Tag: Fantasy-Sci-Fi

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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

Location, Location, Location: Where Do We Find Our Peeps?

Finding your tribe can be difficult, especially for writers who’d much rather stay at home. It doesn’t take an introvert to prefer the comfy confines of one’s office/writing nook. However, as we discussed in Who’s Ya Buddy, our writing life can be greatly enhanced by connecting with other authors.

How? you may ask. I’ll take a cue from starting a business: the three things you need to keep in mind are Location, Location, Location. And in this day and age we have OPTIONS! The more specific question is, Where? As Dr. Seuss reminds us, “From there to here, from here to there. Funny things are everywhere.” Funny things being, in this instance, writers. The challenge can lie in finding balance between limiting or spreading ourselves too thin.

“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Local Gatherings

It’s scary but beneficial to meet other authors IRL (in real life.) I promise, no one will behead you and absorb your life energy. I promise, no one will behead you and absorb your life energy.

Icon Description automatically generated

My first critique group experience was arranged through NaNoWriMo—four total strangers meeting in Books-A-Million to submit their words to each other. (Cue nervous sweating now.) I learned to prepare my work to be shared, and not die a thousand deaths while they listened and critiqued my piece. Though I was terrified, I ended up loving our little group. The other members were far more experienced, but gracious and encouraging. It can be a transformative experience to sit down with another author and go over your WIP with them. Sometimes these are the best brainstorming sessions.

  • Check your public library for opportunities and events, whether virtual or in-person, it’s a good place to connect. And, if there isn’t already a writer’s group, you can start one!
  • Local comic-cons are a fun place to meet local scifi/fantasy authors who are further along the publishing journey.
  • Another opportunity for author enrichment can be the local university. UAB has hosted writing festivals for several years, initially live and in-person, but adapting to virtual and hybrid meetings as the pandemic changed the way we interacted.

These local opportunities open the way to other author activities like poetry slams and book readings. Participate in community author events—you don’t need to be published to encourage other authors. You just need to show up.

Writing Conferences (Not-so-Local)

Writing conferences, whether in-person or virtual, can boost your writing attitude and energy tremendously. Whether they’re specific to your genre or encompass a variety of like-minded authors who produce differently styled works, this where you can meet your peers in drive and passion. The love of words is a powerful equalizer, able to bridge chasms of age, geography, and reading tastes. That being said, Realm Makers is a wonderful group for lovers of speculative fiction.

If finances are tight, ask about scholarship options. Most writing conferences exist to encourage new writers and will do what they can to minimize barriers. Plan ahead for lower travel expenses. Take a risk and be open to a roommate. Join the dialogue before you arrive, it’s never too early to start learning from each other.

Internet Communities

Finally, gatherings of writers abound online. Facebook, Instagram, Discord, even Twitch & Twitter are full of opportunities to connect with other authors. If you want to follow your favorite author, search their website for where they invite the public to join them online. If you want to brainstorm with spec fic authors, do a search and check out the groups that interest you. If you want to learn throughout the year, there are many opportunities to join other writers who spur each other on. I’ve listed these before, but Writers Chat, the 540 Club, and Realm Makers are welcoming communities which exist to benefit other authors.

Here’s my caveat: Not every situation will be best suited to meet your needs or expectations. You don’t have to listen to all the voices that speak into your work, but you should learn to be flexible. I have been devastated by some critiques and strengthened by others. Look for safe spaces and spaces that challenge, but you won’t find either until you strike out and take a risk. Don’t wait for the mountain to come to you, be brave and start climbing.

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

Who’s Ya Buddy?

Crashing waves.

Wild winds.

Scratchy sand between my toes.

I loved those summer days when someone’s mom would offer to take a gang of us to the beach. Our excitement and voices rose as we piled into the back of the station wagon, singing and chattering until we were hoarse. An hour later we’d tumble out like clowns at a circus and race across gravel, dried seaweed, and sand to reach the foamy shore. But before we were allowed to enter the water, we were given strict instructions:

A picture containing doll, toy, vector graphics Description automatically generated

Buddy up!

We’d pick a partner and promise to stick together. Someone would blow a whistle and we would stop, clasping hands high in the air until a second shrill tweet released us to play with abandonment in the surf.

The key to fully enjoying the day was to buddy up with someone who had compatible beach sensibilities. Ankle waders did not like being paired with dolphin wannabes. And if you wanted to dive into oncoming waves, just past the point where your feet could find the floor, you wouldn’t commit to a friend who preferred to stay where the foam slapped against wet sand.

