The Full Picture

Revising "A Mage's Power"  reminds of the importance of creating the Full Picture. What the characters are saying and doing and the place they're doing it all in. The details that give life to words. My most common additions during the revision process is just this; painting the picture. Whether one writes fantasy, science fiction or realistic fiction, one should not pass up a chance for world building. This is the tapestry that the story is written on. A reader deserves no less than the full picture.

The setting where the events take place in shapes the events. The same battle would play out differently in a swamp, a farmer's field, or a building. Using the unique properties of these areas builds the world and shape the battle. In doing so you will create a fuller picture for the reader.

If the enviorment can develop the world then so can the weather. Adding clouds or rain or regular winds or a bright sun can make the world seem more alive. It can also develop your characters. If a girl is humming as she walks and is caught in a downpour but continues humming nonetheless, then the author has shown she is endlessly upbeat. Continuing this, if she's meeting a guyfriend the author can show a chivalric streak by having him give her his jacket or demonstrate a penchant for being prepared by offering her a second umbrella.

On a more personal level, add an iconic item or a character tic to your characters. For instance, the girl in the above example could carry a book everywhere or the guy could snap his fingers when bored.

Nobody likes floating heads and these sorts of things can break up dialogue. Items found in one place or another can add atmosphere or advance the plot. Gestures can underscore or alter the meaning of spoken words.

To illustrate I'll provide an example from "A Mage's Power". This right here is an early draft of Eric going to a shaman's tent.

"The mage in charge of healing lived in a spacious tent decorated with paintings of the sun and the moon. An old human woman greeted them warmly as they entered."

This tells the reader what happened and provides a few details but doesn't paint the 'full picture'. The shaman herself is merely 'old' and 'human' which can describe any number of characters. This next bit is the most recent revision.

A spacious tent decorated with the sun and the moon. Ethereal enforcers circled the sun; glowing tricksters jumped over the moon. A majestic griffin painting guarded the entrance flap. It was pushed aside by an old human woman with three eyes and fly wings poking out the bottom of her embroidered cloak.
Doesn't provide a fuller picture of the shaman's tent and the shaman herself? It also connects the shaman to the broader tapestry of the story itself. Tricksters and enforcers are mentioned elsewhere before and after this scene; tricksters especially often appear in the setting and in-universe culture. Griffin imagery plays a similar role and becomes more important as the story progresses. As for the human's odd features, the fact that they are not particularly odd in this setting is a reoccurring plot point considering my protagonist is from another world.

For more articles on world building see To Build World Think About Ants and World Of Monsters

I have more thoughts on this subject much later: Full Picture vs Moving Image - writing tip

Brian Wilkerson is a freelance book reviewer, writing advice blogger and independent novelist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Answering Review Request: Nimpentoad

"Nimpentoad" is a children's fantasy story written by Henry Henz. The show takes place in a forest and the star of this show is Nimpentoad. He's a 'nibling' who are the smallest race in the forest and so they're always picked on. One day Nimpentoad decides to lead them to the castle of Goofus the Giant where they will be safe, but to get there they have to cross the forest and all the nasty creatures in their way.

There are so many things I like about this story. There's the storytelling atmosphere, the  child-like yet intelligent prose, the pictures that bring the story to life, the well-built setting, and Nimpentoad himself.

The story is written as though someone was telling the story to someone else. This adds character and warmth to the writing that makes the story feel 'fuller'. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Narrator is as much a character as anyone else. Now that I've finished the story and thought about it the story itself could be a nipling scholar telling some far off future generation about why they live in a castle with a giant.

The wording and sentence structure are simple but filled with knowledge and detail. Going off the above paragraph, it's like the scholar is doing this deliberately for his much younger audience. There are sound effects in parenthesis that make me smile with their cute/cheesiness. Some phrases are also repeated with each segment, which gives the story a kind of poetic epic structure; again like a national 'origin story' for the nipling.

The pictures are gorgeous, well, as gorgeous as giant scorpions and forest orcs can be anyway.  Each picture shows off the various races inhabiting the forest but not the actions they take. It's imagination fonder for the reader. They get to paint the actions themselves.

The setting is surprisingly well built for such a short children's story.  The forest is continually developed by the plants that grow inside it (Niplings are very good cooks) and the breakdown of the society is quickly set up and developed further as the Niplings travel.  It's perfect for the background of the story, and even better, an older reader can appreciate nuances that younger ones might not get and debate them on websites like TVTropes.

