K.S. Nikakis's Blog, page 3

The Dangers of Drag

Some time in 2011-12, I decided to write an 'angels trilogy'. It was my first major creative project after The Kira Chronicles, with the intervening time taken up with continuously re-writing my Ph.D novel and (unsuccessfully) pitching it.

The angels trilogy would be my first project where I had to come up with the plot, rather than draw on something long gestating. I was excited and increasingly thrilled as the story evolved, the joy of discovery one of the key benefits of pantsering (there are lots pitfalls too).

By the end of 2012, I was confidently pitching Book 1. None of the major (or minor) publishers were interested. The story of my young Australian protagonist Viv, a street kid in search of her mother and of redemption, and the parallel interwoven stories of three angels seeking transcendence, didn't fit the models of the 'fallen, demonic angel wreaking havoc' or the 'hot new guy in a New York college who turns out to be an angel' or the 'tragic interrupted love story through the ages', all of which are popular but not the Deep Fantasy I write.

I eventually got an offer from a small US publisher with a contract I declined. Then I was 'conned' into NaNoWriMo, which I had never heard of and decided it would be a good vehicle for a stand alone that had bugged me for a good number of years. It took almost a year of rewrites to launch The Third Moon--as an Indie.

Which took me to October 2014. NaNoWriMo had opened my eyes to how quickly I could write (at least for a month) and I wondered if I could come up with a story idea as well, and write it in a month. Yes I could, and yes I did, but again it took me close to a year to launch The Emerald Serpent. Wrangling Amazon also took lots of time (my age makes me a digital immigrant not a native).

Which took me to 2015. Knowing my angels weren't the angels beloved of publishers, and having dipped my toe into Indie publishing, I worked on splitting Book 1, and the half of Book 2 I had, into what I thought would be a six part series, mainly because series have advantages in Indie land.

Once I shook off the 'publishers want trilogies' mindset, and woke up to the fact I was the publisher, and when I had finished cheering at the freedom this gave me, I decided a five book series would a better fit for the story arc.

By this stage, my angel story had been in (interrupted) process five years. A lot of 2016 was spent on sick leave, too exhausted to write productively, but as I clawed my health back, my writing pace picked up, and Book 2 Angel Breath and Book 3 Angel Bone joined Book 1 Angel Blood in the world. Book 4 Angel Bound followed early 2017.

Then I started the final Book - Angel Blessed and got what some writers call writer's block. I wrote every day but didn't know how I was going to use 60,000 words to pull the previous 240,000 word story arc together. I was tired, fed up, and under siege from other stories which had had plenty of time to gestate and now demanded action.

Some writers can write multiple works in parallel. I'm not one of them. Even dragging myself back into the primary world is sometimes difficult. I have been known to wander around the kitchen speaking like my protagonist.

Another problem with drawing out a single work for so long, is that I now want to write in a different style. I think all writers want their next book to be 'better' than their last, and this includes prose, but I can' t change voice in mid series.

Long time periods present other problems if you're a pantser. I don't have chapter outlines, plot plans or anything else. I have a story dating from 2011 stored in my head (and on scraps of paper) and that raises issues with coherence and consistency which gobble up time being addressed.

Unless you're ill, I'm not a believer in writer's block. There is a solution to every plot problem, even though it might be poor and you hate it. My Angel Caste series can end in a number of ways, but obviously I want to tie up the plot threads powerfully and satisfyingly.

After three or four weeks of low productivity (and swearing), the story took off again until early August when (lucky me), I went off to WorldCon in Finland, followed by travel through Iceland, Denmark and Greece. Then I returned and spent two weeks in bed with the flu (unlucky me). So, a six week interruption which returned me to pseudo writer's block again, which took another four weeks to throw off.

I'm now halfway through Book 5 Angel Blessed, the last in the series and determined to launch before Christmas. I am also determined to never again let a project drag out for this amount of time. There are too many other stories to be written.

Writing through the Dead Times

I've said before that I don't 'believe' in writer's block, because I believe that unless you are unwell, you can always write something, but I certainly believe in 'dead' writing times. These are times when even staying awake can be an effort, let alone dredging up ideas and half decent sentences. For me, these times are usually between 2 pm and 4 pm. Dead times can come at the end of a book too, although these ones are often due to exhaustion.

