Olga Godim's Blog, page 30

WEP entry – Spectacular Setting

Denise Covey and Yolanda Renee of WEP came up with this blog hope, and as a fiction writer, I couldn’t resist. Setting is such an important part of fiction writing. Great idea, ladies.

1. Here is an image that ‘stops my heart with a spectacular setting’ – a painting by an Austrian artist Joseph Anton Koch. From Wikipedia: “Joseph Anton Koch (1768 – 1839) was … perhaps the most significant neoclassical landscape painter.” He painted many fantastic landscapes, but this one is probably my favorite.

2. Why does it touch me so deeply? I imagine a story set in this painting. In fact, I imagine a multitude of stories, all different, and I want to write them all. You see a tiny man in the foreground. He is on some sort of an adventure. Maybe his beloved undine lives in this waterfall, and he wants to join her and become a merman?

Or maybe he’s been on the road for a long time, on a quest for his king/country/family, and now he has a new hazard to brave. It’s not going to be easy for him to cross this wild stream, especially because there is a horrible monster living in its depth, waiting for unsuspecting humans to cross its domain.

Or maybe he has to climb to the top of the waterfall in search of a dragon’s egg? Or a fair maiden waits for him at a fortress of cruel ogres. All sort of stories spring up in my head when I look at this image, and the endless possibilities take my breath away. This one painting could feed a generation of fantasy writers. It certainly feeds my creativity.

3. Below is a snippet from my short fantasy story, yet unpublished. The young protagonist, Aglaya, is escaping an enclosed compound, a stronghold of a band of bandits, to take her sick child to a Healer.

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Overhead, clouds swept across the black sky like tattered feathers. The stars between the feathers twinkled distantly. The thick silvery crescents of both moons peeked between the clouds, as if eavesdropping on each other. On the ground beneath, a solid black lump of the marker rose to half Aglaya’s height, blocking the path. On both sides of it, dense evergreens sprouted needles like armed sentinels, more formidable than human guards.

She took a deep breath and started climbing, balancing with her arms like a tightrope walker. Levi fussed against her breasts, throwing off her equilibrium, and she teetered in the dark, small pebbles rolling under her soles.

“No, baby, no,” she crooned as she righted herself, straining her leg muscles to keep upright. “We’ll be okay. I’ll get you out.” Her heart pounded. Fortunately, her voice settled him.

The rugged pile of stones dropped lower under her probing feet. She could see almost nothing but she knew she had crossed the small barricade. The curve in the path wasn’t far, and then she would light her lamp. Nobody would spot her then. Nobody except the howlers.

She stretched out her left hand, groping, until her fingers encountered the moss-and-roots-covered wall of the canyon. Holding to it, skimming along the knobby roots and scratching her fingers, she shuffled slowly. Both moons hid, withholding their light, waiting for her to fail.

She wouldn’t fail. Levi needed her strong.

One tiny step after another brought her to the bend in the path. She leaned toward the cliff as she turned, grasping for the gnarled knots of vegetation. A misstep could be fatal here. After a few more yards, she stopped. Inside the ravine, even the stars were gone. Above and below and to both sides, blackness ruled. She needed light. Even if anyone from the village glimpsed her lamp, nobody would chase her into the ravine. Not at night. Nobody was that crazy. The howlers would keep her safe from human pursuit.

She tried not to think about the howlers, but they crawled in the back of her mind like ants, making her queasy with dread. Her hands shook, as she fumbled with the fire starter. At least in the weak light of her lamp, she could see the path. The wall of the canyon loomed to her left. A steep slope strewn with mysterious heaps dropped to her right, disappearing into the inky vapor below. The howlers stayed silent. Maybe they only frightened travelers in daytime.

She flinched, when the first faint whisper curled around her neck, pulling at her with its seductive promise of peace. “Come, Aglaya.” Another one joined in. “Happiness awaits.”

She almost stepped off the path, when Levi stirred. “Mommy,” he whispered.

“Yes, baby, I’m here.” She shook her fist at the wily spirits. “I’m not coming to you. You can’t Heal Levi. That’s all the happiness I need.”

Resolutely, she increased her pace, stomping as fast as she dared on the perilous path. The vilias, offended by her refusal, raised the volume of their calls. They wailed at her, and the power of their yowls almost blew her down, into the boiling, shimmering black fog.

“No!” she shouted and grabbed the roots hanging along the wall. “I can’t go to you. Levi needs me.” She marched on. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and the fear-induced nausea swirled in her guts. She was such a darn coward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word count: 570; FCA (Full Critique Acceptable)

Fibs in the Family, Chapters 8-10

The story of Alex and Rebecca is progressing nicely. I posted three new chapters of my regency romance novella Fibs in the Family on Wattpad. I think the next bunch of chapters would be the last – the story is winding up to its conclusion.