Finally, Nimpentoad himself. The story says earlier on that he's the smartest of the Niplings and he demonstrates this every day on their journey. His craftiness saves them time and again.  It's like he's their Trickster Figure; creating new ideas, changing their way of life, surviving on his wits instead of brawn.

Bottom Line: If I were five years old again, I'd want my mom and dad to read this to me and they would enjoy it as much as I would.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Nimpentoad" an A+

Click here for the next review request: Trapped On Draconica

Click here for the previous review request: Be Paranoid Be Prepared

Everybody Wins

I've come to love being a book reviewer.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I signed up at Book Tweeting Service to volunteer, but now I see there was never a downside. I get a book I think I'll like, the author gets a free review (and since I read books I think I'll like, it's most likely to be a good review) and future readers can be assured of the book's quality. Everybody wins.


Right now I'm reading "Trapped on Draconia" by Dan Wright. Its a 'normal guy trapped on another world' sort of story which I've seen many times in anime and such. However, Mr.Wright has quelled my fears completely. I'll go into more detail during the formal review after I finish it; I'm on page 137 out 437.

Sometime this weekend expect a review for Henry Herz's Children's Fantasy, "Nimpentoad". Its not a novel so I'll be able to finish it quickly and turn out the review.

In the next month or so I'll start either "Light/Dark the Awakening of MageKnight' by Daniel Fife or "The Shadow of Black Wings" by James Calbraith. Both of them are fantasy with intriguing (or at least time honored) premises, so I'm looking forward to them.

Characters are everything

When I was in college I took a class called "Introduction to Creative Writing" and one of the lectures was called "characters". The short of it is: A plot is nothing more than a character in trouble." This resonated with me and I've kept it in mind ever since.

I let the characters drive the story. Their actions, their choices, their desires; I follow them to their logical (or illogical) conclusion. Sometimes I have to rewrite events and even the plot itself to accommodate the characters and their trouble. The story flows better this way.

Furthermore, I personally hate it when an episode of a show or some story arc in a book derails characters to make itself work. It feels forced and unnatural reminds that these people are not real people but actors with a script. It's hard to care about actors with a script and if I don't care about them (and the characters they represent) then why do I care about what happens to them? If I don't care about what happens to them then why am I reading/watching/playing the story?

A Matter of Taste?

How is it that two people can have opposite opinions on the same book? Myself and a girl named 'Joyce' read a book called 'Talented'. She rated it 5/5 and I rated it 1/5. Be warned: I have bitter feelings about this book and so this post will be rather negative.

She says that the protagonist, Natalia, 'kicks ass'. In the book Natalia goes on three missions that are detailed. In the first her only contribution is a distraction and she has to be carried out by her teammates. She points out that she failed everyone's expectations. In the second mission she doesn't fight anyone and chokes at her opportunity to finish an assassination. In the third she doesn't kick ass, presay, but mind-control a guy (which, I will admit, is kinda cool). There are only two times she 'kicks ass'; the first is a fight with her teammate that is played more for sexual tension than 'the ability to kick ass' and the second is a simulation.

She says the book is 'readable' when it frequently misses words, and that's its a 'non-stop page turner'. That I can only chalk up to a romantic drama addict because that is what's on most of the pages. The very thing that repealed me might attract someone else. Yet I still have my objection: wish fulfilment. Just on the romance side a hot guy (the book will tell you so many times) is head over heels for the protagonist despite being a lady killer (which book also tells you many times) and the protagonist gets to beat up her cheating boyfriend without consequences of any sort.

She says 'It has an equal portion of adventure, romance, drama, & paranormal attribute'. Before the climax there are only two missions that have any depth to them and even those are brief. Other than that there is a simulation that accomplishes nothing; filler to convince the adventure seekers not to throw the book away. The other 200 some pages are about the pitfalls in the protagonist's love life. There is no 'paranormal' but science fiction and even that receives little attention after the first few chapters.

Finally, the 'exuberant' cliff hanger. Personally, it felt more like a commercial break than a cliff hanger. The protagonist is carted away, again disabled by injury, and her ex-boyfriend reads a note from her new boyfriend that endangers the new boyfriend's family. He decides to give it to the leader out of a sense of family loyalty. Then it ends. There's no resolution to anything. Its not 'exuberant' because it lacks enthusiasm. To me it came of as 'depressing'. I feel Joyce was going for the 'extrememly good' definition.

