Percolation

Percolation. Terry Brooks uses the term in his book, Sometimes Magic Works. Ideas form like a pool from a drip, one tiny drop is only one of the puzzle pieces.

My ideas percolate for years. I create a folder and a text file. There I stick snippets of thoughts, dreams, quotes and pictures. Eventually it fills up with an idea.

As I’ve said before most of my ideas start as dreams, but I also get them from pictures, songs, and movies. I’m working on a short right now which started as our summer challenge picture. Then I heard this song, and this quote. Next I had a dream about it. The last piece fell into place as I watched Toy Story 3 this week.

Another idea that I had a dream about a few years ago also had some action this week. Slot machines gave me an idea for an extension of the magic system. Another dream gave me a few more character ideas.

I have hundreds of these files. I may never write all of them but there are always a few rippening.




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Around the Interwebs

A couple of agent blogs have come to my attention in the last few days, and since I had commentary on both, I thought I’d mention them here.

The first is by outstanding agent Nathan Bransford. This post was brought to my attention by our own Jeff Kirvin. It’s entitled ‘The One Question Authors Should Never Ask Themselves When Reading’.  Go and read it. No, go ahead. I’ll wait.

Don’t forget to bookmark his blog. I highly recommend it for writers at any stage.

I really like the points he made in that article, and agree. But I don’t think ‘do I like this’ is a useless question to ask yourself – as long as you don’t stop there. Consider WHY you like what you’re reading, or don’t like it. Once you’ve read it, pick it apart and see what bits you most enjoyed. Where did you skip past paragraphs, or get bumped out of the story’s grip on you, and how could the author have prevented that?

Reading with an eye to how you would do the same thing is an occupational hazard of being an author. You should still get lost in fiction – we’re readers first, after all – but there’s nothing wrong with admiring cool things as they go by, tucking them away in your head for later. And nothing wrong with reading bad fiction and seeing how you could do better.

The second article was brought to you by the magic of Twitter. This is from top agent Rachelle Gardener, entitled Managing Expectations. Go forth… read, bookmark, return.

The next to last paragraph resonated most strongly with me. As authors in a rapidly changing publishing environment, it’s really required of us to keep our expectations under control.

It’s always a wrench for a new author to realize what ‘getting published’ really means to them – usually a far cry from what they thought. Certainly the beginning of a journey, not the end.

But nowadays, with things changing so fast the word ‘book’ doesn’t even mean what it did when you were a child, it’s even more strange. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot to hold any unrealistic expectation. Ambition and optimism are good – expectation must be fluid. Discover the difference between what you desire and what you expect. The world may give you the former, if you work for it… the latter can cripple you.




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Myth in writing

My favorite kinds of stories to read are stories containing myth. One of the reasons for this is that they take me outside time and place to some origin point that all people regardless of culture have in common. Jung called it the ‘collective unconscious’. Mircae Eliade called it ‘illo tempore’. Both mean time out of time, and time out of place that contain the archtypes of all our experience, human or otherwise. So the kind of stories I like to write often contain myth.

As a kid, I wanted to somehow do mythology for a job. Since I have no superpowers like the X-Men, the closest I could come was a degree in anthropology. In years since, I’ve been looking through the lens of anthropology at my own beliefs and culture too, and finding that in most cultures, myth is the point through which common elements are expressed, and beliefs are internalized.

In my understanding of vodun beliefs, the cross doesn’t just symbolize the Christianity that is an indivisible part of vodun. But the cross has a much older meaning: the crossroad between the divine and man, where they meet in the same place. Divine doesn’t have to mean holy in the Judeo-Christian sense, but sacred, something spiritual and magical that intersects our profane world. Viewed in such a way, this notion of the divine sidesteps the Western Christian paradigm of separateness of one world from the other, though most cultures have a division of some kind for the sacred from the profane. But when I read, or write myth in stories, I feel one step closer to that crossroad, and see magic in the real world, the same magic that young kids simply accept and most adults forget exists. I forget the constant task list in my head and get a view of what the world might look like from my kid’s point of view.




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Ariel’s Article 1

I count myself as a novice writer. I’ve been scribbling things for a long time, but I’ve only really started working on my ability recently. And of course I’ve had some bad habits to break. Although one that I didn’t even know I had concerned character back story and world building.

