Icy Sedgwick's Blog, page 107

What The Guns of Retribution taught me

Here I am with my final post about The Guns of Retribution, ahead of its paperback release on Saturday. When I asked for questions, John Wiswell asked "if writing it has taught you something, that'd be good to share."



Well, you know something? Writing it DID change something for me. I've already touched on my writing process a tad, but I thought I would expand slightly on how I stopped being a pantser, and started looking at plotting instead.



Pants vs plot seems to be the kind of either/or debate that just won't go away. It's like choosing between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, between Macs and PCs, or between pirates and ninjas. A while back, I would have said there was no way you could ever find any middle ground - you're either one, or the other. The Guns of Retribution changed that.



Pre-Guns, I was very much a pantser. When I wrote the first draft of my Fowlis Westerby novel, I made it up as I went along. I vaguely had the ending in mind, but there was no definite sense of a plan. Characters spouted dialogue and made decisions on the spur of the moment, and it was all very exciting. The First Tale was much the same - considering it was a web serial, I didn't really know where it was going until episode fifteen. Then Grey O'Donnell breezed into my life and made me think about things differently. I began his story and suddenly I had a bulletpoint list of plot points I wanted to include. I knew the beginning, middle and end, and while I didn't have a detailed synopsis, I knew enough to make up the bits in between.



I always thought plotting seemed too regimented, or rigid. How could you have fun following your characters' carefree flights of fancy if you already knew what they'd do next? It seemed a little too much "writing by numbers" and I worried that plotting in advance would leave the resulting story feeling a little formulaic. On the other hand, the problem with pantsing is you can end up writing yourself into dead ends, following the exploits of entirely the wrong character, or wasting time wandering through a plot that you ultimately can't conclude. But friends, there is a middle way.



I've seen some outlines that run to several pages, and some which almost seem like novels in themselves. Likewise I've seen simple lists that state the content of the beginning, the middle and the end. I don't have the patience for long outlines, and short lists don't quite do it for me, so I ended up with a list that simply stated what the point of each scene was going to be. For example, the first scene is set during a train robbery, so the first point was "Train robbery". Fairly self-explanatory, really. Thing is, while I knew roughly what was going to happen next, I didn't know how it was going to happen, and this is where the pantsing came into its own. Knowing what the next scene will be focusses your mind onto only those possibilities that make sense in the context of the next scene. It's liberating in the sense that you're still making it up as you go along, but it stops you wandering too far from the path since you know what your destination will be.



Since then, I've read James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure and Larry Brooks' Story Engineering and both of them make an excellent case for using outlines. I'm certainly making another bulletpoint list while I outline the sequel to The Guns of Retribution (mostly using the 'cause and effect' train of thought - that the 'cause' scene has to come before the 'effect' scene in order to produce a logical narrative) but I'll be leaving myself enough wiggle room so I can discover the characters as I go along.



The Guns of Retribution is currently available for Kindle (here for US and here for UK), and the paperback comes out on Saturday!



Other posts about The Guns of Retribution;

Historical Fiction

Writing Process

Characters

The Guns of Retribution - Characters

Following on from my post yesterday, in which I answered Emma Kerry's question about my writing process regarding The Guns of Retribution, today I'm going to discuss my characters and what they mean to me, as posed by Doc O'Donnell - characters and what they mean to me.



I've already written a post over on the Write Anything blog about creating characters, but I have to admit, I didn't purposefully set out to create any of the characters that appear in The Guns of Retribution. My principal characters are Grey O'Donnell (protagonist and bounty hunter) and Jasper Roberts (antagonist and sheriff). There are other characters, such as Grey's sidekicks Billy and Mahko, my femme fatale Madeline Beaufontaine, and Jasper's evil righthand man Jesse, but each of them cropped up during the writing process with little conscious thought on my part. It's almost as if they were standing offstage, just waiting for their turn to come on and shine.



