Walking the Writer's Path

Character Sketch: Henrik Niestrom

2011-10-08T16:22:00.004-05:00

Following a disastrous alchemic accident which caused an entire district of the Rhevisean capitol to fall ill, authorities charged 15-year-old botanist Henrik with attempted mass murder. His conviction brought shame to House Niestrom and he was subsequently disowned. Henrik sought refuge in an orphanage and continued his study of plants and mixtures as he awaited trial. While his disrepute across the empire came as no surprise, he had not expected anyone to admire his crude, archaic skills.

Soliessen, guildmaster to a group of assassins, thieves and spies, aimed to make use of the young alchemist's potential. After striking a deal with Henrik, she agreed to purchase his freedom using her wealth and political influence in exchange for his services. As Soliessen's most expensive human asset, Henrik assumed the role of poisonmaster and supplied the guild with deadly concoctions. For months his conscience remained unshaken, never witnessing the end result of his work. But with the arrival of a new recruit named Yamini, Henrik finds his moral horizons suddenly broadened and begins to reevaluate his loyalties--an act that may cost him his life...

The Art of a Prequel

2011-09-29T23:40:00.006-05:00

As time progresses and the entertainment industry slowly runs out of ideas, the notion of prequels has begun losing consumer appeal. What was once a creative alternative to sequels, spin-offs and...well...brand new stories with unique characters is becoming a surefire last resort for those wishing to cash in on established success. While prequels have much to offer when done well, more often than not they are carelessly put together and the end result is lackluster. This is partially due to heavy reliance on fan knowledge and support, and largely due to writing backwards being less forgiving than writing forwards. To write a good prequel, one must be talented in all the ways he or she would write any engaging story. However, they must do so with even more limitations, awareness, and demand for surprise.

Time is the writer's primary confines. Care must be taken to maintain accuracy and continuity with previous lore (future events) without threatening to alter thresholds in the timeline. The timelines themselves can pose a problem if significant historical events that were previously alluded to are neglected, or if such events are created for the sake of current plot and are then, chronologically, wiped from future lore via character ignorance.

Another issue of time is settling on the start of it. Going backward from a point, the writer only has so large a window to create a compelling tale (assuming the character is human) before an overlap or parallel occurs. The focus, then, is locating the exact moment in a character's life wherein she becomes interesting. From here it is a matter of creating a series of events to aid in a reverse-arc. The original character is dissected, mangled, and ran through the gamut (figuratively, and at times, literally!) to make sure it undergoes enough change to be considered dynamic and interesting...yet winds up in exactly the same state her future self. In essence, we have to uncreate a character backward.

New characters must also be introduced with caution and their influence monitored. Importance must be such that their existence is crucial to current story progression, but not so much that their absence in future events would go unnoticed or unmentioned by the main character. There are obvious solutions for characters who fail to make appearances later on, solutions which many readers and viewers see coming a mile away. This is an inevitable technical flaw. Concerns should lie in two places specifically: allowing new characters to have an impact in the current story, and making their impact resound in future events. This could be adopted vernacular or mannerisms, skill sets, scars, trinkets and items, or memories. For these reasons, it is a good idea to have every character's history in mind—where they've been, who they've known, what they've done—despite in what order said character appears in the chronology.

Perhaps the biggest technical flaw of all is regard (or lack thereof) for the main character's safety. The audience already knows our character survives to take place in future events. Why, therefore, should they be concerned at all for her health and well-being? For all intents and purposes, the character is immune from death and her success, in one form or another, is guaranteed. This is where strong character building and storytelling come into play, and also where many prequels fall short.

Rather than manifesting a literal theme park and throwing beloved characters on a series of rides to thrill the audience, the writer cannot be lazy and forsake one of the most important rules: Make the reader CARE. To do this, sometimes the character has to be reinvented from the ground up. Her path to the state of mind in future exploits must consist of more than petty action sequences and memorable (or not-so-memorable) dialogue. It must consist of very real emotional struggles, impossible decisions, forged friendships and severed bonds. The audience must be forced to forget that our character survives her obstacles...and one of the best ways to do this is by reminding them of that character's humanity through loss, suffering, and physical pain.

So long as we can relate to and feel something for a character, the mere fact that they survive becomes a moot point before long. By that time, it will become clear that the character does not arrive at her future incarnation physically or emotionally unscathed.

On "Dumbing it Down"

2010-12-29T12:59:00.011-06:00

I don't do it so often anymore, but occasionally I will look back at my old short stories, poems, and the first draft of A&E and marvel at how far my writing has come over the last decade. With age, experience and reading I have managed to improve upon many things that have strengthened me as a writer while coming into my own personal style. Learning new words, new techniques, experimentation. All of these are a part of development. And thanks to a few courses in creative writing, I learned how to trim down my prose when I became too wordy. I've finally reached a point where I am confident in my abilities as a writer, yet I still struggle with one aspect of feedback that I receive constantly: the issue of dumbing it down.

Like most commentary, my initial reaction is to take it with a grain of salt. When someone says that something doesn't make sense, I have to balance the possibility of my not having explained it thoroughly against an individual's capacity to solve, interpret or deduce. Additionally, personal opinions and tastes play a large role in a reader's feedback. As a result, suggestions are not always objective, neutral critiques. What flags a comment in my mind is having heard the same complaint or suggestion several times before. This says to me, "Hey Sean, maybe you're doing something wrong!" To which I reply, "Perhaps I should take a closer look." And so I do. This has also made me a stronger writer.

But I seem to have hit a wall where I am unable or unwilling to compromise.

