Tag: fantasy

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Pizzanomics and the Economy of Words

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes that people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. My friend Eric was not such a person. He assigned value to everything in terms of pizza.

You might price a throw pillow at fifteen dollars—he’d say it cost two pizzas. (This was back in the ‘90s.) He counted the cost in terms of the true value it yielded him, and what Eric valued most was pizza.

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

His friends called this Pizzanomics. Decisions based on whether sacrificing that much pizza was worth the purchase. Talk about Opportunity Cost!

Opportunity costs means “What else could I have done with my money?”

Adem Selita, chief executive officer at The Debt Relief Company in New York, N.Y.

There is an opportunity cost attached to each word a writer uses. We need to draw readers into new realms where they can connect with and vicariously strive alongside our characters. We need to craft our expressions with intention—be it chapter, scene, paragraph, or word—to ensure our writing is concise but not boring. Remember, our readers are also counting their opportunity cost. Don’t let them wriggle off your hook.

What is in a word? Would that rose by any other name really smell as sweet? What else could we have done on the page? With that description?

Word choice matters. I remember a high school reading assignment where the narrator referred to the scent of bruised gardenias. If he had used “stink” instead of “scent,” what sense would that have conveyed?

Color your world… with words

The genre and setting should color our work. Don’t just close a door. If the story is set in space, let it whoosh. A stone castle door could grate or grind as it moves. Wooden village gates and doors might creak. Clues like this give readers a sense of the world’s setting and reflect the character’s unique POV.

Similes, metaphors, imagery, and expletives are prime opportunities to make strategic word choices.

Sandfly, a debugger in A Star Curiously Singing, book 1 of Kerry Nietz’s Dark Trench saga vents his frustration with an exclamation of “Crichton and Clarke,” two historical science fiction authors.

The amphibian dwellers of my water-covered planet mutter shells under their breath and taunt each other with sea creature insults.

And in Hidden Current, Sharon Hinck introduces the dancers of the Order with this beautiful imagery before she reveals they live on a floating world.

We lunged and poured our bodies forward. We moved like channels of water, divided, as if by an unseen boulder into two streams that circled the room, arching, flowing, reaching.

A ripple disturbed the flow.

Sharon Hink

This passage pours beauty and warmth into my soul. She did that with words.

At a Realm Makers workshop, Sharon said words should serve as double-agents, communicating more than their face-value to the reader.

Make each word earn the space it occupies. If it cost five dollars to use, would you still plug it in?

Don’t use the fanciest words to show off vocabulary prowess (or adept use of a thesaurus). Aim to transport readers, rather than impress them. If they think about the author while reading, we’ve missed the mark. But make sure to communicate all we can with that noun, verb, and article—so readers have a deeper sense of our world.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Proverbs 25:11 KJV

If a spoken word carries that much potential, how much more do words inscribed—utterances recorded to outlast the breath that launched them. Invest wisely in your words to compound the impact for your reader. They will be reluctant to emerge from this story and eager to plunge in to your next one.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Strike the Earth

Any gamers in the house? I’m a huge fan of games: the creativity, the challenges, and the competition, of course. I love testing my wits and resolve in unpredictable settings and it’s fun to surprise my kids when I play one of “their” games. I may be a grandma now, but “Grannies are pernownin noobs!”

I started playing Dwarf Fortress after my hubby had been talking it up forever. It’s been around for over twenty years, and was one of the major inspirations for Minecraft, but much more complicated. He watched YouTube tutorials and Twitch streams and conferred with our sons as they all anticipated an upgraded release on Steam. I couldn’t avoid learning about it and was, eventually, hooked.

But Dwarf Fortress is HARD. You are expected to lose your colony several times, regularly even, so much so that one of their mottos is “Losing is Fun.”

Hmph. I didn’t like the thought of that but tried anyway. And I lost. And tried again. And lost again. But with each new try, I started with more experience under my belt, and I developed my own motto: “If at first you don’t succeed, just look how much you learned.”

“I never once failed at making a light bulb.
I just found out 99 ways not to make one.”

Thomas A. Edison

Growing as an author is like playing a new game. Unknown possibilities lie before you, but the path is untraveled. How and where do you start?

Choose Your Game

Do your tastes run more towards a first-person POV solo quest (like first-person shooter,) or an ensemble adventure (mmporp-massively multiplayer online role-playing game)? Are you a minecrafter (world builder,) puzzle solver (mystery,) or do you love Stardew Valley? (Sounds cozy to me.) Whatever you land on, make sure you love your story/world. You’re gonna spend a lot of time there.

Once you’ve chosen your adventure, you need to learn how your game works. Study the craft—query a friend who’s had some experience. Or search out tutorials. Don’t just visit the same old sources, but find out where the players are, whether Twitch, Substack, or Kindle Vella. Check out new sources for fresh takes on familiar obstacles.

When I play a new game, I want to know what the goal is and how do I reach it. In the writing game, this means I consider my goal–is this a first draft? Is it a brainstorm session or contest submission? Self-pub or a traditional publisher? Sometimes I’m competing with the game, and sometimes I’m just trying to improve my personal best.

I adapted some tips from this Wiki Walkthrough that should serve you in the writing game.

  • Stay calm—don’t panic. The challenge may seem overwhelming but if it were easy, you’d be bored already. Try something new, and don’t be discouraged if you falter. Starting over doesn’t set you back to square one. Each restart comes with new understanding and new skills.
  • Configure your controls the way you like them—your desk (standing or curled up on the sofa), keyboard (clicky?) or notebook with special pens. Then throw in some yummy snacks, good lighting, and a supportive chair. I like to have dark chocolate and mixed nuts in easy reach, as well as a supply of lens wipes. The key is, make your setting work for you.
  • Learn the environment—Where are attacks most likely to come from? Pay attention to the feedback that urges you forward or sets you back. What activities distract you, and which renew your resolve?
  • Communicate—Whether you’re playing solo or among strangers, you need a party. Not the balloons, cake, and disco ball kind, but that small contingent of trusted folks who are committed to watching your back and helping you stay on mission.
  • Practice—Gamers rehearse keyboard strokes to build muscle memory, striving to improve their APM (actions per minute.) Word sprints, writing prompts, and flash fiction are fun ways to strengthen your author game. Learn the rules for your genre; the conventions, expectations, and the tropes, so you can bend—and even break them when it serves the story. Havok Publishing is a great place to read and write flash fiction.
  • Develop your style—know your voice. Bob Hostetler’s writing wisdom, “God has given you a story that no one else can tell,” set me on this journey years ago.
  • Join a team—find your tribe. Don’t sequester yourself completely, even if you write in solitude. Find community that challenges and encourages you, the ones that inspire you to start, and start again. Groups like Writers Chat, Realm Makers, and the 540 Writers Community have been a huge encouragement for me.

Strike the earth. No matter how much you prepare, study, and research, you need to commit. To act. To enter the fray.

In Dwarf Fortress, you wield your pickax to break ground. Wield your words. Start your story. Write. This is the first win.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Flash Fiction FUNdamentals

Flash fiction may sound new and alien, but it’s been around longer than you think. The query that inspired the first flash fiction contest was, “How short can a short story be and still be a short story?”

As a result, Short Stories From Life was published in 1916, featured81 stories from the Shortest Story Contest. Further questions raised as the project grew were:

  • When is a story not a story, but only an anecdote?
  • When a story is a story, is it a combination of plot, character, and setting, or is it determined by only one of these three elements?
  • Must it end when you have ended it or must it suggest something beyond the reading?

These are still some of the questions asked about flash fiction, but let’s clarify.

Flash Fiction is a form of short story, usually between 300 to 1,000 words.

Why should you write flash fiction?

  • It’s a good way to get past writer’s block—and writing prompts are a fun way to jumpstart creative juices
  • You get to play with a new story and the rush of finishing
  • You’ll learn to write and edit tighter
  • You’ll have content (aka lead magnets) to offer your readers
  • Getting published is not as arduous or prolonged

Publishing flash fiction is not automatic, but the barrier to entry is not as steep as for a full-length novel.

Getting down to business

Every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end whether it’s spread over a seven-book series or a 50-word fiction. You need a beginning that will hook the reader, a middle that engages them, and a satisfying ending. And you need to do that in 1,000 words.

For plotters, here’s a basic structure for a 1,000-word flash fiction story. I’m pretty committed to pantsing—but people who plot say this is helpful.

  • Intro: ~150 words – setting and characters–if you can, start in the middle of the crisis
  • Rising action: ~600 words – develop main conflict (try-fails, conflict/crisis)
  • Climax: ~200 words (the turning point/most intense moment)
  • Resolution: ~50 words

Pacing isn’t the only thing acquisitions editors look for in submissions.

Beginning

  • Make your title earn its keep! It’s not included in your word count, so use it to set the stage or foreshadow a twist.
  • Your first line needs to hook the reader.

“There are things they don’t tell you about having green skin.”

Photosynthetic by Cassandra Hamm
  • Pay attention to POV and voice (whether you choose 1st, 2nd, or 3rd)
  • Limit your characters to one or two–but include the conflict of two opposing forces
  • If you introduce a feature, make sure it’s pertinent to the plot

Here’s another wonderful opening:

Commander Tri’eek’s ship was self-destructing.
Bianca muttered Earth English curses under her breath as she ran through the Argo’s gigantic ventilation shafts, holding a gargantuan stolen ring of shiny, black electrical tape around her waist like a life ring. She had spent three precious hours tracing the problem to the engine maintenance room. She couldn’t afford to be wrong.

Brownie Points by Lavender Ellington

It’s not a story until something goes wrong

Steven James

Middle

  • Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue
  • Action beats can reveal more about your characters than dialogue tags
  • Reveal, don’t lecture (aka show, don’t tell)
  • Avoid talking heads. Use the whole body to communicate your character’s state of being—shoulders, fingers, knees, toes
  • What are the stakes? What happens if the MC fails? Will the reader care?

