S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 145

Bulgarian Style, Nightbred Audio

Here's some new cover art, this one for the Bulgarian edition of my Jessica Hall novel Heat of the Moment. Have no idea what it says, but I think the artwork is quite stylish.

For those of you who like to listen to the Darkyn, you'll be happy to know that Nightbred, the second novel in my Lords of the Darkyn trilogy, will be released as an audio book by Tantor on December 17th (which you can preorder for a 20% discount at their web site here.) Johanna Parker, whose amazing voice made Nightborn sound so terrific in audio, will also be narrating this book.

Character Art

To get to know my characters better I often make portraits of them. I wish I could say I always do that strictly by imagination, but alas, I'm not that talented.

My trick is to convert photographs of real people into digital sketches, parts of which I transfer as line and perspective references while I'm working on the art. Recently I've been revisiting my old love from high school, pen and ink, so I'm using that for all the portraits of my crew from Taken by Night (as you see here, clockwise from the cute guy at the top: Chavez, Kim, Ara and Deuce.)

Most of the writers I know collect pictures of faces and bodies they find inspiring or interesting. Unless you base a character on a real person from the very start, however, it's almost impossible to get an exact match to how you envision them. Sketching, painting or inking your characters allows you to make those adjustments.

If you'd like to try this, start with a clear photo of your character model that has strong lines and good contrasts. Here's one wallpaper I found of actor Matt Bomer at a fan site* that I'm going to use as a character model for James Brand:



Enlarge or reduce the photo to the size you want for your character portrait, convert it to a black and white sketch or outline in your photoshop program (if you don't have photoshop, there are lots of photo-to-sketch freewares and generators online you can use.) Erase what you don't want to transfer (the handsome Mr. Bomer here looks a bit too scruffy and hollow-cheeked for my character, so I airbrushed away those shadows), and print out the result on plain bond paper:



Take some erasable tracing or transfer paper and put it between the printout of the photo and a sketch pad, and trace the lines of the features you want to duplicate. I use red transfer paper because I can't do a portrait in one sitting, and the contrasting color makes it easy to see where I left off. Once you've done that, trace very lightly the features you want to alter. Once you've finished you'll have a foundation outline of your character portrait (and you might first scan or print out a copy of it so you have an extra one if you mess up and want to start over.) Here's the transfer of my photo:



Starting with the lightly-traced features you want to alter, sketch in with pencil your changes. You are allowed to erase whatever doesn't work. Once you've done that, use the medium of your choice to detail, colorize and complete the portrait, like so:



I like filling in negative space (the empty parts of an image) to suggest things like hair, nose shapes and other hard-to-draw features. It creates a kind of wood-block print look that I think is neat, too:



One of the side benefits of creating character art is increasing your knowledge of and familiarity with their physical appearance. Now that I've inked Matt Bomer into James Brand I know that face from his cowlick to his square jaw. I hadn't decided on his exact eye or hair color until I drew him; now he's definitely green-eyed and silver/black-haired.

Character art is created for you, so you don't have to make it perfect or show it to anyone. You also don't have to use traditional supplies or techniques to make your portraits. I once made a character portrait using bits of old junk jewelry and broken necklace chains glued to a piece of slate. If you're a scrapbooker, try using cutouts from your favorite papers to assemble a collage portrait. Art quilters often "paint" portraits in thread, which I'm going to have to try someday myself.

However you choose to make character art, just have fun with it. You'll always enjoy it, and you may end up surprising yourself.

*Image source URL: http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photo...

Cooking Ten

When we're busy we often resort to microwave dinners or takeout to save time, but I've learned quick home-cooked meals help keep me on track with the work (and keeps my family happy, too.) To give you some ideas, here are ten of the recipes I'll be making in November:

Ten Things to Make for Dinner During NaNoWriMo (or any time)

Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry: Try this quick to make, healthy version of the Chinese takeout favorite. I often use leftover steamed rice (which I revive with my double-boiler) versus the instant stuff in the recipe.

Cheesy Chicken Bagel Pizzas: I use bagels to make mini-pizzas alot (toast them, top them and microwave them for a few seconds and you've got pizza without using the oven.) This 4-ingredient recipe uses the broiler but also gives you a chance to use up some leftover rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Parmigiana: This is the easiest recipe for this classic dish I know, plus there is no breading involved. I skip the salt as the sauce doesn't need it, and serve with thin spaghetti or linguini.

Classic French Salad: An inventive way to serve tuna Niçoise style, and easy to adjust to your family's taste preferences. Dinner salads like this are another all-in-one dish you can pair with some hot rolls or whole-grain bread.

Grilled Roast Beef Sandwiches: This is one of my guy's favorite quick meals; it's as fast to make as grilled cheese but heartier for big appetites. I use horseradish mayo instead of the chile mixture in the recipe and thin sliced Chicago-style Italian bread instead of the rye. Goes great with a hot bowl of vegetable soup on a cold night.

Easy Stromboli A new treat for your pizza lovers. I like to play with this recipe and use different ingredients for the filling: mini-pepperoni, Italian sausage, sliced meatballs or salami are fun to swap for the ground beef. You can also add chopped veggies, different cheeses or whatever you love on your pizza.

Garlic-Chive Baked Fries: These are delicious as a side dish for anything; they're also healthy as you use very little oil and bake them in the oven -- no frying. My kids went absolutely crazy over them. Tip: Slice your potato strips thin (think like the fries at Steak N' Shake) they'll turn out wonderfully crispy.

Golden Burger Spirals: Forget the Hamburger Helper and instead make this casserole; serve with a tossed green salad. It's one of my favorites because the golden mushroom soup and chopped peppers give it an interesting flavor, and ground turkey works as a substitute for the beef.

Steak Soup: For the meat and potato lovers. This one is made in your slow cooker, which means in the morning you toss all the ingredients in and you're done.

Vegetarian Chipotle Nachos: Meatless Monday doesn't mean it has to be tasteless, too. Take out the chips and use the filling in crunchy or soft tortillas for a new spin on the taco. This recipe also makes a filling, healthy snack.

Today's Note

When I'm working on a book the kids always leave me notes (which is much nicer than being interrupted.) This is the one I found this morning.

Skater Boys

There's something almost beautiful about skateboarders and the gravity-defying stunts they pull off with just their boards, some architecture and their incredible sense of balance. Here's a group who skated an abandoned city in Mongolia (includes background music, and kids, don't try this at home or anywhere else):


ORDOS from Charles Lanceplaine on Vimeo.

Sold!

I know I've been very mysterious about the new series I sold over the summer, but I wanted to wait until NaNoWriMo kicked off to announce the sale (it's a personal homage thing, because this all started with the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo back in 2009.)

Every story we write is important to us, but every now and then one comes along that you believe in and then fight for, even when everyone else tells you the smart thing it to give it up. When you sell a story like this it makes all the hard work and blind faith worthwhile, too. And this is that one for me. Not the book of my heart, but the book of my dreams.

Her Ladyship's Curse, the first novel in my Disenchanted & Company urban fantasy series, will be released in August next year by Pocket Star. For more details and a few chuckles, head over to SF Signal, which has the exclusive announcement here.

NaNoWriMo 2012 Begins

Happy NaNoWriMo 2012 to everyone! Now, stop reading this and go do your writing for the day. Ha.

As promised I've uploaded on Google Docs the novel synopsis/backstory/world overview and chapter summaries for Taken by Night, my NaNoWriMo novel. These are the sort of notes I work from when I write so they're written and formatted for my personal convenience. I have tried to keep most of the details of the plot twists a surprise, but if you don't want to know in advance what I'll be writing, obviously don't visit these links.

I will be posting whatever I write each day over on the Stories blog in two versions; first draft and post-edit. I'll mark the post-edit in such a way so that anyone interested can easily see the revisions I make. I'll also share some insights on how my writing day went along with daily updates on my wordcount. Links will be posted on the sidebar under my NaNoWriMo web badge.

To give myself some breathing room I've put the photblog on hiatus for the month of November. I'll try to keep PBW updated daily, but I have two other novels to work on besides the NaNo novel. If all combined it proves too much for me to keep up with I'll probably scale back posting here to two or three days per week. For now we'll see how it goes.

Good luck to everyone who is joining in, and here we go!

Wishing You

NaNoWriMo Countdown: Final Prep

Yesterday I went to a craft festival and spent a couple of hours making rounds of the booths and finding some treasures. I also soaked up all the good vibes radiating from the artists and their creations. One glassmaker and I talked for a few minutes about direction and vision and realization, and how weird and wonderful the path is that takes us from dreaming to living the dream. Our arts are completely different but as artists we followed our hearts in the same ways. It was a bit like meeting a sibling I didn't know I had.

