Lorijo Metz's Blog: ScifiWritermom, page 5
April 17, 2013
PENspirational, MUSEtastic, Talks for Writers – #1
April 3, 2013
ONE BOOK – ONE MILLION DOLLARS
March 12, 2013
Just Ask!
March 5, 2013
Garlic, lots and lots of Garlic!
March 2, 2013
MY BIG NEWS! THE PURCELL AGENCY
February 28, 2013
What’s on my bookshelf? You asked for it!
February 13, 2013
Out with the New and in with the Old!
After spending 15 years in a new house (We were the first owners, so it will always feel new to us.), we’re moving to a brick bungalow, built in 1915. It’s a beautiful home in an equally beautiful, historic neighborhood—both of which I can’t wait to explore.
We’re moving in slowly, over the next several months. In the meantime, I’m posting a few pictures of some of the things I like about my new, old house. Things I call “character” that, like 20 something-year-olds, most new houses don’t have. (Don’t worry, 20 something-year-olds, you’ll have more character than you want, soon enough!)
Enjoy, and by the way—Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Love the vintage leaded glass tulips! (And the not so vintage Starbucks latte)
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And the large wood hallways and leaded glass windows
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Built in cabinets with the glass knobs–who wouldn’t want those?
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Original antique light fixtures.
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More antique light fixtures
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And chains. You gotta have chains!
February 1, 2013
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
“The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.” ― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
I’ve never attended boot camp, but listening to George Guidall narrate Steven Pressfield’s book: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles, it feels like I have. [image error]Pressfield doesn’t hold back, nor does he try to be nice, when he explains why many writers, including myself, often choose to do just about anything other than write. Actually, he doesn’t only target writers, he targets artists, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs…anyone attempting to accomplish something that takes time, effort, and most likely, doesn’t come with the immediate gratification of a paycheck. Those things our heart call us to do. Things like:
Writing a novel
Painting a masterpiece
Opening that restaurant
Learning a new language
Learning how to play the piano
How many adults have you heard bemoan the fact they gave up taking piano lessons? “There just wasn’t time!” or “Sports got in the way.” Yet in their hearts they know (as do you and I) the true answer: there was plenty of time, but they chose to do other things.
For me, the timing of reading Pressfield’s book (or rather listening, via my audible.com account) was perfect. I’m at the beginning of writing a new novel. Looming ahead of me is the knowledge that it could take me six months or six years to complete—I won’t know until I write it. Because it’s fiction, I can’t submit it until it’s completed and then there’s no guarantee a publishing house will pick it up. Or, if I self-publish, that it will be successful.
Why am I crazy enough to attempt such a feat? Because I have this story and these characters in my head, and I want to write about them—even if I’m the only one who ever reads what I write. Now that’s love. However, just like a good love story, there are plenty of bumps in the road, plenty of misdirection, plenty of activities (I call them my “To do’s”) that keep me from finding true love (i.e. writing my novel). Those “To do’s” are what Pressfield calls, resistance. Moreover, every day, he says, no matter how long we’ve been writing, we must overcome resistance anew!
What are my resistances?
Paying bills
Cleaning house
Calling an old friend
Cooking, reading, exercising, organizing…
Making sure everyone’s needs are fulfilled before I sit down and write!
How do I know these things are resistance? Because as I do them, in the back of my mind I’m telling myself, “As soon as I finish this, I’m going to write.” However, in my gut, I know I’m lying. I know I’ll find other “To do’s”, other things that “need” to be done (because they won’t take much time, and besides, they’re important and this novel is going to take years to write anyway, so I should do the quick things first—right?) and by the end of the day I’ll be so tired I’ll start telling myself, “Tomorrow, I’ll write. I won’t have any more chores to do or reasons not to write. I’ll wake up, I’ll get my coffee, and I’ll sit down at my computer and write. Right? All I’ll do is write.”
We writers make very good liars.
It’s not that I don’t want to write. It’s that I fear it. I fear I may get halfway through writing my novel and discover it sucks! I fear no one will ever read it. I fear I will spend my life writing, but never make a good living at it. I fear, I fear… Oh yes, I have so many fears. As do most artists. But listen up—here’s what Pressfield has to say about fear:
“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.”
“Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore, the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.”
[image error]Pressfield also talks about fear being like an arrow on a compass that always points north. Whatever that arrow is pointing at, is what we need to be doing—prioritizing—in order to make ourselves happy. For me, north on my compass is writing. Specifically, writing my novel.
More importantly, it’s clear to me that I can write every day and still have time to pay the bills, send a care package to my college kid, call my mom, organize my desk, etc. All I have to do is wake up every morning and overcome resistance! Say no to the cleaning, the organizing, the to do list full of chores, the email, the twitter—you name it—until I’ve put in three to four hours working on my novel. It’s not the word count, it’s doing the time! Which, come to think of it, leaves me plenty of time to write a new blog post. (Yes, I worked on my novel before I started writing this post.)
Having trouble finding time to work on your novel? Read “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield.
January 17, 2013
Creating Great Characters through Personal Paradigms
Sometimes the best writing advice comes from non-writing sources. I recently subscribed to an e-zine (a magazine subscription on my iPad) called THRIVEOLOGY. Recommended to me by a good friend, THRIVEOLOGY MAGAZINE publishes articles that are “dedicated to helping you thrive.” One article in particular, found in the free introductory issue, inspired not only my soul, but also, my writer’s spirit![image error]
“We All Have A Paradigm!” written by Lee Baucom, examines the concept of personal paradigm; meaning, that lens through which each individual views the world.
“Everyone has a paradigm. We all have a way we view the world. That view is created by many different factors…These factors include our genetics, gender, age, education, culture, society in which we live, and many other factors.”
The intent of the article was to help promote personal growth; however, from my perspective, it was one of the clearest articles on creating characters I have ever read.
Baucom explains how our paradigm (that point from which we start, whether we grew up poor or rich, loved or unloved, in a conservative or liberal family…even our genetic predisposition for depression, genius, etc.…) affects almost every human encounter we have.
“…our paradigm helps us explain the world.” Also, “…your paradigm and my paradigm are different, and create very different understandings of the same events.” And perhaps most important (at least from my writer’s point of view), Baucom points out that “Struggle gives us an opportunity to challenge our paradigm.”
So how does this relate to creating great characters? By defining your protagonist’s paradigm, and then forcing them to step out of it, to change, you not only give them a chance to grow—you give them a story!
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From the movie, THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey
For example, at the start of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel, THE HOBBIT, he begins by clearly defining the paradigm through which his protagonist, Bilbo Baggins sees the world. Having spent his entire life in the Shire, Bilbo views the world as a place of comfort, plenty of food, the surety of a good smoke, and one in which he can expect little variation from his daily routine. Then the wizard Gandalf arrives, bringing with him thirteen dwarves intent on killing a dragon and promises of adventure—adventure, which Bilbo Baggins wants nothing to do with. Why? Because adventure and dragons (danger) threaten his paradigm. But, of course, that’s exactly what Tolkien meant to do. Had Bilbo remained in the Shire, he would not have risen above being a simple hobbit to become a hero. More importantly, Tolkien would have had no story to tell.
I might also note that Tolkien took into account genetics when he created Bilbo Baggins. As Gandalf points out, the reason he chose Bilbo was due to Bilbo’s mother, Belladonna Took, with whom he’d been good friends. One of Belladonna’s relatives was said to have taken a fairy wife and the Took-clan had a reputation for not being entirely hobbit-like (i.e. having an inclination towards adventure). Had Tolkien not provided this non-hobbit genetic predisposition, it might have felt false for Bilbo to decide suddenly to take off and join the dwarves. In fact, Bilbo’s Tookish side explains why, though he loved the quiet life of the Shire, there was always a part of him that never entirely fit.
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From the movie, THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey
I encourage you to examine some of your favorite stories and notice how each of the characters, be they major or minor, react to their world based on their personal paradigms. Then look at your own writing. Are your characters remaining true to their paradigm? For example, a character with no athletic ability would not suddenly find climbing a mountain easy unless he or she had recently acquired a special power. In fact, a character like that would need a pretty good reason (aka, motivation) to be climbing a mountain at all. (In Bilbo’s case, being chased by Orcs and Dragons was definitely motivational!)
