Initial Draft | Writing Fantasy Novels | Todd Newton

Characters, Conflict; I couldn't have said it better myself

2012-01-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

You can consider this lazy linkage. You can also consider it finding the truth in strange places.

Occasionally, I surf the [extremely liberal] political aggregator DailyKos. It turns out one of their writers is doing a post series on writing a novel (four so far, linked below). While the first post has a great illustration of story basics, the second post gives us this giant nugget of truth:

When writing a book, many people start with an idea – the conflict that the characters are going to face. In fact, that's often how people will describe a book, "it's about this guy in a raft with animals." But I want to suggest to you that when it comes to writing, characters should come close on the conflict. They had better, because when you start writing, it's going to make a huge difference whether that alien invasion is being faced by Elinor Dashwood or Captain Ahab. If you try to think too far down the road without knowing who is going to be leading your intrepid human resistance movement, you’re likely to end up with a different kind of conflict, one between your characters and your plot. That’s the kind of conflict you don’t want. Your story isn’t about the conflict. Your story is about how your character deals with that conflict. So get a character.

Wrap your head around that. Commit it to memory. If you want to start writing a novel, this paragraph should be the advice that guides you through the first few steps.

Mark has promised a post per week, but with the way the site aggregates it might be hard to just subscribe to that and avoid all the liberal jabberwockery. Here are the first four posts:

If I see another tidbit that speaks this well, I'll be sure to share. In the meantime, keep up the good work, readers.

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SOPA thoughts, because I didn't post on it when it was relevant

2012-01-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

I thought about, and wrote a few paragraphs on, the uniqueness of characters. Had I written the post, it would have been about how we humans aren't merely the sum of our parts, but the sum of our experiences, and that you need to make that clear in your fiction. A character tells their story best by doing, of course, but how they feel about what they've done also matters. Maybe I could have stretched that into an entire post. Guess we'll never know.

I also thought about, and wrote a few ranting paragraphs on, SOPA. Perhaps I can make a few of my better points on this.

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you might have noticed I believe it should, instead, be called DOPA. I believe you can discourage piracy, but you can't stop it. The high points of this post would have been how I don't believe our interests are best represented by a bunch of crotchety farts on capitol hill who barely know how to work an email account, and about the nature of digital "property." Unlike some of my cohorts, I do, to a certain extent, believe that "piracy" is a necessary component of this amazing tool we call the Internet. Except I believe it should go by its original name, sharing.

Where you fall in this argument is going to depend a lot on your ethics. Where I fall in this argument is that the music industry missed their chance, when Napster and broadband were first becoming popular, to seize and take advantage of this amazing delivery mechanism. If you make something easy to access, regardless of price, people are going to access it that way. If, however, you bar entry, all you really do is force people to get creative. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.

But I am aware that piracy/sharing does not encompass only music. I think Henry Rollins said it best in one of his spoken word shows that I attended, "I'd rather have your time than your money." To be honest, if someone came right out and asked me if they could have a copy of my book--especially an electronic copy--I'd give it to them without hesitation. It's not that I'm not proud of my work. Quite the opposite, actually. I want you to read it, whether or not you paid for it.

Now, I'm not saying I have the only right answer. Hell, I'm not even saying that I'm right, but you're going to have a hard time convincing me otherwise. This is what I believe, and it's the reality that I live in. Unfortunately, it seems we are only allowed to have an anarchistic Internet, or an over-regulated one. Never mind the fact that people aren't "gone after" when it comes to piracy, I still think all this SOPA petition-signature-begging is fearmongering.

It should also be noted that I have a policy against signing petitions of any kind. Call me lazy or disbelieving, but I don't feel like it accomplishes a whole hell of a lot. Digression over.

Much like Metallica (in the Napster debacle) came out looking like shit, so too would any artist or government that "cracked down" on some vanilla internet user who innocently posted something to their blog or YouTube without the proper attribution or whatever. Will that stop people from being dicks? No, it never has, but at least it's a deterrent. Which brings me back to my original point.

The law, in a global sense, is not designed to stop you from committing crimes. It can't stop you. Not even the police can stop you, and they're not meant to. No, the law (and the police's response, and your potential prison sentence and/or fine) is merely meant to discourage you from committing crimes. Freedom doesn't mean you're only allowed to do good or positive things.

So, there are some of my thoughts on the topic of the week, and a bit of writing stuff too. If you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear about it.

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Going the Distance (displacement, and how it informs writing)

2012-01-07T16:45:00.002-07:00

Welcome to Literalton, Population 1

I'm continuing an unofficial series of topics, here, about how life informs the fiction we write. Check out Going the Distance (the emotional distance, that is) if you missed it.

Displacement is an ever-present theme in fiction. Whether it's Claire's journey across time (and, subsequently, Scotland) in Outlander or Frodo and company doing the ringly deed in LotR. People progress, but not always--or only--in the physical sense.

For my own part, I've been subject to (and caused) much displacement in my own life. It becomes most apparent to me when I see the NATIVE bumper stickers on the SUVs of proud Coloradans that I'll never be able to share in their sacred fraternity of living in the same territory in which I was born.

I'm fine with that. While they can be gently referred to as "chaos," as one of my tattoos symbolizes, the various difficulties and hardships have shaped me into a fairly interesting character. Or rather, I suppose my ability to survive them has. Perhaps that could be chalked up to good fortune, though. Doesn't really alter the outcome, either way.

I was born in a tiny town in northern California. I lived there, in this rural farming community, for twelve years before I even crossed the state boundary on a trip to Utah for my oldest sister's first wedding. Four years later, I was moved to Utah to live. This displacement, more than any in my life I think, informed who I am today.

Consider first the broad implications of such a move. California, despite being a burgeoning metropolis in the stereotypical sense, was relatively unknown to me--save for the boring, isolated area of my childhood. My high school burst at the seams with 300 students or less. Utah, Salt Lake City to be more specific, actually was a burgeoning metropolis in comparison. The high school that one shy, 16-year-old Todd entered boasted over 3000 students. I rarely saw the same person twice, much less could make a friend.

Beyond the noise and the crowd was the culture shock, as I'm sure you thought of first when I mentioned Utah. Having forsaken the LDS religion when I was 12 or 13, I was in no mood to pick it back up simply because I'd been migrated to what passes for the Mecca of Mormonism. It compounded my difficulties in making friends, however, since church is one place you can count on seeing the same faces on a regular basis.

To move on (both in story and in life), I briefly ran away the following year to Oklahoma City (a misadventure, to be sure), then returned, then went to live with my oldest brother south of San Francisco. Soon after that, I flew to New York City to then take a bus from New Jersey to Orlando and spend the next several months in Florida living off of cigarettes and ramen... possibly the occasional cheeseburger, pizza buffet, and box of macaroni & cheese. Mmm, healthy.

When I ultimately came to my senses with the realization that this was not heavily improving my station, I reluctantly returned to Utah... only to move to Colorado about seven years later, where I've been ever since. Where I'll end up next--or whether I'll even relocate at some future point--remains a matter of some speculation.

Note that this is merely my geographical displacement. I won't even get into the emotional portion.

The point of my overly long tale here is to say that it's hard for me to feel at home anywhere. I'm more used to things being in upheaval, in constant flow. I'm more familiar with displacement than I am with smooth safety, workaday routines, and lifelong bonds. One of my fondest expressions, and possibly more deplorable traits, is that I prefer to do things the hard way.

As such, the characters I write about don't get a lot of pleasure out of staying in one place and allowing circumstance to control them. Many, but not all, are fiercely independent souls because that's a trait I greatly respect and value. I'm far past it, now, but one never forgets the feelings of hunger and uncertainty when money is tight or non-existent. In my case, I was "fortunate" enough to have roommates who were slightly better off than me (not to mention old enough to provide the mechanism for my habit) and worked at a restaurant. If you've read any of my books, you'll notice neither of these boons appear in them.

What you will notice is that my characters are forced to rely on themselves consistently, even when others are involved. They are removed from their comfortable, or at least survivable, lives to face every challenge my creative mind can come up with. One of my other fond expressions is that my job is to make my characters' lives difficult, and I believe I do so with alacrity.

