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Catching Up

Despite not posting, I have been wandering around the words. I’ve been working on finishing my current book so I can move on. One of my resolutions is to catch up on “the classics.” By classics I mean Fantasy Classics. There are 4 or 5 books that I constantly hear about that I have never read. So I am going to remedy this.

As a writer, I sometimes feel that I don’t have a good reading background. The fantasy novels I read that made me want to be a fantasy author were inspirations, but not real heavy hitters. Another reason to which I attribute my delinquency is a slight obsession I had with reading through the authors I loved, one at a time. And I only read from my small-town public library. I’ve since given up that habit–I think college broke me of it. And now I try to read a combination of the best Fantasy coming out now, classic literature and what I call “good writers.” Good writers consists of authors whose styles are AMAZING but still didn’t win any awards.

So I’m trying to finish the Cook omnibus (and getting there) so I can move onto I think I’ll read John Crowly’s Little Big. I like to see where my next step is.

While I’m on my way, getting through the book, what happens but the lightning of inspiration strikes me down. I’ve got a really cool idea for another short story. I’m not in the writing stage yet. I’m in the stage where I’m puzzle cubing two cool ideas together. I know there’s a place for them to click. After enough “meditation” on it, I know it will click.

Off I go!

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: Chronicles of the Black Company – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: Soul Starved, to Flash Fiction Online
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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Little steps

I just submitted my fantasy story Soul Starved to Flash Fiction Online.

Next step wait 2-3 months for a reply.

While I do that… I’m going to get cranking on the novel again.

Go me!

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: Chronicles of the Black Company – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: Soul Starved to Flash Fiction Online
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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I call this productivity

I haven’t been posting regularly lately and for that I blame the Holidays. Too much was going on for me to reflect on my writing in addition to everything else that’s been going on. I’ll try to do better in the new year. That sounds like a resolution to me… more blogging and more um submitting…

Ok, so Christmas has come and gone and you can see down at the bottom I still haven’t submitted anything. Shame on me. But I am close. I am satisfied with the structure, the language and the pace of my story, usually my biggest weaknesses. But something is holding me up. I am incredibly dissatisfied with the end. So I’m working on that exclusively. Well maybe not exclusively to ALL else…

I’ve been doing lots of reading online lately, blogs, web zines and the like, pertaining to SFF and the writing of it. I feel like this immersing myself in the business is paying off.

What I read tonight as I put off coming up with the end of my story was very interesting. I read two interviews, one with Steven Erikson and one with Glen Cook over on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Part of what makes this interesting is that they are two authors with similar work, from the same generation and both of whom I’ve read recently.

What provoked me to write this up here tonight were the similarities in their responses to similar questions.

Both authors claimed that there is a “generational difference” between when they started writing and now. Both are aged 50 + and launched their careers in the 80’s/90’s heyday of Fantasy. The differences they spoke of in each of their interviews revolved around the internet as a tool for self promotion and author/reader interaction. Both nearly verbatim to each other agreed that (paraphrased) books are the most-whole author/reader interaction. This in itself is a direct effect of the previously mentioned generational difference. What makes this interesting too is that these interviews occurred a twelve months apart from each other.

The second interesting bit my intellectual hooks clamped onto what that both authors hedged on answering queries about their own writing, evolution or strengths or weaknesses. I wonder if this is also a generational difference? I’ve heard authors praise their editors or books they’ve read since starting their writing… but not these two. ‘What are you talking about?’ or ‘I do what I want’ is about all I got from it. Cook admits to being what we call a “pantser.” I wonder what he would say to that term, or the fact that there is a term for it now.

My favorite line from Erikson’s answers: “What begins as balls ends up as confidence.”

I didn’t have a favorite line from, Cook but his punchy answers had me chuckling quite a bit.

