Meredith Mansfield, Author

Recharge

December 24, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Posting a little early because tomorrow’s Christmas.

I finished this draft of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. It’ll need one more pass before it’s ready for beta readers, but not just yet. It should rest a bit first.

For now–and only for a couple of days–I’m taking a short break to recharge the creative batteries. I’ve been doing a little thinking about where the story goes from here. This should be the first of a four book series. I have a (very old) draft of the second book, THE IGNORED PROPHECY. It’ll serve as an outline, but will need to be basically rewritten, same as TSC.

I never got more than a few pages into the third book. That one will have a lot less sword swinging and spear wielding and more political upheaval. (It gets back to more sword swinging in book four.) I need to think out exactly how that’s going to work.

I’m also going to have to work out the bane of starting sequels (three times!) Providing enough grounding into a world and characters that have already been introduced for readers who start with a middle book without boring readers who’ve read the previous book(s). That, and giving a needed summary of what happened in the earlier book(s) without making it an infodump. Bothe are tricky to navigate.

For now, though, I’m just letting my imagination play with it.

Posted in writing | Tagged fantasy, first drafts, revisions, sequels, series, writing | Leave a Comment »

Burn Out

December 22, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Not me. My writing is going pretty well right now. In fact, I’ve just about finished this draft of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. I’ll let it rest a while and then give it another go through before handing it over to beta readers in February.

No, in this case, I’m writing about the bane of this time of year–burnt out Christmas (or other holiday) decorations. Things that should light up, but don’t. I’ve been particularly plagued this year. But it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. So, I’m going to depart from writing for this post to show you how I deal with it.

For example, this:

used to be a lighted reindeer lawn ornament. But then the light-strand burned out. And, of course, it wasn’t just a straight lightstrand that I could replace. So, after a little thought, I stuck the legs into some potting soil in a rectangular pot (which I happened to already have) and planted ivy at all four legs. It needs another year to really fill in, but it gave the old lawn ornament a new life.

This year, I’ve got two more outdoor ornaments that have partially given up the ghost. (Not to mention having to use a separate light strand to patch a gap in the pre-lit Christmas tree. But that’s easy.)

This one has decided that only the upper two-thirds will light this year. It’s going to be fairly straight forward to deal with, though. It also has a ground stake in addition to the patio stand currently in use. I’ll use another one of my unused pots, the ground stake, and probably another ivy to grow up the spiral support. It’ll take a couple of years to reach the top, but I won’t have to go out and buy another one. (Not that I think you can even find these anymore.) Reduce, reuse, recycle.

This one:

Is going to take a little more thought. The middle portion won’t light up this year. Right now, I’m thinking along the lines of a sphagnum moss hanging basket, but I’d have to choose the plants really carefully. Even here in Southern California, there aren’t that many things that bloom in December. Maybe foliage plants. Hmm. I wonder if there’s a ground cover form of holly.

Never give up. There’s always some way around any difficulty. Come to think of it, that’s pretty good advice for writers, too.

Merry Christmas.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, inspiration, Real Life, recycling, repurposing | 2 Comments »

Next Up

December 18, 2013 by meredithmansfield

It’s almost time to assess how well I did against this year’s goals and set my goals for next year. One particular goal has come into sharper focus over the last couple of days.

The next book I publish will be my alternate history/historical fantasy THE BARD’S GIFT about a shy girl tapped by the gods to save her people–by telling stories to inspire and direct those people.

I’ve already done the cover.

Here’s the first page as a teaser:

Astrid leaned into the freezing wind, staggering down the beach hunting for driftwood to feed their meager fire. She kept one eye open for anything edible. The gale felt like needles of ice penetrating even the thick white bear pelt she wore as a cloak.

The wind swept up the fjord straight off the icy sea, funneled by the steep hills on either side. Astrid paused to take shelter for a few moments under a rock overhang that blocked the gusts. With nothing to hunt for, she let her mind drift, retelling to herself some of the stories her grandmother used to tell her. It was almost as good as sleep to take her mind off her hunger and keep her company.

From her shelter, she could see one of the many islets in the fjord, one that would be a seal rookery later in the year. That made her think of the stories about selkies, sea creatures that could shed their skins and take human form once a year. She pictured them dancing down there on the beach, as the stories described. In her mind, the leader looked a lot like tall, red-blond Torolf. The stories said that if a human stole the seal skin while its owner was in human form, the selkie could be compelled to stay on land as the wife–or, she supposed, husband–of the thief. Pity the stories always ended with the selkie finding the stolen skin and returning to the sea.

She sighed. If it were only that easy. Why would Torolf ever give her a second glance if she could never manage to say a complete, coherent sentence in front of him? Well, Torolf wasn’t going to magically appear on the beach. She might as well continue her search. She had to go farther and farther afield to find anything these days.

Look for THE BARD’S GIFT early next year.