And remember, in order for your protagonist to have a story worth telling, there must be some event, be it physical or mental, which forces them to step out of their paradigm and see the world in a different way.
For more information on personal paradigms, check out:
http://thriveology.com/?s=PARADIGM&searchBtn.x=0&searchBtn.y=0
http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/paradigm-perspectives/
December 16, 2012
Interview with Jade Kerrion, author of Perfection Unleashed
Today I’m welcoming Jade Kerrion, award-winning author of Perfection Unleashed, to my blog. Jade is on tour to promote the next two books in her Double Helix series: Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon. On November 2, I posted a book discussion (go ahead and call it a review if it makes you feel better) on Perfection Unleashed. Today, Jade will try to answer a couple of the more burning questions I had while reading her perfectly wonderful novel. Namely…
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Why would she cast Orlando Bloom in the role of Galahad/Danyael Sabre when clearly Daniel Craig is perfect for the part? (Jade and I are having just a bit of a difference of opinion on this topic.)
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ME: Hi, Jade. Welcome to my website. I’m curious about your thoughts on perfection. As I read Perfection Unleashed, it occurred to me that there are probably vast differences in your definition of the perfect human versus my definition (versus just about anyone else who cares to chime in on the subject). Let’s face it…we can’t even agree on the same actor to play the roles of Danyael/Galahad in the movie. (Though clearly, the correct answer is Daniel Craig.) Given that, when choosing to write a series in which one of the characters has been created to be the Perfect Human—and assuming you, too, were aware that not everyone would define perfection the same way—how did you deal with this issue?
JADE: Before we even get to the Daniel Craig/Orlando Bloom debate, we need to tackle the issue of gender. A beta reader, upon finding out that the perfect human being was male, immediately laughed and said, of course he’s not perfect; he’s male! Being females, you and I understand perfectly the sentiment behind that comment.
Perfection Unleashed and the Double Helix series explores, among other philosophical concepts, the notion of perfection. Galahad is a magnificent physical specimen; his mind is incisive and mirrors the greatest intellect on earth (who happens to be female…) His genes are a patchwork of excellence drawn from every possible facet of humanity. And yet, he will find, to his frustration, that people who can’t agree on the definition of humanity and equality will certainly not be able to agree on the definition of perfection. The debate is not just an intellectual one; it becomes highly personal later in the series when people appear to prefer the company of Danyael Sabre, the alpha empath and Galahad’s physical template, who is deeply imperfect in many ways. Danyael is the protagonist of the Double Helix series, but the story is as much about Galahad coming to terms with who he is as the “perfect” human being.
ME: Speaking of perfect females…my favorite character in your series is Xin, a computer genius and the clone of a twelve hundred BC queen, military general, and high priestess from ancient China. Tell us a bit about how the idea for Xin came into being. Also, I’m curious as to if you based her on a real character from history.
JADE: As much as possible, I anchored my novel in fact. The science in the Double Helix series is not just possible, it’s much more advanced than many of us believe it to be. Where I could, I also anchored my characters in fact. Xin’s the best example of it. The original Xin is real. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_Xin) She was known as Fu Hao and was one of the many wives of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty. She was also, unusually for those times, a military general and high priestess. Best of all, her tomb was unearthed intact, which of course, promised all sorts of interesting DNA and cloning possibilities.
History is full of remarkable women who had multi-tasking down to an art form, and Fu Hao/Mu Xin was one of them. I placed Xin into the story in part to stoke my own curiosity. How would an ambitious and capable woman from ancient China fare in modern society? How much of her instincts and skills are innate versus taught? Would turning a clone of Xin’s caliber loose on society today be akin to releasing a deadly virus we can’t control? Xin’s one of my favorite characters too, and she’s embodies issues and questions that neither Danyael nor Galahad can address. My plan, in the distant future, is to write a novel that focuses on Xin. (I guess that means I can’t kill her off, yet…)
ME: Finally, Jade, I have to ask: Why Orlando Bloom? What qualities make him the perfect actor to portray Danyael Sabre/Galahad? (And I just have to point out, were you casting the role of the perfect elf, I would have no quibbles with your selection.)[image error]
JADE: Let’s see…three reasons why Orlando Bloom. 1) He’s cute. 2) He’s cute. 3) He’s cute. Any other questions?