I've already talked a little about Grey and his part in the writing process in my post yesterday, and he truly is a pleasure to work with. He's tough when he needs to be, but the rest of the time he's well-mannered and polite. He and Jasper share a past, although Jasper's violent and murderous tendencies are what drove Grey to leave Retribution six years before the events of the book. He took up bounty hunting as he's a good shot, he can ride, and it allows him to fulfil his sense of justice and fair play. Grey also managed to freak me out during a ouija board session during one of my paranormal investigations when he came through to thank me for giving him life. Not something many authors can lay claim to! He's not perfect, and he doesn't claim to be, but he tries his best to do what he thinks is right.



Jasper's a bastard. In the novel, I depict him as being short and easily riled, prone to histrionic screaming fits and not-so-subtle threats. I don't really like writing Jasper as he leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I guess there is something of the pantomime villain about him. He might be little in stature, but he's larger than life! Besides which, his performances allow Grey to be a bit sarcastic and it's nice to see that edge to Grey, since he's normally so easygoing. I didn't want Jasper to be the kind of villain you love to hate, or the kind of villain who is so cool in his own right that you prefer him to the hero (like Captain Barbossa or Darth Vader) - I wanted Jasper to be outright odious. I didn't want him to come across as being the somewhat stereotypical "short man with a big mouth", so I brainstormed his backstory to find out what could have possibly turned Jasper from being a bit wild, to full-on evil. I came up with quite a lot of backstory for him, but not much makes it into the book - and that's because it doesn't need to. Readers only need a hint of backstory, and they can fill in the rest. This is a novella, not a psychological case study.



Besides, this isn't just a Western, it's a pulp Western. It needn't be too complicated - it's not trying to be Ulysses. My characters need realistic motivations but I'd rather they were entertaining than lifted from life. Because ultimately, that's what I was trying to do with The Guns of Retribution. I wanted it to be historically accurate, but I want to entertain. I want people to read my book instead of numbing their brain in front of the TV.



If this appeals to you, you can buy it on Kindle (here for US and here for UK), and the paperback comes out on Saturday! Don't just listen to me, check out Pulp Serenade's review!

My Writing Process

As I said in my post about writing historical fiction, a few people asked me questions on Twitter about The Guns of Retribution. As it comes out in paperback on Saturday, I thought I'd answer a few more.



Writer Emma Kerry asked me about my writing process, and how the story grew, so I thought I'd tackle that today.



I started off with my protagonist, Grey O'Donnell, and my villain, Jasper Roberts, at the same time. I think you can't really know your protagonist until you know the antagonist so it made it easier to develop them simultaneously. They share a dark past and the hatred between the pair of them fuels the events of the book so I'm not sure I could have written one first, and then the other. In the first draft, Grey was actually an outlaw, and his companions Billy Cole and Mahko comprised his gang. I let Grey tell his story, but he kept doing nice things for people. I wasn't completely sure that people would "buy" the idea of a well-mannered and thoughtful outlaw. It's not entirely far-fetched (Robin Hood, anyone?) but it just didn't sit right with me. I did what any self-respecting writer does when their characters won't do what they're supposed to and I switched from first person point of view to third.



It didn't work. Apparently the idea of a nice outlaw didn't sit right with Grey either. Partway through writing, he asked me, ever so nicely of course, if I could change his profession. According to him, he was actually a bounty hunter, and Mahko and Billy were not gang members, but rather his friends. As it happened, I'd already written a murder in the Old West in my Dead Man's Hand trilogy, and so it came to pass that Grey ended up as the bounty hunter pursuing this particular murderer. As Grey was so involved with the decision, I switched it back to first person to let him tell the story his way. It always pays to keep your protagonist happy.



As for my writing process, it was a little haphazard, if I'm honest. I'd never really used outlines or writing plans at all before - I was always very much a pantser. However, I didn't want to write myself into any dead ends and as I had an idea of the ending before I began, I wrote a rough list of bullet points for the major scenes. I simply made up the bits in between as I went along. It's quite a flexible method - you have the security of knowing what's going to happen and when, but you still get to explore various possibilities along the way. I'd already immersed myself in Western novels and films, but to add to the experience, I listened to the 3:10 to Yuma soundtrack while writing, which gave me a wonderful backdrop to the story.