Our reviews could not be more different. Mine was significantly longer and more in depth than Joyce's; it consisted of little more than a paragraph and mine an essay. A simple matter of taste can not explain the inaccuracies in her review, so what happened?

In the end, I suppose all that matters is that there is an audience that enjoys the book and is willing to pay for that enjoyment. I would still like to know why our reviews are opposites so I thought about it for a while. Then it hit me.

Paranormal Romance; instead of a science fiction plot with a romantic subplot this book is a romantic plot with a science fiction subplot. When I thought about 'Talented' in those terms then the number of postive reviews (including Joyce's) suddenly made made sense. They were reading for the romance while the occasional 'ass kicking' was a nice side dish. I was the opposite; reading for the scant science fiction and annoyed by the vast streches of romance.

 This still doesn't explain why Joyce said 'equal portions' or why Miss. Davis described the central conflict as revenge against a political figure but I suppose one can't sell a book on a trite love triangle anymore. It has to be spiced up with other elements, or maybe its a sign of the times. 'Girl gets the guy and  kicks ass'. That's their taste I guess.

1,000 pageviews

This is incredible. I was tinkering with the blog's layout when I saw the counter: 1,000. I thought 'no way', but it was there. My first thought was to tweet about that. That should tell you how involved I've become with social media.

I made this blog originally because a neighbor of mine recommended it to talk about my book: Journey to Chaos book 1: A Mage's Power. Back then it was still called "Trickster Help Service". I didn't think much of it at the time but I set it up and wrote an introductory post. Then I forgot I had a blog for months. That's why there's a gap between "What I'm About" and "Shame and Pride".

  My negligence of  Facebook and Twitter was just as bad; I signed up on the former at my mom's request (to see the picture she sends the rest of our family) and I didn't even know how twitter worked. I barely gave a thought to them and instead focused on writing my books. Then I finished.

It was one of those 'what do I do now' moments. I had no idea what to do with the book now that it was finished. Well, to be honest, it was more like 2 and two half books but the first had been revised half a dozen times and was getting to that point that further revision could be called 'procrastinating'. So I became more serious with social media, especially twitter. Now I have a better idea of what I'm doing, and hopefully, more people interested in "A Mage's Power".

Inspirational Monday!

The first monday of every month is Inspirational Monday. Share something that inspires you.

"I hated every minute of my training but I told myself 'don't quit'. Suffer now and be a champion the rest of your life." -Muhammad Ali

I found that quote in a small book of quotes I received from my grandmother (I think). It has a lot of similar quotes but this one is my favorite. Originally I'd recite it to myself during Tae Known Do practice to encourage myself to finish my work out or learn a form etc. Now I recite it during revisions. They are tedious (pay attention to every word and think of ways to make them all better), depressing (all of them can be made better) and time consuming (did I really just spend four hours at this!?) but absolutely critical to the writing process. Now I can read them and smile at the improvement.

Don't be discouraged by bad drafts. The first draft is ALWAYS bad. The second draft is less bad, the third might stop making you feel like a loser, and by the fourth draft you might feel comfortable giving it to a beta reader.  Suffer through it and you'll be a champion the rest of your life.

My First Award Post

Jeff Hargett  from Strands Of Pattern   awarded me the Fabulous Blog Ribbon!


Here are the rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere.
3. Name five things you love.
4. Name five things you hate.
5. Pass the Ribbon on to five other bloggers.


5 Fabulous Moments

1. Earning my black belt in Tae Known Do
2. Completing the first draft of my first novel Journey To Chaos Book 1: A Mage's Power
3. Graduating from the University of Minnesota with two bachelor degrees
4. Receiving a job working at TCF
5. The 100 pageview turn out for the vote on the cover of "A Mage's Power

5 Things I Love

1. My family
2. My craft
3. My job
4. My mom's cooking
5. frozen waffles with butter and syrup on the weekends

5 Things I Hate

1. Wasting Time
2. Sleep
3. Editors on TV tropes who don't read the definitions before using the trope.
4. Enforced drama on TV shows
5. Polly (one of the family dogs)

What goes around comes around....

1. A.M.Supinger Inner Owlet
2. Marcia Doyle  Menopausal Mother
3. Robin Lovejoy  http://sathra-bansheeinthewell.blogspot.com/
4. Von L Cid
5. S.T. Lakata

Finished reading "Gifts" by Ursula K. Le Guin

I liked it. The plot was solid. The characters develop nicely. Miss Guin resolves the book's conflict while leaving plenty of room for more stories. Its just...not quite what I expected from the back cover.

