Beginnings

Okay, I'm cheating today. Go here to Nicola Morgan's blog. She has a great, great, fantastic post about beginnings, and offers some good advice as well. Go on already, click!!

Okay, just in case you were too lazy to click, I'll give you a brief snippet . . .

Why are we wrong to angst about starting points for novels?

•because you can change it later - just get started and see what happens. Changing the beginning later is one of the easiest aspects of a revision, but you need to get the beginning down now, even if you end up moving it.
•because the hard and fast rules are not very hard or fast. The essential one is: do what works for THIS book.
•because starting points are about to be a lot easier to think about, as I'm about to give you some guidelines. Hooray! And then some options and examples. Even more hoorayish.

Okay, that's all the preview I'm giving you. She provides tons, tons of examples from her own books about various beginnings, and some thoughtful advice as well.

What did I gain most from her post?? Well, in her words because you can change it later! She's right. No matter what beginning I start with - a fall down the stairs, a scream in the night, an empty kitchen and a boiling pot of water, a pitcher of margaritas - I can always change it later.

It's kind of scary how she can read my mind. I mean, how does she know that I endlessly change my beginnings during the writing process? How? How? Oh, because she's a writer (like us all) and been there, done that, and has multiple t-shirts.

So, go on, click on over and have a good read!

S

100

Woo-hoo! I reached 100 Followers sometime this weekend. Sorry, can't give you the exact time and date, since I have no clue. I don't really drop into the blogsphere much on the weekends, but, somehow, when I wasn't looking, I reached 100 Followers.

So . . . welcome to the new followers, and thanks to the old ones for sticking around.

Now, I know how I hit the 100 mark. Nicola Morgan over at Help! I Need A Publisher! had a birthday party over at her blog since she reached the 1 year mark on Sunday. As part of the celebration, she had all her followers leave a comment with a brief description and a link to their blogs in order to spread the writing wealth in the blogsphere. So, congrats to Nicola, and thanks for hosting such a fabulous party.

You might want to hop over here and check out the comments. You never know, you might find a blog or 300 to follow. On second thought, Lady Glamis and Elana, don't check out that blog. You two follow way too many blogs as it is, and giving you the potential of hundreds of more blogs might send you both over the edge. I'm just saying . . .

I was also going to do a great post today, but got sidetracked by Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden. I can't seem to put the book down. Seriously. I can't remember the last time I just totally lost myself in a book, page after page, reluctantly putting the book down only when absolutely necessary. The book is a mystery, many mysteries, and the author effortlessly does some amazing things. I'd tell you what they were, but finding them out as you read is half the fun of this book. My only hope is that if I ever attempt something so grand, I can do it 1/4 as well as she has done. So, if you're looking for a good book to read, go get this one. It's an amazing read. I'm 60% through the book, so, depending on my schedule this week, I should have it done by this coming weekend. Woo-hoo.

I will post at least two more posts this week! I have some ideas forming, inspiration from The Forgotten Garden.

S

Snarky and Serious

Okay, I have this idea I've been mulling over for a potential new project to begin working on sometime this year. Can you believe it's 2010 already? Geesh!!! I have some, not all, of the basics noted down, figured out the potential names for the characters (though I'm not sure whether the names will stick at this point), and have an idea of the magical object that is at the core of the story. I still also have a ton of things to work out in the story.

But, my main questions are: Can a novel be both snarky and serious? Does the snarkiness diminish the serious tone of the novel?

You see, I want one of the main characters to have an A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E! A serious, serious, very snarky attitude! In many ways, this story will be a mockery of . . . well, can't tell you that, state secret, you'd have to give up first born child for me to tell you the secret, and all that jazz. Even though some serious mocking will occur, there is also a seriousness to the story, emotional depth, a coming of ageness to this story as well.

Can the mockery and seriousness, the snark and the emotional depth, walk hand and hand down the yellow brick road?

No, I'm not doing a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, I just liked the image of the yellow brick road.

Is such a balance between snark and seriousness doable? Am I biting off more than I can chew? Should I just focus on one aspect - snark or seriousness - and not attempt both?

Thoughts?

S

Magical Objects - Part Deux

So, the other day - yesterday to be exact - I did a post about magical objects, and asked some scathingly brilliant questions . . .

• What is the magical object?
• What does it do?
• How does it do it?
• Why is it important?
• What happens if it is . . . lost? forces of evil gain control of it? it is destroyed?
• What is the big even that will/won't happen without this magical object?

Well, I've realized that the third question - How does it do it? - really isn't that important at all!

Say what?? Well, seriously, people, did Tolkien ever explain how the one ring to rule them all actually worked??? No. All the reader really knew is that the ring could turn the wearer invisible, grant them long life, and slowly eat away at their soul. We, as readers, knew this, but not how the ring did all of this. Tolkien never explained that part to his readers.

The cloak of invisibility from Harry Potter - nope, J.K. never bothered to explain the specifics of how the cloak really worked.

The magic mirror from Snow White? Nope, no explanation given.

Yes, it was an epiphanous (yes, I know, not a word) moment last night when I realized that I don't (call it lazy, call it pure genius on my part) have to explain how the magical object works! Woo-hoo!

Now, I still have to come up with the magical object,figure out what it does, and all that jazz, but a detailed explanation of how it works isn't necessary, and, it probably isn't going to happen.

Why?

Well, do readers really need to know how a magical object works? Yes, dear readers, that question is for you. What do you think of this epiphany? Have you read fantasy stories where the author never explained how a magical object work? Did you wonder how it worked or just kept on reading, just knowing it was a magical object, and that was enough?

S

BTW - I did decide on a magical object and pretty much know what it does. Whew! Yeah, there are a ton of other things I have to figure out, but the whole magical object thingy is pretty much figured out. BTW - Davin had a great suggestion for magical objects, so you might want to check out the comments from yesterday's post.

Magical Objects

Today's post is about magical objects. Every fantasy story has a magical object, or two, or a dozen if the book is about a boy wizard and his friends.

Tolkien had the one ring to rule them all!

J.K. Rowlings had the cloak of invisibility, the deathly hallows, the time turner, and so many other objects.

David Eddings had Aldur's Orb - if you haven't read The Belgariad or The Mallorean series, please do so. These are great epic fantasies. I reread them every few years.

These authors each had some type of magical object in their fantasy series.

So, why I am posting about magical objects? Well, I have an idea for a modern day fantasy - perhaps epic, perhaps not so much. It's just in the idea phase right now, so I have no idea what, or if, this might develop into at some point in the future. I'm not psychic, after all.

Anyhow, I need a magical object, I know I need a magical object, and I just can't figure out the identity of the magical object, or its powers, or, or, or, or . . .

Yes, I've hit a wall with this dratted magical object that will become the source of conflict in this fantasy that I will write one day in the future.

Dilemma!

Dilemma!

Dilemma!

So, I've been thinking a lot about this mysterious magical object and came up with some questions to help me, and other aspiring fantasy writers, out:

• What is the magical object?
• What does it do?
• How does it do it?
• Why is it important?
• What happens if it is . . . lost? forces of evil gain control of it? it is destroyed?
• What is the big even that will/won't happen without this magical object?

Those were the basic questions I began to ask myself as I pondered the identity of this mysterious magical object that will be at the core of my fantasy novel.

As I pondered these questions, I realized that many authors before me, and many after me, had/will ponder(ed) this same question. Did they have a cheat sheet to help them? Did they stumble along like I did, searching, gasping for air, and hoping against hope that the answer would just appear in their dreams? Okay, my answer didn't appear in my dreams, just in case you're wondering.

Probably not. Those authors probably stumbled along, just as I have, as I still am (for the most part, though I have an idea or two about the object now), until they were able to work out the logistics in their mind about the magical object necessary for their stories. They probably didn't have the handy-dandy cheat sheet to help them figure out the identity of their magical objects.

Life might have been a bit easier (then again, it might not have been) with a handy-dandy cheat sheet like I created in the depths of my pondering.

So, I give you the above questions to help in the discovery of any magical objects your characters might need in future, or current, writings.

Lastly, as seems the case with blogs, there are questions, mainly for any fantasy writers out there . . .

What is your process in coming up with a magical object? Is it more in-depth than mine? Pretty much the same? How do you ultimately decide on the perfect object? Is it a wand? A cloak? A magical sword? A book? A hat? A pair of jeans? An ever full pitcher of margaritas? An orb? A crystal ball? A magical watch? A . . .

