L.G.A. McIntyre's Blog, page 4
November 23, 2013
Top List of Influencers to my Writing
A question that has been coming up lots lately, is Who is my Top List of Influencers to my Writing? Who are the authors that inspired me to be a writer?
I think I caught the writing virus back in high school. The librarian at my school noticed that I was going through their entire (limited) science fiction/fantasy section, and that I'd started asking for books that he'd never heard of. Well, they must have received a budget that year. He gave me the book order catalogue and told me to curate the Scifi/Fantasy collection. Imagine - being told to pick any books you wanted to see on the shelves - for future students! I was literally a kid in a candy store. When the new books came in, I had first crack at them.
My other big influencer was a bookstore in my hometown. It was this very old, dusty shop. The shelves were packed solid with every book imaginable. One of the last, great, independent bookstores. The aisles were so narrow, that it was hard for two people to squeeze past each other. I still remember the smell. Dust and fresh-from-the-printer ink. It was an odd blending of old and new. I think I lived in that store throughout my childhood. Back then you could buy about 5 books for a Canadian $20.
It is very unfortunate that this store burned down due to a gas leak. They re-opened in another location, but failed to recapture the magic of the original. Although, I guess I'm looking through the magic lens of remembrance.
These places fired my imagination. Exposed me to outer space and places of high magic. Exposed me to violent confrontations between Good and Evil. Exposed me to the philosophies and incantations of mathematics, utopias, physics and magic.
So, what authors inspired my writing? That is a tough one. For me, I think it goes chronologically, something like this. I can't really pick individual stories, so here are some of the authors.
1) Mother Goose - All fantasy and rhymes.
2) Hans Christian Anderson, Aesop's Fables, Grimm's Fairy tales, Bulfinch's Mythology - My father would read us to sleep every night when I was a child. My parents had the old, original texts, that hadn't been given the PC edit to eliminate all horror violence for us "gentler" generation. We never had nightmares. We lived secure in the knowledge that the witches, wolves and evil-doers who lived in the world were firmly defeated by the powers of good every night before bedtime.
3) The collective works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, HG Wells and Robert E. Howard.
4) Carl Sagan - I watched his tv series, read his books and basically developed an enduring love of Physics, Astronomy and Space. The romance and poetry of the explorer was seductive as hell. I found this Youtube video. See for yourselves. http://bit.ly/1drhejq
5) Robert A. Heinlein - Everything. His entire catalogue.
6) Terry Brooks - Everything!
7) Piers Anthony - Love it!
8) Larry Niven - may need to re-read all of his works!
9) Anne McCaffrey - Everything.
10) David Eddings - Everything.
11) Harry Harrison - Everything. Stainless Steel Rat - when is this going to be a movie!!!
12) Stephen King - 'nough said.
13) Dean Koontz - 'nough said.
14) F. Paul Wilson - read The Keep, Repairman Jack Series is a must!
I have to stop now. I find myself skimming the titles on my bookshelf, and pulling out books that amazed, inspired and stretched my imagination - and I can't list them all - there isn't enough room.
Everything we read, watch, experience, and live will influence our writing. Because it fires the imagination, it lights a blaze that, as an author, must be shared. It is the warm campfire, on the dark cold night, inviting us to sit a while, and share a story. This then, not the other, is the oldest profession.
I think I caught the writing virus back in high school. The librarian at my school noticed that I was going through their entire (limited) science fiction/fantasy section, and that I'd started asking for books that he'd never heard of. Well, they must have received a budget that year. He gave me the book order catalogue and told me to curate the Scifi/Fantasy collection. Imagine - being told to pick any books you wanted to see on the shelves - for future students! I was literally a kid in a candy store. When the new books came in, I had first crack at them.
