Posted in writing, tagged e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, Learning, Multiple Projects, series, Young Adult on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Well, by my carefully laid plans, I’m supposed to be working on MAGE STORM. But, now that I’ve (mostly) figured out the story structure for BECOME, it’s clear that’s the only sandbox my subconscious wants to play in right now.
I could try to flog my brain onto the planned track, but it likely wouldn’t be too successful. So, here’s to seeing what I can do with BECOME.
Flexibility. As my (dog) agility instructor used to say, “Be rigid about being flexible.”
Posted in writing, tagged characters, conflict, e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, Learning, Multiple Projects, series, story structure, writing on June 19, 2016| 3 Comments »
Thanks to some comments in a writer’s forum I belong to (Hatrack River Writers Workshop) about what is–and is not–a flashback and other kinds of story structures that are not linear, I think I finally have a good idea how BELONG needs to flow.
As I’ve said before, BECOME is loosely based on the Hercules myth/legend cycle–turned upside-down. What has intrigued me most about that story is that Herc, at the end, ascends and becomes a god.
Now, exciting as his story is, it’s undeniable that outside of killing monsters and similar feats, Hercules’s life was a disaster. Admittedly, Hera was responsible for most of that, but still . . . what about his life prepared him to be a god of anything (except possibly killing monsters)?
So, Become is mostly about what happens when my character, who has led a blessed and very successful life (upside-down Hercules, remember) is suddenly confronted with the first thing he can’t do easily–become a god. That’s when the story really gets moving. But there’s a lot of story before that, too. Both about the hero and about his near-twin half brother (very like Hercules) who is his sometimes ally-friend, sometimes opponent and who will be the one to try to take advantage of that failure.
I now think I know how to start the story much closer to that key event and then let the earlier story come in, hopefully organically. We’ll see how well I succeed at that.
I have a reading list of a couple of books that have done something similar to look into, too.
Of course, what I really should be working on is MAGE STORM. I guess my muse just doesn’t agree with my plans.
Posted in writing, tagged e-publishing, fantasy, inspiration, rewrites, series, writing on June 8, 2016| 2 Comments »
Writers are also working even when they appear to be just staring at the wall–or out the window. And I’ve been doing an awful lot of that kind of working on this problem chapter of mine.
Hopefully, my subconscious will throw me a bone soon and I can start making more measurable progress.
Posted in writing, tagged e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, research, series, world building, writing on March 2, 2016| 1 Comment »
I posted a while back about having to go back and clarify some of my world building for BECOME. But that was the world building relating to the cultures and religion of this world. There’s another kind.
I’ve now reached the part of the story where my main character will first encounter a new part of this world–one that will be very important to most of the rest of this story. And so I need to describe it.
Now, the physical aspect of this part of the world is based heavily on the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. In particular, on Princess Louisa Inlet. So, I thought it would be a good idea to refresh my memory. Since a trip there is, unfortunately, impractical at the moment, that meant getting out the photo album from that trip. I thought I’d share a few.
This is the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet. It’s actually called Malibu Rapids, and it’s very narrow and only about 30 feet deep–at high tide.
That little spot, black below and red or yellow above, you can see off the point? That’s the zodiac going ahead to make sure of the channel.
The forest is the very definition of a temperate rain forest.
It was September when I was there, and the Fall colors were just starting.
And, at the head of the inlet, there’s Chatterbox Falls.
This is the valley above Chattebox Falls.
Posted in writing, tagged e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, Multiple Projects, sequels, series, writing on September 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »
For some reason, it always seems to happen this way. (I think it’s just that this is the oil that gets my subconscious story factory running.)
I’m working on part of a rough draft of the next series before I go back (soon) and write the final book in the current series. So, of course, now is the time I start getting ideas for new stories. Stories that I cannot possibly write this year and probably not next.
I just jot the ideas down and file them away in my story ideas folder. Which isn’t exactly empty to begin with. Well, I’m not likely to run out of things to write for a while.
Posted in writing, tagged Cover Art, e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, Multiple Projects, sequels, series, world building, writing on August 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Well after bashing my head against the keyboard repeatedly, I’ve decided that the problem with getting back into Book 4 (probably to be titled WAR MAGIC) is that I just need to give myself a break. I need to let my creative battery recharge.
Because, let’s face it, if I’m not enthusiastic about what I’m writing, that’s going to show. It’s not that I don’t love the characters, world, and story of the DUAL MAGICS series. It’s that I’ve been living with it 24/7 for at least two years. And the story has been running around in my head for much longer than that. (This is the third version. The first book had been written in full twice, once very badly, once in a misguided attempt to make it YA. And the second had been written all the way through once, again, very badly. It took two complete rewrites of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE and one of THE VOICE OF PROPHECY before I felt they were ready for the world to see them.)
Even during breaks–like while a manuscript was cooling before revisions or while it was out with my beta readers–I’ve mostly been working on either the tie-in short stories or the next book in the series. Or just giving another editing to pass to something I’d written earlier and formatting it for Amazon, like DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING, which was actually written just before I started on the rewrite of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE.
