Illustrating the World

Because I'm also an artist, I find that it can be very helpful to have visual stimulus when writing. So I draw a great deal when I'm writing. Usually character sketches, animal concepts, and the occasional building, scene, etc.

This is Charlotte, the protagonist for Rules of Engagement, the novel I'm currently working on/breaking word count barriers with. (I got to 84K words today!)

Charlotte is a soldier, spy, and lady who disguises herself as a man for much of the book. This conflict of self and personality was something I wanted to draw, so I did this half and half piece to get it out.

Obviously, drawing isn't something all writers do, so I advocate heartily for finding someone who does. Seeing visual representations of your ideas can be very helpful.

You don't have to stick with just character concepts either. Sometimes we need to firm up a creature concept, design or even just get a better handle on size. To that end I did a quick series of animal sketches a while back for a story that still mulling through my brain.

This is Toby, AKA, an American Runner. A giant land bird much like an ostrich or emu except with heavier bones and body mass and larger head, shorter neck and more pronounced defensive features.

I did a bit of research along the way while designing him, needless to say, and am overall pleased with the result. More importantly, I was able to firmly establish some roots for the world I was building.

You can really get into this sort of development with landscape drawings and even city layouts, blueprints and other schematics. I find visual representations very helpful in keeping track of all sorts of things. I make maps, draw out command structures and make family trees. I occasionally sketch out pivotal sequences and do rough comics for some sections.

If I'm uncertain about a decision, it can be really helpful. With Rules of Engagement, I've needed a lot of maps and charts. There are battle plans, regiment movements and all sorts  of things I have to work out, know and decide on. It's like being a general.

You are always the commander of the army that is your story, but sometimes, renegade soldiers can tear things in a new direction. We can cover that in My Characters are Taking Over!

Remember, it's not a matter of talent, if you feel you can't do justice to your concept, get out there and find someone you think can. When I get frustrated by a character, or feel out of my comfort zone, I get out and find someone who draws the things I need and commission them. (I have a few standby artists I keep going back to) Or, you know, hit up a few artistic friends.

Good luck, and don't be afraid to put pencil to paper and illustrate your world!

Cultural Opposites: Writing from new roots

I often find myself dipping into the same cultural cookie jar when drawing inspiration for writing. It doesn't matter what genre I'm writing in. I tend to fall back to Irish roots fairly easily, and focusing on Catholicism or similar religions. It's actually a bit strange. You see, I'm not Catholic. I don't doubt there are Irish roots in my family, however, but there are plenty of other roots too. There are bits of German, Jewish, Scottish, British and the other common European ancestry that I can draw from.

I can also draw from having a family that fought in the Civil War (both sides of the fence) and very well could reach to the American Revolution. My family has a broad swath of cultural possibilities.

That said, limiting yourself just to your own family isn't always the way to go. Limiting yourself to the cultures you know can be stifling.

I branched out from Europe and headed for Russia in response to stagnation and created something new. You see, that's one of the things I love about world building. You get a chance to write all of the histories, the religion, the culture. It's all up to you. That doesn't mean you can't take a hand up here and there. I drew inspiration from Russia, Ancient Rome, and even the beloved worlds built by others. I took the things I loved and hated, the things that married into unity, and created something that was a little bit of everything, but really it's own.

But that's really only one way to write using other cultures. Recently I was tasked with writing a horror story that did not stick to American convention. Something with new monsters. Something unfamiliar. Well, when I want the strange and unfamiliar, I dip into Japanese and Asian folklore. (They have the coolest monsters) The important thing is to do it right.

If you're going to write a culture with as much history and depth, you can't lose sight of what actually important to the story. You need to use the elements that are necessary to story telling and excise the rest. You can't be heavy handed with it. That's how you end up with Japan-o-phile sounding drivel and or some fanfiction.

Writing with another cultures roots should be done with respect, and a full battery of research, but don't let the culture outweigh the story you are trying to tell. Let it weave through the story.

I don't change the way I write horror when I write about things that take place in, or have characters from, Japan. My style remains the same. My characters are influenced by heritage, but unless for some plot reason, are not overwhelmed by it.

There are a lot of things you can do wrong when writing about another country's culture. You can do things wrong when writing about your own too. It's not mutually exclusive. Every culture should be treated with care. Research (Books people, not just the interweb) is your friend. You can, and should delve back as deep as you want. But never forget about researching the modern world as well. If you're writing a story that takes place in present day Dublin, for heavens sake people, RESEARCH IT! Get on googlemaps and learn the city.

Get on local websites, find out about local pubs and hotspots. Look at the news for the area. Really learn about the place where you've settled your story.

It can take hundreds of hours of research to write a book, it depends on your personality, how you research and how well you know your subject. That shouldn't dissuade you from trying, however. I enjoy research and also enjoy writing from prior knowledge. It's a balancing act.

So make fresh choices, set stories in new places and don't be afraid to try to write from another person's roots. Because limiting yourself can get you stuck. They say you should write what you know, in some senses that is true. But guess what, you can learn something new, and then write about that too. Just learn it first. It's a bit easier than researching half way through the book and having to rewrite. Trust me.

Cheers!

Repost: Personal Politics and Writing

Another pertinent re-post from the old blog. I only have three or four of these, but I think the content is still good. 


 I was watching that TV show about the missing persons unit of the FBI today and it was about a girl that went to jail for her sister after a car crash which killed a friend of theirs.

It made me think about Bloodlines and how my characters would respond if put in prison. This led me to thinking about the 1950's and how mental health care has changed over the past fifty years which had me recalling an episode of Cold Case about a girl that dresses as a boy, falls for a boy and whose father has her committed after which she ends up brain dead and her boyfriend kills her out of mercy.

Yeah, that's how my thought trains work. Basically, I left out a few stations.

In any case, this led me to thinking about how I insert my personal prejudices and beliefs into what I write. We all do it, it's nearly impossible not to. But I've also found myself writing a scene, character or incident that I find distasteful, immoral or just plain wrong. This was a particular issue some time ago while writing a very bigoted side character who used words I would never use, ever, ever, ever, ever.

I suppose the central issue was that I didn't want other to think that I thought that what he said was all right. Because I didn't. But in the end, that's why I was writing him in. I wanted to show how wrong it was to behave and say the things he did.

A huge theme in everything I write is about lifestyles, cultures and occasionally racial, differences. I don't think anyone should be discriminated against just because they are gay/straight/bi/transgender, culturally bizarre or a different color, religion, creed or species.

(See that, I included aliens.)

While I'll admit there are aspects of certain cultures I find repugnant, I can say the same about my own cultural heritage. There are things about the past within my own culture that I would never condone. It can be difficult to balance those feelings with the position of a character. They say that you should always write what you know, but as a person who writes mostly fantasy, well, I've never actually seen or been bitten by a werewolf so...I have to go with what I read, watch and learn about through alternative sources.

A writer should be capable of writing anything. Any character, any scene. In theory. We all struggle with different things that are outside our comfort zone. The only way to push past that is by doing just that, pushing. Freaked out by swearing? Write the most profane dialogue you can think of.

Can't write an action scene? (I recommend acting it out with furniture, alone) Write the most brutal action sequence ever!

Blood and guts? Bloodbath time. Murderer? Do it. Dialogue? Talk it out and then, write pages and pages of dialogue until your fingers bleed and you get it right.

A writer should push the envelope of their comfort zone. You never know what amazing thing you'll discover when you do. The things you could write. The people you could meet. The characters you could kill off in a brutal sequence of murder by toaster....

We can't entirely erase our personal politics and beliefs from our writing, but we have to try and be objective. Show both sides. Sure, you might make that murdering psycho toaster bastard kill himself with a toaster in a bathtub on page 246, but you did show everyone that despite his murderous ways he's also an accomplished chef and animal lover.

There are two sides to every coin.

Cheers.

Sex Vs. Porn - Repost from Ye Old Blog

 A post from the old Writing Wrongs and Typos blog that I still like. Funnily enough, I have gotten to know some amazing Erotica writers over the past year. They are swell folks really. I'm still not a huge fan of the genre, but I can say that my perceptions have changed a bit.

