World Building: Thoughts and Practices
World building is one of those things you have to do, even if you don’t want to. Whether you write fantasy, science fiction, or something else entirely, you’ll always find yourself attempting to build your world, whether at the micro or macro levels. Creating characters is a form of world building, and if all you do is create unique characters for your novels, then you are as much a part of the process as someone who builds entire worlds (they just have to spend more time creating things from scratch, while you, perhaps, can sit around in the comfort of the world you know). I’ve often approached world building from a relatively minimalist position. While I enjoy fantasy worlds with richly developed worlds, sometimes such things can get in the way and what should be a riveting novel can turn into a foray into the author’s world building practices. Nobody wants that. Tolkien, for all his brilliance in creating the most fully-realized fantasy world in the history of the genre, was occupied by unfortunate flaws in style and character development, some of which were a product of the times. I prefer to keep things localized. Whether it is the most efficient method, I don’t know, but it seems to work well enough for me. I don’t occupy myself with excessive amounts of ancient history, because, as much as that might be interesting, it is not relevant to whatever story I am writing at that moment. When I build worlds, I start with names and general ideas, work my way to a map, and then go wild until I feel that I know enough about the world to be able to write in it. Sometimes it works well, depending on how interested I am in a particular world, and sometimes it doesn’t. But when it works, it really works. I have three fantasy worlds that I developed this way (Traea, the world in which The World in the Satin Bag is set, a world where I’ve set many of my “quirky” fantasy stories, and the Mundoscurad, the most recent, in which The Watchtower is set. There are an absurd amount of different methods for world building, from genre specific to author specific. Writers of all genres, particularly newer writers, are always looking for the “best way,” not realizing that the “best way” is really non-existent. Reality dictates that what might work for some, may not work for you, and vice versa. Ken McConnell, for example, said via his Twitter that, “sometimes it’s the little things, like word choice that can set the tone and enrich your world building.” So what do you do when it comes to world building? How do you find the right method for you? Trial and error. Not the answer you were looking for, were you? Tough. So much of writing involves trying something to see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, you drop it and try something else. Trial and error is a writer’s third or fourth, or maybe tenth, best friend (no doubt writers have a lot of best friends). But that’s neither here nor there. I want to hear about your world building methods. How do you approach creating new worlds? What works for you?
Writing Weaknesses: Do You Know Yours?
Nobody is perfect. That’s one of those golden rules when it comes to personalities and professions. Everyone makes mistakes, sometimes trivial and sometimes terrible. As a writer, it can be difficult to see where your weaknesses are. Anyone who writes is intimately connected to his or her work, and maintaining separation can sometimes be nearly impossible. Few, if any, writers get it right on the first draft, and those that do are flukes rather than logical exceptions. The rest of us–call us “normies,” if you will–have to learn from our mistakes and try to see where we are weak in order to improve our craft. But do you know your weaknesses? If so, how do you approach resolving them? Do you take care of it after the first draft, or do you try to fix the issue as it is happening? Personally, I have issues with characterization. Often I place too much focus on the ideas and not enough on establishing a connection to the character (for the reader). I know I do this every single time, and my problem seems to be that when I try to fix it as it occurs, my characterization feels forced or I simply lose interest. I’m working on resolving this, because I want my stories to have more impact for readers beyond the “gosh wow” effect. I have other weaknesses, but right now that seems to be the primary and most pressing one. I’m not sure how to fix it at this point. A lot of the exercises I’ve found for creating better characters seem to require you to think up useless facts about your characters. I prefer not to think of my characters as bundles of uselessness. They have purposes, desires, interests, etc., and I prefer fiction that highlights those things that are important to the story as a whole. Maybe that’s my problem. Knowing your weaknesses is important, though, because acknowledging where you need to work the most can help drive you forward as a writer, even if that movement is one plodding, sluggish step at a time. What are your weaknesses and how do you deal with them? Let me know in the comments!
Science Fiction and Empire, and Other Thesis Considerations
Most of you already know that I am attending the University of Florida’s graduate program in English. Having arrived in Florida, I’ve become quite aware of the relatively short space of time I have to design and write an acceptable thesis in order to earn my M.A. The biggest concern for me isn’t so much the time, but the topic. I have a lot of interests in relation to science fiction. I’m particularly curious about the relationship between racism and the human/Other dichotomy in science fiction and (post)colonialism. But my curiosity extends into other areas, such as the building and collapsing of empires, and related subjects. In fashioning my M.A. thesis I’ve come to some interesting observations. For instance, why are imperialist structures of empire so prevalent within science fiction? What about these kinds of empire constructions function so well in the science fiction genre? Historically, American imperialism rose and “fell”—because it never truly fell, in all fairness—at around the time that science fiction came into existence, assuming, of course, that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the first true science fiction novel or story. By the time that American imperialism had, generally speaking, fallen out of favor and much of the world began to de-colonize or dismantle their empires, science fiction had come into its own, evolving from its early pulp roots to a genre filled with serious examinations of potential futures. Heinlein, Asimov, et al., all played a role in establishing the grand galactic empires, many of which were highly imperialistic. It would be fair to say that these individuals, many of them fairly well-educated (particularly Asimov, who was a scientist of some notoriety), were influenced by a particularly insidious American habit. Such habit transferred into the capitalist structure, much to the dismay of those capitalists who see the system as flawed, but ultimately beneficial when properly maintained, such as myself. Imperialism, unfortunately, transferred from the empire-building tendencies of the nation to the capitalist tourist engine that permeates much of the more desirable vacation spaces in the world (notably the Caribbean). Historically, it makes a lot of sense that science fiction would be inherently obsessed with structures of empire and imperialism, because, as is often stated, the genre is indebted to its written past and present. Whether or not I will study this issue further, I cannot say. There is much to consider in the next year, and ironing out the kinks will a part of that. Focuses change, interests adjust, but one thing will remain true: science fiction and empire will continue to a be a curiosity of mine. P.S.: I should note that much of what has been said here applies to British imperialism and empire as well. I simply chose American imperialism as an example through which to relate my understanding of empires in science fiction. Also, I’m speaking primarily from a more “classics” perspective. Recent endeavors into issues of empire have been more in-depth that previous standards of science fiction literature.
Fantasy Novel Progress Report (Part One)
Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know about a new project I’ve been working on. Still, I wanted to blog about it as a way of getting my thoughts down in sentences longer than 140 characters. As much as I love Twitter, it does have its limitations. Recently I began work on a new fantasy novel. I’ve been meaning to write it for a while after being inspired by the Battlestar Galactica version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” I don’t know what it is about that song, but when I hear it my mind races with ideas. That’s how this novel came along, tentatively called The Watchtower. Initially I thought this would be a short story, but the characters wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted more, and I can’t say no to my characters—if I do, they get angry and wreak havoc on my brain, which is not beneficial if you’re a graduate student. Currently there are three main characters and two primary supporting characters. There’s Luz, an apprentice magic user of sorts, Bromistan, a failed court jester, Pertuvoz, a character I don’t know much about yet, but who should be loads of fun to write for, Ladron, a thief (and no, there are no guilds or anything like that, he just likes to steal things), and Protegara, a master magic user and teacher to Luz. I have no doubt that there will be more characters soon, but for now, that’s it. As far as the plot: I haven’t quite secured it yet. I’m trying to avoid turning this into an epic quest story, or any sort of epic fantasy involving big giant battles and what not. But such attempts to avoid staples of the genre are not working well. Thus far the story hinges on the sudden fall of the four kingdoms of the Mundoscurad (my fantasy land) and all of these characters getting caught in the middle of it. The four kingdoms are invaded by the long-defeated horseback barbarians from the northern lands (Nortierra) and practically swept aside overnight without a second thought. I will likely be explaining why it is so easy, considering the history of the kingdoms (they banded together some four hundred years ago in order to defeat the Nortierra riders), but since I only have about 5,000 words written, I think simplistic explanations are in order. For now, that’s where it stands. My primary problem right now seems to be a proper way to open the piece, and as I write more and more to it I find myself slipping into the quirky side of fantasy, which I do not want for this. I love quirky fantasy, but The Watchtower is not a quirky novel. The Watchtower is also the mark of an experiment on my part. I want to try outlining this whole thing to see how that works for me. My problem is that the few chapters I have already outlined were changed in the writing process. I might switch how I approach outlining to accommodate my need to change things on a whim, but ultimately I want to make outlining a staple of my writing process as far as novels are concerned. I like free writing with a general idea, but such methods led me into a hole with The Spellweaver of Dern, and I can’t have that happening over and over again with everything I write. I want a finished novel. But I can make some promises for The Watchtower:–There will be no elves, dwarves, etc.–There will be magic, but it will be limited. Much of the magic of my world has been forgotten anyway, and a lot of it has less to do with fireballs and explosions and more to do with divination and what you might call “lesser magics.”–There may or may not be large, mythical beasts. That’s not really a promise, but I’m considering the possibility of altering the bestiary of the Mundoscurad to be a bit more fantastic than what is typical of our world.–The Watchtower will be a serious piece, with some comic relief (I hope). As I said, I like quirky fantasy, but I want The Watchtower to have a serious tone.–I’m not going to bother avoiding all the clichés of fantasy. That’s impossible. I’ve already got a thief, for heaven’s sake.–There will be a chosen one, but not in a traditional sense. I won’t say more, because I don’t fully know how it’s going to work yet, but just know that my chosen one will not be the lovely savior of the world, per se. He or she might be involved in the saving of the world, but I refuse to let this character become just another prophesied special person who rescues everyone and becomes a super duper hero. Such things are tired, in my opinion.–I will finish the rough draft by February 1st, 2010. I’m giving myself a fair bit of time primarily because The Watchtower is not the only thing I am writing and I have other goals to achieve this year anyway (reaching 200,000 written words in fiction, and having twenty-five pieces of short fiction submitted at once, which I am currently about eight pieces away from doing). I expect The Watchtower to be roughly 90,000 words, but you never know. And so ends my first progress report. More to come in the future, I’m sure.
Literary Meme: 50 Bookish Facts About Me
Stella Mutatina had a post not too long ago about the very same thing and I thought I would steal it for my blog. Anyone wanting to do this for their blog is welcome to. Call it a meme or simply something random and entertaining to do! Here goes: My favorite book of all time is 1984 by George Orwell. I’ve finished one novel, which is posted here (called The World in the Satin Bag). I have two novels in the works, with another I abandoned long ago (a historical fiction novel set in WWII). I have more unfinished work than finished work, which proves that I’m a very bad writer indeed. I’ve read a lot more fantasy novels than I have science fiction, yet I talk more about the latter. This is probably due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of science fiction meant for young adults, so most of the genre reading I did when I was younger happened to be variations of horror (in the fantastic vein) and fantasy. I’ve slowly begun to find literary fiction more interesting, although not all of it and only pieces that have some sort of unreality to them (magical realism, or slightly strange stuff). I consider literary fiction that pays too much attention to its language to be the mark of a pompous writer. Salman Rushdie would be a prime example of this, even though I wrote my senior paper on Midnight’s Children (it was sort of unavoidable). If it isn’t already obvious, I believe that science fiction and fantasy are the best genres of fiction in existence. Period. End of story. The Legend of Huma by Richard A. Knaak is the first full-length, high-fantasy novel I ever read and it also happens to be one of my favorites. I absolutely love books. The result of this is that I have more books than I can possibly read unless I retire and spend the rest of my life reading, which won’t happen for obvious reasons. There are few smells that I think are to die for. Pne of them is that “new car” smell and the other is the smell some new books have (not all, obviously, since some smell like feces, but some smell so good they’re addictive). I’m notoriously stubborn when it comes to my writing. I’m working on it and improving, but I suppose the first step is admitting it. Someone very close to me who isn’t just a friend