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What would you like to write?
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Nik
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Nov 25, 2016 02:47AM
Are there themes that sit on your mind, inspire you, require some fictional interpretation maybe, ideas that you toy with? If yes, what are they?
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Even though I write thrillers with lots of action, violence and deaths, I like the idea that at the end of novels, there is an inspiration that the world can be a better place. That humans are capable of great things, which are often achieved at small, individual levels. How's that?
Aiden wrote: "Even though I write thrillers with lots of action, violence and deaths, I like the idea that at the end of novels, there is an inspiration that the world can be a better place. That humans are capa..."Sounds like a worthy message!
Aiden wrote: "What about you Nik?"Would probably want to finish my Oligarch series at some point, which beside sheer action and grit, I'm afraid I fill with too much high finance and big biz for broad readership -:)
And now I'm trying to launch, produce and tie up non-related heists in different locations into a global cohesive plot, which I believe to be a cool project:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
BTW, the announcement still stands!
A key theme that I have is that great evil will only be defeated by great sacrifice.
I always want my characters to end up in a workable relationship - preferably heterosexual but that's just me. The main character in my first novel was supposed to test fly an advanced low earth orbit shuttle. I had to cut that out of the story but she may get her chance next year. Gun violence really concerns me. I am toying with it on three levels: Personal, a man and his family are wiped out by their own gun collection (actually happened 40 years ago); Community urban violence propelled by the proliferation of personal weapons and the rise of urban militias; A nationwide violent revolution.
Actual themes with high engaging potential for the readers!
i don't want to predispose readers too much to a specific interpretation of my works by stating my themes, but just for the sake of discussion one of my current ideas is to always have a scientific basis--like the increasingly rapid miniaturization of computing hardware and quantum theory--from which to extrapolate the underlying logic of my worlds.
I'm surprised at how often elements of outer space enter into my work. Outer space imagery is something I am intentional about, but it appears even in stories where I didn't overtly mean to include it. Outer Space is the foundation of 21st century mythology.
I really like to write about the world spiralling further and further into chaos, and the social issues that can bring. Conspiracies, double-crosses, hidden agendas, endless violence, and a society that is surreal in its ineptitude suffering at the hands of both the protagonists and antagonists in some way or other. The main characters are almost always smarter than the oblivious general populace. Often I toy with the characters' futile struggles to change the inevitable outcome that is their doom.Yes, I have a really mean sense of humour...
Alexander wrote: "I really like to write about the world spiralling further and further into chaos, and the social issues that can bring. Conspiracies, double-crosses, hidden agendas, endless violence, and a society..."But the real trick is to write the story with one of the oblivious as your point of view character. We already have the story of Noah saving his family and animals from the flood. What we need is the story of his neighbors who didn't make it.
I try to show something about science, and in my Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy I try to show how to form new theories. (Scaevola ha to prove the earth goes around the sun using only what was known in Roman times, and from what he could observe. If you don't know my answer, try it - it will test your understanding of physics.
Joe wrote: "the real trick is to write the story with one of the oblivious as your point of view character. We already have the story of Noah saving his family and animals from the flood. What we need is the story of his neighbors who didn't make it.Right. Let's not have a regurgitation of the same story over and over. Take the other's POV.
I see a problem with the "not Noah" scenario. The plot goes something like:Pass me another beer. Who's that silly bugger building that monstrosity? Pass me another beer. It's a bloody boat. The sea is miles away. Pass me another beer. Looks like rain. Good God, when will this rain stop. Bugger it - I should have built a boat. Drowns.
Not sure that sort of plot will be a best seller. As it happens, I have no work in progress, and I need something to get me started, but tis somehow does not strike me as likely.
Ian wrote: "I see a problem with the "not Noah" scenario. The plot goes something like:Pass me another beer. Who's that silly bugger building that monstrosity? Pass me another beer. It's a bloody boat. The s...I have no work in progress, and I need something to get me started, but tis somehow does not strike me as likely...."
You just need more backstory. Show Noah as a drunk (he was) and not so nice. Be sure to set up what the euphemism "looked upon his nakedness" means. That will get you abreast of current trends. The cover could show Noah standing on the bow, his staff held on high, as he defies the elements and ignores, lower left, all his neighbors treading water. In b/g, Mrs. Noah has a rope in her hands. . .
My new book with the publisher is a historical fiction.
Mehreen wrote: "My new book with the publisher is a historical fiction."you can put the front cover in a post here
hit the "add book/author" link above the comment window.
J. wrote: "Mehreen wrote: "My new book with the publisher is a historical fiction."you can put the front cover in a post here
hit the "add book/author" link above the comment window."