Writing speculative fiction is like a day at the beach. There’s much excitement as you anticipate diving into your strange new world, but peril plays along that coast as well. The stinging burn of criticism, pesky attacks of self-doubt, even the undertow of research can wreak havoc with our writing life. In a sea of distractions and discouragement, a writing buddy that has your back can make a world of difference.

When you’re describing the third moon’s view of your planet, it’s not something you can research or interview past visitors about. And the emotional challenges of a banshee surviving high school aren’t readily available in the latest teen advice columns. Nor is relational advice for nuns who turn pirate.  Bringing these worlds and characters out of your head and onto the page is a solitary endeavor, but support while you are creating is necessary and available.

On the other hand, getting feedback from someone who is immersed in a different genre can be difficult, and disheartening. A compatible imagination to brainstorm with on flights of fantasy is an amazing gift. Yes, your ideas are unique, but you are not without community. Find your tribe and connect with others who share your affinity for elf, aquatic, or starship culture.

Alpha, Beta, it’s all Greek to me…

Critique partners, alpha and beta readers, write-ins and sprints are wonderful opportunities to build community—but choose your buddies with care. You want iron to sharpen iron, not dull your edge or worse, break your blade.

Here is a sampling of free online writing communities that have helped me grow as an author.

Writers Chat meets on zoom weekly to encourage, educate, and empower writers.

Realm Makers is a faith-based community dedicated to support authors, artists, and readers of speculative fiction. Prime members may apply to join a critique group and are sorted via magic hat, or perhaps questionnaire answers, into appropriate groups.

Havok publishes free speculative flash fiction online and provides feedback for all submissions. It’s a great place to read and learn as you hone your writing skills.

The 540 FB Community holds Write-Ins where members meet on zoom for mutual encouragement and writing time.

NaNoWriMo is another virtual community for writers, holding several events throughout the year. They provide local group support, forums, and fun ways to set goals.

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
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Should You Base Your Novel on Your RPG Camapaign?

Many fantasy writers got their introduction to the genre not through books but through Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPG), or more recently, through computer Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). It is not uncommon to see a new fantasy author’s first attempt at writing being a translation of their TTRPG campaign or an adaptation of their MMORPG experience. This has generally not been seen as a great idea, but a new genre is turning that advice on its head.

Why you don’t want to turn your TTRPG or MMORPG into a novel

TTRPG campaigns, while fun to play, often lack the narrative structure novels need. A TTRPG isn’t designed with a three-act novel structure in mind. That’s not the intent. Unless the author relentlessly edits the campaign, this can lead to muddled middles, and wandering plots.

Sometimes experienced TTRPG players create amazing characters, but even well designed TTRPG characters and MMORPG characters can lack for well defined wounds and inner arcs. The main character in an MMORPG is not driving the story the way a great protagonist will. The story is happening to them, and they are along for the ride. This can also be true to a lesser degree in TTRPG characters.

Enter LitRPG, Isekai and GameLit

My current work in progress is a Portal Fantasy and in doing research into comparable novels, I discovered a relatively new subgenre of Portal Fantasy. You’ll see the terms LitRPG, Isekai and GameLit all used to describe it. Many of the available works are translations of books originally written in Russian, Japanese, and Korean where the genre was born.

The main idea is the entire book happens inside the virtual reality of the game. It’s a mashup of Matrix, World of Warcraft , and Jumanji, with a dash of Ender’s Game. The idea of going inside a WoW-style MMO as a major plot element is hardly a new idea. You’ll see this trope in Daemon by Daniel Suarez, Halting State by Charles Stross, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and Reamde by Neal Stephenson.

The key element in LitRPG books that differs from those novels is the game play mechanics are explicit both for the reader and the characters. In LitRPG, you’ll see actual lines like this in the prose:

Damage taken. Hit Points reduced by 5: 11 (weapon damage + strength) – 6 (armor). Total: 35 of 40.

Buff gained: Strength +1, Energy loss reduced by 50%. Duration – 12 hours.

You’ve been hit by Messenger Gnoll! Damage sustained: 16 points. Life 44/60

LitRPG/GameLit/Isekai is a sub-genre of the sub-genre of Portal Fantasy. It features a protagonist from one reality transported to the game world by some means. In the game world, they have some sort of progress – usually tied to the concept of experience points. They receive gear from defeating their enemies and may or may not join up with others to overcome obstacles. GameLit books tend to be lighter on the actual game mechanics part than other LitRPG novels.

Why do LitRPG novels work?

