NickTravers.com

What I'm currently reading

2012-01-11T22:02:00.002Z

Future Babble, by Dan Gardner: great essays on how the human mind works and can deceive us, but could have been said in a third of the space.

Scrivener's Moon, by Philip Reeve: The third of the Fever Crumb series and the best so far - Mortal Engines back on form. Of all the Philip Reeve books I've read, including the brilliant Here Lies Arthur, this is the first where the story hasn't flagged in the middle.

The Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren. Great management tools and concepts for church growth, that fit with our own concept of the 'Fuzzy Fringe'. Very American and corporate in feel, but some useful tools and ideas that can be transposed into an English rural parish with a bit of imagination and a large shoe horn.

Vampires v Normal Character

2011-04-28T13:35:00.001Z

If you are one of those people who despise vampires, you may be perplexed as to why vampire stories are still so popular. I think there is more going on with these stories than first meets the eye, and I think is has something to do with the nature of good stories.

While vampires occupied the classic good versus evil horror slot they were monsters, an expression of the animal within all of us, something other than human, a supernatural threat.

Move the vampire into the romance role and suddenly you have something else. Not only have you mashed together the horror and romance genres, but you automatically have characters full of internal as well as external conflict, and as we know already, conflict is the essence of a good story telling story.

These characters are constantly trying to reconcile their animal and human natures, protect the ones they love not just from others, but also from themselves. Often, their nature is secret from other characters which creates all sorts of conflicting emotions and conflict situations with their human loves – not to mention reader and character reveals. Also, of course, you have the classic romance scenario of forbidden love between a human and a non-human.

In short then, vampire characters come ready made with a whole suit of complex conflicts and contradictions, saving the author a lot of time, effort and thought because everyone knows what to expect.

The same effect can be tracked with the superhero phenomenon. Superhero’s came back into vogue once film makers started exploring their essential character contradictions. Now it is almost expected that any superhero will have a darker side, and as a person will be totally screwed up.

So, if you hate vampire stories, you now know what you have to do: create unique and compelling characters with loads of internal and external conflicts. Not a very easy thing to do, but worth the investment of time and energy, because these sort of characters generally occupy unique and compelling stories.

Writing spaces

2011-04-22T07:40:00.001Z

I’ve moved into a new writing office. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I have moved out. Now the spring is here, with some decent weather, I’ve taken to driving into the forest, walking to a shady spot with the laptop, and writing for an hour or two. For some reason, now that I’m at home more often, I find it easier to concentrate on writing when I’m out of the house. Here’s a picture of the new office, free-range horses and all.

I Love Wattpad.com

2011-04-19T11:39:00.002Z

I am officially addicted to Wattpad.com. Writing for an audience is both thrilling and pressurising. Nina Swift has over 2000 page reads so far and 77 official fans. It’s great having an audience read your work as you produce it, but also, they need feedback on their own writing and a regular feed of uploads – at least once a week, preferably 2 or 3 per week as I only upload 500 words at a time.

Working the fan-base takes about an hour a day, which is in addition writing.

From a discipline point of view, I need to write often enough to keep at least one chapter ahead of what I’m posting for my fans – that means draft, re-write and one edit. All this discipline is forcing me to get on with completing the Nina Swift novel which is good

Expediency has forced me to streamline my writing technique to become much more efficient. I now draft a new chapter into a notebook, re-write onto the laptop, and edit only once before posting/publishing.

Did I say I love Wattpad? No, well I do, and I’m addicted to it too.

Nick

2011-03-18T14:35:00.003Z

Space school is brilliant. Writing science fiction for younger children is challenging, I should know, I’ve been trying to do it for years, but in Space School, Tom and Tony Bradman achieve it in entertaining style. The setting is small enough for a young child to relate to: school life aboard a small space ship. The reason for being on the space ship is simple and plausible to young minds: the remnants of humanity have had to flee earth because of pollution. The stakes are high: the families aboard the Buzz Aldrin may be the only ones left as they have lost contact with the rest of the ships.

The story focuses on the relationships between Luke and his Mother (Captain of the Buzz Aldrin), and his two best friends, Yasmin, and Yori who just happens to be a computer genius. The characters are likable and engaging, and you care about them really easily.

The story is simple, straight forward, and not too complicated for a young child to grasp. It focuses on something a child could make happen with a solution in which a child could play a central part without being fantastical.

The writing is straight forward and easily readable, but at the same time, beautifully crafted, and easily assessable by the younger age group. Illustrations, descriptions, and explanations are contemporary and child focused.

I hope Tom and Tony Bradman can keep churning out these stories to fill that gap in the reading market for young boys that only Beast Quest seems to be tackling. Compared to Beast Quest, I think Space School is much better.

I’m impressed (ok, I admit it, I’m green with envy, this is the sort of story writing I would love to produce for my Jumpers series). I wish Tom and Tony all the best with this series, and will certainly be recommending it to friend’s children.

Nick

Missed Opportunities in Writing

2011-03-07T07:09:00.000Z

Never turn down a good opportunity. Unfortunately, I did turn down a potential opportunity and have regretted it ever since.

Someone emailed inviting me to join their UK epublishing site. I took a brief glance, clocked that there were less than 650 members and ditched the email. Now I wish I had kept it.

One distinguishing feature of this site was that you could sell individual chapters of your book as you wrote it. Not something I was interested at the time, but having investigated 17k.com I can now see the potential for developing this site to charge 10per thousand words for text novels. I could have offered Wattpad readers the opportunity to read the next chapter before I published it.

The site was in the UK and still in Beta format, I think, and the only think I have come across which could possibly work in a 17k.com way.

I have searched and searched for this site (I can’t remember the name), but without success. If you know of this site, have received a similar email, or are on it, I would love to re-contact them and explore the development potential of the site.

The moral of this tale, is that you should never pass up an opportunity, even if you are not currently interested in it.

Nick
NickTravers.com

The Book Marketing Plan 2011

2011-03-03T13:03:00.002Z

Someone once said, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ – I agree, any plan is better than no plan, because it gives you a direction. Even if you strike out in the wrong direction, sooner or later results are going to suggest there might be a better direction and you can always alter you plan, nothing has to be set in stone.

So here is the marketing plan for 2011.

Direction - this is two-fold:
Write a damn good stories - finishing ‘Nina Swift: Gaia’s Brood’ and work on story plans for the ‘Jumper,’ series.
Build a fan base who might buy these stories.

Method
Concentrate on building a fan base in Wattpad.com. Wattpad as nearly a million users, most of whom are within my target audience – the majority of Wattpad users are aged between 11 – 20, female (87%), and the majority (38%) speak English. That’s about 400,000 potential readers in my target group – read the metrics report. Wattpad has the added advantage in that it allows you to broadcast a message direct to all your fans at once.

Write Nina Swift: Gaia’s Brood in 500 word cycles and publish each new section on Wattpad.com. Wattpad members spend between 11.6 and 33 minutes on the site, depending on country, and two-thirds are reading on mobile phones. So short and intense chapters would seem to be required.

Publish additional short stories on Wattpad.com to draw in the readers/fans.

Continue to offer Helium3.0 as a loss leader to give readers a taste of my writing style.

Use Wattpad and Facebook to funnel readers/fans towards NickTravers.com and sales via Smashwords.com.

Continue to use Smashwords.com as the publishing/distribution platform of choice and hope they get it together with Amazon soon. Lulu.com continue to disappoint.

Maintain the price of Helium3.1 and Helium 3.2, but offer 50% off vouchers as sales incentives.

Design new covers for Helium3.0, 3.1 & 3.2, which will appeal to the Wattpad target audience.

Aim to earn £7,000 per year from ebook sales within 5 years. This may be completely unrealistic and/or wildly inaccurate, but at least it is a target to aim at and monitor progress against.

Get published? You bet. I’m not someone who identifies with being an Indie Author – I always aim for my work to be published by mainstream publishers. Whilst I am happy to take any income produced by e-publishing, my main aim in building a fan base and producing a back catalogue is to attract a publisher.

Lots of SOBAW – Sit On Bum And Write

That’s it, the marketing plan for 2011. What do you think? Do you have a plan? I would be interested hear your plans.

The Scientific Basis For Story

2011-02-14T07:28:00.001Z

Language, religion, music, and stories are common to all human cultures. Stories, therefore, must be fundamental the human nature.

But what exactly is it that stories do for us? Are they a survival mechanism in their own right? Or a spin off from some other survival mechanism?

MRI scans reveal that our brains fire off in exactly the same regions for stories as they do for real life, especially in the pleasure, reward, and well being zones. Reading a good story actually produces dopamine and serotonin in the brain in the same way that a real life event does. Scientists trying to coax the brain into artificially producing dopamine and serotonin have discovered that one technique is better than all the rest: get the subject involved in a good narrative - a book or a film.

Not only do we imagine ourselves in the story situation, but chemically, for a while, we actually become the character and feel what they feel, and care about the characters as if they are real people. Even more intriguingly, the brain activity of a person listening to a story becomes aligned with the brain activity of the person telling the story – that’s you, the author.

You know that feeling when you finish a book and wish it would go on forever, well, there’s even a theory for that: this release of dopamine and serotonin is addictive, so readers crave again the same brain experience they have just had. Which is why readers follow the same authors and characters – they don’t just like your stories, they are addicted the high it gives them.

Why is the human race addicted to stories? There is no agreement on that yet, just wildly differing theories, so that’s for the scientist to go figure. In the mean time, we authors can make use of the findings to improve our story telling.
The key to all these chemical reactions appears to be emotional empathy. If you write a good emotional scene, which to the reader feels like real life, it actually becomes real life for that reader.

For an author, the next questions are obvious: who chemically engages people the best? Whose work should we study to make ours better? Unfortunately, the limited amount of research conducted in this area focuses only on film directors, where the master: Alfred Hitchcock, really is the master.

Well I’m off to get a shot of serotonin by watching a Hitchcock film so I can learn how to better addict my readers.

Nick

Sources: New Scientist, vol 209, No 2799, 12 Feb 2011

The Text Novel

2011-01-31T07:35:00.000Z

I have been vaguely aware of the term text novels for a while, but never taken it seriously. Then, while investigating self publishing platforms in China, India and Africa, I came across the Text Novel site 17K.com in China, reputed to be the largest website in the world

17K charge the equivalent of 3 cents per 1000 characters, with a maximum of 3000 characters per chapter, which sounds trivial until you realise that the most popular story has received 7.7 million hits – that’s a worthwhile income. I tried to upload my stories to the site, but it will only takes Chinese characters. That set me on the trail of Text Novel platforms round the world, with a special interest in India.

Why India? Because as the most populous nation on earth, with 39 official languages, English is widely spoken and read. While only a small percentage of the population have private computer access, half of those under 35 have mobile phones

So far, I have failed to find a specific Text Novel platform in India, but I did discover that Wattpad.com, a Canadian company, and one of the largest Text Novel sites outside East Asia has recently done deals with publishing companies in India.

The other Text Novel site to catch my eye is TextNovel.com. Both Wattpad and TextNovel are entirely free so can’t be used to generate a direct income. However, I write for the teen age group and guess which demographic group inhabit the world of Text Novels – you got it, the teens.

If the world of Text Novels is where my target audience hang out and read literature, however brief in nature, I recon this presents a good opportunity to build a fan base, funnel teens towards my website, and eventual sales.

So, if you want to read sections of Nina Swift: Gaia’s Brood as I write it you much visit Wattpad.com or TextNovel.com – You can even read them on your mobile/cell phone.

Nick

Constructing a Multi-Layers Framework for your Story

2011-01-29T19:13:00.002Z

Constructing a grid with many layers provides not only a framework in which to build your story and story world, but also provides the opportunity to test whether your story and characters work before committing a huge amount of time to writing. I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of getting three-quarters of the way through a story and realising it’s not working and we don’t know how it is going to end. However, this is a very process driven way to go about story writing and if you’re the sort who likes your characters to lead you all over the place, stop right here, because you will only feel frustrated.

To construct a multi-layered grid you start with the most basic elements of the story: The premise – often a ‘what if.....a boy were to meet a girl on a bus,’ etc.

Next you construct the characters, and the villain (arguably the most important character): who are they, what are they like, how do they relate to the villain of the piece, how do they relate to each other, what are they all after, how are they going to grow as individuals during the story?
Got your characters sorted? Now give each one a moral flaw and an immoral action in your story, this will make them much more interesting and give the other characters something to react against.

The thematic story line follows next: what is the story really about? What value are you trying to convey to your readers when they read this story. It could be a moral point, a political point or something quite ordinary like ‘true love never fails’ or ‘love needs more that true love,’ whatever takes your fancy. If your story has an underlying theme it will automatically have more depth.

Now you need to decide what everyone is after, this is the thing that drives all the characters to act and react against each other, it could be money, love, happiness, saving the world etc, though it doesn’t have to be what they eventually end up with.

Now map out your main scenes and briefly what happens in each, making sure each is a consequence of the actions taken by characters in the previous scenes.

At this point you should have a good idea if your story is going to work or lose its way.

You can carry on giving your framework more layers if you wish - it really depends on how much freedom or direction you want in your writing.

E-BOOK MARKETING

2011-01-26T09:13:00.005Z

In the year since I actively started marketing Helium3 as an e-book I’ve learned quite a lot about e-marketing. Here are the main things I think I’ve learned:

It’s difficult - it takes a good deal of time and effort.

The returns don’t justify the time investment, yet – but hopefully the hits will grow eventually until the time input does become justified.

No one will read anything from a self-published author unless it’s free. This means everyone need at least one book which is a loss-leader – if they like the free one they may return for another, and if they liked it enough they may pay for one.

Quantity is more important than quality, though, ideally you want both. A long backlist is important, because once a reader decides they like your work they will often return to purchase other books from you, especially if they feature the same characters.

Size does'nt matter – a lot of the best selling e-books are more novella than novel, often less than 20,000 words. In fact, brevity seems to be preferred when reading online. Whether this has to do with the nature of reading from a screen or the social settings in which the works are read, such as on a commute to work, is unclear. So it’s ok to write a trilogy of 25,000 words each rather than one saga of 80,000 words.