My other big influencer was a bookstore in my hometown. It was this very old, dusty shop. The shelves were packed solid with every book imaginable. One of the last, great, independent bookstores. The aisles were so narrow, that it was hard for two people to squeeze past each other. I still remember the smell. Dust and fresh-from-the-printer ink. It was an odd blending of old and new. I think I lived in that store throughout my childhood. Back then you could buy about 5 books for a Canadian $20.
It is very unfortunate that this store burned down due to a gas leak. They re-opened in another location, but failed to recapture the magic of the original. Although, I guess I'm looking through the magic lens of remembrance.
These places fired my imagination. Exposed me to outer space and places of high magic. Exposed me to violent confrontations between Good and Evil. Exposed me to the philosophies and incantations of mathematics, utopias, physics and magic.
So, what authors inspired my writing? That is a tough one. For me, I think it goes chronologically, something like this. I can't really pick individual stories, so here are some of the authors.
1) Mother Goose - All fantasy and rhymes.
2) Hans Christian Anderson, Aesop's Fables, Grimm's Fairy tales, Bulfinch's Mythology - My father would read us to sleep every night when I was a child. My parents had the old, original texts, that hadn't been given the PC edit to eliminate all horror violence for us "gentler" generation. We never had nightmares. We lived secure in the knowledge that the witches, wolves and evil-doers who lived in the world were firmly defeated by the powers of good every night before bedtime.
3) The collective works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, HG Wells and Robert E. Howard.
4) Carl Sagan - I watched his tv series, read his books and basically developed an enduring love of Physics, Astronomy and Space. The romance and poetry of the explorer was seductive as hell. I found this Youtube video. See for yourselves. http://bit.ly/1drhejq
5) Robert A. Heinlein - Everything. His entire catalogue.
6) Terry Brooks - Everything!
7) Piers Anthony - Love it!
8) Larry Niven - may need to re-read all of his works!
9) Anne McCaffrey - Everything.
10) David Eddings - Everything.
11) Harry Harrison - Everything. Stainless Steel Rat - when is this going to be a movie!!!
12) Stephen King - 'nough said.
13) Dean Koontz - 'nough said.
14) F. Paul Wilson - read The Keep, Repairman Jack Series is a must!
I have to stop now. I find myself skimming the titles on my bookshelf, and pulling out books that amazed, inspired and stretched my imagination - and I can't list them all - there isn't enough room.
Everything we read, watch, experience, and live will influence our writing. Because it fires the imagination, it lights a blaze that, as an author, must be shared. It is the warm campfire, on the dark cold night, inviting us to sit a while, and share a story. This then, not the other, is the oldest profession.
October 19, 2013
Top 20 SciFi and Fantasy Pet Peeves
I was just visiting one of my groups and there was a great thread discussing the common plot devices that drive people crazy when they read Science Fiction or Fantasy books.
I thought it would be interesting to cull some of the pet peeves out for everyone to see. Hopefully, if you are an author, you haven't made use of any of these plot devices. Here are 20 of them in no particular order.
1) "Aliens who haven't got reasonable physiology to explain how they have come by their advanced technology. For example: Fish flipper beings who evolved in the oceans...where did they mine, smelt and build their spaceships?" Micah
2)"If a pair of breasts, lovingly described, enters the bar, only incidentally attached to a woman. If she is there solely to be rescued, boinked, or tortured so that the hero can Avenge Her. Watch my dust, I am so out of here." Brenda
3)"Extruded Fantasy Product. No more quests with halflings and dwarves in the party, eh? No more vaguely Arthurian mythology in a thinly medieval setting." Brenda
4)"Books that violate their own rules of magic. That's a big one for me. Or I can only suspend disbelief so far so if you set a world up in such a way that the whole thing could be easily solved by something logical that no one is doing, that will drive me to drop the book." Jute
5)"Women characters dressed up in long vests...even worse velvet, long vests with long hair, braided down their backs. Um, of all the trends to rely on plus the ability to create any type of clothing fashion you want, this THIS is what you dress them in?!" Holly
6)"I have developed a real pet peeve for the notion of a kingdom in peril, threatened on all sides by far superior forces, only to be rescued in the nick of time by the rightful king who has lived in solitude for these past (insert number) years. When you think of it, when in history has a vastly outnumbered army won a war?" Chip
7)"Give me female characters who are people and not props, all-human casts (or if you have to have fantasy characters, have a good reason for them not being human), and settings and cultures beyond the standard fantasyland-medieval, and you've gone a long way towards getting me to read and like your book." Kyra
8)"I'm still seeing too much sexism, racism, and other -isms in SFF. Too much gratuitous rape, violence, sex, and profanity also. Each has its place but if you are going to use it make sure it advances the plot and fits the character and time." Tasha
9)"...when writers set up a world based on those stories out of a different /ancient religion and *get it wrong* for a "plot twist "...it just falls flat." Rena
10)"Women/girls being depicted as nothing better than male hero bait that need to be constantly saved because they can't get out of trouble by themselves.