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A retired officer + an enterprising young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula, until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he travels to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise and help the slain officer’s sisters any way he could.

The estate is entailed, but the eldest sister Rebecca comes up with an ingenious solution to their problem. Although Rebecca’s idea is highly irregular and somewhat illegal, Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off.

It could’ve been easy, if their mutual attraction didn’t complicate matters. And then, Rebecca’s brother’s secret past comes to light, and a worse entanglement ensues. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Read Chapter 3 here.

Read Chapter 4 here.

Read Chapter 5 here.

Read Chapter 6 here.

Read Chapter 7 here.

Read Chapter 8 here.

Read Chapter 9 here.

Read Chapter 10 here.

Any suggestions and critique are welcome.

Romance or not romance?

It’s the first Wednesday of the month again, time for a post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group

For the past month, I have been writing a new genre and a new form for me – a Regency romance novella. I have already finished the entire story and am now in the process of revising. I’ve been posting the revised chapters on Wattpad, one by one. Seven chapters are in, with a few more to go, but I’ve been wondering. Is it really romance? Or should I attach another label to it?

You see, my story doesn’t include sex scenes, only a few kisses. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude. I like romance novels and read them, and I know that in all of them, sex is a requirement for writers. If you write romance, be prepared to write smut, right?

But I don’t want to. When I read romance, I skip sex scenes. Not because I’m too prim and proper or for some religious reason but simply because they bore me. They are all the same. After reading the first dozen of them, I know exactly what will happen in each one – the silken thighs, the nub of feminine desire, the over-the-moon climax – so I just page through until I come to the end of the scene, and the action resumes.

That’s right: sex scenes stop the action. In my view as a writer, that’s an unforgivable sin. Georgette Heyer, the founder of the romance genre and one of my all-time favorite authors, didn’t have sex scenes in any of her novels, and they’ve been selling steadily since her first one came out over 90 years ago. Could I follow in her venerated footsteps and call my novella a romance? Or is it mainstream?

It’s clearly a love story with a bit of suspense, formulaic like any other romance, and I wouldn’t bother with definitions, if the readers didn’t require them. When I’m done with it on wattpad, hopefully with some feedback from the readers, I’m going to yank it out and self-publish it as an ebook, but wherever I publish it, be it wattpad or amazon, I have to fill out a ‘Category’.

So, romance or not romance?

For those curious enough to judge for themselves, you can read it here.

 

Fibs in the Family, Chapter 7

Alex is gone to London for a while, but complications arise for Rebecca in the next chapter of my regency romance novella Fibs in the Family. Even though her brother is dead, his past comes to haunt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A retired officer + an enterprising young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula, until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he travels to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise and help the slain officer’s sisters any way he could.

The estate is entailed, but the eldest sister Rebecca comes up with an ingenious solution to their problem. Although Rebecca’s idea is highly irregular and somewhat illegal, Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off.

It could’ve been easy, if their mutual attraction didn’t complicate matters. And then, Rebecca’s brother’s secret past comes to light, and a worse entanglement ensues. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I made minor changes to all the chapters, mostly grammar and sentence structure, but I introduced one big change too: I separated chapter 4 into two parts, so chapter 5 moved down the list and became #6. The new chapter is #7.

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Read Chapter 3 here.

Read Chapter 4 here.

Read Chapter 5 here.

Read Chapter 6 here.

Read Chapter 7 here.

Any suggestions and critique are welcome.

Fibs in the Family, Chapter 5

Alex, the hero of my regency romance novella Fibs in the Family encounters unexpected problems in Chapter 5. Every local mama wants him to marry her daughter, but he has eyes only for Rebecca.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A retired officer + an enterprising young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula, until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he travels to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise and help the slain officer’s sisters any way he could.

The estate is entailed, but the eldest sister Rebecca comes up with an ingenious solution to their problem. Although Rebecca’s idea is highly irregular and somewhat illegal, Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off.

It could’ve been easy, if their mutual attraction didn’t complicate matters. And then, Rebecca’s brother’s secret past comes to light, and a worse entanglement ensue. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Read Chapter 3 here.

Read Chapter 4 here.

Read Chapter 5 here.

Any suggestions and critique are welcome.

Grow or else

One of the vital aspects of any story is its protagonist. For a story to work, it is mandatory that the protagonist undergoes a change. Occasionally, it’s a major growth or even a complete overhaul, but more often, it’s a minor alteration in the character’s attitude.

The only exceptions to this rule are mystery series featuring the same hero. Poirot didn’t change in all his stories, only in rare few. The same is true about Sherlock Holmes or some others of our beloved detectives. Sometimes, it even works. More often, such an approach leads to a series stagnation after a few installments.

In many children or YA stories, the change is obvious: a child or a teenager grows up and learns a lesson. There are thousands of such stories. In adult fiction, the change is usually more subtle. It could be a politician switching his opinion, or a bitter divorcee giving love a second chance, or a disillusioned policeman learning to trust again. In all those cases, to achieve his goal, to find what he is searching for, the protagonist needs to change.

My fantasy short story THAT PESKY MAGIC is a growing-up story. The protagonist is a teenage boy who’s just discovered his magic. Of course he changes in the course of the story. He learns to deal with his unruly magic and makes mistakes in the process – a classic apprentice tale. If he doesn’t change, doesn’t learn to control his magic, it might destroy him. This story was the first story of mine accepted for publication by a magazine. It was published in 2007. I tried to make it funny, to employ humor in both the mistakes and the solutions to the protagonist’s problems. If you’re curious how it came out, you can read the story here.

My science fiction short story MACCARVER PIROUETTE is much more mature. It deals with a ballet star who can’t dance after a severe trauma. His magnetic personality needs an outlet for his creativity, but he doesn’t see a future without dancing, only a bleak black hole. Could he find a new way? Could he change that much? Maybe on a new planet? To learn about him, read the story here.

 

Fibs in the Family, Chapter 4

My regency romance novella Fibs in the Family continues in Chapter 4.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A retired officer + an enterprising young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he travels to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise and help the slain officer’s sisters any way he could.

The estate is entailed, but the eldest sister Rebecca comes up with an ingenious solution to their problem. Although Rebecca’s idea is highly irregular and somewhat illegal, Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off.

It could’ve been easy, if their mutual attraction didn’t complicate matters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Read Chapter 3 here.

Read Chapter 4 here.

Any suggestions and critique are welcome.

Fibs in the Family, Chapter 3

The adventures of the heroes of my regency romance novella Fibs in the Family continue in Chapter 3. I posted it on Wattpad yesterday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A retired officer + an enterprising young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula, until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he must travel to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise and help the slain officer’s sisters any way he could.

The eldest sister Rebecca comes up with an ingenious solution to their problems. Although Rebecca’s idea is highly irregular and somewhat unscrupulous, Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off. The young woman is unexpectedly attractive too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Read Chapter 3 here.

Any suggestions and critique are welcome.

Fibs in the Family, Chapter 1

I’m embarking on a new adventure – writing romance. I’ve never written a romance story before; most of my stories and novels so far have been fantasy. I always liked reading romance though, and one of my favorite writers is Georgette Heyer.

My new novella Fibs in the Family is a tribute to Heyer. The story is set during Regency, and like Heyer, I avoid sex scenes. The most the characters do in the story is kiss and dream. It’s a clean romance, nothing erotic.

Unexpectedly, I’m having fun writing a love story, but because I chuck the smut, I can’t hope for a regular regency market. I decided to go a different route and post the story on Wattpad, one chapter at a time. Hopefully, I’ll find my readers there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A retired officer + an inventive young woman = love and trouble

Captain Alex Woodward was fighting Napoleonic troops on the Peninsula, until his wounds forced him to retire. Now he must travel to an estate of his former comrade, killed by the enemies, to fulfill his promise to the slain officer and help his sisters any way he could.

The eldest sister Rebecca comes up with the way of helping them that is somewhat unscrupulous, but Alex’s promise wouldn’t let him to back off. The young woman is unexpectedly attractive too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can read Chapter 1 and 2 here.

I’m also inviting comments, both here and on wattpad. Please go at it folks. All your suggestions and critique would be welcome.

Email etiquette

A post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group

In the 19th century, it was considered impolite not to answer your personal letters. With the advance of electronic mail, the etiquette of correspondence seems to have changed. We all receive dozens of emails – it’s relatively easy to get anyone’s email address – and many inboxes are inundated with spam. Nevertheless, politeness dictates that we reply to personal emails, doesn’t it? Even if the reply is negative, I always send it, but some people don’t bother even to acknowledge their emails.

As a writer, I encounter this phenomenon in several variations. One is familiar to every writer. We submit our stories to magazines and publishers, and if they don’t want our stories, in half the cases, they don’t reply. I understand their predicament: they get tons of submissions and not enough staff to reply to every rejected author.

Another type of non-answered emails is entirely different, and I can’t comprehend it. As I cultural journalist, I regularly get an assignment from my editor to write about a certain artist/writer/actor/etc. I contact them through email, often out of the blue, to ask for an interview for my articles. Most people reply. They are happy to talk about themselves and flattered that our newspaper is interested in their stories.

But occasionally, my subjects don’t reply. Maybe they don’t want anyone to write about them, or maybe they don’t want me in particular to write about them. It’s possible, but would it kill them to send off a short negative reply? “Thank you, I’m not interested,” takes three seconds to type, and you don’t have to go to the post office to reply to your emails. Why don’t they? I don’t believe they get hundreds of offers from other journalists or other newspapers, so what is the reason for their digital rudeness?

It’s still considered rude not to answer your personal correspondence, isn’t it?