E.D. Martin's Blog, page 19

Media Monday: Steampunk fun with H.L. Burke

The books: The Nyssa Glass series by H.L. Burke – The House of Mirrors, The Juliet Dilemma, The Cutpurse Kid, Clockwork Christmas, and The Electric Heart

The music: “Sacra” by Apocalyptica

H.L. Burke made her mark with dragons (the Dragon and the Scholar series), then moved onto a fantasy series about elemental beings competing to take over the human world. Her Nyssa Glass series marks a departure from fantasy, into steampunk. However, her main character is still the same – a strong female who isn’t going to let anything stand in the way of her goals.

And Nyssa has a lot standing in her way. Orphaned at a young age, she was raised by an uncle who forced her into a life of petty crime. She managed to escape (before the series begins) and reform her life, but just as things were getting turned around for her, she was forced back into that life. This time, though, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

The rest of the books in the series detail her attempts to stay honest despite her past following her around. She makes some friends along the way that support her based on who she is, not what she did, giving this series a good moral for its readers.

The five books in the series are a quick read that would be great for anyone looking for an imperfect yet strong female role model.

The books are a bit dark at times – there’s a lot of violence – so for the song I picked this instrumental number by Apocalyptica. Generally I try to match song lyrics to book themes, but in this case the music sets a fitting tone for the series.

Using stuck points to build your characters

I write a lot of character-driven stories, and so I’m always on the lookout for ways to focus on characters’ motivation and thought processes. I’ve recently come across a term, stuck points, that really fits with my works.

My research focus in my PhD program is trauma’s role in education. As such, I’m taking a lot of classes and workshops focusing on a trauma-informed perspective – realizing that there’s a good chance anyone you meet and work with has experienced some kind of trauma that affects their perceptions and behaviors, and therefore changing your own perceptions and behaviors to meet them where they are.

One of the methods used to treat trauma is cognitive processing therapy (CPT), which focuses on reframing people’s perceptions of what they experienced. And a major component of this is stuck points.

Stuck point = a thought that keeps someone from recovering from a bad/traumatic experience.

Often times, stuck points develop because someone’s old way of thinking doesn’t fit with what happened to them. It builds on the just world theory that bad things only happen to bad people – so if something bad happens to you, you must be a bad person.

Stuck points are often a black and white exaggeration, using terms like “everyone” or “no one,” “always” or “never.”

Stuck points can focus on the past – “If I’d done X, then Y would’ve happened instead of Z” – or they can focus on the present – “No one will ever love me” or “I’ll never be able to trust again.”

My novel Yours to Keep or Throw Away is driven by MC Andrew Adam’s stuck points:

“My parents split up because I was a bad kid.” – focusing on his crappy childhood
“If I’d been a better partner, my relationships wouldn’t have ended badly.” – focusing on past relationships
“If I’d trained my soldiers better, they wouldn’t have been killed.” – focusing on his military experience
“I don’t deserve to have a happily ever after.” – the summation of all his other stuck points.

Sometimes there’s truth in stuck points. For example, if Andrew had been a better partner, maybe his relationships wouldn’t have ended – but maybe they still would have. What happened wasn’t entirely his fault, and he shouldn’t keep beating himself up over it.

As characters grow over the course of the story, they can move past these stuck points to become a healthy character (or go from a healthy character to having stuck points). Either way, it makes for a great, character-driven story.

What stuck points do your characters have? Are they able to resolve them?

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/23/16 #8Sunday

It’s almost Halloween, so I’m continuing on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

“Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
“The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
“E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
“After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones. This excerpt picks up from last week’s.

* * * * * * *

Jet slowed and held his immobilizer ready.

A small boy sat on the forest floor, tear tracks streaking his dirty face. Jet’s specs tried to scan him but blinked out, and he pushed them off his face.

<> he sent to Luce.

<>

Specs were Spark-proof; they might go down, but both sets at once?

Jet aimed his immobilizer. Just as his finger began to squeeze down on the trigger, the kid winked at him. Static burst across his comlink as the kid mutated into his energy form, and then all went black.

* * * * * * *

I’m planning to release the whole collection next weekend, so you’ll be able to find out just what Sparks are and who Jet is.

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/16/16 #8Sunday

It’s almost Halloween, so for the rest of the month I’ll continue on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

“Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
“The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
“E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
“After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones. This excerpt picks up from last week’s.

* * * * * * *

Movement off to Jet’s left caught his attention, and his specs identified an energy cloud matching their target’s signature.

<> he shot across the comlink as he sent Luce the coordinates.

<>

<>

<>

Jet pushed through the underbrush, looking for their target; energy clouds dissipated quickly so the kid had to be close.

A tree branch cracked ahead, and he sprinted towards the noise as soundlessly as he could, reaching for his immobilizer as he ran. He’d zap the kid, load him up, and be home for dinner. After a week of tracking, it couldn’t come too soon.

* * * * * * *

I’m aiming to have all these stories polished and out together by Halloween. Wish me luck!

