Zachary Ricks's Blog, page 10

GSG NaNo Gaiden Podcast – Ep 00

Day 0 of the GSG NaNo Gaiden Podcast. In which I explain what’s going to be happening here for the next month.

Buckle up.

Challenge: WIP Updates

WHAT THE HECK AM I WRITING?

Work in Progress Challenge

Scott Roche tagged me with this challenge, and it sounded like fun.

1. What is the title of your Work In Progress?

I’m never really happy with my ability to name fiction. Right now, the working title for it is “Norris Tilney and the Western Wild.”

2. Where did the idea for the WIP come from?

Scott and I came up with a universe a couple of years ago that was steampunk-ish, but magic-based instead of mechanics/clockwork-based. I really liked the character that came out of that – Norris Tilney, and wanted to do more with him. Add to that the weird western stuff I’ve been doing, and this kind of fell together.

3. What genre would your WIP fall under?

Alt-historical fantasy.

4. Which actors would you choose to play characters in a movie rendition?

Wow. Um… That is a really good question, I hadn’t really thought about it… immmm…

Liam Hemsworth as Norris Tilney…

Anna Kendrick as Phoebe Carter…

Dan Stevens as Ranger James Gravis… Can he grow a really incredible mustache? That’s kind of a prerequisite for this character.

And

Russell Crowe as Jeremiah Long… (we’d need some special effects there, but I think he’d be awesome. And now I have to write that part as though it’s Russell Crowe. Dagnabit.)

With special guest stars Hugh Jackman as Lucius Bennett, and Cote de Pablo as the beautiful and ultra-capable Dorothy Bennett.

5. What is a one-sentence synopsis of your WIP?

A British wizard and secret agent is sent to the American Colonies to ensure that a treaty between the British Empire, the United Indian Nations, and the Republic of Texas isn’t foiled by conspiring forces.

6. Is your WIP published or represented?

It’s in progress. Not published or represented yet. Just crossed 50,000 words with a target of 115,000, so…

7. How long did it take you to write?

WIP meaning “Work In Progress”… I’m hoping to get this knocked out by Christmas 2012. (It would be a LOT earlier, but November will be completely devoted to NaNoWriMo writing on another WIP.)

8. What other WIP’s in your genre would you compare it to?

The Lord Darcy stories, with a bit of old Louis L’Amour books thrown in.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this WIP?

Scott Roche, Maurice Broaddus.

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest about this WIP.

My elevator pitch for this is James Bond in Harry Potter’s World during the time of Downton Abbey.

11. Finally: Tag three other Authors and ask them to complete the above interview.

Scott took most of my choices, but I’ll team-tag at least one – Brand Gamblin, because his new book is going to be awesome. Don’t ask me how I know that.

Nathan Lowell

P G Holyfield

 

The Way of the Gun

Earlier this year, a good friend and fellow podcaster, Scott Roche, reached out to ask me if I’d be interested in participating in a short story anthology he was going to post on Kickstarter. A western short story anthology. That took gunfighters and applied the warrior code of bushido to their ethic. To which I said… “samurai gunfighters? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” And I was in.

Of course, then I found out who else was coming to the party.

First and foremost, one of the most talented and creative (not to mention just genuinely nice) people I’ve ever met – Jared Axelrod. Oh. You aren’t familiar with Jared’s work? Well, then you probably need to listen to his excellent Fables of the Flying City podcast, and pick up the graphic novel. It’s awesome steampunky goodness for your ears and eyes. Seriously, Jared Axelrod is a name you need to keep an eye out for.

Next, Jake Bible, who jumped into the podiobook sphere with his post-apocalyptic take on zombies and robots – DEAD MECH. Hundreds of years after the zombie apocalypse, human civilization rebuilds with a secret weapon for destroying zombie hordes – giant battle robots called Mechs. So what happens if a Mech pilot gets bitten and flips inside his machine? Trouble, friends. Loads of trouble. Knowing I’d be working with Jake was a perk also.

Then there’s Justin Macumber, co-host of the Dead Robot Society and author of Haywire. A century ago, super-soldiers known as Titans drove alien invaders from the solar system and back to their home world. Now the Titans have returned, infected by a virus and compelled to destroy humanity. Justin’s contributed to FlagShip, and I’m glad to be working with him in the anthology.