I don't do it sadistically, though. The hope, the purpose, is that the characters overcome those difficulties (as we all must, in life) to survive and succeed. While winning at life means you live to face another day, winning in fiction can be as protracted as the author wishes. Whether displacement is the cause of a character's distress, or the solution to it, the theme will recur so long as I feel like I have something to say with it.

Think about your own experience as you plan, as you write, and how it informs the lives of your characters. More than anything else, perhaps, being able to accurately and honestly describe how they feel will take your writing into the hearts of your readers. You can't write if you haven't lived, to throw out another saying I'm fond of, so don't feel ashamed to allow your own hardships and adventures to fuel what you write. Your readers will thank you for it.

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My Resolutions for 2012

2011-12-30T10:41:00.002-07:00

Historically speaking, I haven't been big on goal-setting. I like to think it's because I put my mind toward something and get it done, much like the main theme of Back to the Future encourages us to do.

While George McFly's sage advice will always ring true, sometimes it's helpful to visualize goals within the context of a list. Prioritize is a good word for it. Effective time management, if you want to get all technical and stuffed-shirt about it.

I thought I would actually try something different this year and join millions (billions?) of others in making New Years Resolutions for 2012. I have a solid list of both vague and specific goals to meet at some point during the year, and what better way to hold myself accountable than invite you all to read them?

Here goes.

#1 - Drink less
This is more of a general goal as far as bad habits, but it will serve best first as a reminder to save money and calories. I'm fairly frugal and selective in my drinking as it is, however, I do drink often (not always a lot, but often). More of a health goal than anything else, to be honest.

#2 - Lose 10 pounds
Like a rude houseguest that won't leave, I have been carrying a little extra around with me for too long now. There are multiple reasons for this (see #1 and #3), but it's high time I made it a priority to get that little bit healthier. I can be thankful that it's only 10, and not the 55 that I needed to lose (and lost) in 2004. Definitely a vanity goal.

#3 - Exercise at least 2 times a week
Oh, exercise, you elusive beast. Frankly, it's boring, and even more boring to do alone. Working out is usually the first thing to fall off my priority list even when I don't have anything "important" to do instead. I figure a goal of 2x per week isn't exactly going to put me out, and who knows after a few months of easy I can bump it up. Might even "splurge" on a gym membership (that I'll actually use).

#4 - Publish Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell
This one is already in progress, I'm just making it more tangible by declaring it. If I don't finish anything else on this list, at least I will be able to say I did this one. It'll most likely spawn a few posts before game time, so stay tuned.

#5 - Query Scions of the Shade
Another in progress goal, and kind of a gimme for 2012. To be completely honest, I have submitted it to two separate publishers (Trapdoor included) but it deserves another round of edits before I really pour all of my effort behind it. The novel is great, and I want it to be greater. This is one I want to see on the shelves, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen.

#6 - Finish writing Rise of the Carrion
More of a reminder than anything. If I don't finish the first draft of this prequel by the end of the year, it will be because something went horribly awry.

#7 - Vlog (start video blogging)
Now, this may not be the most noble of causes, or the most exciting of endeavors, but it's something I've been contemplating for a while now. Since I got the macbook, it has become a lot easier to do. It's something I think would be fun for me to do, fun for you to watch, and all around an exploratory venture (not to mention a tempering of my self-esteem). If you keep following this blog, you'll be informed when this takes place.

And that's it, my list of 7 things to start or finish in 2012. Do you have a list, or do you plan to make one? Post a link in the comments.

This is me saying goodbye to 2011.

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Shifting gears, prioritizing, and goal-setting

2011-12-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees, to continue my adage escapade from this week (thanks for noticing, tmso).

I'm a person who focuses well. Multitasking is not one of my major talents, and this is especially true when it comes to writing. I work on something until I finish it, and I hate leaving things unfinished.

But not as much as I loathe feeling like they're not going anywhere. I put a lot of pressure on myself where this is concerned.

To be fair, I've written a lot so far on Rise of the Carrion. So much, in fact, that part of me fought this decision every step of the way. I focus so well that it's hard to think of much else while I'm embroiled in a WIP.

Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as embroiled as I need to be. Despite the progress I've made with it this year, I don't feel confident in how much (read: how little) I've been writing. It's not that I feel like a failure, nowhere near that serious. I just constantly feel that no matter how much I work on it, and no matter how many flimsy deadlines I set (and subsequently break), I am no closer to finishing the first draft.

It's my way to break up a routine when it stops working. So, based on past experience and some brash advice, I've decided to put Rise on hold while I actually accomplish a few things.

Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell only needs a little work, and a bit of design, to be read to self-publish. I want that thing out the door and into the world. I even picked a very probable image for the cover already (which I will not share until closer to release).

Scions of the Shade also only needs a little work, and a different perspective, to be ready to seriously query. I know, frightening when I use the dreaded Q-word, but a wise person recently reminded me that things don't change unless you change them. Could be that I get no response but, based on the lack of activity this year, that would leave me no worse off.

The greatest part of this is that I get to call in reinforcements. Writing is by nature a solo activity, whereas editing is not (or, at least, shouldn't be done completely alone). I'm no good at graphic design and even worse at artistry, so knowing people who can edit, design, and know how things should look. In all ways, this temporary change of direction is about taking some of the pressure off of me.

Of course, that also means I need to stop slacking off in things that I owe others. I have some reading to do, some criticisms to compose and send, and then a lot more reading to do. This time it'll be without feeling guilty that I should be writing.

The goal with this decision is to complete some short-term items, to actually finish them, so that they aren't nagging at the back of my mind. Taking some irons out of the fire, as it were. It's not an easy decision to put a manuscript on hold, but at this point it's the right one to make. I expect the first draft of Rise will be done some time in 2012, preferably before the end of the world, but at least I'll have some excitement to share in the meantime.

Both you and I have some great things to look forward to next year. Let's get to it.

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Me again (a little reflection on 2011)

2011-12-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is not my dog. This is me.

I'm not the type of person who often looks at the past with an abundance of fondness or regret. I've also never been the type to get "homesick." To me that says I subconsciously try to forge forward and move on. I look to the present and to the very near future. It's not always easy. 2011 was not full of triumphs for me. Perhaps in the long run that'll make it easier to forget.

My first complaint is that I barely read anything this year. This might sound like a minor thing to you. It isn't. I've been rather upset with myself for the amount of time I wasted neither reading nor writing. What's worse is that I still find setting everything else aside to read a book difficult. I'm distracted by life. I can't focus on the words on the page for very long. The times when I find I can are shortly followed by the drooping of my eyelids and fitful sleep.

Since I haven't been reading it's also a safe assumption that I haven't done as much writing as I've wanted. To be fair I have worked on Rise of the Carrion a fair bit and am now over 2/3rds of the way into what I've outlined. The word count is appropriately large and getting larger (albeit sluggishly). I do not relish the thought of editing the beastly manuscript it will become.

That's not to say 2011 has been all "doom and gloom." Just the majority of it. On top of my usual motivation struggles I've had mounting professional and personal issues to deal with this year. A tumultuous life might make for great emotional fodder but I find it difficult to focus amidst the maelstrom.

The few-and-far-between bright spots this year are made all the brighter by the fact that the vast majority has been so dark. Maybe it's true that you can't have highs without lows. Maybe it's just that you can't win them all. In any case I prefer not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Right now I'm merely being carried along by the current of events. No decisions to make and no chances to take. Soon enough things will calm back down and settle into a new form of normalcy. I'm hoping to post at least one more time before the end of the year. At least it won't end on such a down note.

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Some personal bad news; another "chaotic" year

2011-12-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a private person by nature, so you shouldn't feel bad that you're blissfully unaware of most of my struggles. 2011 has been a difficult year for me, overall, with job loss and unemployment marring the first half. The latter half has introduced something far more impeding and permanently life-altering. These are the reasons I've struggled so much this year in getting the first draft of my current WIP done, but that is the tip of the iceberg as far as hardship is concerned.

