Thoughts on the Rules of Writing (Repeat)

Oops! I’m running late with this post. My excuses, such as they are, consist of “I just got back from ‘When Words Collide,’ and my brains are scrambled, or I'm working on a new project and lost track of the days, or more important, just got word that a long awaited third volume of my Toltec Trilogy will finally be available in a day or two.

Anyway, here is one I wrote back in 2013 that I think still applies!

At a conference I attended last year, one of the experienced professional authors, Kevin J. Anderson, talked about the rules of writing. He began by paraphrasing some rules set out by the famous science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, and then added a few of his own. I thought these worthwhile passing along, so here are my opinions on what they both had to say. First, paraphrasing Heinlein:

Rule number one is Write. It seems obvious, but if you never get beyond the day-dreaming about your many marvelous ideas, you will not get very far. Set something down; it=s a start.

Rule number two is finish what you write. I don=t know how many writing workshops I have sat through where people are busy re-writing the opening chapter of their great novel and may never get around to actually finishing the thing. Write your short story or novel all the way through to the end, then go back and see if it makes sense.

Refrain from re-writing. I would take this to mean that once you have spent a reasonable length of time going over your story, stop! Don=t spend the rest of your life trying to make it immaculate. There is a time when the story needs to be sent in. There is one codicil to this; you should probably re-write if your editor says to!

Put the work out to the market. If you are planning to be a professional writer, there is nothing to be gained by never sending the manuscript out. It probably doesn’t matter what your mother/loving spouse thinks...find out what the pros have to say. It will never see the published light of day if it never ever leaves your office!

And rule number five, keep the work out in the marketplace until it is sold. I personally had a very bad habit of sending something out, receiving a rejection letter, and then filing the project away in a safe place. Send the project out again, and repeat rules one to five!

In addition to the above, which if followed should help to get you published, here are some additional thoughts from Mr. Anderson to consider once you are a publisher writer:

Be professional with everyone you meet and look professional all the time. Talk, dress, and act professional. Do what you are asked to do: turn in a project on time, with the length and topic as agreed. Don=t make enemies or start feuds. Don=t correct others in public, or in writing. Don=t argue. Be kind. I suspect the speaker was referring here especially to other authors, critics, editors, and the reading public. To play safe, just be kind to everyone, do your best work, and keep track of your business. You might just discover you have become a professional author! 

I agree!

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, 3)

The Differences Between Fantasy and Science Fiction?

I heard an interesting definition the other day. It had to do with the difference between fantasy and science fiction. The speaker was postulating that while Science Fiction is set on “Planets,” Fantasy is set on “Worlds.” Sort of the difference between the settings of Lord of the Rings and The Martian. One you can glance up in the sky and imagine it being there, the other you cannot.

The fantasy writer creates a setting and does not necessarily think about the whole, the sci-fi author may work out the how and why their location is different, or logical. If the sci-fi writer introduced dragons into a tale there would probably be a temptation to explain the means by which dragons can spit fire. Actually, I attempted to do that in my novel, “Alex in Wanderland.”

I’ve always felt that what sets sci-fi apart from fantasy, or any other classification of genre, is the “sci” portion of the equation. If you could remove the scientific gimmick or far future technology and setting and the story still works well, then maybe you’ve written it in the wrong genre. Fantasy suspends reality for at least a portion of the tale.

The same may also apply to world building. A magical city in the desert, an evil magician, interference by the “gods,” tend toward fantasy. A sci-fi writer might worry more about how the city’s politics and economy can actually work. Could that city support itself? (greenhouses, aquifers, trade?) How does the evil magician’s magic actually work? (high tech?) What are the gods? (Advanced aliens?)

I tend to write fantasy while downplaying the fantastical. I still like to have the how it works covered in the back of my mind or at least be aware when I have no idea. When I write science fiction I classify my tales as soft sci-fi. I throw in faster than light travel and ignore long technical passages on how it all works. I don’t really know and I don’t care. (But I’m also well aware of what I’m deliberately doing.)

I recently sat down to write a fantasy tale during a period of time between acceptance of a manuscript and editing. At least it started out as a straight fantasy tale, although it has begun sniffing around converting to sci-fi. Some days you can never tell where the unruly characters are going to lead you.

And I like it that way.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, 3)

Do You Mind if I throw in Some Humor?

Do you mind if I throw in some humor into my stories now and then? Some days I just can’t help myself. I also think even the most serious of tales can use some levity once in a while. For one thing, a large percentage of the population can be amusing, at least some of the time, whether they intend to be or not. For another, there are times when a serious situation needs a break. I have also been guilty of starting a serious novel, and having it degenerate into a giggle or three.

Take my fantasy detective series, the Housetrap Chronicles. Just because I take a familiar title, muck it about and then use the result as my plot inspiration, doesn’t mean the tales were not intended to be serious. Of course, I couldn’t resist throwing in the occasional bad pun or ridiculous situation, or have the characters’ innermost thoughts conflict with their words. It gets pretty bad when the publisher complains, “It’s not funny enough.” And here I thought I was writing serious prose.