10a) Another pet peeve is the assumption/plot trick that everybody in the galaxy speaks English on the first encounter, without the need for a translation device. 10b) Another pet peeve of mine, are sci-fi/fantasy stories that are used to push the author(s)personal religious beliefs, misogyny or racist views." Michel
11)"Some variation on this line: "It was hard to believe that such a big [insert noun] could move so fast!"
I see that so often in Fantasy and Science Fiction that I've often thought I should compile a list. An elephant can outrun you. Stop being amazed that an 8-foot golem or robot can also move quickly. Yeesh." Trike
12)"In SF stories set in the way far distant future...like tens or hundreds of thousands of years from now...and all the humans are exactly like they are today. Evolution doesn't exist in the future? WTF?" Micah
13)"The idea that 'knowledge is dangerous' in fantasy, and should be controlled by wizards etc. Maybe if you're 5000 years old, you can take 20 years off and teach some peasants how to read." Jen
14)"Data dump. Stop the plot to download three paragraphs of detail of the space gun, or the interstellar drive, or the lineage of the True King, and I will fall asleep." Brenda
14a)"Idiot plot. People do not become blithering idiots for ten minutes just so that your plot can crank along. If Gondor is going to war with Mordor, the regime had better be able to make its case on the editorial page of the GONDOR DAILY NEWS. If a multinational corporation is going to Become Evil and Rule the World wearing black leather uniforms, it had better fly with the board of directors and bring the bottom line into the black. (The Death Star was clearly a boondoggle, probably shoved through the budgeting process by lobbyists.)" Brenda
15)"If a protagonist is the best at everything it is boring & unrealistic." Gordon
16)"Authors who include just a few pseudo-foreign words ( e.g. fay for day) that sound almost like their originals and then overuse them.
There is a place for well thought out alternate titles, or even pronouns, but too often it's unneccessary, badly done, and distracting." Julie
17)"And, oh yes, on the 'men are morons and women are manipulative shrews' thing. I've quit reading more than one book because of that (or at least partly; that sort of shallow characterization is usually only one of many other problems with the book)." Kyra
18)"Anthropomorphic aliens, robots, androids, machines and other nonhumans.
18a)"Earth as planet-state that supersede nation-states but so called united earth governments have overly american/western sensibilities." Smallo
19)"Utopias by definition are boring stories. Here is every utopia story: "Everyone lived happily ever after, the end." Trike
20)"HUGE PEEVE - The fantasy quest. If I have to read one more tale about a farm boy who can talk to pigs who needs to find the magic ring, save the princess, and, oh yea, he is a brilliant sorcerer and swordsman despite having slopped pig sh*t his entire life because he's actually heir to a vast kingdom... Really? That's what you're going with?" Linda
I thought it would be interesting to cull some of the pet peeves out for everyone to see. Hopefully, if you are an author, you haven't made use of any of these plot devices. Here are 20 of them in no particular order.