Original post:
So, I was thinking about this last night. Sex scenes. They come in all flavors. It generally breaks down to:

* Painful to read
* Obtuse to the extreme
* Detailed and clinical
* Pornographic
* Tastefully erotic
* What the hell was that?
* YAOI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* Medieval

The PR is a scene written with obvious distaste, poor descriptions and language bordering on the 18th century.

O to the E - So vaguely written you aren't even sure they had sex until thirty pages later a side character makes a joke about it.

DC - Reads like a medical journal/textbook.

Porn...duh.

Tasteful - difficult to achieve, using appropriate language and detailed descriptions.


WTHWT? - When after you read it you exclaim, What the hell was that? Different from O to the E because you knew sex occurred but cannot imagine why anyone would do/say any of that. Ever. For any reason

YAOI!!! - Well, if you've been on the internet the past few years you'll probably not need any explanation, however, I suggest you head to your search engine if you must look it up.

Medieval - "Please, sheath your sword." I think that says it all really.


To avoid the cliche's, one must practice, let other people read the scenes and you need to read some good scenes to get your started. This means you have to know what good sex, realistic sex and tasteful sex are.

This can boil down to the old adage "Write what you know." Well, I've seen a whole lot of young fanfiction writers out there writing sex scenes. They base these scenes on A) Porn. B) Other fanfiction and C) Erotic novels from their mom's bookshelf.

Generally speaking these youngster have a skewed idea about sex that involves lots of hot dudes having sex with one another and use of the words "member", "shaft", "sword", "spear", "staff", "stave", etc. Innuendo is king amongst our virginal writers.

That's not to say a person who has no personal experience can't write a sex scene, they can. They just need to get a better idea about the difference between Porn, Erotica, and Tasteful Sex.

Each of these things has their place. Porn seemingly has no place in "High Literature". What defines porn precisely? Well, porn is when the goal, focal point, of the story is sex. <Addendum to this> There are books that are considered "classics" that are very close to pornographic subjects. There's Story of O, which is well known and award winning.I believe you can see graphic sex in a novel and it not be porn. <end addendum> The End Game, as it were, of porn, is sexual gratification. Erotica is a story based around sexual encounters and steamy romance. Erotica can titillate and inform, with semi-graphic to graphic sexual encounters. The important thing is, Erotica has a story line which is not purely a vehicle for sexual gratification. Though there are exceptions.

"Tasteful" sex is found all across the genres. (To be fair, the horror genre also contains cases of explicit sex scenes)

<Addendum> Let's take a moment to discuss the sex scene in Breaking Dawn. When I wrote this I was mainly thinking of adult fiction, not YA. However, there are sex scenes and suggestions of the sex in YA books, and some MG books as well. (Yes, I am pointing out Tamora Pierce and the Lioness Quartet as MG and containing sex). Breaking Dawn which is marketed as YA, has  fairly explicit sex scene in it. So, sex crosses the borders of the age separation, and not just genre.<end addendum>


If you set out to write porn, that's fine, erotica, fine. You should know, both of those things can be just as difficult to write as tasteful sex. Just because it's porn doesn't mean you can have a typo. It makes you look sloppy. Though I do doubt the teenage boy reading it will pause because you put their instead of they're.

Erotica is a high-volume industry. Dozens of titles are published every year in that genre in various flavors. Most of those titles are...trash. They're moniker-ed dime store novels for a reason. <Addendum> Whew, this is where my opinion comes in as a tad changed. There are still loads of trash in the romance/erotica section of your local grocery store. However, that doesn't mean there aren't some real diamonds there too. The romance and erotica writers I've met this year have been super people, and many of them write some amazing stuff. Pigeon-holing all romance as trash is just wrong. There are some great writers in the genre, and it's unfair to them to paint everyone with the same brush. Especially when I count myself among them.<end addendum>

I suppose my point here is that you don't need to be a sex-fiend to write good sex scenes. You just need to be well - informed, well read and you could always go talk to your doctor if you have any questions.

We will always write based upon our personal experiences, and when it comes to writing sex it needs to a bit more personal and a lot less popular. Popular perception will nearly always steer you the wrong way when it comes to this subject. And as always, get a good reader and practice, practice, practice.

Enjoy!