Posted in writing | Tagged Alternate History, e-publishing, fantasy, Goals, writing, Young Adult | Leave a Comment »

Getting the Flow Back

December 15, 2013 by meredithmansfield

And it feels good. Ever since my Weird Oz Story petered out on me, my productivity has been less than usual. Oh, I’ve kept on working, but I haven’t accomplished as much as I wanted to.

The decision to concentrate on one thing at a time (think of that) has helped. I’m making real progress on my rewrite of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE, adding depth and conflicts and all the things that will ultimately make the story even better. (Also longer, but I’m not going to worry about that.)

I also have some ideas on how to break up the log jam on Weird Oz, but I won’t tackle that until after the first of the year–probably not until after the conclusion of Pitch Wars. I’m going to have to go back and restart the story, but it won’t be the first time that’s happened.

Meantime, ‘ve put up another new chapter of BLOOD IS THICKER on wattpad, where you can read it for free.

Also, there’s only about another month to buy the Chimeria Omnibus,

containing both BLOOD WILL TELL and BLOOD IS THICKER, for the price of either book alone. In mid-January, the price for the Omnibus will go up.

Posted in writing | Tagged Contests, e-publishing, fantasy, paranormal romance, revisions, rewrites, sequels, serialization, writing | 2 Comments »

Things Are Moving — Slowly, but Surely

December 11, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Well, life is still crazy. Some things are anticipated–and then there are the surprises and unexplained phenomena.

I expect to have some work to do soon on my middle grade fantasy, MAGE STORM because I made it to first alternate in one of the Pitch Wars teams. (I’m on Team Jen Downey.) Yay! So now I can stop being on pins and needles about that. Which is good, because I’m still waiting for a couple of other things, including word on THE BARD’S GIFT. The submission guidelines say twelve weeks. Twelve weeks have passed and still nothing.

Meanwhile, I’ve mostly settled down at this point to finish this pass through of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. I’ll take the other revisions/rewrites one at a time. That way, I might actually make some progress.

Also, a post by the wonderful Susan Kaye Quinn along with my ongoing reading of L. Frank Baum’s stories have given me an idea of how to unstick myself on my Weird Oz Story.

And one or two things are moving forward in real life, too. The pace is slow, almost glacial, but progress is being made.

Posted in writing | Tagged Contests, fantasy, Middle Grade, Multiple Projects, revisions, rewrites, writing, Young Adult | 2 Comments »

Feeling Scattered

December 9, 2013 by meredithmansfield

And it’s not just because of the season–although that’s part of it.

This post is a day late because life–and my house–got a little crazy on me yesterday. Oddly, most things seem to have returned to normal today. No better explanation so far than poltergeists. And, really, the only ghosts in this house should be friendly ones. Oh well.

I’m also feeling a little scattered–or maybe schizophrenic–because I’m trying to revise three different novels at the same time! I’m just waiting for the time I catch myself typing the name of a character from DREAMER’S ROSE into either THE SHAMAN’S CURSE or MAGIC AND POWER.

I may just have to decide to work on only one thing at a time. Think of that. If so, I’ll probably finish this pass through THE SHAMAN’S CURSE first.

My day was brightened by this very nice review of BLOOD IS THICKER this morning.

Speaking of BLOOD IS THICKER, there’s a new chapter available on wattpad, too.

Posted in writing | Tagged characters, fantasy, Multiple Projects, Real Life, reviews, revisions, rewrites, sequels, serialization, writing, Young Adult | Leave a Comment »

Stories as Escape

December 4, 2013 by meredithmansfield

I probably should be writing a mentee bio for Pitch Wars, but . . . well, that’s not really the kind of writing I’m best at–writing about myself–and, anyway, I feel that I’d like my story to stand on its own. Still, fingers crossed for MAGE STORM everyone.

Instead, I’m going to write about using stories as an escape. It’s one (only one) of the primary purposes of fiction–to take us away from our day-to-day lives and problems for a little while.

This post was inspired by a quote by Dorothy L. Sayers (who wrote the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries) I read somewhere:

Lord Peter’s large income… I deliberately gave him… After all it cost me nothing and at the time I was particularly hard up and it gave me pleasure to spend his fortune for him. When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly. When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet. When I had no money to pay my bus fare I presented him with a Daimler double-six, upholstered in a style of sober magnificence, and when I felt dull I let him drive it. I can heartily recommend this inexpensive way of furnishing to all who are discontented with their incomes. It relieves the mind and does no harm to anybody.

It’s pleasant to share time–either writing or reading–with a character that doesn’t have to worry about the same things we do. As a writer, I have more scope for this than my readers. I get to spend more time with the characters as I write and revise the story than readers ever will. Plus, I get to determine the backgrounds–privileged or impoverished–from which my characters come.

Of course, those characters do have to have problems or there isn’t much of a story. This wasn’t too much of an issue for Lord Peter, because his problem was almost always a mystery to be solved. Only a few times did those mysteries really impinge on his life.