There appear to be three main approaches adopted when marketing e-books:

The scatter-gun approach – getting the book listed on as many sites as possible.

The funnel approach – channelling potential readers towards one sales website by contributing to as many blogs, chat rooms, and discussions as possible.

The third party approach – paying someone else to undertake on or both of the above approaches.
I prefer the funnel approach, because I think I will get more return for my effort and I can keep a tight control over marketing efforts.

A lot of independent authors seem to spend a lot of time promoting their book to other independent authors – many of the site chosen to list work appear to only attract other authors.

There are plenty of people prepared to make money our of helping independent authors sell their works – typically these people promise lots, charge high, and deliver little. Do it yourself.

Everyone loves a special offer – discount codes really do work.

In future posts I will be working these ideas up into a marketing plan for the coming year.

New Year Reality Check

2011-01-18T23:37:00.002Z

With the new year I’ve decided to review where I am with my writing, so here goes:

Helium3 is never going to make it into print in it’s current form. It gets out of the slush pile, which puts it into the top 10% of manuscripts being submitted, but it never gets any further. Even got into the final thirty of the Chicken House/Times Children’s Writing competition. I know this because Barry Cunningham, from Chicken House, only read the last thirty runners up and he referred to the end story line of Helium3 in explaining why the runners up didn’t make it.

Helium3 has serious story flaws, not many, but enough to matter. The main characters are great, it’s fun to read, and at least 3000 people have liked it enough to download it, but ultimately the flaws can only be fixed by a complete rewrite – from the premise upwards. This would make it into a completely different story and I’ve already moved on to other things so it’ll just have to stay the way it is.

I can still make a bit of money from Helium3 as an ebook, because even with flaws it’s still better than the majority of ebooks out there. More importantly, I can use it to attract people to my website for the better stuff I am/will write now I know what I’m doing.

Smashwords.com is by far the best publishing/distribution platform on which to sell Helium3 as an ebook.

I’m not reaching my target audience. The teen audience I’m aiming at are not the ones downloading Helium3 from Smashwords. I need a marketing plan that drives/attracts my target audience to my website to download from Smashwords.com - more about this in later posts.

Nick

Should Nina Swift be written in the Fisrt or Third person?

2010-06-17T21:29:00.003Z

Today, on WriterInTouch.com, I have posted two versions of the same first chapter from Nina Swift and the Sky God (working title). As I said in a previous blog, I am unsure whether to write the book in the first or third person. Both seem to have as many arguments for as against. Basically, I am too close to the work now to make a rational decision. So I thought I would take it to my readers and put it to the vote.

The first person version of chapter one can be viewed here.

The third person version can be viewed here.

Once you have made up your mind as to which you prefer, you can vote by answering the poll on the left of this page.

Please help a poor confused writer. Perhaps I should wish, ‘Good luck,’ to Nina.

More about Nina Swift and the SkyGod

2010-06-11T13:38:00.000Z

I was originally going to write a second Mervyn Bright novel, a sequel to Helium3, but I have been persuaded by my three daughters to have a heroine instead. This fits nicely with a story idea which has been mulling around for a while, which, although still sci-fi/fantasy, is set in earth’s near future so there is a lot more familiarity for the reader.

I’ve also decided to follow the old maxim of writing about what I know, not in terms of subject matter or technical expertise, but in emotional and relational terms. So in many ways Nina’s story will have more of me in it.

Like Mervyn Bright, I have given Nina three companions, because with three you can push each character to the boundaries of friendship and end up with a community. This will not only give the story more opponents – friends being Nina’s first level opposition, but give the whole novel a strong ‘buddy story,’ feel, which I hope will result in lots of fun. There will also be three main opponents who, although linked together in a hierarchy, will also be in opposition to each other, so lots of drama. Now more BOS.

Summer Mornings

2010-06-07T13:34:00.004Z

5.00am on summer mornings is a good time to start writing. I can get a good few hours solid writing in before the children wake for breakfast.

The working brief for ‘Nina Swift and the SkyGod,’ is complete: that means I have the story, characters, plot, reveals, and key scenes all mapped out. It has taken several months to get to this point. The first draft is underway, though, I’m still undecided whether to tell the story in the first or third person. What I have decided to do is write the first couple of chapter one drafts in both the first and third person and put them both up on Writers In Touch to see what an audience thinks.

In the light of John Truby’s ideas (see previous posts) I have modified my writing process to be more prescriptive up front and less prescriptive for the first draft, now making the second draft into the expanded scene brief. So, in brief, the process goes something like this:
· Story ideas & characters
· Opponent’s and protagonist’s motivations, needs, and desires
· Character and opponents’ conflict patterns
· Major reveals and reversals
· Scene brief
· First draft
· Second draft as the expanded scene brief
· Third draft
My aim this time is to have no more than three drafts of the entire novel, rather than the six drafts that I had for Helium3, and to complete it all by the end of the year.

It has been a while since I embarked on the writing of a novel. Since then I have learned an incredible amount about the crafts of writing and story telling. I am really excited about this new novel. All that is required now to make it work is plenty of BOS (Bum On Seat) – in other words, hard graft.

I shall be making the most of the light mornings that remain to me to get well into the early drafts.

2010-04-21T05:48:00.001Z

The Anatomy of Story, by John Truby

This is the book I have been searching for – after only a week, I have read it cover to cover twice and it is already well thumbed.

Every page is jam packed with technical information on story construction that is robustly evidenced - there is no flannel here - John Truby is truly a master of his art.

I realised a while ago, that good writing is less that half the battle, being able to craft a great story with great characters is what really counts. I have never been comfortable with the three act structure and in the Anatomy of Story, John Truby shows how these limitations can be overcome to create original, organic stories that play to the writers strengths.

It is always said that a writer should write what they know – here Truby shows how this can be achieved in terms of the characters, and how the characters’ personalities’ drive the story and story conflicts.

I cannot endorse or recommend this book highly enough. If you only have three books on writing on your shelf (I have six), make sure the Anatomy of Story, by John Truby, is one of them.

The question is, what should the other two books be? Any Suggestions?

Helium3 on Sony e-Reader & Apple iPad

2010-04-14T06:54:00.002Z

Helium3 is today available for download via Apple iTunes for the Apple iPad.

ERIKA

2010-04-08T12:10:00.002Z

Inspiration has hit for a new fiction project.

I had a vague idea and while conducting research on the story structure and fantasy world I came across a u-tube clip of the most amazing transport design being tested in model form. This design turns all previous designs on their head. If I can find the video again I will post it later.

Suddenly, my mind latched onto this innovation, expanded it to extremes and the whole fantasy world just fell into place giving me a unique world setting for my story.

All I need now is a transendant story line and my children's fantasy thriller is on its way.
That's the hard work done - all I need to do now is write it.

Helium 3 Tops Best Seller List!

2010-03-23T10:12:00.011Z

At the time of writing, Helium3 is the most downloaded Children's Book on Smashwords, the third most downloaded Young Adults Book and overall, is Fifth in the SmashWords Top 100 – the third most downloaded novel.

The current ebook promotional campaign has catapulted Helium3 to the most wanted list - it's a good feeling.

And is doesn't stop there, the graphs on the left show a slow, but increasing download rate - success is breeding success.

Smashwords aren't yet able to provide analysis data, but an analysis of hits to this page, via Google Analytics, shows that the areas of most activity are, not surprisingly, North America and Europe in equal measure.

A new review from a South African reader says, "This book is impossible to put down, very entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone."

Help - my characters all sound the same

2010-01-16T23:32:00.004Z

Do you ever read your characters’ dialogue and think, ‘why do they all sound the same?’

The ideal is to read a piece of dialogue involving multiple characters, with no identifiers, and still be able to tell who is saying what.

Your characters all need to speak with different voices. This is something you should include in your sketch of each character: what do they sound like, how do they speak, when/why do they speak, what phrases are unique to them, how do they construct their sentences?

One easy trick, is to use different grammar for different characters. Even something as simple as using long sentences for one character and snappy sentences for another can work well is used consistently.

Deliberately misusing grammar can carry a big impact, particularly in defining character, but only if the rest of your grammar is religiously consistent. A difficult trick to pull off, but something which can really grab your reader’s attention, without them even knowing why, if used sparingly – use the trick to often and it just looks like bad grammar.

Writing Spaces

2009-10-13T06:47:00.003Z

To some people, where we write is very important. Others can write anywhere anytime. I have different writing spaces depending on the weather, time of day, and family activity. When I worked in London I used to mainly write on the train during the daily commute. Of course, for tax purposes, I use the whole house, but most of the time I tend to keep to certain locations.

During the day, in late spring, summer, and early autumn, I take the laptop down to the summer house in the garden – more of a cramped shed really. I find moving to a different place, away from the housework and other distractions, frees up my mind.

I used to write late at nigh after the children had gone to bed, but I now find it more productive to retire early and rise early, before the children are up. During this time I sit at the desk, on the laptop, in the quiet of dawn, in the study/music/office/spare/junk room. With lots of hot coffees. Once the children are up, especially at the weekends, they take over the computer.

During the day, if everyone is out and the weather is too cold/wet for the summer house, I may write in the conservatory where there is most light.

The rest of the time, if a thought occurs to me, I grab one of my many notebooks and scribble so I can get the idea out of my brain and type it up later. Early morning – here come the children – time to hand over the laptop.

Where do you write?

Help, my protagonists are two-dimensional

2009-10-06T14:05:00.002Z

What can you do if your protagonists turn out a bit too two-dimensional. The problem, usually, is that they lack character. When I first started posting on WIT my protagonists were a bit like that.

The art of story telling is to reveal character. Remember, description is not character: how people react to events and what they do, is character so give them something to react to. Read your story again - what happens in your story to reveal the character of your protagonists and antagonists? Probably not enough if they seem a bit wooden.

The best way to reveal character is to introduce more conflict. A lot can be revealed about the character of our protagonists if we just place a few stumbling blocks in their way. Or, instead of two characters instantly liking each other, how about making them dislike each other or doubt each other’s motives. Think of your story as an assault course for your protagonists, and give them a good workout

Sometimes, when we have grown fond of our protagonists, we make life too easy for them. You’re a writer, so act like a Greek god and make life difficult for your protagonists (and antagonists); see how they react – they might surprise you, I hope they do.

Book Commission

2009-09-29T10:02:00.002Z

I am often asked to recommend reading books for boys in the 5 – 9 year category, that have nothing to do with football, to get them interested in reading. Even though my own children are all girls, I'm still asked about boy's books, as if, just because I write and have a young family, I'm some sort of authority on children's books.

If you ask at the book store, or library, about books for boys in the 5 – 9 age range, the answer is generally, "There's not a lot - a gap in the market, unfortunately." Whilst it is true there are far fewer books available for boys than for girls, especially character series, it is not a complete desert. I usually recommend the excellent, Dinosaur Cove or Secret Tree House series, or the not so excellent, but very popular, Beast Quest series. It may be just me, but I have a problem with the way story solutions, in beast quest, just appear from no where without warning, ex-machina-like. Still, they hit all the right buttons for young boy's: monsters, heroes, game cards etc, and if they encourage boys to read I'm all in favour.

Friends approached me recently and asked if I could produce a book for their 6 year old son's birthday, who is deep into his Wii and Super Mario computer games. Having researched the market, I have decided to take up the challenge and produce something technology based using the popular Rainbow Fairy's (girly book) format.

This means I now have three projects on the go, but more about them in other blogs.

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Helium3 hits best seller list!

2009-09-15T09:22:00.003Z

Helium3 is officially a best seller. It currently resides in 74th place on the Smashwords 100 best seller list.

I've blogged about Smashwords before - here's a reminder. Smashwords offer ebooks in all formats (HTML, JavaScript, Kindle, PDF, RTF, Palm Doc, Plain Text), in fact almost all formats used by Ereaders. The great joy of using Smashwords is that you only need to upload the manuscript once and they convert it to all the usable versions. They also automatically convert the manuscript into any new formats they introduce.

Smashwords is also a marketing company, which for me, as an author, is the other main attraction. In other words, they know how to promote, and it doesn't cost me a dime in additional fees for their services. They do take commission, of course, but let's face it, a percentage of something is a lot better than all of nothing.

The current success of Heliym3 is down to a Smashwords marketing campaign in the southern hemisphere, although sales appear to be holding up since the campaign finished in August so it must be gaining a fan base.

The Importance of Character Flaws

2009-02-15T22:28:00.003Z

I watched an episode from the third series of House the other day: the one just after he’s recovered from being shot and miraculously has the full use of his damaged leg again. This episode failed spectacularly, but to me, it served to highlight why the character of Dr House is so fascinating.

House is irascible and grumpy, because he’s in constant pain from his leg. We excuse all manor of rudeness, drug taking, and other outrageous behaviour because we know the source of his character flaws. While House is battling to overcome constant pain, he somehow appears heroic. His brilliant medical insights arrive in spite of the pain or maybe because of the pain. There are some unpalatable truths about human values and behaviour hidden in here, but that is the point: that is what makes House so intriguing a character to watch.

Now, remove the cause of House’s irascibility and what do you have left? A grouchy, rude, egotistical doctor who has failed to live up to expectations, and squandered his brilliance. Suddenly, we expect more of this character, and all our empathy dissolves; all the contradictions are gone and the fun of discovering the real Dr House evaporates, leaving us bored and unfulfilled.

So what’s the lesson for us writers? We all know our main characters need flaws, but the failure of this episode demonstrates very clearly that our character’s flaws need cause and effect to gain the empathy of our readers. The more believable the cause of our character’s flaws the more extreme, and therefore interesting, the flaws can become. This creates challenging, but interesting, and ultimately satisfying, writing.

The Story and Human Nature

2009-01-04T08:47:00.002Z

There exists a fascinating relationship between stories (narratives) and human nature. In fact, the human brain seems hard wired to prefer narratives. Given a list of hard facts and an intriguing but iffy story, we will always prefer the story. This is why there are so many urban myths, and why gossip thrives – we have an insatiable appetite for stories.

