BEAR Redux

Baby Sister called me last night and, among her verbal vicissitudes, told me that she didn’t “get” the BEAR storyline from my short synopsis.

“What?” I asked. “Why not? What didn’t you understand?”

I could almost hear her shrug. “I dunno. The names were weird, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on, and I didn’t really get what their relationship is…”

O-kay, I thought. The name thing is just Babs’s problem because both the hero and heroine’s names were pulled straight from my well-loved, duct-taped baby name book. I didn’t make those up like I did Tentuk, Andra, Pynimy, or Vix from the PADEIA series, and she has no problem keeping who’s-who straight so a little to her on that. The rest, though, is my problem. Not understanding what’s going on (Babs advice: read the back covers of books to see how it’s done… for which I must laugh rather hysterically as, aside from having read many, many back covers, I wrote all those snippets with that idea already in mind) doesn’t worry me as much as her not understanding the relationship. That, for a romance, is poor synopsis writing, so shame on me.

Now, just for Babs, let’s try this again:

BEAR (“Fall of Sanctuary” series, Book 1) - Braun is the leader of an elite police force tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the safety and survival of everyone within Sanctuary, a fortressed city-state built to save those within from the Contagion that nearly wiped out the population. He approaches his duty with near religious conviction, believing the people within Sanctuary deserve nothing less even though it means that he must struggle to contain his desire for Aliza, his fiery second-in-command who deserves more than the love of a man unable to give entirely of himself.

Aliza doesn’t share Braun’s passion for preserving the way of life within Sanctuary. She believes freedom is an illusion within its walls, a belief only strengthened by the secrets of her past, but the threat outside is strong enough that she joined Braun’s forces to protect it despite her hatred of those who rule. But when Braun’s brother inexplicably escapes Sanctuary and then threatens to tear down the walls that protect them all from the Contagion, she and Braun must find the truth in the myths that shroud their society and learn to trust in the love they share.

So, Babs. Is that better?

Stories

Okay, I originally intended to title this post “Story Status” but as I’m talking about the status of multiple stories, I began to wonder if the correct title would be “Stories Status”, “Story Statuses” or “Stories Statuses”. That then led me to wonder about whether or not “statuses” was the correct plural form of status, which then led me off to a bit of online research, and by that time I figured to hell with it. ”Stories” it is.

I realized that, despite creating a blog intended to act as a bit of marketing light, I’ve talked about my manuscripts but never actually described the stories themselves. Rather silly of me. So, here’s a quick overview of my completed manuscripts:

BEAR (“Fall of Sanctuary” series, Book 1)- Braun is the leader of the Osirians, an elite military force assigned to protect Sanctuary and the immortal Blesseds who rule. Aliza, his second-in-command, chafes beneath that rule though her reasons for her fierce-burning hatred of the Blesseds are too painful to share. But when Braun’s brother defects to the Outside and threatens all of Sanctuary, Braun and Aliza must rely on each other and the love that grows between them as they search for the answers that will forever change their world.

TENTUK (“Padeia” trilogy, Book 1)- Andra is a single mother struggling to raise her young daughter in a society where women are not allowed to earn money or own property, so when Tentuk, heir to the Padeian throne, decides that her child should be educated as a lady of the Court, Andra refuses to give her up. And while the stern, guarded Tentuk is not use to people telling him no, he finds himself comprising with the fiery-tempered Andra, drawn by her passion and determination to live her life by her own rules. But the threat of civil war must force Tentuk to choose between the love he found and the empire he was born to rule.

PYNIMY (“Padeia” trilogy, Book 2)- For the past decade, Pynimy has had to disguise herself as a boy to receive an education. Now, with the law against women working long lifted and the opportunity to rediscover the woman she’s never been, she returns to the capital to try and exorcise the past that  first forced her into hiding and forever changed her name. But there are those who’d recognize the spirited child she’d been, including the charming political radical, Vix, who’s enchanted by the mysterious woman who looks somehow familiar, and the father she can never claim again.

CAROLINA NORTH – Wanting nothing more than to blend into her wallpaper kind of life, Carolina finds herself always fixing everyone’s problems. But when her flaky older sister, Lila, leaves her boyfriend–again–and moves in, Carolina finds herself unable to control the chaos. As the stress grows, so does the interest of Jake Peterson, junior partner of the law firm where she works, who’s intrigued by the woman he sees beneath the cracks of Carolina’s protective shell. Can she survive being the third wheel of bad blind date, a faux wedding, and a bird named Monkey without losing her sanity, or will Carolina North finally have to learn how to say “No”?

