Clifton Hill - Writer. Artist. Head thoroughly lodged in the clouds.

Flash Fic: Once, But Never Again.

2012-02-10T06:00:00.001-08:00

Look at him: mesmerizing, as he moves through the motions of battle. Pivot, thrust, slash, block, parry, swing. He lunges left, he takes a slash to the shoulder, rights himself, throwing his body like a battering ram into his opponent. He moves well, I think, but...I used to move better.
Now...I can hardly talk, I am a hobbled, handicapped mess.
That man out there, it used to be me. But...I was far better. No one could touch me, I had the luck of the gods. Alas, like a starving puppy trailing hopefully behind, I paid that luck no heed. I gave it no scraps, or love, or attention, and then one day it was just: gone.
With a foot twice broken, a hand severed at the wrist—no, I had not stolen that horse—I have little to live for. Never been a friend to any. Pushed them all away. Like batting at flies—instinctual. Now, with a pittance of pay—the sad remains of pity from a commander that found some imagined value, I subsist.
Sure, it may be enough to while away the hours with a woman of the night, forgetting myself in their flesh and succumbing to the moment. But, despite the variety, even that is beginning to get old.
I am starting to wonder: What else is there for me in life? How can I continue; like a desperate man willing to do anything to stay alive—sustained by my commander’s leavening? Sitting here by the sidelines, idle, giving my comments and notes. Helping with strategy. Is that what my day and my night has come to? Because if that is it, I don’t know if I can last.
I’m THAT man right there. The one going through the motions of battle. A performer of death. Except there is one difference: I was better and now...I am nothing.

© 2012 Clifton Hill, all rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know, another cheery one, right? What can I say? There was an interest in the viewpoint of a warrior, full of life and unstoppable vigor, that has succumbed to age and wounds. What would they become, and how would they view life?

This was actually pulled from my voice notes file on my Blackberry. I've got FAR too many notes, stories, poems, etc. sitting idle, waiting for me to transcribe them and put them to some good (nefarious) use. Next Friday we will return to some poems of an Epic Fantasy setting that I have queued up, in companion and successor to the first one that I posted last week.

What do you think?

The Individual, the Writer: Keep Out of My Box!

2012-02-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Every individual is, surprising enough, an individual. I think we lose sight of this sometimes. We, as fellow writers, all want to write something that is accepted and adored, published broad and wide, bought by millions and enjoyed by more. And...in doing so, we are desperate—we push, we strive, we seek advice, read how-to manuals, we do everything possible to be better. Better writers, better creators and better artists.

But let’s think about this.

Art is SO subjective. So, why do we put such stock into the advice of others? How do we know that what they have to say will help us? Simple answer: We don’t. And yet someone that has sold millions, worked for years, and has name recognition in league with Bill Gates, captures our attention with their how-to book on how we can become better writers.

But will their success be an echo for you?

Ever see those art spatters that someone, with a wad of cash burning a hole in their pockets, pays millions for? (...$@#%!!?) So, do you want to make some paint splatter? If so: Great! For me, a little chaotic splatter can be a wonderful backdrop in art or writing, but I want some structure too.

But, hey, we’re human. How can we not look to others to emulate, it’s the smart thing to do. Why would we want to waste our time making mistakes that others have made before and we can learn from. Indeed.

Still...remember what we propose by seeking another’s advice for our art. It can become an effort to put someone else’s structure to a process that is a natural part of ourselves and a culmination of our experiences? If there is anything to take away from an education in writing or visual art, it should be a greater understanding of the subject and a broadening viewpoint.

Point of this all is: Everyone learns and IS a different kind of artist.

Some people may be quite similar, but there is a lot of individuality. So, if I want to be a great writer, should I turn to Stephen King, Danielle Steel, J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, (insert Big Name here) and read every blog post, book on writing, or article; listen to every podcast, interview, and so on, in some obscene effort, trying to become them? This may help some, their writing style may naturally vibe with their chosen mentor. (Lucky them.) But if your natural tendencies do not vibe or work with your mentor, then you might just be hurting yourself.

This is just my own opinion, but when you try to constrain your creativity to the bounds of someone else, you may be destroying everything that is beautiful and different about your own art.

I can’t lay claim to know everything and I am certainly not suggesting that when my book is released it will sell millions of copies, or that publishing houses will be disemboweling each other for a shot at having their logo on the binding of my book, but my feeling is: You can listen, you can read, you can absorb all this writing knowledge, from different perspectives, and it CAN benefit you; but you need to look at it with a grain of salt, and you can’t let it change who you are as a writer. Learn from it, take what you can, don’t let it change YOU.

Final Thought: One thing I’ve done (possibly right) is reading and reviewing books with an analytical eye; looking for what I like and what I don’t. It has forced me to understand the books on a different level than a mere read-through AND there has been no voice in my ear telling me what to think or how, other than my own. The books of choice have included a variety of genres, viewpoints, styles and methods and I can only hope that this will prove of value.

Write on!
(Thanks to online buddy Steve Yeager for firing up this rant/blog/insight.)

Poem: The Warrior

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thrumming steel,
Flying blood,
The warrior stands,
A mountain, in the mists of time.

One day—tall and insurmountable,
Another, worn and bare,
A tale of another day,
Now just dust and bone.

Do not cry,
Do not woe,
Claims the strong one,
Who stands on his own.

I will live forever.

Lies on the lips of the young.

© 2012 Clifton Hill, all rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The muse struck and gave me a series of poetry in an epic fantasy vein. Look for more to come, each Friday, for a while.

The End. The Beginning.

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

I reached the end of Felling Abberfaun. Huzzah!

Photo by Gilderic - Gah! That's beautiful.

Or at least I have reached the end of the story for book 1. Yes, I love Epic Fantasy, what can I say? This story will continue, it will expand, increase its reach and grow.