End

  • Your ending needs to be satisfying and the conflict, resolved—whether it’s positive or negative. Leave your readers with a thought to chew on, a twist, or an aha. Does the story convey an idea larger than itself?
  • Your readers want to know what’s going to happen but they also want to be surprised—so plant seeds of the ending in the beginning and throughout the story.

When you’re done:

  • Check for repeated words or concepts, unnecessary details, or cliches,
  • Read it out loud and get someone else to look at it.
  • Recheck the submission requirements before hitting SEND!

Where to submit

Havok Publishing wants stories that hit fast and strike hard––stories that can cut through the day’s troubles and grip distracted readers. They also provide feedback on all submissions, unless requested otherwise.

Spark Flash Fiction looks for romance stories that will grab the reader and put a spark in their day.

NYC Midnight hosts contest for a variety of short fiction stories. For a small entry fee they provide prompt-based challenges, feedback from their judges, and peer feedback forums.

If you’re curious about flash fiction, read some! There are plenty of free sources and don’t take more than a few minutes of your time.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

This Little Light

Sharing your fantastical words and worlds can be terrifying. You feel everyone’s eyes on you, weighing the thoughts you had the audacity to record.

What if I’m not good enough?

What if they laugh?

What if I make a fool of myself?

These are not the what ifs you want to dive deep with.

Of course we imagine the worst—imagining is what writers do best! But only you can change that narrative and write a different adventure. We are encouraged to identify the lie our character believes, but dare we dig deeper and challenge the lies we believe?

When you dream up worlds that don’t exist outside your mind and then people them with inhabitants from your imagination, it can be intimidating to reveal your creation. But if you find a kindred spirit it’s a little less scary.

Still, someone needs to make the first move, to confess,

“My name is Sophia and I write science fiction and fantasy.”

Two things can guide you through these unknown waters:

1- The spark you brought with you

2- The wisdom of those who have gone before.

Hold onto the candle of your imagination. Remember, you came because you had a thought, an idea, a story. You had a little light, and it led you into this universe. Your flame, whether large or small, is more than what meets the eye. Colored and shaped by the experiences that make you unique, this light is unlike any other.

Nurture it. Don’t compare it to the bonfires of those you meet.

Yes, learn from the professionals you want to emulate, those who’ve produced what you’re aiming for, but don’t judge your works by theirs. Study, practice, and follow their advice, then work it out with others whose lights are similar to yours.

Find support among your peers while you follow the pros. Critique partners, writing groups, retreats, conferences, and seminars are great opportunities to find like-feathered friends. Flock with them.

Remember, everyone starts as a beginner. so don’t be afraid to ask how they got started. Only those who haven’t gone through the trenches think writing is easy.

Be generous with what you’ve gleaned. We don’t all have the skills to teach a master class, but we can pass along the bits we’ve learned here and there. It all counts. Frequently, our experience provides what is lacking in another’s.

Share opportunities. Let your friends know where you’ve found beneficial input. Whether you call this networking or collaboration, it falls under the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. You don’t need to bring a slew of new contacts, but if you add even one person their circle is unique, which can add to and enrich all the parties involved.

You never know who’s hesitating in the wings, working up the courage to step out.

That little flame flickering across the way? It might belong to a new partner in your writing ventures and adventures. Bring your light close to theirs and increase your candlepower.

The funny thing is, once you gather a bunch of little candles, their lights combine and overcome darkness. The effect of the sum is truly greater than that of the parts, and together can illuminate new paths for many.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Wonder

I wonder… What made you fall in love with science fiction and fantasy?

As a child, I loved fairy tales and myths. When I got older, the worlds of Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Anne McCaffrey swept me away, surprising and astounding me with new ideas. Their worlds opened my mind to endless possibilities.

Worlds full of… WONDER.

Wonder: rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely
mysterious or new to one’s experience.

David Farland, mentor for dozens of internationally successful writers including Brandon Sanderson and Stephanie Meyer, lectured on the importance of writing wonder into our stories, and often. He pointed out that JK Rowling introduced something wondrous in her Harry Potter series every three to five pages. When I needed some comfort-viewing, I rewatched the first few movies and it was true. Something wondrous happened every few minutes, immersing me deeper and deeper into her world of impossibility.

This is what our readers crave—to be transported.

The challenge lies in how to share the wonder present inside our minds with our readers. Don’t hold out on them. My tendency is to reveal little bits at a time, teasing the reader and saving the big reveal until later in the story. But if I wait too long to set the hook, I risk losing them altogether. Remember, they have chosen your sci-fi or fantasy tome because they want, no they expect to be fascinated. Don’t be coy.

Another point David Farland makes is that once the audience has been exposed to something new and wondrous, the author will need to provide a new magical experience. The next time they see it, they will not be struck with wonder, but filled with nostalgia. you must keep tapping into what makes them wonder, but with new experiences.

If you write science fiction or fantasy, it’s not because it’s easy. You love your genre, and you are compelled to share the worlds inside you. But after months or years of worldbuilding it’s easy to forget that not everyone knows the suns create seven seasons, or the cannibalistic flora are the sentient beings of their planet, and we assume that our readers will grasp the diabolical intent of a mental contract.

Build a world filled with wonder.

Then invite your reader in.

Star Trek promised new worlds and new civilizations—to boldly go where no one had gone before. Avatar’s world is full of wondrous creatures that don’t seem to move the story forward—it’s all part of the setting, right? But then these amazing creations show up powerfully, asserting their place in the narrative. Star Wars began with A New Hope, and while they were spinning that tale, introduced new robots, new powers, and new races. As much as we love to laugh at the cantina scene, we all remember it.

Look at your work.

Have you shown the wonder that you know exists in it? Pull back the curtain a little more and let your reader in on the special. It’s not spoiling—it’s deepening their experience.

Here is a link to one of David Farland’s seminars on Writing Wonder.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Valued

From her earliest days, my mom’s life lacked value in the sight of others.

One-year-old Hyun Sook, before contracting polio.

Born female and Korean in Japanese-occupied China, Hyun Sook started at a deficit. Then polio left her with a useless leg at three. The cultural stigma of disability brought shame on the family, so she was kept out of sight when company came. Following Japan’s surrender, her family returned to Korea, but when her older sister started back to school, she wasn’t allowed to go. Why educate a crippled girl?

Mom is the child on the
right, held up by
her grandmother.

Communists invaded in 1950, but due to her disability, the family couldn’t flee. Her parents were sentenced to hard labor, and her father was almost executed. At the threat of a second invasion, fourteen-year-old Hyun Sook was left behind with promises that they’d send for her once they were settled.

After being interrogated by the invaders, waiting was no longer an option. If she stayed, she’d be at the mercy of those who terrorized her parents. Her journey from North to South Korea was dangerous, but God made a way—whether by miraculous intervention or the kindness of American servicemen.

Working at the U.S. base

Even after reuniting with her family, the GIs showed her compassion and respect previously unknown, and as they did, her heart began to hope of having something—of being something more. She dreamed of going to this country where even a girl with a withered leg might pursue an education… and a life.

After several failed attempts, her dreams were realized. She began to experience the life she thought she’d never have: moving to America, an education, and a family.

In the ‘80s she wrote her story and tried to get it published. Too religious for traditional publishers, and too raw for faith-based ones, she opted for a vanity press.

By business standards, Mom wasn’t a successful author. She’d give her book away in a heartbeat, and any proceeds were donated to veterans’ organizations. Yet, every time her story was shared, people’s hearts were touched.

Who do we listen to? Who do we believe?

We have a Shepherd and an enemy.

Voices surround us telling us we can’t, we shouldn’t, we won’t make the cut, and our words fall short of the mark. They accuse us of being insufficient—of being imposters. They tell us our words lack value.

Listen to those who speak with wisdom and experience, but don’t allow the voices of those who wish to destroy us to dominate our thoughts.

The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy the vision and mission placed on us. If God’s gifts and calling are without repentance, it’s safe to say He knew what He was doing when He planted those story seeds.

Why listen to the one who wants to destroy us? A pastor once said, “A thing’s value is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.” You were purchased with the priceless blood of Jesus.

Furthermore, according to Ephesians 2:10, you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to walk in good works he has prepared in advance for you to do. The gospel’s truths form a shield against the lies that attack. They remind us of our value and strengthen us to follow his lead.

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

G.K. Chesterton

What about you? What has God planted in your heart?

Have you ever felt your stories lack value? We write science fiction and fantasy. Is investing time, money, and energy in fairy tales and space operas worth the cost and sacrifice?

“God has placed a story in you that no one else can tell.”

Bob Hostetler

These words from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christina Writers Conference-BRMCWC– 2017 still convict and comfort me.

Made in the image of an infinitely creative God, we are as unique as fingerprints. So are our stories. In them we diffuse light to fight darkness, disperse comfort we’ve received, and share truth we’ve learned.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s genre… or their ratings.

Be faithful with the talents your Father has entrusted to you.

Our job is not to out-perform anyone else, but to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and walk in obedience.

There were times that my mother felt like a failure. She’d sunk her savings into self-publishing her book, and never recouped the losses. Had she been a fool to pursue this dream? Her testimony to God’s mercy says otherwise, and her message continues to touch hearts, long after she ran into Jesus’ arms.

The value of our work and words isn’t weighed in ratings or sales, but in truth revealed, and that is worth more than gold.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Sense Sensibilities

A flexi-tube extended from the airlock and attached to the exterior of the arrow with a dull clang. A moment later, the light turned green, and he pushed the hatch open.

Filtered air wooshed in, wonderfully odourless. He climbed through the double airlock and into the dock itself, then collapsed on the cold floor of the main cabin, his arms and legs spread wide. Sweet relief.

