Switching Gears...

Hello everyone!

It's kind of fun to get back in the blogging business. I've missed it. I miss the community, the feedback, the discussions.

I'm trying to get around to reading posts again and visiting you all soon. Things are hectic!

So I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've switched my focus from the fantasy genre to horror/supernatural/paranormal. It has been a blast, except for when I creeped myself out late at night. Yeah. ::Blushes::

I am not giving up on fantasy, by any means. I learned a LOT from that experience and the ones that followed. My writing has improved, I've got formatting down to a science, I've made a lot more connections with cover artists and editors. It's great.

But, I do find it hard to switch gears. I'm glad I wrote fantasy first. It does help to fill in those fictional gaps when needed.

I've also toyed around with the idea of using a pen name, but I don't think I have the time or energy to maintain and alternate persona. I think the only difference will be "M. L. Chesley" for fantasy and "Mel Chesley" for my current genre.

Have you switched genres? How well did it work for you? What do you find most difficult? Easiest? How do you maintain an alternate persona?

Critiquing Critiques...

You know, in anything in life, you run across people who are out to bamboozle you. Doesn't matter if you are experienced in your craft, or just beginning, someone will always try to pull one over on you or extricate your hard earned cash from your grasp.

I helped out my daughter's friend, recently, when she contacted me to have a look at her WIP. She told me she felt something was lacking. I read over it, gave her constructive feedback along the way and found the spot that was bothering her.

Now, when I critique something, it takes me a while to read it because I'm trying to digest it in a professional manner. This isn't something I can just read for enjoyment. I will read a little bit, write down some notes, try to figure out where the story is heading, and make comments along the way. It's a process, right? You all know how to critique.

Well, when I told her my thoughts at the end of it all, she thanked me profusely and mentioned that I had given her much more to work with than the woman she paid to critique it in the first place.

Now, I don't know about you, but I was a bit taken aback at the fact that she got so little info and help from someone she paid. It's hard to find a good, honest, professional more often than not, I suppose.

While this shouldn't have shocked me, it did. I know there are all sorts of people out there who are just in this for the money. Take their advice, or leave it, you paid for it. Tough. It just irritates me. I work hard for my money, and I know my daughter's friend does, too. I guess it sickens me that this is happening more and more, these days.

In my opinion, writers are part of a community that should work together, not compete against one another. There are people out there who read SO MANY BOOKS, we just can't be shoving ours under their noses and forcing them to buy. Truth is, if they don't like your work, there isn't a thing you can do about it. But there is ALWAYS someone out there who will like your work.

When I began Word Weavers with my pal, Jenna, we did the author trading cards. The goal behind that, was for authors to take not only their cards to book signings, but those of other authors as well. That way, if someone comes up to you and says, "You know, your book was okay. I liked it, but it could have been..." you whip out a card from a fellow author in that genre and say, "Sorry you feel that way. Here, go to the link on this card, you might like this book instead."

I know, rose-colored glasses over here. But you get my point. We writers, we can't please everyone, but it's good to be a part of a strong community where you can point readers in the direction of someone they might like. And you can trust that other authors out there are doing the same for you. Why don't we help promote each other more? What's the harm in sending someone to purchase a fellow author's book? Yes, we're losing a sale, a follower, a fan, but we just might gain ten more!

What are your thoughts on this? How do you feel about promoting the work of others? How do you want to see this community of authors working?

World Building Wednesday...

There is no end in sight, when you are a fantasy author and building your own world. There are many things to consider and sometimes, you are constantly changing things. You will find, while you are writing, that some things just don't work.

I lost count on how many times I have had to change something. It happens. And maps are no exception.

I've talked about maps before, yes, but now it is time to talk about map makers. I have my world map drawn out by hand on numerous squares of graph paper all taped together. I roll it up when I have to transport it or move. I hate doing that, though, because it tears and crinkles. I get all OCD over it. But I like to have that huge map up on my wall near my desk for quick, easy reference when writing. I don't want to have to keep swapping windows on my computer. Just a quick glance up and sometimes I spend several moments tracking the movement of my characters.

Not only that, each square on my graph represents a certain distance and so configuring how long it takes them to move about is fairly simple. Because math and I are not on speaking terms, I need simple!

But what do you do when you need that map shrunk down and print ready, for say, the inside cover of your book or for your website? Crap! I can't take that huge thing and scan it. I'd be here for days...

I have my own methods and means of getting my map onto my computer, but it's long and drawn out. Not simple at all. But I did take a pic with my cell phone and now my friend Jennifer is working on it by taking those images and going to this site to take it to that next stage.

Here are some results:

This shows the dashed lines of my kingdom borders. Originally, she made them solid lines, but this looked better.

Next came rivers and lakes placement. Right now, this is only on one continent as we work out details for the others.

 

 

 

 

This shows some of the icons that can be used as well as mountain range placement.

I think it is coming along nicely. I can't wait until it is done with city names and the rest of the terrain. This has been a huge worry of mine, how I was going to get this map book worthy or even ready for the internet. I'm thankful Jennifer is willing to play around with this. I don't mind being a guinea pig, because when she is done with my map, she will know what to do for hers. It's a win win! There are other map making programs out there and a lot of them are time consuming. However, if you want a map for your books or website, you're going to have to take the time. There is no fast map making program unless you choose to use a pre-made map. And even then, you'll have to worry about copyrights. So choose wisely and make it your own. It will be so worth it in the end, trust me.

Tips & Tricks...

I've been looking into ways people promote their books these days. I'm gearing up and making notes for myself when the time comes. There are lots of good ideas out there.

Some of the things I notice, though, are lots of authors don't really know or understand how to use Twitter. I never really got into Twitter until recently and I find it fun. I'm learning as I go all the time.

For instance, I'm learning a bit of the lingo. Things like #FF, SO, #Amwriting and the like.

