Hûw Steer's Blog, page 29

Lockdown 2: Isolation Boogaloo #3 – The Bar Fight Method

As Untitled Blackbird and the Ghost Book 2 grows ever-larger and further out of my actual control, I’ve been struggling a little to create a world that feels real. But I do, thankfully, have a trio of what seem like very nicely-formed characters on my hands, and in my view it’s good characters that are the most important part of any story. Better than plot, better than setting – the best characters are the ones who you can basically drop in any setting you like – the ones who will pick themselves up, look around, and make the plot happen themselves.

The introduction of a character is the most important moment in their story. That’s where you have to sum up who they are and what they do in just a few words, where you have to hook the reader as best you can. The introduction is often the absolute make or break – if you’re going to make an audience care about a character, you need to do it when they first meet.

I once wrote an essay back in college about character introductions. I talked about The Dark Tower, and I think I talked about Neuromancer. What I didn’t talk about, because there was a very low word limit, was what I was then convinced was the absolute best way to introduce a character (and what I still think is a pretty good intellectual exercise for figuring out how a character ticks): the bar fight. This section didn’t end up in the essay. But I wrote it anyway.

So, here you go. Please forgive me. I wrote most of this when I was 17, and while I’ve tweaked a few bits it’s still mostly in that voice. I hope I’ve improved as a writer since then…

Every writer has his or her own favourite method of introducing a character. Some use a long, descriptive paragraph which sets out some of the character’s particular traits. Others use a single sentence which sums up the personality of that character, and allow more depth to be explored as the narrative progresses, like Stephen King in the Dark Tower. Some writers will introduce a character from the perspective of others, like Mario Puzo’s introduction of Don Corleone in The Godfather, and some will provide a situation in which the prudent aspects of a character are revealed through the reader’s own observation. I tend towards the latter – and one of my favourite situations in which to place a new character is a bar fight.

A bar fight reveals many different things about a character. Firstly, the period before the fight can be used to show how the character behaves in a relaxed environment – i.e. the pub. Many aspects of the personality can be shown in the way the character reacts to their surroundings – are they relaxed and conversational, or content to sit alone in a quiet corner? Their social status can be measured by the friends they arrive with – or do not arrive with – and how they interact with the other patrons. Another important thing to look for is what the character is drinking. They might be teetotal, or they might be downing shots of whiskey left and right – but, if so, why? Are they trying to impress friends or romantic interests, or is their drink simply their favourite poison? How drunk is the character, and for what reason – sadness, pleasure, or a special occasion? By showing the reader these aspects of a character, the writer can provide an underlying personality to that character in a very commonplace environment.

Secondly, a bar fight shows how a character deals with the imminent fight – do they antagonise their opponents, or do they try for a peaceful solution – or do they ignore the situation altogether, and stick to their drink? This allows the writer to display the inherent aggressiveness of their character, as well as the extent of their wit and cunning. If the character insults someone, is it crude or devastatingly silver-tongued? Importantly, were they the one to start the fight, and if so, how? Are they capable of using mere words to incite violence? This also allows the writer to begin showing the relative bravery of their character, by showing whether that character’s reaction to imminent violence is one of avoidance or acceptance, or even aggravation.

Thirdly, and important most of all in the fantasy genre, is the character any good at fighting? The reaction to the outbreak of violence can be used to show an inherent skill with most fighting styles, or an inherent tendency to be rubbish. The fight itself can show how a character is affected by alcohol; whether the lowered inhibitions improve their reactions and increase their ferocity, or whether the character is so drunk that they can’t walk in a straight line. If the character is some kind of master swordsman and martial artist, their willingness to use their skills on a possibly drunken adversary can be used to show innate aggressive tendencies or, indeed, a more peaceful nature and a reluctance to use force. This reluctance can then be exploited by careful use of insults, attacks and numbers of opponents to find the breaking point of the character’s reluctance to act, either by direct insults to the character themselves or by attacking others – is the character willing to step in to aid someone else, thus showing an altruistic or protective aspect of their personality? This last point is extremely important in introducing a hero, who will usually step in to help the weak, or an antihero, who will most likely do nothing and carry on drinking.

Finally comes the aftermath of the fight. The way in which the character reacts to having won – or lost – is important to obtaining a full picture of their persona. If the character wins, are they magnanimous in victory, seeking to help their defeated opponent, or will they leave him in the dust? The ‘help’ can be a simple hand, a round of drinks bought or something similar. Equally, is the character gracious in defeat, accepting the helping hand or reprimand and doing something equally charitable, or are they angry, upset, or vengeful? Some characters might seek to use underhand methods to gain a dirty victory after the fight seems over. Some characters may be forced to react to such methods, and whether they use violence or words to avoid such an attack gives further insight into their character.