Filtered air wooshed in, wonderfully odourless. He climbed through the double airlock and into the dock itself, then collapsed on the cold floor of the main cabin, his arms and legs spread wide. Sweet relief.

Not a word is spoken in these initial paragraphs of Discernment, but the author has immersed us via sights, sounds, and sensations into an unknown, yet relatable, world. We tag along as her character explores, sharing the experience of his journey.

Next, we are transported planet-side, to a dusty, grease-filled mechanic’s garage, then squeezed into crowded family rides that roar and rumble past orchards, pastures, and plains. We’re introduced to this world’s foods with charred or tantalizing smells, triggering memories or imaginings of what these might be like. Spices and perfumes, musk and manure, all give a sense of the festival market. We can almost hear the hawkers and animals of this off-planet county fair.

Instead of telling us that “Mama’s stew smelled delicious,” make your reader’s mouth water.

“The metal stool scraped across the stone hearth as Mama rose to greet me. The aroma of seared meat and caramelized vegetables traveled with her, wafting from the kettle. Her embrace sent puffs of flour over me, but I ignored the cloud, surrendering as her arms enveloped me. My stomach grumbled. I hadn’t eaten since before sunrise.”

“Mama’s stew smelled delicious,” states a fact. The paragraph that followed evokes an experience, conveying you into the setting. Jerry Jenkins describes the difference between showing and telling here.

Let’s break this down a little more. 

Sight:

This common path for descriptions can be challenging to make immersive without falling into “telling” patterns. There’s a reason we use the term, Point of View (POV) to indicate whose perspective is being described. What is seen, and the reactions that follow, must be consistent with that one character, at least for the scene. The information shared must be limited to what that character can access, as viewed in that perspective.

Sound:

Scrapes and squeaks and the emotions they elicit can convey the feel of your story. Bare feet slapping down stone hallways or magnetic boots connecting to metal walls—these sounds tell us what your world is made of. Your characters’ reaction to them tell us what they are made of.

Touch:

More than hot and cold, rough and soft. Tell us about the grit that embedded itself under the shirt cuffs, leaving the wrists raw at the end of a long journey. Or the itch just out of reach and what must be endured to scratch it. When your MC scuffs their toes—is it in dirt? Moss? Wet sand? Are they frustrated? Embarrassed? Wistful? This is your chance to let your characters be more than talking heads. Don’t limit the playing field.

Smell:

This is one of your most powerful senses. First, it informs the sense of taste and second, it is closely tied to memories. If you can trigger the memory of a smell with your words, you can bring a whole world to life for your reader.

Taste:

It’s a challenge, especially in SciFi and Fantasy, to describe food that is foreign, without using Earth labels and breaking the fictive bubble. On the other hand, it’s a good exercise in “show, don’t tell.” You can’t tell your reader what the soup compares to, but you can touch on its essence—citrusy and sour, or meaty with herbs—and continue on to what feelings are evoked.

In the same way we are encouraged to pay attention to conversations around us to gain insight into dialogue, people-watching, especially around food, is a great way to pick up on sense-related mannerisms and the reactions these sensations evoke.

Engaged the senses. The medley of sights and sounds, smells and substances, whether foreign and familiar, will mesmerize your reader, draw them into your story, and keep them there.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Baby Stepping

The proverbial journey of a thousand miles begins with the one step. But it doesn’t end there. 

Writing an epic story is like climbing a mountain. The approach is intimidating, and reaching the summit seems impossible. But anyone who’s climbed a mountain will tell you that though the ascent isn’t completed in one step, it starts with one.

The prospect of beginning may terrify us, but what we need—and must—do is begin.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”

Zechariah 4:10

When you’re starting out as a spec-fic writer, don’t despise the small beginnings. I don’t mean shelve your four-book faerie trilogy or your open-ended space opera, but do give yourself some space for encouragement and success along the way. When I taught children with special needs, I’d divide the large goals into smaller tasks, so we could acknowledge and celebrate each incremental gain.

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Sometimes we need a little Couch-to-5K training.

In What About Bob? Psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin hands Bob, a highly dependent, obsessive-compulsive patient his brand-new book called Baby Steps. He explains:

Marvin: It means setting small, reasonable goals for yourself. One day at a time, one tiny step at a time–doable, accomplishable goals.

Bob: Baby steps.

Marvin: When you leave this office, don’t think about everything you have to do to get out of the building, just deal with getting out of the room. When you reach the hall, just deal with the hall. And so forth. Baby steps.

Here are some baby steps that can take you farther than you’d imagine:

  • Reading this column counts as a baby step. You’re studying the craft.
  • Write Ugly – My previous post is an encouragement to get your words out, before focusing on the polish.
  • Read and write flash-fiction—stories no more than 1000 words. Havok Publishing is an excellent place to read and submit.
  • The 540 FB Community encourages, educates, and equips its members to communicate their stories.
  • Cassandra Hamm hosts Prompted, delightful microfiction (50 to 300-word stories) contests, on Instagram, and there are challenges on a variety of social media platforms. Follow #writingchallenge and you’ll discover a plethora of opportunities to write. 
  • Step into the boots, tentacles, or wings of your characters and have them write to someone important in their life, describing their spaceship, forest grove, or tower/dungeon confinement. 
  • Create a travel brochure for your favorite out-of-this-world getaway.

Writing short stories hones your skills and gets something out there for people to read and respond to. It’s a true accomplishment. Once your words are out there, you’ve been published! You don’t need to know how to do everything to get started… or keep going.

You just need to do the next thing.

The next easy thing.

The next scary thing.

The next hard thing. 

The. Next. Thing.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Write Ugly

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer

Psalm 19:14

You love words. So much that you can’t stop them from spilling out of your brain. You dash home, clear your schedule, and sit—fingers poised above the keyboard, or a pen in hand over a sheet of paper, ready to breathe life into the figments of your imagination and… nothing. Somehow, somewhere, the words are stuck, refusing to flow.

This is when I channel Marvin the Martian whining…

“Where are the words? There are supposed to be earth-shattering words.”

Even now, writing this, I struggle. Is this how I want to start? Do I have a hook? What about the right structure? Will my words add value, or am I just “adding to the noise“’?

I write in fits and starts, pouring out my thoughts and then I stop—wanting to fix the beginning…again. These same words came so easily as I was sharing my idea with a friend, but the switch from narrator to scribe is sometimes tricky, and we feel the loss of translation.

The best remedy is this: write anyway. Write anything.

In or out of order, get your ideas out of your head and into text. Let your first draft be as ugly and disjointed as it needs to be born. You can clean it up with the next pass. And polish it with another. But you can’t edit a blank page.

Great works of art may come from a potter’s wheel, but it takes more than sitting and spinning the table. Nothing can be formed until a lump of clay is slapped onto its surface. Only then can the artist’s hands run over the surface, watering and wiping, stretching and shaping the malleable clay until form and function is revealed. But the next step is to fire your vessel – not to destroy your work, but to let its beauty take on strength and shine.

So it is with our stories. We want the beauty and the impact to be as present on our page as it was in our mind, but that will take time and work. The beauty is there, residing in its potential, but to be realized it needs shaping.

Don’t deny the world of the marvels your mind has concocted just because it takes some time to communicate them. Slap that lump of clay on the page that is your wheel. Spin it, wet it, squash it—work that clay.

Here are some helpful shortcuts I’ve learned:

  • Use brackets if you’re not sure of a word.
  • Use bullet points for your ideas, especially sequences. It’s what I’m doing now.
  • Use comments to note things you need to research so that you won’t get distracted from content creation.
  • Do writing sprints or write-ins with others. A little accountability (and sometimes competition) can make your writing time more productive.
  • Place-kittens are images designers and coders use when they don’t have all the content, but they still need to create a structure.
  • A friend uses a script-like format for his first drafts, with stage-direction and environmental comments dispersed throughout

Do you see a pattern? You don’t need to have all the pretty words to start sketching your story. You just need to start.

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”

Shannon Hale

You don’t need to have all the pretty words to sketch your story. You just need to start.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Technology and Magic in your Science-fiction and Fantasy novels

An important part of what makes your story fit into the Science Fiction and/or Fantasy genres is an element of the fantastical. This comes in either advanced technology for Science Fiction or a magic system for Fantasy.

For this discussion, we are going to treat the exotic magic of fantasy as simply a flavor of the advanced technology of science fiction. As Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” They are one concept, but one that it is critical to speculative fiction.

Systems need rules

Readers need to understand your magic and technology and must believe it’s at least plausible within the world you have created. If they don’t, they can’t suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Real-world systems have limitations, and your magic and technology should have them as well to give them a real-world feel. Here are some examples from popular culture: The Ghostbusters can’t cross the streams. The Delorean has to get to 88mph to achieve time travel. A wizard must be able to enunciate the words of the spell properly for it to work. The ritual must have the ancient artifacts to the open the gate to another realm. No one can defeat an Agent inside the Matrix.

These limitations can become the engine for tension and drama in your story. The heroes must find the sacred artifacts before the villain so he can’t open the portal to bring in his other dimensional army. The villain gags the wizard so he can’t cast. Now, how will he win? The engine breaks and the car can’t up to 88mph. How will Marty time travel home?

This also opens up great opportunities for your story when your villains or heroes have to break the rules. Spoiler alerts for a thirty-plus year old movie, but to win in the end, the Ghostbusters must cross the streams. No one can take on an Agent and win… until Neo does.

Your rules need to be integral to your story and not a simple plot device. Let’s say your character has a superpower gadget that needs to be recharged. Needing to be recharged can be a good rule and open up story angles for you. What if the hero doesn’t have enough power to defeat the bad guy. Should the hero use this powerful attack that will drain half his energy? What if the villain takes control of the charger? But you have to be careful. If you’re not consistent with how much power the gadget can hold or how much power each element of the suit takes each time, it will push your story past plausible in your reader’s mind and you’ll lose that all important suspension of disbelief.

