WIP Wednesday: Weeding the Word Garden

I'm slashing and hacking through the latest Sons of Chaos novella. The first half--el stinko. I've spent plenty of time and ink getting it close to "okay". The second half, mostly action, chase scenes, and killing monsters, is much tighter. I'm also about halfway through a beta read of a rather strange novella for a delightfully strange writer.

But am I writing?

Yes. A little. I've taken characters and situation from one of my previously published stories and started to expand (it might grow up to be a novella some day). The first line:

Jack’s dreams brought monsters of steel and rubber and glass, hulking things which screamed and cried frigid tears.

Today's writing prompt: You hit your head while running through the woods. When you wake, you are tied down and surrounded by a group of woodland creatures discussing ways in which to kill you...

This Post is About Writing

I've resurrected "The Write Addiction" and will post five prompts a week.

Today's writing prompt (a non-traditional one): Make a list of food the world's heaviest person might eat in a day.

_____

A little announcement about the Big Experiment. I've decided to donate 10% of each month's sales (right now, that amounts to about 3 cents--woo-hoo!) over the next year to a charitable organization. I've also decided to let my blog readers vote each month on the charity which receives the cash. If I win, so does someone else. Due to JA Konrath's latest plea to let the experiment take its course, I'll be running the big experiment for the next year. At least. Some may not believe in the Church of Konrath; I'm not sure if I do, but he is one of the lead advocates for self-publishing. The experiment is about his sermons as much as anything.

_____

I have something special to share (and it's about writing), but I figured it needs its own post. Hint: it's about someone else. Three someone elses, in fact.

On Plagiarists, Fake Names, and Other Random Things

Let me say one thing about stealing someone's fiction and claiming as your own: it doesn't pay. It doesn't pay in financial terms, and it sure as hell doesn't pay in the destructive force said plagiarist calls upon him/herself, especially in the era of Google searches and the interweb^TM. Not to mention a whole slew of explicatives I'd love to sling at plagiarists for being total %($&#@s, but this is a "family oriented" blog after all. (Like hell it is.)

Evidently there's a new plagiarist in town, but he's not new at all.

From Jodi Lee: "I was recently tipped off (via twitter) to proof that David “Doc” Byron has been plagiarizing works, presumably from people that have submitted to one of his many little for-the-love projects."

You can track the discussion from there.

This has happened before, to me. I'm sure it happens all the time. I don't understand the mind of some people, especially when stealing someone's story and posting for free online...or giving away to a FTL market...dude, nobody's reading your steaming, stolen, pile of dog sh*t. (Not that the original story was dog sh*t...it just became so when you put your name on it, thief.) Are you trying to build a reputation? Well, you have one. Jerk.

Speaking of names (cool off, Angry Aaron), I intended to post a little bit about fake names (for fiction). Yes, we're all familiar with random name generators, especially for fantasy and science fiction...check out this site for run-of-the-mill, normal people names (and other information). Kind of spooky...it gives you a fake credit card number even. (I hope those are fake--sheesh.)

Speaking of random, Andrea Allison of Southern Writemares plays around with random titles at her blog. My suggestion? Mix and match the words from various titles and generate something truly random, like "Flowers of Shards" or "The Twinkling Boyfriend".

(I think I've heard of that last one...)

Speaking of overused transitional phrases, have a great day, huh?

"In the Primal Library" up at Three Crow Press

"In the Primal Library" is one of my favorite stories. It isn't all that "original" and doesn't "add anything new" to the genre. But it was fun to write. I grew up with a library just like the one described, and yes, the second floor was spooky as hell. They even had collections of National Geographic in boxes. At right around 1,500 words, it's perfect 'net length, so give it a whirl if you have a spare 5-10 minutes.

So I've been debating a "collection" of my work. I have a pile of published stories in print and online, and I'm sorta-kinda proud of some of them. Here's the dilemma: collections don't sell all that well (so I'm discovered through bits of research...and I believe it), especially by a nobody like me, so I'd have to proposition various small presses. Not a bad thing, in general, but most (if not all) small presses utilize POD technology (Lightning Source etc.)--the same technology to which I have access. Personally, I don't see any value in trying to find reprint homes for these stories individually (not when I'm still writing new stories and trying to place them). Value in a collection of them, sure. Value in individual reprints, no. Am I making sense?

Sorry for all the parentheses. (really)

But what do I do? I've imagined releasing a free/cheap ebook collection of them myself, printing a copy for my mom (you know how moms are, surely). My goal is to have people read my work, not necessarily make money. I'd love to add value to the collection, too...like explanations of the inspiration behind each piece. Desperately seeking advice here.

Well...enough of that. Today's NaNoWriMo inspiration:

Remember: characters must be pushed beyond their limits to see what they're really made of.

