writing

A Writer’s Life: Big Rocks II: Electric Boogaloo

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

I recently ran into a case of getting blocked in my writing.  It was weird, things just felt “wrong.”  I wasn’t happy with a scene.  Some plot elements seemed off.  Editing earlier chapters felt odd.  I was writing, but it felt stuck.

So I took a lok at how I felt.  I didn’t even to need to use the “Five Whys” because I quickly realized what this sensation was.

It was the Big Rocks. https://www.stevensavage.com/blog/2017/06/writers-view-big-damn-rocks.html

Big Rocks, which I wrote about, are those parts of the story we’re so stuck on they hold up the evolution of the story.  They literally weigh you down because if you changed, removed, or broke them down the story would be so much better.  It doesnt matter how great an idea or scene is, if it holds your story back it should be gone.

Way back when I became aware of them it was a case of plot idead and scenes acting as my big rocks, keeping me from getting going.  Now I had written scenes and chapters and . . .  you got it . . . was unwilling to change them.  *What I had written had become a bunch of Big Rocks holding me back.

Realizing that was a relief.

  • Suddenly two characters that seemed partial became one character, who changed the entire game yet made the plot MORE intact.
  • Thanks to the first item one character gets a hilariously annoying fangirl.
  • A few rearranged and blended scenes made everything flow better.
  • A throwaway Nasty Monster got changed to a different kind of Nasty that set the plot better.
  • Became aware of a lot of subtle themes as I write, and it seems there’s always more.  Now the story includes themes of PTSD, heroism after the fact, and the need for trust.
  • One character who faded away became a bridge to another plot element, furthering the theme of “smart people doing smart things with stupid results.”  I like him so much I may bring him back in a short story.

Writing is never solid.  It reminds me of a story I heard about a martial artist who challenged someone to bend his arm.  This martial artist adjusted his arm and stance ever so slightly, constnantly, and thus countered every attempt to force his arm to bend.  It was like an ever-adjusting flow of water, powerful yet subtle.

So, be that flow, get to your destination by bending whenever needed to get there – and you become both immovable yet adjusting.  You just go around the Big Rocks – and wear them down.

As a side piece of advice, I think cultivating this “flow” attitude early in any piece is needed.  You’ll constantly adapt and adjust, and it’ll become habit.  It’s rather Agile really.

 

– Steve

A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: What It’s About

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

I’ve been posting about my writing here a lot.  So, with intermittent updates, I’m going to talk about my fiction writing project, “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet.”

First of all, yes, fiction.  I’ve not done public fiction in awhile – but I did side projects, edited, coached, and did stuff for the Sanctum.  I figure it was time – and it’s fun.  If this works, I plan to split my time between fiction and non-fiction.

And what’s it all about?  To sum it up in one sentence:

A sorceress, an engineer, and a priest on a planet-hopping road trip with the owner of a mysterious collection of holy books.

The idea came together when I got inspired to write, contemplated a few past projects and some recent anime, and came up with a simple idea – what happens when you take a world of magic and monsters, gods and spirits, and technology evolves as well?  Welcome to the world of Telvaren and it’s planetary colonies, a nation of science and sorcery, where the gods use the internet and interplanetary travel is done via techno-wizardry.  Politics is driven by a mixture of gigantic cities, assorted guilds and unions, and divine interests – but don’t let the present distract you, because there’s a past of mysterious artifacts, demons, dragons, and more waiting to be discovered . . .

Into this comes Marigold and Scintilla, a sorceress and a “technic” who act as a freelance techno-magical hazmat and research team for the wizardly guild Phoenix Ascendant.  They have “A Plan” for their careers, which requires them to get into a lot of weird situations to gain influence with the guild.  They’re good at getting into and out of trouble – until someone wants to hire them not to find something mysterious, but to help him carry a set of holy books to Godsgrave, the world where deities go to die.

Also, it’s a lot of money.

Soon they’re outrunning a special branch of the Military consisting only of people who’ve lost loved ones, what may or may not be a demon escaped from the prison-world of Pandemonium, and some mysterious individuals spreading stories on the Network that connects people.  No one is what they seem, no one is quiet telling the truth, and the dumbest things can be done by people who are very smart . . .

So it’s up to Marigold and Scintilla to punch, talk, shoot, conjure, run, lie, and plan their way out of trouble.  They’re going to get their client to Godsgrave by hook or by crook, because as crazy as things get, the two people they are sure they can trust is each other.

I hope you’ll all enjoy it, and I plan to post more on my blog – I think what I’ll do is alternate posts on the story with posts on my writing findings, give or take.

– Steve

A Writer’s View: Cover Me

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr – and hey, think this should go on the Sanctum too?)

I’ve been talking about some pretty deep subjects lately, so let’s mind back to a simple, practical one.  Covers.

No, really.

I always feel book covers are a weird subject to discuss because they are A) Important, B) Transitory, and C) Sometimes done horribly.  You need a cover to get attention, that someone will look at for five seconds, yet if you do it wrong it’ll really kill peoples’ interests.  I find it best to think of it as tool to help your audience realize “this book is for me,” a kind of helpful marketing.

This is an area I’m considering now, as “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet” is going to really require the right cover.  I mean it’s an SF/fantasy mixture that combines serious worldbuilding with humor and extrapolating fantasy/SF tropes.  When you have a gravity-and-kinetics-manipulating sorceress teaming up with an engineer and riding said engineer’s fusion powered motorcycle into adventure, you are in a pretty weird area.  And that’s before you’re out of Chapter 1.

So as I went over this, I figured I’d share my previous cover wisdom with you.  Helps me sort it out myself.  Here’s a kind of Q&A of what I found.

Q: OK, so what’s your basic idea of a cover?  What makes it important

A: See above, it helps make your audience aware and interested so they buy your awesome book.

Q: Should I do my own cover?

A: Sometimes, yes.  If you’ve got the skills it may be worth it.  A lot of my business books are using my own skills and some royalty-free clipart I purchase.  Remember, you’ll also learn a lot improving your graphic skills.

Q: So in some ways, if you’re good enough, you’ll not only have a cheap cover you’ll also become more skilled at graphics?

A: Yep.  It paid off for me quite a bit – and I still have a ways to go (I tend to follow very stock designs).

Q: Now let’s talk clipart.  Seriously?  Is that a good idea?

A: You’d be surprised how many people actually use it, sometimes retouched.  It’s also a good deal as you’re buying rights to a quality photo to use – and many are really good.  I use Can Stock Photo.  You can get the rights to a good photo for about $7-$10.

Q: OK, so when would I use clipart?

A: I think this depends on what you’re going for with a book.  For my smaller and business-oriented books, I use clipart and my own skills – like my Way With Worlds Minibooks or my Creativity Guide.  These books have specific focuses so its easy to find the right piece of art.  This is easier for non-fiction as it doesn’t have specific personalities attached to it, usually.

Q: . . . and when I have fiction or something about a personality it’s custom art time, right?

A: Not necessarily.  There are services out there that have premade book covers made from custom art or a photo, and you can basically get it as royalty-free art – like Go On Write or Paper And Sage. These can be a great middle ground as folks that do this make covers with “personality” so you find one that matches.

Q: OK when do I shell out for a custom piece of art?

A: I do this when I want to 1) have a distinct cover, 2) my audience expects a distinct cover, and 3) There’s an artist I want to support.

Q: How much does that cost?

A: Bluntly? At minimum a few hundred dollars.  Remember that’ll be on top of what you’re paying your editor (you are paying them, right?).  So you may want to do something in trade.

Also always support the artist by promoting them and being a reference.

Q: So it’s going to depend on my budget.

A: Yes.  Also be aware that if you’re really trying to save money you could try taking photos on your own and using them or learning to make abstract designs with graphics programs.  That might be educational.

Q: All this for something people look at for a few seconds.

A: Yeah, but hundreds or thousands of people are going to look at it for a few seconds.  So look at it this way, if it gets their attention, it’s worth it.  Those seconds add up.

Q: And I should keep telling myself it’s all about skill development, even if it’s price negotiation?

A: You’ve got it.

There you go folks, a more mundane but important insight into covers and cover art!  Hope it helps!

(Looking to write your worlds? Let me suggest my worldbuilding books.)

– Steve