#FF = Follow Friday. This is where you list people you follow and feel like mentioning to help them get followers. I've been mentioned dozens of times and I'm close to reaching the 1,000 followers mark.

SO = Shout Out. I do this when I go under Connections to see who my new followers are. If I am already following them or choose to follow them at that point, I tweet a couple of shout out's to them, listing their user name. It helps a lot, especially when trying to build a follower base.

#Amwriting = just that. You're telling people you are currently writing. Share your word count. With the hashtag there, you're connecting with other people in this thread and more than just your followers can see this. There is also #amreading, #Amediting and similar things.

I've got lots of publishers, reviewers, editors and authors in my list of people who follow me and I follow back. I am just now finding people to follow who play Lord of the Rings Online. Even World of Warcraft. I've been trying to tweet every blog post I read, but sometimes forget. But I am trying to make it part of my routine. Oh, and if you don't know what a hashtag means on Twitter, Google it! I have found lists of definitions.

Other promotions I've seen are banners and book trailers. Two things I am currently gearing up to do. I have a couple of book trailers I've done for people (for free) simply because I'm learning and trying to get a feel of just how much to charge. Sorry, I don't have special equipment to make super spectacular, mini movie book trailers and so I feel $450 is just far too much. Yes, I know about the licensing needed, but again, I'm learning a LOT about this and still think that's too much money for some of the trailers I have watched. Seriously.

I also hear about bookmarks and postcards. I wonder, is this really something that is still a good promotional tool? Bookmarks, maybe. Postcards? Dunno. I would think, not so much. But I am going to do bookmarks and I already have my new author trading card from Word Weavers.

My Word Weavers Author Trading Card

At this stage, finding reviewers for my book is definitely not a problem. But what if you don't know reviewers? There are reviewers everywhere. There are review groups everywhere as well. If you are a reviewer, list where you are willing to post the reviews. When I review a book, I post it everywhere the author needs or wants me to post. The more exposure the better.

So what do you do? What do you think of Twitter? Do you do something out of the ordinary to promote your books?

Insecure Writer's Support Group...

It's the first Wednesday of the month! You know what that means, don't you? That's right. Insecure Writer's Support Group brought to you by our very own Ninja Captain himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh. That is the link you click if you want to be a part of this wonderful, helpful blog hop.

On to the insecurities! And I have a plethora of them.

Mainly, these days, I'm worried about my book. I have to use this time to vent a little bit, guys. I can't help it. But that's what this blog hop is about, right?

I submitted last year. On my birthday to be exact and was accepted right away. Best birthday present ever! I was cautious about things when they mentioned a May release, but I was hopeful. However, it didn't happen and that was cool with me. I know how things can get screwed up.

My release date has been pushed back a few times, through no fault of mine or my publisher. Things happen. Accidents, sickness and deaths in the family all overshadowed book releases. Completely understandable and don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining about my publisher.

So what is my insecurity? My own personal jumping-the-gun, impatience and oh-my-god-people-must-think-I'm-insane-ness. Meaning, I wanted to be as organized as possible for when my book did release. I wanted to have a schedule for everyone involved in the blog tour/book launch. Then, to my dismay, I had to inform those people that the book just wasn't going to be ready. Not once, but twice.

*sigh*

So my apologies to all of those involved. I've been silent the past few weeks simply because I don't want to say, "Hey the book should be out on such and such date!" and then have it not happen. And in all of this, I don't want it to reflect poorly on me for wanting to be prepared. I'm not THAT much of a flake, I don't think. I'm just overly excited and anxious to have my book available to the world.

So that's my insecurity for the month. How do you handle it when you have to push back a release date? Does it hurt your reputation as a writer or do people just not focus on it like I do? Thoughts and encouragement is always welcome! Have a great day and I'll be hopping around to read your posts.

World Building Wednesday...

As you can tell from the title of this blog, I've exhausted the list of topics I originally had. Now it is down to basic generalizations and things I have seen in other books.

If it is one thing I can talk about pretty much non-stop, it's my world. Building everything from the ground up has been pretty fun as well as tedious and sometimes downright frustrating.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have changed something. Like my map. The first one had one huge continent with dozens of kingdoms. Lines for borders were drawn and it seemed to work. Later, though, I spent some time looking it over and thought, "There is just no way this looks feasible." So I changed it. I even eliminated a couple of kingdoms.

Each one has their own story to tell with its own cast of characters. The list of stories I have to write seems endless sometimes. Which is why I want this first trilogy done so I can move on.

I have lots of different races, all with different histories that I hope come out in the stories I tell. I like to mention my characters traveling through certain kingdoms and crossing specific areas and towns, so that later, when you read a different story and see those places mentioned, you'll go, "Hey! I remember that from such and such book!" Of course, my hope is that the image I once projected to the reader will pop back into their mind. Which is what you want. You'll have to describe the areas repeatedly, because new readers won't have that image, but those coming back, will.

One of my favorite races (I do have a hard time choosing...) are the Sinisians. They live on the southern island of Sinis. What's so special about these people? They tell their life story on their bodies. From the moment they are born to the time they die, their bodies are tattooed in a blue ink. The story it tells other natives reflects personal achievements, tragedies, first loves, first kisses, marriage, deaths, relatives, etc. To an outsider, they just look like blue tattooed freaks. To their family and friends, they're an open book.

How would you feel if everyone, aside from strangers, knew every single detail about you? Would it make life easier or more difficult?

World Building Wednesdays: Laws...

When you are building a world from scratch, there is so much to think about. So many tiny details you need to add, that some get over-looked. This is why it is a good idea to keep notes and note cards.

One thing that always seems to be taken for granted is laws. It is only hinted at in most fantasy worlds. What is right from wrong, what are the punishments? What is acceptable in society?