Up till recently, I’ve been having serious issues about three-fourths into the plot of whatever story I was working on. Things got tangled, complicated, or I’d lose track of something and end up painting myself into a corner.

So I decided to try something new. I’d heard before from my Teacher that working on a character’s back story helps to open up the plot and keeps the story going. So I sat down and made myself start writing out a character’s back story, starting from when she was a little kid. It actually made me a little nervous to try something I’d never done before, embarrassing as it is to admit. But once I started, I found myself with hand cramps from writing so much and an almost complete story in front of me. It was a little surprising, I didn’t know I even had it in me before I started. It isn’t surprising that I was going about writing in a way that didn’t work for me at all. -_-U

Now that I’ve finally found a way that works for me, world building, and making a plot that doesn’t look like Swiss cheese is so much easier! And fun too, which is good cause there’s nothing that kills writing more then it not being any fun.




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Writing What You Know

Once, I attended a panel at a World Science Fiction Convention where the writers were quite big names. They were all ladies, and while I won’t tell you who they were, they all had covers with Luis Royo artwork on them, which does not come cheap. Big name authors.

The focus of the panel was on writing what you know, but the four authors (along with each sitting behind a little fortress wall of her books, in case you wanted to buy one) had decided to focus on a very specific point to make. In essence, what they were saying was that unless you were, yourself, a person of Celtic extraction (for example), you must not consider yourself free to write in that mythology.

To put it politely, I disagreed.

Then what does it really mean–write what you know? Many of us would tend to wail, “But I don’t know anything!” I, myself, could be said to know only what a 21st century single mother without a job would know. Fairly limited area to put a story in, don’t you think?

But wait. I know more than that. I have dabbled in kaleidoscope crafting, in woodcraft, in hiking and mountains, in photography, in sketching, in editing and publishing and computers. I know something about those.

More than that, I’ve paid close attention to reading and study in areas of anthropology, evolution, brain function, linguistics, housebuilding, history, weaponry, animal care, and the list goes on. I know something about those too.

Even better than that… I care about a lot of things. Truth, honor, passion, beauty, right and wrong, the power of story, the power of myth, the power of fear and love. I know about those.

And here I am writing about other worlds, and putting ALL of those things in! What do I think I’m doing? Do I have the right to do that? Yes, I do. And my stories are stronger for it. They’re stronger for the research I’ve done, deepening the things I know. They’re stronger for the reading I’ve done, widening the paths my mind has walked. And they’re stronger for the living I’ve done, powering up the engine of my spirit that is always the driving force in my work.

So don’t just write what you think you know. Write what you’re passionate about, and learn what you can, and believe in your work. You have the right to do that.

Kathleen




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Amber’s post one

Fell

Human

Dark skinned, lean body, blond hair, green eyes.

Kind and loves his master. Grew up with a rich family of anthropomorphic  lions as cleaner at first then a lover at age16 to the head of the family.

As the sun gently goes over the mountain. Speaking of mountains the writers retreat was wonderful. Being able to write again feels so wonderful. Thank you Robin for bringing the writing prompts. If it wasn’t for them I would so not be able to write. It turned out really fun and funny. I’ve never done anything so funny before.

Well I’m also glad its over because I’ve started writing again. Its mostly about how a young slave is a favorite to someone who is very powerful. Don’t worry he’s a kind master ^_^.

I don’t really have any writing tips because I’m still learning to write myself. I don’t know how to explain world building because it just comes to me. I never know what I’m going to write, I never know what world is inside my head. Yet I have many of them hidden inside somewhere. At least I think I do. I’ll know more when I get to collage.

Speaking of collage I’m hoping to meet new friends. Not only will I be learning and spending two days there a week but I’m hoping for some fun anyways.

I’m not really organizing this thing I’m just blowing it. I want to write something but I’m not the best at it.
Oh Me, Ariel and sometimes kiki are working on a podcast. we’ve got our first one up already.

http://ambergryff.wordpress.com/podcast/

We hope you enjoy. We’re a little ranty, naughty and loud but we hope you will enjoy either way.




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What I thought would never happen – did.