Making it part of your world

One of the major challenges is explaining your magic or technology to your reader without resorting to long passages of expositions or telling through dialog. This is a crutch wherein the author slips an important piece of information into dialog so the reader will know it, but it’s a piece of information the other character already knows. If you can start the dialog with “As you know…” it’s telling through dialog. This should be avoided.

Your characters wouldn’t feel a need to explain their technology anymore than you feel a need to explain your mobile phone to your best friend. It’s simply part of your world. One way authors have solved this is by having characters brought in as students or neophytes who require training and therefore explanations. Even in this case, though, avoid pages of exposition and keep the story moving forward.

Think about how your magic or technology would affect the culture of your world. “Necessity is the mother of invention” but a magic spell that can solve the problem removes the necessity. Why spend years developing a telegraph if a wizard can cast a communication spell.. Why work on a steam-powered engines if a spell or artifact can teleport someone across a great distance in seconds? Why spend countless hours perfecting a light bulb if a Bard can sing a spell of illumination.

The real world gives both you and your reader a baseline for expectations. Science Fiction writers tend to be future focused, but looking at history is instructive. Over the twentieth century, we went from newspapers, to radio, to TV, to the Internet. Each advanced increased the speed at which information flowed and how many people any one person could communicate with. Vietnam was unlike any other war because, for the first time, the general populace could see it. People who heard the famous Kennedy/Nixon debates on the radio came away more impressed with Nixon, but those who watched it on those early TVs thought Kennedy would be the better leader. Whatever incredible technology or magic you create should have seismic effects on your culture as well.

This is also true as it relates to the speed at which technology develops. We’ve gone from the first powered flight to space travel in under a century, but we still haven’t successfully taken humans beyond our moon. Your story must explain whatever technological leaps exist in your world and give a plausible timeline.

How much to explain

Fantasy explains less than Science Fiction. It’s magic, right? But without defined rules, it can become wish fulfillment and whatever the writer needs for the story at that specific moment. Without rules, you can write yourself into a corner. Invariably, your readers will ask, ‘why didn’t they just do X’, and they will lose that all important suspension of disbelief.

Magic and technology is another of those goldilocks tightropes writers must walk. Reading widely in the genre is a great way to see examples both of the tightrope being walked with skill and also watching some authors flail right off.

F. Ted Atchley is a freelance writer and professional computer programmer with a passion for reading and writing speculative fiction. Whether it’s words or code, he’s always writing. His latest short story, The Preponderance of the Evidence, will be published by Havok Publishing on December 20th.

He writes the monthly Science Fiction and fantasy column for AlmostAnAuthor.com. In addition, he is a staff writer for BlizzardWatch.com, a premier fan site for the games produced by Blizzard Entertainment.

He lives in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wife and children. When not writing, you’ll find him spending time with his family, and cheering on his beloved Carolina Panthers.

You can find more about Ted at his website: https://tedatchley.com/

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

structure your novel with harmon’s story circle

In the early 2000s, Blake Snyder released Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. This work on story structure became often cited and highly influential. While originally written for scripts and screenwriting, many authors saw value in adopting it’s three-act structure concepts for their novels.  

Hollywood continues to innovate. In recent years, a different take on story structure has gained popularity. Dan Harmon, the co-creator of Rick and Morty, developed a structure called Story Circle. Michael Waldron, showrunner on the Disney+ Loki series, adopted it. He had previously worked with Harmon on Rick and Morty.

Proving we all stand on the shoulders of giants, Harmon created his Story Circle based upon the monomyth theory of Joseph Campbell, also known as The Hero’s Journey. Like Snyder’s three-act structure in Save the Cat!, the Story Circle helps an author structure their story to give the audience a satisfying and entertaining experience. 

The Story Circle is composed of eight steps. 

  • Step 1-You. 
    • A character is in a comfortable situation
  • Step 2-Need
    • However, they seek something
  • Step 3-Go
    • They venture into an unfamiliar place or situation. 
  • Step 4-Search
    • They get used to or adapt to their new situation
  • Step 5-Find
    • They get what they’re looking for
  • Step 6-Take
    • They pay a high price for it
  • Step 7-Return
    • They go back to their familiar situation
  • Step 8-Change
    • They have changed

You want a circle like this for each main character, and for your antagonist. You’ll also want to do one for each episode or book in the series, but also a larger one with these steps as the characters progress over the entire series. 

This is an oversimplification of the process. Let’s look at an examples to flesh this out. 

Step 1-You

Introduce your main character and their world before the events of the story begin. In order to appreciate the change at the end of the story, we must firmly establish where the character started and who they were.

Loki Episode 1–We introduce Loki after his escape from the Battle of New York.

Step 2-Need

Some event takes place that presents a problem or question to our main character. Step one, You, answers who the story is about. Step two, Need, answer what the story is about.

Loki Episode 1–Loki wants to escape so he can be special. He needs the Tesseract back.

Go

This is the step where the character leaves their normal world and enters the unknown. The Need has to drive your character into action. If there’s a Need, and your character doesn’t Go, you might as well roll the credits. The story is over. While your character must have agency, it’s up to you as the author to set up the circumstances in such a way that the character can’t refuse to go.

Loki Episode 1–TVA needs his help. Loki steals a time device and escapes.

Search

This doesn’t have to be a literal, physical search (though with Loki it is). This is where the author starts throwing obstacles and complications at our character. The character must learn and change from each challenge they overcome.

Loki Episode 1–Loki is unhelpful. He searches the TVA for the Tesseract.

Find

Congratulations! Your character has searched and grown and found the thing that started him on the journey. Roll credits. Or not. Your character’s journey up to this point has shown them what they needed at the start is no longer what they need. Plot and character development will dovetail.

Loki Episode 1–Loki finds the Tesseract. It’s being used as a paperweight.

Take

“The bill comes due,” as Mordo said at the end of Dr. Strange. The character must pay a price for their victory. She loses something important to her in finding what she thought she needed. This could run the gamut from a simple setback to the death of a major character, depending on the genre and the type of story you want to tell.

Loki Episode 1–Loki takes the Tesseract. He realizes it won’t get him out of the TVA. Its magic doesn’t work. His magic doesn’t work. He’s not special.

Return

The character returns to their normal life with their prize, and lessons learned. They are no longer the person they were when they left on their journey.

Loki Episode 1–Loki returns to the interrogation room.

Change

Change must happen to the character, but the author can show change to the circumstances in the world as well because of the character’s actions. The changes don’t always have to be positive. Perhaps the character changed for the better, but the world changed for the worse and you’ve set up the sequel. 

Loki Episode 1–Now Loki is broken and ready to help the TVA. Notice that he’s helpful is on the polar opposite point of the circle from his being unhelpful.

The beauty of the Story Circle is it can apply to many stories, whether they be romance, mystery, thriller, or comedies. As a cycle, the story circle is wonderful for serial content like TV shows, movies franchises and book series. It’s a more refined Hero’s Journey. A more cathartic journey of true evolution that is more character driven than plot driven. 

You don’t have to choose between the Story Circle and the three-act structure. You can use them both to better understand your story, whether you meticulously plotted out every detail or discovered it organically as you wrote the first draft. The important thing is to arrive at a great story. Use any and all tools and techniques at your disposal.

Ted Atchley is a freelance writer and professional computer programmer. Whether it’s words or code, he’s always writing. Ted’s love for speculative fiction started early on with Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and the Star Wars movies. This led to reading Marvel comics and eventually losing himself in Asimov’s Apprentice Adept and the world of Krynn (Dragonlance Chronicles). 

After blogging on his own for several years, Blizzard Watch (blizzardwatch.com) hired Ted to be a regular columnist in 2016. When the site dropped many of its columns two years later, they retained Ted as a staff writer. 

He lives in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wife and children. When not writing, you’ll find him spending time with his family, and cheering on his beloved Carolina Panthers. He’s currently revising his work-in-progress portal fantasy novel before preparing to query. 

Ted has a quarterly newsletter which you can join here. You’ll get the latest on his writing and publishing as well as links about writing, Star Wars, and/or Marvel.

Categories
Mastering Middle Grade

An Interview with M. G. Fantasy Author Andrea Rand

In honor of Independence Day, I wanted to do something special for this post to celebrate. I had an opportunity to interview award-winning author Andrea Rand, whose fantasy series The Chronicles of Kibblestan weaves themes of freedom and liberty throughout. I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did!

Andrea Rand

Me: Your writing works so well on multiple layers. You have vibrant characters with clear motivation, engaging and fast-moving plot, and fascinating parallels between the fictional world of Kibblestan and real-world issues. Did you start writing the books with a goal to create those parallels, or did it happen naturally as part of your creative process?

AR: You have heard the saying that writers are either “plotters” (outlining a novel with plot points before writing their first draft) or “pantsers” (writing by the seat of their pants) and I fall into the latter category. I always start out with a premise and know how it’s going to end but getting from point A to point B is highly dependent on my characters and their motivations. So no, I didn’t start out writing my series with the goal of having things parallel our world today, however I think it is inevitable that experiences in an author’s life and values that they hold dear will shape their stories.

The idea for the fantasy world of Kibblestan came to me years ago, shortly after the September 11th attacks, when my daughter was just a baby and I wanted to write a story for her. September 11th affected many people in different ways, and for me, it was a huge wake-up call when I learned about the Taliban and how women were treated in Afghanistan. This may sound naïve, but I had never really contemplated what life might be like in other countries, how people suffer under oppression, and what made America the country that’s seen as a bastion of liberty to so many around the world.

I started paying more attention to current events and reading more history and memoirs of people living in other parts of the world which are not as free, and the concern for preserving liberty that swelled within me is reflected in my writing. I call The Chronicles of Kibblestan a fantastical adventure with a patriotic twist, and though it has themes of liberty versus tyranny with nuggets about America’s Constitution and founding principles sprinkled in, it is very character driven and many of the plot points are influenced by my characters’ motivations.