One other thing that helped immensely was the 750words.com site. I made sure I wrote a portion of the story every day, so even if I only wrote 750 words, I'd be 750 words further into the story than I would have been otherwise. I'm quite competitive so I used that to my advantage, and seeing that row of ticked boxes every day spurred me on to keep writing. I did have the problem that I didn't actually want to finish it, a problem I wrote about in April,  but I put my fears aside and wrote the ending.



I edited the first draft quite extensively, and I also used beta readers once I had a draft I was happy with. I can't thank Rob Diaz, Jen Brubacher, Sam Adamson and Adam Byatt enough for their input - thankfully, no one had an issue with any of the sections I didn't want to part with, and I agreed with everyone's comments! Extra thanks go to Carrie Clevenger for talking over plot points with me when I got stuck.



Tomorrow, I'll be discussing character creation!



If any of these has whetted your appetite, The Guns of Retribution is available for Kindle (here for US and here for UK) for either $1.85 or £1.14, although the price will be going up soon! You can also preorder the paperback ahead of its release on Saturday.



Also, feel free to sign up for my newsletter if you'd like to be kept up to date with blog posts and releases!

Photo Prompt 51

New prompt available!



If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.



The 51st prompt is Sea.





All photo prompts are my own photography - you can find more of it on Flickr. You can also buy my prints from Deviantart. 20% of all proceeds go to charity - the other 80% go towards my PhD fees!

Friday Flash - Spell Check

Hetty Rae stacked the black leather bound volumes in the centre of the chalk-drawn circle. The candlelight glinted on their gold leaf titles. Advanced Spellcasting for Witchlings. Earth, Wind & Fire - A Musical Guide to Magic. 101 Essential Money $pells. Hex Appeal - A Guide to Love & Curses. They were just the volumes she could see. She pushed her hands through her tangled mass of curls and sighed. The black cat on the dresser tutted.

"It's no good, Ripley. There's no way I can learn all of this by tomorrow," said Hetty. She gestured to the small mountain of books.

The cat twitched its tail and wrinkled its nose.

"Don't look at me like that! I did try, but I just had too many distractions. Do you know how many Spellville game requests I get every day?"

Ripley jumped off the dresser and stalked out of the room. Hetty scowled at the retreating cat and returned her attention to the print out in her hand. The circle now drawn, she just needed to light the quarter candles.

"Iridio!" She flicked her wand at the Earth candle at the north point of the circle. Sparks sputtered and fizzed from the tip of the wand, spraying the floor with a shower of iridescent specks.

"Grotbags!"

Hetty threw her wand onto her bed and dropped to her hands and knees. She crawled around the circle, lighting each candle with a match. She glared at the wand, cursing the sticky tape holding both ends together.

"Good job I don't need that useless thing for this spell," she muttered.

The candles lit, Hetty snapped off the overhead light and stepped into the circle. She consulted the print-out once more and drew a symbol in the air above the books, careful to follow the design on the paper. Hetty cleared her throat and read the words.

"Avicus, avirum, libri gruder,Toeticus, toetivum, libri ruber!"

The candles flared red, and went out. Hetty felt her way across the room, her foot connecting with both the pile of books and a candle. She fumbled on the wall for the switch. Light flooded the room.

Hetty gasped. One candle was on its side in a pool of rapidly hardening wax. The books lay in a tumble in the circle, their leather bound covers now scarlet. Hetty snatched up the top volume to find all of the pages were now crimson, their barely discernible text now maroon.

The door opened and Hetty's roommate walked in. Sassy Fae cradled Ripley in her arms. Hetty pulled a face at the cat's smug expression.

"Harriet! You're supposed to be revising! What on earth happened?" asked Sassy. She surveyed the toppled pile of bright red books.

"I did a spell...it went a bit wrong."

"Show me?"

Hetty handed over the print out. Sassy raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you get this spell?" she asked.