1) "Aliens who haven't got reasonable physiology to explain how they have come by their advanced technology. For example: Fish flipper beings who evolved in the oceans...where did they mine, smelt and build their spaceships?" Micah
2)"If a pair of breasts, lovingly described, enters the bar, only incidentally attached to a woman. If she is there solely to be rescued, boinked, or tortured so that the hero can Avenge Her. Watch my dust, I am so out of here." Brenda
3)"Extruded Fantasy Product. No more quests with halflings and dwarves in the party, eh? No more vaguely Arthurian mythology in a thinly medieval setting." Brenda
4)"Books that violate their own rules of magic. That's a big one for me. Or I can only suspend disbelief so far so if you set a world up in such a way that the whole thing could be easily solved by something logical that no one is doing, that will drive me to drop the book." Jute
5)"Women characters dressed up in long vests...even worse velvet, long vests with long hair, braided down their backs. Um, of all the trends to rely on plus the ability to create any type of clothing fashion you want, this THIS is what you dress them in?!" Holly
6)"I have developed a real pet peeve for the notion of a kingdom in peril, threatened on all sides by far superior forces, only to be rescued in the nick of time by the rightful king who has lived in solitude for these past (insert number) years. When you think of it, when in history has a vastly outnumbered army won a war?" Chip
7)"Give me female characters who are people and not props, all-human casts (or if you have to have fantasy characters, have a good reason for them not being human), and settings and cultures beyond the standard fantasyland-medieval, and you've gone a long way towards getting me to read and like your book." Kyra
8)"I'm still seeing too much sexism, racism, and other -isms in SFF. Too much gratuitous rape, violence, sex, and profanity also. Each has its place but if you are going to use it make sure it advances the plot and fits the character and time." Tasha
9)"...when writers set up a world based on those stories out of a different /ancient religion and *get it wrong* for a "plot twist "...it just falls flat." Rena
10)"Women/girls being depicted as nothing better than male hero bait that need to be constantly saved because they can't get out of trouble by themselves.
10a) Another pet peeve is the assumption/plot trick that everybody in the galaxy speaks English on the first encounter, without the need for a translation device. 10b) Another pet peeve of mine, are sci-fi/fantasy stories that are used to push the author(s)personal religious beliefs, misogyny or racist views." Michel
11)"Some variation on this line: "It was hard to believe that such a big [insert noun] could move so fast!"
I see that so often in Fantasy and Science Fiction that I've often thought I should compile a list. An elephant can outrun you. Stop being amazed that an 8-foot golem or robot can also move quickly. Yeesh." Trike
12)"In SF stories set in the way far distant future...like tens or hundreds of thousands of years from now...and all the humans are exactly like they are today. Evolution doesn't exist in the future? WTF?" Micah
13)"The idea that 'knowledge is dangerous' in fantasy, and should be controlled by wizards etc. Maybe if you're 5000 years old, you can take 20 years off and teach some peasants how to read." Jen
14)"Data dump. Stop the plot to download three paragraphs of detail of the space gun, or the interstellar drive, or the lineage of the True King, and I will fall asleep." Brenda
14a)"Idiot plot. People do not become blithering idiots for ten minutes just so that your plot can crank along. If Gondor is going to war with Mordor, the regime had better be able to make its case on the editorial page of the GONDOR DAILY NEWS. If a multinational corporation is going to Become Evil and Rule the World wearing black leather uniforms, it had better fly with the board of directors and bring the bottom line into the black. (The Death Star was clearly a boondoggle, probably shoved through the budgeting process by lobbyists.)" Brenda
15)"If a protagonist is the best at everything it is boring & unrealistic." Gordon
16)"Authors who include just a few pseudo-foreign words ( e.g. fay for day) that sound almost like their originals and then overuse them.