A bar fight is a way to show off showing almost every aspect of a character – their courage, their social interactions, their honour, pride and kindness. Perhaps especially useful in fantasy, it brings out the best – and worst – in the complex nature of the human being.

New Story – Shoreline of Infinity

Issue 19 of Scotland’s fines SF magazine Shoreline of Infinity launches on the 30th… and, by some strange clerical error, I appear to be in it.

[image error]All image credit to Shoreline. Fantastic art.

‘Blank Slates’ is very nearly a classic futuristic bank heist… nearly. This team of thieves never liked each other to begin with… and they like each other even less when they’re all stuck in the same head. The story’s also been given some beautiful illustrations by the excellent Tsu – it’s a beautiful visualisation and I can’t wait to see it in print.

I’m really excited to get my hands on this. If you want to read it too, you can pre-order the magazine at Shoreline‘s website here, in print or digitally. Release is November 30th.

I’m excited. Hope some of you are too.

And it’s out the week after my birthday, which is a very nice surprise present indeed.

Lockdown 2: Isolation Boogaloo #2 – Something Out of Nothing

The Borderlands series, among other things, is frequently praised for its wacky humour and surprisingly serious storytelling. It’s a great blend of over-the-top action and well-realised characters.

Or at least that’s what I’m told. Because until this week the only game in the series I’d played was the original. And the story in the first Borderlands… doesn’t really exist.

There is a lot of great worldbuilding. The giant corporations that ominously pull strings in the background, the gangs of raiders who ravage Pandora, the concept of the mysterious and invaluable Vaults – all of that is really nicely set up in the game. Those few characters who you can actually talk to and have conversations with about the world hint at further background too; arms dealers and bandits and dodgy doctors. The environments are gorgeous too, and huge. The setting – the world – is well-constructed.

But it feels… empty. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing – in contrast to the zany, over-the-top humour of the later games, the atmosphere of the original Borderlands is bleak. You wander alone across a colossal wasteland on a selfish quest, gunning down bandits and wild beasts and mercenaries. You have few friends, and those you do have honestly aren’t really friends at all – they’re just vendors who are better off doing business with you than trying to kill you. Borderlands is dark. It’s desolate. When you get shot and die (and you do, often), you die alone.

[image error]It’s big, it’s bleak, and it’s brilliant.

But there’s also really not much of a plot to go in this bleak world. There is a main questline, revolving around you trying to get to the Vault and some other people trying to get there first, but you can play for whole stretches of the game without encountering a mainline mission, and when you do you might not even realise it. When cutscenes do pop up and give you a little burst of story, they’re ok. But they’re nothing special. The actual plot of Borderlands is practically nonexistent. Which, again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it’s a sandbox game, where you just go out and shoot stuff and get loot and repeat.

But I was always confused when people praised the storytelling in the rest of the series – because I never really saw any.

Then I started Tales From The Borderlands. And I found it.

I’ll clarify at the start that I’ve only just started the game – I’m one episode in – but what a start. The game brings in its core cast – wannabe cut-throat executive Rhys and his friends – straight away, not wasting time on anything but the bare minimum of background before they’re hurling themselves into an elaborate scheme to steal a priceless alien artefact and get one over on their murderous boss. It helps that the voice acting is also brilliant – including none other than Patrick Warburton, voice of Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, as the aforementioned arsehole boss.

[image error]Oh yeah. It’s all coming together.

Obviously, a game format that’s literally narrative with a few quick-time events is set up to have storytelling leaps and bounds ahead of most other games (not that all such games do, of course), but it’s still an amazing contrast – and it shows the importance of that initial worldbuilding. If I hadn’t played Borderlands, if I didn’t know what Pandora was like, what the endless risks of walking around that world were and how incredible the rewards could be, then Tales‘ introduction wouldn’t have had anything like as much meaning.

It also helps that Rhys and the other characters (well, not all of them, but I don’t want to spoil anything here…) are ‘everymen’. They’re executives, living and working on a floating satellite near-paradise, safe and happy. They’ve never been down to Pandora, smelled the dust and tasted the blood. Their violent introduction to the ‘real’ world of Borderlands mirrors that of the people who’ve played the original game. You get off the bus, you have two seconds to look around, and then you’re knee-deep in spent shells and wiping blood off your hands before you have time to think. Tales gives Rhys and co. the same introduction. When you play through it, you can sympathise. After all, you did the same, once upon a time.