"Witchipedia." Hetty dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Oh you little idiot - I'm guessing you didn't run it through the spell checker?"

"No."

"Ruder means red as in colour, not read as in 'read the book and learned every word because she didn't revise'!"

Hetty sighed and sat on the floor at the foot of her bed. She hauled the nearest book into her lap and flipped it open. She squinted to read the dark red text against the bright red page.

"What are you doing?" asked Sassy.

"I've got an exam tomorrow, don't I? Seems these books aren't going to be read by themselves."

The Guns of Retribution as historical fiction

I hate the concept of self-promotion about as much as I dislike the idea of using sulphuric acid instead of sun cream. It just doesn't sit well with the English sensibility unless you're an attention-seeking contestant on Big Brother. However, as Blackadder would say, needs must when the Devil vomits into your kettle, and here I am, trying to think of ways to promote my new book without jumping out at you, waving a placard in your face.



The hard sell is that The Guns of Retribution is now available for the Kindle through the very excellent Pulp Press (here for the UK, and here for the US). I know a lot of people look down on so-called pulp fiction but it offers a damn good read, as I think I mentioned when I reviewed Danny Hogan's Pulp Press novella Jailbait Justice earlier in the year. I've been trying to think of things to say about pulp fiction to hopefully pique people's interest in it (go on, check out PP's other books, you know you want to), as well as my own book. Besides, publishing blogs are always telling us that no one is buying Westerns, so aside from citing the success of HBO's Deadwood series, or highlighting the change in Hollywood mindset that led to Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens, how do I change your mind?



I did what any self-respecting journalist would do and asked on Twitter if anyone had anything specific they wanted to know about it. After reading the questions, I'm going to run a short series of posts in an attempt to answer them. Hopefully you'll find the processes I describe useful if you're a writer yourself, and if you're not, then hopefully all the talk of gun fights and femmes fatale might make you want to buy the book! Yes, there are guns. There are gallows. There's a bad guy you'll want to punch in the face. What's not to like?



One question I received is one that did play on my mind when I first made the decision to write a Western. Now, my reasons for choosing the genre were quite straightforward. I was offered a range of genres in which to write and the Western was the one that grabbed my attention. I'd already written adventure fiction in the form of my steampunk serial, The First Tale , and the larger-than-life characters of the Old West aren't a million miles away from the pirates of the Caribbean, as exemplified in my Parrots and Piracy stories. The iconography and history are different but the basic idea is the same.



But it wasn't just that. I know what you're thinking, how can a female writer from the cold North East of England possibly write a Western about a male bounty hunter in Arizona? Easy. Research.



Anyone who's been reading my flash fiction for a while will know I have a bit of a thing about writing historical fiction. Grave robbers, the inmates of Bedlam, ships lost at sea, bullies at the Charterhouse School - I just love setting stories in the past. I've had a deep passion for history since I was little and I enjoy the research just as much as I enjoy the actual writing part. I did study the history of the American West at school as part of the GCSE syllabus, and I found it absolutely fascinating - and here was my chance to use it as a backdrop to a story.



I'll be honest, I never much cared for Westerns as films, with the notable exception of Back to the Future III (though I do admit the entire film is stolen by Thomas F. Wilson as Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen). A very good friend of mine recommended Tombstone, and my entire opinion changed. It's an awful film in terms of acting and structure, but it's just so damned enjoyable. While many of the early Westerns are far from historically accurate, choosing to paint a mythologised picture of the Old West, they're a good way to get a feel for a period. Naturally, later Westerns (such as the 3:10 to Yuma remake in which Russell Crowe acts Christian Bale off the screen) are much more adept at historical accuracy.



Clearly, when dealing with a period so far outside one's own lifetime, one of the best research tools is still a library. I read extensively before starting my novella, including general histories of the Old West, histories more specific to Arizona and the Apaches, and other Western novels. I can't stress enough how important it is to read, both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources for the Old West are a little limited in the UK, since we don't have the same level of access to contemporary newspapers, diaries or letters etc., but many of these are reproduced in secondary sources such as history books and biographies. Indeed, the Old West has an added advantage of having been a popular choice for TV documentaries, allowing the information to be presented in a visual way. Yes, there is always the possibility for the bias of the researchers to colour the information, but helps contextualise the period.