The matter I mentioned, vaguely, above is of a deeply personal nature, which is why I've disabled the comments on this post. Should you be interested, and feel that I'm inclined to respond, feel free to email/contact me directly. Otherwise, please just consider this a speed bump of a post in my generally topical course--as I won't be mentioning this again. Thank you.

The Border of Actuality (Plot, Elements of Fiction Writing, Ansen Dibell)

2011-12-05T20:51:00.001-07:00

Thumbing through this again as I sit at my writing desk. Thought it might help some of you as much as it does me.

> Excerpt from chapter "What Is Plot?"

The Border of Actuality
Plot is the things characters do, feel, think, or say, that makes a difference to what comes afterward.
If you once thought about dying your hair pink but never acted on the thought, that tells something about your psychology, but it's not a potential story plot. If you really went ahead and did it, that not only tells about your psychology but creates repercussions, like a stone tossed in a pond. That might become the basis for a story like Fitzgerald's "Bernice Bobs Her Hair."
Thought or emotion crosses the line into plot when it becomes actions and causes reactions. Until then, attitudes, however interesting in themselves, are just potential, just cloudy possibilities. They're static. They're not going anywhere. Nothing comes of them.
No thought, in and of itself, is plot. No action, however dramatic, is plot if the story would have been about the same if it hadn't happened at all. Any action, however seemingly trivial, can be vital and memorable if it has significant consequences and changes the story's outcome.
Plotting is a way of looking at things. It's a way of deciding what's important and then showing it to be important through the way you construct and connect the major events of your story. It's the way you show things mattering. <

(bolded & italicized emphasis mine)

What does this tell us? Plot is simple--it is the things you decide matter that create consequences within your story. Jim punches Tom, Tom declares war on Jimland. Who is the prime mover? You are.

If you're not taking control of your plot, telling things to be in their proper place, making the decisions that need to be made, then you are adrift in the Sea of Creativity. You can have all the ideas in the world, but if you can't forge them into a plot, you'll never be able to make something useful out of them.

A plot, and a story, can be made of any idea--if the consequences can be identified. Consequences breed conflict, and conflict is at the heart of any decent plot.

What is a plot? When thought or emotion becomes actions and causes reactions.
How do we create plot? Deciding what's important and using it to construct and connect the major events in our story.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. Go make some decisions.

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Going the Distance (the emotional distance, that is)

2011-12-02T08:18:00.001-07:00

Writers need to know what emotions feel like if we're ever to describe them on the page. We need to know the heart-pounding of fear, and how it differs from the heart-pounding of excitement (or sexual anticipation). To show how angry, helpless, or devious our characters are, it is important for us to have been these things ourselves.

Sometimes that means seeking them out, but not often. No one wants to be angry, or helpless, or afraid, on purpose. So, short of creating some dangerous or depressing scenarios in our real lives, there are a few options we can take advantage of to feel out these integral concepts.

1) Pay attention. This one should be obvious.

In Sonje Jones' latest (brilliant) post, she reveals a few of her past decisions and how they led to bad relationships. What did this teach her as a writer? Of course, I can only guess, but it means she has experience getting in the head of a character who doesn't always do the safe or "right" thing, particularly when it comes to their own happiness. Her characters (and their relationships) will have more dimension as a result.

Paying attention goes hand-in-hand with "writing what you know." If you've lived your entire life fascinated by the way organized religion repels you, as I have, you can use those emotions in your writing. Characters feel rejection, sadness, and frustration just like real people do. Exactly the same way, in fact, because the source material is our own emotion.

2) Pick up a book. Another obvious one.

Not much is easier than stealing, especially from dead people. Read Hemingway. Read Austen. Read Song of Solomon, for all I care, but read. It's not that others have done it "better," it's that they've done it already. If you need to know what goes through the head of someone having an extramarital affair, or robbing a bank, or fighting a dragon, the quickest (and safest) path is going to be research.

Gather and learn from what you can, because it's only going to help you in the long run. In a lot of cases, it's even better to find authors/books you don't like (in the sense that they didn't "do it well" enough for you) so that you can do it differently. For a writer, reading is far more than a recreational activity.

3) Practice. Not so obvious, and potentially difficult for a lot of us.

Writing isn't gold as it comes from the pen or your fingertips. We write, then we edit to improve what we've written, but if all we ever write is one thing we're limiting the scope of what we might be able to use in the future. I don't write a lot of "love scenes" -- Scions of the Shade has one, and it's certainly not your run of the mill sex -- but I've dabbled in writing erotica as well as general fiction to explore how I phrase things and what I focus on in a scene. I'm never going to publish erotic fiction, but that doesn't mean I can't use it to practice.

Flex your muscles. Write off the beaten path a bit. Imagine writing characters of different races, sexes, sexual orientations, ages, and how those things might affect their story. Write something you may never show anyone, journal about your own feelings and how they've changed over time. If you know how to phrase what cut you, you'll be better prepared to write how something cuts your characters.

Then, once you have all that emotion bagged up and ready to unleash, use it. Pour it into your writing. Throw it on with a roller rather than a brush, and trim the fat when you edit. Insight into a character can carry a story the way few other things can, while a detached and cardboard character will ruin a story in no time. Give your story some feeling.

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Why Writers should like Burn Notice

2011-11-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

I don't watch a lot of television, but I don't mind saying that I'm practically addicted to USA Network's Burn Notice. Not only is it great television, it's good writing, and fantastic storytelling. Today we're going to take a look at it from a writer's perspective and break down some things that make the show "work" as well as it does.

The basic premise of the show is that Michael Westen, a CIA operative, has been "burned." This is explained in each show's brief opening: When you're burned, you've got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. The Agency has written him off and left him, stranded, in Miami. Being a former spy gets you on a few "no fly" lists, so he's stuck. He relies on three major characters to survive: his on-again, off-again "trigger happy ex-girlfriend" and former IRA member, Fiona Glenanne; his womanizing, retired Navy Seal bosom-buddy Sam Axe who informs on him to the FBI; and his mother, Madeline Westen.

That tells you what you need to know about the show, but it barely scratches the surface. There are four categories of storytelling that make Burn Notice so enjoyable for a writer to watch.

1) Conflict
The cornerstone of any decent story is conflict, and Burn Notice has it by the shovelful. Not only is there a global story arc, Michael getting burned, but in almost every episode he helps someone. Whether it's simple private investigator work, thwarting a kidnapping, recovering stolen goods, or counter-assassination, Michael (with Fi and Sam's help) is constantly busy saving someone's ass either for money or out of pure, moral necessity.

This also lends itself well to the show's episodic nature. While it is, of course, best to follow the story from end to end, each "job" Michael takes along the way nearly always provides a satisfying resolution by episode's end. Each season brings him closer to resolving the burn notice, while the end of each season leaves a bitter reminder that it's not going to be so simple. Characters, both virtuous and villainous, move in and out of the show with charming efficacy (more on this later).

The bottom line is that, just like any book series worth its salt, there is a global conflict that the main character progresses toward resolving while resolving smaller ones along the way.

2) Characters
The closest you'll get to a one-dimensional character in Burn Notice is Michael's "clients." They are people who need some type of help, though it's not usually the simple, easy kind. Some have been marked for death by drug cartels, some have lost their entire life savings to a scam artist, some have cracked communication codes to find out spies are being outed and, subsequently, murdered. These are very minor parts and played well.

The big hitters are Michael, Sam, and Fiona. Full of personality, the way the main three interact create a lot of tension within the day to day events in the show. There is inevitable and unresolvable sexual tension between Michael and Fiona, as they have a long history together from his spy (and her IRA) days. Sam and Fiona, on the other hand, have little more than disdain for each other at the start, which eventually grows into mutual respect. Being continually thrust into deadly scenarios and having to rely on the same people can form that type of bond. As you learn more about the characters by watching them interact, you see their relationships change over time--also a great hallmark of any novel series.

Of course, throw in a few great support characters like Michael's hypochondriac mother, his unreliable-at-best brother Nate who seems incapable of staying out of money trouble, intriguing "handlers" like Carla, Barry the money launderer, Sugar the minor league drug dealer, Larry the mentor spy (who is supposed to be dead but is, actually, quite insane and rogue), and many others, and you have numerous ways to skin the proverbial cat. The way Michael, all too eager to remind us he's fallible and not invincible, interacts with the characters makes him easy to root for.

