R.J. Hore's Blog: Fall is Here, page 3

Trying Different Styles to Keep a Writer Sane

Trying Different Styles to Keep a Writer Sane

I don’t remember having a particular genre in mind when I started to write. As I recall, my first attempts at writing novels (all unpublished) include a straight horror love story, a reincarnation Arthurian (horror?) tale, and a fantasy trilogy with sci-fi overtones.

My first published novels were variations on the medieval-style fantasy: the “Dark Lady” trilogy, and the “Queen’s Pawn trilogy.” Already restless by that stage, at the same time I veered off, creating the “Housetrap Chronicles,” a wild, no-rules series of fantasy detective novellas.

An attempt at a short medieval-style short story turned into four shorts combined as the novella, “Knight’s Bridge.”

I was already showing some signs of not sticking with any particular theme here.

Then, I combined a modern couple with a Dark Age alternate universe to come up with the questing fantasy of “Alex in Wanderland.”

Somewhere around this time I turned one of my favorite opening lines into the near-future, archaeologically themed, sci fi adventure, “We’re Not in Kansas.”

Next, I decided to tackle the what-if themed North American invasion of Europe with the “Toltec Dawn” trilogy. What started out as a lengthy single novel became three, although for a while there was even a threat of turning it into a series.

Never having written a straight science fiction novel, I tackled “Of Destiny’s Daughters.” That, of course, begged the nagging question of, ‘What happens next?’ This became the latest trilogy of “Hammer Across the Stars” and the soon-to-be-released “Expeditions to Earth” and a full-blown space opera.

I don’t know if I’d enjoy writing as much if I stuck to one genre. I also suspect trilogies are as long as one particular tale might hold my attention. Housetrap Chronicles being the exception, as there have been nine published, with two more in the wings, and a couple still percolating. But. with Housetrap I can throw in everything including a kitchen sink so boredom is not a problem.

The bottom line is I write to amuse myself and find out how the story ends. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Hooking the Reader

Some authors and experts put great store in that magic first sentence to hook the reader into buying the book. While reading an article on the subject recently I realized that, while I was familiar with the theory, I have never bought or borrowed a book based on that, or paid serious attention to the rule while writing my own novels

I usually glance at the front cover, read the back blurb, read the inside blurb, and based on that, and any familiarity with the author or subject, buy or borrow the thing. I never see the first sentence until I’m at home.

I agree the opening is critical, especially if you want the reader to finish the book, but to me there is a lot more than the first sentence, or even the first paragraph.

Here are some opening sentences from a scattering of some of my novels and novellas.

“They say she is the Devil’s spawn, born in a cloud of brimstone and sulphur on a night when the peaks echoed with thunder and the castle walls trembled.” (The Dark Lady)

“They are through the city gates!” (The Queen’s Pawn)

“I don’t like elves, never have.” (Housetrap)

“Alexis came through the door like an unguided missile at the end of its orbit.” (Alex in Wanderland)

“Macy rose to her feet, leaned over, and poured the entire ruby contents of her wine glass over the crotch of his light gray slacks.” (We’re Not in Kansas)

“My Liege, these sources are not guaranteed, but are drawn from the best information at this time, including fleeing refugees and captured prisoners.” (Toltec Dawn)

“Atacama Desert, DeGrassie Observatory, 9:05EST “I just picked up a bright flash near Jupiter.” (Of Destiny’s Daughters)

Maybe I’m missing something by not paying more attention to the first sentence rule?

Of Destiny's Daughters - The Trilogy

When I wrote the original novel, “Of Destiny’s Daughters,” I had no idea where I was going or what would happen when I got there. It turned into my attempt at what is sometimes called a “Space Opera,” a big splashy adventure in outer space.

When the original novel ended, it had what I thought was a reasonable resolution, if a bit open-ended. But that started me thinking, okay, so what happens next? The main characters carried onward, and it turned into a bit of a straight wild adventure tale centered on Lucy as she learns to come to grips with life in another universe complete with lots of explosions and strange goings-on. I even surprised myself when I killed off a main character, and some of the bit players from book one developed further. As I neared the end I found I took a sharp change of direction and was suddenly combining what could have been a complete third volume into the last part of book two. The title, “Hammer Across the Stars” suits this story. Is Lucy the “hammer” or is that a description of her adventures? This second volume is now due in the later part of the summer of 2020.