Sometimes, you can recharge by taking a vacation. That’s probably something I need to do. It’s a great way to get inspiration, among other things. But it’s not going to be this year. Or probably next.
But there are other ways to recharge the creative batteries. Fortunately, one of them is to allow your mind to play with other toys. So, even though I don’t have a first draft, yet, Book 4 does have a cover. (Well, except for the title, etc., anyway.)
Another way I’m going to recharge is by playing in another sandbox for a little while. So I’ve given myself permission to spend a little time in the world of my next epic fantasy series. Not for long. But it’s amazing how much more writing I can get done on something new. I need to bring that “new” energy back to the final book of the DUAL MAGICS series. Maybe this is the way to do that.
This new series doesn’t have a name yet. I’m playing with THE GODDESS’S OWN, but we’ll see. It’s either a trilogy or a duology. The first book is currently titled BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING. We’ll see about that, too. It’s sort of a Hercules story, turned completely–or almost completely–upside down. (Hint: The hero’s not the son of the sky god (like Hercules’s father, Zeus), but of the mother-earth goddess.)
So, Book 4 is coming. But I think it will actually come faster–and better–for just a little break to let my imagination play with other toys.
Posted in writing, tagged critiques, e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, Multiple Projects, revisions, sequels, series, writing on June 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »
We all know by now that I’m a discovery writer. (Unless this is your first time visiting my blog. In which case, welcome.)
But, however I write them, all stories have plots. Sometimes, I just arrive at the plot backwards. Sometimes not.
I’ve also said that the only time I really get detailed plot ideas is when I’m actually writing–just in the quiet times when I step away from writing for a few minutes.
Well, last Friday seems to have been a day for that. I didn’t actually get much writing done on Friday, but I did get solutions to three plot issues–two for Book 4 of the DUAL MAGICS series and one for the final revisions to BEYOND THE PROPHECY (Book 3).
For BEYOND THE PROPHECY, it was an issue raised by one of the two critiques I’ve gotten back so far. I figured out how to refocus certain elements of the story to help the plot be more centered. So that’s good.
The second idea was about something in the first chapter of Book 4. It’s a minor thing, really. A bit of background. But I realized that it’s probably not very accurate. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do with that bit, yet. I don’t go backwards in the first draft unless it’s something really major. I make notes of things I need to look at in the second draft. I’ve made such a note and I’m sure I’ll find something that will work better by the time I get to it.
The big plot idea, though, was about the climax of Book 4. See, I know what the climax is (unless another, better idea comes along first–which I doubt.) But for what I have planned to work out, my main characters have to be forced to do something that they wouldn’t otherwise choose to do. And the logical way for that to happen is for the antagonists to do something that implies knowledge of one of the two kinds of magic. Or, at least, the basis of that magic. The kind of magic that the antagonists don’t know about. Hmm. That’s a conundrum. But now I know how they’re going to learn just enough for them to do what I want them to.
What makes a discovery writer is that we’re willing to jump into the story anyway, even with a gaping plot hole like that, and have faith that we’ll figure it out by the time we get there. Moments like Friday are what feed that faith.
Posted in writing, tagged discovery writer, e-publishing, fantasy, first drafts, inspiration, pantser, sequels, series, writing on June 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Sometimes I’d really like to be able to outline a story and know exactly how it goes. But that’s just not the way it works for me.
I do at least map out the high (and low) points of a novel before I start. (Though they have been known to change as I go, too.) But I could sit and stare at the screen for days waiting for the inspiration to know how to fill in the very wide blank spaces that leaves. It just would never come.
The only time those ideas come to me is when I’m actually writing. Well, not necessarily when I have my fingers on the keyboard. But, you know, when I’ve gotten up for a little and I’m walking the dogs or (infrequently) cleaning the house. That’s when I get the ideas for how to get from point A to point B. But only if, when I sit back down, I’m actually writing the story.
And, anyway, sometimes a story will just take a left turn and go somewhere else instead. And that’s often better than what I’d planned.
Not going to happen in the last book of the DUAL MAGIC series. (At least, I don’t think so.) But that is exactly what happened in DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING.
Posted in writing, tagged e-publishing, fantasy, inspiration, Romance, world building, writing, Young Adult on May 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Daughter of the Disgraced King releases Monday (May 18th).
It’s only $0.99 to pre-order.
The world building for part of this world is based largely on the settlement-era desert Southwest. Adobe buildings, stagecoaches, though not the political structure or the magic. Here’s a little sample:
Early the next morning, Ailsa gave each of her parents one last hug and turned to board the stagecoach that would take her to the imperial capital. It was a plain, functional coach that, from the visible wear, had made many trips across the desert. When she put her weight on the small folding step to climb in, the coach swayed alarmingly. Evidently, maintenance hadn’t included replacing the worn springs. Hopefully, the roads wouldn’t be too rough or this was going to be a very bumpy ride. The padding on the seats was thin, too. Ailsa sighed. It would have been faster and more comfortable just to ride Pearl all the way. She wouldn’t have had to share the cramped space with strangers, either.
As soon as she was aboard, the four guards climbed up to the seats on the top of coach. Ailsa placed the smaller valise that held the things she’d need en route under her seat and leaned out of the window to wave goodbye one more time.
