the circumstances force the characters to  evolve in unexpected ways. Jeffrey Getzin’s fabulous Prince of Bryonae and his novellas featuring D’Arbignal are also good examples of how circumstances shape characters.

I highly recommend both these indie authors, if you are looking for high quality indie fantasy.

A Lesson for the Cyclops Jeffrey Getzin

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February 22, 2014 · 6:33 am

Name that Kid

fist_names_generatorA Facebook friend of mine whose given name is ‘Tad’ remarked that he had never liked his name, that he had always felt more like a Christopher. I can totally relate!  I was stuck with a not-too-goofy first name, Connie, which I never really liked,  but my middle name…. To this day I can’t spell it with out concentrating really hard: Lieuettice.

In a way I understand my mother’s dilemma. Good names are hard to think up! My friend, Irene, is always hammering at me to give my characters names that don’t all start with the same letters…which I wish I had thought about earlier on in the Tower of Bones series (doh).

_72982736_vikings courtesy of BBCSo lately I’ve had to resort to my handy  list of Saxon Names. Or my list of Popular Viking Baby Names.   “Come here, BRÖKK, my fine, strapping hero…put on this armor and at least look like you want to go out and wrestle a dragon….you and DAGFINNR can pillage the village when you’re done.”

Runes001So, my dilemma in my current work in progress is that two of the female characters have names that begin with the same letter. When I began writing the series, I didn’t realize the second character would become so important in the story–and now, three books into the series, I CAN’T CHANGE HER NAME!  (bangs head on desk.)

But, instead of sitting here, wailing “Why, why why?” I suppose I should just get on with writing the story.

Note to self:  Always name your character names that begin with different letters–there are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, for the love of Tolstoy…and if we get into the Elder Futhark we can use all those lovely runes….

names

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January 28, 2014 · 6:35 am

William Morris, Tolkien, and Modern Elves

Pauline Baynes' map poster of Middle-earth published in 1970 by George Allen & Unwin and Ballantine Books.

Pauline Baynes’ map poster of Middle-earth published in 1970 by George Allen & Unwin and Ballantine Books.

Lately I have been ‘guru-ed’ to death on various different writers forums by a few indie authors, whose own work is a great deal less than stellar, harshly criticizing the quality of writing of everyone from J.R.R. Tolkien to Robert Jordan.

Some people–I wonder, do they even read the comments they write? I am going to tell you straight up: Tolkien did NOT use too many words in The Hobbit, and the movie was not better.  Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon Studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, he invented the elfin language and as such, we may be assured he had a moderately good grasp of the English language, and the literature of his time.

He wrote in a lyrical style, with descriptions and side quests, things that enthralled avid readers like me who understood how to set aside a day to just to enjoy a good read.

The movie, while it is awesome, exciting and great fun, bears some relation to the actual book but certainly does not chronicle it. In the book for starters, Legolas was not a character, he did not have a love interest, and neither did Kili.  If you read the credits at the end of the movie, you will see it clearly says “BASED ON” the book, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

the hobbitThe problem with the book is not in Tolkien’s writing. It is in the eye of the beholder who never learned patience, or appreciation of a well-told story.

Fortunately, we now have an emerging generation of young women who consider “Pride and Prejudice” to be their favorite book of all time, and this gives me hope. Pride and Prejudice is about manners, yes–but it is also about that intrinsic thing all great novels consider, the search for self, and underneath the trappings of fantasy, the elves and goblins, so is the Hobbit.

That quest to discover who we are and what we are capable of is what drives Bilbo to keep  going, even in the face of terrible events. I have hope that if Jane Austen’s work is once again considered to be popular reading among young people, then the love of a beautifully crafted tale will never entirely disappear and the true appreciation of Tolkien’s great works will once again be celebrated.

What I frequently see in these forums see is an aggressive type of person who criticizes but lacks an understanding of what he/she is ranting about. They claim to be in writing groups, but if they are, I feel sorry for their fellow writers.  These people are the carrion-eaters, the ones who will pick an author’s work to the bone, and casually dismiss it, destroying a fellow authors sense of self-worth.

What a person who writes fantasy needs to know is what the masters of the genre wrote, and what made their work classics.  In other words,  stop looking AT the words as disparate parts that you could write better, and read them in context. You might be surprised at what you will find!