With each ending there starts a whole new beginning. Like a circle, there is no end to the writing. I may have reached the end, but I have copious notes on other files, on my phone, voice notes, paper notes, all conspiring to throw me back into the writing to truly finish the first draft. But in a way, the first draft is done. And for that I will celebrate.

At 115,000 words, it is more than I was expecting, but, then the story is richer, more complicated and spans more viewpoints than Veil of a Warrior. So I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Still I was hoping for that perfect middle ground of 100,000 words. I'm left to wonder (still) how some do it. How they can say, with all authority, "This story will be exactly 105,000 words. Not one single word less or more."

Ok, perhaps, no one says that, but it seems like other writers are better able to gauge than I. Is this a matter of some gift? Years of additional skill? Or just pure, silly luck?

I'm sure it matters little in the broad reach of things. I tell the story until it is over...

The End

Let the People Decide...

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

...Who to vote for!

Yes, that's right, I got nominated to be a featured writing blog on eCollegeFinder.org. Which is a resource for finding online education for the time impaired. I've never used the service, but it looks interesting.

Online Colleges

Weigh in and make your voice heard, and don't forget to vote for me! :-) I'm giving you my most winsome smile right now.

You can vote as much as you want, so keep-on-a-clicking!

Poem: Wireless Obsession

2012-01-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

A random poem that sprang to mind. I was amused, and thus I share. Do not expect this to be a regular kind of thing.

*************

Photo by Cote

My fingers run across the keys,
spiteful intent.

A free-range mouse,
gripped close,
my bidding is done.

Hurry, before it is too late.
Do not delay.
The end is near.

Click

Click
Click
Clickety-Click
Click

The cursor is still.
Starkly cast pixels glare,
silent, unmoving.

Two more batteries,
lost to my wireless obsession.

A curse upon the environment and upon my growing conscience.

*************

Cheery, aren't I?

Book Review: Feed, by Mira Grant (a.k.a. Seanan McGuire)

2012-01-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

(This is a repost, of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)

Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (May 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316081051
ISBN-13: 978-0316081054

In a world where we are all, quite literally, zombies—just waiting for a bad day to shuffle away, seeking a hot meal—bloggers rule the news, social fear is taken to new levels and politics are (as always) the true evil. As a blogger vying for the big leagues, Georgia Mason tells the news the way it should be: full of fact and clean of bias. Shaun is her reckless brother, more interested making the news, than living life in something resembling a sane fashion. Together they take a ride that flies them higher than their wildest hopes and plummets them worse than their deepest fears.

Georgia is the voice of the novel that pulls you through, with smirks and chuckles; while Grant unveils a world where zombies walk and we somehow manage to survive. For the “connected”, this story will resonate with equal parts probability and fascination. For the rest, Feed is written as if speaking directly to the reader of today, making it not just entertaining, but accessible. Grant relates how the world evolved and changed from the world of today to the one of tomorrow and how they survived the zombie apocalypse. She skates the line of pulling the reader from the story, but manages to keep from falling off.

Grant’s research and imagination leap off the pages with convincing science. You will fear the results of medical revolutions that combine with horrifying results—or at least you should.

The real world political analogy is hard to ignore. The 2008 American Presidential campaign seems to be a heavy influence to the politics of Feed, making the book more relevant while also setting expectations that might have led to a more fulfilling realization, if the analogous parts had been more hidden.

Despite their nature, the zombies are not the enemy of the novel. They are a means and a method—perhaps obvious to anyone expecting a satisfying read, as they lack the intelligence to do more than infect and consume. The true antagonist makes themself known with the necessary zeal and fervor of any cartoon villain. Still, this book satisfies on so many other levels that most readers should forgive the thin veil of the antagonist. It seems certain that more, greater things are to come and I expect that some of the great drama that happened off scene in Feed, will probably come to full light in Deadline, part two of the Newsflesh trilogy.

The ending is gutsy and will quite literally blow “your” mind, even if the resolution lacks some of the cutting wit of the rest of the novel. Grant had fun writing Feed and (I think) you will enjoy reading this. When the zombies come, look to the blogs.

Four bloody stars.

2012: Looking Forward

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I’m trying to look at my goals for 2011, compare them to the results and make a more realistic 2012 set that is achievable, but challenging. In all, I am little concerned either way. I am more interested in pushing forward, no matter the challenge, and taking whatever I can from the experience.

Photo by Jill Clardy

In writing, I plan to finish the Felling Abberfaun first draft by the end of January. I will finally return to Veil of a Warrior and do a final revision before I send it for consideration and put some serious thought and time into prepping it for self publish. Some may say that I am rushing forward, but anything gained in the process of getting it ready to publish is a gain, whether I end up going traditional or not.

I also want to do a revision to Felling Abberfaun, work on the Hammerblood sequel and a couple other projects that I’m kicking around.

For the Shadow Bytes, I want to get back to drawing in the New Year and build up a mighty buffer that can withstand the changing currents of life. I want to push it to color. (There! I said it.) I can only hope that I can find the time for it. I’d love to immerse myself in some other art projects, but for the time being all I can look forward to is some self-promotional design work for my day job.

For a brief side note of things to come on Shadow Bytes:
The talented Galen Dara will be doing a side project to appear on Shadow Bytes in the form of a graphic novel that Patrick Hester (the fabled writer of Shadow Bytes) has been cooking in his writing pot. I don't know what it will look like, or what will happen, but it's bound to be interesting. Keep your eyes peeled for news.

I look forward to seeing what Galen will do for the webcomic and thank her for her interest in Shadow Bytes.

Going beyond the creative: 2012 will be a time of change and uncertainty for me financially, though there is great hope and potential in the career move I am tackling. (If you’d like to read about my loan officer journey, click on over to my other blog.) If all goes well, it will help ensure a more stable future for my family and creative pursuits.