Our affinity for narrative over facts could even be a defining characteristic of the human species (how would an alien species without this ability act/think). Somewhere in out past, narratives provided an evolutionary advantage over the processing of pure facs. Now we are stuck with it.

Even in the most complex and extreme circumstances, such as the current credit crunch, which takes us completely by surprise we cannot help but construct a simple narrative to explain what happened. Regardless that as a race we could not see it coming, we construct a narrative, which had we known the story before the event, would have made the danger obvious to everyone.

I’m reminded of how a primitive tribe on an isolated island survived the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, without a single loss of life, despite their entire village being washed away. They had a story, which had been passed down through the generations, a legend or myth we would call it. This story basically said that when the sea god gets so angry he sucks all the water from the sea, run like hell for the hills.

Someone saw the sea being sucked backwards by the approaching tsunami, remembered the story, warned the village, and everyone acted on it: they ran for the hills. Their survival depended not on knowing the facts or mechanics of tsunamis, but on remembering a vague story hundreds of ears old. Canadian Indians have a similar story, about the sky god spreading his wings and holding back the sea, leading researchers to suspect a tsunami may have hit Canada sometime in the dim and distant past.

This affinity for stories is great news for us story tellers, because it means stories will never go out of fashion. There will always be a market for a well told intriguing stories, because that’s the way we are built.

Nick Travers
NickTravers.com

Do Humans Have a Future in Space?

2008-09-12T20:53:00.002Z

Space habitation in our solar system will probably be driven by two factors: the urge to explore and money. If it becomes cheaper to mine raw material in space then we will inhabit the asteroid belt and send resources back to earth, and then to self contained habitats.

Longer term, and more distant colonization will have to be undertaken by self contained space ships that stop to mine and replenish resources as they go. Maybe they will even duplicate themselves on the way as their population expands, but what would be the incentive to set off in the first place. I would guess it would be private money driven by social, religious or political agendas i.e. groups who could see no future for themselves on earth, much as early European settles migrated to America. A continuous migration of this sort would offer the best long term hope for survival of our species. Many, maybe most, of the ships would be destroyed, but maybe a few would survive to spread the human race to other parts of the galaxy.

Whether the inhabitants, after many generations on board their self contained ships would want to settle on an uncertain planet once they reached their destination is an interesting issue. I would guess that if they saw their new planet as an easy source of resources they would slowly start to colonize it as they realise the benefits of fresh, free air.

Of course, if we had to abandon the earth in an emergency it would be impossible to save more than a small number of humans. Would this be the ultimate lottery? Or would NASA select only those most likely to survive? Or would seats go to senior politicians and the highest bidders (would we want the future of the human race to be in their hands)? Their chances of long term survival would be extremely unlikely. Better surely, to ensure the long term survival of the race, to gradually migrate to the solar system and then the stars? I feel a story coming on here.

Nick
NickTravers.com

Plot Complications - Nick Travers Writing Tips

2008-08-08T07:25:00.001Z

Below is the best explenation I have ever found to explain the relationships between all the elements of a plot. This is lifted directly from Nathan Bransfords blog :

"Think of a book like a really big door, preferably one of those Parisian ones that are thick and heavy and last hundreds of years. Here's how it breaks down.

The premise is what happens to knock the door ajar. Something sets the protagonist's life out of balance. Preferably something really intriguing or like totally deep man.

The climax is when the door closes. Maybe the protagonist made it through the door, maybe they didn't make it through the door but learned a really great lesson about door closing, maybe the door chopped them in half.

The theme is how the person opening the door changes along the way. What's the plot? The plot is what keeps the door open!! Why can't that person close the door? So basically, plot is a premise plus a major complication that tests the protagonist. It's what opens the door plus what's keeping the door from being closed."

To keep a reader interested a non-fiction book should follow a similar pattern. A travel book is probably the easiest example - why did the author go, what kept them travelling, what caused then to come back, what did they learn along the way.

Nick Travers

NickTravers.com

Plot Writing - Nick Travers Writing Tips

2008-08-05T08:46:00.003Z

The primary function of a fiction writer (and arguably a non-fiction writer too) is to tell a story. For me, coming up with a good story is the hardest task of all – if writer’s block afflicts me at all this is where it hits. So here is an exercise to help develop our story muscles:

Every writing day try to sketch out three plots, nothing large, three simple lines will do it:

A three line plot consists of:

A Premise

A Complication

A Climax

The more you practice plot writing the easier it becomes, and sooner or later you are going to hit on that original plot that turns into your next novel.

Nick

Print On Demand goes mainstream - Nick Travers On Writing

2008-08-01T07:16:00.000Z

Following on from my last post about digital rights management for authors, comes this article from the Sunday Times. How soon will it be before Borders introduce these machines? Think of all the floor space Borders could save by digitising its entire stock and just holding popular titles.

Financially this would make good sense for Borders to reduce its overheads - say good-bye to all those lovely open spaces stacked with books.

Digita Rights Management - The Big Issues - Nick Travers On Writing

2008-07-29T09:16:00.002Z

Check out this articles at FinePrint about digital rights content in publishers contracts.

The Poverbial Shotgun - Nick Travers Writing Tips

2008-07-01T10:16:00.003Z

The shot gun technique is so well known, and anticipated, by audiences and readers that omitting it becomes as big an error as over using it.

The shotgun technique is best illustrated by reference to westerns where it is used extensively. The camera zooms from a general view of the bar to highlight a shotgun hung on the wall behind the barman. The existence of this weapon has now been raised in the viewers consciousness so it must be used by the end of the film. If it is not used the viewer will feel deprived.

On the other hand, if a shotgun is suddenly produced to resolve a critical plot-line, without having been shown first, viewers/readers may feel cheated, because they never had the opportunity to anticipate this scene (technically called a ‘deus ex-machina’, ‘God out of the machine’: a cheep story device introduced to rescue a failing plot line). So if your character is suddenly going to produce, say, a knife to win a fight, you need to make sure your reader knows the character has a knife and can use it.

If you are writing a thriller/crime/mystery, where your reader knows the villain is killed, you could highlighting a gun, a knife, and a rock. This will increase the anticipation as the reader tries to work out which weapon will be used.

Except in the above scenario, it is best not to use the shotgun technique to create red-herrings. For that, it is better to use a MacGuffin (see earlier post).

In short: If you show it, use it; if you have used it, but not shown it, edit it in earlier.

E-readers Create Waves At BookExpo America – Nick Travers On Writing

2008-06-10T22:27:00.001Z

E-readers will not mean the death of books. They will, however, change the way agents and publishers select books for hard printing and the way books are marketed. Authors may well have to prove they can market and create an audience for their work before a printer takes them on, and agents may have to get more involved with the marketing of their authors

The main difficulty for e-readers will be finding quality amongst all the dross. Those books that are printed should have already proved themselves on some level of quality or popularity before they make it to hard copy so I think the printed word will still be popular. Anyone who can work out a website that sifts the quality and offers reliable ratings tables will hit the jackpot.

What will happen to the editors? Will they still work for publishers, all be freelance or even work for the agents?

I’m currently offering my YA book Helium3 as a free download. Partly, I believe that if readers like it a proportion will purchase a POD hard copy, and partly I want to hone my e-marketing skills, and have a developed website, before I approach agents. Will this improve my chances of landing a publishing contract? I don’t know, but I think it a worthwhile exercise in any event.

I’ve recently listed my novel on SmashWords.com which offers it as a download in every e-format. So far no sales, but if anyone wants to read it (free download) and leave a review I would be most grateful.

Nick. NickTravers.com

The MacGuffin – Nick Travers Writing Tips

2008-06-05T16:37:00.001Z

The MacGuffin is a device use by script writers, particularly in action an adventure films, to advance the action and maintain the audiences interest. I’ll expand on this in Nick Travers Writing Tips, but for the moment just a summary.

A MacGuffin is an object that all the characters are interested in and that propels the action forwards. It is normally an object, but could also be a person. It could be the main objective of the protagonist and antagonist which drives the action throughout the entire film. It could be a step on the way to the main objective or it could be totally unrelated to the main objective and be completely forgotten by the end of the film. It’s purpose is solely to provide focus and move the action along. It’s a technique which readily transposes to writing.

In Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows you could say that the Horuxes and the Hallows are MacGuffins. They provide the necessary focus and motivation to propel the action forwards.

So when you are next planning your adventure or action story, consider whether you have a MacGuffin or whether you need one. How many MacGuffins do you need? One overall object to provide a focus for the entire story or several steps along the way, or both. How about one to propel a (sub) story along, or maybe a red-herring?

A MacGuffin can also be a useful fix if you are editing and you realise your story just doesn’t hang together. Is there an object/person already in the story which can be turned into a MacGuffin (even if it is a complete red-herring) or can you introduce one. Look for ‘shotgun’ objects. By that I mean have you focused on an object in a part of the story but not used it – like the proverbial shotgun hanging behind the bar in a western: if it is shown it must be used by the end of the film.

Tax Issues For International Sales – How To Promote My Book On The Internet

2008-05-22T07:52:00.000Z

My main markets, as my book is written in English, are naturally going to be the UK and the USA. I am looking to achieve sales of printed versions of the book by offering free downloads: I figure if people like hooked by the first few chapters of the download that will be willing to purchase a hard copy. Obviously there are no tax implications for the download, but I find I have overlooked the Sterling/Dollar exchange rate when selling hard copies to America. A paperback book price of £5.99 translates into something like $12.00, plus P&P – too expensive I believe for my younger US target audience.

The answer, I believe, is to also self-publish the book via a US based Print On Demand publisher. For cheapness, and because I may later want to attempt and assault on their best seller list, I have chose Amazon. Publishing via their subsidiary Createspace.com produces a book listed on Amazon US at a cost price of under $8.00 + p&p. A price more acceptable, I believe, to my US target audience.

Now the tax bit. As a UK citizen I could end up paying double tax on any potential profits by publishing direct in the US: Tax deducted on the sales by the IRS and UK income tax to the Revenue. To avoid this issue, if I ever decide to sell for a profit, I will need to complete a form W8 and possibly W7 for the IRS so I become exempt from US tax. CreateSpace.com have a good explanation here.

I now find that to cover all angles I have published the book in three different places: Lulu.com (PDF download and Sterling hard-copy), Smashwords.com (all e-reader file formats), and Amazon (Dollar hard-copy).

You may well ask why I’m bothering with the US market. The answer is that I have good reason to believe Helium3 might be more suited to the US market than the UK market. Also, there are far more US readers online and as I have chosen to market via the Internet I would be foolish to ignore this vast potential audience.

What sort of website should you build? – How To Promote My Book On The Internet

2008-05-20T07:52:00.000Z

If you are wondering what sort of website to build it will depend very much on the type of information you want to present, how you want to interact with your readers, and how you intend to make use of the website. There are currently four different types of website:

Information only: this is simply an extension of your business card. It allows you to show off what skills you have and what you have produced to date.

A collaborative or social site: you invite people to join in and contribute, either to showcase their own work or produce a collective work. WritersInTouch.com is a good example of such a site.

A blog: offering news, reviews, and general gossip.

A marketing tool: this sort of site is used to directly market your book. To do so you need to offer more than just information about your book/work and a blog, you need to offer some quality content/articles that people want. This is the sort of site I have opted to develop. I have decided to offer articles on novel writing in Nick Travers Writing Tips, articles on e-promotion for your book in How To Promote My Book On The Internet, and this blog under Nick Travers On Writing, as well as offering articles and background on my book, Helium3. All for offerings are tied together with the NickTravers.com website as a front door. Any ‘sales’ (free download) of the book will be achieved on the back of those offerings. Later, once I have built up an audience, I hope also to offer some sort of collaborative/social element to help coach young writers.

What sort of site you decide to build will depend on how you wish to use the site and the amount of day-by-day effort you intend to devote to running it. This is worth spending some time thinking about as it may well influence where you build your site, who hosts it, and how much you should pay for it.

Smashwords.com v PanMacMillan.com – Nick Travers On Writing

2008-05-18T07:52:00.003Z

In order for e-books to breakthrough into the mainstream one of the criteria I stated the other day was a well respected site where the best seller list offered better reads than traditional retailer’s lists. I don’t think that site exists at the moment, though, Amazon US deciding to only allow self-publishing through its subsidiaries is, I believe, a recognition of this fact. Any-road-up, I have found two sites that are worth a look:

First off: Smashwords.com. The beta for this print-on-demand site, launched on the 6 May 08, offers to translate the word file of your manuscript into all available e-book formats. This potentially makes it a one-stop-shop for anyone with an e-reader. All Smashwords.com needs now is decent e-readers (e-books) to take the market by storm. If they can successfully establish themselves with a reputation for having quality books and a respected best seller list they will be on their way.

I have already published Helium3 on the site (as a free download) so can I tell you that it is easy and straightforward to use. Not yet as sophisticated as Lulu.com, and with some obvious missing functions but I’m sure it will improve. The owners seem keen, professional, and business-like. One promising part of the set up is that the owners have their own PR company. The PR team have their work cut out, but if they can persuade big name publishers/authors to sell their e-books through their site I’m sure they will make their mark.

If anyone would like to leave a review of Helium3 on Smashwords, feel free to do so here.

Secondly, I was directed to the PanMacmillan.com/new writing site. This intriguing site promises to publish one submission per month as a Print On Demand hardcover book. You can buy the books via PanMacmillan.com. The aim is to publish material that PanMacMillan like but do not consider commercial enough to publish via their retail channels. If, however, the book proves popular with readers then MacMillan might well purchase if for their more traditional publishing routes. No advance is offered, authors receive 20% of net profits and their manuscripts are ‘lightly edited’ by a MacMillan editor. Is this a sign of things to come?

I can’t help thinking that right now Smashwords.com ought to be talking to PanMacMillan because this is exactly the sort of material they need to be offering.