For other kinds of stories–quests, for example, which are common in fantasy and even some science fiction–that won’t work. We have to put the characters in real danger, chase them up trees and throw rocks at them.

But, you know, even that is a kind of escape. Going along, from our safe arm chairs, on hair-raising adventures or romantic adventures, takes us out of the here and now temporarily. Some days, we all really need that.

Good thing those stories are fun to write, too, isn’t it?

Posted in writing | Tagged agents, Contests, inspiration, Pitches, writing | Leave a Comment »

More Thoughts on Orphan Heroes

December 1, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Another reason for using orphan heroes, especially in middle grade or young adult fiction, occurred to me. Sometimes it means the hero has nothing to lose. This is certainly true for Harry Potter. Did anyone seriously doubt that Harry would go with Hagrid to Hogwarts rather than stay with the Dursleys? What did he have to stay for?

But isn’t it more interesting when the hero, like Frodo, has a real choice to make? When they are giving something up to follow the call to adventure?

Of course, there’s still another reason for using an orphan, abused, or misunderstood character–when it’s central to the plot. For example, I mentioned Menolly from Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Song series in my last post. If Menolly hadn’t been misunderstood and neglected, she would never have been in that cave to find and impress the fire lizards and the story wouldn’t have been even vaguely the same.

Harry Potter, too. If Voldemort hadn’t killed Harry’s parents and failed to kill Harry, then Harry would not have been the chosen one who could ultimately kill Voldemort.

That, of course, is a horse of a different color. So, I guess the lesson is, if you’re going to use an orphan hero, don’t just use it as a starting point. Make it important to the story.

For another month or so, the omnibus edition containing both BLOOD WILL TELL and BLOOD IS THICKER is the same price as either one alone.

Also, another chapter of BLOOD IS THICKER is now available free on wattpad.

Posted in writing | Tagged characters, conflict, Learning, Middle Grade, sequels, serialization, writing, Young Adult | 2 Comments »

Orphan Heroes

November 27, 2013 by meredithmansfield

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. Lots to do.

But, I’ve been thinking about something lately, so I’ll talk about it here. I’ve recently finished (yesterday, as a matter of fact) an interesting indie book (FLEDGLING by Nicole Conway). This made me think of the prevalence of orphan and/or abused and/or seriously misunderstood protagonists, especially in middle grade/young adult stories.

Harry Potter immediately comes to mind, of course, but he was far from the first. Anne McCaffrey’s Menolly in the Harper Hall trilogy. Taran in Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles. Even Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. I could go on and on. The trope of the orphan boy or widow’s son who makes good goes all the way back to fairy/folk tales.

And it made me wonder. Why? Why do so many stories start with this kind of hero? I think there are several reasons.

For one, at least as far as middle grade stories are concerned, I think we all go through a period around those years when we believe no one understands us. It’s something the readers can relate to, at least as far as the misunderstood protagonist goes.

Another reason might be that it builds in some initial conflict while the story gets started. While the narrative is building to the inciting incident, the character already has something to fight against. And it can even be a further complication–something, perhaps, that makes the hero doubt himself–once the real story problem is in full tilt.

But sometimes I think it’s just done to build sympathy for the main character, like having him pet the cat. And that just makes me want to break type. Someday, I’m going to have to write a story in which the orphan is bitter and becomes the villain. Just because I can.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

The First Thanksgiving, painting by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Posted in writing | Tagged characters, conflict, fantasy, inspiration, Middle Grade, Reading, writing, Young Adult | 1 Comment »

Holiday Interference

November 24, 2013 by meredithmansfield

I don’t know about other writers, but my output definitely slows down a bit around this time of year. There are too many other things that need to get done, too. (To all my writer friends doing National Novel Writing Month right now, trying to write 50,000 words in the month of November, more power to you.)

This year, Thanksgiving will be at my house for the first time in almost 15 years. Eep. It’s not that I can’t handle the cooking. I cook a turkey every year anyway. And I don’t have to do all of it this year. I’m only responsible for the pies (as always), turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and rolls (with help from Pilsbury).

But there’s a lot I need to do before then. I mean, despite my somewhat lackadaisical attitude toward housekeeping, the place has to look at least minimally picked up, dusted, etc. I’m going to have to find another chair or two somewhere, too.

Meanwhile, I’m working on revisions to three different novels, as the mood strikes me. The rewrite of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE needs a second look-through to work out a few structural issues (like losing the main conflict for several chapters). The rewrite of DREAMER’S ROSE needs some new scenes to replace places where I used telling in the original. And, of course, the revisions to MAGIC AND POWER that I outlined in my last post.

Oh, and Christmas is less than a month after Thanksgiving.

Yeah. No pressure.

Meanwhile, a new chapter of BLOOD IS THICKER is available free on wattpad. And don’t forget there are still a few stops on my blog tour tomorrow.

Posted in writing | Tagged fantasy, Middle Grade, Multiple Projects, revisions, Romance, sequels, serialization, writing, Young Adult | Leave a Comment »