Michael F. Stewart's Blog
February 28, 2020
Heart Sister!!
Ah my heart…I have a cover. The ARCs are at press...
These are glorious and rare words for a writer.
Special thanks to Orca Books, Rachel Page for the design, and Katie Carey for the illustrations of this spectacular cover.
I’ve had covers where, I’m like yeah, that nailed it. Exactly the tone I wanted to hit and the cover I’d imagined. And I’ve had covers where it just didn’t quite work, and didn’t work for the book. But in both of these cases ME, I’VE been inserted myself in the middle of that thought process. Sometimes as a writer you forget that you wrote the book for others to, you know, read? And those people aren’t you. This is the cover I could not have imagined.
There were two key images in the book that I thought might work for the cover. One is when a key character says that having a new heart is like holding on to a little bird, tight enough to trap it but loose enough that she didn’t squish it (I’m paraphrasing!). So the image of the bird in hands.
The second image was when Emmitt takes a sheet of butcher paper, draws an outline of his sister and starts mapping out all of her organs. Not being an artist, I didn’t think the second would work, but lo and behold, without my even suggesting it, it’s what ORCA went with and I love it.
What I find most interesting about the cover is that it grew on me. At first, I was hesitant, I could see how it would stand out–those colours!–and that’s really important. But overtime, I’ve come to absolutely love it. I see more and more detail that I’d missed before. This is a book that I’m super proud of and it’s wonderful to be as happy with the cover as what lies between.
I can’t wait until you have a copy in YOUR hands.
These are glorious and rare words for a writer.
Special thanks to Orca Books, Rachel Page for the design, and Katie Carey for the illustrations of this spectacular cover.
I’ve had covers where, I’m like yeah, that nailed it. Exactly the tone I wanted to hit and the cover I’d imagined. And I’ve had covers where it just didn’t quite work, and didn’t work for the book. But in both of these cases ME, I’VE been inserted myself in the middle of that thought process. Sometimes as a writer you forget that you wrote the book for others to, you know, read? And those people aren’t you. This is the cover I could not have imagined.
There were two key images in the book that I thought might work for the cover. One is when a key character says that having a new heart is like holding on to a little bird, tight enough to trap it but loose enough that she didn’t squish it (I’m paraphrasing!). So the image of the bird in hands.The second image was when Emmitt takes a sheet of butcher paper, draws an outline of his sister and starts mapping out all of her organs. Not being an artist, I didn’t think the second would work, but lo and behold, without my even suggesting it, it’s what ORCA went with and I love it.
What I find most interesting about the cover is that it grew on me. At first, I was hesitant, I could see how it would stand out–those colours!–and that’s really important. But overtime, I’ve come to absolutely love it. I see more and more detail that I’d missed before. This is a book that I’m super proud of and it’s wonderful to be as happy with the cover as what lies between.
I can’t wait until you have a copy in YOUR hands.
May 15, 2018
Why this is my best book
I’ve learned a lot since I started writing a dozen years ago. I’ve learned about craft, character, structure. How to develop a story with emotional impact. I went from writing highly complex multi point of view fantasy, to thrillers, to first person stories from the heart. You won’t recognize my writing from book 1 to book whatever-number-this-is. I think that’s a good thing.
I’ve been lucky not to have had a traditional publisher. Why? Because I think I would have kept writing more of the same. That’s what publishers want from a writer. To build a brand in a genre and an age group. That’s what readers want too! They want a book they’ll pick up and they’ll KNOW they’re going to love it. You can’t say that about my body of work. It’s all very different. Or most of it. I think we could group Assured Destruction with Counting Wolves, Ray Vs the Meaning of Life and the one I’m currently working on, Heart Sister. I believe I’m ready for a traditional publisher now. I think I know what I want to write.
But Ray Vs the Meaning of Life beats the others I think for two reasons. Humour and theme.
I’ve never considered myself a humour writer. Or even a funny guy. But I can write kooky characters when I need to. Which brings me to theme. When you pick a difficult theme like say anxiety, fear, or organ transplantation you need humour to provide balance. So the darker and bigger the theme, the more humour you need.
The opposite of a meaningful life is a meaningless one. That’s terrifying. And meaty. So it requires a great deal of humour. Getting this balance right in Ray was the biggest trick of my writing to date.
If you can nail delivering on a big theme, it can deliver a big impact.
Generally speaking, I have a sense a book is going well if I’m crying when I read it (for the 10th time!). A happy cry. Usually at the ending, and a few teary parts in between. I cried a lot with Ray Vs the Meaning of Life.