The plot as described there does not kick in until perhaps fifty pages in. The story is still interesting before then but its a more 'anthology' interesting than a 'gripping plot' interesting. Orrec tells the newcomer stories of his homeland. Its an 'epic lore' kind of thing. He tells about Blind Caddard and how his parents met and fell in love. Its a low energy tone but a strong low energy tone; like a sturdy work horse.
The main plot line involving Orrec and his Power Incontinence is much more gripping. See, all the families in the Uplands have superpowers but they're afraid to use them for fear of counterattack. They use edged politeness, veiled threats and other tactics to avoid open conflict. Orrec is at the center of one such conflict as a Brantor's (Lineage head and domain leader) son. Its the same level of energy but wound tight. A wrong word or move could spark a war. Its not a rapid paid turner but you'll definitely turn them.
As for characters, the progression of the main two fits the pace of the tone: its slow and sure and steady. It leads to an ending I didn't see coming. Its obvious in retrospect but it involved a twist I couldn't be prepared for. Its a whopper.
It has romance but it also has a refreshing lack of drama. I can't stand that sort of thing. There's tension yes, but its personal worth tension and family politics and making the transition from 'friend' to 'lover'. Personally I prefer this to sexual tension and betrayals etc.
I find two flaws with this book but on reflection there aren't really flaws.
1.The story begins with the leading man (Orrec) and the leading lady (Gry) explaining how the Uplands work to a stranger from the lowlands. The first chapter sets the stage in terms of geography and the families and their gifts. Its important stuff and delivered with feeling and without 'as you know' but its kinda lackluster. I wasn't interested until the second chapter.
2. The digression from the protagonist's life to that of his great grandfather and than his own father. After that it still takes over one hundred pages to reach the point where the book started: Orrec speaking with the stranger. This story structure leaves the structure and conflict of the book in limbo, but as I said above, its still interesting reading and sets up Orrec's story. Making this less of a flaw, the idea of 'telling stories' becomes a plot point at two critical junctions.
Honestly, I'm still going back and forth about giving this book five stars instead of four. Regardless its likely to be joined on my book shelf by its sequel, "Voices", in the near future.

Answering Review Request: "Be Paranoid, Be Prepared" by Dina Rae

The first thing you should know about this story is that its not really a short story; its a prequel to Miss.Rae's main work "The Last Degree". A conflict is set up, the protagonist decides to take action and then the story ends. Its like a commerical in written form. That being said, I liked it.

The opening is weak; James stumbles into his apartment between shifts. It quickly gets better though. My interest perked at the phrase 'zombie night'. Exposition (James's family, work, etc) fills in as he gets dressed for it. The prose is this short and jagged thing that fits oddly well with a guy lacking in motivation and who runs on coccaine.

The scene at the strip club is worth reading and not for that reason. Its the escalation from a simple party to a lethal brawl seen through the eyes of a bouncer that drove me from page to page. The fact that everyone is hyped up on drugs and alcohol and dressed like the undead makes for nice irony when real blood mixes with red dye.

However, she started lossing me at the next scene. Debba (the girl on the cover) reveals her secret to James. Him being a borderline stranger I couldn't fathom why she would be so open. By the cliff hanger she's lost me entirely because I didn't it buy entirely and because I can think of an Oscam's Rasor alternative. On the other hand, my skeptical 'that's it?' was a halfbreed with a disappointed 'that's it?'. I would have read the second chapter if there was one.

A second problem I have is Debba's character, though depending on events in the main book it might not be a problem at all. Based on the ending I feel she is solely here to give James a kick in the pants and trigger the main work's plot. On TVtropes we call that "Disposable Woman" and it annoys us, but if the main book reveals this is not the case than I applaud Miss. Rae for making me think that trope was in effect before I realized that might not be the case.

Nothing is resolved. The conflict is only starting at the end. I HAVE read short stories that worked like this so I suppose it can stand alone in 'X-files' kind of way. This work being an 'appetizer' for "The Last Degree", though, I feel it would work better as a prologue than a prequel. I read it in about half an hour (it took me longer to write this review) and only costs 0.99 cents so if you want something 'short and sweet' you should buy it.


