Writing
Fan Fiction 2.0
So I’m… Ankle deep in writing my fan fiction piece and I’m running into some problems.
I don’t know if any of the (admittedly few) people who read this blog write fan fiction, or would admit it if they do, but I’m fairly certain my issues may be common. Certainly so for beginner fan fic writers.
(For those of you who haven’t played the Mass Effect games, whether you play a female or male Shepard, the character is highly customizable, and a various number of actions and personalities can be developed throughout the games.)
Shepard is easy to write. She’s mine. (Though admittedly, I’m not sure what direction other than Paragon to take with her.) Thane, however, is being a bit of a problem.
He’s an established character and I’m nearly paralyzed with the fear of doing something that breaks the Canon so much that any actual fan of the games would be turned off by it.
I had a similar issue with the Seventh Sanctum Shorts characters because I had used the active Seventh Sanctum Forums at that time to get the characters who inhabit the forums. So they were, in effect, other people’s persona’s. I was so afraid of doing something wrong that I set the whole project aside. Now, though, that I don’t even know how to get into contact with any of the people (except for one and I’m not sure he’d remember me or the project), I’m more at ease taking the characters and making them my own
This is not an option, though, because these characters Thane, and any other established characters I pull from the games, will not fade from memory. At least not any time soon.
I keep writing, because I have deadlines to meet, but I was wondering, has anyone else had this problem?
How did you over come it?
My Writing Process
Yay for being tagged!
So this is being put up late, but it’s still the same day!
K.R. Green over at http://krgreen.co.uk/ tagged me with this to talk about my… you guessed it, Writing Process. So here goes, yeah?
1. What am I working on at the moment?
Well…. I’m both working on writing a series of short stories (and posting them at seventhsanctumshorts) that are a practice in insanity. If I had to describe them, I’d say Doctor Who, but less cohesive.
Also, I am currently working on finishing/rewriting my 2011 NaNoWriMo project which was then titled… well I don’t remember what, it’s changed titles so often. It used to be called Shadows and Lies, then it was Shadow’s Fall, now I think it’s called Chasing Shadows. I’m bad at titles.
Chasing Shadows is part post-apocalyptic, though at first glance you wouldn’t tell. Part dystopic. The idea came from reading Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and wondering, “What if they hadn’t killed the Lord Ruler?” Upon first write it seemed too much like the Mistborn trilogy, so I changed my magic system. Changed the backstory of the world. And changed so much that if I didn’t tell you that’s where my inspiration was, you might never know.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Well, for one, when I first get an idea and am writing, I don’t think in terms of genre. It’s mostly fantasy, but it has, like I said, bits of Post-Apocalypse and Dystopia sprinkled in. As well as some Science-Fiction from a pair of siblings who drop in from another dimension and are just trying to get home.
So it depends on which genre you choose. If you’re asking how it differs from Fantasy… well, it’s not your normal sword-and-sorcery. It’s practically set in modern day, but with magic. Though it’s not Urban Fantasy, either. The City (as it is called in the novel) is completely isolated, kept so by the Dark Skins that they fight constantly. It’s a mix of genre’s.
3. Why do I write what I do?
You’d be better off asking me why I breathe. Or why I feel.
I do it because I must. In each of the books/stories that I write. There is something about them that I entirely believe. Whether it be a theme (Not everything is as it seems, in Chasing Shadows). A character (sometimes a character comes to me, and I just have to tell his/her story). A plot (these are less frequent. If I don’t love the characters involved, there is no way I’ll write it, no matter how awesome the plot is.)
I love something about every book that I write. And they’re pounding on my head to be let out. I have to oblige, otherwise I might very well go insane.
4. How does my writing process work?
You tell me.
Seriously, though. I’m still trying to figure that out. I have been in a bit of a slump recently, feeling bad about not writing, but still not writing. Honestly, it’s kind of pathetic. So I’ll be giving you updates as I get it figured out. I’ll be posting (hopefully) weekly updates on the blog again, as well as updating the Seventh Sanctum Shorts tumblr as I continue writing those.
Working overnights it’s difficult to stay up late or wake up early but, I will be writing after work each day (from 7am to noon) and see if I can’t make that a habit.