All in all, I want 2012 to be a year that I can achieve balance between family, work and the burning creative within.

May it be a year to prosper.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a wonderful 2012.

Let your celebrations be safe, be merry and look to the future with hope and energy. May 2012 will be a year we all grow in health, wealth and wisdom.

Write on!

Photo by Dondel

2011: Year in Review

2011-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Photo by Samantha Decker

My what a year! I can’t believe 2011 is nearly over. The changes that have occurred for me are all over the board: new baby, the passing of family, a new, exciting book nearly done with the first draft, the webcomic ShadowBytes.com was started and then stopped and much more.

First, let’s get the embarrassment over. My 2010 NaNoWriMo entry (which has become Felling Abberfaun) was supposed to be done with the first draft in January 2011, but is now on pace to be done in January 2012... I had hoped to return to Hammerblood’s book: Veil of a Warrior early in 2011, now it will be early 2012. My wordcount for the year is only in the realm of 100-110k for actual story writing. That breaks down to only 2k/week or about 9k/month. Not great, but a few months had very little writing, so it is to be expected. The Shadow Bytes webcomic began life as The Cat Bytes, lost its name, gained a new, cooler one and then went on hiatus—I still plan to return to it, but I’m trying to gain some regularity in my life first.

The list goes on... *phew* In general, looking at my goals for 2011, I was smoking something strong and heady because there were a lot of things that got lost in the excitement. What can I say, I'm the Eternal Optimist—except when I'm not. (Strong statement there, I know.)

For the good things: 2011 brought the birth of my second child and now we have a daughter and son set. Some people say our collection is complete. For now, I will agree. 2011 brought an end to a job that was going nowhere faster than a speeding locomotive propelled by a man in blue and red tights—and was hopefully a first step toward something better. I increased my blog readership by a little, even though I didn’t manage any more content.

2011 was a year where I made new friends, grew my understanding of writing, advanced as a father, gained patience and was able to spend a lot more time with family. It was a good year, and I have a lot to look forward to in 2012. I feel ready and anxious for the challenge. Here’s hoping 2012 is a year to shine.

Moving Past Chapter 1

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

You've written and re-written Chapter 1 a dozen times, you have an endless stack of story ideas from the techno-thriller, starring a maniacal Jack Frost, to the Victorian Mystery starring a fashion-obtuse Conan The Barbarian, but what you really want to do is actually finish something.

Question is: What is holding you back? Perhaps you're trying to make the story too perfect on the first draft? Because first drafts SHOULD suck and just be about what people are doing, why, where they are and how. All the pretty prose, good grammar, riveting action, clever dialogue should could come later (unless the muse is in).

I'm no Writer Extraordinaire, but I've got some completed projects under my belt, and others that are close, so it takes me back to my own path. If you are so interested, come walk with me for a moment while I reminisce.

I started my writing in '95 (perhaps '94), where I spent a lot of time working up the world building and a brief outline of many, many sequels to occur over the course of millennia. (Trying to keep the story small and manageable, right?) I dabbled in the world and the story, off and on, over the course of the next couple years before I pretty much shelved it until 2007. Other things took over during that time, and as dear to me as it still was, it didn't take precedence. Through the years I had a lot of little story ideas, and had four chapters done in the main story that started it all.

When I revisited the Story in 2007, it was partly out of creative depression from other things. But, when I looked at it, I couldn't figure out how to move forward. For me, the Story was grand, epic, and actually: Too big to write. I had too many things that I needed to figure out first: regarding story, writing skill, etc. In (what I think was) a brilliant moment, I realized that I needed to do something in that world, but far apart and separate. It would give me time to build up my ideas of what was to come while still staying productive. That endeavor (Hammerblood) was supposed to be a "short story", then novella, became the first novel of a four-part series of which the first one is "done", the second is half done and the others are roughed out.

I can't tell you if I can return yet to the main storyline that started it all, but I can tell you that I have a couple novels almost completed, others are close, two short stories are done and I am certainly feeling more accomplished and capable after taking these different stories from beginning to end.

Perhaps there is something a writer stuck on Chapter 1 can take from all of that, or perhaps I just spent FAR too much time navel-gazing about my writing past. You decide. ;-)

How about your own progression? Do you have a story of your way past Chapter 1?

Happy Holidays: How fast and unexpected you are

2011-12-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

Photo by Hynkle

Where did the year go? Seriously! Who stole it, took it, and hid it away? I want answers!

If it wasn’t for my lovely wife, I know I wouldn’t be even half prepared for Christmas. (Thank you Anneli!) As it is, the kids will be well taken care of—without a doubt. As a parent surveying the mass of various toys scattered thither and yonder, it surprises me how many our four year old has. Christmas and a certain large, ungainly, but merry, old elf are only bound to increase the condition. The mind staggers to think of what the house will be like when little baby Nemo is old enough.

My study is messy enough—AS IS. I’m putting a double-deadbolt on it now, best to be on the safe side to keep some of that mountain of toys from crashing in here.

The family will be a bit fractured this year, what with new babies and long drives. But we will have a grand time nonetheless and will be thinking of everyone near and far.

Here’s hoping you and yours are having a joyous Holiday Season, no matter your economic condition and no matter what you may celebrate.

Up Your Words

2011-12-09T09:24:00.001-08:00

Seriously incredible post by Rachel Aaron on increasing your writing word count. It makes total sense and will probably have you backhanding yourself in the forehead *ouch*.

Read her post, but to quickly summarize, her three key things are:

Knowledge - Before you write, brainstorm for 5+ minutes about what you are going to write. We all did this in school, it was called brilliantly enough: Brainstorming. Block action, make plot decisions, do it rough and quick and then when you are feeling full of writerly fire, turn to the computer and start unloading those words.