Click here for the next review request: Nimpentoad

Click here for the previous review request: Talented

Answering Review Request: "Talented" by Sophie Davis

I read Talented as part of a GoodReads group. It's marketed as a science fiction intrigue but the main focus is a love triangle. My review will be split into five categories: plot, characters, world building, polish, and overall. Following will be my bottom line and recommendation. Be warned that there may be spoilers but I will do my best to avoid them.

1. Plot
The start is good: an attack on Elite Headquarters that turns out to be a mere hazing to the pledge hunters carried out by the full fledged hunters. Its dramatic and exciting and it pulled me in. The next scene is a tender moment for Natalia (the protagonist) and Donavon (her boyfriend). This is also good because it transitions nicely from the reveal and allows for teasing from her teammates, setting up a sibling-like dynamic with them.
The first seven chapters are great. There's swift character develop, plenty of non-intrusive world building, some romance between Natalia and Donavon, and comedy relief from Erik. The next seven chapters drag. There is no more world building, Natalia's relationship with Donavon takes up more screen time, and a lot of nothing goes on before the first mission begins.
The first mission itself wasn't bad. A new team with a pledge team member isn't going to get the most exciting mission. This is realistic and reasonable; a good choice. Erik's actions at the end are surprising and provide a Chekhov's gun for later use.
It's after the first mission that I have issues with this book. The plot dissolves into relationship drama and anything involving The Coalition ( the bad guys) slips into the background. Their next missions aren't developed in the slightest. 'went off without a hitch' is their entirety. It is at this point that the reader will notice the lack of a driving conflict.
The Coalition is scantly developed: anti-talented group that took over seven states in the backstory. There's nothing else about them. The Agency, for its world building, is sparse about its activities. Hunters 'hunt' information and people but what kind of information is ambiguous and what kind of people is implied to be protestors.  Though this DOES serve a purpose in the plot it doesn't help the lack of direction in this area which contributes to the over exposure of the relationship drama. The following chapters see this trend continue;  hunter missions becomes subordinated to set up more relationship conflict. I feel Miss. Davis was bored by the stable Natalia/Donavon and exploited it for conflict.
Chapter twenty four is a breath of fresh air. It has a detailed mission with suspense and hints at a dark side of The Agency. However, as soon as the mission is over, the relationship conflict resumes dominance. It's like the start except Natalia is cuddling with someone besides Donavon.
The final arc I really like.
For starters the stakes are high: it's a mission that determines whether or Natalia can graduate from the hunter academy and become a full fledged hunter. Since she is a telepaths and telepaths don't normally become hunters her reputation and that of her team captain and her adoptive father/boss are riding on her performing well.
There's plenty of detail in her actions and what she has to do to succeed. She makes mistakes but is able to improvise. She feels guilt over using mind manipulation. There's suspense and a clash with the Big Bad of the Coalition, Mr. Crane. It has the excitement of a climax but it doesn't resolve anything. I would have liked to see Natalia go back to Elite Headquarters for her graduation because that was how the book started; her starting her pledge year.


2. Characters

Like the plot, the characters start off great. Natalia is a Nice Girl who takes her missions seriously but not obsessively and makes time for non-hunter related things like dates with Donavon. Eric is established as a funny charmer who girls swoon over and Henri as their Reasonable Authority Figure captain. Later, Penny is brought in as a quirky sociable friend for Natalia and works well as her foil. Like the plot, it sours.
Natalia comes off as schizophrenic because in one scene she's 100 percent focused on being a hunter and avenging her parents and then in the next she's pining after Erik or feeling guilty about pinning after Erik because her boyfriend is Donavon.
Erik shifts from being a funny charmer to a jealous angst guy that clashes with Donavon. At the start he goes to the city every other night for a one night stand and then after the first mission he's serious about Natalia and no mention of him looking for chicks is ever made again.
Henri is pushed to the sidelines because he doesn't have relationship trouble. Penny's purpose (until the climax) is reduced to teasing/pushing Natalia toward Erik. Donavon goes from a Nice Guy to a jerkass to borderline evil.
From chapter seventeen to twenty four the sole focus is a love triangle of Erik/Natalia/Donavon and triggered by Erik bandaging the wounds Natalia received on the first mission. She's lived with him for an extended period of time and yet suddenly she's distracted by his eyes and chest, etc. I wouldn't mind if the conflict weren't so generic. Donavon is her childhood friend that she feels safe with and Erik is a ladykiller that excites her with good looks. It's 'comfortable vs thrilling'.

