Ravon Silvius's Blog, page 32

Confusing!

So for a while the editions of Perils got confused, but now they seem to be clearer. Perils of Forgotten Pain, released way back by Shadowfire, is out of print. Perils of Forgotten Pain 1 is available at Extasy books, here:
http://www.extasybooks.com/the-perils...

And part 2 is coming out in two months!

Maybe next time I'll put up some excerpts-The first chapter of part 1, and a sneak peak at part 2!

New Release!

Perils of Forgotten Pain is released, available at Extasy books!

Perils of Forgotten Pain-Part 1-is Released!

Herman is a loyal soldier, dedicated to fighting against the man who calls himself the King of the Earth, and his cybernetic enhancements make him valuable to the cause. But when he falls victim to a strange illness and is saved from death, he begins to have feelings for the man who saved him-which lead him to be captured by the enemy. There, Herman finds out that he may not be so valuable after all.  
                            Now available for purchase from Extasy Books! 

Development of Taste

How has your reading taste changed over time?
I was always a voracious reader, ever since I realized I waspretty good at it. Funnily enough, I was in remedial reading at the beginningof my first grade year-I distinctly remember my correctly reading the word"world" was the trigger that convinced the teacher to move me up a level. Bythe end of that year, I was in advanced. Just goes to show-sometimes kids justneed time.
But I digress. What did I like to read as a kid? What weremy favorite books?
I started with the classics-Boxcar Kids, Hardy Boys, BeverlyClearly, and the like. Typical contemporary middle grade. I also admit readinga lot of the Sweet Valley High novels, which even back then I realized were abit ridiculous-there was one novel where there is another set of twins, exceptthey have black hair, who tried to steal Jessica and Elizabeth's identity. Itwas soap opera stuff. I also read a lot of silly horror novels, like Goosebumps,and I did read Animorphs.
Around 4th and 5th grade I moved on toanimal fantasy, which was the bulk of my reading for a while, especiallyconsidering I got all my books from my school's library. Redwall, Martin'sMice, any book with talking animal protagonists-I devoured them. I wishWarriors had been out then, because I would have loved it. That was also when Iread my favorite book of all time-TailChaser's Song.
Around 6th and 7th grade I startedbranching out a bit. I gave horror a try, trying and failing to find books withcool vampires. Even back then, I wasn't that into paranormal. I also got myfirst taste of good historical fiction with A Separate Peace.
High school was where my tastes focused-when I read Wheel ofTime. I became a fantasy fan, not limiting myself to animal fantasy. I alsolearned to enjoy science fiction when I read the Otherland series.
Since high school my tastes haven't changed much. I'm opento nearly any genre, but my favorites are fantasy and science fiction. NaturallyI insert gay romance into a lot of my writing, as that is my preference, butromance alone doesn't do much for me-there has to be something otherworldly orfantastical in a story for me to really get sucked in.
I'm trying to find a pattern in my reading over time, butquite honestly I just think being open minded is what led to my readingpatterns now. Also, being impressionable helps-if enough people say somethingis good, I'll usually give it a try.  
I think having a good memory of the books you liked as a kidhelps in writing, especially if you write for a younger audience. Childhood iswhere you discover what you like, and often it's easier for children to  simply get sucked into a story and a world. When Iwrite, I try to evoke that easy feeling of discovery.

Traditional vs E-Publishing

So I've been a published E-author for a while now, with twobooks released. It's been an overall positive experience.
I have not yet been published traditionally-going the agentto big-6 publisher route. I have been trying, though, with two completed works(an MG and a YA).
So, from my experiences with both types of publishing, whathave I noticed?
First, E-publishing is easier. I spent two years trying toget my novel published with a legitimate E-publisher, with some false starts,but now I'm comfortable. I had to brush up on my writing after some rejectionspointed out flaws, but I made it.
Traditional publishing? Tougher. It's recommended thatpeople go through agents first, and not directly to publishers. Agents are thefirst gatekeepers to the publishing world, and they are difficult to impress.No matter how unique you think your premise is, they've probably seen somethingsimilar before, and every agent may find something different wrong with yourmanuscript. I've been querying one work for two years and another work for 6months, and have gotten some promising commentary, but no offers ofrepresentation. 
Keep in mind, though, that my experiences are from writingas a hobby while working 9-5 (or 8-6 in some cases) every day. If you haveplentiful free time to submit to agents and publishers, you may find thatthings move much faster.
Another major difference is how your materials aresubmitted. E-publishers take query letters, but will often look at part of orthe entire manuscript, and often give you pointers even if they reject it.
With agents? You have one query letter with which to impressthem. Make it count. Some will let you paste a few pages into the email, butit's the query letter that really matters. And your rejections will typicallybe standard form rejections, so don't expect anything helpful. Even rejectionsof partial and full manuscripts can take the form of "this is great, but notfor me/this agency." If two different agents reject something and do give youfeedback, the feedback will often be contradictory. All you can do is keeptrying.
So what about once you do get something out? The majordifference here-and the biggest benefit of E-publishing-is turnaround time.I've heard agents say that if they sold a book tomorrow, it would be publishedin two years. E-publishers? 6 months. E-books are a great way to ride a fad,and if as a reader if you decide you like a certain genre, you can expect moresoon. As an author, you can see your work available on Amazon less than a yearafter finishing your book if you edit quickly. E-publishers are often morewilling to take shorter, novella length works, too, expanding an author's shelfand providing quick, cheap reads.
So why bother with traditional publishing at all? It'sharder, slower, and often must create fads rather than fit into them.
The answer is obvious-sales and recognition. E-publishing isgetting there, but for the moment sales can't compare to a traditionallypublished book. On top of that, some genres do better as traditionalbooks-middle grade kids typically can't afford E-readers. Plus, mostE-publishers don't offer advances, so your money will depend entirely on howwell your book does.
Both routes of publishing are valid and can lead to rewards.But keep the differences in mind when planning your future in writing. 

New Cover!

I've got the cover for Part 1 of Perils of Forgotten Pain, to be released by Extasy Books in January!


Herman is a loyal soldier, dedicated to fighting against the man who calls himself the King of the Earth, and his cybernetic enhancements make him valuable to the cause. But when he falls victim to a strange illness and is saved from death, he begins to have feelings for the man who saved him—which lead him to be captured by the enemy. There, Herman finds out that he may not be so valuable after all.

I quite like it :)

Cover released!

Check out the completed works page for the cover of Perils of Forgotten Pain, to be released in January!

NaNoWriMo

 We are well into November, which is National Novel Writing Month-a month where people around the world decide to bang out a novel in 30 days, which apparently means 50k words.
I'm not a huge fan.
Don't get me wrong, I don't outright dislike it, and I have been tempted to join in the fun in the past. NaNo is a good thing in general, in some respects. For those people who need to overcome the fear of writing a large piece of work, or who think they can't do it, NaNo serves as a fantastic motivator. And discussion of stories on forums can serve as a fertile breeding ground for ideas.
Personally, I don't NaNo because I already have a writing system set up. I can't bang out 50k words in 30 days, but I can write a 70k story in five months, or a 30k story in two. I set my goals in terms of story accomplished, not word count. I don't really feel the need to participate.
But there is a dark side to NaNo, that always bothers me-50k words of a story written in 30 days will almost never be a complete story. Most of the time, it won't even be any good.
There are many skills a writer needs, but two very important ones are the ability to perceive flaws in writing, and the knowledge to fix them. Writing a story blisteringly fast does nothing to promote those two skills. Instead it forces you to shove them aside as you strive to make your word count and ignore any warning bells in your head that say "maybe this scene is pointless" or "where am I going with this?" Edit? Bah. Who has time for that? I need more words!
Many experienced writers already know this. They know the rigorous editing that will come after a NaNo story is completed. But the newbie writers who are just learning that they can, indeed, write a real story? They don't.
I've heard dark tales of agents and editors besieged with unedited work after NaNo is over, newbie writers glowing with their accomplishment. But finishing a story is not finishing a story. The mass of bloated words that comes out of a NaNo project is not ready for the experienced public eye. People who receive praise on their blogs for their NaNo stories get falsely puffed up with the expectation that agents and publishers will want it the day after it's finished.
They don't. Agents and publishers want to look at something that has been edited to perfection, and they do have the ability to tell when something has been rushed prematurely out the door. And if it's been posted on a blog? Don't expect publishers to want to publish something that has already been available for free.  

Alpha's world

Like my bio says, I write exclusively science fiction and fantasy. One of the most enjoyable things that comes out of those genres is constructing a new world-but even fantasy and sci fi worlds have elements of reality to them.
Let's look at Alpha. In this world, those with money can basically pay to increase their child's intelligence. This results in a society where the difference between rich and poor is taken to extremes. Rich children are given intelligence and success, while the poor are left to fend for themselves.
But when you think about it, that's not so incredibly different from what we see today. IQ is more elastic than people think-it's not solely what you're born with. Kids given opportunities, who have their good health maintained, and who are supported by their parents, end up with higher intelligence than those who are less fortunate. Taking IQ out of the equation, the rich have vastly more opportunities than the poor, and are able to get better educations and have more access to healthcare-which are important factors to future success.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Those with both natural intelligence and resilience still make a name for themselves, regardless of their background. But too many are getting left behind, and there doesn't seem to be any easy solutions forthcoming. 

Tips on Writing a Fiction Book part 3-Structuring the Story

So you've got a great idea, and you're going to dedicate yourself to getting this book done. Congrats! So what structure is your story going to take? How fast paced is your story? These are things that people typically don't think about consciously, but the actual structuring of your story is one that you should spend some time on. What POV are you in-first or third? How many characters are you following, and how deep into their thoughts are you willing to go? How soon do you launch into your main plot, or introduce us to the conflict? Even seat of the pants writers should have some idea of these things, either before they start or soon after starting.Deciding these things is often a delicate balancing act, and the more you write the more the experience will benefit you. Unfortunately, the experience of writing an entire book is the only thing that will prepare you for writing the next one, and the next, and then maybe, finally the one that will actually be good enough to publish. Pacing and execution are not easy, and can break an otherwise fantastic story.First, the structure. Try to decide early on how many main characters you have and the best POV to take, or consider it as you write. There are several ways to tell a story, but some are better for certain types of stories than others, and only you can decide what is best for yours.Are you following one person or many? Does the villain in your story get a say in anything? How will all of these POVs interact, and how does each one actually advance the story?There are a few traps here to avoid. Don't write from a character's POV if they don't actually have an important role. Not only will it slow your story down, but people will resent the character. Also, if your story is only going to follow one person in a limited third person POV or from first person, make sure to make them very interesting characters and have them develop throughout the story, or your readers may start getting bored. If you're writing from an omniscient narrator's perspective, make sure it's clear who the lens is focused on at the moment. Head hopping without a clear indication of when it occurs (like with a chapter break) will do nothing but confuse your readers.Secondly, we have pacing. How soon does the important part of your story begin? How long do you spend setting it up?I would recommend not taking too long to introduce the main conflict. Have an idea of what the conflict is early on, and don't try to keep main plot points in suspense when they don't matter that much to the overall plot. I made that mistake in my first novel-I wrote thirty thousand words to introduce a plot point that was taken for granted in the grand scheme of the story. If the plot point you're trying to keep mysterious and spending a lot of time on is something that would ordinarily show up on the plot description on the back of the book, don't bother spending so many words on it. Introducing it earlier will make your book more exciting and save you editing later.On the flipside, of course, don't rush into conflict so quickly that you sacrifice everything else. If your character is rushing out of the inn he works at to follow some mysterious wizard, that sounds like a great plot introduction-unless it's happening on page two, in which case I'm not sure I care about him enough yet to want to continue.Make sure everything you write matters to the story. This is basically just avoiding filler. Every scene should advance something that is important to the story you are writing or the world you are building. Don't waste time on details that don't matter; people don't really care what your main character had for breakfast.Of course, don't skip things that are necessary, either. If your character was gravely injured in a fight, don't make him recover after a day just to keep the story moving. Keep things fast paced, but keep them realistic as well. If you aren't writing an action scene, use the space to develop the character. The order things should be addressed in terms of importance, especially after the story has begun, should be plot advancement, character advancement, and finally worldbuilding. If the scene you're writing is not addressing any of those things, think about it further before writing it.To sum up, pacing and structuring your story is vastly important. It's also the hardest thing to learn and the hardest to teach, because it is so dependent on experience and on the exact story you are writing. The best thing to do, especially when you are uncertain, is to write far more than you think you need. If you're not sure if you want an extra character POV, write them both and decide later based on what you've written. It is easier to delete than to add. This also makes editing easier, which is what I will talk about next time.