Reading one of these books can feel like a guilty pleasure, and they can be surprisingly addictive. Similar to how mystery readers love to solve the crime along with the detective, many authors and readers of LitRPG enjoy having the characters strategize within the constrains of the game rules.

The protagonists in this genre can be bland and nondescript, but that’s part of their appeal. It makes it easier for reader to see themselves as the protagonist. Your previous place in life whether as a lovable loser or a Type A overachiever no longer matters. Now, only your knowledge of the game and its mechanics is important.

These MMO-in-book-form allow the reader to experience an RPG in a way they may no longer be able to. As MMO and TTRPG players mature, they may no longer have the large blocks of time needed to devote to these games. Through LitRPG, you can level fast, find hidden secrets, talk to illusive NPC characters, and defeat the most difficult encounters. All on your own time table.

Most of us have given up on finding the Ring of Power, or lifting Mjöllnir, or getting a letter from Hogwarts. But video games are a real part of our world. Long after we’ve abandoned the games in favor of work and family responsibilities, we can still be the hero of a virtual world as we follow along with the protagonist of our LitRPG. But, if you’re going to write one of these, remember readers also want empathetic characters, stimulating plots and intense drama. Those aspects of LitRPG/GameLit, like with any books, are the still most important.

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 as a bi-montly newsletter which you can join here. It’s a roundup of links about writing, Star Wars, Marvel, and/or the Panthers with brief commentary from him. Think of it as a kind of ICYMI (In Case You Missed It). Eventually, you’ll see info about my his books, and even receive free short stories.

  • Twitter: @tedatchley3
  • Twitter: @honorshammer (gaming / Blizzard Watch)
Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Four Popular Options for Map-Making Software

World building is a critical part of any speculative fiction work. As we create new worlds, one of the best ways to make them real to us and eventually to our readers is with maps. Maps help us in every stage of writing, from where our characters need to go, to the obstacles they face. Is there a giant mountain range between them and your Mordor? Is there a lake or ocean they must cross before they can scale the Cliffs of Insanity?

Let’s look at four popular options for map-making software. These run the gamut of functionality, price, and ease of use.

Campaign Cartographer 3

Campaign Cartographer 3 website

Like many things in the world of software, there’s a proportional relationship between how powerful a software is and its learning curve. Campaign Cartographer 3 (CC3) has a wide variety of options, but a steep learning curve to go along with it. Budget several hours to go through YouTube video and do some practice on minor projects. Once you master it, you can make some beautiful maps.

The site isn’t easy to navigate and tries to steer you into far more expensive bundles, rather than the $30 price tag for just the software. If you need to create several maps, and can dedicate the time to learn it, CC3 is a superb choice.

Wonderdraft

Wonderdraft website

On the other end of the spectrum, you have something like Wonderdraft. Wonderdraft is a fantastic software. Its intuitive interface makes it simple to pick up and start producing right away. You don’t have to sit there and draw every single little building in your world. There are a ton of exceptional assets to use. It even has a distance ruler. For those of you who love to start with a hand-drawn map, with Wonderdraft’s overlay feature, you could sketch out your map on paper, upload a picture, and trace everything in the software.

Wonderdraft has an active subreddit called r/wonderdraft where users share their creations. You can get inspiration for your own worlds or get help from the community.

 Inkarnate

Inkarnate website

Inkarnate is another user-friendly option. The developer has been making steady improvements, adding new assets which only increase its value and functionality. The sticky wicket with Inkarnate is the monetization model.

Inkarnate uses a subscription model. If you don’t purchase the subscription, you do not have the copyright to the maps you create. But if you produce a map while you have their subscription, you don’t lose the rights if you subsequently drop the subscription. You’ll have to weigh the subscription cost versus a purchase of one of the other options, but I do like how Inkarnate gives you the ability to try before you buy.

 Ortelius

Ortelius website

Ortelius is a powerful map making tool with some significant drawbacks. It is only available on the Mac platform. In addition, it is expensive, but will produce a high-resolution map.

Fantasy Maps Facebook Private Group

Facebook group

If you’d like more discussion of the various map-making tools, this is a fantastic private Facebook group. Besides great discussions, you’ll be able to look at maps other creators have made, and even find people who will make a map for you.

 I have no affiliation with any of these programs, and there are no affiliate links used in this article.

What mapping software are you using for your current work in progress novel? Do you use one of these or something else entirely?