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This is what good writing is all about. You build a proper world: countries, locations, myths and legends; you flavour it with stories that you only have to hint at – because no real world has answers to every question, and nor should a fictional one. And then you take some characters, some really good characters, and you drop them in it and see what happens. That’s storytelling. At least it’s one way of doing it – and coincidentally it’s the way I like to do it.

Borderlands laid the groundwork. It built the world, and it did it well – and then Tales started telling an actual story. And it’s a good one.

Lockdown 2: Isolation Boogaloo #1 – The First Four Days

4 days of lockdown done, only 24 more to go… I’ve not been up to all that much (what a surprise!), but here’s a little update.

Like many of you, I imagine, I’ve been somewhat glued to the BBC this week waiting for anything to happen with the US election. Very relieved to see a Biden win; looking forward to the inevitable drama of Donald’s refusal to leave.

I also finished – for the first time – the original Ratchet and Clank. I spent most of my playthrough really enjoying the game, and how different it felt to its sequels – lots more puzzles, very different combat – and wondering why I never actually finished it. Then I got to the final boss, and good god was it an absolute pain. Limited ammo drops, weapons that don’t upgrade – only some of which are remotely useful – very limited health, and no checkpoints. About 20 runs through the whole sequence later (and a little help from an exploit that let me sort of checkpoint myself), I managed it. Very satisfying. Now on to R&C 2 again.

[image error]Get rekt, Drek.

As predicted, my LEGO workshops are off for the foreseeable future – though the smaller of the two might be able to run next week. It’s my first week away from the shop in a long time, and I miss it already. Hopefully I’ll be able to go up next week. There’s an awful lot of LEGO that needs sorting, and this seems like a good time to get on with it!

Other than that, I’ve been plugging away at Boiling Seas 2 – they’re in the jungle now (finally!) – and doing some painting. Managed to get hold of the paints I needed last Sunday, and so I’m cracking on with my Guardsmen to see if I can finish them all by the time life opens up again.

Next week, hopefully, video game news will take a more narrative form…

Missives from Isolation #18 – Why Did This Title Have To Become Accurate Again

Well, I’d clearly gotten too used to occasionally leaving the house. Back into lockdown it is.

It’s frustrating on many levels (as I’m sure it is for everyone) – the LEGO workshops I run probably won’t be able to take place for a while, which will be another setback for some of the kids (and mean I don’t get to go out and play with them). Last lockdown we lost a lot of progress. Hopefully this one really does stay just one month. I’m used to working from home, at least, though I’d also gotten used to going into the office once a week… there goes that too. Lockdown will also be covering my birthday, which is probably the greatest annoyance for me personally.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though – or at least I’m going to try not to let it be – I was getting depressed enough as it was. I just need to find a few more things to do. I’ve got some craft stuff I’ve been meaning to get to for a while, and I’m going to swing by Games Workshop later today to grab a few paints – can’t think of a better opportunity to crack on and finish my old Imperial Guard models.

I also think it’s high time I played Mass Effect 3. In fact it might just be narrative videogame time – Tales from the Borderlands is also sitting in my Steam library waiting to go, as is Spec Ops: The Line. They’ll probably make for a blog or two in the coming weeks, so if you like that sort of thing stay tuned!

I will also, of course, still be writing – and if I can bring myself to do it, editing.

What are you going to do with your lovely lockdown time, if you’re in the UK?

If you’re stuck for ideas, might I suggest reading a book, or perhaps two?

What Are YOU Reading?

I don’t actually interact with you, dear readers, nearly as often as I should – and I can’t think of any way to get to know you better than by asking about books. So let’s give it a go, shall we?

What are you reading right now? Is it any good? Is it from a genre you normally read, or are you taking a plunge into something new?

I’m currently back on the Horus Heresy, after Iain M. Banks’ The Algebraist fried my mind a bit. Currently on Vengeful Spirit, which is shaping up to be a very nice piece of light and easy brutal superhuman future-warfare with a side order of stealth missions and a garnish of political intrigue.

What are you reading? Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it.

Missives from Isolation #17 – Being a Kid

I’m the first to admit that my inner child isn’t really inner. Seldom is this more apparent than the fact that I spend every Saturday building LEGO with a group of actual human children for the Toy Project. Even with social distancing (which for a workshop designed to help kids socialise is a massive pain) it’s great fun, and the regular attendees are becoming some of my best friends.

Also, I get to play with LEGO, which is honestly just as therapeutic for me as it is for the kids. I spend a few hours letting go of everything except what I’m building, and at the end of it there’s a tangible something there, that I’ve made with my own two hands and what passes for my brain.

[image error]All 6 Toa Mata. My 6-year-old self is very happy indeed. My 8-year-old self is just as ecstatic with the 6 Rahkshi downstairs.