Time - Find the time of day and location where you are most productive. This takes some tracking and organization to pull off.

Enthusiasm - There are scenes we love to write and scenes we hate to. Sometimes we are outside of our comfort zone, but it may be that most of the time we are merely writing something that is boring to us. Skip that, find a way to tell the scene that interests you. If it doesn't, then why should your reader be interested.

Side note: Perhaps obvious, but perhaps not, eloquence and word choice are not what any first draft should be about. Make your story pretty (or gruesome) after you figure out what your characters are doing and when they are doing it.

I've just barely tackled this method, but I think I can see that results will follow with perseverance. Thank you Rachel for an awesome post!

Here's a screen grab of how I've set up my own spreadsheet to track everything. Not necessarily perfect, but I think it will work for me.

Sharpen Your Point: A Climactic Discussion

2011-11-29T07:00:00.001-08:00

For the writers, there are the Outliners and the Freewriters. One plots their novel out succinctly, before touching finger to key to write dialogue and exposition; while the other develops their story with starts and stops as they mull over characters and their motivations, slowly developing the story into something from the fabric of nothing.

Neither way is right or wrong, it is all a personal matter of style and comfort. The Outliners probably know their plot and character arcs, while the Freewriters may have to work through these issues over time; but neither approach is immune from story deviation or plot changes. The greatest outline in the world could be blown apart by a sudden inspiration that ratchets up the stakes of the story. Any professional story, that has staying power, must satisfy on some basic merits. One of them being the climax. A well told story that falls apart as everything tries to come together, will just leave a sour taste in the reader’s mouth.

A great post on Jami Gold's blog with an excerpt from Victoria Mixon's book on the writing craft (The Art & Craft of Story: 2nd Practitioner's Manual) talks about a technique to bring focus back to what your story is all about. Putting the attention back where it belongs, is paramount to making your story more than just a string of sentences with action and dialogue meandering off into the unknown. For the NaNoWrimo participant finishing up their frenzied race to 50,000 words, a little refocusing could help.

From Jami’s blog:

“We must understand, for now, only this one, fundamental thing: the Climax is the real reason we write our stories.

Once upon a time, two teenagers became so distraught over their passion for each other they committed suicide—that’s the premise. Cause? Their parents wouldn’t let them marry or even date—that’s the story. Cause of that? Their families hated each other—that’s the backstory.

—Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare”

After reading this several times and trying to wrap my brain around the concept that is so simple and yet mind blowing, I came up with this for my own story deconstruction of Veil of a Warrior:

A warrior of unique power, with a secret past and a troubled mind, helps rid the land of an enemy host—that’s the premise. Cause of that? The warrior regains a sense of purpose in an army of a great general, who struggles to unite the land to fight off their oppressors—that’s the story. Cause of that? Internal strife divided the land, making it ripe for conquest, while the warrior was driven from his home by the inaction of his people to fight in a war that could not be won—that’s the backstory.

It needs work. It is too wordy, but the benefit has already been had. It forced me to look at my story from a different angle and try to realize what is important and what is just for fun. When I do my “last” revision soon, this will be of great help.

Do this for your own story, and then read your work to see if it matches with your deconstruction. If not, you need to decide: Do I change the story to fit what I want, or do I need to change the concept of what I thought my story was all about? Once we understand our story better, we can write it better.

THAT is a benefit anyone can realize.

So, here’s hoping that everyone finishes up their NaNoWriMo race, and when it comes time, finds a way to turn that mishmash of words into an actual story with a satisfying climax that someone would want to read.

Victoria Mixon has a little book: The Art & Craft of Story: 2nd Practitioner's Manual that might be of value to my writer friends. I haven’t checked it out yet, but the above excerpt from Jami’s blog is part of Victoria’s book, so it certainly has promise.

Write on!

A Thought on Beta Readers

2011-11-22T09:55:00.001-08:00

Just had this thought, not entirely unique, but certainly relevant about: beta readers. 'Tis the month of NaNo, and writing is all abuzz on the brain...oh, and turkey and family as well—to be sure, and certainly not in that order.

We write, we revise, we polish and we send for beta—for those of us serious about the craft. But what is the beta about? Do they tell you how marketable your manuscript is, fix your typos, point out grammatical flaws and bizarre lines of thought? They do all of this and much more, but here's the most important part:

The beta reading process is about getting the writer to realize what they wrote versus what they imagined as they wrote.

Because, when it comes down to it, the writer knows their story best. They know of the hopes and dreams of their characters, the depth of their setting and how meaningful the plot will become when it is revealed in all of its glory. But sometimes it just looks like a big mess. All of that brilliance remains firmly (and solely) stuck in our head. Hence the beta reader. An impartial (hopefully) third party that will look at the only thing that matters—what is written—and will tell you what they see.

An important distinction to remember, as we all get so mired in our own work and ideas that we forget to (and perhaps can't) step back to see what the work has become. But don't do that now. If you're still striving for that goal of 50,000 words by month end, keep on pushing. I'm right alongside you in spirit.

So there's a thought to consider when you are revising your hastily scribbled manuscript of 50,000 words, come December or the New Year.

Veil of a Warrior. Coming Soon? - An Argument to Self-Publish

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm seriously considering self-publishing my novel Veil of a Warrior.

That's a big deal for me. As many already know—that are attached to the publishing industry—it was never viable, or even respected, to go the self-publish route. It was, and still is in some respects, called vanity publishing for a very good reason. It is just amazing how much has changed in the span of 1-2 years. Suddenly, what was not even remotely an option, is more than just an option, it is perhaps THE way to go...

E-books and e-readers started the revolution, but it has taken time for that path to be paved with technology, for the marketplace to develop and for trail-blazing authors to legitimize the whole thing.