I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve been lucky not to have had a traditional publisher. Why? Because I think I would have kept writing more of the same. That’s what publishers want from a writer. To build a brand in a genre and an age group. That’s what readers want too! They want a book they’ll pick up and they’ll KNOW they’re going to love it. You can’t say that about my body of work. It’s all very different. Or most of it. I think we could group Assured Destruction with Counting Wolves, Ray Vs the Meaning of Life and the one I’m currently working on, Heart Sister. I believe I’m ready for a traditional publisher now. I think I know what I want to write.
But Ray Vs the Meaning of Life beats the others I think for two reasons. Humour and theme.
I’ve never considered myself a humour writer. Or even a funny guy. But I can write kooky characters when I need to. Which brings me to theme. When you pick a difficult theme like say anxiety, fear, or organ transplantation you need humour to provide balance. So the darker and bigger the theme, the more humour you need.
The opposite of a meaningful life is a meaningless one. That’s terrifying. And meaty. So it requires a great deal of humour. Getting this balance right in Ray was the biggest trick of my writing to date.
If you can nail delivering on a big theme, it can deliver a big impact.
Generally speaking, I have a sense a book is going well if I’m crying when I read it (for the 10th time!). A happy cry. Usually at the ending, and a few teary parts in between. I cried a lot with Ray Vs the Meaning of Life.
I hope you enjoy it.
March 6, 2018
Appreciating Bloggers and Friends
You know, writing isn’t the most social of career options 😊. Some people worry about the socialization of our young adults, who navigate so many of their relationships online, but I think we have to acknowledge that close relationships CAN form online, too.
I call many bloggers friends. In my most recent tour, several of the bloggers have been with me over multiple books. This is deeply meaningful to me. Reading and reviewing a book takes serious effort. Not only does it mean they like my work, but it means they understand my body of work. That’s something different. The bad part is that they know when a book isn’t my best, but the good is that they can see how I like to play with genre and narrative voice to try new things.
So here’s a shout out to all bloggers who support writers, but a special hug to those on my current tour who have stuck with me as I write my might little heart out. Thank you!
Bookworm for Kids
Fundinmental
FUONLYKNEW
The Literary apothecary
The Avid Reader
I call many bloggers friends. In my most recent tour, several of the bloggers have been with me over multiple books. This is deeply meaningful to me. Reading and reviewing a book takes serious effort. Not only does it mean they like my work, but it means they understand my body of work. That’s something different. The bad part is that they know when a book isn’t my best, but the good is that they can see how I like to play with genre and narrative voice to try new things.
So here’s a shout out to all bloggers who support writers, but a special hug to those on my current tour who have stuck with me as I write my might little heart out. Thank you!
Bookworm for Kids
Fundinmental
FUONLYKNEW
The Literary apothecary
The Avid Reader
May 18, 2017
From Out of a Cold Dark Place
Comes, Keep in a Cold, Dark Place.
Today launches one of my most favourite books that I’ve written. I’d like to think I’ve grown as a writer and this one stuck with me long after the writing (probably because of all the rewriting!).
It really did all begin with reading the directive on a bag of potatoes to Keep them in a Cold, Dark Place.
Here’s the back copy:
Reaching for her dream, Limpy unleashes a cute, fluffy, NIGHTMARE ...
Keep in a cold, dark place. That’s what’s written like some ancient law on every bag of potatoes the family farms. And it’s where Limpy fears she will always remain.
It’s also carved on a box of spheres she discovers in the cellar. Spheres that hatch.
Cute at first, the creatures begin to grow. Then the chickens disappear. The cat is hunted. And something sets the barn ablaze. To survive, Limpy will need to face her greatest fear. The whole family will. Or they may end up in a cold, dark place indeed.
It’s funny how book ideas come from all sorts of things. I’ve generated a book idea based on going to a new country and wanting to make it a research trip (Hurakan). Another came about due to a generalized fear of death (The Terminals), but this is a first for me, actually taking the title from a bag of vegetables. And from it came, setting, tone, theme, character, and even plot.
The book of course morphed a great deal from the original concept. Its first draft was about 30,000 words, so the length almost doubled as well. I tend to under-write my initial drafts. It was blighted and moldy to be sure.
And that’s what I want to talk about here:
I feel the acknowledgements section of books are too little too late for thank yous. So let me lay it all out now.
I need to thank my editors Catherine Adams of Inkslinger Editing (developmental), and Stephanie Parent (proofing) and Graeme Hague (line) of Polgarus Studios. As well as my literary agent Gina Panettieri and, although she may not realize it, Arianne Lewin. Both Gina and Arianne pushed me to dig a lot deeper. Martin Stiff gets full credit for the Amazing15 cover and Polgarus Studios for the exquisite formatting.
