The SoapBoxers

Why is George R.R. Martin apologizing?

This is the second of a series of articles to look at professional writers and how reading can help your writing.

The first part of this series focused on Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.  His specialty is scientific writing both for professional scientist and the general public.   This week the author of choice is George R. R. Martin.  He has penned a series of books that are best described as fantasy.  This series called “A Song of Fire and Ice”, but it is more popularly known by the HBO series taking the title of the first book, “Game of Thrones”.

These books provide an excellent example of continuation of story line.  Although most authors have complete ideas that can be conveyed in a single book, there are time when an idea is so grand that it must be provided over a long sequence of books.  The most difficult part of this type of writing requires the author to find break points, stops in the story that provide some closure but also drive the reader to return for the next installment.  This is where the author starts to become a screen writer.  Other examples of this type of writer (staying within genre) are J.R.R. Tolkien with his “Lord of the Rings” series, and J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.

As you read each of these works, there is always a breathing space, point in the books where the action slows down for the reader.  These breaks or relaxations of tension are needed to give the reader a chance to set the book down.  If the action is non-stop, like a Bruce Willis film, the reader will get burned out.  The difference between a well written book and a movie is that the movie has the attention getting sight and sound distractions that a book cannot provide directly.  These breaks are in addition to the breaks that signify the end of one book, with enough of a cliff hanger (or unanswered questions) to lead into the next work.

The selections identified here have all been made into movies or television mini-series.  Most book series are actually tailor made for just such a transition.  Of course, if you actually have the opportunity to have you work transfigured into another media, remember that there will have to be editing.  Where you describe a scene for 300 words, is but an instant on the screen.  Your effort to build a tension between two characters may come in just a few words but may take much longer, with actors positioning and delivery much more important than the dialog you created for your reader.

The examples given are all novel length stories in a series.  Short stories can also be used for this type of activity.  Some series are only drawn together by a single character rather than a theme or grand overall vision.  All of the works discussed here are series of six or more books ranging in length from 200 to 800 pages.  Others, such as the James Bond books by Ian Fleming are about 100 pages each, with one being a series of short stories.

The point of this discussion is that if you think you have too big of a story, you can still write it.  This effort will be long, and finding break points will be hard.  All writing is noble, even if the result is not presentable.  Work your ideas knowing that you may have to present them to your audience a course at a time.  Going back George R. R. Martin, he has had to apologize on numerous occasions to his readers.  He takes a long time to get one of his books put together.  He has had to break the story in ways that some readers have not liked, such as ignoring some characters for an entire book to concentrate on them in the next.  In interviews, he has admitted that he just has too much to present.  He is extremely successful at writing and still has the same problems the rest of us amateurs face.

Writing (and speaking) like a professional

This is the first of a series of articles to look at professional writers and how reading can help your writing.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a writer.  He also happens to be the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.  He has a new book out titled “Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier”.  It is not exactly an historical review of the space program (although there is some of that), it is more a discussion of why we have stopped.  This could seem to have a limited audience; space buffs.  Although space buffs will be interested, it is actually a broader discussion than just space exploration.  Dr. Tyson dives into the political, philosophical and practical implications of space exploration and the lack there or.

Dr. Tyson is not just a highly intelligent, highly educated scientist, he is also an excellent writer.  That title is applied because of his ability to explain complex ideas in ways that almost any reader can understand.  In addition to the readability, it is also entertaining.  He understands and can actually execute the salesmanship required by writers.  He follows in the foot steps of Carl Sagan.  Most people can picture Dr. Sagan immediately upon hearing his name.  He popularized Astronomy including the exploration of the solar system with the Pioneer and Voyager missions.  Dr. Tyson has that same ability, to popularize without marginalizing the intellectual basis of the topic.

Dr. Tyson is also a very good speaker.  He spoke about his latest work on C-Span. There are a lot of writers who want to just write and have people read and appreciate their good work.  Unfortunately, this is not the way the world works.  As a writer, you have to seek out and engage your public.  To be successful as a writer, you will have to get in front of people and talk about your books.  Learning to speak in public is just as important as learning how to write.  Reading other successful writers and watching their public speaking will provide hints and pointers to improve your writing and speaking.
 