Yesterday, though, I had an even bigger wave of nostalgia, because this box got brought in.

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I spent half my childhood playing Yu-Gi-Oh with my cousins. We had little tournaments, we traded cards, we were all annihilated by my oldest cousin thanks to his loose interpretations of deckbuilding rules, and we had fun. I’ve dabbled in newer cards since upon occasion, but nothing’s ever quite hit the same nostalgic spot as the old stuff, the cards that were new when I was young.

And this box is full of them. The very first deck I bought – the very first deck released in the English language – is in there. I haven’t had a chance to search through the whole collection (because it’s enormous) to find every single card from it, but it’s definitely mostly there, and it’s still in the (battered) original box!

I love moments like this. You pick up an old book, or an old toy, and suddenly it all comes flooding back. Proper nostalgic overload. It’s one of my favourite feelings, and I seek it out wherever I can find it. Volunteering at the Toy Project provides plenty of it.

So, basically, if you feel like being a kid again, embrace it. It’s good for you.

Short Story: Grey

It rained a lot last week. I had a bit of writer’s block, so instead of floundering with the novel I wrote about it instead.

If you want to read it, you can do so here. Enjoy.

Rejections; Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Keep Writing

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer in possession of many stories is going to get rejected approximately 1000 times before anything they’ve worked on sees the public light of day.

I’ve been writing seriously for quite a long time now, and I’ve got the word-count to prove it – if you add up all the short stories and books and other random stuff I’ve done since I started writing every day then it cracks a million words pretty easily. It’s a lot. And though most of it desperately needs editing before I dare show it to anyone remotely professional, I think a lot of my stories are pretty good. And when I write something I think is good, I want to see if anyone else thinks so – so off it goes into the aether, there to be judged by the unknowable eldritch creatures that are editors.

And 99% of the time, or thereabouts, it gets rejected. And that is fine.

I’ve thrown a lot of short stories out at the world, and I’ve had a go with a couple of books too. I’ve submitted work to dozens of magazines and anthologies and competitions, and I do mean multiple dozens. It’s all been good writing, at least in my opinion and those of my poor proofreaders. But I get rejected. A lot. I’ve been published a few times, yes, but for every success I have so many failures. If you click that link and go to my short stories page, scroll to the bottom. All of those ‘Unpublished’ stories have been round the houses, been submitted to every magazine and anthology I could think of. They’ve all failed. They were (hopefully) decent writing, but they didn’t go anywhere.

I’ve failed more times than I can count. Literally. I can fit my short story successes on one hand, but my rejections barely fit on my collection of severed ones outnumber them completely.

[image error]This is a few years of submissions on Submittable alone – not including three or four times as many that have gone through Moksha or directly to magazines.

But I keep going. I keep writing new stories, and I keep submitting the old ones (probably for far longer than is strictly wise). Because if one story isn’t right for a publisher, maybe the next one will be – and the first one might be right for someone else.

I was lucky enough to have that proven recently, when a story I’d almost given up on unexpectedly found a home with a publisher I’d been rejected from half a dozen times already. It was a pleasant surprise, not just because it proved that what I thought was good writing actually might be, but also because it proved that perseverance works.

Don’t give up. Sometimes it takes time to find the right place for your work. If you stop trying, you’ll never know for sure.

Upstarts and Rogues

We all love a loveable rogue. The clue is kind of in the name. Fantasy probably has the highest ratio of thieves, vagabonds and generally roguish men and women to normal folk of all, and there are plenty of excellent books featuring such stalwart scoundrels.

But where can you go to find such treacherous tomes? If only there was an upcoming promotion that gathered 24 of the finest indie fantasy books, bringing a whole bevy of bastards together in common cause – and bringing all their prices down to just a handful of coins?

Surprise! There is! Upstarts and Rogues is that very promotion: 24 books, all featuring, well, upstarts and rogues of all stripes (including several past SPFBO alumni), and all reduced to the bargain price of just £0.99.

[image error]Artwork by Rebecca Gallant.

Among those books is The Blackbird and the Ghost. Tal Wenlock might not like to call himself a thief, but archaeologists don’t tend to carry lockpicks, and though he’s loveable he’s definitely a bit of a rogue.

(Ok so it’s technically always £0.99, not just during this sale, but still. Books.)

If you’re after a fresh fix of banditry, conmanship or dodgy derring-do, then this is just what you need. Visit the Upstarts and Rogues website to see the full range of rogues you can get to know!

The sale runs for a week, starting on Tuesday the 29th, so dig out your wallets – but keep a tight hold on them, or you might find you’re a bit more out of pocket than you expected…