The 2 - 4 afternoon slump is pretty well known in a range of jobs, not just in writing, but given how time-strapped most writers are (because they are cribbing time before and after paid employment), the notion of 'wasting' the time they do have can be very stressful.

So, what to do? Most writers have other responsibilities in addition to paid employment, like housework, so quit the desk and go sweep, scrub and wipe. I sometimes do that, but prefer to put these into my 'move my body to stave off death by sitting' breaks. So, when I get a cuppa, I empty the dishwasher, or sweep up, or clean the loo. A series of 10 min breaks knocks off a lot of these jobs. It also takes the pressure off getting that next sentence, paragraph, page down, and so reduces stress.

There is also the much maligned time-waster of social media. If blogging, catching up on relevant blogs, surfing the net, or researching a story idea are on the agenda, do them in the dead times. This refreshes the brain, and is encouraging, especially if you are collecting things for the next project. Even if you look at nothing obviously 'relevant' on social media, serendipitous things can pop up there, or elsewhere away from your desk.

I was slumped in front of the TV last night when a program appeared on the dichotomy, or lack of dichotomy on a cellular level, between males and females. This happens to be relevant to a queued project of mine, so suddenly I am sponging this stuff up like a very dry wettex.

If you want to stay at your desk, and keep off social media, then music can be helpful, as can images. I find both really influential in my writing, in fact, sometimes it produces the whole story. Check out my website: www.ksnikakis.com to see the music that influenced my finished books.

Today, during my dead time, I went onto Youtube and listened to music by Alan Stivell, a Breton folk singer. I was a big fan of his (and of Steeleye Span in the 1970's [showing my age here]) and have his music on vinyl, which isn't useful, as I no longer have a record player.

However, listening to his familiar songs produced the usual grab for scrap paper and mad scribbling. I now have several more parts of the outline for a future project. I also looked at some images on Google, for the same project, which again produced more notes. Even though the project is queued until mid next year, being able to start research for it now, is really exciting and motivating. It's also guilt free, because I'm doing it in my dead time not when I 'should be writing'.

The dead time might only be dead for your current project and actually be very useful for future projects, even ones no more than a shadow in your brain.


So, happy dead writing time.

Writing and Resting

This week I completed two major projects: my website: http://www.ksnikakis.com and Angel Caste Book 4 - Angel Bound.

The website is now active; the book is now launched.

I've been working on the website for a long time with my son (I'm not pretending I have a lot of tech skills), and have two previous versions floating around on the web before I sorted out I wrote Deep Fantasy and exactly what that meant.

Angel Bound marks my 7th, independently published book, and The Kira Chronicles trilogy is still out there, so that makes 10 published fiction books (I also have a nonfiction book). The editing, augmentation and relaunch of The Kira Chronicles trilogy as a series, is my first project for 2018. From September to Christmas 2017 is marked down to complete Angel Blessed, the final in the Angel Caste series. I presently do not have a single word written.

As part of the Angel Caste Book 4 - Angel Bound, I have a free download of my Deep Fantasy short story - The Gift. The download will shortly be offered in all of my ebooks.

There was a fair bit of work involved in putting this offer together: editing the story, editing and sorting the cover; setting up MailChimp; ensuring the links worked (again down to my wonderful tech support).

During the last couple of weeks I have also worked to get bookmarks designed and printed to take with me to WorldCon in Helsinki (where I am serving on three panels), and am still working on novel extracts for the postcards I'm taking. I've been managing my first ever giveaway on Goodreads as well. If you are interested in the chance to get a free pcopy of The Emerald Serpent, get in before July 31.

I have been working on Angel Bound for over three months, but the rest of these activities have ramped up in the last month or so, (along with a bit of voluntary and paid employment) and I've found myself getting increasingly tired. Part of the impetus to write for long hours has been the fly-out date for WorldCon, but it is also the understanding that if you independently publish, you need to be very serious about your work hours. Mine can be up to 10 hours a day.