 

Starting

Actually getting started is the first hurdle in writing.  Choosing a topic, establishing an outline, actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), are all part of that start.  Although this can be difficult, the opportunities are countless.  Any idea floating around in your head is a starting point.  There is no need to have the entire work planned to get started, just the impetus to write.

Finishing

Completing a story may seem much harder than starting one, and it is.  Binding all of your ideas together into a comprehensible whole, knitting a compelling picture with threads of your words can be a daunting task.  Sometimes getting to the end is a marathon, sometimes a sprint.  Knowing when to stop and accept what you have created as being of its own is also a hard.  You have created this thing, yet it has become like a child.  You want it to be perfect before anyone else is allowed to see it.  Just like your living children, you have to let go, let them out into the world to succeed or fail as they can.  This is difficult, but still not the hardest part of writing.

Publishing

Publishing is the one part of writing where you as the writer have no control.  You are dependent on  others to take your work and proffer it to the world.  In the past, publishers were limited to a small group of large houses (if you wanted wide distribution).  They had to be large to take the risks of producing many physical copies of a story that may never pay off.  Small publishing houses existed, but they went for smaller runs, and therefore smaller audiences.

Today is very different.  There are literally thousands of publishers on line.  Although this provides a lot of options and opportunity, there are also more risks for the writer.  Many of these options can result in the loss of your work and someone else earning from your effort.  To pick the right venue, research the publishers you are considering.  What is their policy for sale and protection of your story?  What is their support level?  How long have they actually been publishing and have they been successful?  Remember, even on line publishers are taking a risk when they choose to host you.  That risk is a negative reflection that your work could bring to their site.  This can have the effect of eliminating that site from the internet.

No matter how you publish, build the relationship with your perspective host.  If something is rejected, you have to remember that it is a business, not a charity.  If you are faced with continuous rejection, you should re-evaluate your relationship, just as you would in a personal relationship.  Just as starting and finishing your work are challenges, so is the act of publishing.  Never give up and keep writing.

Editor’s note: I’m happy to announce that Martin has published his debut novel, A Changed Man.  You can buy the Kindle version on Amazon.  Don’t have a Kindle?  A Change Man is also available in PDF format on the Hyrax Publications site.  Or you could buy a Kindle (or download a Kindle viewer for your computer or smart device).
 

 

Now that I am officially tired of the political ads, reports, coverage and analysis, I have to find something to do with my spare time.  If you have read some of my previous posts, some of what I am going to right is not necessarily new.  Actually, none of it is new, but it may be presented in a new light.

The NFL Pro Bowl

My annual rant on the NFL Pro Bowl.  It is supposed to be a show case of the best players in the NFL.  Since the league has move the Pro Bowl to the week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, we do not actually get that show case.  The selected players from the two Super Bowl teams opt out of the Pro Bowl for obvious reasons (practicing for the Super Bowl, avoiding possible injury, losing focus, etc).  Although I am not a New England Patriots or New York Giants fan, I would like to see all of the best players, not just the ones who have nothing else to do.  I will give credit to the league for moving the game back to Hawaii.  This is supposed to be a reward for greatness.  Having the game in the Super Bowl city in the week leading up to the Super Bowl is almost rubbing in the fact that these players are not playing in the really big game.

Productive Activities

As I have written before, I have taken up crochet again.  It has been a productive year already.  I have finished two single bed blankets, one for each of my college age children, and a shawl (see photo) that I will be donating to a local elderly care center (this is part of a church group activity where I am younger than all of the other members by at least 20 years).  I am currently working on another blanket, this one for my niece.  I have found that this hobby is cheaper than most of my other entertainment options such as going to movies and it results in something others can use.

Motion Pictures

Since I mentioned movies as entertainment, I have to comment that “The Iron Lady” is a great movie.  It is not the typical Hollywood production, so some people do not like it.  The story is compelling even if you did not live through the events as I have.  The acting is also very good.  I plan on going to see both “Red Tails” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”.