Written by Me (and Send in the Clown)

KV Taylor wrote about recurring themes in her fiction last week (okay, one theme really, but it was blood, and blood is like ten themes in one), and my response:

At the core of most of my schtuff, I guess I’d have to say family dynamics, especially dysfunctional families. Maybe families that are trying really hard to be functional. Single parents. Dead siblings. Poverty.

...well, you read it yourself. Family dynamics are huge: the brothers' relationship in "Tesoro's Magic Bullet" or unresolved issues between the father and son in "The Sub-basement" or even the father and son with absentee mother in "The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable". Why family dynamics?

I don't know if I've revealed this little tidbit before, but my father died of "complications" related to a brain tumor he developed when I was five. By "complications", I mean the fact that in 1980, when he was diagnosed, radiation was a relatively new treatment for cancer. They bombarded him with radiation, and yeah, it killed the cancer. But his brain started dying, too. You can imagine the changing family dynamics during the following nine years (he died when I was fourteen).

So that probably had a big impact on my life. You think?

I also write about poverty at times. Not about poverty per se, but about characters who aren't social elites. I weary of stories in which all the key characters are professors or princesses or doctors or *ack* writers. You know what? Most people aren't. My characters have worked at meat packing plants, auto parts stores, as secretaries, teachers (duh), custodians, clerks at fishing tackle shops...normal jobs. Not exactly poverty, but definitely with a trend away from high power careers/royalty.

So yeah, that works. There's also the strong inclination toward the unknown. Stranger things happen. I believe in weird. I prefer to watch "average Joes/Josephines" deal with the odd and uncanny than a princess.

I'm quite average, myself. What about you?

Now, I know some of you have come here for NaNoWriMo inspiration. No picture today, I'm afraid, but I do bring you:

The Happy Clown!

(and a friendly reminder to do something unexpected in your novel)

Musical Inspiration for a Grey Day

(photo by Dirk Delbaere)

It's dark and dreary here, so I've dusted off an old song from a forgotten project for a little musical inspiration today. The tune goes well with the photo; if you aren't writing your way down a dark path, download and give a listen some other time, huh?

"Whispers" (mp3)

Happy writing.

Going Down?

Hello, NaNos. One of the common themes in classical literature is the "hero's" journey into the underworld. Odysseus had to do it. So did Orpheus (and we all know how well that turned out). Most Harry Potter books (all of them?) involved our intrepid young wizard in the Forbidden Forest at one point or another. The underworld is usually a place of learning or trials, a place for your MC to meet a mentor or gain wisdom, an important stop on the journey to solving his/her/its "big problem". It doesn't even have to be underground (um, Forbidden Forest, anyone?)

Take your protagonist on a trip to the dark side. He/she/it will emerge stronger, wiser, and/or ready to slay the dragon. (unless, like Orpheus, he/she/it doesn't listen to directions and crosses the streams--er, that's from Ghostbusters)

WIP Wednesday: It Gets a Little Murky

Sometimes, writing feels a little like walking through these woods. A little mystery never hurt anyone, but along with mystery comes the possibility of danger. What, exactly, lurks out there in the fog and shadows?

Like: why am I trying to write a piece of science fiction? Well...it's more horror, really. A man signs on to be the custodian of a group of colonists as they take a thirty year journey into deep space. He only signs on because his family suffers in abject poverty. He won't see them again, but they will live a healthy, safe life thanks to his sacrifice.

Of course...

Seven years, three months, and twenty-two days on route, ship’s custodian Gant Forres dreamed of the rats.

After that, he starts hearing them in the hull of the Rocinante. (nods to Lovecraft)

Let's just say it gets dark from there...

Contrast This!

This one could easily be titled "grow where you're planted", but I'm not going that cliché. No, this photo is really about contrasts. Does your novel have them? Does your protagonist have a foil, another character rife with opposing characteristics--greedy when the MC is generous, vindictive when the MC is forgiving, meticulous when the MC is slovenly...

Contrast helps bring out a character's traits and creates drama and suspense. Contrast makes for good fiction.

Hope your day is full of contrast. In a good way, of course.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Yes, NaNoWriMos, sometimes things need to get physical. Sometimes characters need to physically assault one another, regardless of the genre of your book. Physical altercations amp up the drama, the threat level (hey, I could bleed here), and provide much needed umph when we've had too many pages of dialogue. Remember, any good fight scene is like a good sex scene: let the reader fill in as many blanks as possible. It's easy to overwrite both. No one needs a two page nanosecond by nanosecond recap of one fist coming into contact with another character's jaw. Maybe your big fight scene doesn't move past one character snapping a pencil in two when he/she sees a rival. That works, too. Physicality makes those characters' emotions real.

Fighting isn't your protagonist's style? No one said your MC had to be in on the action, did they?