While there are some givens, like no stealing, no killing, don't cheat on your spouse kind of things, there are times when details will need to be called upon. Again, the depth you want to go with these details is entirely up to you and the story you are writing. You don't want to get into a lot of these details about laws if you are not writing about a thief.

But there are all sorts of laws that this topic covers when writing fantasy. Laws of earth and men, laws of magic. Laws for gods and goddesses. Well, those are mostly rules, but lots of them have consequences when broken.

Fizanu is my goddess of Law and Justice. Her disciples are scriveners of law. She dictates the laws to her priests and priestesses and they write them down. These are then passed on to the Law Makers of Fizanu. There is at least one Law Maker in every major city and town as well as an Overseer. The Overseer is the equivalent to a sheriff.

So if we were to follow the order of my laws, they start with Fizanu, then are given to the Law Makers, who pass it on to the Overseer who in turn passes it on to the King or Queen.

Punishments for crimes are pretty straightforward. There are dungeons, jail cells and (for those really nasty criminals) an island. On this island are colonies formed from the nature of the offense. Murderers inhabit one colony, repeat offenders of theft inhabit another and so on.

So think about your laws. What would you consider a crime? What would punishment consist of? Would you chop off the hand of a thief? Behead a killer?

World Building Wednesdays: Gods and Goddesses...

In fantasy, the pantheon of gods is boundless as well as important. When you think fantasy, think Mythology and how the mortals worshiped the likes of Zeus, Hera and Aphrodite. There was a god or goddess for all things, it seemed like. War, love, life and death. Mortals wanted to be gods so bad they could taste it and would attempt any kind of trickery to get to that higher, immortal station.

In my world, there is a god or goddess for just about everything. Why? Well, it is my belief that gods and goddesses are the epitome of magical energies and essences. You have the main deity (in my case, this is Ioweth) who created the world and all the creatures within it. His sons and daughters are the gods and goddesses brought into existence by the mortals of the world. So basically, if the people of the world needed something desperately enough and prayed for it, the god or goddess would be pulled from the magical ether and poof! you have a deity.

For example, if people were constantly being killed or robbed while traveling, there is a goddess who protects travelers, her name is Yizanthia. There is a god of worldly abundance, his name is Jerremor. Jerremor is the patron deity of adventurers looking for great wealth or people who dream of being rich. Fizanu is the goddess of law and justice.

Others deal with lakes and rivers, deserts or forests. The two suns of my world are actually twin gods, Halidien and Perriden. The moon is the goddess, Merydwen. The goddess of Life and Rebirth is Pel. There are twin sisters ruling the underworld and afterlife. Ta'arinuru is the goddess of the underworld and reigns over damned souls. Veritru'ul is the goddess of the afterlife and she resides over those kind, good souls and allows them to move on into their next incarnation.

There are lots of fantasy stories out there where the gods and goddesses are invisible. People just have faith like they do in real life that a higher being exists. Other stories have the deities walking the earth and others have them appearing only to special people. My goddess of law and justice, Fizanu, speaks with Black Rose and gifted him with longevity. He acts as her champion, righting the wrongs and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. Basically, you better be good or Rose will come get you and send you off where you belong. Unless of course you are repentant and ask for absolution.

So think about this before you create the world. Do you want it to have just popped into existence with no explanation? Do you want just a single deity responsible for it all? Do the people of your world have free will? Or are they controlled by the gods? Do they require sacrifice or gifts?

Lots to think on! Have a great rest of the week!

World Building Wednesdays: Characters...

Where would your books be without characters? Boring, actually. Too much information tends to put people to sleep. I have issues with my own writing where I want to put in so much information because there is so much I want to share, that I bore the reader.

I actually bored myself once.

Just once.

Anyway, back story is best utilized through characters and dialogue. Lots of people have said it and I had to learn how to do this.

But everything still falls flat if you don't have interesting characters. Your characters have a story to tell. That is why you are writing!

But how do you get such diverse characters? How can you create well developed characters? How do you get the reader to love those characters?

Give them a voice. Give them a soul.

How many writers out there feel like their characters are a part of their family? Feel like they are literally your children. You did give birth to them and their idea, after all.

No, no. No need to call the men in the white coats. If you deny you have conversations with your character you are a liar. LIAR! Oh and your pants are on fire...

I talk to my characters all the time. Explains a lot, doesn't it? But this is how they tell me their story, this is how I learn what direction to take. When I get stuck, I can't keep writing something else because I'm distracted and can't focus on it because I am listening. I am waiting for the moment when said character whispers in my mind.

"Are you ready to listen?" they say. They remain quiet for so long because I get focused on their story and I just write it all out, listening in on their conversations, putting it all down on paper so I can share it with you, my reader. But they get real quiet once in awhile and suddenly, I've hit a brick wall. I stopped listening to the character tell their story and have gone off on my own tangent. I hit a road block and then they swagger up to me, all cocky and smirky.

"This is how it is supposed to go, got it?" they tell me. "I don't want it to go this way, because that isn't how it is supposed to go. This is my story after all, you're the intruder here. Just write down what I tell you."

That's a good way to get good characters. But diverse is something else altogether. I've said it dozens of times before. Go. Watch. People. But don't get arrested, for pity's sake! Stay in a public place, listen in without being a stalker. Watch people when they think no one is watching them. Oh, the things people do. Like pick their nose and wipe it off under a table in a restaurant.

I kid you not.

These are real people, your characters. You have to develop them, give them their personality. You have to give them their strengths and weaknesses, their skills, their flaws. Give them that eye twitch when they are stressed. Make them chew their nails. Make them grab a toothbrush to bite down on before their mom pulls out the peroxide to clean yet another one of their scrapes from falling off a bike. (Yes, I did that ALL the time.) Give them a sense of honor, purpose and above all, the sense of humor to deal with life. Give them passion, give them love and the hatred and jealousy that sometimes goes along with it. Make them petty, selfish people or make them compassionate givers. Make them hate life or love it, make them your best friends.