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 as a bi-montly newsletter which you can join here. It’s a roundup of links about writing, Star Wars, Marvel, and/or the Panthers with brief commentary from him. Think of it as a kind of ICYMI (In Case You Missed It). Eventually, you’ll see info about my his books, and even receive free short stories.

  • Twitter: @tedatchley3
  • Twitter: @honorshammer (gaming / Blizzard Watch)
Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Military Units and Ranks for Your Speculative Fiction Novel

As writers of speculative fiction, military forces are a stable in many of our stories. Basing these on a real-world equivalent force can bring greater realism to our writing and help the reader suspend their disbelief of the more fantastical elements. Let’s examine the ranks and numbers of a modern military force structure which you can use as a jumping off point to build realistic forces of your own.

The numbers you’ll see are the optimal numbers, but keep in mind we rarely see these in reality. Units are in constant flux as soldiers transfer into or out of the unit. Some soldiers will invariably be sick, or wounded — even in peacetime — as training accidents will occur. Even in the military, people take vacations, are on TDY (temporary duty), or even spending time at home.

Unit and rank breakdowns

I’m using the US Army at the end of the second World War (~1945) for the unit numbers, but this will apply to most of the US forces of the last hundred years. Authors can make their own choices to change these as needed to fit your science fiction or fantasy setting. Because of space constraints, we’ll only examine land forces. Naval ranks for a more science-fiction/space opera-based storyline may be a topic for future discussion.

We’ll work our way from smallest to largest. As an author, you want to spend the most time with small groups of soldiers. Big, climatic battles are great, but ultimately our stories are about our characters, and how they interact with the surrounding people. This is most easily seen in a smaller group setting. Always set up your story so that even in the titanic battle, it’s the action of your character or characters that sways the day. They should always be at the focal point. Your MC must take the one hill that controls the battlefield or make the perilous flight down the trench to hit the thermal exhaust port.

The smallest grouping is the Strike Team or Fire Team. This is six or seven individuals with various roles and skills. A Corporal or Lance Corporal leads a Strike Team. Two Strike Teams form a Squad. A Squad will have twelve or thirteen members and is led by a Sergeant.

Four Squads come together to form a Platoon. Fifty fighting men and women (and aliens depending on your world) acting in (we hope) unison. At this level, we refer to Commanding Officer (CO) and Executive Officer (XO). The XO is the second in command. He takes over should something happen to the CO. For a Platoon, the CO is a Lieutenant, and the XO is a Senior Sergeant.

Three Platoons form a Company. You’re up to 150 soldiers. CO is a Captain; XO is a Lieutenant. I never spell that right on the first attempt. Four Companies make up a Battalion. Here the CO is a Lieutenant Colonel (abbreviation Lt Colonel) or a Major. The XO is a Major or Captain.

Three Battalions form a Regiment led by a Colonel as CO and a Lieutenant Colonel as XO. A Regiment is almost 2,000 warriors strong. Three Regiments form a Brigade commanded by a Brigadier General. At this size, the commander needs more than one assistant. Brigades have an Officer Planning Staff, but this staff is not in the Chain of Command.

Finally, two Brigades make up a Division led by a Major General and his staff. (The famous 82nd Airborne is a Division.) It’s 10,800 warriors led by 642 Officers. 11,442 men, women, elves, dwarves and whatever other races inhabit your worlds.

Officers and Gentlemen

As you examine these ranks, don’t think you are required to use each one in your forces. Instead, think more of the roles you need for your characters and story depending on the size of purpose of your military forces. These will allow you to give realistic ranks to your characters. You can also get creative and come up with your own rank names, as I did in my current WiP, and eliminate ones you don’t need.

The highest ranking officer in a military force is the General. It doesn’t matter how many stars. Below him is the Lieutenant General. This character should have experience in multiple types of engagements. The Major General is a senior strategic official. Their experience is better used for developing an overall strategy rather than implementing tactics on the battlefield. Below them are the Brigadier General, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel and Major. A Colonel might be in command of a Regiment, or a member of a General’s Planning Staff.

Lieutenant colonels are also referred to and addressed in correspondence as ‘colonel’. This gives rise to alternative terms. For Colonels, you’ll hear full colonel, bird colonel, or full bird colonel. A Lieutenant Colonel is called a Light Colonel. This is only used as a colloquial way to refer to the colonel, but they are never addressed this way.

The Captain is the first officer rank where your character must have shown true leadership ability. You’ll see Captains used as a Company Commander, or ‘detached’ as the Commanding Officer of many ‘special assignments’.