Like a potato needs water, earth, and sunlight, I need the support of my Writer’s Group at Sunnyside Library, the Odyssey Writers Workshop alum, and the intrepid Inkbots. You are all a big part of the leaf mould of my mind.
Last and never least, to my wife, first reader, and best friend, and to my baby potatoes, for whom I write, thank you all. I love you. You always deserve your cookup.
To you dear reader, should you dare, I hope you enjoy this book and more importantly I hope your fears remain small and your dreams grow and flourish.
Today launches one of my most favourite books that I’ve written. I’d like to think I’ve grown as a writer and this one stuck with me long after the writing (probably because of all the rewriting!).
It really did all begin with reading the directive on a bag of potatoes to Keep them in a Cold, Dark Place.
Here’s the back copy:
Reaching for her dream, Limpy unleashes a cute, fluffy, NIGHTMARE ...
Keep in a cold, dark place. That’s what’s written like some ancient law on every bag of potatoes the family farms. And it’s where Limpy fears she will always remain.
It’s also carved on a box of spheres she discovers in the cellar. Spheres that hatch.
Cute at first, the creatures begin to grow. Then the chickens disappear. The cat is hunted. And something sets the barn ablaze. To survive, Limpy will need to face her greatest fear. The whole family will. Or they may end up in a cold, dark place indeed.
It’s funny how book ideas come from all sorts of things. I’ve generated a book idea based on going to a new country and wanting to make it a research trip (Hurakan). Another came about due to a generalized fear of death (The Terminals), but this is a first for me, actually taking the title from a bag of vegetables. And from it came, setting, tone, theme, character, and even plot.
The book of course morphed a great deal from the original concept. Its first draft was about 30,000 words, so the length almost doubled as well. I tend to under-write my initial drafts. It was blighted and moldy to be sure.
And that’s what I want to talk about here:
I feel the acknowledgements section of books are too little too late for thank yous. So let me lay it all out now.
I need to thank my editors Catherine Adams of Inkslinger Editing (developmental), and Stephanie Parent (proofing) and Graeme Hague (line) of Polgarus Studios. As well as my literary agent Gina Panettieri and, although she may not realize it, Arianne Lewin. Both Gina and Arianne pushed me to dig a lot deeper. Martin Stiff gets full credit for the Amazing15 cover and Polgarus Studios for the exquisite formatting.
Like a potato needs water, earth, and sunlight, I need the support of my Writer’s Group at Sunnyside Library, the Odyssey Writers Workshop alum, and the intrepid Inkbots. You are all a big part of the leaf mould of my mind.
Last and never least, to my wife, first reader, and best friend, and to my baby potatoes, for whom I write, thank you all. I love you. You always deserve your cookup.
To you dear reader, should you dare, I hope you enjoy this book and more importantly I hope your fears remain small and your dreams grow and flourish.
May 11, 2015
Why We Write—Where Mike Goes Deep ...
I was asked recently to think about why I write. And I wondered, why do we write? What drives us to put a pen to the page, to rest our fingertips on that keyboard and bleed our heart and soul into blank space? The result came in a form that I had not expected.
Here’s my stab at it. Warning: I am no poet!
Allow me to exposit.
Why we write.
We write not to keep the lights on but to keep THE light on. You under covers, shaking and quaking, nail biting, heart breaking.
We write to be the hero; it fits our mood. The theme is life and we are like Frodo whining with the ring at our necks and a mountain to reach. We climb. For ten years we’ll climb. Each stroke of a key a wound that comes from within, a key to open us up and spill our guts. Writing is blood. And when it’s out, it’s crap.
The first draft is always crap. But that’s okay because life is revision. 10,000 hours—someone tell those kids. It’s about creation.
A book is just another allegory for life. Life’s a genre you pick up and try on and move on—I hope you have a dash of romance. A book should entrance.
But we write for more.
Every speech was written before it was said. It keeps the foot from the mouth. Words ARE power. They give hope. They change.
Stories are life’s verisimilitude.
We know what it’s like to survive at altitude, way up here in the highfalutin air. A kid on the Mississippi. A mouse in our pockets. We get The Help, even though we never lived it. We write to understand.
Ourselves. Where love comes from, and hate, so we don’t repeat.
Writing is hard. We will fall so many times. Readers are fickle but we are not, a basketball to be dropped and shot, trolled and popped, with 1 star reviews for saying our thing. For being what we’ll be.
Writing’s a cliff.