Seriously. Who better to pattern your characters off of then your friends and family? Aren't most characters an extension of ourselves? Of who we are right here and now in the physical realm and also who we most desire to be? What kind of person would you be if you were stuck in the Middle Ages or Ancient Greece? What kind of person would you be if you were rich beyond your dreams and didn't ever have to worry about money? What kind of people would your children be? Spoiled? Good-natured? Greedy? Killers or healers? What if you had nothing?

Think about all these aspects because the events in your life make you who you are. So once you know the ins and outs of the human psyche, you can begin to create stronger characters. What makes people do the things they do? What gives them their drive and motivation or their laziness? What events will affect your characters and how will they react? How would you react?

If your characters don't seem believable to you, don't feel like a part of you, then you need to go back and work on them again. Make them shine! They're going to tell you a great story if you give them half the chance.

Writing Wednesday: Building Worlds...

World building. Sometimes it sounds like fun, but when you figure in everything you need just to begin, it becomes a bit overwhelming.

Think about it, you are about to create a whole world. At first it gives you a giddy, God-like feeling. But then you realize, you have to get the details just right or people will rip it apart.

Begin with the basics. Doesn't matter if you are writing fantasy, romance, horror, etc. You have to make sure the world around you is realistic. If your setting is in this world, you've got lots to draw on from memory and make sure you write about areas you are familiar with. If you haven't been where your story is set, you are going to fail. Why? Because people will read what you've written, see you've gotten something wrong with the area they actually live in and it very well may turn them off from reading your book. You don't want to name a historical landmark and then plop it in the wrong location of your book.

When I read the first Joanna Brady mystery book J. A. Jance had written, I was smitten! Yes, I realize I rhymed. But what ignited that spark? Sadly, the character's husband had been shot and killed. She was at the hospital in Tucson, Arizona. University Medical Center! I gave birth to my two children there! Her character then went outside, walked across the street and down to a local hotel I used to pass by on a regular basis. I could see Jance's character, Joanna, walking along that sidewalk! I could practically hear the traffic on Campbell as she walked away from the hospital.

THAT is what initially made me fall in love with her books and that particular character. The rest of the books were written in Cochise County area and I knew it from visiting there on several locations.

Get where I'm going with this? Good!

So get your geography of any area straight before you begin writing.

Now if you are building a world from scratch, you've got lots more to think about. Why is it cold in the north and warm in the south? Flip that around if you like. Or, make it colder to the east and warmer in the west. Be creative, don't stick to the norm, if you write fantasy. This is your chance to think outside the box. But make it believable! Explain why your world is different. Maybe the tilt of your planet in comparison to that world's sun is wonky. Yes, technical term there, wonky.

When I first drew a map of my world, I started with a city. That soon turned into a small blob of a kingdom which grew into a continent. I added several more blobs that transformed into other kingdoms. Next, I had to work on each area and decide what the society would be like. What customs did I want to incorporate? What types of food, speech or clothing? Were they simplistic in nature or were they extravagant? Farmers? Merchants?

While there is a lot to think of and work out when building a world, if you are organized you can accomplish a lot. If you have to name characters, rivers, lakes, kingdoms, cities and the like I strongly suggest you have some lists you can pull from first. Figure out what would be good names for these things and categorize them. I have a whole three ring binder with pages of names ranging from Gaelic based to Asian based, to mythological and common. I first label the page with 'Lakes' or 'Cities' then I list the names. Don't cross off the name after you've used it! Label it with what you used that name for.

When I am naming characters, I do cross off the name on the list simply because I know I've used it. But names for things like inns or taverns, I list the location of each one. City names are labeled with the kingdom, etc.

I have several good name generator links in my links page of this blog. I have dozens of print-outs of names and labels. Figure out your surroundings before you plop your characters down into unknown territory. Figure out vegetation, water sources and forests. Where will you place a swamp? If you don't know, research the sort of climate/area that would create a swamp to begin with. But make a map, make lists and keep notes! You will have to use them more than once while writing, I guarantee!

What's your organizing like when writing or building a world?

Writing Wednesdays: Building Languages...

This is an important post regarding fantasy world building. When you think of fantasy worlds, you always think of the creatures, the magic and all that. However, one thing that gets overlooked is the languages.

Sure, you automatically assume there are going to be unique languages associated with different races. Tolkien built on languages for Elves in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The Elven language is copyrighted, despite the fact that Tolkien wanted to share aspects of Middle Earth so others could write from it.

I tried, they said 'No.' Quite firmly I might add...

So what's a girl (or guy) who writes fantasy to do about languages? Make it up as you go along.

Unless you have the time, skills and education Mr. Tolkien had, you have to use what is available to you. Most of it will be your imagination. There are ways to go about it and create something. I have a link here to my translator page. I use Latin for a lot of things. No surprise, look at the titles of my books. But I sort of cheat and mix Latin with Drow or Tolkien's Elvish. I'm not using his work, just using it as a guideline of sorts.

What I do is take a word. Let's use the word 'Sword'. We want another 'name' for Sword in our story, so we think about it a bit and hit the internet. Now in Latin, you can use the word Gladius. In Drow it is Killian. But I can't use Drow and I don't want it to be in Latin, that's sort of boring. I want to be unique. So I would combine the two somehow. Kildius, Kilius, Gladian... you get the idea. But a couple of those look kind of lame. So I just shuffle things about a bit and go for something along the lines of Kildan, Adius or completely away from either of my language choices and try Samas. Does this make sense? I may not get an exact derivative from my two language choices, but it sparked my imagination enough to come up with something else entirely.