This never fails to happen to me. My second published novel, “The Queen’s Pawn,” started out as a straightforward fantasy thriller about a young man trapped in a burning city. Before long, nonsense started to creep in. By the time I’d finished what turned out to be the first book in a trilogy, I’d abused him mercilessly and stuffed him into all sorts of embarrassing situations. Of course, this meant I had to carry on in this manner for the next two books. What else do you do with a handsome hero who is clueless about the ladies who keep flinging themselves at him and who doesn’t recognize that when the princess is talking about her wedding plans, he is supposed to be the groom.

In general, even in a more serious tale, there has to be a wise-cracking character or two in my stories to lighten the load. Alex in Wanderland started out as a novel about a feuding married couple a long way out of their depth in an alternative Dark Age style world. They ended up on a quest with a group of characters out of B movies central casting, not to mention the local deity, the Goddess Gladys.

Besides bad puns, which are sometimes more difficult than writing straight dialogue, I enjoy doing what I think of as the parallel conversation. This is where using point-of-view comes in handy. You can have a character saying one thing in conversation, while mentally thinking or commenting something completely different internally. This lets the reader in on the joke.

Even in tales where I have managed to stay on track and stick with serious subjects, I find myself throwing in characters whose sole purpose is to say witty things and comment on the goings on. An example of this shows up in my Toltec series where a Mayan servant and a Saxon cook keep up a lighter dialogue and commentary about what is happening around them.

There is a place for everything, although sometimes everything gets out of place, at least inside my head, while I’m trying to write. But if you don’t giggle once in a while at your own cleverness, who will?

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

Struggling With A Space Opera - Part Two

Back at the start of last year I decided to try writing something new. I needed a change from dragons and damsels, or detectives facing vampires and wayward housewives. I decided it was time I ventured deep into outer space.

As usual I started with a scrap of a plot and plunged right on ahead. I knew what the opening chapter would look like, and the final dramatic scene. All I needed was the middle part of the beast. My Beta reader uncovered the usual number of faults but I pressed on. Unlike some authors and betas, we look at each other’s work as it goes along, a few chapters at a time. We don’t wait until the completion before we do the swapping of manuscripts and the serious critiquing. The advantage to me is I pick up on any problems early enough to incorporate the fixes as I create the next section and repair the last.

I usually write quickly. I’ll start each day by reading and editing what I wrote the day before, and then charge on ahead. I also go back, adding scenes, inserting comments, sprinkling in incidents as they pop up.

Decided on a working title: “Of Destiny’s Daughters.” So, what happened after I finished this epic? Sent it off to the publisher and settled down for the usual waiting period, chewing nails to the quick. Of course, the brain keeps active during this period and the ending had generated some ideas on what might happen next in the story.

Might as well keep on writing, eh?

My beta reader complained the start of volume number two was a bit slow. Okay, I add an opening scene with a flashback complete with explosions. Somewhere during this process I also imagined a third volume. Then of course I changed my mind and compressed the projected third volume into the end of book two, which had a working title of “Hammer Across the Stars.”

Might as well finish this off and send it to the publisher so she can get an idea of how the tale unfolds beyond the first book.

Of course, as I put volume number two to bed there is an itch in the back of my head. The revised ending has given me a brilliant (I may exaggerate here) idea for a third volume. No, I haven’t started on this one yet, but the ideas are percolating.

One reason I haven’t started anything on book three (working title unknown although “Expedition to Earth” has a nice ring to it) is that I’m now up to my eyeballs in edits on the first volume. The publisher has said “Yes!”

The moral here, persistence pays off. Now about that book three…

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

Sometimes I really Wonder

Sometimes I really wonder why I do the things I do. I just spent the last few long months wrestling with the second volume of my space opera epic. Made several changes, additions, and went through the beast until I was cross-eyed and finally sent it off. Before that I was putting the income tax nonsense into some kind of order. Now, with that finished and the manuscript off my plate, I could get caught up on all those other things I’ve been letting slide.

Like my office. The children have warned my wife not to enter it on her own without tying a rope around her waist so she can find her way back out. Even I have to admit it’s been getting a bit unruly in there.

But then ideas keep bubbling. You know the feeling. It’s an itch that requires scratching. What to do? Two new plots were struggling for attention. Now what?

I chose the path of least resistance and decided to start on both of them and see where that led me.

The first option is one in the series of Housetrap Chronicles novellas. I always find these relaxing as I can have a lot of fun throwing in everything (including a kitchen sink) into my fantasy detective series and work out any frustrations. Slight problem, this plot requires more planning than I’m used to with these. Normally I come up with a mash-up of a mystery title and then write a story to fit the title.