All that remains of Aztec, AZ
My final mode of research would have been to visit places in Arizona but seeing as how my budget didn't stretch far enough, I had to rely on Google Maps. Obviously the locations I discovered are contemporary, although many of the ghost towns can still be found using the aerial mode, but Google Maps is good for getting a feel for the landscape. It would be no good me setting a novel in Arizona and then describing lush green fields or subtropical paradises, only to find scrubland and canyons when double-checking the facts. Retribution and Sandwater, the two towns featured in The Guns of Retribution, are entirely made up, but they're loosely based on actual towns. It might be a pulp novella but I didn't want people to read it and say it was factually inaccurate!



I really enjoyed writing the book and I hope people enjoy reading it. The Guns of Retribution is currently 99p/99c, but the price will be going up next week! For those who prefer hard copies, it comes out in paperback on September 24, and you can pre-order it here.

Photo Prompt 50

Can you believe I've done fifty prompts already? Click here if you want to see previous ones. However, the latest prompt is ready and waiting! It's vaguely inspired by the Old West in honour of my book, The Guns of Retribution, which came out for the Kindle on Saturday (see here for details)



If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.



The 50th prompt is Train.





All photo prompts are my own photography - you can find more of it on Flickr. You can also buy my prints from Deviantart. 20% of all proceeds go to charity - the other 80% go towards my PhD fees!

E-Book Release!

It's finally here!!!!! My pulp Western, The Guns of Retribution, comes out in paperback on September 24 but if you can't wait that long, click here to purchase your Kindle copy in the UK, or here for the US. It's 99p for a limited period (it says it's £1.14 due to the fact that e-books are subject to VAT), and then it'll go up to £1.99. I would love to know what everyone thinks!



Here's the Amazon blurb.



The search for a murderous outlaw has brought the long roving Gray O'Donnell near to his hometown of Retribution, Arizona. Bounty hunters ain't popular but old fashioned manners, kindness to regular folk and a face for the ladies make Gray an exception round these parts; and a six gun'll take care of the rest. Anyway, Gray has a job to do elsewhere. But the odious Jasper Roberts has made himself Sheriff of Retribution and he has a score to settle with Gray. Jasper ain't gonna let morals or the law get in the way of a good hanging and the townsfolk are cowed by their villainous lawman. Can you really mess with a man's momma and get away with it?



Sometimes there is more than one bullet with your name on it.



I'll be starting a series of blog posts about the book in the run up to the release of the paperback but if you have any questions, fire away!

Friday Flash - Crossroads

Patrick Gates shook hands with the surveyor through the car window. He stepped back onto the grass verge and waved until the Audi disappeared around a bend. He turned back to the narrow stretch of tarmac that was more pothole than road. A shadow fell across his path. Patrick looked up to see a short woman appear out of the twilight beside him.



"You're the council man. You're here about the crossroads, aren't you?" she asked.



"Yes, I'm the local councillor for the village. Patrick Gates." Patrick held out his hand.



"You're going to build over the crossroads." She ignored his outstretched hand, twisting a floral scarf between her gnarled fingers.



"Well, yes. We're bringing this road up to date to improve the local area," replied Patrick. He gestured to the road running north-south and flashed the mega watt smile he usually reserved for the press.



"But the crossroads–"



"No one uses the east-west road any more. We'll close it off and then we can widen this one to two lanes. You won't have the same problems with finding passing places on a single lane road."



"You can't do that! You can't destroy the crossroads!" The short woman seized his arm and stared up into his face. Patrick fought to break the gaze of her wild eyes.



"We're not destroying anything. We're enhancing the driving experience on this road." Patrick struggled to keep the dazzling grin intact.