After a bit of research I have learned that most publications, be them magazines, newspapers or novels, are written between a fifth- and eighth-grade level because it maximizes readability by the widest margin of people. Obviously, the easier something is to read, the more people in theory can and will read it. (Movies focus on the PG-13 rating for this same reason.) It makes sense, of course. But I also have to consider the publications that do not subscribe to this philosophy. I have to consider the literary geniuses throughout history who didn't care about "maximizing sales" but instead focused on being original and creating a masterpiece. Even if it meant only a precious few would understand or appreciate it. Even if it meant that they would be long dead before their genius became fully realized.

My concern: How is an author's style defined, and at what point does an oversimplification of prose infringe upon this? I worry because I have worked hard to get my writing where it is. I work hard to write elegantly and intelligently without seeming pretentious or verbose. Yet still, most of my work goes over people's heads. And I know it's not my stories because the incident isn't limited to fiction. My articles, blogs and essays have all had the same effect. I want more than anything to be read and understood and appreciated by the masses, but is establishing myself as an author worth putting on hold the heart and soul of my writing? Are the words I choose and the order in which I use them not the very things that set me apart from another writer? By changing these words to smaller ones or using fewer of them solely for the purpose of increasing their readability, am I...really strengthening my writing, or am I just conforming to the modern paradigm that entertainment should be easily--nigh mindlessly absorbed?

Don't get me wrong. I value ease just as much as the next person. But I also value having the option of various levels or types or degrees of difficulty in whatever I'm doing. (Video games get this right. There is a reason why developers often include hard or outright ridiculous modes to play through.) People--gamers, at least--enjoy challenge. Ergo, being as my target audience largely consists of gamers anyway, I have to believe that people want this same choice when it comes to literature. I mean, do people really want to read 300 pages of sentences consisting of five one- or two-syllable words ALL the time? "John ran to the kitchen. He picked up the phone." /headdesk

Again, nothing wrong with the format, or even the level of writing. What has begun to irk me, however, is the intolerance shown toward writing above the average level of readability. At one point it was acceptable to have varying degrees of difficulty when it came to literature. Now, everyone seems to want easy, easy, easy. On the off-chance that someone tells me why they cannot read my writing through to the end, they usually say something like, "It's too hard," or "I don't want to have to think." Well, why not? Has thinking become so difficult that we can no longer bear the thought of it? What happened to challenging ourselves? What happened to broadening our vocabulary and strengthening our grasp of the English language? Tabloids happened. Reality TV happened. The desire to absorb rather than interpret happened. And the editors, publishers and producers let it happen. We demanded, and they supplied.

And it is possible, too, that the artists, the musicians, the writers are to blame as well. It is possible that when faced with the ultimatum of "dumb it down so we can sell it, or get out" that we commonly take the former option in favor of getting published, finding fame, reaping riches, and so on. The latter option is an exercise in faith, but it is also a stance of principle. To walk away from a surefire deal to preserve one's creative doctrines shows a confidence beyond the money-centric ideology that seems to have afflicted most forms of personal expression. We sacrifice ourselves all too often because we equate the deal, the job, the gig, the contract, the check, to success. We allow those things to validate us despite having diluted who we are and what we create. The proverbial endgame, therefore, has become more a matter of winning favoritism and less one of having something unique or inspiring to offer.

Do we cheapen our methods of self expression by selling them? Of course not. There's nothing wrong with putting a pricetag on one's work. But I do believe that whatever message we are trying to convey as artists is weakened by manipulating and distorting and fine-tuning it to fit inside the perfectly average box so that everyone can perceive it the exact same way. Requisites for interpretive skills, for drawing conclusions, for questioning what we take in, have been relegated into virtual non-existence because everything is constantly spelled out for us! There is little room to inquire, "What about those things?" before someone replies, "There are no other things, save for what we have presented. Nothing exists outside of the box we have drawn for you."

We are supposed to accept this. And I believe most are so conditioned to soaking up like a sponge whatever is poured into their entertainment bowls that they've forgotten how to demand more and instead settle for shallow things...not out of preference, but out of a lack of any other choice! So I'm here to give it to them. And if it takes winning over readers, agents, editors and publishers one by one, then sobeit. The world has plenty of mindless garbage to absorb. But whatever the case, I have absolutely no intention of selling out.

Do I speak from experience? Have I refused a year's salary or more because I'm too stubborn to write "can't" instead of "cannot"? No. My decree, as it were, is one of intent...and it states that my creative integrity will not buckle beneath the pressure of corporate demand and monetary incentive! It will not cater to indifference, to a lack of curiosity or initiative, to those wishing to keep one eye on the prose and the other on the television. My work is not meant to be read on autopilot; as such, I cannot expect everyone to enjoy it. Even those with an affinity for harder and heavier reading won't enjoy it. And that's okay. I still subscribe to the notion that literature is more than a frivolous means of entertaining. It is also an artform. Art...is subject to interpretation, and that's precisely what we could be doing more often. Interpreting...

Instead of absorbing.

Rogue's Creed: Priorities of Parkour

2010-11-08T18:51:00.006-06:00

About halfway through Book 2, Yamini begins her studies of parkour. It is then that we get a glimpse at the priority system Narran has chosen to use in order to help Yamini master such a high level skill. What I'm running with in this first draft is my best guess at a traceur's philosophy. While I personally do not practice parkour, the order of priorities Narran suggests seems logical enough to be believed, just as Yamini's instructions to Avatar on the subject of polefighting in Book 1 seemed logical. I have every intention of finding and interviewing a real life traceur to evaluate my take on parkour philosophy. Hopefully I am not far off!

Narran's basic principles are as follows:

Awareness: The ability to actively perceive one's surroundings for the purpose of quickly plotting an effective and efficient course from point A to B. This includes rendering several usable planes for running and climbing, locating stationary and anticipating moving obstacles, and neutralizing, evading or dispatching foes along the course. Limited experience can be gained, to a point, from standstill evaluation of an arena. Further experience can be achieved only by physically navigating a course. Awareness is the top priority and must be mastered first.