The second option is a more-or-less straight fantasy tale that bit me when I wasn’t looking. This thing has decided it wants to be full novel length but is unsure whether to be teen, young adult, or adult. Only the bedroom scenes may eventually decide that rating.

After writing the opening chapters of each of these ideas, I decided I really had to get a serious grip on these creatures; and work on only one writing project at a time. So I did.

Glancing around my office, it is still sinking under the weight of the paper piled on my floor. But that is not surprising, my desk and shelves are full.

Carry on writing, especially if you enjoy it. I often write so I can find out how the story ends.

Why do you write?

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

How do You Create Your Masterpiece?

Working at a book table during a recent Con set me thinking. You get to meet and talk with a lot of new or developing writers at these busy events. Some come looking for hints, or just want to talk about the writing world in general.

One young gentleman’s comment that he only writes in longhand in a notebook got me thinking. When I mentioned using computers he was dead set against them. Pen to paper was the only way for him. He intended to work that way until he had his final draft of his manuscript completed.

I too started out writing in a notebook. I still have them buried in my office somewhere. Then I graduated to a manual typewriter. (I’m a two-fingered typist and I like it that way.) The typewriter certainly made for easier-to-read work. I also went through large reams of paper and whiteout by the jar or strip.

Then I graduated to a Commodore 64 computer and 5 inch floppy discs. I was in my glory. Unfortunately, I still have two novels that never escaped from the floppy discs. Fortunately, I do have hard copies buried around the office somewhere, if I ever get the ambition to transcribe them on to my latest computer while editing out all those beginner errors at the same time.

Now I have three laptops, numerous thumb drives, and an external hard drive. Which brings me to the moral of this lengthy tale and why I’m quite happy I kept moving on up through the equipment in search of something better.

I was wrestling with my latest epic recently. My Beta reader was working me over. I decided she was correct, again. I needed to make some important changes. First, was completely re-writing the opening. Then, I needed to make several changes through the manuscript. Next I had to add some new scenes to make sense out of the revised opening. I shudder to think of doing this amount of revision work on a typewriter or even the trusty Commodore. Never mind scratching around in a notebook!

I can give another better example. A couple of years ago I turned in a manuscript that came to somewhere north of 100,000 words. That particular publisher decided it was a bit long for them when they brought out the print editions. Their request, cut the manuscript into two, flesh those two out to a decent length of somewhere over 80,000 words each, and then write a third novel to turn the whole project into a trilogy.

I can imagine doing the above using a handwritten notebook. One final thought on the subject. I keep a separate file on the computer of notes for each project that I can call upon and bring up as I am working. Useful stuff such as, “How did I spell that character’s name?” or “What did I say was the color of her eyes?”

Experience is a good teacher. Bottom line, writing is a very personal exercise. Write in the way that suits you best, and take all the advice from us old timers with a grain of sea-salt.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

5

Things a Pantser Will Do

I’m a pantser and proud of it. Here is one reason why.

I was working on a lengthy manuscript the other day. The scene had the heroine trying to escape a boring party and being harassed by a dull male until she eventually shooed him away. At that point he was just inserted as part of the scenery. I began to wonder if he had an ulterior motive. What was his real purpose? Maybe he was up to no good.

If I was a serious plotter I would already know the answers, having decided he was simply a walk-on, throw-away character passing her by in the night. But being a pantser, I wondered if I should find something useful for him to do and employ him a while longer.

The heroine was going on a trip. Would anyone be curious about this? I have it! My throw-away character is a bumbling spy who must continue to pursue her. Gives me someone to keep her busy while she is in transit. I can use the action around this hapless male to explain the how and why of a few other things going on rather than use a boring info dump. So I did.

Might never have come up with this angle if I was a meticulous plotter. While not a character who will become a main player, he did get to play an expanded part.

I often create characters I know little about at the time, only to learn more about them as I create. Sometimes they become major players. In this case a simple walk-on player earned at least two more scenes and probably made enough extra to cover his groceries and beer for the next week.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

A Matter of Length

I’m currently struggling with a sequel to a novel that hasn’t been published (or accepted?) yet. This project was originally going to be the second and third in a trilogy. Being a confirmed pantser, I had the ideas but no detailed outline of these next two books.  About a hundred pages in I started to wonder if I had enough plot to warrant two volumes. Maybe a single volume, divided into parts one and two would be better? Which leads me to a discussion on length.

When I started writing I’d knock off a novel, send it out, and while waiting the two years for a rejection letter, fire off several short stories to anthologies. I had one editor tell me twice, in her polite rejections, that my short stories sounded more like novels. I eventually had a short story win first in a writing contest, and another published in an anthology, but the novel seed had been germinated.