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: Chronicles of the Black Company – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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The Egoless Writer

Some good advice from fellow Seton Hill Alum…

The Egoless Writer
Posted on 2020.12.16 at 16:12 by Mike Brendan at Reports from the Field

In 1995, I started a career in IT at a very large company. I left in 1996, only to come back to the same company in 2000, and I’ve been there since. One of my coworkers had a document tacked up on his cubicle wall called The Ego-less Admin. It was a set guidelines of what someone in our line of work should consider whenever dealing with irate users.

I still have that document today. Every now and then I read it just to help stay focused. IT is still my day job, and while I would love to write full time, I am well aware and comfortable with the fact that it may not happen. But I also decided to try and help others learn to succeed at writing. I figure if I gave good advice or inspiration to the a future New York Times Bestseller, then I could die having made something of a mark upon the world (moreso if I helped make it a better place.)

With that I’ve adapted the rules for the Egoless Admin to reflect upon the craft of writing. You may agree or disagree — it doesn’t matter to me as long as you think about what’s said here.

The Egoless Writer

Writing! That strange craft that looks so easy and feels so hard when you actually sit down to do it. That first blank page scares the hell out of everyone of us from beginner to seasoned pro — there’s no shame in admitting such. People fear the unknown and that fresh page is precisely that.

Regardless, this essay is for anyone who writes and has reached that Fateful Decision:

Are you writing for yourself?
Are you also writing for an audience?

— and chose “B”. Not that there’s anything wrong with “A” — I think it’s safe to say we all started from there. And note that option “A” does not mean you exclusively. It includes friends, family, even fellow fans (if you write fan fic). You know these people — you love them and they love you, warts and all. If you go option “A” and you’re not violating someone else’s intellectual property, self publishing may very well be an option. And by that I mean Kinko’s or Lulu, not some predatory vanity press like Publish America (Check Preditors & Editors and you’ll see what I mean). If you’re just going to make copies of your work for a small number of people, do yourself a favor and make it cost effective. Cook books, memoirs, even chap books can fit into this category where it’s justifiable to self pub.

But in choosing the latter option, you’ve made a big step that may feel just as intimidating as the blank page. Now like the actor on stage with the bright lights in his eyes, you must face people you’ve never met before let alone know. They’re the readers, the real conspiracy behind a writer’s success or failure in the fiction business. Tracking a reader’s tastes and peeves is like nailing down an electron, but they all have one thing in common; they’ve read your work and have something to say about it.

Enter the Egoless Writer. The advice that follows, when mixed well with common sense, will help you endure those slings and arrows.

The Egoless Writer has five simple rules:
1. Remember, it’s not about you.
2. Shut up and listen.
3. Focus on action.
4. Get out of the way.
5. Always give them something to do.

We’ll take a look at these one at a time first.

Remember, it’s not about you.

In fact, it stopped being about you the moment you chose option B — writing for an audience. The people that make up your reading audience are going to encompass a very broad variety of tastes and interests, and to be honest not all of them will like your work. It’s important to remember that fact as well as recognize the difference between comments about your writing versus comments about you. The latter carries less validity as the personal distance between two people increases. An insult by an anonymous poster on a message board or a blog need never concern the writer. Likewise, form rejection letters does not mean the editor hates you. Your work simply failed to keep their attention.

Shut up and listen.

The object of a critique partner is to read your work as an editor. That means reading it to make sure your prose is effective and well crafted. It also means that in the process your partner will point out both strengths and weaknesses to your writing. Ideally this is the sort of critical eye an editor will use on your manuscript. And since you shouldn’t argue a rejection slip, you shouldn’t argue with your critique partner. Let your critique partners have their say before opening your mouth.

Focus on action.

Action drives the plot. It shapes the characters, sets the scene, and engages the senses. Something needs to happen, and it needs to happen in every scene and every chapter. Likewise, you need to do something. Write, read, critique, as long as you’re spending time being a writer and not just talking about writing. Whether you’re on your first novel or your fiftieth, an hour spent learning the craft is never wasted.

Get out of the way.

