#atozchallenge: [O]bvious

As a writer, I like to complain. Artfully, if possible, with plenty of tribulation thrown in for good measure, of course, but, usually, any old grouse will do. 

It's the burden of being an artist, right? We suffer and bleed our insightful impulses onto paper for the enlightenment of others. We have the right to complain about the agony of it all.

I recently wondered what the point of all these wretched woes are when I last had the opportunity to begin my usual writerly griping. I was talking to another writer, who stated that she just didn't have the time to write. I agreed. It was on the tip of my tongue to detail all the things that daily harassed my writing routine. But she spoke first – almost the exact words I would have used – and I knew why I wanted to complain.

The fact is, I was feeling guilty. I knew I hadn't been trying, that there were plenty of opportunities that I had been too tired or too lazy or too bored of which to take advantage. Isn't it obvious? I wanted to complain to hide my shortcomings. I think that attitude is one most of us writers can relate to.

It's so much safer to detail the troubles keeping us from writing than it is to actually do the thing we need to do. Everybody these days has a busy life – they can understand the inability to accomplish a long and difficult goal. It's safer and more comfortable to gain a sympathetic ear rather than to do the work itself.

Sadly, the more we complain, the less we write. It becomes a habit to not write then to complain about all the work we can't do. All the while, we pay for books and courses, visit blogs and websites, and go to meetings that tell us the 101 Ways to Become a Better Writer when we could simply do the deed itself and become better through practice.

I think it's time we all took an honest look at the obvious: we'd be better writers (we'd feel like writers) if we actually wrote.

I'm sure I'll still need to complain from time to time about the lack of hours in a day. But, from now on, I'll make sure it's after I've actually attempted to write.

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Guest Post on Word Art

Today, my very first guest post, "How to Effectively Market Your Writing," was published on Lauren Shearer's blog, Word Art! I'd love it if you'd take a look. There are online marketing tips to be had, comments to be made, and sharing to be accomplished.

Be sure to read Lauren's other great posts, as well, while you're there. She's a fantastic writer with a ton of great insights.

And, really, no need to be shy with those like/share buttons.

NaNoWriMo: Editing and Publishing

For many of you who participated in NaNoWriMo this year, it was the motivational equivalent of a good, swift kick in the pants. Others were out to prove themselves on the literary field of battle. Still others were professional writers looking for a quick way to get their next draft out. And some merely did it because it sounded like it might be an amusing distraction.

Whatever your reason was for setting out to write a month-long novel, you have one thing in common with all the other participants: every single person wrote a FIRST DRAFT. It is a mistake - and one that I have seen repeated often - to think that the novel you're holding is a finished manuscript.

No matter what you or anyone else thinks about it, it is NOT ready to be sent to literary agents, editors, or publishers. Those professionals will not thank you for sending them a manuscript that has been hashed out in thirty days. Why?

• Your novel is nowhere near polished enough for submission, no matter how excited you are about it. That kind of editing takes time.
• Agents and editors report a flood of new novel submissions in the weeks and months following each NaNoWriMo. Most are not even read.

Your NaNoWriMo novel should be treated just like any other novel. It doesn't matter how it was written or why - you still have to revise it again and again to make it perfect. Here are a few dos and don'ts to get you started in that process:

Do let your novel rest

When November ends, set aside the manuscript. Take a break from writing, even. Let your mind - and passions - rest. My advice is to wait at least two weeks before looking at it again. I always revisit my manuscript January 1st.  When you come back, you'll have a clear head and some much-needed distance from the story that will help you in more accurately evaluating it.

Don't trust your own opinion

Obviously, to a certain extent, you know what's best for your story. But that doesn't mean that no one else can offer advice or insights. Get your manuscript to some readers that you trust but who will also tell you the absolute truth (even if it's a suggestion to look at other lines of work). I guarantee that your novel will benefit from it.

Do take your time

Read the manuscript. Make notes. Sort. Edit. Repeat. Take your time. Put 110% into your revisions. It may take several drafts to get it right. That's okay. It probably needs it. Think of it as a diamond in the rough. Little by little, you are uncovering its beauty through the editing process.

Don't brag that you wrote your novel during NaNoWriMo

No one cares. That's the cold, hard truth.  It might be the greatest personal accomplishment of your life. But what it says to publishing professionals is, "Caution: noob writer ahead." You may not be. But NaNoWriMo has become so synonymous with first-time writers that it's better to keep that to your support network that helped you through November.

Do the footwork

All of it. Study the industry. Find the publishing houses that cater to your exact genre. Research the agents that represent authors like you. Write a query letter that knocks the socks off anything you can find in your novel.


NaNoWriMo is fun, motivational, and full of awesome people from all walks of life. But it's only the beginning of your noveling journey. If you are serious about publishing your NaNoWriMo novel, don't send it off as soon as you write "The End."

NaNoWriMo Week 4

This is the end of the line, NaNoWriMo novelists. The coming week is the do-or-die deadline. We're all tired by this point and many of us wish we had never even seen a novel, much less tried to write one. But you did try. We all did. And that's something to get excited about. How many people dream and never try? You, my friends, tried.

And we're all going to keep trying until we cross that finish line.

If this month hasn't gone at all like you planned, you might be thinking of quitting. After all, it's only seven more days, right? How far can you really get in seven days?

Let me encourage you to try one more time. Try to get to that finish line. Because, yes, it's only seven days. But if you put this off for seven days, they will become seven more days. Those days will blend into weeks, which will become months. You have this chance now. Take it and see where it leads.  You never know what will get in your way later.

Body Check

This is the last week of a month of grueling mental activity and stress. Watch your body. Take care of it, even if you're rushing to get to the end on time. Completing a whole novel in a month is awesome but you don't want it to be at the cost of your health.