Writing

You would think that with my refocus on more productive use of my time, that I would be more productive in my writing attempts.  Sadly that is not the case.  My writing has languished since before Christmas, except the short story that I published last week.  I certainly hope that the rest of you are progressing in your writing.
 

 

I’ve had an interest in writing since my elemenetary school days.  This is how my life as a writer has evolved throughout the years.

The Early Years

I was selected to attend a Young Writer’s Conference in sixth grade.  The conference was geared to 4th through 6th grades, and since I wasn’t selected in 4th or 5th grade, I assume that the writing bug must have hit me in sixth grade.

From day one, I wanted to be a fiction writer.  My earliest report cards contain comments about me drifting off into my own world at times.  The job of a fiction writer is simply to drift off in those dream worlds and write down what happens.  I’ve always been pretty proficient at non-fiction, but have never found it as interesting as fiction.

Most of my earliest stories were about sports.  This makes sense, since I was a huge sports fan (some things never change).  My teacher told me that she’d select me for the writer’s conference (a day away from school!) if I proved that I could write a decent non-sports story.  I wrote a story about Bigfoot.

I don’t remember there being much emphasis on creative writing in my junior high and high school years, so I didn’t write a lot, although I did read hundreds of books during these years.  The one story I do remember writing is “The Case of The State Vs. Santa Claus”, where the head elf goes on trial for vehicular manslaughter in the death of Grandma.

College

Reading textbooks during my college years tempered my enthusiasm for reading and writing.  Since I pursued a minor in English as well as degrees in business disiplines, I generally had quite a bit of reading on my plate.  When I wrote, it was usually discussing topics such as the mental state of Hamlet. 

When I did write, I made an effort to have some fun.  One of my freshman composition papers discussed basebal’sl anti-trust exemption.

I wrote a handful of stories during this time frame, but I don’t have copies of many of them any more.

Post-college

For several years after college, I basically stopped writing altogether.  Every couple of years, I’d get to itch to write, hammer out a couple of stories, and go into hiberation again.

Eventually, I fell into a group of friends who did dinner and a movie once per week.  At some point, I became the organizer of events, and began inject a bit of flair into them.  This is a dinner invitation from a few years back.  Bob Inferapels stars as “pudgy man with a limp”.

You reach tentatively toward the door.  It creeks as you open it.  Once inside, you are treated to the pungent aroma of the roasted, rotted, flesh of small mammals.  In the back, you see the milk maids turning cow and goat milk into fetid cheese.  A gardner whistles a drinking song while violently slicing vegetables into tiny chunks.  The serving wench balances eight mugs of ale on her tray.  An angry chef shouts orders above the fray, but nobody appears to be listening.
 
You look down at the parchment once more.  Could this den of inequity be the right place?  Have you been lured into this location by a highwayman with larceny in his heart?
 
You peer around the corner.  Ah, you see the tall man in spectacles.  And there, leaning against the wall, is the pudgy man with the limp.  They are listening intently to their feudal lord.  As you enter the room, the trio quickly looks up … they are aware that their plans are now in great danger.

Beginning Anew

In 2008, I received encouragement from a friend to launch a blog.  Blogs were completely foreign to me at this point.  I was aware of the concept, but hadn’t paid attention to how prevalent they had become.  It seemed like a great way to get immediate feedback on my writing.  One thing that I had always disliked about the writing process was inability to get quality feedback.

I jumped in head first and began writing as many as seven articles per week, on topics as diverse as politics, sports, and personal finance.  A few months later, I began featuring a short story every week.  Fiction Friday is on hiatus for a while so that I can focus on some other fiction projects, but it allow me to work on my writing technique.

Eventually, The Soap Boxers grew beyond a simple excercise to work on my writing technique and became the site you see today.

The Professional

In 2011, I was approached and asked if I would consider doing some freelance writing.  I had never really considered it, but decided to give it a shot.  I’d be doing the work for someone I considered to be a friend, so I was confident that it would be a good working relationship.

When the first payment hit my account, it was official – I was a professional.  I wasn’t getting rich from my writing yet, but I was getting paid – and that’s the first step. 

Helping Others

I’ve had a lot of help in recent years.  People that I have never met in person – but have come to know as friends – have donated thousands of dollars of expertise.

I’m trying to pay this forward.  In addition to trying to trying to launch a few of my own projects this year, I am assisting a few other writers in their efforts to launch eBooks.  At the moment, I’m volunteered to help at least four other writers get their books into print (well, ePrint, anyway).  For the writers, this will be a completely turnkey operation.  They had over a Word document and a cover image to me, and a few days later, their book will appear on Amazon.
 

I was travelling to visit relatives most of the last week.  This article is a hodge-podge of topics I discussed with my college age children during a combined 24 hours of car travel.

Politics

I live in Iowa and will be participating in the Caucus.  All of the voting age people in my house will be going participating as well.  Our participation is more to understand what the positions of the candidates are and what the major issues that will be championed by the party will be.  Yes we get to be part of the first in the nation guidance for the primary season, but that is secondary to learning as much as possible.  My father lives in Texas and will call shortly after the caucus to tell me if Iowa chose correctly or not.  Last time he was correct for both parties, as far as who the final nominees were.  Crunchy’s article about the caucuses matches my experience, except she left out the part about the cookies that are provided.  Ok, I guess that is not really important

Sports – College Bowl Games

The college football bowl season is moving along nicely.  We only have about thirty bowls to go (just kidding).  I have watched several of the bowls.  Most of them have been competitive.  Most of them have also had what appears to be low attendance.  This may be because of the venues (Yankee Stadium is not the best for football viewing and using professional stadiums that hold 100,000 people for a bowl that traditionally has 50,000 spectators will make it appear empty).  The best games are still to come, although my personal opinion is that the championship game is sort of a waste.  Why would you ever have a bowl with two teams from the same conference?  If Alabama wins, will they really be the champions or will it be shared with LSU since they would each have beaten the other once?

Sports – Professional Football

The playoffs are set.  I think it was great that the final week of the season actually meant something this year.  There was positioning as well as qualifying at stake, even in the last game late Sunday night.  The match-ups look good with some rematches.  Tim Tebow will be there, at least the first round, to keep the story line of the religious quarterback going.  Just a note, most football players have a strong and public faith life.  This comes from the fact that on any play, they can be injured and could be prevented from playing the game they love (and their livelihood).

In some ways it is the same teams in the playoffs again; New England, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Green Bay, New Orleans and New York have all been to the Super Bowl or at least conference championships over the last few years.  The notable new comers are the Houston Texas – congratulations on you first playoff appearance.  The notable missing team are the Indianapolis Colts – what a difference a quarterback makes.

Writing

I have been writing while I have been off for the holidays, but not nearly enough.  I am challenging myself to actually get my first book into the various electronic formats and out for the world to consider.  I am also challenging myself to actually complete my second book.  Then I have to actually work on my third effort, the one I failed to even get 50,000 words written for NaNoWriMo this year.  For Christmas, I received a short book on how to write and publish by an English Professor.  Although it was interesting to read his ideas, I would recommend Kosmo’s guide.  The main difference is that Kosmo provides actual advice, the professional drops of names and brags about his own publishing record, but provides little concrete help.

Productive Hobbies

A couple of articles ago, I commented that I was crocheting in my spare time.  I am happy to report that I have (almost) completed a afghan for my daughter to take back to college with her.  My next effort will have to be a little more complex to help me grow in my capabilities.  I have found that crocheting while watching TV has actually helped me in my quest to lose weight.  My hands are occupied and the urge to grab a snack or even sip a soft drink is really reduced.  So to sum up, Politics, Football, Football, Writing and keeping busy.

As usual, I’m juggling a lot of balls at the moment. That tends to be par for the course these days.

Amazon Associates

One of the more interesting – and profitable – ventures stemmed from Amazon’s recent decision to sever ties with California residents who were members of the Amazon Associates affiliate program. A lot of people took a financial hit when this happened. Previously, they were making commissions when they referred sales to Amazon. This revenue dropped to zero. This has happened in several other states, but I personally knew some people who were affected in California.