When I was younger, I never babysat. I am the youngest of three children, and both of my parents are the eldest in their families, so I did not have the advantages of growing up by taking care of the “little ones,” neither siblings nor cousins. To my teenage mind, babies and toddlers were disgusting, gooey creatures that were constantly wet at both ends, and I steered clear of them.

Although far from being a neat freak (all right, I was a downright slob) I did like to have my things in order. No sticky, grubby hands were ever allowed to touch my things. My toys, my books, my art supplies – heck, even the TV remote control. As I grew older, the list grew likewise. CDs, DVDs, game controllers, and, most importantly, my laptop.

My laptop. One of the truly sacred articles of writerly life. The keyboard must be kept clean. The air vents must be kept free of dust. The screen must not get too cold, or the innards too hot. Use a surge protector. And eating anywhere near it – out of the question. Nothing like a full can of Coke to wreck your wpm rate.

Now I am a parent.

The youth director at my mother’s church is the best example I can think of to illustrate the transformation that turns the kid-haters into, well, pretty darn good parents. Doug really is a neat freak. He doesn’t like mess of any kind, and especially doesn’t like to dirty his hands. But when his daughter started vomiting over the living room rug, he acted on instinct: He stuck out his hand, cupped it under her chin, and neatly caught the puddle of sick before it could ruin her dress, shoes, or the carpet. He got her calmed down and, like all good daddies, feeling better. Then, white-faced, he related this tale to us the next day and cried, “What’s up with that?” as he pantomimed vomit pooled in his hand. Gross, right?

Things aren’t much different in my house. When Jade discovered that he could climb onto the couch, the next thing to learn was getting down again. When he decided to go over the arm, I dropped my laptop directly onto the hardwood floor in order to make a diving catch of my son before he broke something important. Like his skull, or one of his tiny, chubby arms.

He wanted to show me how, by turning his bottle upside-down over my keyboard and shaking it, milk came out the top. I explained that he was supposed to drink the milk, and grabbed a paper towel. He wanted to push the buttons on my mouse. I unplugged it and let him go to town. He wanted to point out pictures on my screen. I added Windex to the paper towel and kept typing.

In the face of discovery, or safety, my laptop comes in a screaming second to my baby. The really weird part is that’s okay with me. As long as I remember to save my writing often, on two or three different removable media, I can enjoy these early years with Boyzilla and his mostly-accidental destructiveness. After all, a notebook and a pen are an option.

Look, Jade! It’s a puppy! Banana! Rubber duckie! Racecar!




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What to Pay For

In a writing career, there are a million people who stand ready to tell you what to do. Some of these people want money, in the form of up-front cash for advice, or for the cost of how-to books, or the cost of conventions, or the cost of workshopping, agenting, mentoring or critiquing your work.

When is it worth it to pay? When are you getting scammed? When are you laying out money for something you could get for free – and when are you passing up an opportunity that would repay itself tenfold?

It’s not easy to tell, and everyone will tell you something different. The only hope is to steer by your internal star: what feels true to you and what feels wrong? Here are the three things that seem the most true to me.

ONE: YOU ARE IN A BUSINESS
In other words, you are the supplier of a product (fiction) and everyone else in the business (publishers, agents, editors, readers) are distributors and/or consumers of that product. If you keep your eye on that simple fact, you will realize a number of things that proceed directly from it.
- Most of the money, over the course of your career, should end up in YOUR pocket
- You have to learn, struggle, work and fail and learn some more to succeed – no easy answers
- You must handle your own money and business matters – no one else can do it for you
- People (even agents and publishers) can choose whether to buy your work or not, and that is ALL the judging they can do – no one can tell you what to write or not write but yourself

TWO: YOU NEED INSTRUCTION
If ever you feel that you don’t need to learn any more, stop. Your career is over. There will always be things to learn. The business changes all the time, the craft changes all the time, and you change all the time. Everything is fluid, and nothing is fixed. Not even the language! This has several implications as well.
- Writing comes first – don’t buy workshops, conventions or how-to books you haven’t got time for
- Strive to make your time do multiple duty: conventions can be part of self-marketing and networking as well as instructional
- Don’t do things you’re not ready for – get your product ready before buying marketing courses, etc
- Before you spend money, check with yourself: is this about the writing, or about the socializing – and is it necessary?