Sadly, I don’t have anyone to tag. Especially as how I was late to get this up on my blog. If you would like to participate, you can answer the questions in the form of a comment or do so on your own tumblr/blog and post a link in the comments and I’ll be sure to check it out!
What I learned…
Hey guys!
I just finished reading Book three of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and let me just say OH MY GOD. This is kind of a book review mixed with a teaching post. Anyway, The Lunar Chronicles, thus far are three books. Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress. (Which is kind of a lazy way of naming books, because they’re just character names, but hey. It works.)
I’ll post the synopses of the first, but the other two I won’t because that would be some major spoilers.
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
Now, I don’t read much science fiction, it’s just never been my cup of tea. But I read The Lunar Chronicles because I’d seen the book trailer for Cress and I was like… That sounds bad ass. So I looked up the books and bought them on my kindle. Read all three of them in like a week. They’re amazing. I loved them as both a reader AND a writer. I love it when that happens. Because not only did I enjoy the book, it taught me things. I’ll tell you some of those things and also this, if you’re a writer OR a reader, check out these books. They’re great.
So. What I learned.
Don’t Explain Anything
I know it sounds counterproductive, but especially if you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, you don’t want to explain the world to your readers. Give them credit. Readers are smarter than we often give them credit for. When I was reading Cinder, I was first confused about the world, and then as I continued reading, I didn’t care. Marissa Meyer has mastered the art of giving you just enough information to keep you interested.
Misunderstandings and Coincidences
Basically, they have to make sense. Books two and three, Scarlet and Cress respectively, were full of these. And it was great. Because characters made assumptions based on small pieces of information and person conjecture, and they were wrong. Now, that’s fine, and normal even, but what made it even better, was the fact that you, as the reader, KNEW that they were wrong. But the conclusions that they came to made sense.
That’s misunderstandings. Now for coincidences. I noticed it especially in book three. Characters split up, bad things happen, and they reunite without meaning to. But, it made sense. I’m being honestly obtuse, because I don’t want to spoil anything, and honestly, that was one of the greatest surprises.
Antagonists
Basically, motivations, back story, etc. Simply put, they have to have it. You have to know it, but the readers doesn’t, necessarily. Marissa Meyer doled it out a little bit at a time. Honestly, the antagonist wasn’t explicitly named until… Well, halfway through the first novel? I think. Yet we didn’t know much about her aside from her race until the next book. Even then, we didn’t know much about her personally until nearly the end of book three.
Now, I’m not saying you have to agree with the antagonist, or feel sorry for him/her/them. Honestly, I HATE Levana. You’re meant to.
Cinder is called YA – Young Adult, but I hate that classification of books. To me, YA is a redundant classification. I didn’t start reading YA books, until highschool. When I was in middle school, I was reading adult books. Example- I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in middle school. So Young Adult? What does that even mean? Bleh. My point is, when choosing a book to read. Don’t look at whether it’s YA or “normal”, look at the genre. YA is not a genre. Science fiction is a genre, and it’s what I consider The Lunar Chronicles to be. -End of Rant-
Don’t…
Don’t tell me what to do.
Seriously, especially if you have no more room to talk about the subject than I do.
That may not make much sense to you right now, but after this story, I think it might. Yeah, this is another one of those rants turned writing advice posts. They’re quite fun, aren’t they? I try to tie everything in my life to writing. Actually, everything in my life does tie into writing. Because writing is pretty much my life. The part I get to choose and be and do whatever I want. I think every writer feels that way.
Now.
Story Time!
The other night at work, a gal who may or may not have worked for the company longer than I have came back to the area where I work, she works in another area (and has never, to my knowledge, worked in my area), and decided to start harassing me about the way I do my job. Basically “Why did you do it this way?” and “Why didn’t you do it this way?” I tell her off, that she’s not my boss and to not ever tell me what to do. A bit more bitching about me not doing my job her way and she says the clincher ‘”Well I guess I’m just smarter than you.” I laughed, walked away, and continued doing my job.
But it stuck with me, especially the last comment. I’ve never gotten along with her so it was just one of those things, right? But my mind kept working at it, turning it into writing advice. Considering what it turned it into, I would think it to be ironic.
Take a look again at that very first sentence.