Me: How have middle grade readers responded to your stories? 

AR: Being an author can sometimes feel a bit lonely, like you’re typing into a void as you have no idea who is reading your work or what they think, and so it is always encouraging when I do get a message or an Amazon review that gives me positive feedback. Lately, I have been receiving messages asking when my next book will be out, which is a huge motivator to keep going.

I am the first to admit that I am a kid at heart, and much of what I write is inspired by my vivid memories of what it was like to be a kid. I can remember what I liked to read and what made me laugh, which influences my stories. As part of my beta-reading process I always recruit several young readers of various ages and who I don’t know very well, to read the book and answer two questions: Did you get bored and did you understand everything. More than anything, I want to write a book that is purely fun to read. I have received comments from parents saying that their child is telling them all about my book as they read it, or that they’ve read it very quickly and are ready for the next in the series. Receiving comments like these truly make my day and are what make me want to keep going.

Me: What guidance would you offer new writers who want to write series? 

AR: Being a “pantser,” I didn’t realize my first Kibblestan book was going to become a series until after I had written it, and I realized there was more story to tell. However, whether you start out with the intention of writing a series or not, it is imperative that each book can stand on its own and has a complete story arc.

I publish independently, so I can control what I publish and when, however if you are looking to publish traditionally, the rule I have always heard is to make sure that the first story that you pitch can stand on its own, because many times the publisher will not want to publish subsequent books until they are confident of the sales potential, which is based upon the revenue of that first book.

Depending on the kind of series you are writing, I would also advise ending each book with a hook for reading future books, but at the same time make sure that your ending is satisfying to the story at hand. The way I approached this for The Chronicles of Kibblestan was to add an epilogue to each book that acts as a teaser for the next story.

The other challenge of writing a series is to avoid the temptation of huge information dumps at the beginning of each book, in case the reader hasn’t read or has forgotten things from the previous book. I found this to be extremely challenging for my latest book that will be coming out, The Chronicles of Kibblestan: The Web, as it is the story of a land losing its freedom from within, and I needed to catch the reader up on the characters and political landscape. To avoid a big information dump, you can use conversations and internal thoughts that cover this information, but make sure they are concise and sprinkled throughout the current book’s storyline over several chapters as opposed to trying to fit everything into chapter one.

If you haven’t read this series, it’s well worth your time to check it out. Find out more about Andrea and the Kibblestan books at andrearand.com or purchase your copy through Amazon.

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

How Genre Impacts Your Character Development

Sometimes it’s easy to think character development looks similar across genres. And for the reader, it usually does. Even in the best-selling books, character development is often very relatable. As it should be. Readers need to relate to the characters, after all. But when we use genre as an outside force influencing our characters, we take character development to a whole new level.

Let’s take Harry Potter. Harry lived in the cupboard under the stairs until he went to Hogwarts and discovered who he really is. This is a typical young adult character arc. But if we look deeper and notice the influence of genre, we see Harry’s development from a whole new perspective.

What makes Harry such a standout character is his very normal personality thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The normalcy of Harry contrasted with the unexpected and surprising details of Hogwarts and its professors acts as a dichotomy, highlighting just how much Harry needs to overcome. Yes, Rowling could have put Harry into a normal school with no magic and fleshed out his character, but not as deeply.

As you create your world, take note of your protagonist’s weaknesses. Harry repeatedly says “I’m just Harry!” which goes to show 1) how little he knows about himself, 2) how he’s in way over his head, and 3) just how much he will grow.

What is your protagonist’s view of himself or ideology of the world? Create a villain who undermines that in every way. Harry doesn’t think he’s important. But the villain sees his seeming unimportance, his innocence, as something that destroyed his agenda.

How do the rules of your world push against your protagonist’s views of right and wrong? Harry wants to free Dobby the house elf, but the rules of the Harry Potter world are strict about how a house elf can be freed. Harry has to play by the rules to help Dobby.

How do the rules of your world’s culture impact your protagonist’s interpersonal relationships? Harry wants to be friends with Hermione, but Hermione is looked down on for not having a magical family. Harry wouldn’t have had this interpersonal struggle if his character hadn’t been created in a magical world. The genre Harry was thrust into massively impacted his character arc, even at the interpersonal level.

As you create characters and decide what type of world to plunge them into, ask yourself some of the above questions. Based on their personality, fears, dreams, views of right and wrong, etc., would science-fiction or fantasy best reveal their character arc?

Put Harry in a public school somewhere in England and he probably would’ve stayed relatively insignificant. But put him in a wizarding world and he grows so much he defeats the dark lord and becomes not “just Harry” but Harry Potter, the boy who lived. As the author, it’s your job to make your characters shine, and much of that comes down to choosing the stage to put them on.

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Writing for YA

Building a Compelling Fantasy World: Q & A with YA Author Amy C. Blake

It’s not always easy creating a whole world from scratch. Amy C. Blake agreed to give a few words of writing advice about building story worlds.

What is a common pitfall fantasy writers fall into when building their story world?

It’s easy for fantasy writers to forget they have to follow the “rules” they created for their story world. If they choose to break a rule, they have to explain why. Otherwise, readers get frustrated. For instance, in the first book of my Levi Prince YA fantasy series, I established that people can only enter Terracaelum (an invisible land suspended above Lake Superior) from Castle Island when the prince or princess lowers the drawbridge and admits them. In subsequent books, I couldn’t simply ignore my rule when I needed to allow access without the prince or princess being present. I had to not only create an alternate way in, but also to provide a logical reason why the exception was made.

What essential ingredients do readers expect from a story world?

Besides clear rules, readers expect to be given the proper amount of details to let them experience the story world. Too many specifics can bog down the flow of the story, but too few can make readers feel unmoored. Sprinkling sensory details throughout the dialogue and narrative tends to work best. Of course, in fantasy stories, readers expect something outside of their ordinary worlds—superhuman abilities, time jumping, mythical creatures, etc.—and they can best enjoy those elements when given the right particulars at the right moments.

How can writers make sure they balance their novel in regards to world building, character development, and the other elements needed?

Again, it’s a matter of dispensing information at the optimal time. Authors shouldn’t do an information dump about their character’s backstory any more than they should pile on too much minutiae about the story world. They don’t want to overuse dialogue, internal monologue, or narrative in any one spot; instead, they want to use the appropriate amounts of each at the appropriate times. It’s all a matter of finding the proper pacing to allow the story to unfold to maximize the reader’s delight.

Where do you find inspiration for creating a story world?

I’m an avid reader, and my family enjoys exploring museums and historical sites. I’m also an avid daydreamer, so I tend to find inspiration during quiet moments—sometimes while on a long car ride or when I can’t sleep. During those quiet moments, ideas blend with the information I’ve gleaned, and my story world expands. I just have to remember to jot down my daydreams so I can flesh them out later.

Great advice!

Thank you so much for stopping by, Amy.

Award-winning author Amy C. Blake is a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mother of four. She has an M.A. in English from Mississippi College and has written articles, devotionals, and short stories for a number of publications. She’s also writing two series for the Christian market, her On the Brink Christian suspense trilogy and her Levi Prince YA fantasy series.

Whitewashed, Colorblind, and Tie-Dyed, featuring three homeschooled girls who head off to college and find themselves on the brink of danger, are available in paperback and Kindle. The Trojan Horse Traitor, The Fall of Thor’s Hammer, and The Fay’s Apprentice, about homeschooled pastor’s kid Levi Prince and his adventures in Terracaelum, are also available in paperback and Kindle.

Visit Amy’s website at amycblake.com.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Bestsellers

Award-Winning Author Lindsay A. Franklin

award-winning author

Can you share a little about your recent book?

My latest release is the third in a series, so I probably shouldn’t share too much (spoilers!). But I can tell you about the series overall. In The Weaver Trilogy, art is magic, and when supernaturally gifted storytellers weave tales, strands of light and color pour from their hands. Those strands then collect together and crystallize into solid objects to sell. All young story peddler Tanwen En-Yestin wants is to use her gift to work her way to the capital city and become Royal Storyteller to the king. Instead, story strands she can’t control begin pouring from her hands, accusing the king of treason—and now she’s on his most-wanted list.


Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?

My first goal is always to tell a good story—one that grips my reader emotionally and makes them fall in love with my characters. And as a woman of faith, my worldview will always be laced throughout my storytelling. But I also think fiction is a wonderful place to explore deep and difficult topics. The Weaver Trilogy touches on identity, found families, loyalty, courage, racism, trauma, and more.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was little. I wrote my first “novel” when I was eleven. But I entered the publishing industry, complete draft in hand, about ten years ago.

And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract? Or are you published non-traditionally? How did that come about?

I got agented within my first year in the industry, but it took us six years to sell my first full-length fiction to a publisher.

Which of your books is your favorite?

Tough question! We’ll say the most recent, The Story Hunter. But that answer could change tomorrow.

Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?

It’s really hard to pick a favorite character, but the main character in The Weaver Trilogy is based on my daughter, and that’s special. I love her bubbly, positive energy, though she can have a sharp tongue when she wants (very like a certain twelve-year-old who lives in my house).

Tell us about an award you won that was particularly meaningful.

I was blown away by the award recognition The Story Peddler received last year. It was not expected, to say the least. Winning the Carol Award at ACFW was a huge moment for me, as was being named Book of the Year and Alliance Award winner at Realm Makers. For the Carol, it was overwhelming and incredible for a fantasy book—my fantasy book—to win in the debut category. Realm Makers is my speculative fiction community, and being acknowledged within one’s community like that is…humbling. Such an honor.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I spend as long as I need pre-writing (brainstorming, figuring out who my characters are, outlining), sometimes a year or more, depending on how deeply focused on the work I’m able to be. Once I start writing, I can finish 100K-word novel in a few months fairly easily. The outline is the key for me. I have written a whole novel in a month, but that’s a breakneck pace I don’t enjoy at all!