That’s it for the completed stuff.

Writing Peripherals

I often wonder if it’d have been easier to write a book back in the “good ol’ days” where there’d have been much less free time but ostensibly much fewer distractions. When you’re in a room with pen and paper, I’d assume it’d be harder to procrastinate than when sitting at the computer. Even without the internet at your fingertips, there’s a plethora of programs to draw the attention of the truly devoted procrastinators.

Then again, there’s all sorts of trouble you can get into with just a pen, paper, and some good ideas, though what some may consider procrastination, others see as a necessary and integral part of the writing process. When I began the first book of my Padeia trilogy, TENTUK, for example, I was building a world with not only a unique social structure but a brand-spankin’ new religion. About midway through the story, I wrote that world’s creation myth. Considering that I was taking a class on Greek mythology, it’s not surprising that the tone and language is similar to some of those translated texts, but the myth itself is a blend of Greek, Egyptian, and Christian. (At least, it’s intended to be.)

Now, was the writing of the creation myth absolutely necessary to the story? Yes and no. Aspects of it came through in the writing. The government structure, for example, was underscored by the belief that it had been ordained as such by the gods themselves. This is mentioned once in an off-handed way by the title character, more to show his character and coming conflict than as a necessary world-building tool. I could have done without actually writing their myth in that instance.

I used the second half of that myth, specifically the creation of women, more extensively in the manuscript, and I’ve since mentioned it here and there in the second and third stories to help thread the stories together. Again, did I need to write the entire myth for this purpose? Probably not.

Do I still see the act of writing the myth as necessary for the books? Absolutely. Because in writing the myth, I better understood the mythos of my characters. I had a better understanding of the undercurrent within their society against which they needed to fight. While I doubt it’ll ever get published (if any part of the trilogy ever gets published that is), creating back stories, character charts, and plot graphs in some form or another are all part of the gig.

Info Dumps

Yesterday I mentioned a twist to the heroine’s back story in BEAR. I came upon this twist because I needed an excuse to reveal a truth about the world in BEAR. I’d begun to think that this particular truth would end up being one of those little world-building tidbits that the writer knows, but which ends up on the cutting room floor, and I hated that. Not because this part of their world is wonderful or fantastic–quite the opposite. I think this tidbit could effectively show the dark side of their society and would hopefully make the reader begin to question why everyone (the hero especially) accepts the status quo.

So while this truth may not be essential to the plot, I feel it would be a subtle, effective way to mark the beginning of the end. The problem with tidbits like that is how easy they become info dumps (blocks of information that the writer needs to convey, but which is lumped into paragraphs or pages and not layered into the story). The best visual reference I can give for an info dump is an early John Wayne movie I saw recently, Texas Terror. (Personally, I have no idea where that title came from. I guess they must have been in Texas, but I didn’t see any terror.)

When the heroine first arrives on the scene–dressed, by the way, in stylish ’30’s fashion that kind of stands out in a western–she looks directly at the camera under the guise of speaking to the driver and says, “I’ll be awfully glad to get home. You see, I’m Bess Mathews, and I own the Lazy-M Ranch. There must be thousands of cattle and at least a hundred cowboys. And just think–I’m going to be boss!” This is, naturally, followed by the lines, “Oh! Look at those wildflowers,” which she then wanders off to go pick.

This, my friends, is an info dump, rightly inheriting an eye roll and groan of disbelief. Yes, okay–the movie was only 50 minutes long, so the whole thing was peppered with scenes like this, but it’s not the way to write a book. All writers spit out info dumps now and then. The trick is to recognize them and filter them out before they hit the public. Hopefully, I’ll manage to avoid any such mishaps in BEAR.

The Joys of Being a Pantser

So, for those who don’t know (I’m looking at you, Misi), there are two basic types of writers: pantsers and plotters. Pantsers are people who make the stories up as they go along. They “write by the seat of their pants”, if you will. Plotters are, of course, people who plan out everything before writing a word of the book itself. Not exactly rocket science, you ken?

While most writers fall somewhere in between the two extremes, they usually identify with one camp or the other. I, safely ensconced in the world of averagedom, am no different. I’m a pantser, but I do a little skeleton plotting, too. I have the overall concept, the ending, and a few key turning points in my head before I begin to write, and I like to plan a step or two ahead of where I’m at currently. So if my characters are about to go into the spooky mansion, I’ve already decided that Scooby’s going to accidentally hit a hidden switch on the stairwell that separates him from the rest of the group and completely freak out. I may not know where he’s going to end up yet, but I’m a still a step ahead of them.

Now, what does this have to do with anything? In terms of world viewpoint and attempted contribution to the literati, absolutely nothing. I’m just excited because I may have found a twist to the heroine’s backstory in BEAR that’d make it look like I’m a plotter while still being true to my pantser roots. *Grins* It’s the little things in life.

The Neat Stuff Out in the Internet Ether

In an effort to fulfill all Librarian-esque duties for my local RWA chapter, I asked members for their favorite research and/or writing tips, tricks, and techniques websites with the intention of gathering all the links and placing them in a couple easy-to-access locations for the group as a whole. I’m going to wait a few more days before sorting and displaying as only a handful of people have been able to respond so far, but holy toledo–what they’ve sent me is pretty damn cool. I didn’t know this stuff was out there in the internet, ripe for the taking, which is stupid of me, I know, but still. Way cool.

The chapter gets first priority, but once I get the list set up over there, I may have to still a link or two for my site. *Grins* Granted no one minds.

So? Anyone out in this neck of the woods have any really neat research sites to recommend?

Speaking of research, I stumbled on a History Channel show called “Life After People” which was, in a “this is totally a sign” semi-creepy way, just what I needed when I needed it. The show describes what would happen to all the man-made structures if humanity were suddenly wiped from the planet. Not exactly your Tuesday night pick-me-up, but fascinating nonetheless. The two characters talking loudest at the moment (who aren’t the ones I need to be focusing on, by the way, though I decided to let it go because writing something was better than writing nothing), while decidedly human which makes the basic principle of the show a bit moot, are a part of a world where the human population had been abruptly and drastically been reduced, so a lot of it still applied.

“Character Development”

As I mentioned yesterday, I stumbled upon an unconventional character development tool: The Sims.

Okay, okay. So really I was procrastinating, but hey–a game can be a useful tool.

Yeah, you’re right. That’s pushing it, but within those lost hours of playing a three-dimensional version of simulated life with a clear hierarchy of needs, I decided to create a neighborhood based on my various stories and/or ideas. (Sure, it’d have been better to actually write the stories, but we’re moving past that.) Granted, no matter how well made The Sims, the game could never simulate the stuff that goes on in my head, but when creating the characters, I found myself pondering details that I don’t usually consider.

I tend to have a much better concept of my heroines. Aside from the obvious advantage of being a woman myself, I was raised with two sisters, often surrounded by a passel of aunts, female cousins, and friends from school. (How my father survived while surrounded by so much estrogen, I’ll never know. Bless his heart.) But while the heroines are often vivid, the heroes tend to be a little more vague until I’ve gotten deeper into the story.

Working out the hero from the first of the sisters series, Daniel, in the game, I had to not only settle on his appearance, but the aspects of his personality. Sure, there are limitations that exist in the game that don’t exist in real life, but I still had to decide whether he was more nice than neat. Would he be more drawn to groups or one-on-one interactions? How serious is he? How creative?

Then, when setting up his household, I needed to keep that personality in mind. What would he have lying around? Would he do anything with the yard? Hang up pictures? And in doing all that, I discovered more about my hero than I thought I would. What I’d intended to be a sheer waste of time became, in a way, educational. I discovered that Daniel is creative, but with an eye for the bigger picture with a tendency to lose sight of details. He likes clean, clear lines, bold statements, and sharp colors. Understated and loyal, Daniel does well in social situations but has no problem being alone. He’s a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, who’s interested in so much that he has a tendency to start projects and never finish them, always moving on to the next “ooh, shiny!” What fully captures his attention, though, becomes a lifelong passion.

And here all this time I’d just had him written down as a brunette with gray eyes.

Still Working Out the Kinks

Okay, so I didn’t get much writing done this past weekend. Actually, I haven’t done much writing this entire week, but I’m not counting Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday because real life needed my attention. I’ll admit I have no real excuse for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I managed to get a little written late last night, but it’s hardly worth mentioning. Maybe a 100 words or so, which would be fine and dandy if I’d managed that every day, but I figured out pretty quick last month that I don’t do well with that schedule.