Balance: The ability to maintain a heightened kinesthetic disposition despite course difficulty, distraction or duration. This includes compensating for uneven, shifting, narrow, multiple and vertical surfaces at varying velocities. Advanced levels require performing tumbles, flips, various aerial feats, and distributing weight to more quickly and easily traverse an obstacle or lessen impact from a fall. Balance is a high priority, second only to awareness.

Speed: The ability to move rapidly. More than simple sprinting, a rogue must be able to quickly maneuver his or her arms as well as legs in order to grab onto, push or pull various obstacles. Without proper speed, distance between jumps cannot be closed, momentum cannot be built on vertical surfaces, and the chance of being caught increases. "An idle rogue is a dead one." Speed is of moderate priority and should be perfected after awareness and balance are mastered.

Strength: The ability to repeatedly lift, push and pull weight. A rogue's main concern while running, jumping and climbing is body weight. In order to be properly prepared for a flee circuit, one must be able to lift and hold his or her body weight several times, or over a lengthy duration. Uncomfortable positions, such as that of an extended crouch or clinging to the side of a wall, aid both in hiding and escaping. Occasionally the rogue must carry excess weight, depending on the mission. It is thus advisable to train well beyond the practical threshold. Strength is a moderately low priority.

Endurance: The ability to sustain awareness, balance, speed and stength over long periods of time. What appears at first to be one of the more valuable attributes, endurance is actually the lowest priority. Considering that a rogue who properly utilizes the previous four attributes should be able to navigate a course and escape with relative quickness and ease, endurance lessens in importance. "If a rogue finds that she is out of breath and can no longer perform the feats necessary to escape, that rogue has made a mistake somewhere and thus deserves to be caught." Endurance should be perfected to a degree, but should not be given priority over the other four attributes.

What we have here is a chain of priorities: Awareness > Balance > Speed > Strength > Endurance. The further down the chain, the more an attribute's efficiency relies on the ones above it. Awareness is of utmost importance. Balance is essential, but worth nothing if the rogue cannot plot an adequate course in his or her mind. ". . . balance without awareness leads to faltering feet." Speed is essential to physically move from point A to B and to evade capture, but speed is useless if the rogue stumbles and falls. Strength is necessary to overcome many common obstacles, but worthless if the rogue is too sluggish or imbalanced to reach them. Lastly, endurance should be used mostly as a training component to improve the other four attributes. Accomplishing extraordinary feats in a short amount of time is more advantageous to a rogue than maintaining par performance over long durations.

On Love in Fiction

2010-09-28T20:20:00.003-05:00

I realize that most popular works of fiction these days are imbued with romantic themes to accompany whatever story the author chooses to tell. And rightfully so! Love (or the desire for it, at any rate) is a relatively universal quality. Following a heartless character is difficult, but following one during his or her reckless pursuit of another human being? We can often relate to that. And in doing so, we come to care for these characters even more. Under the proper circumstances.

One could argue that any great story worth telling involves some elements of love. If this is indeed the case, why not implement a love arc in every story written? As an author, would it not help place your story that much closer to being one of the greats? Would it not instantly gain that much more of an audience and thus produce more sales? Probably. So then why is love, a crucial hook and determining factor for a novel's success, something I downplay in my own writing? The answer, much like love itself, is simple . . . and it is not.

I have thought long and hard on love in fiction, its uses, advantages and drawbacks. One of my best friends, perhaps the most die-hard fan of love and hopeless romantic to a fault, often laments my methods. While I can understand his disappointment by taking a look at my own life, I also have to consider a broader perspective of the world itself. There are many great stories to tell right here, in present day, on our own planet--none of which involve romance. Heroic deeds are committed daily by perfectly average people for reasons other than love, reasons like altruism, stupidity, misguided pride, or simply because it is their job. When we read about these heroes in the paper or see them interviewed on the evening news, rarely will he or she say, "I went through this incredibly courageous act in the name of love!" It just does not happen, and that probably plays a part in why fiction is ridden with romantic heroes.

Taking a slightly less realistic perspective, consider all the fictitious heroes who are driven by love. Perhaps more often than it grants determination or motivation, love in many ways hinders their abilities. Desire for their object of affection serves as a distraction, spawns faulty and reckless logic, and gives the antagonist an obscene amount of emotional leverage. These sorts of elements pave the way to overly generic conflicts. And conclusions. Plots and endings become predictable to the point that our capacity to care about the hero's fate becomes stifled because we have already guessed it! Simply put, in my opinion, a character so intensely driven by love in any genre other than romance is a character equipped with more weaknesses than strengths.

This is not to say that I admonish love in literature completely, for it is nevertheless a vital part of our humanity. Failing to incorporate it at all would be akin to committing an ultimate literary blasphemy and do most works a grave injustice! I embrace love and the humanity it bestows upon fictitious characters, but I choose to remain subtle in doing so:

Xearo's love for Aeria is strong enough to redeem his soul from eternal darkness and grant humanity a final chance to right itself, yet he never breathes a word of it to her. He pushes his emotions aside, for love takes a back seat to defending his homeworld, allowing himself to focus without distraction.
Yamini comes to care a great deal for Henrik, the one guildmate who shows her compassion, but in being so young and inexperienced she constantly dismisses her feelings. Her love for a mere boy is easily overshadowed by her dedication to her work and her cause, and its positive aura is negated by a lifetime of dissonance.
Jadera slowly falls for Tristan, her benefactor and Soulcrafter. But due to circumstances, the two must work together to dethrone the master of dreams before plans of a worldwide spiritual domination can take hold. By the time their mutual affections become realized, irreparable tragedy has already befallen the star-crossed couple.