Keep Writing

Don't let the end of the novel scare you. Push the pedal to the floor and get there as fast as you can. If the plot isn't fitting in properly but you're out of time (and have made your word count), make some detailed notes and call it a day. If at all possible, keep writing even after you've crossed the 50K mark. You're already on a roll. If the story wants to keep going, go with it. As I said above, you never know what may happen later to keep you away from your novel.

Win...And Tell Everyone

It's going to happen this week. You'll cross that finish line. And it will be one of the best feelings in the world. When you do, tell everyone. Especially if this is your first time.  You need that feel-good slap on the back from friends and family after all you've been through this month. So shout it out, do a victory dance, and break out your celebratory drink of choice.

Anything to add, WriMos? Where are you in your word counts? Sound off your last-minute joys, frustrations, and panic in the comments!

NaNoWriMo Week 3

I always heave a sigh of relief at the beginning of week three. Because, at this point, I have just won my struggle with that unruly plot. Now, things are happening and I can't wait to see where they all lead.

Not everyone feels the downward pull. Some of you may even still be slogging through the mud, far behind in word count. That's okay. You still have time to make it all right.

There are a few things that this week is good for in the adventure of month-long noveling. Here's what you should do in week three:

Catch Up

If you fell behind in week two, this is your week to catch up.  Write in short bursts throughout the day. Borrow your favorite song lyrics.  Throw in an all-nighter.  Whatever it takes to get those words in.

No matter where you are in your word count, your ultimate goal should be to breach the 30K mark by week's end.

Get Ahead

If you're a noveling superhero and are right where you should be, use week three as an opportunity to get as far ahead of the crowd as you can. The holidays will begin in the last week and you'll need every advantage you can get to slide through them with your word count intact. Try adding in a few hundred words at the end of each day. You can even devote the weekend to powering through the words.

Ride the Wave

Most NaNoWriMo participants report that, at the beginning of week three, their imagination clicks. Things begin to fall into place. The words come faster. Feverish literary highs replace the downward spiral of gloom. Even if you only feel a small portion of this, go with it. Ride that wave as long and as high as you can. If you have your word count for the day but you feel the story calling your name, go to it. Write more! This feeling won't be as easy to reach when NaNoWriMo is over.

Oh, and start thinking about that tiny speck of light ahead called "The End."

Are you excited, WriMos? Depressed? What are you most looking forward to in this week?

NaNoWriMo Week 2

My home is a wreck, my husband is already beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to return to the land of the living, and I have amassed a small word army to unleash on the world. NaNoWriMo is right on schedule!

But, if you're like me - and thousands of other NaNoers - week two is going to suck. Big time. This is where we realize just how horrendously tall the mountain is that we have committed to climb. We can see the storms raging, the muddy pitfalls, and the harpies of pleasurable distractions. It's just so much. Maybe we should all quit now.

Don't go there.

You'll be fine. We all will. This is my ninth NaNoWriMo and, no matter how many times I go on this wild adventure, week two is always the same story. But I haven't died yet. Neither will you.

Week one was your story's introduction. Week two is all about the dreaded plot-building. This is where your characters must do something now that they are here. And that's why it looks so scary.

The following three tips have always helped me get past that fright:

Just Write

Unless you have superhuman writing skills (which, granted, may be your mutant power), your prose this week will not be pretty. The way to get over it is simply to keep up the momentum. Don't stop to tweak a scene or make the king's speech an oratory wonder. If you stop to get it "right," you'll never move on. The key to success this week is speed.

In other words, write. Don't think. Write.

Keep A Sound Body

November is not the greatest month for high-intensity endeavors that will leave you susceptible to the germs running rampant. So take care of your body.

Keep yourself clean.

Bundle up if you're chilly.

If, like me, you forget to eat when you're writing, set a timer. You need to keep up your strength.

Sleep. Even if it means missing a few words.

I know this sounds like common sense but, let's face it - there's not a whole lot of room for sense in our heads right about now. So it's good to be reminded. This week and all the weeks after will only be ten times worse if you catch a cold or let your body run down.

Write Every Day

Week two is notorious for distracting NaNoers. So write every single day to keep up your imagination's momentum and your word count's for when you've got nothing. Even if you're dead tired, take five minutes. Write a hundred or two hundred words. Then call it a night. It will be that much less you have to do the next day.

Even if you can't meet your daily goal, write something. I guarantee you'll feel much better the next day.


Keep these tips close to you this week and you'll come out all right at the end. Even if you get behind, keep going. Week three is far more exciting than it looks right now. I promise.

Have you collected any survival tips for week two of NaNoWriMo? Is the concept of a difficult second week completely foreign to your genius? Share your thoughts in the comments!

NaNoWriMo Week 1

NaNoWrimo is in full swing! Nearing the end of week one, we're seeing the word counts of sprinters, walkers, and everything in between rise with each passing day. Some writers are already rebooting their novels while others have zipped right past sanity into something just plain scary.

If you're still unsure if you should keep what you've already got (or even if you've pulled ahead of the pack), this list of NaNoWrimo tips I found lying around the Internet may just give you an extra boost:

You're not writing a great novel. 

You might not even be writing a good novel.  But that's no reason to stop. The first draft isn't meant to amaze. It simply needs to exist. Edit later, write now.

All words are good words. 

Wrangle, cheat, ramble, quote: do whatever you have to do to add to that word count. This is pure output time. If your historical romance takes a weird turn into a time-traveling dystopia, go with it. Consider it an experiment, just to see where it leads. You can always make it a dream sequence if it doesn't pan out.

Do NOT delete anything.  

You heard me. Your delete button is broken. If you push the delete button in November, it will end all life as you know it. Permanently. So don't push it. Or the backspace button. No lawyering this thing.

Italicize stuff you want to delete...  