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/9/16 #8Sunday

It’s almost Halloween, so for the rest of the month I’ll continue on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

“Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
“The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
“E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
“After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones.

* * * * * * *

Jet cringed as static crackled over his comlink. It wasn’t loud, and their target was just a kid, but one could never be too sure what Sparks would pick up on. He smacked at his helmet and the line cleared.

<> his partner Luce sent over the link.

He scanned the forest around him. <>

<>

He rolled his eyes – with their link and his specs, he knew exactly where Luce was, and he knew the plan, too; he’d head out in one direction and she’d go the opposite, then after 100 meters they’d move back towards each other. He considered telling her to knock it off with the drama, but she was one of the best in the Department of Threat Assessment and Mitigation. Maybe she was less than professional sometimes, but she always got her Sparks.

* * * * * * *

My goal is to have all these stories polished, compiled, and out by Halloween, but I have several big school projects coming up, so who knows if I’ll meet this self-imposed deadline (although on the other hand, with so many projects I tend to procrastinate on them and focus on other less-pressing stuff, so maybe I’ll get this done soon after all?).

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Fall 2016 goal review

Hey look, a shiny new project!

Every 3 months or so, I take a look at the goals I’ve set for the year and then write about how I’m not making progress on them. Here’s the update for this fall.

1. Write at least 30 minutes a day.

I’ve been averaging about 30 minutes per week, not per day – unless you count writing for school stuff, in which case I’m hitting my goal. But we’re not counting that, so I’m not doing so well at this goal.

2. Finish something every month.

I would probably do a lot better at finishing something if I’d stop starting new things. I have at least 50 stories started at this point – if I could just sit down and write, I could probably finish some of them.

3. Publish at least 4 of those finished things.

So far, all I’ve published this year is “A Place to Die” in January (which you can get for $.99 at Amazon or free if you join my mailing list). I have several things mostly done, just gotta sit down and write and I could probably still meet this goal for this year.

4. Continue the focus on increased marketing.

I’ve fallen behind on this lately, but my publisher will be running Amazon ads soon so that should give me a boost. And as soon as I have something new published, I’ll be promoting that like crazy.

5. Read 100 books.

I’m currently at 58, which Goodreads informs me is 18 behind. I’m holding pretty steady on this one.

6. Continue the focus on being healthy.

I discovered the cambus (campus bus) at school, so I’ve been taking that instead of riding my bike. But I also discovered a really nice local farmers’ market and have been buying a lot of fruits and veggies, so there’s that. Which will win out? Stay tuned!

Overall

Basically, it comes down to one thing – making myself sit down and write. Fortunately I’ve taken on a bunch of new projects this year, plus gotten permission to take my comprehensive exams a semester yearly so I can start on my dissertation in the spring and graduate a year early. The way my mind works is that the more I have to do, the more I want to work on other stuff (ie, writing). So I should be writing a lot coming up, instead of doing what I need to for school.

(This TED talk is a great look at my life.)

If you’ve set goals for yourself, how’re they going so far this year?

Media Monday: A cult, a heist, some romance – and a manatee

The book: Tangled Ties to a Manatee by Kalen Cap

The music: “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” by Sigur Rós

Tangled Ties to a Manatee takes us through the interconnected lives of a large cast of characters – college students who work at a group home where the nephew of a wildlife retreat owner/director lives, and some of the college kids’ friends work there too. The residents of the group home like to go to the local zoo, where the ex-wife of a professor at the college works. And one of the retreat employees is actually a private investigator undercover because some people think it’s a cult, and her supervisor is undercover at a coffee shop where the professor’s brother works and so does that nephew. Oh, and the husband of one of the cultists works at the zoo too, and one of the college students is also a fortune teller for the cult leader. And then a couple guys come along trying to run a scam using the wildlife retreat, but a pregnant manatee named Ankh manages to save the day.

Got it?

Although confusing at times, the author skillfully brings it all together throughout a plot that’s reminiscent of a PG-rated Big Trouble (which is an awesome movie you should definitely watch). The only thing I’d want changed is to spend more time on a few main characters, rather than a little time on everyone. However, each character has his or her own voice and personality, and each contributes something to the storyline.

Overall, a fun, light read that I highly recommend.

As for the song – I’m on a bit of an Icelandic kick recently, from their Viking heritage to their modern day politics and awesome music. One of my favorite Icelandic bands, Skálmöld, just released a new album this week and included a cover of one of my favorite songs by one of my other favorite Icelandic bands, Sigur Rós. It’s a fun song, to pair along with a fun book.

(Also, Sigur Rós aren’t really Vikings but Skálmöld are. Not that that has anything to do with this week’s book or song.)

Weekend Writing Warrior 9/25/16 #8Sunday

For September I’ll be pulling from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

“Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
“The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
“E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike

This week the story is “After the Flood.” It’s a bit more political than the other stories – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system.

* * * * * * *

Looking back, what happened was a lot like when a dam bursts. There are little warning signs at first, like maybe there’s more water flowing out than normal, or tiny little cracks that the engineers only notice if they’re watching closely, but of course they’re not watching closely; they’re in the control room with their feet up, looking at porn on the internet. And then there’s a boom, water is everywhere, and in the aftermath half the towns downstream are littered with trees, chunks of houses, and dead bodies.

Our situation was similar. If you read the papers, you’d see little signs: “Multinational Bank lays off 5000 workers;” “Factory closing devastates BFE town;” “Police arrest hundreds of protesters after pipeline spills into waterway.” Or, more likely, you’d read the papers and not see any signs because they weren’t getting reported.

I certainly didn’t notice any impending doom, at least when I was in the moment. I didn’t think to hire myself a mercenary to guard my house, or cash out all my stock options and buy a thousand batteries and cans of chicken noodle soup, or build a bunker in the backyard or buy a remote cabin in Montana.

But my grandpa did.

* * * * * * *

Based on a comment from last week’s post, I think I’m going to compile all these stories, plus a couple more, into an ebook. Look for more details in the next few weeks.

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Friday Five: Charles and Wendy Siefken

Today’s Friday Five focus is Charles and Wendy Siefken, authors of young adult fantasy short stories and novellas.

Wendy and Charlie are a mother and son writing team who started their career doing a school project. Five years later, Charlie has graduated high school and college they are still publishing and still writing.

Their latest work is Kai’s Journey, a trilogy about a young man, set ten years in the future. Kai has spent those years fighting for survival and trying to find a way rid the world of the disease his father created. His father was a military scientist charged with the task of perfecting a formula that would create a superior breed of soldiers. Like a virus, it soon spreads to the entire world, unleashing a period of unsurpassed chaos and conflict.

* * * * * * * * * * *

1. Where do your inspiration and ideas for your stories come from?

They come from everywhere. It could be a character off of a video game, or a side character out of a book or even something from a dream.

2. What are some of your favorite words and why?

Wendy’s is “Home” because all it means to us. Home represents a safe haven, love, family and comfort. Charlie’s is “Dragon” because of the images the word alone conjures.

3. What do you want your tombstones to say?

Here lies Wendy Siefken

She tried

Here lies Charlie Siefken

Respawning in ……

4. How much of your published writing is based on personal experiences?

None, there are no zombies, dragons or werewolves in real life. At least not yet.

5. What author has influenced your writing style/subject the most and why?

A combo of Terry Brooks, Rick Riordan, and Christopher Paolini. We really like their writing styles and there always seems to be hope in their stories. Charlie really liked that Christopher Paolini was a published author by the time he graduated high school. Charlie strove for that and succeeded.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Kai’s Journey is currently available through Amazon.

Become a Friday Five author or read previous author interviews.

The importance of self-care – and how to do it

My cat’s self-care involves sleeping on the floor all day.

It hasn’t been the best week. One of my former students was killed over the weekend in a horrific, preventable accident. She was 24 and one of the most genuinely nice people I’ve ever met.

Everywhere I look on the news, I see stories and videos about Terrence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott and Tyre King and Korryn Gaines and hundreds of other people who are also killed in horrible, preventable ways. And I see videos of their families and friends, and thousands of people supporting them (as well as thousands actively not supporting them). With each new death, I grow more fearful for the junior high and high school students I’ve taught, as well as their friends and families, because really, it seems to be only a matter of when, not if, that their names will be all over the media as well.

It makes me tired.

As a social work PhD student, my focus right now is on trauma-informed care, which is a perspective that emphasizes a gentle approach to clients because there’s a good chance they’ve experienced a traumatic event in their lives or vicariously experienced it through someone they know, and that exposure manifests itself in a stressful physiological fight-or-flight response that wears you down. Social workers aren’t immune to this either; we experience our clients’ traumas every day, and it can take its toll.

Fortunately, part of a TIC approach involves self-care. I attended a workshop on the topic today and thought now would be a good time to share what I learned, because I’m guessing there are a lot of other soul-tired people out there right now too.

Pre-trauma:

Identify your patterns by thinking about what your triggers are – situations that will negatively increase your stress.
Identify as well what your reactions to those triggers are – do you shut down? Cry? Lash out?

During/after trauma:

Remember that you have choices – this situation is different from the past, and you can choose to respond differently than you did to pass situations where you may have felt helpless.
Use comfort objects – something small and manageable, like a wedding ring, that can ground you in the present and help you focus.
If possible, go to a previously-identified safe spot: your couch, a friend’s couch, somewhere where it’s okay to let your emotions out.
Focus on the senses – listen to soothing sounds, try deep breathing, maybe splash cool water on your face or hands.
Have a Plan B for your job situation – is it okay if you go home for the rest of the day or take a couple days off?
Rely on peer support. Reach out to your friends and family. Let them know your self-care preferences so they can better support you.
Understand that what you’re feeling is normal, but that everyone has their own reaction to their own stimuli. What you’re feeling, and how you go about caring for yourself, is normal for you, and that’s what matters – YOU.

What approaches do you take for self-care?