Something I noticed as I made my way through the aisles were the artists who were demonstrating. There is something amazing about watching someone practice their art in public. You get a decidedly rare glimpse of techniques in action, the sort of materials they use and the steps they take from idea to finished piece. Some I understood, others completely mystified me. I noted that the demonstrating artists often had helpers mind the booth and the browsers while they worked, and yet they never seemed to mind stopping work on their piece for a few seconds to answer a question or accept a compliment.

I'm about to spend thirty days writing virtually in public but I haven't considered my project from the observer's point of view. I've always assumed when I talk about my work that everyone who listens is on the same frequency, but that's not really possible. I do things that even I don't really understand, such as planning out basically everything with a story but writing dialogue spontaneously, which must seem illogical. No, it is illogical, but I do it because I've learned over the years that this planned/unplanned approach produces the best results for me. Anyway, it gave me a lot to ponder.

Some of you may still be on the fence about whether or not to join in NaNoWriMo, and you've got another day to decide before the madness begins. I wanted to talk to you fence people today because I think of all the writers out there you're the ones who are most often neglected. It's all well and good for me to natter on about writing a novel in November; I'm a pro, I've published, I can write a book in the shower (not really, but I'm rather fond of that myth) etc. I'm going to sit my virtual booth here and show off all month while I do what surely I must be able to do in my sleep.

Maybe some of that is true, but what you don't see is what's in my head right now. So here's a peek: I don't know if I can do it. I've never written these characters or operated in this world. I'm prepared but certainly I could be better prepared. I haven't color-coded everything to death yet. Sure, it's an interesting idea, but what if I fumble it? What if my mojo stops working? What if life decides to make mine miserable from 11/1 to 11/30? I have to revise another book and promote a third during November; what if I fall behind and can't finish? What if everyone hates it? What am I going to do if I screw this up? I'm a professional, for God's sake. What was I thinking?

Yes, despite all my experience and publishing glory I am just like any other storyteller. I worry, I doubt myself, and that blank page scares the daylights out of me. I'm no different from you. Right now, at this very moment, if I could call it quits I probably would. It's too much for anyone to handle. I can do this next year. Give me a day and I can definitely talk myself out of the whole mess.

I won't do that. You know how Adele supposedly throws up right before she goes on stage to perform? Same thing. We're doing the same thing right now, you and I, we're puking. Okay, mentally, but it's just as bad. So have at it: question yourself, ridicule yourself, beat yourself up, whatever it takes to get it out of your system before Thursday. Then come and join me on November 1st and do this thing. Don't think about it, do it. Because that is the difference between those who publish and those who don't. We're all nervous and doubtful and dark, we writers; it's part of why we're so good at what we do. What separates the wannabes from the pros is the courage to write in spite of anything and everything, most especially ourselves. And that's the one thing I can't teach you; you have to find it on your own. I believe we all have it in us; it's simply waiting to be found. I can tell you this much: when you do discover part of yourself, and you make that the reason you write, nothing will stop you. Not even you.

If that doesn't convince you, I have one thing for you to read. Tim Kim and the folks at NaNoWriMo's Office of Letters and Light were kind enough to lend me some space on their blog to write about another NaNoWriMo experience of mine, which you can read here.

NaNoWriMo Countdown Ten

Ten Things to Help with NaNoWriMo

If you want to define a character's traits in 26 words, try my ABCharacter method.

Make a deck of character trading cards for the cast of your novel.

Registering for a free account with Evernote freeware can give you a handy online spot to store your bookmarks, research, notes and other story-related ephemera tidy.

Back in the days when we used to have an all-day writing Q&A every Friday here at PBW I created an index by category with links to all the visitor questions and my answers; one or more of these might answer some of yours.

To see what has changed since the last time you visited (or even to visit it for the first time) take a virtual tour of your real-life setting by using Google Maps with Street View.

To find a name for a character try
Rev up your imagination by creating color palettes for your story and/or your characters.

Polyvore's online free editing tool can help you create collages of inspirational visuals for your characters, setting or other elements of your story; see my write-up on it here.

To warm up your fingers (and find out how fast you type) try taking a one-minute online typing test like this one.

Explore your story concept in cloud fashion with my method of Wordle Scribing.