What’s your writing work schedule like?

I’m not very creative until the afternoon hits, and really, my best time to write is after 6:00 p.m. If I’m on deadline, I’ll try to write a couple thousand words per day. If I’m really on deadline, you might catch me writing eight or ten thousand a day, but I really try to plan well enough to avoid that.

Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?

I listen to very loud music when I’m writing. When I read or edit, I can’t have anything playing in the background except instrumental scores. But when I write? Super loud music, with lyrics and all.

What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?

There have been so many unexpected joys. Getting notes or tags on social media from readers who read something in my stories that touched them will never, ever get old. Being able to stand at an awards podium and thank the agent who believed in me when I was a very green writer (and stuck by me through all the years of rejections) and the editor who took a risk on me, even though I was unproven, was a joyous moment. Honestly, I’m so lucky that I get to do this as my career.

What has been your darkest moment(s)?

In my career? It wasn’t the rejections, though they do sting. I’m a strong supporter of indie publishing, so I knew I had options if traditional publishing didn’t work out for me. There was some business-related instability at one of my publishers for a while, and that was very, very hard. Because for a while, I thought my dream had finally come true but was going crumble beneath me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Everything worked out, thankfully. But that was a hard season.

How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?

Goodness. A lot? My agent and I tried to sell my first fantasy series for about a year. Then we tried to sell a YA contemporary stand-alone for about a year. We got very close to a contract with both of those books, but ultimately ended up with a pile of rejections. And that’s when I began writing The Weaver Trilogy. The thing is, the rejection never really stops in publishing. Once you have a contract and your book baby is out in the world, you face “rejection” from readers all the time. Those one- and two-star reviews hurt, but I think they have helped me let go of my perfectionism. No book will be universally well-received. No book is for everyone, and that’s perfectly okay.

Where do you get your ideas?

From everywhere. News headlines, historical events, random thoughts flittering through my brain, musings about the past, dreams…

Who is your favorite author to read?

This is an impossible question! I’m not sure if I have a favorite because every author brings something really unique to the table.

What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?

Be patient. Work hard, but don’t rush to publication. Once you’ve crossed over into that next phase of your career, you can’t go back to the days before your first contract. That season is beautiful, full of learning and unbound creativity. It’s special. Don’t rush.

What are common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?

Learning from peers rather than those who are a little further down the road than they are. Now, you can and should grow alongside your peers. Critique partners are wonderful for this. But I routinely see bad writing and marketing advice given (and taken) in online writers’ groups because everyone participating in the conversation is inexperienced. I’m a big fan of going your own way, doing your own thing. But I also think it’s important to learn from those who have traveled the path before you—to glean their wisdom so you know how best to apply your own spin.

Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?

This certainly isn’t the only way to do it, but my career was definitely jump-started by attending writers’ conferences to learn, meet agents and editors, and connect with like-minded writers with whom I could grow.

Lindsay A. Franklin is a Carol Award–winning author, freelance editor, and homeschooling mom of three. She would wear pajama pants all the time if it were socially acceptable. Lindsay lives in her native San Diego with her scruffy-looking nerf-herder husband, their precious geeklings, three demanding thunder pillows (a.k.a. cats), and a stuffed marsupial named Wombatman. You can find Lindsay on Instagram @LinzyAFranklin.


The Weaver Trilogy is available at all major retailers.
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Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

How to Write Tactful Fantasy and Science Fiction During COVID-19

Writing during a global pandemic is probably not something you thought you’d be tackling. Writing is hard enough by itself!

But handling history well, whether you’re living it or researching it, is part of being a writer. Recently I saw an article that stressed how one publisher is not particularly focused on dystopian writing because of the current state of the world.

They stressed the importance of finding hope through historical events. Fantasy and Science-fiction can be used to build that hope, if done rightly. Here are a few ways to use the current global crisis for the benefit of your readers:

Enforce your writing with historical moments.

Countless moments have shaped history, and therefore storytelling, as a whole. This is one of them. Going back often helps us move forward.

As you plan, draft, or edit your current work-in-progress, focus on historical moments that looked bleak but ended in a brighter future. Draw inspiration from these moments and allow them to influence your writing. Readers need hope, and you’re one of the best people to give it to them.

Use history to teach.

The Civil War brought tension between family members and friends. The Great Depression was a drastic life change for many. COVID-19 is a different circumstance bringing similar emotional responses. Research those who lived during historical moments, look up their stories, and choose different aspects of these very real people to influence your characters.

For your protagonist, consider drawing different character traits from figures who experienced global moments in different centuries. Combine some of these characteristics into a fictional character, add your own twist, and use your character to bring hope to your story. This will show readers what characteristics still bring hope today.

Look to the future.

History shows us how to interact with the future, what to do, and what not to do. Science-fiction in particular points to the future. As you craft your story, pour yourself into world-building and research that will make readers want to escape into your world. Layer in supporting characters and scenes that will inspire your readers to return to their own world wiser, and with more hope, in how to handle their present circumstances.

Writing is a powerful tool. While writing for entertainment may not be our primary focus right now, it can be used to teach, inspire, and bring hope. Now more than ever it’s important to write powerful stories and strong characters. Let’s be the writers who encourage readers in a dark time. Write on!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Stage for Your First Page

There’s a video floating around somewhere online (numerous, probably!) of J.K. Rowling reading her first pages to eager readers. I remember listening and thinking how naturally the words flowed, how it seemed like if she’d written the page any other way it would be wrong.

That’s how our every page needs to be, but especially our first page. So, other than impersonating J.K. Rowing, how do we do so?

Start in the middle of a scene.

For instance, in Harry Potter, readers don’t need to wait more than a few sentences to realize they’ve been thrust into something “strange or mysterious.” Rowling doesn’t start with Harry waking up (a cliché we should all avoid), but tosses us straight into learning about the boy who lived. Another term for this would be starting in media res. Dare to start in the middle of a scene, trust the reader to pick up the details you layer in, and you’ll be surprised how fast you captivate your audience.

Mesh the Unknown with the Known 

A reader is always a little disoriented when starting a new book. That’s the nature of plunging into a new setting with no warning about what’s going on. (Tip: A location tag can help lessen readers’ disorientation.) To combat this and draw a reader in, combine your unique story idea with concrete details readers can connect with.

For instance, if you’re plunging your protagonist into terrible trouble, maybe include their friend offering help in a way that’s relatable to your target audience. This will give readers an anchor point as they dive deeper into your story idea.

Even in the Harry Potter movies, the director included a scene where Harry draws himself a birthday cake and candles in the dust and blows out the candles. Birthday cake is something most readers can connect with, even in a wizarding world.

Give Your Protagonist a Distinct Voice

Readers want to connect with a character in a personal way. The faster you can make readers connect with your protagonist, the more likely they’ll hold on for the whole ride. A good way to do this this by giving your character a distinct voice.

Creating a distinct voice demands knowing your audience and what type of voice they’re most likely to connect with. This takes effort, but it’s effort well spent. One reason Harry Potter did so well is because Harry had a distinct voice. He was just a school kid put in a very unique situation. But school kids around the world connected with his voice because it was their voice.

If you want to write a gripping first page, start in the middle of the action (in media res), mesh the unknown with the known, and give your protagonist a distinct voice.

Do this, and you’re well on your way to success!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

How Writing Blind Will Take Your Fantasy to the Next Level

When it comes to writing, some of us like to picture it in our head and write what we see, while others like to plot every scene before ever sitting down to the keyboard. No matter if we’re a “plotter” or a “pantser,” writing well requires something we often overlook but learned way back in kindergarten–the five senses.

Recently I asked some beta readers for feedback on the first page of my WIP. Many of the comments were positive. They loved the action and felt drawn in from the first sentence. But while many felt intrigued in the story, several also said they didn’t feel like they understood the world.

They couldn’t see where the action was taking place.

As a writer, that’s on me. I could see it all in my head, but I hadn’t communicated the location well enough to my readers. What had I missed? Some of the five senses.

Readers want to see where the story is taking place. They want to hear the wind in the trees and feel the snow crystalizing on their skin. They want to taste the last drops of water your MC shared with his fellow traveler.

A good way to do this is write with your eyes closed.

If you’ve ever tried to take a nap in a crowded room, you can relate to just how much your sense of hearing works overtime. The same is true with sight. When one sense is dulled, others heighten. New writers are often great at describing what things look like, but not what they smell, taste, or feel like.

Smelling the remains of a carcass on the dragon’s breath is much more evocative than telling a reader the dragon has scales.  

It’s easy to forget one sense when focusing on the others. In my example, I’d focused so much on smell and touch I’d mostly forgotten about sight, one of the most important senses when it comes to orienting a reader in the first paragraphs (especially in fantasy and sci-fi!).

Feel free to steal these tips when writing sensory details:

One: Write the first draft focusing on sight only.

Two: Write the second draft focusing on hearing.

Third: In the third draft work in touch.

Fourth: Don’t forget the all-important sense of smell!

Fifth: Finish it off describing the taste of fear, the salty tinge of saltwater on the tongue, etc.

The more you incorporate this exercise into your writing, the more likely it’ll become second nature to you and you’ll find yourself combining steps one and two, or three and five, etc.

Everyone experiences different struggles when it comes to incorporating the senses, but keep at it. After all, all writing is rewriting!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Slow Build of Believability

Most of us have probably been told to “plunge your main character into terrible trouble as quickly as possible.” This is a good motto to write by, and will help as we pitch to agents, our agents pitch to publishers, and ultimately, our readers decide whether to keep reading.

But there is also a whiplash-like phenomenon when we try to dump all the terrible trouble on our MC at one time, reveal the character arc in that great, epic scene we spent three days on, and tie it all up with our final, thought-out sentence.

To be clear, terrible trouble is a necessity, character arc is needed, and that epic scene provides the great payoff to the readers that we set up at the beginning.