3) Setting
A show like Burn Notice just wouldn't work if it took place in Denver. Not that Denver is boring, it just has far fewer options than a tropical paradise like Miami. Speedboats and snow just don't mix well.

Miami is also close to a lot of conflicted areas, like Cuba, Haiti, and popular banking destination the Cayman Islands. It's well-known for drug and people-smuggling, and it is an incredibly diverse community. Seeing a yellow Ferrari is not out of place in Miami, whereas in Denver it would be, and even in New York it would be a little odd (depending on which side of town you were). Having lived in Florida, myself, I can tell you that the proximity of the ocean, the constant presence of causeways, and variation between sandy and swampy creates a decent environment for all kinds of shenanigans. Crime, drugs, clandestine dealings; the city is practically bulging with conflict.

As previously stated, Michael is for all intents and purposes stuck in Miami, and 99% of the show takes place there. This has to make the show a bit easier to film, budget-wise, but it also makes the show easier to look at. Call me superficial, but show me a few palm trees and hot girls in bathing suits, and you at least have my attention for a minute or two. The city provides a never-boring backdrop for whatever it is Michael needs to do, and some eye candy to make sure we're watching.

Hell, the sight of Gabrielle Anwar with a shotgun is worth it every time.

4) Execution (aka the telling of the story)
Personally, one of my favorite parts of the show is Michael's occasional narration. A little of it goes a long way, of course, but he's always there to explain something interesting a spy does to respond to a given situation. I've learned a little bit about small mechanics and wiring, hand to hand combat, and thinking strategically. Now, I'd be naive to say I was an expert in anything just from watching a tv show, but it does provide a bit of dimension to have the main character highlight these things, and it adds a layer of interaction for the viewer that they otherwise wouldn't have.

This show is no A-Team, though there are plenty of men with guns who couldn't hit the ground if they tripped and fell. The theme waxes and wanes between the outright comedic, with Sam's lines like, "You know spies, bunch of bitchy little girls," and the uber-serious life-and-death struggles of survival, torture, and loyalty to people and causes. There are problems to solve, and Michael solves them with efficiency and fervor.

5) Flaws
That's not to say the show is absolutely perfect, but I like to think that flaws taken in measure can make something better (and more believable). When dealing with something episodic, you can easily be dealing with something formulaic. Burn Notice has these moments, when Michael's clients have their inevitable doubts as to the success of his plans. At some points their impatience is even frustrating, but it's a reminder that these people are afraid for their lives and can't afford to be as patient as someone who's been in mortal danger a thousand times.

It's rare that I see a glaring inconsistency, or get sick of the setting, or tire of the way Sam and Fi pick at each other. Some people dislike "spy" shows. Some people don't want to be narrated to and break that fourth wall. There are various things you can dislike about a show like Burn Notice but, as a writer, the above items are things to pay attention to so that you can master them in your own work.

All four seasons are currently available on Netflix. I suggest you set aside some time and get watching.

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Internet Killed the Video Star

2011-11-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

Howard "Fucking" Stern

As you knew, if you've been reading this blog for more than a few days, I recently "appeared" on a BlogTalkRadio show called Back-Story. Hosted by fellow Trapdoor Books author, Frank Fiore, it was actually fairly short (compared to past appearances) though I'm not complaining.

Point is, as I commented previously, this was "not my first rodeo." Appearing on podcast shows is something I enjoy, even if I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it.

What I find most interesting is that in this day and age people still "subscribe" to this kind of format. I may not post on this blog all that often lately, but you can still stay updated on what I'm doing if you're clever and friendly enough to follow my Twitter and/or Facebook posts (or just happen to know me). I'm not some world-famous author, gallivanting and jet-setting on a world signing tour. I write, I edit, and I lament the times where I'm not doing either one. But that's not what this post is about.

If you are fortunate enough to appear on a radio show or podcast, treat it like a pitch session at a conference. Have something to say is the first rule of any appearance of any kind. That's not to imply you need to push your work as if it's the hottest thing since the proverbial hotplate under the frog, but you don't want to hem and haw while dozens of people might be listening.

You have an audience of one: yourself. Radio is all about vocal presence, so having something to say is key, but you also need to be able to say it. Skip the ums, either lead or follow the conversation, and stay on task as much as possible. If you think you're rambling, you probably are. If you feel like you have a point to make, make it. The host's job is not to make you look awesome, but to put on a good show. You need to make yourself look awesome.

Being comfortable and confident are important, since you don't want to sound like some fledgling, afraid of their own work. You're an author, act like one. You wrote a book, and if you want other people to read that book you need to tell them so.

This is where that old Disney advice of "just be yourself" comes into play. Authors, just like artists of any kind, need to go outside once in a while and meet their public. If all you have is your voice to do that... maybe a website... maybe a blog, you're only going to handicap yourself by acting like something you're not. Being shy is also not allowed. Swallow your desire not to be an imposition, and just put it out there. People will take it or leave it as they see fit.

That's not to say I'm batting a thousand with my appearances. I get nervous just like everyone else, and, like everyone else, I just have to work through it. You will, too.

So, armed with my crack-shot advice, you're ready to hit the world. To any of my subscribers and readers, if you're going to have an appearance please let me know. Not so I can critique you, so I can support you. You've all been supportive of me, in one way or another, and I want to make sure I'm holding up my end of the two-way street.

Alright, I've mixed enough metaphors for you for the day. Off you go, and good luck.

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The Fate of Thomas Redpool (or ...I feel violated?) @chuckpalahniuk

2011-11-18T06:52:00.001-07:00

The Illegal Cover

Some of you have wondered what's to become of this religious satire novel of mine, Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell. To be completely honest, I've wondered that myself.

I'm a Fantasy author at heart, but I had been working on this particular idea for almost ten years before I wrote an entire novel around it. Religion, the ritual and draw of the whole thing, has fascinated me despite my history of unsubscription from the concept. While religion plays an important role even in my Fantasy novels, I don't plan to address the topic as directly as I do in Thomas Redpool possibly ever again.

Still, it's a fun story, a different perspective, and it deserved to be told and read. It's that very last part where I've run into a bit of a snag.

The publisher of The Ninth Avatar, Trapdoor Books, has read Thomas Redpool. They like it, however, it doesn't fit into their target market of "geek fiction." I've put some half-hearted (some might say half-assed) effort into shopping it around, contacted a few agents and publishers directly, but as with most querying it's a silence-or-rejection game. Just finding a publisher who will consider "religious satire" is an exercise in itself.

Add to that, the manuscript needs another round of edit and polish before it can truly shine. I haven't put the work into it because I've been writing other novels, namely Scions of the Shade and Rise of the Carrion. The core of the novel is strong, it's just cleaning up the description, tightening the narration, and other various minor tweaks that a novel goes through to become a Third Draft. I've been reluctant to do this, also, because my perspective (me feelings on the Christian religion) have shifted since I finished the first two drafts. I don't want my current views to disrupt what my previous views created.

A few weeks ago, a friend informed me that Chuck Palahniuk beat me to the punch in this regard. His new novel (series), The Damned, reeks of the same whimsy, the same satire, and the same subject matter as Thomas Redpool, though mine still has the darker themes between the two. Where his is more like your run-of-the-mill, Satan is the "bad guy" romp (and not in a bad way), mine relies more on an originality of character and villainy that plays with common tropes rather than harnesses them directly.

Still, the similarities are such that I was a bit shocked. And before you go pointing fingers and shouting me down, I'm not accusing him (or anyone) of stealing ideas. That's just ridiculous, and I won't have it, you hear? Nevertheless, it's a bit of a question now as to whether his book has paved the way for mine or stolen a bit of its thunder. The jury will be out on that indefinitely, I'm afraid, since this is so far on Chuck's periphery that I couldn't even begin to imagine he cares.

