Are We There Yet? December 06, 2006

Ikarias 3 is finished. Close to 92K. I need to go over it, tighten things up, edit and nitpick, and get beta readers to help me see what works, what doesn't.

God is in the details, and the Devil is in the details. That's how we get drawn in: not to the whole game but to that one shot that makes the game memorable, not to the mass and riot of color in the florist's shop but to those three exotic, alien, bird of paradise flowers with orange petals and the little violet tongues tasting the air.

Here's an exercise that's fun--and that's what this must be, fun, else why do it? Tape a movie you've never seen before, color, b&w, doesn't matter. It's best if you don't know it--pick a genre you don't usually watch. Alternately, rent a video you've never seen. Mute the TV or the comp with your DVD player, go fast forward and stop where there's 2-4 people. No sound, that's important.

Look at them: Where are they? What's the time period? Roughly? Who are they? Do they look rich or poor? What are they doing? How are they dressed? What's the surroundings like? Outside? Inside? What do their expressions tell us?

Example: An old woman sits in a rocker with a cat in her lap. She wears a long black dress as if she's in mourning. A cameo rests at the high neck, off center. She's tall, you can see that even as she sits. Her pale grey hair is wound about her head in an old fashioned way that looks European. Her cream stockings are thick and pulled tight, her feet are tucked into sensible black shoes. The rocker's arms are pale, the varnish worn from years of sitting. The old woman's eyes are open, they're opaque, echoing the wooden arms. She smiles but it's not a kind smile.

The tabby cat's hissing at someone to the left. He's not agitated enough to jump from the lap of his owner. Her hand rests on his hips and he could run if he wanted to.

Behind her, the wallpaper has a Victorian look of pale flowers, slightly yellowed but not peeling.

To the right, her hand on the old woman's shoulder is a woman, younger by at least forty years. They might be related, or at least friends. She looks stern, concerned. Her features are aristocratic: high cheekbones, plucked eyebrows, lipstick applied with art. She's dressed stylish but almost as severe as the old lady, in a dark suit with a single strand of pearls.

The above is details, but not heart.

Making up a story with both catches the reader. I'll taking the old lady's line, her thoughts:

Emma stroked old Mr Tabbs. He hissed at Steven, he never liked that boy even when he was a kit. Steven, known as Stevie then, tried to take the young tom on a ride in his Arrow wagon down Thompson Street. He got all scratched up and blamed Mr. Tabbs for him whanging the wagon into the old maple at the corner lot where the old Foster house used to be. Mr. Tabbs hated the boy ever since then. He didn't get hurt, except for his dignity, and for a cat, that's unforgivable.

Steven's looking for his share of Emmet's will. Looking to take Cassie's share too, though she's been more kin to me than my own blood. Adopted don't mean nothing when she's been here through Emmet's cancer and my failing eyes. Maybe my walking's not as spry, nor my joints as limber, but my mind is sharper than that boy'll ever know.

Where was he when Emmet called for him as the damned thing was eating him up like a wolf tearing at a lamb? Drinking, whoring, gambling, spending his life as a wastrel. Emmet took him out of jail so many times it was a joke. Dignity, my family's dignity lost to a bad seed. He's not getting the money, oh no.

Now the reader wants to know more.

Unblocked, Cover Crocks, and Mentoring July 04, 2006

To hell with the artist! I've my own damned pix and I know what I want!

Ever notice all those lookalike fantasy covers? Same collection of mightily-thewed heroes and generously bosomed heroines and dragons and gryffons and basilisks, oh my, (my apologies to Frank Baum.) Don't writers realize if they don't describe their characters well enough, all the artists in the world can't do the characters justice. Same for doing the protagonists and antagonists done in such detail that there's no room for the reader to say--hey, that's not what the person looks like to my mind but now that I see them I can't get that out of my mind.

What do the covers say? Here's a scene from the book: Odyn and Frya have just smote the beastie and have several other beasties sneaking up on them, stay tuned! Gee that looks just like the book next to it with Thar and Thyn smoting even bigger beasties etc ad nauseum.

Yes, there are many excellent illustrators out there and my fav dragon master Cabral Ciruelo is awesome, so is Rowena Morrill, naming 2 giants among many. Again, alone on a gallery wall, they're outstanding, packed among dozens of similar though lesser lights, you lose the impact of the cover.

On to Ikarias book 3, Balanced Scales is up to 41K. I have the mystery solved as to how to get our heroine out of the gladiatorial ring. Snubbing the Empress is a mistake, Malakite takes her revenge by having the #2 ranked fighter do a job for her, resulting in Ikarias doing the unforgivable--killing a fellow gladiator outside the sands. Sentenced to death by mantichore, our heroine has a few surprises in store.

http://www.writingshow.com/ has my mentoring interview with Paula B., out of my superwriter persona as mild-mannered Pam Lord with my mentee Tiff Lodoen for Little Owl via the Absynthe Muse site.

All you published writers out there--think about being a mentor. It's easy, it's fun, and you'll be putting credits in the Universal bean jar, which will come back to you in spades. Your Muses will thank you too.

Teasers January 14, 2006

The Empress Malakite is demanding more time, and her nemesis--Devestyn, daughter of Ravager will also get more pages. Does Devestyn do this for revenge against the Half-Dragon, or is there more to it, proving that she's better than her defunct mater, working with a 'higher class' of victim, using each against the other for a third victory? Who is Malakite's true father? Who killed her mother? How will Ikarias escape the life of a gladiator?

Stay tuned!

Ah yes, the artist was a loss, she did not keep in touch and was unreliable so a second choice is up. Hopefully he can protray my Ikarias as she would like.

Writing Vignettes August 14, 2005

I keep dropping vignettes and slices of conversations into the notebook for Ikarias 3, Balanced Scales. Up to 6k+.

Should I bring in the Centaucorns? B'sylla? Maybe bring her in for book 4.

For suspense, time limits can help, note the popularity of the TV show '24' when every season is based on 1 hour in the 24. Can't say I'm terribly fond of the Sutherland boy. I think his father is a much more accomplished actor.

On one hand I want to get to the editing of Sorceress' Game, Ikarias 1, asap, and dreading it. How much will they want to change my voice? I know J's good. She didn't twist 'Jura the Wanderer' for Tavern Tales, just made things clearer. The old 'forest for the trees' was never so real as in doing a novel.

Maybe I should start working up a concordance or site map. That would be fun too.

Feed the Writer's Imagination! July 26, 2005

Went up north for a day to Rosh Hanikra (northern Israel) where the sea has carved out the limestone cliffs. The water rushes in clinging to the rocks and drops off. Brown/grey flint is imbedded in the ecru walls making them look like chocolate chip ice cream. Have the ice-cave/crystal home of the dragons figured out for the end of book 3 of Ikarias.

Everything feeds the writer!

That is thanks to the @$#%#$ migraine that damn near crippled me all day. You'd think something would work. Nada, codeine barely takes the edge off so I'm in 5% less pain. All I can do is hide in my head and work on the stories. The Empress hides a secret too... Or is the secret hiding her?

Plots within plots...