Well at World's End, William MorrisEven Tolkien had inspiration for his works, and he freely admitted he was a great devotee of the work of William Morris, an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and English Arts and Crafts Movement. He loved Morris’s prose and poetry romances. Tolkien’s own work follows the general style and approach of Morris’s work. The Desolation of Smaug as portraying dragons as detrimental to landscape, has been noted as an explicit motif borrowed from Morris, just as countless fantasy authors borrow the modern concept of Orcs, Elves, and many other high fantasy motifs from Tolkien.

Rivendell_illustrationThe modern image and mythology of the elf as he is written into most of today’s fantasy has been directly modeled on the elves of Tolkien’s Rivendell, whether the author knows it or not. Even the elves we find in the onslaught of urban-fantasy-romances are created in Tolkien’s image.

So, now that I’ve had my rant about internet writer’s forums and the bad apples who occasionally haunt them, you’re probably wondering what  I find that is good out there? A great deal more good than bad, actually.  There are an incredible number of people who are willing to be helpful to aspiring authors, and who regularly share good information. The following is a list of good forums you might want to look into.

Writers Digest

Writers Cafe

Absolute Write

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

I’ve had a lot of fun on these forums and I learned a great deal. I never respond to Trolls, because acknowledging them encourages them to think they have power. How you handle them is up to you. Do your homework, research the great literature of your genre and write because you love it.

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind, long years numberless as the wings of trees! The beginning of the Quenya poem Namárië written in tengwar and in Latin script, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind, long years numberless as the wings of trees! The beginning of the Quenya poem Namárië written in tengwar and in Latin script, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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December 31, 2013 · 8:01 am

2013 – Huh – Look at that!

472px-Judith_Leyster_Merry_TrioThe WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog, which I looked at and said “Huh. Look at that.”  Though it didn’t really tell me a lot, it was interesting and I loved the shiny picture (at the bottom of this page.)

But it got me to thinking about the year and what my personal favorite posts were. In looking back, I realize my favorite posts are not the ones that detailed my personal life, but are the posts dealing with the craft of writing. Still, the things we struggle with on a personal level are the things that form us as writers–me more than anyone, perhaps. They seem to have been the more popular posts, which surprises me.

For me, the year started out with a round of bad health, and in an effort to turn it around, I became vegan.

Vegans and Version Control posted 04 January 2013

That worked to a certain extent, and now a year later, I am still a Reluctant Vegan. I don’t miss meat, as it has never been that important to me, but boy do I miss the cheese. (sigh.)

MSClipArt MP900390083.JPG RF PDEpilepsy. A scary plunge into the unknown if ever there was one.  The  ‘e’ word  appeared 24 February 2013. I have two children who developed seizure disorders as adults, and they have each handled this frightening change in their lives differently. My daughter handles it the way she does everything–she accepts she has it, takes the medicine, and goes on with her life. Other than the first one she suffered which put her in the hospital with broken bones in her face, her seizures have been milder than my son’s. His seizures, when he has them, are severe, and he has been hospitalized three times this year. Each time, it was because he had not accepted his condition and was not obeying dr.’s orders. I am pleased to report that has changed. Sadly he is unable to drive until February 2014–but with the positive way his treatment is going it looks like he will be cleared to drive at that time. In the year since I wrote ‘The e-word‘ he has made a complete turnaround and is fully committed to managing his disease.

Train_wreck_at_Montparnasse_1895Hard on the heels of that major change was the acknowledgement of my dysfunctional family, and dealing with loved ones who suffer from crippling addictions. That was my emotionally draining post, Trains that Go Bump in the Night, posted 25 March 2013. That situation has also seen a major turnaround, with some really positive results. There is still a lot of pain, but the low point seemed to get my brother’s attention too. He is back on track, and with his jail time behind him and a good attitude. He is working a good recovery program, with an honest desire to be truly happy.  He is doing well, and while our relationship has been forever changed by this terrible ordeal, we have mended some fences between us. I was deeply touched to discover through all of this just how many people have lost loved ones to this terrible addiction, and even more importantly, how many have regained some sort of normalcy.

If there is a Hell, Meth is the devil.

But the positive side of all of this is that because I am unable to really face the reality of my crazy existence, I managed to complete the first draft of Mountains of the Moon. YAY!!!  The End Is Nigh, posted 28 March 2013 detailed the strange reluctance I felt to actually  finish the book and let go of my characters. It was hard, but now the book has made it through the second draft and is in the hands of the beta readers.

Due to bad health, I spent many hours on Facebook, killing time when I should have been writing. Face book–A Squirrel Ran Through It posted on 6 June 2013.

BIF Blog Print ScreenThanks to having surgery and being sicker than a dog for the entire summer, I also read a lot of books and blogged about them on Best in Fantasy, my weekly book review blog.  I thank God for all the amazing and wonderful writers out there who fire my imagination and keep me plugging away at this craft. Someday I hope to have written a tale that is considered a “Best in Fantasy” tale–it is something to aspire to and work towards.

Over the course of the year I wrote many technical pieces, on everything from how to format your ms for print, to how to create a clickable table of contents for your e-book, to how to effectively use WORD, and how to–>oh, dear…Grandma’s sort of a know-it-all and she’s not afraid to tell you about it. Are you listening? There will be a test.

I published a novella, Tales from the Dreamtime, a small book of three short-stories which I think is some of my best work to date, short pieces though they are. I also had two short stories published in a children’s anthology, Christmas O’Clock. I was privileged to be included with some high-powered authors like Shaun Allan and Alison DeLuca, along with Irene Roth Luvaul, Mary K. Mitchell, and Nicole Antonia Carro. That is some heady company!

My Coffee Cup © cjjasp 2013All in all, 2013 was a good year, with the misery being more than balanced by the joys. My suspicion is that people who don’t know what it is like to suffer don’t appreciate the true beauty of life.

It has been a hard year, true, but through it all I had the joy of grandchildren, the love of my husband, the support of my dear friends and the beauty of art and music to surround me. I have rediscovered my gratitude — both for the bounty I enjoy, and the people I am privileged to share my life with.

May your new year bring you joy and prosperity and the ability to appreciate them. May you have the good health to enjoy them, and may your imaginary friends never stop talking to you!

 

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December 26, 2013 · 7:09 am

What the label says

Parisfal - Creator - Hermann Hendrich PD-Art Wikimedia CommonsDuring the Christmas hiatus I’ve been revisiting the manuscript of Mountains of the Moon, tightening it up. I will be sending it to my Beta readers soon, preparatory to the final edit. In the meantime I have still been searching for cover art – my head has an idea of what it needs to be, and I haven’t found it yet, nor have I created the right blurb, although I’m getting close–we want a short, intriguing, sell-the-book sort of blurb.

Huw The Bard progresses slowly–some things just can’t be rushed. I had hoped to have him ready this spring, but that may not happen. The cover is ready, the blurb is ready, but editing is going more slowly than I had anticipated. That is one area I will not rush, so it will go on the back burner for a while. I still plan to enter Huw in the ABNA Contest this year, if and when it is announced, in the genre of Fantasy, as I hope it will be ready to go by then. Nothing is sure or certain in this business, however.

DobrynaThe editing of Julian Lackland is progressing at a good rate–he may be ready for publication before Huw. His cover and blurb are also finished, as is his book trailer. Huw still needs a proper trailer, but we are rolling toward victory!

In the meantime, I am still writing Valley of Sorrows, and it is going really well.  All the threads in my mind are coming together well on paper. That may be a finished novel yet!

One thing that is a bit difficult is trying to decide what genre my work falls under and what labels will get my books to the people who most want the sort of tales I write.  Huw the Bard and Julian Lackland are Historical Fantasies, but there is no genre to cover that! The Tower of Bones series is Epic Fantasy, or so I think, so that is easy (?).

But I’ve never had any luck with my labels.

And labeling is critical–many people won’t look at work that is not in their favorite genre, so they may not stumble upon a work they might enjoy. Conversely, if it is mislabeled, a reader might buy it, find it is not their cup of tea, and write a stinker of a review, based on the fact it is really not at all a historical mystery and what was the author thinking anyway?

So this is my goal for this coming year year: Write good books, label them properly, and perhaps sell a few.

Quaglio_KipfenbergI’ve learned many amazing things about this craft over the last year, things I never knew I had a knack for.  I  sourced the art and designed my own covers for two books, and  Alison DeLuca (our fearless leader at Myrddin Publishing Group) says they will be good covers when the books go to press.  I have helped several authors get their work ready for publication and I managed to make it through another NaNoWriMo as a Municipal Liaison unscathed.

A new year looms, bright and shiny. My ambition is to get the hang of the trickier parts of the marketing of my work–properly labeling it, and making it available to prospective readers. After all, if they can’t find it, they can’t read it!