...or put it in a different font color or whatever floats your boat. If you really, really can't stand that run-on sentence or the spat Sarah had with the magician in the last chapter, using this trick maintains your word count and keeps your Inner Editor at bay. It may even come in handy later on. You have to remember that your brain isn't functioning properly right now. It's on overload and doesn't know what it's doing. For all you know, you could be erasing vital information for this or another novel. So just keep it until you can see clearly again.

Borrow liberally from everything around you.  

If you're stuck, go outside and people watch. Observe your pet's behavior and record it. Flip through your old diaries. Write down your favorite plot points in the movie you're watching. Ask your grandpa to retell that story about his youth. Just change the names and you're good.

Reward yourself. 

This is not the time to berate or punish your muse for not being good enough. That's your Inner Editor's job (and, hopefully, you locked that thing up on October 31st). Your job is to write joyfully, freely, and with much chocolate. Or caffeine. Or pizza every night. Whatever. Enjoy your favorite snack, beverage, book, or long soak in the bathtub for meeting your goals ever day (yes, hourly goals count, as well).

Wherever you are in the noveling process in this first week, remember: you still have time. Oodles of time! Most of the month is still ahead of you, so stay calm and write on.

Did I miss anything, WriMos? Sound off with your favorite tips in the comments and like/share this post with others!

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How to Find & Develop Ideas for Fantasy & Science Fiction

Image: stock.xchng

Most writers have lacked good ideas at least once in their careers. If you've been out of ideas for awhile, it's even worse. It also doesn't help when the fantasy and science fiction world is inundated with copycats and stories that sound like many others. But a "lack of ideas" isn't permanent and shouldn't be. You can control whether you have decent story ideas or not.

Here's the secret: to get a good story idea, you have to come up with a lot of bad ones. You do that by writing, continuously, even if you think it's no good. In the midst of the so-so ideas, you will find something worth working with.

I used to be terrible at running. In fact, I hated it. Every time I tried to run, I ended up gasping and wheezing while trying to massage the cramps out of my legs. But my husband encouraged me to keep trying. "Just two more minutes," he'd say during our workouts. "Two more minutes and you can slow to a walk." Every day, I ran two, torturous minutes longer than the last day until, one day, I ran and...kind of enjoyed it. Or at least didn't die after it. It had taken hours upon hours of painful mistakes to get to that point, sure. But, if I hadn't started, I would still be wheezing after the first two minutes.

The same is true for writing. It might not look or feel pretty when you spew random ideas on paper (and, yes, they probably won't even be all that original at first) but that's exactly where you will find the gems that you'll want to keep.

So, in reality, this isn't just about ideas. It's about discipline. We have to write if we want to move forward. Even when we don't feel like it. Once you've dedicated yourself to that, the good ideas will come.

Practice

Take some time today and write down your answers to the following questions:

    What is the coolest gadget that you can imagine? (Or, alternatively, what is the coolest places that doesn't exist that you can imagine?)
    Now, what is the scariest or most unusual way you could kill one of your characters?
    List 20 ways to kill one of your characters with that gadget (or kill them in that place) that you just thought up.

It doesn't have to be death and destruction if that isn't your thing. It can be 20 ways to save the princess of your fantasy world or 20 ways to make contact with an alien species. Use your imagination! The point here is that you want to get your mind moving.

Can you think of other questions? I'd love to hear them! 

The Perfect Time to Write

A few weeks ago, I wrote about writing wherever and whenever you can, even if it's only for five minutes. (You can read that post here: 5 Surefire Ways to Add Writing To Any Schedule) The truth is, I knew the concept worked and had even done it once or twice before. But I felt like a hypocrite after writing it because I wasn't doing it consistently.

So, I decided to take my own advice last week.

Fitting It In

The first day, in the ten minutes that it took the pasta for dinner to cook, I jotted down some notes on a story that has been on my mind. Day two saw a few character names added to the notes but little else since I had a technical glitch and had to rewrite several pages of work from the day before.

An assignment was due on day three. Because of some last minute notes from the client, I had to work all day. Before I went to bed, I took five minutes to write down a revised plot point that had occurred to me during dinner.

On the fourth day, I woke up sick. My workload was such that I couldn't take the day off. Between several mini-naps and editing product descriptions, I outlined my developing story in a few short bullet points.  I felt a little better on day five but still had a lot of work to complete. My developing story didn't get any attention until I was in bed and then only a few extra sentences about the main character's back story.

My last day of work on the sixth day ended well so I was able to write the first scene in the twenty minutes I had available.  Day seven was my first day off in a week and, because I had been sick, I didn't write anything. My mind needed the rest. (Sometimes, you need a day of nothing and that's okay. It's important to be dedicated but too much work will only burn you out.)

The Perfect Time

 That story has been on my mind for over three years. I never have the time for it, I told myself. There's too much going on. But, in one crazy week that I would not have picked for fiction writing in a million years, I brainstormed, outlined, and began to write that story.

Now, I didn't detail my week to brag about my awesome multitasking or to bask in the glow of compliments. I wrote it for YOU.

It's hard to think of jumping in. If you're like me, with my touch of OCD, you don't even want to until the time is "perfect."

I have news for you: the time now is perfect.

Any time that you can write is perfect. You just need to start. And, as surprised as I was to find this out, you can actually get somewhere even on a mere five minutes a day. It may take awhile but at least you're working towards it instead of wishing you were.

An adventure is waiting but only you can start it.

So, pick up that pen. Boot up your computer. Your five minutes are waiting.

5 Surefire Ways to Add Writing To Any Schedule

"I'm too busy to write." 

"My kids take up all my writing time."

"I just don't feel the inspiration."

"Work is keeping me from doing what I want."

I don't know about you but I'm sick of hearing excuses like this. The problem is, most of these are from my own mouth. And I'm done. Maybe you are, too. Excuses don't make a writer. Writing does.