My simple solution to this problem is to have a middleman from a non-affected state step into the middle. Let’s call this person “Kosmo”. Kosmo provides new tracking IDs to the affected people that are tied to his account and then replace the old ids with the new ones (this only takes a few minutes for an entire site). Amazon then pays Kosmo, who then takes a cut and passed on the lion’s share of the money to the site owner. This creates two separate relationships. Amazon no longer has a direct relationship with the site owner.

Interested in knowing more details? Email me at kosmo@ObservingCasually.com

The Cell Window – Kindle version

I’m very happy to announce the release of The Cell Window for Kindle.  This is one of my all-time favorite stories, and probably the one that took the most work – requiring six weeks to complete the 10,000 word tale.  This is the story of Duncan, a tech-savvy voyeur who invades the lives of his employer’s customers.  I distributed free copies of this story to a lot of my friends, and it tended to evoke a reaction from everyone.  My friend Jaylene commented that if I weren’t married, she’d be a bit freaked out to be around me.  (I guess all the weirdos are single people?).  You really SHOULD find the story a bit disturbing.

You can buy the story on Amazon for 99 cents or you can be a big spender on pony up $3.79 for my short story collection Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms, which also contains the story (along with 73 other stories).

If you buy either book, please leave a review when you are finished.  All I ask is that you be honest with your feedback.

Other writing

I’ve been renting myself out in recent weeks in an effort to keep the lights on at Hyrax Publications.  You’ll be able to see articles on financial and insurance topics over at The Digerati Life.  At this point, I’m not looking for any additional work in that arena, but I am entertaining any offers to do some freelance short fiction.

I’m also making an effort to kick-start my novel, which has been laid aside a bit to make time to chase after young kids.  (I should clarify that.  I’m referring to my own kids.)

The book will be a nice little serial killer novel.  I’m starting basically from scratching, putting aside about 8000 words that I had written previously.  I’ve circulated the newly written prologue to a few trusted friends, and it has received very positive reviews.  Now I just need to write the rest of the book …  I’d love to finish by some time in 2012.  It’s going to be a ton of work (and require a fair amount of research), but it should be a lot of fun).

Many times, when writing, external distractions will drive you away from you intended story line. My recommendation is to just go with it. Surely not every time, because then you would never get any story to even start to flow, but when something really big happens that everyone is talking about, you will be overwhelmed. This week is just such an occasion.

Prince William married Kate Middleton. I think that 80 of the 83 channels that I get with my cable package covered the event. It was historic, it was romantic, it was classic and it was on – everywhere. This is not something you can just ignore, even if you do not care about the British Royal Family. I am only mildly fascinated by the original “reality show”, but something like the wedding of the heir or a coronation are rare events that do catch my attention. Last week, Kosmo posed the question as to why Americans care about the royals. My response is that we have a certain amount of voyeurism. We want to watch, but we do not want a royal family of our own.

My take on the whole event was that it was nice. That is sort of a weak commentary, but it does cover my reaction. I am glad that the prince and his new wife will have a few weeks of privacy before there public exposure begins. The ceremony had all of the pomp and circumstance that the British are so good at. It was not a Hollywood production.

What I take away from the event is a catalogue of writing opportunities. Here are just a few ideas:

• The designers and seamstresses for the dress and the secrecy surrounding it
• The back room dialogue between the Prince and his brother
• The intrigue of introducing the idea of the wedding to the Queen
• A secret (and this is only fiction) plot against the couple on their honeymoon

The plot lines flow so easily. The characters already exist for any author to use. The backdrop, events, even some of the innuendo is already available. You just have to integrate your own ideas. For me, it would be a little difficult since I am focusing on science fiction right now (although clones and aliens could make an interesting twist to the story). But you romantics, conspiracy theorists, and historians should have a heyday.