It’s a hole in the hedgerow. A wardrobe. From which we try on the lives of sixteen year old girls, quadriplegics, bug eating boys, and future worlds that unfurl.
The world needs us.
We are culture. Because Iron Man 27 is not an option but they’ll make it if they have to. Don’t write if you love clickbait—Because you’ll never believe what happens next ... But you do. And it never lives up to a book. So we pick up our pens. And write. We don’t care if our prose is too purple, didactic, or caustic. If it’s organic it’s new.
It’s the bestest.
Writing is empathy.
Books are bibles; they are stories and truths. Writing is religion. We can find meaning, self, our light and our dark, and our 50 shades of gray between.
We are personified.
That’s why we write.
****
I think every generation deserves its own heroes. Heroes that speak to it alone. I’d like to think we’re playing a small roll in that creation.
And this is why I read too. To try on different lives. To continue the adventure. To read is to get that much closer to the meaning of life. Deep right? I think the meaning of life is something you have to create for yourself. And the only way to bring you closer to it is to seek knowledge. And that involves listening, and since you can’t speak to everyone everywhere every when, it means reading.
Why do you write?
Here’s my stab at it. Warning: I am no poet!
Allow me to exposit.
Why we write.
We write not to keep the lights on but to keep THE light on. You under covers, shaking and quaking, nail biting, heart breaking.
We write to be the hero; it fits our mood. The theme is life and we are like Frodo whining with the ring at our necks and a mountain to reach. We climb. For ten years we’ll climb. Each stroke of a key a wound that comes from within, a key to open us up and spill our guts. Writing is blood. And when it’s out, it’s crap.
The first draft is always crap. But that’s okay because life is revision. 10,000 hours—someone tell those kids. It’s about creation.
A book is just another allegory for life. Life’s a genre you pick up and try on and move on—I hope you have a dash of romance. A book should entrance.
But we write for more.
Every speech was written before it was said. It keeps the foot from the mouth. Words ARE power. They give hope. They change.
Stories are life’s verisimilitude.
We know what it’s like to survive at altitude, way up here in the highfalutin air. A kid on the Mississippi. A mouse in our pockets. We get The Help, even though we never lived it. We write to understand.
Ourselves. Where love comes from, and hate, so we don’t repeat.
Writing is hard. We will fall so many times. Readers are fickle but we are not, a basketball to be dropped and shot, trolled and popped, with 1 star reviews for saying our thing. For being what we’ll be.
Writing’s a cliff.
It’s a hole in the hedgerow. A wardrobe. From which we try on the lives of sixteen year old girls, quadriplegics, bug eating boys, and future worlds that unfurl.
The world needs us.
We are culture. Because Iron Man 27 is not an option but they’ll make it if they have to. Don’t write if you love clickbait—Because you’ll never believe what happens next ... But you do. And it never lives up to a book. So we pick up our pens. And write. We don’t care if our prose is too purple, didactic, or caustic. If it’s organic it’s new.
It’s the bestest.
Writing is empathy.
Books are bibles; they are stories and truths. Writing is religion. We can find meaning, self, our light and our dark, and our 50 shades of gray between.
We are personified.
That’s why we write.
****
I think every generation deserves its own heroes. Heroes that speak to it alone. I’d like to think we’re playing a small roll in that creation.
And this is why I read too. To try on different lives. To continue the adventure. To read is to get that much closer to the meaning of life. Deep right? I think the meaning of life is something you have to create for yourself. And the only way to bring you closer to it is to seek knowledge. And that involves listening, and since you can’t speak to everyone everywhere every when, it means reading.
Why do you write?
April 23, 2015
Finding Your Voice
What does it mean when someone says the author has found his or her voice? What’s voice? Why is it important? Finding your voice is critical to your success.
You might be thinking: “What? What do you mean I need to find a voice? Don’t I already have one?”
You’re right; you do. But it might not be the right voice. Finding a voice is finding the best narrator for the story. The voice in which you’d tell a historical fiction set in Victorian England would be very different from one set in the far-flung future on the planet Teratatur? The language would change, the ratio of description to dialogue, the pacing, all of this impacts voice, as does the reader’s point of view.
A book written from the perspective of a five year old girl from Russia should read very differently than that written from the perspective of a ninety year old male Texan, or a thousand year old alien. Voice goes further though, it includes syntax, tone, style, and something ephemeral and difficult to describe that you only know when you hear it. I see it as the point at which your writing becomes a character.
A voice can be a unique signature. Can you identify your favourite author’s writing anywhere? Probably. That’s because you recognize the sound of their voice.
A unique voice is a rare thing. But it can carry a novel and it can sell many many books.
Let’s look at some examples of different voices:
Astrid Lindgren’s ‘Pippi Longstocking’
‘Two things she took from the ship. A little monkey whose name was Mr Nilsson—he was a present from her father—and a big suitcase full of gold coins. The sailors stood at the railing with their eyes fixed on Pippi for as long as they could see her. She walked firmly away without looking back. Mr Nilsson sat on her shoulder, and she carried the suitcase in one hand.’
Whimsical, farcical, someone once said combine the ridiculous with the unexpected and you have humour. This is written in the omniscient point of view in which the narrator knows all and is not telling the story from the perspective of a character.
Rick Riordan’s ‘The Lightning Thief’
‘Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.
If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.’
This is direct, present tense, first person narration that is as close as the reader can get to the narrator. It’s also light and casual. It feels modern.
J.K. Rowling, ‘Harry Potter’
‘Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.’
And so begins the most popular series in history. It starts with direct telling, again in the omniscient voice, which is growing ever more rare a point of view in contemporary writing (but in later books Rowling does focus her Point of View on specific characters and adopts a more popular third person limited style). I can practically taste the British accent (and some marmalade).
Roald Dahl, ‘Matilda’
‘It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.’
Dahl has one of the most distinctive voices in children’s literature. In many ways it’s because it’s so shockingly honest. We can all learn a lot from Dahl.
Here’s a bit from a manuscript of mine, (Keep in a Cold Dark Place):
‘[Limpy] narrowed her eyes and slowly turned, shaking, and russet red.
“You know,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’m pretty good at cutting out eyes.” From the depths of her apron, she pulled a paring knife. “I can peel skin good too.”
She was of course referring to potato eyes and potato skin, but she wasn’t about to explain that to the boys.’
Voice can be dry, funny, telling, action packed, dialogue-heavy, or punchy (Lee Childs’ simple sentence structure and short chapters contribute to the spare voice of his antihero Jack Reacher and the pacing of a thriller).
The other thing that no one ever told me about voice is that your voice is only good for one book or a series of related books. Change the genre, change from a young adult novel to an adult or a children’s book, change the characters, and you change the voice.
Finding your voice is not necessarily something you stumble upon only after writing the first million words, it’s about reading widely, experimenting, and considering all your choices of word, syntax, chapter length, point of view, pacing, etc. before you start. It is one of the more important considerations for your novel. Short stories are a great way to take risks on new voices in order to see what works and what doesn’t.
You might be thinking: “What? What do you mean I need to find a voice? Don’t I already have one?”
You’re right; you do. But it might not be the right voice. Finding a voice is finding the best narrator for the story. The voice in which you’d tell a historical fiction set in Victorian England would be very different from one set in the far-flung future on the planet Teratatur? The language would change, the ratio of description to dialogue, the pacing, all of this impacts voice, as does the reader’s point of view.
A book written from the perspective of a five year old girl from Russia should read very differently than that written from the perspective of a ninety year old male Texan, or a thousand year old alien. Voice goes further though, it includes syntax, tone, style, and something ephemeral and difficult to describe that you only know when you hear it. I see it as the point at which your writing becomes a character.
A voice can be a unique signature. Can you identify your favourite author’s writing anywhere? Probably. That’s because you recognize the sound of their voice.
A unique voice is a rare thing. But it can carry a novel and it can sell many many books.
Let’s look at some examples of different voices:
Astrid Lindgren’s ‘Pippi Longstocking’
‘Two things she took from the ship. A little monkey whose name was Mr Nilsson—he was a present from her father—and a big suitcase full of gold coins. The sailors stood at the railing with their eyes fixed on Pippi for as long as they could see her. She walked firmly away without looking back. Mr Nilsson sat on her shoulder, and she carried the suitcase in one hand.’
Whimsical, farcical, someone once said combine the ridiculous with the unexpected and you have humour. This is written in the omniscient point of view in which the narrator knows all and is not telling the story from the perspective of a character.
Rick Riordan’s ‘The Lightning Thief’
‘Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.
If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.’
This is direct, present tense, first person narration that is as close as the reader can get to the narrator. It’s also light and casual. It feels modern.
J.K. Rowling, ‘Harry Potter’
‘Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.’
And so begins the most popular series in history. It starts with direct telling, again in the omniscient voice, which is growing ever more rare a point of view in contemporary writing (but in later books Rowling does focus her Point of View on specific characters and adopts a more popular third person limited style). I can practically taste the British accent (and some marmalade).
Roald Dahl, ‘Matilda’
‘It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.’
Dahl has one of the most distinctive voices in children’s literature. In many ways it’s because it’s so shockingly honest. We can all learn a lot from Dahl.
Here’s a bit from a manuscript of mine, (Keep in a Cold Dark Place):
‘[Limpy] narrowed her eyes and slowly turned, shaking, and russet red.
“You know,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’m pretty good at cutting out eyes.” From the depths of her apron, she pulled a paring knife. “I can peel skin good too.”
She was of course referring to potato eyes and potato skin, but she wasn’t about to explain that to the boys.’
Voice can be dry, funny, telling, action packed, dialogue-heavy, or punchy (Lee Childs’ simple sentence structure and short chapters contribute to the spare voice of his antihero Jack Reacher and the pacing of a thriller).
The other thing that no one ever told me about voice is that your voice is only good for one book or a series of related books. Change the genre, change from a young adult novel to an adult or a children’s book, change the characters, and you change the voice.
Finding your voice is not necessarily something you stumble upon only after writing the first million words, it’s about reading widely, experimenting, and considering all your choices of word, syntax, chapter length, point of view, pacing, etc. before you start. It is one of the more important considerations for your novel. Short stories are a great way to take risks on new voices in order to see what works and what doesn’t.
November 18, 2014
Islands in the Endless Swim
Are you familiar with the endless swim experiment? The one where rats are placed in a tank and forced to swim until they almost drown. Then, when the scientists place them in the water a second time, they don’t even try. They give up.
That’s how writing can feel.
Luckily, there are islands along the way. I've received an award! A big one at that.
The Creation of Stories Award, sponsored by Blurb. It’s a self publishing award specifically for Canadian authors and I couldn’t be more pleased. I won for the second book in the Assured Destruction series, SCRIPT KIDDIE in the YA category.
And it IS big. $50,000 in cash and inkind split between three authors.
There are NOT many awards out there of this magnitude.
But I’m not writing to toot my own horn.
I know the selection process—reading—is subjective and someone else could have easily won. I’ve been nominated many times, and know how that feels.
What I’m writing to talk about is the importance of these to authors, in particular those who do so without the backing of a publishing house. (Although I’m well aware of how much work is involved regardless of how you publish.)
The award is gratifying not only for the money, but for the ecosystem that starts to develop in support of your book and your writing in general. I’ve met some really great people over the past week.
Readers, reviews, awards, these are all islands for an author in their endless swim. And I actually think one of the key reasons authors self publish is because they need these islands. I know I do. Reviews are SO important to me. Perhaps too important. But I also wonder whether I would have made it as far as I have without self publishing, without the cultivation of islands. Pretty sure I might have drowned.
So this is a thank you to everyone who has helped me, encouraged me, reviewed me (good or bad), I couldn’t have done it without your help along the way.
Thank you.
That’s how writing can feel.
Luckily, there are islands along the way. I've received an award! A big one at that.
The Creation of Stories Award, sponsored by Blurb. It’s a self publishing award specifically for Canadian authors and I couldn’t be more pleased. I won for the second book in the Assured Destruction series, SCRIPT KIDDIE in the YA category.
And it IS big. $50,000 in cash and inkind split between three authors.
There are NOT many awards out there of this magnitude.
But I’m not writing to toot my own horn.
I know the selection process—reading—is subjective and someone else could have easily won. I’ve been nominated many times, and know how that feels.
What I’m writing to talk about is the importance of these to authors, in particular those who do so without the backing of a publishing house. (Although I’m well aware of how much work is involved regardless of how you publish.)
The award is gratifying not only for the money, but for the ecosystem that starts to develop in support of your book and your writing in general. I’ve met some really great people over the past week.
Readers, reviews, awards, these are all islands for an author in their endless swim. And I actually think one of the key reasons authors self publish is because they need these islands. I know I do. Reviews are SO important to me. Perhaps too important. But I also wonder whether I would have made it as far as I have without self publishing, without the cultivation of islands. Pretty sure I might have drowned.
So this is a thank you to everyone who has helped me, encouraged me, reviewed me (good or bad), I couldn’t have done it without your help along the way.
Thank you.
September 22, 2014
MEET MY CHARACTER
Melissa Yi
Here's a good example of my current state of mind:
So I’m Christine. :) But call me Kurzow or Colonel if you have to. I also respond to ma’am and sir. I’ve reluctantly left my death bed in Iraq, fleeing the suicide I so richly deserve, to seek redemption in New York City. NYC houses a group that even I have trouble believing exists.
The Terminals.
The last line of this, it's their motto--sounds better in Latin:
I’m a terminal. I’m suicidal and rightly so, the only way I can atone for the deaths of eleven of the men and women under my command is to slit my wrists. Lucky for me (not for my soldiers) eleven kids have gone missing and I have a chance to find them before ending my life. That’s my real goal. Redemption and then departing this mortal plane.
Except Terminals don't always head to the nicest of places:
Oh, it’s a series, so yeah, I live. But I sure have to put people through hell to save not just the lives of the kids but my own.
Want more? Buy the damn book.
Better yet, buy Melissa’s it’s better.
And you can read her stuff for free and win $5,000, so what are you waiting for?
August 22, 2014
On Writing Trilogies
A recent reviewer expressed frustration that I ended the second book of the Assured Destruction trilogy with a cliff-hanger. And I think different readers have different interpretations of the word, or perhaps different expectations of what makes a trilogy, and why cliff-hangers may be necessary, desireable even--to a degree.
Let me explain.
Trilogies are different from series. In a series the protagonist often doesn’t change. For an extreme case of this look at Jack Reacher from Lee Childs’ series. Jack’s the same guy in book 1 as he is in book 12. He doesn’t even age. If character arc was a requirement to a good story then Mr. Childs would be penniless, which I don’t think is the case! A series generally doesn’t have an overarching question either, a plot b behind plot a. The writer doesn’t know when the series will end, so it’s tough to know how to create the plot b arc. It’s why many TV writers are forcing stories on the networks that will end, so they can plan for it (like LOST). Otherwise you can only write a simple procedural or a sitcom in which some conflict is solved every episode like CSI (although most procedural type series will have season arcs if not show arcs).
Trilogies are tough, particularly book 2. In book 1 you get to introduce the reader to your world. In Assured Destruction, Janus has a network of computers she calls Shadownet, profiles lifted from the hard drives of discarded computers she should have destroyed. By learning about them, you learn a lot about Jan herself and the many sides of her. By book 2, readers know all about this, so I can’t use that as a crutch to keep them interested. I need to up the stakes without giving answers to the overarching story questions.
In Assured Destruction, the overarching mystery is: What happened to her father? Secondary to that is: What’s going on with the relationship with Peter, her mother’s boyfriend?
That’s the series arc, but each book has its own arc as do the characters.
On the topic of characters, the challenge with many trilogies is that some authors dole out all the character changes in book 1 without saving much for books 2 and 3. How much did Katniss change in Book 1 vs Book 2 and 3 combined? Sure she grows as a person but book 1 was transformative. What about Divergent? You have the all important training phase, right? Where the character goes from zero to hero? Readers love that! But you can’t keep doing it. Same is true of most fantasies in which the stable hand realizes he’s actually a wizard. How do you trump that? The answer is usually an escalation of conflict and obstacles that force the character to look deeper within themselves and grow in power.
In Assured Destruction, the challenges move from sleuthing out a harassing criminal in book 1, to helping a friend and stopping a murder, to defeating a gang and deciding what type of person she wants to be. This last is really Jan’s arc and she needs to do it while faced with the reality of who all the people in her life have become.
So, to satisfy the reader, you need a plot in each book that has a satisfying ending but leaves open questions. And you need your characters to have grown, but not so much you can’t transform them yet more. Conflict should escalate. Often the conflict goes from personal, to friends and family, to more macro. Take the Hunger Games again. It’s about surviving at first. Then it’s about starting a revolution.
What I find fascinating is that most readers prefer the small story, the surviving story, to that of the revolution. Keep that in mind when writing your second and third novels. Be sure to keep the story personal to your protagonist. I found Katniss to be dragged into the conflict rather than being active in creating it. Active protagonists are better.
A trilogy needs a beginning a middle and an end, just like a book does. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t be too hard on the author who leaves some questions you really, really want the answer to at the end of book 2. That’s their job! To keep you wanting to read on.
What’s your favorite trilogy? What made it work for you?
Let me explain.
Trilogies are different from series. In a series the protagonist often doesn’t change. For an extreme case of this look at Jack Reacher from Lee Childs’ series. Jack’s the same guy in book 1 as he is in book 12. He doesn’t even age. If character arc was a requirement to a good story then Mr. Childs would be penniless, which I don’t think is the case! A series generally doesn’t have an overarching question either, a plot b behind plot a. The writer doesn’t know when the series will end, so it’s tough to know how to create the plot b arc. It’s why many TV writers are forcing stories on the networks that will end, so they can plan for it (like LOST). Otherwise you can only write a simple procedural or a sitcom in which some conflict is solved every episode like CSI (although most procedural type series will have season arcs if not show arcs).