So, the question remains about what exactly to do with Thomas Redpool. I could continue to shop it around to a publisher, hoping someone will bite now that a world-class author has gone down the religious satire road; I could self-publish it, after a round of edits and design work, and assume that more people would be interested in reading it than have already read it (you few, brave, cherished souls); I could continue to sit on it as I've been doing, bringing it up as my adventurous second novel that was never published, a semi-secret-sample of my work and charming disdain for the Catholic Church. I have options.

Based on past and recent feedback, I think the self-publish route would be best, at least for the foreseeable future. It's a short novel, something you could blast through in a weekend even if you read slowly, and I have no doubts it will either offend you or make you laugh (but probably both). It is a fun novel, this wonderful creation of mine, practically oozing cynicism and sarcasm and all things wonderful that keep you coming back to listen to me drone on here at Initial Draft.

I suppose that means you should keep your eyes peeled for purchase links. Who can say when I'll set aside the time to do the cover and map design (hint: this is a cry for help to people who are better at this than I am), not to mention pore over the 78,000-some-odd words with a red pen and an Exacto knife, but I think my mind is made up.

If you support this idea, please let your voice be heard.

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Upcoming Event - BlogTalkRadio with Frank Fiore

2011-11-03T07:57:00.003-06:00

If you're not busy this Saturday morning, have a listen to the Back-Story show on blogtalkradio. I'll be joining fellow Trapdoor Books author Frank Fiore, live, for some book & writing discussion.

The show begins at 09:30am Pacific Time, Saturday, November 5th.

Back-Story is usually a discussion of the novel writing process and how a book came into being. If you haven't heard "the creation myth" of how and why I started writing The Ninth Avatar, this is probably your best opportunity.

I do believe the show will also be recorded/podcasted, in case you miss it.

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I have an idea ... and so should you

2011-11-01T09:01:00.001-06:00

We writers are all talk. Everything we do involves words, and we talk a big game. But, when you get right down to the heart of things, writing is about ideas.

Ideas are the writer's currency. They can be worthless and priceless simultaneously. Good and bad, big or small, ideas drive writing like nothing else can.

It's very difficult to write without an idea of what you want to write about. Especially when it comes to novels, it's not as if we already have each word written (or chosen) in our heads before we sit down at the keyboard. In one sense, we make it up as we go along, but we're also adhering to our original idea.

You can't copyright an idea, though one writer's interpretation of an idea will be drastically different from another's. The thing, too, is that "an idea" means different things to different people. To me, an idea is a place to start. My approach is simple like that. To some, however, an idea is synonymous with the entire story. To illustrate:

I say, "I want to write a story about the fifth son of a national hero, whose squandering of the ancestor's wealth and reputation have brought so much dishonor to the country that a war begins." I don't know how this will end, but right there I have a main character who is interesting to me and a few conflicts that need to be resolved. I can write that.

Others may say, "I want to write a story about a boy who goes to a magic school. He is picked on but finds good friends, and a villain seeks to kill him for reasons related to his parents' death. As he grows up, he learns how to rely on others as well as himself. With cunning and bravery, he defeats the villain and makes the entire world a better place." This is a bit much for me, really.

I mean, sure, I know my "good guy" is going to win before I start writing. We always know the good guy is going to win. It's the how that makes a difference, right? That's the part I prefer to leave for later, since it's going to depend upon what I've written up to that point. It's going to depend upon what kind of character he or she turns out to be, and what obstacles I've put in his or her place along the way.

I've talked on numerous occasions about where ideas come from, so I'll table that for the moment. The point is that how you use your ideas will dictate what kind of writer you are. If you need a complete idea, then you are an outliner and you should head in that direction. Sometimes it even helps to start at the ending and work backwards, so that your writing is merely filling the empty spaces where things need to happen to connect the dots.

For my part, I prefer to start at the beginning and see where the story takes me. I like to explore, and am willing to backtrack if necessary, even if that means it takes additional work and time. To me, the idea turns into the story, but I get the impression that to some others the idea needs to already be the story. I just can't work under those conditions. It would be like trying to write someone else's idea. There's no mystery to it, no wonder, no exploration.

This is extra important on a day like today, when Nanowrimo is set to begin for thousands of would-be novelists. Even the nano handbook says to spend a few days planning out your idea, rather than just launching right into writing (which means all you folks who predict your 1,667 words per day are already a bit off). However, planning can mean finding a place to start or charting the entire course. It all depends on what works for you.

I'm also prone to saying things like all it takes to write a novel is effort and time. This assumes you already have an idea. If, however, your struggle is that particular prerequisite, all the effort and time in the world will just frustrate you further. What you might need is some outside assistance, if you're stuck, or a different angle of approach, or a mental reset button. Generally speaking, I have more ideas than I know what to do with at any given time, but to me ideas are small things.

If you need a big idea, you might have to actually go out and search for it.

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Lie to me**

2011-10-23T11:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry for all the radio silence. All I can say is that when I have nothing profound or useful to share, I generally keep my thoughts to myself. Well, mostly to myself.

As long as we're breathing, we lie. We lie so much, the truth has become a valuable commodity. Regardless of whether it sets us free, or whether it hurts, people hunger for truth so much that it takes very little to convince themselves they've found it. All my cynicism aside, it's not the lies that fascinate me. It's the reason, which is much harder to come by.

On the now-cancelled Fox show, Lie to me, Doctor Cal Lightman uses science and instinct to spot deception. It's not a difficult show to make, since deception is universal. This also provides a natural source of conflict. Add in some interesting characters, and you have yourself a drama. Seriously, if you haven't seen the show, I recommend giving it a chance.

In real life, we have fewer methods to spot liars. Polygraph, or the lie-detector test, has become so ubiquitous that it's almost comical. Actually, it became comical when it became the main reason people watch Maury. As they say on Lie to me, however, things like this are extremely limited in two ways.

One, they're fallible since a lie is not a tangible scientific phenomenon that can be measured (like temperature). There are indicators, of course, such as vocal pitch spikes, body language and temperature, word choice, and so on. Machines like the polygraph actually measure the level of anxiety, the most common indicator of a lie. Unfortunately, the fact that a machine is being hooked up to someone's arm to tell whether they're lying can easily cause anxiety just by itself. Hell, the simple accusation of being a liar creates an emotional reaction (defensiveness, anger, sometimes pleasure at being caught).

Two, even if you can tell someone is lying, you can never tell what they're lying about--or why. If a person whose feelings you care about asks you a question where the truth would hurt those feelings, you commonly lie (the old "Does this dress make me look fat?" scenario). Spies hide the truth for national security, personal safety, and because it's their job. Just as the truth is a currency in many scenarios, lies (or, rather, the identifications of lies) are also a commodity.

I'm quoting myself, here, but it's a rare glimpse into exactly how my mind works:

“Humanity, as you know, is fundamentally flawed. Some say that Original Sin put things into motion, but it was the creation of the death concept that really steered the course. The new existence facilitated the instinct for survival. The need for survival bred desperation. The act of desperation commonly relies on deception. Deception fosters everything from addiction to injustice, redefining the human condition. Man’s own intelligence works against him, buying him a nice cozy spot in Hell.” (Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell, ch3)

I believe the why of our lies is most often tied to our desperation. Things are slipping through our grasp and it is an instinctive way to take control. Whether we're afraid of losing something or hurting someone, we lie to avoid consequences.

The error is our guilt. We think the lies are the problem, when it's the circumstances that necessitated the lie that is to blame. People make mistakes, then they compound those mistakes. First with guilt, then with lies, then with more guilt.

Simple answer to that: avoid making mistakes. However, since we all know that's impossible, desperation endures and, therefore, lies endure. This is why I get confused about people's outrage at the lies of politicians, celebrities, and other public figures. Particularly politicians (Bill Clinton, Anthony Wiener); with someone whose entire purpose is to put up a positive image, lies are not only inevitable, they are absolutely necessary.

So, why all the fuss? Because, when we learn the truth, we feel deceived. Not for nothing, but we don't expect to be lied to. Well, most of you don't, anyhow. It's in our nature as humans to extend our trust to like-minded others, to those we respect, and to those we arbitrarily believe will be honest with us. No one will be honest with us 100% of the time, though. After seeing shows like Lie to me and Breaking Bad, I fully believe that they shouldn't.