I hope your Christmas was a warm and cozy thing with good food and family that puts the fun in dysfuntional. I hope the new year brings you everything you need, and some of what you want. I wish you long life and happiness, and the wisdom to appreciate it!

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December 17, 2013 · 8:00 am

Many’s the Fool

Heart of Neveyah relief 3-4-2013 001I’ve been working full speed on fleshing out the fourth book set in the World of Neveyah. It is the third and final book in the Tower of Bones series.

One of the things I’ve learned as I’ve progressed as a writer is to cut the backstory into manageable chunks. I, as the author, am totally into the backstory, but you as a reader may not be. In my previous work, my readers have to slog through a long lead-in before the real action begins. With each successive book, that lead-in has become shorter.

In order to avoid this tendency, I have been working to an outline. Because I have the final half of the book nearly complete, all I am working on is the first half of the book. I have given myself a strict number of pages to accomplish all of this in, which means it is forced to be all action, with the backstory slipped in incidentally.

Mal Evol relief 3-4-2013 001The first half of VOS happens concurrently with Forbidden Road, and some of the incidents from that tale are viewed through the eyes of those left at home.  This book must detail what happened at home and wrap up Forbidden Road. I want it to be a stand-alone book, and it can’t  give away the core of Forbidden Road. Thus, it can only reference what the characters know of the incidents that occurred in Mal Evol as they affect this tale.

Fleshing out this tale is requiring a lot of incidental backstory for me, 90% of which will not make it into the book, but which serves to cement characters and how they act and react in a given situation.  Hence, the outline:

First 1/4 chapters must address:

  1. The redemption of John Farmer
  2. The arrival of bad news and Dane Bransson’s descent into depression and anger
  3. The premature delivery and death of the baby.
  4. Marya’s descent into madness
  5. John and Garran journey to Braden

Second ¼ chapters must address:

  1. Building the wall
  2. Zan’s concerns re: setting the truth geas on Christoph
  3. The resettlement of Braden to Aeoven and other areas,
  4. Attack by the Hounds of Tauron
  5. Completing the Wall
  6. Arlen and the road to High Point Camp/ Jaxon
  7. Edwin’s anxieties
  8. Friedr’s worries re: his disfigurement and how Aeolyn will see him
  9. Lourdan’s Remaking

map of Neveyah relief 3-4-2013 001This is the first half of the book and must be complete at the 50% mark. By giving myself this road map, I am not completely nailed down creatively, nor am I completely winging it. I am forcing myself to stick to the meat of the matter and be sparing with the fluff.

I have set an arbitrary length for the book, and the second half was dealt with the same way. I actually wrote the second half first during NaNoWriMo 2012, because it picks up where Forbidden Road Leaves off and I was in the zone.

Writing the character of John Farmer has been fun. I’ve written a kajillion anecdotal stories for him as a novice and a young journeyman that won’t make it into VOS, but which will possibly be used at a later date in a volume of short stories. By virtue of having these tales, I know who John is. I know what makes him tick, and, most importantly, why he is who he is.

AnneMcCaffrey_DragonflightBoth Agatha Christie and Anne McCaffrey were geniuses at conveying that sense of history with an economy of words. When I think of each character in the compelling books written by these women, the characters I loved and who stuck with me most had a sense of history. The author knew them, even the most minor of characters.  HOW they knew their characters, what their style of writing was, I don’t know, but me — I make a little personnel file for each.

In this post I have just been talking about the fourth book, but I hope to publish the third book set in Neveyah, Mountains of the Moon, by summer. It’s hard to say if it will be through the editing process by then.  I will never rush to publish anything ever again, knowing what I know now about this business.

Some indies have this idea that they have to get it published NOW, regardless of whether an editor has told them it is not ready, and this is bad. Plot holes, threads to nowhere, these are bad, even if you are intending a second book in that series. Even worse is the nearly overwhelming urge to just add a bit to the tale before you click the publish button.  Has anyone else seen what you wrote? How do you know that what you think you wrote is what you really did write? And did you make your revisions by hand, or were you using Dragon? ALWAYS key your revisions by hand if you are physically able.

As an editor, I have seen some interesting manuscripts written using Dragon Naturally Speaking Software.  Words that are technically correct but make no sense until the editor realizes the words actually rhyme with the intended word…you see where this is going.  

Many’s the fool who rushed to publish and rued it later. I was one of those with my first book, but just like many other firsts, I learned a great deal from that experience. Thus I use the map, the calendar and the editor – the three most important parts of any tale.

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