Shooting Stars

Okay, today was supposed to be a post free day, since I've decided that three posts per week is more than enough, and also allows me time to, well, work on my personal writing. I mean, that's what it's all about (and not the hokey-pokey, people), isn't it??

But . . .

Suzette and Bethany over at Shooting Stars are having this contest, and I'm all about winning contests. I'm a bit competitive - just ask my sisters, who rarely beat me at Scrabble.

So, they're having a contest and giving away . . .

2 Query Critiques + 2 First Five Page Critiques + 1 Inscribed/Autographed The Dark Divine for a stunning, grand total of 5 Prizes.

No, you can't win every prize.

In fact, you're limited to one, just one, and you have to let them know which one you want. They seem a bit demanding (kidding, Bethany and Suzette) to me, but hey, what do I know??? Oh, and they have a bunch of ways in which to enter - Tweet, Facebook, MySpace, AbsoluteWrite Forum, QueryTracker Forum, promise them your first born child (okay, that's not one of the ways, but I was on a roll), and a few other ways as well.

But . . .

Why should I be delivering all this info on my blog and not just telling you to click on over to their blog?

Why?

Well because . . . No. 2 of the two things I must do to enter the contest is: Post about this contest on your own blog (not just a mention, an actual post.)

I told you they were a bit demanding.

So, I've Facebooked about their contest and I've done a post about their contest. So, I'm in, people!!

S

Watch Out . . .

. . . for gaping plot holes! Yes, plot holes!

As any driver knows, pot holes are bad, very, very bad, especially depending on the depth of the pot hole. A tiny pot hole might cause a slight jolt as a driver hits the pot hole. A medium pot hole has the potential to cause a bit more than a jolt, perhaps a flat tire. A major pot hole can cause even more damage.

The same goes for those lovely plot holes that sometimes appear in writing.

So, New Year's Eve and Frank and I are watching the latest incarnation of Star Trek on DVD. Love the movie. Love the revitalization of the franchise. I'll definitely watch the movie again.

You know what I didn't love? Yes, you guessed it, the gaping plot hole!

Now, before anybody reads any further I must make the following disclaimers -

• MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
• MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
• MAJOR SPOILER ALERT

STOP READING NOW IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO WATCH THE LATEST INCARNATION OF STAR TREK . . . EVER!

Okay, now that the disclaimers are out of the way. Oh, wait, one more: I'm not dissing the movie. I loved the movie.

Okay, we now return to the topic of plot holes.

In the latest incarnation of Star Trek, the movie opens with a giant ship emerging from a black hole. It is soon learned this ship is from the future. Flash forward 25 years. The ship is still out in space causing havoc. No problem here. Suddenly, future Spock is telling a young James T. Kirk about where the ship came from - there was a space anomaly that created a black hole that transported the large ship into the past, and Spock's ship as well. It only took Spock's ship seconds to come through the black hole and . . . yes, the big ship was waiting there to capture Spock and his ship. Oh, did I mention that the crew of the big ship hadn't aged a day . . . in 25 years! Not a day. They all looked exactly the same as when the movie first started. Exactly.

Okay, any one notice the gaping plot hole???

Oh, and somehow, for 25 years, no one in the Federation noticed this ginormous ship. Oh, and somehow, the crew of the ship was able to find fuel, food, etc., . . . for 25 years while patiently waiting in the same exact spot they appeared for Spock's ship to appear. Yes, the exact same spot.

So, by now you should see the gaping plot hole. Yes, a certain suspension of disbelief occurs when reading or viewing a movie. A certain suspension, not total.

The logistics of the non-aging crew, the ability to find fuel, food, etc., is too much of a suspension of disbelief . . . at least for me. I can fill in the blanks about food and fuel, etc., just not the non-aging part and the fact that nobody in the Federation ever encountered this huge, huge ship that allegedly stayed in the same place in space 25 years waiting for Ambassador Spock to appear.

For me, the impact of the movie was lessened by the realization that the crew hadn't aged at all and the ship was miraculously able to sustain itself, its crew, and remain undetected for 25 years. Up until that point, J. J. Abrams had me! I loved the movie, I loved the new premise, and I could see the potential for great new adventures for James T. Kirk and crew since their destinies had been changed by the appearance of the huge ship 25 years earlier.

Okay, he still has me, I'll still watch future incarnations of the franchise, but . . .

So, the lesson here: fill those gaping plot holes. Don't let them exist and make your readers go: Huh!!