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
I think when a lot of people write well, writing advice, or advice of anything really, we come off as frankly, a bit of a know-it-all. If I am ever guilty of this, someone please call me out. In the comments, on Twitter, an e-mail, whatever. I don’t mean to do this. But that’s what this post is about.
We all think we have a podium to stand behind because we’ve written for three years, or five years, have one finished book or two in the works, whatever the reason, we think we have a place to speak from because of experience.
While we might, there’s always someone more experienced and honestly, if you come on too strong, it scares newer folks away. At the same time, you don’t always want to be publicly second-guessing yourself, because then those same new folks, who may want to come to you or your blog for advice, don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
All in all, it’s a balancing act. Know what you’re talking about, but don’t come on too hard.
Also, back to that last sentence she said “I guess I’m smarter than you.” I think we all think that, all of us that try to give writing advice anyway. We all like to think that we’re smarter than the people we’re giving advice to, or that we have a higher place on the totem pole than they. But that’s often not true. Often we’re not smarter. And someone on your blog, or your tumblr, or your facebook, or following you on Twitter, they could have more books published than you, they could have far more acclaim than you. And if you come at them like you’re better and smarter than they are, you could alienate the best chance you have to get your name out there.
That’s my advice for the day. Take it for what you will, but I will do my damnedest to live by it.
Making it Worse and A Short Snippet
(Insert apologies for long time between posts)
Snippet
(I would just like to say that, aside from my mother and I, no one has read this snippet)
The door swung open and Azzai tore his gaze from the woman atop him, glancing that way. Long, dark hair swayed as Alucair stopped inside the door. A hand went to his head as he sighed.
“Really, Azzai? You brought her here?” The older vampire’s voice was tinged with disappointment mixed with anger.
Azzai prodded the human girl off of him and tucked the blanket around her waist, leaving her pale breasts bare. She clung to his arm and looked up at him with adoration written on her face and in her glazed eyes.
Azzai shrugged as Alucair sighed again. “It’s not as if she’ll remember it. Now what’d you need?”
Azzai is a bastard. And one of my favorite characters.
Now onto the actual post!
“If that’s the worst you got, better put your fingers back to the key.”
You may recognize those lyrics, and whether you hate them or love them, I listen to Fall Out Boy. Judge me if you will.
Now, I don’t know what these lyrics are supposed to mean, but I don’t think it means what I think when I hear that line. When I hear those lyrics, I hear a challenge. And you, if you are a writer, should too.
You may already see what I’m getting at, but don’t get ahead of me, here.
When writing a book, typically fiction, you want to keep ramping up the pressure and the trouble that your characters are getting into. If don’t, your book starts to stagnate. If your characters are coming up on things of the same challenge rating again and again, it’s never a surprise (to readers or to them) that they can over come it. It gets boring, and readers won’t stick around for long.
So “If that’s the worst you got, better put your fingers back to the key.”
I imagine one of my characters saying this to me whenever I finish a scene or confrontation. Is that the worst? No. It never is. It can always get worse.
A character escaped with only a scratch. Next time he breaks an arm. Someone turns out to be a traitor. Amp up the pressure. Keep the reader (and characters) guessing.
But you have to be careful with this. Not every problem can be life or death (though many can be). Throw in some levity. Some relief from the pressure. If you have all pressure all the time it gets tiring and just as boring to the reader as it would be if everything were too easy. In other words, find the balance. This is what beta readers are good for.
Speaking of beta readers, I will soon be looking for beta readers for The Forsaken and if you would like to be a beta reader, go ahead and click that email button up at the top right hand corner and send me your name (or what you would like me to call you), why you would like to be a beta reader, what email you would like me to send you your copy at and whatever information you think will be relevant.
Hopefully I will soon have an official sign up for you guys.
Step One
So if you haven’t been keeping tabs on my Twitter feed or page on Facebook, I finished what I’m calling “Step One” of my editing process. Well, the editing process for The Forsaken. I’ve read/heard that the editing process varies book by book, and at the moment I’m inclined to believe it. Anyway.
Step One, for me, this time, was REplotting, alternatively, replanning.
Sometimes, over the course of writing a novel, certain things change. In the course of The Forsaken there was very little that DIDN’T change. Most characters stayed about the same, though motivations and means may have. Characters crawled out of the woodwork that I didn’t know about before, and other little things that changed what happened up front. So I had to do a complete overhaul of the plot.