These are three of my biggest characters, and in all cases life wins out over love. One might say that I take an unfortunate, cynical and subdued approach to love in fiction. But in that regard, have I not also taken a small step toward realism? My characters feel as we feel, and are thus similarly denied or else forced to relegate their feelings to a degree of lesser importance in order to tackle whatever adversity their respective universes throw at them. We often find ourselves at a crossroads of sorts where we must decide between emotional pursuits and dire circumstances; why should they get off easy?

As authors, we govern the choices of our characters in order to tell a story. And share a piece of ourselves. Many authors take a very whimsical approach to romance, commonly making it both the conflict and the resolution in a "love conquers all" motif. My hardly revolutionary philosophy is to show that love, while an interesting dynamic between characters, does not always cut it, and that when the consequences of life push hard enough, it must sometimes be disregarded altogether for the greater good. Fate chooses who is worthy, and she chooses who is not. Like a delicate flower, love is not meant to bloom eternal in all places. Or within all people, for that matter.

My characters and myself . . . we are no exception.

Character Sketch: Azsherade Altairus

2010-09-07T19:33:00.010-05:00

After adopting her at the age of ten, Azsherade trains Yamini in the arts of reading and writing so that she may become a righteous scribe and guide Rhevise into revolution. But just after her first year of apprenticeship, Councilman Shahid declares any and all handwritten communication to be a direct act of treason against the Rhevisean Empire. Scribes across the territories are ordered to cease and desist their practices. With his profession destroyed and his own daughter presumed dead, Azsherade shifts his focus to political affairs.

Using his knowledge of the territories to his advantage, Azsherade's reputation spreads quickly as he ascends the political ladder. After three years he achieves the rank of Alderman and gains significant influence within Rhevise. Though his public statements and decrees appear fair (almost too fair) for the majority of the population, his true motives remain unknown. While largely operating behind the scenes in recent months, leaving his associates to do most of his public work, several of Azsherade's decisions are questioned by the Council. Some believe that the former scribe went mad with the loss of his daughter, and now intends to assume control of the territory by circumventing or eliminating the Council altogether in order to employ his own philosophies of order.

When his name finally appears on the ballot for councilman, Azsherade earns more attention than he bargained for. Fearing what he could do with such power, the Aikon Brothers commission an infamous rogue, Soliessen, to assassinate the former scribe. Sensing that some would be out to claim his life, Azsherade holes himself up in his estate, biding time until the election. The ploy might have worked, if not for Soliessen's unsuspecting protege...

Character Sketch: Narran

2010-07-27T23:54:00.005-05:00

When Yamini assassinates Councilman Shahid, she unknowingly gains the attention of not one but two dark souls. While Soliessen, bound by the limitations of a physical body, acts with haste to influence the young girl, Narran takes a more subtle approach. Watching silently from the plane of shadow, Narran follows Yamini and interjects subconscious hints and direction when necessary. But when Yamini falters due to her guilt complex, Narran takes over her body temporarily in order to complete the mission at the Ka'Dence Estate and return to the guild hall. She then reveals herself to Yamini, appearing as a dark doppelganger of the young rogue, and attempts to explain the plane of shadows and the spirits who dwell there.

Narran volunteers to take influence during killing blows, but Yamini refuses. Instead, she shadow spirit opts to teach Yamini the dark arts and helps her to develop her shadow abilities, melee fighting prowess, and eventually parkour. Over the course of months, Yamini struggles with a messy execution and turns over the role of killer to Narran to spare her conscience. With more influence and time spent in the physical plane, Narran begins to notice Soliessen coveting Yamini's body and suspects that the guildmaster is up to something. Yamini, confused by Pandora's whisperings at night, rejects the notion and chooses not to trust either completely, for shadow spirits are known for their deceptive nature...

Character Sketch: Soliessen

2010-07-16T12:14:00.004-05:00

After Yamini assassinates Councilman Shahid and activates the shadow dormant in her soul, Guildmaster Soliessen locks onto the youth's dark trace and seeks out the girl. She finds Yamini on the street and gives the girl cryptic instructions on how to locate her institution. Once Yamini finds her way to the guild hall and passes her initiation trials, Soliessen aims to build the youth's renown by molding her into a protege. When Yamini awakens her shadow spirit, Narran, Soliessen instructs the young rogue to beware the spirit's influence and to consider banishment. In truth, Soliessen's intentions are dishonest.

As a former shadow spirit herself, Soliessen grows tired of her steadily weakening, aging stolen body. Fully aware of Yamini's divine lineage, a direct descendant of Lady Fate Herself, Soliessen recognizes that a shadow spirit's power channeled through the genes of a demigoddess would be immeasurable. She strives to keep Narran from gaining permanent influence, for once a spirit usurps a host they become bound. Instead, Soliessen bides her time training Yamini and conditioning her mind and body so that it is prepared for the spirit swap. The more Yamini is respected and feared as an apprentice, the less work Soliessen will have rebuilding her own notoriety after assuming influence of the girl's body once and for all...

Unofficial Soundtrack Completed!

2010-07-11T14:38:00.002-05:00

Ever since the inception of my character, Avatar, and the trials he would endure, I have had a running soundtrack in my mind...if ever the book (if it should make it that far!) became a movie. Ten years ago I began with an opening sequence and track in my head. As the years progressed, the story evolved, and my musical tastes expanded, the soundtrack has grown and grown. Now, more than a year after Of Avatars and Elementals has been completed, I have finally put the finishing touches on what I consider to be the first draft of the novel's soundtrack.