It is still under consideration. Thanks for the tip.
I've always wanted to write fantasy and science fiction but those only for myself.Right now though, im thinking of starting work on a non fiction called 'Higher Education: You gotta be high to believe it's education", which is a case by case study of how universities in Canada and the united states have formed in essence a military industrial complex.
I've just started researching it but i've already found Canadian universities investing in weapons trade, and Trudeau acquiring the student vote in the election to become prime minister was no coincidence. Unlike the Russian election hacking however, universities have had a fair amount of political clout and unjust subsidizing. The amount of subsidies the government pays to one university is 400 million per year, the student fees are at 400 million and 700 million is given as salary...the dispute that spurred between the union and the university is almost surreal.
I don't know if i should write it, i don't think people want to read that so no one will publish it. But even worse it can piss off a bunch of professors with masters degrees, that will discredit it even though the information used is publicly available. The entire part about professors being the witch doctors of our time would make me a public enemy in the realm of people likely to read this book.
What do you guys think, is this something that's interesting or would you rather read about an Austrian bodybuilder who murders their world's harry potter, and uses guns to fight the dark lord?
The question should rather be: will people believe what you say about that or will be interested in your book? No offense meant, but your description of your planned study already evokes some pretty strong skepticism in me. Credibility would be the biggest factor about your book.
No offense taken, i actually really appreciate your honesty.Credibility is determined the very people it's railing against so the catch 22 is there.
But that's the thing, this has nothing to do with student loans. All data is from official financial statements, news archives, and financial aggregate firms. I haven't even gotten to interviews but even for interviews i am sticking to primary sources or direct quotes.
Other sections use the works of john nash, comparison's to other systems and historical accounts. No statistics are employed at all, as to not spin any data.
It's a weird time credibility. A feminist perspective article is acceptable in writing a paper on the economics of bangladeshi sweatshops. The article said Women in sweat shops is a sign of walmart's sexism and then is a personal anecdote about her life there. It was considered just as much if not more credible than The Wealth of Nations and Nash's game theory, and given a higher grade than a paper i wrote that used history and macroeconomic theory to argue against it.
It's going to be discredited no matter what i write. Someone can easily use statistics to make me look like a liar, if framed it right. But i don't know how i can make it more credible than i already have in researching it.
Don wrote: "im thinking of starting work on a non fiction called 'Higher Education: You gotta be high to believe it's education"..."If anything, I like the title. Reminiscing back to student years, I think unis also teach you to get high -:)
As of the essence, I can c how unis can be helpful for military industrial complex. Not sure revealing and proving something should necessarily turn you into a 'public enemy', but it's important to refrain from defamation. Otherwise, if the research is finished and you are passionate about the project, why not try to see it through to being published?
Didn't understand this one:
"Unlike the Russian election hacking however, universities have had a fair amount of political clout and unjust subsidizing."
Just out of curiosity: "..a bunch of professors with masters degrees, .."
Not an expert in academic ranks, but shouldn't professors be with doctorate degrees (Ph. D)?
Don wrote: "...an Austrian bodybuilder..."
What, Arnold Schwarzenegger again !? -:)
I would like to try my hand at genuine "creeping horror."And comedy. I enjoy parody, it's just being able to sustain it over a longer form story that I'm unsure how to do.
Graeme wrote: "I would like to try my hand at genuine "creeping horror."And comedy. I enjoy parody, it's just being able to sustain it over a longer form story that I'm unsure how to do."
Graeme, I think that humor and horror are the two hardest things to write. As a reader I can say that there have been a few books that actually made me laugh out loud then I read them.
True horror is just as rare, there have been a handful of books that I have found to be truly frightening. Those books tended to be the "creeping horror" variety that you described. Are you developing an idea for a book you plan to write soon? Keep us posted on this. Thanks!
I just wish that I had enough time to write all the stories I want to write.
Nik wrote: "Don wrote: "im thinking of starting work on a non fiction called 'Higher Education: You gotta be high to believe it's education"..."If anything, I like the title. Reminiscing back to student year..."
The Russian Hacking scandal is an excuse for bad politicking. i know a fair deal about computers the russians did not hack you guys. That was all bull, but the chinese did hack you and took from you trillion dollars worth of weapons research. Lockehead Martin covered that up, there's no other way china could developed CAC FC1 bloc 3.