When your work is published and released to the reading public, the reaction will be a total crap shoot. Not everyone will like or appreciate it. Some people will see the story you wrote, while others will read between the lines and see some subtext you may or may not have intended. This is perfectly natural. Let them all have their say. The trolls and flamers of the readership will always show themselves for what they are without any help from you.

Give them something to do.

If your book stirs up conversations at the office water cooler or a message board, then you’ve already done this to a point. Whether it’s posting a silly statement on Twitter, a deeply thoughtful blog post, or a contest on your website, always do something that keeps your readers engaged. Attention spans in the Information Age can be fleeting and it’s more important than ever to keep in touch with your audience. Have fun with it, but be earnest in your activities and never try to appease anyone.

Now let’s look at how those rules work together.

Scenario #1

It’s your story on the block at your local critique session. The first person to comment hammers on one particular scene in which you take pride. So does the second one. Then the third. You realize they’re not “getting it,” but you keep quiet (#2) because there’s something not coming across in the prose (#1). One person cites a writer you’ve never heard of, saying that she “does it better.” So you take a note to look up the writer’s work at the local bookstore and add the cited work to your “to-read” pile near — if not on — the top (#3).

Scenario #2

After your latest release hits the shelves, you notice a comment on your message board where someone wonders if you have a negative opinion of something because of how you portray a character. You decide to stay out of it (#1) because you’re working on a project with a tight deadline (#4). However the heat around the post starts and battle lines begin being drawn between your fans and your detractors. Before things get out of hand you invite the original poster to elaborate. (#5) Poster does so, and you watch the ensuing discussion carefully (#2). Once you see where the offended reader is coming from, you post an acknowledgment (#3), citing any references you used in the writing process and offer they do the same. (#5) Discussion continues, but it’s clear some people are itching for a fight, forcing you to close the thread (#3) but not before you offer a few other works by colleagues that focus on a similar theme (#5).

In the end it’s best to remember that good manners cost nothing, and yield high returns. By keeping your ego in check, you’ll be able to
present yourself to the reading audience as capable and eloquent, and someone to watch for on the shelves.

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: The Books of the South – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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Thank you, Michael A. Stackpole.

“Ultimately, however, the important thing for any writer is this: keep pushing the envelope. Do new and exciting things, things you never thought you could do. Experiment. Play. It might not work. Or it might work, but no one wants to buy it. Or they might buy it, but no one understands or likes it. Doesn’t matter, as long as you had fun doing it and are convinced you did your best possible work at the time. You may come to hate the piece later, but as long as you gave it your full and best effort, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Tons of folks never even get that far—though are often the most vocally critical of those who do try. (Imagine that.)

You’ll find your best work will hit good enough, then good, then great; and that is more fun than you can believe possible.”
–Michael A. Stackpole

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: The Books of the South – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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The Books of the South, Glen Cook

When I read a book I tend to focus on an author’s craft, especially the elements in which I am weak. I’ve been trained to learn this way for the last decade or so. During this time, naturally, my weaknesses have changed. So when I read Glen Cook’s The Books of the South, my major foci were structure, characterization, setting and plot.

The Books of the South is the second collection in Cook’s Black Company series. The book is separated into three stories, telling what happened to a few of the people who fought in a mercenary outfit(the Black Company) after a major war.

The first and second books follow basically the same plot, and are told from two different POVs. Both of which were in the first story. So when I got to the third section and found no familiar characters I was a little confused and disappointed. But it makes sense. When I remembered this a follow up to the first book, in which Cook introduced all the characters from the first, second and third stories. The jump however, was quite large. Spending 2/3rds of a book on one set of characters then jumping to another set, who actually trace the first set of characters, and show what’s going on in their wake is a little disconcerting to me. I would have worked the third story into the rest of the book. However, I think my distaste lies in the fact that I read an omnibus, where all the novels are right in it together. When each story is considered as its own novel, with a separate cover and back, the distinction is clearer.