For those of you who care to give a listen I will say this: the soundtrack is not meant to be listened to along with the reading. Individual pace of reading would make this very difficult. Instead, it is meant to be listened to after having enjoyed the novel, or perhaps for a second read through. Bear in mind, also, that these tracks are more for a general ambience, a guideline of sound. If ever the book is made into a movie, I'm sure other music will be used. It is only my vain desire that the tracks sound somewhat like this. =) For those of you who are interested, some of the scenes (the fight scenes, in particular) have been extensively choreographed in my head to fit their respective tracks minute by minute. I have a list of each track's timing notations and it is available upon request. You can find links to the music below. Enjoy!

Prologue: Leaving the Cabin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqs_MfTafSM
Avatar Ventures Forth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBTThmI99Vo&feature=related
Memories of Battle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuXDxKruhN0
Lair of the Beasts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn_2sOmdSdM
Laser Tag http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wAAAm-iNvA
Secrets of the Great Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DAhYSJkvlM
To Fight in Vain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jaMwLmJXyE
Keep Your Eyes Downcast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF8x0v8RiLQ&feature=related
Escape from Infinity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzDkdqdqhrY
Testing the Hermit's Worth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NijJnEDx1YI
Defending the A.S. Merello http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wXwcg6MuHU
Last Stand of the Elementals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rALcUvXCRXA
Weighing Xearo's Soul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBoAMQKRMs
Dispelling the Darkness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csYBwZPCleY
Monument of Light and Glass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FYYp10ho38

Character Sketch: Yamini Lithala

2010-05-25T22:02:00.009-05:00

Abandoned by her parents as an infant and left on the cathedral's doorstep, Yamini is raised by a high priestess until the age of ten. She is then offered apprenticeship under the respected master scribe, Azsherade, which she hesitantly accepts. For a year she learns to read and write, a rare skill within the empire, and studies the history of Rhevise. Azsherade adopts Yamini and considers her his own daughter. She is fast becoming an adept scribe when an unscrupulous politician, Councilman Shahid, outlaws the use of handwriting and script in response to an insurrection orchestrated by messages written in graffiti. Yamini decides that Shahid is a bad man and should be killed for the greater good of Rhevise. Against Azsherade's warnings, Yamini abandons her home and mentor to follow the corrupt politician into the night. After a brief verbal exchange, Yamini slays Shahid and leaves him on a residential stoop.

This action gains the attention of Soliessen, guildmaster to a group of rogues, thieves and assassins. Having nowhere else to go, Yamini reluctantly joins the guild after a tiresome initiation process resulting in the death of a young girl. Her first real assignment, a mission of theft that sends her into the Ka'Dence Estate to recover the valuable memory cube artifact, awakens a shadow spirit within Yamini. This shadow spirit, Narran, becomes her only real companion and gives Yamini guidance by whispering into her mind. For three years Yamini trains and learns the ways of the rogue through Soliessen's and Narran's instructions. Her missions range from thievery and pickpocketry to infiltration and sabotage to murder and assassination. Due to Yamini's severe guilt complex, she turns over influence to Narran during deadly missions. Yamini eventually comes to be called by her codename, "Narran", by guildmates. This eventually leads to an identity crisis that threatens to banish Yamini's soul to the plane of shadow...

Progress...of a different kind

2010-04-06T20:07:00.002-05:00

I have been away from this blog for far too long, but more ashamed am I of the time I've spent away from the pages of my story. It has been weeks, nigh months, since Yamini has had any action. I can't blame writer's block, because I know exactly what is to be written. I can only blame my motivation. Lack of sleep. Lack of initiative. And lack of inspiration. I need to crawl out of this funk, and ASAP!

Of course, I know the only way to get back into the groove of things is to start putting words down on the screen and stop caring (temporarily, mind you) how pretty or perfect they are. Well, a very large part of me still fights this philosophy of "putting down crap and cleaning it up later" so I've taken a different tack. Character mapping! Probably more exciting than it actually sounds, and way more beneficial to me than any standard outline formatting. I've never been one for outlines, timelines, ANY kind of lines, really. They're too restrictive, too concrete. I liked to color outside them as a kid. Not because I didn't possess the coordination to stay within them, but rather...because I didn't always like where they were placed. My stories are no exception.

The character maps provide me with a deeper insight to the characters, their motivations, their progressions in the story, where significant events overlapped, and the ultimate goals or endgames of each. What I have been focusing on these last two weeks is essentially each character's (sub characters included) entire story, beginning with the start of the book until the end of it, summarizing the whole of their importance, explaining their motives, and drawing a vague idea of how they will accomplish or fail their purpose. It is an interesting strategy, one I've never before employed. And despite the time it is consuming, I am finding it both fun and helpful. Several plot issues--aspects of the story that up until just days ago were question marks even to me!--are being resolved and fundamentally fleshed out so that when the time comes to reveal a twist or hidden motive or some such thing, I will at least know which way the story will go from there.

Perhaps these ramblings sound like that of a poor writer. I can imagine the commentary. "This guy doesn't even know what he's writing half the time!" Well, I don't. Half the time, the things that come out of my characters' mouths or their actions are just as surprising to me as they are to the readers. THIS is what keeps the writing process fun for me. Experiencing the story myself as the reader must. Being surprised. Not being quite sure what will happen, how, or when. Most of the time I'm in the mystery with my own writing, my own characters. But the way I see it...if I can fool myself, then I must succeed, in part or in whole, in tricking out the masses. I consider that a victory as an author.

Now, it wouldn't be right for me to post the character maps I'm creating, for there would be spoilers abound and practically give away the entire story! I can, however, provide a brief bio of each, similar to the character sketches found in video game manuals. The purpose in the game books is to get the players interested in the characters said game has to offer by giving their background and letting the player decide who to be, who to care about, who to trust and who not to. Video games have been such a big inspiration of mine thus far. I see no reason not to continue the trend.

That said, look for these bios to come one at a time in the near future.

What is Shadowplay?