However, especially when it comes to fantasy and science fiction, where we’re world-building like crazy and using uncommon character names, there needs to be a level of believability.

Just like building character in the real world takes time, building characters in fiction requires time as well. This demands specificity in our writing. It demands setups we may not even realize we’re writing into our story.

Pet-the-dog Moments

Including moments when our MC shows unnecessary compassion on a person or even an animal goes a long way in building credibility. Scenes where they tip generously when no one’s looking, stop to pick up the bottle in the dirt, or listen to the homeless person when they’re in a rush, these types of scenes build character credibility. Credibility brings believability.

Appropriate On-the-Nose Moments

No one wants to read about the character answering the phone by walking through their kitchen to the bedroom, unplugging it from the charger, swiping to open, and saying hello. (Or taking the parchment from the carrier pigeon, depending on your time period!) The important thing is to show routine in an engaging way. Once readers connect with the MC at a base level, they’ll connect with their humanness. Connection brings believability.

Destroying the Status Quo

Once we’ve set up that our MC is credible, believable, and someone readers can connect with, it’s imperative we destroy the status quo again, and again, and again. After all, we need to plunge our main character into terrible trouble as quickly as possible. Not just in the first pages, but that trouble needs to follow them like a shadow until they bring their heroism into the light of the final pages.

Slowly building credibility will leave readers deeply connected with the MC. That type of connection is what makes MC’s not only credible and believable, but memorable. Memorable characters stick with readers. And when characters stick, publishers will want to publish!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Desires Behind Your Character’s Desires

When he reaches for the cookie his eyes aren’t on the cookie but on his mom in the other room. Why? Because it’s not so much the cookie that he wants, but to get it despite the fact just two minutes ago his mom told him not to.

His desire isn’t simply to eat a cookie.

His desire is to get away with something he knows he’s not supposed to.

While this circumstance may seem cliché by now, the truth behind it may be new to us as writers.

Writing good, memorable characters can difficult. Writing personable characters is even more difficult, and writing science-fiction characters that resonate and draw in readers can seem impossible.

That’s when we have to remember: we all have desires behind our desires.

We choose the salad over the white bread sandwich not because we want the salad but because we have certain dietary or physical goals.

We walk with an umbrella not so much because we care about our hair getting wet, but because we want to look a certain way when we walk into the meeting.

There are endless examples.

This may seem like normal life to us. Something we don’t even realize. Maybe even take for granted.

But it’s important we make the hidden desire behind the obvious desire clear when writing fantasy characters, or any characters, for that matter!

Let’s say our main character walks into an office building café and sits down at an empty table. She pulls out her phone and checks her email.

At first glance, as a reader we might assume she’s waiting on an important email. But we all know we don’t check our email out of desire to check our email. We fear looking like we have nothing to do. We fear looking not busy. Insignificant.

If your main character’s weakness is feeling insecure, write this into the scene. Make it clear.

But maybe your character is very secure. She’s strong and has worked her way up from poverty level to CEO.

The one thing her company doesn’t know is she’s an introvert and terrified of any type of interpersonal communication. Walking into the café, waiting on her order, she doesn’t want to risk conversing with anyone else. Just the thought of it sends adrenaline racing through her body.

Now we’re onto something!

We’ve shown the personal desire behind what a random onlooker would see as a physical desire. It’s not that she needs to check her email, it’s that she desires to avoid conversation one-on-one, at any cost.

Why?

That’s for your readers to figure out as you slowly reveal, line by line, paragraph by paragraph, the true desires behind your character’s actions.

Writing isn’t so much about showing what happens, but showing why it happens, and revealing the story through the hidden desires of your characters.

Happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Mastering Middle Grade

An Interview with Katie Carringer Baker

Many aspiring authors hope to write a successful series, but our author interviewee for this month is living the experience. Katie Carringer Baker talked with me about the differences between writing her second book and her first, as well as what makes a compelling middle grade story.

Katie Baker is the author of The Keeper and the Compass, the first story in the Keeper Chronicles series. You can find out more about her and her work on Instagram at thekeeperandthecompass or on Facebook at katiebakerwrites.

KM: The Keeper and The Compass was your debut, and it looks like you are planning for the next two books in the series to land this fall. Was the experience of writing and publishing your first book very much like the experience you had with the second? Tell us about any similarities or differences you discovered along your journey.

KCB: Yes, The Keeper and The Compass was self-published in November and was my first foray in publishing anything ever. I worked on the book for almost two years with two editors, a cover artist, and a proofreader. It was a long and arduous process and quite the education. Actually finishing a book is SO HARD, and I didn’t have much in the way of a writing process. Learning HOW to write a full-length novel did not come easy for me, but it has paid off in dividends with this second and third book.

The second book, The Keeper and The Castle, was a much quicker process. I had learned how to outline a book, grow characters, create individual voices for them, and create, complete, and link story arcs. My main characters were already developed from book one, and their world was already “built.” They already had their voices, and I was more confident in mine as a writer. I enjoyed seeing how the characters grew, how they changed, and was sometimes surprised at where the story went as I wrote despite my plans and outlines.

As far as similarities between my experiences writing the first and second book–I think the biggest thing is how much I enjoyed the process of creating characters I loved and a world I wanted to be part of. Fantasy writing for any age involves taking the reader somewhere new and different, and I think for younger readers, it has to be a place they want to visit. They can either want to visit it because it is amazing (Hogwarts), because it promises adventure (Story Thieves) or because there is the opportunity for it to be redeemed (The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe). Creating a place, a world, where readers WANT to visit and WISHED was a real place was such a joy.

KM: Sometimes writers sit down to write “childrens’” books thinking they will write a board book or an easy reader but end up with a middle grade story. Other times writers have a middle grade audience in mind from the outset. What was your experience?

KCB: I actually had a different experience than either of these. I wrote what I thought was a YA book, but it has been such a hit with MG that I think it falls more appropriately into a MG/YA genre. I write clean books about teenagers who are coming of age. This seems to resonate with middle grade readers. I write characters who are in the midst of relationship crises, parental crises, seeking adventure, experiencing their first crushes, diving into familiar fairy tales that most middle grade readers would be familiar with. My themes resonate with readers of all ages, which makes this a book parents can enjoy too and hopefully talk to their tweens and teens about as a family. I love that middle grade readers have surprised me with how much they have loved this book, and it has spurred me on to writing more books they can enjoy and be inspired by.

KM: Marketing for a middle grade book can sometimes involve multiple efforts – trying to reach the ‘gatekeepers’ and the readers alike. How did you approach marketing your books?

KCB: I am far from an expert in marketing to MG readers, but I’ve some success with it and am happy to share my ideas. One, I have the privilege of knowing a lot of parents. I’m a mom, and I know a lot of other moms. I’m also a homeschooling parent with a large homeschooling network that is full of parents who want their kids to read solid, clean, uplifting books. I’ve marketed to them through social media and word of mouth, and the response was quite positive.

I have also reached out to teacher friends who have invited me to speak at their schools to their classes about writing and the book. I’m planning a “school tour” of at least 5 middle school and high schools in the fall before the release of book three. It’s been recommended to hit up homeschooling conferences as a vendor, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull it off this summer.

I am building my instagram account and using that to market my writing a little more than facebook since IG has a younger demographic. I wish I had more to offer in this area…I’m still learning too!

KM: Is there any advice, encouragement, or suggestion you might have for new writers who want to write for middle grade readers?

KCB: The advice I would love to share to those writing to middle grade is this: Don’t dumb it down. Middle grade readers want and NEED characters they can look up to and love and cheer for. They want settings they can picture and desire and WISH were real. They want stories with depth and tension and suspense and action. And, they can handle more than 60,000 words. The Keeper and The Compass is 110,000 words, and more than a few middle grade readers finished it in a day (so did their parents, which I think is just like, basically the coolest thing ever).

If you want to write to MG, write a clean story to teenagers, and MG readers will eat it up. Why? Because they have their eye on being teens, so give them teens they want to be. Not perfect characters, but characters that are different, who wrestle with hard questions and doubt and fear, who face their trials with courage rather than complaints. Give them characters who inspire them and can be examples to them. Use the power of the written word to challenge and encourage middle grade readers to things bigger than their cell phones, school social hierarchy, and making the team. What greater gift can you, as a writer, give them?

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.

Categories
Mastering Middle Grade

An Interview with Author Kate Ramsey

No two paths to publication are exactly alike. Over the next few months, I’ll be listening to middle grade authors’ and sharing with you what I learn from their experiences.

This month I visited with author Kate Ramsey about her publishing journey for her debut middle grade fantasy, Finding Fairy Tales.

KM: Can you talk a little about how and why you came to write for middle grade?

KR: Honestly when I started writing, I hadn’t considered what audience I was writing for. I didn’t have a target demographic in mind, and was not remotely marketing-minded. I would echo Maurice Sendak’s sentiments, when he said, “I don’t write for children. I write and somebody says ‘That’s for children!'”

C.S. Lewis’ said, “The third way (of writing for children), which is the only one I could ever use myself, consists in writing a children’s story because a children’s story is the best art-form for something you have to say.” This is the most accurate representation of how Finding Fairy Tales became a middle grade story.

I started writing the story I was interested in telling, and it just naturally declared itself a middle grade novel. I don’t think that I will always restrict myself to middle grade or children’s work, as there are several stories I do want to tell that wouldn’t fit that audience at all, but I think it’s where I will continue to primarily find myself because it’s just what feels natural to me.

The children’s/middle grade stories I read growing up are still the ones I treasure and enjoy reading over and over again, and I do want to give something like that to the world. I love middle grade literature because it’s something that you may grow out of for a season, as a reader, but then a lot of times you grow back into it as you get older. 

KM:  Your book debuts this month. How do you plan to market it?

