K.S. Nikakis's Blog, page 7
November 28, 2014
Pitching Deep Fantasy
My #deepfantasy #NaNoWriMo novel is still rolling along but the end is in sight. I took a bit of time out today to send my last year's #NaNoWriMo project #TheThirdMoon off to @AllenandUnwin's #FridayPitch. I hadn't thought about #FridayPitch for a long time, although it was how @TheKiraChronicles trilogy got picked up for publication.
There was of course the inevitable question about which book was a 'comparison title' to #TheThirdMoon, and the answer was 'none' as I'm unaware of other contemporary #deepfantasy works.
So what constitutes #deepfantasy? Firstly it isn't dystopic, which puts it out of favour for the time being, in fact, one of the elements of #deepfantasy is its overall impulse of hope. The second characteristic is that it has a relatively narrow focus on the hero journeys of a small group of characters. As a result of this, tangled political intrigues and sweeping and ongoing warfare aren't part of the genre, except as a distant background. Thirdly, #deepfantasy is set in secondary worlds which in my case are usually pastoral, but could be built-environments. Fourthly, and most importantly, #deepfantasy has a subtext that is spiritual and/or philosophical. This is not didactic but there for the reader to engage in either consciously or unconsciously.
The #LordoftheRings obviously has deep fantastical elements, most notably the movement of characters in and out of the liminal - that is the state between life and death, or one state of being and another. The Dead Marshes are full of corpses that are in this state, neither decayed nor animated, and Aragorn enters the liminal to draw Faramir, Eowyn and Merry back from the greylands, the place between life and death. More on #deepfantasy and its potential in another blog.
There was of course the inevitable question about which book was a 'comparison title' to #TheThirdMoon, and the answer was 'none' as I'm unaware of other contemporary #deepfantasy works.
So what constitutes #deepfantasy? Firstly it isn't dystopic, which puts it out of favour for the time being, in fact, one of the elements of #deepfantasy is its overall impulse of hope. The second characteristic is that it has a relatively narrow focus on the hero journeys of a small group of characters. As a result of this, tangled political intrigues and sweeping and ongoing warfare aren't part of the genre, except as a distant background. Thirdly, #deepfantasy is set in secondary worlds which in my case are usually pastoral, but could be built-environments. Fourthly, and most importantly, #deepfantasy has a subtext that is spiritual and/or philosophical. This is not didactic but there for the reader to engage in either consciously or unconsciously.
The #LordoftheRings obviously has deep fantastical elements, most notably the movement of characters in and out of the liminal - that is the state between life and death, or one state of being and another. The Dead Marshes are full of corpses that are in this state, neither decayed nor animated, and Aragorn enters the liminal to draw Faramir, Eowyn and Merry back from the greylands, the place between life and death. More on #deepfantasy and its potential in another blog.
November 22, 2014
Beta readers - why you should bother
In swift succession recently the notion of alpha and beta readers came up. Lots of writers belong to writing groups where they meet to critique each others work. This is a common teaching element in creative writing courses too and one that we practice @bachelorofwritingandpublishing @MelbournePolytechnic. I've never belonged to writing groups though for a number of reasons. Working full time and trying to write full time makes writing time precious, plus I'm inclined to enjoy being on my own when not in the classroom. This is common for teachers for a surprising number are introverts. I also need time (and quiet) to sort out my stories.
As a pantser, i don't have neat plans and chapter headings to guide me on my way. My stories are in a constant state of gestation and this requires contemplation. However there comes a time, perhaps after the 5th or 6th edit, where the disadvantage of being the writer-editor kicks in and you simply cannot take the project to the next (required) stage. This is where you invite readers in.
The beta reader is someone who will give you brutally honest feedback. What works, what doesn't, what engages, what bores, what they want less of, what they want more of. An alpha reader will do this as the project is in process and is probably more useful for nonfiction.
I've just had my first beta reader report for my #Nanowrimo project #TheThirdMoon from 2013 and it was surprising how many things she noted that had niggled me but which I'd decided didn't need fixing. I'm looking forward to more reports shortly.
As a pantser, i don't have neat plans and chapter headings to guide me on my way. My stories are in a constant state of gestation and this requires contemplation. However there comes a time, perhaps after the 5th or 6th edit, where the disadvantage of being the writer-editor kicks in and you simply cannot take the project to the next (required) stage. This is where you invite readers in.
The beta reader is someone who will give you brutally honest feedback. What works, what doesn't, what engages, what bores, what they want less of, what they want more of. An alpha reader will do this as the project is in process and is probably more useful for nonfiction.
I've just had my first beta reader report for my #Nanowrimo project #TheThirdMoon from 2013 and it was surprising how many things she noted that had niggled me but which I'd decided didn't need fixing. I'm looking forward to more reports shortly.
The NaNo journey - how to keep going
Yesterday I had more holes in my #nano novel #plot than my husband's favorite t-shirt. As a #pantser, I've found this to be a common problem but #nanowrimo exacerbates it because it imposes such a punishing timeline on top of the 'take what comes', 'discover the story by writing it' approach of #pantsering.