There are name generators out there as well to help with the language and naming processes. I know there are sites out there that tell you when naming things in fantasy, don't use an apostrophe. Well. Screw that. Use what you want! I have lots of names, including the name of my world that have an apostrophe. Eir du'Brusai.

People always ask me how I come up with names. I honestly cannot give you a formulaic answer. I don't know. Names and the like just pop up in my head and I use what fits. Languages are the same for me unless I get stuck and then use my tricks up above with the two different languages. I try to be unique but not so unique in everything that people get frustrated reading my work. I try to give the unique name and try to find a way to describe exactly what it is to the reader. Most everyone will get the idea right away that my D'raetus Pastiniir are lethal, elite assassins.

But there is that pesky apostrophe!

Too bad. Fantasy Police don't like it, they can arrest me.

I am always happy to help other writers find unique names for people or items. So if you get stuck, by all means, drop me a line! I'd be happy to help. Most of my name generator links are on my links page of the blog. Check them out.

Writing Wednesdays: Building Kingdoms...

So if you have been keeping up with me these days, you'll know I've been working on a series of posts. This is how I built my fantasy world, something I've worked on for well over ten years.

The first post I did was regarding magic. Rules or no rules? Limitations to magic? You can check it out over here and continue the discussion if you like over there as well.

This post is going to focus on kingdoms.

In sword and sorcery fantasy, there is always a King and Queen and the first born son is usually the most likely successor. There is also usually one or two kingdoms. Sometimes you've got the two warring with each other or they live in harmony and decide to work together to vanquish a common enemy.

But let's think outside of the box.

In my world, I have patriarchal societies as well as matriarchal. If you don't know your hierarchies, this can be confusing. Patriarchal is ruled by men, matriarchal is ruled by women. I have kingdoms where it doesn't matter if the successor is male or female. Some kingdoms dictate that only the eldest daughter can  inherit the throne. In my Elven kingdom, there is a king and queen, but the majority of the rule is given to a council of nine women.

I've read some books where the next ruler of the kingdom is voted in by the citizens of the kingdom. Even a peasant could rule. But what if there was a lottery? Would you put your name in to be the next king or queen of a kingdom if your predecessors were murdered? In Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, that kingdom had been ruled by a steward and his sons took over when he got too old or died.

So think about your ruling families and structures when you are plotting out your world. Don't stick to what I feel is an old cliche. Try something different. Maybe the kingdom is ruled by a governing body of 13, an odd number to help break tie votes. Or perhaps the youngest child inherits, despite the gender. Maybe only women rule, but they secretly confide in one man?

We all know what works in fantasy writing, but sometimes those get boring. Dare to be bold, be different! Think outside the box, but don't get too weird or people won't be comfortable with it. It should be different, but also plausible!

Guest Post: Stuart Jaffe...

Thanks, Mel, for inviting me onto your blog. It's a pleasure.

Now, one of the old warhorses of advice given to new writers is Write What You Know. Even if you're not a writer, you've probably heard this one. For me, a lover of science fiction from an early age, I had one question: How? How do I write about aliens and time travel and dragons and magic when I don't know -- when I can't truly know -- about those things?

Nobody had a good answer for me.

Thankfully, I figured it out for myself, and today, I offer my solution to you. It's this: you already do know about these things.

Take my series The Malja Chronicles which begins with The Way of the Black Beast. In this post-apocalyptic, parallel world magic is derived from manipulating energy around the user much like an electric eel manipulates the tiny bits of voltage surrounding it in the water. Magicians are born with this ability, and as they learn to utilize it for a specific spell, a tattoo grows on their body. They use these tattoos to focus their minds in order to conjure. However, another group of people, The Bluesmen, have learned to use the sympathetic vibrations caused by their blues music to manipulate the energy in the air nearby and achieve a similar goal -- although they require more manpower and have less powerful results. The final aspect of this magic system is that using it takes a toll on the magicians mind. The more magic (especially the more powerful magic) one uses, the higher the risk of going insane.

.

So, what did I actually know in order to create this magic system? Well, I had learned (really re-learned) about electric eels at the Baltimore Aquarium several years back and thought that would be a cool bit of knowledge to hold onto for some day. Regarding tattoos -- I have a few, so I know about them firsthand. When it came to the Bluesmen, I had learned about sympathetic vibrations long ago in a high school music theory class, and as you might imagine, I love blues music. In fact, I've been playing blues guitar for about twenty-five years. I really love the stuff.

In other words, I took all these little bits of things I had knowledge of or a love for and smashed them together. It's part of the fun when creating things like magic. After all, no matter what the writing teachers say, the truth is that there are no real rules to any of this. In fact, it took me a long time to learn this, but as far as I can tell, the only true rule in writing is quite simple: If it works, it works.

Too often, writers get scared by the complexity of a magic system. Relax. It doesn't have to be that complicated. It can, if you like, be rather simplistic. Look at the magic in Greek mythology or Arthurian legends. There's barely any consistency to be had. Magic does what the author needs it for and that's all. Things like logic and reason show no part in the execution of magic in these tales. The key: they made it work.

We've all read stories where the magic doesn't work, where the use of it seems like cheating or makes us start to question things. But good writing can make magic work in the most unlikely situations. J. K. Rowling made a pretty good career out of making it all up as she went along. It's evident in the Harry Potter books that her magic system was fleshed out with greater abilities and depth as the series progressed. But we eat it up anyway.

Conversely, Brandon Sanderson appears to have had the complex and intriguing magic system found in the Mistborn novels completely worked out from book one. It's a fascinating system and he delves into all sorts of unique ways to use magic within the constraints he gave. And it works, too.

Those are the big secrets. Utilize what you know and what you're passionate about to make your magic come alive. Then, use your skills as a writer to make the reader believe it. If you want to create a magic system that requires the caster to dance ballet and sing show tunes which then bestows unlimited power, I say to go for it. If you can make it work, the readers will love it. The proof is right there in my own book. The only complaint I've ever received regarding the magic in Malja's story is that readers want even more of it.