But how do you make enough time to actually sit down to the task? Simple: you just do it. Throw expectations, worries, stress, and everything else out the window. Even if it's only for a few minutes, we all can find the time to write every single day if we really want to.

As promised, there are five surefire ways (and probably more!) to instantly add writing to your schedule:

1. Five minutes 

Whenever an extra five minutes lands in your lap, grab your notebook. Boot up the computer. Open your iPad. Write. And, whatever you do, don't listen to that nagging little voice that says, "You need at least [insert time frame here] to do this properly." You don't. You just need to write, period.

2. Wake up

I love sleep. My teenage self would have been horrified to know how much I would one day adore curling up in a soft, cozy pile of blankets. But to get anywhere in the writing world, we sometimes have to give up a little sleep. Not too much, mind you, or we'll all become zombies. But sacrificing twenty minutes or an hour here and there might just mean the difference between "finished manuscript" and "no manuscript."

3. Plan for alone moments

Even on weekends. Set your alarm clock early, drive to an isolated area, lock the door to the bathroom...whatever it takes, set up a time you can be completely alone and stick to it. Even if it's only for five minutes.

4. Talk to yourself

Buy a voice recorder or call your own voicemail. Talk out your ideas, character conversations, or titles. Do this to and from work, on the way to school, or as you run errands. Then use your five minutes later to transcribe your daily recordings.

5. Turn off the electronics

How many hours a day do you spend texting, emailing, checking out Facebook statuses, or laughing at funny cat pictures? Today's world is very interconnected in this way. But think of all time spent on the internet being applied to your work-in-progress. Do you have enough time now to write? I know I would.  Sometimes, it's good to unplug from everything (and I mean everything - no cheating with a phone or iPad).

PRACTICE

Get away from all the above distractions. Write for five minutes, whatever comes to mind, even if you think it's nonsense. 

Once you're done, look at your handywork. Be happy with it, even if it's imperfect. Don't tear yourself down. You accomplished something you didn't think you had time for - enjoy it!

Post your practice session in the comments. Let us know what you liked best. Then do it again and again and again until five minutes a day (or your own ideal time frame) is a habit. Ultimately, have fun! 

Anything you would add to the list? Sound off in the comments!

Where In the Galaxy Do Story Ideas Come From?

Every writer has been asked this. There might be variations (such as the oldie but goodie: where do you get your ideas?) but both writers and readers have all heard or asked it. 

  The Answer

 Everywhere and anywhere.

Writers are people, too, and we walk by the same neighbors, drive the same cars, and have the same hobbies everyone else does. Ideas abound in every moment in our lives. Anything, at any time, could trigger that mysterious being called the muse.

For me, it's little things. The way a character tilted her head in my favorite T.V. show. A snippet of conversation. Music. A sentence in the book I'm reading. The wind in the trees. A child's laughter. Deep water at night. Even dreams.

The possibilities are endless, literally. They're also different for every writer.

 What About You?

If you're a new writer, you might be worried about getting ideas. Don't be. You wanted to write for a reason, probably because you already had an idea in your head. Where did you get it? You might have just experienced a fabulous concert. Maybe you noticed something new on your way to work. Or perhaps the bite mark in your sandwich looked just like a spaceship.

Whatever it was, it wouldn't leave you alone. You had to write it down. Then characters arrived and a setting and you started imagining what would come of it.

That's where the ideas come from: from keeping your eyes and ears open and absorbing the world around you. What are your interests? Your favorite books? Do you remember your dreams? Is there something you've always wanted to do or see but never have?

These all hold true even when dealing with science fiction and fantasy. It doesn't have to be all scientific or fantastic to start out – that's your imagination's job. Your job is to keep looking.

Most importantly, look for ideas where you least expect them. Those ideas can be the best of all.

How To Get Ideas In A Nutshell

• Read! And read some more.
• Collect and hoard ideas like a dragon.
• Look for the unexpected.
• Write about your interests, hobbies, and dreams.
• Write about what you'd like to learn.

 Where do you get your ideas? Sound off in the comments or Tweet for idea-starting fun!

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A to Z Challenge: P is for Pirates

"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." --Mark Twain

Call me hopeless, misguided, or overly enthused, but I will not deny that this is one of my favorite subjects in the entire world. I can't tell you how anxious and excited I've been to get to the letter 'P.'

Now, being Wednesday, this is generally the day I give you writing tips, advice, and the like. So. Today we will look at the proper way to write about pirates and what is most emphatically not a pirate.

Real Pirates

You may have heard this before, but our modern, romantic perception of a pirate is really just a bunch of Hollywood hype. All that burying treasure, walking planks, and living a life of pleasure on the high seas while fighting as little as humanly possible is a bunch of malarkey.

Actually, it's all Robert Louis Stevenson’s fault. You can find every stereotypical pirate myth in Treasure Island (which is not to say I'm dissing the book - I love that story). In all reality, Treasure Island spawned the pirate novel, which was adapted into screenplays, which made people want to dress up like the swashbucklers and write their own adventures.

Then, of course, Disney banked on the popularity with that amazing, imaginative ride of theirs and the rest is history...until they made their ride into movies and cemented every romantic pirate notion in existence.


The Life Behind the Legends

So, if not Long John Silver and Johnny Depp, what did pirates look like?

1. Pirates were not cowards. Unlike many representations, pirates didn't avoid a fight. Sure, they preferred as little fight as possible - who wouldn't? - but when they did fight, they were utterly ruthless.

2. Pirates did not bury their treasure as a rule. Pirates generally didn't live long lives so planning for their future lives wasn't high on their list of priorities. Most treasure was spent on liquor and women as soon as they made port. Some, like Blackbeard, did stow their portion of the booty for a time but this would have been the exception.

