The Next Big Thing Blog Chain

I was recently invited to participate in the Next Big Thing blog series, By Lori Hines, another Phoenix local author. Lori and I originally met at a Read Local Event in Glendale, Arizona. Lori’s novels “The Ancient Ones,” and “Caves of the Watchers,” published by Aberdeen Bay, include information about ancient Arizona as well as a balance of mystery and the paranormal. Check out Lori and her books at http://lhauthor.wordpress.com/

 

The idea of The Next Big Thing is each writer answers the following questions then tags five more up and coming authors.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?

I am currently most excited about the much anticipated release of Trolls, but I am working on the second book in the DREAD series, Max’s Despair. I am also working on several other pieces including a noir fantasy tentatively titled Vril.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Most of my books start as ideas stemming from the research that I do merely out of curiosity. I will dive into study on various topics and some will strike my fancy enough to write a story instead of a research paper.

What genre does your book fall under?

All of my current books fall under fiction and adventure, the fantasy or historical aspect is secondary. I am such a fan of classic adventure.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I do not currently have any actors in mind primarily because I am not a fan of new actors but the ones I do like are getting a bit too on in years to play the parts anymore.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Trolls – A young girl’s adventure in a fantastic world of magic and monsters, appropriate for all ages.

Vril – All crimes have an element of the bizarre, some have elementals equally bizarre.

Max’s Despair – The king of the DREAD Fleet tells all, in this history of how Maxmillion de Xavier became captain of Despair.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am currently and hope into the future, represented by Arizona Publishing Services based here in Phoenix, Arizona.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I am a long time NaNo-warrior and I write all of my rough drafts since 2003 during NaNoWriMo. The editing obviously takes much longer.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Trolls definitely has been compared to Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan, while I hope readers feel the Captain Blood or Treasure Island ambiance in Max’s Despair.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Trolls is of course inspired by my son and the children that I come in contact with. Kids are great inspiration for adventure stories.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

I hope that readers really enjoy that all of my main characters never go it alone. There is always a need for allies. I really want readers to love the secondary characters as much as the heroes.

The Next Big Five:

Ashley Barnard

Ann Chamberlain

Patti Hulstrandt

Chet Shupe

Todd VanHooser

Vril - Chapter One Preview

Chapter One

Has every detective had a few odd cases?  Of course, it is the nature of the job.  Odd is a relative term in this business too.  Every gumshoe has a limit.  Every P.I. goes in with an idea of what sort of case he will take, and which ones are just a few paces enough past sane to make him shake his head, tip his hat and turn his back. 

Sure, some of us started as beat cops with field experience built up to feel as though we have seen it all.  That can make a man either harder than a pair of concrete shoes or so tenderized that near anything makes him drink it away every night.

The kids, just out of training, the bookish ones who degreed their way into the business, they amuse the most though, they are a flip of the coin.  Maybe it is all the clinicism that creates their instant cynicism and detachment.  Sad to think it though, that such young hearts could go so cold as to not see the very human side of the stories they work on. 

I have a little of both worlds.  Failed my first try through forensic studies, and could not afford the pay back on all that school without a job.  I never wanted to be a cop, an enforcer.  Too much like work to this nimble mind.  I wanted to solve not serve.  But, I did my time, ran through the physical training like a champ too, if I may say so, enjoyed the challenge really.  I was younger then.  Where my mind was too young to stay on task, my body was focused on being honed to perfection.  Picking up dames was formidable motivation for my youthful focus.  I do not think I could do it today. 

Limits, that’s what I was speaking on.  We all had them back then; we all have them now.  I did not think mine changed much.  The schooling the first time had given me enough technical savvy to see life as a case study, not much more.  Working the streets brought back my humanity, but not my faith in it.  Age and wisdom, and another few years at the books, gave me the rest.  There was nothing I had not seen on the street or read in an article.  Well, not yet anyway.

Magic, Fantasy and the Element of Plausibility

In my stories I try to be as close to reality as possible, while adding just enough fiction to make things interesting. I am personally not a fan of sword and sorcery styled fantasy, because so often magic is used as a cheat rather than a tool. There are no consequences to the use of magic and the power it bestows on the user is apparently limitless and conveniently requires no training to use. Granted this is not one hundred percent the rule. Creators like George R. R. Martin, Peter S. Beagle, and to some degree J. R. R. Tolkien are fair at keeping the science in magic.

