Robbie MacNiven's Blog, page 5

For Love Not Money

Last week I received two invoice payments for my writing. One was a royalties transfer from a small press I had work published with a couple of years back, another was from Black Library. Needless to say there was a bit of a contrast in the amount paid, and seeing the two juxtaposed at the same time helped reinforce an old writing adage – you don’t do it for the money.

My first short story, published back in 2011, received no advance and a few dollars in royalties. The following nine stories I wrote received between nothing and about $10 each, over the space of four years. Only my novella, Werekynd: Beasts of the Tanglewild, received a slightly more substantial sum, and that was just because it won a couple of competitions.

All the while I kept writing away, and I was happy. That’s the crucial part. Nobody should become a writer for the love of money, because a) it will take you a long time to actually start generating that money and b) even when you do, it won’t actually be that much. I believe the current average yearly pay of an author in the UK is around £11,000. You’re just not going to become rich.

Writing because you enjoy it is the only way to go. The pay is just a bonus. Getting professional rates from Black Library is amazing, but there’s no denying that if they let me writing for them for free, I’d still do it without a moment’s hesitation.

Just don’t tell them.

The Honour of Writing Tie-In

Tie-in fiction can be a curious beast. For those unfamiliar with the phrase itself, “tie-in” involves authors writing in a shared fictional universe, nearly always scifi or fantasy in nature. So, for example, Star Wars novels are works of tie-in fiction – they’re written by a range of different authors, but they all adhere to the setting and style of the Star Wars universe.

Generally speaking there are two sorts of tie-in authors. Most common are those established writers who approach the publishers of tie-in fiction and ask to write stories for them, or are specifically head-hunted by the publishers themselves. They frequently have a general grasp of how the universe they’re writing for works, but plenty also come to it cold and have to learn it from scratch. The other type are what I call “fan-authors.” They’re the minority, the ones who’ve always followed the setting in question, and come to writing having already been immersed in it for years.

Getting my first miniatures at the age of seven, and entering my first writing competition for them aged thirteen, I think it’s safe to say when it comes to Games Workshop’s fantasy and scifi universes (Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000) that I’m a fan-author. Getting accepted onto their writing team last year was a dream come true.

Now, it’s one thing getting to write stories set in your favourite made-up worlds. It’s entirely another to be chosen to be a part of a series of events designed to shake up said worlds forever. That’s the position I found myself in recently when I was asked to write the sequel to Curse of the Wulfen, entitled Legacy of Russ. The primary focus of these stories are (very, very arguably) the single most popular Space Marine Chapter in existence, the Space Wolves. The specific characters I was tasked to write about were almost all long-standing players in the wider Warhammer 40,000 background lore.

The rules for using Logan Grimnar in tabletop wargames back in 1994

Names like Logan Grimnar, Azrael, Ragnar Blackmane and the Changeling will be familiar to almost every 40k player. Grimnar, for example, appeared in the first Space Wolves supplement in 1994 – he’s only two years younger than me! They’ve been immortalised in hundreds of pieces of art, stories and video games already, and are owned in miniature form by tens of thousands of hobbyists worldwide.  To be the one writing their officially-accepted words and actions has been a huge honour.

I only hope I have completed the next stage of their individual lore-legacies in a way that will satisfy my fellow fans and hobbyists.

War Zone Fenris – The Lost King Extract

From the first part of the Legacy of Russ, the continuation of the War Zone Fenris saga began in Curse of the Wulfen. If you like it, the entire first part is free here!

Logan Grimnar – the Fangfather, the Old Wolf, the High King of Fenris – was dead.

So the daemons said. They howled and shrieked and gibbered the news from warp-spawned throats that shouldn’t have been capable of intelligible words. But the servants of the Dark Gods had never concerned themselves with nature’s constraints.

Logan Grimnar is dead!

‘They lie,’ Sven growled. The young Wolf Lord was clutching his doubled-headed battleaxe, Frostclaw, with such intensity that his whole armoured body was shaking. ‘They lie.’

‘They are warp-scum,’ Olaf Blackstone said. ‘Lying is the sole reason for their existence.’ The white-pelted Bloodguard stood behind and slightly to the right of his lord, yellow eyes surveying the bleak hills that lay barely a mile across the icy sea. Those hills now undulated with a living carpet of daemons, like an infestation of lice swarming over a rotting skull. They had appeared not half an hour before, crawling like primordial nightmares from the depths of Svellgard’s oceans. They were massing for an attack, cohorts of lesser daemons marshalling beneath the nightmarish banners of their gods, and as they did so their deranged shrieks carried across the cold waters to Sven and the rest of his Firehowler Space Wolves.

‘They’re trying to provoke us,’ Olaf said. ‘Hoping we divide our forces.’

Sven Bloodhowl opened his mouth to reply, then paused as the hammering of bolter fire broke out behind him. His Great Company were still purging the last of the defences at the heart of the World Wolf’s Lair, burning the shrieking daemons from their holes with gouts of blazing promethium before mowing them down with bolter fire. Progress reports trickled back constantly over the vox as the noose tightened around the last wyrd-spawn left in the depths of the fortified missile control nexus.  Nine packs, the entirety of Sven’s Great Company, were stalking the bunkers, redoubts and weapon emplacements arrayed in concentric circles around the rockcrete keep dominating the island’s centre. They would not stop until they had hunted down every last creature from the first daemonic wave to have overrun the island.

‘I’m provoked,’ Sven said as the bolter echoes were snatched away by Svellgard’s cruel wind. ‘What’s the status of the Drakebanes?’

‘Ten of the pups still able to wield a chainsword.’

‘And the Firestones?’

‘Only five. Wergid is among the dead. The survivors are still hungry though. As are our Wulfen.’

‘Then you shall lead them, Olaf. Vox Torvind, Kregga, Uuntir and Istun. Have them return from the central bunkers and assemble here. And two thunderhawks.’

‘The Godspear and the Wolfdawn have both refuelled and rearmed. They are inbound from the fleet, expected arrival in ten minutes.’

‘Then they shall be the vehicles of our wrath. A wolf should never suffer a liar.’

In truth, Sven had not killed enough today. His heart still raced and his fingers itched. The thought of wyrdling filth defiling not just Svellgard, but all the worlds of his home system brought up an instinctive urge to lash out. He had not had word from any of the other battle-zones for hours – as far as he was aware Harald Deathwolf was still consolidating on nearby Frostheim, while Egil Iron Wolf and the Great Wolf were engaged on Midgardia. The daemonic taunts reached him again from across the narrow sea, and he shuddered.

They were wrong. Logan Grimnar was not dead. He couldn’t be.

‘To attack is unwise, my jarl,’ Olaf said, still watching the nearby island. ‘There are doubtless more such filth spawning from the rifts below the waves all about us. If we split our forces we invite annihilation.’

Sven turned to face his old packmate, and although rage still burned in the Wolf Lord’s grey eyes, his tattooed features and strong, stubble-lined jaw were clenched with a tight smile.

‘Are your fangs getting too long for all this, Olaf?’ he asked. The Bloodguard champion returned his gaze levelly, without expression, too old to be so easily drawn.

‘Don’t tell me a hundred-odd kills are enough to sate you for one day?’ Sven pressed. ‘If the Bloodguard aren’t with me I’m sure the Oathbound would take your place? Or the Firewyrms?’

Olaf still said nothing, but there was a chill whisper of naked steel as his wolf claws slid free from his gauntlets.

‘If you wish to teach monsters not to lie,’ the Bloodguard said. ‘Then I will be as happy as ever to assist with the lesson.’

Four Days in March

While the four days in March – specifically the 4th to the 7th – certainly don’t come close to the drama of those four days in June, on a personal level they’re undeniably significant. More so than any other time in the year, these four days give me a time to reflect on the differences that 365 days can make.

Today – March 4th – I am finishing the first draft of my second published novel. The first novel isn’t actually out yet, but that’s probably understandable considering I only put the finishing touches on it in mid January (publishing is at best a slow business, and at worst leads to all sorts of strange, warped release schedules). Tomorrow, March 5th, is going to be my 24th birthday. March 7th will be the first anniversary of the day I sent a cover letter to Games Workshop, hoping – yet scarcely believing – that they’d hire me as a tie-in fiction writer.

The latter half of 2015 and the early months of 2016 look to have been the breakthrough I’ve been working towards since 2011 kicked off with the horrifically cliched resolution, “I’m going to be a write.” Since April last year I’ve had four short stories, one audio drama and two novels published by Games Workshop’s publishing wing, Black Library. I should be getting the commissioning forms for a third novel in the next couple of weeks. Once the first two start hitting the shelves, at least one will be getting stocked in high street book stores like Waterstones – a personal dream come true. Breaking into the “pro” market has also meant that, for the first time in my life, I can say I’m self-sufficient. I can finally pay for food, rent and my University’s tuition fees without having to take out loans or lean on my parents for financial support.

March-to-March, it’s been a great year. Even more surprising is the realisation that all of the writing I’ve done for Black Library bar a single short story (so three shorts, the audio drama and the two novels) have all been written since November. Nor does the workload show any sign of slacking. For a budding freelance author, that’s a welcome realisation indeed.

These four days in March let me take stock and be thankful. I’m happy in the knowledge that, even if I haven’t written a single thing more when we eventually get to March 2017, I’ll still be able to say I’ve achieved things I’ve always wanted to do.

War Zone Fenris Unleashed

After what feels like years of waiting, I can finally talk a bit about my part in the latest thrust of Warhammer 40,000 narrative. Today sees the release of Curse of the Wulfen, the first installment in the new War Zone Fenris campaign. That means lots of shiny new models, rules and, indeed, stories. The first novel of the series is the appropriately-named Curse of the Wulfen, penned by the excellent David Annandale. The sequel, starting in serialised ebook chapters soon and released as a single, physical novel later this year, will be by me.

To summarise events, we’ve got the Wulfen returning from the warp, vast daemonic incursions, the Dark Angles and the Grey Knights at each others and the Wolves’ throats, the Alpha Legion striking from within the heart of the Fenris system, and a plot to turn the Imperium against itself. Carnage on an interplanetary scale ensues…

The Fear Part 2: Fresh Fear

“Fear” by akirakirai on deviantART

If you’re thinking “why the terrible faux movie title” then I should probably point out that The Fear 1 is here.

Almost a year ago I blogged about how a certain, strange unease comes with reaching the next level in a writing career. You almost certainly wouldn’t know it at the time, amidst all the anguish of rejections and rewrites, but when you’re a rookie still looking for a publisher or agent there’s not actually any pressure to deliver, except in your own mind.

Then you get signed by a publisher with a fan base that guarantees thousands, indeed probably tens of thousands (and, I think in one case, over a million) readers. So it is with SciFi and Fantasy publisher Black Library. To equal parts shock and delight, I was signed up to their author pool in March last year.

The work since has been gratifying, enjoyable and pretty much constant. I have progressed from short stories (and the unique challenge of a short audio drama) to my first novels. I’m told that, if my debut does well, I’ll be looking at a series. Maybe even two separate ones.

Suddenly I’m where I always wanted to be. But The Fear (TM) is still very much there. A self conscious part of me still likes to tell the rest of my mind that I can’t really write, not well. And when my first novel hits the big-time shelves in Waterstones bookstores across the world, people are going to discover that en-mass. The editors will drop me like a hot potato, and my dreams will have been quashed just when they were getting started.

That, by the way, is definitely doing a great disservice to my editors, who are both lovely and talented. They likely wouldn’t be so cruel. But as wonderful as they are, I’m not naive enough to misjudge the publishing industry. It’s a profession. It requires sales. It requires buyers to enjoy their product. And my writing is the product. I’m the product.

Maybe these are first time fears, or maybe I’ll always be afraid that what I’m writing is stinky word-crud. The most frequently repeated advice from fellow-authors seems to be “don’t let it bother you.” Don’t read the reviews. I get the wisdom in that. But it’s tough sometimes. Everyone seems to have enjoyed my short stories thus far, but those are still relative small-dry works. The release date of my first novel is starting to loom. My authorial debut. Judgement Day for my writing.

For now all I can do is press on and hope that whatever the editors have seen in me is spotted by everyone else. Until the there’s just me, my keyboard, and The Fear.

The countdown to my novel debut has begun

Writing Motivation

Yesterday Buzzfeed published an article asking What Keeps You Motivated While Writing A Novel. Since I thought the questions were actually fairly neat (for Buzzfeed) I decided to have a go answering them, in typical “it’s kinda all personal to you” writer style;

How do people discipline themselves to write every single day?

Writing is exactly the same as physical exercise in terms of endurance. Think of it as a muscle. If you want to build it up you gotta start small and slow but continue to work at it, over and over, growing over time. It can take years, but just like attaining that toned physique, becoming athletic at the keyboard was never going to be easy.

How do you combat the fear that your writing might just be a pile of shit?

You don’t. You just roll with it. If you’ve written something before that’s received okayish to good reviews, to cling on to those for dear life. Also remember that fear of rejection stops a huge number of people from publishing. Don’t be one of them. Don’t let your own brain put you out of the competition before other people even get a chance to air an opinion.

How do you create the perfect writing space so you don’t get distracted?

Personally, I pretty much don’t. It’s tough. Some people say write offline, but I use the internet so frequently to just quickly look up something mid-write. The way I get round it is just refusin to leave the keyboard until I’ve met the day’s objectives. Yeah I can distract myself gaming or on Youtube, but that’ll just mean I have to stay working for longer. Remember, ultimately it’s all a mind game you play with yourself.

Do you require total silence? Or do you have a writing playlist to hand?

This is a totally personal thing. I need silence, but music without lyrics (typically Classical or soundtracks) can sometimes cut it. Silence is optimal though.

And lastly, do you plan the whole story out? Do you try to write in big chunks? Do you have a strict writing schedule?

Again, that’s pretty personal to each individual. I like to have about 75% planned out (I struggle to get it all planned before the need to start overwhelms my defences). I’m in awe of people who can start writing without a plan and produce a whole novel that way, especially when it comes to endings, which I hate (I try to plan them first actually). Having said that, there will definitely be changes made once writing begins. As for the writing itself, I get round writer’s block by writing no-sequentially. If I hit something hard I’ll just skip ahead and write another part, then join the dots (thanks to my pre-prepared plan) later on. Again though, that’s a personal approach and everyone writes differently.

 

Four Years On

Today marks four years since I first started this WordPress. From the beginning the hope here was to wax verbose about my writing and give myself an outlet for creativity that wasn’t bent solely towards work-writing. Somewhere down the line it became the hub for my little internet empire. None of this would be possible without the active support of all my followers, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr(s), Goodreads or indeed here.

Coincidentally, and through no effort of my own, I also discovered today that I have a Wikipedia entry. That seems to sum up the distance I’ve come in four years. Here’s hoping the next four are as fun and exciting!

Star Wars Episode VII – A Review

So I caught Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens last night, which means it’s high time for a review. Beware, Star Destroyer-level spoilers ahead.

So, right off the bat, I’m giving it a 3/5 stars. I’ll kick off with what I enjoyed.

Obviously, at a basic level, the generally Star Warseyness of it all. Droids. Space freighters with tentacle monsters. X-wings battling TIE fighters. Stormtroopers. Light sabre duels. All these things salve my soul. On a more detailed level, I’ve been a long-running critic of the franchise writer’s inability to incorporate more believable military doctrine into its set-piece battles (I’m a War Studies graduate, what can I say?). That’s been addressed somewhat in VII, with First Order troopers calling in airstrikes, relying on air support and generally being slightly more effective and intimidating than the Failtroopers of old. Speaking of, how badass is Captain Phasma? It’s criminal that she didn’t have a bigger role, but in fairness to J. J. Abrahams he didn’t realise how much the fans would love her. Apparently she’s not dead (yay!) and will have a bigger role in Episode VIII. I hope she finally makes Storm Troopers a (lower-case f) force to be reckoned with.

Sticking with the bad guys, I also liked the slightly mad-eyed General Hux. Unlike the simpering Imperial commanders of old, he takes absolutely no s**t from Kylo Ren, which is refreshing. Hopefully, like Phasma, he continues to give the Resistance a real run for its money, and doesn’t just regress to disposable villain sidekick.

Turning to the Light side of the Force, I thought both Fin and Ray were great (and I think Daisey Ridley has great acting talent), BB-8 was sufficiently adorable, and I like how they kept Luke more or less out of this first new installment. Sometimes it’s best to play the long game.  Also, Poe Dameron, the X-wing pilot, had a great retro Star Wars feel about him.

This is where most of the 3 of my 5 stars come from. Where are the other two? Well, I’ll address my biggest beef first of all. And that was

THE DEATHSTAR MARK III

Seriously. I wish I’d been a fly on the wall when the creative team were all sitting round a table and someone said “right everyone, for the finale, how about they attack… an even bigger Deathstar.” And everyone cheered. Presumably.

I feel like I’m the only person in the world that hates the presence of the Star Killer, but I just can’t shake it. I mean I think it’s terraforming was cool. And the symbolism of it sucking up a sun and turning everything dark was also pretty awesome. But beyond that I’m left screaming why. It’s so ridiculous the film actually has to address it in-plot during the Resistance briefing, with one officer being like “it’s another Deathstar” and then everyone agreeing they’ll just destroy it the way they always do. The fact that it’s a BIGGER BADDER DEATHSTAR THAT CAN DESTOROY A BUNCH OF WORLDS AT ONCE just makes it more cringeworthy, as does the fact it was once again stopped from firing with 30 seconds to go. I want to find the guy designing all these evil doom machines with their one big exploitable structural flaw, and Force-choke the hell out of him.

By the time the finale fight was underway I’d actually just about come to terms with Star Killer. I could see a way the plot could be salvaged. The Resistance were going for the weak core, just as they had done in Episodes IV and VI. It had to be a trap, right? I could see it in my mind’s eye – the Resistance takes the killing shot, everyone cheers. Then cut to the bridge of the Star Killer. Grim-faced, General Hux orders his subordinates to “activate the stabilising systems.” To the Resistance’s horror they realise Star Killer has a falesafe, and they haven’t actually dealt it a fatal blow. It would even have helped the Deathstar-loving script writers, because then they’d have gotten to use their doom-laser-planet in Episode VIII as well.

But no, true to past form, it just dies. At least all the villains make it off.

The presence of Star Killer actually summed up what I didn’t like about Episode VII. For large chunks of the film I felt as though I was watching an extremely high-budget Star Wars fanfic production. It was a love letter, written by Abrahams and addressed to the childhood nostalgia of millions of fans. Which in itself is fine, but it wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t really go to see another droid evading Stormtroopers with vital hidden plans, or X-wings wrecking another doom machine, or a desert world that’s Definitely Not Tatooine (I get there were lots of little differences, but still, there are a lot of the worlds in the galaxy that don’t involve scavenging sand peoples). Of course I appreciate the nostalgia as much as everyone else (go Millennium Falcon, go!), but it felt like too much of a carbon copy. It made me appreciate just how much the prequel trilogy really did explore new territory.

Hopefully this has been done to plug a fresh generation into the style and feel of the Star Wars franchise. Presumably the next films (and the spinoffs, which I’m really looking forward to) will now forge ahead with new, unexplored plotlines and settings.

The Force is strong in this series. The Originals have it. The Prequels have it. The new trilogy has it. They just need to not be afraid to explore it in full.