Phil Giunta's Blog, page 34

About This Writing Stuff…

This week on the blog, we begin with the importance of downtime —  in an age that constantly pushes us to the brink of burnout — and we end with the notion of writing as a release from stress.

In between, Kristen Lamb takes us spearfishing to find that perfect catch (reader) and reminds us that drudgery builds success. Dave Chesson guides us through several Goodreads features that might prove useful in promoting your book… if you don’t mind the trolls.

Over at Writer Unboxed, Jim Dempsey offers tips to help you work through problems in your story and  Rheea Mukherjee provides ideas for bringing authenticity to characters with different skills and capabilities than their creators.

In the Kill Zone, Jordan Dane teaches us to tap into our waking dreams in order to enhance creativity while James Scott Bell channels Bryan Cranston. Enjoy!

The Compelling Case for Working A Lot Less by Amanda Ruggeri

How to Sell More Books: A Tale of Fishing and Catfishing by Kristen Lamb

Drudgery: What Separates Those Who Dream from Those Who Do by Kristen Lamb

The Mystery of the Hardy Boys and the Invisible Authors by Daniel A. Gross

How to Use Keywords to Attract the Most Visitors to Your Website by StatCounter

The Ultimate Guide to Goodreads for Authors by Dave Chesson

Fiction Therapy—What’s Your Story’s Problem? by Jim Dempsey

Writing Characters That Are ‘Smarter’ Than You by Rheea Mukherjee

What Bryan Cranston Can Teach Writers by James Scott Bell

Can Hypnagogia Improve Your Fiction Writing?  by Jordan Dane

Tolkien and Combat Stress: Writing as Release by Angry Staff Officer

 

More FREE Stories on WATTPAD

Since I’ve been neglecting my Wattpad presence for a few years (!), it was high time to add two more FREE short stories.

In “Life and Limb,” two sibling scientists in Ireland unwittingly discover an ancient artifact that regenerates severed limbs while healing old family wounds. Click here to read! 

The second is a SF detective noir tale called “Working the System.” Two years after leaving the interstellar navy, security executive Cameron Glazier is pressed into assisting with a police investigation after his former captain was found murdered. The man’s death is soon connected to an incident from Glazier’s final mission. Click here to read!

Both of these stories are among the 14 fantastic speculative fiction tales in the 2016 anthology, Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity, from Firebringer Press.

Now I’m off to see how many other websites I’ve let slip… 

Book Review: Arthur C. Clarke’s Glide Path

During WWII, Flying Officer Alan Bishop is reassigned from England’s Northern Coastal Defence to a new project involving the development of a new radar-based airplane guidance system called Ground-Controlled Descent (GCD). Its purpose is to guide military craft to safe landings during dense fog or inclement weather. Along with a team of soldiers and scientists, and a trio of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force operators, Bishop leads the testing of the GCD in both staged exercises and actual landings in a small airfield near Land’s End in Cornwall.

Arthur C. Clarke’s only non-SF novel, Glide Path was inspired by his participation in the development of Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) during his wartime service with the Royal Air Force.

Such a topic alone does not constitute interesting fodder for fiction, and at times, I was reminded of Clarke’s Prelude to Space, a fictional chronicling of man’s first mission to the moon in the late 1950’s with little in the way of plot or conflict.

Much of the conflict in Glide Path remains in the background and stems from Bishop’s concerns over the declining health of his father, his feelings of inferiority compared to the brilliant scientists and skilled pilots on the team, pressure from skeptical generals, and an adversarial relationship with one particular RAF pilot who becomes competition for the heart of a local harlot.

After Action Report: Farpoint 26

Although I woke up to a gray, soggy morning, the skies cleared an hour before I began my trek to Farpoint’s 26th annual SF convention in Hunt Valley, MD.

 

After picking up my registration materials and checking into my room at the Hunt Valley Marriott Delta, I opened the program book directly to my second place winning story from last year’s Farpoint Writer’s Contest!  Click here to read “All That Matters is What You Believe.”

In between reuniting with several friends, I scored a set of Stranger Things trading cards from friend and artist Laura Inglis, dealer room coordinator for Farpoint.

After my wife arrived later in the evening, we enjoyed dinner at the Nally Fresh in Timonium and returned to the hotel in time for the 10PM book fair. I shared a table with fellow writer pals Steven H. Wilson and Michael Critzer. Sitting at a table for two hours allows for plenty of quality time for catching up with friends in addition to selling books and happily, I did both!

Afterward, I spent some quality time at the bar with two glasses of Pepsi and fellow writers Kelli Fitzpatrick, Erik Bakutis, Heather Hutsell, Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, Keith DeCandido, Derek Tyler Attico, and David Mack. It was a fun end to a long day.

Saturday began with the Firebringer Press Presents panel at 11AM in Salon C hosted by Steve Wilson, Michael Critzer, and yours truly. Although our audience was small, we chatted about our current releases and upcoming projects.