There are many things I'd just rather not know. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. There are a great many things I just don't want to know. Rather than be naive about the whole thing, however, I embrace this. I find it freeing, advantageous even. Don't give me things to unnecessarily worry about.

We're no hermits, so we must face these things sooner or later. I don't want to give the impression that I don't trust people. I trust people easily, much of the time, particularly if there's a decent rapport. But I also trust that they are prone to lies. I can't control this, no more than I can make any of their other decisions for them. I can only control how much I invest, and how willing I am to lose that investment.

We live, we learn, we lie.

I'll finish this up with a superficially-related musical interlude. Enjoy.

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**Go ahead. I mean it.

Writer vs. Author

2011-09-07T12:46:00.001-06:00

Just another author

Of all the myriad things writers obsess about, it's the point at which they transition (transcend?) from writer to author that sticks in their minds more often than not. Especially writers just starting out, stars in their eyes, eagerly awaiting the day they get "the call" and all of their problems go away.

Being an Author carries with it some sense of wonder and authority. As in, "Wow, someone liked your writing so much they published it." In reality, it's really more like, "Wow, someone thought your writing was good enough to sell and turn a decent profit." Semantics? Perhaps.

But what's the difference between a writer and an author? Don't they both do essentially the same thing? Is it a matter of one being more eccentric, more indy, less novice-like, more talented, confident, actually published, or is it merely a declaration of purpose that separates the Authors from the just-Writers?

Nonsense.

Authors write. It's what they do. They don't "auth," after all, or "author" their novels, except in strange social circles where people use incredibly proper grammar and annoy the hell out of anyone nearby. At its heart, this is -- quite literally -- a matter of semantics.

To me, being an author is more about attitude than it is about writing. It is how you see and present yourself. "I'm a writer," could mean just about anything. What do you write? Articles, sports columns, blog posts, journal entries, PHP code? Anyone can write, but it requires a little something more to call yourself an author.

That "something more" isn't a published book, however -- it is an attitude. Much like a baptism, or a marriage ceremony, you're not physically changed afterward, but you have made a declaration that you are now different. You have devoted yourself to something and want everyone to know it. You want to be viewed differently.

It's decided in that moment where, when someone asks what you do for a living or notices that there is such a thing as a book with your name on it, you must own up to the fact that you write books. "I write books," you say. An author says it with confidence, proud of his work and excited to share it with others. A writer may appear bashful, ashamed, or awkward. They have no idea what to do when someone is interested. We all have these moments.

Becoming an author is not every writer's goal (dream?). It is not an evolutionary advance, and it has nothing to do with how many people recognize your name (or book title). An author is not simply a person who has written an entire book. Neither does the completion of said book mean that every sentence their fingers produce from then on is worth its weight in gold.

Just another author

To me, at least, being an author means you don't stop with one book. Or ten books. Or a hundred books. You write until you can't write anymore. Until they put the final nail in the coffin, writing is on your mind. Whether that writing is fiction or not, flash- or novel-length, that writing is what you feel your purpose is on this planet. You would write even without a laptop, typewriter, or pen. You would scrawl on cave (or prison?) walls, if you had to.

Being a writer is something you could take or leave. It's not that being an author requires commitment on your behalf so much as it demands submission to your creative impulses. It's a compulsion.

There are things you cannot do and be an author at the same time, though these things are different for each person. Much like being a professional musician, being an author requires sacrifice to that art -- whereas being a writer just requires finding the time.

There's no need to decide right now. If, however, you plan to pursue writing, you need to ask yourself whether you want to truly become an author. How much are you willing to give up to achieve that dream? Is it worth it to you?

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Another month, another lull

2011-08-29T15:21:00.000-06:00

I have nothing particularly witty, useful, or deep to say at this point in time. In fact, I have no doubt that I will end up deleting this post later.

Still with me? Great. Here comes some ramblings.

I'm nowhere near I wanted to be with Rise of the Carrion by the end of August. Which is to say, I'm nowhere near done with the first draft. I'm nearly done with Part 2. That's milestone enough, but I wanted to be done-done. I wanted to do edits in September and have something readable by October. It's not the end of the world that I have to [once again] adjust my timetable, but it is a little discouraging. To be honest, it reminds me of the too-much-time I wasted being unemployed.

Delving into my psyche, I find that I'm as susceptible to the paradox of the artist: I hate routine, but routine is the best way to get things done. It's the old how do you eat an elephant? problem and, to be perfectly frank, nobody eats an elephant artistically. You just have to do it. Effort and time, that's what I always say.

I keep looking toward the future, beyond "Rise." Not only do I still want to write the sequel to The Ninth Avatar, but I have a couple of unrelated Fantasy projects ready to be hatched or already in "first chapter written" stage. I also have a "historical fiction" planned, though it may lean a little in the Fantasy direction style-wise. I want to write these things. I need to write these things. They won't leave me alone.

What's extra disturbing is that I can track my lulls with alacrity. I backup to the cloud. When I finish a writing "session," I send myself an email with my MS file attached and the word count in the subject line. These automatically get stashed into a folder (aka an archived label in my GMail) with, of course, a date stamp of when they were sent. Care to see my "progress?"

Maddening, isn't it? Well, it is to me, knowing how much I can output when I really focus. When I don't really focus, hell, I barely get my MS file open before my attention is off elsewhere.

Then I usually end up with one of these blog posts, promising to recommit, to trying even harder, and returning to the same slugfest that has become my [lack of] writing routine. You'd think this would get easier with each subsequent project but, with the tumult of personal and professional lives intruding on my writing time and willpower, it really just doesn't.

I've read over and over that the key to focusing, when it comes to writing, is being able to close the door to distractions. While I find this to be true, I also think it's nigh on impossible for me. Closing the door, in many cases, just negates any effort on my part to regulate temperature (not a great thing in August). In the old days of 2010, I used to take a day off and spend it at Starbucks to really bump up the word count. While I still have the capability to do this, I don't have the time.

I think, maybe, that I had the balance at one point but I've let it slowly slip away. I'll find it, though. Just as soon as I can actually look for it.

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Irons, Fires... it's all a mess

2011-08-17T08:22:00.000-06:00

Being a textbook Type B Personality, I run the constant risk of complacency. Lately I'm getting the sense that the worst feeling I can have is: I'm either really bad at time management or I'm just lazy.

I go through my days with my eyes open. I see other writers and authors doing these amazing things and I wonder how they find the time for them. With the recent website creation, I devoted a huge chunk of my time not only to building the framework but also writing the content, and the latter is still only about 40% done. Getting the trivia up there was probably my last major update for a few weeks, as now I need to focus on everything I've been neglecting to get the website running.

The more time I put into promotion, website stuff, facebook and twitter, the less time I have to write (among other things). There are only 24 hours in a day, and I'm only awake for 18 of them.

So often I feel like I'm playing Missile Command with life. That hectic desperation when you just can't shoot fast enough is the best metaphor, outside of Tetris. Despite my laid-back attitude, I get just as stressed as the next person. I let the impossible fade, try my best to focus on what I can accomplish, but it's incredibly difficult to avoid worrying about what I felt I could do and didn't. This is doubly true when it comes to writing.

I buck really hard when it comes to "writing every day." It's not for any fear of lack of creativity or hand cramps, writer's block, or even outright laziness in this case. I know I have motivation problems and this is one of them: I want to treat writing like it's important. I don't want it to be some routine exercise, putting words on a page because I have to, because my calendar says so. It may seem like semantics to you, between laziness and "making it special," but I'm sure you've avoided doing something you enjoy for this very reason.

I love to write like I love pizza, and that's saying a lot. But I don't eat pizza every day, for myriad reasons (mostly health-related), and neither do I write every day. I think about writing every day, and I certainly worry about when I'm going to finish my current WIP, but only until I realize I have 500 other things to do. I feel just as guilty for neglecting writing as I do about neglecting the gym, especially when the end of my WIP is all outlined out for me, or when I have an event to train for.

But I also have a day job. Garbage to take out and other chores. Vehicle maintenance and home upkeep. Dogs to walk. Friends to converse and laugh with. Social and political and relationship issues to understand and deal with. Books and blog posts and forums to read, games to play. You get the idea. I have "life" to do, and wedging time in for one thing inevitably means I must neglect something else.