There is a place for well thought out alternate titles, or even pronouns, but too often it's unneccessary, badly done, and distracting." Julie
17)"And, oh yes, on the 'men are morons and women are manipulative shrews' thing. I've quit reading more than one book because of that (or at least partly; that sort of shallow characterization is usually only one of many other problems with the book)." Kyra
18)"Anthropomorphic aliens, robots, androids, machines and other nonhumans.
18a)"Earth as planet-state that supersede nation-states but so called united earth governments have overly american/western sensibilities." Smallo
19)"Utopias by definition are boring stories. Here is every utopia story: "Everyone lived happily ever after, the end." Trike
20)"HUGE PEEVE - The fantasy quest. If I have to read one more tale about a farm boy who can talk to pigs who needs to find the magic ring, save the princess, and, oh yea, he is a brilliant sorcerer and swordsman despite having slopped pig sh*t his entire life because he's actually heir to a vast kingdom... Really? That's what you're going with?" Linda
October 15, 2013
How to write a book - Pt 2
Going all the way, and not being a tease; suspending your inner censor.
I feel that writing well means suspending your inner censor.
I've read books that have great stories, and I am really getting into it, when suddenly the author deals with a scene that they are uncomfortable with; they gloss over it with euphemisms, or quickly change the subject just when it's getting interesting. I'm left feeling ripped off.
I think as an author, you have to abandon the urge to be PC and instead surrender to what the story demands. Just because you don't use strong language in your everyday life, doesn't mean that your character doesn't curse like a stevedore.
I am not saying that every scene has to be explicit, but if it is pertinent to the story, it needs to be explored. The language you use is your own choice, but do not ignore a distasteful (to your censor) scene and leave it lacking in flesh and barely just an outline. This is where your word craftsmanship comes into play.
You must be willing to go there, because you are building a world for your reader. If you don't go there, neither can they. I truly think that this is the difference between an okay story and a fantastic one.
I feel that writing well means suspending your inner censor.
I've read books that have great stories, and I am really getting into it, when suddenly the author deals with a scene that they are uncomfortable with; they gloss over it with euphemisms, or quickly change the subject just when it's getting interesting. I'm left feeling ripped off.
I think as an author, you have to abandon the urge to be PC and instead surrender to what the story demands. Just because you don't use strong language in your everyday life, doesn't mean that your character doesn't curse like a stevedore.
I am not saying that every scene has to be explicit, but if it is pertinent to the story, it needs to be explored. The language you use is your own choice, but do not ignore a distasteful (to your censor) scene and leave it lacking in flesh and barely just an outline. This is where your word craftsmanship comes into play.
You must be willing to go there, because you are building a world for your reader. If you don't go there, neither can they. I truly think that this is the difference between an okay story and a fantastic one.
October 5, 2013
How to write a book - Pt 1
All right - this is a big one, and something that authors do get asked from time to time. How'd you do it? How'd you write a book? How can I write a book?
Some people would say that you must have perfect syntax, a large vocabulary and grammatical perfection. I do not happen to agree with any of this, beyond the obvious fact that what you write should be readable to your audience.
I think that the number one thing you must have in order to be an author is a Voice.
Voice - you hear this term thrown around, but what does it mean?
In short, I think a voice is a unique perspective on the topic you are writing about. A Voice is the beat and sway of the words you choose, the descriptions you use. A Voice must be kept true to you, you cannot fake it by pretending to be someone else. Imagine someone in a car singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Definitely NOT Aretha! (by the way, that was me yesterday)
Writing is painting mental pictures in the minds of your readers. If you can see it, if you can describe it, you are a writer - no matter what words you use, no matter what syntax or grammar.
If you want to be a writer, you must nurture and develop your voice, be true to it, don't try to pretend to be someone else or "Write like they do".
Respect your art, no matter how you practice it, and others will sense its unique purity.
Some people would say that you must have perfect syntax, a large vocabulary and grammatical perfection. I do not happen to agree with any of this, beyond the obvious fact that what you write should be readable to your audience.
I think that the number one thing you must have in order to be an author is a Voice.