The professors with masters degrees are those philosphy and sociology teachers that ignore all science and biology to spread their social justice ideology of there being no biological differences between people. Which is so idiotic. Everyone is different from everyone else. Racism and Sexism are cultural, because a short blonde white man and tall brunette white woman are as biologically different from each other as an asian man and a black man. Regardless of race or gender, if any had been living on mountains for a few generations, they would have evolved to be better physically than someone born in the comfort of china or the united states. What i just said here is now considered racist, sexist and logically flawed because the person with a master's degree in women's studies said so. I can get into trouble with the dean for my remark. The days of animal house are long gone.
This one is gonna take at least 5-6 years, if i decide to write it.
I agree with Holly about humour and horror. The problem with horror is that if you don't deeply engage the reader, it ends up looking either silly or grotesque. The problem with humour is when it isn't that funny.
Well the other novel i'm working on stars Arnold Schwartzenegger from commando and i think it's fantasy, i don't know at this point. I can't give you a synopsis for reasons which will be clear very soon so but I can give you a brief summary of what i have so far.
It starts off at the generic ya fantasy ending like Harry Potter or Wheel of Time, where the final battle is being fought. The hero is with his two bourgeois imperialist love interests(typical young adult novel female protagonists). They go on and on and on with just the most generic uninteresting conversation about their feelings ever.
They're going on an exposition blitzkrieg mentioning all the countless battles with the minions of the dark one (which consists of a lot of mass murder, but they're young adult heroes so it's heroically committed mass murder, but mass murder nonetheless). They all have their heart to heart about their feelings and relationships. Then the bell tolls, and the time has come for the Nightbringer or as the ancients knew him "dark forsaken lord of night and also one of darkness that is not as dark as black but even darker king II". It never translated well into any other language so they gave him names like Shatnan, and Herberican'delfs.
The fabric of reality parts open, and a huge portal also pops open. The power overwhelms the heroes, they ready up their weapons, magic and magical weapons.
A huge detonation occurs at the prophesied spot 12 paces away and out steps John Matrix. He is shirtless, carrying a 12 gauge shotgun in one hand, an rpg in the other. He notices 3 kids, who are acting rudely towards him.
Matrix waves at the kids in a salute to the kids. When the scrawny effeminate boy see this, he suddenly draws his sword and charges at John yelling "I will Vanquish you".
"Vanquish this" John responds in a heavily accented dialect as he fires two slugs of his 12 gauge at the kid's head, killing him.
One of the love interests, the generic sorceress is stunned but regains her composure charges up a torrent of elemental magic, beams of radiant light shoot through her eyes, The power is overwhelming to all but John.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THI-" before she can finish, a rocket propelled grenade hits her in the chest then explodes scattering her into thousands of tiny charred up pieces of flesh.
"Don't expect a tip" Matrix comments as he faces the third generic sorceress princess girl.
"Iam looking for Cole, he is a king at night or some lie dat, have you-" and she bolts the fuck outta there before he can finish.
Then the actual dark lord appears behind Matrix. A voice says from behind "What the hell are you doing here John".
Matrix turns around with a huge smile on his face, and proceeds to hug his old mercenary squad captain Cole.
Long story short...John had arrived 8800 years after Cole had, because of a temporal malfunction caused by a fly on the windshield of the planetary gateway. He has inadvertently ruined the plans of his employers the Derilum Corporation, and is informed that he is pending a job evaluation and is barred from using gateways out of the planet.
The plan to destabilize this world for their resources was ruined once before. Cole was sent in two decades earlier relative to John's time to make sure the plan went off without a hitch but he had been accidentally given the dark lord's power by a dying old blind man. Cole had then decided to go rogue and find whoever did this to the poor old man, then he found a bunch of asshole kids blowing up a city and in the process of killing a friend of the old man. Cole knew he had to stop these psychotic kids, he approached them when they hit him with a surge of magic trapping him in a dimension outside of space and time. The kids then nearly destroyed the planet with blatant misuse of magic. Thousands of years had passed, until he was finally able to communicate with the outside world. A bunch of beastly looking creatures had asked him to help them out, as a bunch of new kids similar about the same age as the kids that killed the kind old man years ago were harassing these poor creatures by sending armies at them. Cole decided then, to go rogue and make this his war for such evil needed to be destroyed. The war had raged for around 8, 1000 page novels, it a huge cast of characters....really, alot of marvelous stuff happened. Then finally when the time had come to confront the scummy spoiled power hungry teenage assholes, he had found John there instead.
The rest of the books is John stuck in a world with only the power of unlimited ammunition for his guns. He must face A spiteful chaos Queen, the Derilum corpration's human resources divison, the the Hammond Hammond Hammond Hammond, and Hammond law firm representing the Derilium corporation and the perpetual boredom of fantasy court politics that slowly take away at his soul.