The Perfect E-Reader - Nick Travers On Writing

2008-05-15T09:41:00.004Z

What would the perfect e-reader look like? For a start, we need to get away from the idea of an e-reader and embrace the idea of an e-book. I don’t want something that looks and feels like a clipboard; I want something that looks, feels, and works like a book. Something like this picture maybe? This is the proposed new OX2. This is an exciting design.

When I open a book there is a lot more going on in my mind that a merely craving for information. There is the anticipation of pleasure: I sit back, settle into my seat, open the cover, support it in one hand, raise it to the right height, and start to read on the right-hand page. I then move to the left-hand page, shifting the balance of the book as I do so . When I reach the bottom of the left-hand column, I turn the page, am presented with two fresh pages, shift the balance of the book in my hand again, and start reading at the top of the right-hand page.

Psychologically, even though I know I am holding a piece of technology, I would still crave the experience of opening a book. If I want to read purely for information I will open up my laptop, but when I go to read a book, even an electronic book, I want it to feel like a book. There is something pure and uncluttered about a book – which means I don’t want it covered in buttons. I want full pages of text, nothing else.

I’m currently holding a 135mm x 195mm x 14mm CD-Rom case, this would be a good size and design for an e-book. So the main features of an e-book I would want to use are:

It feels like a small book when you pick it up.

You open it like a book.

It has two pages or two screens: one on the left, one on the right.

When I turn the page at the bottom of the left-hand column, both pages/screens change, so I can start reading at the top of the right-hand page again.

No buttons, so it will have to be touch-screen technology.

The workings of books are so engrained in our being and society, and so familiar to us that they cannot be redesigned. As soon as tech designers realise this we will get some really interesting e-books on the market.

Basically, I don’t want someone to redesign the book or change my reading experience, I just want an electronic book. Something which is more convenient, easy to travel with, isn’t going to clutter up the bedside cabinet or weigh down the briefcase, but offers the same pleasurable experience. If someone comes up with one of those, at a reasonable cost, I’ll have it.

Nick

NickTravers.com

Are we in a golden age for books? – Nick Travers On Writing

2008-05-09T21:07:00.002Z

At the moment it seems to me that the retailers are driven by the best seller lists and the best seller lists are driven by corporate marketing budgets. This means that what publishers take from agents and what new writers agents take on is basically dictated by corporate marketing managers. For all the protests of publishers/agents loving books, corporate money is still king.

All it would take to blow this whole industry apart are for official best seller lists to include downloads and self-published sales.

When will this happen? When a really good, affordable, e-reader hits the market and an online review/best seller/POD/download site emerges with a reputation for offering better reads than in-store best seller lists. Serious readers will flock to it and the customer will once again be king.

Then, agents and publishers will take on writers who can hit the new best seller lists and anyone who hits it on their own efforts will be pursued by a flock, or is that a herd, of agents/publishers.

Does this mean the good times for writers are just round the corner? Unfortunately not. For writers such a paradigm shift will purely introduce a new dynamic: a whole new set of hoops to jump through on the road to being published. In this new world, though, impressing the reading public will help hugely in getting published. This is good news for readers everywhere.

Obviously I don’t think the Kindle is the e-reader the market is waiting for – it’s the wrong design - just too much like a PDA. No e-reader will ever replace books, but for readers to be happy using an e-reader as a substitute it will have to look, feel, and perform like a book. Nothing on the market so far meets those criteria. But it is only a matter of time.

Promoting the Author v Promoting the Book – How to promote my book on the Internet.

2008-05-05T06:13:00.001Z

Should my website promote me as a writer or should it promote my book?

The short answer is you should seek to promote both. You are seeking to promote something different in each case. Your readers and your agent or potential agent will want you to promote yourself. Remember, your name or your pen name is a brand. If you use more than one pen name you will need a web presence for each pen name (brand). If you have more than one book I would suggest you need a web presence for each book or series.

If you are an unpublished author then look upon your website as a tool to help you land an agent/publisher. Your website should concentrate on you as a writer and what you have to offer by way of promotional talents. I would recommend that your main web presence should be YourName or YourPenName.

However, you should also tie your main site into one of the free sites named after your book MyBookTitle.FreeSiteName.com. Why a free site? Because a publisher may well want to change the title of your book before publication so don’t waste your money on buying a domain name just yet. This site should concentrate on promoting your book. If you have more than one book/series you will need a separate web presence for each title.

If you are a published author, I would recommend you follow the same strategy, but invest some money in purchasing a domain name for each of you book/series titles as well as one in your own name/pen names(s). If you are worried about what should be in each page I’ll tackle that in other blogs.

Nick
NickTraversOnWriting.Blogger.com

A review of Summer the Holiday Fairy – Nick Travers On Writing

2008-05-03T07:00:00.000Z

Summer the Holiday Fairy – Highly recommended.

Another well crafted entertaining story in the Rainbow Fairy’s series. This time Kirsty and Rachel return to Rainspell Island, the setting for their first adventure with the fairies. Selfish Jack Frost had pinched all the sand for his own holiday home – a giant sand castle for him and his goblins. Rachel and Kirsty have to help Summer the Holiday Fairy return the three magic sea shells to their underwater cave to restore order to the real world so everyone can enjoy their holidays.

The Rainbow Fairies should be a publishing phenomenon on a par with Harry Potter. The content, villains, and story lines are perfect for the age of readership they are aimed at. These stories are perfect to read to girls aged 5 – 8 and for girls 7 – 11 to read themselves. Having three girls we are getting a lot of mileage out of each one. Yes, they follow a ridged formula, but for the age group they are aimed at this is perfect.

The story lines are straight forward and easy to understand. Jack Frost and his goblin helpers are suitably mean, without being evil, and often humorous. Rachel and Kirsty are personable, appealing to young girls, and always manage to trick the goblins in a non aggressive clever way.

As a parent, one of the other things I like about the books is that Kirsty and Rachel manage to have their adventures whilst still playing a full part in family life and not being separated from the adults for very long in each adventure.

Great fun for parents to read to girls, with short chapters (which helps limit the reading time at bedtime), and great for more confident readers to pick up for themselves.

Nick.
NickTraversOnWriting.Blogger.com

Re-branding the Website – How to promote my book on the Internet

2008-05-01T07:30:00.001Z

Search engine optimisation is one of the first things I have explored in my bid to promote my book on the Internet. Part 1.

One of the first issues to consider in creating a web presence as a writer is whether you pay for a domain name e.g. YourName.com and build your own website or use one of the free blogging/social sites e.g. YourName.Blogger.com or YourName.Facebook.com.

It depends of course whether YourName or YourPenName is still available as a domain name. If not and you really want your own domain name don’t despair. Try some other options e.g. YourNameOnline.com, .co.uk, .net. me.uk etc or YourNameOnWriting.com, YourNameAuthor/poet etc. A search engine will pick up YourName regardless of what else is in the domain name. There are far more important consideration in getting YourName onto the first page of the search engine, this holds true whether you have your own domain or use a blogger site. You’re a writer, be creative.

Using a blogger site is the cheaper option though you will probably have to use a standard template so it will limit your creativity. If you are just testing the waters I would recommend using a free site, like blogger, so you can experiment before committing any serious money. However, if YourName.com or YourPenName.com happens to be free, snap it up before someone else does, it’s not going to cost the earth and could help you find a main stream publisher.

In my bid to promote my book on the Internet I have just purchased NickTravers.com as it happens to be free. I will use it to solely as a landing page which automatically directs users to my blog, NickTraversOnWriting.Blogger.com, and my other pages. In the mean time, I’m re-organising my web pages to maximise my chances of being picked up by a search engine. More about this in later blogs.

Whilst I would recommend using a free site to test the waters when you set out to promote your book on the Internet, I would not necessarily recommend one of the social sites for this purpose. While social sites are useful tools and an essential part of your arsenal, I believe they serve a distinctly different purpose – again more about this in a later blog.

Nick
NickTraversOnWriting.Blogger.com

Promotion is king – How to promote my book on the internet

2008-04-29T09:30:00.000Z

Self-publishing my book (POD) is the easy part, now I have work out how I promote my book on the Internet.

This may come as a shock to new writers, but most of the promotion for our books is down to us, the authors. Even if you win multiple book deals and your publisher gives you a large marketing budget it will soon be gone and they will have moved on to the next big thing leaving you to continue to promote your own book.

The perceived wisdom is that you should spend as much time promoting your book as you do writing it. This is certainly not why I write and it could be considered the ugly side of writing, but if you agree that the worst thing for any writer is not being read, you are going to have to learn something about how to promote your work.

It seems to me that if I’m to stand a chance of getting myself know as an author I need to learn something about how to promote my book on the Internet. Why the internet? Well, believe it or not, the majority of books are no longer sold through book shops, but by direct purchase. Therefore it makes sense to me to concentrate on learning to promote my book on the Internet. Besides, it can be available on the internet long after the shops drop you book from their stock list.

My aim is to reach the stage where I spend no more than 30 minutes a day on Internet promotion.

I could pay someone to promote my book on the internet, of course, there are plenty of optimisation companies just waiting to take my money and provide this service, but I’m a Business Analyst by trade, with a background in sales, marketing, and distribution. I should be able to work this out for myself.

Therefore, in future, this blog will become focussed to a large extent on how I promote my book on the Internet. I hope you will be able to join in the journey.

Nick
NickTraversOnWriting.Blogger.com

Review of The Book Thief - Nick Travers On Writing

2008-04-11T14:56:00.007Z

I finished this book a while ago now, but I never blogged about it. What a great read.

What I really liked about this author’s technique is the way he pre-empts action in the choice of words used in his prose before the action happens. So where someone is about to die the few paragraphs before will use descriptive words associated with death. Where someone is happy the descriptive words used reflect this emotion. This is a technique I’m going to try and use occasionally.

The other thing this author does is tell you who dies right at the begining of the book. This makes writing the ending much more of a challenge, but even though you know what happens he still manages to write it in such a way as to make it chocking.

The Book Thief – Highly recommended.

Adopting a Pen Name - Nick travers

2008-04-11T14:56:00.006Z

I have had a break from writing for a few months while I work on other projects. During that time I have made some important decisions concerning my work.

The first, as anyone who follows this blog will have noticed, is that I have changed my name. In fact, I have adopted the pen name of Nick Travers. Why? Because I am job hunting at the moment and I’m wary that a potential employer will not take me seriously if they also see I write. Who is Nick Travers? Just a character I once used.

Secondly, I believe I have taken the first Mervyn Bright book, Helium3, as far as I can without either an agent or editor. It is therefore time to move on and devote serious time to the second book.

Thirdly, inspired by the experience of author Paulo Coelho, who has found that online pirate versions of his books actually increase sales because they spread awareness of his name, I have decided that while I am searching for an agent I will self publish Helium3 and offer it as a free download. This will give me (or at least Nick Travers) valuable experience in online marketing. Helium3 is self-published through Lulu.com in the name of Nick Travers. Printed versions are also available through Lulu.com at cost price.

New Year, new villain

2007-12-30T22:50:00.000Z

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about antagonists. Russell T Davies, who writes the current Dr Who scripts, says that your hero is only as good as your villain. So, the question has to be asked, how good is my villain or antagonist? Answer: not good enough, yet. This is partly why I have not yet completed the scene brief of The Ark of Knowledge. I need to flesh out and really understand the characters of the antagonists before I can complete the basic story. I’m currently stuck two thirds of the way through the story and cannot see how the plot gets from the middle to the climax. It is the closest I have ever come to writer’s block. I feel sure the answer lies in understanding the antagonists. Also in fleshing out the thematic significance of the story (what, deep down, the story is really all about).

I don’t do New Years’ resolutions. But New Year is a good time to assess the past year and set aims for the year ahead. In terms of the second Mervyn Bright novel, the aim is to complete the scene brief, extended scene brief, and first draft For the first book, assuming I do not win either of the competitions, the aim is to find an agent. As the competition results are not due until the end of March I have plenty of time to concentrate on my plot and villain issues.

Happy New Year. Love the photo.

Why don’t we love science fiction?

2007-12-07T12:08:00.001Z

This article in the times got me all riled yesterday. As you will see from the comments, I blame the writers, but Daryl Lim quite rightly turns the focus on the literary world as well. The basic question here is what is science fiction? If your answer is that it’s fiction which addresses scientific issues in order to teach us something about the human condition, then you have fallen into the literary snobbery that has made the genre the pariah it is today.

Bryan Appleyard talks about authors who do not want their novels labelled as science fiction, you know, that isle tucked away at the back of the bookshop where all the titles have black spines. I’m one of those authors – I write adventure stories in a space setting. How is that not science fiction, you ask. Because it doesn’t fit the definition above. On the other hand, if your definition is fiction that starts with the question ‘What if …,’ then I most definitely do write science fiction. An increasing number of authors are choosing to call this speculative fiction to distinguish it from sci-fi. Why?

The issue quite simply is who will read it, how it is marketed, and where it will appear on the bookshelves. Science fiction is read almost exclusively by established sci-fi fans (virtually all male). Most readers would not be see dead in that isle of the bookshop.

The majority of sci-fi books are high concept: the story focuses on the ideas and the consequences for human kind in general rather than on the characters and how they are changed by the story. In fact, these sci-fi story beats are so established that you can’t get your story published unless it fits within the established pattern. This is why sci-fi is a genre on its own and why I don’t write in that genre. Producing another genre in a sci-fi setting is almost impossible in the adult market unless it very well written and cleverly done – The Time Travellers Wife is a superb, and rare, example.

In the youth market, however, there is a lot more freedom from the constraints of genre, which is one of the reasons I write for the youth market. Here I am free to indulge my imagination and produce sci-fi, I mean speculative, adventure stories with the emphasis on character.

So have we fallen out of love with science fiction? No, actually, science fiction is alive and well and a huge sections of the general public have an insatiable appetite for it– in cinemas and on TV. Why the difference? Because the film makers know that to make money they have to create character centred stories that entertain. The science fiction book genre flounders because it has forgotten how to engage with an audience. A constraint from which I expect it will never recover.

So what is the future then? My hope is that children will discover a love of science fiction through youth fiction, which will encourage publishers to invent a new category of adult speculative fiction which is not bound by the rigorous constraints of the sci-fi genre. All that is required to break the mould is a sci-fi version of Harry Potter. Mervyn Bright perhaps? I can but dream.