It does raise the question about becoming stale, burned out, or ill. Resting as part of a writing life is about keeping well, but it is also about nurturing creativity. My intention was to take a break between Angel Bound and the last book, because there are a lot of publishing/marketing activities I need to do, but also to give the last book some time to brew. I'm now over 300,000 words into this series, so obviously have a broad idea of how it concludes, but of course you need the finer detail to ensure a powerful resolution.

The odd thing is though, that I'm finding it hard not to open a new file called Angel Blessed and type Chapter 1. I'm not sure whether this is because I've spent so long with these characters and their struggles, I feel disloyal in being away from them, or whether writers actually rest by writing. Time will tell.

Wonder Woman and Deep Fantasy

I'll start with a spoiler alert if you haven't seen the film, and a confession that I've only seen the Gal Gadot version of Wonder Woman, and nothing else in the DC extended universe, or the comics for that matter. I simply went to the cinema, sat down, and watched the film through my Deep Fantasy-inclined eyes. And this is what emerged.

This could equally be Chris Pine's story. He flies along in his plane (mechanical/non-instinctual/logos/higher-rational thought) and is shot down. He plunges into the sea (water is commonly the unconscious). He cannot free himself from his rational/logos self. His mechanical device (linked to this rational state) traps him.

Diana Prince releases him, but both are in the unconscious. She is his anima. The unconscious (ocean/hidden island in the ocean) is her realm.

When he is shot down, she is on the cliff, gazing out to sea. Yearning for what? (Her animus, in fact). She is ready for change. Think Luke Skywalker stuck on his desert planet before the droids turn up.

The aim of both Diana Prince and Chris Pine is to become whole - integrate their anima and animus, that is, transcend them.

On the island, Chris Pine is literally stripped bare. Even his father's watch ceases to tick (father/animus/mechanical device/conscious time).

They leave the island via windpower and water. They enter the animus world via engines/mechanical devices. The pristine blue of the natural instinctual world (anima) gives way to the grey military world of the animus.

Both the female hero (Diana Prince) and the male hero (Chris Pine) are heroes because they undertake the hero journey of becoming whole. The dichotomy is spelled out clearly for Diana Prince. Made of clay, animated by divine breath (ground and sky). Chris Pine is a flyer (air) but also a spy. He moves between realms as Diana does, appearing differently to different people.

Their missions are different, but they come together when they dance in the ruined town. It's suggested they join physically but it's not important, the dance does the same thing. They are in accord; they are one.

When Chris Pine flies off in the gas-laden plane, I thought he was going to crash it into the water, return to the unconscious, but of course he doesn't. He smiles before he detonates his flying bomb. He has transcended both anima and animus by bringing them together.

Diana Prince also destroys Ares from the air, but she retains Chris Pine's watch. Her hero journey is not to transcend, at least not yet. Love endures and like a true female hero, she fights for it beyond the individual level.

The dichotomy of Dr Poison is also of interest, the mask/mechanisation element covering her human frailty (scarring). Even her name is dichotomous, Dr's usually associated with healing. Lots of other lovely elements too: the sniper killing people from a church tower (that Diana Prince demolishes - gods v. religion?) and the cross-over on the gangplank of shattered men returning from the fight our male and female heroes are heading into.

And yes, I loved the film. Diana Prince was not the male hero in drag I feared she would be, and nor was Chris Pine the usual brash, over-confident, caricature of a male hero. His inarticulateness annoyed me at first, but it brilliantly illustrated the difficulties of explaining the madness of war.
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Cross-creative inspirations

I am a big fan of a number of programs that help me greatly with my writing. Some of these are on paid TV and come and go in irregular series. These include The Great Pottery Throw-down, where ameteur potters undergo a series of challenges and major builds each week, to be named potter of the week, or eliminated (think the Great British Bake-off format but with clay); Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year (where professional and amateur artists are selected from digital shots of a completed work, to complete a work in 4 hours, to win their heat and progress through the competition; and The Voice, which, for all its artifice, engages with its passion and vulnerability.

Cooking programs probably do the same, but I am less of a fan. So how are these shows helpful to my writing?

Firstly, I see the creative process in action. How the potter considers the brief; how the artist considers the brief; how the singer considers the brief. How they tackle it; their step by step processes; what they learn; their triumphs and failures, and probably most importantly, why they persist.

Secondly, over the course of the programs, I see individuals develop in their chosen art-form. This can be skills-wise and/or confidence-wise.