3. Pirates probably didn't make anyone walk the plank. There's no evidence to support the walking the plank theory. Instead, the preferred method of punishment was keel-hauling. This meant they tied their victims (or unruly crewmates) to a rope and dragged them under the ship. You either drowned or received nasty wounds from all the debris collected on the ship's hull.

4. Pirates did not say "Arrrr" and "Matey," etc. Another Hollywood myth. For example, Hollywood actor, Robert Newton, who played Long John Silver in the 1950s, had a regional accent from the Cotswolds district of southwest England where they roll the "r." Real pirates had their dialects but did not all speak the same.

5. Pirates weren't all murdering rampagers. Each pirate ship had its own code of conduct and many included the treatment of prisoners. Some captains did not allow torture or wanton killing sprees. The victims were still robbed and terrified, of course, but might not lose their lives or limbs. Still, with Blackbeard cutting off women's fingers to get to their rings, you probably wouldn't have wanted to stick around to find out.

6. Sir Henry Morgan, Sir Francis Drake, and Captain Kidd weren't pirates. These guys were privateers, men who had their government's backing in attacking enemy ships during wartime. They raided ships, stole treasure, and took prisoners but these were the good guys.

7. Pirates did not pierce their ears to look daring or rascally. They did so because it was believed that piercing the ears with precious metals, like silver and gold, improved eyesight. Even respectable sea-faring men were known to indulge.

8. Pirates flew the Jolly Roger, wore eyepatches, kept parrots as pets, and had peg legs. True! Or, at least, likely. Pirates had their own style of flag to show who they were when attacking (someone like Blackbeard, for example, could have people surrendering at the mere sight of his flag). Some of these included the skull and crossbones. Pirates did keep pets and parrots might have been one of these. Considering their line of work, it is possible they also wore eyepatches and peg legs.

If you're going to write about these guys, be sure to look up the facts first.


Not A Pirate

I'm a geek: I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (the first three - we won't get into that last one). However, there are some problems:




This is not a pirate. Just...no.






This could be a pirate, with less screaming and ineffectual running around. The filmmakers might even have picked up a history book since her role in the third movie is very similar to Grace O'Malley or Lady Ching Shih. But drop the "Pirate King" thing, already. First of all, she's a woman. And second...she's a woman! Unless no one else knows (which clearly isn't the case), she'd be a pirate queen.





This is not...gah. I can't do it. Jack Sparrow will forever be a pirate in my imagination. His character is awesome, if not realistic since he could never have become a captain - his own crewmates would have killed him for cowardice.






Voted most likely to be a pirate. I thought he was the most realistic representation of the bunch. Minus the undead thing.





So there ya are, mateys. What be yer piratey facts?

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A to Z Challenge: N is for News

The purpose of news is to answer one question: "What's happening?" The best news is impartial, informative, and helps you determine your own opinion on a given topic.

For the writer, it's almost as important as putting pen to paper. How else do you find out about new books, valuable writing techniques, training, conferences, contests, and local groups? Best of all, you can find out about new gadgets and technology that are fun, yes, but could possibly help you streamline your writing process...or at least make it easier to sit down to the task at hand.

Find a good writing news site, blog, or twitter feed and subscribe to it. You don't have to look at it every day but it's good to have around. Just make sure it's reputable and free of unnecessary drama.

If you need help getting started, here's a few of my favorite news gathering points:

• Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
• Writer Beware
• The Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild
• Association of Writers and Writing Programs
• Alltop Writing News
• New York Times Writing Topics

What fun, writerly things has a good news piece brought to you? Feel free to share in the comments!

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A to Z Challenge: J is for Journey

Every story is, at its heart, about a journey.

It may be that the galactic empire has sent its armada on a journey to conquer unknown worlds. Perhaps a young magician has set out on a long road to find his long-lost father. Or maybe the journey is all about what the character goes through or experiences or how he or she grows in their life.

It may be that the journey is entirely the author's as he spins his tale from one action to another.

A good author is the one that knows how to bring the reader with them for the entirety of the trip.

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I was having technical difficulties on Tuesday, so if you missed the newest flash fiction story, click HERE.


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A to Z Challenge: D is for Dragons, Dryads, & Dobies

ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to popular demand, I will be revisiting the Catagenesis universe every Tuesday for the remainder of April. If you're interested in nothing else, come back then for more of the story! And, please, keep the feedback coming - I love hearing from you all.

D is for Dragons, Dryads, & Dobies

Fantasy creatures are such fun. It's one of my favorite parts of writing fantasy.

While many authors choose to create their own wild characters, others pull from the immensely varied creatures of mythology. This can be extremely beneficial in two ways:

1. Many people will already know something about it, so it's instantly recognizable
2. You don't have to create your own believable monster

You still need to be careful, though. Die-hard mythology buffs will call you out without mercy if you get an aspect of the creature wrong or ignore long-standing rules of how it looks, moves, etc.

There's also the need for originality. How many times have gryphons or wyrms showed up in fantasy stories? How is yours any different? You'll need to find a way to present the creature in a new, fresh light while staying true to the myths that make it what it is.

To get you started, here are a few of my favorite 'D' creatures:


Dragons
Who doesn't want one of these in their story? For that matter, who hasn't heard of dragons?

The word 'dragon' derives from the Greek word drakonta or drakon, which means to "watch for" or "to look at." This suggests that, even then, the myth of the dragon was firmly established as something to be feared and on guard for. The fact that dragons are seen in nearly every major culture's mythology has led some mythological scholars to suggest that there may have, at one time, been a real creature as the basis.

Dragons generally have bat-like wings, scaled skin, a barbed tail, and breathe fire. They may talk as intelligent beings or be a slightly more intelligent form of dumb beasts. Some are harbingers of doom while others are charms of good luck. Most hoard treasure, haunt pools or wells, and are deeply attracted to maidens and princesses.