This unexpected ending (to me) of book two left the door wide open for a third volume to bring this crazy adventure to some kind of close. What had been uncovered in Hammer is returned to with some urgency and the skies get a bit crowded in what became “Expeditions to Earth,” a novel that is now scheduled for release in late 2020 or early 2021.

We next ran into a situation with the covers. No one was quite satisfied with the original version used when “Of Destiny’s Daughters” first came out. The bright orange colour scheme and an illustration attempting to make use of the Canadian Parliament Buildings made for a difficult palette to expand on for the next two novels in the trilogy; not to mention quite different locations for both of those settings. The publisher came up with a look more suitable for a space opera. The cover for book one was replaced to fit into the revised colour and theme.

Will there be more stories to follow? Probably not. My editor was satisfied with the final scene of book three. Of course, there is always room to continue a tale, unless you kill everyone off. I didn’t.

Thoughts on Rejections

Rejections, I’ve had a few -- no, make that several. The secret is to be persistent and send your writing out into the wide world.

I started out writing (probably terrible) novels. I’d finish one, send it away to a famous publisher, and start another while I was waiting to hear back. I actually had one manuscript held by a publisher for a couple of years before they decided to reject it. In the meanwhile I was gathering dozens of rejection letters. If there was a comment rather than a form letter, I was thrilled.

This was back in the day when you printed off an entire manuscript and mailed it away with sufficient return postage.

I was also working full time so I was busy!

While I was waiting I entered a national short story contest, which I won first place, and sent out dozens of short stories to anthologies. Most came back with form letters, but one editor was kind enough to comment, twice, that: “this story sounds like it should be a novel." I was persistent, and finally I heard back from an editor who was compiling a collection of shorts into book form. She told me she “almost” accepted one of the two short stories I submitted, but it got bumped by a late arrival that fit that particular theme better. The good news was she was next compiling a modern vampire collection and one of the two stories I’d sent her was about vampires. Would I be interesting in submitting to the new collection? I said YES, and it was accepted. I was in print and in paperback and hardcover!

The moral to all this rambling is that you will never be published if you don’t send your material out. One benefit to me of all the above early aggravation was that when I finally sat down across from a receptive publisher, who asked, “What have you done so far?” I could point to the short story win, and to my story in the recent anthology.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard, was from a successful writer, who told a beginner to write a short story a week, and send it out. If it comes back rejected, look it over, and send it out again. If nothing else, your writing will certainly improve over the next year or two, and you may even become published.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it probably is. How badly would you like to be published?

Write Where You Know

You often hear that old chestnut, “Write what you know.” This doesn’t mean you have to be an actual space cadet, vampire, or serial killer, to write about such characters, but you have to be at least familiar with the genre, or better yet, an interest and well-read on the topic. I’m going to take a look at something else in this essay, the setting.

To help bring your story to life, when in doubt, make use of a setting you are familiar with. Something as simple as the Comic Con you recently attended can provide a setting for any number of types of tales: fantasy, murder mystery, sci-fi, romance. Aliens can be encountered anywhere. Did you ever spend time at a lake in a summer cottage? Remember those dark nights with the wind stirring the trees? What is that scratching at the window? How many times have you been to a shopping mall or a zoo? Ever wondered about finding elves lurking in the food court or conversing with the llamas?

Then there is the dreaded research, especially on eras or locations you may be interested in writing about, but not personally familiar with. I’m not fond of research, one reason I make a lot of things up and write fantasy. Yet, when I decided to write an alternate history I made the effort. Fortunately I had a personal interest and some background in a few of the elements I was exploring. The result was the Toltec Trilogy.

We’ve all been somewhere at some time, even if it is only your own bedroom, staring at a closet door that refuses to stay closed. As you travel, or read about far-away places, you can expand the locations you might use to raise up your tales. The more you experience, visit, read, view, the wider the range of your possible settings. The only limits are those created by your own imagination.

Efforts at World Building

My Own World Building Efforts – Dark Lady and Queen’s Pawn

When I wrote “The Dark Lady” the tale was centered about the remnant of an ancient kingdom located inside a large mountain valley. To keep my locations straight, neighbours, estates, castles, etc., I drew myself a map and marked everything important on it. When the book came out I received comments from the readers about the difficulty of following or picturing the locations. I added a copy of the map available for downloading placed on my website. When “Dark Days” and “Dark Knights” came out the publisher added the map and a character bio.

The world I created was fairly compact so once I described the valley, and made certain it was self-sufficient, (Farms, complex trade, religion) I was off and running.

My next mediaeval fantasy trilogy was “The Queen’s Pawn.” This first volume unfolded mainly in a mad scramble across a varied countryside to get the Royals to safety. I didn’t even bother to give the city they were fleeing from a name. (Everyone there would have been well aware of what was being referred to.) My description of the land simply involved the scenery they were dashing through. Religion could be guessed at by the frequent descriptive curses of the participants.

The next two volumes, “The Queen’s Man,” and “The Queen’s Game,” were centered around life within a mountainous country and two main castles. I made mention of the support system but didn’t dwell on it. I tried to keep things logical, including the difficulty of travel in the mountains once winter arrived.

In both cases I didn’t have to describe in detail what lay outside of the characters’ experiences. In “Dark Lady” I described just enough of what lay beyond the borders. In “Queen’s Pawn” my descriptions were restricted to what the characters were experiencing. As the author I reserved the right to design my own and quite different versions of dragons.

Sometimes the Characters Take Overs

Sometimes the Characters in My Novels Take Over the Story

Now this doesn’t happen to me all of the time. I don’t think I noticed it while writing the “Dark Lady Series.” Those characters pretty well followed the script. Probably just as well for my first published medieval fantasy trilogy.

Then I wrote “The Queen’s Pawn.” I decided to lighten things up from the goings on in Dark Lady and created a protagonist who was innocent and way out of his depth and threw him deep into life and death situations coming at him from all directions. He had to reluctantly rescue a queen and her daughter and get them to safety. In her opening scenes the queen came across as a bit flighty, and her daughter was downright nasty. I thought this was funny. I guess the queen didn’t. She quickly revealed her true character and took over her part in the story. Even her daughter changed and forced me to uncover her backstory. I let them run with it for three volumes.

I notice these things happen from time to time. You create a character, set them on what you think is their path, and they don’t always behave.

When I decided to write my sci fi epic about a giant spaceship hovering over Ottawa I knew two of the main characters would be Paul, a bored civil servant, and his sister Lucile, an ex-military type at loose ends. I hadn’t decided when I started who would play the lead. Lucile and her friends soon took over, hence the book’s title: “Of Destiny’s Daughters.” At least Paul makes a return appearance in the later books.

“The Perils of Paul” (no relation to the above Paul) is the novel I’m currently serializing on my author Facebook page. I created the main characters in the first chapter and turned them loose. Some of the characters surprised me early on with what they got up to, or who they turned out to be.

It helps me in my writing to get to know the characters early in the tale so when I get into difficult scenes I can rely on what they would do in a given situation. That’s just the way I write. Makes things more interesting and makes me want to discover how it will all turn out in the end.

Publishers and Agents

Let us assume you have learned your craft and created a manuscript you are proud of. You have gone over every page a dozen times and had someone other than your favorite relative read the final result and comment on it. You have considered those comments, made changes if necessary, and are now ready to take the next giant step.

Almost every budding new writer goes through the lengthy exercise of trying to find a publisher, agent, or both. They often ask the question, which should I try to get first? My short answer is, “why not attempt to find both?” Do your research and send out inquiries to suitable publishers and to agents who deal in your genre. Based on my limited experience, they are equally difficult to link up with.

Over the years I’ve had two published authors recommend me to their agents, with either no response, or a complete rejection.

I’ve sent out countless manuscripts, had three publishers like the product, and then sit on it for up to two years. In one case, after much prodding from me, a manuscript was finally rejected as, “not suitable for them.” In the other two cases, I was finally accepted by a fourth publisher, and was able to advise that the manuscript the others had been sitting on was no longer on the market.

How did I find my publisher? I had a face-to-face meeting at a convention and an opportunity to pitch my product. That gets the manuscript on the desk of someone actually looking forward to seeing it. But be ready with your “elevator pitch.” You have limited time to present what you have written and why you are qualified. You will probably be required to outline how you plan to promote your work. Advertising budgets are limited.

So be well prepared. I had some practice. Before I had my successful meeting with a publisher I’d sat across the table from two other publishing houses and one agent and had the opportunity to talk about my writing and my qualifications. They asked difficult questions. I’d a background in business writing, already won a national short story contest, and had a short story published in an anthology.

The alternative is to self-publish. There are several ways to go this route, including Amazon or firms such as McNally Robinson in Winnipeg. You will have to hire an editor, design a cover, and probably have to gain some technical knowledge. You will definitely have to learn the skills of marketing.

Avoid a vanity press where they take your money, make un-kept promises, do limited editing, and are even more limited in the way of book promotion.

But after all of this there is nothing like the feeling you get when you finally see your manuscript in print.

Writing Styles - Plotting

I’m a “Pantser”. This means I usually write by the seat of my pants. When I sit down to create a novel I often just have a vague idea with an opening scene, and hopefully, but not necessarily, an ending. I may not know who the main characters are, or their stories. If I’m fortunate, I may have some ideas jotted down that I plan to incorporate into the tale. I often like to say, “I write to find out how the story will end.”

The opposite of “Pantser” is “Plotter.” Dedicated plotters will have spent hours, days, months, outlining what they are going to write. They will have detailed scenes and chapters, written out their character’s backstories in detail, and have a firm idea of where they are going long before they begin. They may have story charts pasted up on the walls and running all around the room.

When I have an idea for a story I want to sit down and start writing it, not spend the next 6 to 12 months in planning how I’m going to do it. But that is just me.

The good news is there is no one way, or right way, to write a novel. The secret is to discover what system works best for you. It may even turn out to be a combination of both methods.

For example, I learned early on of the need to make copious notes as I go along. In one of my early novellas, I changed the spelling of the main character’s name halfway through. In another case, the publisher asked me to turn a novel into a trilogy. I had to go back and re-read the first book, making detailed notes on character’s names, histories as I had created them, country names etc. In effect, it sounds as though I’m plotting in reverse. The characters often take over, evolving into something completely different from what I anticipated at the beginning. I have to discover their motivation; their backstory. “Why does the wizard want to kidnap the queen?” “Why is the princess so bitchy?” “Why does the queen’s brother act the way he does?” “Who is the murderer, and why?”

The moral of all of this is to write the way that works best for you and don’t be afraid to change or use bits of both methods. I can start to write a Housetrap Chronicles novella simply based on a title I came up with, like “The Road to Hell is Paved with Parsnips,” or I can take the time to do some research and sketch out a lot more detail before I start such as in the “Toltec Trilogy.”

Use the method that is most comfortable for you and don’t hesitate to experiment.

Knight's Bridge - A Standalone Novella

Every once in a while an image, or single scene, bubbles into my head and won’t leave, Sometimes I have to give in and try to write out where this annoyance is going.

I had an idea for a serious short story about a disheartened and wounded knight escaping from a lost battle around a major bridge. The wide river acts as the divide between the civilized south and the frontier lands to the north. The tale is told from his POV in the first person. He encounters three fleeing refugees, a woman and her two small children, and reluctantly guides them to relative safety. When I finished, I wasn’t completely satisfied. It was the typical open-ended story with no resolution as to what happens next to the characters who are still in peril and after much thought I decided to carry on and find out.

The next section was narrated from the POV of the brutal warlord who has been charged with finding a route to lead a large force to cross the river and assault the bridge from the rear. His methods are ruthless. The woman’s refuge lies squarely in his path.

The third chapter follows the tale of a young squire in the king’s army following his knight and riding to his first battle. It is told from his POV. The army is heading toward the bridge.

The final episode is told from the woman’s POV and draws all of the character’s threads together. What was originally supposed to be a short story turned into a novella length tale constructed out of three short stories.

Satisfied by the final result I even liked the cover very much, although the style of sword is suspect. Knight’s Bridge is only available today as an ebook.