David B. Coe's Blog, page 10

The Worldbuilding Discussion Continues at Magical Words

Today, I continue my series of posts on worldbuilding with the third (and perhaps final) installment at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, A.J. Hartley, and Kalayna Price, among others.  The post is called “On Writing and Creativity: Worldbuilding Revisited, part III — Writing Worldbuilding Into Our Books” and it offers a discussion of how I blend the details of my worldbuilding into my prose, character work, and storytelling.  I hope you enjoy it.

Outlining a Book, and a Jacket Art Competition

First off, Ranting Dragon — http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-cover-battle-of-2012-phase-2-round-2/ — is putting on its first ever “Cover Battle,” choosing the best book jacket art of 2012.  The jacket art for Thieftaker (by the wonderful Chris McGrath) is in the running, and has already made it through Round One.  Vote here in Round Two!  Thank you!

Yesterday, I finished the preliminary outline for City of Shades, the third Thieftaker book (written under the D.B. Jackson pseudonym), which I recently contracted with Tor (along with book 4, Dead Man’s Reach). Preliminary because ALL my outlines are preliminary.  My books tend to evolve as I write them.  My characters grow, assert themselves, take the narrative in directions I don’t anticipate.  And so often I’ll find myself having to abandon my initial outline about ten chapters into a book.  I’ll do a new outline for the rest of the book. Which, in turn, I will often have to abandon after another seven or eight chapters, for the same reasons.  It’s just the way I work.

So, you might ask, why bother with an outline at all?  I mean, if I wind up chucking the thing less than halfway through the book isn’t it just a waste of time?

To which I reply, with somewhat less confidence than I’d like to show, Um, I don’t think it is.  Or even if it is ultimately a waste, I find some value in it.

I like to have a road map at the beginning of every new book. Starting a novel can be daunting, even for those of us who do it for a living.  I’ve written more than a dozen novels and I still find the act
of beginning a new one somewhat intimidating.  Having an outline, one that at least gives me a path through the key plot points, helps me past that initial fear.  But more than that, having a rough idea of where the book is going (and my outlines do tend to be very rough — just a few sentences for each chapter) allows me feel more comfortable giving free reign to my characters.  If I know where they need to be at certain points in the book, I can allow them to find their own paths by which to get there.

It sounds a bit oxymoronic, I know:  I am imposing structure on the project so that I can be more unstructured in my creative process.  But for me, it works.  The analogy I often use is this:  If I start a road trip with a firm sense of which interstates will get me where I need to go, I can be more confident in occasionally taking scenic back roads for parts of the trip.

And so, I now have an outline for City of Shades.  Already, I have some sense of where in the narrative I am going to stray from the road map.  But I also feel that I have a stronger idea of how my story
is going to unfold, and I no longer feel as daunted at the prospect of starting this new project.  Which means that even if I jettison this outline tomorrow it will already have done it’s job.

Two More Thieftaker Books in the Works!

I am delighted to ring in the holiday season by announcing that Tor has agreed to contract two more Thieftaker books (which I write under the D.B. Jackson pseudonym)! The second Thieftaker book, THIEVES' QUARRY will be available in July 2013. And now I can say that it will be followed by CITY OF SHADES in 2014, and DEAD MAN'S REACH in 2015.

As with the first two Thieftaker books, these new volumes will be mysteries set against the backdrop of actual historical events taking place in pre-Revolutionary Boston.  CITY OF SHADES, takes place in the summer of 1769, during an outbreak of smallpox, while DEAD MAN'S REACH coincides with the Boston Massacre in March, 1770.  Ethan Kaille will be back at work in the city lanes, pursued by Sephira Pryce and her toughs, and harried by Sheriff Stephen Greenleaf.  And, as usual, he will be helped by Diver Jervis, Rev. Trevor Pell, Tarijanna Windcatcher, and, of course, the lovely Kannice Lester. But he will also face new challenges, and encounter new friends.

I've already started work on CITY OF SHADES, and will keep you posted on my progress.

Second Worldbuilding Post At Magical Words

Today, I continue my series of posts on worldbuilding with another installment at http://magicalwords.net,
the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I
maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, A.J. Hartley,
and Kalayna Price, among others.  The post is called “On Writing and Creativity: Worldbuilding Revisited, part II -- How Much is Enough?” and it is essentially what you see in that title:  a discussion of how I
limit and make the most of the time I spend worldbuilding.  I hope you
enjoy it.

A New Post About Worldbuilding

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, A.J. Hartley, and Kalayna Price, among others.  The post is called “On Writing and Creativity: Worldbuilding Revisited, part I” and it is pretty much exactly what it sounds like:  Some new thoughts on the approach I take to worldbuilding.  I hope you enjoy it.

New Interview Up

The THIEFTAKER Summer 2012 Blog Tour is long over, but that doesn't mean I'm done with blog appearances.  Today I am interviewed by Dominick Swennen at the Fantastical Imaginations website.  We touch on several topics, from the books that first interested me in fantasy, to whether or not my wife reads my books!  I hope you'll stop by the site, read the interview, and leave a comment.  Many thanks!

Thankful for Books, an Early Thanksgiving Post

Today's post can be found on Magical Words, and it's an early Thanksgiving post (since next week I'm off from MW) about some of the fantasy and SF books for which I am thankful.  I hope that you enjoy the post, and I hope that you'll join the discussion and share some of the titles for which you're thankful.

Today At Magical Words, Rummaging Through My Idea Attic

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain, under the name David B. Coe, with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, A.J. Hartley, C.E. Murphy, and Kalayna Price, among others. The post is called “On Creativity and Writing: Making the Most of Ideas, part VI — Treasures In the Attic,” and it’s about finding inspiration in some of our own long-ignored work. I hope you enjoy it.

A New Post With a Fictional Twist

Today's post is up at the blogsite of Lucienne Diver, my wonderful agent, who is also a terrific writer in her own right.  This post is a little different than others I've written recently.  It's a fictional vignette in which Ethan Kaille, the hero of the Thieftaker books, visits his rival and nemesis, the lovely and deadly Sephira Pryce.  She wants something from Ethan -- of course -- and he is not willing to give it to her.  Check out what happens here.

Six Ways to Keep the Creative Process Flowing

Today I have a post up at the SFNovelists blogsite, a site I maintain in cooperation with approximately 100 other published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  The post (written under David B. Coe) is called "Six Non-Writing Things That Might Improve Your Writing," and it is about the things I do to keep my creative juices flowing and my life balanced and healthy.  I hope you enjoy it.