The first rank where the officer is given responsibility for the men in his command is Lieutenant (or First Lieutenant). A smart Lieutenant will rely on the experience of his Enlisted Executive Officer — a Sergeant Major or Senior Sergeant. The Senior Sergeant will show the Lieutenant him how to get the job done.

Second Lieutenant is an honorary grade for an Officer in Training. You’ve heard of low man on the totem pole. Second Lieutenant is the dirt into which the totem pole is placed.

Going Medieval

For more medieval or fantasy settings, you’ll see ranks like Knight-General for the Commander-in-Chief of an Order of Knighthood. The senior field Commander of an Orders’ forces is the Knight-Commander. Knight-Captain is the highest rank an independent Knight can attain without declaring oath to a liege.

The Holy Quest is a key accomplishment for any knight and a fantastic event to center your story around. Prior to taking the Quest, your character is a Knight. After they have completed their quest, they become a Knight-Lieutenant.

In the next part of this series, we’ll look at the real boots on the ground: Enlisted men and woman who get the job done and the ripe opportunities for conflict that arise between the enlisted men and officers.

300

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. 

  • Twitter: @tedatchley3
  • Twitter: @honorshammer (gaming / Blizzard Watch)
Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Writing bigger speculative fiction stories

In his 2017 best seller, You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Story, Houston Howard admonishes writers to create larger stories which he coins Super Stories. Your goal as a writer is not just to create a great story, or a great book (or movie script). Your goal is to create Intellectual Property (IP). Stories so big they launch entire universes, or even multiverses of characters, narratives, and experiences across all kinds of media. As the name implies, it’s a big job. Let’s look at how we can accomplish this.

It’s all starts with your characters

While intricate plots can carry books, to launch an IP you need a cast of characters readers can fall in love with. Super Stories require extraordinary characters. They must have some quality that makes them likable right away, but also have an arc that can span multiple stories. You have to go crank up everything you know about creating characters to a new level. You have to know them better than you know people in your ‘real life’, but still have wonderful things to discover about them.

And you need more than one. Each must be unique in their own way, with their own lessons to learn and obstacles to overcome. Every orbital character possesses the potential to be the principal character of another story or series. Sometimes their arcs may cross each other and even bring your characters into conflict with each other. This can be a good thing as fans will want to see who comes out on top.

No character in your story should be a cardboard cutout from central casting. The simplest guard could wind up rising to a general. One of the great training lessons for creating characters was my time running various tabletop role-playing games. My players took singular pleasure in walking up to any random passerby and grilling them on their life story. It prepared me to make sure each character, no matter how minor, was the hero of their own story.

And your unique story world

In science fiction, the ship often becomes a character in its own right. In a similar way, your story’s world, and universe needs to be a character. You need to flesh out its history and geography. Ninety percent of what you come up with won’t make it into the first book, but you’ll need it for book five, or maybe even book seventeen. It allows you to plant little offhand references reference to places or historical events that can become a hook and a thread to explore in a future story.

You can’t “pants” your way to an IP

This is going to require planning and some level of outlining. I know some of you just ordered shields up and red alert, but hear me out. If writing stories with a “by the seat of your pants” discovery method has been successful for you, keep doing that. What requires planning and outlining is the IP. Have a long-range plan of the general, big picture idea of the kinds of stories you want to add to your IP.  You should have a more detailed short-range plan of the stories themselves.

This allows you to…

Foreshadow across books

Rowling mastered foreshadowing in her Harry Potter series. (Please note there are spoilers for the Harry Potter series to follow, but I think we’ve past the statute of limitations at this point). From book one, Harry’s adopted family, the Dursleys, are moody and mean to Harry. When we discover much later that Harry is the last of Voldermort’s horcruxes, and the effect a horcrux has on the people around it, you see the Dursleys’ treatment of Harry in a whole new way. Another example is the complicated relationship between Harry and Snape. Early on, Snape appears as a villain and an antagonist. His mission is life is to humiliate and thwart Harry.  He even puts a curse on Harry. Later, you learn he was truly an ally, seeking to aid and protect Harry.

You can check out this post for more examples of this. Maybe J.K. got lucky and fell into these, but more likely, she carefully planned each one. You can, and should look do this in your series as well. Fans love to discover these kinds of things.

In addition to foreshadowing, it allows you to…

Cross-pollinate across your stories

Have a character or multiple characters from your earlier novels appear as characters in your other novels. Alternatively, place a character into your novel you intend for a major character or orbital character role in a future novel. While the most famous examples from the world of film is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), A.C. Williams does this in her novel, Ronnie Akkard and The Brotherhood of Blades. Barb and Jim Taylor, the main characters from her earlier book, Meg Mitchell and The Secret of the Journal, play a minor role in aiding the protagonist.