3. World Building

This part is my favorite. Miss. Davis obviously put a lot of thought in this world and how it would work. Entire chapters early on are dedicated to explaining the source of Talents or how The Agency works or the origin of The Coalition. Best of all, the exposition is slotted into its own, brief, chapters; no 'as you know' between Natalia and someone else.
My personal favorite is the Mandatory Testing Act, more broadly known in fiction as a 'Superhuman Registration Act'. Unlike many examples this one has been in effect for one hundred years and become a fundamental part of society.
However, there is one problem. The origin of talents is explained by nuclear waste leaking into oceans and soil and thereby mutating it, yet scientists in the same chapter claim the can't find a mutation that could cause talents. Unless the true origin of talents or finding the specific mutation is a plot point then there is a contradiction in her premise.

4. Polish

The book looks unpolished. Words are missing semi-frequently. Commas are overused. Sentence structure is bland and could use trimming.

5. Overall

After completing the book I feel Miss Davis wanted to write a romance but wanted to rope in a Periphery Demographic by including super powers and CIA-like missions. There's nothing wrong with that but you have to deliver. About 80 percent of the story is Natalia's relationship problems. Only three missions receive any development and the first two are completed in pages.  Romance might like it but everyone else should stay far away.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Talented" an F.

Click here for the next review request: Be Paranoid, Be Prepared

The Final Cover for "A Mage's Power"

This is it. This is going to be the cover for my debut novel ,Journey To Chaos book 1: A Mages Power.I love it and here's why:
1. It has a fantasy element but its a low key fantasy element for a low fantasy novel.
2. The picture links up with the title; reinforcing each other.
3. The mage references the protagonist and another central character.
4. The tri-color magic stream references a plot event and more metaphorically the entire series
5. It looks really freaking cool.

Travis Pennington, owner of probookcovers.com, created this fantastic work of art for me and he is a fantastic artist. Not only is he skilled he's quick with replies, quick with turnout, and patient with tweaks. On top of all that he charges an affordable rate. I'm glad he followed me on twitter so I could commission this from him.

He's quick with replies and turnout. I placed an order late one night and the very next day I received a reply asking for ideas. Important events; important images; something that would represent the story inside. I gave him a few and again, the next day, he delivered the first draft. It was amazing. If "A Mage's Power" were high fantasy instead of low fantasy I would have accepted that one and concluded our business. However, its not high fantasy so I asked him to tone the flash down. It was a list of five things that encompassed all but the fundamentals of the picture. Despite that he was back the next day with version 2 and it was greatly improved.  He was about 80 percent to perfect on the second try.


He's patient with tweaks. 'I'm not happy until you are'. Is on his website and he means it. He made five drafts before I was satisfied. Version 1-> Version 2 was the only major change. The next three were tweaks. I wanted something added in the background or I wanted this color changed or something wasn't the right color. After Version 3 I didn't email him for two weeks to gauge reaction to it and Version 2. Then I emailed him asking for another tweak and then a correction. He was prompt and polite every time.

He charges an affordable rate. All of the above cost me only $99. I thought the cost would be in the hundreds. Although I came in during a sale the regular price is still only $169. For such impressive work and unlimited revisions its well worth the price.

I am a satisfied customer. When I launch book 2, "Looming Shadow", I'm going to Probookcovers.

What's the Difference

Between fan fiction and published work and I'm not happy with those labels either. I thought about 'fan work and professional work' I thought about 'fan fiction and original fiction' and I thought about 'hard cover' and 'online'. It's hard for me to conceptualize the difference between the two. Not even 'one's published and the other's not' works any longer.


When I was a teenager I read a lot of fanfiction.  First fan sites and then I found Fanfiction.net. It was an extension of the books I read. The difference used to be that the former were amateurs published online and the latter was the work of a professional I could hold in my hand.  As I read more I realized the truth of SturgeonsLaw: '90 percent of what I found in fanfiction was crud'. I reasoned this was because (like me at the time) these authors were immature teenagers with immature skills.  The books I read were written by adult writers whose age has matured their skills. That's why I paid money for the latter and critique to the former.

Then I grew older and my skills matured. The people on my author alert list on fanfiction.net grew older and their skills matured. It got to the point where the stuff I read online (still fanfiction) was as good or better than the stuff on my bookshelf (some of it anyway). Around the same time I learned that some people were self-publishing. I learned more about the process and it sounded as easy as publishing at an online archive of original fiction, i.e. fictionpress.com. This is where the line blurs.