Some famous dragons are: the Greek Python of Delphi, St. George's dragon, Smaug from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and Nidhoggr, the Norse Dragon of Death.


Dryads
Dryads are one of two species of guardian tree spirits (or nymphs) from Greek mythology. They were often portrayed as companions to the moon goddess, Artemis, or the god of wine, Dionysus. While dryads may move about freely beyond their trees, their counterparts, Hammadryads, cannot. (Hammadryads also die when their trees are cut down whereas dryads have a chance of surviving.) Dryads are often seen dancing or wandering in the forest but it is considered unlucky to see them or stay within their company. They are known to be very dangerous to humans who cut down trees.

'Dryad' come from the Greek word drys, which means 'oak.'

Dryads have been used over and over again in fiction: Milton's Paradise Lost, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and The Belgariad by David Eddings.


Dobies
The Dobie, or Dobby, is a British house fairy who likes to help human beings. They particularly enjoy housework or labor-intensive chores and sometimes are given the duty of guarding family treasure. However, the Dobie is not very wise and sometimes make ridiculous mistakes (which begs the question: why would you have one guard your treasure?).

In parts of West Yorkshire, a Dobby is an evil fairy who leaps on the backs of travelers on horseback and garrotes them. Not a good way to go. One wonders what it is about West Yorkshire that produced the murdering spawn of an otherwise helpful, considerate creature.

Obviously, the most famous Dobie is seen in the Harry Potter books and movies (and, according to Google, the only one anyone is interested in sketching). I wasn't able to find any others. If you know of any other stories starring Dobies, please let me know in the comments.


What are your favorite fantasy creatures? And do they start with a 'D?'

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Dragon image supplied by http://www.draconika.com/types.php.
Dryad image supplied by http://sheeponthemountain.tumblr.com/.
Dobby image supplied by http://jerome-k-moore.deviantart.com/art/DOBBY-THE-FIRST-FREE-ELF-42105158.

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A To Z Challenge: A is for Aliens

Welcome to the first day of the A to Z Challenge! As I said in this post, throughout April I will be blogging 14 writing topics and 12 flash fiction stories. Today is the first day of April's writing topic theme: The Concepts, Ins and Outs, Building Blocks, and All Around Cool Stuff of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

And what better way to start out than with aliens?

A is for Aliens

Aliens come in all shapes and sizes.

For the longest time, they were little grey humanoids with big bug-eyes who, apparently, had no concept of the need for clothing. Then we graduated to spidery-shaped things, bulbous-headed monsters, creepy octopus land animal things, and humanoids with green skin who can't get enough of starship captains.

And, seriously, aliens have to be one of the best parts of experiencing science fiction. Or so these guys would have you believe:



But forming them for your story is not always as cut and dried as it may seem. Putting a weird head on an otherwise humanoid body is, well...not always realistic. (I'm looking at you, George Lucas.)

You have to make your aliens truly alien. Even if they are humanoid for some good reason, chances are that they don't dress in similar clothing, have the same entertainment, or get the same pleasure out of a really sweet car as we do.

Why?

Because they're not human. Realistically, an alien race probably wouldn't think, process, or be anything like us.

Imagine if a cat suddenly spoke our language. We might attach human personalities to them all day long ('cause it's cute to think of them as tiny humanoid people with tiny human-like concerns) but I'll bet you anything that an explanation of the world from that cat's mouth would be entirely foreign to us.
As a writer, it's your job to make your aliens foreign to humanity. To do that, you have to be willing to really dig in and build their world around them. Do they see colors? How do they eat? Are they animalistic in nature? Do they even think thoughts?
Remember, though, that it won't be your aliens that will read your story but humans. So, the Catch 22 here is that as alien as you make your aliens, in the end they still have to be...well, human.

What is your favorite alien or alien concept? Why?

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Don't Panic: Science Fiction or Fantasy - What's the Diff?

What's the difference, you say? Isn't it obvious? In fantasy, you cast a "slow time" spell to get to work before the boss notices you're late. In science fiction, you're never late because you can just beam yourself into the office.

Simple, right?

Only if you want your limbs torn from your body by raving fan-mobs of either genre. You see, there's not one hard rule that determines if a story is science fiction or fantasy. Plenty of SF books incorporate magical properties. There are some fantasy books that take place in "the future." And then there are the gazillion crossover genres that don't really know what they are.


The Short Answer


If you want to have a theological discourse on the subject, there are plenty of books for that. I, however, like short answers.

Here goes: that Rod Serling quote up there? He's right on.

Fantasy, with its magic, wizards, fairies, trolls, is impossible according to our world. But in a well-written story, these things become perfectly conceivable.

Science fiction - spaceships, galactic travel, aliens, ray guns - doesn't seem all that likely, especially given our floundering space programs. But a master storyteller makes it all possible in one well-created battle.

Basically, what I'm saying is that the only concepts that separate fantasy from science fiction are impossibility versus improbability.


So...What's the Difference?


Yeah, I know, that still wasn't simple.

Try this on for size: your mom says, "Don't jump off the roof." Why? Probably because you'll land in a bone-crushing pile of pain and agony.

The probability of coming out completely unscathed because you're some sort of never-seen-before super-human is pretty slim. But maybe you are a super-human and that's just what happens. You're a science fiction hero!

But let's take it further. You think you can jump off the roof and not go anywhere. Maybe float in mid-air or even go up instead of down. Science tells us this is impossible. Not going to happen...like, ever. You do it, anyway, because you know about the genie in your back pocket who granted your wish not to die five minutes ago. Lo and behold, you're floating in midair in a fantasy dream.


Call It Whatever You Want


In the end, you can call your story whatever you want. Science fiction, fantasy, scifan fiction - you may just create a new genre in the process. It's happened before and will probably keep happening.

