I have a problem.
I really, really, REALLY like character creator programs. Heck, I keep a couple MMOs loaded on my computer just because I use their character creation options to help me visualize my protagonists.
I’ve also watched a lot of anime, and often say that if I wanted my books translated into any media, anime would be my top choice.
So then I found an anime-style character creator.
And then I lost a few days.
We all start somewhere. Anyone who does anything gets an initial inspiration to do whatever it is they do. Writers are no exception. What exactly is it that makes people want to write what they write? What makes us pick up a pen (or put fingers on a keyboard) and write? This week’s question comes from our very own H. Anthe Davis.
Question 19: How did you get into writing and what made you select your genre of choice?
I actually don’t feel as though I had a choice in either getting into writing or choosing a genre. I’ve been making up stories since Kindergarten – I remember writing a “book” at my mother’s friend’s dining room table and driving them both crazy because the only words I knew how to spell were “the” and “and.” I’ve been doing it ever since. Same with genre… It doesn’t…
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In detailing my world and writing, I do a lot of research. I’m a library worker at my Day Job, so I have good access to a lot of sources of in-depth exploration, but there are some questions out there that no published writer has seen fit to answer — and some answers that are easier to find on the internet than in an encyclopedia. And then there are some things that have to be seen to be understood.
Here are some of my recent searches, both for the books and just from curiosity (though spawned by the books).
One of my questions this time! And a lot of interesting answers.
Every author has someone or something that influenced them. They can be anything from another author to a style. Even a single book can be an influence. This week’s question is brought to us by H. Anthe Davis.
J. R. R. Tolkien inspired an entire genre.
Question 17: What authors, styles or intellectual movements have most influenced your writing?
First it was Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. I liked reading multiple storylines at once from many points of view. There are many authors who use this technique, but I saw it in Puzo’s book first.
The second was a movement that I’m not sure has a name. I grew tired of stories that boiled down to clear-cut forces of good and evil fighting against each other. Despite what we may feel, no one person or cause is completely good or evil. Instead I wanted to write about heroes that…
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One of the things I built for my writing world was its own variant tarot deck. Very, very variant. Because my world has a love of the number six, the deck has six suits instead of four — corresponding to the six elements of Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Wood and Metal — and a total of ninety cards, each suit being 1-10 plus Herald, Knight, Queen, King and Crown. Some of the cards are analogs to the standard Major and Minor Arcana of a traditional tarot deck, but I chucked a bunch and had to make up a lot more … so I decided to tell stories within the suits.
Of course, your local library is still the best resource — and you can probably access much of its content online! Goooo!
Not everything comes from an author’s mind. Probably not a good idea, anyway. Sometimes they need help, whether it’s research, editing, critiquing, or creating covers. There are some great resources online that can help with these and more. This week’s very useful question comes from Amy Morris-Jones.
Question 16: What are your favorite online resources/websites for writers?
Whee, link time! Alas, I lost a lot of my links in my computer upgrade, but I do have a few of interest. I make my own maps using the GIMP 2 program (like an open-source Photoshop), following the advice of a great mapmaking tutorial. I use this color chart sometimes, and this medieval demographics calculator (though just for a rough guide), and I find Peter Menzel’s photography site (and books) to be really helpful in visualizing the differences between cultures in terms of food and home-goods consumption. I also…
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Assemblage 23 – Decades (v2), from the album Meta. Synthpop.
I’ve used Assemblage 23 before, I know, and this particular song doesn’t have relevance to the current story, but it’s one of my favorites from this band and heavily influential on the mood of the War of Memory Cycle. Heck, the series title touches upon the same themes: that we don’t remember what we need to, or know how to attain the perspective that would help us understand the past and shape the future to something we can tolerate.
I babble again about anime! But y’know, I did try my hand at making a RPG system for my world, and maybe eventually I’ll get back to it, because I ran a lot of friends through campaigns there, back in the day…
Since the early twentieth century, new types of media have become popular ways of telling stories. Books were no longer the only way to get your stories. Movies, radio, television, computer games, the internet, and more kinds of media have influenced many authors. But how are our authors influenced? This week’s question is brought to you by D. T. Nova.
Question 15: All of us write prose fiction (unless I’m mistaken) in an era that has an astounding variety of storytelling media. Has your writing been significantly influenced by any works of newer media?
When I first started writing novels in earnest a few years ago, I became heavily influenced by the music I happened to be listening to at the time. Jasper has influences from song lyrics by Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, and The Cult. I have other stories in the works that have been influenced…
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Now that Book 3 has been sent out to the beta readers, it’s time to work on the cover- and supplemental material — including the piking blurb. Argh the blurb. I’m not so good at short works, and condensing 400k words into sub-200 is usually an exercise in suffering and despair.
That being said, this one only took a few iterations before I found an idea that worked for me.
The Puppeteer Emerges from the Shadow of the Throne…
Ever since the massacre at Riftwatch, Cob has reserved his true hatred for one man: the necromancer Shaidaxi Enkhaelen. Even after the Empire’s corruption became clear to him, he remained fixated on Enkhaelen as its cause.
But there is more at work within the Empire than even a centuries-old puppet-master can control. From the sullen streets of Bahlaer to the depths of Valent to the towering spires of the Imperial City, a grim tide is rising — bearing with it all the old hostilities and unforgivable secrets that the Empire has tried to suppress. As cities, armies and friendships begin to tear themselves apart, Cob must face the realization that nothing can be trusted: not his memories, not his allies, not the Guardian.
Not even his hate.
My first attempt talked about Cob, Sarovy and Geraad, since they’re the front-men of the three story-threads in the book, but that ended up too jumbled and complex. And while I love Sarovy and Geraad … they’re not the main character, plus I figured it was about time the antagonist got mentioned in a blurb because he’s going to be on the cover.
And then just calling them front-men made me suddenly envision them and their cohorts as bands. So now I have this image of Cob and co. on stage, with Cob unwilling to sing (he’s shy) and therefore ceding the singer position to Arik, who is totally a rocker-werewolf and could be in a hair band if he applied a bit of hairspray. Cob on lead guitar, Dasira on bass guitar, Fiora on drums because she likes to hit things, Lark with the keyboard because that’s programming and control. And Ilshenrir with a triangle because he really doesn’t know what’s going on. Ting!
I… I need to go write an AU now…
I don’t think I actually figured out the plot for my first book until I’d rewritten it 6+ times.
Welcome to February! We have a bit of a change of pace this month. During this month and March, our questions come from our contributors. This week’s question comes from Jean Davis.
How does an story begin? We all start from some idea. Everyone starts from something different. So let’s find out what our authors do when they begin a story.
Question 14: When coming up with a new story, what comes first, the character or the plot?
Since I’m working on a (hopefully) long-running series, the characters come first, and the plots are often created by complications from what they’ve done before. Even in the beginning of this series though, it was rather firmly wrapped around a few well-defined characters, whom I’d been playing for a while either in online roleplaying chat or in MMORPGs. I always found playing the characters to be insanely useful, especially…
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The War of Memory Project 