While sleeping on it helps to sort out a lot of plotting issues, in this case I had to sort out the plot drivers. In my view, there are actually two of these: what drives the plot action, and more importantly, what drives you, the writer, to ... well ... write. The second is the more important. What drives you to write anything is passion for a story that is screaming to be born, or tossing odd gems into your line of vision, or ambushing you in traffic with 'what if's?'. If there is nothing driving you the writer to write, then quite quickly, there is nothing driving the action of the plot and it won't be fixable.
I've never suffered from writer's block, but I've had lots of cases of plot holes, some big enough to drown horses in like the good old days, but the deepest plot hole can be fixed if you are driven to do it.
While sleeping on it helps to sort out a lot of plotting issues, in this case I had to sort out the plot drivers. In my view, there are actually two of these: what drives the plot action, and more importantly, what drives you, the writer, to ... well ... write. The second is the more important. What drives you to write anything is passion for a story that is screaming to be born, or tossing odd gems into your line of vision, or ambushing you in traffic with 'what if's?'. If there is nothing driving you the writer to write, then quite quickly, there is nothing driving the action of the plot and it won't be fixable.
I've never suffered from writer's block, but I've had lots of cases of plot holes, some big enough to drown horses in like the good old days, but the deepest plot hole can be fixed if you are driven to do it.
Pitching - just what are you?
Those of you who have #pitched your work to publishers either in the 5 minute face to face dash, or through a query letter, will know that somewhere in the process there will come the dreaded question: Whose work is yours like? Of course for fantasy writers, the temptation is to say, 'Oh, it's just like the Twilight series--only better.' or 'It's just like Game of Thrones, in a fresh original sort of way.' Of course, it is a sensible and commercially-driven question; publishing is a business and a difficult one at that.
In buying your product, that is, the precious child you have created out of nothing, the publisher wants to know whether an audience already exists for it and how your work can be marketed. I've tried to fudge this question in the past but the last few times I've pitched I've had to say that my work isn't like anyone's else's that I'm aware of. I can still see one editor's face fall at this piece of commercially unattractive news.
Given that fantasy has tropes that make it fantasy, and that there are supposedly only two story types in the world: the quest and the competition, I'm not claiming originality, but I am aware of not fitting neatly into a pre-existing space and that this is a problem. Of course fashions come and go and I recall #KeriArthur telling me once that she was writing her particular brand of fantasy for nearly 10 years before it took off, and I've heard #RichardHarland say something similar about #SteamPunk at a conference.
I did consider trying to bring my work into alignment with existing (successful) fantasy sub genres but decided against it. You have to love what you write and write what you love. Instead I've spent time thinking about what i actually do write and recently coined the term #deepfantasy. I'll speak about #deepfantasy in more detail in another blog.
In buying your product, that is, the precious child you have created out of nothing, the publisher wants to know whether an audience already exists for it and how your work can be marketed. I've tried to fudge this question in the past but the last few times I've pitched I've had to say that my work isn't like anyone's else's that I'm aware of. I can still see one editor's face fall at this piece of commercially unattractive news.
Given that fantasy has tropes that make it fantasy, and that there are supposedly only two story types in the world: the quest and the competition, I'm not claiming originality, but I am aware of not fitting neatly into a pre-existing space and that this is a problem. Of course fashions come and go and I recall #KeriArthur telling me once that she was writing her particular brand of fantasy for nearly 10 years before it took off, and I've heard #RichardHarland say something similar about #SteamPunk at a conference.
I did consider trying to bring my work into alignment with existing (successful) fantasy sub genres but decided against it. You have to love what you write and write what you love. Instead I've spent time thinking about what i actually do write and recently coined the term #deepfantasy. I'll speak about #deepfantasy in more detail in another blog.
Loving the characters you create
As a writer are you allowed to love your characters? Deeply, madly, forever? I had a passion for Kira, Caledon and Tierken in the @thekirachronicles that was missing from the many previous iterations of what is now my Hunter duology (to launch in 2015). With Kira, Tierken and Caledon, I continue to have an emotional reaction, not just tears and laughter but a deep ache. I struggled with Fleet/Chant and Tel in the Hunter duology, and they are still further from my heart. I reclaimed the deep, involved passion with Warrain and Lirra in The third moon (also to launch in 2015) and I've certainly got it now with Etaine and Cormac in my #nanowrimo project but I wonder if this is a good thing. Does being in love with your characters/story blind you to your writing flaws? To character and plot defects? I also wonder, when I read stories that leave me unmoved, whether the writer was unmoved too.