The defining nature of story

2007-12-02T14:47:00.000Z

Several things define human beings for what they are: self awareness, the ability to visualise the future, selfless sacrifice, and story. There is something fundamentally human about the need to tell, hear, and participate in stories. Even something as simple as gossip has an underlying structure: a beginning, a middle and an end, dialogue, a hero and a villain, participation, and the perceived distinction between right and wrong.

“And can you believe what she did next …”
“No – the cheek of it.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to stand for that so I said …”

I’ve been thinking a lot about the structure of story over the last few days because I’m currently planning the story for my second book. I had so many problems refining the story for the first book that this time I’m planning the story out on an excel spread sheet. I require each of the story elements, main story, sub-plots, and character developments (including the villains), to have a complete story arch.

Ha, you thought a story had only a beginning, middle, and end? Well it does and I guess the basic structure was laid down millions of years ago around the very first camp fires, but a novel is slightly different. Because of its greater length and complexity a novel has to pass through a more complete and complex story pattern. I don’t know if this is something we learn as we grow up or feel instinctively, but no novel is going to succeed if is only a story. I use an eight point story arc:

• Stasis
• Trigger
• Quest
• Surprise
• Critical Choice
• Climax
• Reversal
• Resolution

In addition, I require the main story to hit each of 12 story beats specific to the genre I’m writing in. These are the 12 I use for an adventure story (each genre has its own unique story beats):

• The main character faces a strong moral dilemma in achieving a goal.
• The antagonist poses opposition, both morally and physically to the goal.
• The main character confronts the major complication, but proceeds into the story.
• The story moves into a new world, and the main character makes an achievement.
• The antagonist takes control of the story, sets the counter-plot in motion.
• The main character moves forward, believing himself to be victorious, but finds the antagonist to be equal and opposing.
• The main character restates the goal, with renewed conviction, but experiences his first setback.
• The antagonist spins the counter-plot forward, and achieves momentum against the main character.
• The protagonist experiences defeat at the hand of the antagonist, and loses his moral strength.
• The protagonist loses the will to achieve his goal, but resuscitates his motivation and moral strength.
• The protagonist restates his goal and summons up his moral courage. The antagonist restates his mission to destroy the protagonist, as well as his motivation and courage.
• The protagonist and antagonist prepare for confrontation, but the protagonist experiences an epiphany of moral courage that gives him what it takes to defeat the antagonist. understanding his life with renewed meaning and understanding.

Each of the sub-plots also has to satisfy the story beats of its own genre. I’m not a romance writer and I would have to research the appropriate story beats, but I guess that if I had a romance sub-plot I would have a list that looks something like this:

• Boy meets girl.
• Girl rejects boy, but boy persists.
• Girl grows to like boy.
• Boy does something to distance girl.
• Boy and girl are reconciled.
• Boy and girl are split up despite their love.
• Boy and girl fight against the odds to be reunited but fail.
• Boy and girl finally overcome the odds and are reunited.

John Truby (see writer’s store expert articles) believes a successful film script should be an amalgamation of three genre’s and hit a total of 22 story beats. I’m not so formulaic as Truby, but I do believe that each story line and character development needs to be a complete story in its own right to be satisfying to the reader and that the overall story needs to meet the reader’s genre expectations.

So until I have sorted the story I'm not even going to write the first draft.

The Golden Compass

2007-11-28T12:39:00.000Z

Came across this trailer for the Golden Compass today.

The trailer offered the code for inserting it into your own blog, so I thought I would give it a go. I read the Golden Compass a few years ago. While I was impressed by the scope of the story and the detail of the world, it left me feeling claustrophobic. Much like Court of the Air, I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happens, but I was not inspired to read the next book. Something about the book, maybe the story or the writing style, gave me a sense of oppressiveness, and I hate it when a book does that to me. You may enjoy it, however, so give it a go.

This idea of a victorian style world where airships are the main source of travel is almost becomming a genere in its own right: His Dark Materials, Traction cities, Cout of the Air, Skybreaker. If Mervyn does not fly perhaps I should join this trend

Skybreaker

2007-11-26T23:38:00.000Z

Borrowed Skybreaker, by Kenneth Oppel, from the library and finished it in two days. I have never read any Kenneth Oppel before, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was written in the first person, present tense, much like Philip Reeves Traction stories – in fact it was very much in the same vain. The story was fast paced, well constructed and pulled me in straight away. Definitely a boy’s story. I would recommend it to any young tean who likes adventure stories.

One Step Beyond

2007-11-22T15:27:00.001Z

Now that the manuscript for Helium3 has been despatched to the Time/Chicken House novel competition, I can forget about it and move on to other projects. There is, of course, planning on the second Mervyn Bright novel to complete, but I also have a few other projects on the go.

Last week I watched a programme about genetic engineering. During the night I woke up with lots of ideas swirling round my head. I grabbed the notebook that always sits by my bed and pulled together a fishbone diagram taking genetic engineering to its extremes which gave me loads of material for short stories. I once read a book by Harry Harrison entitled One Step From Earth, which has always stayed with me. The book was a series of short stories taking the idea of teleporting to ultimate extremes, from invention, through methods of warfare, and ending up with the demise of mankind. I’m looking to create a similar progression of short stories based around genetic engineering of humans. I just need to give it some serious thought.

Another Competition

2007-11-01T10:21:00.001Z

Today I received an email advising that a space has become available in the Amazon/Penguin (US) new writer’s competition. This means one of the 5000 people who originally entered has not produced their manuscript in time.

Odds of 1:5000 don’t sound too bad when you consider that the Times/Chickenhouse competition is liable to receive 10 – 20,000 entries. My real interest in the Amazon competition, however, is in being named as one of the 1000 semi-finalists: that’s a 1:4 chance. Technically, I would then be able to claim in my next submission letter that I was selected as a semi-finalist in the Penguin/Amazon New Writer’s competition. With any luck this could get me out of the slush pile (or discovery pile as Nathan Bransfield calls it – I like that description better) or a requested partial. It’s worth a go anyway. I now have 7 days for a final polish and to make that submission.

Competition Progress

2007-10-31T12:10:00.000Z

I’m nearly finished editing the first book for the Times/Chickenhouse competition. The new first chapter is almost there and I’ve completed a new final chapter having changed Mervyn’s main motivation in the story. I have also changed the title to a snappy ‘Helium3’.

The main tasks left now are to re-write my synopsis, produce a plot plan, print the whole thing out on the ultra expensive, four-hole pre-punched paper I bought for the purpose, bind it all up, and post it. Then wait – until February.

If I don’t get anywhere in the competition I have decided I will send the new manuscript to every UK agent on my list and see if any bite. If they don’t I will send it to selected USA agents. If none of that works I will abandon the book because book two should be well on its way by then and I’m sure I can now do a better job than I did on book one.

Scope and Pace

2007-10-30T08:50:00.000Z

I’ve been thinking recently about the correct pace for a story. Stephen Hunt’s Court Of The Air got me thinking along these lines. I didn’t enjoy the story – Mr Hunt has a weird and sick imagination, and the setting kept crossing with an English reality so often that you were never quite sure where you were meant to be, but within three pages the story had sucked me in and I could not put the book down. I kept thinking, ‘I’m not enjoying this story, but I have to know what happens next.’ The story rushed along, twisting and turning, so fast that my mind didn’t have time to get bored.

I’ve just finished re-reading Frank Herbert’s Dune, one of my favourite stories. In terms of pace it is not dissimilar to Court Of the Air, but a much more enjoyable story. The story twists and turns and pulls you along every four or five pages. To do that a story needs a big scope and a lot of characters.

I bought this months Writing Magazine, because I’m still forced to be inactive. An article by Ken Follett discussed the difference between his first ten unpublished novels (that in itself is scary) and the eleventh which was published. He reckons that one of the major differences was pace. ‘There is quite a simple rule,’ he says, ‘which is that the story should turn every four to six pages. Once you have answered one question in the mind of the reader you need to be already asking another.’ That will take a lot of planning and a story with real scope – I’m not there yet, but I will be.

It has been a while

2007-10-16T09:47:00.000Z

It is several months since my last post. Life has been both hectic and alarming. For the past three weeks I have been forced into inactivity. You would have thought that inactivity would be an ideal opportunity to write, but I have not felt like writing at all. Today is the first day I have felt like putting pen to paper.

Prior to the last three weeks I was reshaping the first Mervyn Bright book in preparation for entering it into the Times/Chickenhouse writing competition. The maximum word count is 80,000 words and my manuscript was 89,000. To reshape the novel and also apply the changes my friendly editor had suggested (see previous post) I reckoned I needed to lose 20,000 words (six chapters). This proved alarmingly easy and all six were lost from the front end of the book without really changing the main story.

I also decided to change one of the main drivers, remove a main character, and change Mervyn’s motivation for entering the Academy while I was at it. The Mage no longer features in Mervyn’s life – she just didn’t fit into the second book and I eventually decided the best way to resolve this issue was to remove her from the first book. This removed a main driver for the entire story which I have replaced by beefing up the rivalry between Rufus Dracon and Mervyn, which I think improves both characters. I have also introduced a conflict between Mervyn and his father which causes Mervyn to run away from home.

So where an I now? I have finished reshaping the manuscript. The main task facing me now is to write a new first chapter that shows the conflict with Mervyn’s dad, the first conflict with Rufus Dracon and how Mervyn wins his place at the Academy.

Today I feel like writing.

Positive Rejection

2007-08-18T21:41:00.000Z

I’ve received a great rejection letter, for Marauders, from a senior editor at a well known publishing house. How can a rejection letter be ‘great’ you ask, surely only an acceptance is great? Actually, this one was pure gold and I went off to celebrate – let me explain:

This was a personalised letter stating she had read and enjoyed the sample chapters – this is absolute proof my submission made it out of the slush pile. And if I can get out of one slush pile I can get out of others. This puts Marauders in the top 10% of submissions – confirmation I’m doing something right and not completely wasting my time.

Amazingly, this editor took time out from her busy schedule to write a short critique of my sample chapters: what she thought was good and what she thought needed improving. The whole letter was only a few short paragraphs, but how often have you longed for feedback from a professional editor, and a senior one at that? She even took time to read this blog.

What the editor suggested for improvement I had already half suspected before I sent out the submissions, which is great, because it confirms my gut instinct was right and gives me a focus for the next edit/re-write. In this lonely writing business it is so easy to get led astray by all the hype and distrust your own instincts. Now I know my story telling instincts were right all along I will listen to them more intently.

Now I’m off to revisit my sample chapters and edit, edit, edit.

Is J.K.Rolwing a Genius?

2007-07-25T20:23:00.000Z

Why do we love Rowling? It’s easy: loveable characters and fun. These books are such fun to read.

I have spent the last couple of weeks analysing Rowlings books to find out what makes them tick. Lets take bk4 as an example:

Storylines: The main plot appeals to all ages. Good versus evil with a sufficiently large consequence of failure and therefore a satisfying payoff at the end. The main plot has a universal appeal to children and adults alike. There are, though, other storylines, some of which have very little to do with the main plot (e.g. Hermione’s SPEW campaign and who’s going with whom to the Yule ball). Both of these could have been cut to concentrate readers on the mail plot, but these storeylines are particularly aimed at children and provide most of the fun elements of her world, and the laughs. She intertwines these storyline expertly, giving us tension, conflict, and fun on every page.

Characters: Rowling’s ability to present character and characterisation is brilliant. Nothing unusual about writers creating great characters, except that everything and everyone is slightly exaggerated. With the exception of the three main characters, everyone is a caricature to a greater or lesser extent. The eccentric wizarding world she has created lends itself to caricatures, and therefore fun. The interplay between the three main characters and the extent to which she brings them to life and makes you care about them is dazzling – this is where her main skill lies.

Writing: I find the HP books difficult to read aloud. Rowling's sentences are often long and rambling, and often run on, but she gets away with it. There are several reason why she makes it work: Her rambling style matches the eccentric nature of the wizarding world; she knows when and how to crank up the pace; she uses the rambling sentences to convey the fun, the laughs, and the eccentricities of the wizarding world. They are in essence in character with the setting. But above all, Rowling has one writing attribute that is quite rare: comic timing. She can turn on the fun and the laughs without becoming cynical. Whatever the deficiencies of Rowling's writing style, readers either don’t notice or are prepared to forgive her because the read is just such fun.

Book 7: This one is different. Because she no longer has the setting of Hogwarts to fall back on, her available child-centric storylines are limited. This is, in essence, a chase story, whereas all the previous stories have been puzzles/mysteries. In consequence, she has had to throw in a lot more action to keep the plot moving and keep the reader’s interest. The laughs in bk7 come mainly from the interaction between the characters, but if we had not learned to love these characters in the previous books could she have pulled it off? Interestingly, there are few laughs associated with new characters.

So, is JK a genius? No. What she is, is a good writer who has the gift of comic timing, a flare for creating memorable characters, and an idea that allows her to draw on her strengths (which as far as I’m concerned is the holy grail of fiction writing). The rest is shear hard work.

Know Your Enemy

2007-06-24T21:26:00.002Z

In my search for inspiration to generate more conflict, I came across this article by James Bonnett. I went off to analyse my antagonists. This is the result:
The threat/source of the conflict – The Centaph
The complications and resistance – Lord Dracon, working through Halival Tarak and

Professor Hertzegovny.
Higher self/protector – the Mage, who equips Mervyn for success.

Once I had sorted this out, the larger picture started to make more sense and I could see how this story fits into the setting I created in ‘Marauders’. I decided the Centaph needed a character for us to focus on and for Lord Dracon to interact with. So I created Bal-Zuk-Mangok. I was then able to write the prologue for the story, which is the only place that Lord Dracon and Bal-Zuk-Mangok feature – sitting over everything like Greek gods. Later in the series they will become more personally involved in the stories, as will the Mage, but for now they are just pulling the strings and observing.