That's when you know it's really working.

----

Stuart Jaffe is the author of Southern Bound, The Malja Chronicles, After The Crash, as well as the short story collection, 10 Bits of My Brain. Numerous other short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. He is the co-host of The Eclectic Review -- a podcast about science, art, and well, everything. For those who keep count, the latest animal listing is as follows: five cats, one albino corn snake, one Brazilian black tarantula, three aquatic turtles, assorted fish, two lop-eared rabbits, five chickens, and a horse. Thankfully, the chickens and the horse do not live inside the house.

The Way of the Black Beast can be found here: http://amzn.to/blackbeast

Stuart's website: http://www.stuartjaffe.com

Writing Wednesdays: Building Magic...

So here is the first in my world building posts. I'm going to start with magic. Not for any reason in particular, it's just a place to start.

Magic in my world is not unique by any means of the imagination. But it is different, simply because how I view magic. My opinions on magic in fantasy differ, I'm sure, from other fantasy writers out there.

There is a lot of debate in the fantasy world that I'm sure most of you are unaware of, if fantasy is not your genre. The debate? Should magic have rules? Lots of fantasy buffs think it should. Where is the fun in fantasy if you've got a magic user that can just conjure up whatever he or she wants with the snap of their fingers?

And what of the magical 'cost'? By cost, I mean what does it cost the magic user to conjure? Does it take away from his energy? His life in either seconds, hours or years? Maybe it takes from his soul.

I'm currently reading a book where magic affects the users mind. Every time they use magic, they go a little more insane. ("The Way of the Black Beast" by Stuart Jaffe) (Note: Guest post on Thursday August 9th by Stuart, drop by!)

But what about those pesky rules? I'm of the mind that magic should not have rules, per se, but limitations are an absolute must! Again with the whole snapping of fingers and poof! you have stuff. Magic should cost the user something, right?

In Melanie Rawn's series of books, The Dragon Prince trilogy and The Dragon Star trilogy, she has magic users called Sunrunners. The basis of these Sunrunners is this: They can use sunlight to communicate with other Sunrunners over long distances. Can they conjure up items or anything? Nope. They just speak to each other. So what are the consequences of something like this? They can't use starlight. It is forbidden, but if the Sunrunner is powerful enough, they can accomplish it. They also don't travel well on water. You put a Sunrunner on a raft over a river and they're incapacitated for hours. Imagine what sailing would do to them? The other drawback to being a Sunrunner? There is a drug that they can use to increase their power to reach longer distances. It is super addictive and they're easily controlled when addicted. Sometimes, though, a Sunrunner will get lost in the light and can't find their way back to their body. If this happens, they basically end up an empty shell and die.

In David Eddings' series of The Belgariad and The Mallorean, Belgarath the sorcerer and his daughter, Polgara the sorceress, are a couple of pretty powerful magic users. They use the 'Will and the Word' method. You picture what you want in your mind then you will it into being with a spoken word. One of the drawbacks is that when you use magic, it makes a sound other magic users can hear. Sends out a beacon, and if you are hiding, that's not good! There are very few magic users in Eddings' world. A handful, in fact and they are not easily swayed. They try to stay out of things unless Prophecy dictates otherwise. So they can use magic all they want and their lifespan is limitless. They can be killed, but you better be able to get close, first.

My magic users have limits as well. I call them Mahjii. They're born into magic. They know by the age of fourteen if they have magical energies within. They have one year to seek out training and if they ignore it, they pay the price. My Mahjii must seek out training or their magical energies will consume them. They literally burn with fever and end up in ashes. Sometimes, they're only powerful enough to maintain that energy within. It prolongs their death and they're pretty sick their entire life, but they're alive. That's their only restriction, really. And rules? Well, they're meant to be broken, aren't they? They try to stay out of political issues. They have chosen to withdraw from the world after their city is destroyed, so people in my world think they're dead and gone. Myths and legends. But they still exist!

Mahjii in my world use the energy that surrounds them. They draw off the energy of the earth at their feet, the air, water, anything. They don't exactly conjure up just anything. They have specific things they create and lots of tools to enhance their abilities. My Elves that use magic are the same way, but their magical energies won't kill them if they can't control it. My water Elves live near running water to power their magic. Lakes don't do it, rivers are workable but oceans are optimal. They can use the energies to shape-shift and conjure to a point. The way my magic users see it is if they need it and can't find it anywhere or make it, they create it using their power.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Tune in next time when I discuss kingdoms. Tomorrow I will have a guest post by Stuart Jaffe, author of 'The Way of the Black Beast' regarding magic in his world. So drop on by and say hello to Stuart!

How I Write Fantasy...

I'm going to be writing up some posts in the next several weeks in regards to my views of writing fantasy and more importantly how I write fantasy. Things I have worked on, things that took me a long freakin' time to create. Now, this may or may not help you if you are a fantasy writer, time will only tell. Most fantasy writers take so long in writing their work because of all the world building they have to do. Others just wing it.

So what, first of all, does world building include? Well, that depends on how far you want to get into it. Here is what my world building included:

* Magic

*Kingdoms

*Laws

*Creatures

*Characters

*Money

*Gods and Goddesses

These are just the main things. In each of those categories, there are numerous sub-categories. I had to make lots of decisions regarding the list above.

In making decisions on my world, in general, I had to start out with some pretty mundane stuff regarding the sun, moon, stars and so on.

Might sound silly to you, but in writing fantasy, you're here to think outside of the box. I literally came up with several choices on those basic things and rolled the dice. Not kidding! I used to play Dungeons and Dragons, so I pulled out all my dice. Six sided, four sided, twenty sided and I rolled, baby!