But each book must standalone

A major advantage of Super Stories is they give future fans multiple points of entry into your world. Discovering any of your books leads inexorably to the others, and with characters they are already familiar with. It lowers the trepidation of exploring your other works.

For this to work, each book must standalone as an outstanding work on its own. While it’s referential to your other stories, write with the assumption that every book is the first book in your world this reader has experienced. The connections and references are Easter eggs to delight your most dedicated fans. They should never be key to understanding the story or any character’s motivation.

This is true to the greatest degree in your debut novel. If that one doesn’t do well, it threatens the entire IP. Like a great first chapter, your debut novel must deliver an outstanding experience on its own, while also launching your readers into your world.

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. 

  • Twitter: @tedatchley3
  • Twitter: @honorshammer (gaming / Blizzard Watch)

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
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Your Protagonist: The Eyes to Your Story

Choosing a perspective character is one of the biggest choices when it comes to writing your novel. There are usually several great options, but as the writer it’s up to you to choose the best option.

And that’s where the difficulty comes in.

Your perspective character is often referred to as your camera. To stay in line with point-of-view rules, your reader can only see, hear, taste, touch, smell, and know whatever your scene’s perspective character sees, hears, tastes, touches, smells, and knows.

For the sake of this post, let’s assume you’re choosing one perspective character for the entire book, rather than several and switching perspectives scene to scene.

Your perspective character sets the tone of your story.

Imagine if the classic Pride and Prejudice was re-written and told from Mr. Wickham’s perspective. The tone would not have the romantic, at times light-hearted feel the classic is known for. What if J. K. Rowling had written Harry Potter from only Hagrid’s point-of-view? It would likely have felt a little more comedic.

Ask: What tone do I want in my story? Then choose the character that will best represent that tone.

Your perspective character reveals your story.

Going back to the Pride and Prejudice example, we don’t find out what’s happened to Mr. Darcy’s little sister until quite a way into the book. Trying to discover who Darcy is and why he’s so mysterious keeps us turning the pages. But if Jane Austen had written it from Mr. Wickham’s perspective the mystery of Darcy’s character wouldn’t have been a mystery.

Decide: What do you want to hide from your reader, and when do you want to reveal it? Then choose the character whose journey of discovery matches the journey you want your reader to have.

Your perspective character learns a lesson.

Good stories have good character arcs. Lizzie’s character arc in Pride and Prejudice is one that goes from judgmental to loving. Again, if Wickham had been the perspective character the reader likely wouldn’t have walked away changed. Not in a meaningful way.

Consider: What lesson do I want to teach, and which character will learn the lesson?

Choosing a perspective character is a big decision. He or she will set the tone of your story, experience a specific journey of discovery, and learn specific lessons other characters won’t learn in the same way.

As you consider which character to tell the story through, take your time. But once you’ve made the decision move forward with boldness. It’s your story to tell, and after all, you’re the writer!

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

How to Make Readers Feel At Home From Page 1

Have you ever walked into someone’s house as a first-time dinner guest and felt out of place? Ten other people are there and it’s a laid back, serve yourself kind of dinner.

You grab your food, spilling some ketchup on the counter in the process, and clean it up with a napkin. You don’t know where the garbage is although you know they have to have one. Dessert comes around and you want a clean fork but you don’t know which drawer to open and don’t want to look through every one.

By the time you leave you’re flustered. You KNEW there was a garbage can and a drawer full of forks, but because you didn’t know the layout of the house you couldn’t find them.

If you’re reading this post it’s because you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, which means by default, you have other-worldly elements in your writing.

When readers open to page one you want them to feel at home, not confused as they figure out how the world is set up and what goes where.

A simple, reader-friendly way to do so this by dropping in elements humanity relates to no matter where they’re from.

Just as ever house is designed in a different way but with similar features, every world has certain elements that are similar and will feel grounding for the reader.

You might be writing science fiction but the protagonist still can feel lonely. That’s relatable. You might write fantasy but your characters still eat. In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien makes meal time a very important part of hobbit lifestyle. This is something we can all relate to, even though his books are about dragons, magic, and rings of power.

Here are some questions to ask that will help your reader feel at home when plunging into a world they’ve never been to:

  • Where do my characters sleep?
  • Do they eat food from the ground? How is it grown?
  • How many seasons are there?
  • What does personal hygiene look like for my characters?
  • How are friendships made?