I then re-wrote sections of the brief to show how Mervyn is covertly equipped to access the Bourne by the Mage. I also started to increase the conflict with Prof. H., Aurora and Loren, though, I realised Aurora would never willingly work against her uncle with the Centaph threat so close so there are limits to how far she will go in acting against Mervyn.

Still trying to figure out how to seduce Loren into an alience with Prof. H. and turn her against Mervyn. Also trying to work out the true nature of the Bourne itself. This has taken an unexpected turn as I’ve had some great ideas, but they do complicate the story somewhat. Essentially, I’ve realised the Bourne is a puzzle for the Misfits to solve rather than just a monster, though I still plan for it to turn into a monster in the end. For the moment I’m just going to keep ploughing through the scene brief and see what turns up, then I’ll backtrack, analyse, consolidate, and re-write. Back to the scene brief then.

More Conflict Please

2007-06-24T21:26:00.001Z

The scene brief pre-draft technique is working really well. More accurately, the story for ‘Ark of Knowledge’ is not working, but this is readily apparent through the scene brief. I’ve filled in most of the scenes for the first third and last third of the story. I currently have 40 closely written pages of scene notes. The brief gives me the freedom to introduce great ideas and develop characters, but is spares enough to allow me to easily backfill plot points and clearly see how the story is developing.

The middle scenes, however, are causing a lot of headaches. The route of the problem is that the main villain, the enigmatic Professor Hertzegovny, is neither enigmatic nor villainous. In fact, she is being remarkably co-operative at the moment. What I need is more conflict: the scene brief is far too sparse on conflict. I haven’t yet reached the conflict with Loren, what I need at this stage is more conflict from Aurora and Prof. H. or someone else. Ian McEwan, in his recent novel Beaches, manages to get conflict into every page. I doubt if I can achieve anything like that, but I should at least manage some action and some conflict in each scene.

So, do I introduce a new villain, beef up Prof. H. or beef up some other character, like Rufus Dracon? Can I have both Mervyn and Dracon running about a mystery spaceship at the same time? Somehow I doubt if that would work, unless he is in league with Prof. H. Time to analyse the scene brief again.

Writing Crap

2007-06-24T21:26:00.000Z

After several year of researching how to write, how to write better, then how to get published, I have come to the conclusion that there is a phenomenal amount of crap written about writing.

There’s a huge industry out there to help you write and get published, but there’s an even bigger one just waiting in make money out of you because they can. Writing is full of wannabe’s and that means it’s also full of sharks preying on innocent people’s dreams and desires. A lot of the stuff that is written about writing is either virtually useless, regurgitated from somewhere else or just out to make money from you.

If you are a beginner here’s a bit of sage advice (of course who am I to give you advice – I’m not even a published author yet):

If they are not published they are not an authority on writing – like me.

If they have published only one book they are not yet successful. Many authors seem to publish just one book before setting themselves up as a teacher of writing. Check out how many books someone has actually had published as before you pay t have your work assessed by them – a surprising number have published less than three, often only one. I suppose that teaching writing is a more reliable income than actually writing for a living – their need to make money out of you is greater then your need to receive their help. Only when this is no longer true is it time to pay for advice.

You don’t need a shelf full of books about how to write. One good book on writing, one on plot development/characterisation, one on grammar (I recommend elements of style) and one on punctuation. That is all you need. Wait until you know where your writing is weak before purchasing any more, then target those weak spots.

You don’t need expensive computers or writing/editing programs to get started. You can pick up a really cheap laptop off e-bay (I’ve had two for less than £200 each), or you can use pen and paper – many writers still swear by this method for their first draft.
The same goes for courses and conferences – write your first full draft before seeking assistance, and then only sparingly.

Writing is a lonely hobby, but you don’t have to do it alone. There are plenty of groups on the internet where you can post your work and get feedback from other writers. Try out a few and see what suits you best, and remember, as you writing develops you may need a different kind of feedback so keep shopping around.

If you can find a face-to-face writers group in your area so much the better. Go along, make friends, share your writing. The hardest thing of all, though, is finding a group or buddy who will give you honest, constructive, and sometimes painful feedback – if you find them, stick to them like glue.

Check out writers/agents/editors blogs. There are some really useful gems out there, but also loads and loads of crap, so filter out the good ones and ignore the rest.

Don’t try to be like other writers/authors, unless it’s for a learning exercise. Develop your unique voice/style – it’s your uniqueness which will get you published not your sameness.

Above everything else, don’t let the books, magazines, blogs, websites or groups, distract you from writing as often as you can.

Finally: you know best.

The Shrunken Manuscript

2007-06-08T22:33:00.001Z

Came across this technique in recent articles. There are the links to see the articles in their original contexts: darcypattison.livejournal.com cynthialord.livejournal.com and www.jacketflap.com/megablog/index.asp?blogid=678

The technique that I particularly adore is her “Shrunken Manuscript” exercise. If you are a visual learner (like myself), this technique allows you to visualise your narrative arc. Darcy described it an interview with Cynthia Leitich-Smith: “Basically, you single-space a manuscript and then shrink the manuscript to a small font and print it out. This allows you to mark and see the overall structure of a long story like a novel.”It’s so deceptively simple, you’ll wonder why you never tried this before. It’s so amazingly useful, you’ll wonder how you ever revised without it.

Shrunken Manuscripts Work Because. . .In my case, AUTUMN shrinks down from a 140-page behemoth to a tidy 28 pages. I use my Shrunken Manuscript in every aspect of the revision process. When my editor asked me to flesh out my main character’s sister, I laid out my pages on the living room floor and highlighted all the scenes in which she appeared. Then, I highlighted all the scenes in which she could grace us with her presence (she’d be delighted to know we think of her in this way). A pattern emerged, and the task of making Katie more Katie-ish was manageable and (dare I say it about the revision process?!) fun! It somehow feels easier to experiment with changes within the Shrunken Manuscript. Perhaps because you’re marking up 30 pages instead of 150. Perhaps because you’re moving that block of text two pages instead of 18. Perhaps because your words seem more disposable in 8-point font.

As a visual person myself, I know exactly what they mean. I will certainly try this technique with my scene brief when I’ve completed it. I’ve also added Darcy Pattison’s Livejournal to my list of blogs aggregated in JackateFlap, because it looks as if she has something useful to say.

To link or not to link

2007-06-08T22:33:00.000Z

Tonight I’ve been updating my page on Lessons Learned About Writing. Knowing the advertising/search engine value of multiple links I was faced with the dilemma whether to reproduce great articles, which I found really useful, so I retain them for posterity or just link to them. In the end I did both. So with thanks to Anne Mini I have reproduced and linked.

Passive Protagonists and word repetitions

2007-05-21T10:19:00.001Z

I thought everything was ready to go off to the agents, then, I read Author! Author! my new favourite blog on writing at annemini.com. This is a great site that deals with some of the finer points of writing. Two articles in particular had me reaching for the editing program.

The first was about using the words ‘and’, ‘then’ and ‘It’ too often in passages. I was fairly confident my writing would not suffer from this issue, but I though I would just check so I dutifully fed the words into the editing software and had it highlight every usage. Generally my writing is free of this problem, but every now and then a cluster of these words showed up, and the first clump was right there in the very first paragraph of the first chapter – I re-wrote it immediately.

The second article dealt with the issue of passive protagonists – protagonists who observe and think rather than actively taking part in scenes. The upshot is I re-wrote the first scene all over again.

The sample chapters are now ready for the agents again and will be going out this week, so fingers crossed.

While we are on the subject of websites, my other favourite at the moment is Jacketflap: it is a children’s literary site, but the main interest for me is that it allows me to pull together all the blogs I regularly read into a single page. Just what I need, particularly as the IT boffins at work have a new piece of software which searches out commonly viewed social networking sites and progressively blocks access. I used to be able to update my own blog from work and leave comments on others, but now I’m just a passive participant.

Confucius, he say ...

2007-05-21T10:19:00.000Z

I have just finished the 3rd re-write of the storyline for ‘Ark of Knowledge’ – I think I’ve got it now, an interesting, compelling, and intriguing story with enough twists and turns to be different from the norm. Now I start the Scene Brief – just splurging ideas, key dialogue, and setting down for each and every scene. This is the ideas factory.

I’ve already settled on four sub plots I can develop throughout the book:

1) The operation and implosion of the Folksocracy. This will be contrasted with the absolute theocracy of the Centaph and their unbending, but warped, code of honour. Mervyn’s knowledge of this code – the Centaph’s main strength and their weakness – will become an enduring theme of the whole series.

2) Mervyn being haunted by his first kiss – if he’s 15 he has to have some hormones.

3) Loren’s betrayal the Misfits and her siding with Lord Dracon. Impossible? No, we all have a price and if our personal beliefs are pushed to the limit it is surprising what we will do in defence of them.

4) The way simple organisms can build complicated societies/structures.

Lord Dracon will be scheming through a new character: the Misfit’s archaeology teacher, the enigmatic Professor Hertzegovny – a corrupt version of Lara Croft.

The main academic theme for the story will revolve around two sayings of Confucius which I have combines together into a single thought:
‘Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance; to go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.’

The main thematic theme running through the story: is the conflict between greed and self sacrifice/duty.

Mervyn’s main conflict: is that for the greater good he has to destroy advance science that can end poverty, banish war and suffering, and cure his Mother’s mystery illness.

One of the main characters dies – not a Misfit. Having said that though, I have decided that by the end of the series one of the Misfits will be dead. Gasp, shock, horror!

So, plenty of conflict to keep the story moving along and plenty of scope for imaginative ideas in the scene brief.

Ageing Mervyn

2007-05-16T21:22:00.001Z

I’ve just received back the final review of ‘Marauders’ from my reader reviewers. A few cherry picked comments: ‘Couldn’t put it down’, ‘really related to the characters,’ ‘Can’t wait for the next instalment.’ It also contained some useful constructive criticism. Some of this confirmed my own nagging doubt, also raised by another reviewer, that the Misfits should be older. I’ve been toying with this for a while since the writing seems to aim at the 11+ age group.

So the decision: In ‘Marauders’ Mervyn will be 14. It follows, of course, that I cannot run a six series story with the Misfits being one year older in each year if they are to remain in the senior school age range. I’m ok with this, so in ‘Ark of Knowledge’ Mervyn will be 14/15, and will have a birthday. In the final book Mervyn will have left school, which was always going to be the case, because it about what happens to the Misfits after school.

This reviewer also liked the chapter where Aurora and Dracon fight a Swot duel, she though it pulled the Misfits together in a really effective way – it was one of her favpurite chapters. This means the reviewers are split just about 50/50, unprompted, over whether to include this chapter or not. It’s one of my favourites too, but I’m taking it out because it doesn't progress the story line at a point where the story needs to more forwar quite swiftly, and there are other sections which pull the Misfts together. Maybe I'll work it into a later book.

To read the chapter in question see the ‘edits’ page.

Moving On

2007-05-16T21:22:00.000Z

The manuscript, synopsis, and query for Mervyn Bright and the Marauders are complete. All that remains now is to send them out to my selected agents, and wait.

In the mean-time I’m getting on with writing the second novel using the same characters in the same universe. This time round, I will apply all those hard lessons, about the craft of writing, which I learned from ‘Marauders’, but which I could not apply because I was already too far into the process. With luck, this should eliminate at least two major re-writes, most of the agonising over storyline, and a whole year of writing.

I’m excited by this new project. There came a point with Marauders where I knew I could do better if I started again from scratch, but it was too late, the best I could do was soldier on to the end.

The new book is provisionally called ‘Mervyn Bright and the Ark of Knowledge’ and is a ‘through the portal’ type story with a few twists. During the story I will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of a so called Folksocracy. This is a name I have seen on blogs recently and refers to a group of people who organise themselves, without leaders, solely through the internet. Maybe the purest form of democracy to date?. It would be interesting to extrapolate this idea into a full blown society, put it under stress, and see what happens to it. In many ways it has similarities to reality TV shows in that every decision is reached from scratch without reference to precedents, often based on the feelings of the moment, and in which pre-existent prejudices and individual morals are the only absolutes. It is the sort of medium in which a few opinionated individuals could hold sway over others. It also has interesting connotations with the German idea of Volks which the Nazis tapped into during their rise to power.

Lots of ideas, but rather than struggle to fit the storyline into a synopsis and query after several years of writing, I’m producing these first and using them as a road map for the story. Then, like a script writer, I will produce a reverse scene brief followed by an expanded scene brief (see my writing process for more detail). I reckon this will take six to nine months, then I can start the actual creative writing. So here goes ....

Why do Young Adult authors write for children?

2007-05-03T13:38:00.000Z

Came across this article today:

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/04/younger_readers.html

The following comment set me thinking, ‘If you ask most dedicated Young Adult (YA) authors why they write for teenagers, they're likely to tell you it's because they continue to think like adolescents.’ Is this why I write for the children? To some extent is it, but it’s not the whole story.

I write to entertain, myself and others, and teenage characters have a much greater capacity for fun than their adult counterparts. With all the responsibilities that come with adult-hood fun just seems to fall off the radar. Adult books, even if they are have child protagonists, are meant to look at the struggles of life, love, relationships, looking back on the effects of growing up. etc. They are expected to be serious, weighty or follow pre-set formula of a genre. By writing about teenage characters, for a teenage audience, I can escape from all those constraints and just write cross-genre entertaining novels that are fun.

There is another aspect to this, of course, do I have the maturity and ability to write about adult issues? The answer is yes. But why should I? I don’t, at the moment, have the desire to write adult material. I prefer to write about the adventures and heroes that fill my mind, and they are best expressed in the form of teenage protagonists.

J.K.Rowling, of course, has changed the rules with Harry Potter – now the teenagers grow up and face all the angst and issues that Enid Blyton avoided. Can anyone write a series about child characters without them growing up – I suspect not.

Why Write?

2007-04-24T10:11:00.000Z

A colleague drew my attention to this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/magazine/6582955.stm.

Why write? This is my reply:

Computers, spell-checkers, auto-correct, and editing software have certainly made writing a novel much easier. Thankfully, though, there is still no substitute for talent, and you still need the discipline for the hard day-by-day slog.