There it is. The science to magic. It is not this thing that falls into the hero’s hands at just the right time, for all the right reasons, and is his to command for no other reason than he is the hero and it just is. There is a logical explanation for all things in nature and magic is simply the science of the fantasy world.

Magic as a Science

     Alchemy is likely the premiere thought that comes to mind when considering science and magic in the same sentence. It is not the only one, but it is the most tangible to explain. Alchemy is really just chemistry. There are rules to how it works, and a means to an end. Without following the rules you could well not only fail to reach your intended result, but you could very well lose your eyebrows.

     This analogy should be the first thought on any writer’s mind when playing with magic. What are the instructions for use on this tool? Who should use it? What are the dangers? Who makes it? What powers it? What happens when it breaks down or used incorrectly? I am not here to tell you what your “magic” can or cannot do, but I will say, as a reader and viewer of some fantasy, I want to know that you understand what you are messing with. You would not give anyone a drill press without some guidance and proper protection, your magical/ mystical/ god-given epic/ awesome/ all-glorious orb/ rod/ medallion/ crystal of knowing/ being/ controlling/ some-other-power should be no different!

Real Magic

     When I was a creative and lonely teen I admit to snagging a few mystical tomes from the local psychic fairs and Pagan shoppes. As I read all these awesome things that were possible with the use of magic, sympathetic magic mind, a reality began to form. There are a ton of rules to this little game and a lot of things required to make this work! This, I think, is what really formed my need for plausibility. Well, and my overt obsessive-compulsive need to make charts, lists, graphs and notes on everything.

     I recommend grabbing some books on the following subjects to understand magic before writing it into your character’s life; mythology, angelic languages, ancient languages, alchemical symbols, medicine, plants, astronomy, lunar cycles, divination, eastern and western religion. But, goodness steer clear of anything that spells magic with a “k”.   

Practice, practice, practice!

     Magic is an art as much as a science. Your character should not be awesome at it from the get go. Also, and goodness knows I love to play them too, but only in video games are characters allowed to simply level up. I understand that in anything, when it finally clicks it feels like a level up and seems like it happened instantly, but think about the time and effort it really took. It isn’t fair to your reader or your character to win just at the right moment without a bit of struggle first.

     Your character knows he is going to have to fight the big baddie and he knows he needs to sharpen those magic claws on something before that meeting. Give him little moments to work this out. Maybe he should lose his eyebrows once or twice?

The Grand Finally

     Is it luck, genetics, or hard work that gave your character the power in the first place? And, which of these things allowed him to perfect it? How long does it last and what are the consequences? Only when you are willing answer these things can you master the art of plausible fantasy.

     Spend some time trying to memorize and pronounce an ancient language, or drawing the perfect alchemical symbol. Better still, try it while running in circles at night, wearing a moo-moo and house slippers, a necklace of sausage around your neck, fending off your neighbor’s yapping Chihuahua. Yeah, that should make you sympathize with your heroes.

Rio Vista and Foothills Week Three: Scenes

Set the Stage

This is the part of writing I liken most to working on stage or interior design. It is also the place where a writer can really get a God complex. It is time to build the world characters play in.

In terms of the interior design aspect, I like to think of my scenes as the studio set the actors need to interact with. I fully admit, my scenes are much better since script writing a few times. Making a list of required props and realizing how much space actors have to move helps add plausibility to a story.

What would you tell a set designer if he were to build your props? Be specific. It is not so much that all of this needs to be written into your descriptions but your final product will be much better received if you have considered all the props your actor/ character could interact with.

Lighting and sound is important too. To set the mood in movies or stage the light and sound technicians adjust volume, add effects, brighten or dim the lights, and sometimes change the filter color to be even more dramatic. Think of your Scene Outline as directions for the technicians at your disposal.

Be as wild as you want to be! Movies, television and stage are still more limited than the written word. A scene written on paper is limitless in financial budget, it is only a deficit of imagination that can slow production. While makeup, CGI programs, set construction, costumes, and fire codes create hurdles for the visual arts, writers put the imagination machine into motion and the possibilities are boundless.