My world has two suns. If you think this might be a hot climate, it isn't really. The second sun is really, really tiny when you look at it up in the sky of my world.

I have one moon in my night sky and of course, my stars make up their own constellations which had to be written down in folklore and the like. I even have a story about the moon. I'm still working on the constellations and the stories associated with them.

So, over the next several weeks, I'll be posting things about my world and choosing from those categories above. Bear with me, as I worked on this world for well over ten years and it still isn't done or is it perfect. I'm constantly adding to it and changing things, but most of what I have is set in stone and is here to stay. So I hope you enjoy what I have to share!

So You Want Your Book Reviewed...

In light of recent events, I am going to put something out here that I have on my WDC (Writing.com) portfolio.

And now I am going to add to it. This is for me to use when I choose to do a review. Feel free to use this if you do reviews.

1. Reviews are given FOR FREE.

2. I, personally, do not get paid to review a book or short story. If you choose to give me a copy of your work in order to garner a review, do not think of it as payment. I would gladly purchase the book if you would prefer, but I honestly don't think I should. You want the review and are contacting me, not the other way around.

3. If I do not like your work, I will tell you in private and not put a bad review out there. If you are self published, I hope my critique of your work prompts you to fix it and put it back up for sale. You upload the content yourself, this has to be an option.

If I do like your work, I will post reviews for you where you ask me to, as well as post the review on my blog.

4. Please realize real time constraints. You know nothing of my personal life and how I spend my time. (If you truly know, you better be related...) You can only assume from what I tell people here on my blog and other social media. We all know what assuming does, don't we? However, should I fall behind, I will do my best to maintain contact and make sure you know this in advance. If you cannot wait, I'm sorry.

5. Please act in a professional and courteous manner. Rude will get you nowhere. Worse than rude, well, we won't discuss that, will we?

I am trying to make light of a situation here as well as give some real advice for reviewers and writers alike. There isn't much humor in the way people treat other people at times. There is no need for threats, stalking, name calling or any other rude, unprofessional behavior in regards to opinions.

We all know what opinions are like, right?

I am going to say this, whether I regret it later or not remains to be seen. This is a free country, I am allowed to express myself however I deem fit.

Don't. Push. It.

And one final thing to say about all of this. GROW UP and ACT YOUR AGE.

Thanks everyone!

Recap & Clarification On Mr. Bryant...

If the name Carroll Bryant is not familiar, it soon will be. And not in a flattering way at all. This man seems to have single-handedly made indie publishing that much harder for indie authors with his lack of ethics and professional protocol.

Now mind you, I'm going by other blog posts, some details I found through other blog posts and have yet to go look around on AbsoluteWrite.com and check out the forums. But, bloggers tend to be pretty good in gathering their facts, so I will leave you with two more blog links to see more of what has come to light in this whole situation.

This one.

And this one. This one, is the most important.

Okay, and I did just go through some of the forum stuff on AbsoluteWrite.com here.

Once you are a little more informed, like me, you'll still see this as a bad thing. This guy did not act in a professional manner at all.

Indie authors already have a bad rap! This is not going to help. Reviewers are throwing down the gauntlet and quite a few are not going to review indie authors ever again. Unless of course, they have built a rapport with them and like them.

So like one person said on the AW Water Cooler, Authors Behaving Badly is becoming a trend. Their numbers rise while those of us with professionalism and integrity struggle. (Okay, I didn't quote them verbatim, you get the idea.)

There are going to be some severe consequences to all of this, guys.

1) IF people continue to buy Mr. Bryant's books and his numbers continue to grow rapidly due to his now A.B.B. image, more authors are going to follow suit.

2) Reviewers will stop reviewing.

What does this mean for writers? Readers?

If Bryant's perverse way of gaining readers works and others follow suit, we're in for a world of hurt. People hide behind the computer every day spouting off things they would never say to someone face to face. Seriously, I would like to meet with people face to face who bad mouth me. In my experience, most of those people back down and try to explain away their actions to smooth things over so I don't end up using their head for a doorstop.

Not really.

Maybe.

Point is, he needs to be the one taught a lesson in all of this, not the reviewers who really had every right to do what they did. Again, a commenter on AW Water Cooler said he's the adult here, shouldn't he be acting his age?

Reviewers are vital to the publishing industry. Why? Because they tell people whether or not a book is worth it. Will one reviewer make or break you?

NO.

Because everyone's tastes in books varies. I can tell you what I like to read. It doesn't mean that you won't like it. If I love it, you may hate it. If I hate it, you'll adore it. Possibilities are endless here. The reviewers are just trying to help filter through the crap. Sorry, but there is lots of it out there, self published AND traditional published.

Pointing the finger at self pubbed authors is not going to help. Some review blogs I have read did state that most indie authors are more pushy. Maybe they are, but you can't tell me a traditionally published author can't be just as pushy. Or creepy. Or dysfunctional.

This is not something that is going to go away overnight. People love the drama. MY concern is this, however: If something isn't done about this as a writing community whether you are self published, traditional published, a reader, a reviewer or even a blogger - it is only going to get worse.

That is my opinion, take it or leave it, as always.

What do you think?

I'm Sorry?...

I'm a little stunned.

You guys know me, I don't always comment on your blogs, but when I see something you've posted and it hits me like a ton of bricks, I have to add my two cents.

So here it is.

First of all, let me just link you to this post here about an indie author who went on a review rant. This post will link to another where you can see the details of it all.

Second, let me state right here and now that if I offered up to review your book and haven't AND you have not heard from me about it. I'm sorry.

Last thing I need is someone listing me as their source of angst. I mean... I can be, but not in this instance!