But you have to sell it. You need a solid, compelling reason for it to be what you say it is. Otherwise, the rabid fans will still maul you for ruining their orderly worlds.

On top of that, if you plan to sell your story, a publisher is likely to slap their own label on it no matter what thrilling genre name you've come up with. It's a marketing thing, not to mention that publishers are kind of set in their ways. They love categories. It makes their world hum with happy thoughts.

My bottom line is that I think the definition is always changing. But I do think writers like Rod Serling have a unique insight into the two genres. Those insights -and his, in particular - won't change. Their core truth is always going to apply, in my opinion.


What do you think? What is the difference between SF & fantasy? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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Don't Panic: Why You Should Write

Why do you write?

Now stop that. Giving me that panicked look isn't going to help you here. In fact, you may have noticed that this new series is called don't panic. As in, not allowed.

Grab a towel and take a seat. We have to talk.

Why do you write? Better yet, why write at all?

This isn't as crazy a question as it seems. Maybe you've already got the itch and can't wait to get started. Perhaps you've already tried your hand at a few spaceship battles. Or some fantastical, magical spells made by ancient classes of long-dead warriors. What if...what if you like to mimic your favorite characters in a little fan fiction?

That's fine. I do all that, too.

But you need to know why you're writing. Or maybe you're looking for a reason to keep writing. Whatever the case, you're not alone.

Writers write for all kinds of different reasons. The problem is that many wannabe and current writers are just following the crowd. They think they have to write a certain way or in a specific genre for it to be okay. Some famous writing teachers that will remain nameless (you already know who you are) will tell you exactly why you should want to write and, if that's not you, then you shouldn't be a writer.

I'm here to tell you that's spacecow poo. (Yes, I just said poo. See? No one told me to write that.)

You should want to write because it's what you want to do, for whatever reason you want to do it. There is no right or wrong here.

When I began writing SF & fantasy, I told my little group of friends and acquaintances that I did so because it made me happy. Their answer? "Not good enough." "You should have a better reason than that." "That will never get you anywhere."

Not cool. What they should have been saying was, "Right on! It's awesome that you're doing something you love!" In fact, the handful of people who did say that have remained my support group ever since and are the first people I send my stories to for some beta reading.

Sound familiar? If so, ignore the naysayers.

Why do you write?

It's okay if it changes, too. I still write because it makes me deliriously happy. I also write because I love watching that same happiness occur in others when they read my work. (I also may be guilty of enjoying designing my own adventures starring me...er, my characters.)

Whatever your reason: right on! Don't stop. Keep on writing and stick to your guns.

Above all, don't panic. Writing is, first and foremost, you exploring your imagination. So go explore whatever it is that makes you happy and be proud of your reason for doing so.

So...why do you write?

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Stay tuned for next week's amazing tips in this new, very exciting Don't Panic series. If you like, I'll even write them in big, friendly letters on the back cover.



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The Fantasy Novelist's Exam

Because everyone just doesn't have the...shall we say, good sense, to know when not to use that great idea they had in the shower.

Just ask those guys to the left.

If you've ever wondered if your fantasy world is good enough (or if you're now worried that your novel will be the literary version of the poor LARP nerds over there who genuinely believe they have created the perfect universe), this is for you.



The Exam
Originally written by David J. Parker with additional material by Samuel Stoddard.

1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?
2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?
3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it?
4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?
5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?
6. How about one that will destroy it?
7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?
8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?
9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?
10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character?
11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician?
12. Does "a forgetful wizard" describe any of the characters in your novel?
13. How about "a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior"?
14. How about "a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons"?
15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around?
16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?
17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals?
18. Would "a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword" aptly describe any of your female characters?
19. Would "a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan" aptly describe any of your female characters?
20. Is any character in your novel best described as "a dour dwarf"?
21. How about "a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage"?
22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?
23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?
24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?
25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?
26. Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"?
27. Does your novel contain a prologue that is impossible to understand until you've read the entire book, if even then?
28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?
29. How about a quintet or a decalogue?
30. Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book?
31. Did absolutely nothing happen in the previous book you wrote, yet you figure you're still many sequels away from finishing your "story"?
32. Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books?
33. Is your name Robert Jordan and you lied like a dog to get this far?
34. Is your novel based on the adventures of your role-playing group?
35. Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm?
36. Do any of your main characters have apostrophes or dashes in their names?
37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables?
38. Do you see nothing wrong with having two characters from the same small isolated village being named "Tim Umber" and "Belthusalanthalus al'Grinsok"?
39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?
40. How about "orken" or "dwerrows"?
41. Do you have a race prefixed by "half-"?
42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines?
43. Do you write your battle scenes by playing them out in your favorite RPG?
44. Have you done up game statistics for all of your main characters in your favorite RPG?
45. Are you writing a work-for-hire for Wizards of the Coast?
46. Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls?
47. Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don't?
48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?
49. Could one of your main characters tell the other characters something that would really help them in their quest but refuses to do so just so it won't break the plot?
50. Do any of the magic users in your novel cast spells easily identifiable as "fireball" or "lightning bolt"?
51. Do you ever use the term "mana" in your novel?
52. Do you ever use the term "plate mail" in your novel?
53. Heaven help you, do you ever use the term "hit points" in your novel?
54. Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs?
55. Do you think horses can gallop all day long without rest?
56. Does anybody in your novel fight for two hours straight in full plate armor, then ride a horse for four hours, then delicately make love to a willing barmaid all in the same day?
57. Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it?
58. Does anybody in your novel ever stab anybody with a scimitar?
59. Does anybody in your novel stab anybody straight through plate armor?
60. Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more? [info]
61. Does your hero fall in love with an unattainable woman, whom he later attains?
62. Does a large portion of the humor in your novel consist of puns?
63. Is your hero able to withstand multiple blows from the fantasy equivalent of a ten pound sledge but is still threatened by a small woman with a dagger?
64. Do you really think it frequently takes more than one arrow in the chest to kill a man?
65. Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an "on the road" meal?
66. Do you have nomadic barbarians living on the tundra and consuming barrels and barrels of mead?
67. Do you think that "mead" is just a fancy name for "beer"?
68. Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion?
69. Is the best organized and most numerous group of people in your world the thieves' guild?
70. Does your main villain punish insignificant mistakes with death?
71. Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute?
72. Is "common" the official language of your world?
73. Is the countryside in your novel littered with tombs and gravesites filled with ancient magical loot that nobody thought to steal centuries before?
74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?
75. Read that question again and answer truthfully.