As you answer these questions you may feel like you’re brainstorming, and to an extent, you are. However, including personal, daily occurrences like eating and sleeping will ground your reader and make them feel more comfortable as they dive into your hero’s journey.

Remember, the more your reader can relate to your world, the more believable your fantastical elements will be. The more believable your story, the more memorable.

Happy writing!

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

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

Tropes: How to Make Them Credible, Not Cliché

You could probably name tropes from your favorite books and movies without hardly thinking about it. There’s the Reluctant Hero, the Chosen One, the Mentor, and the list goes on. As you read that list, characters probably came to mind.

But what goes into creating a trope that’s not cliché? Fantasy and Sci-fi are so popular it’s easy to fall into cliché’s without even realizing it. Today we’ll focus on two tropes and how to use backstory to make them compelling, rather than cliché.

The Reluctant Hero:

Frodo Baggins is a standout example of a reluctant hero. He never intends to take the ring to Mordor. But he ends up doing so and saving Middle Earth. Here are some questions when considering his backstory:

  • Why was Frodo reluctant to start on his heroic journey?
  • What about his character, prior to starting his journey, foreshadowed his heroism?
  • Did his reluctance show strength, or fear?

From the start, we know Frodo dreams of leaving the Shire. He spends hours in the woods, dreaming of other places. But when it comes down to it, he realizes what he has and wants to keep it.

However, he’s willing to sacrifice for his family, which is foreshadowed very well in his interaction with Bilbo. His reluctance makes him empathetic.

The Chosen One:

Harry Potter is a quite literal example of this, as the prophecies in the series talk about a “chosen one.” He was marked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and from infancy, his life is set on a path to heroism. Here are some questions to ask when considering whether his backstory makes his trope credible:

  • Does Harry live as if he is a chosen one?
  • Do his family connections lay a strong foundation to uphold him as a chosen one?
  • How does he mentally accept or reject his trope?

What’s so endearing about Harry is he doesn’t realize how famous he is. He doesn’t know he’s important, and he doesn’t realize his family backstory. A lot of his character arc is him working through his reality and trying to embrace it. This makes it credible.

When it comes to your trope…

Before deciding on your trope, ask yourself if your plot and characters lay a credible foundation. To do so, feel free to use the following questions:

  • Will your protagonist look like your chosen trope because he or she is created as one by you, the author, or as a result of their life situation?
  • Do their natural mannerisms reveal them as your chosen trope (reluctant hero, chosen one, etc.)?
  • Do secondary characters play into the credibility of your trope?

Best wishes, and happy writing!

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

World Building: What publishers Want

There’s something immersive about opening a fantasy or sci-fi book and feeling like there were hundreds of pages of history that happened prior to sentence one, page one.

It’s hard to pull off.

It’s also important to pull off.

Let’s do a quick case study on two well-known trilogies: Divergent and The Hunger Games.

Case Study 1: Divergent

The first book of the trilogy starts with the main character in front of a mirror, glimpsing her reflection as her mother cuts her hair in preparation for her aptitude test.

As a reader, some questions quickly arise. Why can’t she look in mirrors on a regular basis? What’s an aptitude test? Why is she so nervous to take it? Why is Beatrice’s world sectioned into factions? What’s the Choosing Ceremony?

Case Study 2: The Hunger Games

Page one starts with the main character wondering where her little sister is. Seems normal. But then we find out her little sister has bad dreams about the reaping that will take place in their district today.

Why is this world separated into districts? What’s a reaping? Why would a little girl have such bad dreams about it she’d leave the comfort of her big sister?

From paragraph one I realize I’m immersed in a dystopian society that’s been around for a long time. Long enough to establish rituals that implant themselves in a little girl’s nightmare.

When you or your agent submit your manuscript to a publisher, it’s important to pay attention to these examples. Note the themes. In both books, the reader is:

  • Plunged into a life-changing event from page one
  • Wondering how the main character will survive in a world that’s against them
  • Deeply entrenched in years of destructive customs  

Note these themes, but create your own. The important thing to remember is that from the first sentence the reader knows they’re entering another world.

Divergent begins, “There is one mirror in my house.” A simple statement that begs the question, why?

The Hunger Games, “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” It makes you keep reading, and by the end of the paragraph the reaping has already been introduced.

Here’s the point.

As a reader, you feel like you’ve just jumped into the middle of a massive, historical event. You want to discover why there’s a Choosing Ceremony and a reaping. Questions leap off the page with nearly every sentence.