THREE: YOU ARE NOT ALONE
There are many writers in the world. Most of them have been where you’re standing, and most of those have empathy and understanding – though few have much free time. Band together. Share the cost, share the ability, share your work, and remember that all writers are readers. This is really the most important of all.
- Much advice is free on the internet – check that it’s from authors and editors you respect and that it feels true to you – no need to pay for 99% of advice, especially for beginners
- If you have a critique group and use them well, they are invaluable; if they are nonhelpful, primarily social, or mostly build you up OR mostly cut you down… drop them at once
- Most of the truly helpful stuff to pay for involves other people – groups, conventions, and workshops are OVERALL more helpful than how-to books, paid mentors, online classes or paid critiques

I hope this free advice has been helpful. The gist of it is really said in two easy lessons: be cautious with your money and follow your own sense of what is true. Neither is easy. Sorry. It’s not an easy thing to be a successful writer – if you’ve been told that, you’ve been told lies.

Fun, satisfying, creative, adventurous, ever-changing, powerful, astonishing and wondrous – but not easy.




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Pilfering from History

I’m very proud of my city of Grastelyn. Its government is what I call a “snobtocracy” – the privilege to rule is judged by hereditary electors based on a candidate’s achievements in the arts and sciences. It’s sophisticated yet effete, and allows me to engage in lots of intrigue and light satire.

And I made it all up myself.

But what of the surrounding country? Initially, I had a few scattered nobles, and a main farming community totally separate from either faction, and the more I read, the more this rang as wrong, wrong, wrong. Totally unviable, too.

That’s just a small taste of my problems with Thalidia, Mark One. Inevitably, it all came down to amateurish worldbuilding based on not enough grounding.

So, here’s a tip: when your creativity comes up stupid, always remember that history is a well you can go to: millenia of human experience ripe for the drawing.

The history can’t be had as-is, of course. No, not even if you’re Guy Gavriel Kay. It makes for a predictable and derivative telling, particularly if you’re not Guy Gavriel Kay. You still have a creative engine, and research is only its fuel.

But with footing in reality, odds are your story will become that much more real.




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CPGO: Asides – Story Bible

World Building is the bane of my existence. I love it but it continually defies my need for organization. I’ve tried 3×5 cards, notebooks, loose leaf notebooks, software, and sketch books. I’ve come to terms with the need for a digital solution. Novel planning software only goes as deep as characters, locations and items. Note software seems to disappear ever few years leaving me in a panic. I’m trying to be better.

I tend to fill out my world as I write. So set up this file under step 2 if am not working on already done world. This becomes my world bible. Currently I use AllMyNotes Organizer. This gives me the organizational tree I need for my process. Before that I used Keynote, but I get antsy when software isn’t supported anymore. I know there is a new developer for that but I’m not impressed by the new version. I’ve tried Evernote, but the wiki stuff drives me nuts. I hate wiki’s with an unbridled passion. They’re reinventing the wheel and making it complicated for no reason other than to be cute. A lot of gamers like wikis as an interactive way to deal with players. IMNSHO: there are better ways to do this that don’t drive me up a wall.

Now I have a lot of books on world building both on philosophy and random tables. I don’t follow any of them for the most part. Well I do…just not in the order they may take.

Step 1: Map
I use AutoRealm to make my maps. Export them as jpg and stick a copy in a maps folder under my world name and a copy in my note program.

Step 2: Add Details
I decided the locations for the story. As I write I pull out details and stick them in my notes.

And that’s it. I get this dang thing going. I add to my maps as I discover new locations and people and things. This is totally opposite of my outline fixation. That’s why this step is an aside.

I’m all complex that way.

In the Cards:

NaNo Card: Naming. Names come from everywhere. When I used to do the secretary thing I’d write down interesting names from mailing list. Random phone book and baby book suggestions helped too.

WD Tip: Forgetting the Reader. It’s the reader, not you, whose’s going to decided what your story is about and if it’s good. They have to care about your work, understand it and want to recommend it. This is where critique groups, beta readers, and others come in handy. Find out what’s confusing, boring and fix it.




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