So get off the couch, turn off the television and get back to writing. The opportunities abound, and someone in the world wants to read your ideas. You can start by leaving comments on any posting on TheSoapBoxers.com. Throw your ideas up here if you want. We (the contributors and other visitors) will read them and comment in return. If you write a compelling cover letter and a good story, I am sure that Kosmo will consider posting it. It is all about communicating ideas.

As an author, it is important to read; a lot. Reading other works broadens your vision and provides examples of both good and bad expression. Reading a wide range of works will also help develop the appropriate attitudes of your characters.

If you place your story in the early seventeen century, you need to have an understanding of what “real” people believed and sought during that time. If you create a crowd of characters to whom “free love” and “equality” were social norms, you fall into the trap of inserting your values or the values of the society in which you live into an inappropriate scheme. Just as setting a story in the late twentieth century with public figures extolling the virtues of slavery would be just plain wrong. That is not to say that such inconsistencies would not create a story in themselves, just that period writing should be consistent.

There are plenty of efforts to suggest that Shakespeare was a women’s rights advocate. There is no real evidence to support that he actually was, but his writings transposed to the 1970’s could be used to support the efforts of modern women. We all insert our biases into our writing, the true victory is to appreciate the reality of the times we wish to write about.

One of the easiest themes to use is the future. With the future as your background, you can expound on any philosophy or social norm that you desire. The future can be any ideal that you want. The pitfall in this area is to eliminate any consequences; creating utopias. Life shows that there is no universal utopia. This is not so say that such conditions cannot be met, just that with any group of people, there is a struggle for superiority, no matter how petty.

The surest method of keeping within period is to write about your own times. Your story will still be colored by your personal beliefs and the problems of the day, but it will be honest and provide source material for future writers.

Each of us contributes to the whole of literature, regardless of talent or purpose. From the first invention of writing, we started to capture stories and keep them in their original forms. Oral tradition is a fantastic way of keeping a culture together, but when that culture is reduced by catastrophe, natural or man made, much of that tradition can be lost. Writing things down does not insure that it will endure, just as much was lost with the burning of the library at Alexandria, or the loss of any work for that matter. Not all works are protected, but all impact the works that follow. All of us who have the opportunity to compose have continued to contribute to the whole. Because of this influence we have the responsibility to be as diligent as possible in all of our efforts.

Continuing the series of articles on creativity in writing, let us concentrate on concentration. When developing any kind of story, it can be exceptionally beneficial to establish a mood. The easiest way to accomplish this without actually putting yourself in the situation you want to write about is through aural stimulus. What we hear can influence what we see. The most common scene of a horror movie is slowly ascending a dark stair case towards a closed door. Without the tension and suspense of the background music, it is just a poorly lit staircase, with it, everyone is on the end of their seats waiting for the shock moment.

The same technique can be used to help you develop your story. If you are at a romantic portion of your story, put on some romantic music. If it is a scene of discovery or combat, classic Wagner can be very inspirational.

Never limit yourself to a single stimulus. You can use scented candles, walk outside, cook something for smells. Dim or add lights, work at night or at high noon, to set the lighting.

Once you have your environment set, how do you maintain your concentration to produce the images and messages that you want? The biggest problem is external interruptions. Make sure that the other inhabitants of your writing area know that you want/need isolation for your creativity. Most people will honor your request for at least a little way. Little ones, if you have them around, find it hard to accept that Mom or Dad just needs to be alone. You will have to limit your time to manageable periods to meet the demands of every day life. Sometimes you can use a vacation day and separate yourself from family commitments for a few hours.

Even if you can achieve isolation, distractions abound. Writer’s block, doldrums, even a stray fly can be a problem. If it hits, take a break. Get away. Even reschedule your writing time. Sometimes you cannot win, but that does not mean that you will be frustrated every time. Once you hit a writing surge, you will be amazed at how many words you can capture. Ideas will spawn new ideas, messages will morph into new messages. Eventually, your creation will emerge. It will be different than your original intent. You may even be changed. Even if you abort your project and move to something else, you will have accomplished something incredible; you will have written something that no one else had written. You will have crated something.

Keep writing.