I really do prefer the novel length where I can get to know the characters well while spinning out the tale. Then I discovered the novella. (In my fevered brain, about 30,000 words)

I wanted to write a fantasy detective tale for some time. I had the ideas and format and dashed off “Housetrap.” Then I discovered the novella is not an easy sale. There are a limited number of markets. I had an editor tell me he liked the story but it was too long for his magazine. Not to be discouraged, I whipped up two more tales, packaged the three together as book-length, and fired them off to publishers. It worked. Two publishers asked to see the manuscript. Of course, two years later they were still saying they were interested. In the meantime I found someone else (Champagne) and we were away. The Housetrap Chronicles are up to number eight now, with the first six packaged in volumes 1 & 2 and all available as ebooks.

But I still normally prefer the novel length with my usual target to come in at around 100,000 words.

One of my last forays back into the realm of the short story was a tale told by disheartened knight who rescues a lady seeking refuge. I finished the project but wasn’t entirely satisfied. What happens next? I ended up writing in effect three more short stories, each told by a different individual, and linking them together as “Knights’ Bridge,” in a novella format and much more satisfying, to me anyway, than the original short story.

Of course, length is also subject to the publisher’s needs and wishes. I wrote a tale, that came in somewhere over the 100,000 word mark and sent it away. The publisher loved it but had a request. She asked that I split it into two full-length novels, which meant adding more meat to the story, and then write a third as she felt there were too many loose ends still dangling. That was an interesting exercise, and fortunately the format of the plot made it an easy chore. There was even a brief discussion about turning it into a series.

Pick a length that suits the tale, and write it, but in the back of your mind, think about publishers and the markets where hopefully it will ultimately end up.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

Why I Write Fantasy and Soft Science Fiction

There is a good reason why I write soft science fiction. I wasn’t a science nerd at school. Physics was the first subject that threw me for a loop when I ran headlong into it. Up until that class, I’d always held it over my buddy Allen that I was better than him in school. Then physics grabbed me by the throat and threw me for a loss. Allen aced it.

So when I write a science fiction story, you know there are certain areas I’m going to have to fudge. I try to avoid technical explanations I might have to give, and there are potentially minefields full of them out there in the void. (Which is not really void?). I really admire writers who can get the details correct (as far as I’m concerned!) while not dragging down the story with heavy techno-babble.

I always toss out the old line that if I’m writing a story where someone is driving a car, I don’t have to explain the inner workings of a gasoline (or hybrid electric!) engine, so why do you want to know how I get my spaceship up to warp speed? But that’s not quite true, is it? I think you should try and make the story believable. Still, when you go to those big budget summer movies, it’s permissible to suspend belief and just let the adventure rip.

The reason these thoughts are rattling around inside my head is I’m working on the second volume in a projected trilogy where at least some of the story will fall into the Space Opera category. I’d like to get the little details sounding correct, even if I have to fudge the big picture. This is a bit of a struggle.

Fantasy is another matter. I’ve often told friends the reason I write fantasy is because I’m lazy and don’t have to do all the research to create historical novels. That is only partially true. I like to make up settings, build worlds, characters and plots, unrestricted by conventional countries and backgrounds. I’ve always been a fan of history, read a lot of it, but have little desire to be restricted by having to stay within the existing lines, so to speak.

I ran face-first into this with a recent trilogy. I decided to write a what-if alternate history. Great, now I can make up a lot of the details once my change in what happens in history takes place. However, I still have to stick to actual geography, and blend in what is going on in the rest of the real world. This means having to take the time to do some actual detail searching instead of plunging blindly ahead with my writing. Now I catch a glimpse of what the historical authors go through, and why, I really prefer to write fantasy. Besides, I really can get sidetracked mucking about where the research may lead me rather than sticking to the actual creating.

I’d rather let my wild imagination make things up instead of doing the research, with one caveat. You still have to write within the realms of possibility, in your imaginary world, or explain why not. Rules are made to be broken, but only knowingly.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

An Author's Brain on Overload

I’ve heard several comments about some authors who sit staring blankly at the keyboard wondering what to do next. I don’t think that problem applies to me.

I’m currently waiting to hear from my publisher about two pieces they may pick up. If so, long stretches of editing awaits. Meanwhile, I’m waiting on another publisher to launch the third book in a trilogy that was supposed to come out in July 2017. I should be busy promoting it.

While all this is going on, I have been burning up the keyboard. I’ve started two new projects although I’m trying to finish one before I go back to the other, a sequel to a novel sitting in submissions. I’m whipping through the draft of a tenth novella in the Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective series. You have to strike while the idea is hot. This one can’t miss, the author optimistically thinks.

But while all this is going on, I’m being flooded with new ideas. I’m scribbling down notes on a final to a trilogy where the first volume hasn’t even been officially accepted yet. Worse, I’m doing outlines of two more tales in the Housetrap Chronicles series. I think I’ve got projects lined up until at least 2019.

I guess this is what happens when you sell the sailboat and are informed about how much work there is to be done in the garden. Good thing the snow is already here. Now, if I could only get the cat to adjust to standard time. I really don’t need to get up that early to keep my writing on some kind of schedule.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3

How Do You Choose a Book?