loves books as much as I do, but reads far more than I do and makes me feel horribly guilty as a result. I have a stack of magazines (one of the ones from UC Santa Cruz) sitting on one of my bookshelves. I intend to eventually bring it in to school to distribute, but I’ve been surprisingly lazy on that front. I rarely read books based on recommendation. I’ll often read them if I ask for a recommendation, but if someone simply tells me something is good, I’m not likely to get to it, at least not for a while. Referring to #15: I also will officially ban a book from my reading list if someone repeatedly pressures me to read it. I cannot stand being pressured to read a book, because it ruins the reading experience for me. Referring to #15 and #16: I will almost never read a book that gets a lot of hype (that I’m aware of). This is why I probably never will read Twilight or the myriad of other super popular books out there. I read Harry Potter because I liked the first movie, not because everyone said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think prose that is intentionally too simple is sh*tty prose. Prose should never be too simple. Referring to #18: Of course, I also hate prose that is intentionally overly complicated. That’s just as sh*tty as overly simple prose. I believe that books were handed down to mankind by a god (not a Abrahamic one or any god mankind currently knows about; I suspect it’s a god that doesn’t exist, which is far more interesting when you think about it). All the talk about reading declining and yadda yadda is a load of bullsh*t and the people who spout that nonsense know it. Do your research; you’ll know this just as well as I do as soon as you know the facts. I’ve read most of the Bible more than once even though I’m not religious. Not sure why that matters, but thought it was worth mentioning. I have a giddy reaction when I get books in the mail that I didn’t order (like when I’ve won books or a publisher has sent me one). Books with ragged-edged pages are my favorite. They remind me of old books for some reason. I have a strange love for writing in third person present. I don’t know why, it’s just fascinating. I happen to have twenty-one movies on my DVD rack that are adaptations of novels or short stories. Granted, some of them are terrible adaptations, but that’s besides the point. If you want details, leave a comment. I have a really old mythology dictionary my grandma gave to me that is one of my most prized book possessions. I hardly ever use it, but I love the thing so much. It’s just…old and wonderful and probably the best mythology dictionary/encyclopedia I’ve ever seen (I think it’s primarily Greek and Roman, though). I have ten college readers that are non-returnable and non-resellable because they are printed by the college and not re-used…ever. Some of them I will find uses for in graduate school, others will eventually be recycled when I have the guts to get rid of them. Last year I was a judge for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards in the novel category. It was an awesome experience and I hope to do it again one day. I am co-owner of a website for young writers called
Starting Anew in the Writing Stew
Okay, so the title is a bad attempt at rhyming, but so be it. It’s been some time since I last had an update about my writing (with exception to my posts about my rejections). With that in mind, I thought it was high time to give you all an update on what is going on with my writing. First things first, I made a resolution of sorts at the beginning of the year that I was going to write 200,000 words this year. I came close last year and thought it would be a good challenge. Thus far I have reached 42,727. I’m a bit behind. By April 1st I should have been at 50,000 words. Considering that I am currently in the middle of school, though, I can safely say I’m not doing so bad. I can make up for lost writing time somewhat this quarter and certainly over summer. The second thing was also on my resolutions list. I said I wanted to have twenty-five works of fiction in the submission queue. I currently have eleven, with at least three more in the editing stage that should be ready to go in the next month or so. That means I’m close, which is good. The third thing is in relation to my writing style. I’m going to write more about this at another time, because I think it’s important. The short version is that over the last six months or so I have been changing my style. This has come largely as a result of the the reading for this academic year at UC Santa Cruz. A lot of writers I had never read before have been influencing me in ways I never expected. And I think it’s a good thing. Lastly, I’d like to briefly mention all the nifty writing projects I’ve started up. I’ve got several new short stories in the works (some particularly strange ones, actually), and I’ve started fiddling with a novel I’ve been meaning to write for a while called Liminal Spaces. The novel is largely an experiment, which means I’ll only be picking at it here and there. It’s a science fiction romantic tragedy, meaning it’ll have a love story that will end poorly for the main characters. I think that’s it. Any questions?