2009-11-26T13:50:00.002-06:00

In Part 2 of Yamini's story, we are presented with a rogue's game called Shadowplay. Inspired by ideas of the Battle Room from Ender's Game and Drizzt's melee tournaments in Homeland, Shadowplay is a quarterly guild event wherein combatants enter a large arena with sparring weapons. The arena is sealed and all lights are turned off, creating an area of complete darkness. Combatants must navigate the arena floor, which consists of several pillars, obstacles and fall-throughs, whilst avoiding--or dispatching--other rogues. Dispatching another rogue requires striking a vital area with the sparring weapon of choice, resulting in a temporary stun state until the end of the match. Wound points are taken into account during the final round for placing purposes, but whomever is left standing is named the ultimate victor regardless of point accumulation.

The philosophy behind Shadowplay, in Soliessen's eyes, is to train the students to rely on instincts as well as other senses besides sight. For years, rogues train to manipulate their surroundings and use cover of darkness as their primary advantage. By turning that advantage against them, essentially leveling the playing field between combatants, Shadowplay forces the students to become even more creative, adaptive and resourceful. It also forces them to become more conniving. Alliances and betrayals saturate the playing field. As Soliessen has stated, the only trustworthy rogue is oneself.

Fortunately for Yamini, sometimes the best partner is a specter from another plane...

Elementals' Spells and Abilities list

2009-11-01T12:37:00.002-06:00

So this list is...wow, almost a year old. But I thought it would be pertinent to repost it here.

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=293159501&blogId=450886573

A complete but ongoing list of the six main elementals and their respective abilities from Of Avatars. Of course, the same abilities will be apparent in future novels as well (we follow Yamini as she learns most of her tricks in Of Shadow), and there's a good chance that additional abilities will be added in the future as they are discovered. Happy reading, gamers and readers.

At the behest of my fans...

2009-10-04T22:35:00.002-05:00

Okay. I should say fan. Singular.

I realize it has been some time since I've updated. This is due partly to life having gotten a bit busy recently, and partly due to there being very little to report. Work on Of Shadow has slowed considerably. Continuity issues. Fears and uncertainties. Nothing out of the usual for me. First drafts aren't easy, and they aren't quick. Couple those things with one of the world's most adept procrastinators and you'll have quite a wait for a piece of literature.

Thankfully, you can be assured that it ends up pretty good. =)

With weekends being the only time I can sit down and focus, and these past several weekends being loaded with weddings and festivals and everything else keeping me away from the keyboard, I've gotten a bit lazy. Sorry to report, I still haven't applied my edits to Of Avatars. That goes without saying, no query letters have been crafted, no agents or agencies submitted to--basically, no progress other than that of the new book. Maybe this is good enough, maybe it isn't. For me, it signifies failure and inadequate motivation.

I'm torn between perfecting my first piece and finishing the second. For being this late in the game, that's kind of bad. Especially since I have to literally wait for Yamini to finish telling the story. I don't know everything that is going to happen, and neither does she. I know where she ends up...just not how she gets there exactly. That is the fun part about writing these stories. It is as much an adventure for me as it is for the characters. They never fail to surprise, never disappoint.

I, on the other hand...

*sighs* Back to work.

Young Assassin's Poem

2009-08-12T21:37:00.014-05:00

So I was feeling in a poetic mood again last week and this is what came out of me. My mind has been deep into creating book two and familiarizing myself with the characters. This poem is written from Yamini's perspective after she is given her first journal and expresses her apprehension for following Soliessen's leadership in the rogue's guild. In order to comply with her assignments, she learns to dissociate from herself and forms a vicious, cold alter-ego. Yamini has yet to name the piece.

A tangled web we weave indeed

From blades of steel so crass,

Withdrawn in part a once warm heart

To my dismay, alas.

We fight for those without a cause

And those who lack the skill,

But darkness hides behind those eyes;

She does it for the thrill.

I must get free from their decree,

From hatred and despair...

Find haven safe within this state,

I fear I know not where.

For there must be another way

To circumvent the lie,

To rescue those who'd flee in droves.

How can they? How can I?

"I am Not Reckless"

2009-08-03T23:09:00.008-05:00

To celebrate my motivated progress with OSaD I thought I'd share an excerpt of a future chapter with you, dear reader. I thought this bit would be suitable for showing off the main character, Yamini, in her natural setting (and spunk!) three years after her story begins. For a fourteen-year-old, I'd say she's a pretty cool kid! Then again, I am biased...

"Wait, what are you doing?" Henrik asked, his face contorted with concern.

"Is it not obvious?" said Yamini. "I am going after him myself."

The two boys looked at each other and laughed. Then they realized she was serious. "You can't do that!" said Sebastian.

Yamini cocked an eyebrow. "Can is a matter of ability and ambition," she replied, "and I most certainly have both!"

Henrik watched with disbelief as Yamini unsheathed both daggers and concealed each blade behind her inner forearms. "It's bold enough that you've attempted to steal Master Soliessen's recruits--"

"She is no longer our master," Yamini spat, "and by being here you have proven my attempt successful."

"Breaking away from a former guild to forge your own is one thing," Sebastian argued, "but claiming Soliessen's marks is suicide, Yamini!" She ignored him as she stood and crept into the shadowed archway of the arena staircase. "There are codes to adhere to, principles to follow. You are nothing but a rogue, a brash vigilante with a taste for vengeance. Why should we follow you? Your impulsiveness would mean our deaths!"

Yamini glared at the boy. "I am not a vigilante," she breathed. "Vigilantes thrive on chaos. They are mindless seekers of blood and terror, aimless wanderers hoping to vent their discontent with the world on those who appear at first to have caused it. These individuals have become lost in their own corruption, their own greed, resorting to violence disguised as justice while they seek the definition of themselves. They do so recklessly and without planning. I am an assassin."

"And what's the difference between them and you?" said Henrik.

Her wicked smile was enough to make both boys step backward. "I am not reckless."

zOMG busy!

2009-07-17T18:01:00.000-05:00

I've been so preoccupied going over edits and restarting Yamini's story that I didn't realize how long it has been since I've posted! My agent list is just about compiled, but after going over the manuscript with Sam I realize I still have quite a bit of revising to do, and that the query-perfecting and agent-spamming is still a little ways off. Nevertheless, I refuse to be discouraged. I've gotten this far, and I find myself still more than motivated to carry on.

Yamini's story, Of Shadow and Dissonance, is coming along nicely. With the confidence of having one novel under my belt already, I am sure that this next book won't take near as long to complete. Rather than give myself a nine-year deadline, I will aim to be done with the first draft come Christmas. Hey, it's a realistic goal, and that's a fairly trying goal for someone like me! *blushes* If I can manage to stay focused like I was with the last chapter of OAaE, I should be able to meet it...or possibly finish ahead of schedule! The revising should be a bit easier this go around also. Especially since I won't be trying to polish year-old writing, and I've learned a lot from going over edits this past week and a half.

That said, here's to editing. And to Yamini!

Anxiety and Reader Finish Lines

2009-07-07T23:40:00.000-05:00

I am pleased that a few of my readers have already finished their first read throughs! (And I say first only because they've mentioned going through it again, not as an assumtion. That'd be silly!) I have yet to sit down and discuss the story at length with any of them, but I am hoping to get a few critiques and Q&A starting with the end of this week. Even if it takes me bribing people out of the house with coffee, I will siphon their thoughts one way or another! Ahem. Anyway, I am still every bit as excited about the progress everyone else is making. People stop in and say that they've been reading my book, even if they aren't close to halfway finished, and it makes me smile to know that my words are being read--and enjoyed. It's like...that first house party. You know there's a potential for mess...but you revel in the fact that others are sharing your space, your world, with you. This story is like, my universe, my escape from reality, and it finally is housing other live people exploring its mysteries and characters. My readers are, in effect, making my parallel world more alive to me. For that, I can not express enough gratitude and joy.

At the same time, I am still heavily researching the industry and agents...a task that is taking longer than I anticipated. I figure, if I'm going to put the time and effort into this, I might as well make sure I do it correctly from the beginning. The first book I bought on agents (I have my eye on two others) has quite a few useful articles about the industry in the beginning. I haven't even reached the listings pages yet. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm learning a lot all over again. What to do. What not to do. How to do both. Learning fills me with confidence, so naturally the more, the better. Just have to keep moving forward so I can progress to the query writing. And the rejection letters! <3

Or hopefully...an acceptance letter.

Full Novel on Scribd

2009-07-02T23:07:00.001-05:00

I've decided to make the entire manuscript available to read online @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/16868862/Of-Avatars-and-Elementals. I have, however, disabled the download option, as everyone in my circle has already been notified and sent a copy of the PDF and I don't want copies of the file to spread TOO far to people I don't know. (Call me paranoid or protective, I don't mind.) Anyhow, I figured having the story accessible online would make it easier for friends and acquaintances to get others interested in the story, and if they deem it a worthy read they can come to me directly.

Naturally, it will not be left up forever. I've set a tentative expiration date of one month, though that may be extended (or shortened!) depending on the responses I receive from queried agents (really need to get the ball rolling on that). Something tells me they wouldn't be crazy about the idea of a novel they're aiming to represent being available for widespread download!

In the meantime, I am researching (for the third or fourth time) the industry, mechanics, protocol and etiquette for agents, editors and publishers. There's so much to learn and take in. And perfect. My query letter (and possibly synopsis, I've learned) will have to be just as polished and intriguing as the novel itself if I'm ever to gain anyone's attention. Or representation. At this point, I'd like to think I possess the skill level to do these things with a bit of practice. All that is left is hoping that the market is open to what I've written, and that an agent will believe in it as much as I do.

Two Heads (or ten...or twenty...)

2009-07-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

Definitely better than one.

As readers make their way through OAaE, I begin to realize the advantage of having so many eyes on the text aside from the feedback I receive. I've been buried so deep in this manuscript for so long that even the faintest mistakes elude me. It's almost as if I'm immune to typos, no matter how many times I go over the piece, because my mind knows how it is supposed to read and so my eyes skip over errors as easily as they overlook imperfections in the mirror. Thankfully I have enough people streaming me corrections to be made, both large and small, which I will "patch" in once more people have reached the end of the novel.

New Respect for Publicists!

2009-06-30T06:50:00.000-05:00

Well, after an additional week of fine tuning, I've released Of Avatars and Elementals to quite a few of my contacts. I think that my spirits, patience and hope are not completely out of order, for while I sent notice to around one hundred people and have had correspondence with perhaps a dozen, I am not discouraged in the least. Quite the contrary, I'm overly excited about the few who have taken a sincere interest both in reading and in helping me to find more of an audience. I suppose one could say that the difficult part is now over. The story is in the hands of readers. I am in the process of agent research. Now all I really have to do is sit and wait patiently for feedback...and resume work on Yamini's story, Of Shadow and Dissonance.

Attempt 1 status: failed?

2009-06-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

Okay...so I never have been an expert at deadlines. My own, apparently, are no exception. But thankfully I don't consider it a complete failure. Not in the way that most of my "deadlines" have been utter busts over the years. This time, at the very least, I can say that I sat and grinded on my manuscript ALL. WEEKEND. LONG. From wake to crash I read, typed, retyped, read aloud until my eyes burned. And you know something? It felt good. It felt good to be motivated again.

For years this project has been with me, in the back of my mind and heart, waiting to show itself to the world. The characters screamed at me to finish their stories, to give them closure, and being their god I denied them...because I knew their futures. It didn't matter if the rest of the world knew. No one else appeared to give a damn anyway.

Now, even though I've sent word to close to fifty people and received maybe ten responses, I know that at least a few people are interested in taking a peek at the world I've created. As a god of my own little fictitious universe, this pleases me. I managed to hammer out a complete rewrite of the first chapter, sixteen pages, in two days. Might not sound like much, but coming from me, that is a lot. Especially considering that the second half of the book's final chapter, fifteen pages, took close to three months to finish.

What have I learned from this weekend? That I AM capable of being infused with motivation, after years spent dabbling and struggling to get a few lines down over the course of weeks. That there ARE people waiting for me to tie the pretty little bow around my life's work (yes, I consider 10 of 24 years my life's work). That I CAN outdo myself from time to time when I throw aside the limitations and work from freeflowing creativity. And that even though I may miss a deadline or two and disappoint a few friends, family and fans along the way, the end result can and WILL justify the delay. After a decade's worth of creating, fleshing out, designing, writing, dreaming, breathing, and ignoring my little fantasy world, I owe it to you, dear reader, to give you the best I have to offer.

Back to work. =)

The Summary Hitherto

2009-06-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

So I figured I'd post the "dust jacket" plot summary, since I was silly enough not to include it anywhere online yet. (Silly writer. How are you supposed to accumulate readers?) Of course, the wording of the final synopsis will be up to the publisher and whatever copyrighter they decide to use. Until that dream becomes a reality, this will simply have to do. Bon appetit!

Handwriting has been outlawed. Nomads are not permitted to leave the city. Citizens walk the streets in fear, if at all. And the gate guards, once sworn to protect, strike fear into the hearts of passersby. When inmate Xearo Ta'Lorence becomes the first to escape the city of Rhevise, he and childhood friend Aeria aim to get as far from the province as possible. But when the fugitives discover that a raging covert war threatens to extinguish mankind, they realize their freedom has a steep price.

Exiled with limited resources, they must assemble their own team and pick up where the Rhevisean military left off. Only the enemy seems invulnerable to every traditional method of attack. Soon they realize humanity's last hope lies in Avatar, a mysterious wandering forest hermit with unusual druidic powers. From him they can learn to utilize mana, a once-abundant substance capable of channeling powerful magic. The only problem is that Avatar is not convinced humanity deserves to be saved at all.

Deadlines...this is new...

2009-06-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

Even though this is the first official deadline I've set for myself (and any time I say "official" that just means I've said it to enough people to make my life hell if I don't follow through), it's still a daunting task to put a time cap on something. Perhaps the reason I did it is for practice, because I know that eventually...deadlines are going to be something I must perfect. Until now I've been very wishy-washy, saying things like, "Oh, I'll be done by the end of 2008," and then taking an additional six months to do just that. I can't count the times I've told myself and maybe a handful of others that I'd be done that weekend, that month, that year. Ugh.

Another reason, perhaps, is to keep myself motivated. Am I tricking my own mind? Possibly. But if it works, I can't really argue. The idea of having fifty people expecting something from me on a specific day and then not delivering churns my stomach. I couldn't handle disappointing that many people. And so here I am, glued to the couch for the second day in a row writing and rewriting.

To this day it amazes me how many transformations take place in a story over time. I think back to the original draft of Intrepid Earth that I wrote in high school and realize what absolute garbage the prose is to me, and at the time I was thinking, "Man! My writing can't get much better than this!" Boy, was I wrong. Now, writing the first chapter from scratch for the fourth time, I'm coming to understand something that I'm sure all published and successful authors struggle with: No piece is ever finished. It just reaches an acceptable point to give it to the world. I think forward to when my novel will be sitting on the shelves (nothing wrong with wishful thinking) and...sort of dread knowing that it will be final, that even if I go home and draft another version ten times better from scratch, that's it. It's on the shelves. Done.

*sighs* Best to make sure that the published version is kick ass to begin with, and then put it out of mind.

In the Beginning...

2009-06-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

As of three days ago I've officially finished writing the meat and core of my novel, Of Avatars and Elementals, book 1 of my Intrepid Earth series. At this point I feel remarkably accomplished, and still there is so much left to figure out. So many places to go from here...so many things to do beforehand. Let me see if I can't flesh out a list of sorts, albeit out of order!

I need to get ahold of Jami. She's the reason I bothered rewriting the story to begin with. I owe her a great deal of thanks for motivating me to draft a second version of the previously unfinished manuscript.
I need to make a serious list of Sci-Fi/Fantasy literary agents. This will likely involve a bit of time at the book store and online.
Draft query letters. Several of them. Then send out personalized queries to the above-specified agents in small waves until the list is depleted. Hopefully long before.
Grow a spine. You'll need it to handle the impending criticism!
Make a list of people to print hard copies for. There's a few.
Calculate the hole in your wallet that will be made by having said copies printed.
Get your ass back on CritiqueCircle.com, start uploading the polished version, compile those critiques with the feedback from work people and friends, and post on the forums.
Grab a grammar handbook, spend time at Borders studying, or grind grammar webpages.
Create an account on Blogspot focused on my writing endeavors and nothing else.
Compile music for the unofficial "soundtrack" to the novel. This is for fun. =)

At least I got the blog account setup (obviously), so that's one step closer to my goal. If anything, I am happy to have the groundwork laid, a virtual "Square 1" if you will. Someday I hope to look back on this date with fondness and remember what it was like to be unpublished. Perhaps it can encourage other would-be writers. Maybe it will help to keep me motivated. Truth be told, I don't know how well this will work out, but I'm telling myself to stay on it. There are many bloggers I admire, and perhaps someday I will become admirable myself. Time will tell.