Write this way.

Drop hints that your world has been around for ages. Show your reader that what’s happening now, on page one, is the most important part to jump in on.

Happy writing!

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

Three Ways to Use History to Build Your Fantasy

Margaret Atwood is well-known for her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian first published in 1985. Her novel covers the story of a handmaid living in what’s known as the Republic of Gilead. The catch?

Most every, if not all, major plot points were written based on reality. I imagine this was a large contributor in making Atwood’s novel a TV show. Why?

It was relatable.

The Republic of Gilead is not a real place, although to readers, it might seem to be. The same is true of your work in progress. Whatever country you create is not real, but it can seem real to readers when you create it using details that aren’t fiction.

When building your fantasy world, pull details from existing countries.

One of my first novels takes place in a country much like Australia — but only in shape and location. I mixed the layout of Australia with the topography of the US. I haven’t lived in Australia, but I have lived in the US. I know the US. And as the old adage goes, write what you know.

Secondly, I incorporated aspects of US history into my story, but pulled different aspects of Australian government into my fantasy government. This way the reader will never say, “Oh, this world is based on the history of the United States but set in Australia.” Pieces are pulled from both countries, but it’s not based on either.

Use details of historic figures to put skin on your characters.

When researching my characters, I looked up many historic people who’d had a big impact on either their country or the world. I pulled details of their personality and made them characteristics of my own characters.

Readers know names like Frederick Douglass, Mary I, Joan of Arc, and Adolf Hitler. It’s likely they also know more about them then they may remember learning in high school history. Pulling different details from each, a hair style, a personality trait, a character flaw, etc., then combining them to create one specific character, adds the ring of truth.

Mix customs.

If your book does well, you will likely have readers from around the country and possibly the world. Part of the fun of writing fantasy and science-fiction is the freedom to make things up. When it comes to the customs of the characters in your world, this freedom continues.

However, to really make your world come alive, research customs from centuries ago to present day. After you have ten to thirty customs, assign several to each of your characters. This will round out your characters, provide you with centuries of backstory to draw from, and use reality to strengthen your fantasy.

Don’t forget to add your own creative ideas to the mix. After all, that’s what writing fantasy and sci-fi is all about. Happy writing!

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

How Setting Can Be a Worthy Villain

It takes a spell-binding plot and evocative characters to create a memorable story. Some writers meticulously plan each plot point, others put their characters into interesting situations and write to discover what happens.

Regardless of your personal writing style, using setting as a pivotal character, even a villain, can take your story to a whole new level.

As an example, let’s break down two lines of dialogue, both in different settings.

Setting one: A sunny beach in the Bahamas, filled with tourists and vendors. Two characters are laying on towels reading their favorite book (possibly yours?), surrounded with half-eaten snacks. They overworked the past year, and this is vacation time their boss told them to take. Their dialogue goes like this:

Person One, “Before we have to go, you promised to tell me about that time you were working in London but were forced to step down.”

Person Two, “Maybe a different time? This isn’t exactly an ideal situation to revisit that.”

As a reader, what mental images did you conjure? Did you feel a sense of urgency? Probably not. They’re on the beach, after all. Reading. You may be able to understand why Person Two doesn’t want to ruin a perfect vacation day revisiting the past, but you’re probably more irritated they won’t share than empathetic with why they may not want to.

With that in mind, let’s look at the following situation.

Setting Two: A dark, abandoned warehouse. Our two characters are handcuffed to chairs, surrounded by members of the gang they’ve been undercover with for a week and a half. They’re about to be transported to a ship where they will be tossed overboard and left for dead. Their dialogue goes like this:

Person One, “Before we have to go, you promised to tell me about that time you were working in London but were forced to step down.”

Person Two, “Maybe a different time? This isn’t exactly an ideal situation to revisit that.”

As a reader, what dialogue was most captivating? In both settings, the dialogue is the same, word for word. But the setting was much different. The setting added an urgency for the characters by taking on a personality of its own.

By swapping sunlight for darkness, a beach for a warehouse, and tourists for a gang, we upped the stakes in a just a few sentences.

In both situations, we want to discover what happened in London, but as readers, we’re more likely to turn the page based on setting two.

Not only do we want to figure out what happened, but we want to find out if they’ll live long enough to allow us to find out. The setting is a villain in the sense that it’s keeping us from our goal of finding out what happened in London.

Using setting as an added villain for your characters’ will captivate your readers and keep them turning pages until the very last one.

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