So? How did you do? Are you fated to become the next great or should you hide that novel in the deepest, darkest corner in your house? Let us know in the comments.

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On Dialogue

"It [speech] serves, as it does in life, to broaden the scope of action; it organizes and extends what people do." ~John Howard Lawson (emphasis mine)

For me, writing dialogue came easily from the start. It may have for you, as well. But, for others, dialogue is the bane of their existence. Even thinking about surrounding a phrase with quotation marks sends them into cold sweats and epic nightmares.
If that's you, chill. Take a deep breath. Relax.
Dialogue is just people talking to one another. In terms of a story, dialogue is people talking to one another in a way that moves the story along. Pretty simple, right?
The great thing is that it doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it isn't when you know the tricks to writing it. Sure, it takes time and practice but what in writing doesn't?
Here are a few tips I've gathered from my own experience and that of others. If you want to learn more, take a look at the resources list I've included below.

1. Be Brief

You know that friend who calls at four in the morning to tell you about the tragedy of her hair going flat and, three hours later, is still describing her stylist's reaction to split ends while you look for a creative way to destroy your phone so that it looks like an accident?
Yeah, don't write like that.
Dialogue should be quick, snappy, and to the point. Your reader doesn't want a dissertation on a given subject. They just want to know what's going on. Give them that. Think about what the purpose of the dialogue is and get to it in as concise a manner as possible. If there is no purpose, get rid of it.
If you ramble, they will leave.

2. Convey Information

Dialogue isn't there to look pretty. It should add to the reader's knowledge of what's going on. This doesn't mean you should just dump back story into a character's speech (rule #1, remember?). You don't want the reader to realize that you're feeding important facts to them. Be natural and spread it out. Readers are smart - they'll remember those little facts as they need them.

3. Be Realistic, Not Real

"Hi, Marty."
"Hi, Tom."
"How are you today?"
"Great. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Nice weather we're having."
"Beautiful weather. The sun is so warm."
"Have you ever seen such a brilliant blue sky?"
If you're ready to pound your computer screen in frustration, congratulations! You have recognized bad dialogue. This is all well and good for a foreign language class but you don't want this in your story. It has no purpose, let alone any information to convey.
You want dialogue that sounds like it could be real, not real conversation.

4. Continue the Action
If you haven't already realized it, dialogue is action. It moves the story forward, gives the characters the means to their goals, and reveals motives.
Marty waved frantically. "Tom! Tom, look, there in the sky."
"I don't want to look," Tom said. His hand shook as he reached into the mailbox.
"But it just - "
"I said I didn't want to look!" Tom slammed the mailbox closed and turned towards his house. Without meaning to, he let his gaze drift upwards, to that hideous yellow orb shining in the blue arc of sky. He shivered. "Too bright."
I could have simply said that the sun was something abnormal to this world and that people in the neighborhood didn't know what to do about its brightness. But that's boring. Dialogue can -and should - introduce excitement, interest, or mystery while entertaining the reader.
You also want to break it up, such as in the above example. You want some indications of what people are doing as they talk. These, like dialogue itself, still need to be driving the story forward or revealing information.
Pull them in with dialogue. Make it your weapon, not a pretty piece of embroidery.

5. Reveal Your Character

Just as in real life, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they talk, how they respond, or if they speak at all. Dialogue in fiction can be used in the same way.
It can also reveal relationships among characters.
Tom, from the above example, might be snippy with Marty but what if Tom's sick wife, whom he dearly loves and worries over, commented on the same thing? Would he respond differently to her? Perhaps he doesn't, which you can use to show that maybe his reaction indicates something deeper that overrides even his love for his wife.
The possibilities are endless. Just remember to be concise and to the point.

6. Don't Overuse Tags

He said/she said are dialogue tags. They're also considered to be invisible to the reader, so are encouraged more than other options. Writing she mumbled/he barked/they chorused is distracting to the flow of a conversation.
Even he said/she said can still be overused, however.
"Tom knows," Marty said.
"The old man doesn't matter," Tara said. "We need to focus on those kids."
"You didn't see the way he looked at me," Marty said.
"If you're backing out, just say so," she said.
See? A bit dull. Try using action tags, too, or foregoing he said altogether.
"Tom knows," Marty said.
"The old man doesn't matter." Tara kept her gaze pinned to the computer screen. "We need to focus on those kids."
"You didn't see the way he looked at me."
The urgency in his tone made her jerk her chin up. "If you're backing out, just say so."

7. Beware the Stereotype

Don't use cliches in dialogue anymore than you would in other areas. Because it's speech, it might even be more recognizable. In the same way, use profanity and slang sparingly. Unless the character has a really good reason to be saying it, you should probably leave it out. These things draw attention away from the story and make the reader focus on the wrong thing.
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Resources:

• James Scott Bell on dialogue
• Gloria Kempton - Dialogue
• Tom Chiarella - Writing Dialogue
• Robert Graham – How to Write Fiction (and Think About It)
• Elizabeth George – Write Away: One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life