If publishing on a marketplace site like Amazon is as easy and cheap as publishing on a free archive like Fictionpress than what's to stop an arrogant and immature wannabe writer (i.e. ME at age 15) from publishing what they think is a brilliant work of literary art and fully expecting others to pay to read it?

Nothing except their own talent. On the one hand this is great; the only obstacle to (let's be realistic) modest success is the author's determination to refine their skill and get their name out there. No more querying agents and working deals with publishers and waiting perhaps months for both of them to contact you only to get a standard rejection. Anyone with the drive can shoot for the stars!


On the other hand...."heroes that are not yet ready for their journey are forced to turn back until they have matured sufficiently to handle the task." That's a quote from TvTropes' article on Threshold Guardians and I couldn't have put it better myself.  The guardian in this case could be the agent or publisher. Unlike the author, who could be their own best critic, they are emotionally detached from the book and can make an objective decision. A rejection might sting but the writer and their book will be better for it.

I am living proof of this. The sequel to "A Mage's Power"  was reviewed by my Mom and she tried really hard not to hurt my feelings. Even so I felt shaken and lost. I thought the manuscript was great; I planned its story arc, I revised each chapter as I wrote it and then revised the whole book twice over. I thought it was fantastic. My mom didn't think so. I returned to the manuscript to find the problem and when I did it hit me over the head.

Scenes were rushed. Wording was poor. World Building that I thought was crystal clear (because I spent weeks working it out) was not adequately explained. I ended up increasing the length by 1/3 to better develop the plot and basic events etc.  Then I thanked my mom for pointing out the many problems. I would have been mortified if I put that on the Internet for anyone to see.

Of course, now that I've revised it three or more times I'm thrilled that I can use Amazon or Smashwords or whatever to get my book into the hands of fantasy readers everywhere. I'm merely glad someone advised me against launching too soon. THAT, I believe,  is the difference between the two groups. It's not about published status or the material its made of. It's time and effort and patience that separate the successful authors from the rest.

Soul to the Writing

Writing has to have 'soul'. The essence that makes the words more than a simple description of an action is what elevates the story into 'keep forever in the bookshelf of honor' quality. 'Bob entered the room' is stage direction. Its not interesting to read. It makes readers yawn. Any piece of writing whether its a novel or a magazine or a textbook is made better with 'soul'.

Seven years back when I decided to write original fiction, I looked back on the all the fanfiction I wrote and realized how bland they sounded. It was this 'empty feeling'. They were burgers without meat or ketchup or lettuce. It was depressing. So I decided to learn from the masters. I examined their books with more fervor than any academic text. I had to find out what made their writing so much better than my own.

They were more developed for one thing. The events (not just the plots but the individual events) and characters had more sustenance than mine. Going deeper than that the nuts and bolts of the sentences and paragraphs was somehow better. They weren't stage direction. That I know for sure. 'Bob killed the villain' was never described that way. It was more meaningful than that. There was a motion to it; an energy.  I still don't know exactly what it is but I use the words 'effect' and 'flow' to refer to it. Does that help?

Naturally I'm thinking about this as I write this blog post: I have to write this subject without boring you with bland prose, which makes this post harder to write than the others. Its a Centipedes Dilemma thing. I try not to think about writing when writing because if I do  I'll think too much and don't actually do any writing. This is why so why many of my posts are focused on getting 'in the zone'.

When I'm in the zone I write some amazing stuff, if I do say so myself.

The Pen-Ultimate Face of "A Mage's Power"

In an earlier post I announced I was ordering a book cover from Probook Covers .What you see below this line is Version #3.

Two and three were mainly tweaks. This has been the basic form from the start. I was impressed at how Mr.Pennington seized the fundamentals from the start. If I were writing High Fantasy I most likely would have accepted the first version, but as I am writing Low Fantasy, I asked for tweaks.  I like this version because it has the mountain in the background: mountains are a reoccuring image in Journey to Chaos so I wanted to allud to them here.  However, there is an appeal to Version #2.

This one lacks the mountain in the background and the middle color in the 'magic arc' is different. I like this one because it puts the focus entirely on the mage and the title. Neither one is quite perfect because of the middle color. I'd like it to be a golden/golden brown color because that color is a plot point.  I'm split between the two. What do you think? You can vote in the poll to the right.
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