KR: Unless an opportunity I just couldn’t refuse presented itself, I plan on focusing exclusively on digital marketing. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with going the bookstore visit route, but it’s just not realistic for me, as I’m working full time and also running a photography business at the same time as marketing the book.

KM: What advice do you have for new writers?

KR: This might seem strange, but I’ve heard a lot of inspirational quotes that all basically amount to “if you eat, sleep, and breathe writing, then you’re meant to be a writer.” I know these are meant to help people learn to pursue their passions, but for a long time it deterred me from pursuing mine. I think people are different, and some of them feel that visionary, focused intensity about what they’re doing, and for others it’s a less emotional process. I love writing and always have, but because I cared about other things as well, I felt like I couldn’t really be any good at it.

I would say by way of advice, to press on, even when inspiration is lacking, even when it doesn’t feel like an adventure, and do the work. If you find that you don’t believe in the story you’re telling anymore, change directions or do something else, but don’t give up just because it doesn’t feel fun or exciting anymore.

The other thing that’s been most important for me is discipline. I found that if I committed to writing each day, even if I wasn’t “in the zone,” or couldn’t figure out how to tell the story, sitting down to write something would give me the push I needed. Even if I wrote 1,000 words and hated every one of them, I came away with a clearer understanding of what I should have written instead, and new ideas would present themselves, so it was never a waste. Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings and don’t be afraid to fight for them. 

In hindsight, I probably would have read more books and tried to educate myself better on story structure and best practices. John Truby’s Anatomy of a Story and other tools have been incredibly enlightening, but I read them after I finished writing Finding Fairy Tales. Even though I think my book is a fantastic story, I have many more ideas now for how to build more complexity and depth into my future characters and plots.

Author Kate Ramsey started writing poetry at age 7. Her debut middle grade novel, Finding Fairy Tales, is available this month.

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Perfect Blend of History and Fantasy

Historical fantasy is a genre growing in popularity. Many famous historical figures have earned themselves a retelling of their story, with a fantastical twist to set the story apart from other historical fiction.

My Lady Jane is a fun retelling of the life of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days’ Queen who replaced King Edward VI in 1553. Although a tragic tale in reality, authors Ashton, Hand, and Meadows were able to create an interesting, magical tale to please a young adult audience. Readers otherwise unfamiliar with Jane Grey’s story have been captivated by the mystery of her very short reign as Queen of England, along with a the unique idea that the entire plot was influenced by shape-shifters.

Earlier this year, Nadine Brandes released her novel, Fawkes, which tells the true story of Guy Fawkes and his involvement in the Gun Powder Plot of 1605. In place of the tension between the Catholic and Protestant faiths, the main struggle within this narrative revolves around White magic and Color magic. Despite the fantastical change, the story is quite historically accurate.

Bookstores have seen an increase in sales of historical novels that have that fantasy spin. So, what is the best way for an author to go about writing a historical fantasy?

First decide which historical figure or event is right for your story. Not all historical events will lend themselves to a fantasy retelling. Evaluate the person you’ve chosen and pinpoint what event(s) in his/her life will make for the book’s climax, then work backwards to decide at what point in their life you will begin telling the story. Too much backstory can slow the story down, so be sure to drop the reader into the tale just as tension develops, sending the main character on the road towards the climax.

The next step is research. Regardless which time period you choose or which historical figure you pick to highlight, knowing the true story of the event is crucial. Understand not only the culture the person lived in, but also the build-up of social and political tensions, as well as any other influences that might make the story unique. Once you know the true history of the event or person, you can begin to piece together which elements can be stretched or changed for the fantasy addition.

Ask yourself what fantasy element fits nicely within their history? The fantasy element you choose should draw the reader in and keep them interested in the history of the story, as well. Keep as much of the history as accurate as possible, while being true to the new fantasy twist. This will impress the reader and keep them reading as they seek to learn the new fictional tale of this very real historical figure or event.

Don’t forget to have fun with your story! Regardless what historical figure you choose to write about, or which part of history they hail from, enjoy the fantasy world you create around the history of your story. A reader that chooses to pick up a fantasy retelling is likely looking for a new, unique twist to enjoy. So, focus on the character and the story they want to tell, and let the fantasy elements take your novel to a whole new level.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mama to three daughters and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter @lauralzimm and at her website Caffeinated Fiction.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Highs and Lows of Fantasy Sub-Genres

“Oh, you’re a fantasy writer? I love ‘The Lord of the Rings.’”

“I don’t write that kind of fantasy.”

“What other kind of fantasy is there?”

Does this conversation sound familiar? To some fantasy writers, it might. Although High Fantasy—the category in which J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” falls under—is one of the most common sub-genres of the fantasy genre, there have been an abundance of sub-genres that have made an appearance over the past number of years. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard for a writer to decide which sub-genre their work actually falls under. Here are a few of the most common that might help make your decision clearer.

High Fantasy—As mentioned above, it is one of the most traditionally used. These works are often lengthy with large-scale quests and many characters. They sometimes include a world map, the classic “hero” character, possess fantastical creatures like dragons or unicorns, and may have magic. Other sub-genre categories that may cross over are Medieval Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery Fantasy. Example: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

Low Fantasy—A story that takes place in the “real world” but has elements of supernatural magic would fall into this category. These can include the “normal kid” who discovers they, or those around them possess some sort of supernatural power. Other sub-genres that cross over are Portal Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy. Example: J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.

Steampunk Fantasy—This sub-genre is unique in that it marries a historic Gaslight Fantasy world (set during the time that gaslights were in use) but incorporates both fantasy and technology. The technology is often powered by magic, lifting the limits that the Historical sub-genre might place on this category. Example: Shelley Adina’s “Lady of Devices” series.

Dark Fantasy—Sometimes called Gothic Fantasy or Grimdark Fantasy, this sub-genre is meant to be scary. These are the stories that contain ghosts, zombies, and other creatures of the night. Again, this category crosses over into the Speculative realm by remaining close to the Horror genre, but it is still considered Fantasy by many writers. Example: Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.”

Historical Fantasy—This sub-genre is any fantasy work that takes place in a historical time period. This makes it easy for many other fantasy sub-genres to identify within the Historical Fantasy sub-genre, as well. Example: Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series.

Medieval Fantasy—Inspired by the medieval period, this sub-genre can rely heavily on myths and legends. Depending on the depth and length of the work, this category could include High Fantasy. Another break off from this sub-genre is Arthurian Fantasy, which focuses specifically on the world of King Arthur. Example: George R.R. Martin’s “The Game of Thrones” series.

Paranormal Fantasy—This sub-genre evolved from the combination of the Low Fantasy and the Dark Fantasy categories. Many books in this genre often have a romantic element, as well. Strong themes within these novels are love triangles, vampires, faeries, werewolves and angels. Example: Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.

Crossover Sub-genres—Many of these mentioned sub-genres can also have a romantic element or may be better defined as Young Adult. In this case, calling your work either Romance Fantasy or Young Adult Fantasy would work, too. There are also Children’s Fantasy, Comic Fantasy, and Science Fantasy, to name a few more. Keep searching and you will find dozens of sub-genres to describe the fantasy writing genre.

In the end, it’s up to you, the writer, to decide in which sub-genre you’d like to categorize your work. There is no doubt that your work will likely cross over into a few of these sub-genre categories, but calling your work a Young Adult Paranormal Urban Romance Fantasy will likely confuse the reader. (And make it difficult to market!) Choose one sub-genre to begin your marketing strategy and you can change or add additional categories down the road, as needed.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Trouble with Portals-Laura Zimmerman

Do portals that move your character to another time and place work within modern storytelling? This is the question fantasy and sci-fi writers have been struggling with over the past several years.

Imagine this: You’re reading a book with a great hook, the characters have depth and relationship, and the plot moves at just the right pace. Then out of nowhere, the main character is transported to an entirely new world that needs to be saved. The previous one is forgotten and a new plot begins.

Would you continue reading? Many readers of fantasy and sci-fi complain that, although it has worked in the past, the “portal to a new world” genre is overdone. Here are a few reasons why.

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First off, the reader has no investment about what happens in the alternate world. Once you’ve established the main characters and the world around them, it can be jarring to expect the reader to jump into yet another world and begin caring about that one, too. Unless the jump between them is done with care, the reader can feel betrayed for having cared about the original world in the first place.

Also, there’s often not enough at risk. In many portal stories, the fantasy world is in peril, while the one left behind goes on without much thought or threat. The reader might be inclined to wonder why the main character doesn’t just leave the fantasy world to its own devices and go back to the safety of reality.

Another downside is when the reader realizes that without the portal, there would be no story at all. When the main character literally needs to leave reality to find adventure, the story can feel stale and overused. The portal is simply a mechanism to get a character from point A to point B so the “real” story can begin, which can reflect lazy writing.

So, how does a fantasy or sci-fi writer avoid the proverbial “portal trope?”

For starters, take a step back from your story and investigate whether it has a few key ingredients. Is your portal integral to the main plot? Is the portal woven within the threads of the story? How is the real world related or impacted by the alternate world?

Why does the portal appear at that specific spot, at that time, on that day? Who is able to access this portal and for how long? What price is there to be paid for using the portal? (There is always a price to be paid when using magic, otherwise your main character could use magic to fix the problem from page one.) Why must the main character travel to that alternate world, when he/she could just stay in the safety of reality?

Finally, if you take the portal out of the story, how will it affect the plot as a whole?

If you have solid answers to each of these questions—and you can make a strong case for the validity of that portal—then there is no reason a reader should walk away from your story. The reader should be so invested, that they don’t even consider it “another portal story.”

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Do you include a portal within your magical world? Before you move forward with your work, take a few minutes to consider how you can find a balance between the real world and the alternate world. Doing so might keep your manuscript out of that “slush pile” and in the hands of an editor.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mom to three daughters, and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter and at her website, www.lauralzimmerman.com