My main goal this weekend was to attempt to plot some of the sister’s series. I’ve plotted before using the index card method. You know, where you write down plot points on index cards so you can shuffle them or move them around if/when needed? Yeah… turned out to be a waste of index cards. Less than half of the plot points made it into the story, and the ones that did were so obviously forced that the story itself lost a lot of its heart.

Sometimes I think after over a decade of decently steady writing, I’d have my method down, but I remind myself that 2 full manuscripts (3 if you count PYNIMY, which I don’t because it’s terrible and horrible, and I’m rewriting it because it will never, ever, ever see the light of day as it is now) doesn’t a habit make. So we’re still working out the kinks. Well, that and the whole ten-years-of-writing-I-have-only-two-manuscripts-to-show-for-it?? thing, but one step at a time.

I have discovered, though, that stuff like theme and character arcs help a lot, so that’s part of what I’m focusing on with this series. While I’ll still have to get some major plot points for the series arc, which is part of where I’m tripping up, I did manage to get the book order figured out, match the heroes with the heroines, decide on a theme for each book, and figure out what the heroine’s arc will need to play out.

The heroes…well, they’re still cardboard cut-outs, but I have discovered a new form of procrastination technique that helped. (Surprised the heck out of me.) But more about that tomorrow.

The Bigfoot Effect

I admit it. I’m fascinated those “Finding Bigfoot” shows that come on channels like Discovery or Animal Planet. I love to watch people tramping through the woods with high-tech gear, waxing eloquent on the scientific research that supports their theories that Bigfoot exists. He just needs to be found, they say. They have evidence to support it.

Now, do I believe in Bigfoot? No.

But I kind of want to. See, aside from the fact that I love the idea of the drama and the mystery of some unknown animal of that size tromping around the Pacific northwest, the people who believe do so with such enthusiasm, such gusto, that I end up rooting for them. Yes, I say. Go forth and prove us wrong! I want myth and legend to become life, fiction to become real! 

I think it’s human nature to both fear and desire the unknown. When our own world becomes mundane, we start making up new ones. At the same time, we create stories to explain away the unknown, but in doing so we create much more, a wealth of stories that provides both answers and yet more questions. Think of ancient myths. The gods were created to explain why it rained, but that explanation spun off into a new, wide-swept world. Who are the gods? Where did the come from? What do they do with their time?

Believing in Bigfoot is feeding that need for myth and mystery, only those believers bring that myth into their own reality. In a way, Bigfoot believers and writers aren’t so different. Our realities are both stories. Mine’s just on paper.

Monday Update

I made it to page 245 of the CAROLINA NORTH revision this past weekend. Woo-hoo! I made it over the first major rewrite hurdle. While the plot stayed the same, the POV didn’t, and as the Infamous Kate W pointed out, that means it’s basically a whole new story given the change in motivations. Personally, I think it’s an improvement, but I’m still riding that fresh-written glow. We’ll see what the peanut gallery has to say.

While I still have 155 pages of revisions, including at least two scenes that potentially need a complete rewrite, I’m beginning to re-research literary agents and agencies to start submitting the manuscript once I’m satisfied with it, so keep your fingers crossed.

BEAR is slowly picking up the pace again thanks to the 100 Words-a-Day Writing Challenge. I debated joining since my focus has been taken up so thoroughly by the CN revisions, but that ended up being the reason why I did join. I didn’t want to lose the thread I’d picked up in BEAR, and I figured a hundred words or so a day will force the story to stay fresh in my mind. So far, it’s worked. (*Knock on wood*) I’m starting to plot and plan again.

Unfortunately, I’m still obsessing over the architecture in BEAR. I keep thinking if I can just draw one dang building correctly, I’ll be able to let it go, but my imagination far exceeds my skills. Nothing comes out looking the way it does in my head. Almost makes me wish scientists will hurry up and invent those cameras that take pictures of people’s dreams, so I can stop leaving chalk pastel fingerprints everywhere.

I’m also beginning preliminary research and character development on a seven book series I think of simple as the Sisters series. (Told you I’m a wiz with titles!) The story’s still percolating, and I haven’t had a chance yet to just sit down and write out character sketches. Until then, I won’t be able to hash out the plot, since my stories are all character-based.

That’s it on the writing front. On a personal note, the widgets are still missing on the right side of my pages, and I may be forced to commit the murders of my Day Job coworkers and their competing radios. Yikes, what a headache…