All he wants is to do is see his beloved Geto, located on another planet in Maridian City, it was formerly the ghetto of said city until Meridian decided to declare it a foreign nation to maintain the streak of having the best crime and poverty rate on the global census.
Yeah, that's what i am working on right now. This one is yet untitled, but another book i have in the works is set in Meridian City. It's called "Headhunters" which follows a different set of characters.
For this novel and headhunters. There is no character development, i ramble on about meaningless nonsense for most of it and deus ex machinas are used to resolve many important plot details.
I honestly tried to write a young adult novel like the mortal instruments but it got out of hand after page 5.
What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Holly. I have a genuine creeping horror short story, maybe 6k to 8k words maximum in the wings to try my hand at.
I never wrote a horror story and don't plan to write one, but it does sound like a tough job to do well. Maybe I should try once in the future to write one, as a personal challenge. What would be key elements/conditions for a good horror story in your opinion, guys and girls?
Don wrote: "I've always wanted to write fantasy and science fiction but those only for myself.Right now though, im thinking of starting work on a non fiction called 'Higher Education: You gotta be high to be..."
Read all of Eisenhower's speech of 1961. Just below his warning of the military industrial complex is another warning:
“The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
The title needs work, but looks like good project.
Not a lot of danger of the scientific - technological elite capturing the current administration. But I agree, there should be plenty of plot material there.
I'm not familiar with "creeping horror." What would be some examples?It's been a long time since I was a college student, so I'm not sure what's going on in colleges these days. I know that colleges traditionally have been thought of as hotbeds of liberal thought, but the only way in which this applied to my education was that we were encouraged to have open minds and learn about other cultures and ideas. I never felt any pressure to believe a certain way. My favorite sociology professor asked us to bring in current articles, which we would discuss. He used the Socratic method of teaching, asking questions but not giving us the answers. He stressed the importance and power of the Supreme Court, which I appreciate to this day.
I can see how Federal funding might be an influence in some ways, but is the thinking that the government somehow influences or controls professors and what they teach?
Scout wrote: "I can see how Federal funding might be an influence in some ways, but is the thinking that the government somehow influences or controls professors and what they teach?..."Eisenhower's warning clearly is talking about research, not teaching. In research, we don't need to look far for the "somehow." Government grants for research exceed $100 billion annually. If a university researcher is not toeing the line, he gets NO grants. His publications had better agree with "the consensus."
This may partially account for the fact that in some fields, up to half of papers published cannot be replicated.
As far as teaching goes, faculty Democrats outnumber Republicans 10:1 as a result of discriminatory university hiring policies.
Michel wrote: "I never wrote a horror story and don't plan to write one, but it does sound like a tough job to do well. Maybe I should try once in the future to write one, as a personal challenge. What would be k..."Start with some supernatural element, either a traditional one or some entity that you have invented.
One of the reasons I stopped reading horror was the dominance of "horror" novels with nothing supernatural.......just human beings torturing, killing and consuming other humans. That type of horror is there for free, on the news, every day.
Too many writers were going for the lowest common denominator; the Gross Out Effect. What I'm looking for as a reader is prose that will create sensations of dread and unease but it's so hard to find among all the literary ipecac.
There are plenty of tired horror tropes that will work wonderfully if you just shine them up and apply a new coat of imagination. I really like it when authors steal tropes from other genres. One example I can think of was a wonderful twist on Narnia, very dark and creepy.
One approach that works well with horror is Place as Character. Take Shirley Jackson's classic novel, The Haunting of Hill House as an example. The house itself is a character in the book.
So many horror readers are looking for something that just goes above and beyond the sadistic stalker/psycho clown/hillbilly cannibal/torture porn/teenage slasher movie mentality novels that have flooded the genre
Don wrote: "Well the other novel i'm working on stars Arnold Schwartzenegger from commando and i think it's fantasy, i don't know at this point. I can't give you a synopsis for reasons which will be clear ve..."
Don, you might be on a winner there.
Holly wrote: "Michel wrote: "I never wrote a horror story and don't plan to write one, but it does sound like a tough job to do well. Maybe I should try once in the future to write one, as a personal challenge. ..."
Thank you very much for the tips, Holly.
Thank you very much for the tips, Holly.
Holly, if you liked The Haunting of Hill House, as did I, you might like The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons.
Scout wrote: "Holly, if you liked The Haunting of Hill House, as did I, you might like The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons."Thanks for thinking of me, Scout. That is an absolutely wonderful haunted house story and I have enjoyed several of Siddons other novels.