Much has been made about the importance of the very first sentence in a novel. Some experts grumble if you don’t have that gripping, magic first sentence, no one will want to bother reading your manuscript or book.

I don’t know if I have ever purchased a book, or chosen one at a library, based on the first sentence. An interesting review might catch my initial attention and send me on a search. The cover might lure me in but more often I pick up a book based on a favorite author, or a subject that interests me. Next, I look at the back cover to get an idea of the content. After that, maybe a peek at the inside flap of the front cover. That is about it for me.

I took a look at the first sentences I used is some of my published novels and novellas to see how they fared.

The Dark Lady: “They say she is the Devil’s spawn, born in a cloud of brimstone and sulphur on a night when the peaks echoed with thunder and the castle walls trembled.”

The Queen’s Pawn: “They are through the city gates!”

The Queen’s Game: “How can I ever trust you again?”

Knight’s Bridge: “I stare out through a crimson haze.”

Housetrap: “I don’t like Elves, never have.”

Dial M for Mudder: “I don’t like the dark October rains, never have, not since my Cousin Edward threw me in the mill pond out back of our old shed.”

House on Hollow Hill: “Bertha Wildwater has been frequently known to say, ‘If you don’t know where you are going, ask,’ and she often uses her authority to advise me where to go, asked for or not.”

Alex in Wanderland: “Alexis came through the door like an unguided missile at the end of its orbit.”

We're Not in Kansas: "Macy rose to her feet, leaned over, and poured the entire ruby contents of her wine glass neatly over the crotch of his light gray slacks."

Toltec Dawn: My liege, these sources are not guaranteed, but are drawn from the best information available at this time, including fleeing refugees and captured prisoners." 

Okay, so I admit that I sometimes like to throw a bit of drama into the opening. I’m just not certain it’s the only critical key to landing a purchase.

The other no-no some experts have been known to throw out is, “Never open with the weather!” Why not, if it is relevant? I probably would if I thought it was suitable, or just to be difficult. I notice that I did at least once above.

While I tend to think the world does not always turn on the opening sentence, the sooner you introduce the main characters, and the plot, the better. When I used to run the judging in an annual literary contest where they often had to read and rank around forty books in a very few months, I instructed them they only had to read the first three chapters. That was enough to indicate whether or not it was a possible winner. My personal opinion is that the reader should be grabbed and well on their way after the first chapter.

How do you choose a book? Where do you look to see if it is worth picking up?

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

Give Your Characters Room to Grow

Give your characters room to grow and you will bring them to life; don’t, and they might as well be made out of cardboard.

As a pantser, I don’t do a lot of in-depth outlining of my characters before I start. I prefer to discover what they are like as I write. I let them reveal themselves to me, although I frequently have to pause and discover the backstory that has caused them to behave or react the way that they do.

The story “The Queen’s Pawn” is a good example of this. When we first meet the queen, she comes across as a bit simple-minded. As the tale progresses, we find out who is really in charge. Her daughter is a loud-mouthed shrew. I had to discover why before I could finish the story. They both show sides not obvious when we first meet them. The harried hero of the tale, the young man, also undergoes personal changes over the course of the three volumes. (Admittedly, seemingly slowly at times.).

Even the villains have to have a reason for why they act the way they do. A good villain should believe that he or she is in the right. Very few memorable villains think they are simply evil. They may be seeking justice for a real or imaginary wrong. Remember, the ordinary folks outnumber the psychopaths. (I hope).

I often let the character’s motives become obvious slowly rather than dump them all on the reader in the first chapter. People can also change. Motives may not be obvious. That is part of the fun of writing. I want to get to know the characters better. They can even change the direction of a story once you get to know them better.

In working on a recent manuscript I had reason to pause and consider that some of my characters were too similar. Without using their names you couldn’t tell them apart. That gave me a reason to dig deeper and discover what those differences were. In the process, I learned more about them, and what made them tick.

Take a look at your characters. Are they well-rounded or flat? The best written have emotions the readers should be able to relate to. Do they have good reasons for what they do? You at least should know those motives even if you only hint at them in your novel. Give them room to breathe and they will come to life. That alone will make for a much better story.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

Point of View and Painted Corners

Back in 2012 I wrote an essay on POV. I thought I’d revisit the topic and see if my thoughts on the topic have changed.

When sitting down to write your brilliant novel or novella, give some serious consideration to the point of view (POV) you are going to use. As writers we are familiar with the options such as the first person, where one character narrates the action, or the third person, where the author sits back and tells all from an omnipotent point of view. There are also more unusual styles such as in the form of letters, journals, or a diary. Each method has its pluses and minuses, especially as to how deep you wish to get inside the heads of your characters, or how wide-ranging you want to describe an event in the story, especially one where your protagonist may not always be in attendance.

You also want to remember that old chestnut, show, don’t tell. Does the format you’ve chosen best lend itself to that for your particular story?

Many books on writing will tell you to limit the number of character=s heads you get inside of to tell your story. More than one or two and you risk confusing both the reader and the writer. In one of my very earliest efforts I think got into the head of at least a dozen characters. I was told in no uncertain terms by my editor to cut that out and not to do it again.

The advantage the personal POV is being able to both look at what the characters say, and what they are thinking at the same time, and gives the author the ability to have some fun and create often unreliable characters, while warning the reader of that fact.

I have written a series of fantasy novellas, the Housetrap Chronicles. They are all narrated through the eyes and POV of the main protagonist, a private detective. For this type of tale, where the action swirls around the hero, we want the reader to come across the discoveries at the same time as he does. The format works well in this case.

When I found myself working on my first trilogy, the sequel(s) for The Dark Lady, my first published novel, I discovered the problem often found in using a single POV. The original book was written from the POV of the protagonist. I found ways to keep her the center of the action in the original novel. As I got further into turning out the sequels, I found I had distant events I wanted to drag the reader into, but couldn’t, because that would break the format I followed to that point. Certainly, there were ways around the dilemma, such as having written reports to read, or characters who come dashing in and spin the heroine a tale. But when using those writer=s tricks you must beware of the deadly information dump that can overwhelm the reader. I prefer to trickle out the information gradually over time, rather than flood the reader all at once.

In a trilogy, about the North Americans discovering Europe first, I decided I would tell this complicated tale through the eyes of three different characters. That way I could legitimately have three different points of view. To keep POVs simple for the reader, I decided to alternate the viewpoints in turn, dividing each chapter into three storylines. One benefit is that I could look at the same event through different eyes if two or more of my narrators were present. It also allowed me to expand the scope of what the characters could bring as personal experiences. You could use the same format and grant each of your characters a separate chapter.

Don=t paint yourself into a corner when you are laying down the outline of your next great novel. Give some thought as to what format would be best to tell this story, and if you are diving into POVs, decide who is the best character to tell it. I personally like digging around inside the heads of some of my characters. Too much excavating however, can delay getting on with the action, but then, so can too many mixed-up metaphors.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)

Struggling With a Space Opera

I recently decided to try writing something new. I needed a change from dragons and distressed damsels, or sarcastic detectives facing thirsty vampires and wayward housewives. I’d written one near-future thriller and tossed off a What-If spec fiction; it was time to venture deep into outer space. Or maybe not.

As usual I started with a scrap of a plot and plunged right on ahead. In this case I knew what the opening chapter would look like, and the final dramatic scene. All I needed was the tender middle. I also knew there would be a brother and a sister in main roles. I assumed the lead player would be the brother; boy was I wrong!

His sister took over, and along with her three rowdy girlfriends, ran rampant through the plot.

Then my Beta reader charged in with her usual glee and scribbled comments all over the early pages. One remark that stood out was the fact that the four women were all alike. She couldn’t tell them apart.

Okay, so back to the beginning, how do you differentiate a gang of four? I tried differing fashion sense, favorite sayings or curses, hairstyles, even skin colors. I even gave them different tattoos, although these are not always noticeable.

The list of reader complaints was long; too long to mention here. Needless to say that although I have finished spinning the basic tale, I am now reworking the story to polish the obvious problems.

I usually write quickly. I’ll start the day by reading and editing what I wrote the day before, and then charge ahead full speed. In this argumentative manuscript, I keep going back, adding scenes, inserting comments, sprinkling in incidents. It doesn’t help that I’m developing a large argumentative cast with speaking parts.

And don’t get me started in the aliens! They have refused to co-operate and are acting very…alien.

This may take more time than I planned for me to sort out.

I’m beginning to suspect that I will be happy to feel a dragon’s breath on the back of my neck once more. And anyway, those damsels are usually more distressing than distressed.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

Review for Roy Huff

Book Review for: Think Smart Not Hard: 52 Key Principles to Success and Happiness by Roy Huff


Everyone should go out and buy this book. Right now. No procrastinating. No kidding. Here’s why. It will speak to you. Yes, you. It doesn’t matter how old or how young you are. You will absolutely be able to relate to it, and use its advice. If not, you’re not living on planet Earth. I am 52 years old, and I have experienced many of the ups in this book, as well as the downs, and yet, I learned new things just by thinking more deeply about the principles found in these pages. I have learned from my mistakes, just like the author, Roy Huff, has learned from his. You can, too. If you’re young, take this advice, and plow forward, and don’t fall prey to those who would steal your happiness in some way throughout your life. If you are older, take the advice, and run with it, and don’t look back. Either way, read the book, and be happy and successful. You deserve it."


rebeccadraco.com

Random Thoughts on the Direction of Our Industry

I was at a convention the last weekend and sat on a few of the discussion panels. The last one I was on was called “What’s New in SF/F.” It was the best attended panel I was on all weekend and we had a lively discussion centering on the direction of the industry and some of the problems facing authors.

First, here are some dull statistics comparing new USA books produced from the major and mid-range publishers comparing the years 2008 to 2016. These are adult and young adult numbers combined. In 2008 there were 249 SF novels published compared with 425 in 2016. In 2008 there were 429 Fantasy novels compared with 737 in 2016. In the Horror market, there were 175 novels published in 2008 and 171 in 2016. Paranormal Romance novels went from 328 in 2008 to 107 in 2016.

This tells me that the SF and Fantasy markets are still strong and Horror is fairly flat. Paranormal Romance is finally tapering off. British numbers are similar. What this doesn’t tell us is what is happening with the smaller book publishers.

Other trends: Print book sales have increased over the last three years. Have ebooks flattened? Most large publishers now have ebook divisons. What was interesting is our audience members complaining that the ebook prices from the majors are too close to the cost of their print books. Many buy ebooks based on convenience and not on cost.

On the SF side, space opera seems hot. It was interesting to note the effect of politics and TV shows on book sales. 1984 is back in print, Margaret Attwood’s “The Handmaiden’s Tale” is climbing the book charts again (new TV series), as is “The Expanse” series of six novels in part due to the popular TV series of the same name.

People will read something different if it is unique even if they normally avoid the genre field. If readers love your characters they will love your story.

Books are getting bigger. The next Stephen King has 720 pages. It used to be that SF books in general were shorter than Fantasy. Not sure if that is still the case. Is this length trend due to people getting used to watching longer TV series?

One thing that caused interest was author’s labor and remuneration. Our panel consisted of two authors plus an author who was also an editor. We pointed out the amount of time (years!) involved between the creative juices beginning to flow and the book finally making an appearance. We discussed the merits of giving away a free book. After explaining I received the same percentage of royalty on a $.99 book as I do on a $15.00 book I had an audience member who was a free ebook proponent stop by at my table after the session and buy a paper book.

It is interesting for authors to set aside their rough drafts and get out into the world and discuss reading and the industry with the people who buy our books. As a result of attending this convention I had an organizer of another program stop by and invite us to show up there. She thought our display was classy. I may have to check my inventory and pick up some more copies of my books.

Now back to writing and editing and other fun stuff.

R.J.Hore
www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

A Fishy Tale

 

My good wife saw a pond on sale at Wal Mart and decided it would be just the thing for our back yard. She presented it to me for installation. I pointed out that a pond without fish would be a nursery for mosquitos. The pond was planted and Wal Mart goldfish added.

 

A son-in-law replaced a toilet in the house and left it lurking in the back yard. Not one given to wasting treasures I installed the toilet in a mound of earth beside the pond and painted it a concrete gray. Flowers took root in the tank and a fountain in the bowl wafted a stream of water down into the fish pond. A virtual miracle of design and technology!

 

Raccoons cleaned out the fish. I installed a predator net and new goldfish.

 

She who must be obeyed decided we should move to a larger house. It had a jungle garden overrun and abused and no fish pond. I went out, bought a new pond, a new predator net, and went to work. Soon a miniature cottage on top of a tiny hill spouted water into a stream running down into the fish pond. Everyone was relatively happy.

 

The problem with our climate is you cannot leave fish outside in a pond all year long. Sometime around the end of October they will form part of a large block of ice. So each year we’d remove the three fish, drain the pond, and bring them inside to a large tank some good friend decide we needed and he didn’t.

 

One fall I had the pond almost empty and was cleaning the pump when lo and behold, I discovered a small fish inside. When the Mrs. checked the two inches of muddy water remaining in the pond she discovered four more tiny fish. I remembered then I’d dumped most of the water out onto the front yard to soak the trees...two hours ago. I found another eight fish still flopping around in the grass and the dead leaves.

 

We now drain the pond through a strainer into a pail each fall. We have a tank downstairs with the seven largest fish and a tank upstairs with roughly fourteen (They won’t stay still to be counted) from that last two years’ broods. I have gifted a grandson with enough fish for two small tanks and my son-in-law has two large tanks in his living room. The fish store says they may take some and give me credit against future purchases.

 

I have studied fish medicine, water changing techniques, and how to peel frozen peas. I am running out of friends who desire a valuable goldfish. Fortunately the always-starving cat pays the fish no attention at all. Now I need lights for the upstairs tank because I’ve been advised the tank is too dark. Outside, the ice is now off the pond and the yard is a mess. It’s that time of year again.

 

Oh good grief. No wonder I have trouble finding time to write!

 

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

 

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)

The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)

Alex in Wanderland,

Knight’s Bridge

We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

Losing Control

I started my latest novel knowing the details of the opening scene and the closing chapter, and without a lot of meat for the middle. This is not an unusual situation for me to be in, being a died-in-the-wool pantser. I often write by the seat of my well-worn trousers. I began with the idea of two characters and a slender thread of a plot to get me through to the end. I thought I knew who was the main character. The one who the action would center around.