That’s done. My scene count it at 80, MANY of them new, or needing to be rewritten. I’ve updated the counter at the top right to reflect that. Right now it’s set at zero, until I figure out how many scenes are being kept as is.
So I guess I can leave you with a lesson I’ve learned. Don’t be afraid of change. Change happens. Maybe you’ve got the story wrong, or characters aren’t being totally honest with you. It happens. If it happens in the middle of a draft, make a note of it and carry on. Don’t go back and change to respond to that, just write on as if it’s already happened. Yes, this means that characters drop off the face of the earth and others react to things that have never happened but draft one and two and three all the way up to the one before line editing are made for mistakes. That’s what they are for. They’re there to for you to get it written, before getting it right.
Have you noticed any oft-repeated cliches coming true over the course of your own writing? Or the flip side, have you noticed any cliches that are obviously false?
My Week in Review
Thanks to K.R. Green for this idea!
This will normally be posted on Friday’s but I slacked yesterday, and until I find or are suggested a better title, this will be it. BUT! Onto the review.
As you all know, I’m editing The Forsaken (Mortality Book 1).I’ve drawn a map, gotten a few new chapters planned out and learned a thing or two.
One- Devin and Damon got across the map too fast. I didn’t realize how far away they were until I drew the map, but damn. I had to draw that out. Which is great, considering I’m lengthening the novel.
Two- Never forget what’s going on in the background. I had almost completely forgotten about the antagonist (who remains almost completely hidden until book two), until I reached a point where I knew I had to throw something else at them, but didn’t know what. Then it was like “duh, he hasn’t killed her and isn’t going to stop trying.”
My tip?
Don’t forget about what’s going on behind the scenes, even if the readers don’t necessarily see it, something is still happening and it may just affect what the readers do see.
I haven’t gotten any of the new scenes written yet, and there’s quite a few of them. Once I have a count, I’ll update that bar on the right hand corner with the correct number (of scenes or chapters, I haven’t decided yet) and keep you guys updated weekly.
Look forward to the Snippet tomorrow!
Again, if there is anything, anything, you guys would like to see on the site, throw it out there. I’m always listening and always open.
Editing is Hard
It’s kind of like bashing your head against a brick wall.
Until you know what you’re doing.
Well, that’s what I assume anyway, as I still haven’t quite found a way that works for me. My hard times may have something to do with the fact that I was a LOT younger while writing most of it, and I didn’t know how to stick to one view point. Nor did I know what a scene was. Or a chapter. Apparently.
Adding to the frustrating factor is that so much of the behind the scenes has changed, therein changing what actually happens. Some characters don’t exist anymore, others play a MUCH larger role than they had entered with and it’s just a big mess at the moment.
Also factoring into this, is the fact that my writer-brain is rebelling against all attempts at fiction on the computer. I can’t write anything new, unless I do it by hand. And also editing kind of stops at opening a new scene and staring at the blinking cursor.
So with my new (free) printer at hand, full of ink and an empty three-ring binder, I hope to beat this editing block so I can get The Cursed to beta’s and get it to my Editor by October. Fingers crossed.
Wish me luck!
JulNoFAIL
This was going to be a JulNoWriMo update post, but I have some other news instead.
I’m dropping out of JulNoWriMo.
I know, I know. It’s just over a week in, but I have a good reason, I promise. I found an editor (well, two) here. I love Twitter. They offered a fixed in price, and I needed a date to get them my MS. Well, I need to finish my own editing process first, and then need time to get feedback from Beta readers, so I need to get on that. I can’t do that when I’m also trying to win a WriMo. (Oh, I’m still working on Shadows and Lies, it’s just taken a back burner. I work on it by hand while on break at work.)
So, yeah, I “failed” JulNoWriMo, but I didn’t. I quit. Sort of.
The thing is, I’m not sorry about it. I’m ecstatic that I found an editor with the prices they have. (And they edited the first 1500 words for free and I like what I see.) Though I think I may have an aneurysm while waiting to get it back. Anyway, that’s for another time, I have a WC I want to get it to (I need to add like, 30,000 words), and a date. Though I wish I had a few more beta readers.
Later, darlings! I’ll keep you updated.
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Cheyenne Trumbo 