NaNoWriMo - all you need is friends
#NoNoWriMo @MelbournePolytechnic first write-in today under the tender whip of Mandy Kontos who's already reached 50,000. Great to sit with fellow writers and just write - well I did eat most of the tim tams as well--a sort of multi-tasking that won't end well. My 2013 #NaNoWriMo project The third moon will be launched in 2015 and I can remember how tough it was to make those word counts but giving birth is never easy, is it? In the end I was thrilled with The third moon because the scattered scenes in my head joined up into a story I loved, and still love, which is why I'm in again this year. There's never a good time to abandon responsibilities and just go for it but that's what #NaNoWriMo gives you permission to do. After all, those other 300,000 participants can't be wrong, can they.
NaNoWriMo and Joseph Campbell
#NaNoWriMo has got a lot in common with #JosephCampbell's hero quest. The first step of course is under the header of Separation or Departure - more specifically, The Call to Adventure. So why join in NaNoWriMo? I hadn't heard of it until last year when a student suggested a group of us do it. My Admin at the time had a wonderful story of having done thousands of words over a weekend to 'catch up' to the total needed to keep on track, and a fellow staff member had also done it before. They seemed committed to doing it again.
I agreed, knowing I could easily write the 1660 words per day, but forgetting I only did that on weekends, not after a 8-9 hour work day with a 2 hour commute. Having agreed to do it, and being Head of Program, I felt obliged to persevere - my Admin and colleague didn't persevere-- much to my dismay.
Of course, I could have 'refused the call' but I'd had a story in my head for a while and was looking for the 'right' time to write it. I had no 'supernatural aid' beyond the story in my head 'wanting to live'. Is this supernatural? Where stories come from, or whether we discover them, is a topic suited to another blog.
'Crossing the first threshold' was definitely agreeing to participate in front of colleagues and students, and as Head of Program, I didn't feel I could back out. The problem was/is, that although I'm a pantser, I do a lot of looping back to fix things as the story emerges. My wonderful student Mandy Kontos warned me off this is no uncertain terms. 'There simply isn't time,' she insisted and she was right. #NaNoWriMo is a marathon conducted as a sprint.
My 'belly of the whale' moment came when I woke from one of my many slumbers at my desk and realised this. To survive, to make my word count (which I was determined to do), I had to keep writing (crap) and fix later.
I agreed, knowing I could easily write the 1660 words per day, but forgetting I only did that on weekends, not after a 8-9 hour work day with a 2 hour commute. Having agreed to do it, and being Head of Program, I felt obliged to persevere - my Admin and colleague didn't persevere-- much to my dismay.
Of course, I could have 'refused the call' but I'd had a story in my head for a while and was looking for the 'right' time to write it. I had no 'supernatural aid' beyond the story in my head 'wanting to live'. Is this supernatural? Where stories come from, or whether we discover them, is a topic suited to another blog.
'Crossing the first threshold' was definitely agreeing to participate in front of colleagues and students, and as Head of Program, I didn't feel I could back out. The problem was/is, that although I'm a pantser, I do a lot of looping back to fix things as the story emerges. My wonderful student Mandy Kontos warned me off this is no uncertain terms. 'There simply isn't time,' she insisted and she was right. #NaNoWriMo is a marathon conducted as a sprint.
My 'belly of the whale' moment came when I woke from one of my many slumbers at my desk and realised this. To survive, to make my word count (which I was determined to do), I had to keep writing (crap) and fix later.
NaNoWriMo Strategies
#NaNoWriMo is becoming dangerously close. I am still researching the landscape of the Scottish Highlands in pre-Roman Britain. I need to know the type of tree the hero is going to see a red squirrel in or the cry of the red kite that the hero needs to recognise. Experience tells me that these issues will stop me dead and I can't afford to even pause in the mad writing sprint coming up. There's also a limit to how many times you can use xxxx before you go mad.
NoNoWriMo - round 2
So, how much planning is allowed for #NaNoWriMo? Last year did none -- well bits of the story had been in my head for a while and the novel which emerged 2 months later did what I wanted which was really gratifying--in fact, it's made me the happiest of anything I've written. This time round I've been throwing things together jig-saw fashion. Scenes interspersed with commentary and questions. And of course I'm reading up on Scottish animal life so that when the protagonist sees a squirrel, or otter, or mink, it's in the right place at the right time doing what it should amongst a detritus of the right kind of leaves for the season. i've not written anything so overtly European fantasy before and I'm keen that it feels authentic, even though it will be fantastic, not mimetic.
What genre do you write?
A common question on submission guidelines or in pitches is: 'Whose work is similar to yours?' or 'Whose work would yours sit next to on a book shelf?'. As a fantasy writer, it is tempting to respond with some mega-selling author such as Stephenie Meyer but in truth, my work is not like hers ... or like anyone else's I've read for that matter.
So the challenge becomes to show why your work, that is, your product, is going to be commercially viable, when it is in fact new. Publishers will often say they want fresh new ideas, but the reality of any business is that new things, are by definition, untried.
So the challenge becomes to show why your work, that is, your product, is going to be commercially viable, when it is in fact new. Publishers will often say they want fresh new ideas, but the reality of any business is that new things, are by definition, untried.
