R.A. Nelson's Blog, page 10

Unicorns: Where Tom Cruise Meets J. K. Rowling

Writing the tale of the Unicorn was, as they say, a horse of a different color.

As I described in my post on Genre-Bending, my new novel The Ancient seeks to reimagine the mythology of several fantastical creatures. In most cases, as with the Centaur and the Dragon, this meant taking a beast maligned in most human thought and writing a tale that could explain not only the creature’s true nature, but also how the corruption might conceivably have occurred. With the Unicorn, however,...

Novel Thoughts

I am in the midst of editing The Ancient, friends, so this will be brief.

First: good news! I’ve read through the whole thing once, and . . . I like it. I really, really like it. I was crying so hard at the end that I could barely see to read. This is more than mildly encouraging.

Second: someone asked me recently if this book is a collection of short stories. I realized that the tidbits I’ve been sharing on the blog might lead one to believe that, so I wanted to clarify the nature o...

Birth: A Writer’s Memoir

Reader, I finished it.

A few days ago, I took the day off my online teaching job so I could visit a nearby monastery for a writing retreat. The plan was to attend some of the monks’ daily services, eat, and WRITE. I wanted to get as close as possible to finishing The Ancient; I dared not hope that I would actually finish it, but I was glad to know that I would be writing the climactic events in such a fitting and wondrous setting.

I typed the final words just as the bell...

A Musical Interlude

We’re in the thick of it now, friends.

By “it”, I mean the final stages of writing my next novel, The Ancient.

If you’ve been following the blog recently, you’ve received quite a few previews of this upcoming tale. The last few weeks have introduced you to some of the characters: the Dragon, the Centaur, and the Griffin, so far. I have others for you to meet; but, in this moment, I really need to get back to work on the book itself. We have finally reached that part of the outline to...

Here There Be Dragons

Someday, I am going to write a very long thank-you note to Cressida Cowell.

For those of you who have never made the acquaintance of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and his adorably disobedient Dragon, Toothless, your day of jubilation has come. Here they are! Meet them! Love them! Eat, drink, and be merry! (And be quick, or the food will vanish rapidly. ‘Sharing’ is not one of Toothless’s strong points.)

This story is one of those great instances wherein I can enjoy the bo...

Centaurs: NOT Just Party Ponies

Centaurs are seriously misunderstood creatures.

Not universally, of course. C. S. Lewis understood them, as he did a great many other things. I first met Centaurs in Narnia, and it was “Jack’s” description that shaped my imagination regarding these creatures:

“ . . . and at last, breaking and trampling the thickets, there came in sight the noblest creatures that Caspian had yet seen, the great Centaur Glenstorm and his three sons. His flanks were glossy chestnut and the...

This Novel Is Brought to You by Griffins

It all started with a griffin. Love.

As I mentioned in my recent post Myth Matters, I have a bit of a “thing” for griffins. A fetish, if you will. I’m not sure whence it comes, but it might have something to do with the seriously badass* Narnia griffin generals portrayed in the 2005 cinematic reimagining of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

*I apologize for the language, but let’s be real: when you give me an eagle crossed with a lion and then put that regal creatu...

Diary of a Convalescent Soul

In the third book of the Gatekeeper trilogy, our heroine Anna Merritt has this conversation with her new friend, Sherry:

     “But how does the living get better?”
     “It does, Anna. I can’t explain it any better than that. The Trumans know just how to treat our unique strain of soul-sickness. For those of us who will keep on rushing headlong through life and are in grave danger of burning ourselves out, the Trumans prescribe the one medicine we find most dreadful: time.”
     Anna...

Genre-Bending and Other Daring Endeavors

Who here has seen that all too short-lived Nickelodeon classic Avatar: The Last Airbender?

I’m not talking about the 2009 James Cameron film Avatar starring Zoe Saldana as a blue alien princess, nor about the 2010 M. Night Shyamalan film The Last Airbender, though the latter was (allegedly) based on the show of which I speak. No; I’m talking about the cartoon which ran 2003-2008 and starred the voice talents of Dante Basco (“Rufeo! Rufeo! Rufeooooooo…”), among others.

If...

Home-Work; or, Poetry Strikes Again

Working from home can be a tricky business.

Someone asked me the other day how the whole writing thing works – how it plays out in the day-to-day. She observed that it must be difficult to stay disciplined in a job that is so entirely self-motivated, particularly one that isn’t yet making money.

It was a good chance to reflect on my strategy. I teach online in the mornings, and the afternoons are devoted to writing. I try to treat it as an actual job and keep that time protected. Th...