At 1PM, Steve and I hosted the second stop on our book tour for Firebringer Take Two, the double horror novel consisting of Steve’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood and my paranormal mystery, Like Mother, Like Daughters. The launch was held in the con suite complete with lunch and dessert. Steve and I both read excerpts from our respective stories and sold several copies of the new book as well as a few backlist titles.

June Swords and I after setting up for the Firebringer Take Two book launch. Ethan and Christian Wilson in the background.

My next panel was supposed to be Fandom in Miniature, a discussion of SF toy collecting at 3PM with Ethan Wilson, Thomas Atkinson, and Cindy Woods. Unfortunately,  I found myself stuck in the endurance test known as Wallace Shawn’s autograph line. He was loquacious, engaging everyone in conversation. It was a true pleasure to meet him.

 

Meeting Wallace Shawn
Grand Nagus – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

After sharing a wonderful dinner with Steve Wilson, June Swords, and Renfield, Evon and I decided to call it a night.

After packing up my car on Sunday morning, I dared one more pass through the Wallace Shawn autograph line. Thankfully, it was a bit shorter this time and I made it through in time to chat with writer pals Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, Heather Hutsell, and Michael Jan Friedman.

Vizzini – Princess Bride

At 1PM, it was time to join Peter David in the ballroom to co-host the screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the 90-minute documentary about the late, legendary writer Harlan Ellison. It was a wonderful tribute and the audience truly seemed to enjoy it.

The final event of the con for Evon and me was Wallace Shawn’s 3PM stage talk during which he answered questions about his career as an actor and playwright. In addition to a few questions about Deep Space Nine and Princess Bride, he spoke about working with Woody Allen on Radio Days and spending a year in India as a young man. Some of his responses were intentionally cryptic. For example, when it came to playing the Grand Nagus on DS9, he channeled someone he knew personally, but would not reveal more than that. Similarly, when asked about his favorite books, he preferred to keep that a secret.

On my way out, I finally had the chance to take a brief tour of the dealer room and found a few vintage Star Trek items at incredibly low prices from a dealer who was selling off his personal collection.

Star Trek candy boxes from 1976 and Star Trek: The Motion Picture plastic cup (1979)

Of course, no SF convention would be complete without a vast array of talented cosplayers and those pictured below are only a small sampling from the weekend.

Wonder Woman (photo credit: Blair Learn)

 

Xena and Gabrielle (photo credit: Shore Leave)

 

Romulan (photo credit: Shore Leave)

 

Iron Man (photo credit: Shore Leave)
Catwoman (photo credit: Shore Leave)
Bender from Futurama (photo credit: Frank J. Hernandez)

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, from Writer Unboxed, Jim Dempsey defines the three major types of editing while David Corbett encourages us to improve our fiction by exploring belief systems different from our own, and Kathryn Craft urges us to dig deeper to bring out truth in our fiction.

Kristen Lamb reminds us of the difference between promotion and platform while Hank Phillippi Ryan imparts her method for crafting a story synopsis. Keep your plot moving forward with guidance from James Scott Bell and Ingram Content offers advice on book marketing in the digital age.

Possibly the most important article in this collection is Ferris Jabr’s research into the importance of mental downtime.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

The Different Types of Editing Explained by Jim Dempsey

Writing What You Don’t Believe by David Corbett

Seeking Truth in Fiction by Kathryn Craft

Five Ways to Become a Happier Writer by Mark Alpert

Creating Characters: You Can Always Start with the Car by Laura Benedict

Why Your Brain Needs More Downtime by Ferris Jabr

Promotion is Not Platform & Ads are NOT a Brand: Know the Difference by Kristen Lamb

How to Write a Fiction Synopsis A New Way by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Unsnagging Your Plot by James Scott Bell

Marketing Insights Series by Ingram Content

Book Marketing in an Era of Algorithms

How to Build a Strong Book Marketing Foundation

Develop Your Book Audience

 

My Farpoint Schedule

For those of you attending Farpoint next weekend, here’s my schedule in case you want to stop by, say hi, pick up a book, or sit in on a discussion panel.

Lookin’ forward to seein’ ya there!

FRIDAY

Farpoint Book Fair – Fri. 10:00 PM – Hunt Valley Hallway – All of the writers guests will be gathered in one place for two hours, selling and signing copies of their books. A few of the writers will be debuting new titles, including Steven H. Wilson and myself. We’ll have copies of our double horror novel, Freedom’s Blood and Like Mother, Like Daughters and I will have copies of A Plague of Shadows, the latest paranormal anthology by Smart Rhino Publications.

SATURDAY

Reading (Kozeniewski; Sakers; Giunta) – Sat. 10:00 AM – Salon E

Firebringer Press Presents Sat. 11:00 AM – Salon C – Along with Steven H. Wilson (publisher), Diane Baron, and possibly a few other fellow scribes, we’ll discuss recent book releases and projects in the pipeline.