I started writing a novel simply because is was a challenge I could undertake with a laptop during the downtime when I commute (two 20 minute slots per day). I had no idea whether I had the staying power to make it even to the end of the first draft. Five re-writes, three years, and a lot of editing later, I am finished. I don’t expect it to find a publisher, but I will try anyway, because that is the next logical step in bringing the characters alive – who knows, it may be just what the publishing industry is craving and I may yet see it in print. I’ve started a second novel with a much better idea of where I’m going, what I’m doing, how to do it, and what the market wants. I reckon this second novel will take me only two years and only three re-writes. This time the first six months will involve a lot more planning than writing.

Why a second novel? I’ve got the bug now. I’ve created one novel so I can legitimately call myself a writer, now I want to get published so I can call myself an author. Besides, what do you do after the first novel, just give up? Let my characters die off? They are great characters, I want them to live in other people’s minds as well as my own, and for that to happen I need to create a novel for them which publishers want to sell.

Helium 3

2007-04-16T15:46:00.001Z

Saw an Horizon programme last week on man returning to the moon. They speculated that the reason for this sudden renewed interest was an isotope of Helium called Helium 3. Using this isotope can make nuclear fusion reactors a possibility – clean unlimited power for the entire earth. In fact, mining Helium 3 on the moon could even become financially viable. This set off all sorts of ideas in my mind and as a result I’m re-writing parts of Mervyn Bright and the Marauders. The mines on Starlight and Pershwin no longer supply gold but Helium3. And the underlying reason for the power struggle is over the supply of Helium 3. This device especially beefs up the ending because Mervyn knows that the Space Republic does not yet have sufficient Helium 3 to power it’s planetary defence shield, so it gives him a reason to turn back and attack the Naga’s warship – this act is now a clear character choice rather than an accident of circumstance.

Finished the final draft

2007-04-04T21:32:00.001Z

Here are some more statistics: At last I have finished the final draft and made the final alterations to Mervyn Bright and the Marauders. When I say final I mean the last time I touch it before an agent/editor requests changes.

Now I start the difficult bit – getting an agent and a publishing contract. Miss Snark reckons that of the 1200 queries she receives each quarter she takes on only one new client. Of course, if I haven’t made it by this time next year I’ll have to think again. In the meant time I’m forging ahead with book two in the series, ‘Mervyn Bright and the Ark of Knowledge’ – you can find a scene brief for this book by clicking on the ‘Synopsis’ link in the navigation panel on the left.

Issac Asimov apparently said, “The first million words are just practice.” By that measure I have only 800,000 to go
Nathan Bransford (US literary agent) reckons that most writers don’t get published until their third or fourth book.
The average professional writer makes only £15,000 per year – so no giving up the day job then.

MervynBright.co.uk

2007-04-04T21:32:00.000Z

For the moment I’ve given up on finding a cheap web provider that meets my needs. I realised what I really needed was something basic, reliable, and easy to use. So I’ve created 15 blog pages on Blogger.com and linked them all together with the navigation panel on the left so they work like a website. I’ve also created a MervynBright.co.uk entry point, using my MS LiveOffice site, which redirects to Blogger.com. This gives me a simple web address to quote on my query letters.

Final Re-Write

2007-02-09T13:44:00.001Z

I have embarked on the final re-write of Mervyn Bright and the Marauders. This is the last polish before approaching agents. I have already re-written the first three chapters:-
The beginning of the story has always been a bit slow and the main characters are introduced individually, but to achieve commercial success (to get noticed by agents and publishers) I need a bigger hook in the first chapter. In fact, I need a bigger hook on the first page so I’ve started the story with a brief run in with the Nabob. I’ve also brought Aurora into the story a few chapters earlier and removed the class scene where the students are allocated to their syndicates (never was happy with it) – that all now happens at the opening ceremony. My only real concern now is that having tried so hard to get away from Harry Potter, the opening ceremony is a bit too reminiscent of the Sorting Hat scene. Perhaps I’ll cut that too and have the syndicates pre-determined.
One reviewer has suggested cutting the Aurora Swot scene as it adds nothing to the story. The main purpose of that scene is for Loren to warm to Aurora and learn to respect her. It also shows off the character traits of the other characters. If I cut that scene (one of my favourites - and I’ve sacrificed so many of my favourites already in the interests of propelling the story forward) I’ll have to work that characterisation into other scenes. On the other hand, anything that does not propel the story forward ought to go – the pile of cuts is now bigger than the novel. Another reviewer really liked this chapter and thought it served to fill out the characters. Should I cut it or not?
This final re-write is about character and characterisation. Loren, in particular needs to undergo a bigger character change – from loner to team player, so I’m going to re-emphasis her preference for working alone at the start of the story.

First Full Critique

2007-02-05T12:21:00.000Z

The first full critique of the manuscript has been sent to me. It contains lots of positives, which is good for my ego, but more importantly, it highlights areas where the story can be improved. Producing a critique of a full novel is a skill in it’s own right. It is incredibly difficult to find people who have the skill, the time, and the willingness to tear your manuscript apart for your. I have been incredibly lucky in this respect – through an online writer’s site (Writers in Touch) I was able to buddy up with Dave who is writing a children’s fantasy novel.
Most writer’s groups are full of poets, short story writer’s, and six-chapter novelists who forever rework the first six chapters of their book. Constructing a novel in it’s entirety is an different skill. Only another novelist can really understand the difficulties involved. Dave is serious about being a novelist. We have been exchanging three chapters at a time for over a year now – it’s the most useful feedback I have every had, and together with what I have learned from critiquing his book, has certainly help refine the novel into it’s current form.
A colleague at work suggested writing to the heads of English at a local school, getting a class to read and critique the manuscript and offering book tokens for the top three reviews. It would cost me £180 to run off 30 book from Lulu.com, so not a bad investment for 30 reviews from the target audience. I believe G.P.Taylor did something similar with his first novel. I might just give it a go.

A Real Life Book

2007-01-22T15:57:00.000Z

I have just taken delivery of the first fully printed Mervyn Bright novel, and I can’t keep the grin off my face. No, I haven’t landed a printing contract – this is a self-published, print on demand, version produced though Lulu.com. Working on the basis that some of my younger reviewers are more likely to critique the manuscript if they have a proper book to read, I set it all up last week on Lulu and ordered four copies. The feeling of excitement when I opened that package, even though I know it is not the real thing, was incredible.

I keep taking a copy out of the package, and turning it over and over in my hands – suddenly I understand why people vanity publish. Curiously, the reaction from family and friends for a manuscript that looks like a real novel is far more positive than when presented with the same work in a folder. I keep reminding myself that this is not the objective towards which I’m aiming – the end game is when a commercially published version of the book appears in the best sellers list. This self-published version is just a tool; a step on the way to success.

MySpace.com Test

2007-01-09T13:35:00.000Z

The bulletin to a Harry Potter interest group on MySpace.com has been up for a week. Hits on my Lulu site have doubled since I posted the bulletin, up by 70. Downloads have increased by a disappointing 2 (2% of hits – both in the first 24 hours). So what is the analysis? Why am I not getting more downloads?

1. The blurb is not connecting sufficiently to encourage downloads.

2. The first chapter (the viewable text) is not connecting to the views.

3. I’m aiming at the wrong audience.

Let’s take the last first. The Harry Potter audience is the one I’m writing for so I’d better learn to connect with them – this is not negotiable, I just need to learn to do better, but that is what this exercise is about.

Connecting with the text: A 2% success rate is not bad compared to a direct marketing campaign, though I would hope for more by targeting an interest group. At this rate, if I assume only 1% of readers will leave a review I’ll need to get 5,000 hit on the Lulu download page to get 10 reviews. I need to significantly improve the download rate if I can. The analytical approach is not to jump in to making changes to the viewable text or the first chapter, but to change the blurb and measure the effect again by posting another bulletin to another HP site. If that fails I’ll then progress to changing the viewable text – being more selective about what I present – maybe constructing the written equivalent of a film trailer. If they still don’t bite I’ll have to consider more drastic changes. Every step though needs to be tested, analysed, and assessed.

What does the new year hold for Mervyn?

2007-01-08T10:27:00.000Z

I have four aims for Mervyn this year. In no particular order:-

1. Find a literary agent to represent me and find a publisher.
2. Make feedback changes to Mervyn Bright & the Marauders.
3. Construct a Mervyn Bright Website.
4. Complete the first draft of book two.

Finding an agent has to be the main priority for 2007, and I’ve made a start already. I’ve sent three sample chapters, a story synopsis, and story briefs for books two and three to Philip Patterson at Majacq Scripts, the agent who originally showed interest in Mervyn at the Winchester Writer’s Conference in 2005. I know he rejected the original half-baked script I sent last year, but I feel duty bound to give him first refusal at the finished novel.

If he does turn me down again, and I fully expect him to, I’ll start approaching the rest of the market. What happens if I can’t find an agent? Panic, I think. Maybe approach publishers directly, or think or a self publish strategy which attracts their attention, or look for an agent in the USA. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Obtaining feedback from the target audience is proving more difficult than I had anticipated. The children of friends and family are either too old or two young, so I’m forced to look elsewhere. There have been 7 downloads from Lulu.com, but I know that at least two of those are from adults – two others are from placing a bulletin on a Harry Potter group on My Space. Whether any of these leave reviews, or even read the book is hit-and-miss. I desperately need feedback from youngsters so a different approach is needed – what I need is a captive audience, a school literature project or something. Anyone out there interested in getting their pupils involved with a developing author?

I signed up for a free domain name with Microsoft Office Online, but now I’ve discovered I cannot link my website to third party providers to bring in external pages such as this blog or the download page in Lulu.com. I looks like I'll need to pay an annual fee to get what I want. I’ve never joined in the general witch-hunt against Microsoft, but they do seem to want their ‘pound of flesh.’ I’ve had some tips on possible cheaper providers so I’ll try again.

Book two, provisionally called ,Mervyn Bright and the Ark of Knowledge,, is progressing well. I’m currently putting together a scene brief (see previous blogs on the new writing process – if I had a website I’d set up a page explaining my process) and have loads of ideas. I have a feeling this is going to be better than the first book – by that I mean more tightly plotted. Sorting out the cause and effect of the plot at the very beginning of the writing process certainly helps pull everything together. It eliminates that feeling of doubt at not knowing where the story is going. I’m itching to get writing for real, but I know that if I’m disciplined and complete a scene brief followed by an expanded scene brief it’ll reduce the writing time for the new book by a whole year.

Lulu.com Review

2006-12-07T11:30:00.000Z

This is a copy of the first reader review left on Lulu.com. This reader obviously likes it:-

This is a captivating story and very different to other children's books currently on offer. With dragons, wizards, and elves flooding the children's market each month, this is sure to stand out from the crowd. An impressive imagination, in a book filled with great sci-fi ideas, gadgets, and aliens, truly bringing Mervyn's world to life. Characters have as much focus as plot, and the story is all the better for it. Mervyn is a great hero with a great heart, supported by an unlikely but loveable group of friends. I found this fast-paced with a good flow of events. Tension builds well throughout the story towards a tense and powerful climax. An ambitious book that both children and adults can enjoy.

Lulu.com Update

2006-12-07T11:29:00.000Z

So far my Lulu site has had 63 hits, the free download has been taken by 5 people, and I’ve had 1 review. Together with the hard copies I distributed that makes 8 people are reviewing the book at the moment. I’m impatient for feedback, and check everyday for reviews, though I realise a novel can take a while to read – in an 11 point font and proper novel format the book comes out at 310 pages, so it’s not a lightweight read.

I’m currently working to get the manuscript reviewed by the English Literature class at my local school because I desperately need feedback from readers in the target audience. Now it’s finished, I’m also sending my selected 3 chapters and story outline to the agent who originally showed interest in my work – give him a second chance to reject me. I kind of feel honour bound to give him a second bite of the cherry even though he’s not a major player in the children’s market.

It’s a slow burn, but assuming anyone is interested in what I’m doing I’ll keep you updated on progress.

Mervyn on Lulu.com

2006-12-07T11:27:00.000Z

As promised I have now set up ‘Mervyn Bright and The Marauders’ as a free download on Lulu.com. If you are interested in reviewing the draft novel (89,000 words), please leave your comments in a review on Lulu.com.

If you know any avid readers in the target age group, 10 – 16 years of age, who would appreciate a children’s action/adventure story, I would especially appreciate it if you could pass the download details on to them and ask them to leave a review too.

The following web address will take you directly to the free download. This will be available until the 01 January 07.

www.lulu.com/content/524068

Enjoy the read.

Finished

2006-12-07T11:26:00.000Z

Almost exactly three years to the day since deciding to get the prototype of this story out of my head and take up writing I have finished the last chapter of the third re-write of Mervyn Bright and the Marauders – 87000 words in all. Now I can go public.

My original aim was to see if I had the staying power to complete a novel length story. Then I realised I had done exactly what I set out to do – I’d written a story not a novel, so I started to learn the art of story telling – the first re-draft. Then the characters took over and headed the story off in a completely different direction. Then I discovered I needed to learn the craft of writing, not just putting words together, but editing and developing a style of my own – second re-write (I’ve cut over 100,000 words in total). Then I just had to pull everything together and make sure the story, the characters, and the style were consistent throughout the whole novel – third re-write. Easy really – not.

My aim now is to make sure Mervyn and gang get to come alive in print – get published.

New writing Habits

2006-09-08T10:26:00.000Z

New Writing Habits
I’ve changed my job in the last few weeks and as a consequence I’ve had to change my writing habits. I now have to undertake a two hour train journey to work two or three times a week, that’s two hours each way. The rest of the time I’m working close to home. Out have gone the twenty minute slots four times a day and in have come two hour slots two or three times a week. Strangely, I preferred my twenty minute slots, they were far more productive – I have more time so I take more time (there’s a sociological rule for this I believe).
As writers, unless the have the luxury of writing professionally, we have to use whatever time we can grab. Mine seems to be on trains and in waiting rooms. I’m writing this now in a waiting room in a train station in Bournemouth. My train arrives in 45 minutes.

Serialising a Book

2006-05-24T12:20:00.000Z

I’ve been playing with two new pieces of technology this week: a digital pen, and Lulu Self Publishing. Still having a few problems with the pen so I’ll talk about that in my next blog, and talk about serialising a book instead..

Now, I know I said previously I would never self publish, and I have not changed my position on that one, but there are two instances in which I might use it;-
1). To get feedback on my draft novel from my target audience.
2). To help get a publishing deal by proving I have a commercially viable market.

Specifically I’ve been researching how to serialise a book on the internet. I read something the other day where someone had set up a document as serialised chapters which e-mailed a new chapter each day to anyone who registered. The bit that really interested me was that once someone registered they were automatically sent the first chapter in the serialisation. Unfortunately it looks as if I might have to pay to have my work hosted to achieve this sort of serialisation. I continued my search.

Then, I found the one and only serialised book on Lulu.com, "The Fall, A Book of The Walking Man". And I knew how I could serialise without it costing me anything: if I publish each chapter as a series of e-books/booklets and charge £0.00 for the download, I could ask people to review the serialisation by download and leave their feedback in the book review section on Lulu. I might even set up “Free Serialised Book Downloads” or “Free Book Serialisation” as a user group on MySpace.com or something similar. Later, when I have a final version, I could even charge £0.50 for each download in the series – don’t think I will get rich that way, but it could prove there is a commercial market. What do you think?

Not Hogwarts

2006-05-19T11:01:00.000Z

The nature/character of the Space Academy had troubled me all winter. It’s another of those big questions which could make or brake the whole book. The Space Academy is such an integral part of Mervyn’s life that it is almost a character in its own right – like Hogwarts in Harry Potter, but I don’t want the Academy to be so intrusive or so dominating. The main setting for Mervyn Bright is the Galaxy and the main action always takes place away from the school. If I can get this right it will set the tone for not just this book but the whole series – it’s a crucial decision and I’m close to an answer.
I’ve almost decided to make it a kind of summer school which meets in different locations for four to six weeks at a stretch at the end of each semesters (term)). In between, the students continue their studies remotely and online, a bit like the open university I suppose. In fact, the Academy now almost becomes an idea, or an ideal, rather than a physical place. It also mean the eliteness of the Academy can exist as an idea even when the characters are isolated and far away.
On a practical level, it gives me plenty of scope to place the Academy in an infinite variety of settings and alien societies, but also the opportunity to interact with adults to whatever degree is necessary For the first book though, because Sledding is such an integral part of the story, I’m still tempted to limit contact with the outside world.
Currently I’m writing the second draft of chapter 26 and editing chapters 24 & 25. 26 is a transition chapter that takes the Misfits into the climax of the story – at last the end of the second draft is in sight. The first drafts of these chapters were written two years ago and I haven’t looked at them since. A lot has changed since then in terms of plot, characters and writing style – did I really used to write like that?
The link will take you to edited 2nd draft of chapter 24 – Oblivion.

The Art of Punctuation

2006-04-16T21:22:00.000Z

This is the name of a newly published book by Noah Lukeman of "The Fist Five
Pages" fame. I've been anticipating the publication of this book for some
time as it sounded like just the thing I need: a grammar book for creative
writers. Was the wait worth it? You bet. Noah's book will proudly sit
beside my copy of "Stunk and White" on the book shelf.

Lukeman looks beyond the rules of grammar and explores how the marks on the
page can clarify, alter and enhance the work. He talks in terms of grammar
encompassing thoughts and creating dramatic effect - just what I need. I
highly recommend this book to beginning or intermediate creative writers.

Knuckling Down

2006-04-14T21:42:00.000Z

Sometimes, to achieve your desired goal you just have to knuckle down and slog away – this is where I am with the Mervyn Bright book at the moment. After months of deliberation and doubt I have finally decided to radically chop down one of the story-lines and continue with a single story-line. That’s another 20k words gone – since the start of this project I have now chopped more words than I have written. I expect the finished work to come out at about 100k words.

Why sacrifice one of the story line rather than have two books? Because it would put the project years behind schedule and I need to finish this; to prove to myself that I can do it, to write a whole novel. By this I don’t just mean a finished first draft or second draft, but something which I can seriously submit to a publisher as a completed work. Now the writing course is finished I have shut myself off from all distractions. I would love to spend more time writing and commenting on WIT, but it all detracts from my writing time which is preciously short anyway.

I need to slog my way to the end of the second draft – only 20 to 25k words to go. Then the story-line will be firmly set in place. I can then return to the beginning for the third draft which will concentrate on characterisation, grammar and sentence/paragraph construction. I have deliberately left this to last while I learn the craft of writing. I will also be able to circulate the script to reviewers for feedback.

Decision Time - plot Development

2006-04-03T21:43:00.000Z

Enough procrastinating:; the plot needs to move forward, as does the novel. As an experiment I split out the two story-lines into separate plots. It works quite well so I will continue with the two novel approach. I’m currently working on revised story-lines; they both look a lot simpler than the original, which is good. Both stories come out at about 40000 words which is too light for a novel, but gives both a good start.
I intend to finish the second novel first as this is the most developed plot so it’s back to the last seven chapters with a vengeance.
However, I have drafted out a 700 word prologue for the first book. I’ve reproduced it below:

Deep in the uncharted wastes of the Galaxy a time-bubble popped into existence. It bobbed around on the gravity currents of a black hole’s event-horizon: the point of no return. Any closer and even the Mage’s awesome command of matter would not save it from destruction. Slowly, the bubble expanded until a watcher, had there been one, could have seen two beings appear inside it. Only through such extravagant precautions had the Mage continued her covert fight against the Centaph for so many decades. Her people were few and their powers failing steadily. Unless she could drive the Centaph from the sacred spaces her people would lose all their extraordinary powers and their one remaining homeland.
The Mage’s companion was a sacred futurologists. "Your Holiness," he said bowing a wrinkled head. "We have identified a new flash point in our campaign against the Centaph," he pointed to a telepresence representation of the Galaxy floating beside him. As he pointed, the image zoomed towards a central cluster of stars near the galactic hub. The cluster nestled a safe distance from the red sphere marking the extent of Centaph control. Even as they watch the red sphere expanded towards their star cluster.
"The Galactic Republic of Free Sentient Beings; pretentious, are they not?"
"Yes, your Holiness, but well intentioned and formed with our help."
"And the odds?"
"The odds of success are low, but can greatly improve with our intervention – this could become our best opportunity yet."
"What sort of intervention?"
"Two races are of interest. Neither as yet part of the Republic: Ethigians and Humans. Using the Grositack classification: lone hunters, social herders and social hunters, we would identify Ethrigians as social herders and Humans as social hunters. Either has the ability to lead the Republic against the Centaph."
"Social hunters; like the Centaph – rare indeed. Tell me more of these Humans?" The bubble lurched as a yellow sun, stretched into an oval by the black hole’s immense gravity, shot over the event-horizon and was torn to shreds. Even the light from it’s dying burst was sucked towards the hungry giant ahead.
"The humans are few, maybe only hundreds in number. Refugees from the galactic slave trade ."
"Can we trace their home world?"
"All attempts have failed – even they have no idea. They are adventurous, resourceful, aggressive, and adaptable; Like all hunters they are risk takers."
"And the Ethrigians?"
"Dominated by tradition and rigid social rules; highly politicised; great negotiators; feudal of course, and they exist in vast numbers on their home world of Ethrigia. Intriguingly, the humans are drawn to the Ethrigians by their remarkably similarity – they could almost have evolved from the same stock."
"Convergent evolution probably: species occupying the same niche in different eco systems often resemble each other. Though, there is some evidence the ancients seeded species on new worlds before the great merging," the Mage said. "How do you propose we maximise the chances of success?" A planet broke into uneven chunks as it followed it’s unlucky sun. The Mage wondered briefly if the planet harboured life, if so extinction was only seconds away.
"With respect, your Holiness, only the most difficult scenario comes top in every simulation."
"The more difficult a thing is to achieve the more worthwhile it becomes."
"Yes, your Holiness," the futurologist bowed low again.
"You have identified the individuals whose lives we can manipulate?"
"We have a number of interesting candidates. Some may require major intervention. If we had more time..."
"We have none. Now is the time to take risks."
"As you see fit, your Holiness. Intervention is not an exact science – some candidates squander their opportunities, others pursue a goal which is not in our interest." The Futurologist showed a list of all the candidates and their opportunities.
The Mage nodded her approval, "We must watch and learn. I want a short list by the end of the year." The bubble lurched towards the event-horizon – another sign of their failing power. Time to go.
A watcher, had there been one, would have seen first the figures evaporate and then the bubble shrink until it disappeared into nothingness. The black hole continued it’s frenzied feeding undisturbed.

What Does Mervyn Want?

2006-02-06T23:00:00.000Z

This is the most important question I need to answer to get the novel(s) can progress with any real momentum.

We know he is brave, resourceful, focused, and a skilled pilot, but none of these things give him sufficient drive to deliberately put himself in to a prejudiced position at the Academy. More importantly, they don’t provide enough drive to keep him there. Why wouldn’t he just give up?

If I move the attack on Starlight sequence to the beginning of the first book I, he could want revenge. Trouble is Mervyn isn’t a revengeful sort of guy.

He could want to be a Sled pilot, but why would that take him to the Space Academy. He could want to be Galactic Sledding champion, but again why the Academy?

I think he wants something else, but at the moment he’s not telling me. I’ll have to keep looking.

The Novel Comes to a Crunching Halt

2006-02-03T22:06:00.000Z

After eighteen months of hard slog, the Mervyn Bright has come off the rails. I’ve know for some time that the plot wasn’t working, but two events this week confirmed why.
My homework for the writing course was to sum up the plot of a book in fifty words. I thought I would be clever and summarise my own novel. After a week of trying I gave up: it was impossible to sum up the plot. Why? Because I have two completely different plots of equal weight, one in the first half of the novel and the other in the second half. No wonder I’ve not been able to reconcile these two story strands.
The second even was comprehensive feedback from one of my reviewers which identified much the same problem. Though he also identified a few other issues.
This effectively leaves me with two half written novels and my project plan shot to pieces. There is an upside to this of course: firstly, I can get on and complete the last seven chapters as planned without having to reconcile the first plot, and secondly I how have seven books in the Mervyn Bright series.

Learner writer

2006-01-31T23:15:00.000Z

For Christmas, my wife enrolled me on a writing course at the local art centre. I attended the first session last Tuesday.
I had no idea what to expect, but maybe I can make some useful local contacts. Seven prospective writers attended the first session. I say prospective because I do not consider myself to be a proper writer until I have something published. Until then I’m just playing at it.
Everyone else had either attended previous courses with the teacher or knew loads about literary fiction. We did an exercise trying to guess the origins and first meaning of words. Everyone except me seemed to have a working knowledge of Latin and French. In the end I gave up and tried to convince them that Tandem meant an early name for a blue and yellow fish which lived in the Mediterranean – just for the hell of it really.
The evening consisted of a series of exercises designed to improve descriptive skills and observation. This is in fact exactly what I want: something which stretches my writing in different directions and challenges me to improve. I enjoyed the evening, though I did feel like a Tandem out of water.
My wife has never read anything I’ve written, but to be fair I have never wanted her to – not until it is finished. She is very supportive and I appreciate that; last year she bought me the Writer’s and Artists Year Book – very useful. I’ve already planned everyone I’m going to send the book to once I’ve completed it. All I need to do now is bring it to a close, but for some reason that proving a bit of a problem. I’ll have to think some more on that and write later.

Experimental Writing 2

2006-01-14T23:42:00.000Z

Experimenting 2 – Directing the Director
Having mastered the Extended Brief, I found another article on The Writer’s Store entitled ‘Directing The Director’ and is about using implied screen directions within the prose. It suggests writing camera angles into your initial draft then converting these into prose so they become implied, i.e. (zoom in on bead of perspiration running down protagonists forehead. Wide angle to protagonist and antagonise staring eye to eye while balancing on log across raging river. P and A swing swords at each other, cut to close up of blades striking together.) I have found this really focuses my writing on relevant parts of the scene. It especially helps me think about how I can visually convey feelings and emotions.
I now include camera directions in my extended brief together with directions on pace, i.e. (slow action and increase detail to create tension, short sentences and paragraphs to increase pace, longer sentences and paragraphs to slow pace and ease tension.) I really ought to invent symbols for these direction so I don’t have to keep writing them, I just haven’t got round to it yet.
To some this may seem like a mechanical way to write, but I find it creatively liberating while helping me control the story construction, focus and pace – I told you I was weird.
How does anybody else tackle the first draft?

Experimental writing 1

2006-01-14T23:30:00.000Z

I’ve been experimenting with different ways to set down my initial draft for the new chapters I’ve written. An articles from my favourite website The Writer’s Store helped me develop the new style. Although the article is concerned with screen writing the method suit my style for novel writing. It could be that I just happen to think in visual terms anyway – I’m weird like that – but it seems to me that screen writing techniques transfer very well to modern novel writing especially as everyone is so familiar with TV, computer games and DVDs. I think fiction needs to work visually in the mind of the reader.
The article concerns itself with producing the ‘Extended Brief’[http://www.writersstore.com/article.php?articles_id=525]. This is a scene by scene summary written in the present tense. It needs to include full descriptions of every scene, setting, prop, and character. Including every character’s dialogue, emotions, thoughts and aims, and cover all the senses (touch, feel, smell, sight, sound). It doesn’t matter if the detail is relevant to the story or not at this stage the idea is to pack in as much information about the scene as possible. When you come to write your first draft you cherry pick the details relevant to the story and convert to your chosen tense. Using this method helps me to remain flexible and get a good feel for each scene without having ‘committed it to paper’. It also helps me work out the cause and effect between each scene without having to cut too much when it’s wrong, because it’s only a summary. The first time I tried it I was surprised by how few details I left out of my first draft. It also improved my active writing no end.
Does anyone else use anything similar?