I started writing this epic.

Wouldn’t you know it, the beast began to change and I was helpless to stop it.

Number two character is now number one, and the other is in danger of fading away into the background. I must take immediate action to prevent his disappearance!

Not only that, but other more interesting minor characters are demanding additional stage presence. They may be right. People who could only expect a walk-on part are now anticipating acting in whole chapters.

I hope the project will be better for the interest the thespians are displaying.

As the author, I sometimes feel more like the conductor of an unruly orchestra, with everyone demanding a solo. It gets noisy around here sometimes, at least inside my head.

I suppose I could avoid a situation like this by calmly plotting out the story in great detail and fixing the structure in cement before I start. But where would the fun be in that?

I often say I write to discover how the story ends. In this case, I’m writing to uncover the path they took to get there, and who is acting as the guide in all this organized confusion.

The director is in serious danger of losing control of the script!

R.J.Hore
www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)
The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 7 with #8 due out April 4th)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1, 2, of 3)

The Evolution of Writing

I started writing fiction while I was still up to my eyeballs in a stressful day job. As a matter of fact, I wrote so much non-fiction as a small part of the job I qualified for Professional Writer status through the Canadian Authors Association. After a long day at work, I’d go home and start writing for the pleasure of writing, and not because I had to.

I started thinking the other day about how much my writing process has changed over the years. What got me diverted was the novel I’m currently working on. I’ve started with a beginning and an ending, but the great middle is a dark and unknown continent. I keep having to go back and scatter clues, check spelling of names (characters, highways, etc.) and generally do a massive amount of changing and inserting as I go.

Which brings me to how I used to write a novel.

I’d start with a lined notebook and a pen. I’d fill several notebooks. Then I got an ancient manual typewriter. This was my introduction to white-out. You make a mistake, or decide on a correction on the typewritten page, and voila, bring out the white-out. It came as either a strip you could type on over the change, or a liquid you dripped on the sin, making certain not to put on too much or you ruined your ribbon.

Then I advanced to a second-hand electric typewriter. This was not as difficult for me as for those who might not be able to keep up with the increase in speed. I was, and still am, a two-fingered typist, which suits me just fine. I type at about the same speed as I plot so everything works out.

I won some money on a Grey Cup Ticket (Canadian Football Championship) and went out and purchased a Commodore64 computer, complete with a box of 5” floppy discs. What a great technological leap forward! I still have two novels that never graduated from the 64, but I do have hard copy. Someday I will have to sit down and transcribe them into Word, manually, changing them drastically as I go, being very early works in my writing career.

When I retired from the daily slog, I took up writing fulltime and on a modern laptop too. (Well, it was modern, back then.) Now I can glory in making as many changes as my little black heart desires, check the spelling of my characters’ names, and insert those brilliant chunks of dialogue I create while on my early morning walks.

I still have the handwritten notebooks around here somewhere, and the floppies, although the Commodore64 is hiding in the garage. The typewriters have gone to wherever typewriters go, hopefully not spending their remaining years as boat anchors. I now have three laptops, (one is a little netbook) and can write on the road. Just as well, given the amount of stuff I’ve churned out in recent years. My process has come a long way since those early workbooks. What works best for you?

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 7 with #8 due out in March)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

 

 

A Novel Approach

After finishing the first draft of number nine in my Housetrap Chronicles series, I decided to work on an idea I’d been kicking around for a few years. Number nine is in the hand s of my Beta Reader, I have time to kill.

I had the idea for an opening scene for a novel, nothing else beyond that. But it was something I could visualize, sort of. I sat down to sketch out a few notes.  Then I began to write. At this point I had no characters, no plot, but an idea of the format of how I wanted to tell the story. By the time I’d finished the first rough chapter I had my two main characters. Better yet, I had the ending.

Of course, there is the all-important question of what goes on in the middle?

I’m blundering my way through this monster, with little to go on other than how the characters react to each other, and the events triggered by the opening scene. I’ve passed the 33,000 word mark and still seem to be going in a straight line. Characters I’d never imagined have dropped in to fill out the cast. Sometimes I have to take a firm hand so they don’t go astray.

Usually I have more control of what’s going on. I’m a pantser, but at least I normally have  some vague idea of what to expect in the middle of a story. In this case, I just have a faint light at the end, and my final chapter.

I don’t recommend writing this way. There is a fear of having long stretches of boredom, too much description, too many mouthy characters spouting off. Looks like it won’t be stuck as a novella, but will the project make it to a full-length novel?

This was supposed to be a serious attempt at a space opera, but already I hear hints of wisecracking going on among the mutinous cast.

And then today my fitbit gave up the ghost and I spent most of the afternoon wrestling with the replacement, to no avail. Good thing I managed to get some writing done this morning!

Where am I going with this? I wish I knew.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 7 with #8 due out in July)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)