As far as story structure is concerned, Cook jumps around a lot. Using different POVs to show different angles of the story can help build suspense. We readers know stuff the characters don’t. We know what they’re walking into, or what their enemies are throwing against them. Interestingly, Cook spends large chunks of story on the protagonists, and only very small sections on the antagonists. We do get glimpses of them, but not too much. This is necessary, I think, because the first person is so limited. Were this story written in third omniscient, the jumping around would be unneeded. An example of Form Following Function.

A great deal of the characterization comes from the POV of these stories. Cook tells the stories of the Black Company in first person from the POV of soldiers in very plain, soldiery language with lots of individual flair. It’s not just they way they speak though, each character is very ordinary, could be anyone you walk by on the street, with no delusions of grandeur (except some of the antagonists). One of the characters for instance, Lady, used to be an empress of unsurpassed power. That’s not all that easy to relate to for most people. However, when we follow her, she has lost all her power, doesn’t know anything about where she is, has few friends and has just lost her lover. Now that kind of thing we know about. There is more. The first two books, I thought were great. However, in the last story, The Silver Spike I had a few issues. One problem with telling the story from the POV of the soldiers is that it is easy to have too many similar characters. This story falls prey to that condition. The not-so-great, I’m just a normal guy character that Cook is famous for become a little hard to distinguish between. So I got a little confused on a couple of occasions as to which character was going through the “tough” situation with their less than super hero capabilities.

I can’t help but say a few words about the setting. There are many references to a lot of cultural landmarks from Our World and its history. I could tell what parts of the world influenced Cook’s settings at most junctures. Another thing Cook employed to connect to readers was the use of many modern descriptives and objects. However nice it is to see familiar things in a strange place (a fantasy novel) anachronisms just jerk me right out of the story. I wonder, “how does someone there know about that?” It doesn’t fit and to me, it denotes sloppy world-building or at least sloppy disclosure of the world an author built. But here, it is done so much, I think it must have been intentional… but why I don’t know.

Plot will be difficult to discuss as this “book” that I read is comprised of three different books. So I’ll just touch on a few generalities. Cook has plot down pat. Even while traveling, all events are tied into the unfolding of the end, or in building important characterizations that are necessary later. I wonder if he layers those in as I do, or if he puts them in as he goes, laughing at what will come. Either way, he uses all the track of the STORY to thicken it. In this way, he keeps the pace up. Something is always happening, and when it’s not, characters are drawing connections between events.

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: Chronicles of The Black Company – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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striken

Holy Crap, I’m striken with sadness. Blogs are truly no way to receive sad news, as I have today. You just kind of skim past the words and see a name you recognize and stop to linger on the other words near them, completely not expecting to see the words farewell, or two dates within parentheses.

My sadness is due to the passing of Robert Holdstock, the man who made me love myth for what it inherently was–instead of the way teachers taught the Greek stories in school.

I must now go read Lavondyss again, excuse me…

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: The Books of the South – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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Like

Tonight I finished the revision of Artisan in Rogue. I then sent it to two people who have never seen it in any form before, and one who saw its first breaths of existence.

I really like the way this story turned out and I’m really excited to start submitting it soon!

Coming soon, how my brain perceived The Books of the South…. see below…

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: The Books of the South – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0

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New Goal

Ok. I need to make a new goal now that I failed to meet my last one.

Despite the fact that I want to finish the labyrinth story, I want to submit something, and submit something now. The labyrinth story is only about 2/3rds of the way through the very rough draft. Even though I just solved a major story problem I was having, even though I have all kinds of energy for that story, I only have one story that is even close to being ready, revised once now, the torture story.

My new goal will be to revise the torture story, have one person read it, scrub it a bit and then submit it before Christmas.

That’s so much more time than I think I’ll need. But maybe that is just a realistic goal, seeing as I just about never attain my goals on time.

Currently Reading:
Fantasy: The Books of the South – Glen Cook
Scholarly: The Mabinogi – Patrick K. Ford
Writing:(I’m slacking here)

Submissions out:
Flash: 0
Short: 0
Agent: 0