Exercise for class or group:

Use Scene Outline worksheets to pick apart descriptions.  Do this to your own work or trade with others. 

Exercise for Lone Writers: 

Use worksheets to build a scene for your story or recall important moments in your life.  Decide if it is easier to use the sheet to create a scene or as follow up to writing one out.

*Worksheets can be helpful, but over analyzing, can cause hang-ups in creativity.  It’s all about balance.* 

Rio Vista and Foothills Week Two: Dialogue

Week Two: All the Things They Say

If your characters are human they likely enjoy dialogue. We are a social species, we humans, and we are a little bit narcissistic too. Humans love to hear ourselves talk. We will run our mouths dry on a topic we are impassioned with. We have entire systems of education, and communities based on chattering at one another. So, what makes our characters any different? Purpose.

The dialogue in a story has intention. Whether the words we offer our characters to speak offer insight into plot or personality, they do have purpose. If characters are discussing the weather it should probably have some greater point than making small talk.

Exercise for Class or Group:

Trade Week One Dialogue assignments with another writer.  Write the dialogue for one another’s observed actions.

Was the description in the Week One Exercise enough to guess the mood of the characters?  If so, did you feel the dialogue added or reduced the flow of the ‘story’.  If not, how would you improve upon the description, what is missing?

Exercise for Lone Writers: 

Talk to yourself!  Walk around the house or sit very still, but always be looking in a mirror.  Let the dialogue flow.  Just be a chatterbox.  Soliloquy your heart out, or tell someone how they have made you feel and play the part of the other too, listen to the responses. 

Or

Maybe mom was wrong, eavesdropping could be good for the writer’s soul.  Play super spy at a public location.  Listen in and try to write down the conversations of those around you.  Note little nuances of speech and if there is a gesture or facial affect that goes with certain moods.

Rio Vista and Foothills Week One: Action Only Exercise

 I Promised to post this. Like I mentioned in class at Foothills, it is not what one might think is going on, but it was fun either way.

Week One: Action Only

 

Mike sighed and took the first step toward the diner door.  He scanned the dining area for the reason for his visit. 

He was seated at the counter, concentrating intensely on the cup of steaming coffee in front of him, a man in unassuming suit.

Mike slid onto the stool beside the man, and turned the clean cup in front of him over to accept hot coffee offered by the passing waitress.  He waved the girl on before she could ask the typical, managerially programmed questions.

Mike leaned to mumble to the quiet man. 

The man did not so much as tip his gaze from his coffee to respond.   

Mike tapped anxiety around the coffee cup.

The man in the suit offered nothing in his demeanor to betray his emotions. The man looked from his coffee to direct his attention on Mike.  Mike leaned away impulsively as the man’s eyes caught him.

Mike focused on his own coffee cup.  He wished he had not made contact,

The man continued to stare at Mike, the coffee cup forgotten.

Mike glared in the man’s direction a flash, but avoided extended eye contact.  The man smiled, showing teeth glowing white.

Mike looked away. Mike swallowed his trepidation.

The man sipped his coffee.  He made no exhibition of the heat though the cup was steaming.  The man tried to lock with Mike again. His smile wolfishly displayed.

Mike sipped his coffee.  His face contorted as the liquid scorched his tongue. He set the cup down.

The man raised an eyebrow; Mike watched it instead of the glinting blue eye below it.

 The man sipped his coffee.  His focus floated around the emptying restaurant. He drained his cup and tossed an assortment of change onto the counter.

Mike covered the coins from the passing waitress, she scowled but continued by.  He did not want to give the waitress grounds to send them away.

 The man nodded.

Mike noticed the attempt at eye contact.  Mike looked away then back again.

The man leaned away slightly.  He smiled and straightened in his seat.

Mike’s eyes darted around the diner. 

The man put a hand on Mike’s arm.

Mike drew away, slow enough, he hoped, not to draw attention to his alarm. 

The man settled his hand back around his coffee cup.

Mike worked to regain a more offensive pose.

The man seemed finally to reconsider the situation Mike put him in.  He looked Mike over; he nodded.

The man’s hand indicated an empty booth near the door.

Mike’s suspicion held him in his seat for only a moment.  His curiosity wanted to take the chance.