Ailsa had never traveled far before—and never alone or in a public conveyance. Papa could have sent her by private coach, but that might have been construed as an impolitic show of wealth and privilege. The public coach wouldn’t be as comfortable, but there were royal guards riding on top, so it should be, if anything, safer than a private carriage.
Ailsa sat back and turned her attention to her fellow passengers. An elderly man had the seat next to Ailsa. He’d already leaned his head against the opposite wall of the coach, closed his eyes, and started to snore—loudly. A young girl sat across from Ailsa, apparently accompanied by the woman about Mama’s age sitting next to her.
On the other side of the woman, sat a slightly younger man—too old to be her son and too young for her husband. From the distance between them on the bench, Ailsa didn’t think they were traveling together. His clothing and appearance would be consistent with a well-off merchant or maybe some distant relative of one of the barons. Nothing about him should be alarming except for his manner. His open, appraising stare made Ailsa want to pull the demure collar of her traveling dress closed in spite of the growing desert heat. Ailsa looked away. He had no business looking at her like that, but perhaps a closed coach wasn’t the best place to confront him about it. They were already as far apart as the coach permitted. It would be best to try to ignore him.
Ailsa smiled uncertainly across at the woman and turned to look out her window. The road was wide enough for two coaches to pass each other going in opposite directions. Ailsa’s seat gave her a view on the outer side of the road, where a double row of sycamore trees shaded the highway from the desert sun. The trees weren’t thick enough to completely obscure the desert beyond.
Ailsa felt heavy and enervated. It must be all the emotional ups and downs of the last few days. She had trouble even keeping her eyes open, but she didn’t want to miss anything on this trip. If only everything along this highway didn’t look so much the same . . .
Ailsa jerked awake as the coach pulled to a stop. She couldn’t have slept all day. No, the sun was high overhead and the heat was oppressive. They’d come to a wider green area, surrounding a small oasis. A rustic building made of crude mud bricks stood across a cobbled yard. The coachmen leaped down and began to unhitch the sweaty horses.
One of the guards climbed down from the roof right in front of her, making Ailsa start. He opened her door and stood back. “We’ll stop here for a meal and to change the horses. If you’d care to disembark . . .”
Ailsa stepped down and stood in the yard, uncertain what to do now. She stretched gratefully, easing out the kinks in her neck and legs. The coach’s springs weren’t nearly as good as those on her father’s coach. It was surprising that she’d been able to doze with all the bouncing, but maybe she’d needed that nap. She certainly felt better. The midday heat didn’t seem to bother her so much, even though there was no air moving at all. The others climbed out of the coach more slowly. Ailsa followed them inside.
Inside, a long table of rough boards was already set with five places, platters of cheese, fruit, bread, and two pitchers of water. Ailsa sat down at one end of the table, across from the older woman and her daughter. She poured herself a cup of water before anything else. She’d forgotten how parched the desert could make her feel, even without moving around much. The rude man sat down beside her—too close beside her for Ailsa’s liking. She shifted over a little away from him.
Posted in writing, tagged characters, fantasy, inspiration, world building, writing on April 29, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Every writer I know has this problem. It’s always when you’re elbow deep in another story that the shiny new one comes along to taunt you.
I have to hold this one back until I’ve finished not only BEYOND THE PROPHECY, but also the fourth (and last) book in the DUAL MAGICS series. That’s at least a year!
So, maybe writing a little bit about it now will help with that. Fingers crossed, because, of course, it could just as easily make it worse.
DREAMER’S ROSE is not precisely a new idea. I’ve actually written an earlier (and very bad) version of it. Then I let it sit and re-imagined it. I played around with it a little, but it was tricky because the story involves three main characters and two of them aren’t even born when the story starts. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to handle that.
Then the inspiration came to me a couple of weeks ago. All I really had to do was free the story from the box I’d been trying to shove it into. Now I can see how it needs to go. It’s most likely a trilogy. Possibly with each book focusing on one of the three characters. And no matter how badly my fingers itch, I can’t start writing it yet.
Can’t. Mustn’t. Must finish DUAL MAGICS first. (Keep repeating that.)
This is a glimpse into part of the world of DREAMER’S ROSE–a temperate rainforest.
The first part of the story is the legend of Hercules turned on its ear. (The real version, not what Disney did to it.)
In the Greek myths, Hercules led a cursed life, because Hera (who was not his mother) had it in for him. He failed at absolutely everything in his life, except killing monsters and completing other impossible, but mostly useless, tasks. Really, how helpful was it to retrieve the three-headed dog, Cerberus, who guarded the underworld, just to prove he could, and then take him right back again? (By the way, in the original Greek version, Hades helped Herc by giving his permission for that.)
Then he became a god and there were actually altars for his worship. I’ve always kind of wondered what you would pray to Hercules for. I mean, if you had a hydra in your backyard, I get it. But certainly not for any kind of domestic happiness. (Hera drove Hercules mad so that he murdered his own wife and children.)
How did his very unsuccessful life prepare him to be a god?
And that’s where DREAMER’S ROSE starts. Will start. In about a year. Keep repeating that.
Meredith Mansfield, Author 