There is so much to consider when thinking about taking on the task of publishing your book by yourself, but one thing that nearly makes the decision—all by itself—is TIME.

That shouldn’t make sense, but it does. A publisher should save the author time.

For those that are newer to the industry, let me explain: it can take months to find an agent, and more again to find a publisher. Maybe you find a publisher and skip representation, but either way, you are out months of hard work querying and searching for a single opportunistic moment when your manuscript hits the right person at the right time. Once this magical moment happens, you are unfortunately only beginning on the path to published nirvana. Prepare yourself to spend time—that will be mostly up to the publisher in terms of its length—to deal with edits, copyedits, book cover creation, layout design, and probably many more elements I have missed. Even a great book that is done with packaging and ready to launch, must wait for the publisher to fit it into their line-up for the year, or the next, or the—

You get the point.

A publisher is a business. They have investors, expenses and employees to pay; there is no room for error. So, when it comes to that golden date of release, the marketing department must check the alignment of the stars, to make sure that when your darling creation is unleashed on the world, you achieve maximum impact and sales. That said, you might hit paydirt, you might go to the top of their charts and be published within mere months; otherwise you can loudly proclaim that your book is published in...2014.

Urck!

As the accumulation of author time-to-publish timetables have amassed in my head, I am left wondering if I would rather wait two years to have an accepted book appear in stores or take the reigns in my own hands. I'm not saying I would never go the traditional route, nor am I lamenting a process one could argue has been perfected over a hundred years; but I am definitely considering starting down a different path.

Writing is no doubt a long process, so why shouldn’t the publishing be as well? But do I want to go through that entire process just to find that marketing missed the mark, or that reception is mild, at best? I can do that on my own. And as some standouts have proven, I can also excel. It won’t be easy, but nothing ever is.

Veil of a Warrior has been sitting on my hard drive, almost ready, for over a year (writing sample here). It needs one last edit, then I was intending to send it to agents and editors. I may still do that, but only while I’m working out the packaging for my book. After an initial batch of queries, instead of sending it to more, I may send it to readers instead.

Doing so would mean a few things: I’ll have to figure everything out myself. No one will hold my hand, no one will tell me I have gone astray. As an artist I can luckily create my own cover art (and hopefully do a good job of it), but I will have to find a good copyeditor (search in progress), and deal with all of the other myriad aspects to come: layout, marketing, etc.

Nerve wracking, exciting, writhing with uncertainty. I've got some thinking to do.

If you're a writer, what do you think of the industry changes and what are you doing about them? If you’re writing your first novel in NaNoWriMo, suddenly thinking that maybe, just maybe, you can do this whole novel-thing. Do you want to wait for a publisher? Or do you want to blaze your own trail? It promises to be a lot of hard work, perhaps pointless.

Time will tell.

No NaNo, I’m Busy.

2011-11-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

No NaNo for me this year. Heck, I only just recently finished the 50k word goal from the novel started for last year’s competition.

Part of me is ashamed to admit that, but I won’t feel too bad. I didn’t give up and the developing novel is something I can be proud of. It’s incredibly rough, still in that first draft stage that can make eyes glaze over with the pain of the prose and the agony of the scene breaks, but there are moments of glory that make me smile.

In keeping with the spirit of things, I will do NaNo in my own way: I will finish the first draft of Felling Abberfaun this November.

The gauntlet is thrown.

I started the month at about 76k words and estimate the book will end up around 110-120k. As of this writing (11/7/11) I’m at 83,400 words. Decent, but I need to step it up a notch. The NaNoWriMo goal breaks down to1,667 words/day. I probably won’t manage that pace. I have a few scenes coming up that will take some careful plotting. But I am starting to feel like I can get this first draft done by month end.

The sooner the better.

Once that’s done I’m ready to finally return to my Hammerblood series and revise Veil of a Warior, for what should be enough (in my humble opinion) to submit it to agents and editors. Read an upcoming post for some exciting news on that book (at least to me).

Carpe that NaNo. Write on!

The Grueling Life of a Book Reviewer

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

As far as things go, I'm pretty new to reviewing books. I've long enjoyed them, always had personal critiques for my favorites and ranting laments for the disliked. But, yeah, I'm still a padawan trying to tread in the path of greater jedi.

Immersing myself further in the process has brought about some interesting events. I started down this path initially, because I wanted to start blogging; as a beginning writer, I was either going to focus on sharing my developing work or talk about the writing process.

Yes. Unsettling.

Let's be honest, after all, a learning writer sharing their work is rife with danger for anyone's good sense of fiction, and talking about the writing process seemed...well...ridiculous. (Yes, I still do it, but hey, it's not the focus...or at least it wasn't.)

I'd like to say I gave this all a lot of conscious thought, and through a well-formed plan took on book reviews as the main focus of my blog posts, but I didn't.

Whoops.

Perhaps I'll save face a little, by noting that I wanted to take the time to analyze books and see why they worked for me and why they didn't, to help further my own writing process and because talking about books is just a lot of good nerdy fun...or perhaps I've already lost you. *sigh*

Through my involvement with SF Signal, I like to think that I've started to reach that next level of book reviewing expertise, and recently had the pleasure of being sought out for a review by Daniel Polansky, for his debut book: Low Town. In my talks with him, I ended up getting a free book and the chance to see more of the publishing process.

I've gotten some free books before through SF Signal's Books Received, but this time it was all solo, just me, and that was pretty freakin' cool.

I was expecting a "galley" copy, of which, I can still only guess the actual appearance of, because Doubleday sent a first edition hardcover. (I'll try not to complain.) Anyone not used to the process, this does not encourage you (me) to write a positive review, but it does encourage me to read the book. I see room for improvement in Polansky's debut, but it is a debut and for anyone that has read enough, you start to see that a first book always has room to improve. (Perhaps that sounds horrible, but there it is.)

I also got a chance to do my first book interview with Polansky, now on SF Signal.

I'm certainly eager to cram more book reviews in amongst the writing, the day job and the family life. A few more free books would be welcome too. Should I just post my address here?

Killing Your Story With Words

2011-10-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Any writer will point at their word count for the day or week, stick out their chest and proclaim with pride how many words they were able to churn out. But sadly, not every word is worth the same as the last.

While I will probably never claim to be an expert, I have picked up a thing or two. One new writer failing is the well known info dump. However, it has an equally story-derailing sibling called the over explain. In either case, the writer kills any interest in their otherwise brilliant masterpiece with too much information, too much explanation and just plain too many words.

While info dumps are talked about often enough and should be well known, I think the over explain is less visible. An over explained segment can be too much visual detail, too many internal thoughts, too much dialogue, trying to drive home a point, or just about anything done to excess in an attempt to explain beyond the needs of the story. Impossible to avoid on a first draft, these extraneous bits need to be excised like the cancerous growths they are.

A character does not have to “think” about heartbreak for the reader to “see” the heartbreak. They can act out in a fashion that clearly shows the manifest destruction of what they hold dearest—which engages the reader instead of boring the reader. This is an example of where the rule of “Show, don’t Tell” is imperative. (See my review of Greyfriar for more.) The prose will be more powerful if the reader sees that reaction and makes the connection themselves.

A recent re-read of Game of Thrones showed me that George R.R. Martin is an excellent example of a writer that does not waste or mince words. What he says, needs to be said. He does not over explain. He rarely info dumps. The scarce affront in his prose hardly mattered, because at that moment I was too interested in hearing more to care. And perhaps that is a BIG point: To have an effective info dump, it must come at a time where the reader is desperate. Not from exasperation at a lack of understanding, but from immersion. Or you need to make it entertaining, or you need to make it invisible, or you need to split it up and put it at the appropriate places, foreshadowing each event as you need the detail so that it is present in your mind when you hit the moment of need. I think that is how Martin accomplishes his magic. That said, I never felt his writing suffered from over explanations. He wisely chooses to trust the writer to draw the conclusions that he is artfully laying throughout his story.

David Farland is a very different writer from Martin. While I enjoyed much of his first book in the Runelords, book 2 (Brotherhood of the Wolf) is full of info dumps and over explanations that made reading it a chore. Perhaps this is an unfair comparison, as Martin’s long experience writing for the small screen has given him an edge on keeping concise. Or perhaps it merely points out the merits of screen writing as an applicable skill set for a novelist.

I hesitate to say that over explaining will always break the rhythm of your story, because it also seems that you could use it to change mood and draw attention to, or away, from something. However, if it is a tool, it is a dangerous one; and like any phrase or word used too often, it can derail your prose.

For more, check out an article by Caro Clarke that does a great job talking about over explaining and even breaks down why we (as writers) do it. For the love of our story, and for the love of our characters.

So very true, Caro. So very true.

Book Review: Low Town, by Daniel Polansky

2011-10-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

(This is a repost, of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (August 16, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0385534469
ISBN-13: 978-0385534468

Low Town has lords with hidden agendas, willing to kill on a whim even as they smile behind veils of lace; gang lords with blood on their hands that riff poetry about their beloved deity; and artisans of magic that are powerless to stop the horrors of life. Low Town is a conundrum that tries to portray reality, with a touch of compassion, in an age where little was pretty.

In the great city of Rigus, the Warden is an addict and a drug dealer, ruthless with those that cross him, and an ex-agent of a force that serves as Rigus' highest defenders against crime and the underworld. He has a past, one that has made him who he is, though he is too busy trying to escape it to face what his past has done to him. Orphaned at a tender age, the nameless Warden survived the terrors of a plague and the horrors of humanity when pushed to the edge. He is rough, but tender and no matter how far he falls, he still has a heart hidden by scars. The Warden may not blink an eye at murder, prostitution or drugs on his turf, but he can not abide the death of an innocent. The Warden soon finds himself following a trail that leads into a past he would rather avoid and threatens his meager existence.

At times confusing in the time period, Polansky still draws the reader into a different kind of fantasy world where gun powder exists and magic is commonplace. There is some good world-building here and although I would have liked to know more about the setting, Polansky wisely keeps his focus.

Despite Low Town's inspiration from detective stories, it fails to excite as a mystery itself. It feels like all the right points are being hit, but the execution falls a bit short. It lacks what pulls a reader through a mystery novel: igniting their curiosity of whodunit while supporting the belief that you just might be able to figure out the solution. Perhaps a veteran of the genre would have anticipated the reveal that I missed. My attention was pointed more towards the Warden's personal struggle. This is the true mystery and promise of the book and I was left wanting to know more about how the Warden came to be the man he is.

While Low Town has a strong start, presenting a compelling character along with meticulous visual detail, it lost some of its power as the novel progressed. Polansky builds back up some of that tension as the book reaches its suitably horrific climax, but it didn't deliver the punch I was hoping for. Overall, Polansky shoots for brilliance, but sometimes misses the mark. Even so, it's an ambitious debut and I am intrigued enough to want to see what happens next in Low Town and and with its defender, The Warden.

I give Low Town 3 stars steeped in noir black in a book with motives that are shades of gray.

Flash Fic: Team-Building

2011-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is a 519 word short that just kind of materialized. It's not fantasy, or sci-fi (I probably shouldn't be wasting my time on it),but the story wanted to be told and for any cubicle-dweller you can probably relate. Ending needs something else, but I can't imagine I'll work on it further, so here ya go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The below excerpt is © 2011 Clifton Hill, all rights reserved.

Team-Building

    John could not believe his luck. His best friend, Rob, had just gotten hired and was working in the cubicle next to him. John could never stand his co-workers, and finally, at long last it seemed the doldrums of work were on their way out the door. It was his buddy’s second day and John had plenty planned.
    But when his friend showed up for work wearing a horrid assortment of hyper-colored floral prints, short khakis and a lei—looking like nothing more than some random Hawaiian sightseer—he scowled. “What the heck are you wearing, Rob?”
    Rob gestured to the garish display. “It’s Hawaiian-Friday, the girls up front said everyone was dressing up for the team-building exercises today.”
    John shook his head. “Yeah, sure, all the losers are going.” He smirked and gestured to his own grey slacks and silk dress shirt. “I’ve got no time for this team-building crap. Blow it off and come with me early to lunch. I know this killer Thai place. The chilés will blow your head right off, and the waitresses are smokin’ too.”
    Rob rubbed a clean-shaven cheek. “Um, sorry, John, I kind of need this job. I can’t blow this off. It’ll look bad.”
    “That’s a load of—”
    Rob’s face made John choke to a stop. “What’s up, boss?” He turned, as smooth as his slacks, his smile twice as glaring as his shoes.
    “John. I’m glad you could finally bless us with your arrival.” Gene stood there in his Hawaiian best, his face as humorless as a rectal exam.
    John chuckled. “You know traffic, Gene. Moves slower than the company’s stock price.”
    “You’re right. I do know traffic. I know that it could never move faster than your mouth, but it somehow manages to get everyone else here on time, and whether team building is a joke to you or not, it is part of the work day. You know about work, right? It’s that thing you should be doing Monday through Friday.”
    By now, John had his mouth firmly shut in sheer amazement. Since when did Gene grow a pair?
    “Perhaps it is an odd sort of karma, but your friend’s fortuitous hire allows me to finally do this. If I had known,” said Gene, looking between the two friends, “I would have hired him a week ago.”
    Gene shook a piece of paper under John’s nose.
    “What’s this?”
    “Now John, even your too-cool-for-the-light-of-day eyes should be able to tell through those opaque panes you call sunglasses that it is pink. Normally I would take you into my office, save your pride and make the whole thing quiet and without spectacle, but I just can’t seem to find even an ounce of patience. Here. Take it. This is yours. You’ve earned it.”
    John looked down at the pink slip, then back at his friend, his replacement.
    Rob barely had the decency to look down at his team-building sandals.
    Snapping the paper out of Gene’s hand, John walked out the door, not needing another minute in that pit of losers and sycophants.
    “Good, great. Thai sounds great to me!”

Book Review: Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin

2011-10-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

(This is a repost, of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)


This is the cover I own

Paperback: 720 pages
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (March 22, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0553386794
ISBN-13: 978-0553386790

**Thar be minor spoilers aboard, so be watchful for you HBO TV watchers that have yet to sail this treacherous book.**

The land of Westeros is a land of old kings, of ancient magics, storied with many fables and gods; but this story is about lies and deceit, debauchery and a struggle for power that will leave you breathless. Nothing is sacred—no vow and no pledge.

Game of Thrones is incredible. A book that passionately explores what drives us and what we will do to achieve all that we desire. Some stop at nothing, and others will lose everything to try and stop them. Who will win? Who is right? And who is playing who?

One thing that stands out to me about Martin’s work is his prose. He pulls off brevity with beauty and almost never tells you more than you need to know. Many times he tells you less, but he does it wonderfully and it lends a certain confidence, that he trusts you to understand and does not feel the need to lead you by the hand down every turn of the plot or nuance of expression. In turn it becomes a rewarding experience. He always manages to lay out the necessary backstory or foreshadowing so that when the reader reaches a juncture everything is apparent. No long and tedious infodump necessary. Thank you. Most importantly it makes the story read quickly and much is accomplished.

The perspective of each character is incredibly effective, making the narration come alive. You feel as if you are walking alongside each character, seeing their strengths and wincing at their weaknesses. Martin does a remarkable job capturing the perspective of the children—more noteworthy to me than the adults because of how well it was done, not because he did any less with the adults. When you read a Brand chapter, it sounds like a young boy, hoping to be more than he is now limited to be; intelligent, wistful of doing more. Sansa is given over to fancy; to being flighty and superficial. Once she realizes the fairy tale is over you can see, as you’ve always seen, that she is an intelligent girl that lets her expectations, her hopes and her dreams override her better sense. Eddard is of course the idealistic, honor bound, proper-to-a-tee lord that sees too late what is going on all around him and is powerless to save himself. Tyrion is brilliant, flawed and bound to his family no matter how much he has been wronged. So many beautifully wrought characters that live and breathe on these pages. This book is worthwhile to read for that fact alone.

I’ve read somewhere that Martin can accomplish more with his character development in two sentences than others can with pages. And I certainly agree.

This is a re-read for me, but I believe for a first reader the story is largely unpredictable. You can enjoy the book from beginning to end, feeling like the author is firmly in control, yet the story takes unexpected turns as Martin makes it feel unique. There is some basic knowledge: You know there is going to be trouble from the North and there will be a blood feud between houses, but besides that the unexpected is the only thing that can be expected.

This is a wonderful tale that is expertly told. It may be gory, sexual and wildly inappropriate with rape and more, but it all fits the story without being overly gratuitous and it meshes too well to call it foul. It lends to the story, and the setting nearly demands it, giving a level of realism that has you reeling at times in shock, and then grabbing the book again to continue.

Game of Thrones is about politics, it’s about human motivation, it’s about what drives us down deep and what will we do when pushed to the edge, and what will we do to achieve what we want.

There are no true cons. Losing wonderful characters may hurt, but each time it is with meaningful intent to drive the story forward and makes the whole that much stronger and more interesting.

The Game of Thrones is fascinating, utterly engrossing and magical. Before I picked it up, I would have never guessed that I would have liked it. Fireballs may never fly, hands are never waived and willpower is never harnessed into magical energy to devastate or mystify, yet the character struggles are so riveting you can’t put it down, and you never know what’s going to happen as Martin shows you time and again that he pulls no punches. No one is safe, and every hero is at risk.

I give Game of Thrones 5 stars of sinister plotting and backstabbing. At times I may have wanted more magic, but it was a want, not a need and Martin consistently showed me that this story could stand tall without any magical artifice or bauble.

I'm Back...Sorta

2011-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

July brought the birth of our second child: a ravenous baby boy. All are happy and healthy and trying to be wise in the Hill household.

Now I'm starting to get back into the swing of things with my various projects. I wrote, or at least finally finished a book review for Low Town by Daniel Polansky, and the going was slow and torturous—as if I'd never written a review in my life. Ugh. But it's done and I'm happy.

Some of you may be curious about the fate of the Shadow Bytes webcomic. I'm at work on it and will update you as soon as I can about its return. In the mean time I thank everyone for your support and interest in the comic

I've managed to finally pass the 50k mark for my 2010 NaNoWriMo started story: Felling Abberfaun. Yes, about a year late. I'm at 70k now, and the novel is looking like it will end up in the 110k range. (I'm also fairly certain I won't bother with a 2011 NaNo—too much other work.) Felling Abberfaun is going well and I enjoy my time in the world, but it will push back my rework of the Hammerblood tale: Veil of a Warrior until year end (at this rate). Part of me wants to return to Hammerblood now, finish a new draft and submit it to agents and publishers. But the other part of me wants to see Felling Abberfaun through. I know the work done on it will help me with VoaW and make for a deeper, richer story.

Reading time has been pretty sparse, but I did get through Low Town and started The Unremembered. Initially I am intrigued, but a series of stops and starts (no fault of Orullian) has left me with a need to start it from the top again. I attended and bought a signed copy of Blake Charlton's sophomore effort: Spellbound last month. Attending the signing was lots of fun and I hope to go to others in the future. There has been no time to read it yet, but I look forward to seeing where Charlton has taken the story. Feed by Mira Grant is the current crop and I am quite enjoying the term: Viral Amplification.

Busy with a capital "Yikes!"

2011-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

The blog looks like it will suffer for a week or two, while I work furiously on the webcomic Shadow Bytes. Looking to expand the audience with some advertising, but first, we need some amusing art. Thanks to Patrick's work and incorporating the talented assistance of Ty Barbary, we got an ad banner incorporated into the site design.

Did you know that this week is the 17th week of Shadow Bytes? By this Thursday there will be 34 strips, each one has been on time—more or less. I will freely admit that I was a few hours late on a few.

I've got the buffer for the comic up to one week, but I'm trying to push it a little further and cramming in what time with the novel that I can. This is the novel that was started last year for NaNoWriMo, for now I'm calling it Felling Abberfaun, we'll see if that changes or not. One thing I'm trying to push the envelope on in this book (for me at least) is the political intrigue. Fitting, then, that I am re-reading Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin. Not planned, but it works out well. If I had cable and HBO I'd probably just be watching the series, but alas (or thankfully) I am not.

Book Review: The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

2011-05-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

(This is a repost, of my review that appeared on SF Signal recently - reposted here for posterity)

Paperback: 672 pages
Publisher: DAW Trade; Reprint edition (April 7, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0756405890
ISBN-13: 978-0756405892

Even infinite potential can be tempered by absolute apathy. This is an endearing tale of a boy that grows into a legend to be respected and feared.

I’ll start this review off simply: If you love fantasy, don’t bother reading this, just go read Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. Of the books that I have reviewed over the last year or so, this is quite possibly the best. It is hard to adequately convey just how good this book is. It may not be perfect, but it comes close.

For the rest of you that insist on knowing more, or have long since made this novel’s acquaintance, read on...

Kvothe is a singular talent. A man of song and heart, cunning and thievery, power of mind and magic. He is many things. Success is always at his fingertips, and yet he is broken down by horror, stretched thin by a life turned hard and he very nearly forgets all that he was. This is a story of a boy seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe, and a man waiting to die.

Being first person, it should be no surprise that Kvothe is the very foundation and substance of this novel. Kvothe carries this story on his shoulders, bearing its sometimes incredible weight, even though it breaks him in the process.

For much of the novel, I tried without success to dissect Rothfuss’ story and learn what made it so compelling, however it was so well written the prose was mostly invisible. So, instead I learned about life.

And that’s when you know you have something special in your hands.

The book does have one weakness, one flaw that some might find issue with: plot. Largely it lacks an apparent overarching plot. There is one, but it is far in the background, moving slowly, a specter that we wish to see more of, but have to wait until the fullness of time has come about and given us the opportunity. In the mean time, the plot becomes Kvothe: his life and his trials, and lays the foundation for what I feel are great things to come. It is without doubt a journey, though one incomplete. A beginning.

To someone who has not read The Name of the Wind, this may sound like a huge failing, and if Rothfuss had managed a stronger overarching plot, it would have made the book that much better; but it should be noted the author’s sheer skill with telling a story is such that it renders much criticism: moot.

This book does not read like a debut, it reads like it is from the hands of a master, experienced in his craft. Yes, it had its irregularities, but one might argue that these are not a detriment and could very well be part of what makes it great. At times I was ready to call this book 5 stars, but as a whole I give it 4.5 incredible stars. Even though the ending does suffer, you are so thoroughly ensnared by the novel by then that you really don't care. For me, I can’t wait to read the sequel. It’s out now, so what are you waiting for?