Trilogies are tough, particularly book 2. In book 1 you get to introduce the reader to your world. In Assured Destruction, Janus has a network of computers she calls Shadownet, profiles lifted from the hard drives of discarded computers she should have destroyed. By learning about them, you learn a lot about Jan herself and the many sides of her. By book 2, readers know all about this, so I can’t use that as a crutch to keep them interested. I need to up the stakes without giving answers to the overarching story questions.
In Assured Destruction, the overarching mystery is: What happened to her father? Secondary to that is: What’s going on with the relationship with Peter, her mother’s boyfriend?
That’s the series arc, but each book has its own arc as do the characters.
On the topic of characters, the challenge with many trilogies is that some authors dole out all the character changes in book 1 without saving much for books 2 and 3. How much did Katniss change in Book 1 vs Book 2 and 3 combined? Sure she grows as a person but book 1 was transformative. What about Divergent? You have the all important training phase, right? Where the character goes from zero to hero? Readers love that! But you can’t keep doing it. Same is true of most fantasies in which the stable hand realizes he’s actually a wizard. How do you trump that? The answer is usually an escalation of conflict and obstacles that force the character to look deeper within themselves and grow in power.
In Assured Destruction, the challenges move from sleuthing out a harassing criminal in book 1, to helping a friend and stopping a murder, to defeating a gang and deciding what type of person she wants to be. This last is really Jan’s arc and she needs to do it while faced with the reality of who all the people in her life have become.
So, to satisfy the reader, you need a plot in each book that has a satisfying ending but leaves open questions. And you need your characters to have grown, but not so much you can’t transform them yet more. Conflict should escalate. Often the conflict goes from personal, to friends and family, to more macro. Take the Hunger Games again. It’s about surviving at first. Then it’s about starting a revolution.
What I find fascinating is that most readers prefer the small story, the surviving story, to that of the revolution. Keep that in mind when writing your second and third novels. Be sure to keep the story personal to your protagonist. I found Katniss to be dragged into the conflict rather than being active in creating it. Active protagonists are better.
A trilogy needs a beginning a middle and an end, just like a book does. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t be too hard on the author who leaves some questions you really, really want the answer to at the end of book 2. That’s their job! To keep you wanting to read on.
What’s your favorite trilogy? What made it work for you?
July 4, 2014
I Just Lost 10 5-Star Reviews--I'm Happy About It
A few months ago, I received 10 5-Star ratings and some reviews for 24 Bones. Now, I stand by the book. It was my first novel and I've learned how to write better since, but there are some kernels within it that still resonate even now 10 years later. But the fact remains, some people find it a tough read, in large part because it's written in an omniscient voice with a lot of point of view shifts.
People who know me, know that I'm really careful as to who I allow to review my books. I don't ask friends or family. I don't trade reviews. I don't review or rate my own books. Authors make their choices but to me it's disingenuous. The ratings are for readers.
But back to three months ago. Over the course of two weeks I received these ratings and a few over-the-top reviews. I even corresponded with one reviewer.
Talking to him gave me some comfort that these could be real, but what made me suspicious was that all the reviewers had also reviewed one other particular book. I won't mention it because, like I said, authors make their own choices.
Yesterday all those users were deleted. I love it. Here's why: I suspect that some enterprising author created a series of fake accounts or perhaps had someone else do so in order to fabricate reviews and ratings. To avoid suspicion they reviewed other books too. Goodreads caught them. It was weird to actually benefit from this corruption, but that's exactly what it was and is. Fraud.
Sure I lost 10 five star ratings but they weren't real. Not earned. I want real reviews, from real readers. The Goodreads' system is working. And that's a good thing.
People who know me, know that I'm really careful as to who I allow to review my books. I don't ask friends or family. I don't trade reviews. I don't review or rate my own books. Authors make their choices but to me it's disingenuous. The ratings are for readers.
But back to three months ago. Over the course of two weeks I received these ratings and a few over-the-top reviews. I even corresponded with one reviewer.
Talking to him gave me some comfort that these could be real, but what made me suspicious was that all the reviewers had also reviewed one other particular book. I won't mention it because, like I said, authors make their own choices.
Yesterday all those users were deleted. I love it. Here's why: I suspect that some enterprising author created a series of fake accounts or perhaps had someone else do so in order to fabricate reviews and ratings. To avoid suspicion they reviewed other books too. Goodreads caught them. It was weird to actually benefit from this corruption, but that's exactly what it was and is. Fraud.
Sure I lost 10 five star ratings but they weren't real. Not earned. I want real reviews, from real readers. The Goodreads' system is working. And that's a good thing.