Doc Coleman, resident stowaway aboard the Galley Table Podcast and author of the Adventures of Crackle and Bang.

Scott himself, who co-wrote the Battle of Wildspitze with me, and is largely responsible for The Aethelian Age being when and where it is (Curse you, Baron Richtoffen!)

And me.

In all seriousness, check out the video, look at the incentives, and if you’d like to see more fiction from THESE AWESOME PEOPLE (and me), pitch in!

GSG NaNoWriMo Podcast 2012 – The Collective

Are you a podcaster and a fan of NaNoWriMo? Would you like to help with this year’s annual GSG NaNo Gaiden Podcast?

The doors are open for volunteers. Here’s what I need.

First, I need to know that you’re interested. You can do that by leaving me a comment here or by e-mailing me directly at zach at the web address above – madpoetfiles.com. I’m putting up a schedule to let people know what days are taken and what are still available. I’m reserving the right to put up two episodes per week, but if you REALLY want a Monday or a Saturday for some reason, let me know and we’ll work it out.

Second, for the actual episode: An episode should

Give the date the episode will go live (each episode will go live at 5:30 AM Eastern Time on the day it’s scheduled). “Welcome to the GSG NaNo Collective Episode for November XX, 2012!”
Give the target word count for the end of that day. “By the end of today you should be (XX*1667) words into your new novel.”
Your name, and your website. “I’m Zachary Ricks, from madpoetfiles.com.”
Followed by: writing advice, encouragement, prompts, etc. for 3-5 minutes.
At the end of the episode, take 30-45 seconds to refer people to your writing, your website, your tumblr, whatever. “Thanks for listening, I’m Zachary Ricks, and for more of my thoughts on writing as well as to find links to my novel, Crown of Exiles: Battlehymn, set your browser to www.madpoetfiles.com.”
And unless you’ve discussed it with me beforehand, please just do the bare recording of your voice without effects and without bed music. Because of copyright issues, I reserve the right to select bed music. Historically, that’s been a recording of John Philip Sousa’s Liberty Bell March that runs about 3:16 seconds, but I now have a wide selection of public domain classical music available, so that means we can go longer, but remember that this is meant to be a quick motivational push at the beginning of someone’s writing day, so we need to keep it short and punchy.
And I need the recording in a lossless format. As people sign up, I’ll figure out a way to have people send their episode via dropbox or something like that. WAV or AIFF, please.
Last, I’ll need that recording at least seven (7) calendar days before the episode goes live. Stuff happens, and between writing and everything else, I don’t want anyone to feel under the gun. That week gives me time to put together bed music, add links to show notes, tag the episode appropriately, etc., and if necessary either find a replacement or record a replacement episode. If something happens and you need to back out, that’s okay. No harm, no foul, no cursing of your family unto the third and fourth generation.

And that’s it! If you’re interested (or know someone who would be), PLEASE feel free to pass this word along. The GSG NaNo podcast episodes are consistently downloaded for months and years after they’re made available. Hundreds of people listen to these, so it’s a good opportunity for exposure. AND it helps writers get in the groove for their writing day.

The Words Must Flow.

LDS Conference Time Thoughts

As I mention in the sidebar, I happen to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons. You may have seen some coverage about us in the news lately. If you’re a church-going person you may have heard your pastor or people you know at church mention us in passing. Or maybe you’ve seen those nice young men in clean white shirts with their bikes, or are a fan of Broadway musicals. A few thoughts…

First, I’ve heard it said that Mormons are strange. That we’re different. And I’d like to say, yes. Yes we are. But we don’t consider that a bug, we consider it a feature.

In Deuteronomy, and again in 2 Peter, God refers to his people as being “peculiar”. Titus 2:14 uses the term as well. Back in the day, it meant something more like unique, and it probably didn’t have the eye-raising “weird” vibe it does today.

Don’t get me wrong – Mormons ARE like other people. We have families. A number of us enjoy things like video games and the occasional action movie. We have a wide diversity in our appreciation of things like music (Brandon Flowers of The Killers is LDS, and so is Gladys Knight. The Pips, not so much, as far as I know, but we also have opera singers, composers, etc., but then again, I know people who only listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so…) We have actors, engineers, farmers, architects, lawyers, and writers. The current leadership of our church consists of people who prior to their call have been: lawyers, newspaper men, judges, surgeons, company executives, and a nuclear engineer.

But, practicing Mormons don’t drink alcohol, coffee, or tea (herbal tea seems to be all right, and apparently there’s been some communication that indicates that caffeinated sodas are okay – pardon me while I sip my Cherry Coke Zero…) We believe in chastity – abstinence before marriage, and complete fidelity after marriage. We donate 10% of our income to the Church (incidentally, there’s no official word on gross or net income, and I don’t know WHAT someone who’s self-employed and re-investing profits in their business would consider 10%, but I’m sure they come up with something).

We aren’t perfect. There are Mormons who have an occasional beer or a glass of wine. There are those who have problems with pornography or infidelity or pre-marital sex. But by and large, we try to live a standard that’s different from what is now mainstream America.

You may have the idea that Mormons are ideologically homogenous, especially when it comes to politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. And I’m not talking about Mitt Romney. You want to see examples of the extremes of political opinion, consider this.

The LDS church features as what I’m sure are active members in good standing both Harry Reid and Glenn Beck. If you follow politics and commentary, one of those two guys has torqued you off in the past, and may have caused some strong emotions. But they’re both good, practicing Mormons, who happen to disagree on things like the role of the government, tax policy, etc.

Over the next two days, we have our semi-annual conference. It happens the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October. You may see a lot of tweeting with the hashtag #ldsconf. If you have the means, and you’re curious, I’d invite you to listen to some of the things being said. Sessions run noon-2 pm and 4-6 pm Eastern Time (with another session at 8 for the guys, which you have to take careful notes for, because your wife will inevitably ask you what they talked about when you get home). And watching doesn’t require that you talk to those nice young men. If you get BYUTV on your cable package, it should be shown there. You can watch The Mormon Channel on a roku or other streaming set-top box. Or you can set your browser to LDS.org and the homepage has a big link that will take you to live streams of the current session or recorded streams of prior sessions.

Take a look and see for yourself. Yes, we’re different. Maybe even peculiar. But we’re also just regular folks, trying to do what we think is right.

Crown of Exiles Book 2 – Lamentations

Will be this year’s NaNoWriMo project.

If you don’t know from NaNo, here’s the basic idea. You. Your word processor. Maybe a bunch of other crazy people in your area. You have 30 days to write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words. You do that? You win. What do you win? Ummm… self respect? Maybe? Bragging rights for another year?

NaNo is an interesting thing. This will be my fifth year participating, and so far I’ve hit 50,000 and had a completed first draft each time, although how happy I was with it has varied. But my first year stands out, because I had a very clear idea of where the book was going to end, and it was a drive to get to that ending – that horrible, painful, perfect ending to what I’d written before where the hero has to sacrifice everything he’s ever wanted to protect what’s really important to him. I really stabbed that guy in the heart. But it was absolutely the right thing to do, leaving him on his knees in the middle of that battlefield outside the place he’s always known as home, having defeated the enemy that had come to destroy his family… by becoming the monster his mother always feared he would someday become, arms coated in the blood of his enemies, and hearing the screams of his mother come over the walls. Some day, I’ll re-work that bit of space opera / Shaw Bros. Kung-Fu madness and release it.

Probably next year.

But that’s not the important thing. The important thing is, I just got the ending of Crown of Exiles 2: Lamentations.

If I can pull this off, it’s going to make that first book’s ending look like cake and ice cream.

Day 2

4,421 words yesterday.

5,296 words today. A small sample…

“Tilney, you read the books before you came to us, yes?” The Croix regularly published its reports, with names changed and places adjusted, and the reports were widely regarded as the most dreadful of penny-dreadfuls.

“Of course, sir.” Norris still read them, keeping one or two by his bedside and re-reading whenever he had a chance.”

“Then you know how the order came to be. Why we wear this sigil.” He tapped the stickpin in his jacket’s lapel. It was a silver skull, atop a crossed sword and wand, wearing a golden crown.

“The order began as… well… I’ve never been sure how much to believe of this…”

“Pirates, Tilney. We are pirates. Go ahead, say it.”

“Pirates, sir.”

Lucius nodded. “Just so. We operate under a Letter of Marque and Reprisal, the original terms of which were set down in 1689, and which has been renewed by every head under the throne of Great Britain. We seek out threats to the British Empire, no matter where or what they may be, and we… resolve them. Again, by whatever means are necessary. Sometimes that’s as simple as a word in the right ear, and sometimes it involves rock golems and dragon kings. More often the former than the latter, thank goodness, but…” He shook his head, staring at the wood of his desk. “I don’t think you appreciate the position we are in here.

“We operate outside the law, for our own purposes, to our own ends – which during the entire existence of this organization has been and continues to be the safety and good of all Englishmen… and I need you to be more than a blunt weapon, more than just an obedient servant. You must respond proactively, using your own initiative and creativiy. You are an exacting person, Tilney. But you’ve never put a foot out of line, never stepped out of normal bounds. Frankly, it’s been the most depressing and disappointing part of your training. And I’m not sure how to crack this particular nut.”

Tilney blinked. He had no idea how to respond.

Lucius sat back and smiled. “Ah well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Goals and Deadlines

So, tonight I was talking with Maurice Broaddus, Ryan Stevenson, and Dave Robison on the Round Table Podcast. The episode will be out some time in October, and you’ll get to hear me pitch and hear us talk about Norris Tilney’s next adventure, which will be a full length novel. (If you haven’t discovered Norris yet, may I refer you to “The Battle of Wildspitze”, available at Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords…)

And now I have a dilemma. Because in 50 days, it’s once again time for NaNoWriMo.

And I have this Ghost Bear thing I’m working on. Oh, incidentally, now I think I have a name for it: Scion’s Oath.

Maurice (and you should totally be reading his stuff) and the guys were so kind and I got a ton of really cool interesting ideas. But he also said something about me probably needing 180,000 words to tell this story. (I was thinking 120, but…)

IF Maurice is right (and he is the pro), then it’s simple math. IF I’m going to get that bad boy hewn in rough shape by Nov 1st, I have to put down on paper… 3600 words per day. 15 pages of manuscript format.

This is doable. It seems high, but it’s definitely doable. And not a lot higher than my regular stretch goal of 3000 words in a day. No time for editing, no time for re-dos. 3600 NEW words. That’s assuming that I need / can do 180,000 words. There’s still some planning that has to go in to this. And for every day I miss, the minimum daily word count to cross that finish line and be ready for NaNoWriMo goes up.

The alternative is… I could cheat. I could spread this out over the next 80 days. Use NaNoWriMo to drag this book over the finishing line. It’s not like there’s not a precedent for that. (COUGH Night Circus COUGH). If I use the 80 days instead, that drops the daily word count to about 2,250 words a day – 9 pages of manuscript format.

OR… I could use the 50 days before NaNo to write Ghost Bear / Scion’s Oath… which won’t be as long… but…

Talking it over with My Sweet Honey, I will be shooting for 50 days on the rough draft.

Giddiyup.

EDIT – 9/12/2012: Two quick items. #1. 50 days to get a good first draft of the new Tilney book done. Just to be clear.

#2. It’s not really 50 days. Because I won’t be writing on one day per week (Six days shalt thou work and perform all thy labor, etc., etc., etc…) it’s really more like 43 days. And to make up that time, I will have to write an extra 600 words per day to make up for Sundays. So it’s not 3600 words a day. It’s really more like 4200.

This just gets better and better.

Good News / Bad News

Back to the start… almost

So, first, the good news.

Crown of Exiles: Battlehymn is done. Audio and text versions are both available at exiles.madpoetfiles.com. 14 episodes, about 60,000 words of giant robots, princesses in disguise, forbidden love, and the power of rock ‘n roll. And some time around the middle of next year, I should have book two: Crown of Exiles: Lamentations ready to go. That’s the good news.

The bad news.

I’ve been working on this Untitled Ghost Bear Project for the last few weeks. It’s a rewrite of my NaNoWriMo project from 2010. I’m about 29,500 words in to this rewrite. And it’s just not going anywhere. I haven’t had a clear destination – well, I have, but no idea of what the middle of the book was going to be. I’m growing increasingly uninterested in the characters, and I realize that the protagonist is too much of a cipher to be compelling.

So… I’m going to have to toss it and start over. This is going to come as a disappointment to some people (who have said they just want to read the dang thing already), but this project is… special. It has to be right. And the way it’s been written so far, it’s not.

It’s not a total loss. I do have a clear ending I want to get to for the first book. I’ve got a theme. I’ve got a magic system. And I have a set of blank note cards, a pen, and some time. So… here’s what’s about to happen.

I’m going to save everything I’ve written so far. I’m going to stick it in a folder in my Scrivener project so it’s all saved. I’m going to grab these note cards, and I’m going to start putting this bad boy together right, so that when it’s done, it totally kicks butt. Battlehymn was mostly playing around. This project is one that I feel a responsibility to get right. And it’s not something I’m going to be able to do without a good outline. It’s not something I’m going to be able to do without a more interesting protagonist. It’s not something I’m going to be able to do without digging a little deeper and doing the hard work – putting up the scaffold, collecting the materials, and then moving forward.

Two weeks. In two weeks, I’ll be back at 25,000 words. Believe it.

Magic Systems

… are important when one is writing fantasy. Or so I hear. A world does have to have internal rules, and should abide by those rules.

For example, the magic in Untitled Ghost Bear Project is largely one that involves the binding of certain kinds of spirits. The Oathbound Guard bind themselves to the spirits of animals. This gives them certain advantages – improved sight, strength. It also gives them a spirit companion – one that can scout areas, serve as a companion and guide, and participate in combat. However, the spirit often has a will of its own, and it takes time and training for the Guardsman and spirit to come to an understanding and become effective partners.

There’s a scene in the book where our protagonist, Bran, enters a city for the first time after binding to his own spirit – a massive ghost bear named Broadpaw. Suddenly, Bran’s nose is filled with the most intoxicating scent he’s ever found, and he goes running off after it. The bear actually manifests in the middle of a crowded bazaar – next to a very startled honey vendor. Hilarity ensues.

But in the Aethelian Age stories I’ve been writing (the shared universe Scott Roche and I occasionally work in), we haven’t codified the magic system yet. I’m putting together some thoughts for a potential Norris Tilney book, and part of that involves the magic system. What I’m coming up with involves an interaction between the natural elements and the mage’s own spirit, channeling magical energy through himself and through various focuses to result in the desired effect. Evocation, ritual, and spirit magic are the three I’ve come up with so far, and I’m up in the air as to whether healing magic is its own form of ritual / spirit magic or if it’s in a sphere all its own.

But occasionally I come up with something a little lighter. From tonight’s brainstorming…

Because the Fae have developed means of re-routing a human mage’s spiritual energy to the point where it may block his access to magic (usually a temporary effect, though some rare cases have turned out to be quite long-lasting), or reroute him so that his magic has unintended or disastrous effects, like blowing up in the mage’s face, human mages usually maintain a certain frosty coolness when dealing with the Fae. In the one and only war between the Fae and human mages, human mages suffered massive casualties when their own mages became corrupted by Fae influence. This entailed a re-writing of their magic pathways when they “captured” a cache of Fae wine and victuals. The wine and vittles were actually a carefully calculated trap. Those whose spiritual energy was low enough not to be magical weren’t strongly affected, but the day after the store was captured, there was a surprise attack. The mages who attempted to cast fire found themselves unable to release the energy through the normal pathways, and found themselves burning internally.

One survived when he discovered (accidentally) that the pathways had been re-routed to exit via the anus. This natural expulsion point also served to magnify the effect of the fire magic thus directed. Thus, the surviving mage – Finn the Flatulent – became honored ever after as Finn the Fiery or Finn the Fierce. (Though no surviving staute exists of Finn’s heroic barrage that blunted the fairies attack.)

Ah. The joys of writing…