Voice - you hear this term thrown around, but what does it mean?
In short, I think a voice is a unique perspective on the topic you are writing about. A Voice is the beat and sway of the words you choose, the descriptions you use. A Voice must be kept true to you, you cannot fake it by pretending to be someone else. Imagine someone in a car singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Definitely NOT Aretha! (by the way, that was me yesterday)
Writing is painting mental pictures in the minds of your readers. If you can see it, if you can describe it, you are a writer - no matter what words you use, no matter what syntax or grammar.
If you want to be a writer, you must nurture and develop your voice, be true to it, don't try to pretend to be someone else or "Write like they do".
Respect your art, no matter how you practice it, and others will sense its unique purity.
October 2, 2013
Tom Clancy, 66
I Just heard this morning that Tom Clancy has passed away at age 66. It was far too soon for the world to loose such a huge talent.
My heart goes out to his family and friends.
My heart goes out to his family and friends.
September 30, 2013
Update - Sept 30th 2013
As authors, we are usually very concerned with how our books are perceived.
However, here is a link to a list of books the missed the mark...BADLY. Had to share it.
http://bit.ly/1aFbvRB
However, here is a link to a list of books the missed the mark...BADLY. Had to share it.
http://bit.ly/1aFbvRB
September 25, 2013
Don't let the characters push you around
I've been writing for a long time. One of the most frustrating experiences is when a character refuses to behave as you wish them to.
What do you do when your character pushes you around?
You go into your chapter with a clear path all marked out, an outline of what needs to happen, the emotions that have to be expressed, when suddenly, out of nowhere, your characters start doing things that you didn't expect and didn't want. You realize that they'll soon have you cowering in a corner begging them for a breadcrumb pathway out of the dead-end scene.
I have found that there are 2 ways to handle this.
1) DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE :-)
2) Let the characters play through
Our subconscious is thinking about things in a way our conscious minds cannot track. I believe that this is where our characters get their will to try to control their destiny. Just remember that though these little id battles can create beautiful rich sub-plots, that you, as the author, need to steer the story with a hand at 10 and 2 at all times.
Everything that you write must have a purpose within the story, otherwise, it needs to be cut. DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE :-)
What do you do when your character pushes you around?
You go into your chapter with a clear path all marked out, an outline of what needs to happen, the emotions that have to be expressed, when suddenly, out of nowhere, your characters start doing things that you didn't expect and didn't want. You realize that they'll soon have you cowering in a corner begging them for a breadcrumb pathway out of the dead-end scene.
I have found that there are 2 ways to handle this.
1) DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE :-)
2) Let the characters play through
Our subconscious is thinking about things in a way our conscious minds cannot track. I believe that this is where our characters get their will to try to control their destiny. Just remember that though these little id battles can create beautiful rich sub-plots, that you, as the author, need to steer the story with a hand at 10 and 2 at all times.
Everything that you write must have a purpose within the story, otherwise, it needs to be cut. DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE :-)
September 5, 2013
Why Fantasy?
My first book is an epic fantasy adventure that I wrote because I truly love the genre, because it is every genre. It can be a murder mystery, a who-done-it, horror, adventure, action whatever you want it to be. Because it can be anything, the really great fantasy novels will always be unexpected.
Some would argue that there is a formula to them - little morality plays about good vs evil, there is always a quest, and the farm boy always ends up ruling the kingdom...right?
Every genre can have overworked, overused formulas, but like any great recipe, it's the correct combination of ingredients that make the cake rise.
- Fantasy in every sense of the word...or is it SciFi?
Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff
Some would argue that there is a formula to them - little morality plays about good vs evil, there is always a quest, and the farm boy always ends up ruling the kingdom...right?
Every genre can have overworked, overused formulas, but like any great recipe, it's the correct combination of ingredients that make the cake rise.
- Fantasy in every sense of the word...or is it SciFi?
Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff
