Quill Award

Just a quick post today. Hopefully, I'll be more active in the coming weeks.

Last night I 'attended' an awards ceremony online at writing.com called The Quill Awards. There are loads of awards to be won for all the genres, writing types, etc... available on WDC.

My group, The Coffee Shop for the Fantasy Society, won one of them. Best Fantasy/Sci-fi 2012!

I am thrilled that the CSFS has been honoured in this way, especially as it was a public vote and against such fantastic contestants.

Thanks
Matt B

The Magician's Tattoo, Chapter 1 - Purple

A purple light flashed past Nathan’s car. He slowed his descent of the slope leading to the seventh floor of the multi-storey car park. Another light whizzed by causing him to slow further. Typical teenagers and their laser pointers.

He looked around for the mirrors the lasers would be reflected off but found none.

Continuing down to what he assumed was the sixth floor, he was surprised at the amount of new graffiti. Guns and curse words were normal, but rabbits were certainly different. He chuckled to himself as a third light zoomed past. Whoever was shining the lasers probably went to the college he taught at and likely had a detention with him in the past.

A fourth light stopped in front of the car. Worrying for his, and the student’s safety, he stopped the car.

Ten purple lights circled the car - each glistening in puddles of rain water accumulated over the last few hours of near horizontal rain. A solo saxophone played a smooth jazz tune from somewhere unidentifiable, the lights pulsated to the swing rhythm.

He instantly recognised the song as Deluge. A student had recently performed this in a college recital. Nathan remembered the student’s face when he learnt a music professor from Cambridge had been listening and was able to award a scholarship. But, he knew it couldn’t be that student as they were on holiday.

Then it stopped. The lights vanished and the saxophone finished on a final big note. Silence.

He got out of the car and clapped the performer.

“I liked what you did with the ending.”

There was no response. They were probably worried he was going to tell them off for the lasers.

He got back in the car and looked at his watch, 7:05 p.m.. He had promised his girlfriend, Claire he’d be home in time for dinner. She wouldn’t be suspicious if he was late but that night he wanted her to say yes. He continued down the slope and laughed when he saw that all the floors had had their numbers changed to 8.

Something hit the car roof with a loud bang. Nathan lost control and swerved violently He tried to slam on the brakes, but missed hitting the accelerator. He managed to successfully bring his foot to the brake as the edge of the car park quickly approached. The car crashed through the barrier and stuck out over the ledge.

Embrace the Cliché

Last month I spoke about being unique in your writing and how to not be a copycat. In the second part of this series of articles, I am going to cover the embracement of clichés.

The other week, I was looking through my twitter-feed and came across a tweet from Amanda Wilcox that proves I am not alone in embracing clichés:

“The art of story writing seems to be simply re-writing clichés in your own words.”

I don’t know if I can attribute it directly to Amanda, or if someone else said it first, but story writing certainly seems that way.

I touched upon genre property last month, but not all genre property is cliché. Magical schools are not yet cliché and still have much uncovered ground. However, vampires are probably now cliché, what with Dracula, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and The Secret Circle to name but a few.

That isn’t to say that vampire stories should be avoided. If approached sensibly and with the right mind set any cliché can be turned into something new and exciting.

Before we go any further, perhaps an exploration into the definition of a cliché is needed. According to the Collins dictionary it is:

“An idea or phrase which is no longer effective because it has been used so much.”

This definition states that it can’t be used effectively any more. However, that doesn’t explain why some clichés are effective even after they have become ‘overused’. Perhaps I am being too broad with my own definition of:

“Something that has been used so much that it becomes predictable.”

Even with my definition, you probably would think it best to avoid any cliché where possible. Nevertheless, I am a firm believer that we shouldn’t waste clichés and should whole-heartedly embrace them with open arms. After all if you don’t try, you’ll never know, and knowledge is power. Remember that with great power comes great responsibility and that to use clichés is a privilege, not a right.

OK, so I went a little overboard with my clichés there, maybe to serve as an example of what not to do with them.

Be 'Younique'

This article is about the variety of ways any writer can use to prevent themselves accidentally becoming a ‘copycat’.

To start with, it is important to note that copying from others is different from using the general idea. In fantasy, especially, most ideas have been done, but not every idea has been done in every way. These ideas are sometimes referred to as ‘genre property’ and include the concepts such as magical schools (Unseen Academy, Hogwarts), apprentices (Magician, The Magician’s Apprentice) and trolls, wizards, and pretty much everything else associated with fantasy.

To stop yourself from becoming just another copy that isn’t quite as good as the original, you have to become the original. You need to come up with something unique, clever, and new. I’m not going to lie and say this is easy, it isn’t – especially if you’re writing something like epic fantasy with dragons and knights. The way you go about creating something different will vary depending on the sub-genre, but there is one basic rule for all sub-genres.

Think. Now, this may seem to be the obvious thing to do, but it is surprising how often it is not done. If you know your story is going to be about a man who’s been an orphan since childhood but is going to learn more about his parents’ death through means of magic then you have a good start. By knowing what your plot is, it is much easier to make a few changes.

Let’s think about the first part of that plot; this man is an orphan. That’s definitely been done before, but comes under genre property. The unique part here has got to be how he became an orphan and how it has affected him. You would be copying if you had a dark wizard kill them and this caused you’re character to be the chosen one who is the only one who can kill this dark wizard. Perhaps making it an accident that killed the parents, but an unknown one. This helps with the second plot element and enhances the first one.

So, your character is going to find out about the death of his parents. This is more generic and so safer from you accidentally copying someone else. From the first plot element, you have created a unique death… or perhaps a unique known death. Maybe they’re not dead. If so, why did people think they were? Be adventurous here. Don’t have characters think the father’s death was caused by them falling off a cliff and then have the dad come back and explain how he climbed down the cliff face and had rocks thrown at him by an assailant but luckily he managed to escape. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has already done this. If you want to do something similar then perhaps have it be more dangerous, or maybe have somebody else save the character.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to stop yourself from copying and still have the same plot as you wanted. However, there is the issue of knowing what has been written. It is impossible to read everything and so you must do your research. If your plot is good and you haven’t read it before then a quick search on the internet is all that’s needed to make sure you are being original. Use Google to look for keywords from your plot. Using our previous plot example typing, ‘fantasy orphan magic dark wizard’ into Google had Harry Potter as the second result.

Of course, what I have explained is only the tip of the iceberg. To explain all the ideas under the sun would require forever and a day. Let your imagination flow from your pen and by thinking outside the box, you can prevent copying becoming a spanner in the works.

That paragraph beautifully flows to the other method of being unique. This is the one I employ most:  Embrace the Cliché. That, however, is one for another day, and another newsletter article.

So, I leave you with this quote from Terry Pratchett.

Most modern fantasy just rearranges the furniture in Tolkien’s attic.

Hope this helps,

Matt B



Also available at Be Younique (WDC)

Raven Shadows

Hi,

I have just read a fantastic poem on writing.com and I want to share the link with you all.

Raven Shadows, by Julie

I have sent a review to her, though it read more of the extent of how many ways I can say I enjoyed something! The review is here:

My Review


Thanks
Matt B

Lazy, Good-for-Nothing People

Hi,

Some of you may have noticed I didn't post an article in January. I intended to, but must have forgotten. I did write one, honest! Here it is:

I read an article recently about how a lot of the problems authors have with characters is them not being realistic enough. A lot of authors would put the blame on the dialect or certain reactions and will add to the story to fix the issue. However, in many cases adding will make things worse, perhaps to the point of the piece being abandoned.

The truth is when writing about people you need to remember a key fact about human nature:  Humans will do as little as possible to achieve a desired result.

Put another way if your character, Bob let’s say, has to stop the bad guy, let’s call him Joe, from going to a party he is unlikely to plan meticulously for days with no sleep. What is more likely is that he’ll just go up to Joe and do either of the following:

1.     “Hey, Joe,” Bob called.

“Yes?” Joe replied.“Don’t go to the party next Saturday.”“Why?” 

“Nobody wants you there.” 

“Oh, that’s a shame; I was really looking forward to it.” 

2.    “Hey, Joe,” Bob called. 

“Yes?” Joe replied.“The party’s been cancelled, sorry.” 

“Oh, that’s a shame; I was really looking forward to it.”

OK, so perhaps they were over-simplified, but the point still stands. Bob is not going to try to manipulate Joe with hypnosis, or go to the effort of getting a gun and shooting him.

If you want your character to do something more complex you can either make a more complicated scenario, maybe Bob wants to go instead of Joe and has to persuade him to give his ticket over; or make the other character respond unexpectedly:

“Hey, Joe,” Bob called. 

“Yes?” Joe replied.“The party’s been cancelled, sorry.” 

“No it’s not. I’ve spoken to the host just now; she’s asked me to bring a friend.” 

“Ah!” 

“Why don’t you want me to go?” Joe thought and suddenly said, “You fancy Claire, you know I like her.”

As you can see that introduces another element, lust and fancy, both human characteristics. What would be unrealistic is this scenario:

“Hey, Joe,” Bob called. 

“Yes?” Joe replied.“The party’s been cancelled, sorry.” 

“No it’s not. I’ve spoken to the host just now; she’s asked me to bring a friend.” 

“Ah!” 

“Why don’t you want me to go?” Joe thought and suddenly said, “You fancy Claire, you know I like her.” Joe got out a gun he had been carrying around for moments like this and shot Bob stone dead in broad daylight. Bob, however was wearing a bullet proof vest, he had planned for this unexpected turn of events. A helicopter landed across the street and a law enforcement squad arrested Joe.

At first glance an author may think that’s fantastic it’s got a love affair, guns, helicopters, the lot. But anything more than a glance will tell the reader that the plot is unrealistic. The only case something like that would work is if you had a character like Sherlock Holmes who’s main character trait is connecting more dots than everyone else and working out the consequences to his actions ahead of time. The reason Holmes works as a character is because those traits are the story. Holmes is not an old gut off the streets – he is a detective who is great at what he does.

But why does Holmes work as a character? Firstly, people like to fantasise that they are like him, but most importantly is that Holmes has flaws. His abilities do mean he isn’t as adept at social encounters unless he wants information. It enflames his ego and causes him to seem like a popinjay a lot of the time.

What does that have to do with the main rule I’ve covered in this article? Well, every rule has its exceptions and that is one example.

Thanks

Matt B

Continuous Rewriting

Every person has a favourite aspect when writing. For me it is the development of an interesting plot and strong characters. Most of this happens during the first draft, at least for me anyway. So how do you maintain enjoyment in writing once your favourite bit is done and you’re left with the grammar and the dreaded rewrite?

Well, there are, as always, many ways to do this, but this article will focus on one:  Continuous Rewriting.

As the name suggests, this is where you rewrite your piece continually throughout the writing process. I don’t promise that it will always involve your favourite aspect of writing, but that isn’t what the method is for. The intention is through continuous rewriting you never have to go too long without being able to go back to your favourite aspect of writing.

I know I’m famous for plugging my work in these articles, but in this case I have to. Yesterday I completed a five-day tidy up on my novel. In the past this would have consisted of me going through sorting out the commas and referring to the reviews I have received. But this time it was different. I did more than just correct my mistakes, I added bits in. I did a proper rewrite of the chapters. Normally rewrites happen after the first draft is complete, but I know that once I complete the first draft I am going to be reluctant to go through and rewrite it.

The beauty of continuous rewriting is that consistency errors are a thing of the past. You write something in chapter five and you can go back and hint at it in chapter three. Or perhaps you add something in chapter one and you develop it in chapter four. Had you been forcing yourself to plod onwards with a plot you knew you were going to change then your rewrite would be a long and arduous process. Now your first draft will be the plot you want and the write will mainly be making what you have written clearer and more engaging.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be called a first draft anymore; after all a first draft is often said to be the basic shape and outline of your story. With continuous rewriting your ‘first draft’ will be a filled out, full story that’s a bit rough around the edges. You could view the traditional first draft as a photo of a squiggly circle and a continuously rewritten first draft as a fuzzy photo of a complete statue – complete, just not very clear.

OK, some people may still not get what I’m saying, I don’t know, so I’ll use a real life example:

I was writing the start of chapter five of The Magician’s Tattoo when I realised that gagging and tying one of the main characters to a chair was not the best way to go about things. I could’ve continued and worked my way out of the mess by having him escape, but why bother? So I re-wrote the start of the chapter to a new, less awkward of containment. This gave me an additional issue; I had to get the character to identify where he was and who had taken him there. I put some initials on one of the walls that he would recognise but then yet another issue occurred. It was important that the reader knew what those initials were, so I went back to chapter three and added them in there.

Whilst over at chapter three I noticed a few consistency errors so I read through the chapter and corrected them. Half way through the chapter I realised I was no longer correcting anything and I had actually added two-hundred words to the story introducing two new plot elements and a twist. At this point I thought that it would be fun for the reader if they could pick up on a few of these things in the first two chapters without realising their significance.

Guess what? I went to chapter one and added a few bits in and started correcting the consistency errors my chapter three edit had made. Then I rewrote a whole page’s worth of story, adding depth to the characters. It was this point I realised what I was doing. I was rewriting my novel before I’d even reached the end.

After five days’ worth of work I had edited, rewritten and improved the first four chapters, added depth to the plot and filled in that shell of a story I originally had. Now, I’m on chapter five and am constantly editing and rewriting on the fly.

The best bit about this method is that the rewriting consists of both editing my work and developing the plot creatively. Another fantastic thing is that it works perfectly with my organic plotting method outlined in a previous article. I don’t have a plan in written form when I write as it prevents me working creatively, so being able to go back and add bits on the fly is really useful.

My guess is that most people do this method to some extent, but only when you realise that you are doing it can you maximise its full potential. Say goodbye to long rewrites and hello to fun writing all the to the very end.

Hope this helps,

Matt B

The Magician's Tattoo Update, and Vocab

Hi,

As some of you will know, I am writing a fantasy novel. Until recently this had been on hold for various reasons and hadn't been worked on properly for about a year. Now, I am just getting back into writing it and have decided before continuing chapter 5 it might be worthwhile just thinking about where I am actually going with the story.

Just because I haven't written much for it in a while doesn't mean I don't think about it. Characters are forming in my mind and I am thinking about moving what was going to be the ending to the middle and making the story a bit longer.

And, to prove I am keeping up with learning new words here is a paragraph with a sample of new words:

This paragraph is being written holus-bolus with no fore thinking, hence the fact the spurious quality compared to my normal writing. I do plan that learning new words will fructify for my writing, whose vocabulary is currently verging on entering an inane. What is nice about writing, and specifically writing on WDC are the random douceurs I get for doing different activities. I, like many people, know of troglodytes who have no regard for quality writing, but my ripostes are normally enough to stop it happening again as I often use periphrasis in them.
I was in Skyrim admiring the many sastrugi, but then I took an  arrow to the knee!

In normal lingo this reads:


This paragraph is being written all-at-once with no fore thinking, hence the fact the non-genuine quality compared to my normal writing. I do plan that learning new words will benefit for my writing, whose vocabulary is currently verging on entering an empty void. What is nice about writing, and specifically writing on WDC are the random pleasant gifts I get for doing different activities. I, like many people, know of recluses, who probably dwell in caves, who have no regard for quality writing, but my quick responses are normally enough to stop it happening again as I often use a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter phrasein them.
I was in Skyrim admiring the many wave like ridges of hard snow, but then I took an  arrow to the knee!

Thanks
Matt B

The Crinklebottom Short

Hi,

The Crinklebottom Short is complete. The judging for the CSFS Short Story Contest isn't over yet, so I have no idea how I've done. I'm against 7 or 8 other stories, but I think mine is the most unique (that's what I had in mind when writing it). There are 2 places for you to read it.

You can read it here: The Crinklebottom Short on WDC

Thanks
Matt B

Writing dot community

Hi,

Just thought I'd post about WDC, or www.writing.com. A great site for all those who write and for those who just want something to read. With a comprehensive reviewing and rewards system; a simple interface; email capabilities; simple uploading process; and many levels of member ship ranging from free all the way up to premium options, WDC really is the place to be if you're a writer. Better still, if you write fantasy or sci-fi -like me- then you can join one of the ,most active groups on the site, the coffee shop for the fantasy society, or CSFS to its friends. Since joining, I've written 5 articles, 2 short stories, 2 poems, and 3.5 chapters of a novella. Adding to that the edits I've done of those plus the two original items I had before joining, and add to that 65 forum posts and 116 reviews given, I think that I've done a fair bit since joining. I've also recieved nearly 100 reviews from a variety of members. The quality on the site in amazing and I've yet to find a problem other than I spend way too much time on it!
Visit my port at
Thanks

ps The linking system doesn't seem to work, so you'll have to copy and paste the address!