So, either I'm really bad at time management because I'm not writing as much as I should, or I'm just lazy because I can't fit writing into my busy schedule on a more regular basis. What's really obnoxious is when your own stress stresses you out, and that's the direction things have been going. I resolve, I schedule, I make myself notes, and in the end I have to defer to whatever is the highest priority at the time.

This, more than any other reason, is why it's difficult for me to plan very far into the future. Something may come up and, yes, it may be more important than what I had planned to do. In my experience, that's the way life goes, particularly when you are beholden to others to decide your priorities for you (e.g. your employer). And yet, if I were only able to organize and plan better, my priorities wouldn't clash so much. Poetic justice if I've ever seen it.

I'm impulsive, so a project that takes hundreds of hours of writing is automatically difficult. Novels require so much more of me than I'm able to give on a daily basis, and it's a constant struggle to find balance. Work/life balance, life/writing balance, life/life balance; it's all a mess.

I think, perhaps, I need to pace myself a little better. Cool some of these irons. Prioritize, organize, mobilize. But following through on resolutions was never really my strong suit, either. Maybe it's just a matter of taking more control over how my time is spent, making conscious choices instead of unconscious ones (whether I use a calendar or not), and seeing how that works for a while. Then again, "planning ahead" and "one day at a time" are the opposites of the spectrum.

I'm sure it'll make sense at some point, but now is not that time. Now's the time to try harder, adjust as necessary, and move forward. Like I told someone yesterday, "It's like walking in a dark room. You don't have to see where you're going to get there."

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New Website todd-newton.com Officially Launched

2011-08-15T09:09:00.000-06:00

I has website.

Honestly, I still have a lot of work left to do as far as the content, but the framework is there and there is a ton of content that I posted over the weekend (mostly to the The Ninth Avatar area). Have a look and let me know what you think.

Yes, I did view the site in IE -- only problem I saw so far was that the content is anchored to the left (it's supposed to be centered, as in the Chrome screenshot above). The site is best viewed in Firefox, a far superior browser, anyway. When I have time, I'll fix this but for the moment it doesn't keep the content from being legible.

I'll be sure to post updates as more content becomes available, especially the Trivia page (which I'm very excited about). In the meantime, please contact me with any questions you might have.

It's still a little staggering to see what I've created out there, live and viewable. To see the things I created in PHP actually work, I mean, that's just crazy. I realized last night, however, that it's given me another thing to maintain that could-but-hopefully-won't cut into my writing time. Can't worry about that now, though. I have a manuscript to finish.

Rise of the Carrion, here I come.

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More Identity Shenanigans

2011-08-11T09:55:00.001-06:00

A while ago, I posted about some issues with my name and how common it is. Well, doing all this website work has made me revisit this issue, and now I get to share that with all of you.

You see, there are a bunch of Todd Newtons around. I believe I'm the only Author one, but there are Famous ones, Dentist ones, Racecar driving ones, Criminal ones, Dead ones, and even Digital Media Entrepreneur ones. It's really this last one (and a bit of the first one) that I get to talk about again today.

Frankly, I've been on the Internet a long time. Since somewhere in 1993-1994, to be as close to exact as I can come. I've had myriad email accounts, signing up with Hotmail when it was new and not-yet-owned by Microsoft (which ruined it, IMO). I cut my teeth learning HTML in free homepage accounts with various providers (anyone ever heard of Angelfire and Geocities and Tripod?). I was both a lethario and a scourge of chat rooms I frequented, gaining all kinds of bad reputation, some of which people were still talking about on Myspace nearly a decade later (wish I could find the link, but it's dead). And all that just in the early years.

Even with all my activity, until now I have never had "my own website" meaning a site on my own domain. I've seen other people do it, and I've known how to do it for a very long time. I mean, I did go to college for this stuff, plus I've worked for various technology companies throughout my career where DNS, web development, and domain hosting were all important. I've just never needed my own website. Then, for a while, I relied on Myspace and Facebook and this blog to be my online presences.

About a month ago, however, I decided I wanted my own website. A place where people, readers or otherwise, could find me and my writing. A blog does work for this, but a blog is just one tool among various options. It doesn't offer enough flexibility for what I need to do, but I'd never get rid of it. I see authors who only have blogs, rather than a "full" website with information on their books, relying on Goodreads or Amazon to essentially host that portion for them by proxy, and it signals to me that these authors don't want to interact with me. They want to broadcast, which is fine, but I think the Internet facilitates much more than the posting of opinions and information.

Thus began my adventure to build my own website, which will officially launch Monday the 15th.

There are two parts to owning a website. First, you must register a domain name, then you must host content somewhere that domain name points to. Companies like GoDaddy make it simple, as they offer both services bundled together, but there are a ton of registrars and hosting companies out there. The Internet is a big place. All that to say that you need to choose a domain first, then you can decide where it gets hosted.

Naturally, I wanted www.toddnewton.com. It makes the most sense, is the easiest to say and the easiest to type. Unfortunately, when I went to do a WHOIS search, I found it was already owned by Entrepreneur Todd. Worse than that, he wasn't even doing anything with it. You see, with domains, you can just have them point to other domains (like if you go to google.net it will automagically re-route you to google.com). This is a relatively cheap and easy solution for companies who have a lot of names, products, etc. because they just point everything to one hosted site. Entrepreneur Todd wasn't even doing that. He just owns the domain and if you try to browse to it you get a big nothing.

So I offered to buy it from him. Sadly, the guy didn't respond, which makes me wonder how he conducts any type of online business. Undeterred, I decided to try something else.

The problem is that there are so many other damn Todd Newtons, and one of them is famous. I assumed that any of the "good" domains with my name in them were probably already taken. Not to mention the fact that when you make a domain name longer, people become more reluctant to type it in (or, frankly, remember it). I was actually pretty shocked when I opened Moses Siregar III's The Black God's War to find his website was www.ScienceFictionFantasyBooks.net.

Not only is this a mouthful, totally nonspecific, and a .net besides, but he also owns the domain that matches his name and (currently) isn't doing anything with it. Perhaps that's a work in progress. It just sort of irks me since, unlike me, his name is quite distinct and rather than use that to his advantage he chose a long, bland domain name that would better-serve a review site or news aggregator. Maybe it's an SEO thing.

Then again, you don't want to get too specific. Registering your author website on yourbooktitle.com will start to become a pain in the ass once you have a second, third, fourth book out. You've confined your identity to that first book which, in many cases, isn't indicative of the quality of your body of work.

Anyway, all that to say that toddnewtononline.com was already taken. I considered other domains, some of which were already taken like the ill-fated tdnewton.com (ill-fated since I dropped that authornym some time ago). Other options, like toddnewtonwrites.com, again just make it longer and harder to say, type, and remember. After a few days of searching and weighing options, I discovered that todd-newton.com was available.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that using hyphens is not always advisable, since quite a few spam/scam/knock-off sites have them in the domain name. This is how they get similar domains to what they're mimicking. Then again, it's also how some movie titles have their own sites (they just add -movie.com to a phrase that might be common enough that someone owns it).

I settled on todd-newton.com, registered it, and signed up for a hosting account. Life has been pretty intense with layout building, browser testing, and content generation ever since. There are a LOT of easy ways to build your website, and I didn't use any of them. What can I say? I wanted it to be my website, not just a website with my name on it. And I wasn't satisfied just having a blog with a "branded" domain name.

I want to interact with my readers. I want them to come to the website curious about the worlds I've created and be able to read up on them, look at the map again, check out the glossary of terms, play some trivia, maybe shoot me an email or tell me they've done up some artwork of one of my characters. I can't do that without a place for the content to be hosted, and I can't do that without my own domain. And, as it happens, I can't do that without a hyphen.

Some other time I will post about my design and content struggles so you can see how much fun I really had building this website. Till then, good luck if you're entering the website world. Check back for the official announcement of my new site on Monday.