Thirdly, I get an insight into how quality and skill are assessed by being privy to the judges' explanations, insights, and discussions.

Fourthly, I get to experience that much over-used word passion. Artists in whatever medium are driven by passion, but passion on its own doesn't bring success. Rather it drives people to try again when their pots collapse, nerves close their throats, and time runs out with the picture incomplete.

Programs such as these not only explore the creative journey, but validate it. Recently one of the judges of Landscape Artist of the Year was reduced to tears simply by strolling amongst the 50 wildcard artists who compete, one of whom is also selected to progress. His sheer delight in those creating around him moved him profoundly, and I know what he means.

When right might be wrong

Often when I write and, I assume when other writers write, I'm faced with the choice of using the 'right' word or term, when the 'wrong' word or term is more common. There is also the issue of British v. American English words and terms. For instance, if I want to sell into the US market, and who doesn't, should I be replacing all my 'hells' with 'hecks', all my 'Gods' with 'Goshes', and all my 's's' with 'z's'?

My Deep Fantasy series, Angel Caste, has an Australian protagonist who, like many Australians, swears a lot. She doesn't use the f-word or the c-word but lots of shits, bloody's and arseholes (not the US assholes - which makes me think of donkeys). These are pretty common in the Australian vernacular, and I've avoided curses that are pretty common in US English (as far as I can tell from my visits to the US, US literature, and movies).

Even without the whole British/US English thing, there are words and terms in broad use, that are at variance to their dictionary definitions, even bearing in mind part of the wonder of language is its dynamism and malleability. This came up when I named two prominent features in my Angel Caste series: the four twisting mountains and the large pillars of crystal in Ezam Fold.

I was originally going to call the blue, red, green, and white twisting mountains Spiralai, until I checked the meaning of spiral. In common usage, you hear it said that 'people spiral into a pit of despair', or that things 'spiral out of control'. There is a clear sense of movement up or down, however, a spiral is flat. Viewed from above or below, it would look like a coiled snake, and from the side, it would be the width of the snake's body. In contrast, a helix twists up or down, so veiwed from the side, it would look like a cone, either pointing up or down. So, the four twisted mountains in Angel Caste became Helixai, but even as I named them, I wondered whether it really mattered.

Then I had to name the large pillars of crystal scattered about Ezam Fold that test the angels in various ways. Sometimes in writing, you are gifted names, and I rarely argue with the gifter (the unconscious?) when this happens. For instance, I was gifted the name At (who appears in Book 2 of Angel Caste) and knew he was also called Mad At, because of his reckless behaviour, but it took me a bit longer to work out his full name (by searching baby name lists). But when I found it, I knew it was right. (Ataghan - meaning knife).

The name that immediately came to me for the crystals was stele, which actually means a stone pillar with inscriptions carved on it. Most people would probably think of Egyption stele, which are angular stone with a pointed tip. At the time I thought 'shard' would have been more accurate, but my heart had settled on stele, so stele it is. And in a way, they do bear messages, although their messages are communicated via resonance, not through written language.

In choosing words and terms, which might be new or at variance with common usage, my main considerations are that they don't reduce the story's accessibility to the reader, and that they add to the richness of the narrative and, as a Deep Fantasy writer, to the integrity of the secondary world I'm creating.

The writer's secret 'high'

I was at a 60th birthday on the weekend when one of our friends, who rarely reads anything, but has read Books 1 and 2 in the Angel Caste series twice, and just finished Book 3 - Angel Bone, said that as he neared the end of Book 3, he wondered how I was going to pull everything together. He hadn't realised it was a series with two books to go, not a trilogy.

I laughingly admitted that I didn't know how I was going to pull it all together either, as I was a pantser. However, I assured him that it was all going to end fabulously and satisfyingly.

Even as the words left my lips, I wondered whether I was being arrogant, or worse, deluded, and that it might end up as a trainwreck, but dismissed the fear. Experience has taught me to trust what the unconscious throws up, and what the conscious 'writer's-mind' then has to deal with. The unconscious is the 'wild-child', the energy, the boundless spirit, but to make a story accessible to the reader (rather than leaving it as an indulgent, mental interlude for the writer) the conscious mind has to roll up its sleeves and impose coherence and order.

Of course, when you suddenly write something that you had no idea was coming, but more crucially, that you have no idea where it is going (taking the hi-jacked story with it), you have a choice called the delete button. It's not an option I've used but it's a nice little safety net if things go badly.

What I've found is, letting that hand-granade the unconscious has lobbed into your story do its work, is a moment of excitement that throws open the doors to new directions, and that being swept in these directions is euphoric. Yet the real high comes when you see the pattern emerge, when the random threads spinning in all directions curve, mesh, weave, create the story, knit the emotions, bring tears, laughter, heart-ache and wiser understanding. When the story comes together and works.

Allied Events - Why you should go

I was recently alerted to pacprint 2017 (incorporating Visual Impact), an expo running from 23-26 May in Melbourne, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (colloquially known as Jeff's Shed, after a former premier). This is a trade event for media/press/publishing companies selling massive laser printers, inks, laminates, films, papers, cards and the sort of allied machinery you would expect to see in very large printing businesses. There were tertiary institutions promoting related courses too.

At first glance, this doesn't seem very relevant to me as an independent writer - publisher using a small, family enterprise: SOV Media. SOV Media will not be buying this kind of equipement, nor have the production capacity this operation suggests. Even so, it is useful as a publisher to see what is out there, mainly to consider how it might impact publishing in the future.

A second glance at the program revealed that, in addition to the trade show, there were Industry Workshops and Forums. Over the three days, the workshops that caught my eye included: Print in a Digital First World; Designing for Digital; Web-to-print and Cross Media Communications are not just Cool, Nice to have Platforms.

As I only wanted to commit to one day, I looked at what each day offered in the Forums, and quickly decided I'd be spending May 23 at the expo. Forum 1 (11- 12:30) featured the keynote speaker, Steve Tighe, a futurist, who presented on the implications of the post-material world for business. Forum 2 (1:30-3:00), featured a whole panel addressing emerging innovation and the future opportunities these present, and Forum 3 (3:30-5:00) addressed strategic marketing for SME's.

I write Deep Fantasy in an era when paranormal, dystopic, urban and anything George R. R. Martin produces, rule the roost. My angel series explores the ever-shifting sands of the human and divine, not the body of the hot, new boy in class, who happens to be a fallen angel.

I no longer waste my time pitching to publishers, but nor have I managed to position my narratives effectively, as I need to as an Indie. They simply don't seem to fit anywhere--yet. But, the post-material world that we are now sliding into (have already slid into, in some instances) is highly relevant to my works and the presentation gave me the starting point I need for a rethink.

Forum 2, with its robotic room service (carries the order, accesses the lift, rings you when it arrives), 3D printing of organs, and text that also generates power, offered a lot to a speculative fiction writer. Then, the less glamorous, but absolutely essential business of marketing yourself as a SME, presented in Forum 3, really delivered a punch.

Entry was free to the expo and to all events which, given the quality of the forums, was an absolute bargain. So, my message is this: be alert to conventions, expos, and events in the broad area of writing and publishing and read the fine print. Don't miss great opportunities by assuming such events won't be relevant or useful to you.

Tag lines - the flash fiction of synopses

I recently launched my sixth deep fantasy novel The Third Moon. A few days previously, my excellent cover designer (and son) had been sitting on the couch beside me, creating the cover, when he'd asked what the tag line would be. I had completely forgotten about it, having patted myself on the back for finishing the final edit, and the front and back matter. I had to come up with something fast, and it had to be six words.

Why six words? Six words has become one of those immutable laws we creatives tend to impose on ourselves. The tag line for my first independently published book was six words, and it's almost become a part of my brand, along with the font and positioning of my name.

In fact, my first book, The Emerald Serpent, started life with no tag line at all. I only realised it should have one after it was live on Amazon. I noticed them on other books, but also curious forms of them, such as xxxx xxxx (the title) followed by the tag line 'A novel'. This seems to be more common with literary works, and seems redundant. After all, the thing is obviously not a house brick. It also seems like a missed opportunity.

One of the purposes of a tag line is to convey the emotional aspect of the story. I call tag lines 'the flash fiction of synopses' because, in a sense, they do what a synopsis does, but with even fewer words. And like a synopsis, they can be challenging to write.

My tag lines are all six words but even if I varied them, the cover design (and size) necessarily limits what I can say. I want my six words to have emotional impact, even before the reader has read the story, and even more when they understand the context. So, what have I used and why?

The Emerald Serpent: To survive, first you must Remember ...
While avoiding spoilers, the Eadar lost their memory of their old worlds of the Emerald and Serpent Ways when they innocently inter-married with Adam's folk. Their only way of surviving the Fada's murderous attacks is to Remember these worlds.

Heart Hunter: The impossible, is just the beginning ...
Fleet is set a quest where she must first pass impassable mountains, but her tribulations turn out to be far greater than that.

The Third Moon: Waking the future, Dreaming the past ...
Warrain carries his ancestors' memories of the Dreaming in his DNA, but also their murder and dispossession. To carve out a life for himself, he must integrate past and future.

Angel Caste Book 1: Angel Blood: Being divine, might not be enough ...
This focusses on Viv's discovery that being half angel, doesn't guarantee she'll find the mother she searches for.

Angel Caste Book 2: Angel Breath: To live, first you must die ...
Thris's certainties about what he must do to ascend are smashed to pieces, and he must abandon his previous thoughts and ideas, and start afresh.

Angel Caste Book 3: Angel Bone: The only way out is through ...
Ash finds himself on a spiritual journey he'd prefer not to take. As the dangers increase, he knows there's no turning back.

Angel Cast Book 4: Angel Bound: ??? This is what started me thinking about tag lines. I'm only 30% done with this book, but I've asked my cover designer to make a start, and that means I need a tag line, of ... Yes, you guessed it, six words. Wish me luck.

The Third Moon's winding road

Today I uploaded my lastest novel. The Third Moon, to Amazon. It will be available shortly, for I've never know Amazon to take more than a few hours to process uploads. Yesterday, I worked on the cover with my many-talented son. The cover took about 7 hours. I was lucky in that Shutterstock had more or less what I wanted so we didn't have to start from ground zero. I had put in a bit of time in the preceding days searching for images with the right emotional fit.

So, both cover, and uploading were anything but time-consuming. A few days were spent on the front matter and blurb, and the blurbs for my other books, which exist as end matter, also took a few days to update. Key works ate up some more hours.

This last process of readying for publication and publishing, probably took less than a week, and yet, this book was complete by November 2014. So, why the delay?

The Third Moon was my first NaNoWriMo project, undertaken in Nov 2013. By Nov 2014, the manuscript was ready for pitching, and pitch it I did, and scored a contract with a small independent publisher. I was thrilled. I write Deep Fantasy, which is easiest to define by what it isn't. It isn't high fantasy, epic fantasy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy or dystopic fantasy, although of this lot, it's probably closest to high fantasy, although I've yet to write of elves, dwarves, mages or magic. Deep fantasy uses secondary worlds, with a small number of characters, and with a strong pyschological/spiritual (not religious) subtext.

Having a publisher 'get' what I was saying was great, and although I was well on the way on my Indie Publishing journey, I was keen to be hybrid, that is, keep a foot in each camp.

Unfortunately, as we all know, being a publisher of any type is a very difficult gig. The book staying in the publication queue, and the publication date went past, for all sorts of valid reasons. Meanwhile I was writing Angel Caste and occasionally revisiting The Third Moon, seeing where it could be improved, and feeling frustrated I couldn't make the improvements. It was also frustrating to have a novel 'ready to go' but going nowhere.

I the end, the publisher ceased operations, and in a very professional manner, reverted rights, files etc to the authors involved. So, The Third Moon came back to me, got another two edits, and is now in the process of joining The Emerald Serpent, Heart Hunter, Angel Blood, Angel Breath and Angel Bone as part of my ebook folio of works.

I haven't pitched any of my stories since. At present, fantasy is dominated by works that are definitely not Deep Fantasy and I'm disinclined to keep my stories confined to my files, while I wait 6-9 months for a reject. Things change though and I can remember a time when Steam Punk and Paranormal Romance really didn't exist. Still, the old adage holds true, that you should write what you love, and that's what I'll continue to do.