But seriously, there were a couple of reasons, and at least one of them has to do with the “perfect elf” you referenced. Danyael and Galahad have pale blond hair and sculptured good looks. I don’t know about you, but when I think “pale blond hair and good looks,” I automatically think “Legolas…” That got Orlando Bloom through the first round (even though in real life, he’s dark-haired.)
After that, it was just a matter of justifying the decision. Orlando’s 35 years old; Danyael is 28 and Galahad is 25. I figured Orlando could probably swing the age difference. Then it was star appeal. If Perfection Unleashed ever got made into a movie, he’ll pull in the women in droves. Now, admittedly, Daniel Craig would do the same (pull in women, that is) though, at 44, Daniel would have a harder time playing a twenty-something. Finally, I though Orlando might be able to pull off the polar opposite depictions of Galahad’s passion for the limitless potential of the world he had been previously denied (think Pirates of the Caribbean) and for Danyael’s weary watchfulness (Legolas’s “been-there-done-that-what-are-these-crazy-humans-doing?” attitude.)
Plus, he’s cute. I think that about sums it up. I’d love to hear why you’d nominate Daniel Craig instead (besides the fact that he’s cute, has a great body, and is an awesome actor…)
ME: Got it! Now, in answer to your question… In addition to the many physically appealing attributes Daniel Craig possesses (smile), it’s his overall demeanor that, in my opinion, makes him a good fit. Though young, both Danyael and Galahad have suffered a lot. It’s difficult to imagine them smiling. Now try to imagine Daniel Craig with smile on his face. That’s right! Craig’s calling card to fame is his pained, pouty expression, atop a perfectly chiseled body. Too bad he’s not 10 years younger. Ah well, I bow to your superior knowledge of your own characters–Orlando Bloom it is!
Thanks Jade! I had a perfectly wonderful time interviewing you. Best of luck with all your writing.
JADE: And thank you, Lorijo. It’s really been a pleasure coming here to talk about the really important things, like cute men. (No sarcasm intended.) I wouldn’t have written the Double Helix series if the people in them were not worth dreaming about, one way or another.
As I noted above, Jade is on tour to promote her Double Helix Trilogy. She’s visited several other blogs (http://www.jadekerrion.com/double-hel...), which you can also visit to find out more about Jade Kerrion, her Double Helix series, and what’s up next for the award-winning author!
Note from Jade: Perfection Unleashed will be on sale for the duration of the tour (through March 1st) for $0.99 on all e-book retailers, if that’s something you want to let your readers know.
Author Bio:
[image error]Jade Kerrion unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. Drawing rave reviews for its originality and vision, and described as “a breakout piece of science fiction,” Perfection Unleashed, and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, are available in print and e-book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, and other major retailers.
About The Double Helix series:
His genetic code sourced from the best that humanity offers, Galahad embodies the pinnacle of perfection. When Zara Itani, a mercenary whose abrasive arrogance exceeds her beauty, frees him from his laboratory prison, she offers him the chance to claim everything that had ever been denied him, beginning with his humanity.
Perfection cannot be unleashed without repercussions, and Galahad’s freedom shatters Danyael Sabre’s life.
An alpha empath, Danyael is rare and coveted, even among the alpha mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution. He wields the power to heal or kill with a touch, but craves only privacy and solitude—both impossible dreams for the man who was used as Galahad’s physical template.
Galahad and Danyael, two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, and the other to escape it.
The award-winning Double Helix series, consisting of Perfection Unleashed, Perfect Betrayal, and Perfect Weapon, will challenge your notions of perfection and humanity, and lead you in a celebration of courage and compassion. Science fiction, urban fantasy, and action-adventure readers will enjoy this thrilling roller-coaster ride as it twists and turns through a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution.
Connect with Jade Kerrion: Blog / Facebook / Twitter
Perfection Unleashed: Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords
Perfect Betrayal: Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords
Perfect Weapon: Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords