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New Website Coming

2011-08-04T09:02:00.000-06:00

You may notice, now, in the address bar that this blog is on its own domain. MY domain. Don't panic, everything will still work as usual. I have spent hours making certain that's the case. I do all the work around here.

The good news is that, now that I have my own domain, I will soon have my own website. With content. It's a staggering development, I know, but very exciting.

I'll make all the usual announcements when the time comes. Until then, please bear with me. Content creation is no simple, overnight thing. And, again, thanks for reading -- this blog would be nothing without my subscribers.

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The Ninth Avatar: Starka, as a Character

2011-08-03T08:59:00.000-06:00

Today, I'd like to do a bit of character study. This might contain some spoilers so, if you haven't read The Ninth Avatar and plan to, you might want to skip this (and return to it later).

If I were giving out awards to the parts played in this novel, Starka probably wouldn't win Best Character. Rather, I think she'd win Most Improved Character. My "Best" vote would probably go to DaVille, Cairos, or Wan Du, but it's all subjective. The character's perspective you enjoy most will dictate what you get out of the story.

That being said, it's become apparent to me that some readers are completely put off by Starka.

Here's one perspective:

...the main character Starka annoyed me so much that it was difficult to read about her. I think she must be the sister of Bella from Twilight. She was always doing stupid things, asking stupid questions, had a 14 year old’s sexual maturity, and was always needing to be rescued by a man.

And another:

...thoughts of her dear brother quickly fall off the radar and Starka's character begins to unravel. She is shown to have no firm ideas and no ability to defend herself. However, she consistently puts herself in harms way, where she is both no help and a liability; with those that know better doing little to dissuade her. This is forced drama and adds nothing. I could have appreciated her more if she had at least shown some common sense or intelligence, but she does neither.

At first, I was shocked and horrified by this. Then I was just confused. Were we talking about the same character?

As I was writing the book, Starka was hands-down my favorite. The book is about her, after all: her prophecy, her journey, and her transcendence of circumstance to become something more than she was before. She goes through a process of development, and by virtue of that she has to start a bit "lesser" than she ends. She is there as events unfold, and not only gets to participate in the story but also benefit from it.

After giving the matter a lot of thought, I came to partially agree with the above viewpoints. At the beginning of the novel, Starka is not only distraught but was raised in a society of rose-colored glasses. Her bigoted nation seems a utopia to those who live inside it, and she's lived her entire life with that single goal in mind. She has no idea what the real world is like except for what she's told by her authority figures, and that is simply that the outside world is an evil place. Even after being thrust into it and finding her usual defense mechanisms inadequate, she has no idea what to do.

In short, she's not prepared for the adventure she's about to have. Starka hides behind her faith much of the time because it's all she knows. Her only support mechanisms, her brother and her church, have both abandoned her for reasons she can't grasp. She's weak, afraid, and not the right person for the job--and yet she must go on this adventure. She's the only person who can.

Of course, I don't want to defend Starka as some headless moron who blindly stumbles through the story. Neither would it make sense for her character to pick up an axe and start beheading the nearest Carrion soldier she could find. No one would see her as a traditional "hero." She's what writers refer to as simply a protagonist.

I know some readers enjoy her, they just may not be as vocal about it in their reviews.

She's neither wizard nor warrior, and in a harsh world a person with no way to fight back or defend themselves must rely on others to do it for them. This isn't ideal for her, since Starka believes the rest of the world to be untrustworthy, but she has no choice in the matter.

By the end of the story, she has come face to face with the largest obstacles of her life and fought beyond them. She's gained confidence enough to believe in herself, which encourages others to believe in her. That comes in handy as the new leader of her people, and the voice of a nation entering into a new age.

It's a tough balance to strike, I think. On the one hand, you have a completely helpless character who, by virtue of their lack of participation, probably shouldn't have been a character at all. Alternatively, you have a character who drives the story forward by making decisions and proactively affecting their circumstances. The character I attempted to portray began the story as the former and ends up the latter. It's the portion where she can't stand up for herself that I believe turns some folks off.

Then again, I hear from others who enjoy Starka's perspective. Her naivety allows for a strict education on the world of The Ninth Avatar and how it functions. As she explores, the reader also explores, and those who can really jump on board with the course of Starka's "education" are rewarded when she triumphs in the end. This was what I tried to accomplish.

So, now I open the floor up to you. If you've read the novel, did you feel like you related to Starka? If not, have you ever read a book where you felt like you completely misunderstood the protagonist?

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Books are the best of things, well used.

2011-07-19T09:39:00.000-06:00

"As a writer, your only duty is to be original, to inspire, to put something new on paper. Don’t be reasonable – your job is to to fire up people’s imaginations, to give them permission to dream, and to lift their heads up to the incredible sight of the stars. They may forget what you wrote about – but they won’t forget how you made them feel.

It’s your turn now. Dream, be unreasonable."

-Ben von Burg

Honestly, I couldn't have said it better myself.

However, I'm a bit underwhelmed at the moment, having read the following statistics yesterday (via Trapdoor Books blog):

Generally, 80% of US households did not buy or read a book last year
70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the past 5 years
42% of college graduates never read another book after college
1/3 of high school graduates never read a book for the rest of their lives
57% of new books are not read to completion

Even taking into account that 79% of all statistics are made up on the spot, these are staggering numbers. It's no wonder Borders is closing for good. Emerson may have been right for his time when he said the title of this post, but we're in the 21st century now.

Why do you want to write books?

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Writing, just in code

2011-07-18T13:03:00.000-06:00

You've probably noticed some interesting changes to the blog in the past few weeks (otherwise, I told you to notice them via Twitter). Technically I've been writing, just in code. Unless you have worked a lot with HTML, you probably can't imagine how annoying it was to get that sidebar to do what it's doing with the buttons next to the book cover.

That's not to say I'm [more] special, but I have been putting in quite a few hours to make this blog presentable rather than just useful. Some of you might recall the old black-and-white template I used to use. Go figure that my readership practically doubled when I started using real colors, ones that were easier on the eyes than high-contrast (even though it's better on my color-blindness). Thing is, designing in color is a lot harder for me.

Even so, my work is still far from done. I want to have more than just a blog with links to everywhere else on it. Honestly, I have been using the Internet for about 17 years now and have never owned my own domain name. Despite building an entire site in Flash that sat on my own hard drive, and countless HTML pages on free sites like Angelfire, Tripod, and Freewebs, I just never took the big step forward. Even now, I have a Blogger and a Wordpress site, both free, only one of which I maintain. Kind of unbelievable.

Then again, if I'd registered it six or more years ago, I doubt I'd have had the wherewithal to keep it registered, much less build the site itself. Not that I've ever been afraid of HTML (or of CSS), but website design and implementation can be incredibly tedious. It's even more so when you have no actual content to display (which I didn't). Time passed and I never really saw the point in getting my own domain.

Nowadays, it's a hell of a lot easier to live on the WWW than it used to be. With places like Myspace and Facebook, the hard part is done for you. With Flickr, Blogger, etc., you can have almost everything a real web designer has but without learning all those pesky tags and codes. Ten years ago, WYSIWYG functionality was, well, nightmarish. Now it's been upgraded to only semi-frustrating.

So, there might be a website in my near future. Rest assured I'll announce it in every available channel, and this blog will stay where it is. It just might change colors... again.

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I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

2011-07-13T08:33:00.001-06:00

I don't consider myself a very quotable person, and I rarely quote others. I do, however, tear out my hair whenever I see someone whose only goal on Twitter or Facebook is to post quotes.

I'm sorry but, if you have nothing original to say, what reason is there for me to listen?

Sure, I've posted quotes before, even on this blog. Their relevance should be apparent, however I prefer to also post my reaction to them. Without an expression to go along with the quote, you've turned from a human being into a parrot.

I want to know what you think, not what you feel is important that someone else said a hundred years ago. Frankly, I can't disagree with a long-dead poet or author. They're far beyond caring, and their opinion is already set in stone. Yours is what I find interesting, actionable, and useful.

As far as what's yearning inside me, well, I pour all of that into my novels and my not-always-quotable blog posts here on Initial Draft. When I have something to say, I say it. I don't find someone else who said it better to say it for me.

That's just passing the buck.

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