Now for the rest of my two cents. It doesn't matter if you are an indie author or traditionally published author. If you ask me to review your book (because hey, I've reviewed books here) please keep in mind that I have stuff to do with my own book, my work, my family. Even with *gasp!* other books. If I can't finish your book, for whatever reason, I will try again. If I still can't, I will email you. Personally, I don't like to give a bad review. I'll give you my review in private if it comes to that point, not for all the world to see simply because I know how hard it is to shake off negativity.

I also am seeing a trend in some of the indie authors out there (not that any of them have contacted me personally) that have the frame of mind that they're somehow better than traditionally published authors. Writers as a whole are pretty humble creatures. We don't expect anything or think we're entitled to special treatment because we write. So why have that attitude? Are you so jaded by the publishing industry that you would turn on your readers and fellow authors? If that's the case, stop writing and find something else to do. Otherwise, stop whining and work on your book. Hire an editor, join a critique group, make your self published book the best it can be to avoid getting bad reviews.

I try to review books I read, whether asked to do the review or not. If I like the book, I am going to review it. There were a couple of reviews I did that were not glowing, rave reviews when I was helping another reviewer on their blog, but I didn't enjoy posting them. I did contact the person I was helping and said, "I can't do this anymore, some of these books are soooo bad!"

If indie authors want to maintain respect, let me suggest that you act in a professional manner. Act like a published author! Don't call people thieves or liars if they did not review your book. Not everyone will contact you if they don't like your work, they'll just drop it, ignore you and hope you'll go away. If you really want that bad review, it can be done. But why would you?

Tips on professionalism:

* Politely email the people and ask if they've had a chance to read your work, if not, when can they do so? If they have, but didn't like your material, either thank them for their time or ask for constructive criticism.

* Don't bad mouth people, their blogs, their books, etc. Karma will come back to you. People will see you acting petty and think, "Wow, I am NOT going to read their book if they're going to be like this..."

* What you post on the internet will find a way to remain on here FOREVER. So, with that in mind... THINK about what you post before you post it. I'm sure I have stuff out there I would LOVE to take down...

* Treat people how you want to be treated. The Golden Rule. If someone offers up a review of your book, offer one in return if they are a writer. If they're not a writer, link to their blog or website. Support the people that support YOU. However, if they don't follow through on their review promise, don't get pissy. Again, politely email them and say, "Hey, you promised a review for a review. If you are unable to review my book, I will not be able to uphold the deal we had." Of course... maybe try not to sound so rude... But people will read things online in their own voice and you may end up coming across snarky anyway. So begin with "I'm not trying to be rude."

Overall, no one is entitled to anything more than anyone else in this business. Yes, indie authors seem to have a harder time of it because of the route they choose. But I know several indie authors and respect the hell out of them because of taking this route. I also respect them because they ACT PROFESSIONALLY. No matter what route you take, this is a difficult enough of an industry as it is, why add to it? Writers have been pretty good about supporting their fellow writers. I really don't see a need for such competitiveness in this field because readers will choose what they like, no matter what. Not everyone is going to like your book to begin with and it isn't your job to force them to like it. Take it in stride.

And I hope everyone reminds me of this when I get my bad reviews. Hehe!

Do you have anything to add to this? Did I not review a book for you and contact you? By all means, leave comments. Not the best way to start off the week, but hope you all have a good week regardless.

Speaking With My Muse, Part Two...

 

You all have to admit, your Muse finds the damndest times to start inspiring you and the same can be said of your characters when they start to speak to you...

When you're trying to fall asleep.

When you're nowhere near your computer and have no notebook and/or pen or even a recorder.

When you're driving!

When you're at work, in the middle of a meeting.

When you're in the shower and just got all soapy.

Seriously, what do you do!?

I was in the middle of my paper route this morning and suddenly started a dialogue between my character that I've been trying to figure out since last night. Nothing meshed, nothing worked. Then I started talking to myself in the car.

It's like I was speaking in tongues... If any other driver had seen me, they would probably assume I was on a cell phone ear bud thingy.

Or not.

So what do you do in a situation like any of the above? Me, I admonished my characters like they were kids acting up in the back seat. Then everything got quiet. I felt bad.

They'll be fine.

I apologized with a chocolate eclair.

What do you do when the Muse strikes you in the oddest of times and places?

Show Don't Tell...

I've recently had my eyes opened to lots of different things I do in my own writing. Things that, now that they have been pointed out to me, are much easier to spot.

One of the things I tend to do is show the reader what is happening rather than telling them. Things that are vital to a good story. I've recently come across a couple of books where showing and telling were very blatant. It made me frustrated while reading. In one instance, the author told the reader of dialogue happening but no dialogue ensued. It was really rather frustrating. So I'm being very careful now to make sure that I don't irritate my readers in this fashion.

Another thing I came across was point of view switches that happened in such rapid succession that it was very hard to keep up with the story in some places.

Its funny how, when working on these things myself, they crop up in other books more frequently. I'm glad I am taking on this task of re-working my books and gaining so much knowledge that I grow in my own writing. I think of all the advice I can give to authors out there who, after having faced numerous rejections, is to look at exactly what is being said about your work by others and fix it.

I've been so impatient at times I want to just throw my hands up in the air and say forget it, I'm going to self-publish. But what good will that do me? If I try to go the traditional route and get the feedback I need to grow and learn as a writer, I'm harming myself more than anything.

I have nothing against self publishers. I know several authors who have gone the route of traditional publishing, rejected over and over and who do follow the advice of others. Even after polishing their work to a blinding shine, they're still rejected and go the way of self-publishing and are very successful. So for some it has worked.

For me, though, I'm realizing more and more that I still have so much to learn that going the traditional way is what will teach me these things. I need the rejection and feedback to better myself. After that, who knows? But I am confident that I am learning quickly and will have no problem finding a home for my books. But only when the time is right.

So I hope those authors out there who have been so impatient as to just rush their diamond in the rough read this and think a bit longer and heed the advice given. Revise, edit, repeat!