Faith at Every Day Fiction

...and yes, I've realized there is a misused word in the last paragraph. Yes, adsorbed is a "real word". It just doesn't mean to permeate the skin.

So, if you can stomach a little vocabulary infraction and some Nyotaimori, read "Faith". Let me know what you think. The story came about after reading a random news bit about the "dish".

Today, dear NaNoWriMos, investigate your protagonist's deepest beliefs. These will bubble to the surface in times of trial, either crushed by circumstance or strengthened.

The Tibetan prayer flags are in honor of K.V. Taylor's wonderful entry, "Boudha" in Grant's Pass. Have a lovely Saturday.

Words Per Minute

The man with nine fingers leans forward, his face cut with shadows and light under the lamp. "You got 'em, Manny?"

"Sure." Manny places a crinkled paper sack on the table, reaches inside, and produces a rag. He unwraps the first layer of the rag, revealing dark stains on the folds underneath."Five choices this time...hope one works."

The man with nine fingers slides his right hand under the lamp. The pinkie is severed at the second joint, a clean cut with little scar tissue.

"This one ain't gonna work," he says, lifting one finger from the cloth. "Too short. They'd snipped it at the wrong knuckle."

Manny nods and dabs his damp forhead with the back of his arm.

The man with nine fingers procedes to try each remaining pinkie next to his stump, scrutinizing them under the harsh lamplight, comparing skin tone, size, fit. With a grunt, he tosses the last on the rag with the others and pushes away from the table.

"No good?" Manny asks even though he knows.

"No."

Manny collects the cast offs in his paper sack. "I'll see what I can do...but really, is it worth--"

"Yes, it is." The man with nine fingers frowns. "I don't mind the quotation mark so much--I don't write a lot of dialogue. But the return. The return key is a stretch. Slows me down."

Manny fidgets with the paper sack, crinkling it in his fists.

"It's NaNoWriMo, Manny." The man with nine fingers knocks on the table. "I gotta get my WPM up there. 50K ain't gonna type itself."

No Rules. No Guarantees.

Hey, nobody said NaNoWriMo (or writing in general) was going to be easy. But there's another message in that sign. Take chances, make the courageous, daring choice, write hard. No one wants to read another version of what's come before. No one wants the same thing, warmed over, and served cold. This is a time to be bold and foolish with your writing; you just might like the outcome.

WIP Wednesday: Yes, Danger

What nameless disease are these members of the Policia hiding from? Danger is vital to good fiction, regardless of the genre. Even literary tales have a solid dose, whether it be the threat of physical harm or more subtle dangers (living outside one's social circle, trying a new career...etc.).

My WIP? I finished another story (now I have two in the revision que). "_____" (insert story name here) is about a pair of mismatched friends growing up in a small town about to be flooded by an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir project. "Creatures" in the woods and the soon-to-be flooded river haunt one, while the other must deal with his shiftless, alcoholic father.

The grasshopper worked its thick hind legs, fighting in Johnny’s grasp. Its mouthparts massaged a drop of brown sludge, trying to smear the offending liquid on the boy’s fingers, a defense mechanism the boys called “chewing tobacco”—a stain the insects would leave behind on their human captors. Johnny thought of the hook, the sharp, sun-sparkling barb pushing through the mottled green of the insect’s thorax. He imagined the strong legs kicking in the water as the grasshopper drowned, lost in the black water, and he felt the fear in his throat.

Perhaps all the NaNo talk out there has inspired me. I've started laying the brickwork (i.e., backstory) for a new book, a haunted house tale which I hope takes a different angle from what's come before. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I leave you with danger.

Now, Let's Have A Traffic Jam...

So you've discovered what your protagonist lusts after, now frustrate her/him with a good old fashioned traffic jam (I'm writing metaphorically here, unless a real traffic jam works).

Nothing creates dramatic tension (uh, suspense) more than making the protagonist wait, and every good traffic jam carries an element of danger (more suspense!). Would you really want to find yourself in the middle of the cluster-$&#^ above?


Speaking of traffic jams (I don't have a better segue), A very nice review of Triangulation: Dark Glass popped up on Sunday at SF Crowsnest, including a favorable mention of my story, "Dancing Lessons".

Although well-written these didn't hold up as well as Arron [sic] Polson's very short story, 'Dancing Lessons', where a small girl briefly aids a resurrected hobo who was temporarily augmented as his body started to fail...

Nice mention. Nice blurb to add to the website and all, but my name...oh well. What's in a name, anyway?

That's Right, NaNos: Lust.

Remeber your main character has to want something. Lust for something.

Sure, it can be a man, woman, what-have-you in a sexual sense, but lust can also refer to power, money, objects, etc. Lust is also a nice reminder that the best verbs really grab a reader.

Hop over to Nossa Morte when you have a spare moment and read "Tesoro's Magic Bullet". And have a great writing day.