"Don't you realise there are people buried there?" asked the woman. "That's witches, vampires, executed criminals and demons!"



"Our archaeologists have ascertained that any remains buried will be too far down to be disturbed." Patrick glanced at the car. How far away was it? Maybe twenty paces? Fifteen, if he hurried.



"You don't get it! They're bound to the crossroads so they can't cause harm, but if you destroy it–"



"Excuse me, madam, but I need to be getting back to my office. I promise I'll get someone to come and talk to you about your worries, but if you want to discuss it further tomorrow with me, then you can," said Patrick. He unclamped the woman's fingers from his arm and slipped a creased business card into her cold hand.



Patrick strode down the road to the car. He risked a look over his shoulder but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Patrick reached his BMW and climbed inside. He adjusted the rear view mirror and looked at his reflection.



"Stupid locals! How dense do you need to be to believe crap like that?" he asked.



Patrick started the car and drove into the encroaching night, keen to put as much distance between himself and the crossroads as possible.



* * *

Four days later, Patrick coaxed the BMW onto the grass bank beside the orange safety barriers. He climbed out of the car and surveyed the change in scene. A dotted white line divided the new tarmac road in two, following the curve of the bend. Machinery clustered around the entrance to the old eastern branch of the crossroads. The barriers blocked the western branch.



He fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. 20:11. Gary Holt from the local newspaper should be here by now. Patrick checked his email in case his secretary had sent him Gary's phone number, but the message simply said Gary wanted some atmospheric twilight shots for the paper.



A gust of wind skittered across the road. Something fluttered near the machinery.



"Gary?"



Patrick's voice carried across the road. He looked both ways for the signs of an approaching car. Another gust of wind danced along the old east-west road, raising a mournful moan. Patrick shuddered. More movement beside the machinery caught his eye. He swallowed his growing unease and crossed the road.



A scrap of material rippled along the ground, caught between two. Patrick pulled it free. A familiar floral pattern covered the delicate chiffon. He turned it over in his hands. His fingers found a dark sticky patch. Dusk bleached colours from his vision, and Patrick lifted the scarf to his nose. An acrid metallic smell filled his nostrils. Patrick gagged and tossed the scarf away. He fished in his pocket for a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his fingers.



A growl came from the bushes to his left. Patrick lurched forward and hurried back to the BMW. He clambered inside and locked the door. The clock glowed in the dashboard. 20:13.



The sound of horses' hooves made Patrick look out of the window. A tall black horse stood in the centre of the road behind the car. Patrick followed the body of the rider upward to the neck, and then empty sky. Bile burned his throat. The headless horseman pointed an index finger in Patrick's direction. Shadows flitted across the road and cackling filled the cool evening air.



Patrick fumbled with the keys. The BMW sputtered, its engine turning over but refusing to start. He looked out of the side window to see a pair of yellow eyes glaring at him from the hedge. A heavy thump on the roof rocked the car and he winced at the sound of claws on metal.



Something hissed on the back seat. Patrick glanced at the rear view mirror, but the car was empty. Patrick only saw the headless horseman patrolling back and forth across the road.



Skeletal fingers wrapped in shreds of rotting flesh crept across the headrest of the driver's seat. Ragged nails brushed Patrick's ear. A yelp forced its way between his lips and he turned around. A figure sat on the back seat, skin peeling away from its yellowed skull. Red eyes burned in the deep sockets and decayed lips exposed the razor sharp canine teeth.



A clawed hand to the throat stole Patrick's scream before he could unleash it.



* * *

The prompt for this piece came from Daniel Brown, AKA @FunkyScarecrow, whose blog you can find here. He asked, "What happens when a crossroads gets demolished? Where do the demons, black dogs, ghosts and spirits of the hanged go?"

Photo Prompt 49

Latest prompt, ready and waiting.



If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.



The 49th prompt is Obelisk.





All photo prompts are my own photography - you can find more of it on Flickr. You can also buy my prints from Deviantart. 20% of all proceeds go to charity - the other 80% go towards my PhD fees!