Firebringer Take Two Book Launch – Sat. 1:00 PM – Garden Room/Con Suite – Join Steven H. Wilson and me as we launch our double horror novel, Freedom’s Blood and Like Mother, Like Daughters! 

Fandom In Miniature – Sat 3:00 PM – Belmont – A discussion on SF toy collecting and model kit building moderated by yours truly.

Autograph Session (Giunta; DeCandido) Sat. 5:00 PM – Autograph Table 1

SUNDAY

Autograph (Giunta; Ransom) – Sun 11:00 AM – Autograph Table 2

Reading (Hutsell; Giunta; G. Wilson) – Sun 12:00 PM – Salon E

Film: Dreams With Sharp Teeth – Sun 1:00 PM – Valley Ballroom – Peter David and I will be presenting a screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the 2008 documentary about the life and career of Harlan Ellison (1934-2018), one of the most awarded writers in history. The film stars Harlan, Robin Williams, Neil Gaiman, Ronald Moore, Peter David, and others.

Book Review: A. E. Van Vogt’s Renaissance

In the year 2023, a revolution is brewing against the alien overlords of Earth known as the Utt. Forty years prior, after their swift and peaceful subjugation of every world government, it had been the Utt’s conclusion that most of planet’s tribulations had been the fault of men. Thus, the Utt enacted laws that made women the dominant sex. All men are required to undergo a procedure that leaves them nearsighted and are forced to wear chemically treated glasses that somehow leaves them emasculated.

However, when Peter Grayson, a physicist for a chemical company, finds both lenses of his rose-tinted glasses cracked, he uses a special transparent tape to repair them—and quickly discovers that his simple repair nullifies the submissive power of the glasses and liberates him from the oppression of his domineering wife.

Shortly after, Grayson finds himself embroiled in the male revolution against the Utt, a situation which he attempts to manipulate for his own personal gain…

I found Renaissance to be the weakest of all Van Vogt books I’ve read so far. Published in 1979, the quality was nowhere near his earlier work. The concept is preposterous and served as little more than an opportunity for a plot laden with blatant and cringeworthy male wish fulfillment. Worse, the prose was clunky and riddled with awkward sentence structure, inelegant wording (ex: “From that very first moment, being scientifically trained, Grayson did his trying-to-understand-with-his-knowledge.”), and scenes that served little to no purpose. Some plot elements that held the promise of an ultimate climax never paid off in the end.

If you want to explore the best works of Van Vogt, avoid Renaissance and read his earlier work such as Slan, The World of Null-A, Voyage of the Space Beagle, The Twisted Men, The Weapon Shops of Isher, and The Weapon Makers, to name a few.

First Draft… FINISHED!

And with 1,006 words, the first draft of my SF novel is FINISHED! Total word count: 53,123.

NOW… the fun begins! Actually, I’ll the save the editing fun for later because…

 

Dreams with Sharp Teeth

At Farpoint 26 SF Con next month, it will be my honor to co-host, with Peter David, a screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the 2008 documentary about one of the most awarded writers in history, Harlan Ellison (1934-2018).

The film stars Harlan, Neil Gaiman, Robin Williams, Ron Moore, Peter David, and others. Harlan was one of my inspirations to become a writer, and he was best friends with Peter. I was grateful  when producer and director, Erik Nelson, granted permission.

 

About This Writing Stuff…

This week on the blog, Ceridwen Dovey expounds the concept of “bibliotherapy” and the restorative power of reading fiction. Kristen Lamb encourages writer to be secret-keepers… and to get more rest. Jami Gold explains what it means to add layers to your characters and Anne R. Allen councils us against worrying too much about plot purloiners.

Over at Career Authors, Paula Munier cites three mistakes by debut writers that potentially exasperate agents and editors while Glenn Miller advises us on how to be trustworthy writers. C.S. Lakin offers tips on preparing your scenes, Sarah Chauncey talks effective use of POV in memoir, and from Mythcreants, Chris Winkle enumerates six manuscript mistakes that a copy editor might (or might not) help you fix.

Enjoy!

Can Reading Make You Happier? by Ceridwen Dovey

Secret-Keepers: Generate Page-Turning, Nerve-Shredding Tension and Rest for Success and Why Busy is Seriously Overrated by Kristen Lamb

Make Characters Unique with Layering by Jami Gold

What if Somebody Steals Your High-Concept Book Idea? by Anne R. Allen

Are You Making One of These Risky Moves for Writers? by Paula Munier

This is What Happens When You Stop Lying to Readers by Glenn Miller

Questions to Consider When Plotting a Scene by C.S. Lakin via Jane Friedman

The Tricky Issue of POV in Memoir by Sarah Chauncey via Jane Friedman

Six Common Wordcraft Mistakes in Manuscripts by Chris Winkle